Angel
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Huddle up, it’s time for a reality check
JOE POSNANSKI
The Kansas City Star
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. | The Chiefs lost their eighth consecutive preseason game on Thursday night, which means … well, I have absolutely no idea what that means. Really, outside of the discussions revolving around what Katie Couric is going to wear for her first news broadcast, is there anything more meaningless than preseason football? To me, preseason football accomplishes three things:
•It gets people excited over young players who won’t make the team.
•It makes people panic over veteran players who are too smart to care about preseason football.
•It reminds us once again that sideline reporters add just about nothing to the game.
That’s about it. The Chiefs’ lousy 17-0 loss on Thursday night against the Giants — lowlights included no pressure on the quarterback, no offensive line push, no positive signs whatsoever, if you think about it — might mean they’re struggling to adjust to Herm Edwards’ coaching. It might mean they’re still figuring each other out. It might mean the defensive tackles are too easy to push around, linebackers aren’t making plays, receivers are not getting open and the offensive linemen are not on the same page. Then again, it might mean some of the players ate bad Mexican food on Wednesday night. Who knows? It’s preseason football.
Here’s what we do know: The Chiefs don’t have Willie Roaf at left tackle. They don’t have one of the most dominating linemen ever to play professional football anchoring their offensive line. They don’t have Trent Green’s back covered.
And that, I believe, is the biggest issue facing this team entering the new season.
This is not just my opinion. This is the opinion of every single Chiefs player, coach and executive I spoke with during training camp. All of them, every one, have been obsessed with Willie Roaf’s possible return.
It has been eerie, really. Before Roaf appeared on ESPN this week to confirm what he had already validated — the news that he’s in pain and will not play football this season — it seemed like everybody at Chiefs camp was waiting for Roaf to show up.
“We’ll see about that,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said when asked about Roaf’s retirement. He added a smile and a wink, like he knew something.
“I would say, without a doubt, the door is still open for Willie to come back,” Chiefs president/GM/CEO/soothsayer Carl Peterson said.
“We are going to have a great offense, especially with Willie at left tackle,” Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez said. When it was pointed out that Willie, by his own words, would not be at left tackle, Gonzalez shrugged.
“We’ll see,” he said also. “Maybe he doesn’t want to be at training camp. I couldn’t blame him for that. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have to be.”
And so on. All over River Falls, you kept hearing comments like: “If he’s really retired,” and “assuming he doesn’t change his mind.” If you dug deeper, it was clear that most Chiefs believed Willie Roaf definitely would change his mind. He would see how close this team was to being a real contender and could not miss his chance.
As one Chiefs player said: “He’s an 11-time Pro Bowler, and he’s going to the Hall of Fame. But you tell me what’s a better legacy: 11-time Pro Bowler or 12-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champ?” The sentiment was popular. The Roaf Returns fantasy was everywhere.
What about now? Roaf has again said he’s not coming back. How does it look? Look: The Chiefs will obviously miss him on the field. Roaf’s replacement is Kyle Turley, who has created a lot of nice buzz during camp by working hard and gaining weight faster than anyone expected. But let’s be brutally honest: Turley hasn’t played professionally for two years, he’s coming off a devastating back injury, he’s really a right tackle and he has precisely 11 fewer Pro Bowl appearances than Roaf.
But right now, the adjustment off the field is even bigger. The Chiefs had one of the great offensive lines ever the last three seasons, and nobody seems willing to accept that it’s gone. But it is gone. It won’t be the same. Trent Green won’t get to casually scan the field like someone standing behind bulletproof glass picking suspects out of a lineup. Larry Johnson won’t often be 5 yards downfield before he meets his first defender. It’s going to be different. It’s going to be harder.
It will be telling to see how the Chiefs handle that. That, to me, is the toughest question for Herm Edwards and the Chiefs to answer. This week on television, Willie Roaf said that the door is closed for this season, but he’s not closing the door on next season. I don’t know what that means any more than I know what the Chiefs’ eight straight preseason losses means. But I do know that it’s time for the Chiefs to handle the truth: Willie Roaf’s gone. The season is about to begin.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15300665.htm
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JOE POSNANSKI
The Kansas City Star
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. | The Chiefs lost their eighth consecutive preseason game on Thursday night, which means … well, I have absolutely no idea what that means. Really, outside of the discussions revolving around what Katie Couric is going to wear for her first news broadcast, is there anything more meaningless than preseason football? To me, preseason football accomplishes three things:
•It gets people excited over young players who won’t make the team.
•It makes people panic over veteran players who are too smart to care about preseason football.
•It reminds us once again that sideline reporters add just about nothing to the game.
That’s about it. The Chiefs’ lousy 17-0 loss on Thursday night against the Giants — lowlights included no pressure on the quarterback, no offensive line push, no positive signs whatsoever, if you think about it — might mean they’re struggling to adjust to Herm Edwards’ coaching. It might mean they’re still figuring each other out. It might mean the defensive tackles are too easy to push around, linebackers aren’t making plays, receivers are not getting open and the offensive linemen are not on the same page. Then again, it might mean some of the players ate bad Mexican food on Wednesday night. Who knows? It’s preseason football.
Here’s what we do know: The Chiefs don’t have Willie Roaf at left tackle. They don’t have one of the most dominating linemen ever to play professional football anchoring their offensive line. They don’t have Trent Green’s back covered.
And that, I believe, is the biggest issue facing this team entering the new season.
This is not just my opinion. This is the opinion of every single Chiefs player, coach and executive I spoke with during training camp. All of them, every one, have been obsessed with Willie Roaf’s possible return.
It has been eerie, really. Before Roaf appeared on ESPN this week to confirm what he had already validated — the news that he’s in pain and will not play football this season — it seemed like everybody at Chiefs camp was waiting for Roaf to show up.
“We’ll see about that,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said when asked about Roaf’s retirement. He added a smile and a wink, like he knew something.
“I would say, without a doubt, the door is still open for Willie to come back,” Chiefs president/GM/CEO/soothsayer Carl Peterson said.
“We are going to have a great offense, especially with Willie at left tackle,” Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez said. When it was pointed out that Willie, by his own words, would not be at left tackle, Gonzalez shrugged.
“We’ll see,” he said also. “Maybe he doesn’t want to be at training camp. I couldn’t blame him for that. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have to be.”
And so on. All over River Falls, you kept hearing comments like: “If he’s really retired,” and “assuming he doesn’t change his mind.” If you dug deeper, it was clear that most Chiefs believed Willie Roaf definitely would change his mind. He would see how close this team was to being a real contender and could not miss his chance.
As one Chiefs player said: “He’s an 11-time Pro Bowler, and he’s going to the Hall of Fame. But you tell me what’s a better legacy: 11-time Pro Bowler or 12-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champ?” The sentiment was popular. The Roaf Returns fantasy was everywhere.
What about now? Roaf has again said he’s not coming back. How does it look? Look: The Chiefs will obviously miss him on the field. Roaf’s replacement is Kyle Turley, who has created a lot of nice buzz during camp by working hard and gaining weight faster than anyone expected. But let’s be brutally honest: Turley hasn’t played professionally for two years, he’s coming off a devastating back injury, he’s really a right tackle and he has precisely 11 fewer Pro Bowl appearances than Roaf.
But right now, the adjustment off the field is even bigger. The Chiefs had one of the great offensive lines ever the last three seasons, and nobody seems willing to accept that it’s gone. But it is gone. It won’t be the same. Trent Green won’t get to casually scan the field like someone standing behind bulletproof glass picking suspects out of a lineup. Larry Johnson won’t often be 5 yards downfield before he meets his first defender. It’s going to be different. It’s going to be harder.
It will be telling to see how the Chiefs handle that. That, to me, is the toughest question for Herm Edwards and the Chiefs to answer. This week on television, Willie Roaf said that the door is closed for this season, but he’s not closing the door on next season. I don’t know what that means any more than I know what the Chiefs’ eight straight preseason losses means. But I do know that it’s time for the Chiefs to handle the truth: Willie Roaf’s gone. The season is about to begin.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15300665.htm
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