I'm a little sleep deprived in River Falls, but excited nonetheless about the pre-season win in Chicago.
I appreciate little things, like beautiful Midwest summer sunsets and cute, little puppies....and pre-season wins that feel like a regular season wins.
Ok....I know, I know, save the responses, it was just a pre-season win, but this win in Chicago was different than most pre-season games. PRE-SEASON GAMES ONLY COUNT WHEN YOU LOSE THEM ALL like last year or in 2000, when Gunther Cunningham lost all 4 pre-season games and some how it was played into a six game losing streak when the Chiefs lost the first two regular season games that year. A similar response occured in 2007 when HBO's Hardknocks portrayed the Chiefs 0-4 pre-season as a minor disaster.
Here is why I am excited after the win over Chicago:
1. CHAN GAILEY: I've said repeatedly that he was the best pick up in the off season by the Chiefs. I now have a man crush on Chan Gailey. He is an experienced game planner and play caller, a novel concept for an Offensive Coordinator. His offense and philosophy gives the Chiefs and Brodie Croyle a chance to be competitive in 2008. The first drive against the Bears is a perfect example of Chan's impact. The Chiefs did things on that first drive that they didn't do all last year (e.g. avoid 3 and outs, convert 3rd and long situations, used 5 different players to convert 5 different third downs). Moreover, it was against a Bears defense that had Pro Bowlers and mega stars Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Tommie Harris on the field. This offense is effective. This offense features bootlegs, short rolls, misdirection, zone option reads on runs, plays that compliment one another, quick counts, "dummy" calls and an audible system.....AN AUDIBLE SYSTEM! All three Chiefs quarterbacks who played against Chicago led touchdown drives and all three used "check with me" calls repeatedly. Thank you Georgia Tech for firing Chan Gailey (what were they thinking), and thank you Herm Edwards for hiring the 'ol Georgia boy for leading this offense. Now KC actually has the chance to use the plays that Denver has killed them with for years against THEM and the others on this schedule.
2. TEAM UNITY: Our new sideline reporter Kendall Gammon brought up a great point near the end of the game against Chicago. He pointed out that the ENTIRE roster was up on "their toes" near the sideline to urge their teammates to win the game. There weren't many Chiefs on the field at the time who will make the final 53 man roster. Yet, young guys and veterans alike were "into" it on the sideline. The Chiefs WANTED TO WIN THIS GAME. Herm Edwards has done a great job in this camp to build team unity. There is a mutual respect between offense and defense and there is a central purpose to build this team into a winning playoff team. The ENTIRE coaching staff is as unified as I have seen in my fifteen years as the "Voice". It is exciting to see how Gunther Cunningham's defense can compliment Chan's offense and vice versa without worrying who is trying to pad their resume with stats, etc.
3. RADIO NETWORK UNITY: Dan Isreal is the Chiefs Radio Network's version of Chan Gailey. He is brilliant! The unity that exists on the Chiefs football team now exists throughout the entire Chiefs Radio Network team. It is amazing when a large group of people from varied backgrounds and with varied talents can respect one another and move with a single purpose. The Chiefs Radio Network is a complicated mix of technology, logistics and personalities. It requires leadership and mutual respect to really be successful. Donna Baker, the market manager of the Cumulus Radio Group of Kansas City, who owns the Chiefs Radio Network has initated the leadership necessary to create an environment for success. I encourage you to listen closely sometime to the end of our broadcasts when I read the names of all the people who make the broadcast possible. You may hear names, but I am really reading a roster of a "team". A team who had a wonderful start to the season in Chicago and who represents what can happen when true mutual respect can lead to a wonderful result.
I KNOW ITS ONLY THE PRE-SEASON, BUT THERE WERE GREAT THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN CHICAGO. Now, I'll try to sneak in a nap before the final week of camp starts here in River Falls.
