The Kansas City Chiefs' Competitive Disadvantage?

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My Best & Worst article went up on Arrowhead Pride today, a website that I'm very honored to write for. However, a large portion of a take I was very proud of was edited out (and understandably so, editor Joel Thorman knows what's best his for site better than I do). But I'd like for the take to be heard because I believe it is original, thought-provoking, and relevant.

Here is that excerpt...


Worst way to watch your team go down - Not at full strength. However, it's not the injuries that bother me (although it's somewhat maddening to feel like it's happening AGAIN). Those are just a part of the game though. What really grinds my gears is the suspension of Tamba Hali for his alleged involvement with a soon-to-be decriminalized plant that serves actual medicinal purposes. Look, we all know the Pro Smoke A Bowler was busted for the hippy lettuce in one way or another. Now, regardless of if you think marijuana should be legalized or not (a debate that has zero place in this forum), I'd like you to consider the following scenario:

Imagine Tamba Hali played for the Denver Broncos (ducks), and was caught doing whatever it was that he got caught doing here in Kansas City. What would the penalty have been for the exact same "crime"? To the best of my knowledge, Hali would've received a citation at most, avoided any arrest, and thus, would've foregone any punishment via the NFL. Therefore, aren't Kansas City players at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to their recreational drug habits? Is this fair? It pisses me off to think this may have played a vital role in the Chiefs eventual 0-1 start to this season. End rant.

I'd love to hear anybody's thoughts on this matter via the comments on here, Facebook, or Twitter.

Holla back,

His Dirkness

2012 NFL PREDICTIONS

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Click here to make fun of my last year's NFL Predictions!

~AFC~

AFC East:
1. New England Patriots 13-3 (1 seed)
2. Buffalo Bills 9-7 (6 seed)
3. New York Jets 7-9
4. Miami Dolphins 5-11

Take: The Patriots have a seriously easy schedule this year, along with the rest of the AFC East (playing the AFC South and NFC West, the two worst divisions in the NFL). So there is a great chance the Pats repeat as the top record in the AFC. Don't be surprised to see the other teams in this division overachieve with that easy of a schedule.

AFC South:
1. Houston Texans 11-5 (2 seed)
2. Indianapolis Colts 8-8
3. Tennessee Titans 5-11
4. Jacksonville Jaguars 4-12

Take: Possibly the worst bottom three teams of a division I've ever seen in the NFL. The Texans could start Cade McNown on their way to the AFC South title this year. As for the other three doormats, I'll say the Colts stand the best chance to emerge.

AFC North:
1. Pittsburgh Steelers 10-6 (3 seed)
2. Cincinnati Bengals 8-8
3. Baltimore Ravens 7-9
4. Cleveland Browns 4-12

Take: This division has me stumped. Both the Ravens and Squealers are candidates to plunge this season, but I don't quite buy the Bengals either (overachieved with a super easy schedule last season). The one thing I am sure of is the Browns finishing 4th.

AFC West:
1. Denver Broncos 10-6 (4 seed)
2. Kansas City Chiefs 9-7 (5 seed)
3. Oakland Raiders 7-9
4. San Diego Super Chargers 7-9

Take: I think Peyton will be half the QB we're accustomed to seeing, but pulls out just enough late game wins to take the division before he keels over for good. A game-by-game breakdown of the Chiefs' 9-7 season is heading your way later this week.

~NFC~

NFC East:
1. Philadelphia Eagles 11-5 (3 seed)
2. New York Giants 9-7
3. Dallas Cowboys 8-8
4. Washington Redskins 5-11

Take: The Eagles put way too much pressure on themselves last season and predictably crapped the bed in the opening stanza. Since everybody assumes Vick gets hurt this year, he will probably start all 16 games. I like the Cowboys but over-predict on them every season. The Giants field the same record as last year but miss the playoffs in this edition.

NFC South:
1. Atlanta Falcons 12-4 (2 seed)
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10-6 (6 seed)
3. New Orleans Saints 7-9
4. Carolina Panthas 7-9

Take: High on the Falcons. Julio Jones' emergence has been well documented, but Jacquizz Rodgers' hasn't yet (he runs for 1,200 yards this season). Asante Samuel provides championship experience, and new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan brings the ruckus to the defense. PLUS, it's Tony Gonzalez's last season in the NFL, giving them that extra little bit of motivation that I like (that's a lot of words on the Falcons..). Turmoil will flood the Saints, the Panthas aren't ready yet, but the Buccaneers are my surprise team of the NFL with plenty of young talent and a bounce back year from Jaaaaash Freeman (who I've come to like somehow).

NFC North:
1. Chicago Bears 12-4 (1 seed)
2. Green Bay Packers 11-5 (5 seed)
3. Detroit Lions 9-7
4. Minnesota Vikings 5-11

Take: My prediction that nobody else has, the Bears overtake the Packers and win the NFC North. Everything came so easy for GB last year, I think they're due for some turbulence. Meanwhile, emo-BFF's Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall are reunited (for what should be 120 receptions) in a city with wind.

NFC West:
1. Seattle Seahawks 9-7 (4 seed)
2. San Francisco 49ers 8-8
3. St. Louis Rams 6-10
4. Arizona Cardinals 3-13

Take: The 49ers fall back to earth, bringing the rest of the division with them. I wish I could pick nobody to win this division (just like I wish I could pick nobody to win the AFC). Alas, I'll ride the Russell Wilson III bandwagon even further as he choo-choo's Harbaugh's egg nog-a-nog.

Playoffs?!?! Playoffs.

Wildcard Round:
AFC - Kansas City over Denver, Pittsburgh over Buffalo
NFC - Philadelphia over Tampa Bay, Green Bay over Seattle

Divisional Round:
AFC - Houston over Pittsburgh, New England over Kansas City
NFC - Green Bay over Chicago, Atlanta over Philadelphia

Championship Round:
AFC - Houston over New England
NFC - Atlanta over Green Bay

Soup(er) Bowl:
Atlanta over Houston

2010 NFL Preview: NFC South

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Atlanta Falcons- The Dirty Birds would appear on my short list of possible surprise teams for the upcoming season. Matt Ryan could be looking at a breakout year, after a somewhat mediocre sophomore season. The third year is a popular time for good quarterbacks to breakout. Peyton Manning led the league in yards and touchdowns his third year. Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Donovan McNabb all had things figured out by season number three. I predict they overtake the Saints for supremacy of the ever-changing NFC South division.

Carolina Panthers- A possible candidate for the first draft pick come next April (although last time I said that about the Panthas, Rodney Peete led them to a 3-0 start). But the laundry list reads like this: Breaking in a new Quarterback (Matt Moore), no more Julius Peppers, Steve Smith breaking his arm playing flag football (he told me he didn't play…jerk), and Jonathan Stewart has been hurt most of training camp. At least they drafted Dirkness favorite, Eric Norwood, in the 4th round. John Fox has done a lot with a little before, so not all hope is lost in Panthaland.

New Orleans Saints- Just don't seem good enough to repeat. Will have to deal with the more, more, more syndrome (coined by Evil Empire's Sports Guy) after winning the championship (more money, more touches, more competition). Drew Brees, who quietly set an NFL record for completion percentage last season, can cement his name atop the best quarterbacks by proving consistent this year. Repetitive success is a major factor. Peyton and Brady are both on the decline (or should be atleast), and the title is up for grabs this year. For whatever reason I wasn't that into the Super Bowl last year, leading me to completely overlook the significance of a surprise onside kick to start the second half. That may be the ballsiest move in NFL history.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers- All of my credibility for projecting Quarterback success in the NFL is on the line with Josh Freeman (thought he'd be terrible), so here's one towards him falling flat on his fro. People said he had a semi-successful freshman season, but dude still had 18 INT's on top of 9 fumbles in 10 games. It's hard to imagine the Bucs making any noise this year, but they could be setting themselves up for the future with a nice foundation of young talent.

Chiefs Preseason Game #1 Analysis

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~There are two backups that need to be starting right now, and I will quickly sour on Haley if they are not promoted. I am speaking of Jamaal Charles and Derrick Johnson. Thomas Jones could be a good addition and all, but this is Charles' team. Our offense doesn't move without him, as proven last night. With Johnson, I believe Haley continues to play mind games with him, aiming to right his mind into that of a fierce, determined Linebacker. I suspect both of these players to be starting by week 1, and will be vocal in my displeasure with Haley if they are not.

~Dexter McCluster was unreal, literally. Clearly, he's a Madden creation. His two plays consisted of the best working plays on Madden (at least a few years back, anyway) with the sweep around the end and the quick out from the slot position. He was unstoppable, just faster than anybody else on the field. I was a step slow to hop on the McDexter bandwagon, but now I'm sitting shotgun. Our offense has some serious weapons right now, led by Charles and Dex.

~My biggest concerns with the team after one game is stopping the run on defense. We were pushed off the line in the first drive, giving up at least five yards a pop. We will constantly need an 8th player in the box, making us vulnerable to playaction passes over the top.

~My biggest concern with the offense is teams stacking the box due to a lack of a downfield threat. The blame for this goes all the way around the offense. The line struggles to hold blocks to give Cassel enough time to look down field, neither Bowe or Chambers are speedsters, and Cassel tends to overthrow deep balls. This will allow teams to bring 8 or 9 players up, forcing us to find ways to throw over the top.

~My biggest surprise of the game was the effectiveness of Mike Vrabel. My main mane, LBR, made the astute statement that Vrabel will be good as long as we are good, which got me to thinking. I remember being very confident in him at the beginning of last season (and preseason), but was semi-embarrassed by his performance the latter half of the season. This makes sense. He just shut it down, with no real reason to continue pushing. Save it for next year, which is now this year. Our defense has a shot to be mediocre at the least if Vrabel plays like he did last night.

Impressive List:
~Kendrick Lewis- QB pressure, helped blow up a sweep, and blanketed Tony G.
~Javier Arenas- Delivered a stiff arm that would make the Viagra CEO proud.
~Maurice Leggett- A few big hits, including a throw down of Rowdy Roddy White.
~Andy Studebaker- Solid across the board, could provide much needed depth.
~Derek Lokey- Should make this team after a few unsuccessful tries.

Disappointment List:
~Ryan O'Callaghan- Got beat a few times around the edge, we seemingly have nobody better to replace him though.
~Jon Asamoah- Got absolutely roasted on back-to-back plays in the 3rd quarter.
~Leonard Pope- Missed a block on 3rd and short, dropped a pass, and dove for a catch that a normal sized man could've caught and ran with.
~Ryan Succop- Missed two field goals, albeit they were long.
~Tyson Jackson- Have yet to see him fight off a block or do anything.
~Corey Mays- Too slow in the middle. A one-on-one matchup with a Tight End is a guaranteed catch.
~DaJuan Morgan- Was actually afraid of the ball when John Parker Croyle floated a pass right to him.
~Zebras- Nice call on the offensive penalty converting a 3rd and Goal into a 1st and 10. I wish Haley would have just sat on the field in protest and drawn multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

His Dirkness

Kansas City Chiefs vs Atlanta Falcons Preview

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Dirkness don't got too much to say on the game (except that RaCheese Wallace is rockin a Derrick Thomas jersey in the ATL right now!), because it's kinda pointless to preview a preseason game, but what I will give you is 5 players that I'll be keeping a close eye on tonight: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Atlanta Falcons, 7 P.M.

1. Cory Greenwood, LB, #93- Caught my eye a few different times in 1-on-1 pass rush drills at camp on Tuesday. We desperately need a pass rusher opposite of Tamba Hali, and Greenwood provides maybe the most intriguing option.

2. Tyson Jackson, DE, #94- I've recently sold myself on Brother Bear, Glenn Dorsey, but the same cannot be said for Jackson. Reports from camp aren't good to this point, with a possible position battle under way with the full-of-nasty Shaun Smith. I want to see some nastiness from this wildebeest.

3. Kendrick Lewis, S, #49- There's talk of him being the opening day starter at safety opposite of Error Bearer. I'm not in favor of that because of the inevitable growing pains. Unless I see a lot to like from this Lewis kid in the preseason (I'm a huge Kendrick fan already).

4. Dwayne Bowe, WR, #82- The reports from camp almost unanimously suggest that D-Bowe has turned the corner. I want to see it before I believe it. I want to see him eye the ball all the way into his hands. I want to see him go up and get some jumpballs. I want to see an improvement out of Bowe that we haven't seen since his rookie year.

5. Dexter McCluster, RB/WR/KR/PR, #22- I'm downright giddy to see exactly how we're gonna use this kid. I'm envisioning atleast five swing passes coming his way tonight. Plus, I just imagined an awesome nickname for him: Slash. That's creative and has yet to be used.

In conclusion, I feel confident enough in the Chiefs this year that I'm putting $100 down on the Chiefs to beat the Falcons tonight. They are getting 3 points!!! And nothing beats betting on NFL Preseason football. While all you fools are napping off your turkey dinners through the 4th quarter, I will be sitting on the edge of my seat, chewing on my LeBrons, cheering on the CHIEFS!!!

Dirkness