COMMENTARY: Can’t Hide The Pain
From San Diego, California
It’s impossible at this point for Herm Edwards to hide the pain.
Not after the last three weeks and especially not after what happened at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday against the Chargers.
“I can’t remember three games in a row being that close in games and not finding a way to win one of them,” Edwards said after the Chiefs 20-19 loss. “We’ve been close, we’ve been preaching that. This one came down to the last play.
“These guys deserved to win.”
Edwards dropped his head and shook it from side-to-side, like he was trying to throw a bad headache out of his cranium. More accurately, he was trying to figure out he was going to live with another broken heart.
The Chiefs had come to southern California as the weekend’s biggest underdog in the NFL. The Chargers were favored by 15.5 points. As often happens with media types who never take the time to scratch beyond the surface of the standings, the Chiefs arrived to ridicule on the airwaves and on sports pages of San Diego. This was considered an easy game for the Chargers, a quick victory on their way to getting back into the race for first place in the AFC West.
This was the Chargers’ homecoming game. That’s what happens when a team is 1-7.
But the media and fan stuff is meaningless to the players, especially this young group of puppies that the Chiefs have assembled this year. Remember, this team added six new players to their roster just last week and remarkably, five of that half-dozen were active for Sunday’s game. They didn’t even know what happened on Monday, let alone what’s gone down with this team the last two Sunday afternoons.
What made the build up to this game interesting was the good feelings and confidence the Chiefs had built over the previous two weeks. This was the type of game where all that could have been blown to bits. The Chargers were coming off their bye week, where they were able to rest tired bodies and damaged egos. They were 3-5 in the first half of the season, a darn poor performance for a team with as much talent as the Bolts have on their roster.
This was a key game for the Chargers. They needed to improve their production especially on offense. Based on what they did last year when they started slowly and closed with a flourish, they figured to be able to raise their performance level.
We didn’t know if that was possible with the Chiefs. They had played so much better in the last two weeks than what was seen earlier in the season, nobody knew whether they could do it for three weeks in a row, or even lift their efforts to another level.
Well, they can. The Chiefs improved for a third week in a row. The Chargers did not rise to the occasion as expected.
Yet in the end, the Chargers won and the Chiefs lost.
“They are all painful,” veteran linebacker Donnie Edwards said afterwards. “This one is really bad. We should have won this game. We deserved to win this game.”
This was the gutsiest performance by the Chiefs in some time. With injuries sapping roster depth and then more injuries piling up during the game, there was always a question: who was going to be on the field? The defense was being patched together from series to series. Guys who were not even with the team on Tuesday were suddenly thrust into the middle of the action.
Yet the Chiefs kept playing hard. They kept punching back at the Chargers. The battered defense continued to strike back against LaDainian Tomlinson. There was no L.T. explosion on this Sunday, just 22 carries for 78 yards, or 3.5 yards per carry.
Three games, plus eight in the turnover ratio and the Chiefs are 0-3. Given the historical nature of the outcome of games in relation to turnovers, it’s damn near impossible to have lost all three.
As he brought his club together for the post-game prayer, Edwards was emotional as he told them to keep their heads up, that they would be rewarded if they kept giving the effort that wasn’t rewarded against the Chargers.
But how much longer will this team continue to believe? Sooner or later they have to experience the glory of victory, or no matter what the coach says, it will be forgotten.
Veteran safety Jon McGraw says there’s nothing to worry about when it comes to this team continuing to do things to put itself in position to win games.
“I think every guy to the very last play believed we were going to win that ballgame,” McGraw said. “And they still believe that we are going to be a good football team. We don’t know when, but it’s going to happen. I think every man still believes that.”
It was very believable Sunday afternoon in San Diego. It was just the outcome that defied convention.
I think the Chiefs played one hell of a game. It is always hard to watch a loss. However, the better team doesn’t always win. The only thing that bothers me is for the last couple of weeks the team comes out of the half with a lead and the offense hits the brakes. The trio of 3 n’ outs in the third quarter in the last couple of games is very frustrating. They should come out and go for the throat, not leave the defense out to dry. The play calling gets conservative and allows the other team to hang around a little too long. I know that running the ball kills the clock, but it also kills our momentum. On a side note throwing on first down has also been a plus.
Just wanted to say proud of our Guys for balling today and playing their hearts out. These last 3 weeks have been so much fun to watch compared to the beginning of the year. Everybody is busting their tails coaches and players alike. All this losing is not from a lack of effort, and the adversity that we are facing now will pay huge dividends for those games when it really counts when we are in playoff races; Which I am starting to think might happen sooner than most people think if we can have another solid draft.
Herm I may not like the fact that you don’t attack other teams especially at the ends of halves with 2 minutes remaining and we have the ball, or how you use your time outs. But I like the way you motivate and teach. Your plan to build through the draft after our previous coaches mess is the right move. Go Chiefs
I agree with you: Hawaiian and JP,
These Chiefs are so much fun to watch. The heart of this team is left out on the field and they are playing as if their lives depend on it. Herm really has these guys playing at a high level with regards to their availability.
Imagine how this game might have went with LJ, DJ, Flowers, and Turk in the game. Win or lose, I just love watching and thinking about how this team is going to be in position next year and how hungry these players are going to be, especially with the infusion of another top draft class. I am excited about where this is going. Now just go out there and win a game! Hopefully this week when I am in my seats at Arrowhead!
Don’t forget that we lost Jamaal Charles too. How much better would those screens have been if they weren’t being tossed to Savage… Charles would have BURNED THEM UP!
Herm does not have to apologize for anything for sunday’s game. And that is hard to say. The best team won, we did not have enough injured players. The losing team had a chance at the end and played as hard as I can remember,us. I saw a game you could watch from start to finish and that is all I asked for in a rebuilding season.
Congratulations to our war party in their little red pants (sure miss the classic whites). They fought valiantly and with honor. As a 25 year fan that is what I expected from the onset of this season. I hope they do continue to grow, win a couple games to keep their spirits up and go into next season experienced and hungry. But a quick shout to our o & d line coaches, get these guys more angry, they look scared! GO CHIEFS!!!
Woa —- Even Carl and that waiver wire + some come back favors , there has to been a lot of work puting this all together . good job .
agree with you all. Chiefs have shown improvement the last 3 games, and that is all the fans can ask for. They looked incompetent up to the carolina game.
I mean have you ever seen a better job of coaching? The best coaching staff in that stadium was so obvious a blind man could have seen it. You Herm haters should open up your eyes, you are missing something special!
hawaiian chief – “But I like the way you motivate and teach.”
I agree, and Herm is the perfect head coach for this group of young players. Too many people think good coaching is all about neck bulging, vein pulsing yelling and screaming. Good coaching is good teaching, and Herm and his staff are great teachers. Learning is a process, and nobody “learns” anything without being given the opportunity to apply and grow into what they are being taught. Tear someone down for something they have not been allowed to learn and eventually they loose the will to learn. Growing takes time, and that’s where Herm’s greatest strengths comes in. He believes in his players, in what they can accomplish, and has the patience to stick with them and allow them grow. And that’s how you motivate young people today. You believe in them!
Amazing what happens to a team when there is quality play from the QB position. Thigpen’s improvement has been amazing & improbible BUT thank goodness for it! I just wish he’d have used his legs more on the goal line & close 3rd downs. It was almost as if he was purposefully taking that option out of the mix. I thought a qb draw down there might’ve worked. The bootleg was quite predictable on that play. We’re getting too cute & predictable with that toy.
Finally we’re playing with a little less predictability. Not sure why none of the “wildcat” formation in this game. It might have come in handy a couple of times.
I’m not sure my heart can take this anymore! I was at my 1st ever Nfl game at Arrowhead against the Bucs and what a crazy game to go see! Now with this last loss, I’m not sure I have been out of my seat as much as the last two games and it is about time!!!! It’s gonna be nice to see this team winning in the not too far future.