How Important Was Last Night’s Triumph?

Here’s your one-word answer: Very.

Yes, it came against a team that was protecting its most talented players. Yes, it still took place within the time frame of the training schedule. And no, the corresponding footage surely won’t be classified under the “CLASSIC” tag at the NFL Films headquarters.

Still, you can’t properly measure the value that it has.

Under different circumstances, the outcome of the pre-season finale between the Chiefs and the Packers would not have been considered as a subject for dissection. In fact, the very game would not have been worthy of additional attention. We can all agree on that. Taking into account that these kinds of instances are primarily being used nowadays as a last resort for a handful of rather desperate individuals (either struggling to fulfil their dreams of becoming active members of the fraternity called National Football League, or simply trying to hang on for dear life to that already-attained status), it really wouldn’t be that surprising to expect the final analyses to be focused around performances like the ones presented by Jackie Battle, Travis Daniels and Jackie Bates.

But every now and then, important concerns do get to be clarified at the last hour. And for the Arrowhead Ones (as a whole), the positive 17-13 result against Green Bay shed an inspiring light on more relevant issues than the customary ones that first meet the eye. Some that cannot be judged by raw numbers, and that primarily, are based on gut feelings. Among those achieved you can count:

The Confirmation Of A Possible Breakthrough

The Chiefs’ defeat of the Broncos in the final game of the ’09 campaign made us all believe that we were entering 2010 with the right foot. A perception that was reinforced at the beginning of the Free Agency period, and just as fortified after the conclusion of the NFL Draft and the advances registered during training camp. But for the Chiefs to get a true head start on what could be the turning point for the franchise, they had to win the game celebrated on Thursday. And I can’t stress HAD enough.

Pressed by a less-than-stellar 0-7 mark in pre-season encounters during the Pioli-Haley tenure, this game represented one of the initial trying moments for the ’10 version of the Kansas City Chiefs, if only because it would’ve been impossible — for me, anyway — to conceive the idea of a looming turnaround after enduring the second of back-to-back winless pre-seasons. In other words, if the team was really THAT eager to make the leap into respectability, it needed to show improvement in all areas. Including those that seem somewhat useless (again, the pre-season). To get tangible proof that they are headed in the right direction. After more than two years, improvement at this stage could’ve only been written with a capital W in the scoreboard, and to the Chiefs’ credit — with the clock winding down to add a little pressure — they did exactly that.

The Nurturing Of The Roar

Even though the Chiefs endured yet another heartbreak against the Eagles at the end of last week’s game, this man did not ignore the funny thing that happened in the middle of the same: How the crowd became alive. Inspired by a combination of the re-opening of the home digs, the furious comeback during the 2nd and 3rd quarters of play, and the five takedowns of the Philly QB’s, the patrons responded by delivering a background the likes of which we haven’t seen in a while, indeed constituting a sight that was truly remarkable once you realized that we were in the midst of a training activity.

To compensate for that effort, the Chiefs needed to deliver the retribution rather quickly in the form of a victory, and by doing so in their very next outing they have secured a precious asset for the Monday Night opener. Mainly, because you can take this to the bank: If the Chiefs plan to blindside the Chargers on September 13th, they will have to rely on the roar of the beast (Arrowhead Stadium) that carried this franchise to legendary heights during the 90′s. But to attain that proverbial growl, the team was more than compelled to throw a proverbial bone. And it’s safe to say that the triumph at the expense of the Cheeseheads gave the fans something to enjoy until Opening Day. Don’t you think?

The Improvement Of The Weakest Links

And obviously, this is the main issue. The talk about the positive strides that the Chiefs’ first-teamers made from the Atlanta game to the Philly game was all well and good, and it was a fine reason to be optimistic. Given that the bulk of the regular season success will most likely be traced to the efforts that the leaders of the depth chart might provide, it only felt natural to be encouraged by whatever productive developments we were able to perceive from them in a recurrent basis.

But it’s an undeniable truth that a team (like a chain) is only as strong as its weakest links, and the Philly game showed us a glimpse of a bigger picture, in which we simply did not display enough competence to hold down the fort for 60 minutes — a malady that has haunted us for quite some time. And last week, that responsibility fell square in the shoulders of the 2nd and 3rd-stringers. Aware that the fate of yesterday’s game once again was left in the hands of those striving to make this team in the first place, their winning contribution rightly serves as a promising sign that when the roster finally gets trimmed down to the final 53, even our weakest links could be on the verge of getting stronger, since they were the ones who closed out the deal against the Packers (also a group of 3rd-stringers, but still). And truly, this is an image that is appealing to say the least.

Relaxed after getting more knowledge about the team, the aforementioned paragraphs explain the reasons why I was utterly interested in what should’ve been an otherwise pointless game. It’s no secret that for the Chiefs to embark on what we all hope could be an interesting ride they first have to create a successful atmosphere. Of course, not only by embracing the idea, but materializing it as well, even if they had to go the distance in their last pre-season game.

In essence, a fitting end to this part of the process. ‘Cause when you think about winning, there’s nothing meaningless around it.