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Chiefs’ win meaningless, but no need dwelling on it
By JOE POSNANSKIThe Kansas City Star
People sometimes say that preseason games are pointless, but we learned something very important on a Thursday night in the mud: If every other NFL team just would agree to play their backups, the Chiefs’ starters would have an excellent chance to go to the Super Bowl. Maybe someone could start a petition or something.
The Chiefs’ starters dominated the St. Louis Rams’ backups for a quarter on Thursday in front of a few thousand fans who should have gotten free steak dinners and had their rooms comped for sitting through this thing. Come on. First, the game was delayed an hour and a half because of a driving rain. Then the field was so wet, the Chiefs did not play running back Larry Johnson, and the Rams did not play anybody. Then the rain poured on and off for the entire second half.
Earlier in the day, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said on “The Dan Patrick Show” that the NFL soon may cut two preseason games and add two real games. It’s a shame he couldn’t have pushed that change through before the afternoon was over.
Then again, with this Kansas City Chiefs team, maybe we should enjoy the dominating moments when they come along. We all know that the Chiefs are about to begin a different kind of season. For the first time in two decades, they are openly rebuilding.
And to be honest, it’s hard to know exactly how to handle it. The Chiefs have been a certain kind of team for so many years — a team looking to reach the playoffs on the momentum of sellout Arrowhead crowds and veteran duct tape — that you get conditioned to it. It’s like the same drive to work for 20 years. You know how long the traffic lights stay red. You learn which potholes need to be avoided.
Well, all that’s changed. For one thing, the Arrowhead sellout crowds are gone. More, this Chiefs team is suddenly a blur of unfamiliar names (Barksdale! Cox! Flowers!) and uncertain expectations. How much can you expect from a team with a starting quarterback who has never won an NFL game? How good can this defense be after losing the NFL’s sack leader? What are realistic expectations for a team counting on so many young players?
No easy answers. Everything seemed pretty promising at training camp, with everyone bursting with enthusiasm, with Chiefs coach Herm Edwards seemingly in awe of the speed and talent of the young players, with the offense finally seeming to have a purpose again after two years in the Solari Wilderness.
Then on Saturday, Miami destroyed the Chiefs 24-0, and even though the game was as meaningless as any other preseason game, Kansas City was so bad that it was impossible to have much hope afterward.
So, for that reason alone, Thursday’s early domination felt cathartic, even if it was against backups. Hey, you take what you can get. The Chiefs’ starting defense destroyed the Rams’ offensive fill-ins. Longtime Chiefs starter Trent Green returned to throw one pass. It was rushed, it was incomplete, and he hit the showers.
And the Chiefs’ offense simply plowed over the Rams’ reserves. Rookie running back Jamaal Charles looked like Gale Sayers. He picked up big yards on a reverse. He rushed through a giant hole and gained 13. He got stopped in the backfield, did a little dance, broke away, raced outside, outran defenders, it was too easy.
“He’s probably one of the fastest football players I’ve ever been around,” Brodie Croyle said. Is that a bit of overstatement, considering he did it against Rams who either will be sitting on benches or doing real jobs this autumn? Probably. But it’s going to be a long year. Let him enjoy.
There were some other positive signs too — if you care about positive signs in silly games like this. The offensive line, after last year’s fiasco, did look more together. The defense showed some speed and went after the quarterback.
And Croyle, the Chiefs’ young quarterback, looked pretty good against the Rams’ scrubs. Everyone is watching Croyle, of course, looking for the slightest positive signal, and he hit three of four passes, and on one he showed some nice patience as he waited for his receiver to get open. Yeah. It might be tougher against New England next week.