Whitlock: Someone should pay for Chiefs’ sorry showing
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star
Pregame reports suggested Oakland coach Lane Kiffin would be fired for losing to the Chiefs.
After Sunday’s debacle, a similar win-or-else mandate might await the remaining coaches on Kansas City’s schedule. Which begs an obvious question:
If losing to the Chiefs is a fireable offense, what should the penalty be for assembling the worst team in football?
The worst-team-in-football distinction is no longer debatable. Not after the three-hour comedy routine the Chiefs performed Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. The NFL should consider moving the rest of the Chiefs’ games to the evening and calling their contests “Sunday Night Live.”
The whole country needs to be treated to practice-squad receiver Marques Hagans running the option. Yeah, the Chiefs ran the option on Sunday with Hagans at quarterback and Jamaal Charles as the pitch man. I swear on Barry Switzer’s beloved wishbone!
Of course it didn’t work. Nothing the Chiefs tried worked. Not Hagans. Not Tyler Thigpen. Not Damon Huard.
Demolished 23-8 by an Oakland squad in chaos, it’s clear now the Chiefs have returned to their 1970s gory era. Which begs another obvious question:
What is Clark Hunt going to do about it?
What we witnessed and experienced Sunday calls for immediate action. From start to finish, game day was a miserable ordeal. Getting to a parking space was a major hassle. Getting inside the stadium was an obstacle-course adventure. The timing of Arrowhead’s rebuilding couldn’t be worse.
Once inside and seated, the day turned even uglier. The Raiders, with a coaching staff in conflict and a quarterback incapable of operating a passing game, outclassed the Chiefs from kickoff until the final whistle.
Despite the final score, this was Missouri vs. Nevada. Don’t be fooled by the fact that Kansas City was within one score late in the fourth quarter. The scoreboard never told the story of this game. The stat sheet did.
With no threat of a passing attack, the Raiders rushed for 300 yards, and most of the ground damage was done by Oakland’s second- and third-team backs, Darren McFadden (164) and Michael Bush (90).
The Chiefs were outmanned and out-toughed. Herm Edwards, Chan Gailey and Gunther Cunningham, who pride themselves on their ability to coach tough football teams, will be on “Vince Young” watch this week.
Toss out Damon Huard’s 15-yard scramble, and the Chiefs answered Oakland’s running game with 40 yards in 18 carries. Huard, filling in for Brodie Croyle, left the game in the first quarter after suffering slight head trauma.
The Raiders beat the Chiefs with Kansas City’s game plan.
Yeah, the Chiefs wanted to run the ball, stop the run, play field-position football and wait on JaMarcus Russell to hand them the game.
“We didn’t get any of those things accomplished,” Edwards acknowledged. “They came out and knocked us off the ball and ran the ball down our throat. We got embarrassed at home in our home opener.
“We’re a much better team than that.”
I’m not so sure. The Raiders are the worst team on Kansas City’s home schedule. The Falcons and the Bengals are terrible, but they get the Chiefs at home. It’ll be a miracle if the Chiefs win four games. Losing 16 is a possibility.
Kansas City doesn’t have a quarterback, a reliable offensive line or a defensive unit capable of slowing a telegraphed running game.
JaMarcus Russell never batted an eye at a second receiver on Sunday. He probably couldn’t identify an Oakland secondary receiver in a police lineup. The few times Kiffin asked Russell to throw the ball, Russell instantly locked on to his primary receiver and then threw wildly. He completed six of his 17 attempts for 55 yards.
To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.
