When the schedule was released for the 2011 season, I was excited. Call me crazy, but I was looking forward to the five game stretch where the Chiefs faced five playoff teams from 2010. Four of those five appearing in their conferences' championship game, and two in the Super Bowl. This was the sort of stretch that would be a great indicator of just where the Chiefs are as a team; a determination of actual playoff hopes. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, and that was exactly the challenge the Chiefs would be taking on during their quest for a repeat AFC West title. I believed the Chiefs were up for it.
As we are in the thick of that same five game stretch, I now find myself indifferent. The litmus test that could determine if the Chiefs were true contenders or not is now just a five game stretch between those teams and backups.
The Chiefs team we have seen this season is not the true Chiefs team.
The team we see before us are replacements, subs, fill-ins, backups, second-stringers, and any other synonyms you want to pull out of the thesaurus of sports. What we are left with in many key positions of this team are the worst-case scenarios (Sabby Piscitelli). This is not the same team I was excited about before the season began, this is just what we are left with.
Before the season, I saw the matchups during the five game stretch and imagined the hype that these could warrant. Matt Cassel returning to New England and Jamaal Charles running attack going against Tom Brady's passing prowess. Eric Berry coming off his first pro bowl measuring himself against the veteran safety Troy Polamalu and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tony Moeaki facing Jermichael Finley in a battle of top tight ends, and Matt Cassel going against the gold standard that is Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay. I could have mentioned Jamaal Charles in all these matchups, but it would be redundant considering every Chiefs fan in the world realized how much he meant to the offense. And if you think I am giving Matt Cassel too much credit, remember these were my thoughts heading in to the season. Obviously he under-performed most of our expectations during the time he was healthy this season.
The point I am trying to get across is that, while these matchups couldn't happen and the Chiefs 2011 season is forlorn, there is still hope. That hope is next season. All the players we lost this season will be back in 2012. The true Chiefs will be back, and with another year under the belt of these young players, the team will be better. They will also be helped out with an offseason of free agent acquisitions, and possibly even the drafting of a quarterback in the first round. As long as the Chiefs sure up Dwayne Bowe with a contract, the 2012 to 2013 Chiefs have the ability to be very, very good.
Fans should not give up or even really be upset about this season. Like I said, this is not the real Chiefs playing (although I hope the defense we saw last night is the true Chiefs defense). The real Chiefs will be back next year, and if the front office was smart, so will the coaching staff. Todd Haley is driving a car with junk-yard pieces supplied by an insurance company that was unwilling to spend the money on new or even slightly-used parts.
Give the team a chance. Don't be mad or upset at their performance this year, just think about how exciting next year will be with all the pieces back in place.
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