A fresh start and a new vision | KC Chiefs Fanatic

A fresh start and a new vision

>???????? week, the Chiefs began a new era of football in Kansas City.

As many among the Chiefs have said, it’s a new day and a new dawn at Arrowhead.

Those phrases have been bounced around repeatedly this off-season around Chiefs Nation, and they sound pleasant to the ear, but what does it really mean for the average fan of the team?

Will we see an much-improved ball club right from the start? Doubtful.

How about a late-season playoff run? Don’t hold your breath.

In my mind, those phrases mean that the Chiefs should be a very entertaining team this fall at the very least. Gone are the days of watching old an ineffective veterans stay out on the field when they should be collecting their pensions. No longer will we be forced to suffer through tearful press conferences with the head coach sobbing through an explanation of why a terrible player deserves another chance.

Instead we’ll be treated to the fun of watching a group of enormously talented but inexperienced young players line up for the Chiefs. While many fans might harbor some fear of the unknown with the team’s new youth movement, I think those qualms will be put to rest pretty quickly once they get a chance to watch these guys play the game for real. Names like Dorsey, Albert, Flowers, and Morgan will quickly take the place of departed veterans, and will be rolling off the tongues of even the average Chiefs fan by mid-August, once the Chiefs start grinding through their pre-season schedule.

With that in mind, you might be wondering aloud if anything will remain constant for the Chiefs this season. Let me be the first to tell you what it will be:

No one’s job is safe.

If a player takes a play off, or they’re not willing to do all the little things the team needs to win, they’ll find themselves warming the bench in two seconds flat. There is a unspoken zero-tolerance policy for anyone caught slacking off, and after suffering through nine straight losses to end last year with a 4-12 record, that is exactly the type of discipline this team needs in my opinion.

This week gave the Chiefs coaches their first opportunity to take a look at their outstanding draft class of a month ago, including first round picks Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert. While it’s way too early to draw any predictions for their play this season, both Dorsey and Albert have quietly and quickly assumed the mantle of leadership that was placed upon them by default when the Chiefs selected them #5 and #15 overall in the first round of last month’s draft. That alone, speaks volumes about their character in my mind, and it will be exciting to see them line up for real later this summer.

This week also marks the beginning of a difficult time for Chiefs fans. Some might say that it can’t get much worse than it was last season, but I think that it’s going to get rougher around Arrowhead before it gets better, as the Chiefs will be going through a period that every rebuilding team goes through with the struggles of having inexperienced youth across the board at key positions.

There will be many times this fall where fans will have to stomach the defense giving up a big play, or Brodie Croyle making a bad decision with the ball. But that being said, this team will be better because of those hardships. They will make their mistakes together, learn from them together, and adjust their play accordingly together on the field.

That alone is reason enough for optimism if you ask me. Last year it seemed as though no one on the team was willing to admit to a mistake, and it cost the team in the standings down the stretch. But that was then, and this is now. There’s new breed of player in Kansas City, and the team will reap the benefits now and in the future.

Herm’s overall goal this season with the Chiefs is not to win a Super Bowl. He knows that those kind of lofty expectations could do more harm then good with a team this young. It’s much better to start them out with little or no expectations and let them grow into their roles on the team.

His main objective is to mold and shape this group of players into a team of hungry and determined young players who have been through tough spots and know how to win football games when it matters. That is how teams win championships. They win them with guts and outstanding individual determination, but they also remain focused on the team’s mission and put aside their own interests in favor of the common good.

It may not happen right away. It may not even happen by the 2009 season. But be patient Chiefs fans. Our time will come very soon. Herm Edwards is building a real team in Kansas City, a team we can all be proud of at the end of the day, win or lose. And despite what many fans might tell you in the heat of an argument, that is all that really matters.

Play hard, play tough, and make the fans proud.

Those are my words of wisdom for the new generation of Chiefs taking the field in Kansas City this week. And after taking a good look at their character both on and off the field this week, I have no doubt that they’ll do their best to live up to them.Um teilzunehmen, werfen Sie einen $ 1 http://www.poker-hause.de/wie-man-zahlt-poker-turniere-sieg.html Jeton in den Schlitz oberhalb des Ante Kreises vor Ihrem Sitz.

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One Comment

  1. Posted June 1, 2008 at 6:50 pm | Permalink

    Awesome site! I appreciate the linkage! I’m just starting to build up my NFL team pages and I put you down as the first link partner for the Chiefs. With that I’ll be sure to add your stuff to the NFL Jabber when I take a look around the web.

    Thanks,
    Lee

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