Chiefs @ Patriots Live Blog

2008 A.A. Season Preview: Rock Bottom Looking Up

Today is the day. Even though I don’t think we’ll be very good, I do think we have some great building blocks. We also have some gaping holes, but eventually we will fill those. Personally, I’m sick of the TV analysts laughing at us. Today is the beginning of our journey back towards respectability.

The Addict’s Code:

1. “Earn Your Arrowhead.” This does not happen overnight. You have to grind it out and earn that Arrowhead. Coaches, fans, owners, players–everybody. Only a handful of our starters have done this, while most of us fans have. Fans, stop sticking up for the Kris Wilsons and Samie Parkers of the world. Earn Your Arrowhead! Most of us have done more for the Red and Gold than those bums ever will, and we didn’t get rich freeloading off the Chiefs.

2. “Dissent is No Sin.” If we don’t demand greatness from our Chiefs, who will?

3. “Homerism is No Sin.” Some of us just aren’t into the tough love thing.

4. “Different Strokes for Different Fans.” Some of us loved Bobby Sippio, while others stood by Jeff Webb. We all stand by the Red and Gold. Speaking of…

5. “Monogamy.” No affairs. No cheating on your team. Stand by your Chiefs, through thick and thin. No second teams! That’s what fantasy is for.

6. “The Home of the Chiefs!” Win, lose or draw, we gotta keep our rep as the loudest stadium in the NFL.

7. “Sanctuary” Brothers and sisters, when the going gets tough, the Addicts stick together. This is your place to come and vent, cope and, eventually, celebrate.

8. “Team of Rivals.” Debate makes A.A. what it is. Be ready, be respectful, but bring it. Always.

9. “Have a Voice.” A.A. is all about community. You helped us build this house, let’s grow together. Speak up early and often.

10. “Rock Your Red.” Every Sunday. It’s good luck. I got my 2-7 on right now.

Season Predictions:

Adam Best:

Sep 7 - at New England - L - 41-10, Pats put the “B” in beatdown.

Sep 14 - vs. Oakland - W - 17-10, We pull out an ugly one at the “home of the Chiefs.”

Sep 21 - at Atlanta - W - 20-13, It won’t be pretty, but it won’t have to be.

Sep 28 - vs. Denver - W - 21-20, Another one we eek out, this time against the hated Donks.

Oct 5 - at Carolina - L - 27-7, Steve Smith and Moose terrorize are young corners.

Oct 12 - Open -Even Herm can’t squander this lead.

Oct 19 - vs. Tennessee - L - 20-10, I think they get us again–barely.

Oct 26 - at NY Jets- L - 21-17, B-R-E-T-T, Brett, Brett, Brett. Herm drops another does his old squad.

Nov 2 - vs. Tampa Bay - L - 24-13, Tampa Bay will have much more to play for. They’ll show us the trouble with facing Earnest.

Nov 9 - at San Diego - L - 37-14, Payback is a bitch…for us. The “L” streak continues.

Nov 16 - vs. New Orleans - L - 35-20, We will be overwhelmed by Bush, Brees, Colston and Shockey.

Nov 23 - vs. Buffalo - L - 20-15, Coaching will be the difference. Sorry, Hermaphrodites, but it’s better to just have a Dick…Jauron. Freakin’ gutterbrains.

Nov 30 - at Oakland - L - 17-16, JaMarcus and Co. get us in their back yard. Let’s just hope none of our fans get shot or shanked.

Dec 7 - at Denver - L - 21-16, We just don’t get it done out at Mile High.

Dec 14 - vs. San Diego - L - 24-17, The Bolts keep us on the wrong side of the record column.

Dec 21 - vs. Miami - W - 14-13, We win the toilet bowl…by one measley point. Phew!

Dec 28 - at Cincinnati - L - 20-17,Marvin fighting for his job, Bungles playing for a Wild Card spot. That’s the difference.

Final Record: 4-12; Same as last year. Opening day will be tough, because the Pats will be hungry–real hungry. Gunther will fire his guns, but it won’t matter. The other thing I want to point out is that I have us playing better at the end of the season (score-wise), despite the schedule becoming more difficult. I think we will improve, but that won’t be reflected so much in our record. I think our youth, our offensive line and Brodie Croyle will all struggle at times. I’m also not sold on Herm Edwards yet as the coach to bring the Red and Gold back to respectability. Once again, gone by November. we’ll be talking about Josh Freeman and Matt Stafford by Halloween.

Zach Best:

Sep 7 - at New England - L - 34-10, Tom Brady doesn’t need preseason.

Sep 14 - vs. Oakland - W - 21-17, Raiders at home should be win, but it’s a little closer than we would like.

Sep 21 - at Atlanta - W - 24-10, The Falcons are more of a rebuilding project than us.

Sep 28 - vs. Denver - W - 27-17, The Chiefs should be feeling good after three consecutive wins.

Oct 5 - at Carolina - L - 30-10, Too bad we couldn’t catch the Panthers in the first two weeks. Smitty will take it out on our young secondary.

Oct 12 - Open - Hey, at least we can’t lose this week.

Oct 19 - vs. Tennessee - L - 17-14, I can’t wait to see our favorite Cowboys/Vince Young Fan again at Arrowhead.

Oct 26 - at NY Jets- L - 28-17, I once thought this would be an easy win for us. Then the Jets spent money and got a QB.

Nov 2 - vs. Tampa Bay - L - 21-16, Tampa Bay will be fighting for their division and their defense is still very good.

Nov 9 - at San Diego - L - 34-13, I think the Chargers will beat us up this year. At least I have LT on my fantasy team.

Nov 16 - vs. New Orleans - L - 38-20, The Saints could be the highest scoring offense this year and our young secondary might be exposed.

Nov 23 - vs. Buffalo - W - 17-13, This might be a game you will want to go to because it could be the last home win of the season.

Nov 30 - at Oakland - W - 21-17, The Raiders are still a year out from being good again, but then again Al Davis is still there to screw that up.

Dec 7 - at Denver - L - 24-13, Even though I think Denver has little hope of going anywhere this season, I still think they will beat us out there.

Dec 14 - vs. San Diego - L - 21-13, The Chargers don’t beat us as bad as they did in Week 10, but it will be the same outcome.

Dec 21 - vs. Miami - L - 14-13, I thought that this could be an easy win for us, but I think the Dolphins have shown they “ain’t” the Cam Cameron Dolphins.

Dec 28 - at Cincinnati - W - 24-13, The Bengals will be imploding by this time in the season and Marvin Lewis will be looking for a new job soon.

Final Record: 6-10; This is a rebuilding year for the Chiefs and fans should expect lots of up and downs. I think there will be times were we could sneak up on a team like the Chargers, Patriots, or Saints but I think there also could be times were we could lose to the Falcons, Dolphins, or Raiders. This is one of the hardest seasons to predict, but unfortunately we are still another year or so out from competing at the highest level.

CurtMerzFan:

Sep 7 - at New England, 12:00 PM CT L 21-17
Sep 14 - vs. Oakland, 12:00 PM CT W
Sep 21 - at Atlanta, 12:00 PM CT W
Sep 28 - vs. Denver, 12:00 PM CT W
Oct 5 - at Carolina, 12:00 PM CT L
Oct 12 - Open
Oct 19 - vs. Tennessee, 12:00 PM CT W
Oct 26 - at NY Jets, 12:00 PM CT L
Nov 2 - vs. Tampa Bay, 12:00 PM CT W
Nov 9 - at San Diego, 3:15 PM CT L
Nov 16 - vs. New Orleans, 12:00 PM CT L
Nov 23 - vs. Buffalo, 12:00 PM CT W
Nov 30 - at Oakland, 3:15 PM CT W
Dec 7 - at Denver, 3:05 PM CT L
Dec 14 - vs. San Diego, 12:00 PM CT L
Dec 21 - vs. Miami, 12:00 PM CT W
Dec 28 - at Cincinnati, 12:00 PM CT L

I think we will be able to re-establish our home-field advantage this year - particularly because our first two at home in the first six weeks are Oakland week 2 and Denver week 4. I suspect the Faiders will have the same kind of growing pains young teams have on the road - so an early season game in Arrowhead will be tough for them. As to Denver, Shanahan has lost his grip on the locker room, they’re aging and have several holes in their lineup besides the emotional impact of two player deaths in the last 18 months and some gangsta head cases on the team. I expect them to start a free-fall into the cellar soon. We get TN at home in week seven, but we’re notoriously good at home the week after the bye, while Herm and crew will have two weeks to plot and scheme. I also expect us to struggle on the road this year - especially against good QB’s - so NYJ looks like a loss to me. At this point, the rest of them at home are a toss-up as I think we’ll be playing better, but Tampa, Nawlins, Buffalo & Cincy are decent teams with solid defenses - so we’ll see, but I came down on the positive side for us at home. I decided not to project scores for the whole season as there’s too many variables to consider to make that practical.

Steven Hutton:

Sep 7 - at New England, 12:00 PM CT
L Chiefs 17 NE 27
The Chiefs don’t get embarrassed as so many have predicted, but still lose the game due to the experience and athleticism of the best team in Football.

Sep 14 - vs. Oakland, 12:00 PM CT
L Chiefs 10 Raiders 13
Raiders and Chiefs will split, I’ll give Oakland the first one. I’m not too worried about the dough boy Jamarcus Russell-yet

Sep 21 - at Atlanta, 12:00 PM CT
W Chiefs 24 Atlanta 10
Chiefs Win! Chiefs Win! All right, it’s not the super bowl, but it’s the first win of the season. Matt Ryan is less experienced than our Brodie. The battle of two rebuilding juggernauts end with a Chiefs Victory

Sep 28 - vs. Denver, 12:00 PM CT
W Chiefs 31 Denver 28
Chiefs give all their fans a brief glimpse into what they can do when everyone is on the same page. Unfortunately, it won’t last. This will be the largest amount of points the Chiefs muster in the season.

Oct 5 - at Carolina, 12:00 PM CT
W Chiefs 17 Carolina 13
Chiefs pull out a squeaker. No rhyme or reason, just a good old fashion Herm Edwards win.

Oct 12 - Open

Oct 19 - vs. Tennessee, 12:00 PM CT
L Chiefs 10 Tenn. 31
Chiefs wear an ass whippin’ on this one. Jeff Fisher and Titans are on a mission this year. They have a strong D and even Vince Young can a good game every now and then

Oct 26 - at NY Jets, 12:00 PM CT
L Chiefs 24 Jets 27 (OT)
Much hyped game here, Brett Favre, Herm back in NY. Good game, but the Chiefs lose

Nov 2 - vs. Tampa Bay, 12:00 PM CT
W Chiefs 20 TB 9
Battle of FG’s for the most part, John Gruden really isn’t that good of a coach, this will be his last year…can you say Notre Dame?

Nov 9 - at San Diego, 3:15 PM CT
L Chiefs 13 SD 34
San Diego is on a collision course with NE and/or Indy, they won’t look past the Chiefs in this division battle.

Nov 16 - vs. New Orleans, 12:00 PM CT
L Chiefs 21 NO 31
New Orleans will still have some issues on D, but their O is going to be potent this year, watch KC, Hurrican New Orleans is coming through!

Nov 23 - vs. Buffalo, 12:00 PM CT
W Chiefs 17 Buf. 13
Chiefs pull out the upset over the much improved Bills

Nov 30 - at Oakland, 3:15 PM CT
L Chiefs 21 Oak. 24
Yeah I know, I puked a little in my mouth when I realize the Chiefs will get swept by the Faiders. I apologize.

Dec 7 - at Denver, 3:05 PM CT
W Chiefs 28 Den 7
The Chiefs hand the Donkey’s their ass. Making up for the loss earlier in the year, the Chiefs once again show what they will soon become on a regular basis.

Dec 14 - vs. San Diego, 12:00 PM CT
L Chiefs 17 SD 20
Again the Chiefs can’t get LT on the ground and the Bolts are sure not to look past the subpar Chiefs on their way to trying to win a super bowl

Dec 21 - vs. Miami, 12:00 PM CT
L Chiefs 13 Miami14
Good game, however the Chiefs O Line proves once again it needs to be tweeked…or hit with a sledge hammer. Waters and Albert will be the only two starters to return next season, with the Chiefs taking the best Olineman with a top 10 pick in the ‘09 draft.

Dec 28 - at Cincinnati, 12:00 PM CT
L Chiefs 17 Cincy 20
The young Chiefs show heart and grit. With nothing to play for but pride the Chiefs give us hope for next year.

Chiefs 6-10

Eric Crane:

Sep 7- at New England - L - We ain’t ready for Brady. 9-31
Sep 14 - vs. Oakland - W - We dig openers. 13-10 (Croyle 2 picks)
Sep 21 - at Atlanta - W - One of the few worse off than us. 17-3 LJ!
Sep 28 - vs. Denver - L - Cutler makes a statement 7-24 (Croyle Injured)
Oct 5 - at Carolina - L - Delhomie and Smith tear us a new one. 24-10
Oct 12 - Open - Consider this early bye a gift.
Oct 19 - vs. Tennessee - L - Tenn. 2 headed rushing attack beats us 13-21
Oct 26 - at NY Jets - L - Farve beats us again this year, barely. 13-17
Nov 2 - vs. Tampa Bay - L - We can’t beat Chucky and his D. 3-17
Nov 9 - at San Diego - L - SD & LT is tops in AFC West 9-27
Nov 16 - vs. New Orleans - L - Brees picks us apart. 20-6
Nov 23 - vs. Buffalo - W - Beast Mode vs. LJ. A freezing bore. 13-10
Nov 30 - at Oakland - L - Fatso’s Revenge. Croyle returns and loses 0-17
Dec 7 - at Denver - W - Chuckle as we ruin Denver’s wildcard run 17-10
Dec 14 - vs. San Diego - L - LT and co. roll to the AFC West title.
Dec 21 - vs. Miami - L - But in the Tebow sweepstakes we win. 21-24
Dec 28 - at Cincinnati - L - A newly renamed WR has the Bungles playing for a wildcard and we are glad to get this season over with. Thigpen at QB, we get our ass kicked, the score is irrelevant.

Long story short, I’m pessimistic. (Surprise surprise) We go 4-12 again, and again are tied with a few teams like Miami and SF for the almost worst record and lose out on Tebow. But in a surprise move we trade LJ to move up and for 2010 1st with SF. Notice how 13-10 is a popular score…well Herm loves 13-10 games, and encourages them with poor clock management. He also likes thriller movies and not knowing the sex of his children before they are born. If the score is close and the seconds are ticking down, its the only time Herm feels alive (besides smoking Cohibas and horking lines with Carl in his office, talking about hairy UCLA bush back in the 70s.) “Carl, those days were so BOSS!

You play to win the game….barely.

Double D:

Sep 14 - vs. Oakland, 12:00 PM CT W 27 - 14
Sep 21 - at Atlanta, 12:00 PM CT W 24 - 21
Sep 28 - vs. Denver, 12:00 PM CT W 17 - 14
Oct 5 - at Carolina, 12:00 PM CT L 23 - 20
Oct 12 - Open
Oct 19 - vs. Tennessee, 12:00 PM CT L 31 - 27
Oct 26 - at NY Jets, 12:00 PM CT L 34 - 24
Nov 2 - vs. Tampa Bay, 12:00 PM CT L 9 - 6
Nov 9 - at San Diego, 3:15 PM CT L 28 - 17
Nov 16 - vs. New Orleans, 12:00 PM CT L 35 - 28
Nov 23 - vs. Buffalo, 12:00 PM CT W 14-13
Nov 30 - at Oakland, 3:15 PM CT L 27 - 24
Dec 7 - at Denver, 3:05 PM CT L 21-20
Dec 14 - vs. San Diego, 12:00 PM CT W 23 - 13
Dec 21 - vs. Miami, 12:00 PM CT W 24 - 9
Dec 28 - at Cincinnati, 12:00 PM CT W 28 - 0

I’m projecting a strong start and a strong finish based largely on ease of schedule and team development as the season progresses. The San Diego home win comes largely as a result of key injuries for SD.

Addicts, go ahead and give us your game-by-game predictions!

Arrowhead Advantage: It?s Pats

Ten Reasons Why the Chiefs Are Cooler Than the Patriots:

10. Koolaid Maroney can “wash my ass” for what he did to my fantasy team last year. What an idiot that guy is.

9. You guys actually thought Deltha O’Neal would help your secondary? I hope fire extinguishers were included with your purchase.

8. How come your old mascot looks like he’s taking a prison shower? I mean, just look at his facial expression–”ugghhh.”

7. Lamont Jordan. Randy Moss. When your team gets old, bring in the…Raiders? WTF? Don’t worry–they’ll be cancers before too long.

6. Sam Clay Aiken is on your team? I think he preferred the old mascot.

5. Because of Tom Brady’s chokejob in the last Super Bowl, tripping up at the top of any “summit” will forever be known as “pulling a Brady.”

4. Ask Bill Belichick about Cleveland sometime. Or about being Jason Whitlock’s precious “soulmate.”

3. Robert Kraft is an android. Trust me. Nobody looks that fake. Well, besides Cindy McCain and Jerry Jones. He looks like they tried to clone Jimmy Johnson and goofed.

2. The only scandal one of our coaches has ever been involved in was with a KU cheerleader. Can’t blame a brother for beakin’ a hot little Beaker.

1. The two best moments of my life: A.) Rodney Harrison’s knee explodes; B.) Rodney Harrison gets busted for HGH.

A.A.D.Q.: Blog Vs. Boards, Feedback

Too many posts on a blog? What’s next…

Too many girls/guys that want to date you?

Too many channels on the tube?

Too many beers in the fridge?

Too much money in the bank?

Too many wins for our Chiefs?

In all seriousness, we are always open to feedback, and that’s what this A.A.D.Q. will be about. First, however, let me make a distinction.

The sites that inspired Arrowhead Addict were blogs and sites like Arrowhead Pride, Deadspin, Fanhouse and PFT, along with the coolest and most active film and political blogs. Those sites quenched my thirst for constant news and entertainment, from sunrise to shuteye. Arrowhead Addict was created to provide the same, but for Chiefs fans. A.A. is more Deadspin/PFT for Chiefs fans than it is Chiefs Planet or the Star’s message boards. We are a blog–not a message board.

Nonetheless, this site was created to have the exciting point-counterpoint discussion that begins in posts and leaks into the comment threads. Your comments are the lifeblood of this site. We know that. That’s where you guys take ownership of your site, your Addicthood. Please, please, please–keep it up! We love it.

On the other hand, we reach 1,500-2,000 Chiefs fans a day. That’s not good enough. 80,000 fans pack Arrowhead every Sunday, and at least half of them have access to a computer. Then there are the out-of-towners who can’t make the games. There is definitely room to grow. We want A.A. to be a place Chiefs fans HAVE to check. When they wake up, during lunch, when they get home and before they hit the sack–a handful of times a day, everyday. To do that, we have to provide non-stop quality content, because in the blogosphere “content is king.”

At the same time, because we want to be all things to all Chiefs fans, that is why we have our message boards. To improve our boards, our boards now have a unique domain name that will direct to the Chiefs section–AddictBoards.com. This should be working this afternoon. There is also a “Forums” link at the top of our site that links directly to the Chiefs boards. To help get this going, we are looking for moderators to run the show over there. Drop me a line or reply in the comments if you’d like to become a moderator.

Never fear, we still encourage you guys to comment until your hands hurt, even when it’s off-topic. But our boards are a place where you can start conversations about any topic you want, at any time. So, hopefully by expanding our staff and content, and improving our boards, we’ve addressed this issue and will be one step closer to appeasing everybody. But we still want to know…

What can we do to improve the site? Let us know, Addicts…

24 Hours And Counting?

Am I The only one who can’t wait to see Larry Johnson do this to that prick Rodney Harrison tomorrow? Win or lose, that is one thing I desperately want to see…

More On The WPI Fantasy League

Pretty funny stuff. From WPI:

Earlier this week, a collection of high profile, National All-Stars* from the world of Kansas City Chiefs media coverage gathered together for something we hope will be an entertaining feature during the upcoming season - the first official Warpaint Illustrated fantasy league.

(*Well, that was the plan, at least. Unfortunately, Joe Posnanski was busy writing updates for his blog, and Bob Gretz said something about having to rearrange his sock drawer that evening. Adam Teicher was too busy sticking pins into his Bobby Sippio voodoo doll, and Jason Whitlock – well, he just laughed. Maybe next year, guys!)

Eight members – spanning three popular Chiefs web sites – took part in the 15-round draft. Each week, I’ll be here to chronicle the league before we crown the first WPI fantasy league champion.

For all the rosters of the first ever WPI league and analysis from all eight of us on our picks, head on over to Warpaint Illustrated. If you are a fantasy fanatic, it will be right up your alley. Oh, I also want some feedback as to whether we are going to win or not. After all, that team represents all of us Addicts.

Stray Arrows: Reiss?s Pieces

If you are looking to get up to date on the Patriots before the game this Sunday, check out Reiss’s Pieces blog. That blog is constantly updated and is one of the best mainstream media NFL blogs around. Good stuff.

Chiefs Fix: Week One TGIF

• Brian Waters gives a Strahanesque pre-game speech. - NFL.com

• A rather ridiculous mock preview of our beloved Chiefs. Better bring your sense of humor. - Deadspin

• Again, unless you have a good sense of humor, this one might leave you punching your CPU. It was the Canadian spelling of “defence” and “offence” that made me punch mine.- Epic Carnival

• The Macho Man Dantrell Savage now has Macho Fans. Isn’t it nice to hear that we actually make a difference in their lives every once in a while? - The Star

• Getting you ready for the Pats Pride style. - Arrowhead Pride

• Only 3 receivers, er, 2 1/2 for Sunday’s game? Why not just text Bill Belichick that we won’t be going four wide. - Red Zone

• Brodie Croyle says he’s relaxed. I’m guessing he’s looking California, and actually feeling Minnesota. - ESPN AFC West Blog

America?s Game: The 2010 Kansas City Chiefs

NFL Films presents…

“America’s Game: The 2010 Kansas City Chiefs”

Starring…

DT Glenn Dorsey

TE Tony Gonzalez

Head Coach Herm Edwards

Narrated by…

Paul Rudd (life-long Chiefs fan who narrated Hard Knocks)

…

Rudd: “Back during a woeful 2007 season, the only way most people ever thought future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez would go to a Super Bowl was if he bought himself a ticket. Not Tony. He always believed in the Kansas City Chiefs. Even during that 4-12 season.”

Gonzalez: “You know, a lot of other guys would have demanded a trade. Brett Favre, Jason Taylor, Zach Thomas…a lot of franchise guys changed colors, and wanted to. Not me. I’m Red and Gold for life. I knew that we were going to be there in 2-3 years, and I also knew I still had a lot of football in me. I believed in our young guys and I believed in myself. Still, we had to go to work.”

Rudd: “Go to work the Chiefs did. One of those young guys who went to work with Gonzalez was defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.”

Dorsey: “When I got to Kansas City, we were a 4-12 football team. I wasn’t OK with that. In college I was the best and we were champions. I thought if I could do that again in the pros, I could help the Chiefs be champions, too. It wasn’t always pretty, but that’s how it worked out. 11-5, four blood-and-guts playoff wins on the way to the Lombardi Trophy. We did it.”

Things got pretty heated over the past couple days around here. That’s why I wanted to do this post. Two nights ago, I couldn’t sleep. I turned on the tube to the NFL Network and saw America’s Game: The 2007 New York Giants. At that point, it really hit home that we all want the same thing. We want our guys to hoist up the trophy, have the parade and end up on that show. If the 2007 Giants can do it, so can the 2010 Chiefs. The show might not mean anything to many of you, but it has special meaning to me.

When I lived in Los Angeles, my day job was doing DVD quality assurance for the studios. As one of our lab’s biggest sports fans, I got to test almost the entire series of America’s Game before anybody anywhere got to see it, including America’s Game: The 1969 Kansas City Chiefs. Man, was it great to be one of the first people to see that. Martin Sheen narrating the show featuring Jim Lynch, Len Dawson and Willie Lanier. Just awesome.

At the same time, it made me sad to think that it was the same year as Woodstock, that it was basically a decade before I was born. Then I watched all the Super Bowls that the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos , Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers–all teams I hate, and hate with a passion–have made since then. It really made me long to see our boys make it to the Promised Land, for the first time in my lifetime, then truly relish the moment NFL Films style. It’s something I need, like Mangino and his custom-ordered belts.

I think we all want to see that happen. Some of us support our team by being the 13th man on these here Interwebs, remaining eternally optimistic. Others (like yours truly recently) like to practice tough love when it comes to our Chiefs. And then there are others who offer a mixed bag of compliments and criticism. All of us approach our Chiefs different, and those approaches are magnified when you write for a publication or website, especially one with such passionate readers.

I’m currently reading a book called Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe surrounded himself with people who had distinctly different points of views, and did so on purpose. He didn’t want a cabinet of “yes men”–he wanted sharp people who spoke their minds and disagreed with him. Hell, one of them even called him “Ape.” The concept was that all of America would be represented by this Team or Rivals.

That’s what I am trying to do with the staff here at Arrowhead Addict. I want all of Chiefs Nation to be represented. I also am a stubborn, bull-headed, opinionated bastard, one who marches to the beat of his own drum. I know that my views don’t always reflect the majority of Chiefs Nation. That’s not a bad thing, as long as all of Chiefs Nation is represented. I think we’re now accomplishing that here at A.A.

Remember, no matter what our opinion is of our team’s plan or progress, we are all interested in the same result–a Super Bowl. Whether we believe in Brodie Croyle or not, we all believe that by the end of the year we are going to be much closer to finding our franchise QB, one way or another. We all believe that we have a good young nucleus in the Brandons, Derrick Johnson, Dwayne Bowe and Glenn Dorsey. We all know that with guys like those, and vets who still have a lot in the tank like Larry Johnson and Tony G., that it is easier to find what we don’t have than the rare pieces of the puzzle we already hold. We all know that if Herm Edwards doesn’t take us there, that Clark Hunt will bring back a Bill Cowher or Marty Schottenheimer–or both!–to finish the job. We all know that, for the most part, we are finally moving in the right direction and will eventually get to our goal.

So, let’s not harp on whether we are cheerleady or critical, passive or pessimistic, “reach for the stars” or “set the bar low.” We all have our own ways of supporting our team, whether it is demanding excellence or providing steadfast support. We all have our eyes on the same prize…seeing re-runs of America’s Game: The 2010 Kansas City Chiefs at 4 AM when we can’t sleep.

A.A.D.Q.: 2008 LVP & MVP?

Let’s predict Chiefs‘ 2008 Least Valuable Players and Most Valuable Players. I’m going to go with Brodie Croyle over Damion McIntosh and Pat Surtain for LVP, and Derrick Johnson for MVP in a close call over our triplets–Dwayne Bowe, Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez.

Addicts, who are your 2008 Chiefs’ LVPs and MVPs?

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