GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bobbyhawks]

Well said. I would add that I made a Facebook post as it happened, and I was watching it on TV. It was pretty clear to me that the normal murmur and hush that happens while your hometown QB is out cold was supplanted by cheering, however loud or boisterous. Winston's comments came as no surprise at all to me. I got the same impression that enough people were cheering to make it noticeable from a regular pause after a big gain, and I was watching the broadcast.

Fans are often dumb, but there is no way people are dumb enough to think that Brady Quinn would take snaps on the field in any other scenario than Cassel getting knocked out of the game through injury. I don't care what the justification was or how many people did it. It was uncalled for.

[KC-wildcat]

BTW, if anybody wants to hear angry cheifs fans justify their cheering, the passan interview is on podcast on 610

[KCRoyal]

38-10 smacking from the Bucs.

[AllThingsKC]

This was shown during the game, which is why the total time is an odd amount. But, it still makes a case:

[KCMax]

I think Mellinger nails it here:

Chiefs’ biggest problem isn’t turnovers, it’s the QB

Think about this: according to the Elias Sports Bureau, teams with more yards of offense are winning 65 percent of the time this season, teams with more rushing yards are winning 68 percent of the time, and teams with fewer turnovers are winning 76 percent of the time.

Teams with the higher passer rating are winning 85 percent of the time.

CBS Sports: Pioli offered two-year contract extension

KC Star: No contract extension offered to Pioli

The highlight of the Chiefs season:


Scott Pioli cursing on TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYykQ_NcxOA

[aknowledgeableperson]

Anyone ready for Spring Training yet?

[bobbyhawks]

I think Mellinger nails it here:

Chiefs’ biggest problem isn’t turnovers, it’s the QB

I don't see how you can say that turnovers are not our biggest problem. Cassel's rating is bad precisely because of the INTs, so use of the passer rating stats to prove a point still cycles back to too many turnovers. Also, I think that citing things like passer rating and "elite" QB winning percentages are not helpful to the argument. In other news, starting rotations with multiple Cy Young winners are better than those without. Of course the Chiefs would be better with an elite QB. There are probably 25 teams that would be better with one of the top QBs. It doesn't take a critical analysis to break down a 1-5 team and say that we need better players. If you want to look at why we are bad with the players that we have, our biggest problem (to me) is clearly turning the ball over.

We have the 8th most yards in the NFL, yet we are 30th in points per game. We have the 20th best defense by yardage, yet we are 29th in points allowed per game. If we had a perfect QB, we would still be tied for 11th in the AFC for turnover margin. We are almost exactly 50/50 in turnovers split between INTs and fumbles. This does not factor in how many times our receivers have batted balls in the air to the defender (we have to be on pace to set a record in that category).

Our QB options suck, but we could be winning games this year if we stopped turning the ball over. Our #3 rushing offense is built to run clock and control possession. I get what Mellinger is trying to say, but the headline is misleading. Changing QBs is a means to an end, but it is just one component of what we need to do to limit turnovers (and is really more of a consideration for next season at this point). If a single QB could limit his own turnovers, keep receivers from batting balls in the air, and duct tape the ball to our RBs hands, then I would agree that we have a QB problem only. When I see terrible clock management, bad decisions, no backbone near the end of a half, going-through-the-motions play calling, and a lack of passion outside of criticism of the fans, I don't think there are many QBs who would have us with a winning record this year.

[KCMax]

Our QB options suck, but we could be winning games this year if we stopped turning the ball over.

To what end? A 9-7 record and a first round exit in the playoffs?

[bobbyhawks]

Our QB options suck, but we could be winning games this year if we stopped turning the ball over.

To what end? A 9-7 record and a first round exit in the playoffs?

That would be great. There is no law against drafting a QB or getting one in free agency after a 9-7 season.

The 2010 Seattle Seahawks fans were probably not all that upset they ousted the reigning Superbowl champions after going 7-9. Matt Cassel's QB rating was 20 points higher than Matt Hasselbeck's in 2010, yet Hasselbeck is the one with the post-season victory. They also drafted a QB in the 3rd round after a 7-9 season, and he is having an average season this year. This is the model I would use. Don't reach for a QB if the pick isn't there. Fortunes can change quickly in the NFL, and I think that tanking a season for one player hurts you a lot more than it helps, considering one player will not change your team from worst to first.

[KC-wildcat]

Don't reach for a QB if the pick isn't there.

Trade up in the draft to ensure the pick is there. Or, better yet, keep starting Matt Cassel and we will earn the top draft pick the hard way.

Last 7 Super Bowls have been won by 1st round QBs.

[KCMax]

I'm not saying I want to tank, I'm saying that a lack of a good QB is the biggest reason we aren't winning and aren't going to win. Good teams turn it over too. But they typically don't have have mediocre or lousy QBs.

And you seem to want to get a new QB, so I think we're on the same page.

[chaglang]

They might as well go 9-7, because 2013 is a bad year to need a QB. The draft boards have Geno Smith and Barkley in the top 5, and Logan Thomas and Tyler Wilson in the late 20's. Moving up to take Barkley doesn't seem like a great idea. Brandon Weedon would probably be a top 5 QB is he was in this year's draft.

The free agent QB situation is just as bleak:
1. Matt Schaub
2. Joe Flacco
3. Somebody who doesn't look or sound like Matt Cassel, but will screw you like Matt Cassel.

[KCMax]

They might as well go 9-7, because 2013 is a bad year to need a QB. The draft boards have Geno Smith and Barkley in the top 5, and Logan Thomas and Tyler Wilson in the late 20's. Moving up to take Barkley doesn't seem like a great idea. Brandon Weedon would probably be a top 5 QB is he was in this year's draft.

The free agent QB situation is just as bleak:
1. Matt Schaub
2. Joe Flacco
3. Somebody who doesn't look or sound like Matt Cassel, but will screw you like Matt Cassel.

Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers are just some of the QBs that were not taken in the first five picks.

Matt Schaub and Joe Flacco (less so) would both be huge improvements at the QB position.

[beautyfromashes]

How about Michael Vick? It's said that he might be waived by Philadelphia. I'd love to see Josh Freeman in a Chiefs uniform. He's just average enough that there might be a way to make it happen, but probably not.

[KC-wildcat]

Another little snipit of information.

Starting QBs for 1st place teams.

Giants (Eli - 1st round)
Bears (Cutler - 1st round)
Falcons (Ryan - 1st round
Cardinals (Kolb - 2nd round)

Patriots (Brady - 7th round)
Ravens (Flacco - 1st round)
Texans (Schaub - 3rd round)
Chargers (Rivers - 1st round)

[chaglang]

It's not just the first 5 picks. It's the whole first round. I believe that Roethlisberger and Rodgers were both first rounders. Brady was picked in the 7th by someone who used to be Scott Pioli.

I saw a mock draft in May that had the Chiefs picking Landry Jones at 19. Maybe he's fallen far enough that they pick him up in the second round.

I'd keep Cassel over Vick.

[KCMax]

It's not just the first 5 picks. It's the whole first round. I believe that Roethlisberger and Rodgers were both first rounders. Brady was picked in the 7th by someone who used to be Scott Pioli.

I saw a mock draft in May that had the Chiefs picking Landry Jones at 19. Maybe he's fallen far enough that they pick him up in the second round.

I'd keep Cassel over Vick.

Right. Pick someone in the first round. There will be QBs available.

[chaglang]

The list of projected first rounders is Smith, Barkley, Thomas, and Wilson. Who would you take?

[KC-wildcat]

The list of projected first rounders is Smith, Barkley, Thomas, and Wilson. Who would you take?

Todd McShay lists Barkley and Smith as his two 2, in that order. I'll go with that.

[chaglang]

Someone on Grantland was arguing that, apart from 2 good seasons out of Carson Palmer, USC quarterbacks on the whole have not contributed much to the NFL. Most of that is backed up by players from the Pete Carroll years, but it's worth considering.