The Longest Yard

“I know from past history if we can get something positive to happen and start to get a little confidence and go forward that way that’s our only chance of success” – Chiefs’ head coach Todd Haley – 10/05/09.

Amen to that.

On Sunday a beleaguered Kansas City team will host the Dallas Cowboys. The 0-4 start of the regular season –combined with the 0-4 pre-season mark– has made the overall record of first-time head coach Todd Haley a not so appealing 0-8 tally. Needless to say, just about everyone has a solution for the Chiefs’ woes. I can only affirm it’s a good thing that the Giants showed the way.

No, not the same New York Giants that dismantled K.C. this past weekend. I’m talking about the Little Giants; yes, the ones from Urbania…

Right now, Todd Haley’s got his hands full. I cannot provide the true words that are being said inside the facilities because I’m not there, but I can notice that things are getting testy outside Arrowhead Stadium. Fans and media are showing signs of impatience by being unable to perceive any symptoms of rhyme and reason in the performance of the Chiefs. So far, that has been the brand of the ‘09 squad: they have been consistently inconsistent, and that has stalled their progress.

In their defense, I won’t trace the regressions to a lack of effort. I’ll maintain that thought because I’m sure of such. You don’t happen to lose 800-plus pounds of collective weight in the off-season on magic alone; that’s the byproduct of hard work –or running, if you want to look at it that way. Unfortunately, the real problem it’s a matter of nature; residing in the fact that the road that it’s being travelled is a slower one.

Rookie head coaches always face an uphill battle. But those who come from the offensive side of the ball confront a more difficult task than those who hail from the protective side. The reason? Defensive-minded coaches are accustomed to work with units. Literally. You could diagram a successful offensive play with a minimum of participants, whereas a perfect scheme on defense could be broken if one player misses an assignment. There has to be reliability and accountability on every single move. That’s why the men that run said entities pay so much attention to detail; that’s why they have a relatively quicker formula to establish T-E-A-M-S; and that’s why the odds are on their side to pull that off.

In this decade alone, the names of Belichick, Cowher, Dungy, Coughlin and Tomlin, all former defensive coaches, have ruled the NFL landscape, while so-called offensive gurus like Brian Billick and Jon Gruden obtained Lombardi trophies by keeping their incumbent defensive cores intact. It’s no coincidence, and Josh Daniels’ breakout season is the exception to the rule.

On the other hand, in order to achieve instant impact, offensive-minded head coaches have two choices: they either get dominant playmakers that could strike faster than lightning (think Dick Vermeil and Marshall Faulk); or they institute mauling offensive lines that will help them control the trenches (think Joe Gibbs and the Hogs). That depends on specific trails within each personality, the main quality that will make the ends meet at the end of the day, and the thing that will help shape the identity of a team for good. Todd Haley is in search of that.

But translated to the Chiefs, both alternatives appear far from the horizon. As most of us have witnessed, the talent pool in Kansas City’s roster seems limited. Proof of that is the constant turnover on the depth chart. Coach Haley has tried to overcompensate that problem by allowing himself to be creative (read: Wildcat, Larry Johnson), while in hindsight, he should have stuck with laying the foundation. Times filled with doubt call for assertive answers, and that means going back to basics, taking me to the aforementioned Rick Moranis‘ movie.

The smallest, yet the most important feat in professional football is gaining a yard. It is what makes a team productive; it is what separates contenders from pretenders; it is what prevented Tennessee from winning a Super Bowl; and it is what made winners out of the Little Giants. Just like Danny O’Shea’s team, the Chiefs need a boost to their confidence; improvement is attainable and the way to do so is by collecting a single yard.

They just need to convince themselves that they can move the ball, not as the residual of a broken sequence but as the result of a designed attack. That will give them a cause, and that will bring them together. Just once this season, I want to see Larry Johnson plowing through the middle, shaking off a tackle, and leaving everything he’s got while reaching for three feet. Maybe, just maybe, the key for the Game That Never Was will be to obtain the Measure That Has Always Been.

Of course, it won’t come for free. It will require attitude, it will require determination, and most certainly, it will require effort. After all, it all starts with the longest yard; the one that is pursued.