Welcome to another edition of “Acting Cordial,” where we preview the upcoming game by talking with another blog (it’s been a blog for the opposing team every time so far … weird …) in an attempt to DIG DEEP in the minds of the enemy. Honestly, it’s my favorite post of the week because outside of this mildly redundant intro paragraph, I typically just get to copy and paste text into a CSS editor and then decide which parts of it look better in bold or not. Then I find a funny picture of football players, maybe make a LOL Fart joke on it, and slap it in there as multimedia. I’M A BLOGGING GENIUS!
Anyway, this week we had a non-Bloguin blog reach out to us in Chiefs Command, some conglomerate of a Chiefs blog that was frankly quite mind blowing when I visited. I tried navigating their site and couldn’t work my way around, but I did provide them a little preview about how I thought the Vikings would fare on Sunday. SPOILER ALERT! I pray we’ll lose. You can go visit their site if you wish, or stick around here and read the almost too smart answers that their founder provided for me. We cover Todd Haley being a douche, the Chiefs uniforms, and just how bad it sucks to have everyone of your skill position players go on IR in the first three weeks of the season. ONWARD!
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Purple Jesus Diaries: How short is the leash on Todd Haley after this 0-3 start?
Chiefs Command: I don’t believe Todd Haley is on as short of a leash as the national media or even local sports talk wants fans to believe. There have not really been any signs that ownership (Clark Hunt) is unhappy with Haley. I think most of the talk is simple to have something to talk about. I would be surprised to see Haley fired before GM Scott Pioli.
PJD: How much is the bad start to blame on coaching in KC or on injuries? Or maybe players just sucking in general?
CC: I have never been a fan of blaming losing on injuries, although I will acknowledge losing a starting TE (Tony Moeaki), starting SS (Eric Berry and starting RB (Jamaal Charles) for the season in 3 consecutive weeks, then starting CB (Brandon Flowers) with the dreaded high ankle sprain is a big blow to any team, especially when Berry and Charles are the best two players on the team. Haley has acknowledged that the team’s pre-season ultra-light practices and pre-season play were a bad decision and he has fully taken responsibility for it. The play-calling is atrocious right now. I attribute that to the fact the Chiefs offensive coordinator is an O-line coach. Bill Muir is an entertaining individual, but when do O-line coaches ever succeed as O-coordinators?
PJD: Is Matt Cassel really the answer at QB with all the money tied up in him or are you guys already eying Luck/Barkley in 2012?
CC: I don’t think Cassel is the answer and I don’t think Haley does either. Cassel seems to be Pioli’s guy. Matt Cassel’s contract was extremely front-loaded because the Chiefs were so far below the salary cap floor in 2009 and 2010. With the new rookie contract structure, I would not be surprised to see the Chiefs draft a QB in the first round in 2012, looking for a true franchise QB. That being said, there is no way this franchise would allow the intentional tanking of games to try to get a higher pick. If that happens, Haley and Pioli both will be fired. No doubt in my mind.
PJD: If the Vikings were to wear their throwback uniforms to Arrowhead, how awesome would that be? The Chiefs and old-school Vikings have some of the best uniforms, hands down.
CC: To be honest, I don’t really care much for the throwback uniforms in general. To me, it is simply a way for the NFL to get more money from fans by selling “throwback” merchandise. Now, when I see fans wearing legitimately retro gear… That’s what I find awesome!
PJD: What are some of your key match-ups in this game? Offensively? Defensively?
CC: Defensively – The Chiefs safeties, after the loss of Berry, are horrible… and slow. Anyone matched up with Jon McGraw or Sabby Piscitelli should have a solid chance of success. You can bet the Vikings will find ways to create mismatches. Offensively, there has not been confirmation from the Chiefs, but after halftime in San Diego, it appeared the Chiefs had a completely different approach in offensive play-calling. It may have been changing of the guard, Haley may now be calling the plays himself. If this is the case, I expect to see more down-field shots. I am also worried about LT Branden Albert’s ability to slow down Jared Allen. The Chiefs are already poor against the pass rush, now they will have to plan for one of the best…
PJD: Prediction?
CC: While the Vikings have one of the best RBs and DEs in the game, I was completely shocked the Vikings didn’t make every effort to resign Sidney Rice in the off-season and while Donovan McNabb may be an upgrade over Tarvaris Jackson, he is not very good. In the pre-season, I picked the Vikings to finish last in the NFC North and I picked the Chiefs to win this game. My thoughts on the game haven’t changed. Chiefs 20 – Vikings 17
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Is this guy a wizard? That’s like the smartest prediction I’ve ever heard. Amazing. Will he be right? WATCH AND FIND OUT!! Or, just read the Masturbatory Game Preview on PJD tomorrow where we’ll pretty much predict the same thing. Hurray!
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