It has not been a good week in my football mind. Of course, I am talking about the Penn State scandal. I admired JoePa. As a coach, he had a reputation for holding is players to academic standards as well as moral standards. Under Joe Paterno, Penn State wasn't just a football factory that concentrated solely on the production of football players and championships.
After an astounding 46 years of head coaching, after an astounding 62 years with the same program, after two national championships and five undefeated teams, JoePa was fired.
Now, we're left wondering how much of that reputation was real, if his "Grand Experiment" was really just a sham. This isn't JoePa's first scandal. This wasn't the first time the board of regents had called for his resignation. In 2008 he faced a scandal again dating back years. From 2002 to the time of the scandal, 2008, 46 football players faced 163 criminal charges. It appeared that Paterno's "Grand Experiment" didn't include a moral/criminal clause, only focusing on academics and athletics.
I am torn at the Sandusky scandal. The grad assistant told Paterno and Paterno told the Athletic Director and the President of the University. No one did anything. It was a black eye on the Penn State. Now, it is a whole fist fight. If someone, any one of those four people had gone to the police at the time, this could have been avoided. The kicker? Sandusky wasn't even a member of the coaching staff or employed at all at the university when the grad assistant allegedly witnessed the abuse. Even after that, Sandusky was still given access to PSU facilities.
No. One. Did. Anything.
Now everyone who could have done something years ago has either been fired in disgrace or is on leave after death threats (the former grad assistant, now one of the Nittany Lions coaches). Sandusky is out on bail (and lives next door to an elementary school), and facing charges on the sexual abuse.
Not surprisingly, and barely worth noting in comparison to what is happening off the field, Penn State lost Saturday to a lower ranked opponent.
In depressing news on the field (again which pales in comparison to the above), The Kansas City Chiefs suck.
Even when this team is good (13-3 a few years ago) they suck. Whenever they have a season like their 13-3 seasons, I have the feeling that they won't win against any contenders. Looking at even last season, they didn't face any terribly challenging teams, given that the AFC West is not exactly a strong division. Sometimes last season, I would have wondered how the teams in the division would stand against the SEC. I'd almost take LSU against these guys.
The reason the Chiefs suck this time around? Gregg Easterbrook of ESPN's Page 2 would call it declining football IQ. Going late into the game, Chiefs are down by 10 against the Broncos. Four minutes left in the contest, definitely four down situations. The Chiefs do go for it on fourth down, that's not the stupid part. The stupid part is that Matt Cassell, who the Chiefs, for some reason unbeknownst to many Chiefs fans, is the Chiefs QB of the future, has less than 100 yards. It is the fourth quarter of the contest and your QB of the future has 93 yards passing. Against Denver. Great Lou Holtz's Not Dead Yet Ghost! Kansas City goes four and out. Pass attempt incomplete. Run for 7 yards. Pass attempt incomplete. It is fourth and 3. There are four minutes left in the game. You're quarterback is sucking more than usual. Run. The. Ball. Your running game has been carrying your sorry team throughout the contest. Run. The. Ball. Cassell lines up in a shotgun. I start crying in my beer. Hey, it wasn't an incompletion. Cassell gets sacked for a five yard loss.
How much does Todd Haley make? I will take a fraction of it to coach this team. It is fairly obvious Charlie Weis was the offensive genius behind last year's team. Weis called the plays. Weis made Cassell tolerable.
Weis announced he was leaving for a college head coaching job. The Cheifs still had two games to play last year. The final game of the season and one playoff game. They lost both. They have been even less than impressive on offense than they were last year. Last year they had a great running attack. Cassell, even though the Chiefs were winning, still sucked. They ranked 30th out of 32 teams in passing. Their running attack? 1st. Granted, this year Jamaal Charles, last year's work horse, is injured. But Battle has been showing flashes of above-average-ness.
After Weis announced his eventual departure, Kansas City again choked in the playoffs. Do you know how long it has been since the Chiefs have won a playoff game? I was in high school. Bill Clinton was not yet president, hadn't even had the election. George H. W. Bush was the President of these United States. The last quarterback to win a playoff game for Kansas City? Joe Friggin Montana! Have you seen his latest commercials? Do you know how old Montana is?? The answer to the trivia question is December 199-stinking-3.
The Chiefs have been famous at shackling themselves with mediocre draft picks or not keeping successes (see Jared Allen, who is a sack machine for the Vikings now). Oh, look, Allen just sacked Aaron Rodgers on Monday Night Football to jump into the NFL lead for sacks this season. Hi, Jared! I remember when you wore red and led the league in sacks, too! Hi!
What goes through the Kansas City powers that be on draft days? Take the first round this year. Hmmm, we have a mediocre QB and a GREAT wide receiver. We have an AWESOME running back. Our defense has been suspect, but is improving. Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh---uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. LET'S DRAFT A RECEIVER herp-de-derp!
Yaaaaay, now we have two receivers the quarterback can't hit!
It was announced today that Cassell may be out for the season with a "significant" throwing hand injury. That explains the late game suckitude. Herp-de-Let's Have Our Sucky Injured Quarterback Throw on Fourth Down-FRIGGIN-DERP!!
I'm hoping and praying that the pundits that be (including ESPN's Mel Kiper) are right about Ricky Stanzi. I'm hoping he's the next coming of Kurt Warner and Pretty Boy Brady. I'm hoping he gets in and the Cheifs take off and Cassell gets traded for Bobby Boucher (see: Waterboy).
Here's the problem (yeah, another one). The Chiefs haven't given Stanzi any snaps in practice all year. They haven't had him even think about taking a snap all year. Journeyman Tyler Palko will be the starter next Monday night against New England.
Herp-de-derp.
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