Going for two failed Chiefs fans
The Chiefs/Chargers game wasn’t televised here yesterday, so I didn’t see most of it. But CBS (I think?) switched to coverage of that last :51 of the game, right as Kansas City was down by 7 and pushing to score. They did score a touchdown on a Tyler Thigpen pass to Tony Gonzalez, and I settled in for the overtime that was sure to come after the extra point was kicked.
But then…Thigpen and the rest of the offense stayed on the field. They lined up to go for a two-point conversion to win the game, and it failed. Another loss for those hapless Chiefs.
Some people liked the move - Jason Whitlock defended it in his column, and a majority of KC Star readers said in a poll (on that page) that they would have gone for two, too. Whitlock writes:
The Chiefs’ single mission this season is improvement. As fans, we should have two missions: 1. Improvement; 2. Securing a draft pick high enough to pluck the best quarterback in the 2009 draft (Ball State’s Nate Davis if we’re lucky).
For the third week in a row, the Chiefs demonstrated dramatic improvement without jeopardizing a shot at the league’s No. 1 pick. Only the irrational would argue the Chiefs aren’t making progress.
I agree with Whitlock when he talks about how the Chiefs showed improvement in this game, and KC fans should be encouraged by the performance of all the replacements who have had to take the field this year. And normally I do love aggressive, play-to-win moves, and I like the bullheaded winner’s mentality that drives someone to never settle for playing for a tie.
However.
HOW. EVER.
The 2008 Chiefs are not winners, not so far. They have one win, and seven losses. They’ve been in very few situations where overtime is even a consideration, and when you’re one of the most win-starved teams in the country you should not throw away an opportunity for a non-loss on one play. It’s not fair to the Chiefs and their fans.
Like I said, I like playing to win, but only if you’re a winner. I don’t fault Tom Osborne for going for two in 1983 when his Cornhuskers were looking for a national title. He’s Tom freaking Osborne, and he had Turner Gill under center. That was a football team going for a big title, not one mired in suckitude and a revolving door of no-name replacement players.
Chiefs fans are calling for coach Herm Edwards to be fired, and given how trendy it is to fire NFL coaches these days, they might get their wish yet this season. Given that circumstance, and all the uphill battles the team is facing with their on-field personnel, Edwards should play to not lose, and let the rest sort itself out. This Chiefs team under his leadership hasn’t earned the right to go balls-out and play to win. If they say they’re not struggling, it’s either a lie or a sad heap of denial.
The Chargers were a somewhat superior team on Sunday, and the Chiefs should be applauded for hanging in there as long as they did. But going for two was a fool’s move; it was a bunch of losers trying to act like winners without actually winning anything first.
And don’t get me started on Whitlock’s comments about “not jeopardizing a shot at the league’s No. 1 draft pick.” COME. ON. Bill Simmons made up a name for this loser mentality, and it’s called Fantanking. I hate the thought of ever rooting against your team for any reason. Rationalize it all you want with thoughts of next year’s draft, but to me you’re still just booing your own guys. What’s noble about that?
Besides, there’s no way the Chiefs get next year’s No. 1 draft pick. That would suggest that the Lions win, ever, and we all know that ain’t gonna happen.