Chiefs staff changing, but it will take talent to win

The past week has been eventful for what has happened off the field with the Chiefs.  First, defrocked Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was named offensive coordinator, then on Thursday coach Todd Haley made it official that former Browns head coach Romeo Crennel would take over as defensive coordinator a year later than Haley had a originally hoped. 

Haley says he’s not through reshaping his staff and he says he plans for former defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast to still be a part of the coaching staff.  He’s now surrounded by two former coordinators from the Patriots Super Bowl years, but how will that transfer in Kansas City with less talent t work with?

Crennel told reporters he would continue with the plan to use a 3-4 base defense but would be flexible in mixing and matching game plans and talent.  That’s a positive first step.  Now it’s time to get into the film room.  Decide who to keep and who goes and start planning for the draft.  

Priorities from my point of view are offensive line and linebacker and I think there’s a good likelihood the Chiefs will trade down in the first round if given the opportunity.  

When will baseball admit they're guilty?

So Mark McGwire has admitted that he took steroids. Is anyone surprised?  Sooner or later he was going to come around to the truth.  The question for me is when will baseball come around to the truth?

I’ve listened to the arguments of players, some of them Hall of Famers who say McGwire and others like him should never gain entry into the Hall because they cheated when other players didn’t.  Excuse me?  Players have been cheating in baseball in one form or another for over a century and it hasn’t kept them out of the Hall of Fame.  McGwire was a home run hitter before he ever took a steroid.  He hit 49 home runs as a rookie.

Steroids revived his career and helped him overcome injuries and may well have helped him hit the ball farther, but first he had to hit the ball.  Steroids don’t make you a better hitter.  That’s a natural gift.

Look, I’m not condoning what McGwire and others did, but baseball has to come clean and admit they aided, abetted and supported the steroid era.  When baseball was at it’s lowest and still trying to recover from the strike of 1994 that wiped out the World Series, McGwire and Sammy Sosa pulled fans back to the game with their home run chase of ’98. 

Commissioner Bud Selig and Major League knew they were on steroids then and did nothing because what they were doing was good for the game.  They still won’t admit they were complicit and instead want to throw the players that saved the game under the bus.

I remember being at Wrigley Field for the last weekend of the season with Sosa still trying to catch McGwire.  It was a magical atmosphere I’ve never seen matched at a ball park.  In many ways, McGwire and Sosa saved baseball.  Was Big Mac wrong in taking steroids, yes and so were the hundreds of other players who took them but have never been outed or admitted it.  

The steroid era was an ugly time in the sport of baseball, but it existed and baseball needs to acknowledge it’s part in it.  If they don’t, the Hall of Fame will be voided of the most of the greatest players over a twenty year period because of a stain that is never allowed to go away.

Playoffs first weekend interesting, but rarely exciting

The first weekend of the NFL playoffs weren’t all that exciting save for the Green Bay- Arizona shootout in the desert.  What can you say about Kurt Warner.  He may be 38 but he’s still one of the best in the business when he’s on his game.  The problem for the Cardinals is with that defense he’ll have to be on his game all the time next week when they take on the Saints.

Rex Ryan said four weeks ago his teams playoff chances were dead.  After making the playoffs he said they should be the favorites in the AFC.  The fact they can run the football as well as anyone and play top notch defense is the reason they bounced the Bengals Saturday.  That and the fact rookie QB Mark Sanchez was good, efficient and stayed calm in his first playoff game.  

This week the ante gets upped as the Jets travel to San Diego, a team that hasn’t lost since long before the current ice age most of the country has been in.  Playing the Chargers isn’t playing the Bengals.  Philip Rivers isn’t Carson Palmer and even San Diego’s disjointed running game has the talent to move effectively against the Jets.  Sanchez won’t have it as easy in sunny California even if the temps are warmer.

The Cowbys are now the new hot pick for everyone.  Not me.  Before they blew up Philly two weeks in a row, the Eagles were the hot team.  It can change in an instant and Philly had a lot to do with their losses to Dallas.  Jerry’s boys have to go to Minnesota and win on the road against a team that looked like it righted itself in the final week of the season.  The Vikes still have the best running back, a very good defense and Brett Favre.  Tony Romo, until you prove it, you’re no Brett Favre.

Finally, all those folks at ESPN can stop genuflecting toward Foxboro.  The Pats are dead.  They were dead before last weekend and the Ravens proved it by shoving a ground game right up Bill Belichik’s sweatshirt.  Baltimore won a playoff game while throwing for 34 yards because that’s all they had to do.  Run.  Next week it won’t be so easy against the Colts although I give the Ravens a chance to pull this one off.  I just think Manning and the Colts will find a way to eek one out.