Not much is guaranteed this Chiefs season. But every Sunday morning, without fail, Coach Herm Edwards will get down on his knees and ask God for two things.
His requests never change. They're nothing like the wishes muttered in those prayer circles before games or the thanks offered by players who point to the sky after a score. Even though he brings a priest to team meetings every Saturday so he can take communion and he goes to Visitation Parish every Sunday in the offseason, he doesn't expect God to give him what the fans want most.
"God already knows the score before the game's going to be played. He just wants to see how you're going to act afterward," the 53-year-old coach tells The Pitch.
"I've never prayed to win. That's never my prayer. My prayer is to protect both teams. And let me handle the outcome in the right way and control my emotions during the game."
On that last one, God has apparently helped.
There's little to see when TV cameras pan to Edwards on the sidelines between plays. He wears the same stoic look, his eyes intense, his arms crossed, his lips pursed, his eyebrows stuck upward. It doesn't matter if the Chiefs are winning or losing — Edwards' expression always looks as though he has just clocked in at an insurance-agency job.
It makes you wonder what Herm Edwards is made of.
He never throws something, Bobby Knight-style. He doesn't cry after victories, like Dick Vermeil. He doesn't issue a red-faced scolding to problem players, the way Marty Schottenheimer did.
Edwards knows fans hate him for his conservative streak.
He says he doesn't care what the fans think. But then, he also knows he has to win — something he's never been particularly good at as a head coach.
Earlier this month, Edwards said November would determine whether his team could make the playoffs. Then the Chiefs dropped three in a row.
The dark wood paneling in Edwards' office gives the room a stately feel, like a dean's office or a smoking room. The paneling, however, also makes it feel as lonely as an empty library.
Edwards says fans don't like him because they haven't signed on to his philosophy. He has a simple goal: Score 24 points a game.
The philosophy can be infuriating to anybody who wishes the Chiefs were still a high-scoring team — a reputation that goes back to legendary coach Hank Stram, who put up 30 points or more six times in his first season. The high-powered offense continued with Joe Montana as quarterback and under coaches Schottenheimer and Vermeil. The Chiefs were exciting to watch in those days, but Vermeil lost his only playoff appearance, and Schottenheimer went 3-7 in the postseason.
When Edwards' teams score 24 points, they usually win. In his 112 games as a head coach, his teams have scored 24 or more points 38 times. Edwards has won three-quarters of those games.
But there's a reason that others haven't bought into his philosophy: Rarely — only about a third of the time — do his teams score 24 points. This year, the Chiefs have managed it only twice.
Edwards knows results aren't coming fast enough for Chiefs fans. "They like going to Las Vegas and gambling," he says. "We have a tendency to live in a society where 7-Eleven is much more convenient than going to the grocery store and standing in line. Because it's quick. We don't have patience in this society ... and I'm a very patient man."
Edwards sits alone in front of the flat-screen TV that dominates his desk. Several secretaries outside his office chat over a Tupperware container of oatmeal cookies. It's October 31, the Wednesday before the Chiefs play Green Bay, and Brett Favre is on the TV, his arm ready to fire a bullet of a pass. Edwards realizes he doesn't have a Favre on his team. One reason that fans haven't liked him in Kansas City, he says, is because of his aging offense.
Showing 1-6 of 6
I don't give a crap how "conservative" they want to play most days, but it doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere. If someone thinks Huard has a problem then get him out of his own head. I remember back when Pete Stoyanovich played with the team and close to his last year he was pretty much the only reason the team scored at all, but there were those who dogged him unmercifully when he missed a FG. He had to take up the slack for what his team mates couldn't do, but it seemed like that the thinking of other people that he'd "lost" the game destroyed his confidence. This is a similar scenario, when a player doesn't have some confidence in his own ability or the ability of his team mates to protect him or complete the plays it take a toll.
My last pet peeve regarding Herm or any of the other "running game" afficiondos. There's nothing that chaps my hind more than seeing just a few seconds on the play clock and watching the QB make some lame assed lateral toss! PLEASE, at least act like we want to win! Throw a Hail Mary! What have we got to lose? At least when the dust settles it would look like we tried to win rather than got in the "we just lost another game" mind set and only did as much as it took to get off the field.
I don't give a crap how "conservative" they want to play most days, but it doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere. If someone thinks Huard has a problem then get him out of his own head. I remember back when Pete Stoyanovich played with the team and close to his last year he was pretty much the only reason the team scored at all, but there were those who dogged him unmercifully when he missed a FG. He had to take up the slack for what his team mates couldn't do, but it seemed like that the thinking of other people that he'd "lost" the game destroyed his confidence. This is a similar scenario, when a player doesn't have some confidence in his own ability or the ability of his team mates to protect him or complete the plays it take a toll. My last pet peeve regarding Herm or any of the other "running game" afficiondos. There's nothing that chaps my hind more than seeing just a few seconds on the play clock and watching the QB make some lame assed lateral toss! PLEASE, at least act like we want to win! Throw a Hail Mary! What have we got to lose? At least when the dust settles it would look like we tried to win rather than got in the "we just lost another game" mind set and only did as much as it took to get off the field.
If you've been saving your change for a concert you want to see make sure that your destination is not the new Sprint Center.
This was one of the worst venues I've ever seen a show at. My friend spent 300$ on tickets and I'll eventually go threw the list of what that got us.
For now I'd just like to say why the fuck did they shut down Sandstone that was one of the last venues were people could actually go and get the real concert experience. Sprint had security every five feet, which is fine if you live in World War II Germany. On top of that it was evident the security had not been trained on restraint.
I witnessed a young girl get thrown to the ground cause she was dancing in one of the isle's and having a good time. She was not annoying anyone just getting what she thought she had paid for. Of course the boyfriend freaked out but security took care of him also he left with a blood covered face.
And you know I'm not even writing this cause I got messed with, nothing happened to me at all other than i was scared to move the wrong way without getting a spotlight shined on me and asked to leave. No, it was more or less the problems I observed. People getting pushed around, belittled, handcuffed, arrested, and bullied.
The best part of the show was when everyone got together inside and started smoking, seeing as how sprint only provides one area to smoke which people poured into a small caged in area outside while it was raining and freezing. Finally we had all drawn together and had said screw this place. It only lasted for about 10 minutes before it was broken up but it was the only time we felt as if we were at a rock show. Boy with all the people who talk about wanting a smoke free environment its was amazing how many people were smoking the smoke cloud reached up into the ceiling and around the corner it was beautiful, sorry non smokers.
It wasn't unlike all these bars going smoke free, then turning right around and investing thousands of dollars for back porch setting s were people can smoke, cause even people who don't smoke when they go to a bar and drink tend to have a cigarette or a cigar.
So a comment to sprint, I urge you not to promote rock shows anymore if you do not understand the importance of the social climate. People go to these shows spending there hard earned money, and don't forget that moneys is fueling your business and without business your nothing. We go and release from the normal work week at whatever jobs we may have to let our hair down and be the Americans we used to be fun and free. Let people live a little in a world were its getting harder to live, without this I see the center going bankrupt in four years from lack of consumer interest.
If you've been saving your change for a concert you want to see make sure that your destination is not the new Sprint Center. This was one of the worst venues I've ever seen a show at. My friend spent 300$ on tickets and I'll eventually go threw the list of what that got us. For now I'd just like to say why the fuck did they shut down Sandstone that was one of the last venues were people could actually go and get the real concert experience. Sprint had security every five feet, which is fine if you live in World War II Germany. On top of that it was evident the security had not been trained on restraint. I witnessed a young girl get thrown to the ground cause she was dancing in one of the isle's and having a good time. She was not annoying anyone just getting what she thought she had paid for. Of course the boyfriend freaked out but security took care of him also he left with a blood covered face. And you know I'm not even writing this cause I got messed with, nothing happened to me at all other than i was scared to move the wrong way without getting a spotlight shined on me and asked to leave. No, it was more or less the problems I observed. People getting pushed around, belittled, handcuffed, arrested, and bullied. The best part of the show was when everyone got together inside and started smoking, seeing as how sprint only provides one area to smoke which people poured into a small caged in area outside while it was raining and freezing. Finally we had all drawn together and had said screw this place. It only lasted for about 10 minutes before it was broken up but it was the only time we felt as if we were at a rock show. Boy with all the people who talk about wanting a smoke free environment its was amazing how many people were smoking the smoke cloud reached up into the ceiling and around the corner it was beautiful, sorry non smokers. It wasn't unlike all these bars going smoke free, then turning right around and investing thousands of dollars for back porch setting s were people can smoke, cause even people who don't smoke when they go to a bar and drink tend to have a cigarette or a cigar. So a comment to sprint, I urge you not to promote rock shows anymore if you do not understand the importance of the social climate. People go to these shows spending there hard earned money, and don't forget that moneys is fueling your business and without business your nothing. We go and release from the normal work week at whatever jobs we may have to let our hair down and be the Americans we used to be fun and free. Let people live a little in a world were its getting harder to live, without this I see the center going bankrupt in four years from lack of consumer interest.
like
dislike
