Breaking down the AFC West

[DBroncos4life]

Originally Posted by KCStud

Kent Babb | Crennel can win, depending on what he’s learned from losses
BY KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star

Kent Babb | Crennel can win, depending on what he’s learned from losses

ST. JOSEPH -- He’s backed into a corner now, behind the curtain you see on television, and the Chiefs’ coach is talking about what it’s like when the cameras are off and the charm is gone and his patience has rotted.

Romeo Crennel smiles as he says it. He smiles so often. That salt-and-pepper mustache stretches across his face, and even now, when he’s talking about getting mad and the things that get him there, and boy, you should see it when it happens. And it’s such a strange image that it’s not just Crennel who’s smiling.

“Boom,” Crennel says. “This mild-mannered guy becomes a different animal.”

This jolly, grandfatherly 65-year-old is the Chiefs’ third coach in five seasons, and if you think about it, he probably faces more pressure than either of his predecessors. For the first time in his career, and indeed a rarity in his profession, Crennel inherited not a mess but a gift from his fired predecessor. This is a talented team that doesn’t need building or, really, much maintenance. It needs a man who will let it grow naturally; who’ll just keep the car from flying off the road.

Crennel is the opposite of Todd Haley, whose unusual mood swings and erratic behavior were as much responsible for getting him fired last December as the Chiefs’ 5-8 record. He was unorthodox and creative, and those things are cool and innovative unless they fail. Haley’s way worked for a while, and then it just stopped being effective. The problem was that he was raving so often, the townspeople became numb to his cries of wolf.

Crennel doesn’t get consumed by emotion. And that’s a good thing for this year’s Chiefs. Expectations have been lifted for a team with talent at most every position. The playoffs are a realistic possibility, and a defense Crennel oversaw in two years as coordinator has a chance to emerge as one of the league’s best.

And if those things happen, we will not trace it back to anything Crennel did in training camp, the preseason or once the games begin to count. It will be what he didn’t do that we’ll remember — that this even-tempered coach did his thing and just didn’t screw it up.

This time last year, Haley began implementing an idea. It was different, and he asked his assistant coaches to bear with him. Because players had missed offseason practices amid the NFL lockout, Haley decided to go easy on them during training camp and allow them to ease into regular-season conditioning.

Players sweated and ran, but they did neither as much as they had in previous Chiefs camps. The team went forward, and if coaches and players disagreed with Haley’s idea, no one said anything. Even now, Crennel smiles when asked whether he ever considered approaching his boss and asking whether he was sure he wanted to travel the path.

“Last year is last year,” he says, and that grin makes me think that Crennel was a good soldier a year ago but that, yes, he would’ve done things differently.

Of course, we know how that movie actually ended: Three key players suffered season-ending injuries, quarterback Matt Cassel couldn’t establish rhythm, and the Chiefs just looked bad in a winless preseason and an 0-3 start to the regular season.

Football is a revisionist history kind of game. Coaches try unusual things, and if they work, those coaches are geniuses. If they don’t, the same men are stooges who are late for the unemployment line. Coloring outside the lines brings additional attention, and when it doesn’t work often enough, the football gods are unkind. Few coaches attempted more fourth-down conversions, trick plays and unusual motivational tactics than Haley in his nearly three seasons. In 2010, maybe his aggressive approach helped the Chiefs go 10-6 and win the AFC West. A year later, it was difficult to not blame the same mindset for the team’s failings.

When it came time to find Haley’s replacement, the Chiefs found a steady and experienced man with an office in the same building.

After one practice last week, it was clear that Camp Romeo won’t contain the same wild story lines as last year’s experience. Crennel is going back to what works, what’s proven, what he knows. He says he wants the team to be organized, and he wants players to develop chemistry. And he wants them to work. That’s not groundbreaking or even all that interesting. But it is proven.

His face dripping sweat, Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson says a little custom is just what these Chiefs need.

“He believes in what he believes in,” Johnson says. “He’s an old-school guy, and he’s definitely going to put the hammer down on us.”

So here’s the undeniable fact about Romeo Crennel: His first experience as an NFL head coach was his own failure. The Cleveland Browns were 24-40 in his four seasons, and maybe the reasons were beyond Crennel’s control.

The Browns’ general manager at the time, Phil Savage, drafted poorly and signed free agents that didn’t make an impact. Injuries to key players piled up at an almost laughable rate. Crennel’s teams had losing records in three of those seasons, and after a 4-12 finish, he was fired.

Still, some things were remembered fondly.

“I’ve never seen a team play harder at the end of a season that wasn’t going well,” says Chiefs backup quarterback Brady Quinn, who played for Crennel in Cleveland.

That’s nice and all, but as Haley learned last year, it doesn’t matter the reasons if the wins aren’t coming. The thing you can’t deny about Crennel is that he has the respect and admiration of his team. There’s no starting over, no getting-to-know-you period that so many other first-year coaches endure. The Chiefs know Crennel, and he knows the Chiefs, but with that comes an expectation that the team will succeed immediately. If that doesn’t happen, outsiders will begin whispering that Crennel goes too easy on his players; that he’s too much of a players’ coach and oversees a team that lacks discipline.

Other than the rare occasions he bares his teeth to players, Crennel says he’s going to try it his easygoing way.

“You have to be who you are,” he says.

Of what we know about Crennel, though, here’s what remains a mystery: how much he actually learned from his time in Cleveland. If this is truly going to work, he should now know that, sure, the GM has final say on draft picks, but the head coach has to build teams to fit his vision.

Crennel says he and Scott Pioli have a good relationship, and maybe Pioli even deferred to Crennel in the first round of this year’s draft, when the Chiefs drafted nose tackle Dontari Poe at No. 11 overall. It was a gamble, the kind Pioli doesn’t usually feel comfortable making, but Crennel is a former defensive-line coach who thinks the front seven is the nerve center of an elite team.

He also should have learned from Haley’s mistakes the last two years. In the NFL, gimmicks should be used in moderation, and really, coaches should turn to them only to shake up a team that lacks talent. The Chiefs no longer have that problem, and they no longer have a coach who’ll feel the need to leave his fingerprint on each game, just to prove that he deserves to wear the headset.

Crennel’s responsibilities in training camp and beyond are to keep things simple, to keep players together, to let them do what they do. If he has to do more than that, bad things will have happened. If he’s able to sit back, keep his voice low and maybe even smile, then we’ll know that Crennel has his job figured out — and that he understands precisely what this year’s team needs.

To reach Kent Babb, call 816-234-4386, send email to kbabb@kcstar.com or follow him at twitter.com/kentbabb. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.


Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/28...#storylink=cpy



Interesting when you actually take a coaches surroundings in part of his coaching situation. Romeo was dealt a very poor hand in Cleveland. The fact he had a winning season is astonishing in itself.

lol how many years should it take a coach to get players around him that are worth a ****?

[Stuck in Cali]

Originally Posted by KCStud

Kent Babb | Crennel can win, depending on what he’s learned from losses
BY KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star

Kent Babb | Crennel can win, depending on what he’s learned from losses

ST. JOSEPH -- He’s backed into a corner now, behind the curtain you see on television, and the Chiefs’ coach is talking about what it’s like when the cameras are off and the charm is gone and his patience has rotted.

Romeo Crennel smiles as he says it. He smiles so often. That salt-and-pepper mustache stretches across his face, and even now, when he’s talking about getting mad and the things that get him there, and boy, you should see it when it happens. And it’s such a strange image that it’s not just Crennel who’s smiling.

“Boom,” Crennel says. “This mild-mannered guy becomes a different animal.”

This jolly, grandfatherly 65-year-old is the Chiefs’ third coach in five seasons, and if you think about it, he probably faces more pressure than either of his predecessors. For the first time in his career, and indeed a rarity in his profession, Crennel inherited not a mess but a gift from his fired predecessor. This is a talented team that doesn’t need building or, really, much maintenance. It needs a man who will let it grow naturally; who’ll just keep the car from flying off the road.

Crennel is the opposite of Todd Haley, whose unusual mood swings and erratic behavior were as much responsible for getting him fired last December as the Chiefs’ 5-8 record. He was unorthodox and creative, and those things are cool and innovative unless they fail. Haley’s way worked for a while, and then it just stopped being effective. The problem was that he was raving so often, the townspeople became numb to his cries of wolf.

Crennel doesn’t get consumed by emotion. And that’s a good thing for this year’s Chiefs. Expectations have been lifted for a team with talent at most every position. The playoffs are a realistic possibility, and a defense Crennel oversaw in two years as coordinator has a chance to emerge as one of the league’s best.

And if those things happen, we will not trace it back to anything Crennel did in training camp, the preseason or once the games begin to count. It will be what he didn’t do that we’ll remember — that this even-tempered coach did his thing and just didn’t screw it up.

This time last year, Haley began implementing an idea. It was different, and he asked his assistant coaches to bear with him. Because players had missed offseason practices amid the NFL lockout, Haley decided to go easy on them during training camp and allow them to ease into regular-season conditioning.

Players sweated and ran, but they did neither as much as they had in previous Chiefs camps. The team went forward, and if coaches and players disagreed with Haley’s idea, no one said anything. Even now, Crennel smiles when asked whether he ever considered approaching his boss and asking whether he was sure he wanted to travel the path.

“Last year is last year,” he says, and that grin makes me think that Crennel was a good soldier a year ago but that, yes, he would’ve done things differently.

Of course, we know how that movie actually ended: Three key players suffered season-ending injuries, quarterback Matt Cassel couldn’t establish rhythm, and the Chiefs just looked bad in a winless preseason and an 0-3 start to the regular season.

Football is a revisionist history kind of game. Coaches try unusual things, and if they work, those coaches are geniuses. If they don’t, the same men are stooges who are late for the unemployment line. Coloring outside the lines brings additional attention, and when it doesn’t work often enough, the football gods are unkind. Few coaches attempted more fourth-down conversions, trick plays and unusual motivational tactics than Haley in his nearly three seasons. In 2010, maybe his aggressive approach helped the Chiefs go 10-6 and win the AFC West. A year later, it was difficult to not blame the same mindset for the team’s failings.

When it came time to find Haley’s replacement, the Chiefs found a steady and experienced man with an office in the same building.

After one practice last week, it was clear that Camp Romeo won’t contain the same wild story lines as last year’s experience. Crennel is going back to what works, what’s proven, what he knows. He says he wants the team to be organized, and he wants players to develop chemistry. And he wants them to work. That’s not groundbreaking or even all that interesting. But it is proven.

His face dripping sweat, Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson says a little custom is just what these Chiefs need.

“He believes in what he believes in,” Johnson says. “He’s an old-school guy, and he’s definitely going to put the hammer down on us.”

So here’s the undeniable fact about Romeo Crennel: His first experience as an NFL head coach was his own failure. The Cleveland Browns were 24-40 in his four seasons, and maybe the reasons were beyond Crennel’s control.

The Browns’ general manager at the time, Phil Savage, drafted poorly and signed free agents that didn’t make an impact. Injuries to key players piled up at an almost laughable rate. Crennel’s teams had losing records in three of those seasons, and after a 4-12 finish, he was fired.

Still, some things were remembered fondly.

“I’ve never seen a team play harder at the end of a season that wasn’t going well,” says Chiefs backup quarterback Brady Quinn, who played for Crennel in Cleveland.

That’s nice and all, but as Haley learned last year, it doesn’t matter the reasons if the wins aren’t coming. The thing you can’t deny about Crennel is that he has the respect and admiration of his team. There’s no starting over, no getting-to-know-you period that so many other first-year coaches endure. The Chiefs know Crennel, and he knows the Chiefs, but with that comes an expectation that the team will succeed immediately. If that doesn’t happen, outsiders will begin whispering that Crennel goes too easy on his players; that he’s too much of a players’ coach and oversees a team that lacks discipline.

Other than the rare occasions he bares his teeth to players, Crennel says he’s going to try it his easygoing way.

“You have to be who you are,” he says.

Of what we know about Crennel, though, here’s what remains a mystery: how much he actually learned from his time in Cleveland. If this is truly going to work, he should now know that, sure, the GM has final say on draft picks, but the head coach has to build teams to fit his vision.

Crennel says he and Scott Pioli have a good relationship, and maybe Pioli even deferred to Crennel in the first round of this year’s draft, when the Chiefs drafted nose tackle Dontari Poe at No. 11 overall. It was a gamble, the kind Pioli doesn’t usually feel comfortable making, but Crennel is a former defensive-line coach who thinks the front seven is the nerve center of an elite team.

He also should have learned from Haley’s mistakes the last two years. In the NFL, gimmicks should be used in moderation, and really, coaches should turn to them only to shake up a team that lacks talent. The Chiefs no longer have that problem, and they no longer have a coach who’ll feel the need to leave his fingerprint on each game, just to prove that he deserves to wear the headset.

Crennel’s responsibilities in training camp and beyond are to keep things simple, to keep players together, to let them do what they do. If he has to do more than that, bad things will have happened. If he’s able to sit back, keep his voice low and maybe even smile, then we’ll know that Crennel has his job figured out — and that he understands precisely what this year’s team needs.

To reach Kent Babb, call 816-234-4386, send email to kbabb@kcstar.com or follow him at twitter.com/kentbabb. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.


Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/28...#storylink=cpy



Interesting when you actually take a coaches surroundings in part of his coaching situation. Romeo was dealt a very poor hand in Cleveland. The fact he had a winning season is astonishing in itself.

Nice fluff article. Let's wait till a injury occurs so you can blame the sucking on that, rather than your coach or teams performance.

[KCStud]

Originally Posted by DBroncos4life

lol how many years should it take a coach to get players around him that are worth a ****?

Considering Braylon Edwards, Kamerion Wimbley, D'Qwell Jackson turned out to be good players.

[KCStud]

Originally Posted by Stuck in Cali

Nice fluff article. Let's wait till a injury occurs so you can blame the sucking on that, rather than your coach or teams performance.

If your QB got hurt this year you'd be doing the same damn thing. Quit acting like a p***Y and admit it. b****.

[boltaneer]

Originally Posted by KCStud

Interesting when you actually take a coaches surroundings in part of his coaching situation. Romeo was dealt a very poor hand in Cleveland. The fact he had a winning season is astonishing in itself.

Don't even start trying to push this crap down anyone's throat here when you and other Chief fans destroyed Herm Edwards at every chance.

You want to talk about coaches dealt a poor hand, look no further than Herm and he pulled off a winning season as well. And those Chief teams had less talent than some Division II football teams.

And that 2007 Browns team was a total aberration. Anderson, Winslow and Edwards, all one hit wonders, blossomed in the same year and pretty much never to be heard from again. And Jamal Lewis came out of nowhere to have his best season since rushing for 2k back in the early 2000s.

[E_Rox]

I was wondering the same thing. Very poor hand, but yet quickly points out something contrary, seems like the appropriate answer from the Chef side

[Stuck in Cali]

Originally Posted by KCStud

If your QB got hurt this year you'd be doing the same damn thing. Quit acting like a p***Y and admit it. b****.

Wow, you sure do like calling people names, does that make you feel good?

I have never used a injury as an excuse, cause they are part of the game.

[E_Rox]

Originally Posted by Bob's your Information Minister

Break this down, b****es.

Looks like a running back protecting an ACL injury that will lead to a hamstring injury because of hesitation, concern and not practicing at full speed long enough

[broncocalijohn]

Originally Posted by KCStud

If your QB got hurt this year you'd be doing the same damn thing. Quit acting like a p***Y and admit it. b****.

Dude, if your QB got hurt it would help your team. We are talking about positions beside QB. DOnt be a brick especially when your injuries was not QB related.

[DENVERDUI55]

Originally Posted by Stuck in Cali

Wow, you sure do like calling people names, does that make you feel good?

I have never used a injury as an excuse, cause they are part of the game.

That's because he has nothing else other than stats and if he is refuted he goes to defense mechanism to name calling.

[DBroncos4life]

Originally Posted by KCStud

Considering Braylon Edwards, Kamerion Wimbley, D'Qwell Jackson turned out to be good players.

Edwards He's not even on a team!

[lonestar]

Originally Posted by boltaneer

Don't even start trying to push this crap down anyone's throat here when you and other Chief fans destroyed Herm Edwards at every chance.

You want to talk about coaches dealt a poor hand, look no further than Herm and he pulled off a winning season as well. And those Chief teams had less talent than some Division II football teams.

And that 2007 Browns team was a total aberration. Anderson, Winslow and Edwards, all one hit wonders, blossomed in the same year and pretty much never to be heard from again. And Jamal Lewis came out of nowhere to have his best season since rushing for 2k back in the early 2000s.

of course he got near 300 of it in one game against us.. set an NFL record..

[Cito Pelon]

AFCW fans arguing about who sucks worse. That's pathetic. We all have sucked since Oakland won an AFC title 10 years ago. What, three playoff wins among all four teams since 2002? Two by the Broncos, one by SD, zero by KC, zero by OAK.

Former AFCW opponent the Seattle Seahawks have won FIVE playoff games since 2005.

[boltaneer]

Originally Posted by Cito Pelon

AFCW fans arguing about who sucks worse. That's pathetic. We all have sucked since Oakland won an AFC title 10 years ago. What, three playoff wins among all four teams since 2002? Two by the Broncos, one by SD, zero by KC, zero by OAK.

Former AFCW opponent the Seattle Seahawks have won FIVE playoff games since 2005.

Actually the Chargers have won three during that time so the AFC West is as good as Seattle.

[DENVERDUI55]

Originally Posted by lonestar

of course he got near 300 of it in one game against us.. set an NFL record..

Corey Dillion set it against us. Lewis did his against Cleveland.

[lonestar]

Originally Posted by DENVERDUI55

Corey Dillion set it against us. Lewis did his against Cleveland.

pretty sure he also had some strong games against us. maybe not 300 but I seem to remember he got his fair share against our gumby defense..

[KCStud]

Originally Posted by boltaneer

Don't even start trying to push this crap down anyone's throat here when you and other Chief fans destroyed Herm Edwards at every chance.

You want to talk about coaches dealt a poor hand, look no further than Herm and he pulled off a winning season as well. And those Chief teams had less talent than some Division II football teams.

And that 2007 Browns team was a total aberration. Anderson, Winslow and Edwards, all one hit wonders, blossomed in the same year and pretty much never to be heard from again. And Jamal Lewis came out of nowhere to have his best season since rushing for 2k back in the early 2000s.

Herm didn't have any favors due to Vermiel not drafting for the future.

I thought Herm was a great talent evaluator, but his coaching was below average. Like Romeo, he had very little, if any, developed talent when he took over. His draft picks were above average, but it took time to develop them. Time both didn't have.

[KCStud]

Originally Posted by DBroncos4life

Edwards He's not even on a team!

Edwards has been cut because of his injury problems, not because of his lack of talent, dumbass

[KCStud]

Originally Posted by broncocalijohn

Dude, if your QB got hurt it would help your team. We are talking about positions beside QB. DOnt be a brick especially when your injuries was not QB related.

Tyler Palko was our QB for a month. And we lost our best offensive and defensive players. Guess that doesn't count.

[boltaneer]

Originally Posted by KCStud

I thought Herm was a great talent evaluator, but his coaching was below average.

And you still can't resist another slam on Herm.

Brodie Croyle
Damon Huard
Tyler Thigpen

Belichick would have gotten fired with that bunch.

[LongDongJohnson]

Originally Posted by lonestar

pretty sure he also had some strong games against us. maybe not 300 but I seem to remember he got his fair share against our gumby defense..

You remember wrong.

He only had 2 good games against us in his entire career. One in the playoffs in 2000 and 2003 ravens game.

Most he ever put up on us was 134 yards on 32 carries. That was the 2003 game.

[lonestar]

Originally Posted by LongDongJohnson

You remember wrong.

He only had 2 good games against us in his entire career. One in the playoffs in 2000 and 2003 ravens game.

Most he ever put up on us was 134 yards on 32 carries. That was the 2003 game.

Well I stand corrected thanks..

[LongDongJohnson]

Originally Posted by lonestar

Well I stand corrected thanks..

no prob. Sorry if I came off like a jerk.

Cory Dillon did tear us a new a-hole in 2000 though with 278 yards which was a record at the time.
Damn 0-6 Bengals got their first win against us in that game. They had a very Tebow like performance against us with 14 passing yards and 407 rushing yards.

The guys that kicked our ass the last few games are in our very own division.
We need to watch out for:
Ryan Mathews
Darren McFadden

Both guys have had over 100 yards in their last 3 games against us. They dont even use condoms when they rape us in our ass.

[KCStud]

Originally Posted by boltaneer

And you still can't resist another slam on Herm.

Brodie Croyle
Damon Huard
Tyler Thigpen

Belichick would have gotten fired with that bunch.

Herm was a defensive coach. Definitely not his specialty to get QB's.

[boltaneer]

Originally Posted by KCStud

Herm was a defensive coach. Definitely not his specialty to get QB's.

What kind of reply is this? What does this even have to do with my post? Even you can do better than that.

You said Herm was below average coach. I pointed out his quarterbacks he had to work with. You point out he's a defensive coach? He was never given even a below average quarterback. All of those guys STUNK.

Look at his tenure with the Jets. Playoffs 3 out of 5 years and a 5 and 2 record in the post season. I wouldn't call that below average at all.

The difference was that he had a good (not great) quarterback in Pennington there. Not the garbage he was left to die with in KC.

Now back to Romeo. He hasn't had much to work with in terms of QBs either (except for the one year with Anderson). Cassel, to his credit, continues to play above expectations but he's never shown that he can be a difference maker. I still can't believe the Chiefs continue to pass up drafting a replacement for him. They have a pretty good team all around but it's just being held back by the QB position.