The columnists dissect the 2003 season and take a look at what's ahead for the Chiefs in '04. Read it here in a series of columns beginning next week.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Bob Gretz
January 14, 2004 (morning)--Last year, Dick Vermeil showed his loyalty to Greg Robinson by retaining him on his coaching staff.
Robinson paid back that loyalty on Tuesday by resigning as the defensive coordinator of the Chiefs.
It was an extraordinary act by Robinson. He put aside ego, all pretense and he fell on his sword for Dick Vermeil. Team and Vermeil came ahead of himself. No small wonder why the head coach was so emotional when he talked about Robinson and why he felt like he let his assistant down.
In more than 25 years of covering the NFL, I’ve never witnessed anything that came close to Tuesday’s morning gathering. The raw emotion was unforgettable. It was a window into the world that Vermeil has created with his football team. It was a window into the world of coaching and all the twists and turns that make the business so exciting and so heart breaking.
First, Robinson did the right thing in offering to resign. Secondly, Vermeil did the right thing in accepting. After everything that happened with the Chiefs in 2003, the focus was entirely on Robinson and the defense. It would have been impossible for this organization to make enough changes in other areas to overcome the negativity that would have surrounded Robinson’s further employment.
There’s no question the defense was broken. Robinson and the defensive staff tried their best, but in the end it did not come together on the field. Last year, Robinson was handicapped by a defense that had few talented players. This season, the talent level was improved, but it still wasn’t enough.
What was missing was a defensive mind-set that’s absolutely imperative to success in the NFL. Yes, football today is more complicated than it was years ago. Defenses must react to offenses, they must take part in the chess game.
But they must do it with an attitude that was seldom evident around the Chiefs defense. It was never there in 2002, showed itself early in 2003, but then disappeared, returning just briefly for the Chicago game. For that, the players, Robinson, the defensive staff and Vermeil must share the blame.
Beyond scheme, beyond talent, what this Chiefs defensive unit needs is an infusion of passion. When Vermeil picks Robinson’s successor, that’s should be the most important part of his resume.
There are many people celebrating Robinson’s departure, reveling in kicking a man when he’s down, laughing at the raw emotion he was willing to share on what was probably the worst day of his professional life. If you are one of those people, like the classless folks who started a web site to promote the firing of Robinson, please seek help. You believe the success of the team is more important to you, than the people who give their blood, sweat and tears each and every day to make it work. You are deranged and can not a hold a candle to a man like Robinson.
Anybody who witnessed what happened at Arrowhead Stadium on Tuesday morning should now have a better understanding of what the people who coach in this business put on the line. They don’t always get it right, they don’t always produce. [Reply]
Originally Posted by memyselfi:
My husband wanted to watch... :-)
Those hippies just wanted to watch, too.
I can see their faces now. One was a white guy, and he had this long brown wavy hair and light blue eyes. He was the one who was pulling the trigger. There was a black guy with a big afro and sunglasses, and a brown leather jacket with a reddish shirt that was open at the collar. He never said a word the whole time. And the girl.
The girl was small and blonde, and her name was Julie. I know that because the white guy kept calling her that when he was talking. She was wearing a red top, and her hair was blonde, but it was also black. I don't know how to describe it. Pete, the white guy, called her when they started the shooting, and she came in wearing my mom's wedding ring. I'll never forget that as long as I live. [Reply]
They did this weird thing, and it probably saved my life. Between shooting Tom and Kenny, they all sat down, and they had taken some Peanuts books from the bedroom I shared with Kenny, and they read them out loud. Pete, the white guy, read the male voices, and Julie, the girl, she read the female voices. The black guy - I think his name was Lincoln or something, but I never remembered that until now - he went in and made a sandwich in the kitchen and then came out and listened to them while Kenny and I were tied up.
They were reading one of the books where Lucy was a psychiatrist and Charlie Brown would tell her his worries, and then she would be mean to him and then charge him a nickel. The guy looked up at me and asked me if I had a nickel and I didn't, and he said that he would've let me go if I only had a nickel. She did a high voice for Charlie Brown's little sister, and they all laughed about it, and Lincoln was eating his sandwich and to this day I smell gunpowder when I see a loaf of Wonder bread. [Reply]
An Act of Supreme Loyalty
1/14/2004 6:17 AM
There are many people celebrating Robinson’s departure, reveling in kicking a man when he’s down, laughing at the raw emotion he was willing to share on what was probably the worst day of his professional life. If you are one of those people, like the classless folks who started a web site to promote the firing of Robinson, please seek help. You believe the success of the team is more important to you, than the people who give their blood, sweat and tears each and every day to make it work. You are deranged and can not a hold a candle to a man like Robinson.
He has mistake real fans, who care about the team more than the individual, as classless folks. He is way off base. It is not like GROB is going to be hurting financially. I feel sorry for someone who will be struggling to support their family after they lose their job, but a D-Co who has made a good salary for doing a worse job than I would do, I just can bring myself to feel sorry he has lost his job. He will recover and I wish him the best. If I held a candle to GROB he would get me arrested for assault and they would then consider me deranged. [Reply]
Hopefully no one who visited the firegregrobinson.com site visited the link to CP save they be introduced to the Planet the past twenty four hours and think this is where fans castrate or excecute team members.
Um ... what color is the sky in the world you live in?
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
They did this weird thing, and it probably saved my life. Between shooting Tom and Kenny, they all sat down, and they had taken some Peanuts books from the bedroom I shared with Kenny, and they read them out loud. Pete, the white guy, read the male voices, and Julie, the girl, she read the female voices. The black guy - I think his name was Lincoln or something, but I never remembered that until now - he went in and made a sandwich in the kitchen and then came out and listened to them while Kenny and I were tied up.
They were reading one of the books where Lucy was a psychiatrist and Charlie Brown would tell her his worries, and then she would be mean to him and then charge him a nickel. The guy looked up at me and asked me if I had a nickel and I didn't, and he said that he would've let me go if I only had a nickel. She did a high voice for Charlie Brown's little sister, and they all laughed about it, and Lincoln was eating his sandwich and to this day I smell gunpowder when I see a loaf of Wonder bread.
Originally Posted by deRainged Man:
The guy looked up at me and asked me if I had a nickel and I didn't, and he said that he would've let me go if I only had a nickel.
I believe this is how they got the idea for Monty Hall's "Let's Make a Deal." [Reply]
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
They did this weird thing, and it probably saved my life. Between shooting Tom and Kenny, they all sat down, and they had taken some Peanuts books from the bedroom I shared with Kenny, and they read them out loud. Pete, the white guy, read the male voices, and Julie, the girl, she read the female voices. The black guy - I think his name was Lincoln or something, but I never remembered that until now - he went in and made a sandwich in the kitchen and then came out and listened to them while Kenny and I were tied up.
They were reading one of the books where Lucy was a psychiatrist and Charlie Brown would tell her his worries, and then she would be mean to him and then charge him a nickel. The guy looked up at me and asked me if I had a nickel and I didn't, and he said that he would've let me go if I only had a nickel. She did a high voice for Charlie Brown's little sister, and they all laughed about it, and Lincoln was eating his sandwich and to this day I smell gunpowder when I see a loaf of Wonder bread.
