KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -From the day 82,000 people showed up for a showdown with the Raiders in the inaugural season in 1972 to the epic playoff games of the Marty Schottenheimer and Dick Vermeil eras, Arrowhead Stadium has been the site of some great games.
Rarely has there been a clunker like this Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns.
Five combined wins, two of the NFL’s worst statistical teams, first-year coaches already under fire, little more than pride at stake.
To find another Arrowhead dog like this, you’d probably have to go back to the penultimate game of 1977, when David Sims ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead the 3-9 Seattle Seahawks to a 34-31 win over the 2-10 Chiefs.
That streak of 156 consecutive sellouts, the one barely kept alive last week? Over. Arrowhead figures to be no better than half-full with two bad teams playing on a cold Sunday.
en 19 years since a blackout,” Chiefs receiver Chris Chambers said. “Hopefully, people will still come out.”
Perhaps it’d be fitting if nobody watches with the way these two teams have mucked things up.
Cleveland (2-11) is going through the worst and most dysfunctional season in franchise history. The Browns rank last in total offense, second worst on defense. Quarterback Brady Quinn opened the season as the starter after a guess-what-card-I’m-holding act by coach Eric Mangini. He was replaced by Derek Anderson, then got reinstated after Anderson evoked memories of former Raiders flop Marc Wilson.
At least it appears to be getting better; Cleveland knocked off the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers last week.
Off the field, the Browns have had more plot twists than “Desperate Housewives.”
Mangini was criticized for making Browns rookies take a 10-hour bus ride to help out with his football camp. He fined a player $1,701 for not paying for a $3 hotel bottle of water. Troublesome receiver Braylon Edwards was traded two days after punching a friend of NBA star LeBron James.
Mangini accused the Detroit Lions of faking injuries, then took it back. A flu ravaged the Browns locker room. Mangini was compared to overeater Augustus Gloop in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Rolling Stone magazine, then had his hand-picked general manager, George Kokinis, fired during the bye week.
Now, the coach is looking over his shoulder as the Browns flirt with former Seahawks and Packers coach Mike Holmgren to become a football “czar” for the moribund franchise.
Only way this season could be more bizarre is if Bree chased Susan with a bayonet across the practice field.
“There’s a lot of things out of our control, but we can’t really focus on that,” said Quinn, who hasn’t thrown an interception in 145 passes. “We’ve just got to try to do our job every day and try to get better. There’s a lot of things we can focus on beside what’s going on outside of practice.”
Kansas City’s season hasn’t had the over-the-top drama of Cleveland’s, but it’s still been juicy.
New coach Todd Haley shocked his players with a listen-or-else approach and raised eyebrows by firing offensive coordinator Chan Gailey before the season started.
Longtime malcontent running back Larry Johnson was released after questioning Haley’s credentials and twice using gay slurs. Just 75 yards short of becoming Kansas City’s all-time leading rusher, he signed with Cincinnati.
Leading receiver Dwayne Bowe was suspended four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. He’s back this week.
throwing four interceptions in a loss to Buffalo. The receivers are still dropping passes, now at crucial times. The defense gives up too many yards on the ground, the offense doesn’t get enough when it gets near the goal line.
Then there’s Haley. He’s doing the best he can with a hand full of muck cards, but still has vitriolic screaming sessions on the sideline – often caught by reaction-seeking cameras. Haley occasionally pulls off a what-was-he-thinking play call that goes nowhere.
“The first year as head coach, it’s not easy,” Mangini said. “There are things you’re not given a manual for, you’ve never dealt with before, things you’ve never thought about, never been exposed to. You try to get better and better the next time you face (it).”
At least Haley will see a friendly face on Sunday.
The opposing coaches spent countless hours together as quality control coaches with the New York Jets from 1997-99 – Haley on offense, Mangini on defense – sitting next to each other in special teams meetings, often closing up the facility together late at night.
Disciples of disciplinarian Bill Parcells, they’ve taken the same demanding, attention-to-detail approach as head coaches. And they’ve taken their lumps along the way, heard the calls for their jobs before their first season is over.
the field.
“It’s always good to see somebody like that who you worked with,” Haley said. “I’m looking forward to seeing Eric this week.”
Will anybody watch it?
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