Being a Kansas City fan my whole life I of course root on the Royals. Being a Royals fan has had its up's and down's; mostly downs. As most fans know the boys in blue won the series in 85' beating the across state rivals in 7 games, which may have very well been the last "up" in the past two decades.
Kansas City fans have had it really hard the past few years, with the Royals finishing in or near the basement of the division and the league year after year. Royals come off a road-trip to the west coast with a record of 2-7 after getting roughed up by the A's, Mariners, and Angels. Fans also haven't had much to consistently rely on on field either. We trade good (not great) players for two or three average players. A player will begin to perform and poof, he's gone, traded for two players and a prospect. Some may say that getting young players is not a bad thing, and it's not, but when you never see those players come through the farm system it's hard to get excited about the trade. The Royals have done good things in the draft the last few years, but we are still waiting on the arrivals of players like Moustakas, or Hosmer.
Now don't get me wrong we did have a little excitement in the 2009 campaign with Mr. Zack Greinke winning the Cy Young award. Award well deserved, but this is 2010 and needless to say Grienke is'nt putting up Cy Young like numbers, but does'nt have a lot of offensive help on his outings either. Let's look for Zack to turn it up a notch the last 45 games and give us hope for next year.
The Yankee pinstripes are in town this weekend and as we speak beating up on the good guys. The Royals have had their struggles with the Yankee's this year supporting a 1-4 record with the next four being played at Kauffman this weekend. "We'll get it going with the bats." Manager Ned Yost told the Kansas City Star, "We've got guys who swing the bat too well (for this to continue). These things have a way of turning themselves around." Well let's hope they do just that, get things turned in the right direction, until next time..."Play like a champion."
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Chiefs Prepare for Falcons
This will be the first post on this blog so I am going to post aboiut my favorite team, the Kansas City Chiefs. Also with the first preseason game just hours away its something that needs to be covered.
Todd Haley's Chiefs will hit the road Thursday and head to Atlanta, GA where they will meet the Atlanta Falcons in the first preseason game. The first hot topic is the Chiefs getting a first hand look at Tony Gonzalez wearing a different jersey than Chiefs red. This being a preseason game there wont be much gameplanning going into Friday's game, had this game been in four weeks it would be a different story and the Chiefs would be gameplanning around #88. Tony Gonzalez's Falcons are led by third year quarterback Matt Ryan which is predicted to have an outbreak year. Ryan had an astonishing rookie year where he threw for 3,440 yards and carried a QB rating of 87.7%. Ryan is accompanied by running back Micheal Turner who is sure to be a thorn in defensive coordinater's sides for the 2010 campaign.
Enough on the "Dirty Birds" from the ATL, back to the good guys. The Chiefs themselves have made plenty of big moves this offseason acquiring Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel in the coordinaters positions a long with several other position coaches such as HOFer Emmit Thomas. As any football fan would know we have Matt Cassel under center and has got to perform in his sophomore season. Cassel carried a QB rating of 69.9% ranking him 25th among NFL quarterbacks. Mike Vrabel came in the Cassel package and what a huge assest for the Chiefs. Vrabel, although on the last few years of his career, is a veteran that can help mold the linebacking corps and the entire defense into a championship contender. Thomas Jones was yet another huge acquisition in the offseason. Jones will be a nice change of pace from the lightning quick Jamaal Charles. Jones and Charles both were over 1,000 yard rushers in 2009, and they are lining up in the Chiefs backfield for 2010. The draft in 2010 was a successful draft in which I would grade a B+. Overall we addressed most of our needs other than the nose tackle and inside linebacker positions. However, we did take Eric Berry with the fifth overall pick and Dexter McCluster in the early picks of the second round. Both of which are very impressive in camp, and making a solid bid for starting jobs. Berry appears to be the total package in the defensive backfield being able to defend the pass and also come to the line and put a helmet on someone to help stop the run. McCluster is one of the fastest players to come out of the draft this year and appears to be lining up in the slot position along with taking snaps at running back and out of the Wildcat. McCluster and Berry bring a lot of much needed excitment back to KC. Tony Moeaki is also a 2010 draft class member. Coming from the University of Iowa, Moeaki was one of the top rated tight ends and appears to fit what Pioli and Haley are looking for at tight end. Staying healthy seemed to be a bit of a problem in college, but when on the field was an animal, reeling in passes and sealing off the end opening holes for the running backs. Hopefully we can keep him healthy after he heals from this minor leg injury he recieved in the scrimmage on Saturday, and he can be a huge asset to the Chiefs come September.
What are we looking for out of this first preseason game? The offense will only play a couple of series in which I would like to see us move the ball, pick up some first downs, and end up in the end zone in the Georgia Dome. The defense is needing to prove they can stop a high caliber offense in which the Falcons have a good possiblity of being this season. The defense needs to swarm around and prove they can stop the run, in order to do so the front seven must perform at a much improved level from last year. The game from there will be up to the back ups and the guys trying to get on a NFL roster this year. Keep an eye on Brodie Croyle which is having another great camp but just can't seem to stay healthy to prove he can do it every Sunday. Of course watch the rookies and see how they can perform under the lights and in a game situation. The offensive line will be another key to success in 10', so let's watch them closely as well. The line is not as deep as what we would like to see so an injury could be devastating, and they must perform in order for Cassel to get the ball to the recievers.
Feel free to comment on the post and your feelings on the Chiefs Falcons game. I'll be back Saturday after the game for my thoughts and opinions on the game. Until next time..."Play like a champion."
Todd Haley's Chiefs will hit the road Thursday and head to Atlanta, GA where they will meet the Atlanta Falcons in the first preseason game. The first hot topic is the Chiefs getting a first hand look at Tony Gonzalez wearing a different jersey than Chiefs red. This being a preseason game there wont be much gameplanning going into Friday's game, had this game been in four weeks it would be a different story and the Chiefs would be gameplanning around #88. Tony Gonzalez's Falcons are led by third year quarterback Matt Ryan which is predicted to have an outbreak year. Ryan had an astonishing rookie year where he threw for 3,440 yards and carried a QB rating of 87.7%. Ryan is accompanied by running back Micheal Turner who is sure to be a thorn in defensive coordinater's sides for the 2010 campaign.
Enough on the "Dirty Birds" from the ATL, back to the good guys. The Chiefs themselves have made plenty of big moves this offseason acquiring Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel in the coordinaters positions a long with several other position coaches such as HOFer Emmit Thomas. As any football fan would know we have Matt Cassel under center and has got to perform in his sophomore season. Cassel carried a QB rating of 69.9% ranking him 25th among NFL quarterbacks. Mike Vrabel came in the Cassel package and what a huge assest for the Chiefs. Vrabel, although on the last few years of his career, is a veteran that can help mold the linebacking corps and the entire defense into a championship contender. Thomas Jones was yet another huge acquisition in the offseason. Jones will be a nice change of pace from the lightning quick Jamaal Charles. Jones and Charles both were over 1,000 yard rushers in 2009, and they are lining up in the Chiefs backfield for 2010. The draft in 2010 was a successful draft in which I would grade a B+. Overall we addressed most of our needs other than the nose tackle and inside linebacker positions. However, we did take Eric Berry with the fifth overall pick and Dexter McCluster in the early picks of the second round. Both of which are very impressive in camp, and making a solid bid for starting jobs. Berry appears to be the total package in the defensive backfield being able to defend the pass and also come to the line and put a helmet on someone to help stop the run. McCluster is one of the fastest players to come out of the draft this year and appears to be lining up in the slot position along with taking snaps at running back and out of the Wildcat. McCluster and Berry bring a lot of much needed excitment back to KC. Tony Moeaki is also a 2010 draft class member. Coming from the University of Iowa, Moeaki was one of the top rated tight ends and appears to fit what Pioli and Haley are looking for at tight end. Staying healthy seemed to be a bit of a problem in college, but when on the field was an animal, reeling in passes and sealing off the end opening holes for the running backs. Hopefully we can keep him healthy after he heals from this minor leg injury he recieved in the scrimmage on Saturday, and he can be a huge asset to the Chiefs come September.
What are we looking for out of this first preseason game? The offense will only play a couple of series in which I would like to see us move the ball, pick up some first downs, and end up in the end zone in the Georgia Dome. The defense is needing to prove they can stop a high caliber offense in which the Falcons have a good possiblity of being this season. The defense needs to swarm around and prove they can stop the run, in order to do so the front seven must perform at a much improved level from last year. The game from there will be up to the back ups and the guys trying to get on a NFL roster this year. Keep an eye on Brodie Croyle which is having another great camp but just can't seem to stay healthy to prove he can do it every Sunday. Of course watch the rookies and see how they can perform under the lights and in a game situation. The offensive line will be another key to success in 10', so let's watch them closely as well. The line is not as deep as what we would like to see so an injury could be devastating, and they must perform in order for Cassel to get the ball to the recievers.
Feel free to comment on the post and your feelings on the Chiefs Falcons game. I'll be back Saturday after the game for my thoughts and opinions on the game. Until next time..."Play like a champion."
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