GRETZ: Now that's a Victory

Oct 22, 2005, 9:20:29 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

MIAMI, FL – There are times when a loss is just a loss and a victory is just a victory. The latter is always preferred over the former, but in a 16-game football season, sometimes the game’s outcome is not something special.

That wasn’t the case Friday night in Miami. This was a victory for the Chiefs that was special. The offense contributed, the defense put together its best performance of the season and the special teams and the leg of Lawrence Tynes made a difference.

But the Chiefs victory Friday night over the Dolphins here in a soggy south Florida was really won Thursday morning. And credit for this victory must go to head coach Dick Vermeil.

Dealt a raw deal by the NFL and its decision to move the game up to Friday because of weather fears involving Hurricane Wilma, Vermeil reacted like a champ. Understand that he was angry, ticked off and throw in a little mad as well. The NFL went against many of its long-time rules in moving this game. As the traveling party, the Chiefs lost a full day’s preparation and two days of game planning work. They became the first NFL team in anyone’s memory to travel and play a regular season game on the same day.

In the Thursday morning team meeting where he informed the players of the NFL’s decision, his language was coarse, his message clear. It set the tone for everything that happened in the 48 hours after the game was moved. Many of his words cannot be repeated here, but the point he was trying to make was not a mystery: bleep the NFL, we will play them anywhere, anytime, any place. We will play them in the parking lot, on the sands of South Beach, anywhere they want to play.

What Vermeil did was eliminate the possibility that anyone around Arrowhead was going to use these disadvantages as an excuse for poor performance, unfocused effort and less than prepared play.

His team followed his lead. From their Friday morning flight to south Florida, through the pre-game meal at a Ft. Lauderdale hotel, to their arrival in the rain at Dolphins Stadium, there was no complaining, no bitching, no “woe is us.” This football team went to work on Friday and turned in one of the grittiest performances of the Vermeil Era.

They established control in the first minutes. The offense cruised down the field on an eight-play, 80-yard drive that ended up with Priest Holmes in his favorite place: the end zone. Then on defense, the Gunther Cunningham’s group held the Dolphins offense to three plays and they were out. The Chiefs never lost control of the game from that point.

That’s as it should have been because the Chiefs were the better team. There was a reason the Dolphins finished 4-12 last season and new coach Nick Saban’s presence wasn’t going to be enough to turn this thing around in one season. Gus Frerotte may have kept Trent Green on the bench back in the late 1990s with Washington, but right now he’s not even in the same class as the Chiefs quarterback.

The Chiefs were far from perfect. A horrible string of penalties in the first half reduced the special teams return game to a farce. The defense gave up three big plays that amounted to more than half of the total offense the Dolphins were able to pick up in the game.

But there were so many more positives. The offense finally developed a rhythm, and did it against one of the league’s top defenses. What was especially encouraging was the running game fell together, as Holmes and Larry Johnson both ran well, both found the end zone and both punished the Dolphins defense.

Tynes showed that the faith the Chiefs showed in him during his troubled times during the pre-season was well placed, as he nailed three field goals, including a pair over 50 yards. That was especially impressive given the wet, moist heavy air that hung over the playing surface.

This was a very, very good evening for the Chiefs. They faced one of the most unusual challenges the NFL has handed any team in many years and not only handled the problems, but were successful in the outcome.

It was their finest hour.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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A former beat reporter who covered the Pittsburgh Steelers during their glory years, Gretz covered the Chiefs for the Kansas City Star for nine years. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors. He has been the senior columnist for the Chiefs web site since its inception.