Peeked Interest

Aug 30, 2008, 4:53:39 PM by Eileen Weir - FAQ

A perennial complaint from NFL season ticket holders is that preseason games are priced equal to admission for regular season games. Compelled to purchase seats to the exhibition face-offs as part of the season ticket package, disgruntled football fans routinely gripe about doling out dough for games that don’t count. Even the most enthusiastic boosters have trouble mustering enough fervor to make the preseason fun.

Kansas City Chiefs fans experienced a shift in the traditional standpoint this year. Rather than dreading training camp and the preseason contests, Chiefs followers took a keen interest. The youth and framework of the squad made the warm-up games significantly more interesting. The team roster close at hand was a necessary object for viewing the games as fans crammed to learn players’ names, numbers and positions. Those taking the field were not the typical “camp fodder” of years past but legitimate candidates to make the team, perhaps even start. If Kansas City is going to crown a new hero this decade, he is likely hiding somewhere on today’s roster.

According to football custom, fans and the press are speedily quick to write off preseason games as insignificant. While coaches and player personnel executives maintain that these games are critical to the evaluation process, the public conspires around the notion that too little of the playbook is unveiled to warrant any real assessment. Adding to the offhand attitude is the sizing up of opponents who likewise trot out a series of also-rans and the merest glimpse of the game plan.

This year’s four-game peek at the 2008-2009 squad produced a far different response. Cognizant of the reality that any one in camp had a reasonable chance to make the team, a message consistently reinforced by head coach Herm Edwards, games were scrutinized and dissected with surgical precision. With attention fixed on third-year quarterback Brodie Croyle and the host of freshly inked draft picks and newly acquired free agents, Chiefs fans got an eyeful.

Of note, the only games the local press deemed meaningless were the wins. Posting an embarrassing loss to Miami Dolphins in the third preseason game, the one Fantasy Football competitors will tell you is the most illuminating, has proven to be the sin beyond redemption. A rebound win at Arrowhead amidst typhoon-like conditions did nothing to heighten confidence in the Chiefs ability to post an improved record over last year’s 4-12 disappointment. The initial unveiling of the Chiefs abilities in the first outing against the Chicago Bears was heralded as a pleasant surprise but its glory now long forgotten.

Wrapping up with a 2-2 record, followers of the team have plenty over which to mull before the opening kickoff Sunday against the defending AFC champs. Some nice offensive drives highlighted the preseason and gave fans a ray of hope for some offensive production from this young team. Still, an overall ranking of 25th in total offense, no touchdown passes from Croyle and no TD receptions from WR Devard Darling were noted by cynics. Slated at 15th in total defense, the Chiefs showed some skill but will need to require greater availability and performance from its high-profile rookies.

If the preseason play is indeed a harbinger of what’s to come through the fall and winter, Chiefs fans can expect a mixed bag. The flashes of efficiency and even greatness will likely become more frequent as experience is gained on the field. There is no way to overstate what Croyle has to prove in September and October. If he is to be the quarterback of the present and the future, he has to come out of the gates quickly to satisfy Kansas City’s fans.

The debate rages whether Croyle has been given enough game time to adequately measure his leadership and athleticism. Many in the local and national press are extending apologies for judging him too soon and too harshly while an equal number are holding him up against the league’s greatest quarterbacks and determining that he is way behind schedule. Either way, his chance to impress is upon him.

The opening day 53-man roster will be another opportunity for examination as Chiefs fans discover what qualities of these particular individuals distinguished them from the rest of the herd. There is no evident reason to believe that this year will be anything but one of ups and downs, as the franchise charts its course and reinvents itself, and Kansas City will find out if it has the stomach for the youth movement and redevelopment process.

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

---

A native of Binghamton, NY, with a B.A. in English Literature, Eileen Weir once served as manager of public information and media services for the Chiefs from 1992-2000. She currently is a society columnist for The Examiner.