[2004] Week3 vs.Texas

Chiefs가 전혀 예상치도 않게 3연패했다. Preist Holmes의 부상투혼(밑의 More 참조)에도 불구하고 그것도 NFL최악의 팀 중 하나인 Texans를 상대로 패했다. 정말 이번 시즌은 가지가지 한다고 생각한다. 시즌을 0-3패로 시작해서 플레이오프에 진출한 팀은 시즌이 16경기로 늘어난 이후 단 4팀에 불과했다. Chiefs가 이 난관을 헤쳐나갈 수 있을 지에 대해서는 심각한 회의가 든다.

(추석을 앞두고 좋은 결실만 맺을 줄 알았는데 전혀 그렇지 못하네요. --;)

이번 주는 코치진의 순간적인 판단미스가 패배의 빌미를 제공했다. (역시나 이번 주도 경기를 보지 못했지만) 7:3으로 앞선 2쿼터 2분 경 휴스턴의 6야드 지점 4th&2 상황에서 필드골을 차지 않고 퍼스트 다운을 노렸지만 실패해 Texans에게 공격권을 넘겨줬다. 많은 점수차로 지고 있었다면 이해할 수 있지만 이기고 있었고 필드골을 차면 터치다운을 얻어야하는 상황으로까지 벌릴 수 있었다. 그리고 양팀의 전력을 놓고 봤을 때 도박적인 경기 운영을 해야할 팀은 Texans였다. 결과론적이긴 하지만 일반적인 선택은 아니었기에 비난받아 마땅하다.

버밀에 의하면 지난 주 너무 소극적인 경기 운영 때문에 패했다는 생각에 이번 주에는 과감한 경기 운영을 했다고 한다. 이해할 수 있으나 경기 운영은 그때그때 상황에 따라 유동적으로 변해야하는것이지 경기 전에 이미 맘먹고 들어오면 안된다.

그래도 결국 이번 주 패배는 결정력 부족에 기인한다. 상대 10야드 안 지점까지 갔으면서 한번은 코치진의 판단 미스에 의한 4th down conversion 실패, 그리고 Trent Green의 어이없는 인터셉션. 아무리 판단미스라 해도 선수들이 성공시키면 그만이다.

수비도 이번 주(4쿼터 제외)는 평균 이상을 했다고 하는데도 졌으니 정말 할 말 없다.

다음주는 Ray & Jamal Lewis 콤비를 상대해야되는데 걱정이 이만저만이 아니군. --;


멋지고 불쌍한 Priest Holmes. 슈퍼스타답지 않게 겸손하고 성실한 Holmes 예찬입니다. NBA로 치면 Tim Duncan와 같은 인격의 소유자라고 할 수 있겠습니다.

This was one catch even Priest Holmes couldn't make
JOE POSNANSKI


Priest Holmes saw that man Marcus Coleman running away from everyone, running to the goal line, and instinct took over. Holmes was at least 10 yards behind, maybe 20, but that did not matter. He had one thing on his mind. He had to catch Marcus Coleman.

In a way, this play represented everything. This play was Priest Holmes' season, his values, his astounding and yet ultimately dissatisfying career in Kansas City. This play said it all. Priest Holmes saw Coleman, a Houston Texans defensive back, intercept Trent Green's pass in the Texans' end zone and take off for the Chiefs' end zone. Coleman was moving too fast. Green could not catch him. The receivers could not catch him.

Everyone had given up on the play.

Everyone, that is, except Priest Holmes.

He was, as always, trying to save the Chiefs' season.

How many times have we written this story? But yet, what other story is there? Barely 5 minutes earlier, Priest Holmes set the Chiefs' all-time rushing record. That was a nice moment. He passed Christian Okoye. It had taken Holmes 30 fewer games.

There was a message on the scoreboard. The crowd stood and applauded. The referee stopped the game and tossed the football to the sideline for safekeeping. Priest Holmes has never had any problem at all rolling up numbers in Kansas City. His first year with the Chiefs, he led the NFL in rushing. His second, he led the NFL in total yards ?and if he had not been hurt the final 2?games, he might have had the greatest season in NFL history. He was on that kind of pace.

Last year, of course, he scored more touchdowns in a season than anyone ever.

None of these things satisfied him, though. Holmes has wanted to take a team to the Super Bowl. His team. He has always believed that's the best way to measure a running back. That's why Holmes valued things other than numbers. He does not fumble. He catches the ball. He blocks blitzing linebackers. He credits his linemen.

He chases after defensive backs long after everyone else has given up hope.

Sunday, he chased Coleman. He did not want this season to die. Holmes knew: If the Chiefs lost this game, they would be 0-3. That means a dead season. Since 1978, the year that the NFL expanded the season to 16 games, there have been 278 playoff teams. Four ?count 'em, four ?started 0-3. You don't dig yourself out of huge holes in the NFL. The season's too short. Teams are too closely matched. An 0-3 team is more or less doomed.

That's why Holmes had played in the first place. Last Sunday, after the Chiefs lost to Carolina, he felt OK.

ㅤㅁㅣㅍ'm hurting a little,?he said. ㅤㅁㅣㄽut nothing that time can't heal.?

By midnight, though, he could not walk. His ankle had swollen. On Monday, he was on crutches. The Chiefs thought he was out. Privately, though, Holmes made a different decision. He would play on Sunday.

ㅤㅁㅣㅍ didn't want to miss out,?he would say.

But it's something more than that. A running back, perhaps more than any other athlete in sports, can hear that clock ticking. The average NFL running back has a career span of 2.5 years. You have to be a fatalist to play this game. You have to know that at any moment, your knee might twist wrong, your hip might pop out of place, your toe could bend back, and then there's the chance that your will might give out, you might not get to the hole fast enough, your offensive line might disintegrate. A million things can go bad.

No one knows this better than Holmes.

ㅤㅂㅏㄽy feeling is, I'll be out there unless I can't walk,?he says.

Last week, he did not practice Wednesday or Thursday; he practiced lightly on Friday. But on Saturday he had that look.

ㅤㅁㅣㅍ could see it in his eyes,?his fullback and friend Tony Richardson said. ㅤㅁㅣㅍ knew that Priest was going to give his all.?

In the end, Priest Holmes carried the ball 32 times, the most carries he has ever had as a Chiefs player. He ran for 134 painful yards through a defense that seemed to have only one goal ?stop Priest Holmes. They stacked the line, sent waves of linebackers and safeties into the gaps. They stopped Holmes on fourth down once and at the goal line another time, two critical plays. Other times, though, Holmes willed the Chiefs' offense down the field. It's impossible to believe that his ankle was not killing him.

But the play that mattered most was the interception. The Chiefs were leading 14-6. They seemed about ready to put the game away. Green stepped back and made a poor throw. Tony Gonzalez, the target, was out of position. Coleman intercepted. And he ran.

Holmes chased Coleman. And chased. And chased. When Coleman was at the 40, Holmes was still a good 10 yards back. At the 20, he was only 5 yards behind. He kept running. He saw the ball. Holmes had one thing in mind: He would strip the ball from Coleman as countless linebackers had tried to do to him.

Look at it. Could you imagine Randy Moss chasing a defensive back for 100 yards? Clinton Portis? Michael Vick? Edgerrin James? No, this man is a different breed. He's from another time. And, any way you look at it, the Chiefs have squandered him. In Holmes' time, the Chiefs have not won one playoff game. The defense has been shaky. The offense has never found a real deep threat. They have, for numerous reasons, never taken the championship step.

Sunday, Holmes did catch Coleman. It was amazing. He reached out and smacked the ball. He seemed to dislodge it ?but only for a second. Coleman held on. He tumbled into the end zone. Touchdown. Houston would win the game. The Chiefs would be 0-3.

Another Priest Holmes season squandered.

After the game, reporters would ask Priest Holmes how it felt to be the Chiefs' all-time leading rusher. He answered as best he could. Holmes said he was proud of the record but devastated by the loss. That's the story of his time in Kansas City. Proud but devastated. It's not the legacy Holmes has wanted. But there's only so much one man can do.