From: daveshao@leland.stanford.edu (David Shao)
Subject: Re: Bet III
Originator: daveshao@leland.Stanford.EDU
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 19:23:07 GMT

In article <Bxx6oy.2AD@acsu.buffalo.edu> v130pwbq@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (ANTI-CHRIST) writes:
>In article <1992Nov18.153421.5928@gn.ecn.purdue.edu>, nitin@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (Nitin Khanna) writes...
>>In article <1992Nov18.014754.13123@gmuvax2.gmu.edu>, asagar@gmuvax2.gmu.edu (Ashish Sagar) writes:
>>>                            Name                 Pick
>>>                            ---------------------------
>>>                            Greg Franklin        NFC
>>>                            Barry Trottier       NFC
>>>                            Jason Bittle         AFC
>>>                            Ashish Sagar         NFC
>>                             Nitin Khanna         NFC

I am not a regular poster, but I am willing to take the AFC's
side in the Bet III because the Bills will probably be the AFC
representative.

>
>I'm in only if Kansas City, Houston or Miami make it. 
                ^^^^^^^^^^^
Having been born and raised in Missouri, I root for the Kansas City
Chiefs and am crushed when they lose games such as the 1990 playoff
game at Miami.

But I have never understood the never-ending speculations about the current
Kansas City team making it to the Super Bowl.  This team actually
peaked at the end of the 1989 season and has been downhill ever since.
The 1989 team could play Green Bay on the road, dominate them,
and knock them out of the playoffs (the same Green Bay team that beat
the eventual Super Bowl champions, the 49ers, at San Francisco).

But even in the 1989 team I could see the beginning of trends that
haunt the current team.  Against Cleveland Nick Lowery missed two
makeable field goals, one at the end of regulation, the other in
overtime, that would have given Kansas City the victory instead of
a tie.  And Kansas City lost a home game to the San Diego Chargers.
As a result, one of the hottest teams in the NFL at the end of the
1989 season didn't even make the playoffs.  The only playoff game
they have recently won was at home against a Raider team starting
a very unproven Marinovich as quarterback.  And even in this game
I remember Lowery missing at least one field goals to keep the Raiders
close.  I know that his statistics rank him as one of the best ever,
but ever since 1989 I have always thought that should the season
come down to his having to make a kick, he will miss it.

The Chiefs are not consistent enough to ever compile the best record
in the AFC; therefore, they will always have to play at least the
AFC Championship game on the road.  They can't win the close games
against good teams, for example losing this year to Houston in
overtime and Denver.  How they are expected to turn around this
recent history and suddenly win in situations where they always
lose is beyond me.

Sure every once in a while at home the Chiefs steamroller good
opposition, such as the Bills last year and Philadelphia 
this year.  But this is balanced by being blown out
at home by Pittsburgh this year, and the blitz Warren Moon and
the Oilers threw at them a couple of years ago.  

I predict that Kansas City will lose a close one on the road if
they don't have the second best record in the AFC, quite possible 
since the Denver Broncos play the Chiefs tough in Kansas City as well, 
or otherwise be blown out in the AFC Championship game at Buffalo.