Yes, there actually are a few reasons to watch Sunday’s Jets-Chiefs game. Well… it could get you out of weekend chores, if you can somehow convince the other members of your household that it’s a meaningful game (Good luck with that one!). Plus, there are many, many worse things to do that sit in your recliner watching football -- any football -- while stuffing your face with leftover Halloween candy.
Then again, there’s also the chance to see if Michael Vick actually has anything left in the tank as a starting QB, or if he’s become as bad as his play this year has indicated, as well as an opportunity to check out the Chiefs, who two potential candidates for Jets GM John Idzik’s job have helped build into a decent team.
Idzik’s imminent departure may not be a done deal -- unlike Rex Ryan’s -- but it’s pretty hard to believe that owner Woody Johnson will bring him back for another season after the disastrous campaign that’s occurred on Idzik’s watch. Scott Pioli, who was general manager of the Chiefs for four seasons before being canned amid Andy Reid’s 2013 arrival, is thought to be a contender for the Jets GM job, as is Chris Ballard, who’s currently Kansas City’s director of player personnel after having spent a decade as a Chicago Bears scout.
Pioli is now assistant GM with the Falcons, who may face a front office shakeup of their own after wining just six of their last 24 games. His Atlanta bio boasts of his having drafted such Pro Bowl talents as Eric Berry, Justin Houston, Dontari Poe and Dexter McCluster while at the Chiefs’ helm. That is an impressive run, and to those who would question how hard it is to select good players with really high draft picks (Berry and Poe were both chosen among the top dozen picks in their respective drafts), I’d say -- and I’m sorry to sound like a broken record -- Vernon Gholston and Dewayne Robertson. And, for those yearning for the good old days, let’s throw in Lam Jones and Blair Thomas for good measure.
My biggest issue with Pioli is that he had two chances to choose head coaches with the Chiefs, and his picks -- Todd Haley and Romeo Crennel -- made uninspired look inspiring. Considering anyone who’s ever watched Haley on the sideline inevitably wants to strangle him after 30 seconds, I can only imagine what his players felt. As for Crennel, I’ll simply say that his career record is significantly worse than Rich Kotite’s. My biggest issue with Ballard is that the definitive accomplishments he can list on a resume pale in comparison with that of my 10-year-old son.
Whoever is chosen to run the Jets will likely be choosing a QB with a very high draft pick in 2015. And whichever QB is selected will probably either sit behind (at least for a short while) or be shadowed by a veteran signal caller. Might that be Vick, who’ll be a very spry 35 next season? Stranger things have happened, especially for Gang Green.
