FanHouse BlockedPunt

I spent so much of my time over the past few weeks wrapping up the Chiefs' 2006 season. It's about time that I put the final nail in that coffin. Here is my overview of the good, the bad, and the ugly for the Chiefs last season.

Offensive player of the year:
Larry Johnson. Raise your hand if you're surprised by that choice.

Defensive player of the year:
Tamba Hali. You know what pisses me off about the sports media? They have become so obsessed with fantasy football that they are now blindly choosing award winners by paper statistical achievements. Tamba Hali should have been neck-and-neck with Demeco Ryans for Defensive Rookie of the Year; instead, Hali did not even crack the top 4 in the voting. I absolutely cannot believe there are voters out there who actually think Mark Anderson was a better defensive end than Tamba Hali. First, Hali lines up to two career backup defensive tackles; Anderson lines up with Tommie Harris and Tank Johnson, one of the most lethal tandems in the NFL. Anderson is a pure pass rusher; Hali is an every-down lineman. Anderson's outstanding 12 sacks were only marginally better than Hali's very good 8.5 sacks, but Hali's 58 tackles far surpass Anderson's 28. Tamba, you deserved better than that.

Biggest disappointment
The big uglies up front becoming... just ugly. Jordan Black was better than expected, but he was still lousy. The problem is, the rest of the offensive line was just as bad.

In one of my blogs, a reader made an interesting comment about the very strange blocked punt call in the Chiefs vs. Chargers game last Sunday. ppatel wrote:

I think the Chiefs were robbed in their game against Chargers yesterday (December 17, 2006). Look at NFL rulebook: http://www.nfl.com/fans/rules/kicksfromscrimmage and look at item number 4. It states offensive team can recover a blocked punt but retains possession only if they gain enough yard to get a first down.

Thank you for the well thought-out comment. Unfortunately, the rule you are referencing only applies to punts that do NOT pass the line of scrimmage. Although I share your sentiment, once I got over my fury about how the refs hosed the Chiefs, I thought rationally and realized that the ruling actually makes complete sense.

For those who don't know about he play we're referencing, in yesterday's Chiefs vs. Chargers game, Bernard Pollard blocked a punt deep in Chargers territory. The ball wobbled a little past the line of scrimmage, Chiefs' special teams player Derrick Ross touched the ball, and San Diego recovered the football. I think a lot of living rooms and bars were stunned when the ruling was that the Chargers would retain possession and get a first and 10.

Stupid rule, right? Actually, it's not.