Is Herm Captain of the Chiefs' Sinking Ship?

I wanted to take the time to respond to a few comments that Herm Edwards is to blame for the Chiefs' recent woes. I think everyone brings up some very interesting points--I just don't happen to agree with them.

First off, let's get one thing clear: a 7-6 record doesn't warrant panic, especially given the adversity this team has seen all year. Dick Vermeil fielded teams with 6, 7, 13, 8, and 10 wins. I expect that the Chiefs will win at least 1 or 2 of their remaining games, which means that Herm's track record is not all that far off from Dick Vermeil's. Keep in mind that that Vermeil had much more talented, injury-free teams during his tenure than Herm has had in 2006.

As for Herm's actual problems: Is this offense too conservative and predictable at times? Without a doubt. Is this offense the same as last year? Definitely not. Are the offensive struggles mostly attributed to Herm Edwards? In my opinion? Not as much as you might think. This is not the same offense we are used to seeing. The offense has always been built around their offensive line.Aging linemen Will Shields and Casey Wiegmann are a year older, and have been more prone to breakdowns this season. The rock of their offensive line, Willie Roaf, flew the coop before the season even started. And Kevin Sampson's injured boo-boos, Turley's tight end body, and Welbourn's unjuiced muscles have made the right tackle position the most unstable it has been in years. The result? This Chiefs' offense is just not equipped to beat powerhouse defenses as it once used to. And it showed--the Chiefs just could not find time to pass the ball against terrific defenses like Miami and Baltimore. Plain and simple, the Chiefs' offense is underachieving because they're just not overly talented. They have a terrific ball-control running back and an absolute beast in Tony Gonzalez, but it just seems that if either of those two players is neutralized, the Chiefs have absolutely nothing to back them up.

I believe that Herm was caught building an offense that was already on the wrong end of a decline period. I'm slowly finding that out now. With a dominant offensive line, you can afford to get away with having no receivers.
With enough time, Trent Green is superb at finding open wideouts. Without it, there are defenses like Baltimore and Miami talented enough to cover receivers long enough to force QBs to stay in the pocket and take heat. More importantly, there are very few defenses that can cover Tony Gonzalez with limited attention. Those that can, force the Chiefs' receivers to win a lot more matchups in double coverage. With a dominant offensive line, that's okay. A receiver will get open eventually. Without a dominant offensive line, well... you see offensive fiascos like we saw in Baltimore and Miami.

It seems convenient to blame Herm Edwards for the Chiefs' offensive struggles. I don't blame you all. He has a history of being a little offensively challenged. But the talent of this offense is only good enough to win certain football games. I think it's a little misdirected to blame Herm Edwards for wrecking what was already a sinking ship. This offense peaked last year. But my thinking is, more so, that Vermeil just happened to leave at just the right time. This offense needs to rebuild, and I don't think we can judge Herm Edwards until he has a chance to rebuild it.