The Kansas City Chiefs have had a disappointing year in 2011. Most of the reason was due to a slew of injuries to key players starting with Tony Moeaki, Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry. Later in the season it was Matt Cassel who went down with a season-ending hand injury.

It could always be worse. Here are five reasons why.

Not the Indianapolis Colts

The Chiefs are 5-8 after 13 games. The Indianapolis Colts, without their star quarterback Peyton Manning all season long, are winless at 0-13. Even though the Colts will likely get the top pick in the NFL Draft next year, at least the Chiefs haven’t sunk to their level.

Nine Teams Lower

Nine out of 32 NFL teams have a worse record than Kansas City. The Chiefs are at the bottom of the heap in the AFC West, but at least they have more victories than nine other franchises. If you count other teams with a 5-8 record, Kansas City is even or better than 11 teams, a full third of the league. Believe it or not, Kansas City is a middle of the pack team overall.

Steady Improvement

The Chiefs were steadily improving at one point in the season. Even without Cassel, former backup Tyler Palko has also gotten better with each game this year. The difficulty is that football is a team sport. Granted the quarterback is an important position, but clearly that player isn’t everything to the Chiefs organization.

Young Guys

Many of the players on the team are younger and will only get better in the next few seasons. The Chiefs will be a very skilled team by 2013 and 2014 when last year’s draft picks mature into better players. Unlike other franchises that never seem to get better even with draft picks, the Chiefs have a load of quality, young players around which to build a future.

St. Louis Rams

Perhaps the St. Louis Rams have deflected some of the problems with Kansas City this year. The other Missouri team is 2-11 and scores even fewer points than the Chiefs. Two bad teams in one state doesn’t bode well for NFL fans in Missouri, but at least the Chiefs have bragging rights at this point.

At least the team won’t finish 2-14 like it did in 2008. The low of the low that season was giving up 54 points to the Buffalo Bills.

William Browning is a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs after latching on to the team during the lean years of St. Louis football. Born in the gateway city, he is also a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan. He currently resides in Branson, Mo.

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December 7, 2011 – 2:39pm

Brenda Sniezek claims in a lawsuit filed Dec. 2 that she was let go in January after nearly 30 years with the National Football League team, primarily because she was over 40 years old and had worked under the team’s previous general manager. Ms. Sniezek, who was 51 when she was fired, alleges that the team’s current GM, Scott Pioli, and its owner, Clark Hunt, unfairly targeted her and several other older employees in an effort to overhaul the team’s corporate culture.

“In the year before Ms. Sniezek’s termination, several comments by Chiefs’ management evidenced a pattern of age discrimination,” she claims in her suit, filed in a Jackson County Circuit Court in Kansas City. “On (one) occasion, Pioli was overheard saying ‘We’re going to get rid of everyone who was with (former GM) Carl Peterson, especially anyone over the age of 40.’”

Lost wages, punitive damages sought

After her termination, Ms. Sniezek petitioned the Missouri Commission on Human Rights and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for the right to sue the team. That permission was granted Sept. 13.

Reached for comment, Chiefs President Mark Donovan called Ms. Sniezek’s allegations “baseless and ridiculous.”

Ms. Sniezek’s “claims are completely false and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves,” Mr. Donovan said.

Ms. Sniezek has demanded a jury trial and is seeking compensation for lost wages and punitive damages.

 

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The Kansas City Chiefs have announced this week’s recipients of the Missouri and Kansas High School Coach of the Week Awards presented by Missouri National Guard. Rockhurst High School’s Tony Severino (Missouri) and Washington High School’s Brandon Corbin (Kansas) each received this honor after a strong performance by their respective teams last week.

As a result of this honor, both schools will receive a $500 grant. Additionally, Severino and Corbin will be presented with congratulatory footballs autographed by Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley, a special-edition hat and a certificate recognizing their selection. Each coach is now a finalist for their respective state’s Chiefs Coach of the Year Award, which is also presented by Missouri National Guard. That honor will be selected via voting on kcchiefs.com after the season concludes.

Severino receives the award as a result of Rockhurst’s victory over Hickman (Columbia). In that contest, the Hawklets shutout the host Kewpies, 21-0. Coach Severino and his squad move to 6-0 on the season and are currently ranked first in the latest Metro Sports Super 25 Football Poll. They will look to extend their perfect record as they travel to Jefferson City and meet the undefeated Jays (6-0) later this week. That game is considered to be one of the finest on the regular season slate in the Show Me State this year.

Corbin is being honored after Washington outlasted Central (Missouri), 30-12. The Wildcats have now won two games in a row after snapping a 16-game losing streak. As a result of his latest victory, Coach Corbin has the team off to a 2-3 midseason mark. Washington will look to continue its winning ways as it travels to Sumner Academy to meet the Sabres (1-4) later this week.

The 2011 High School Coach of the Week program is a joint initiative of the Kansas City Chiefs, Missouri National Guard and the National Football League. This program is designed to recognize and reward Kansas City area high school coaches for superior performance on a weekly basis. The Chiefs Coach of the Week program is intended to honor individuals who are shaping today’s youth and tomorrow’s leaders.

Chiefs Hall of Fame LB Gary Spani, who currently serves as the team’s Director of Special Events, will be on hand each week for a special presentation to honor the recipients at their respective schools.

Each state’s winner is selected in collaboration with Time Warner Cable’s Metro Sports. Time Warner Cable is the official video provider of the Chiefs.

With the new NFL labor deal in place, expect Kansas City Chiefs players on the Missouri Western campus by week’s end, possibly as early as Thursday.The owners and NFL Players Association agreed to terms of a new collective bargaining agreement when the NFLPA unanimously voted to approve the measure Monday afternoon. Early indications show teams starting training camp 15 days prior to their first preseason game.For the Chiefs, that means coaches and front office members could arrive in St. Joseph Thursday, with players checking into Scanlon Hall for a three-week stay.
Related: NFL players approve deal to end lockout
“It’s exciting for Western and St. Joe that the Chiefs camp is coming back again in 2011,” Western interim athletic director Dan Nicoson said. “It’s something we all look forward to both from an economic impact and community pride perspective.”A specific schedule of practices and events for the St. Joseph training camp was not available as of Monday afternoon. Camp must be completed by Aug. 18 to accommodate the start of classes at Western.The Chiefs scheduled a press conference for this morning with coach Todd Haley and general manager Scott Pioli where the training camp timeline is expected to be announced.Mr. Nicoson said Monday that fans can expect a similar camp to last year, including two special event days — Family Fun Day and Junior Training Camp. There will be a $12 admission fee for both special events.Practices will again be open to the public for free, except for those held inside the Griffon Indoor Sports Complex.According to NFL.com sources who helped create the documents, teams cannot be in pads until Saturday.That means regular camp activity will begin Saturday, and the new CBA stipulated the first three days of camp are non-hitting, according to NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora.Two major changes will be made to enhance fan experience at this year’s Chiefs training camp.Parking will now be $5 per day and limited to one lot adjacent to Spratt Stadium. Last year, Missouri Western experimented with a mix of free parking for some lots while charging for spaces closer to the entrances.According to Mr. Nicoson, this setup created logistical issues.“We had traffic trying to go both ways, and it just became a problem for us in a lot of ways,” he said.Many also sought out the free spots and chose to walk rather than deal with the fee. The new setup should streamline the entrances into Lot H with commuters able to take the nearest spot available.On situations of dual practices, only one $5 fee will be collected for the day. There will be no parking fee for Family Fun Day nor Junior Training Camp.“Western has some limited opportunities to recover its operating costs of hosting the camp, and a parking fee is one of those,” Mr. Nicoson said.In addition to better access for parking, Western moved both the food court and beer tent closer to the practice fields.They were located behind the north bleachers at Spratt Stadium last year but have been moved west to keep fans closer to the action. In addition to the change in locale, patrons of the beer tent will have a cordoned off area in which to drink alcoholic beverages while watching practice. The roped-off area will be connected to the beer tent.“As long as fans are respectful of the players … the Chiefs will allow us to do that,” Mr. Nicoson said. “In other words, if we start having problems there, the Chiefs can pull the plug on that and it would be limited to the tent.”Tents and bleachers were being set up on Western’s campus, continuing weeks of work to prepare for the Chiefs’ arrival.With no delay expected and a full camp coming to St. Joseph, Western couldn’t be more ready. There will just be a few more days to wait and a chance to tie up any remaining loose ends.“As of today, I would characterize us as 95 percent ready,” Mr. Nicoson said. “I’m just afraid to say 100. I don’t really know off the top of my head what it would be (left to do).“There’s got to be something.”Ross Martin can be reached at ross.martin@newspressnow.com