TypicalBill
05-16-2003, 04:39 AM
Dick Vermeil is staking everything on this season.
He's in the final year of his three-year contract and he wants his Kansas City Chiefs to make their Super Bowl run. The situation is similar to 1999 when Vermeil was under pressure to complete his turnaround of the St. Louis Rams. The Rams, thanks to the magical season of Kurt Warner, won the Super Bowl and Vermeil retired.
The only trouble this time is that Vermeil is in the AFC West, traditionally one of the toughest divisions in football. No one understands this more than Vermeil, who studies schedules and trends more than most coaches. With the Rams, Vermeil navigated one of the easiest schedules in NFL history to beat the Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV.
"There is no question it is a very difficult, intense division," Vermeil said. "Look at last year, there were no losers in the division. Every team was 8-8 or better."
Vermeil recently received his compilation of schedule stats updated from last year. Once again, he saw the same trends. Super Bowl winners are usually teams with easier schedules. In the AFC West, there are no breaks.
"The No. 1 criteria in winning in the NFL is how many losing teams you play,"
The Full Article (http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/clayton_john/1554069.html)
He's in the final year of his three-year contract and he wants his Kansas City Chiefs to make their Super Bowl run. The situation is similar to 1999 when Vermeil was under pressure to complete his turnaround of the St. Louis Rams. The Rams, thanks to the magical season of Kurt Warner, won the Super Bowl and Vermeil retired.
The only trouble this time is that Vermeil is in the AFC West, traditionally one of the toughest divisions in football. No one understands this more than Vermeil, who studies schedules and trends more than most coaches. With the Rams, Vermeil navigated one of the easiest schedules in NFL history to beat the Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV.
"There is no question it is a very difficult, intense division," Vermeil said. "Look at last year, there were no losers in the division. Every team was 8-8 or better."
Vermeil recently received his compilation of schedule stats updated from last year. Once again, he saw the same trends. Super Bowl winners are usually teams with easier schedules. In the AFC West, there are no breaks.
"The No. 1 criteria in winning in the NFL is how many losing teams you play,"
The Full Article (http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/clayton_john/1554069.html)