By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Musing at the mid-month:
• All of us who wanted Chris Jones to fade away during his holdout learned something as the Chiefs smothered Jacksonville.
• Superior defensive linemen remain a rare breed.
• Jones kept himself in superb condition while losing money during training camp.
• Jones came in sufficiently motivated despite finally agreeing to a deal that didn’t seem to favor him much.
• And the Chiefs won because of his impact on a defense that excelled on the road in hot, humid conditions.
• Although the offense sputtered, we all know Patrick Mahomes is capable of incredible feats.
• His most startling achievement of late is passing Progressive Flo as TV’s most recurring spokesperson.
• Not sure anyone predicted that a new, handsomely-paid right tackle would provide as much intrigue as anyone on the Chiefs roster.
• Seems to me that Eric Bieniemy is a pretty good offensive coordinator. Do the Chiefs miss him?
• The outcome of the Missouri game represents a bad loss for K-State.
• Face it, MU fans chant SEC better than their sports teams identify with the SEC.
• The move to that conference made little sense geographically, as evidenced by the rare sellout against a Big Six and beyond rival Saturday at Faurot Field.
• Oh, except for the SEC money. It’s great and all, but Mizzou has not been a factor in football since Gary Pinkel helped lead the charge to a new conference.
• Maybe this is the Tigers’ year with the SEC looking a bit shaky at the start.
• Not as shaky, unfortunately, as the Big 12, which may need to brace itself for an Oklahoma-Texas sendoff in the conference championship game.
• When wounded Will Howard slid rather than plow for the first-down sticks on a fourth-quarter play at Mizzou, the K-State QB needed to come out.
• Instead, he remained in, and the Wildcats sputtered, unable to put the game away.
• I think Howard will recover mentally and physically. He’s tough.
• However, precision is typically a strength that allows K-State to overcome superior athletes like MU’s Luther Burden.
• Instead, the Cats left Columbia needing to sharpen their attention to detail in all phases and within all position groups.
• It took a 61-yard field goal to beat them, but coach Chris Klieman understands the importance of making critical plays in tight games.
• I just wonder if he has enough playmakers at his disposal.
• KU also discovered the road can be fickle, needing a fourth-quarter touchdown to extend a Nevada losing streak that ranks as the longest in the FBS.
• Yet the Jayhawks stiffened when they needed to and again rode impressive performances from Jalon Daniels and Devin Neal.
• Kenny Logan is the ultimate veteran contributor, improving incrementally during each of his many seasons.
• I don’t mind examining artist renderings, but I’m more fascinated when facilities are opened and put to use.
• The plans for the KU football makeover are ambitious, especially among those who still wonder what grimy file cabinet the Gridiron Club blueprint got buried in.
• KU’s new digs, when built, will undoubtedly mark the dawning of a new day down the hill.
• Bravo to Travis Goff, an athletic director bridging the basketball-football paradox and winning over a fan base.
• I remember many ADs in Lawrence who had few friends upon leaving.
• Ditto for K-State, which also found a popular AD in Gene Taylor.
• Good to see at both places, considering everything that gets funneled through a major-college AD.
• They have their own athletic programs to build while also navigating fault lines associated with realignment, equality and funding.
• I know. They get paid well for what they do, but what they do is hard.
• When the shifty and sturdy Neal finishes at KU, where will he rank among hometown Jayhawks?
• That list includes John Hadl, a player the Capital-Journal named KU’s player of the century in the newspaper’s 1999 football preview.
• All-star picks from the first quarter-century of the 2000s would include some legendary performers.
• Collin Klein and Todd Reesing would quarterback K-State and KU, respectively, while Mahomes is a generational talent for our local pro team.
• That would be the Chiefs, not State Farm.
• I won’t draw this out by selecting a quarter-century team in its entirety.
• My memory can be spotty, especially when turning Medicare age this month.
• Do I just sigh and accept the expanded pill case I get as a gift?
• Maybe my wife will splurge and buy the deluxe model with big letters and color-coding.
• As I think about turning 65, I’d be happy to settle for progressive flow.
