Chief Concerns

I'm guilty.

I put the Chiefs ahead of the players all the time.

I'd make a lousy general manager because I'd expect a player to put the team first and be happy with what I paid him. A million to me is a lot, but not to an NFL player. Making what I make my perspective is skewed. What Calvin Johnson earns compared to my living isn't even considered lopsided. It's embarrassing!

As a fan it's about the red and yellow plus loyalty. Arrowhead and home field advantage those sorts of things occupy fandom not millions, long-term contracts, or what it takes to get to the top.

Baldwin already a starter?

Dwayne Bowe wants what he feels is fair. Nobody knows for sure what that is, from either side. No solid numbers have been released on who wants what and what Scott Pioli is willing to pay.

Again, Bowe wants what he thinks is coming to him. Should I cast Bowe aside because he's doing what he feels is right? The NFL is a profession and he's a professional seeking a pay raise for what he's accomplished these past six seasons.

I want mine as a fan just as much as Bowe wants his as a player. So who is more right? Bowe or the Kansas City fan?

Romeo Crennel said training camp is where a player gets the most coaching and conditioning. After camp and when the season starts what comes next the player controls. What a player takes away from the offseason and training camp becomes their responsibility.

That's what Bowe is missing. So technically Dwayne Bowe is in the dark when it comes to the offense and what the new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll would have him to do.

As a fan that's what I see most not Bowe and his contract.

Everything about Jon Baldwin is speculation but that doesn't mean he can't get there. Not yet does Baldwin have as many receptions as Bowe or a 15 touchdown season, not yet. Baldwin lacks experience, but has the attitude to catch up. And by the looks of it, he's in a hurry.

It looks more like Bowe might wait until a few games into preseason before showing. That's what some think. The concern is will Bowe's worry for himself and his contract jeopardize the Chiefs making the playoffs or winning a playoff game something Kansas City hasn't done since 1994.

Back to being a fan, that's what I see.

Nobody knows for sure how much Baldwin and his efforts in camp will really minimize what Bowe and his contract situation is doing to the Chiefs. Baldwin and his determination could translate easily into the regular season but it might not. Real game speed changes things.

That's the chance both Kansas City and Bowe are taking. It might be naïve to think that Baldwin can simply replace Bowe.

But being fair to Bowe I need to check myself as a fan.

I'm thinking about me, about the season, and how Bowe not being in training camp affects the Kansas City Chiefs chances to win the division and in the playoffs.

Does Bowe deserve more respect from the 12th man and a little more patience with what's best for him and his contract? Because lately Bowe has gotten little love from fans. That also includes me.

This is Bowe's career and careers in the NFL are short. We aren’t talking backyard football but Bowe's livelihood and what he worked hard to get to.

Watching football on television or from the stands I sometimes forget that these guys put themselves through a lot for my entertainment. It's not always as simple as I make it, because like it or not the business side is part of it.

Sure, Bowe’s thinking about him but with my allegiance to the Chiefs I do the same. As a fan all I care about is Kansas City winning. That's the truth, but Bowe's thinking goes deeper than game day on Sunday. That’s Bowe's truth.

I hope that someplace in the middle between what I want as a fan, what Pioli is willing to pay, and what Bowe expects is the compromise. I would like Bowe to remain a Kansas City Chief.

Good day, Chiefs fans!