At 1-5, Vermeil's Chiefs own worst record in AFC

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The 1-5 Kansas City Chiefs, off to their worst start in any non-strike year since 1978, have surprised their leaders as much as their fans.

Unless the Chiefs get things turned around in a hurry, they're about to experience their worst record since Carl Peterson took over as president and general manager in 1989.

"This is very disappointing," coach Dick Vermeil said Monday, one day after his mistake-prone Chiefs lost 24-16 at Arizona. "When you're 1-5, you're not very good."

Since taking one of the NFL's losingest franchises and turning it into a winner, consistency is what Peterson has been most proud of, avoiding the won-loss roller-coaster so many NFL teams ride by winning 10 games one year and losing 10 the next.

In the last 11 years, including last year's 7-9 campaign that got Gunther Cunningham fired, the Chiefs have averaged 9.9 wins.

"This is new," Peterson said. "When I came here 13 years ago, I stated publicly that I was not impressed with those teams that one year won the division and then were last.

"It is very perplexing. Yet I know we have some very good football players. I know we have an outstanding coaching staff. We're just not hitting on all cylinders."

With the trade deadline coming on Tuesday, the Chiefs had nothing working.

"In the National Football League, there are very few trades once the draft is over," Peterson said. "That's true of most people, unless they're shopping a player that's not helping them.

"Dick's philosophy is once you get 53 players, it's very difficult to remove someone from your roster. These guys have made a commitment in the off-season, the preseason, training camp. We're better served going with the 53 guys we have."

Better than their record

Vermeil and Peterson both still say the Chiefs are closer than their record would make people think.

"We're not as far along as I thought we'd be. And we're not as good as I thought we would be," said Vermeil, who was talked out of retirement to rejoin his old friend Peterson.

"I'm disappointed in myself. Everything starts with me and works on down. I don't think we're far away from a personnel standpoint from being a pretty good football team as long as we keep those who have contract negotiations coming up."

In a game that was originally scheduled for Sunday, the Chiefs will play host to Indianapolis on Thursday night looking for their first home win in four tries. The Chiefs will not have another home game until Nov. 25.

"We're bumped and bruised coming off the Sunday game," Vermeil said.

"I imagine the Colts are the same way. Their advantage is they were at home. That's a bigger advantage for the coaches than the players because they can spend part of Saturday and Sunday preparing for the game. Our coaches have been pretty disciplined and utilizing their time so we can be further along than we normally would be by 5 p.m. on a Monday."

Quarterback Trent Green, obtained in a trade with St. Louis for a No. 1 draft pick, has fallen far short of expectations the first six games, although he had six passes dropped against the Cardinals. His quarterback rating of 66.2 is fourth from the bottom in the AFC.

Vermeil bristled when asked if he was concerned about Green's confidence.

"I'm concerned about my confidence," he said. "I worry about everybody's confidence -- mine, the coaches, Carl's, Lamar Hunt's, Trent Green's. I worry about my left tackle's confidence when he has a bad game. You have to. That's my responsibility."