Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley
Several years ago I made the mistake of questioning Jared Allen's ability in a column leading up to a Cowboys-Chiefs game. The reaction from Kansas City fans was harsh -- especially from Mike Overman, who is getting married this weekend. (Please try to avoid draft weekend the next time you get married, Mike.)
Allen became the Chiefs' most beloved player because he convinced fans that he was one of them. When he picked up his second DUI, he didn't hide behind lawyers. He vowed to stop drinking, and he subsequently elevated his game. I'm sure some fans in Kansas City are feeling duped right now after Allen's trade to the Vikings. I thought our friends at Arrowhead Addict did an excellent job of putting things in perspective. Kudos for an excellent Skeet Ulrich-Johnny Depp analogy.
But since I'm beholden to the so-called mainstream media, let me also point you toward Joe Posnanski's column on the trade:
"More than that, though, the Chiefs also bluntly felt as if Allen, while a good player, was not indispensable. When I asked one Chiefs official how the Chiefs possibly could get better without the NFL's sack leader, he asked back: "How many of those sacks were in the fourth quarter?"
The correct answer to that is zero. When asked what this was supposed to mean -- after all, the Chiefs were trailing an awful lot in the fourth quarter, and sack opportunities were rare -- the official shrugged and said, "I'm just saying. Zero."
Here's what the Minneapolis Trib had to say about the trade.
