Walter Football Preview

WalterFootball.com Chief Preview

I was reading Crane’s week in review and checked this article out. Well, the venom seemed to be flowing from Walter’s keyboard. He certainly has strong feelings on the Chiefs. So, I felt compelled to put down my thoughts while reading his hit piece article. My comments/reactions are under each quote.

"2008 Kansas City Chiefs Offense:Once upon a time, the Chiefs had the most dominant offensive line in pro football. Willie Roaf and John Tait were prolific bookend tackles; Will Shields was one of the top guards in the league; while Brian Waters and Casey Wiegmann were also exceptional at left guard and center, respectively. So, how did their offensive front go from being so dynamic to surrendering 55 sacks and failing to open up any running lanes (3.3 yards per carry)?"

Good and accurate starting point.

"Carl Peterson is to blame."

Ah, good old CP, the favorite whipping boy. OK, Walter, let’s see where you go with this.

"He watched Roaf retire. He was there when Shields called it quits the following year."

This is his fault? Did he refuse to use his magic anti-aging and healing powers?

"He let Tait defect for Chicago in free agency."

Let? Does a player need permission to sign with another team? The fact was that Tait was a RT for us who could get paid to be a LT for other teams. I hated to lose him, but those are the things that happen in the salary cap era.

"He saw Wiegmann rapidly age (now 35)."

Again with the aging comments. Where are these magic powers you imply CP has?

"Peterson hadn’t done a single positive thing to replenish the offensive front until obtaining Branden Albert with his second first-round selection in April’s draft."

Now, we circle back to some truth. This is my major beef with CP’s drafts the last 6 years or so. He didn’t spend enough good picks on the O-line. Part of the problem was poor drafting on the D-line resulting in too many additional picks being made there. Another problem was the inability of the Chiefs to develop young O-lineman with the picks they made.

"Right tackle Damion McIntosh, a Miami Dolphins reject, is absolutely horrific, but even he is better than right guard Adrian Jones, perhaps the worst starting offensive lineman in the entire league."

Wow, horrific for D-Mac? That is way out of line. He is a decent, not great lineman and played much of last year hurt. Adrian Jones perhaps the worst starting lineman? He is learning to play guard for one. This evaluation is based on what? His play at Tackle? His play in mini-camp?? To call this unfair is an understatement.

"The front office and coaching staff are high on Brodie Croyle, which shouldn’t be too encouraging because Peterson is an inept general manager, while Herm Edwards is one of the worst Xs-and-Os coaches in league history (though no one can question his motivational skills)."

I love the ‘logic’ in this argument. It basically breaks down this way. I don’t like A and B. So, if A and B like X, then X has to stink. CP is inept? Please, I don’t care if you don’t like him. Give credit where credit is due. CP was part of the Super Bowl Eagles, he was GM for two USFL championships. Up until last year, the teams he has been associated with won over 60% of their games. Inept? I don’t think so. If you want inept, give Matt Millen a call. Herm as a bad X and O’s coach? I’ll touch on that a bit later.

"In six career starts, Croyle has more picks (8) than touchdowns (6). His completion percentage is 56.3. He had four fumbles last year. And more importantly, he has no career victories."

OMG, no wins in your first 6 games? Well, I guess the only honorable solution involves a hari cari knife. I am sure a good QB would have found a way to win at least one game with no pass protection and little running game.

"The odds that the Chiefs drafted two consecutive Dwayne Bowes is slim to none."

Well, they are probably higher than the odds of you being a good talent evaluator.

"Remember when I bashed Edwards a few paragraphs ago? Well, one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen him do is single-handedly ruin Larry Johnson’s career by giving him 416 carries in 2006. Prior to last season, I wrote that you should avoid Johnson in your fantasy leagues at all cost. Johnson missed eight games, and even when he was in the lineup, he struggled, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry. Thanks to Edwards’ foolishness and the ineptness of the Chiefs’ offensive line, it’s very unlikely Johnson bounces back in 2008. There’s just too much wear and tear. Is rookie Jamaal Charles the answer if Johnson gets hurt again? I’m not sure, but I’m confident we’ll find out before Thanksgiving."

OK, back to bashing Herm’s X’s and O’s/playcalling. Walter…. come in real close, this is important. Do I have your attention? Good. I am only going to say this once: HEAD COACHES DO NOT CALL PLAYS!

Got it? Good. You see, in the NFL there are these people. They are called coordinators. The offense has one and the defense has one. You see, these are the guys that call the plays. Do you want to bash Mike Solari? Go ahead, right now his is a pinata in Chiefland. Yes, I know he is not around anymore so that doesn’t really help your case out for 2008.

"2008 Kansas City Chiefs Defense: It’s hard to score points when you’re not on the field, and that’s another obstacle Kansas City’s offense will have to overcome."

Hard to score points when the offense is not on the field. Wow, genius at work here. I am in awe. Let me write that down. Hard to score… points…. OK, I got it now. Learning is wonderful.

"Jared Allen is gone. Regarded by many as the premier defensive end in the NFL, Allen had 16 sacks in 2007. I have no idea how the Chiefs are going to pressure the quarterback. They’ll still have Tamba Hali, who was second on the team with eight sacks. But with Allen gone, Hali will face more double teams, as there is no potent rusher across from him. Turk McBride, a converted under tackle, will be the guy to initially take over for Allen."

Well, Turk McBride is taking over for Jared Allen? Do you do research before you write? Tamba is taking over for Jared and Boone is taking Tamba’s old spot. I do hope Turk can show enough to be the starting LDE though.

"Going from 37 team sacks to about 22 is going to put a lot more pressure on Kansas City’s secondary, which is in a bit of a transition phase."

So, you are assuming that We just lose Jared’s sacks and no one else doesn’t anything more? That includes Dorsey with zero sacks. I am reminded of your slim and none comment.

"Safety Ty Law is gone. Corner Patrick Surtain, 32, seriously struggled in 2007."

So, Ty Law is a safety? Who knew? I thought he played CB last year. I hope this is a misprint and not further evidence of your ‘research’. Surtain did struggle last year though.

"I’ve talked about how flawed the Chiefs’ defensive line and secondary is, so it should come as no surprise that the linebacking corps is a mess as well. Actually, let’s scratch that. The linebacking corps, save for Derrick Johnson, is a mess."

A mess??? Please, they were a solid unit last year. Donnie is on the way out, but still plays decent.
I don’t want to call the battle for the middle linebacker position a “competition.” Let’s refer to it as a “contest to see who sucks less.” The challengers are the completely horrendous Napoleon Harris and 35-year-old Donnie Edwards. My money is on Edwards, which speaks volumes about how terrible Harris is. If Edwards wins the job, Atlanta Falcons reject Demorrio Williams will start at weakside linebacker. If Harris is the man in the middle, Edwards will stay on the weak side.

Wow, for the 14th ranked defense last year, we certainly sucked a lot. The contest to see who sucks less? I get that feeling reading your article. What part of your analysis sucked less, Offense or Defense???

Well, needless to say he predicts 3 wins for us. It seems generous, based on his analysis. Basically he thinks well of only a few Chiefs. Based on that, I was expecting him to predict one to zero wins for us.