It’s mid-season review time. Since I missed posting about the Jets game, I am going to cover that as well. Basically, the Jets and Bucs games can be considered together. Those games were the types of games I expected us to start the season playing. Games that were close, we were competitive and we either win or lose close. Looking below the surface, we are not as good as these games make us look. There are three reasons for it. 1) As Steven pointed out, our D-line is getting blown off the ball. 2) We have been living on turnovers 3) The spread is a gimmick offense for the NFL, it’s success is fleeting and does not tell us much about our play in a more conventional offense.
On that last point. Tyler Thigpen is growing in confidence. However, his recent success does not give me any confidence that he can be a real NFL QB since it is coming from an offense that we will not be running next year.
Let’s review our current draft class. Evaluations are weighted based on each player’s draft position.
Glenn Dorsey. Glenn has yet to really make much of an impact. This is not surprising since DT’s can take a year or two to develop. I like his work ethic and talent.
Brandan Albert. Brandon has really stepped in well, especially considering his training camp injury. We may have locked down this important position for a decade.
Brandon Flowers. Brandon has looked very good for a rookie corner. This is looking like a good pick.
Jamaal Charles. I like this kid. He could be a nice, complimentary player/third down back.
Brad Cottam. Just starting to get on the field.
DaJuan Morgan. Why hasn’t he been on the field more? It can take a year for a safety to develop, but this is something to keep an eye on.
Will Franklin. Hasn’t done much yet.
Brandon Carr. This looks like our steal. I am very high on this kid. He may turn out to be a better player than Flowers.
Barry Richardson. He hasn’t dressed yet. That is not a good sign. Let’s see where this goes,
Brian Johnston. Just starting to see him on the field. With Tamba moving back to LDE, his development is key for the 2009 draft.
Draft Watch
We are still looking at QB, RDE and MLB as our first round areas of need. Adam keeps hyping Crabtree, but WR is far down on our list of areas of need. He makes the argument that we have to look at Crabtree based on value. Adam is way, way ahead of the curve here. He can not make the value argument when we do not know who will be in the draft. Further, he loves Mark Bradley. So, if we have TG, D-Bowe and Bradley, Adam would still draft Crabtree. We might have to change the rules of the game to allow more than one ball in play at a time. Maybe then, we can keep all those players happy. Given that we play with only one ball, drafting a WR in round one looks to be a waste.
Carl/Herm Watch
Their stock is up, just a tick. They are still playing for their jobs and time is slipping away.
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I suspect Dorsey might be playing with one or two bum knees. When he runs onto the field he runs like his knees hurt. Brandon Albert I think was considered to be second as far as skill level to Dorsey on draft day but he is the big score in this years draft in my opinion. Charles COULD be the big score. Ive got high hopes for Cottam as well, I like the trend toward taller guys in that position.
Merlin,
What convinces you that the Chiefs won’t continue to use the spread or some variation on it? Keep in mind the NFL is a copycat league and that just everybody in the league is now experimenting with it. In fact, people are starting about whether Mike Leach’s next move will be to the NFL.
If Chan Gailey can continue to introduce a new wrinkle or two with it every week and defenses continue to be flumoxed by it then I see no particular reason why it can’t continue to thrive in some form or another. If the defense chooses to blitz, you can go with either the hot read or a draw for a potential big gain. If the defense stays back and you’ve a got a mobile QB, that gives you even more options because then you’ve 4 or 5 receivers in one-on-ones, bootlegs, reverses, qb runs. As with any offensive scheme, it’s mostly about the line handling their assignments.
DD:
Every couple of years, the NFL flirts with pass happy variations like this and the run and shoot. The reason they fail is that the QB and receivers end up getting hit a lot. What defenses do is blitz and lay back a bit. They will hit your QB and give you 5 yards and bang your receiver. It is hard to find consistent success running this kind of offense. I see it as a wrinkle and it can be effective if used that way. The NFL defensive players are just too fast to run this offense game after game without it taking it’s toll. Chan is scrambling playing this way. He is trying to maximize today so the players can develop. However, this is a double edged sword. Eventually, it will cut the other way.
Cottam’s play the last two weeks has been lovely.
I dunno about bagging on Dorsey. I constantly see him commanding double teams. If we had other GOOD players on that O-line, we might be able to take advantage of that.
Dorsey has also been up against some of the best offensive lineman in the league. Names like Faneca, Wharton, Amano, Mankins, and Blaylock come to mind.
Dorsey will be fine we just got to give him time