Merlin's Magic: 2009 Chief Draft Review

This was a good read, Merl, and I don't disagree with too much. I will offer up my full draft thoughts here soon. Just been digesting it all and letting our other staffers' posts get some burn. I'll probably even bang out a vlog before the weekend, much to my vlog detractor's dismay :)

Is it possible to have a credibility percentage that's negative?

Heh. Just realized in my haze that I'm probably confusing Laboy with Hill.

But c'mon. Are you saying nobody else but me has spent the night sprawled in the front seat? A kid in his twenties? C'mon.

I'd definitely want to know ALL about Hill's recurring injury(ies). That'd affect the asking price, if not preclude an offer. But I'd also want to see some film and see what kind of help he was getting from his D-Line. You start seeing sprains and strains and worse when there's no help up front. This goes for RBs as well as LBs. *sigh* How many Heisman winners have I seen go down in this life of mine?

Herm the Gameclock Clown No, sir. It is _I_ who am in awe of YOU. :o)

And that idiotic "We blew it, but if I smile enigmatically, everyone will assume I know something they don't" thing. But that's just bein' mean on my part.

I have no stake in Leroy Hill. I simply responded to the article with a general principles-based "Sure, we'll have a look at the kid." He DOES have some strikes against him, and, bein' the fun-lovin' American that I am, I have to congratulate him for having the presence of mind not to be caught actually DRIVING while intoxicated. Not sure of the state laws where he was, but some places ya gotta be careful that the keys are out of the ignition, or you're busted.

I think Dorsey will be fine on the end. He's got a good motor and eats up space, the front of Jackson-Tyler-Dorsey should run stuff and free up the backers very nicely (now hopefully we see some speed from some of the LB's). Macgee will be rotated in on the line, but I think the only hope for guys like Mcbride and Hali is at OLB. Which may just work out.

Anybody here jumping ship? Anyone? Dissent being patriotism and all that, we're exercising our right to critique. Valid, premature, whatever, not much else we can do until the product gets rolled out -- for the first time in a long time I'm actually interested in preseason games.

I tried pretty hard to quit the Chiefs shortly after they hired Herm the Gameclock Clown -- if I couldn't shake the habit then, I sure as hell ain't doing it now. (his ESPN draft performance this year is instant-classic youtube, BTW)

HHmills, I agree with your man the trenches position and stand in awe of your bullfighter comment, but wasn't Leroy Hill found last year passed out behind the wheel with weed in the car? Not sure if that's a 'character' guy, but then again if the Randy Moss Redemption is a model we should be lookin for smokers.

"Passed out behind the wheel with weed in the car" could also apply to King Carl, come to think of it.

i really hope Dorsey works out at RDE. I dont think there would be any reasonable way to get rid of him before his contract is up in 4 years. If Glenn and Tyson could be the 2 cornerstone DE's for this franchise for years to come, that would be huge for the Chiefs. The more pieces you have in place now the better for now and the future

When King Carl was sent out of town on a rail everyone to a man thought Pioli was the best available guy to take the reigns. Now we haven't even played a game yet and people are already jumping ship?

Atlanta and Miami managed to turn things around in a year but that isn't the norm. Remember neither of those team were gutted by Harm Edwards or abused for years by Carl.

Give the man time and then judge him on wins and losses on the field. Not wins and losses declared by Mel Kiper and Todd McShay.

It is soon to be a glorious time to be a Chiefs fan again, sit back and enjoy the ride.

102win: Good point on Brown going to St. Louis. Seems like a missed opportunity to me, too, the way you put it. Apparently they plan on sticking with Niswanger. Maybe they're right. Maybe YOU are.

Disagree with you on Tony G. I want a blocker at TE, not a top-dollar bullfighter (OLAY!) from a 2-14 team that couldn't run on 3rd-and-1.

Also disagree with you on Dorsey. The Jackson pick looks like it dovetails with the retention of Dorsey, on a D-Line that can give a lot of different looks out of the same personnel package. Magee also fits that line of reasoning.

If Dorsey gets traded away, then you're on-the-money. I doubt he does.

But the bottom line is this was a losing team when they got here, with zero extra picks stockpiled, and a prohibitively hard-to-trade #3 pick in the 1st. They inherited a poorly-built team that was based on outmoded thinking (on D, especially), although with a number of bright spots among their younger players. Chiefs traded their 2nd-rounder for 2 starters, and picked up a 2nd-rounder in what scouts as a better draft in 2010.

Can't wait to see how it all pans out on the gridiron.

Extrametal: All good points, man. Leroy Hill's been mentioned. I'd also be looking at where those 3 USC LBs went, for starters.

Just my take on the league is that LBs and RBs aren't that hard to come by in this league. Lots and lots of candidates, and not all that many jobs for 'em. You first secure the trenches. Let everyone else wonder later where you found that great pass-rushing OLB, when your focus was to create good situations for your LBs in the 1st place, rather than expecting them to overcome DL deficits.

With the size and team philosophy up front, I think Zach Thomas has a LOT better shot at finishing the season than he would if the team were totally dependent on his heroics withOUT a DL to keep offensive linemen off him.

WR and CB are more problematical. If we go 4-3 under to protect our CBs, then our LBs are going to have to play a lot more coverage than I want them playing. Can we blitz AND press, or are we going to continue the big, soft open middle for the hot read?

Love the sense of excellence and the work ethic that will be applied to the whole organization.

The point was that it is a whole different deal to be the GM of a team that has three SB's in their pocket. You have vets restructuring deals, players agree to a lessened role to play for a ring and FA's all want to go to a winner.

We have a 120 yard field to play on, the Pats play on a 80 yard field. How could you manage them completely the same.

the second your start deviating from your beliefs is the the time you start making mistake. The greatest thing about Pioli and Haley is that they know what they want. Thats something the Chiefs have never really had.

This is my list of complaints.

1- Head Coach- We hired a first time HC that has never won the big game, but he acts like he thinks he is Jimmy Johnson. He looks like either a complete asshole or a complete dumb ass in every press conference
2- Free Agency- Our inactivity on big name players was inexcusable. Jason Brown-C (26 yrs old)had no reason to sign in St. Louis, he should have come to KC (we had the money, a better record last year and a grass field)
3- Trades - I would have done the Cassel trade, but wouldn't have traded Tony for a second next year. We should have gained at least a third this year and gotten a guy in here that we could play or develop. We should have traded down with someone, Washington or the Jets.
4- Draft- Not real happy about this. Should have taken Curry since we stayed at #3. Two DE's with our first two picks means one thing- Our #5 overall last year (Dorsey) is not in the "Plan". If that is the case, we should have moved him to someone for a first this year. Our should have drafted a Center or Guard in the 4th or 6th. Could have had two good ILB's in the 7th, but we got a TE who won't make the roster and a kicker.
5- General Philosophy- I do not like the arrogant mindset that our GM and HC are putting forward. I like confidence, but not this image that we have been seeing. The Waters deal was a major mistake, it should have been done to a different player at a different time. THIS IS NOT NEW ENGLAND! We have a different owner and have had a fan-base that has felt involved for 20+ years. The biggest key to New England's success is their coach and a QB who simply understands his system, and does everything right from a game management standpoint. It also helped to cheat a little.

To sum it up, I think that Pioli is treating the Chiefs as if they were the Pats. Pioli should be more flexible in the beginning and evolve into the "Patriots Way"

Extrametal: And FINALLY, I'm pretty content about FA after cuts, later, when it comes to LB and RB. And, assuming we want WR talent, a few names come to mind, and, if we WANT, we'll be the 300 pound gorilla, able to get the player we want, with minimum fuss.

We are in an extraordinarily good position to take the best players who DO come out.

But I'm more about experience and football intelligence at LB and RB, where we're likely to make moves. The trick is opening holes for LB and RB. We can also outbid 'most anyone for Peppers and/or Taylor, if we choose to go that route.

Braylon Edwards, Ocho Cinco, Anquan Boldin, Plaxico Burress, Marvin Harrison... You can diss any one of 'em you like, but those are just the ones I can think of, and we all know how stupid I'M.

My jury's out on OL, though. Folks SAY Mike Goff's departure will HURT the Bolts up front, but I think we all know that LT's dropoff the last year was more OL than LT. Brown's going to bring some real punch in short-yardage, even as a rookie, but how much immediate help will he bring on 1st and 2nd down? Until we see different, we have to be concerned about the right side.

But, assuming Albert can hold down the left tackle spot, even "after-cutdown-FAs" can bring incremental improvement to the abysmal performance of '08. How can it get worse? And Thigpen and Cassel have good enough wheels to only be better than last year behind even a marginally better line. Heck, just going with a REAL blocking TE automatically improves the right side. McIntosh might even look fairly OK with a TE covering the C gap.

i like Jason Taylor as a starter at OLB, and i like Marcus Washington for depth (even though i dont believe hes ever played in the 3-4 before). Really out of all the positions to have a need at after the draft, OLB is probley one of the better ones due to the FA field

Yar, hmills, my thought was that there might have been some nerves regarding Sanchez to the Shehawks, had the Chiefs taken Curry as popular sentiment ran. Then again sounds like KC tipped their hand regarding Jackson. I missed the overexposure this year, was out of the country.

No doubt he'll be a good player. But considering all the premoaning around here at the prospect of taking Curry at #3 money... a run stopping rookie DE doesn't rate that money either.

Agreed, he shouldn't be a tough sign... hit him while he's still ecstatic about going so early!

My original question remains about FA... who do you like at LB? Because wait until next year and hope our senior citizens hold up all season isn't awe inspiring.

squarebender: I tend to agree with you. Flowers showed some good stuff, but ultimately, you want to feel good about bringing your corners up and pressing at will against anybody, especially the WRs everyone fears. Best way to stop Randy Moss and Terrell Owens is to have the courage (and talent) to knock 'em off their routes at the line.

Flowers is more of a man-off kind of player, seems to me. I really like his tackling, and actually see him as a possible center-field safety (I'm going to take some heat for that), who can sneak up and blitz, time to time. But he's a mismatch 1-on-1 against a high percentage of taller WRs.

Having said that, he seems tailor-made for most of the 4-3 under everyone's talking about, where the corner drops back and takes 1/3 of the field. I'm less about corners who give cushion and take the outside leverage to direct receivers "toward help inside." I like seeing them jam against the inside move and play big 'n' fast enough to make the sideline and post patterns too risky to try. Use the sideline as the 12th defender.

Imagine all you like, Extrametal, but the Jets got Sanchez with the #5 pick, without having to bother with the Chiefs. I suppose there was some risk in Seattle going after Sanchez, but everybody and his dog figures Hasselbeck isn't the problem up there. And with the Browns wanting to trade down just as badly (or more badly) than the Chiefs, why should the Jets deal with us?

We'll see. Clearly we all would've preferred a trade-down. But if Tyson Jackson pays dividends, it'll be worth it.

I'm still wait-and-see. Not lookin' for a rope, just yet. My sense so far is that what I'll see on the field is better-conceived and fundamentally sound.

But yeah, I was taking the difficulty of trading the #3 for granted and I did spew nonsense about trying to get more picks in other than the obvious way.

I'm thinking, that Jackson will be pretty easy to sign for a #3 pick. And this and the Magee pick will set the tone for selfless play and selfless players. I'm also thinking that the Chiefs will figure prominently in FA.

2383:

dont kill the messager, im just showing you the reality of the situation. I have no preference either way, but i know that Mr. Pioli does. In most cases the GM has the final say so with that being said i do think Flowers will be on this team for another season or 2 but i dont think he will play the majority of his career as a Chief. I think the same thing can be said about Derrick Johnson, I have my doubts that he will be a Chief past next season. I dont think hes Pioli's ideal player for ILB in the 3-4 so i expect him to be tagged and then traded next offseason

Agreed, 2383.

sorry hmills for not spelling it out, but the tree in question would be moving the #3 pick. i imagine the jets called us as well as the browns.

Sooo today I sat down and looked up a few Michael Mitchell videos expecting to have a good chuckle at the expense of those silly Raiders. What happened was the oposite. What I saw was a way faster, harder hitting Bernard Pollard. The guy was beating RB's to the line, and knocking suckers out left and right. I honestly hope he's not as good as he looks but man...... After watching the videos, I did some research hoping to dig up some negatives and found out that aside from all the draft "gurus" bashing the pick, the Bears and Cowboys were both poised to take him in round two as well. Perhaps trying to diagose drafts before the players have even taken to the NFL field is ludacris. People trashing both the Jackson pick and the Mitchell pick should just hold off for at least a few NFL games.

A good corner is a good corner and I don't see Flowers going anywhere. I also don't recall too many gigantic patriots cb's. Flowers is listed at 5'9 on yahoo, hobbs- 5'9, gay- 5'10 and i havn't even bothered to look up anyone else yet.

But if the moves we're seeing strike you as nonsensical, remember that Pioli and Haley inherited an organization that rarely understood the causes of its failures AND successes, and this goes back to Martyball.

Extrametal: You seem to think that extra picks grow on trees. What did KC have to deal with except current players and future draft picks? Those future draft picks are worth more to the Chiefs where they are than in this year's draft.

For now, I'm trusting the Chiefs' eval of what they have up front on D. They picked up a real deal 3-4 end, with sentimental ties to the organization, including the comrade in arms with whom he won a national championship. Very tangible intangible, there, and we still don't know if any kind of "We'll take you at #3 if you agree to #20 money" went on with Jackson.

Wow! Wouldn't it be great if the organization gave and received good will from its players? Who was the last HAPPY DL the Chiefs had? It was ALWAYS adversarial with King Carl. That old-school "squeeze" by upper-crust mgmt just saw the sand slip through our fingers year after year.

The Magee pick is a maximum flexibility pick. The Colin Brown pick fixes short yardage in one move, and he MIGHT develop into a fantastic mauler at G/RT.

But before I get too carried away with the good that's likely to come with these few picks, I remind myself that there are a lot of young guys from last year that actually did pretty well, last year. Even with Carl and Herm in there, we would be seeing a lot of players hitting the waiver wire, because things just didn't work for them in a 2-14 campaign. The trick is to keep the good ones, let the bad ones go, and build some depth. From where I sit, that's what seems to be happening.

So, who thinks the Chiefs will try to finish the season $20 million under the cap? Do you think Clark just wants to save that money or do you think he wants Pioli to spend that money and win? Hmmm. If it were just about filling seats, the unpopular LJ would be gone, the unheralded Waters would be gone, and Tony G would be retiring a Chief...

Flowers definantly has something to worry about. He's 5-8 and doesnt have blazing speed. He showed that he's a solid coner last year but i doubt that will effect whether or not he stays on this team more then a year or two in Pioli's eyes. He likes tall corners and thats just how it is.

for anyone who hasnt already, check out Donald Washington's combine performance. The dude is quick and he has some serious hops.

It's too early to say if we have made any reaches. I'm sure that a guy like Pioli can spot good players when he sees them and I seriously doubt Flowers has anything to worry about. I have a feeling all of you negitive thinkers will end up eating your words 3 years from now.

Round five, Colin Brown, OT - A big development OT tackle type... If he emerges fast, great, but don’t count on it.

What's the most glaring weakness from last year's offense? 3rd and short. Goal line. Sure, we masked it with a lot of dink passes to Gonzo or somebody else, but the run on 3rd and 3? Forget it! What's the one thing this kid can do? Push the defense back off the line. Chiefs now have a formidable lineman who can come in at RG/RT in short yardage. LJ just needs to stick his nose on this kid's back and they gain 2 yards when everything else goes WRONG.

Round four, Donald Washington, CB - I understand the thought behind this pick... This was far from our biggest need.

Don't forget the need for special teamers, in particular, KR. This kid is a CB with size. What's special is what you don't mention. Look at how often he gets the ball into the EZ when he touches it. Solid KR numbers, and seems to turn most of his fumble recoveries and ints into TDs. Has that uncoachable ability to see the broken field.

If he does nothing more than give the Chiefs good field position 10 times this season, that's a plus. The fact that he's also capable of playing in the regular defense is a plus. And I bet they give him a look as a receiver, too. I'm not saying he's a sure-fire starter, but he has a VERY good shot at winning KR job, and has the kind of versatility that the team needs, and doesn't have.

yeah i really don't get why people are "hating" on the Chiefs draft this year. Ive filled out a depth chart and the Chiefs are looking pretty good on defense. Their maybe a depth OLB and a depth 3-4 DE away from being down but i think with this draft theyre right on schedule. The offense is less secure but i think with a couple more vetern free agent signings and the release of Larry Johnson, this team could be looking better

I think that this draft was done to replace the guys Pioli and Haley don't like, but also to help the guys they like or have to keep. Jackson teams with Dorsey and Tyler, a couple guys Pioli seems to like. He has moved Hali to OLB for now, although i could definetly see Derrick Johnson moving back outside and Hali to DE/Bench. We will see. Cassel will have to make do with Dwayne Bowe for now, and Cottam seems to be another they like. Still would've liked to see Crabtree or even an OL here at #3, but if Jackson is the guy who will get Dorsey, Johnson, and ultimatley Hali going as KC's anchors on defense, then so be it. This team is LOADED with talent, albeit talent that is LOADED with inexperience. A complete gutting of the roster would be a grave mistake, and I believe Pioli and Haley have realized this.

100% agree. While I concur with our pal redbeard's regular comment of "it's not a reach if it's the player you want," the fact remains that we could have gotten most of these guys a lot later after turning the spots we picked them at into multiple picks. There were a bunch of moves up by other teams -- either we weren't in the game or we wrongly thought we could do better.

So, while we're supposed to be "changing the culture of losing," it's not clear that instituting a culture of winning is on the near horizon, at least as it stands now. And there aren't many FAs out there currently that will make the kind of impact we'll need.

Not sure why people think that guys who are available after roster cutdowns are going to provide these answers either.