Merlin’s Magic: Veteran Pickup Winner and Loser
Now that we have gone through the OTA’s and minicamp, it’s time to take some stock. Specifically, I want to focus on the veteran acquisitions. This offseason strikes me as deja vu. I remember when the Chiefs hired a head coach with a tough reputation. He concluded that the Chiefs needed some vets that knew how to win in the NFL. Todd Haley? No, it was Marty Shottenheimer. When Marty arrived in KC, he signed Marcus Allen, Ron Jaworski and Mike Webster. Todd Haley is following a similar plan. It’s a good idea and it can work. Todd wanted to bring in some vets to show the young Chiefs how to prepare as well as instilling a winning mentality. At this point, I am ready choose my off-season winner and loser among those new veteran players.
The big winner is: Matt Cassel. Yes, I know I have been hard on Matt and I am still not sold on him as a NFL QB. However, he has earned my respect for the way he has conducted himself this off-season. He has done just about everything right. He has set a good example in terms of preparation and leadership. He gets my kudos for that. Matt had tough competition for this award. Mike Goff and Zach Thomas have also been big additions in the locker room.
My big loser is Mike Vrabel. Mike as been the polar opposite of Matt. While Matt has lead from the weight room, Mike has set the proper veteran example by not being here. Sorry Mike, you can’t lead from the couch at home. It’s very understandable to be upset going from a perennial playoff team to at team that excels at drafting in the top five of the draft. Sorry Mike, that’s life in the NFL. It is not to early to wonder if Pioli made a mistake in trading for him.
OK Addicts have at it. Any other new pickup excite you? Disappoint you?
[...] Chiefs Winners and Losers — Arrowhead Addict [...]
June 17th, 2009 at 9:13 pmtime will tell,,, GO CHIEFS!!!!
June 18th, 2009 at 7:27 amI think Zach Thomas will prove to be the best pick up in the immediate future, and potentially in the long run. It is obvious that DJ is already following him around and mocking him so that is great. If the rest of the young players on defense begin to follow suit this could be a solid defense for years to come.
June 18th, 2009 at 9:45 amI’m sure Vrabel was bummed, but I’m also sure he had a reason to miss the voluntary workouts. Even if he didn’t, the workouts were voluntary and he’s old. Give him a break.
Matt Cassel is definitely the most exciting player pickup. Love the potential, love the attitude, work ethic, and personality. I’ve just got this feeling that Cassel really could finally be the franchise QB we’ve been so desperate for.
I think our only disappointing veteran acquisition is center Eric Ghiaciuc. This guy was horrible in Cincinnati.
June 18th, 2009 at 9:47 amI agree with tgreen2103. Zach Thomas is slowing down, but he is still smart and a tackling machine.
I am also disappointed in Vrabel. He has missed quite a bunch of OTAs and been less than enthusiastic.
Dear Mr. Vrabel:
I am sorry you were traded from your beloved team. However, it is still very much a privilege to get paid quite a bunch of money to play professional football for the most appreciative fans you will ever meet. I expect you to give us 100% in your last, hopefully more, year(s).
June 18th, 2009 at 2:17 pmI saw an interview where Vrabel basicaly said that he was not in to being a Patriot this year and that he wanted to leave. I think that is why he was part of the Cassel trade. I’m not to keen on his attitude as a Chief so far, but I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with not being in New England.
June 18th, 2009 at 8:40 pmVrabel was part of the fight to GET those voluntary activities to be voluntary. Waters is KC’s NFLPA rep. Both are within their rights. Both are good on-and-off-the-field men.
Their absence in voluntary OTAs raises questions, but there’s little to be gained by pressing for answers or making predictions based on their absence. History suggests both will come in and school the young’uns when the time comes. Meanwhile, Thomas is providing the leadership on D, Cassel is providing leadership on O.
All’s well with the world.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:23 pmYes….mills…
Vrabel stated that his reason for missing them is because the union fought for them to be voluntary only and he is exercising his rights in the union…that is it…
Man, I hope Thomas makes D. Johnson into a monster…Too many times have we thought a veteran would train an up and comer and they have failed…soak it up derrick…
June 20th, 2009 at 3:38 amI’m not at all concerned about veterans missing voluntary workouts. They really don’t need to be there, and they spend more time with their families before the inevitable grind of the NFL season. Vrabel will come in and do his job. He’s made a name for himself doing just that throughout his career and is well respected throughout the league. Getting traded to a rebuilding but up and coming team will not change that.
It was clear last year that the defense really lacked a clear-cut leader, no one guy who brings to mind the classic scene in the program when Coach Winters (James cann) says to Joe Kane: “you are the only guy these guys are going to follow.” That’s why we needed Zach Thomas so bad. He signed and was there in the weight room the next morning to show the young bucks how its done in the offseason. DJ has really taken to him as several of you guys mentioned, which really can’t hurt because if Zach Thomas had DJ’s size, speed, and athleticism, he would be a scary bastard to stop.
If the young bucks up front can gel and pick up the D, and the vet LB’s we brought in can lead and get everybody lined up, with the young talent in the secondary we should have a solid D before too long for a really long time. We just have to be patient…
June 20th, 2009 at 11:51 amGood post, Merlin. I pretty much agree with all of it.
June 20th, 2009 at 3:28 pmLOSER: Matt Cassel, sounds like a queer thing to say but I am a bit nervous about Cassel. He simply does not have the talent around him in KC that he did in NE. He wont have the luxury of holding on to the ball (he holds the ball too long = getting sacked for a loss). Mr Thigpen did not win a bunch of games but he already has a season of getting to know the receivers, and other offensive players in KC. I think we could have given him a chance to mature and saved ourselves a second round pick (usually better than the first). BTW. offense was our strong suit last year which leads me to……
Winners: Thomas, Vrabel yes they are both on the decline as far as age. But, as badly as we struggled last year with defense, we needed proven veteran leaders and got them in Thomas and Vrabel. they will both make immediate impacts.
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:02 pm