Feel the Wrath of Andrew’s Fixed Computer
I’m back, and boy am I pissed. People don’t understand that the Chiefs blogosphere is an intellectual minefield, I tell you! So many people out there carelessly throwing senseless suggestions out there, without knowing that the Power of the Interwebs automatically allows their makeshift whims to come true. I mean, who was that jacknut who keeps saying the Chiefs should draft CJ Spiller #5 overall? Be responsible, people! You don’t know if Pioli’s reading this!
Fortunately, and not just for me but for all of you pretty people, I have a repaired computer now from which I can dispense my anger at all of you for not being as smart as me. What have you been doing in my absense? Who’s been around over the weekend to tell you how stupid you are?
Hm? Patrick, you say? Well ha! If you think that’s a superiority complex, wait until you see my list of the 10 stupidest things Chiefs fans might want over the offseason.
Prepare to be put in your place after the jump.
Hi. 🙂
The 10 Stupidest Things Chiefs Fans Might Want Over the Offseason
1. Making a splash in free agency this year. As this website has argued numerous times, the current bargaining going on between players and owners has stalled, creating an uncapped year in 2010 (read Paddy for all the details). This means that teams will be able to hold onto virtually all of their impending free agency losses, and the few players that do make it onto the free agent market will cost ridiculous money, even by NFL standards. I’ve said this before, but every dollar we spend in free agency now is a dollar we can’t spend when we’re looking to add our final pieces, which in the future will be less costly than it will be this year. The less we participate in free agency, the better.
2. Not drafting a running back who can immediately assume part (or all) of the load. The last few weeks of the year, the undersized phenom Jamaal Charles was lightning on wheels. But he played through injury, which is something you can do for a few weeks, but something you cannot do over an entire season. Charles was not intended to be a 25-30 carry back every game for a year. It’s a priority that we protect our best player by giving him another player who can take up a good percentage of his carries to preserve him for years. It doesn’t have to be CJ Spiller, but it’s got to be somebody who can contribute now, not eventually.
3. Trading Glenn Dorsey (for less than a first rounder plus more). Dorsey’s progression has been about average when you compare it to how defensive lineman usually progress. He should become a force very soon, if not in 2010. Hey you could make the argument that he’s a force now, due to the DL’s pathetic play in the weeks that he had off. Put a true NT next to Dorsey and I think you’ll see the guy we anticipated drafting. And there’s no question Dorsey wants to be that guy; Dorsey has the heart of a lion, and few players work harder on this team than Glenn.
That said, it’s no secret that Dorsey does not fit this scheme, even though he can be quite good in it. If a 4-3 team was willing to pick him up, I wouldn’t say no, but not for the 2nd rounder that some people have suggested. A 1st wouldn’t even be good enough unless it was sprinkled with another pick.
4. Picking up WR Anquan Boldin via trade. Boldin is an attractive prospect, I can dig that. The guy is like a refined Dwayne Bowe and one of the more mentally fierce wide receivers in the NFL. That said, this team needs to stretch the field on offense, and Boldin is awesome but he doesn’t quite do that. He’s a possession receiver, like Bowe. He will also cost us plenty: we’d have to give up at least one of our 2nd rounders to get him, and he’s a free agent in 2011. While an excellent receiver, he is often injured and misses a ton of games. I’m not opposed to Boldin, he’s one of my favorite non-Chiefs, but picking him up is too big of a gamble.
5. Making it a priority to draft wide receivers this year. Without Boldin in the picture, exactly how are we supposed to improve our WR corps this year? Well… it might be best not to force it in 2010. The crop is thin in free agency, and it’s even worse in the Draft. This is a horrendous year for WRs in the Draft, and a fresh crop of studs that would rival the 2007 class (if not blow it away altogether) are popping up in 2011. My advice is to stick with Bowe and Chambers another year, Wade/Long/Lawrence can back them up, and improve the offense in other ways (RB, OL, TE), and go bananas in the draft next year for WRs.
6. Drafting a guard who can’t play center. The Chiefs have a ton of options at guard this year. Brian Waters has a year or two left. Alleman and Ndukwe, two players we traded for, may be able to hold down the spot (I’m less confident in Alleman…). Colin Brown will probably have the red carpet rolled out for him next year to start. Darryl Harris is a promising young player off the bench. Wade Smith played decently down the stretch. And Rudy Niswanger can man the position better than center. Where this offensive line is hurting the most is at center, so if the Chiefs pick up any interior lineman in the draft, you better go to their Draft profiles immediately and pray they can play center. We have no options there.
7. Trading down from our #5 overall pick. You cannot win without elite talent in this league, and the top ten picks are the best places to find those players. Trading down does nothing but guarantee that we’re choking off our chances at it. Eric Berry, Taylor Mays, Jimmy Clausen, CJ Spiller, Rolando McClain, even a couple of the tackles that I don’t want us to draft… These players, while we may like some more than others, have the best chances in this Draft of becoming All Pros (outside of Suh), and you don’t pass on that, ever.
8. Letting Brodie Croyle go. I actually would not be opposed to the Chiefs drafting a quarterback — even with a high draft pick! But whoever we Draft needs a year or two to be a worthless waste of a roster spot while they learn the ropes. Matt Cassel is as big a question mark on this team as there is, and if our moves to improve the OL don’t pan out in 2010, a good backup will be necessary. Enter: Brodie Croyle. The guy has a great relationship with the coach anyways, which can’t be overstated, but Weis’ conservative-ish offense would be tailor-made to his strengths as a quarterback.
9. Drafting NT Terrance Cody from Alabama. Over Pioli’s career as a talent evaluator, he simply has never been interested in big fat nose tackles who play two downs then return to the sideline. He never drafted them at New England, and there doesn’t seem to be any track record that he’s interested in them now that he’s in Kansas City. I understand the extreme hype to pick up Cody from the Chiefs fanbase — he’s a big nose, and we’re convinced that the biggest noses must thereby be the best — but his style and his persona don’t seem to fit the Haley mode. Haley wants disciplinarians, and Cody does not fit the mold (weighing in even heavier at the Senior Bowl than he normally is doesn’t help his case).
10. Moving Brian Waters to center. There’s a feeling somewhere in Chiefs nation that Waters should move away from guard to play center. Waters has had some experience there, but it was not very successful, and there’s no reason to move one of the sure things of the offensive line out of his natural possession unless he’s a bonafide stud at the other position. (Same thing with Brandon Albert, for that matter.) Instead of looking for stopgaps at center, the Chiefs need to actually pick up a legitimate stud at the position who can hold it down for a decade. If you want Cassel to succeed, continuity at that position is always the biggest of plusses.