Blasts From Our Past
By Big Matt
When you watch the Kansas City Chiefs long enough, you put together a long mental Rolodex of former players. There’s no reason I should still remember Patrick Dennis or Ricky Siglar, but I watched them, so I do. I even remember things about them. Siglar played tackle next to Will Shields when he was coming up. Dennis was a 5th round pick who started as a rookie during one of the crazy Gunther years.
There are hundreds of guys like this. The biggest fans remember the good and the bad. Sometimes the bad players can gain their own mythic status. Among my crew, Bam Morris is revered. All the running backs from that era are. If we’re busting a Chiefs hang, you can bet at least one of those guys will be referenced in a joke of some kind. Bam, Mike Cloud, Frank Moreau, Rashaan Sheehee. We had to have a sense of humor during those years.
Occasionally, a current player will remind me of one of those heroes from days of yore. More often than not in a good way. A few prime examples from the current roster after the jump.
Leonard Pope and Tony Moeaki = Johnathan Hayes and Keith Cash- This occurred to me a few days ago as I was walking my dog*. Hayes was gigantic, too. He had a reputation as a great blocker, which I don’t think Pope Lenny necessarily does (although he is infallible). But both are huge, decent tight ends who weren’t much of a factor in the passing game.
*Most of my Chiefs contemplation is done either while walking dogs or eating meals alone. Just like in Sex and the City, right girls?
Moeaki is this team’s Cash, the young guy brought in to help energize the passing game. Ultimately, although Cash showed promise, his career succumbed to injuries. Will Moeaki fare better?
Alex Magee = John Browning- I’ve made no secret of my love for Magee. It’s not that I think he’s a future pro bowler, I just think he’ll turn into a solid player. Third round pick, end/tackle tweener, flies under the radar, solid player. That’s John Browning all over. It took people a while to warm to him, too.
Brandon Flowers = James Hasty- Part of this is seeing what I want to see. I’ve been waiting for the next Hasty since the original left. But Flowers really does play like Hasty, doesn’t he? Smallish yet physical, a force in the run game, rock-solid pass defense without making a big show of it. In short, a stud. By the time Flowers is done I assume he’ll be right next to Hasty atop my all-time favorite players list.
Also both have unlisted telephone numbers…..I assume.
Dexter McCluster = Kris Wilson- I can just picture the smoke coming out of people’s ears as they read this. Hold on now addicts, put away the tar and feathers! I realize these two aren’t similar players at all. And I sure as hell hope their careers have different outcomes. Teicher made this comparison after the draft, and I think his reasoning was sound.
Both guys were a luxury pick in the second round. Neither has a set position in a standard NFL base offense, but both are billed as versatile weapons who will create matchup problems. Vermeil and Al Saunders assured us they’d be able to utilize Kris Wilson. Todd Haley and Charlie Weis feel the same way about McCluster. The players are very different, but the parallel is there.
Shaun Smith = Keith Traylor = Lional Dalton = Alfie Boone- The Chiefs have a knack for finding defensive tackles off the scrap heap that can masquerade as good players for a year or so. For that position, it really doesn’t take much. Some occasional penetration or a pass batted down and a guy comes off smelling like roses. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Smith make a decent play or two early and endear himself to us. But by next year, he’ll have gotten stale and we’ll be eyeing a new former backup in his thirties.
OK addicts, that’s my list. What about you? Any current players that remind you of former players?