2011 K.C. Chiefs Draft: Whose Team Is This?

Scott Pioli did it again. He drafted a player this year from the same school he drafted a player from last year. In fact he did it twice this year. That makes 15 times that Mr. P and company have used what I call Tandem-drafting (acquiring two or more players from the same school within any two year period) in the past 12 years.

What’s more is that Scott Pioli has also made a habit of drafting multiple position players as well. He drafted two defensive ends this year and two safeties in 2010. DE Allen Bailey and DE Gabe Miller may not end up playing the same position but doing doppelgangers has long been part of Pioli’s drafting pathology.

The question is… why?

Here’s one possibility. Peer-tutoring. There’s a net-load of research that shows peer-tutoring has all sorts of bonuses.  Check out some of the advantages.

1. In peer-tutoring… learners who help each other gain knowledge and become more skilled… by teaching. Guys like Kendrick Lewis and Dexter McCluster being given the opportunity to show someone like Jerrell Powe (all from Mississippi) the ropes will be solidifying and they’ll be relearning what they went through last off- season and season. Win-win.

2. Peer-tutoring… enables learners to keep pace, or they might otherwise fall behind. In Todd Haley’s system of help-now-or-step-aside, the tandem philosophy is invaluable. Win-win.

3. With peer-tutoring… peers learn better from their equals than from their superiors. In the 24-7-356 dot com universe of the current NFL, players need all the benefits they can get.

4. Peer-tutoring… increases confidence and trust among learners and leaders. Haley using activities to create squad camaraderie last season was a big plus for the Chiefs especially when you look at the bottom line win loss record. Win-win.

5. Peer-tutoring… gives learners a voice and a standing in the classroom culture. Second year players helping rookies find their way isn’t what usually goes down in a players first season in the NFL. Just ask Dez Bryant.

The result?  W i n n i n g !

Over the years this practice of Scott Pioli’s draft double-dipping of schools and positions has mostly gone undetected. During this draft I observed Chiefs fans, and NFL experts, claiming that Scott Pioli has strayed from his long stated values by selecting players with shaky pasts. Following Day One, Scott Pioli alleged he was expanding his view. I’m sure he witnessed what many of us did during the playoff loss to the Ravens. Simply put they manhandled us up the middle. The Ravens were able to do this on both offense and defense.

However, I’m not sure Scott Pioli has changed “his” values at all. What is likely a more legitimate possibility is that he has taken inventory of last years’ loss, done his own self-evaluated, and then stepped aside slightly to make room for others’ values to be expressed in the player selection process. Last year’s draft was great and it did improve overall team speed and provide some wonderful weapons such as Tony Moeaki, Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas. However, it didn’t reap the big-strong-fast-n-nasty-boys that were so needed in the playoffs.

I have long suspected is that Todd Haley envisions molding these K.C. Chiefs by recreating the Steelers of the 70s. Those Steelers of yesteryear accomplished that with deep and epic drafting. He’d do this not so much as a tribute to his father Dick Haley, who helped shape those Steelers teams, but because he simply knows it can be done. He sees it as a possibility because daddy did it.

We may be light years away from appropriately evaluating this draft but looking at the players we’ve chosen from the stance that Pioli is allowing Haley a greater say-so and Haley is applying his vision by going for big-strong-fast-n-nasty-boys, who might also have character issues, then this draft makes perfect sense.

On Friday evening following the Chiefs selection of Jon Baldwin, who some see as not being part of the “right 53” who our GM has spoken of in the past Scott Pioli said something that may indicated he is growing or expanding his viewpoint, “If you get yourself too tracked in thinking that in one way and staying locked in on, you know, whatever belief system that you have not being altered, you’re setting yourself up for failure, so you have to be open minded.” (go to video #3 at 13:27)

If what Scott Pioli is doing is evolving and sharing that burden with his head coach he is charting undiscovered country. Scott’s father-in-law Bill Parcells once declared, “If you’re going to prepare the meal, you should be able to buy the groceries.” It appears as if Coach Haley was finally given permission to go to Price Chopper for a couple of items. In my opinion he came away with Top Sirloin.

Now, trusting Scott Pioli has come to mean more because he is trusting the people around him. Dang, I just hate people like that because it makes you want to trust them even more. By trusting the people around him more the Kansas City Chiefs have become more than just his team.

He may be altering his approach but, I’m glad that Mr. Pioli still remembers how to bag em two at a time.