“Huddle up.”

“Gather round.”

“Everybody make a circle.”

I’ve been involved in team sports for over five decades and have heard those words on and off the field of play many, many times. It’s what you do in any team sport. You gather together… usually in a circle.

The Chiefs season has finished some time ago now but, I keep attempting to understand why or how the season came out the way it did. Evaluations abound and I’ve read many since the Chiefs whipped the Broncos in their last game. However, these “evaluations” don’t seem to take the “team concept” into account.

Being the teacher that I am, I admit, I’m a bit of a charts and graphs freak. Perhaps you’ve noticed this from some of my other posts. Plus, I keep having a “circle” come to mind, to exemplify and symbolize, the idea of a team.

So, here’s my evaluation of the Chiefs in 2011 as seen through the success circle. The success circle takes the evaluation of each player and places them together in a circle. Each player must do their job for the team to be successful as a whole. The more each player contributes, the more well rounded the team becomes.

When that happens, a team can really get on a roll. However, we didn’t see much rolling this year.

Below you’ll find a circle graph with a rating for each player on offense and a separate circle graph for defense.

This week I will cover offense. Next week I’ll cover the Chiefs defense.

The circle evaluation system consists of a numerical rating from 1-10 for each player with one being the worst and 10 being the best. If a player is in the 96th percentile, or higher, of everyone playing their position in the league, then they deserve a 10. Currently, the Chiefs only have one player like that and that’s Tamba Hali.

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I like Steve Breaston, I’ve been pounding the table for this signing all offseason and I’m very happy it went through. And, as corny as it sounds I love that we on AA have already coined a nickname for our new passing triumvirate – the Killer B’s (Bowe, Baldwin, Breaston).

I think he is an important signing not only because 2010 made it clear that Cassel needs more passing weapons, but also because the Chiefs need a #2 receiver. Wait! But we drafted big-bodied deep threat Jonathan Baldwin in the first round to be our number #2, and Breaston is much more suited to be a slot receiver!

True, and in a perfect world that is how it would play out for the Chiefs in 2011, I’m writing this now to save you from the disappointment. Find out why after the jump. (more…)

There seems to be a lot of chatter in these here parts about what all is wrong (and right) with the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line and how to make it better. We’ve all heard ‘em, they generally go something like this:

Branden Albert will never win us a Superbowl at LT; he should be moved to . . .

We need a major upgrade at RT, Barry Richardson shoved a coach.

Even at 74 years old, 110 lb Casey Weigmann continues to play phenomenally well. He anchors our OL dammit!

Don’t dare touch Ryan Lilja, he’s from here and more importantly, he went to K-State!

Brian Waters play has slipped, he’s just getting by on reputation.

Okay, perhaps I exagerated a tad on the matters of Casey Weigmann’s diminutive stature and charter membership to AARP, but are all or any of these statements really valid? I’ll do a little review on all this right after the jump.
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Some people, analysts and fans alike, did not like the direction the Chiefs took in the draft.  One of the concerns is that the Chiefs traded out of the 21st pick when offensive tackles Anthony Castonzo and Gabe Carimi were both available.  The Chiefs eventually took Jonathan Baldwin, who has character concerns of his own, at the 26th pick in the first round.

There could be arguments made all day about whether the Chiefs selected the right players in the 2011 NFL Draft.  The truth of the matter is the draft is over and the players that were selected are the players the Chiefs are stuck with.  Each of these players brings something different and unique to the Chiefs roster, so without further ado lets dive into each draft picks role and expectations entering the 2011 NFL season.

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The NFL draft is over and the NFL lockout is still in full effect so that means it is time to get back to evaluating the Kansas City Chiefs roster.

You may remember back in January and February, we started a series going through the roster and using advanced Pro Football Focus statistics and grades to get a more accurate view of how each player performed in 2010. In this series we hope to shed more light on which players are actually getting the job done, while also dispelling some myths.

Pro Football Focus grades every snap of every play for every player. They go beyond the box score and help us to see where a player excels and where, if anywhere, he falls short.

With that, let’s continue our series by taking a look at former first round selection Glenn Dorsey.

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