Apr 25, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) is introduced as the number one overall pick to the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Draft is one of the greatest events for any football fanatic. It is a great event to prove you’re a better General Manager than the one employed by your favorite team. It’s easy to yell at your television set about whom they just took or why they didn’t grab your guy. Soren Petro, host of the Program on Sports Radio 810 WHB, this week talked about an exercise he does every draft. He writes down whom he would have taken with each selection. No trades, just in the given draft order and tracks them for progress  It gave me the idea for my column this week to do the same. If not him, then who? Before I tackled this task, I thought that it would be pretty simple since I feel I have a pretty good grasp on the football world. Wait, one-minute football friends: it’s not as easy as it may seem. All us Arm-Chair GM’s may want to try this exercise before we crown ourselves the next GM in waiting. Take a look at mine and let the debate begin Addicts!

1^st Round

1^st Pick – Eric Fisher – T – Central Michigan

Opinion – I really couldn’t argue with the Fisher pick. I was originally all in for Luke Joeckel but understand the potential in Fisher. I personally would have taken Joeckel because of his college competition (apparently the SEC is pretty good, haven’t heard much about them) and his being seen as a more proven commodity. That being said, I really like the Fisher pick and don’t think either one of these guys would have been a bad choice. The ceiling on Fisher is supposed to be higher where as Joeckel is more ready at the moment. After listening to Fisher talk after the draft I did gain a lot of respect and perspective on the man and think he will fit in exceptionally well in KC.

3^rd Round 

63^rd Pick – Travis Kelce – TE – Cincinnati

Opinion – I was pretty surprised we drafted a tight end, considering we have Tony Moeaki already and just signed Anthony Fasano. The scouting report on Kelce is intriguing.  The NFL.com profile compares him to Rob Gronkowski. That was not a typo: Kelce was compared to the Gronk.  He has had off-field problems, but has been a solid run blocker who became a bigger receiving weapon this past year. This gives us three legit tight ends. This also says to me that the new regime is not too sold on Moeaki.  I would have taken Matt Barkley, quarterback from USC who fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in the early 4^th round. I thought having Barkley sit behind Alex Smith and Chase Daniels for a few years learning from Reid and company could really be a phenomenal grab in the third round. (Mind you, this is before we knew we could sign Tyler Bray undrafted, which makes me feel better now.) I do think the Kelce pick could be a great pick up. Who knows, we may see the multiple tight end sets in KC this next season.

96^th Pick – Knile Davis – RB – Arkansas

Opinion – I wasn’t sold on the Knile Davis pick just because of his injury history, losing an entire collegian season while at Arkansas. Once seen as a promising runner, Davis has battled injuries in every season for the Razorbacks. He also has had a history of bad ball security. He did have one of the better combine workouts, which was probably the key to the Chiefs taking him here. If running back was the key need here and injuries didn’t scare you away, I would have went with Marcus Lattimore from South Carolina who later went to the Niners in the 4^th round. Lattimore compares to Arian Foster, a very balanced back. The key issue with Lattimore is his knee injuries. The other option I was strongly pushing was taking WR Chris Harper from Kansas State with this pick. Harper was taken in the 4^th round at 123^rd by the Seattle Seahawks. I think the fit of Harper to play the 3^rd or 4^th receiver spot would have been great for the Chiefs’ offense.  Harper is a great position receiver, something that has never really materialized from Jonathan Baldwin. He would have created a perfect balance between Dwayne Bowe and newly acquired burner Donnie Avery.

4^th Round 

99^th Pick – Nico Johnson – LB – Alabama

Opinion – I love the pick of Nico Johnson in this round. The Chiefs needed to find a linebacker ready to step in and play inside LB alongside Derrick Johnson. NJ (you know he’ll be called that) will complement DJ perfectly in the 3-4 scheme. Nico is known as a strong run defender and assignment-sure backer per NFL.com’s scouting report. This allows DJ to continue to be the playmaker he has grown into the past few seasons. Johnson & Johnson (that one will also be used) should thrive.

5^th Round

134^th Pick – Sanders Commings – CB – Georgia 

Opinion – I like the pick of Commings the more and more I look into it. His biggest red flag is an off-the-field incident he had at the beginning of 2012. I think this may have dropped him a few rounds. The scouting report on Commings says he doesn’t have ideal footwork, but his size and ability are great. He may be able to work on this, making him a steal in the fifth round. Hopefully his off-the-field problems are behind him as well. One player I would have considered as well here is Iowa State linebacker A.J. Klein. who went 14 picks later to the Carolina Panthers. I loved Klein in college, where he was a solid leader and tackle machine.  He could have added great depth to the positive and be a monster on special teams. His knock was his speed, but his instincts should help that deficiency.

6^th Round 

170^th Pick – Eric Kush – C – California (PA)

Opinion – The Chiefs needed an insurance plan if Rodney Hudson isn’t completely healed from last season’s leg injury. They got one in small school stud Eric Kush. Even if Hudson is healthy, they needed depth at the position  I really like the Kush pick. Kush has great foot speed and excellent reaching ability for a center. Lance Zierlein from thesidelineview.com had him rated as the 3^rd best center in the draft and projected him in the 4^th round. Great value at the 6^th round and really wouldn’t change anything about this pick as well.

204^th Pick – Braden Wilson – FB – Kansas State

Opinion – Andy Reid was quoted saying he thought Wilson was the best blocking fullback in this draft. He justified that comment by making Wilson his second sixth round pick this draft. All Wilson did was block for big time runners while at Kansas State. First, he blocked for now-Miami Dolphins back Daniel Thomas. Then he blocked for dual-threat Heisman Trophy finalist Collin Klein and his teammate John Hubert. Some thought Wilson’s ability could see him play some tight end or H-back in the NFL, but I think he will be used primary as a blocking back for Jamaal Charles. I really like this pick (FYI I am biased though because I am a K-State fan) and think Reid will utilize his skills well.

7^th Round

207^th Pick – Mike Catapano – DE – Princeton

Opinion – The Chiefs took Catapano, the 2012 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year with their final pick in the draft. From what I hear, Catapano may play outside linebacker to back up Tamba Hali and has a similar motor. I would have really liked to take a chance on area guy David Bass from Missouri Western State, whom the Oakland Raiders grabbed later in the round. Everything I have heard about Bass was the man was a beast while in St. Joe.  We will have to wait to see if Catapano can make me forget Bass is now a Raider.

Apr 26, 2012; New York, NY, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during the 2012 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during the 2012 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

With the draft less than a week away, rumors and anticipation are reaching an all-time high with who the Kansas City Chiefs will take with their 1^st round pick. Mind you, this may all become much clearer if/when the Chiefs trade LT Brandon Albert to the Miami Dolphins.

Since this will be new General Manager John Dorsey and Head Coach Andy Reid’s first draft with the Chiefs, I wanted to look into what the two’s prior drafting tendencies were.  For Reid, I looked back to the start of his career in Philadelphia, starting back to 1999.  For Dorsey, I looked into the Green Bay Packers’ drafts dating back to 2000, when he was Director of College Scouting until 2011, then becoming their Director of Football Operations for the 2012 season.

Here is all first round picks for the two.

Philadelphia Eagles 1^st round under Reid:

2012 – Fletcher Cox – DT – Mississippi State – 12^th pick

2011 – Danny Watkins – OL – Baylor – 23^rd pick

2010 – Brandon Graham – DE – Michigan – 13^th pick

2009 – Jeremy Maclin – WR – Missouri – 19^th pick

2008 – No first round pick

2007 – No first round pick

2006 – Brodrick Bunkley – DT – Florida State – 14^th pick

2005 – Mike Patterson – DT – USC – 31^st pick

2004 – Shawn Andrews – G – Arkansas – 16^th pick

2003 – Jerome McDougle – DE – Miami (FL) – 15^th pick

2002 – Lito Sheppard – DB – Florida – 26^th pick

2001 – Freddie Mitchell – WR – UCLA – 25^th pick

2000 – Corey Simon – DT – Florida State – 6^th pick

1999 – Donovan McNabb – QB – Syracuse – 2^nd pick

Green Bay Packers 1^st round under Dorsey:

2012 – Nick Perry – DE – USC – 28^th pick

2011 – Derek Sherrod – OL – Mississippi State – 32^nd pick

2010 – Bryan Bulaga – T – Iowa – 23^rd pick

2009 – B.J. Raji – DT – Boston College – 9^th pick

2009 – Clay Matthews – LB – USC – 26^th pick

2008 – No first round pick

2007 – Justin Harrell – DT – Tennessee – 16^th pick

2006 – A.J. Hawk – LB – Ohio State – 5^th pick

2005 – Aaron Rodgers – QB – California – 24^th pick

2004 – Ahmad Carroll – DB – Arkansas – 25^th pick

2003 – Nick Barnett – LB – Oregon State – 29^th pick

2002 – Javon Walker – WR – Florida State – 20^th pick

2001 – Jamal Reynolds – DE – Florida State – 10^th pick

2000 – Bubba Franks – TE – Miami (FL) – 14^th pick

Reid chose a defensive lineman six times during his tenure, Dorsey four.  Both men drafted this position more than any other.  I know this will make Chiefs fans cringe, since it seems every draft we take a D-Lineman.  Each only took two Quarterbacks in the first round.  But with good reasons: Reid secured his franchise QB early, grabbing Donovan McNabb in 1999.  Dorsey had Brett Favre in Green Bay and wisely helped to choose Aaron Rodgers during his draft day slide in 2005.  So, both positions were handled correctly.  (It would be great if that was ever said about the Chiefs quarterback position.)  Dorsey then helped to grab three linebackers during his tenure, all key contributors to the Packers defense.  Both also drafted OL two times each.

I think it’s easy to see that both men value both sides of the line of scrimmage, totaling 14 picks between the both over their tenures with their respective teams.  Buzz with the Chiefs dating back to forever has linked them with Luke Joeckel from Texas A&M or Eric Fisher of Central Michigan.  Seeing the history, some names that have been associated with the Chiefs also were DT Sharif Floyd of Florida, OLB Dion Jordan of Oregon, DE Ezekiel Ansah of BYU, and DT Star Lotulelei of Utah.  All of these make sense due to the Dorsey and Reid’s prior tendencies.  Mind you, I am not predicting a pick; I’m just showing the tendencies of the new regime.  I will leave the pick up to you now, Addicts!

Yes, last week I did tell you that it would make sense to trade Brandon Albert. That doesn’t meant necessarily mean that I think we should do it.

I’m basically willing to go either way on Albert because I accept my own ignorance on the two great unknowns to the whole conversation: 1.) What Albert is asking in the contract negotiations and 2.) What his long-term health looks like in the opinions of the team doctors. We know his play on the field has been good, but the two factors mentioned above will determine whether he will play for the Chiefs in 2014.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Assuming Albert has a clean bill of health and can be brought back into the fold without breaking the bank, our offensive line is pretty much a finished product. Second-year tackle Donald Stephenson, I think, showed enough on the left side in relief of an injured Albert to warrant a shot at RT. Hudson will be back from injury, Asamoah has been playing strong and free agent pickup Geoff Schwartz can play both inside and out. If the Chiefs use a mid-round pick on a right tackle prospect and/or pick up a journeyman lineman for the veteran minimum, I think we we’re pretty much set in terms of depth and quality starters.

With that in mind, what do you do when you have the highest pick on a team that has no glaring holes? You have the luxury to do whatever you want. Grab an impact player that has the potential to be a difference-maker regardless of position.

When it comes to premium positions and this year’s draft class, I think that difference-maker is an outside pass rusher. Here’s what’s great about this year’s crop of pass rushers – it’s like Baskin Robbins, there’s a guy for every flavor. If you’re looking for a raw stud with a huge ceiling, you have Ezekiel Ansah. Want a more polished prospect from a premiere team? Take Barkevious Mingo. A Bruce Irvin fan? Well, basically the same guy is available this year, except he was more productive and his name is Jarvis Jones.

For my money though, I like me some Dion Jordan because he is so versatile. I know a lot of you are going to instantly say that I am crazy because we already have two high-end pass rushers. But, especially given that we have a D-line that can’t pass rush if their life depended on it, we need constant production out of our blitzing ‘backers. The best way to ensure that is to keep them fresh with a good rotation.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Hali in particular seemed to get worn out late in games last year, clocking just one sack in the 4^th quarter all season (Houston had three). To be fair, in most 2012 games, the Chiefs were practically in body bags waiting for the coroner by the 4^th. Most teams were content to grind it out on the ground until they could go home and celebrate.

Nonetheless, with Tamba turning 30 this year, it would be a good idea to cycle someone else in occasionally to keep him fresh and ready.

Furthermore, Dion Jordan brings some talents to the table that Houston and Hali don’t. The first and most obvious one is height. At 6’6”, Jordan would be the tallest guy on our side of the field. He also has longer-than-average arms (33 7/8’) and bigger-than-average hands (10’). Originally a tight end, he can find the ball and not only bat it down, with a bit of training he could be make some opportunistic catches as well.

Imagine 3^rd downs when the Chiefs move to a 3-3-5 front with Hali, Houston and Jordan all charging forward. You could then play with that format and have Jordan fake the blitz then sit on one of the QB’s dump-off routes on the flat or short down the middle. That’s an interception waiting to happen.

Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports

The only knock against Jordan currently is that he could use a bit more polishing. Despite his blazing speed (having run the 40 at 4.60) and production (10.5 sacks in 12 games his senior year), he is still transitioning into the position. In the Scouts Inc. profile of him, the only area where they ranked him as “average” was in instincts/recognition, saying, “Work in progress. Has natural playmaking instincts.  Has a good feel for attacking blockers and how to keep them off of his body.  Shows impressive awareness and confidence in space for a guy with his frame.  Can be a quarter-count late locating the ball at times.  Needs to sense when to gear down in order to not outrun the play.  Also will get caught peeking inside on occasion when having edge responsibility.”

To me, that’s all the more reason why the Chiefs would be a great landing spot. In KC, we won’t have to force him onto the field and rely on him to start full time. He can watch and learn behind Tamba and Houston and play in subpackages. And, as much as I hate to even entertain this concept, he could make for a great post-Hali plan.

Tamba’s production is still great, especially for a team that no one bothered to pass against last year. But he is one of our highest-paid players with a cap hit of over $15 million this year and he won’t be playing at a pro-bowl level forever once he’s on the other side of 30. Jordan is also injury insurance for Houston and Hali until that day comes. With nothing but run-stuffers up front, we need two guys on the field on every play who can get to the passer.

Pass rusher is a position where you can never have too much depth, particularly in a division with Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers. If we want to make sure that the Donkeys don’t see another Super Bowl before we do, our best chance is to make Manning’s life as uncomfortable as possible twice a year (and possibly more).

Last week, I wrote that I was not opposed to acquiring Alex Smith per se, just against looking to him the “answer” to our quarterback woes. It appears that the team has done exactly that.

This post is scheduled to come out at 4 p.m. Central, but as I write this, we do not yet know whether the franchise tag has been used on any of the Chiefs’ three most important free agents – WR Dwayne Bowe, LT Brandon Albert or P Dustin Colquitt.

The early signs and reports are that the Chiefs will likely franchise Bowe, let Albert walk, and draft LT Luke Joeckel 1^st overall. I’ve read countless articles and analyses for and against the trade (most of them for), and my thoughts on this scenario have not changed. Last week I wrote, “if what we end up with is San Fran’s average-to-above-average castaway and a replacement for Brandon Albert who’s unproven in the NFL for the 1st overall pick and, say, a 3rd of 4th this year, it will be hard to deem this offseason a success.”

Even I didn’t think Smith would cost a 2^nd and a 2014 3^rd, as has been reported.

Since 1987, the year I was born, the Chiefs have only started two quarterbacks they drafted themselves – Doug Hudson (7^th round, 1987) and Brodie Croyle (3^rd round, 2006). In fact, since I have been alive, the Chiefs have only twice drafted a quarterback higher than the 3rd round – Mike Elkins in the 2nd in 1989 and Matt Blundin in the 2^nd in 1992. The last time the Chiefs used a 1^st-round pick on a quarterback was exactly 30 years ago in 1983.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

None of this has anything to do with Smith, GM John Dorsey or HC Andy Reid, except that it meant that this trade was automatically going to be met with disappointment by a large swath of Chiefs nation.

I hope this move works out, I really do. But, history and precedent have not been kind to the Chiefs when acquiring quarterbacks in this fashion.

I think Trent Green was worth the 1^st-rounder we traded for him and I suppose Joe Montana, who got us our last playoff victory 20 years ago, was worth that 1^st-rounder too by some measure. Green gave us five (mostly) competitive seasons and Montana gave us two before inevitably retiring.

I guess my question is what will Smith have to do to earn what we gave for him? Playoff wins, surely. A Super Bowl? How many years do we expect him to play for us? If we win a sufficient number of games next year, then that conditional 3^rd-rounder becomes a 2nd which, given that we already gave the 49ers the #34 overall pick, means that we will have gotten Alex Smith for the equivalent of a 1^st-round pick in terms of draft capital.

In Montana’s last year, the Chiefs traded a 4^th-round pick to San Fran for his former backup there, Steve Bono. In his first season starting for Kansas City, Bono had a pro-bowl season and went 13-3. Would that be an adequate return for the draft haul we gave up for Smith?

The Chiefs went 9-7 the next year and cut him in favor of another San Fran backup, this time Elvis Grbac. In college he twice won the Big Ten passing efficiency award, holding Michigan’s record for that mark until being passed up by John Navarre and later Chad Henne. He also went 13-3, but really hit his mark of efficiency in 2000 throwing for 4,169 yards with a 59.6 completion rate … in a year we won seven games.

Efficiency wasn’t enough, so we traded for Trent Green in 2001 who got us a 13-3 season in 2003 (are you starting to see the pattern here?) and a playoff loss. Then he got injured and we opted for his 33-years-young backup Damon Huard, who got us to another playoff loss. When Huard and Croyle washed out we traded for Matt Cassel, who got us one more good season, one more playoff loss.

These guys were all above average quarterbacks with some physical limitations but were seen as good decision-makers that took care of the football. They all got us to the playoffs at some point before we realized they wouldn’t take us any further than that.

Look, this isn’t a science and it’s not like the Chiefs have just been pressing the wrong button over and over again. But, this mentality that the Chiefs are just one safe, limited quarterback away from crawling to the promised land seems to have kept the franchise in neutral for practically my entire life.

If Alex Smith takes us to the playoffs next year, I will be overjoyed, but I’m not sure that alone will make this trade worthwhile. Because of the Smith trade, the Chiefs will almost certainly be once again forgoing the roll of the dice that is drafting a QB in the first two rounds – something we haven’t tried for 21 years.

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Think about that. By the time the Chiefs do (maybe) pick a QB next year, it is likely that this quarterback will not have been alive when the Chiefs last drafted a QB so high.

A lot of commentators have been dismissive of the large group of Chiefs fans that are nervous, disappointed or downright nauseous about the Smith trade, claiming that we’re all just blind Geno lovers. As a passenger on the Geno bandwagon, I would like to respectably disagree. We Alex-Smith pessimists are merely those fans who hoped desperately that the team would depart from its philosophy of the past.

So, I ask again, because I’m not sure I have the answer myself, what does Alex Smith have to do to be a good acquisition? How many starts, playoff victories and championship appearances are adequate compensation? Will you be satisfied if he is our next Trent Green?

Because he’s about to begin his 8^th NFL season and won’t be with us forever. Right now, he is our “answer” at the position. He has to be. We have no one to develop beside him, and probably won’t until at least next year.

Super Bowl XVII is in the books and the 2013 offseason has officially begun.

For the Chiefs, of course, the draft talk has been going since mid-season and in case there is was any doubt, I am in the camp of fans clamoring for the Chiefs to take a quarterback with their first pick.

I’ve come to this decision not because I’m smitten with any particular prospect (although I think Geno Smith currently leads the class), but because I think all other options are uninspiring and won’t help this team take the next step. In short, I think Geno wins by process of elimination. To make that point, I’ll be going through all the other players frequently mocked to the Chiefs and that the team will be able to grab with the 1^st overall pick.

First up, DT Star Lotulelei.

Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Good:

Star Lotulelei is a big, big man who is extremely powerful and stunningly fast. He once caused a fumbled snap and recovered it against USC because he hit the center so quickly and powerfully that the guy was on his rear before he ever got the ball to the QB. That’s really hard to do in the split second that the ball goes from the ground to the quarterback’s hands.

Although he made his bones blowing up blocks in the middle and causing havoc for offensive lines, he also was able to chase down runners from behind on plays where he was left unblocked on counters in one direction of the other. Overall, the player he most reminds me of is B.J. Raji – both an unstoppable force and an immovable object. I’m really not sure what would happen if two Star Lotulelei’s collided, but it would probably tear a hole in time and space.

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Bad:

We’ve drafted this guy before.

Several times in fact.

This isn’t necessarily his fault, but I don’t need to remind Chiefs fans that this team has an awful history of selecting defensive linemen with their first picks in the draft. Still, in case anyone has forgotten, this is how it has gone lately with run-stuffing DT’s that KC grabbed with their first selection that year:

2001, 75^th overall pick Eric Downing – Started just 13 games for the team in three years before being cut and picked up by the Chargers, who in turn cut him after one season. He accumulated just two sacks and 44 tackles in those four years.

2002, 6^th overall pick Ryan Sims – Started 36 games for the team in five seasons on the roster, racking up just five sacks and 64 tackles before being let go.

2004, 36^th overall pick Junior Siavii – Cut after two years without ever starting a game. Had 13 tackles and one sack for the Chiefs.

2006, 20^th overall pick Tamba Hali – Obviously has become a franchise pass rusher for the team and one of the most important pieces of our defense … but only after we moved him off the line to linebacker.

2008, 5^th overall pick Glenn Dorsey – Has never been worth his contract although he has turned into a respectable player in the 3-4, but he’s been injury prone and his best season was in that magical (possibly fluky) 2010 season, in which he had 51 tackles and two sacks. My guess is that he won’t be with the team next year.

2009, 3^rd overall pick Tyson Jackson – Last November, Pro Football Focus wrote of Jackson: “However you want to spin it, Jackson was a bad draft pick. Not because he’s a bad player, but because you don’t spend a third overall pick on a two down run stuffing end [more on that later]. That’s what the Chiefs did and they’re having to live with the consequences of his astronomical salary. His work in the run game has been decent this year (though nowhere near as good as 2011), but he’s yet to pick up any pressure. In fact, throughout his career he has 19 quarterback disruptions. Through 8 weeks of the NFL season, 43 defenders have more this season alone.”

John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

2012, 11^th overall pick Dontari Poe – He may yet turn into something, but a pass rusher he is not. At the end of the year, PFF noted: “In his rookie season, Dontari Poe had the lowest Pass Rushing Productivity of all defensive/nose tackle, at 2.3. In his 391 pass rushes, he had zero sacks, three hits and nine hurries. The two lowest 3-4 defensive ends included Tyson Jackson at 2.2, and Ropati Pitoitua at 2.3.”

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

In other words, Kansas City defensive linemen have been useless against the pass, and that won’t change if we pick up Lotulelei.

Although he is Scouts Inc.’s top overall rated player and is the top rated defensive tackle (4^th overall) on Mel Kiper’s Big Board, he still grades out poorly as anything other than a run-stuffer. He had just average production for his position with 41 tackles and five sacks in 2012. As with Poe, scouts rightly point out that given the extreme difference in level of play between college and the NFL, prospects should stand out big time at the college level. They should look like the best player on the field – especially if they are considered a top-10 pick. I’m not sure that’s the case with Lotulelei.

Scouts Inc. graded him as “below average” on pass rush skills, saying: “Needs development and doesn’t have a ton of upside in this area. Flashes an effective bull rush to collapse the pocket when staying low. However, too often comes off the ball too high initially. Does not have a wide array of pass rushing moves right now. Also needs development with hands in combat to counter. Shows good instincts to get his hands up in throwing lanes when seeing quarterbacks start their throwing motion.”

The only thing they graded him as “exceptional” in was his durability and run defense, saying he’d be a good fit in a Romeo Crennel-style two-gap 3-4 – an accolade that sends a chill down my spine.

If he hasn’t been effective at rushing the passer in college, he won’t be in NFL. The fact that scouts don’t believe he has upside in that area should worry any coach. Honestly, given how much passing and defending the pass has become the marquis struggle in the league, I’m amazed at how highly Lotulelei is projected to be selected.

In the end, I agree with  what PFF said about Jackson. You just don’t pick run-stuffers this high in the draft. While a pass can be disrupted by a single player, run-defense is squad-level effort and one player is not going to make the same impact against the run as a pass-rushing specialist will at getting after the quarterback. Even if one D-lineman is especially fierce against runners, teams will just run around him. It’s always good when your defense can dictate what the other team is able to do, but making them run left instead of right isn’t as big of a contribution as them having to keep extra backs in for pass pro or ignore a side of the field because their receivers are stuck on Revis Island.

While it would be a painfully Chiefs-esque move, the team should definitely not spend their 1^st pick this year on Star Lotulelei. He might help us, but he won’t fundamentally change this team, which is in need of serious work.

I had forgotten that the Chiefs can play good football.

But, as much as playing well and getting a win for a change felt good, it matters very little how the team plays in the remaining four games. 2012 will go down as a miserable lost season.

Obviously, what was merely an ugly season on the field to this point turned much, much darker this weekend with Jovan Belcher’s shocking and depressing murder-suicide. Clearly, that tragedy outweighs anything that happened in the game itself.

Still, this game showed that when this team manages to not commit perilous mistakes, it is a force to be reckoned with. But, the major factors in this win were extremely unexpected. I did not think that today I would be preparing to heap praise on the likes of OC Brian Daboll, WR Jonathan Baldwin and QB Brady Quinn.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Quinn played what was easily the best game of his career going 19/23 for 201 yards, two touchdowns and a QB rating of 132.1. Seriously. Yes, that Brady Quinn. Going into this game, his 2012 stat line was: 402 yards on 81 attempts for 0 TDs, 4 INTs.

While Baldwin only touched the ball twice, they were two of the most important plays of the game. He set up the team’s first touchdown on an opening drive in nearly two years with a big 34-yard catch-and-run. Then, late in the third quarter he used his big frame to box out the corner on a quick slant for a touchdown that all but sealed the game for the Chiefs.

This was also far and away the best showing of HC Romeo Crennel and Daboll. Gone were the head-scratching play calls, the ludicrously conservative decision-making, the wasted timeouts, and general dysfunction. Finally, these two were aggressive and they rolled with what was working – Jamaal Charles and Quinn, who was apparently possessed by a devilishly efficient quarterback demon shortly before the game.

It also bears noting that while Carolina is just 3-9 this year, their defense is ranked eighth against the pass and has allowed the 12^th fewest touchdowns in the league. Amazingly, the Chiefs offense was able win the day despite the fact that QB Cam Newton had about as good of a game as possible, finishing with 310 total yards and three passing touchdowns.

While the Chiefs pass defense took a serious hit when CB Brandon Flowers went down with a hamstring injury, the front seven played reasonably well overall. OLB Justin Houston was great as usual. DE Tyson Jackson built on last week’s strong performance and is making a strong case for being kept on the roster, although surely he’d have to take another pay cut to do so.  NT Dontari Poe appears to be continuing to progress and some guy named Tysyn Hartman lead the team with six tackles.

This win begs the question, what will the Chiefs do if the team somehow wins out and ends the season 6-10? Let me be on the record as saying that nothing, absolutely nothing can excuse the way this team played for most of this season. Even if Quinn continues to impress, GM Scott Pioli can’t claim that starting the guy was his plan all along. And, the team absolutely needs to draft a QB in the first round this year no matter what.

Pioli and Crennel should be forever commended for holding this team together through this tragic week and especially for confronting Belcher in the parking lot in an attempt to keep him from harming anyone else or himself. Still, what was true on Friday is true today — Pioli has failed in key areas of his duties and this team does not currently have a professionally competitive coaching staff.

With remaining games against the Browns, Raiders, Colts and Broncos, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if this team manages to make a run. But what will that mean? Last year, Crennel got his job by winning two of the team’s last three games after a long disappointing stretch. But, this team is capable of far more than just-below-.500 seasons and doubling down on this current crew would send the message that a 6-10 season was a success.

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However, I’m also not in the camp of people hoping this team will be so putrid through the next month that it will earn the dubious honor of holding the 1^st overall pick in the Draft. It appears so far to be a weak QB draft, and guys like Geno Smith will be within reach for Kansas City pretty much no matter how the pick order shakes out. If it takes a RG3-type deal to get the guy that the Chiefs think they need, I’m all for it, but I don’t think it will be necessary.

This season has been a mess, and the team had shown poor mental toughness through 11 weeks of football. But leave it to the Chiefs to shock and surprise you in a game just when you thought you knew what you think about them.

The basic truth is that this Monday is just like every other Monday: we wake up, go to work, the Chiefs lost again, still no one has been fired.

Nothing else really matters right now, but as I was watching last night’s predictably loathsome outing, I was surprised by one thing – Pioli’s draft picks are starting to make a difference.

Up until this point, all the bright spots on this squad had all been drafted by the Herm Edwards regime or earlier – RB Jamaal Charles (3^rd, 2008), OLB Tamba Hali (1^st, 2006), ILB Derrick Johnson (1^st, 2005), CB Brandon Flowers (2nd, 2008), LT Brandon Albert (1^st, 2008), WR Dwayne Bowe (1^st, 2007). It was looking like four years of drafts manned by Scott Pioli and company had been a total waste and the team had overall moved backwards.

Furthermore, looking at injuries and the past performance of both of these teams, this matchup looked brutal. The left side of the Chiefs’ O-line was to be run by two rookies against one of the league’s best pass rushes. With CB Stanford Routt cut, the Chiefs would be defending Peyton Manning’s passes at the flanker and slot positions with CB Javier Arenas and CB Jallil Brown. Four and five receiver sets would put Travis Daniels and Abram Elam on the field. With Jonathan Baldwin out and Bowe nicked up, Terrance Copper and Jeremy Newsome were to see significant action as number-two receivers.

I was mentally preparing myself for watching the blowout of the season. Maybe the century.

To my surprise, due to a valiant defensive effort, Charles, and some uncharacteristic miscues on the part of the Broncos, this was a close, competitive game. Basically, the only reason this game wasn’t a massacre was because Pioli’s draft picks — hitherto invisible and ineffective — finally came to play.

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Let’s start with the aforementioned rookie linemen – LT Donald Stephenson (3rd, 2012) and LG Jeff Allen (2^nd, 2012). Along with RG Jon Asamoah (3^rd, 2010), both blocked extremely well in the run game and held their own in pass protection. Allen had already shown flashes this year. This was Stephenson’s coming-out party. With the exception of a dumb clipping penalty that stalled a drive, the ex-Sooner had a good game and looks to be a valuable situational tackle and reserve and for Albert down the road.

The cornerbacks not named Brandon Flowers that I was terrified about actually played head’s up all day. This was easily Arenas’ (2^nd, 2010) most solid all-around game. He covered very well and put the offense in good field position several times in the return game (not that they did anything with it).  While he still has his struggles, Brown (4^th, 2011) also looked like a pro and stuck with his receivers all day.

S Eric Berry (1^st, 2010) had a decent comeback game. Despite allowing one of the two touchdowns, he seems to be finding his way back to playing like a quality starter with a tackle-for-loss and two passes defended.

WR Dexter McCluster (2^nd, 2010) caught every ball thrown his way and had a key 19-yard run on one of the Chiefs better drives. TE Tony Moeaki (3^rd, 2010) is also showing he’s finally healthy after his preseason knee-tear last year.

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As a unit, this was the D-line’s best game this year. While he hasn’t been racking up stats (as expected), NT Dontari Poe (1^st, 2012) is coming into his own and had his name called a lot yesterday with four tackles, a tackle-for-loss and a pass batted down. DE Tyson Jackson (1^st, 2009) is finally looking like a dynamic lineman in several consecutive games and was good following the ball and quarterback, getting to Manning twice for a QB hit and a tackle right on the line of scrimmage that otherwise would have been recorded as a sack.

But, of course, the star of the show (and clearly the best value pick of Pioli’s tenure) was OLB Justin Houston (3^rd, 2011). Amazingly, Houston is outplaying even Hali – the Beast himself. He was a constant terror for Manning and finished the day with four solo tackles, two sacks and four QB hits. He now has nine sacks, one forced fumble, an interception, and four passes defended in 2012.

However, as much as this game would seem to compliment Pioli’s drafting acumen, it was also an indictment of his free agency wheeling-and-dealing. Aside from the obvious failure of the Routt signing, RT Eric Winston has played well but not outstanding and has a tendency to pick up a couple of penalties per game.

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Most glaring of course is the quarterback position. Trading the 34^th overall pick in 2009 netted the Chiefs: QB Matt Cassel and LB Mike Vrabel. Vrabel played just a couple of years for the team and was questionably effective. I don’t need to explain to you how the Cassel experience has been, but suffice to day he was riding the pine this game. Starting in his stead was another free agent acquisition who appears to be a low-end backup. None of QB Brady Quinn’s deep balls were even remotely on target. And while he was efficient in picking up short passes, he was too timid to stretch the field and was dreadfully inaccurate all second half.

WR Steve Breston, who got a five-year deal with $9.5 million guaranteed last year was inactive again behind two practice squad bodies. He has three catches since Week 5. I see absolutely no reason to give the ball to RB Peyton Hillis anymore, who was signed for $3 million this year. He’s slow, accident-prone and just doesn’t give the Chiefs anything they can’t get from RB Shaun Draughn.

Still, the fact that several of the Chiefs’ recent draft picks in the defense and O-line are starting to come to life is unambiguously positive for the team long-term. Hopefully, if these guys can maintain consistency, the next coach/GM won’t feel the need to blow the team up and start over with new young players.

No matter how well these guys play down the stretch, however, I just can’t see a scenario in which it saves Pioli’s job. Even if we do somehow look back at his drafts as being effective a year or two from now, he will still be on the books for constant coaching disarray. We’ve had five offensive coordinators in four years. He fired and denied pay to one head coach after two and a half years, and replaced him with his absolutely hapless friends who turned the brand into a laughing stock. He totally ignored the development of the most important position on the field, and inspired at least one character for the film Horrible Bosses (guess which one).

So, on his way out the door, I’d like to thank Pioli for not drafting totally uselessly. We’ll keep some of these guys as you move on to destroy a different team. Much appreciated.

I was never on the bandwagon for firing Todd Haley last year.

Of course, this all sounds like “I told ya so” talk now, but I enjoyed going back and reading my articles defending Haley and expressing skepticism about Crennel for an entirely different reason: It was a simpler time.

Looking at the old AA pieces I wrote, I realized it was like re-reading diary entries from childhood in the days of innocence before some traumatic event. Back then, we had excuses for our poor play and it seemed like good football was on the horizon. Our coach and quarterback had been disappointing but were still winning some games. The team had an architect that we could still give the benefit of the doubt.

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Now that innocence is gone and we recognize our parents are not paragons of virtue and strength but flawed mortals. The world is full of people who lie and mean people don’t always get punished. This team is off the rails. The last four years have been basically wasted. We have no coach, no QB, no GM and an owner who seems to be conducting a social experiment to determine how long before fans burn Arrowhead to the ground in rage at his inaction.

Back then, we could still say that we had a QB on the roster good enough to get us through games, that we were full of young talent and we were growing a dynasty. Just add water. Today, nothing looks good and people in Chiefs country are dying of anguish and frustration.

It really cannot be overstated. At 1-9, the Chiefs have matched their worst opening to a season in the history of the franchise. I will be honestly stunned if we win another game this year. By every major metric other than rushing production the Chiefs are a disgrace. At this point, both Haley and even Herm Edwards look attractive.

But, it’s really not just because of how bad we are right now. I’ve always thought Haley got a raw deal.

In 2009, Haley was one of 11 head coaches hired. Like Todd, most were successful coordinators somewhere else. Of those 11, only two still have their jobs — Jim Schwartz in Detroit and Rex Ryan in New York, and they’re both 4-6 right now, by the way. By the time Haley was fired only four of those other coaches from the class of 2009 had a better win-loss record – Ryan, Jim Caldwell, Mike Singletary and Jim Mora Jr..

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So, while that was an admittedly uninspiring crop, Haley was among the most successful coaches hired that year. Also, statistically speaking, it was nearly certain that the Chiefs would have a bad season.

Thirty NFL teams between 2002 and 2009 increased their season-to-season records by five or more games like the Chiefs did between 2009 and 2010. Of them, 24 (80 percent) had worse seasons following their surge – with 13 (43 percent) of them losing at least four more games after their surprising season. There are lots of reasons for this of course, the main one: changes in the strength of schedule. Also, the NFL is just a hard place to maintain success. Let down years are inevitable.

But even Haley somehow won five of 13 games without the ACL crew. He even got a win with Tyler Palko at quarterback while the team this year has only even had a lead in two games so far.

It’s also not as if Haley had a whole lot to work with. In addition to the fact that Pioli was diametrically opposed to putting a quarterback on the field not named Matt Cassel, KC’s defenses were nearly always inconsistent, showing up big in some games and melting away in others. He also had to deal with a sociopathic boss who collects candy wrappers, wiretaps his employees and in the end essentially fired him because he didn’t shave or wear a new hat. (Seriously, I’m quite certain that when Pioli gets off work he goes to sit and stare quizzically at an array of severed heads in jars).

But mostly, I just realized that I honestly liked our team that year. I’m finding it very hard to say the same in 2012. In 2011, we were a team ravaged by injuries playing above our level of talent and clawing for every win. Now, we’re just a bundle of undisciplined players making dumb mistakes and barely giving opponents any resistance as they march up and down the field.

Haley was known for being overly brash on the sidelines, which is something I would love to see these days. Someone needs to yell at these guys. When I heard the criticism about him being verbally aggressive, I always thought it was way overblown. These players are grown men and this is an emotional game – or at least it is unless your name is Romeo. If so, then game day is a time when the bad people make you stand outside for three hours and all you have to read is a laminated sheet of paper while you stare blankly at the field while repeating soup recipes in your head. Or at least that’s what I think he’s doing. Your guess is as good as mine. All I can tell you is that it is not inspiring.

So here we are. Refreshing football news websites over and over hoping to see that someone has been fired. This is what it has come to. We have come of age and discovered that the adults running things are even more screwed up than us little people down below and there’s nothing to do about it.

But, family is family. So, next Sunday and the Sunday after that, I will tune in to watch the Chiefs play. I will cringe and guffaw, and write another piece, although I’m running out of things to say.

Maybe next week this column will be about soup.

How low can they go?

That seems to be the only question left to answer at this point for the Chiefs. Let there be no mistake, the Kansas City Chiefs are the worst team in professional football right now, and will almost certainly remain so through the rest of the 2012 season.

What has led us to this point is also pretty clear. We are on pace to commit the most turnovers ever in an NFL season

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with an average turnover ratio of -2.6 per game. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars have scored few points than us. We’re 28^th in the league in points allowed and hold the dubious distinction of being the only team to never take a lead in a game through the first seven since 1940.

We’re not even close to being a competitive NFL team. The Chiefs are broken.

While no obvious solution to the Chiefs’ woes has yet arisen, we can be certain of what will not fix the team at this point:

1.) The current coaching staff. The team is playing undisciplined, uninspired football and everything this staff tries makes it worse. Opposing teams have scored on their first possession of the second half in every single game against the Chiefs this year. Whatever halftime speeches and adjustments are being made are having the opposite effect.

2.) Brady Quinn. After two weeks of taking the starter’s snaps in practice he did not look like an NFL quarterback before apparently being kidnapped by the medical staff in the first half. His throws were way off, and he looked very uncomfortable in the pocket. Cassel has made horrendous, critical errors in every game this season but, sadly, he is still the best quarterback on the roster.

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3.) Firing Pioli (but it sure would feel good). I’m not suggesting Pioli should not be fired, I just don’t think it will help us in 2012. He purged and replaced practically the entire front office staff and anyone who takes over for him now will be one of his disciples. There’s not much any new GM can change on this team at this point. Last week, I would have advocated sending a fifth-round pick to Miami for QB Matt Moore, who at least knows OC Brian Daboll’s offense and might make the remainder of the season less painful to watch. But now that Miami QB Ryan Tannehill is hurt, chances are zilch that they’ll trade away their backup. So, firing him will not change anything (putting his head on a pike might though).

4.) The defense. With its short, mistake-ridden possessions, the Chiefs offense has consistently put the D in a bad spot, forcing them to defend short fields and stay out there for most of the game. But, the defense, for its part, gives up big plays at inopportune times, allows teams to gash them late and has generally failed to make opportunities of its own. They’re not going to be able to bail us out.

While waiting for the Chiefs’ kickoff (at midnight my time), I watched the Steelers-Redskins game, which ended with a similar score (the Steelers offense looks fantastic under OC Todd Haley by the way). Having lived several years in Washington, I am familiar with their pain as well, but this game was so much different from watching the Chiefs. The ‘Skins have a quarterback. A future. They’re 3-5 and their defense is atrocious. I counted 11 drops by their wideouts in the game. And yet, they kept pace and they had a chance to make something happen all throughout the game. I noticed I was watching their third and fourth downs with genuine anticipation. When watching the Chiefs, I just tense up and brace for the dumbfounding blunder that will inevitably follow.

That’s all I want at this point. A dignified loss. One in which the team fights hard to the end but is eventually overpowered by a better team. One in which the team leaves with battle scars, not self-inflicted wounds.

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Watching the Redskins gave me another thought. The Chiefs are not as talented as we think they are, and the sooner we realize that, the better for the team. I lived in DC from 2005-2009. In 2005, the Redskins had a solid defense that it rode to a playoff win at the end of a 10-6 season. On top of that, they had just drafted a quarterback in the late first round and he had spent the year riding the pine and preparing to start.

Instead, Campbell struggled and the team aged. Continually convinced that they were one player away from greatness, the Redskins gave a $100-million contract to Albert Haynesworth and traded high picks for Jason Taylor and Donovan McNabb. Since their 2005 playoff run, they have been 37-59. The solid defense and offensive line they relied on retired and the roster had to be blown up to get young.

You know who else was 10-6 not too long ago? The Cleveland Browns. In 2007, they had a season much like the Chiefs 2010 run. They were effective both on the ground and in the air and looked like a squad full of young stars. All they needed was the right coaches to make them into a dynasty. Through four years and two head-coaching changes, the Brownies ended up 14-34.

What do these three teams have in common? In 2005, the Redskins faced the 5^th easiest schedule in the NFL. The Chiefs in 2010 had the 10^th easiest. The Browns had what appeared to be a tough schedule in 2007, but in the end they had just one win over a team with a winning record by the end of that year (the Seahawks). Likewise, the only winning team the Chiefs beat in 2010 was the Chargers in the home opener.

So, yes, Pioli and Crennel will be gone this year. Matt Cassel is not a good quarterback. But, we shouldn’t expect this team to suddenly dominate with the addition of a new QB or head coach. We were impressive in 2010, but we won against schmos and had a point differential at the end of the season of just +40. The Browns had +20 in 2007. That indicator plus the strength of schedule is a big red flag for teams that are not as good as their records indicate.

Moving forward, we need to forget 2010 and look at this team as what it is — a disaster with a few bright spots. Acknowledging a problem is the first step to fixing it. A lot needs to change on this team. If not, this awful hangover of bad football and self-medication will drag on for many more Mondays (and in this week’s case, Friday).

We’ll begin this week’s edition of Pressure Points by pointing out that the Chargers, up until being manhandled by the Falcons, were (statistically speaking) regarded by Football Outsiders as among the league’s most the solid, well-rounded teams. As of week 2, FO had them as the 10th most efficient overall, 11th most efficient on offense, 12th most efficient on defense, and 12th most efficient on special teams.  As a result of their performance last Sunday, the Chargers now rank 22nd in overall efficiency, 21st on offense, 20th on defense, and 10th at special teams. I have little doubt that the Chargers are unhappy with how they played against the Falcons and will be seeking to rebound and re-establish themselves as a well-rounded, quality team this Sunday.

Because the overall focus of these articles is to draw attention to potential soft spots of our upcoming opponents, let’s also take a moment to consider the Chargers 2-1 record and how they arrived there. More specifically, how strong was the Chargers start of the season? Well, if you consider the strengths/weaknesses of their first two opponents, I suppose one might reasonably question how much they actually accomplished by beating the Raiders and the Titans. As of week 2, Football Outsiders ranked Tennessee 31st on offense, 28th on defense, and 13th on special teams. The Raiders, as of week 2, were 15th on offense, 25th on defense, and 32nd on special teams.

Now before you jump to the conclusion that the Chargers’ first two wins are entirely attributable to the fact that they faced weak teams only to be exposed in week 3 by what appears to be a very strong team, let’s not overlook the 800 lb gorilla in the room. In spite of a feel-good, rallying win over an 0-3 Saints team, Football Outsiders nevertheless ranks the Chiefs 32nd in overall efficiency, 24th in offensive efficiency, 30th in defensive efficiency, and 28th in special teams efficiency. In other words, as things currently stand, the Chiefs appear to be exactly the kind of team that the Chargers have enjoyed success against. To put it bluntly, in almost every aspect of their game, the Chiefs must either improve immediately or face a season of disappointment, humiliation, well deserved criticism and dashed expectations.

Capiche?

With all that out of way, we’ll begin this by focusing on Phillip Rivers. Three games into the season, FO ranks Rivers 20th in both DYAR and DVOA. Rivers QBR is the 15th best in the league. His TD/INT ratio is 4/3, he owns a  67% completion rate and he’s so far thrown 109 passes for 664 yards.

In this instance, I feel it helps to add a little perspective. As of right now, Matt Cassel is 25th in both DYAR and DVOA, and 16th in QBR. Cassel’s TD/INT ratio is 3/3. He has a 60% completion rate and has thrown 128 passes for 738 yards.

Put simply, 3 weeks in, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to suggest that Rivers is putting up somewhat pedestrian numbers and perhaps the Chiefs ought to consider his presence as something  manageable… as long as they step up and do their jobs that is. As we’ve seen in past years, the best way to manage Phillips is to harass him because that’s when he’s most likely to start making mistakes. Whether the Chiefs are up to that task remains to be seen.

Examining the Chargers’ Offensive Line stats, we see that they currently rank 13th most efficient in pass protection; so, if past performance is any indicator, hassling Rivers won’t be particularly easy. As far as the run game goes, the Chargers, while 20th overall, are the 25th at the 2nd level (5 – 10 yards). They do however rank highly in short yardage situations, so keeping them 3rd and long as much as possible should probably be a key objective for the Chiefs. As far as lanes and gaps are concerned, the Chargers have been very effective (6th best) when they run between the guards but, everywhere else, they rank in the bottom half of the league.

Definitely also worth noting here is that the Chargers starting left tackle is a rookie free agent, Michael Harris, who’s filling in for Jared Gaither, who missed nearly all of training camp and the first three games due to a lingering back problem. He did, however, suit up for practice this week so whether or not he is ready to go for Sunday remains to be seen. I’m guessing Gaither will not be 100% and most likely not starting if he suits up.

Moving to the defensive side of the ball, the Chargers are below average in a number of areas based on Football Outsiders’ stats. They are 20th against the pass. Their defensive line ranks 27th in beating pass protection. They rank 29th against #1WRs, 24th against passes to RBs, and 18th against “other (e.g., slot) WRs.” If Cassel can be protected and is accurate, there may be opportunities to find success with the likes of Bowe, McCluster, Charles and perhaps even Copper in the passing game.

While 5th overall in defensing the run, the Chargers nevertheless appear to have some exposure against the run. For example, they rank 32nd against power running and are 20th in stuffs. Their weakest spots on the line appear to be the B gaps, where they are 27th on the left side and 21st on the right. Interesting enough, it also appears that their apparent vulnerability on the left side has not been well tested by opposing offenses. The league average attempts to the left B gap is 14% of carries while the Chargers have so far only dealt with their opponents targetting that gap at a 10% rate.

To summarize, on offense, the Chargers main vulnerabilities appear to be: 1) a quarterback with a tendency to make mistakes when pressured, 2) running outside the guards, 3) getting to the second level, and 4) left tackle. On defense, the Chargers appear to be vulnerable against 1) #1 WRs, 2) passes to RBs and “other WRs, ” and 3) runs that target the B gaps, particularly the left B gap.

Those are the Chargers’ pressure points. Addicts, let’s hear your thoughts on what the Chiefs need to do to beat the Chargers.

When I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong.

After his first two lackluster seasons, I was ready to write Dexter McCluster off. The selections of WR Devon Wylie and RB Cyrus Gray in the 2012 Draft seemed to indicate that the coaching staff felt the same. This preseason has proved me to be utterly wrong.

In April, looking back on McCluster’s career, I wrote:

[T]he numbers don’t lie. McCluster just doesn’t make big plays, which is his only purpose. RB Jackie Battle was a guy who was able to get what was already there with the ability to break a tackle or two. McCluster basically gets what’s there plus 3 yards due to his speed, but he won’t be breaking any tackles and he’ll get stuffed at or behind the line of scrimmage for a few serious losses a game. Even Battle beat him as the KC running back with the biggest ground gain of the 2011 season with a 34-yarder against Denver.

The 2010 Scout’s Inc. report on McCluster said “he has good ball skills but will struggle when competing for the ball in a crowd. He needs a lot of work on his route running and setting defenders up and will settle into crowded zones at times rather than find a window for the quarterback to throw though.”

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Indeed that seemed to be his biggest struggle during his rookie season. Making the position switch from running back to slot receiver took longer than anticipated. Not only was it a new position, but he was learning to do it against NFL-quality defenders. In end, he had trouble consistently getting separation, which is a problem due to his small size overall. He ended the season with 21 receptions and 18 carries for a total of just 280 yards.

In 2011, Dex filled in at RB primarily because the Chiefs’ wretched depth was exposed after Jamaal Charles went down. The team was left with Thomas Jones and Jackie Battle – two guys who can pick up yardage through wide-open holes when they’re there, but neither is going to do anything special for you. Dex provided a spark, and was a popular option when the Chiefs knew they needed some dynamism. They gave him the ball 37 times on 3^rd down. But, although he was a better target than Battle in those situations, he was also inconsistent. On his 16 carries on 3^rd and 6+ yards, he averaged 5.4 yards per carry – just enough to not make it most of the time.

Still, he improved his overall skills and Scouts Inc. described him in their 2011 report as “explosive and extremely nimble, but lacks the great top-end speed to be a consistent home run threat. He is very elusive when he gets the ball in the open field and has excellent vision and instincts. He is a natural receiver out of the backfield as well as on downfield routes. He also shows good ball skills and the ability to reach out and pluck the ball away from his body.”

I for one was a bit worried when reports came out of training camp that McCluster was working exclusively with the wide receivers, because it seemed to me that they were forcing him back into a role that wasn’t his strong suit.

Then came this preseason.

McCluster currently leads the team in receptions with 13 receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown in the first three preseason games. Furthermore, he is has shown himself to be the most reliable target for Matt Cassel. Against the Seahawks, Cassel stalled in consecutive drives due to drops by generally sure-handed targets in Bowe, Moeaki and Baldwin. Then he turned to Dexter. In a long drive that would gain the starting offense its only touchdown, he targeted McCluster over and over again. Like most KC fans around the world, I was also shouting, “Just throw it to 22!” The week before, when Cassel was forced out of the pocket, in a situation that would have normally been a throw-away situation for him, he found McCluster open for a 1^st down.

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If McCluster can keep this up he can serve a role that is just as important as the #1 receiver on the team. As the league has gradually changed, one major evolution that few people talk about is the emergence of the slot receiver. The ability to make quick high-percentage throws to quick receivers matched up on linebackers has become the cornerstone of effective offenses. The Patriots pioneered this with Wes Welker. The Chiefs saw the effectiveness of a high-end slot receiver when they got carved to pieces by Sam Bradford’s security blanket, Danny Amendola, in Week 2 of the preseason.

Whatever you think about Matt Cassel, I think everyone can agree that he can benefit greatly from having a reliable outlet guy for short, high-percentage throws. Perhaps even more importantly, if opposing defenses begin to view McCluster as a major threat that needs to be covered by a safety or CB, it will both take pressure off Dwayne Bowe and draw defenders away from the running game.

He's even a KU fan! Showing good judgment uncanny intelligence is important to the Pioli regime. Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

The Chiefs may have had an overall uninspiring performance over the last two games, but that’s not the story for me. To me the biggest story of this preseason is the rise of the midget – McCluster’s transition from liability to security blanket, and I can’t wait to see how this goes with him moving into the regular season.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that the NFL preseason is like a bizarro world version of the NFL. Generally, it’s inconsistent play all around, which allows some players to look good while entire units look lost. Amid all that chaos, it’s really hard to judge anyone or anything accurately. The only way to get around it is with large sample sizes.

Two weeks into the preseason, I think there are only a few things you can assert confidently about the Chiefs:

1.)    Put very little stock in the fact that the Rams were able to get on the board quickly this weekend. As Paddy rightly pointed out, the best indicator of how teams are going to fare in preseason games isn’t the quality of the talent on each side, but rather which coach actually cares about winning the game. Many coaches couldn’t care less. They are throwing darts randomly at a board. “Hmm, ok, let’s see this guy in this play against a first-team defense and see what happens.” “Mmm, ok, let’s see what this guy can do.” They’re not game-planning, they’re not scouting matchups on the other team, because to do so would be a waste of valuable time coaching up players and refining general techniques.

There is an argument for trying to win preseason games if you are a very young team, and/or a team with lots of new players and you are trying to foster team-spirit and get the band of strangers in a winning attitude before the regular season starts. That is the exact situation St. Louis is in right now. Not only do they have more new players on their 90-man list than any other team in the NFL at 56, but they are also the youngest team in the league. Furthermore, Jeff Fisher is known to like to win preseason games. He has the second-best career record in the preseason among active head coaches at .608, beaten out only by Mike Shanahan with .681. Not to mention, the Rams got mauled 38-3 the week before by the similarly young and hopeless Indianapolis Colts. Fisher knew he had to get some good vibes going with his team, and give young quarterback Sam Bradford some confidence.

Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

On both the big opening pass to slot receiver Danny Amendola, and the subsequent touchdown pass to TE Lance Kendricks, LB Jovan Belcher was covering. In both cases, I couldn’t really tell if it was zone coverage or man-to-man, because, quite frankly Belcher was so far off. Both times, a safety rushed in to try and break up the play but even Berry couldn’t get there in time. Now, I, of course, can’t prove that Fisher game-planned the first couple series or scouted the Chiefs. All I know is that if you were going to design plays to attack the Chiefs’ defense – that’s exactly how you would do it. By far our biggest defensive weakness is when Belcher is caught in pass coverage on fast, pass-catching tight ends or slot receivers. As stout as he is in the run game, he is just not fast enough to keep up with those guys. As such, Belcher is never put on those guys and is generally not even on the field on likely passing downs. Even in situations where Belcher would be on the field, the Chiefs would have likely adjusted from the beginning to put a safety on the TE or slot guy. The Chiefs started the game in standard base defensive sets and not only did the Rams’ play-calling target Belcher for big gains right off the bat, they ran the plays on 1^st down when he was likely to be on the field as a probable rushing down.

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I believe that often times when something happens where motive and opportunity meet, well, it’s no coincidence. They got what they wanted — two quick, injury-free scores, and an ego-boost for their QB. Immediately afterwards, their starters left the field feeling like they had won. And again, it’s not like it’s a crime to game plan in the preseason to try and show something against soft competition with nothing on the line. There’s a chance Brian Daboll was doing the same thing to boost Cassel’s confidence and make sure the Chiefs came out with a bang against the Cardinals last week.

2.)    Unless Matt Cassel has a total meltdown or gets injured, he is going to go into the regular season with strong momentum. Hidden among the general Chiefs’ shock about how good the Rams played against the Chiefs’ first-team D is the fact that Cassel has hit on 75 percent of his passes so far. Against the Rams, he even nailed the kind of play that we have seen very rarely out of him – flushed from the pocket on 3^rd and long, under heavy pressure, he chucked a dart to McCluster (his smallest target) in tight coverage for a first down.

3.)    In limited action, Charles has shown he still has it. Chiefs fans likely won’t be happy with Jamaal Charles’ recovery until he busts out a huge gainer, but, with the additional weapons that KC has accumulated, we no longer need him to be THE dynamic threat. Hillis has shown himself to be worth every penny, and the Chiefs have a plethora of receiving options. So far this preseason, Charles has had 6 rushes and 3 receptions for 6.4 yards per touch, including 9.7 yards per catch. If we are facing 2^nd and 4 every time by getting to ball to him, I don’t think anyone will be complaining even if he’s not streaking down field for big plays. But don’t worry, he will be.

Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

4.)    Glamorous he is not, but Brady Quinn looks like he can help us in a pinch. Look, he’s not Tyler friggin’ Palko, alright? Do I need to say anymore? Ok, fine. 12/19 151 yards 1 TD, 1 INT, good for a 83.44 passer rating. Amazing? No, but how good does a backup on a run-heavy defensive team need to be?

5.)    The Chiefs are going to have to make their hardest roster decision on the D-line this year. KC will probably only keep six or seven defensive linemen on their 53-man roster. I think it is safe to say that Glenn Dorsey, Dontari Poe and Tyson Jackson are staying with the team. So, who gets the remaining three spots? Allen Bailey is probably not going anywhere either as the team’s only true nickel rusher. That leaves two spots for a number of standout backups. Anthony Toribio currently holds the starting NT job and presumably the Chiefs want another passing-down rusher. Amon Gordon was the consistent jack-of-all-trades last year, but he hasn’t shown it so far in camp or in preseason games. Ropati Pitoitua has impressed in camp and has seen the field early preseason action (there’s also an unwritten NFL regulation stating that every team must carry at least one scary dude with an unpronounceable name). Brandon Bair has also shown some sparks in that role too, however.

Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

And finally, although it may not make the most sense at the moment, I like the idea of keeping Jerrell Powe. He has finally come on as a penetrating NT, which is what they want Poe, his homonymal brother, to become. He was consistently getting pressure in the last two games, and may also be effective as a rotational guy at the other positions. Who knows, with another year of development Powe might even turn out to be straight-up better than Poe, and these types of man-monsters don’t grow on trees. The painful part is that I know that at least a couple of these guys are going to be scavenged off the Chiefs as soon as they’re moved to the practice squad because there is a league-wide demand for such players and a DL-deprived team like the Broncos will be more than happy to take them off of our hands.

With their thumping 27-17 win (with the score 17-0 as the starters left the field), the 2012 Kansas City Chiefs have made their presence known, and while I always anticipated the Chiefs to be improved this year, it was clear that this game was all about surprise.

Suddenly, the national media have looked up from their Peyton Manning talking points and realized that there is another team in the AFC West – one far more likely to be playoff bound. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said as much after the game via Twitter, “I’m starting to agree with #Chiefs fans – national media (ESPN included) has fallen asleep on KC. They may be team to beat in AFC West.”

It’s important to remember that the Chiefs and the Cardinals were considered to be evenly-matched teams before this game. In fact, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports had the Cards ranked 16^th in his July 25 power rankings, with the Chiefs at a lowly 22^nd, justified by a rote comment about Matt Cassel defining the team’s overall worth (the laziness of what passes for analysis by national football writers astounds me at times).

But, it wasn’t just surprising that the Chiefs were impressive, or even that they gave Arizona a shellacking – it’s how they dominated. WR Dwayne Bowe wasn’t on the field. Neither WR Steve Breaston, nor WR Jonathan Baldwin, who has been blowing up training camp, caught a single pass. RB Jamaal Charles had just three carries for 12 yards. OLB Tamba Hali had zero sacks, and NT Dontari Poe barely registered his presence. And the Chiefs dominated.

John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Matt Cassel looked polished and comfortable, going 5/6 for 67 yards and a TD. RB Peyton Hillis, coming off a down year, looked fantastic running for 41 yards on four carries plus an 11-yard touchdown pass. WR/RB Dexter McCluster showed his skills as a matchup nightmare, reeling in three passes for 45 yards. On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs defense started with back-to-back 3-and-outs followed by an interception and tallied seven sacks on the night. In the limited amount of time that the Chiefs’ starters were out on the field, it was a massacre. In the late first quarter, I wrote in my notes “THIS IS CHILD’S PLAY!”

This game was also all about surprise because of the play-calling of OC Brian Daboll. I already love this man. Most notable was his fantastic call on 4^th and 3. The Chiefs lined up with heavy personnel in a goal-line formation. As the defense began stacking the box to charge in up the middle, Cassel motioned all the backs and TEs out wide making it a five-receiver set with an open backfield. This threw the defense into chaos as they tried to adjust to coverage in panic. While they were still yelling at each other, Cassel slid in behind C Rodney Hudson for a sneaky conversion. I cannot tell you how much I loved that play – great design, perfectly executed.

Ever since Daboll was hired, we at AA and across Chiefs Nation have been pondering what Daboll’s offence “based on matchups” really meant. I think we’re now beginning to figure that out. While I think this game confirmed my assertion that Hillis could end up the Chiefs’ biggest free agent acquisition, I’m already eating my words about WR Devon Wylie and RB Cyrus Gray replacing McCluster. Dex’s move to being a pure slot receiver already looks like it will pay off dividends in 2012. On two big plays, Daboll drew things up so that Baldwin – the #1 target – would force a one-on-one on McCluster, who has now definitely shown that he has improved his route-running and ability to get open.

Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Most fundamentally, as Paddy pointed out, it’s clear the Chiefs generally grasp his offense and are executing it well. During the second half, GM Scott Pioli was in the press box talking about how the Chiefs now run like a well-oiled machine, getting plays in on time and communicating efficiently. As much as his image as a disciplinarian and ultra stickler for detail put me off, it is clear that the overall culture he is trying to install works. Players were always walking with confidence out there, and coaches seemed to be able to communicate well without wasting time with petty bickering.

The other big surprise is how deep the Chiefs seem to be at nose tackle. While Poe showed he still has a lot to learn, former practice-squader Anthony Toribio showed why he has taken the starting spot. He consistently got off blocks and single-handedly stuffed a running back in the backfield playing against the Cardinals’ starters. Meanwhile, Jerrel Powe was also impressive, getting penetration several times and even notching a sack from the nose tackle position. Poe clearly pushed the pocket on a few downs, but often times seemed to be playing patty-cake with the O-linemen – still unsure of how to use his hands effectively. He seemed to either be focusing too much on his hands or not enough. But, at the very least, he did get double-teamed nearly every time, which was a large part of why KC racked up so many sacks on the game.

John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

The only negative surprises in this game were in the play of the Chiefs’ backup QBs. Although they are in a tight competition, neither played well. Still, neither arguably played worse than Arizona’s two quarterbacks competing over the starting job. I look forward to seeing Tanney bank some passes off the uprights for a touchdown in Game 2 of the preseason.

Generally speaking, it was hard to come away with anything but positive vibes after this game. The Chiefs are back with a vengeance this year and they have shown that they can beat you in any number of different ways. Wherever you are weakest, that’s where we will strike, because we have the tools to get you anywhere, anytime.

A friend of mine was at a panel discussion recently where a few NFL players were around to answer questions from fans. My friend asked Rams RB Steven Jackson what his philosophy is when it comes to hitting his teammates in training camp. Without hesitation he said, “They ain’t my teammates until week one.”

Patriots T Nate Solder was also there and continued the thought, “If you don’t go full steam, someone will take your job.”

Those two quotes perfectly reflect what training camp is all about. Together, they capture the kill-or-be-killed mentality that is in these players’ minds, even as they’re beating up on guys they are sharing a locker room, possibly a dorm room and several meals with. For now.

A few players are safe, a few others can probably count on remaining on the roster at least, but most of 90 men at St. Joe’s have to fight. For the bottom 68, these next few weeks will be their best chance to prove their worth. For the bottom 45, this will likely be their only chance – 37 will be cut and the best eight will receive practice-squad offers.

Although this keeps them on the team, it all but ensures that they will have no shot of playing this season unless there is a catastrophic series of injures at their position. They will spend every practice this season trying to quickly learn a few plays and formations that the Chiefs’ opponents run that week, and will be trying to emulate those for the starters’ benefit. They will not spend time learning the Chiefs playbooks or breaking down game film. They will essentially be human tackle bags.

The preseason is a strange time because of this dynamic. On one hand, it’s the first glimpse of football us crazed fans have seen since the first week of February. On the other hand, it’s not real football.

When the starters are on the field, they are essentially testing their chemistry and trying not to get hurt. When the backups come on, it’s like some sort of disorganized Thunderdome.

From the fan perspective, it’s great because it’s the only chance we get to see our depth players in action. From the starter’s perspective, it’s awful because they get little pay and no glory for essentially the same risk of injury. For those fighting for a roster spot, it is the Coliseum.

I say all of this as a drawn out preface to everything else I am going to be talking about for the rest of the preseason. We have to understand that everything we see from backup and auditioning players in preseason games is like a peek into bizarro world. You can’t take it for face value, particularly at the quarterback position. Opposing backup DB’s are bad, but the 2^nd and 3^rd-string O-lines are just as bad. QB’s both have to dance around behind comically dysfunctional blocking while throwing to receivers slicing through similarly discombobulated coverage.

Nonetheless, through this crystal ball we must look to determine whether or not we think these players are worthy of the NFL – a league where the gameplay is totally different than this preseason silliness.

I looked back at all of Rickie Stanzi’s 2011 snaps to see how he did in preseason bizarro world. Overall, he did not bad – especially considering the truncated offseason programs. But, if he is going to beat out Brady Quinn and put some heat on Matt Cassel, he is going to have to improve quite a bit.

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Pre-Snap, Pocket Presence

Stanzi was a known for his quickness at Iowa, and routinely made great throws off of scrambles and bootlegs. Posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.93 at the Combine isn’t bad for a QB, but that doesn’t qualify as speed in the NFL. In both the 2011 preseason film I watched from him and the reports I’ve seen so far from 2012 training camp, Stanzi has been off target on the run. At this level, DB’s are simply able to keep up with receivers, even if the QB extends the play. If he is going to continue to make this a key part of his game, he has to get a lot better at it.

He also had trouble sensing the rush last preseason – he either panicked and got rid of the ball unnecessarily or held it too long. In his defense, our backup O-linemen played awful.

He also seemed to be in over his head in making pre-snap adjustments. Cordell at The Film Room (a must-follow for you Twitter people out there) said, “Thing I liked about #Chiefs Tyler Palko was pre-snap…in preseason rarely ran a bad play…Stanzi was opposite, plays routinely blown up.” That’s right, when you’re being negatively compared to Palko, we have a problem.

But, that is what I often heard last year – that Palko was more confident and comfortable running the offense and making good decisions. Therefore, he started over Ricky. Still, the fact that Palko couldn’t throw a ball accurately more than seven yards should have also come into play in that assessment.

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Technique

I’m not QB expert, but I saw Stanzi several times making the type of weird side-armed throws that Brett Farve and Tony Romo are known for. If you can be accurate with them, then it’s no problem. But, usually it is one of those college habits that needs to be unlearned as the player adjusts to exponentially better defenders.

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Decision-Making, Throw Power

Against the Rams last year, Stanzi really put it together. Granted, St. Louis had one of the worst defenses on the NFL last year and Stanzi was playing their backups. Still, he showed poise and good decision-making. Although he definitely made some bad reads in the game, he diagnosed some good throws and executed them quickly. He relied heavily on TE’s and receivers going down the middle. My real concern was his arm strength, however. He took a couple of shots with long bombs, but both were lobbed as if they’d been fired from a mortar. When I looked back at his college tape, I saw much the same thing. All of his deep balls seemed to be from extremely high arcs. Furthermore, he threw a few balls that were a bit wobbly even on intermediate routes.

This to me means that he has roughly the same physical ceiling as Matt Cassel, which means he’s automatically out of the elite range of NFL QB’s even if develops all his other skills. However, if he can get better at all of the other things, there’s no reason he can’t be a very productive quarterback in this league. If he can outplay Quinn and Cassel with good, quick decision-making and accurate passing, we may even see him on the field this season. With big receivers and a run game that sets up play action well, he may not need to fire lasers deep.

What’s more, if he can get really good and fast at the short throws, he has a chance to be successful in the same way that Kurt Warner was able to be in his comeback as a Cardinal. This would mean that Stanzi will have to act and think like a veteran quick, but it’s certainly not impossible.

Either way, there are few players that I am more interested to see out there on the field for this round of bizarro world football than Ricky Stanzi.

The Kansas City Chiefs have done it! They’ve just won the 2012 AFC West Championship! Well, at least on paper anyway.

Looking at each team in the AFC West, on paper, can get you to the place I’m at: partying on the veranda… actually it’s my daughter’s kitchen. Anyway, when you look at what each AFC team has done this off-season you’ll probably come to the same conclusion I have: the Chiefs win the west in 2012.

Here’s how the west was won.

The Oakland Raiders

New Paper: players acquired this off-season
CB Patrick Lee, QB Matt Leinart, RB Mike Goodson, FB Owen Schmitt, G Mike Brisiel, DE Dave Tollefson, LB Philip Wheeler, CB Shawntae Spencer, CB Ronald Bartell.

(more…)

This week, I went back to watching the Chiefs’ 2011 game tape. While I had been primarily focused on losses to examine areas the Chiefs needed to improve, I had been saving one particular game as a snack somewhere down the road.

Beating the undefeated Packers was great. Stuffing the Donkeys to force them to enter the playoffs on a three-game losing streak made me happy. But, nothing could compare to the emotions I felt when watching our team rise from the grave in Week 8 on Monday Night Football to take the division lead against the San Diego Chargers.

Triumphant Zombie Chiefs they were. It was the exact midpoint of the season and it looked like the Chiefs were about to shake off their crap injury luck and humiliating start and go back to being the AFC Champs that they were.

For starters, what made the game great was that it was one of the rare times that it was absolutely clear that all Chiefs fans believed. Arrowhead has always been one of the loudest, most inhospitable places to play for visiting teams, but our fans took it to a new level that night. Even watching it on TV from tens of thousands of miles away, I could see the difference. After playing like the worst team in the sport for the first two and a half games of the season, the Chiefs had brought themselves to a place where they had to play a game against a rival on national television at home for the division lead. On Halloween. There is simply no better setup than that.

I also had forgotten previously just how good the Chiefs-Chargers rivalry is. Of course, I personally despise the Raiders and even the Broncos much more vehemently, but that comes mostly out of the irrational, non-competitive parts of my brain. Now, with a hall-o-fame QB at the helm in Denver, all the focus has been on them and the race to beat them out for the 2012 title. But, in all that talk, it is forgotten that the Chiefs and the Chargers have together won seven of the last nine division championships. That means that Oakland and Denver together have shared just 22 percent of the division titles over the last nine years. It’s anyone’s guess how strong the Chargers will be this year, but one thing is clear: for the last decade, KC and SD have owned the title.

Unfortunately, although KC had achieved an impressive three-game winning streak to get them to that game, that place in time, the offense indeed did play most of the game like the undead. The Chargers far outgained the Chiefs, and the difference in the game came down to capitalizing on San Diego mistakes. Still, there was some magic in the air in Arrowhead on Halloween. Dark magic.

First off, Tamba Hali didn’t just play like a man possessed. He was a man possessed. Whatever evil spirit took hold of him was just toying with the Chargers’ offensive tackles all game. He forced more than half a dozen penalties, had two sacks, a timely forced fumble, and overall terrorized the bejesus out of San Diego blockers.

Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Cassel hit some really pretty passes.

Despite all of that, the Chiefs played a really poor middle part of the game. A signature of the Todd Haley era, the offense constantly struggled to get plays and substitutions in on time. This led to a comedy of errors at the end of the first half, in which the Chargers were on the run but KC was just far too discombobulated to do anything right. Eventually, everyone just scratched their heads and kicked a field goal. By the end of the game, the color commentators were repeatedly using the phrase “Poor Matt Cassel” as our beleaguered QB was having to basically organize the bloody mess himself.

John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Although I didn’t know this when I watched the game live, when McGraw went out down with an injury and Donald Washington went in to replace him, this spelled doom for the Chiefs. This time around, I knew automatically that this would be the turning point. Sure enough, San Diego came from 10 points behind to tie the Chiefs in the second half. After being totally ineffective in the passing game in the first half, once there was only one competent Chiefs safety on the field, SD hit big play after big play to drag themselves back into the game.

The game was also largely a microcosm of Jonathan Baldwin’s rookie year. He hauled in the catch of his NFL career (thus far) — a beautiful deep pass for a TD — but he also committed several mental errors. He dropped two balls, both of which hit him in the hands, and the second one bounced off of his breadbasket and into the arms of a San Diego defender for an interception. It was a Jekyll and Hyde game for what has so far been a Jekyll and Hyde receiver.

As much as Hali was playing out of his mind, when the Chargers were able to neutralize his pass rush (usually through unnoticed penalties), Rivers was as comfortable as if he had returned to his mother’s womb. Houston had not yet arrived to the scene.

And, while I am all for getting Houston to develop and mature into a legit pass-rushing threat, I am still not convinced that is what he is just yet. Three of his 5.5 sacks in 2011 came against the Bears – a bad quarterback behind a bad offensive line (seriously, Caleb Hanie finished with a worse 2011 passer rating than Tyler Palko).

This brings me to my next disturbing realization while watching this game. Like our match against the Packers, in this game, San Diego was playing like absolute dogcrap 80 percent of the time. They had nine penalties in the first half, they turned over the ball four times and missed an easy field goal. Given all of that, the Chiefs should have beaten them by 20. Instead, we beat them by a field goal in overtime.

In part, this is just how the Chiefs play. We keep every game close and work to go the extra mile by the end of the game. But that won’t cut it in the playoffs. Playoff teams beat their opponents into submission when they have the chance and are able to run their offense like a machine. While I have no doubt the Chiefs will be able to secure the division title again in 2012, this roster still has yet to prove that it can be dominant.

That is why I think it is important to remember the Zombie Chiefs and remember where we are coming from. We are not just coming off of an off year that was plagued with injures. No. We were a dead team that clawed its way back into the division race as ugly as it was, and played with every ounce of its potential to come within a single blocked field goal of the postseason again.

We need to remember that hunger of a zombie team that had been written off by the league. We need to remember what it was like to be the fans of a team standing behind the walls of the Alamo on Halloween, defending its title like champs when everyone expected it to fold. I know there has been a lot of gloating and optimism among myself and others on this site for all of the shrewd offseason additions and the swift recovery of our wounded stars. But, if we are going to take this team’s destiny to its full potential, we need to remember where we came from.

The 2012 season for me is just a continuation of our rise from the grave. The media can talk about Peyton Manning all they want. Tamba will be feeding on his brain and JC will be dancing in his end zone before long. To steal a motto from the Greyjoys, “What is dead can never die.” Long live the Zombie Chiefs!

(Hindsight is … Complicated Part II, for Part I, click here)

To me, among the most intriguing Chiefs picks in the draft were WR Devon Wylie (4^th round) and RB Cyrus Gray (6^th). Wylie is a short wideout with ridiculous speed who would have gone earlier in the draft if it weren’t for injury concerns. Gray is a small and speedy back with breakaway speed. Both were also great special teamers in college. Together, they basically make a better version of Dexter McCluster.

Bruce Thorson-US PRESSWIRE

As I have been going back and re-watching all of the games from the 2011 season, one theme has consistently arisen – there are lot of Chiefs players that I am very jaded about. One of those is Dexter McCluster.

Drafted initially be to a Wes Welker type receiver, he spent a lot more time last season in the role of a running back as a complimentary Darren Sproles type. So far, he has lived up to neither comparison, but he might some day and therein lies the dilemma.

Last year, when Jamaal Charles went down, so did our offense. Having one of the most dynamic players in the league touching the ball 20 times a game had allowed the Chiefs to hide a lot of weaknesses on the offensive side of the ball. With Charles gone, Haley struggled to throw together something resembling an offense with depth players off the trash heap. Even during his rookie season, clouded by the excitement of the Chiefs’ first winning season in ages was the fact that McCluster was all but a bust as a playmaker. He had just 21 receptions and 18 carries with his only memorable play being a touchdown on a screen pass against San Francisco.

John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

At the end of the 2010 season, Haley seemed to be giving up on the idea of McCluster as a slot receiver and said he would be giving him more snaps at running back. I don’t think they planned on him having 114 carries in 2011, but that’s how it shook out. What’s interesting about going back to the numbers is that they conflict wildly with my own perceptions and affections. I’ve always liked McCluster as a seemingly hard-working guy who has the kind of grit you wouldn’t expect from a 170-lb munchkin.

Still, the numbers don’t lie. McCluster just doesn’t make big plays, which is his only purpose. RB Jackie Battle was a guy who was able to get what was already there with the ability to break a tackle or two. McCluster basically gets what’s there plus 3 yards due to his speed, but he won’t be breaking any tackles and he’ll get stuffed at or behind the line of scrimmage for a few serious losses a game. Even Battle beat him as the KC running back with the biggest ground gain of the 2011 season with a 34-yarder against Denver.

All of this brings us back to the Chiefs’ eternal offensive problem since the Trent Green days. We move the ball, but we don’t make big plays and we can’t score for the life of us. McCluster is not currently helping to alleviate this problem. He’s not a great receiver, not a great running back, useless in pass protection, and only had one return for a touchdown in two seasons. So where does he fit?

Despite the fact that the Peyton Hillis signing gave the Chiefs’ roster three running backs (not counting Shaun Draughn), I still thought they needed at least one more body. Charles is still rehabbing his ACL, Hillis is coming off of schizophrenic year with injuries and odd behavior, and McCluster, as we have established, is nothing special and can’t currently be trusted to shoulder a serious portion of the carries.

What I expected they would do is go after a power back more in the mold of Thomas Jones when he had speed. Instead they grabbed Gray, a guy known for his quickness, but who can handle more contact than McCluster can. They also picked up Wylie, a dude who ran 4.25 40 in 2009 before breaking his foot, and projects well as a slot receiver with some downfield ability. If both of these guys pan out, McCluster will be unnecessary.

But that’s assuming that McCluster will not continue to develop. In Scouts Inc.’s blurb on him, the only bad thing they pointed out in his game is: “He has good ball skills but will struggle when competing for the ball in a crowd. He needs a lot of work on his route running and setting defenders up and will settle into crowded zones at times rather than find a window for the quarterback to throw though.”

Meaning, he can still be taught.

Sproles, who was in many ways a trailblazer for sparkplugs like McCluster, only had 148 touches in his first three years with San Diego. McCluster had 160 in 2011. Sproles only really came on in his 4^th season, and truly exploded for the Saints last year with 1,313 total yards from scrimmage split almost perfectly evenly between runs and passes. The difference is that he was in the high-octane Saints offense getting the ball from Drew Brees.

Could McCluster eventually develop into Sproles? It’s possible, but very hard to tell. Although they are both short, Sproles is two inches shorter and 20 lbs heavier than McCluster, giving him a bit more beef to sustain hits and an even smaller profile to grab or shut down by filling the gaps in front of him. Also, being so small, you have to be an excellent route-runner because otherwise it’s just too easy for defenders to box you out, and if you’re not in the exact right spot, it’s hard for the quarterback to get the ball to you. Sproles has gradually become an excellent route runner; McCluster clearly still has a lot of work to do.

Getting the most out of these little guys also depends heavily on the person designing the scheme. All indications are that McCluster was a Pioli pick – he comes from the New England mindset of getting versatile gadget players, Haley loves big physical receivers. Because of that, I think there is reason for optimism now that Brian Daboll has taken over the offense.

Although it took him too long to install with the lockout, Miami was humming once they understood his offense last year. Just watching them demolish the Chiefs at Arrowhead again was enough to convince me this guy knows how to draw up plays.  The color commentators couldn’t stop talking about one play that led to their tight end burning Derrick Johnson for a touchdown.

Often times, these sort of unique players need to find the right pairing with a coach who can figure out how to maximize them. RB Danny Woodhead got almost 1,000 yards for New England in 2010 after being cut by the Jets. Sproles was one of the best free agent signings of 2011, leaving Chargers for the Saints. I worry that if McCluster doesn’t pan out for the Chiefs, we will soon be seeing him in highlight reels wearing a different color.

What do you think addicts? Is it time to bring the McCluster experiment to an end, or is he one more offseason away from being the dynamic weapon we’ve been waiting for?

Like the Weezer song in the title of this post, right now feels like a party atmosphere for the Kansas City sports scene (loving my Jayhawks unexpected trip to the New Orleans for instance . . . also digging how the Royals are showing some longterm potential for greatness). Most significantly, it’s an especially exciting time to be a Chiefs fan.

For me, as I’m sure is the case with many of us diehards, it’s been a long time since I felt this excited about an upcoming season. Among other things, the draft coverage here on AA this past week or so has been nothing short of outstanding in my opinion. Seems like every post is well thought out, well put together, and an absolute must read.

I’m excited about the return of Jamaal Charles and what that could mean to our offense. I’m excited about the return of Eric Berry and what that could mean to our defense. I’m excited to see what Romeo Crennel does with this team.

I’m excited about the growth and development of our roster. I’m excited about the addition of free agents Eric Winston (still pinching myself), Peyton Hillis (a guy I originally wanted us to draft),  Stanford Routt (yes I am enthused about this signing for a variety of reasons), and yes, Brady Quinn (I remember on draft day thinking  . . . oh my god this guy may actually fall to the Chiefs!).

I’m excited about Peyton Manning playing in the AFC West because that means we’ll get to face him twice a year . . . imagine the kind of gameday buzz that will generate at Arrowhead?

At this moment, I am particularly excited about the draft and to see how all that plays out. We’re actually seem to be at a place where we’re for once not desperate for this or that player but instead possess the ability to improve our roster in any number of different ways in the first round and beyond.  There are so many possibilities and every one of them seems incredibly positive.

If we draft DeCastro, we’ll have what promises to be one of the best OL’s in the league. If we draft Poe, it means Crennel and Pioli have thoroughly analyzed the guy and reached the conclusion that they got THE guy and by implication, somebody who they believe will be instrumental in taking our defense to the dominant level? If we draft Kuechly, we’ll most likely be looking at one of the best combo coverage/pressure linebacking corps in the league . . . for many years to come mind you. 

If we draft another pass rusher, so much the better!! I mean the possibilities boggle the imagination and not a one seems awful to me.  There’s the possibility we could even trade down and gain an extra early pick or two. How cool.

It’s also conceivable that we draft a high ceiling quarterback on the first day of the draft. As well, we’ll have the ability to add quality depth to our secondary if we want. We could land a promising receiver or tight end.  

Adding to our stable of running backs certainly seems like a strong possibility. And let’s not forget special teams either because you know there will be opportunities to upgrade our lackluster return game and coverage units on days two and three of the draft.

Once the draft is over, we can once again turn our attention to free agency.  There’s certainly some still intriguing names out there to consider depending on how the draft shakes out for us.  How about bringing one-time Heisman hopeful Dennis Dixon into the qb competition mix? There’s also still guys like Sammie Lee Hill, guys who’s NFL careers may be on verge of greatness.

I’m not saying there’s not remaining areas of critical concern for this team, I’m just saying a lot of key pieces seem to be falling into place pretty nicely of late, our options and opportunities seem especially promising and overall the future looks bright.

That’s my Double Take.

Addicts, how do you feel about where this team is right now? What do you think our roster will end up looking like over the next couple of months? Who or what are you most looking forward to?

Can anyone out there remember an offseason like this? There have been more Earth-shattering developments this week than in the last three offseasons combined.

Obviously the news that affects the Chiefs the most is future Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning signing with the Broncos. This is probably foolish, but I can’t help it – I am honestly pumped about the move. Before the signing, the writing was on the wall that this was going to be the Chiefs’ year in the division.

That writing is still there.

Matt Williamson from Scouts Inc. – the NFL pundit I most respect – still has the Chiefs as the team to beat in the AFC West and I agree. The fact that the Chiefs will now have stiff competition from the Donkeys only gets me fired up more. As far as I’m concerned, the Chiefs were a blocked field goal away from winning the division without their stars last year, and we shut down the default division winners in the last game of the season. This division is ours, and I am happy to accept all challengers.

Step right up, Peyton, let’s see what you got.

In the movie of Manning’s life, this season may very well be the climax – he’s been cut by his team of 12 years, he’s down and out and trying to climb back to greatness. I love the idea that in this movie, the less-showy, but physical and gritty Chiefs are the bad guys. We will take away his chance for a valiant career comeback because it is OURS.

Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

All cockiness aside, from this point on, all of the Chiefs’ personnel focus has to be on neutralizing Manning, and not Greg Williams-style. With about $15 million left under the cap, the Chiefs have enough space to offer extensions to a few important players and sign their draft picks plus a few low-level free agent pickups for depth and training camp bodies.

That means that the only major acquisition the Chiefs are going to be able to make this year is their first-round pick. Therefore, it has to be an anti-Manning.

While I’m sympathetic to Paddy’s argument for trading back to build up draft ammunition and flexibility next year for a possible trade-up, I think this year is critical and the opportunity to land possibly one of the top 10 best young players of 2012 shouldn’t be squandered willy-nilly. It is also unclear whether there would be interest in trading into the Chiefs’ spot. There may be, but we can’t count on it, and we need to plan to pick someone at #11 going into April.

That is why I think it would be a mistake to take G David DeCastro. Under normal circumstances, picking DeCastro is exactly the type of conservative, forward-looking move that I would love. I desperately wanted the Chiefs to grab Gabe Carimi last year, and I continue to believe that the O-line needs to be the foundation of team’s offense. However, DeCastro is rated so highly exactly because he is so safe. Most scouts consider him to be NFL-ready, and if the Chiefs had an emergency need at guard, picking him would make a lot of sense. But there will be other guards available with the same amount of raw upside as DeCastro in later rounds that are simply a bit rougher and will require some coaching up. Plus, our needs along the interior O-line are not that great. Love him or hate him, Ryan Lilja, the weakest link, is just mediocre. With solid tackles and run-blocking TEs, we will be able to bounce runs to the outside with ease. In short yardage, Hillis will always able to give us something, even if the left guard isn’t steamrolling forward.

The point is, while DeCastro would be a great addition, he won’t be a game-changer for the Chiefs – especially against Peyton Franken-neck Manning. The Chiefs could have the best running game in the league (again) behind an O-line replete with Hall-of-Famers (again) and still not be able to keep Manning from pulling out a clutch win in the fourth quarter or simply out gunning Cassel in a shootout – a situation that is not difficult to imagine. For reference, look up the puntless 2003 Wild Card game between KC and Indy. SPOILER ALERT, we lost.

ILB Luke Kuechly would also be a safe pick at a position of need. But with Belcher and Brandon Siler coming back next year, I think the Chiefs are above average there too – Belcher is an reasonably reliable overachiever and we don’t even know what we have in Siler yet. Kuechly is also known for his speed and awareness, able to chase down runners coming out of the backfield. He is not known as a great pass-rusher, therefore, he too is not the kind of guy who I think would be a game changer for us.

That leaves Dontari Poe, ranked the 10^th best talent overall by Scouts Inc., and the best DT by nearly all evaluators. As AA commenters have pointed out, Poe has a fairly high bust factor for a guy with his immense physical skills. But, if there was ever a time that the Chiefs need to be bold and take a chance on a guy that could be special, it’s now. Peyton-freaking-Manning just entered our division, and he’s likely to be here for a few years. And oh, by the way, there’s this other guy named Philip Rivers. He plays for a team the Chiefs haven’t swept in the division in a decade.

Troy Taormina-US PRESSWIRE

Poe is also knocked for not being a prototypical nose tackle – especially for Romeo Crennel’s preferred block-eating scheme. But the fact is that the guy has the physical potential to be a penetrating Jay Ratliff/Haloti Ngata type. He’s not short and stout like Vince Wilfork – the ideal creature for Crennel’s scheme – but guys in the mold of Wilfork are more rare than elite quarterbacks.

The Chiefs could rotate him with Amon Gordon, a bland but valuable run stuffer, and allow Poe to try and blow up the inside protection on passing downs. Jerrel Powe, the D-line’s invisible man, may develop enough this offseason to provide good depth as well. Depending on how Poe does throughout the year, the Chiefs could gradually increase his responsibilities and playing time.

Crennel appears to also be considering DT Michael Bockers, who could contribute as a 3-4 DE in the place of either Glenn Dorsey or Tyson Jackson – two expensive underachievers I wouldn’t mind discarding.

The main idea though, is simply adding a card to our hand that will counteract the arrival of perhaps the best QB who has ever lived. Both DeCastro and Kuechly will probably be fine football players. But to draft either of them would be declining to throw a punch in what is going to be the most interesting division battle the AFC West has seen in years.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve talked a lot about it without coming out and saying it: this year’s offseason will be very difficult to screw up. And that is a comforting thought for long-flummoxed Chiefs fans.

So far, the Chiefs have been stuck with a series of no-brainer moves. They extended Tamba Hali to a long-term deal during the season; Jamaal was locked up the year before. They picked up a few cheap depth guys who had fallen off the backs of trucks.

Then came their first real choice. Re-sign Brandon Carr or bring in Stanford Routt? Routt was cheaper, and apparently better at man coverage, which Crennel ran to crushing success in his three games has HC. Routt signed. Done.

Dwayne Bowe remained the last big KC free agent to re-sign, but contract negotiations had long been drawn out. The franchise tag number for 2012 for wide receivers was $9.4 million – not far north of what the average yearly salary would be for him in an extended deal. Tagged him. Done.

Last year, we were one game behind the division winner. In my opinion, the Chiefs are the favorites to win the division just by standing still. No matter whom they draft or sign, their biggest acquisitions in 2012 will be Charles, Moeaki and Berry back from injury.

However, the Chiefs don’t have to sit still this time. Not only do they have about $28 million in cap room (factoring in the Bowe deal), but they are picking 11^th in the draft, which is more and more looking to be the 1^st-round sweet spot for falling talent.

Now, I know there are millions of mock drafts out there, but looking at the latest mocks from CBS Sports, NFL.com, and the Bleacher Report, I formed what is a kind of consensus of the latest thinking. Again, it reveals that the Chiefs cannot lose.

In none of the 10 mock drafts I used for my sample was the beastly G David DeCastro picked, nor was intimidating linebacker Luke Kuechly. In 8/10, Jonathan Martin, who is considered to be the most athletic OT in the draft, was still available; in 5/10 OT Reily Reiff was there. Not only was he a beast in college, but Pioli has strong ties to his college coach Kirk Ferentz, and he will know this player in and out.

Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly runs the 40 yard dash during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

In 8/10, DT/NT Dontari Poe, the surprise physical monster of the Combine, was available for the Chiefs. And, although he’s tall for a nose tackle, he has the raw athleticism to be a good one. A 346-lbs man that can run a 4.98 40 is a scary creation.

In 6/10, QB Ryan Tannehill is still available – the consensus third best QB in the draft. This would also present an interesting choice for the Chiefs. On one hand, if the teams behind them are still nervous about their ability to pick up a top QB, the Chiefs could offer a reasonable deal to teams unable or unwilling to spend to trade into the top-10, but might be willing to part with a 3^rd-rounder or 2^nd-rounder next year to move up a few spots to 11 for Tannehill. The Jets are a few spots back and have talked a lot about bringing in significant competition for Sanchez.

Directly behind the Chiefs are the Seahawks and Cardinals who have biting QB needs and will be competing with each other to get to Tannehill first if they can’t bring in a top talent in free agency.

The Chiefs could also take him, as crazy as that sounds and give Matt Cassel REAL competition. Given Tannehill’s draft status and the fact that he is much younger than Cassel, he would obviously have the upper hand, but the Chiefs could afford to transition into him as the next season or two went on. In the end, such a move might get Cassel back to the position he was naturally suited for back in 2008 – as the league’s best backup QB.

Now, I’ve already talked about a wide variety of options for the Chiefs when it comes to free agency, but the rundown is this: we can pick whoever we want. With our cap room, there are little to no restrictions on who we take aboard. With Drew Brees franchised by the Saints, the best Guard in football, Carl Nicks, is now available. He is #1 target. Solid NFL-proven guys like NT Paul Soliai are also floating out there and there are plenty of guys able to fill out depth and provide competition on the O-line and at inside LB.

The cherry on top is that the Chiefs could afford several of those moves and still afford the jewel of free agency who is already available – Peyton Manning.

Feb 4, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and his father Archie Manning attend the direct TV celebrity beach bowl at Victory Field. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

When it was looking like the Chiefs would have to trade for him I was against it. But given how the Chiefs have only a few big needs and the ability to fill all the other holes with quality in the draft and free agency, I agree with Crennel that KC would be “crazy” not to make a run at the guy. If he wants big-time guaranteed money as a 36-year-old with an 80-year-old’s neck, then I won’t kill the Chiefs for letting someone else take that leap. After all, the Chiefs are practically a lock to win the division this year anyway. But, this is also the one offseason where the mix of meager needs and expansive resources allow for luxurious moves like bringing in an aging quarterback who might just be the best who ever lived. Price tag be damned.

Overall, unless Pioli dumps the Chiefs extra cap cash and draft picks into a ditch and burns them, the Chiefs are set. While his tenure has overall been shaky, and Hunt loves his money like none other, I think the writing is on the wall that this is the Chiefs year and they will pull the necessary triggers.

And that means I am going to tell you to do something that, as a Chiefs fan, goes against every instinct you have. Don’t worry.

If the Chiefs somehow miss out on Manning, don’t worry. That’s money that will go to fixing the lines and steamrolling the division in other ways. Trent Richardson doesn’t slip down to us? Who cares? We’ll still have a smorgasbord of other options in need areas on the team. It’s been smooth sailing so far, and barring a Pioli nervous breakdown or a nuclear war between here and next winter, the Chiefs are set for a deep run into the playoffs. Quoth Rex Ryan, “Guaranteed.”

Yes, I know the Patriots lost, but if the Chiefs truly are going to follow the Patriots Way, then there was a lot of positive to take from New England’s performance last Sunday.

It’s no secret to anyone that the success from the Patriots offense has come from their ability to scheme things brilliantly and create massive matchup problems for opposing defenses. They do this through flexible personnel groupings and versatile players in ways that I think KC can emulate.

In the end, the biggest difference of the night was the absence of Rob Gronkowski. Sure, he was there, but the second-year tight end, who was good for 1,327 yards and 17 touchdowns during the regular season, was obviously a step or two slower with an injured ankle. Aaron Hernandez was New England’s best weapon of the night with 8 catches and a touchdown.

The good news is that the Chiefs’ Gronkowski is coming back this year. Moeaki and Gronkowski had very similar stats in their rookie years (although Gronk pulled down more TDs), and their skills are comparable. Both guys are great route runners, have big, reliable hands and are also good blockers. I think Moeaki is going to have a colossal season in 2012. The guy the Chiefs don’t have is a Hernandez type. Hernandez is not as physical, but is faster and has the reach to be a threat along the sidelines. Even while covered by Michael Boley, the Giant’s best cover linebacker, Hernandez was about to consistently move the chains for them.

John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

I think the Chiefs were hoping Leonard Pope could be that guy, unfortunately he just doesn’t have the speed or football smarts to make it happen. Especially given that he was part of Haley’s entourage that was brought over from Arizona, I think his days in red are numbered.

I definitely think the Chiefs should go for a mid-round TE in this year’s draft. Crock brilliantly broke down the class this year, and I think a guy like Orson Charles or Ladarius Green should be on the KC’s draft board. We need a guy who may not be the best pass blocker, but who causes opposing defenses to scratch their head about what personnel they send out on the field. With a running game as prolific as we will have once Jamaal Charles is back, getting our opponents to think pass when we have two TEs on the field will be a very, very good thing for us.

Another thing that the Patriots whipped out at times this year was creative use of their rookie tackle, Nate Solder. Against the Chiefs, they played Solder at tight end and fullback numerous times to punishing success. BenJarvus Green-Ellis had his second best game of the year on just 20 carries. How many of you out there would like to see David DeCastro or Jonathan Martin mowing down the Raider’s linebacking corps ahead of Jamaal? I would.

Speaking of Green-Ellis, he’s a free agent this year and there’s talk that the Pats aren’t likely take him back. At 26, he could be a long-term third-down running back for the Chiefs. Like Charles, he’s got some elusiveness but he’s also got about 20 lbs on Jamaal, and is able to fight for short yardage a bit better than him.

Another free agent that has been key to the Patriots’ success is Wes Welker. While he usually doesn’t produce flashy big-gainers (his longest catch of 2010 was for 35 yards), he is unstoppable as a guy who catches the ball for 4 yards and gets 3 more after the catch every single time. He had an amazing 77 catches for first downs in 2011. When the Chiefs drafted Dexter McCluster, I think they intended him to grow into Welker’s role, but that hasn’t exactly happened. McCluster is more of a Danny Woodhead guy – the little speedster that can do the most damage coming out of the backfield in a variety of ways. I know you’ve heard me criticize a lot of the signings Pioli has made for targeting older dudes, but this is a signing that I think would make sense for the Chiefs.

With Welker and two pass-threat TEs there is a lot more that the Chiefs could do in the short and mid-range passing game. There’s a reason why Matt Cassel and Tom Brady don’t chuck it down the field very often – they’re not very good at it. When Cassel has short-range options (and time to throw), he has been very efficient. Assuming Welker only has a few productive years left, the Chiefs won’t be risking much by throwing some money at him – God forbid he take a roster spot for Jerheme Urban.

Now, you might say that taking on Welker would automatically alter the Chiefs’ offensive philosophy in ways they aren’t built to handle – their current passing game is built to feature two large, down-field WRs in Dwayne Bowe and Jonathan Baldwin – but I think this gets to one of the Chiefs’ biggest weaknesses in 2011. The way the Chiefs are currently assembled, their gameplan is extremely fragile. If either Bowe or Charles get taken out of the game – due to injury or effective defense – their hands are tied. When both are down, KC is absolutely screwed.

Also, at 31, I think Welker is at the point in his career where Belichick classically lets him move on. In his almost pathological fixation on hoarding resources for the future, the man in the hoodie always lets his stars walk when they become truly expensive in their thirties (Brady being the obvious exception). Meanwhile, the Chiefs have somewhere between $20-27 million in cap space, plus the carry-over from last season. Therefore, the Chiefs could potentially spend around 40 percent more on players this season.

The franchise tag numbers for wide receivers and cornerbacks are $9.4 million and $10.6 million, respectively. Meaning that to franchise either Bowe or Carr and sign the other to a long-term deal, the Chiefs will likely end up spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $17 million for the 2012 season. That leaves at least $23 million to play with.

The Chiefs’ 2012 draft picks won’t cost them more than about $10 million total for the season, so with (again, at least) $13 million left in the bank, the Chiefs can afford luxury experiments like Wes Welker.

If we’re going to go Patriots, we might as well do it right.

I’ve been living in Europe for several years now, and while I haven’t brought myself to becoming a full-fledged soccer fan, I do appreciate that fans of the sport get to watch the game all year. With so many overlapping leagues and looser management rules, there is literally always something to talk about in global soccer, and on any given day when you want to watch a game, all you just have to flip on the tube.

That said, I have a secret love for the NFL offseason – at least this stage of it. By summer, the cold sweats of football withdrawal set in, but the period from the end of the regular season until the weeks following the draft is a few months of cool. There are endless hypothetical conversations to be had, revisionist retrospection on the year past and every team’s fan base is somehow imbued in the optimism that “next year we’ll be better.” Statistically speaking, only about half are right.

To kick off this process I want to start the conversation by looking simply at what we were bad at last year, and the options on the table for fixing them. It’ll be a long time before we have more actual football to breakdown so I’ll be looking at each of these particular issues individually and in detail in the weeks to come. For now, these are my general thoughts, after the jump. (more…)

As the Chiefs begin their head coach search, most analysts seem to point to interim head coach Romeo Crennel as the most likely candidate to get the job. Crennel has obviously been great for this team as a defensive coordinator and the team played well under him in the last three games of the season, ending 2-1 including a win against Green Bay and a razor-thin overtime loss to Oakland.

Still, I have my qualms with him.

I think Chiefs fans need to take a hard look at the entirety of this season and what Crennel can take credit for and what he can’t. There was also a lot I saw in the games Crennel led that had me pulling my hair out – tendencies I think could spell death for the Chiefs in 2012 if Crennel remains in charge of the game plans.

My problems with Romeo after the jump. (more…)

Yep. So I was there.

Living on the other side of the world, my brief return for the holidays was my only opportunity to see the Chiefs in person this season. I happened to be in town for two consecutive home games – against the Packers and the Raiders — and had to choose one, so I naturally chose the one I thought they were going to win.

But, like that guy in Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Holy Grail, I chose … poorly.

My impressions after the jump. (more…)

What. A. Game last week.

All of AA’s columnists have done a great job documenting the fantastic things we saw in that game: A.) The Chiefs’ sudden rise from the grave B.) Their utter trouncing of the dirtiest, most classless team in the league and C.) Said team’s laughably inept offensive performance.

Now, while point C in some ways detracts from points A and B, it is what I want to focus on, because it is the most important in the long term.

Although Cassel looked far from impressive in that game and the defense did a lot of the work for the Zombie Chiefs, after doing some research, I’ve become a much bigger fan of Zombie Cassel and his insatiable appetite for comeback brains. So much so, that it has made me feel a lot better about that trade that brought him here, especially because it makes the Carson Palmer trade look like a Jedi Ronin Secret Suicide attack.

Read my lips: the Raiders are doomed. Check out why after the break. (more…)

The Chiefs came away from Week 7 with an important and impressive road victory over their division rival, the Oakland Raiders. They also find themselves with a huge opportunity this Monday night to make another statement within the division when they face off in Arrowhead against the AFC West leading San Diego Chargers.

The stakes? Just a share of the division lead, that’s all. Who would’ve even thunk it after those two back-to-back debacles a mere five weeks ago?

For purposes of this article, the question of course is always “are the Chiefs now a better team than they were a week ago?”

I’ll try to come up with some kind of answer on that, courtesy Football Outsiders latest stats, beyond the break.

(more…)

Will the Raiders’ loss of Jason Campbell significantly alter the Chiefs’ odds of victory this week? How likely are we to stop Oakland’s ground game? Do the Raiders have any glaring weaknesses and if so, how can the Chiefs exploit them. We’ll turn to Football Outsiders stats for possible answers to those questions and more, right after the jump.
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Worst Pre-game News: Granted, it’s no news to you Addicts as it has basically been discussed to the maximum here, but it’s hard to go into a game with happy feelings knowing that your prized new 1^st round pick just injured himself in a fight with one of the team’s most respected veterans. I mean, teach this guy how to fight! Just kidding, but seriously, short of hearing that Charles, Cassel and Hali had all been injured in a freak grenade-juggling accident, it’s hard to think of a bigger pre-game bummer.

Best Circus Performer: Dwayne Bowe. Speaking of juggling, I now confidently believe Bowe could juggle chainsaws as a side job and we would not have to worry in the slightest. His catch in the early 1^st quarter was one of those great catches that make you simultaneous ecstatic and terrified. On one hand, great catch! On the other hand, what the hell were you thinking throwing that ball with him covered like that, Cassel?

Best Tenacity: Andy Studebaker and Justin Houston (until the 4^th quarter). Studie was flying around the ball like a madman and Houston showed some of his raw skills. Unfortunately it appeared that Houston’s poor conditioning caught up to him as he whiffed bad on some potential sacks and tackles for losses late in the game.

Worst Special Teams: All of it. The only positive about this new kickoff rule is that instead being able to just get a refill and grab some more dip during the post-score commercial breaks, you can now baste and cook a whole turkey, because it’ll be a while before you’ll see any meaningful football after one side scores. Plus, a huge portion of the punts were muffed – a common pre-season tradition, but still eye-rolling sloppiness.

More after the jump … (more…)

The piece in question was this week’s Monday Morning Waterboy on ColdHardFacts.com. In it, Luis DeLoureiro basically says the Cheifs are either going to the Super Bowl, or they’re slated to take a step back in 2011. Even more discouraging was that his argument was pretty airtight.

In short, 30 NFL teams between 2002 and 2009 increased their season-to-season records by five or more games. Of them, 24 had worse seasons following their surge – with 13 of them losing at least four more games after their surprising season.

Yikes.

So first off, there are reasons to believe this will not happen to the Chiefs, and they are the following:

1.) We have a young and improving team. Basically our only weak spots are now filled with young players that are likely to progress, and most of our strengths are populated by young talent as well.

2.) Our division is going the other direction. San Diego is always a threat, but I refuse to have fear in those underachievers. Oakland is a mess as usual, and is set up to lose lots of its free agent talent, and Denver is a total rebuilding project with no defense to speak of.

3.) This is Haley’s third year. It took him a while to make his mark on the team – both installing his offense, gathering players, etc. but also molding it to reflect his personality. I think going into 2011 we are starting to see a mostly finished product, which means a more dangerous product.

4.) Free agency isn’t likely to greatly impact the Chiefs. As I mentioned last week, we definitely need to resign Hali and Carr, and I agree with Andrew that we should bring back Wiegmann as well. But, other than that, we don’t have much talent going out the door, and we have plenty of cap room to make sure the aforementioned studs are locked up for the season.

So now back to the bad news after the jump. (more…)

Resigning Tamba Hali is the no-brainer of the offseason. The guy is our only real playmaker in the front seven and the best player on this defense. I know it’s not Pioli’s style, but I hope the Chiefs shower him with cash, lock him up until his mid-thirties and watch him become a hall-of-famer in red. Then, when we think he’s starting to decline, we’ll trade him to the Raiders for a 1^st round pick a few years down the road so they can replace Richard Seymour. And they’ll still suck.

The other no-brain resign is Brandon Carr. This guy is a star that no one outside the AFC West seems to be talking about. And he can flat out play — a master at the crazy deflection. There were games where he actually looked like the best Brandon on the field (Albert is a distant third). I hope he also gets a payday from the Chiefs, he’s earned it.

Still there’s a guy up for free agency that I think could be surprisingly useful to the Chiefs this year, and one other free agent who won’t be too expensive (nor too crazy like my previous suggestions) and I’d frankly be surprised if he doesn’t end up here.

See my selections after the jump. (more…)

1.) “The players need to ‘give back’ a decent amount of money”:

Basically what Ross suggests, as a former player, is that the 50-50 split be made something like a 53-47 split in the owners’ favor BUT, the caveat is that they have to reinvest that few hundred million into ways of expanding the game (because that was the owners’ lame excuse for needing more money in the first place). The way that is usually done is through ad campaigns, exhibition games abroad and efforts to teach kids worldwide the wonderful game of football.

More after the jump.. (more…)

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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2010 saw Cassel improved in every way imaginable.  His quarterback rating increased a staggering 23.1 points to 93.0.  All of Cassel’s other statistics improved as well, including completion percentage, total yards, yards per attempt, yards per game, touchdowns, and interceptions.

While Cassel has been working hard in the off-season to improve his skills, Cassel’s continued improvement in 2011 will greatly depend on Jamaal Charles.  If Charles has another great season in 2011 look for the Chiefs and Cassel to be back in the playoff hunt.  However, if Charles performance slips from 2010 it could be a long season for both Cassel and the Chiefs.

You may be asking yourself how a quarterback’s performance can fluctuate based on his running backs performance.  In Cassel’s case it is directly tied to how many time Charles touches the football.

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Suffice to say that I am the new guy, and I have been brought onto the team just in time to toss out some pre-draft opinions for all of you to laud, decry, praise or generally throw poo at.

First of all, I think there has been some great draft discussion going on here, particularly surrounding the irate Green Giant, Phil Taylor. But to follow my fellow columnists‘formula, this is how I see it in a nutshell:

The Chiefs …

Will Pick: NT Phil Taylor

Should Pick: Gabe Carimi

Por que? Para que I have a strong suspicion that all of the best pass rushers and O-linemen are going to go FAST. Even if guys like Robert Quinn and Aldon Smith make it out of the top 10, the league’s two worst defenses (Washington and Houston) pick at 10 and 11. Then you have the Jags, Chargers and Bucs — all of which need DE’s — so there goes Kerrigan, J.J. Watt, and Cameron Jordan (who likely wouldn’t make it past New England at 17 anyway). Bowers doesn’t fit KC and has a broken knee. The Cowboys, Lions, Rams, Dolphins and Giants all want O-linemen, and Gabe Carimi is ranked as perhaps the most NFL-ready trench guy in the draft. I love him, but a pure right tackle isn’t worth trading up for, and Mike Pouncey is also likely to be gone. I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but it’s not looking too good. In fact, that’s exactly how things went down in the ESPN Football Today Superfan Super Mock Draft, in which I represent the Chiefs as the KC Superfan/Mock GM.

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The new head coach of the Denver Broncos: John Fox

The Denver Broncos have hired former Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox.

The hiring comes after former head coach Josh McDaniels was canned following a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium last season. McDaniels was just a year and a half into his tenure when he was fired by the Broncos.

Fox comes to the Broncos after spending 9 years in Carolina. When he took over the Panthers they were coming off a 1-15 season. Fox lead the team to a 7-9 record in his first season and to the Super Bowl in his second. The Panthers made the playoffs 3 times under Fox in 2003, 2005 and 2008. The team then fell on hard times and Fox finished with a 73-71 record as the team’s head coach.

What do you think Addicts? Is Fox a good hire or are the Broncos in trouble?

Pat Bowlen playing Freddy again? (Source: New Line Cinema)

I got a text this morning that woke me up: “Brandon Marshall is now a Dolphin.” “Halle-effing-lujah!” I rejoiced. Then I tried to go back to sleep…and started thinking. Never a good thing when I start thinking too much.

The Seahawks just traded for Charlie “Don’t Call Me Jesus” Whitehurst. Art Modell will be given a parade in Cleveland before the Browns are going to take another Notre Dame QB. The Raiders are stuck on Fatmarcus. The Jags want to win now. If our old friend Chan Gailey’s Buffalo Bills don’t like Jimmy Clausen, he could easily slip to the Broncos at 11.

Meanwhile, Dez Bryant is slipping as well. Newly equipped with an extra second-round pick, the Broncos could easily trade up (packaging a second and maybe a third) into the mid-to-late first and snag him. They can do so and still have a second-round pick to burn on, say, a linebacker.

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It’s also possible Denver could agree to receive less compensation for allowing Seattle to acquire Marshall.

Also, a source over at Yahoo! Sports says there is a soft market for Marshall. They do not want him coming back, and they know that with some of the character issues Marshall has that it might be hard to find a taker for him giving the compensation required. If the Ravens just got Boldin for a third and a fourth, I bet the Chiefs could get Marshall for their higher second and a fourth.

Don’t be so fast to think the Broncos and Chiefs won’t deal with each other either — Josh McDaniels and Scott Pioli have a good relationship. Remember when the Patriots and Dolphins did that big Wes Welker deal within the same division? Stranger things have happened.

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Flash forward to 2010. A great Charger running back is about to be discarded by his team. He has definitely lost some gallop, but he is unquestionably one of the best players in league history at getting inside the endzone. He was also so good so recently, it’s hard to say he’s done considering the way his team has abandoned the run. You also know he will be hellbent on proving to his old team that he can still play. That player is LaDainian Tomlinson.

When the Bolts cut L.T. to save roughly $6 million (he’s only guaranteed 1$ million this upcoming year), he will be an unrestricted free agent. I suggest that the Chiefs give him a long look. Fantasy owners won’t like this, but he would be a great second option and goalline back for the Chiefs. He had 12 TDs despite missing two games to injury as part of a pass-happy attack last season. Charles had seven. L.T. is still arguably the best in the business at finding the endzone. He’s also a great receiver and savvy pass blocker — think of him as potentially being Charlie Weiss’ Kevin Faulk Deluxe.

It’s just an idea. I think Charles can be a Pro Bowl performer, but I do not think he can handle 20-plus carries a game nor should he be asked to. Besides, L.T. could come in here and help him become better, add something himself and provide valuable information about the Chargers offense. Again, just an idea, but possibly one worth exploring. After all, the Chargers have been better than us for most of No. 21′s career.

Believe it or not, Sunday’s game against the Browns will likely have more of a lasting impact for the Chiefs organization and its fans than any game they have yet played or will play this year. 

Why? Because it marks the end of a remarkable 156 game streak of sold out appearances at Arrowhead.  “Blacked out” now formally re-enters the vernacular of Chiefs fans after a 19 year absence.  After nineteen years, a generation of Chiefs fans, tens of thousands of families mind you, will be forced to plan their Sunday afternoon in some way other than sitting in front of the TV and cheering or jeering their beloved team.  After nineteen years, tens (perhaps hundreds?) of thousands of longtime, loyal Chiefs fans will discover that there are other ways to spend their Sunday afternoons in the fall.  

This my friends will likely be a mind-opening and life-changing event for Chiefs fans and until the day the Chiefs once again find a way to regain their full attention, the expectation of full attendance at Arrowhead as a given will remain elusive. If absentee owner Clark Hunt did not grasp what the full impact of a black out would mean to his franchise, he will soon find out.  His father earned our love, respect, loyalty, and trust.  Those are things he can not simply inherit. This Sunday officially marks the day where if he desires those things from us, he must now start earning them through his own passion, through his own vision and effort, and upon his own merits.

Here is the situation folks. Todd Haley’s team heads into the bye week sitting at 1-6, reeling from an exposing loss to a division rival at home. At a time when all the attention and questioning ought to be focused like a laser beam on things like personnel decisions and horrible playcalling, the jester deftly slides to the front and provides us with a diversion.

Were it not for LJ giving us a reason to talk about his firing, might we be arguing over whether Todd Haley should keep his job instead?

What do you think? Are we truly talking about what’s most important right now?

Last year, the Raiders came into Arrowhead following a 41-14 drubbing, at home, against AFC West rival, the Denver Broncos. This year, the Raiders come into Arrowhead on the heels of what some are calling an “impressive” showing against yet another AFC West rival, the San Diego Chargers. Much like last year’s Patriots, this season’s Chargers are widely considered to be “in the hunt” for an AFC title.

That’s pretty much where the similarities end.

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Shawne had a little too much Tequila (NBC San Diego).

What a crazy 24 hours it’s been in the AFC West, huh? First, the Chiefs cut their best defensive player from last season. Second, the Raiders trade for Richard Seymour, possibly the best defensive lineman in the National Football League. Third, Steroid Shawne Merriman is now Shawne “Slap A Ho” Merriman. Why? Because he got arrested early this morning for choking reality chick Tila “Tequila.”

From NBC San Diego:

San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of choking and restraining television reality show hostess and model Tila “Tequila” Nguyen, according to deputies.

They got the call at 3:45 a.m. on Sunday from a woman who claimed to have been choked and restrained by a male at a home on Sagecrest Drive in Poway.

“Nguyen told deputies she had been choked and physically restrained by Merriman when she attempted to leave his residence,” San Diego County Sheriff’s spokesperson Jan Caldwell said.

The alleged victim signed a citizen’s arrest at the scene, charging Merriman with battery and false imprisonment.

I hope the cop did the “lights out” dance after he slapped the cuffs on that roid freak. This just shows that Merriman is the scumbag we thought he was. Tequila is a wannabe Kim Kardashian, a pretend Paris Hilton. Dating her is pathetic enough, but strangling her? Regardless of how classy a dame is, domestic abuse isn’t cool. Just one more reason to hate the big goon, I suppose.

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Today I ponder the notion of whether where a team owner happens to live has anything to do whether or not that team is successful.  So everybody is clear on this, I do not know the answer to that question and I do not have anything more than anecdotal evidence to contribute to the discussion. More importantly, I am not coming at this with any axe to grind against the Chiefs current ownership.

Consider the following:

The Patriots are owned by Bob Kraft, native of Brookline, Mass.

For generations, the Steelers have been owned by Pittsburg denizens, the Rooneys.

The Packers are owned by their fans.

Since Jerry Jones acquired the Cowboys, I think it’s fair to say that he has pretty much made his life and his team all about Dallas.

Steinbrenner, the Yankees.

The Royals, during their heyday, were owned by Ewing Kaufmann.

These are just a handful of examples of successful home-owned professional franchises that I can name off the top of my head.  With a little research, I’m sure I could name several more similar examples with storied histories of success.

The Chiefs, as everyone knows, are owned by out-of-towners, the Hunts.  The Chiefs, as everyone knows, have not won an AFC Championship, much less the Super Bowl, since the upstart AFL merged into the NFL.

Now for the questions.

Does local ownership contribute anything to the success of a professional sports franchise? Can that be demonstrated in any meaningful way? Does it even matter? If it does, would it make any sense or serve any good for us Chiefs fans to pressure the Hunts, through non-attendance (the most direct weapon we have) and/or other means, into selling the team to local ownership?  And if that were to happen, then who might be some viable locals with the means and interest to make it happen?

I open the floor to debate…

The first thing we need to do during the Pioli Trinity era is re-establish our dominance over the Raiders. Looking at the two teams, I think the Chiefs can accomplish just that during the 2009 season. I really do.

The Raiders are bound to pick up a wide receiver, either Michael Crabtree or Jeremy Maclin, in the first round of next weekend’s draft, so quarterback JaMarcus Russell will likely have more than just Zach Miller to throw to. Additionally, I expect their running game to be decent given their stable of running backs. Center Samson Satele and tackle Khalif Bharnes were decent pick-ups as well. The big problem is that adding a target and bolstering the line might not make Russell significantly better. Half of me thinks he simply just doesn’t have the mental make-up of an NFL quarterback.

Defensively, I see a team that really hasn’t improved at all. This is where we have a big advantage over the Raiders, as we have an actual quarterback now in Matt Cassel. Our line will also be better as Branden Albert is a year older and the addition of Mike Goff gives us a good set of guards, something we’ve missed ever since Will Shields retired. As things stand pre-draft, their defense could be in trouble. They couldn’t stop Tyler Thigpen last Winter, so I don’t see them stopping Cassel and Co.

I think our defense will get a big boost from the home crowd. I can’t remember the last time we opened against the Raiders, but I expect the Sea of Red to be as amped up as its ever been. After all, this is the first home game of the Pioli Trinity era and its against the hated Silver and Black. The 12th man will give our Chiefs a huge lift, and the Chiefs will coast to a big victory.

Prediction:

34-13 Chiefs

Marquee Match-Ups:

CB Nnamdi Asomugha vs. TE Tony Gonzalez

Asomugha got eaten alive by Tony G in Oakland last season the last time these two clubs met. I doubt the NFL’s highest-paid corner can do any better in a rematch. Gonzalez is just too big.

Chiefs’ Front Seven vs. QB JaMarcus Russell

If the Chiefs can put the heat on fat boy, it will be a long day for the Silver and Black attack. With the home crowd worked into a frenzy, I expect FatMarcus to struggle mightily.

Intereting Factoid:

Al Davis made his fortune selling metals during the Bronze Age.

Addicts, sound off on the home opener against the Raiders…

“Here’s to another 50 years of bitter hatred!”

Addicts, take your best shot at this new commemorative logo from the Donks…

(hat tip: Bronco Talk)

Perhaps it was Christmas coming late or maybe Easter coming early, with our very own JC – Jay Cutler and not Jesus Christ – the new messiah in Chicago, arriving a week early.   This messiah may not have to walk on water, but given the offensive talent around him, it may be the equivalent of turning 5 loaves and 2 fishes into enough to satisfy 60,000+ followers each week on the shores of Lake Michigan.  But enough with the religious metaphor for now.

Then there is Kim at Predominantly Orange. She wants the Broncos to pass on a first-round quarterback like Mark Sanchez in favor of a camp battle between…wait for it…Chris Simms and Kyle Orton! And she wrote that with a straight face, I believe. Please listen to her, Broncos brain trust. Puh-lease!

There are no guarantees that Orton will be starting for the Broncos. He will probably battle it out with Chris Simms and possibly another QB that they could acquire in the draft. Now, with two first round picks, I hope the Broncos stack their defense. I don’t want to see them pick up another QB in the first round. That doesn’t make much sense. Let’s see what McDaniels can do with a guy like Kyle Orton. We already saw what he did with Matt Cassel. Between Orton and Simms, I’m sure we’ll find a descent starter to connect with our talented receiving core.

No offense, but Orton and Simms couldn’t carry Cassel’s clipboard.

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Some men get Cassels, while others get stuck with neckbeards.

Addicts, take your best shot at new Broncos’ QB Kyle “Neckbeard” Orton…

Ciao!

Au revoir!

Sayonara, sucker!

Do svidan’ya, douchebag!

Hasta la vista, baby!

Pat Bowlen and his Denver Broncos are going to trade Jay Cutler. From PFT:

In a statement released Tuesday night, owner Pat Bowlen says that the team will accommodate quarterback Jay Cutler’s request for a trade:

“Numerous attempts to contact Jay Cutler in the last 10 days, both by [coach] Josh McDaniels and myself, have been unsuccessful.

“A conversation with his agent earlier today clearly communicated and confirmed to us that Jay no longer has any desire to play for the Denver Broncos.

“We will begin discussions with other teams in an effort to accommodate his request to be traded.”

This is huge. What does it mean, exactly? Well, to me it basically means that the Broncos are starting over. Either that or they’ll bring someone like Byron Leftwich, Jeff Garcia or J.P. Losman in. Good luck with that. Our Chiefs are fine with Matt Cassel, the guy McD and his Donks wanted instead of Cutler!

1. Detroit Lions – QB Matthew Stafford, Georgia

2. St. Louis Rams – OT Jason Smith, Baylor

3. Kansas City Chiefs – LB Aaron Curry, Wake Forest

4. Seattle Seahawks – WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech

5. Cleveland Browns – DE/OLB Brian Orakpo, Texas

6. Cincinnati Bengals – OT Eugene Monroe, Virginia

7. Oakland Raiders – WR Jeremy Maclin, Missouri

8. Jacksonville Jaguars – DT B.J. Raji, Boston College

9. Green Bay Packers – DE/OLB Everette Brown, Florida State

10. San Francisco 49ers – QB Mark Sanchez, USC

11. Buffalo Bills – OT Andre Smith, Alabama

12. Denver Broncos – QB Josh Freeman, Kansas State

And we have our first semi-shocker. The Broncos select QB Josh Freeman out of KSU, presumably to replace Jay Cutler. This is a little high for Freeman, but not impossible by any means as his stock continues to rise. Sure would be hard to see a local kid go to Denver, though. Yuck. Washington is on the clock…

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