The 2013 Kansas City Chiefs roster is probably almost finished. At this point free agency has pretty much come to a stand still. The draft is over. Undrafted free agents have been scooped up. At this point the pickens are pretty slim out there. The most likely additions to any team’s final 53 man roster will come after teams have to start trimming their roster and veterans lose their jobs to younger, cheaper players.

That having been said, I still think there is one move that KC could make that would have a real impact on their roster. I think they should sign Richard Seymour. Having read that, I’m guessing most of you reading this had one of two reactions. You either went “YES!” because you recognize Seymour’s name and know him from his Pro Bowl caliber days in New England several years back and think adding any “big name” player is exciting. Or…You rolled your eyes and thought “Come on, that guy is way past his prime and isn’t worth the money he would want.”

Let me start my argument for Seymour by saying that I didn’t set out to write this piece. I was originally going to do a piece predicting KC’s final 53 man roster this fall. During the process of putting it together I was working on who I thought might make the team on the defensive line and I was reminded of just how little pass rush presence the team has from its down linemen. Going into the draft I was sure they would take someone to add some push up the middle, even if it was just a developmental guy. That didn’t happen.

The Chiefs have some young guys they’ve brought in. Maybe one will pan out, but if KC is counting on Risean Broussard, Miguel Chavis, Rob Lohr, or Brad Madison to be a key pass rusher this season I think they are setting themselves up for failure.

The Chiefs currently have eight defensive linemen on their roster with NFL game experience. Here are those players with their career sacks and games played.

Tyson Jackson: 5/59
Mike DeVito: 2.5/85
Marcus Dixon: 2.5/22
Allen Bailey: 1/26
Daniel Muir: 0.5/46
Anthony Toribio: 0/17
Dontari Poe: 0/16
Jerrell Powe: 0/10

That’s a combined 11.5 sacks in 281 games played. That’s 0.04 sacks per game as a group. If you’re wondering, that means that as a group they average a sack every 24.4 games.

Let that sink in.

Of those eight players only Jackson and Dixon are averaging more than one sack per 16 games played, Jackson at 1.36 and Dixon at 1.82. Dixon isn’t even a lock to make the team (although I wouldn’t be at all surprised after looking at this list and knowing he played in the Jets system). If Jackson and Dixon both play all 16 games their career averages say they will COMBINE for 3 sacks. Thus far in their careers, that’s the BEST KC has to offer.

Under Romeo Crennel’s gap control 3-4 system you could at least make the excuse that it wasn’t the down linemen’s job to rush the QB in the base package. However, new defensive coordinator Bob Sutton is supposed to be making the change to an attacking 3-4 scheme. If that is going to work they are going to have to do a better job of applying some pressure from the defensive line.

Jackson showed some flashes last season. His 3 sacks last season were more than he had in his first three seasons combined (2). Still, we’re only talking about 3 sacks. Former first round pick Dontari Poe MUST improve his push up the middle if he is ever going to live up to his draft position. His development is probably the most vital piece of the success of this entire unit. Allen Bailey was supposed to be an interior pass rusher on passing downs, but one sack in 26 career games doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of hope.

This is where Seymour comes in.

Now, the fact that Richard Seymour has 57.5 career sacks compared to the 11.5 combined sacks of the eight DL currently on the KC roster says about all that needs to be said. However, it doesn’t really address the concern that Seymour is 33 and his best play is behind him.

Seymour only played 8 games last season, so injuries are a concern. However, when he did play he still registered 3 sacks in his half of a season. In fact, in his last three seasons he’s recorded 14.5 sacks in 36 games. That’s 0.4 sacks per game or 6.44 sacks per 16 games. That’s still more than all of the current KC DL combined. All of that coming in his 30s.

If I look at the current KC roster the number one hole I see is that of an interior pass rusher. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that of the players available that Richard Seymour is the best player to fill that hole. Now, if Seymour wants to be paid like an every down Pro Bowl player, then it won’t ever happen. The Chiefs just don’t have that kind of cap space, and even if they did Seymour isn’t worth that kind of money anymore. However, at this point it should be clear to Seymour that he is no longer a hot commodity around the league. If he would accept a lesser contract and rotational pass rusher role I think it could be a win/win situation.

The Chiefs don’t need Seymour in their base 3-4. The front of DeVito, Poe, and Jackson should be just fine at stopping the run and freeing up the LBs to make plays. However, in the nickel and dime Seymour would instantly become their best DL. Not having to play every down would preserve his body and help him stay healthy. He could conserve his energy and possibly be even more effective in pass situations. I think this could extend his career another couple of years.

He would also bring more veteran leadership to a young team, as well as a very competitive (dare I say “nasty”) attitude that has also been lacking in the recent past. I really feel that adding Seymour could help catapult the KC defense into one of the best defensive units in football.

Andy Reid is obviously known as an offensive coach. However, when the Eagles were their best under Reid between 2001-2004 going 48-16 and advancing to 4 straight NFC Title Games and one Super Bowl they also had a great attacking style defense under legendary defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. The defenses during those four seasons ranked 2nd, 2nd, 7th, and 2nd in points allowed and 7th, 1st, 9th, and 2nd in team sacks. Yes, Reid is great with quarterbacks, but when Johnson passed away and the defense dropped off, so did Reid’s win totals. Without a greatly improved interior pass rush the KC defense (although talented) will not be able to approach the level of those great Philly defenses. I think singing Seymour at least gives them a shot.

If John Dorsey and Andy Reid want to field the most competitive team possible in 2013 they should seriously consider bringing in Richard Seymour. In my opinion it would fill the one remaining glaring hole on this roster. What do you think Addicts? I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Seymour and the KC pass rush in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!

In the hours before the 2013 NFL Draft word began to circulate that the Kansas City Chiefs would select Central Michigan’s left tackle Eric Fisher with the first pick in the draft. Once Fisher was selected it was believed to be just a matter of time before KC traded their current left tackle Branden Albert to the Miami Dolphins. After all, a team doesn’t need two left tackles. Albert was already on record as saying he didn’t want to switch positions and a team would be foolish to spend the first overall pick on a position of minimal importance like right tackle.

At least that’s what traditional NFL wisdom has said.

The reasoning for this is pretty simple. The long held belief is that you need an athletic pass protector at left tackle to protect the quarterback’s blind side but the right tackle doesn’t need to be as good of a pass protector and it is often more advantageous for him to be more of a run blocker. Therefore, sticking a great pass protecting left tackle over on the right side would be a waste of his abilities. It would be like putting a great running back at fullback where he spends most of his time lead blocking while his true talent goes wasted. A team would be much better served drafting a different position at first overall and picking up a less talented tackle later in the draft that would adequately fill the less important position of right tackle.

If that last paragraph is true for today’s NFL then the Kansas City Chiefs made a huge mistake in taking Eric Fisher first overall. Either that or they should have traded away Branden Albert at any cost. However, I think even the most “old school” of NFL fans have to admit that this traditional view of the right tackle position is probably at the very least in need of some updating.

This past week I read two fantastic pieces on this subject. The first is Examining Pressure: Are Left Tackles Overvalued? by Steve Palazzolo at Pro Football Focus. If you have ANY interest in this subject whatsoever you MUST stop reading this post right now and go read it. It is well worth the time.

The second was Evolution And The NFL from the blog NFL Philosophy. This blog is by a twitter user that goes by the handle @NFLosophy. He is a former NFL front office employee who posts on all things NFL. He’s a very insightful follow and I highly recommend looking him up on Twitter and definitely recommend reading the linked piece from his blog.

If anyone is concerned with the thought of the Chiefs playing Eric Fisher at right tackle this season or beyond go read those two pieces. I don’t know how you could read them and continue to have the same outdated beliefs about the right tackle position.

Here are a few highlights.

Both articles touch on the history of why we view the tackle positions the way we do. They both mention the game changing impact of Lawrence Taylor. His ability to impact the game by getting to the QB made every team want to find a player to do the same for them. These outside pass rushers lined up on the right side of the defense against the left tackle because they wanted the advantage of the QB not being able to see them coming, hence the “blind side”.

This became common NFL practice and to counteract it teams started looking for athletic pass blockers to play at LT to stop or at least contain these outside edge rushers. Thus was born the stereotyped roles of the tackle positions that some are still clinging to today. It doesn’t take a hard core football expert to watch football and see that QB pressure is no longer just coming from the QB’s blind side. Defensive coordinators are now sending blitzes from everywhere. Plus, as teams use less of the fullback position and split their TEs out like WRs more and more the right tackle no longer has the blocking “safe guards” that were often there 10 years ago. The right tackle is often “on an island” against a quality pass rusher just like the left tackle. The Pro Football Focus article does a great job of proving just how out of date those old tackle roles are in today’s NFL with statistical evidence.

According to their research, over the past five seasons 45.6% of their top rated pass rushers have predominantly rushed from the left side (meaning they line up against the right tackle). The number of quality pass rushers is creeping closer and closer to 50/50 on which side of the ball they line up on. In fact, last season 16 of the top 25 rated pass rushers were guys who lined up against the RT. Palazzolo notes:

2012 saw a big jump in production from left side pass rushers and not coincidentally, we saw 16 of the Top 21 pass protectors residing at left tackle. This brings us to our original question: are the best pass rushers really moving to the left side or are the right tackles simply getting exposed? The answer, of course, is “yes.”

Chiefs fans know all to well about RTs getting exposed having watched guys like Chris Terry and Barry Richardson get manhandled in the not too distant past.

However, the undervaluing of the right tackle position does not just stop there. Palazzolo goes on to illustrate that pressure coming from the QBs right is actually more disruptive. Over the past five seasons the PFF QB grades for QBs facing pressure from around the left tackle is -80.2 while the grade for QBs facing pressure from the right tackle is -130.6. This does actually make sense. If a QB sees the pressure coming he is more likely to force a throw to avoid the hit which will lead to more mistakes and a worse grade. What is surprising is that despite coming from the “blind side” pressure from the LT hasn’t lead to many more sacks. In the five year study 17.2% of the pressures coming from against the LT lead to sacks while 16.4% of those from against the RT did. So only 0.8% more pressures from the QBs blind side lead to sacks.

So since the difference in sacks allowed by pressures from the two sides is less drastic than the negative effect on the QBs passing shown from the grades listed above an argument can be made that in today’s NFL the right tackle position is having a greater negative effect on QB play than the left tackle position. This is how Palazzolo concludes his piece:

The right tackle should no longer be viewed as the athletic inferior to the left tackle and teams should change their team-building strategy to make this happen. Today’s passing NFL makes it a necessity to have two competent pass protectors on the edge and when scouting players, if a tackle is deemed to not be good enough to play left tackle, well you’re better off just putting him at guard rather than exploiting him at right tackle. There’s no hiding — defensive coordinators will find him.

The piece by NFLosophy has come to the same conclusion and specifically addresses how some teams are now evolving:

In the past, right tackles were considered more run blockers than pass blockers and were drafted as such. Defenses saw the weakness and are taking advantage of how slowly offenses are evolving to this tactic. Evolution is always playing catch up. However, this week we saw a couple of examples of teams realizing that the left tackle position has now become over emphasized. The best example is that the Jaguars decided that drafting Joeckel and playing him at right tackle was just as beneficial as playing him at left tackle. They realized that the gap between the importance of the left tackle and right tackle position isn’t as great as the general opinion would have us believe. They’re evolving faster than everyone else.

Now before any Chiefs fans get bent out of shape that the author gives kudos to the Jags for playing the #2 overall pick at RT instead of the Chiefs for using the #1 overall pick to do the same, keep in mind that KC was actively shopping Albert up until about a week ago. That implies that their drafting of Fisher wasn’t done with the sole purpose of playing him at RT like the Jags did with Joeckel. However, the fact that John Dorsey wasn’t willing to take less than top dollar in return for Albert shows that he does see enough benefit in having a great player at RT to stick to his guns. Someone with the outdated view of the RT position would have traded Albert away for pennies on the dollar so that he didn’t “waste” his top draft pick by playing him at the RT spot.

I don’t know if the Chiefs will sign Albert to a long term contract or not. I don’t know if Eric Fisher is still the long term answer at LT for this team or not. I do feel good about the situation now because I believe that if they don’t sign Albert to a long term deal it will be because they don’t think he’s worth the money he’s demanding not because they don’t value the RT position enough to play Fisher there. I just hope that if the Chiefs do sign Albert to a long term deal most KC fans will be smart enough not to flood blogs and message boards with comments like “Great, that means we wasted the #1 pick on a RT!”

That kind of thinking is obsolete in today’s NFL.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!

As the dust settled on the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2013 NFL Draft there was a variety of opinions. Some fans loved it. Some fans hated it. Some fans had mixed reviews. However, there was one pick that seemed to have more questions and complaints than any other. That was the selection of Arkansas running back Knile Davis with their late third round pick. By now, most KC fans know the essentials about Davis. He was an explosive playmaker and productive running back against tough SEC defenses in 2010. Then he missed the entire 2011 season with an ankle injury. Finally, last season he (along with the entire Arkansas offense) struggled. Davis particularly struggled with fumbles last season. Davis’s fans list his size (227 lbs), strength (31 bench press reps), speed (4.37 forty yard dash), and production against the best defenses in college football in 2010 as reasons to have high hopes for Davis. His detractors point to his history of injuries and fumbles as reasons that KC shouldn’t have gambled on Davis when so many other highly regarded prospects were still on the board.

Before I made up my own mind I wanted to do some research because I didn’t really know much about Davis except for what I had read online from so called draft “experts”. So I set out to watch all the footage on Davis that I could find. After viewing it and making some observations I decided that I would put my findings together in a video for you. So I’ll just let the video take it from here.

Here’s my latest Armchair Addict Video Production, “Knile Davis: KC’s Newest Weapon”.

So what do you think Addicts? Will Davis realize his upside or will his fumbles and injuries get the best of him? I can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Last season the Chiefs had six Pro Bowl players and went 2-14. They had six Pro Bowl players and never even held a lead for a second of their first eight games.

Two seasons ago they won the division and went to the playoffs but still got punched in the mouth in their final two games including an embarrassing blowout loss to the Ravens at Arrowhead in the playoffs.

The Chiefs have shown glimpses of being a good team but had major flaws: bad quarterback play, bad coaching, and perhaps worst of all, they were “soft”.

The Chiefs had addressed the coaching and quarterback problems prior to the draft. Andy Reid may not be perfect, but his track record compared to Romeo Crennel is off the charts. The Chiefs may not have an elite QB but Alex Smith, Chase Daniel, and Tyler Bray are definitely a step up from Matt Cassel, Brady Quinn, and Ricky Stanzi.

So coaching and QB play are going to be better this season, but you don’t go 2-14 and go without having a single lead for half the season strictly because of the coach and QB. Good teams, playoff teams, Super Bowl caliber teams have players that refuse to back down, refuse to quit, that punch back when they get hit in the mouth. They don’t ever quit. They don’t ever lay down.

That’s what has been SO hard for me to stomach as a KC fan the past few years. There have been times where I watched my team get punched in the mouth and they just laid down and took it. They had no answer. They had no fight. They were the scrawny kid on the playground getting pushed around by the big bad bully. I can take losing a game where both teams duked it out and the other team just made a few more plays. It’s disappointing, but there’s no shame in that. But when I went to the 2011 season opener and saw my team get curb stomped 41-7 IN ARROWHEAD by a bad Bills team, that was embarrassing. When I sat in the nosebleed seats and watched a REALLY bad Raiders team walk into Arrowhead last season and physically dominate KC on both sides of the ball I literally felt sick to my stomach, because it looked like the players had given up.

That’s why I love this draft class. That’s why every time I saw someone on twitter saying we should have drafted (insert name of flashy big name player here) instead of the guys like Travis Kelce, Nico Johnson, and Mike Catapano I shook my head. We have flashy players. We have Jamaal Charles. We just haven’t had enough power up front to always open up holes when the game was on the line. We have Tamba Hali and Justin Houston who can sack the quarterback. We just haven’t had the guys to stuff the run on first and second down to consistently force QBs into third and long situations. We have a shut down CB in Brandon Flowers. We just haven’t had an answer for TEs running wide open underneath.

We have the flash. We’ve lacked the guys willing to do the dirty work. We’ve been missing the guys with the guts, the heart, and the fight to make sure the “pretty boys” get on Sports Center.

I heard Eric Fisher’s coach from Central Michigan call him super competitive and “nasty”. That doesn’t sound like someone that will just accept getting pushed around.

I watched THIS video of Travis Kelce where he says things like:
“I like to get after it.”
“I like to play physical.”
“You’ll see me playing all the way to the whistle, sometimes that gets me in trouble but (smirks) I’ll leave it at that.”
You can’t watch that video and tell me this guy is going to be okay with a team coming into his home stadium and embarrassing him.

I hear people HATING on Knile Davis like he was the worst pick in the history of the NFL draft. The man is 230 lbs and runs a 4.3 forty! If they can fix his fumbling problems he can team with Charles to just wear defenses out. And those of you that are actually using Shaun Draughn as a reason that we didn’t need to draft a RB need to just stop. Seriously, stop it. You’re embarrassing yourself.

Another group of fans that dumbfound me are the ones that whined and moaned about the Kelce and Davis picks because of “this huge hole” at ILB, then complain that we reached for Nico Johnson. You know why Derrick Johnson has been able to rack up so many tackles the last couple of seasons? Because Jovan Belcher was constantly taking on blockers to free him up to get to the ball. You know who is possibly the best ILB in this draft at taking on blockers? NICO JOHNSON. You know who can help KC make stops on first and second down so that we can use Hali and Houston to rush on third and long? NICO JOHNSON. Will he have to come off the field on passing downs? Yes, but teams need a guy to stuff the run when the time comes. The Chiefs now have that guy on the roster.

What’s that you say? You’re upset with the Johnson pick because KC needs someone that can cover TEs. I’m glad you brought that up, that leads me to….

Sanders Commings. Commings is big and strong enough to play safety. He also has 4.4 speed. That means they can use him in a variety of ways. They can have him cover WRs or TEs. He can play in run support or drop back and play center field (literally, he was drafted to play center field in MLB). He’s part of the solution to some of KC’s recent problems that they have simply lacked answers for.

Eric Kush is a blue collar, underrated, small school center who can help push Rodney Hudson and provide depth in case Hudson has any more injuries.

Andy Reid called FB Braden Wilson the best blocking FB in this draft. That’s a guy that can help JC (and Davis) get the hard yards when the game is on the line. A guy that can turn 3rd and goal on the one yard line into a TD instead of a FG. He’ll do the dirty work.

Then there’s Mike Catapano. A favorite of mine. HERE‘s a video of him doing MMA training in the offseason (look at the guns). The NFLDraftScout scouting report says:

Well-built with very good muscle definition and plays as strong as he looks, manhandling blockers and tossing them with ease. Plays fast at all times with a motor that never quits. Makes up for lack of great leverage with his hustle and effort.

NFL Draft Bible’s twitter account had my favorite observation on this guy:

Sometimes its good to have a guy on defense who is just crazy. Hear Catapano fits the bill.

These are guys that can make the Chiefs better. They may not all fill up a stat sheet. They may not be guys that get on Sports Center or are even noticed at all by casual Chiefs fans, but these guys may just be the ones to do the dirty work that has been missing around Arrowhead for far too long.

That’s why I like this draft class.

That’s why I don’t care what grade ESPN may give it.

I’m not surprised that nationally nobody is talking about it.

It’s not that kind of draft class and I’m fine with that. It doesn’t mean these guys won’t help the Chiefs win. These may be just the kind of guys that have been missing in KC the last few years.

So fine, you want me to “grade” this draft class before any of them play a snap.

I’ll happily give it a “D” for dirty.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally the week of the NFL Draft has arrived. By this point you’ve probably read countless speculations and mock drafts in hopes of trying to figure out who the Chiefs might select. Well now it’s your turn. You might not have done enough research to know what prospects might be available in what rounds in order to make your own guesses, but never fear, for the second year in a row I’ve done the leg work for you. I’ve compiled a multiple choice Chiefs mock draft for you to complete. Using as many credible big boards as I could find (putting the most stock in NFLDraftScout and our own Merlin’s Drafttek) I came up with several prospects that most believe should be available when the Chiefs draft. There are two ways you could go about completing this mock, you could pick who YOU would select if you were in charge or you could pick who you think the CHIEFS will select. Either way, list your picks in the comments below and let’s see just who most KC fans have the Chiefs taking. Twice in this draft the Chiefs have selections so close together that I just gave you extra choices and you get to pick two of them.

Here we go!

Round 1, Pick #1 Overall

A. Luke Joeckel – OT – Texas A&M
B. Eric Fisher – OT – Central Michigan
C. Dion Jordan – OLB – Oregon
D. Dee Milliner – CB – Alabama
E. Geno Smith – QB – West Virginia

Round 2, Pick #42 Overall

A. The Chiefs Won’t Trade Branden Albert
B. Justin Hunter – WR – Tennessee
C. Larry Warford – OG – Kentucky
D. Jordan Poyer – CB – Oregon State
E. Margus Hunt – DE – SMU
F. Matt Elam – S – Florida

Round 3, Pick #63 Overall

A. Tyler Wilson – QB – Arkansas
B. Terrance Williams – WR – Baylor
C. Barrett Jones – G/C – Alabama
D. John Jenkins – DT – Georgia
E. Vance McDonald – TE – Rice

Round 3/4, Picks #96 & 99 Overall (Pick 2)

A. Christine Michael – RB – Texas A&M
B. Stedman Bailey – WR – West Virginia
C. Zac Dysert – QB – Miami (OH)
D. Kiko Alonso – LB – Oregon
E. Montori Hughes – DL – Tennessee-Martin
F. Leon McFadden – CB – San Diego State
G. Alvin Bailey – OG – Arkansas

Round 5, Pick #134 Overall

A. Kevin Reddick – LB – North Carolina
B. Brandon McGee – CB – Miami (FL)
C. Jordan Mills – OT – Louisiana Tech
D. Mike Gillislee – RB – Florida
E. William Gholston – DE – Michigan State

Round 6, Pick #170 Overall

A. Chris Faulk – OT – LSU
B. Dion Sims – TE – Michigan State
C. Everett Dawkins – DT – Florida State
D. Ryan Griffin – QB – Tulane
E. Jawan Jamison – RB – Rutgers

Round 6/7, Picks #204 & 207 Overall (Pick 2)

A. Ricky Wagner – OT – Wisconsin
B. Ace Sanders – WR – South Carolina
C. Sean Renfree – QB – Duke
D. Lawrence Okoye – DT – England
E. Damian Stafford – FS – Nebraska
F. Latavius Murray – RB – Central Florida
G. Micah Hyde – CB/S – Iowa

So Addicts, who do you got? I’m anxious to see your picks in the comments below. I’ll leave you with my predicted picks.

A. Luke Joeckel
B. Justin Hunter
D. John Jenkins
F. Leon McFadden & G. Alvin Bailey
A. Kevin Reddick
B. Dion Sims
C. Sean Renfree & F. Latavius Murray

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!

Thankfully, the NFL draft is almost upon us. After weeks of speculation, predictions, debates, and discussions fans will finally begin to get some answers when the Chiefs go on the clock with the first overall pick in just 10 days. I’m saving my final Chiefs draft pick predictions until next week, so it was a little bit of a struggle to come up with something new regarding the Chiefs draft that one of the other writers here at AA hasn’t already covered.

I originally thought I would write about whether or not the Chiefs would draft a QB in this draft. My question was, with both Alex Smith and Chase Daniel on the roster would the Chiefs feel obligated to fill other needs instead? I started to think about what round they might be willing to look at a QB and if there would be any QBs worth drafting left at that point. So I started looking at the specific spots the Chiefs are currently picking in the first 5 rounds (Picks: 1, 63, 96, 99, and 134). Then I started looking at a couple of prospect big boards to see what kind of QBs were likely to be available at those picks. I used both Drafttek’s and NFLDraftScout’s rankings to get a feel for where prospects were valued.

This got me thinking about other positions I thought the Chiefs might be interested in drafting. At that point I decided that instead of focusing solely on the QBs I would look at the Chiefs’ first five picks and see if I can find positions of need that may have draft value at the specific spots the Chiefs are drafting. John Dorsey is on record as saying he drafts for value over need. This means he won’t reach for a player that isn’t as good just to fill a need. Obviously the best scenario is when one of the best players available lines up with one of the team’s biggest needs. That’s what I set out to find, positions of need for KC that have a shot at providing the best player available when the Chiefs are on the clock.

In order to make the cut, a position had to have multiple players ranked within several slots of the Chiefs pick. That way it wasn’t reliant on one specific player still being available. Also, for the sake of this post I’m acting as if the Chiefs don’t acquire any additional picks. If KC were to land a 2nd rounder that may change things.

Let’s start with the first pick.

Round 1, Pick #1 Overall:

Best Value At Position Of Need – Offensive Tackle

I know not everyone is in love with the idea of KC taking a tackle with the first overall pick, but when it comes to value at the top of the draft OT is the clear winner. Luke Joeckel/Texas A&M was the top ranked prospect on both lists with Eric Fisher/Central Michigan ranking 2nd and 3rd and Lane Johnson/Oklahoma ranking 6th and 7th. So three of the top seven players available in this draft are offensive tackles. So if the Chiefs want to take the best player available they can do it and fill a need. I realize that if KC keeps Branden Albert this season that they would be essentially drafting a RT at #1 overall, but if they are out to take the best player and fill a need then offensive tackle is the way to go.

Round 3, Pick #63 Overall:

Best Value At Position Of Need – Wide Receiver

While this draft lacks an elite WR prospect like Randy Moss, Julio Jones, or AJ Green it is INCREDIBLY deep with starting caliber WR prospects. Prospects that could have easily been early second round picks in other drafts may find themselves slipping into the 3rd round this year. The following players all ranked in the #57-84 range on at least one of the big boards listed above:

Justin Hunter – Tennessee
Terrance Williams – Baylor
Quinton Patton – Louisiana Tech
Markus Wheaton – Oregon State
Stedman Bailey – West Virginia
Aaron Dobson – Marshall
Da’Rick Rogers – Tennessee Tech

Now, it’s a safe bet that not all of those players will still be on the board, but odds are that several of them will be. That would allow KC to take a player that could compete for the #2 WR spot as a rookie at the top of the third round. By the way, while John Dorsey was in Green Bay they took Greg Jennings at pick #52 and Randall Cobb at pick #64. In my opinion the only other position that comes close to the talent available at this pick is CB, and with the signings of Sean Smith and Dunta Robinson I think WR seems much more likely.

Round 3, Pick #96 Overall:

Best Value At Position Of Need – Quarterback

I could be wrong about this, but I have a feeling that there is going to be a couple of QBs still available at this point that many people had predicted would go much earlier. Basically, the fact that several teams addressed the QB position via guys like Carson Palmer, Matt Flynn, and Kevin Kolb make it less likely that many QBs will be drafted in the first round and may therefore push some of the guys originally mocked in the 2nd-3rd round back even farther. There are 8 QBs that have been regularly mocked in the top 100 picks: Geno Smith, Matt Barkley, Ryan Nassib, EJ Manuel, Tyler Wilson, Mike Glennon, Tyler Bray, and Zac Dysert.

Over the past 5 years the average amount of QBs taken in the first 3 rounds is only 5.4. The highest number of total QBs taken in the first 3 rounds during that time is 7. In a year where most feel the QB talent is down, it’s not out of the question that there could only be 4-5 QBs off the board when the Chiefs select at the end of the 3rd round. I wouldn’t even fall out of my chair if a guy like Tyler Wilson or Mike Glennon that were at one point mocked in the 1st round was still available. That means if Andy Reid wants a young QB to groom for the future this may be the prime time to snag one. The Chiefs pick again at #99 so they could easily wait a couple more picks, but my guess is that if you give all the QB needy teams one more go around in the 4th round that there won’t be much left to choose from in the 5th. At that point KC would be looking at guys like Matt Scott/Arizona, Landry Jones/Oklahoma, and Sean Renfree/Duke.

Round 4, Pick #99 Overall:

Best Value At Position Of Need – Running Back

Thus far in free agency Kansas City has not added a solid #2 RB to back up and share carries with Jamaal Charles. This may be a sign that they are looking to add one in the draft. Like WR, there aren’t any “super-star” prospects in this draft, but there are several mid round prospects that could become solid NFL contributors. The following backs are all ranked between #93-116 on at least one of the big boards listed above:

Montee Ball – Wisconsin
Andre Ellington – Clemson
Joseph Randle – Oklahoma State
Stepfan Taylor – Stanford
Mike Gillislee – Florida
Marcus Lattimore – South Carolina
Christine Michael – Texas A&M

Again, not all of these guys will be available with this pick, but several will be and KC could have their pick of which one they like best.

Round 5, Pick #134 Overall:

Best Value At Position Of Need – Offensive Line

At this point in the draft teams are looking for depth and developmental prospects and there are MANY options that will be available to do just that on the offensive line at this point in the draft. I don’t know if any of these players should start as rookies, but I think many of them may eventually develop into legit NFL starters. A 5th round pick that develops into a solid starter is great value, period. Even if takes them a few years to get there. Here is a list of players that at least one big board has as still available for KC in the 5th round:

Khaled Holmes – C – USC
PJ Lonergan – C – LSU
Hugh Thornton – G – Illinois
JC Tretter – G – Cornell
David Bakhitari – G/T – Colorado
Dallas Thomas – G/T – Tennessee
David Quessenberry – C/G/T – San Jose St.
Brennan Williams – T – North Carolina
Jordan Mills – T – Louisiana Tech
Xavier Nixon – T – Florida
Chris Faulk – T – LSU
Ricky Wagner – T – Wisconsin

I didn’t do the last three KC picks (#170, 204, and 207) because I think by the time you get to the 6th-7th rounds it’s more about individual project players that a team likes than it is positional depth/value. It’s possible that a certain position slides that deep into the draft, but I’d just be guessing if I tried to predict which one.

So if KC were to follow this blueprint what positions of need would not get addressed? The most glaring is probably the defensive front seven. KC could use more depth on the defensive line and another pass rush option. They are also in need of a replacement for Jovan Belcher at ILB, but perhaps the recent FA signings at LB will fill that hole.

The other positions that were ignored here are TE and safety. While KC doesn’t need to spend a high pick on either of those positions, a mid round pick to add depth is certainly a possibility.

So what do you think Addicts? If KC drafted those positions next week would you be happy? Do you feel like it would provide good value? Would it fill enough positions of need or do the defensive front seven, tight end, or safety have to be addressed in the draft? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!

The Kansas City Chiefs may be in the worst possible position to get good value out of the 2013 NFL Draft. Normally, having the first overall pick is seen as a reward. Just a few months ago Chiefs fans were celebrating the fact that despite their season of agony, they would at least have that coveted first pick. Then they got a good look at the players available.

The thing is, this isn’t a bad draft class. There are lots of good players. So many in fact that there are going to be several first round caliber players still on the board in the 2nd round. There just doesn’t appear to be any franchise changing elite players at the top of the draft. So to recap, the best value in the draft is in the mid to late first round and early second round. Exactly where the Chiefs aren’t drafting.

That’s why I said they are in the worst position to get good value. Teams drafting in the mid to late first round will get good value with their first round pick and teams drafting at the top of the draft, while maybe not getting an elite player in the first, are at least rewarded with the ability to get another first round caliber player at the top of the second round. Unless of course you’ve traded away your second round pick.

Now, I’m not bashing Alex Smith. In fact, I’m slowly coming around to the idea of him and Andy Reid leading the KC offense. I’m not anti-Alex, I was just pro-Geno and high on the value that was going to be available for KC’s 2nd round pick. I get why Dorsey did it though. In a year when many experts think there isn’t a good starting QB in the entire draft (cue discussion #1,272 on if Geno Smith will succeed or not), Dorsey was able to get his day one starting QB for a 2nd rounder. That’s not bad value (although other QBs like Carson Palmer and Matt Flynn are going for less). It just means that Dorsey traded away the ability to get value out of the draft in return for his starting QB.

That’s why John Dorsey needs to prove his worth and make a deal in order to get back into the 2nd round and get the most out of his first draft as KC’s GM. If the Chiefs stay put they are currently in position to get one starting (and hopefully Pro Bowl caliber) player with the first pick and then won’t pick again until pick #63. In a draft where the best value available is probably in picks #15-50 that’s not great positioning. Could KC land a day one starter with pick #63? Yes, but usually 3rd round picks start more as role players and if you’re lucky then they eventually turn into starters.

So if KC wants more then one day one impact player from this draft class John Dorsey needs to make a move. The most likely deal is that he moves Branden Albert to the Dolphins for their 2nd round pick (#42). Many KC fans don’t like this move. I’ve stated before in posts that my basic feeling is that if they don’t like Alert (for whatever reason) we might as well get something for him. However, that may force KC to stay put at #1 overall to draft his replacement. Trading the first pick would be the other obvious way to pick up another pick or two and get more value out of this draft. However, other teams are looking at the same draft board we are and may be unlikely to trade up in a draft short on elite talent. As has been discussed on multiple occasions, the best hope KC has is that somebody wants to move up to take Geno Smith since QBs are typically the only position worth trading up to #1 for (cue discussion #1,273 on wether or not Geno is worth it or not). The final option would be to see if Dorsey could perhaps package his two 3rd round picks in return for moving up into the early to mid 2nd round if there was a certain player they felt was worth it.

Bottom line, I really want KC to get back into the 2nd round of this draft. I believe there is a good chance that a player that they could get in the #30-50 range could end up having just as much of an impact as the player they take with their first pick. Here are a list of some of the players that are in the #30-50 range on most big boards:

Zach Ertz – TE – Stanford
Eric Reid – S – LSU
Matt Elam – S – Florida
Kevin Minter – LB – LSU
Arthur Brown – LB – KSU
Eddie Lacy – RB – Alabama
DeAndre Hopkins – WR – Clemson
Robert Woods – WR – USC
Justin Hunter – WR – Tennessee

So what do you think Addicts? Do you want KC to get back into the 2nd round as badly as I do? Do you have faith that new GM John Dorsey can get it done? Are you okay with trading away Albert, the first overall pick, or our two 3rd round picks in order to get it done? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!

Say what you will about the moves that new Chiefs GM John Dorsey and head coach Andy Reid have made since they took control of the team, but one thing is clear. They are men of action. Since taking control they have systematically been remaking the roster. If you step back and look at everything they have done and how they have gone about doing it, a clear game plan emerges.

Step 1 – Evaluate the current roster and decide who you want to keep and who needs to go.

Dorsey and Reid clearly wanted to keep Dwayne Bowe. They decided Eric Winston was disposable. They franchised Branden Albert, but what exactly they plan to do with him remains uncertain. Finally, they decided that their QB was NOT on the roster they inherited from former Chiefs GM Scott Pioli.

Step 2 – Find their QB.

If you believe published media reports, Andy Reid took the KC job with the idea of bringing Alex Smith to KC to be his QB. Rumors of Smith to KC surfaced early on, but there was nothing concrete at that time. That changed after the combine. Shortly after the combine ended, reports surfaced saying that KC had agreed to a deal that would bring Smith to KC. So it appears to me that Reid told Dorsey that he wanted Smith, but they decided to wait to finalize anything until after they saw the QB draft prospects up close at the combine. Apparently they didn’t see anything at the combine that changed Reid’s mind. They dealt for Smith after the combine and Dorsey said at the press conference that Smith would be their starter for the foreseeable future. If any further proof was still needed to show that they weren’t going to commit very much to a rookie QB in this year’s draft they went out and committed multiple years and millions of dollars to Chase Daniel to be the #2 QB. The latest draft reports (i.e., rumor or smokescreen) is that the Chiefs are still strongly considering Geno Smith. My advice to KC fans would be to put no faith in those reports. A QB that is worth taking #1 overall is a valuable commodity. It is in KC’s best interest to sell Geno as just that in hopes of getting someone to trade up with them to take him. I believe the Chiefs have the QBs that will sit at one and two on the depth chart already on the roster. Now the #3 spot? Let’s just say that I don’t think Ricky Stanzi should get too comfortable.

Step 3 – Fill roster holes with solid (but not “super star”) free agent signings.

Reid and Dorsey have added several solid players that have upgraded the overall talent on the roster without breaking the bank for any one player. These signings include: Dunta Robinson, Sean Smith, Anthony Fasano, Mike DeVito, Donnie Avery, and Geoff Schwartz.

Step 4 – Thoroughly evaluate the draft prospects and set their draft board.

This is where the Chiefs are right now. They have reportedly had private work outs with multiple possible first round selections. Including:

Ezekiel Ansah, DE, BYU
Eric Fisher, OL, Central Michigan
Sharrif Floyd, DL, Florida
Luke Joeckel, OL, Texas A&M
Lane Johnson, OT, Oklahoma
Jarvis Jones, LB, Georgia
Dion Jordan, DL, Oregon
Dee Milliner, DB, Alabama
Geno Smith, QB, West Virginia

It appears to me that KC is taking a good look at the top 10 prospects in the draft. This could be in part because they want to do their homework on just who they will take at #1, but it could also prepare them for a trade down within the top 10. It doesn’t appear that KC is spending a lot of time looking at prospects that are projected to go in the the second half of the first round. Since the only people that would move up to #1 are teams looking for a QB and all of those teams are picking in the top 10 that’s a smart move.

Step 5 – ???????

I’m really curious to see what comes next. Will the team wait to make any other major moves before the draft? What will they do with Branden Albert? Will they be able to move back in the draft? I think those last two are related. If the team’s top priority is trading Albert then I think it lessons the chance that they’ll trade back from #1. With Albert gone they would have to get a top LT prospect and even if they just traded back to around 8-9 there is a chance that the top LTs could all be gone. The only way I see them trading Albert and the top pick is if they can work a deal in the top 4 picks.

I also think that an Albert trade would need to be completed before the start of the draft. Albert made it known that he doesn’t want to play anywhere except LT, everybody knows that now. So if KC drafts a LT at #1 and then tries to trade Albert, teams will use that against them. Right now KC can tell teams that if they can’t get good value for Albert that they’ll just keep him to play LT and draft another position in the first round.

That’s why I’m anxious to see if anything happens in the next few weeks. If Dorsey and Reid REALLY liked one of the LTs that they visited and are set on drafting him at #1 I think we could see Albert moved in the coming days. If they weren’t really sold on the left tackles then they may focus on trying to deal the #1 pick and keeping Albert for another season.

If I were running the show I’d trade Albert right now to Miami for their top 2nd round pick. I’d then use the money I saved on dealing Albert to sign Andre Smith away from Cincinnati. With my RT taken care of I’d see if I could get a team like Jax or Philly to come up to #1 to take Geno in return for their 2nd round pick as well. If they would do it, great, we can still take a top tackle in the 1st to replace Albert and we have two early 2nd round picks. If not, we take a LT at #1 and still have both tackle spots filled and a 2nd round pick.

So what do you think Addicts? What is Dorsey and Reid’s next move? Will we get any more answers soon? They clearly have a plan that they’re sticking to. I just wish I knew what it was. I do feel confident that these guys do have a clear cut plan and that so far they have done a nice job of improving the roster. I’m anxious to hear what you think in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is my first attempt at a mock draft this year. For my first mock I’m not going to put in any trades. I still believe there is a strong chance that KC may get someone to bite and move up to #1 to take Geno Smith, but for the sake of this mock I will keep everyone in their original draft slot.

1. Kansas City Chiefs
Luke Joeckel
OT, Texas A&M

If Kansas City stays at #1 overall I think this pick is a done deal. I know many KC fans would like them to sign Branden Albert long term and go elsewhere with this pick, but I think the writing is on the wall. Even if they are able to trade back a few spots (cough, Bills, cough) I still think they will go OT, likely Oklahoma’s Lane Johnson whom they had a private work out with.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars
Ezekiel Ansah
DE, BYU

New Jags coach Gus Bradley is a defensive guy. The Jags had the fewest sacks in the NFL last season. When you combine those things with already having a QB that they reached for on their roster in Blaine Gabbert, I think it will lead to them passing on Geno Smith and taking a defensive player. I think they need a true DE more than a LB (Dion Jordan) or a DT (Sharrif Floyd). That’s why I have Ansah and his amazing upside here over some of the other defensive players being mocked to them.

3. Oakland Raiders
Geno Smith
QB, West Virginia

This is the lowest possible spot I see Geno Smith going. The Raiders are in the process of rebuilding the mess left by Al Davis and the previous powers that be. Their cap situation is a mess. This isn’t going to be a quick turn around. Carson Palmer is an average at best QB right now and is on the decline. There is no way he is the long term QB for this team and I think the Raiders would love to get rid of his cap number. I have previously stated that I think Geno Smith’s upside is a player like Aaron Rodgers, a pocket QB with good athleticism, great accuracy, and a solid but not elite arm. The Raiders’ GM Reggie McKenzie just happens to be from Green Bay.

4. Philadelphia Eagles
Sharrif Floyd
DT, Florida

No player has shot up mock drafts more in the past month than Floyd. The general consensus is that he will be a top five pick. The Eagles are supposed to be running a 3-4 base next season and with the loss of Cullen Jenkins they’ll need someone to play DE in their three man front. The pairing of Floyd with last year’s first round pick Fletcher Cox would give Philly two very talented interior players. Star Lotulelei could also be a possibility if he clears medically.

5. Detroit Lions
Eric Fisher
OT, Central Michigan

This pick is pretty simple. The Lions best player is a WR and the quarterback that they rely on to get him the ball has some injury history. They have no LT to protect that quarterback and Eric Fisher is arguably the best player available at any position.

6. Cleveland Browns
Cordarrelle Patterson
WR, Tennessee

Ideally I think the Browns would like a new franchise QB, but there just isn’t anyone available here that is worth taking. With head coach Rob Chudzinski and offensive coordinator Norv Turner running the offense they are going to throw the ball. So instead of drafting a QB they’ll get Brandon Weeden the best weapon available. Pairing Patterson with Josh Gordon would give Weeden two great young targets to use to help open up the field for Trent Richardson. Watch for a possible trade down here as well.

7. Arizona Cardinals
Chance Warmack
OG, Alabama

Like Cleveland, the Cards would love to go QB here. However, after working with Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck, new Cards coach Bruce Arians knows what a good young QB looks like and I think he’ll realize that there isn’t a QB like them on the board here. If he’s going to get by for a year with a bad QB, that QB is going to need better protection than what the Cards have had up front recently. This pick could also be Lane Johnson, but Warmack is the higher rated player and safer pick.

8. Buffalo Bills
Ryan Nassib
QB, Syracuse

I still think the Bills will feel pressured to trade up to #1 overall in order to take Geno Smith, but since I said I wouldn’t do any trades in this mock Nassib is plan B. Nassib seems to be the #2 QB in the draft at this point and obviously he has an advantage with his college coach now running things for the Bills. Do I think Nassib has any business being a top 10 pick? No. Do I think the Bills get a QB in the first round no matter what after Buddy Nix got caught running his mouth about needing to find his franchise QB and releasing Ryan Fitzpatrick? Yes.

9. New York Jets
Dion Jordan
OLB, Oregon

If Darrelle Revis gets traded as many believe, this pick could easily be Dee Milliner. Until that happens, I’m going with Dion Jordan here. Rex Ryan’s defense has lacked playmakers in the front seven recently. Jordan is a freak athlete that should help get some pressure on the QB.

10. Tennessee Titans
Dee Milliner
CB, Alabama

The Titans are probably really hoping that Darrelle Revis doesn’t get traded because I’m guessing Milliner is probably at the top on their wish list for this pick. Milliner could easily go higher than this, but if he’s available the Titans will jump all over him.

11. San Diego Chargers
Lane Johnson
OT, Oklahoma

This pick is a lot like the previous one. Johnson could possibly go before this, but if he’s there San Diego will pounce on him. The Chargers MUST land a LT to help give Phillip Rivers some time to throw. Don’t be surprised if San Diego moves up on draft day to ensure they land one of the top OTs in the draft if they think one won’t be there at pick #11.

12. Miami Dolphins
Xavier Rhodes
CB, Florida State

The Dolphins would love to land Milliner, but unless they are willing to trade up he won’t be an option here. That leaves either Rhodes or Desmond Trufant here if the Dolphins want to address their major need at CB. It’s a toss up between the two for me. I went with Rhodes because they lost a big CB in FA in Sean Smith and at 6’2″ Rhodes could fill that role of covering taller WRs.

13. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Desmond Trufant
CB, Washington

If the Bucs land Revis, I’ll change this pick in my next mock, but for the time being the Bucs top need remains CB. With Milliner and Rhodes off the board that leaves Trufant as the top cover CB available.

14. Carolina Panthers
Star Lotulelei
DT, Utah

Lotulelei is one of the hardest players to mock at this point. He was able to work out at his pro day and reportedly looked good. If healthy (or medically cleared, to be more precise) he warrants a top 5 pick and has drawn numerous comparisons to Haloti Ngata. If teams don’t like the medical reports he could slide all the way to the middle rounds. It seems like Carolina has been looking for someone to anchor their interior defensive line forever so I think they will jump all over him unless the medical red flags are too much.

15. New Orleans Saints
Tavon Austin
WR, West Virginia

This pick is not need based, but the idea of giving Drew Brees arguably the most explosive offensive player in this draft is just too tempting. Austin has been moving up draft boards lately and getting to play indoors in the Super Dome with Brees throwing him the ball and Sean Payton drawing up plays for him would make him the front runner for offensive rookie of the year.

16. St. Louis Rams
Keenan Allen
WR, California

Offensive line and safety could also be options here, but Allen is a potential #1 WR and after releasing Steven Jackson it would appear that the Rams will rely more on Bradford throwing the ball. Pairing Allen with the recently signed Jared Cook at TE would greatly improve the Rams ability to throw the ball.

The Scene: My car, 4:30pm on March 12th.

It had been a normal day at work and I had just picked up my daughter from preschool for our 30 minute commute home, I turned over the radio to KC’s 610 AM and anxiously waited to hear if the Chiefs had struck early in free agency. I was excited, like a kid at Christmas. We have Anthony Fasano, “great” I thought. We have Mike DeVito from the Jets, “solid move” was my reaction. Then came word that the Alex Smith deal was finalized AND that the Chiefs had committed a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract to Chase Daniel to be their back up QB. It was at this moment that the truth finally sunk in.

My body went numb. Turning my head so my 5 year old in the back seat couldn’t see I stared out at the open highway in front of me and let this truth wash over me. A single solitary tear running down my cheek.

Okay, so I’m being a LITTLE melodramatic.

While this might be a slight exaggeration of how things went down (we all know I looked online before I left to pick up my daughter to see if the Chiefs had signed anyone), it does paint the picture of my true feelings on the matter. I REALLY wanted the Chiefs to draft Geno Smith. Even after news of the Alex Smith trade broke and I publicly declared my Geno Smith to the Chiefs bandwagon dismantled I was secretly holding out hope that it still might happen. The “Geno to KC” fan club meetings were still being held at undisclosed secret locations, but once news of the Daniel deal broke the little piece of hope that burned inside me was eternally “snuffed out” (sorry, probably too melodramatic again).

I still think Geno will be a franchise QB. I still think that the Chiefs would have been better off in the long run (maybe not next year) with Geno and their 2nd round draft pick then with Alex Smith, but it’s time to move on. I’m now focused on how my beloved Chiefs can best succeed going forward with Alex Smith as their starting QB. Amazingly, I believe the answer does involve Geno Smith being drafted with the #1 pick, just not by the Chiefs.

I completely understand Patrick Allen’s position he laid out so well (check it out HERE if you haven’t read it yet) regarding the Chiefs taking Geno, but it’s time to move on. The comments section and entire Chiefs blogosphere still contains people with their hopes up that Geno will be in KC next year. It’s not happening. I’m not trying to be a downer here. I LOVE Geno Smith. I spent the better part of 2 weeks making a 14 minute video breaking down why he should go #1. Alex Smith didn’t put the nail in the coffin, but the Daniel signing did. If KC was remotely considering Geno or any other QB in the first couple rounds, there’s no reason to pay Chase Daniel what they are paying him next year. Remember, this is a team that watched Geno’s tape, watched him throw at the combine, talked to him face to face, and then went straight home to KC and traded for Alex Smith. They don’t want Geno. I’ve accepted it, and so should you.

It’s okay though, I still think Geno can help KC build a playoff team.

I’m now convinced more than ever before that Geno Smith will be the #1 pick in this year’s draft. It just won’t be Kansas City that selects him. I now feel confident that the Chiefs will be able to trade out of the top pick so that another team can move up and take Geno.

I’ve been on the Geno bandwagon for months. Not because of internet hype, but because I took the time to watch every snap of him that I could find and felt that he had “star QB” upside. I watched the good games and the bad and my thought was that even though Geno was inconsistent, he possessed the talent to be elite if he received good coaching and time to develop. My view was not shared by most draft “experts”. As recently as the NFL combine Mike Mayock said that he’d give Geno a late first round grade.

Then he went out and threw some passes at his pro day, indoors, in shorts, with no defense, no rush, to WRs he’s thrown to for years, with months of practice on those exact throws and routes, and now everybody loves him.

I find that hilarious.

Everyone says it’s a player’s game tape that matters most, not workouts, and then after a pro day they bump him up from a late first round prospect to a sure fire top ten pick (I’m looking at you Mayock). I may be 100% wrong about Geno Smith, but at least my opinion was formed from watching his games not some staged performance that doesn’t translate to NFL games. Now suddenly Geno is the hot name. The Jaguars sent their entire front office to go watch him, the Eagles gave him a major work over at a personal work out. The Cardinals need a QB and let’s not forget about the Buffalo Bills (more on them in a minute).

There is no FA starting QB market for teams to turn to. There isn’t anyone available that is going to improve a team at QB, even if your starter is Blaine Gabbert, Mark Sanchez, John Skelton, or Tavaris Jackson. That’s how bad things are out there. QB is everything in this league and there are multiple teams out there that are significantly worse at QB than the Chiefs are now. That gives KC great leverage.

I know many of you want Geno Smith. So do I. I know many of you think we’d be better off with Geno over Alex Smith. I agree. John Dorsey and Andy Reid don’t. So instead of spending the next month hoping for something that isn’t happening I’ve turned my attention to the much more likely scenario which is one of these teams that are starved for a QB trading up to get Geno. Just a few weeks ago this was very unlikely. All the experts said he wasn’t worth it. Now Geno is a top ten pick and the clear best QB in the draft. A quarterback that is a sure fire top ten pick and clearly the best QB in his draft class is a valuable commodity. A commodity that someone will value enough to make a deal with KC for. Now, KC may not get the return that others have for the pick, but they can still get themselves a pretty good haul.

This is where the Buffalo Bills come in. In my opinion, Bills GM Buddy Nix is not a very smart man. The same GM that gave Ryan Fitzpatrick a FAT long term contract and drastically overpaid for Mario Williams made public comments earlier in the season about the Bills needing to get a franchise QB (despite the fact that HE paid Fitzpatrick like a franchise QB just a couple years ago) in the draft. Then he managed to get tricked into calling the Bucs GM and was recorded doing it. He basically told everyone in the world that Fitzpatrick wasn’t going to be his starter going forward. He also basically said that finding a QB was the key to their success going forward. Immediately after this recording went public the Bills cut Fitzpatrick. So now the Bills sit at pick #8 in the draft with no starting caliber QB on their roster, an intentional public statement that they would draft a franchise QB on record, an unintentional statement about them needing a QB this offseason because their (then) current QB wasn’t good enough on record, and no hope that the one QB seen as a possible franchise QB will still be there when they pick.

The Bills have their backs against the wall. The fact that the teams picking in slots 2-4 are all showing interest in Geno helps KC’s cause. If the Bills want Geno there is no way that they can hope he falls to them now and since one of the other teams that may be interested is the Jags at #2, the Bills will have to go all the way to #1 in order to land him for sure. We all know that QBs are over drafted and this year will be no exception.

So what do I think KC can get from KC?

I think the minimum return is Buffalo’s first and second round picks this year AND their first round pick next year.

I know what some of you are going to say “Nobody is giving that up for the first pick this year!” Really? The Falcons gave up more than that to move up to #5 to take a WR. The Redskins gave up THREE first round picks and change to get RG3. The Bills could still claim that they got their franchise QB at a discount compared to what other teams have and would have had to pay in other drafts. Plus, the Bills will be at a disadvantage in dealing for the first pick compared to teams like Jax and Philly who draft in front of them. Therefore, they will be forced to offer more than those teams if they want their man.

Let the record state that I am on record as stating that Geno Smith will be drafted #1 overall by the Buffalo Bills. Write it down.

Geno Smith has always been my plan when it came to the Chiefs and the 2013 draft. I’ve just had to change that plan given where things stand now. Geno Smith is not going to be a Kansas City Chief, but he is still the key to the Chiefs’ draft. I just hope KC fans can all come to terms with that.

I finally have.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight at midnight the “official” NFL free agency period begins. For the past three days teams have been able to be “in contact” with players’ agents but no deals have been allowed to be signed. That all changes at the stroke of midnight tonight. Fans always want their team to go out and spend money on the highest profile players in hopes of landing a super star that will lead their team to a Super Bowl. That rarely if ever happens. The good teams use free agency to supplement their roster with solid players that fill gaps and provide depth. The teams that shell out huge pay days to a single player in free agency rarely get their money’s worth. With that in mind, I’ve come up with ten moves I’d like to see KC make in the coming days. There is no way that they will make all ten, but I think a combination of four or five of these could really help solidify the roster heading into the draft.

I’ll start with the offense.

1. Restructure Matt Cassel’s contract to be the backup QB.

I know this won’t be a popular opinion, but have you looked at the FA QB market? Jason Campbell, David Garrard, Rex Grossman, do any of these guys REALLY sound like better options to fill in for Alex Smith should he go down with an injury? It seems to me that Reid and Dorsey want to win games now. If that’s the case then you don’t want a mid to late round draft pick starting for you if your QB goes down. Cassel did well in NE and under Charlie Weis in KC when he had good coaching. He’s also a team first guy that would support Alex Smith. I think that under Andy Reid Cassel would be the best backup QB option available for KC. They can still draft a QB and he can compete with Stanzi for the #3 spot.

2. Sign RB LaRod Stephens-Howling from Arizona.

A lot of KC fans have talked about getting a new “thunder” to replace Peyton Hillis as the change of pace to Jamaal Charles’ “lightning”. However, Andy Reid doesn’t run the ball much so I’m just not sure a “thunder” is needed. Frankly, I’d rather they give the ball to JC on 3rd and short then some 240 lbs back up RB anyway. Stephens-Howling is only 26 years old, he’s quick, he catches the ball well, he plays special teams, he’s a good kick returner, he would be a perfect back up to JC, and best of all he will be relatively cheap in free agency. I say let him and Cyrus Gray compete for the 2nd string spot.

3. Sign WR David Nelson from Buffalo.

David Nelson is not a big name WR like Greg Jennings or Mike Wallace, but after giving Dwayne Bowe a huge payday the Chiefs can’t afford to pay another WR big FA dollars. Nelson is only 26 years old and was looking like an up and coming player before an ACL injury in week one last year ended his season. In 2011 he started 13 games and caught 61 passes for 658 yards and 5 TDs. He’s another big WR at 6’5″ and 214 lbs. The nice thing about Nelson is that he would push Jon Baldwin. If Baldwin responds and claims the #2 WR spot then Nelson could be the #3 WR, which would be fine since he shouldn’t command a lot of money. If Baldwin doesn’t step up then Nelson is good enough to step in and be the #2 behind Bowe. A lot of people are clamoring for a deep threat WR, but since Smith doesn’t have the strongest arm, I’m not sure KC could utilize that kind of player.

4. Sign TE Brandon Myers from Oakland.

Brandon Myers quietly caught 79 passes for 806 yards and 4 TDs for the Raiders last season. The 27 year old won’t be cheap, but also won’t command the huge contract that a big name would. Myers would push Moeaki as the first string TE. Myers isn’t a great blocker, but he isn’t a turn-style either. The TE position is going to take on an even greater importance with Andy Reid and Alex Smith at the helm of the offense. Both men have relied heavily on the TE as a safety valve. The Chiefs just can’t rely on Moeaki and his injury history. Plus, stealing one of the Raiders better offensive players makes this move all the better.

5. Sign C/G Evan Dietrich-Smith from Green Bay.

The 26 year old Dietrich-Smith has ties to new GM John Dorsey. He has versatility in that he could play at either center or guard. He has only started 9 games over the past two seasons so again he shouldn’t command a fat contract. Besides his connection to Dorsey, the other big plus is his ability to play all the interior line spots gives KC some options. If Hudson is slow to come back from his injury then he could start at center. If Hudson is ready to go then he could challenge Jeff Allen for a starting guard spot.

6. Sign RT Andre Smith from Cincinnati.

This is the one real big dollar free agent on my list. It’s probably the biggest long shot as well. Most people are assuming that the Chiefs cut Eric Winston to make room for the selection of an OT with the first overall pick. On a recent radio interview Winston said his release was a “philosophical thing”. Many have said that Reid likes a bigger and more physical offensive line. Andre Smith is a physically imposing 6’4″ 335 lbs (I’d wager he’s actually heavier then that listed weight). Smith and Albert would be a great pair of bookend tackles and would give KC the freedom back to do whatever they want with the first overall pick that they had before they released Winston.

Now on to the defense.

7. Re-sign Ropati Pitoitua.

This one seems like a no brainer to me. Pitoitua played well for KC last season and he has experience in the Jets 3-4 system that their new DC will be bringing to KC. I don’t know that Pitoitua should be a starter, but he’s a solid rotational player and should come with a cheap price tag. (Note: if recent reports of the Chiefs keeping Glenn Dorsey are true this move may not be needed.)

8. Sign DT/DE Desmond Bryant from Oakland.

Stealing another Raider, isn’t it great! Bryant might be the player I’d most like to see in KC on this list. He’s 26 years old, 6’6″ and 311 lbs, and has averaged 4.5 sacks over the past two seasons as an interior pass rusher. A defensive front of Bryant, Poe, and Jackson would be a very physically imposing one. Bryant would become the best interior pass rusher on the team and would possibly open Poe up for one on one blocking on passing downs. (Again, if Dorsey is re-signed this may not be feasible, but given the choice of Dorsey or Bryant I’d take Bryant hands down.)

9. Sign ILB Bart Scott from the Jets.

The Chiefs need a new starting ILB next to Derrick Johnson. Scott is getting up there in years and is a bit of a loud mouth. That sounds like a bad thing but it’s exactly why I want him in KC. Guys like DJ and Tamba Hali are both great lead by example guys but they aren’t much of a “rally the troops” vocal leader when the game is on the line. Scott would obviously know the Chiefs new 3-4 by heart and might give the talented KC defense the vocal leader they need to hold them accountable when things aren’t going well.

10. Sign FS Charles Woodson from Green Bay.

Another connection with GM John Dorsey from Green Bay. Woodson isn’t ready to retire yet, but may only have one or two seasons left in him. I love the idea of Woodson back there leading the Chiefs secondary. I REALLY love the idea of him mentoring Eric Berry. Woodson could play FS next year and then perhaps they could move the recently signed Dunta Robinson to FS after he retires.

There’s my list Addicts. What do you think? Who do you like? Who don’t you like? Who did I leave off the list? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below and I look forward to see if any of these guys end up in KC starting tonight.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last week I told everyone that despite speculation that the KC Chiefs might be interested in Alex Smith I was going to ride the “Geno Smith to KC” bandwagon until the wheels fell off. With it now all but certain that Alex Smith will be the next KC QB it appears that my bandwagon ride was short lived. This trade not only caused the wheels to fall off the bandwagon, it likely burnt the whole thing to the ground.

As regular readers may know, my outlook is usually a positive one. I like to take enjoyment out of following the Chiefs (despite their recent efforts to make that impossible) so I don’t usually like to dwell on the bad or the frustrating. There are usually enough voices out there spelling out every misstep the team makes anyway. That having been said, I want to take a second to explain why this trade initially upset me so much.

It’s NOT that I don’t think Alex Smith can be a good NFL starting QB.

It’s NOT that they gave up their #34 draft pick for him (although that does sting).

It’s that the dream of seeing the Chiefs draft a QB that turns into a star and leads them to a Super Bowl has been crushed. I’m 35 years old and have no memory of Todd Blackledge as a Kansas City Chief. The first QB that I remember is Steve DeBerg. That means that in my entire lifetime as a Chiefs fan I have never seen them commit a high draft pick to a QB. I have watched year after year as other teams drafted QBs that eventually led them to championships. I wasn’t thinking that KC would land the next Tom Brady or Peyton Manning in this draft or even the next Andrew Luck or RG3, but the next Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, or Joe Flacco seemed at least possible.

That’s what drafting Geno Smith #1 overall would have been for me. It would have opened the door to the possibility of that dream coming true for the team I loved. Was I confident that Geno would turn into that guy? No, but I was willing to chance that for a shot at greatness. In my opinion the best way to win a Super Bowl is to hit on a big time QB and you can only hit on one if you’re willing to try. This trade meant that for the foreseeable future KC is not willing to risk it. They’re going to play it safe. The realization that this dream is now dead took the wind out my sails. To be honest, it was probably two full days before I even started reading any Chiefs related material again because it was just too depressing for me.

I’d love to sit here and say that I’m over it now. That I no longer feel that way and that I’m now 100% convinced that trading for Alex Smith was the right thing to do, but that would be a lie. I still feel bummed about the loss of possibility that I saw in Geno Smith but now that my “I don’t want Alex Smith! I want our OWN QB!” hissy fit is about over the rational part of my brain is starting to see the possible upside in Alex Smith.

First, Andy Reid and John Dorsey went to the combine and took a really close and hard look at the QBs that are available in this draft. They reportedly met with 8 different QBs while at the combine (Barkley, Bray, Dysert, Glennon, Manuel, Nassib, Smith, and Wilson). After watching these guys on tape, seeing them throw up close at the combine, and meeting with them face to face they went straight back to KC and traded for Alex Smith. That says something to me. Despite all the potential that “I” see in Geno Smith, the Chiefs weren’t interested. The Chiefs would rather have Alex Smith.

The “hissy fit” throwing emotional part of me says that the reason they want Alex over Geno is that they are playing it “safe” and are scared of what might happen if Geno didn’t pan out. However, as days go by the rational part of my brain has started to jump in with a Lee Corso-esque “Not so fast my friend”.

Is picking Alex Smith over Geno Smith really the safe and easy choice? These guys are taking over a team whose fan base flew banners over the stadium in protest over the old regime. This old regime’s #1 crime against the fans was sticking with a QB that they traded a 2nd round pick to get. The fans wore black to the games and left the stadium half empty for most of the season. These fans, the people whose money pays for their multi-million dollar operation are SCREAMING at the top of their lungs for these guys to end the 30 year drought of not drafting our own franchise QB and they still went straight home from the combine and traded for Alex Smith.

These guys aren’t stupid. They had to know that the average fan that was screaming for Scott Pioli to get fired would see the parallels between the Cassel and Smith trades and freak out. They had to know that trading for Alex Smith and having it fail would infuriate the fan base 100 times more than drafting a QB that failed would. Playing a rookie QB would actually be “safer” for their job security because people wouldn’t expect the rookie to be good right away and if he never panned out they’d still get credit with a lot of fans for at least trying.

That tells me that this isn’t about playing it safe. It says to me that these guys honestly believe that Alex Smith has a better chance of leading the Chiefs to a Super Bowl than Geno Smith or any other QB in this draft does.

I may not like that answer, I may not want to agree with that answer, but that’s the only logical explanation that makes sense, and this is coming from a guy that was in a full blown “I WANT MY GENO!!!” hissy fit just a few days ago.

The other thing that the logical part of my brain has started to pick up on is how it’s not just about them not liking the rookie QBs, they actually must see something in Alex Smith that they like. Why you ask? Because John Dorsey and Andy Reid have direct ties to other QBs that I’m sure could have been had for the same deal that they gave San Francisco, those QBs being Matt Flynn and Nick Foles. I know the Eagles have said that they want to keep Foles, but let’s be honest, he doesn’t fit Chip Kelly’s system and had KC offered them the #34 pick they could have taken a QB like EJ Manuel for Kelly to develop behind Mike Vick. Dorsey helped draft Flynn in Green Bay and saw him up close when he was there. Reid drafted Foles just last season and knows what he’s capable of. Despite these personal connections the Chiefs went after Smith. That tells me they see something in him that they think gives them the best chance to win.

So what could that be?

The emotional and ticked off part of me says that it’s to come be a play it safe, game manager, who will just hand the ball off to Jamaal Charles and whose personal contribution to the team will simply be not turning the ball over.

But then that pesky logical side of my brain starts sounding like Lee Corso again.

“Couldn’t they have trained a rookie to hand the ball off and not throw risky passes? Why give up valuable draft picks and enrage the fan base for that?”

I mean they couldn’t possibly think that Alex Smith could actually contribute to winning games, could they? Clearly Smith’s success in SF was all about Jim Harbaugh, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, and their defense.

That’s what I was thinking until yesterday. Then two things happened, I read THIS blog post from a 49ers fan stating that Alex Smith’s improvement actually started the year before Harbaugh got there when they fired offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye (who KC fans know all about), and then I got an email from my step brother/fellow Chiefs die hard, Cory Zellers (props on the excellent info). The email included some numbers that he had crunched. Here’s a direct quote from his email explaining what he did.

I dug into his (Alex Smith) stats and settled on the last 2 seasons (including post season) plus 2010 after he returned from injury in week 14. This gave me a nice round 32 games (2 seasons).

Ultimately I wanted to take his best play (last 32 games) and ratio the attempts (and remaining stats) up to the average # of attempts for an Andy Reid offense. I know Smith was a “game manager” in SF and Reid has had pass first offenses his whole career. I knew there was going to be a big difference in number of attempts, but I was a little surprised at the results. I pulled together all of Reid’s seasons in Philly and threw out his first year (Pederson and McNabb) to come up with an average season’s passing stats.

I then ratio-ed up Alex Smith’s avg season from the last 32 games from 416 attempts (per season) to 562 attempts (Reid’s avg season). The results were not earth shattering, but I would be pretty happy with a season like that out of Alex Smith.

Here are the results. If you take the completion percentage (63%), yards per attempt (7.5), and percentage of TD passes (4.8%) and interceptions (1.3%) that Alex Smith has had over his past 32 games and increased the attempts to the typical Andy Reid season you get a season that looks like this:

354-562 (63%), 4,189 yards (7.5 YPA), 27 TDs and 7 INTs.

That’s a pretty good season by any standard and that’s what I believe John Dorsey and Andy Reid think they are bringing to Kansas City. For a basis of comparison, the closest QB numbers to that from last season are probably Matt Schaub’s. Schaub went 350-544 (64.3%) for 4,008 yards (7.4 YPA), 22 TDs, and 12 INTs. Would you have been okay if the Chiefs traded their 2nd round pick for Schaub?

I know what some of you are thinking: “Lyle, the reason Smith was able to put up that kind of completion percentage and protect the football is because of the San Francisco run game and defense that their team was built around, if you take them away and put the ball in Smith’s hands 562 times, he’s going to fail!”

I thought so too before I got the email above. I started thinking about Reid’s offense. Reid is often criticized for not running the ball enough, so it’s safe to say that Smith isn’t going to be following the same “run the ball and play defense” mentality that they had in San Francisco. He’s going to have the ball in his hands more. It got me thinking about another QB that switched teams under similar circumstances at a similar point in his career. This QB was seen as a solid starter but was let go because the team had a young QB that was seen as having a greater upside. In his two seasons directly before leaving he averaged 450 attempts per season, about 3,368 yards/season, had about a 65% completion percentage, and averaged 7.5 yards per attempt. Those numbers are pretty similar to what Smith has done over his past 32 games played. This QB went to a new team with a chip on his shoulder and a coach that built his offense around his abilities and his attempts jumped up to 554 in his first season with the new team and he threw for 4,418 yards which was over 800 yards more than his previous career high. Overnight he went from being “just an average NFL QB that lacks the elite talent to win Super Bowls” to one of the most prolific passers in NFL history, and eventually a Super Bowl champion. That QB is Drew Brees.

At this point I have probably lost all credibility with some of you who are now laughing at what an unbelievable Kool Aid drinking homer I am. Let me be clear, I am not saying I think Alex Smith is going to turn into Drew Brees. I’m not even saying I think Alex Smith will be successful in KC. I’m saying I think Dorsey and Reid think Smith will be successful in KC. I’m saying that I don’t think they are bringing Smith here to be Matt Cassel 2.0 or to just be some “play it safe” place holder who can help KC float around .500 while they wait to find the REAL franchise QB that they can win playoff games with. I think their plan is to make Alex Smith KC’s version of Drew Brees as apposed to KC’s version of Brad Johnson or Trent Dilfer.

I don’t know if this will work and we’ll win a lot of games with Smith or if he’ll go down in flames like Matt Cassel did.

The idea of Alex Smith becoming the next Drew Brees is probably just a dream, crazy talk. But is it any more unrealistic than the idea of Brees becoming one of the most prolific QBs in NFL history when he left San Diego? Wouldn’t most experts have said that Brees wasn’t capable of doing it? Wouldn’t they have said that his success in San Diego had more to do with Norv Turner, LaDanian Tomlinson, and Antonio Gates than Brees’ ability to play QB? Is Dorsey and Reid’s plan of building a Super Bowl winning team around Alex Smith any more crazy than my dream of them turning Geno Smith into the next Aaron Rodgers?

Look, I’m still bummed that they won’t be drafting Geno Smith with the first overall pick. I’m still stinging from the loss of that dream (and the #34 pick). I still have my doubts about Alex Smith being a QB that can take KC to where they want to go, but once I came to the conclusion that Alex Smith was not brought here to be the next Matt Cassel (a QB that the team had to work around) and that John Dorsey and Andy Reid must see Alex Smith as a QB that they can build around it at least made the future a lot more interesting. Once again I’m back to waiting anxiously for the next breaking Chiefs news to hit so I can see what else the team has planned.

That’s a start. It’s certainly an improvement over the “hissy fit” I was throwing a few days ago.

So where are you at Addicts? Still in “hissy fit” mode like I was? Excited to see what Smith can do? Taking a wait and see approach? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday Paddy shared with you the latest KC Chiefs related gossip going around the NFL, first that the Chiefs are interested in trading for Alex Smith and drafting Luke Joeckel, and then that SF is reporting that a deal for Smith (to an unnamed team) is “effectively complete”. Please excuse me now while I now pound my head against the keyboard in frustration.

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(and yes, I actually did do it, my head is apparently drawn to y, 4, and 6)

Look, I get it. John Dorsey and Andy Reid have forgotten more about what makes a winning football team than I’ll ever know. They are professionals that have a track record of success in the NFL and I am a public school band teacher. So if they think that is what is best for the Chiefs the sensible thing would be for you to trust their opinion over mine. That having been said…..

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?!?

In this little scenario that Ian Rapoport lays out the Chiefs would trade away one draft pick to acquire a quarterback that would essentially be an upgraded version of Matt Cassel who I would assume that they will then release. THEN they would let a perfectly good LT walk in free agency and use the once in a lifetime chance at having the first overall pick to take a LT to fill the hole that they created by letting the LT that they already had in house leave town.

I’m sorry, but after typing that I feel the need to bang my head on the keyboard again.

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(not as many numbers this time, I must have aimed lower)

Meanwhile, while this INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING rumor was taking flight, Geno Smith was busy cementing himself as the top QB prospect in the 2013 draft. Smith highlighted a strong combine performance by posting a fantastic 4.59 second time in the 40 yard dash. That is the exact same time put up by Cam Newton, it was only 0.04 slower than Russell Wilson, and was only 0.06 slower than the NFL’s “next big thing” Colin Kaepernick. It was actually 0.06 FASTER than EJ Manuel who was labeled going in as the only QB athletic enough to incorporate any of the popular read option offensive schemes into his arsenal. So at a time when the NFL is looking for great athletes to play the QB position, it appears that despite the fact that he prefers to stand tall in the pocket, Geno Smith is actually the best equipped to make something happen with his feet should he need to.

Now, I know what some of you are going to say. “Lyle, you don’t draft a QB because he looks good running around in shorts!” You know who agrees with you? Geno Smith!

4.56 40, 10.4 broad jump, 34 inch vert. Yet none of this defines me as a QB! The game is won between the ears, study the tape!

— Eugene Geno Smith (@GenoSmith_12) February 24, 2013

Smith gets it. He’s a film junky. He’s driven to be the best and is willing to put in the work to make it happen. Was his throwing session at the combine perfect? No. Did most consider it the best of all the QBs at the combine? Yes. That’s what really matters to me. That’s why I’m riding the Geno Smith to Kansas City Bandwagon until the wheels fall off. He is the BEST QB IN THIS DRAFT. The NFL is a QB driven league. We have ZERO NFL CALIBER QBs ON OUR ROSTER. With the first pick in the draft we have a chance to guarantee that we walk away with the best QB available. I DON’T CARE how he stacks up against previous first QBs taken. I DON’T CARE how he grades out compared to the top LTs or DTs in this draft. LTs and DTs don’t win you Super Bowls, really good QBs do. That is why QBs ALWAYS get drafted higher than the “experts” have them slotted on their big boards. Hitting on a QB pays off 10 times more than hitting on a LT. Hitting on a QB increases your odds of going to the playoffs 10 times more than hitting on a LT. You think Miami doesn’t wish they had taken Matt Ryan over Jake Long? Joe Thomas may just be the best LT in all of football but how has that worked out for the Browns while he has been blocking for Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, and Colt McCoy?

I get that Geno has holes in his game. I get that he has some work to do. I get that he is in need of some coaching. Mike Mayock recently said he’s seen Geno Smith make all the big time QB throws, but he’s too inconsistent. You know who else has admitted that? Geno Smith. He’s flat out said that he still needs to work to be more consistent. My point is that if he has the talent to make all the throws, the work ethic to keep working, AND a coach like Andy Reid to mentor him, I like his odds to succeed. Is there still a risk? Sure there is. Could Geno bust? Absolutely.

I’ll still take Geno Smith and Branden Albert over Alex Smith and Luke Joeckel every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I’ll also take watching Geno Smith bust for my beloved Chiefs over watching Geno Smith turn into a Pro Bowl QB for another team while KC stumbles along in mediocrity with Alex Smith at QB knowing that Geno could have been ours.

But what do I know, I’m not a NFL GM or head coach. I’m just a blogger. A blogger that is going to keep riding the Geno Smith to KC bandwagon until the wheels fall off.

Now who’s with me?

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In case you missed it, HERE‘s my video on why Geno is worth the #1 pick.

Last month I gave you a look at the 2013 NFL Draft consensus big board right before the Senior Bowl. With the NFL combine about to get under way I thought it might be a good idea to give you a look at the updated version. I’ll be using many of the same sources as I did in the last edition. Volume 2 is a composite of the following rankings: CBS’s NFL Draft Scout, Walterfootball.com, Drafttek, Bleacher Report, Scout’s Inc, Draftcountdown.com, NEPatriotsDraft.com, SI.com, and fftoolbox.com. In this edition I’ll give you the players current rank, their previous rank from last month, and also the “ranking range” that the player had. The later being the highest and lowest ranking that the player had from the different sources listed above. Afterwards, I’ll discuss the latest board’s impact on the KC Chiefs’ draft.

You can see that despite the fact that no meaningful football has been played in the past month, the board has seen a lot of fluctuation. This is in part a result of how some prospects performed at the Senior Bowl (Eric Fisher and Lane Johnson), but it is also a result of scouts having more time to watch tape on the prospects. I suspect that we’ll see a similar fluidity to the board after the combine is over and as the actual draft draws nearer. Also, I’d like to point out just how much disagreement there still is out there. Take a second to look at the ranking ranges of these prospects. They are all over the map. There is no bigger example than Sylvester Williams who ranked in at #50 but was rated as high as #15 on set of rankings and as low as #93 on another.

So how does this big board effect the Chiefs’ draft? Well, first off, there are only 6 consensus top 10 players from these nine sources: Joeckel, Lotulelei, Werner, Warmack, Fisher, and Milliner. In fact, if you look at the ranking ranges all the other prospects had at least one source that ranked them outside the top 15. So ANY prospect (not just QBs) taken first overall that aren’t one of the 6 players listed above will be seen as a huge reach by some experts.

So will KC draft one of those 6 players at first overall? Recent reports have surfaced that Branden Albert has passed his physical with KC and that they are working to re-sign him. If this is true and KC comes to a deal with Albert, then Joeckel and Fisher seem unlikely picks. If KC were to let Albert walk, then they would be very much in play. Taking a guard 1st overall seems unlikely, even one as good as Warmack. Werner is strictly an edge pass rusher and with Hali and Houston on the roster he would seem a poor bet for the pick as well. That really only leaves Lotulelei and Milliner as reasonable possibilities if Albert re-signs. Both of these players would fill a need (although if KC were to sign Chris Canty who visited the Chiefs their need at DE would be reduced) and would likely be foundational players for KC for a long time.

So what if KC goes outside those top six players with the first pick?

In my opinion, if KC goes outside those consensus top 10 players listed above it would almost certainly be for Geno Smith. I know that John Dorsey recently told Adam Teicher that there isn’t a stand out QB, but according to these rankings there is. Geno Smith ranks in at #12 in these rankings. The next QB on the list is Matt Barkley at #33. That’s a 21 spot difference. Would I be okay with the Chiefs taking the 12th overall prospect at #1 if it meant that they were getting a QB that was 21 spots better than any other QB in the draft? Yes, yes I would.

Plus, I take issue with people that say we’ll get better “value” if we take a QB at #34 overall. I would expect that at least 3 QBs will come off the board before KC’s 2nd round pick. That means that the best QB available when KC drafts in the 2nd round will probably be ranked in the 40s on the overall big board. Meanwhile, experts all over are talking about how this draft may lack elite talent at the top but it has excellent depth. Case in point, there are exactly 34 prospects on this list that were ranked in the top 20 on at least one set of rankings. That means that there is guaranteed to be at least one prospect on the board when the Chiefs pick in the 2nd round that some had as a top 20 pick. So how is taking a QB at #34 that is ranked in the 40s when there is still top 20 talent left on the table better value?

I would argue that in a draft lacking in elite top talent but deep in overall value that reaching for Geno at #1 would actually be less costly than passing up solid first round talent at the top of the 2nd round to take the 4th or 5th best QB in a weak QB class. Frankly, if KC doesn’t take a QB at #1 overall I’d rather they waited until the 3rd-5th rounds to take one.

I understand what Dorsey told Teicher, but what do you expect him to say? “We think there is one guy that is clearly the best at QB and if we don’t get him we’re in trouble.” Why would he put himself into a corner like that? At this point I’m sure KC is trying to keep all of their options open. Am I saying that I’m confident that they’ll draft Geno? No way, I don’t have a clue. I’m also not ruling it out.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter. What do you think of this latest big board? Who do you see KC taking at this point? Where do you see the value in drafting a QB? Let’s hear your answers in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think it is safe to say that most Kansas City Chiefs fans approve of the Andy Reid hiring. I think one of the things that most fans like about Reid is his history of getting the most out of his QBs. There are a lot of opinions out there on what the Chiefs should do at QB next season, but even though there isn’t a consensus as to who the QB should be, there does seem to be a general trust in Reid’s opinion on the matter. In other words, a lot of KC fans seem to be taking an “I want (insert QB here) to be the QB next season, but ultimately I’ll trust Reid’s opinion on the matter” approach.

My question is, just how much trust do you have in Reid’s decision of who will be his QB?

Will you trust it even if he goes with your absolute last choice?

The recent quotes by Tamba Hali got me thinking, will you still trust his judgement even if he decides to go with Matt Cassel?

Now, let me start by saying that this is NOT a pro-Matt Cassel post. I don’t want Matt Cassel to be on the Chiefs roster next year, let alone starting games for the team I love. I’ve firmly established myself on the Geno Smith bandwagon, but if it’s not Geno I still hope they identify the QB that they feel is the best in this draft and take him first overall. I don’t care if it’s seen as a “reach” or “good value”. We need a QB and have a chance to get the best one in this class, there is value in that regardless of wether or not this year’s top QB is as good as previous #1 overall picks. That’s MY opinion. I know a lot of you agree and I know several of you do not. I’m not here to sway you to my opinion on drafting a QB #1 overall this week. I just wanted to clearly state for the record that I am NOT in favor of Matt Cassel being the starting QB so please don’t fill the comments section with angry rants about what an idiot I am for still backing Cassel.

Now that I have that on the record, let me lay out my “doomsday” scenario where Matt Cassel could be the opening day starter in 2013. This scenario starts with Reid breaking my heart and deciding that he doesn’t like a single QB in this draft enough to draft them with the first overall pick. He may pick one in the 2nd or 3rd round, but he doesn’t feel that they will be ready to start from day one as a rookie. That means that Reid will need a veteran to man the position until the rookie is ready. The options available to him will include keeping a current Chief like Cassel or Brady Quinn, acquiring a veteran from another team like Alex Smith, Matt Flynn, Mike Vick, or Nick Foles, or signing a free agent like Matt Moore or Jason Campbell. It’s also possible that Smith, Flynn, Vick, or Foles could be released by their current team for salary cap issues and would then be available via free agency but obviously their current teams would prefer to get something for them.

So in this scenario the first decision Reid has to make is if there are any free agent QBs that are better than Matt Cassel available. If none of the QBs currently under contract are released then this is debatable. I guess I would take Matt Moore over Matt Cassel just to have someone different, but do I have any faith that he is a better player? Not really. Their career numbers make them look like the same guy.

Matt Cassel: 58.9%, 6.6 YPA, 82 TDs, 57 INTs
Matt Moore: 59.1%, 6.9 YPA, 33 TDs, 26 INTs

Cassel is two years older and has many more starts, but there is very little evidence that Reid would be foolish to pass on Moore to keep Cassel who is already on his roster. So even though I don’t want Cassel around I’d have a hard time bashing Reid if he kept Cassel around instead of bringing in someone from this incredibly weak QB free agent group. Now, if Alex Smith were to be released and they could get him signed for a contract that was equal or less than Cassel’s I’d be strongly in favor of signing Smith, not because I think he’s clearly better than Cassel, but because he’d get a fresh start here and wouldn’t have the negative stigma attached to him that Cassel does.

While we’re on the subject of Alex Smith, let’s use him as the focus of our discussion on if they should trade for a veteran QB. If Chip Kelly decides Nick Foles doesn’t fit his offense and would like to deal him he’d be my first choice to trade for since he is young enough to be a possible QB of the future. After Foles though, Alex Smith is considered the next best option. I’ve already said that I would strongly be in favor of signing Smith if he was a free agent and Reid wanted a veteran starting QB, but would he be worth trading for? What if San Francisco wants a 2nd/3rd round pick for him? Is the difference between Smith and Cassel worthy of a valuable draft pick? Before you answer that, look at these three sets of numbers. First Cassel and Smith’s career numbers:

Matt Cassel: 58.9%, 6.6 YPA, 82 TDs, 57 INTs
Alex Smith: 59.3%, 6.6 YPA, 81 TDs, 63 INTs

Over the course of their careers these two are the same guy. Next, let’s look at their numbers over the past two seasons:

Matt Cassel: 58.8%, 6.4 YPA, 16 TDs, 21 INTs (in 18 games)
Alex Smith: 64.3%, 7.4 YPA, 30 TDs, 10 INTs (in 25 games)

Now that is a huge difference. If Andy Reid thinks that this difference is reflective of Cassel and Smith’s abilities then he very well may feel that trading for Smith would be worth while (I’m still not in favor of trading a 2nd/3rd rounder, maybe a 4th/5th). However, what if Reid thinks that Smith’s success was more of a factor of the coaching and stability that he received under Jim Harbaugh compared to his previous coaching staffs? What if we were to compare Smith’s two good seasons under Harbaugh to Cassel’s two good seasons under McDaniels and Weiss? Here’s what those numbers look like:

Matt Cassel: 61.0%, 7.0 YPA, 48 TDs, 18 INTs (31 games)
Alex Smith: 64.3%, 7.4 YPA, 30 TDs, 10 INTs (25 games)

Now we’re looking a little more comparable. Cassel is still behind Smith in completion percentage, YPA, and INTs but the difference is much smaller and Cassel actually has a sizable lead in TDs. When looking at these numbers, its not out of the question that Reid could think that these two are similar enough that it wouldn’t be worth giving up a draft pick in order to get Smith when he already has Cassel on the roster. Especially if he thinks he can have his draft pick ready to take over in a short amount of time.

So hear’s the question, is the current difference between Smith and Cassel reflected in their career numbers and numbers when they’ve received good coaching which are VERY similar or are they reflected in the numbers from the past two seasons which make Smith out to be the vastly superior QB?

The question is NOT which QB would Chiefs fans rather have. We all know the answer there would be Smith hands down (if they are the only two options). Andy Reid doesn’t have the negative stigma attached to Matt Cassel that we all do. I’m sure he knows that going with Cassel wouldn’t go over well, but ask yourself this “If Reid feels that Cassel and Smith are basically the same guy and the 49ers won’t release him, is it worth trading away a draft pick just to make us happy?”

As much as I DON’T want Cassel to be the starting QB next season I don’t think I want a head coach or GM that would trade away draft picks for the sole purpose of keeping their approval polls looking good either. Especially if he’s only looking for a short term solution until he grooms his next young QB. Of course he could avoid this situation all together by just drafting Geno Smith first overall and starting him from day one, but I digress.

So I’m putting the question out there to you guys. How much trust do you have in Andy Reid when it comes to the QB position? If he goes with someone you are strongly apposed to (be it Cassel or a free agent or draft pick you don’t like) will you still have faith? If he went with Cassel as a short term answer while he groomed a 2nd round draft pick would that effect how much you followed/supported the team? Maybe a better way to ask it is which runs deeper, your faith in Andy Reid with QBs or your hatred of Matt Cassel as the Chiefs QB?

I’m anxious to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!

As I watched Joe Flacco and Colin Kaepernick do battle in the Super Bowl yesterday I was reminded once again of something we all know all too well, the KC Chiefs REALLY need a quarterback. Whenever a team needs a new QB it seems that nothing else matters. Its all the fans can talk about. It’s all the media wants to talk about. It’s almost all that us sports bloggers can write about. I agree that the decision of who will play QB for KC next season is probably the most important decision. However, there is another decision that KC must make first that will have a huge impact on who KC gets to play QB for them. That decision is what to do with starting LT Branden Albert.

Now, before I go any further, let me be 100% clear. If the Chiefs have no doubts about Branden Albert’s long term health then it would be foolish to not re-sign him. However, most KC fans seem to be taking Albert’s health for granted. Blogs and KC talk radio shows are filled with fans saying that it would be ridiculous to draft a LT at #1 overall when you can just re-segn the perfectly good LT you already have. The problem with that line of thinking is that back problems can be a BIG problem for offensive linemen if they become chronic. That is why the state of Branden Albert’s back is so important to the Chiefs offseason.

Now before you start flooding the comments section with things like “I heard it’s not that serious”, “Albert said he is 100% healthy”, and “I saw pictures of him on Twitter doing squats, his back is fine now.” Let’s just all be reasonable and say that none of us know what the long term condition of Albert’s back is. We don’t know if it’s 100% healthy and no more likely to get injured next year as any other NFL player or if he has a degenerative condition that will progressively get worse and worse until it causes him to retire. We don’t know. We haven’t seen his X-Rays. Of course Albert and his agent are going to say its fine, they want to sign a big, fat, long term contract. It’s also in the Chiefs best interest to voice concerns about his back (even if they aren’t worried) in hopes of driving his asking price down. So I don’t see any point in debating if Albert’s back is fine or a problem, because it’s all speculation.

I will say, once again, that if they feel his back is fine then they should sign him long term and put an end to the Luke Joeckel draft speculation once and for all. That is what I’m hoping for. I think most of you regular readers are already aware that I am firmly in the “Draft Geno Smith” camp at this point.

However, I do want to discuss what might happen if Albert’s back is deemed to be too risky by the Chiefs organization. As much as we’d all like to brush his injury aside, re-signing Albert with serious questions about his back could be a huge mistake for KC. Look at this last season with the Chargers and Jared Gaither. Jared Gaither missed the entire 2010 season with a bad back. Then in 2011 he signed with our own Chiefs where he never started a game and was released after ten weeks. He then signed with SD and started their final 5 games and looked great. So they signed him to be their starting left tackle for last season. Guess what happened after only 4 games though? That’s right, his season ended with back problems and the Chargers were left with a huge hole at LT which caused problems for their offense all season long. That’s the thing with these back injuries, a guy can be healthy for a while but eventually it could come back to bite you. Gaither looked great at the end of the 2011 season and I’m sure Chargers fans were clamoring to re-sign him the same way KC fans are clamoring to re-sign Albert now. Albert could be able to play a game today, but that doesn’t mean there might not be long term concerns about his back. Granted Gaither had a much bigger history of back problems than Albert currently has, but KC should do their due diligence in checking out his back before committing a lot of years, money, and the safety of their next starting QB to him.

Finding a left tackle is important for any team, but this offseason it is especially important for KC because it will shape what they do in the draft. Many like myself would like to see them take a QB with the first pick. However, if they don’t like what they see when they look at Albert’s back then it will be hard to pass up Luke Joeckel at #1 overall when he seems to be the consensus best player on the board. Do I want them to pick Joeckel? No, I don’t, but if they don’t feel they can trust Albert’s health then I would understand it. Especially since there doesn’t appear to be anyone that they could draft in the 2nd round that could walk in and start at LT on day one.

There are only three LT prospects that most agree could be starters as rookies: Joeckel, Central Michigan’s Eric Fisher, and Oklahoma’s Lane Johnson. All three are now seen as early to mid first round picks. So if they are looking for a new LT for next season the only pick in the draft that they could fill it with is their first round pick. Otherwise, they would have to look to free agency.

In Green Bay (where new GM John Dorsey comes from) they didn’t sign big name free agents. They built through the draft almost exclusively (Charles Woodson being the one exception). So going out and signing a LT like Jake Long would be out of character for our new GM. It could happen, but it seems less likely than drafting one to me. There are a few other LTs that could hit free agency if they don’t agree to new deals with their current teams. Those names include Atlanta’s Sam Baker, the Giants’ William Beatty, the Saints Jermon Bushrod, and the Broncos’ Ryan Clady. None of those players will come cheap (although all will probably be cheaper than Jake Long). So the question again is if Albert’s back is a problem, do you see an answer in free agency? Long may be available, but he’ll be VERY expensive and has some injury problems of his own. The other players may not even hit the open market. I just don’t see a great (or likely) solution in free agency and I certainly don’t like the idea of drafting a QB at #1 overall and protecting his blind side with Donald Stephenson.

So needless to say I’m anxious to see what happens with KC and Branden Albert. If they don’t re-sign him, I will assume it’s because of health concerns, not because they just want to pass on their own solid LT to draft another one. I’m thinking that before we get our answer on who the Chiefs QB will be, we will probably get the answer to what is going on with Albert. That answer could very well tip their hand on what they will do early in the draft. It should be very interesting.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last week the NFL world descended on Mobile, Alabama for the first real event of the NFL offseason, the Senior Bowl. In the big picture, the Senior Bowl isn’t a definitive assessment of how players will do in the NFL or where they will get drafted. In fact, many of this year’s first round prospects didn’t even participate. However, it does allow us to get a look at some draft prospects directly under the microscope of NFL talent evaluators.

In many ways, the game itself is an afterthought. In case you’re wondering, this year the South defeated the North by a score of 21-16, but by the time the game kicked off most of the NFL GM’s, coaches, and scouts had already left town. Most NFL personnel men use the Senior Bowl to see how the players react in practice. These players are thrown together with players they’ve never met and have to learn terminology they’ve never heard before. How well do they pick it up? How do they do when going against other NFL prospects in practice drills knowing all 32 teams are watching their every move? Who goes hard every snap of practice and who takes some reps off? Who listens to the coaching, picks up the system, and shows real growth in only a few practices? Do any of these players show leadership in this short amount of time? This is where the Senior Bowl really is valuable in the evaluation process. Plus, teams actually get to sit down and talk to some of these players face to face. The game itself is less valuable than the hours of actual game footage they already have on these players from games that really counted.

So at the end of this piece I’ll give you the highlights of the game, but first I want to talk about what players helped themselves or hurt themselves during the week of practice leading up to the game since this is what most NFL teams base their evaluations on.

I should note that since I wasn’t in Mobile, these evaluations were collectively put together by reading and following several different people who were there and noticed similar things from the same players. So if only one guy commented on a prospect looking good, but the others did not, I didn’t include him. A player had to be mentioned by at least three sources to be included. Sources included:

CBS Sports’ NFLDraftScout.com: @RobRang and @dpbrugler
NFL.com: @Gil_Brandt, @MoveTheSticks, @RapSheet (and anything that Mike Mayock says)
Walterfootball.com: @walterfootball
thesidelineview.com: @caplannfl
NEPatriotsDraft.com: @NEPD_Loyko
DraftCountdown.com: @DraftCountdown
Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller: @nfldraftscout
National Football Post: @RUSSLANDE and @MattBowen41
FirstRoundGrade.com: @FirstRoundGrade
No website, but NFL Philosophy is a must follow on Twitter: @NFLosophy

QUARTERBACKS:

I’m going to just be up front with you about the QBs at the Senior Bowl. Very little was done to change perceptions of this QB class. Before the week at the Senior Bowl if you asked NFL draft “experts” who the best QB there was you would have had some answer Arkansas’s Tyler Wilson, some say NC State’s Mike Glennon, and a few say Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib. After the Senior Bowl practices, nothing had changed. Some were saying Wilson looked the best, some were saying Glennon, and a few were saying Nassib. Basically, none of these guys did enough to change people’s minds. If you were a big fan of one of these three before, they didn’t do poorly enough (in practice) to scare you off and none of the other guys were SO good that they changed your mind. Depending on who you talk to, any one of those three gave the best performance and the other two had “moments” but still have flaws and inconsistencies. So it may end up that the biggest winners at QB from the Senior Bowl were Geno Smith and Matt Barkley since the other QBs failed to take advantage of the extra time in front of NFL personnel men. Most people still seem to think that Wilson, Glennon, and Nassib are worthy of somewhere between a mid to late 1st round pick or an early 2nd round pick. Wilson, as expected, was the best interview of the three but had the smallest hands at the weigh-in (has been known to lead to more fumbles for some QBs). Glennon did not impress at the weigh-in where he was described as “thin and undefined”.

Florida State’s EJ Manuel reinforced what people thought of him going in. He’s incredibly athletic and has a good arm but is very raw. Even his biggest supporters don’t seem to think he should play right away, needing several years of good coaching to develop him. He is seen as having intriguing upside and if a team already has a QB and feels they can wait for him to develop he could go higher than his current ability would justify (and his performance in the game itself will only add to this).

Oklahoma’s Landry Jones didn’t do much to help his case. He did make an occasional throw that got people’s attention, but the big knock on Jones is that he checks down WAY too much and is afraid to take chances downfield. Also, Jones didn’t handle it well when plays broke down and he had to improvise. This reinforces my thought of Oklahoma QBs, that they are very reliant on their college system and coaches and struggle to read defenses on their own. If you still aren’t scared of Jones, I read one practice report that said Jones’ check downs and inability to handle pressure reminded them of our own Matt Cassel. (Run away!)

Miami of Ohio QB Zac Dysert probably had the worst week of all the QBs. Going in, there were some people including him in the same tier of QBs as Wilson, Glennon, and Nassib. However, Dysert was very erratic all week and clearly struggled to get his timing down. Before the Senior Bowl Dysert may have been in the discussion for KC for someone to look at with their 2nd round pick, but after his work in Mobile I don’t think that will happen. The National Football Post’s Russ Lande went as far to say “This week Dysert did not look like a quarterback with the talent to start in the NFL.” Ouch!

KC Outlook:

The Chiefs obviously need a QB in the worst way. None of the prospects at the Senior Bowl did enough to jump up draft boards to where they would be considered the “best player available” at #1 which is what the Chiefs are claiming they will do with the pick. My concern is that if they don’t take a QB #1 overall (cough, Geno Smith, cough), I’m not sure I want them to take a QB at #34. Let’s say at least 3 QBs go in the first round, that means KC is committing the #34 overall pick (which should yield an impact player) to a QB that is essentially the leftovers in a weak QB class. I say if they find a QB that they think is clearly the best in this draft, take him at #1 (cough, Geno Smith, cough). Otherwise, go get a place holder like Alex Smith or Matt Flynn (I just threw up in my mouth a little) and then take a flier on a QB in the mid to late rounds. I know EJ Manuel will be the new flavor of the month because of his performance in the game, but he needs a lot of work and I hate to use the #34 pick on a QB that probably wouldn’t be able to compete for a starting job his rookie year. I just worry about turning the keys to the offense over to the 4th or 5th best QB in a weak QB class.

RUNNING BACKS:

The 2013 running back class lacks elite first round talent. So there wasn’t a lot of focus on the backs that were in Mobile this week. That having been said, there were three backs that made a very good impression this week. In no particular order:

Johnathan Franklin – UCLA – 5’10″ 201 lbs
Mike Gillislee – Florida – 5’11″ 207 lbs
Stepfan Taylor – Stanford – 5’9″ 216 lbs

All three of these backs were seen as mid round picks prior to the Senior Bowl, but their strong performances may put them in competition for the #3 RB spot in the draft behind UNC’s Giovani Bernard and Alabama’s Eddie Lacy.

The fact that Kenjon Barner of Oregon was the biggest name RB at the Senior Bowl, but was not one of the top three backs that people were talking about probably isn’t good for his draft stock. Also, Robbie Rouse of Fresno State, though explosive, measured under 5’6″ tall and got destroyed during blitz pick up drills. He isn’t big enough to be an every down back and if he can’t handle blitzing LBs then it will be hard for him to see the field as a third down back either.

KC Outlook:

If KC doesn’t re-sign Peyton Hillis, they will need to find a #2 RB to spell Jamaal Charles with. I think given that they have greater areas of need and the lack of elite runners in this draft that the earliest they would look at a RB would be the 3rd round. There is a good chance that a couple of those backs listed (or all three) could be available in the third and one or two may even still be an option in the 4th. If so, there is a possibility that one of those guys could fill the role of JC’s primary back up. So keep an eye on those three (Franklin, Gillislee, and Taylor) at the combine.

WIDE RECEIVERS:

If I had to pick a position group that had the best week during Senior Bowl practices it might have been the WRs. There were four WRs that seemed to drastically help their draft status during the week. All four were listed as standouts by multiple sources. Again, in no particular order:

Marquise Goodwin – Texas – 5’9″ 179 lbs
Chris Harper – Kansas State – 6’1″ 228 lbs
Quinton Patton – Louisiana Tech – 6’0″ 202 lbs
Markus Wheaton – Oregon State – 5’11″ 183 lbs

You’ll get differing opinions from different sources, but the general consensus seems to be that Goodwin and Wheaton would make great slot WRs and Harper and Patton would be solid #2 WRs for most teams (some think Wheaton could be a #2 as well). On the down side, Texas A&M WR Ryan Swope looked outclassed by the guys listed above before he had to drop out due to injury and is probably dropping down draft boards. Former Michigan QB turned WR Denard Robinson didn’t look very good at WR in Mobile and clearly needs a LOT of coaching before he can play that position at the NFL level. He still possesses explosive play making ability so someone will take that shot on him. For what it’s worth, Robinson had the biggest hands of any WR prospect despite measuring in at only 5’10″ and 196 lbs.

KC Outlook:

I think this draft sets up really well for KC to get some WR help in the 2nd or 3rd round. When John Dorsey was in GB they were able to find guys like Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and Randall Cobb in a similar range. There are several WR draft prospects that could rank as the “best player available” for KC in those rounds. Of the guys at the Senior Bowl, if Patton (probably not likely after his great week) or Harper were on the board in round 3, I think KC might have to take a good look at them.

TIGHT ENDS:

With the two first round talent TEs both being juniors, there wasn’t a lot of talk about the TEs at the Senior Bowl. I don’t know that a single TE there will be drafted before the 3rd round. However, there were three TEs that showed the size/strength to be an effective blocker and enough athleticism to contribute in the passing game as well.

Nick Kasa – Colorado – 6’5″ 271 lbs
Vance McDonald – Rice – 6’2″ 262 lbs
Michael Williams – Alabama – 6’5″ 269 lbs

I wouldn’t say any of these three were “stars” during the week of practice, but I think all three showed enough upside to warrant a mid round pick in April.

KC Outlook:

If both Tony Moeaki and Kevin Boss could be relied upon to stay healthy then KC would be in good shape at TE. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. Moeaki has a lengthy injury history dating back to college and there is some concern that Boss’s concussion issues could cause him to retire. You add to that the fact that the TE position is an important part of Andy Reid’s West Coast Offense and it seems that KC may need to add a quality option at TE this offseason. Given the ability of the three guys mentioned above to contribute both as a blocker and pass catcher I think any of the three could be an option for KC in the mid rounds.

OFFENSIVE LINE:

If the WRs weren’t the most impressive group at the Senior Bowl, it would be because the offensive linemen beat them out. It’s not that the offensive line had a huge number of guys generating buzz, but possibly the two guys that impressed the most the entire week were both offensive tackles.

Eric Fisher – Central Michigan – 6’7″ 305 lbs
Lane Johnson – Oklahoma – 6’6″ – 302 lbs

Entering the week, Fisher was seen as a mid to late 1st round pick and Johnson a borderline first round guy. After just a few practices the two are now both viewed as guys that will likely go in the top 15 picks. No one else on the offensive line generated anywhere near as much buzz as those two, but there were several other guys that did well for themselves.

DJ Fluker – Alabama – 6’5″ 355 lbs
David Quessenberry – San Jose St. – 6’5″ 294 lbs
Brian Schwenke – California – 6’3″ 307 lbs
Larry Warford – Kentucky – 6’3″ 333 lbs

Fluker is a massive RT prospect. He isn’t the world’s best pass protector, but his long arms, freakish 87″ wingspan, and impressive size make his a potential mauler in the run game. Teams looking for a RT that can step in on day one will likely target Fluker. Quessenberry played OT in college but will need to add some bulk in the NFL. The real selling point on Quessenberry is that not only does he show some long term upside, he’s versatile enough to play multiple spots on the line so he would have great value as a back up while he was developing. Schwenke did well enough for himself that he may even challenge to be the 2nd C off the board after Alabama’s Barrett Jones. Finally, Warford quietly lived up to his reputation for being a mauler on the inside. He will likely be the #3 G in the draft behind Alabama’s Chance Warmack and UNC’s Jonathan Cooper.

Unfortunately, there were also some linemen that hurt their draft stock as well. Notre Dame center Braxton Cave was repeatedly dominated by the interior defensive linemen. Wisconsin OT Ricky Wagner struggled a lot with pass protection. Virginia OT Oday Aboushi disappointed some scouts with how he looked in practice during most of the week. Syracuse OT Justin Pugh, although looking solid at times, measured in with very short arms, to the extent that many think he will have to move inside to G and which could cause him to slide come April. Similarly, Kyle Long of Oregon measured a little short in the arms as well. He missed several practices with an illness, but did play in the game (and did pretty well).

KC Outlook:

With Fisher and Johnson moving into solid first round range, Fluker being strictly a RT, and the other OT prospects (Aboushi, Pugh, and Long) sliding a little bit, it appears that if Kansas City doesn’t re-sign Brandan Albert that their only option of drafting a starting LT may be at the #1 overall pick. I don’t like that idea, but it doesn’t appear there will be anyone available at #34 that should start at LT as a rookie. Of the other prospects that played well, I think Quessenberry and Schwenke could be mid round options to add depth to the interior of the offensive line.

DEFENSIVE FRONT SEVEN:

Ideally I would have split this into defensive linemen and linebackers, but there are two problems with that. First there’s the question of where do you put the DE/OLB pass rushers that could be considered either depending on the system a team runs. Second, if you put the pass rushers with the defensive line then there really wasn’t much to talk about in terms of LBs at the Senior Bowl. The top inside LB in Mobile was Alabama’s Nico Johnson, but he failed to impress during the week. In the entire front seven there were really only two guys that really improved their draft stock.

Datone Jones – DE – UCLA – 6’4″ 280 lbs
Brandon Williams – NT – Missouri Southern – 6’2″ 341 lbs

Jones was a physical specimen and terror on the field. He stopped the run well and was able to put pressure on the QB. I think Jones would be perfect as an attacking style 3-4 DE. Jones did so well that some are speculating that he may have jumped from a 2-3 round pick all the way up into the mid to late first round. Brandon Williams is a NT. A strong, stout, and surprisingly athletic one at that. Williams was an unknown to many before the Senior Bowl, but teams looking for a true NT for the center of their 3-4 may definitely target Williams.

Some of the biggest names in the front seven in Mobile had mixed reviews. BYU’s Ezekiel Ansah and SMU’s Margus Hunt both proved to be extreme physical specimens, but were very raw and in need of coaching out on the practice field. DTs John Jenkins from Georgia and Sylvester Williams from North Carolina flashed big time talent but would also disappear for stretches. Both of these two were already considered 1st round guys. They didn’t really hurt their stock, but I don’t know that they helped it either. Outside pass rusher Alex Okafor from Texas was much the same. He showed some explosion getting around the edge, but when the OTs got their hands on him he was often taken out of the play.

KC Outlook:

Early in the week I was excited about what I was hearing about Jones. However, as the week went on the reports were so good that it appears he may not be available when the Chiefs pick at #34. If he were to be there I think he could be exactly the kind of player that our DL has been lacking. A relentless motor type that is strong enough to stop the run and athletic enough to put pressure on the QB. At ILB KC could still target Nico Johnson, but it looks like he would strictly be a 2 down LB and would need to come off the field on clear passing downs. The only other ILB prospect from the Senior Bowl that KC may want to consider would be FSU’s Vince Williams who played well in the game itself.

DEFENSIVE BACKS:

The defensive backs were another group that had a strong showing during Senior Bowl practices. There were six defensive backs that seemed to help themselves the most, including several coming from smaller programs.

Robert Alford – CB – Southeast Louisiana – 5’10″ 186 lbs
Jonathan Cyprion – S – Florida International – 6’0″ 209 lbs
Leon McFadden – CB – San Diego State – 5’10″ 193 lbs
Jordan Poyer – CB – Oregon State – 6’0″ 182 lbs
Desmond Trufant – CB – Washington – 5’11″ 190 lbs
B.W. Webb – CB – William & Mary – 5’10″ 183

In terms of the CBs, Poyer and Trufant are probably in the top 5 at the position now while Alford, McFadden, and Webb proved themselves to be solid prospects that could go in rounds 3-5. Jonathan Cyprion earned very high praises from every single report coming out of Mobile. He’s probably one of the players that helped himself the most. Cyprion reportedly went 100% on every snap in practice, was very physical, and also showed some good coverage ability. He went from being a virtual unknown to many to a guy that could see his name called on day 2 of the draft.

KC Outlook:

I would be happy if KC ended up with any of the six players listed above. Trufant and Poyer could probably start as rookies, but KC would probably have to jump on one of them in the 2nd round after their strong showing in Mobile. The other three corners could be had later in the draft. They all three have starter upside but would probably need some time to develop. I’m really interested in Cyprion. If he was available in round 3 it would be a solid pick for KC. The reason I like it is because I think a Cyprion/Berry pairing would give the Chiefs a lot of options. Both are physical enough to play up in run support and athletic enough to drop into coverage.

THE GAME ITSELF:

Some of you may not agree with this, but as I mentioned before the game really doesn’t have much impact on a prospect’s draft status. If it did, the majority of NFL personnel wouldn’t be flying out of Mobile on Thursday. That said, I do want to address a few things. I’ll start with the QBs again. For the people saying that there isn’t a great QB in this draft class, the performances of guys that have been mocked in the first round like Wilson, Glennon, and Nassib didn’t exactly prove the naysayers wrong. Wilson in particular was disappointing for me. Yes, they are playing in a system that is new, with WRs that are new, but the defense isn’t exactly throwing a true NFL caliber attack at them either. At this point I feel like Geno Smith is KC’s only real hope for getting a QB at the #1 pick.

Obviously, EJ Manuel was the star of the show. His TD pass to Michael Williams was beautiful. He probably helped his draft stock more than any other QB prospect. As I mentioned above, I’m guessing that someone will fall in love with his upside and take him pretty high for a guy who is still so raw. The other thing he has going for himself is that he best fits the current trend of having a read-option QB out of all the QBs in this draft class. That having been said, I don’t think anyone should get SO excited about one good Senior Bowl performance that they start talking about Manuel as a QB that should be drafted to play right away as a rookie. Remember, guys like Charlie Frye and Pat White were Senior Bowl MVPs too. If you look at San Francisco’s handling of Colin Kaepernick, I think a similar timetable would be the earliest Manuel would be ready to play.

The other interesting player to me coming off the game itself is Ezekiel Ansah. Ansah started the week by impressing everyone at the weigh-in with how physically impressive he is. Then he followed that up with several days of very unimpressive practice where the general consensus was that this guy needed a TON of coaching. Then he shows up to the game itself and looks like arguably the most talented player on the field. There is no doubt whatsoever that Ansah has the sheer athleticism to make a major impact. The question is this, is Ansah another Jason Pierre-Paul that just needs some NFL coaching and he’ll turn into one of the better players in the league, or a Vernon Gholston where he never is able to translate his physical prowess into results on the field? I’m leaning towards the Pierre-Paul side, but I think there is enough questions to keep him from going in the top 10 where his physical talents may warrant.

Other players that got multiple praises for their performance in the game include Eric Fisher, Lane Johnson, Mike Gillislee, Sylvester Williams, Purdue DT Kawann Short, Vince Williams, and Robert Alford who played good coverage, racked up 5 tackles, and started the game off with an 88 yard kickoff return that set up the South’s opening TD.

Overall, it was an interesting week for draft die-hards like myself. If you can’t get enough draft talk and info I highly recommend following the guys I listed above as the sources for this post. I don’t agree with 100% of any of their takes, but when you take in all of their opinions combined you can usually get an idea for where prospects stand. Next stop, the combine.

Check out my other draft related posts:

2013 NFL Draft Big Board And The Kansas City Chiefs

Video: Geno Smith Is Worthy Of The #1 Pick

Chiefs First Round QB Quiz: Name That QB

Mike Glennon: A Possible “Plan B” For Chiefs QB

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!

The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a 2-14 season. They have a new head coach, a new general manager, and the first pick in the 2013 NFL draft. Given these circumstances, it’s understandable that KC fans have already put the 2012 season in the rear view mirror and are 100% focused on the offseason, especially the NFL draft. In fact, I would wager that most of you reading this are more interested in the upcoming Senior Bowl than you are in the Super Bowl match up of San Francisco and Baltimore.

The two biggest questions that most Chiefs fans have for Andy Reid and John Dorsey are intertwined. What will they do with the #1 overall pick and who are they going to get to play quarterback? There is a large number of KC fans (like myself) that are convinced that they should answer both questions at once by drafting Geno Smith #1 overall. However, others are not convinced that Smith is a player that warrants that high of selection. The real question then becomes what Reid and Dorsey think of Smith and the other players at the top of the 2013 draft. Both men have gone on record as saying they believe in taking the best player available and not reaching for a player because of positional need.

So these two key questions will ultimately be answered by how Reid and Dorsey construct their “Big Board” for the draft. No one knows what this big board will look like, but I thought for this week’s post I would try to give you a look at what others are saying in terms of how this draft class is lining up. I looked at 10 different big boards and then averaged them out to try and come up with a pre-Senior Bowl, pre-combine, master big board for this April’s draft. The rankings I used are from ESPN’s Scout’s Inc, CBS’s Rob Rang, our own Merlin’s DraftTek, WalterFootball, NFL Draft Countdown, NFL.com’s Gil Brandt, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller, SB Nation, NEPatriotsDraft.com, and fftoolbox.com.

It’s not a perfect system since these lists ranged in length from 25-100 so not every prospect was rated on each list, but it still gives us a general consensus to see where prospects rank currently. Remember, this is not the order players are predicted to be drafted in, but a list of who these sources think are the best players regardless of position and team draft needs. Here are the top 49 players that received first round rankings from at least one of the sources listed above.

1. Luke Joeckel – OT – Texas A&M
2. Star Lotulelei – DT – Utah
3. Bjoern Werner – DE/OLB – Florida St.
4. Jarvis Jones – OLB – Georgia
5. Damontre Moore – DE/OLB – Texas A&M
6. Chance Warmack – G – Alabama
7. Dee Milliner – CB – Alabama
8. Manti Te’o – ILB – Notre Dame
9. Barkevious Mingo – DE/OLB – LSU
10. Geno Smith – QB – West Virginia
11. Johnathan Hankins – DT – Ohio St.
12. Dion Jordan – DE/OLB – Oregon
13. Sheldon Richardson – DT – Missouri
14. Keenan Allen – WR – California
15. Jonathan Cooper – G – North Carolina
16. Ezekiel Ansah – DE – BYU
17. Eric Fisher – OT – Central Michigan
18. Johnathan Banks – CB – Mississippi St.
19. Alec Ogletree – ILB – Georgia
20. Sam Montgomery – DE/OLB – LSU
21. Tyler Eifert – TE – Notre Dame
22. Kenny Vaccaro – S – Texas
23. Johnathan Jenkins – DT – Georgia
24. Jesse Williams – DT – Alabama
25. Matt Barkley – QB – USC
26. Barrett Jones – OL – Alabama
27. Tavon Austin – WR – West Virginia
28. Shariff Floyd – DT – Florida
29. Tyler Wilson – QB – Arkansas
30. Alex Okafor – DE/OLB – Texas
31. Zach Ertz – TE – Stanford
32. Cordarrelle Patterson – WR – Tennessee
33. Giovani Bernard – RB – North Carolina
34. Terrance Williams – WR – Baylor
35. DeAndre Hopkins – WR – Clemson
36. Xavier Rhodes – CB – Florida St.
37. DJ Fluker – OT – Alabama
38. Sylvester Williams – DT – North Carolina
39. Matt Elam – S – Florida
40. Eric Reid – S – LSU
41. Justin Hunter – WR – Tennessee
42. Robert Woods – WR – USC
43. Kawann Short – DT – Purdue
44. Arthur Brown – LB – Kansas St.
45. Kevin Minter – ILB – LSU
46. Lane Johnson – OT – Oklahoma
47. David Amerson – CB – NC State
48. Tony Jefferson – S – Oklahoma
49. Corey Lemonier – DE/OLB – Auburn

I can pretty much promise you that by the time the Senior Bowl, combine, and private work outs are over the Chiefs own big board will look quite a bit different from this list. However, the elite prospects at the very top of the first round don’t usually come out of nowhere. So I think it’s probably safe to say that the first overall pick is someone in the top 10 of this list. So let’s look at those 10 guys through “Chiefs colored glasses”.

Of the top 10 prospects on this list four of them are outside pass-rushers that would play OLB in KC’s 3-4 defense. The Chiefs currently have both of those spots filled with above average NFL starters in Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. I know they say they’ll take the best player available, but unless Reid and Dorsey plan on trading Tamba I think one of these pass rushers would have to grade out SO MUCH better than the other top prospects in order for a team with so many areas to upgrade to take a player at one of the few places they are currently set. So for the time being I am taking Werner, Jones, Moore, and Mingo off the table for KC’s #1 pick.

Next, despite Warmack being hailed as the best guard prospect to enter the draft in ages, I can’t see any team taking a guard first overall. Everyone raved about David DeCastro last season too and he was drafted 24th. Is Warmack SO much better than DeCastro that he should go 23 spots higher? I don’t think so. So I am taking Warmack off the list of possible picks for KC at first overall as well.

Next, between his poor play against an elite offensive line in the national championship game and the crazy dead girlfriend hoax drama I can’t see Kansas City even entertaining the idea of taking Te’o first overall now. Not to mention the fact that most believe that ILB isn’t a position that makes enough impact to justify drafting one that high, even if there wasn’t other questions about him.

So that leaves us with only 4 of the top 10 prospects left for consideration. Let’s address these four one at a time. I’ll start with Alabama CB Dee Milliner.

Milliner is the consensus best CB in this draft. He’s got good size at 6’1″ and 199 lbs. He’s a very physical corner and is an excellent tackler. His coverage skills are very good as well. That having been said, Milliner isn’t a ball hawk as he’s only totaled 2 INTs in each of his past 2 seasons at Alabama. His speed is good enough for the NFL, but he’s not a burner. I think Milliner is pretty much a lock to go in the top 10 picks, but his lack of big play ability would make him a hard sell for #1 overall. Taking Milliner there would be similar to taking Geno Smith #1 overall in that he’s the best player at his position, but may not rate out as high as guys like Joeckel and Lotulelei who most feel warrant the first overall pick. If Reid and Dorsey’s “best player available” mantra literally translates to the highest rated player on their board, then I don’t think it will be Milliner and if they are going to reach a few spots based on positional need it makes more sense to do it for a QB where the benefits of the pick working out are greater. I do think Milliner would make a lot of sense if KC was able to trade back a few spots but was still drafting in the top 10.

So, to sum up my thoughts on Milliner, great player, fits a need, probably won’t be the #1 overall pick, but is a candidate for KC if they trade back a few spots.

Next up, my man Geno Smith. I’m not objective here. I made a 14 minute long video that explained why he should be the #1 pick. There’s a link at the bottom of this post if you haven’t seen it and would like to check it out. Here’s my thought on if the Chiefs will actually take him. If they have Geno rated as a top 10 player as he is in these composite rankings, I think they take him. I know they are saying “best player available”, but if you have no QB and the best QB in the draft is one of the 10 best players available, you take him. QB is just that important, and I think Reid and Dorsey know that. If Geno is more like the 15-25th player on their board, I think they’ll pass, take one of these other players, and take a QB in the 2nd round. I honestly believe Geno will be the pick. I think he is the QB that impresses the most at the combine and workouts and Reid starts off in KC like he did with McNabb in Philly.

However, if I’m wrong then I think the pick is most likely one of the top two guys on these consensus rankings, Luke Joeckel or Star Lotulelei. Let’s start with Joeckel.

Luke Joekel is being hyped as the best LT prospect since Jake Long (who is also the last OT to go first overall). He is currently the consensus “best player available”, so given what Reid and Dorsey have said so far I think Joeckel has to be considered a strong candidate for #1 overall. I’ll be honest, I haven’t watched much of Joeckel, but several of the prospect evaluators that I respect the most seem very high on him and they would know better than I.

My take on Joeckel: If the Chiefs really don’t like any of the QBs that much I’ll be fine with the Joeckel pick, but not excited. Mainly because a great LT doesn’t assure you any playoff success. If you have a good QB to protect then they are great. If you have a mediocre QB then there is only so much a LT can do. Personally, I’d rather they resign Branden Albert and draft an impact player elsewhere (preferably QB).

Finally let’s talk about Star Lotulelei.

Most of you are going to hate what I am about to say. I think there is a strong chance that Lotulelei could be KC’s pick at #1 overall. I actually think that Lotulelei is a more likely pick than Joeckel given that KC has an opportunity to re-sign Albert. I know the idea of taking ANOTHER defensive lineman in the first round will make people want to pull their hair out, but Lotulelei is the real deal. I have a feeling that he may light up the combine similar to what Dontari Poe did last year with the difference being that he has the impressive game film to back it up. Last year people said that Poe’s size/strength/speed gave him the upside of a Haloti Ngata. Well, Star Lotulelei actually looks like Ngata on film, it’s impressive.

If KC doesn’t see a QB they like and resign Albert, I think Star is the pick. If Dontari Poe and Lotulelei both lived up to their freakishly high ceilings KC could have the most fearsome defensive front that the NFL has seen in a long time. They could pair them up with either Tyson Jackson (with a renegotiated contract) or a re-signed Ropati Pitoitua. I know a lot of KC fans wouldn’t like this pick, but in my opinion if we stay at #1 it would have the second biggest impact after taking a QB.

I don’t think we’ll have to wait until April 25th to know what KC is going to do. I think what they do with Albert, Dorsey, Jackson, Pitoitua, and possible QBs that they could bring in will give us a good idea of which of these prospects they are targeting.

For example:

If KC re-signs Albert, I think you can rule out Luke Joeckel (NOTICE: Please save your “they should move Albert to guard” comments, that’s NEVER going to happen, EVER).

If they restructure Tyson Jackson and re-sign either Dorsey or Pitoitua (I’m guessing Pitoitua since he’ll be cheaper and played for the Jets while Sutton was there) then I don’t think Lotulelei will be the pick.

If they trade for a Nick Foles, Matt Flynn, or Alex Smith then I don’t think they’ll go with a QB first overall.

So watch what the Chiefs do over the next month because I think it may just tip their hand on what they are planning to do with the first pick.

One final thought relating to my composite big board: If KC did take a QB first overall and didn’t have to draft one in the 2nd round, it appears that there might be some very good WRs and DBs that rate out right in the area where KC will be picking. Players like Terrance Williams, DeAndre Hopkins, Justin Hunter, Xavier Rhodes, and Eric Reid would all be great picks for KC in the 2nd round.

Regardless of what KC does make sure you tune in here to AA where we’ll keep you up to date on all the latest draft and free agency news.

Check out my other draft related posts:

Video: Geno Smith Is Worthy Of The #1 Pick

Chiefs First Round QB Quiz: Name That QB

Mike Glennon: A Possible “Plan B” For Chiefs QB

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!

What an amazing weekend of football. There were multiple times that I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat. I kept thinking to myself “How amazing would this be if it was the Chiefs that were involved in a playoff game like this?!?!” With the Chiefs now having their new head coach and general manager in place they have filled two of the three critical spots that needed to be addressed this offseason: general manager, head coach, and quarterback. We won’t know for sure if the hires of Andy Reid and John Dorsey will bring about the desired results for a while, but on paper they look good. Reid is a proven winner that consistently took the Eagles to the playoffs, winning more playoff games during his 14 years in Philly than KC has in the history of it’s franchise. John Dorsey was in charge of college scouting for a team that built a Super Bowl winner almost entirely through the draft. It appears that Clark Hunt did his part to fill the first two sports with quality hires. That takes us to the quarterback position.

The Chiefs have the #1 overall pick in this April’s draft. Normally that would be great news for a team starving for a franchise QB. However, the general consensus is that there isn’t a QB worth taking this year. The “experts” seem to universally agree that KC should wait to take a QB until the 2nd round. This logic seems faulty to me. If it is a weak QB class, why would you want the 3rd or 4th best QB in that class? Even if the best QB in the class isn’t Andrew Luck or RG3, if he is still clearly the best QB in the class you have to get him. The QB position is just too vital to a team’s success to pass and hope that you hit on a rare 2nd round franchise QB.

So the question then becomes is there one QB in this class that is clearly the best of the group? I have watched a lot of games and footage of Geno Smith, Matt Barkley, Tyler Wilson, and Mike Glennon and I feel like one of them is clearly the best of the group.

Geno Smith is that QB.

I don’t expect you to just take my word for it. I’ve put together a video of Geno Smith highlights to make my case. You won’t find any screen passes or quick slants where the WR does all the work in this video. What you will see is multiple examples of Smith making throws that I think translate to being a good NFL QB. All of these highlights are from this past 2012 season. So when you see all of these throws, think about how many throws of this caliber you have seen from Kansas City QB’s since Trent Green and the Dick Vermeil years. Geno Smith literally racked up more impressive highlight throws in one season than KC has had under the past three head coaches.

I keep hearing how Geno Smith “has bust written all over him”. I’d like anyone that feels that way to watch this video and then explain to me why that is.

There’s not much else for me to say that wasn’t in the video. For me the first pick is Geno Smith or bust. Also, Stedman Bailey (#3) is REALLY underrated nationally as a WR prospect. The guy has been playing with Geno since HS and the two seem to always be on the same page. With his speed, hands, route running, and history with Geno I’d be fine if they took him at the top of the 2nd round and kept them together.

If you want more on Geno Smith here are some other excellent posts:

Geno Smith: QBeast? by AA’s Ladner Morse

Geno Smith: Performance In Perspective by AA’s Nathan Bramwell

The Case For Geno Smith by AP’s BJ Kissel

Geno Smith: A Tale In Accuracy by AP’s JayhawksNChiefs

If after watching my video and reading those four posts you still don’t have any interest in taking Geno Smith #1 overall I’d love to hear why. Feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading (and watching) and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to KC Big Red! Like many fans of the Kansas City Chiefs, I received two slightly late Christmas presents last Friday from Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. First, Hunt “parted ways” with the much maligned GM Scott Pioli and quickly followed with an official announcement of the hiring of the new head coach Andy Reid.

Before I get to my take on the Reid hiring I want to take just a second to talk about Chiefs’ owner Clark Hunt. Simply put, Clark Hunt proved two things to me this week. First, he is not a cheap owner. Does he care about making money? Of course he does, but all of the owners in the NFL have “make money” at or near the top of their priority list. Clark Hunt has had to make two major hires since he took control of the team. Four years ago he made Scott Pioli one of the top paid GMs in the sport and now he has done the same with Andy Reid. Clark Hunt could have fired Pioli and Crennel and replaced them with a MUCH cheaper option than Reid and would still have been a hero to most in KC. Instead, between Reid’s payday and the buyouts of Pioli and Crennel Clark Hunt ponied up a hefty sum to get what he wanted. Which gets me to my second point…

Clark Hunt gets his man. Period.

Four years ago he wanted the best GM on the market, he wanted Scott Pioli. Clark Hunt got him. This year with reports buzzing that Andy Reid was a lock to land the Arizona Cardinals coaching job Clark Hunt stepped in and said “not so fast my friends”. He loaded up his interview party, flew to Philadelphia, and locked Reid up in an airport conference room for nine hours. By the time they were finally done meeting there was nothing left for Reid to do but go home and explain to his wife why they wouldn’t be making that trip to Arizona (where her family lives).

Maybe the Arizona job was more rumor (floated by his agent) than fact. Maybe the speculation that Reid would be a good fit in San Diego (where Reid owns a home) was purely that, media speculation. In the end it didn’t matter because Clark Hunt wasn’t taking any chances. He wanted Reid and he did what he had to do to get him. Four years ago when the Chiefs hired Todd Haley they were one of the last teams to hire their coach. This time Hunt wasn’t settling for anyone’s leftovers. The Chiefs were the first of the seven teams with openings to make their new hire.

I don’t know if Reid will be successful in Kansas City (I’ll tell you what I think will help in a moment). What I do know is that if he isn’t, I now feel confident that the Chiefs have an owner that will go out and get the best man available to replace him if/when that time comes. That’s really the most important quality a fan can ask for in an owner. Kudos to Clark Hunt.

Now on to my thoughts on the Reid hire.

I like it.

I was on the record as wanting Chip Kelly. The main reasons being that I thought he could give our offense the “jump start” that it needed and would be a good fit with Jamaal Charles (our best player) and Geno Smith (the player I want KC to draft #1 overall). The same can be said about Andy Reid. I know people complain he doesn’t run the ball enough, but JC doesn’t need 30 carries a game and I’d be fine if his touches matched those of LeSean McCoy the past couple of seasons under Reid. He may not come with the same “hype” that Kelly has going right now, but he comes with a MUCH bigger proven NFL track record (of which Kelly has none). His specialty is QBs and the passing game and that is where KC needs the most help. They also needed a big enough name to fill both Romeo’s shoes as HC but also fill part of the void left by Scott Pioli as the “head” of the football organization. Once again Reid fills that roll. So I am happy with the hire. (Side Note: with the announcement of Chip Kelly staying at Oregon and no signs that Gruden or Cowher are going to go back to coaching the Reid hire starts to look all the better.)

The question of the hour then becomes will Andy Reid be able to win in KC? I think that will rely on two key decisions that Reid will make in the next 4 months:

Who will be his QB?

and…

Who will be his defensive coordinator?

The QB part of the equation is obvious. We all know KC has been horrible at QB for a while. We all know you need a good QB to win in the NFL. We all know that Andy Reid gets the most out of the QBs that he has. The problem that I have is with the opinion that I am seeing in the national media that KC should pass on a QB in the first round and take one in the 2nd round. The thought being that since Reid has made lesser talent like AJ Feely and Kevin Kolb look good, there is no sense in using the first overall pick to reach for a QB.

I couldn’t disagree more. When were Andy Reid’s Eagle teams really good? The answer, when they had a Pro Bowl caliber QB in Donovan McNabb. A QB that Reid drafted #2 overall when he first arrived in Philadelphia. You can talk all you want about Reid’s family issues and players “tuning him out” because he’d been there so long, but the fact that he was “getting by” with QBs that he was coaching up like Kevin Kolb, Mike Vick, and Nick Foles had just as much to do with it. When was the last time Reid’s Eagles were good? When Mike Vick played at a Pro Bowl level in 2010. I don’t want the Chiefs to draft a Kevin Kolb or Nick Foles that Reid can coach up to “good enough”. Does anyone want our starting QB to be just “good enough” or “someone you can get by with”?

I have absolutely 0% interest in that. I also have 0% interest in trading for Kolb or Matt Flynn to start until Reid can coach up some 2nd or 3rd round pick. I want Reid to draft his McNabb with the first overall pick. I understand that all the “experts” don’t think this draft has an Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III. I don’t care. Nobody thought Donovan McNabb was a sure thing when Reid drafted him. Philly fans HATED the pick at the time, but Reid identified the QB in that draft that had the physical tools to succeed in his system and drafted him. That is exactly what he should do with the Chiefs. I believe that QB will be Geno Smith, but if Reid likes Tyler Wilson or Matt Barkley then I trust Reid’s opinion on the matter way more than my wanna be scout, watching clips on YouTube, Armchair Addict self.

If you’re still not sold on a 1st round QB, I urge you to read THIS ARTICLE by RotoWorld’s Eric Stoner. He went back and looked at 10 years worth of drafts (2001-2010) and the QBs that were drafted in those drafts. He broke the QBs into four tiers: 1.Elite Franchise QBs, 2.Good Starting QBs, 3.Functional QBs, and 4.Backup or Worse.

Of the 13 QBs drafted that Stoner classified in Tiers 1 and 2, 11 of them were drafted in the 1st round of the draft. The only 2 QBs that he classified as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 QB that were drafted after the 1st round were Drew Brees (2nd round) and Matt Schaub (3rd round) and neither of them are playing for the team that drafted them.

Stoner does point out that recent draft picks Andy Dalton and Russel Wilson could help those numbers, but he left the two most recent drafts out of the study because he felt it was too early to judge some of the QBs this soon.

The fact remains that in a decade of NFL drafts from 2001-2010 there were 22 QBs taken in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Of those 22, only Brees and Schaub were Tier 1 or Tier 2 QBs. That’s 9% of the QBs drafted in that decade. Only four (18%) of the 22 QBs taken in the 2nd/3rd round even made it as a Tier 3 “functional” QB (Kevin Kolb, Chad Henne, Tavaris Jackson, and Colt McCoy). The other 16 QBs (72%) were all backup caliber QBs or complete busts. So history says that if you take a QB in the 2nd/3rd round these are your odds:

1 in 22 (4.5%) will be an elite franchise QB

1 in 22 (4.5%) will be a good starting QB

4 in 22 (18.2%) will be a functional QB

16 in 22 (72.7%) will be a backup or worse

This is why KC MUST draft a QB in the first round, even with Andy Reid as the coach.

How do those odds change if you get the first QB taken in the entire draft? Take a look:

1 in 10 (10%) is an elite franchise QB (Eli Manning)

4 in 10 (40%) are/were good starting QBs (Mike Vick, Carson Palmer, Matt Ryan, Matt Stafford)

2 in 10 (20%) are/were functional QBs (Alex Smith, Sam Bradford)

3 in 10 (30%) are/were backups or worse (David Carr, Vince Young, Jamarcus Russell)

(Keep in mind, those classifications are Stoner’s not mine and one could debate what Tier some of those guys belong on, but it doesn’t change the results drastically)

Now, admittedly history says there is a 50% chance that the first QB taken will only be a functional QB or worse. However, the other side of that is that 50% of the first QBs taken in the draft are either elite or good starting QBs compared to only 9% of 2nd/3rd round QBs. That’s an increase of 41%. Given Reid’s track record with getting the most out of the QBs he has I like KC’s chances of ending up on the good side of that 50/50 split.

Anyone think that might just be part of the reason Clark Hunt made sure Reid was his guy? The QB position is just too important for Kansas City to put off and will have too much of an impact on Reid’s success for him to wait to pull the trigger until the 2nd round.

Stoner also pointed out that only two teams took a non-QB with the first overall pick (Houston with Mario Williams and Miami with Jake Long) during that time span. Both of those picks were successful, but Houston still didn’t feel like Williams was worth the price to re-sign and Miami may do the same thing with Jake Long this offseason. Do you see any teams letting a good QB walk to save cap space? What does that tell you about the value of the first pick when it comes to QBs and non-QBs?

The other major decision that will impact Reid’s success will happen much sooner (perhaps even today?) and that is who he will name defensive coordinator. This is important on two fronts. First, hiring a DC that would change to a traditional 4-3 would probably mean that KC would have more holes to fill on defense. That would mean it would take longer to get up and running and KC would have less draft picks and FA money to spend on fixing the offense and getting Reid the players he needs on that side of the ball. This had me 100% convinced that we should stay with the 3-4. Not with the current 2-gapping system, but with an attacking 1-gap blitzing 3-4 like Pittsburgh runs. However, after reading THIS ARTICLE about the similarities in front seven responsibilities in the 3-4 that KC runs and some 4-3s I will be opened minded about whoever they hire until we find out how they plan on using our current players.

The other reason the DC is so important is that getting pressure on the opposing QB is just as important to Reid’s success as having a good QB. Just like Reid’s best years came with great QB play, they also came when they sacked the QB. In Reid’s 14 seasons in Philly he only had three losing seasons. He also only had three seasons where his defense didn’t rank in the top 10 in sacks. Guess what? They are the same three seasons. In the three seasons where his defense wasn’t in the top 10 in sacks his teams were 15-33. In the seasons where they were in the top 10 in sacks they were 130-93-1.

You want to know how KC has ranked in sacks the past five seasons? Their average ranking is 26th. Yes, we have a couple of solid pass rushers in Hali and Houston but the new defensive coordinator must find a way to get more constant pressure on the QB. For many years in Philly he had that DC in Jim Johnson. After his tragic loss to cancer, Reid struggled to replace him. Last year the Eagles finished with the second lowest sack total of his tenure with the team. Reid must find the right guy to attack opposing QBs if he wants to recapture the success he had in Philadelphia.

If Andy Reid can do those two things, if he can succeed in finding a QB and a good defensive coordinator then I think what is already a great hire by Clark Hunt may just end up being a Super Bowl caliber hire.

Here’s to hoping.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!

As the final seconds of the Chiefs 38-3 stomping at the hands of the Denver Broncos came to a close, it brought with it the merciful end to what was the worst season in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs. It was horrible from start to finish. There weren’t enough highlights to even fill a paragraph, let alone a post. The only real solace that fans of this team can take is that change is coming. That change should start today. The question of the day is, will the general manager be part of that change?

By the time the Chiefs and Broncos kicked off Sunday it had already been reported by Jason Cole, Jason LaCanfora, and Jay Glazer that Romeo Crennel would be fired after the season was over. I consider Glazer a safe source to trust, and when you add the others to it I feel confident that Romeo is gone.

Scott Pioli is another story. There were conflicting reports all day Sunday about wether or not Pioli will be retained. Hopefully, by the time some of you are reading this it will have been announced that he is being fired, but one way or another we should know sometime today. Even if we hear nothing, I would take that as a bad sign that Pioli may be staying.

If Pioli is fired then KC fans can enjoy the only upside to being the worst team in the NFL: hope for a new start. A new GM, a new coaching staff, the first overall pick in the NFL draft, and a new franchise QB to lead the team.

If Pioli is retained then all that hope is tainted. The new coach, draft picks, and franchise QB will all be selected by a man that we have no faith in. If Clark Hunt thinks that fans will flock to buy tickets to see a new coach and new QB and forget about all the “Fire Pioli” uproar from this season, I think he is sorely mistaken.

If you are among the few that think retaining Pioli is a good idea, then I encourage you to check out this document of Scott Pioli Facts put together by SaveOurChiefs. Here are a few highlights:

The Chiefs’ record under Scott Pioli (23-42) is the worst of any GM in Chiefs history.

The Chiefs’ record against winning teams under Pioli is just 3-18.

The Chiefs are 0-27 when their opponent scores more than 24 points under Pioli.

There are plenty more, but you get the idea. The Chiefs are not headed in the right direction under Scott Pioli, and keeping him would be a huge mistake. I hope that this post is soon followed by reports that Clark Hunt is cleaning house. Firing Romeo Crennel is a start, but Scott Pioli needs to follow him out the door.

Fingers crossed, at least we’ll know soon!

Thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!

The Kansas City Chiefs are a HORRIBLE football team. They have some true talent on their roster, their defense is pretty good, but as a team they are far and away the worst group I have ever watched. They say that good teams find a way to win and bad teams find a way to lose. If that’s true then the 2012 Kansas City Chiefs are the badest of the bad, because they manage to find new ways to lose each and every week. Just when we think we’ve seen every possible way for them to embarrass themselves they go out and waste a solid defensive performance and an amazing 352 yard rushing performance led by Jamaal Charles who rushed for 226 yards. Brady Quinn was horrific and the coaching staff was a complete embarrassment.

That is why this loss will be a long term win. With New England just barely hanging on to beat Jacksonville, the Chiefs needed to lose in order to keep the number one overall draft pick. They did, and now the only way for KC to lose it would be to upset the 12-3 Denver Broncos, on the road, when they are playing for home field advantage in the playoffs. In other words, the Chiefs are almost a lock for the number overall pick and with it the franchise quarterback that they so desperately need. The pathetic performance by the coaching staff (a Peyton Hillis draw on 3rd and 8 inside your own 20, down a TD, late in the game, really?) further solidifies the eminent firing of head coach Romeo Crennel and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and hopefully the start of a whole new regime in KC.

Performances like the one against the Colts give this KC fan hope that a new GM that can find the right QB and right coach could get KC back in the playoff hunt sooner rather then later. With a solid rushing attack and overall defense the Chiefs simply need to get a passing game and a coaching staff to put the pieces all together.

Now finding a great coach and QB isn’t easy. There’s a reason that every team doesn’t have them. That is why getting the first overall pick is so crucial. The Chiefs MUST get the best QB available in the NFL draft. I don’t care where Mel Kiper or Todd McShay think that QB is “valued” the Chiefs MUST make sure the best QB in this draft is wearing a Chiefs uniform next season. I personally think that Geno Smith is the man for the job, but a lot can change during the lead up to the draft.

I’ve watched a lot of Geno Smith footage lately. The thing that was striking to me as I watched the KC game today was the difference in ball placement. Watching Geno he almost never makes throws like Quinn did on all three of his interceptions (yes, I know he officially only had two, but he should have had three, that PI call was bogus). When Smith misses, he misses in the right places, if that makes sense. Also, while Quinn can physically throw a ball deep, it’s just a heave in a general direction. There is no accuracy, touch, or timing. Smith has fantastic touch on his deep ball and it would add a whole new dimension to the KC offense. If you aren’t personally 100% sold on Smith yet, read this piece on why KC should take Smith, the author illustrates some great points and further sold me on Geno in KC.

I believe that with a good offensive coaching staff and some upgrades to the WR corps that Geno Smith could be a big success in KC. While on the topic of WRs, I liked what I saw from Devon Wylie at WR today. The first catch he made early in the game he made a great crisp cut and created separation from his DB. It’s something that we see done against KC every week, but rarely see our own WRs do. He also made a nice jumping catch later in the game. My dream scenario would be Dexter McCluster and Wylie lining up as the 3rd and 4th WRs in a Chip Kelly offense with Geno Smith as the QB and a re-signed D-Bowe and the Chiefs 2nd round draft pick (DeAndre Hopkins of Clemson?) at the starting spots. I’ve already done a piece on my Pro-Geno/Chip beliefs, that you can read HERE.

Last week I stated that the time for change in KC was running out. The idea being that if Clark Hunt is going to fire AND hire a new GM before we move on our coaching staff we had better get moving or all the top coaching candidates will be gone before our new GM even takes office. I still believe that 100% and would be thrilled if Pioli’s firing was announced today.

Former KC radio host Nick Wright tweeted last week that both Pioli and Crennel have already been told that they will not be coming back. Many national NFL reporters refuted this claim. However, despite Wright’s over the top personality he did prove to have some solid sources in the Chiefs organization. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was true and the Chiefs are of course denying it. I hope Wright is correct and that the decision has already been made and Clark Hunt is already lining up Pioli’s replacement as we speak. The rumor mill has Bill Polian as the leader in the clubhouse to land the GM spot. I personally have some real hesitations about that move, but it would still be a clear upgrade over Pioli.

Regardless, the Chiefs MUST find the right coaching staff to support their new franchise QB. Let’s hope that a week from today when the Chiefs season is officially over that these changes start happening right away. Hopefully a week from today the Chiefs will officially have the number one draft pick and Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel will be on their way out the door. Then today’s loss really will be a long term win for the Kansas City Chiefs.

As usual, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the first time since joining the AA staff that I am writing a piece that I hope is completely irrelevant by the time most of you read it. I hope more than anything that shortly after this post hits the sight that news breaks that Scott Pioli has been fired and you can just stop reading this post right now. I hope that by mid-afternoon this post is pushed down the sight into obscurity.

Sadly, I don’t think that will be the case.

Most of Chiefs Nation seems confident that owner Clark Hunt will fire Scott Pioli. This season has been such a complete and total disaster that it almost seems impossible for there not to be wide spread changes in the organization. You add to that the fan unrest and protests by the SaveOurChiefs group and it would seem that Hunt will be forced to make a move, right? Maybe, I guess we’ll all find out in the coming hours, days, or weeks. The common thought seems to be that Pioli will be fired once this dumpster fire of a season is over.

Well here’s the problem. The time for making that move, at least effectively, is running out. If today comes and goes with no news of Scott Pioli’s firing it most likely means that he will keep his job for another week. If that is the case, then one of two things will happen. Either Scott Pioli will keep his job for another season or the Chiefs will be so behind schedule in getting their new regime in place that they will be playing catch up with the rest of the NFL and setting themselves up for failure.

Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the timeline of how things went down the last time Clark Hunt replaced his general manager.

Carl Peterson resigned (not that he had much choice) on Monday, December 15th. That was the Monday after the Chiefs week 15 game. In other words, today is the equivalent of that day. So if Scott Pioli isn’t fired today, the Chiefs will be operating behind the timeline that happened four years ago.

Clark Hunt hired Scott Pioli on Tuesday, January 13th. So it took Hunt just over four weeks to get his new GM hired. Perhaps he would move faster this time around, but I don’t think we should assume that. Some may suggest that he is possibly already talking to candidates behind the scenes, but in today’s age of news breaking tweets that seems awfully risky. I think that a four week turnaround from firing Pioli to hiring a new GM is probably a fair estimate. Putting that off another week would be very costly, in my opinion.

Scott Pioli then took 10 days to fire Herm Edwards on Friday, January 23rd. Hopefully a new GM would be sensible enough to fire Romeo Crennel immediately upon taking the job, but even then, if the new GM wasn’t hired until the second week of January, many of the top coaching candidates would already be off the market.

It then took Pioli two weeks to hire his new coach Todd Haley on February 6th. By that point, all the top assistants were off the market and Haley ended up with Clancy Pendergast as his defensive coordinator and holdover Chan Gailey staying on (although just temporarily) as his offensive coordinator because there simply wasn’t anyone else available.

UPDATE: Here is a list of recent coaching hires in the NFL by the date they were hired.

Mike Shanahan – January 6th
Jim Harbaugh – January 7th
Mike Mularky – January 10th
Ron Rivera – January 11th
Jeff Fisher – January 13th
John Fox – January 13th
Pat Shurmur – January 13th
Chan Gailey – January 19th
Joe Philbin – January 20th
Chuck Pagano – January 25th
Dennis Allen – January 25th
Greg Schiano – January 26th
Mike Munchak – February 7th

If you asked me to pick the five coaches on that list that I would most want to coach the Chiefs I would pick (in no particular order) Shanahan, Harbaugh, Fisher, Fox, and Pagano. Of those five, four of them were hired on January 13th (the date Hunt hired Pioli) or earlier. If you divide that list into two and look at the coaches hired after January 13th compared to the coaches hired before that date, I like the early list a lot better. That is why Clark Hunt can’t afford to wait any longer to start this process.

Now perhaps things will be different this time around. Perhaps Hunt will fire Pioli the day after the season ends and hire his new GM the very next day. Perhaps that GM will make firing Crennel his first act upon taking the job and will then be in on any and every good coaching candidate available. Perhaps, but I don’t know that we should be holding our breath on that one. I think if we want to have realistic hope of the kind of changes that most of us want to see that the ball needs to get rolling, and fast.

Hopefully that ball is already rolling. Hopefully you stopped reading this post after the first paragraph because Pioli’s firing has already been announced. Hopefully this post has already been pushed down the sight by rumors of Pioli’s firing, news of his official firing, a statement from Clark Hunt, and a post on the rumored replacements for Pioli. I’ve never hoped for my weekly post to be irrelevant before today, but boy I hope it is. Because if the game on Sunday taught me one thing, it’s that this team as it is currently constructed is an embarrassment. It’s a bad group of players that are poorly coached and give their fans very little to get excited about.

The thought of watching another two weeks of this without any hope of real change on the horizon is painful.

Hopefully those fears will be made irrelevant when Pioli is fired. If that’s the case, then most of you already stopped reading. If it’s not the case and Scott Pioli still has his job, then I’ve never been so bummed so say this…….

Thanks for reading (sigh) and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Kansas City Chiefs need to draft a quarterback.

I know, earth shattering news, right?

No one disputes this fact. Brady Quinn looked good for one week, but against the Browns he went right back to the same Brady Quinn that has failed to impress since he was drafted. The general consensus (and I agree with it), is that the Chiefs should use their first round draft pick on a QB regardless of whether or not there is a QB available that the “experts” feel is worthy of being picked in that slot. Kansas City has gone SO long without drafting a first round franchise QB (the last being Todd Blackledge in 1983), that it seems KC MUST finally break their 30 year drought and take a shot on a quarterback that can lead the Chiefs in an era where teams without a great QB have little to no chance of winning Super Bowls.

While that all sounds well and good, the Chiefs have picked a poor year to execute that plan. There isn’t a single QB in this class that is seen as a sure thing and only one (Geno Smith of West Virginia) is currently viewed as worthy of a top 10 pick. Now, that can all change through the lead up to the draft. We’ve seen QBs like Christian Ponder and Ryan Tannehill shoot up the boards from 2-3 round picks to early first round picks in the month or two leading up to the draft.

But what if that doesn’t happen this year?

What if Geno Smith is the only QB that anyone thinks is worthy of an early first round pick and another team ends up drafting him before the Chiefs? Wins by Cleveland, Carolina, and Philadelphia this weekend have made it a three team battle for the first overall pick between KC, Jacksonville, and Oakland. Should either Jacksonville or Oakland end up with the first overall pick they would probably take a strong look at Smith. There’s even the possibility that the Chiefs draft first overall, but really don’t like what they see in Smith. The only other QBs seen as first round prospects are Matt Barkley of USC and Tyler Wilson of Arkansas. Both of these two have had disappointing senior seasons and have a lot to prove going into the draft. Perhaps one will emerge as an early first round possibility for KC. Time will tell, but today I want to offer up a possible 2nd round QB prospect that I think could end up being the real deal if KC simply can’t identify a QB with their first round pick that they believe in.

That QB is NC State’s Mike Glennon.

Nov 10, 2012; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack quarterback Mike Glennon (8) rolls out as he looks to pass against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons during the second half at Carter-Finley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

Glennon is a 5th year senior who is listed at 6-6 232 lbs. He has started the past two seasons after former Wolfpack starter Russel Wilson transferred to Wisconsin. Glennon has one of the better arms in the draft and while he is definitely a pocket passer, he moves well for a guy his size. The quarterback that Glennon is consistently compared to is Joe Flacco.

I have watched a lot of Geno Smith, Matt Barkley, and Mike Glennon this past month in anticipation of the Chiefs drafting a QB (Tyler Wilson is next on my list). The thought that I always end up with when trying to compare Glennon to Smith and Barkley is “What would things be like if these guys switched teams?”

I mean, let’s look at their offensive supporting casts. Here is a breakdown of each team’s run game and three primary receiving targets that these QBs have had to work with.

West Virginia:
431 rushes, 2131 yards, 4.9 YPA, and 21 TDs
Stedman Bailey – 106 receptions, 1501 yards, and 23 TDs
Tavon Austin – 110 receptions, 1259 yards, and 12 TDs
JD Woods – 56 receptions, 596 yards, and 4 TDs

USC:
370 rushes, 1860 yards, 5.0 YPA, and 12 TDs
Marqise Lee – 112 receptions, 1680 yards, and 14 TDs
Robert Woods – 73 receptions, 813 yards, and 11 TDs
Xavier Gamble – 27 receptions, 297 yards, and 5 TDs

NC State:
446 rushes, 1403 yards, 3.1 YPA, and 11 TDs
Quinton Payton – 48 receptions, 761 yards, and 2 TDs
Tobais Palmer – 46 receptions, 670 yards, and 6 TDs
Bryan Underwood – 43 receptions, 615 yards, and 10 TDs

You can see that Glennon simply doesn’t have the supporting cast of Smith and Barkley. Not only do they have more effective run games, but they are each throwing the ball to 2 NFL caliber WRs. Now, one can make the argument that Smith and Barkley are part of the reason their WRs look NFL caliber, but if you actually watch the games it isn’t hard to see that Glennon has no where near the talent to work with.

With that in mind, look at how these QBs’ numbers stack up.

Geno Smith:
350/490 (71.4%) for 4,004 yards (8.17 YPA) with 40 TDs and 6 INTs

Matt Barkley:
246/387 (63.6%) for 3,273 yards (8.46 YPA) with 36 TDs and 15 INTs

Mike Glennon:
295/511 (57.7%) for 3,648 yards (7.14 YPA) with 30 TDs and 14 INTs

With no context, Glennon appears to be a clear 3rd place out of these 3 QBs. Even with context, Geno Smith (based on numbers, which don’t mean everything) looks like the hands down winner. Better WRs would definitely of benefited Glennon, but they probably wouldn’t have raised his completion percentage by over 13%. Smith’s combination of arm strength and accuracy make him the top prospect in my opinion. However, what if he is off the board? Is Matt Barkley really any better than Mike Glennon?

With 2 NFL caliber WRs, including what many believe to be the best WR in college football (Marqise Lee) Barkley only completed 6% more of his passes. Not only do Barkley’s WRs do a better job of getting open and creating separation, the NC State WRs struggled with drops all season long. Go watch some of the youtube videos of Glennon’s games this season and you’ll see multiple passes that are right where they should be that his guys just dropped. Glennon plays in a NFL style offense similar to the one Barkley runs at USC and they both have experience taking snaps under center. Plus, Glennon has a much stronger arm so if he had Barkley’s elite WRs he should have been able to hit them on more deep plays. PLUS, Glennon threw one less INT despite throwing 124 more passes, showing that his decision making is solid as well.

After watching multiple games of each guy and putting their numbers in context, I can say that if you gave me a choice of which QB I would rather KC draft in the first round if Smith is off the board and my only two options are Barkley and Glennon, I would take Glennon. The fact that as of today, he would be available in the 2nd round makes for an intriguing “Plan B” should the Chiefs miss out on Geno Smith.

Now don’t get me wrong, Glennon isn’t perfect. Multiple scouts have stated that he needs work with his footwork and his accuracy isn’t near at Geno’s level, but in a year where the QB talent is supposed to be poor, if you could get a Joe Flacco in the 2nd round, you’d be doing okay. For what it’s worth, here are Glennon’s combined numbers for his two seasons starting for NC State compared to Flacco’s combined numbers for his two seasons starting for Delaware.

Glennon:
578-964 (60.0%) for 6,702 yards (7.0 YPA) with 61 TDs and 26 INTs

Flacco:
595-938 (63.4%) for 7,046 yards (7.5 YPA) with 41 TDs and 15 INTs

A lot can happen between now and the draft. Maybe the Chiefs will lock up the number one pick and decide Geno Smith is their guy. Maybe Tyler Wilson proves himself to be worthy of a top ten pick. Maybe Glennon wows everyone leading up to the draft and is this year’s Ryan Tannehill.

While we wait to see how that all plays out I encourage some of you that are interested to go to youtube and watch some of Glennon’s games. (Side note: there are numerous people that break down games and put together youtube clips of every snap a draft prospect was involved in during a particular game and condense it into one 5-15 minute video. It makes watching some of these prospects much easier to do.) When watching Glennon I came away impressed. Here are the links to the four games of Glennon’s that I have found so far:

37-44 Loss at Miami – Glennon: 24-42 for 440 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs

17-16 Win vs Florida State – Glennon: 30-55 for 259 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT

35-43 Loss at North Carolina – Glennon: 29-52 for 467 yards, 5 TDs and 2 INTs

48-62 Loss at Clemson – Glennon: 29-53 for 493 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT

If youtube isn’t your thing, then you can still check Glennon out in live action on December 31st in the Motor City Bowl against Vanderbilt.

I know we all want that franchise saving 1st overall draft pick QB to ride in on a white horse and “save our chiefs”, but if that dream doesn’t pan out, I offer you NC State’s Mike Glennon as a possible “Plan B” for the Chiefs QB in 2013.

Thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!

I wasn’t sure what to write about today. It’s hard to celebrate a win when such a dark cloud still hangs over the Kansas City Chiefs. I don’t know if more needs to be said about the tragedy itself. Like countless other Chiefs fans, my heart breaks for the families and loved ones of this tragedy. None more so than the innocent 3 month old whose life will be forever shaped by this senseless act of violence.

I also can’t imagine how difficult it will be for Scott Pioli, Romeo Crennel, and Gary Gibbs to continue to go to work day after day at the same place where they watched this horrific story come to its grisly conclusion. I have screamed from the rooftops that Pioli and Crennel should be fired for weeks, but now all I can do is pray that they are able to close their eyes at night without reliving the tragic events that they witnessed Saturday morning.

I’ve heard a lot of angry fans scolding Chiefs fans and players for mourning the loss of Jovan Belcher. The reasoning being that they should only mourn the innocent victims, not the man that caused this pain. To those people, all I can say is that the Chiefs coaches and players didn’t know a killer. By all accounts Belcher was a great teammate and friend. They are mourning the loss of that teammate and friend, not condoning the unforeseen violence that will now forever define him. It is possible to love a man and hate his actions. It is possible to be sickened by what he did and miss his companionship.

My advice to all at this time is to try to be understanding that people deal with tragedy and grieve loss in different ways. There is little to be gained by attacking one another for how we attempt to transcend this horrible situation. Sports websites, networks, and blogs are going to focus on Belcher, not because his life is the one that is most important, but because his involvement in this story is what makes it a sports story. Of course Kasandra Perkins is the true victim. Of course Belcher’s 3-month-old daughter Zoey is the one most in need of our prayers as she must now go forward in life without both of her parents. That doesn’t mean that Derrick Johnson can’t miss his teammate that he lined up beside for years. It also doesn’t mean that a person that was a big fan of Belcher can’t be sad that he is now gone.

It seems that the PC stance is that only Belcher’s actual family can mourn his loss and everyone else must hate him. I hate the fact that he murdered someone and took his own life. I hate the fact that his little girl must grow up without her parents because he chose violence instead of any other possible solution. I’m just not willing to judge others who are sad about the hole that Belcher’s loss has created in their life.

So is there anything positive that we can all come together over and focus on as we move forward?

Well, yesterday’s game was a start. Not that football is really important compared to these life altering events, but since this is a football blog and we are all fans of the Kansas City Chiefs football team it makes the most sense that we focus on that.

Let me start by saying that for the first time this season Romeo Crennel’s “grandpa-esque” demeanor and relationship with his players was an essential element of the team’s success. All season we’ve screamed at him to be more intense, get after players, etc. This time, that loving and calm demeanor allowed him to care for and lead his players through their darkest hour. I didn’t ever doubt that Crennel would emotionally be there for his team, that’s one of his strengths. What I didn’t see coming was that by caring for, loving on, and being the “emotional rock” at the center of the Chiefs family he would finally bring out something in this team that they had been lacking all season long.

True Mental Toughness.

All season long the Chiefs have been an absolute joke when it came to focus and execution. They hadn’t scored an opening drive TD since 1982 (or at least that’s what it felt like). So when faced with the most emotional, most distracting start to a game any of those players have ever played, what did they do? They drove right down the field and punched it in.

All season long the Chiefs have destroyed their chances at being competitive by carelessly turning the ball over again and again. So surely on a day when their hearts might not fully be in the game and that their minds might be distracted by what has transpired this trend would continue, right? Wrong, they didn’t turn the ball over once.

All season long the Chiefs have shot themselves in the foot by negating big plays with penalties. Often their focus was so poor that they would be penalized multiple times in the same game for the same stupid mistake. Sunday the Chiefs only committed one penalty all game long and that was at the very end as they were trying to run out the clock.

If I had been asked to give the Chiefs a grade for mental toughness through their first 11 games this season it would have been a big, fat, “F”.

If I had to give the Chiefs a grade for mental toughness for their game against the Panthers it would unquestionably be an “A+”.

That is simply shocking. The fact that a team that had been so unfocused, so unorganized, so “checked out” all season long, was able to fix every last one of those issues in the one game that they had a very legitimate reason to fall apart mentally is a statement to the character of those men. I just wish I knew why they couldn’t have done it sooner, but that is a discussion to be had after the wounds caused by this tragedy have had more time to heal.

For now we as Chiefs fans should simply give our support and deserved praise to the players and the coaches of the team we love. Especially to Romeo Crennel and Gary Gibbs who witnessed such horror, but then were able to lead their emotionally wounded team into a game and not just survive it but thrive in it.

I also think Brady Quinn deserves a special kudos above all the other individual players. He seemed to be a mirrored image of Coach Crennel out there on the field. Calmly leading his team, not ignoring the pain they were all feeling, but helping them stay on track and overcome it. If he hadn’t handled himself so well and hadn’t played his best game of the year (possibly his career) the Chiefs wouldn’t have had a chance.

Brady Quinn, simply put, was perfect on Sunday and he deserves a lot of credit for that. That doesn’t mean you have to change your feelings about his long-term future with the Chiefs — same with Crennel — but these men have earned every bit of praise and credit they are receiving today. Their futures in KC are a topic for another day.

Today I would just like to tell them and the entire Chiefs organization “thank you.” Their efforts yesterday made me proud to be a Chiefs fan. I pray that each and every person touched by this tragedy finds a way to grieve and come to grips with this ordeal in a way that is best for them. Yesterday was a first step, but the closer a person was to this tragedy the longer the road ahead of them is. May God bless their lives as they heal, especially the families of Kasandra Perkins and Jovan Belcher, and most of all little Zoey, who won’t even realize the impact Saturday had on her life until most of us have long forgotten the name Jovan Belcher.

Thanks for reading … now go hug someone you love.

The Kansas City Chiefs played a competitive game against the Denver Broncos, kind of. The final score was 17-9 and the Chiefs had the ball multiple times in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead. That’s a competitive game. However, the absolute ineptitude of the coaching staff and the quarterback play make even close games like this one against Denver feel impossible to win.

The Chiefs can’t score. They have talented playmakers like Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe and they just can’t get in the endzone. The Chiefs are averaging a pathetic 14.6 points per game. Over the past seven games (all loses) they have only averaged 10.4 points per game and have failed to score more then one TD in any of those games. In fact, the Chiefs have only scored THREE offensive TDs in those seven games.

This scoring draught really goes all the way back to last season. In 2011 the Chiefs only averaged 13.3 points per game. That means that over the past 27 games the Chiefs have only averaged 13.8 points per game. It goes without saying that you just can’t win in the NFL if you can’t score points and the Chiefs can’t score points. By comparison, over those same 27 games the New England Patriots have averaged 34.1 points per game.

The biggest reason KC hasn’t been able to score has been the abysmal QB play. Anyone who has watched KC this season can see how bad the combined efforts of Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn have been. It’s not just this season though, the numbers put up by KC QBs since Scott Pioli took over are terrible. In four seasons the KC QBs have put up the following numbers:

57.6% completion percentage, 6.4 yards per attempts, 64 TDs, and 59 INTs.

That’s not mediocre QB play, it’s terrible QB play. In case you don’t believe me, look at how similar those numbers look to the career numbers of some of these recent “bust” QBs.

Mark Sanchez: 55.3%, 6.5 YPA, 56 TDs, 60 INTs
Matt Leinart: 57.5%, 6.5 YPA, 15 TDs, 20 INTs
Tim Couch: 59.8%, 6.5 YPA, 64 TDs, 67 INTs
David Carr: 59.7%, 6.4 YPA, 65 TDs, 71 INTs

I’ll spare you the agony of comparing those numbers to the NFL elite like Manning, Brady, Rodgers, Brees, etc. How about just comparing it to the career numbers of some of the good QBs in the league that may not be Hall of Famers (yet), but give their teams what they need to win games.

Josh Freeman: 59.7%, 7.0 YPA, 72 TDs, 53 INTs
Joe Flacco: 60.7%, 7.1 YPA, 93 TDs, 53 INTs
Matt Ryan: 62.0%, 7.2 YPA, 115 TDs, 58 INTs
Matt Schaub: 64.4%, 7.8 YPA, 117 TDs, 67 INYs

As much as everyone would love a Hall of Fame QB, not every team will find one, but that last group I listed is what GMs should be striving for in order for their team to have a shot at the playoffs year in and year out and for the past four years the KC QBs have come up painfully short.

In addition to not being able to score the Chiefs are the kings of shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers and penalties. The Chiefs are averaging 2.9 turnovers per game. Their turnover differential is by far the worst in the league. If you just look at the total penalty numbers this season the Chiefs aren’t one of the worst teams, but it seems that the Chiefs are masters at getting penalties at the worst possible time. This is magnified when the Chiefs offense can’t score to begin with, let alone when they nullify a rare big play with a costly penalty.

Penalties and turnovers are the result of undisciplined play and even though each individual player is responsible for his own play, when a team as a whole plays undisciplined that falls on the coaching staff. I wish I could say that was the only problem with the coaching staff, however its far from it. The Chiefs are a HORRIBLE game planning and adjustment team, specifically on offense. The Chiefs never come out on their opening drive with a well designed drive that attacks the weaknesses of the opposing defense. The Chiefs never come out in the second half and adapt their gameplan to what the other team is giving them. Brian Daboll has been a complete failure as an offensive coordinator. Finally, there are the horrendous in game decisions. Romeo Crennel is literally so clueless at key points in the game that he has to burn a timeout in order to figure out what to do. He did it again against the Broncos and it cost the Chiefs dearly. The really frustrating part is that he often burns a timeout to think about things and then comes up with the wrong conclusion.

Why would you punt the ball down 5 points with 6 minutes to go in Denver territory against Peyton Manning when you are 1-9? The Chiefs literally had nothing to lose and Crennel chickened out. I get it, his QB is terrible, but at least send your team a message that you are trying to win. As Patrick stated in his postgame piece, Crennel is clearly the worst head coach in the NFL and that’s just based on his in-game coaching, don’t even get me started on his “I don’t know” responses in press conferences!

The Chiefs have showed at times this year that there is enough talent on this roster (especially on defense) to compete with anyone. However, as long as their quarterback and coaching remains the same they will NEVER be a good team. The reason that I am so strongly in the “FIRE PIOLI” camp is because the coach and quarterback are the two most important positions for a GM to fill and in four years Pioli has failed miserably at both spots. If Pioli believed that Romeo Crennel was the best coach for this team and he’s been this bad do you trust him to hire the next coach? Another possibility is that Pioli didn’t have Crennel as his top choice, but none of the better coaches available wanted to work with a control freak. Again, do you still want that guy in charge if/when Crennel’s replacement is being hired? How about Pioli’s track record with QBs in KC, since his arrival four years ago Pioli has subjected Chiefs fans to Matt Cassel, Brodie Croyle, Tyler Palko, and Brady Quinn as the KC starting QB. If Pioli felt these players were good enough for KC to win games with do you trust him to evaluate which QB KC should draft and invest their future for the next decade in?

I don’t.

I believe that the Chiefs are one of the most talented horrible teams in the history of the NFL. The failure at the QB and coaching positions are so horrendous that Pioli has no business running this team for another day. I don’t care how much the rest of the team tries, works, etc. until they have a better QB and a better coach the Chiefs will lose most of their games.

It’s a hopeless feeling.

A feeling that KC fans all over are hoping that owner Clark Hunt will help remedy by firing his GM.

Even though my heart will be cheering for the Chiefs to beat other NFL bottom feeders like Carolina, Cleveland, and Oakland in the coming weeks. My head knows that more loses will probably increase the odds of Pioli getting fired and the Chiefs landing the coach and QB that they will need to compete in the NFL.

Then hopefully this hopelessness will end. Then hopefully we can get back to being one of the proud franchises in the NFL. Then hopefully we can get back to breaking down specific parts of the games and this team. That’s what these blogs are suppose to be about, right? I mean, how many ways can you say the GM, coach, and QB need to go before it starts to get tired?

Hopefully Clark Hunt will take action before we find out.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!

I was originally going to give my observations on the latest Kansas City Chiefs loss in this post. I just don’t have it in me. At this point none of the details seem to matter any more. Until the big picture gets addressed does it matter if Brady Quinn looked a little better than Matt Cassel? Does it matter if Branden Albert and Dwayne Bowe can play next week against Denver? Does it matter if Dontari Poe showed a couple flashes again? Does it matter that we got THREE running out of bounds related penalties on special teams in ONE GAME? Maybe it does, but I’m just exhausted from caring about those little things all week long only to get blown out by mediocre teams by 20+ points come game day.

Stop and think about it. In the last month we have been dominated at home by two of the most historically inept teams in the history of the NFL, the Raiders and the Bengals. These two teams have been national punch lines for decades and now they both look better run, more talented, and like they are more dedicated to winning. It doesn’t get much worse than that.

Oh wait….yes it does.

The stands are half empty, 50% of the people that were there were wearing black in protest of the current state of the team, people are wearing bags over their heads, there are rumors out there that fans were not allowed into the game with anti-Pioli signs, and someone actually listed the Chiefs as a cause of death in their obituary.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are blowing right on past teams like the Raiders, Browns, Bengals, and Lions and are headed to a whole new level of embarrassment.

Why?

Because the team has given us no reason to have any hope for the future.

Being terrible with a hope for the future is one thing. Being terrible and thinking that the owner doesn’t care and may not do anything about it is another.

That is why Clark Hunt can’t hide any longer.

He MUST give the people that support his team a reason to believe. Is it my hope that me comes out later today and says Scott Pioli has been fired? Yes, but as much as most fans would love that, he doesn’t actually have to fire anyone right now to help the situation. He just has to let the fans know that he’s upset and disappointed and that Chiefs fans can rest assured that he will make sure that the necessary changes are made so that this doesn’t happen again.

He should tell the fans that’s he’s embarrassed by what’s happened to his team. He should tell them that he’s going to look at every last part of the football operation from the front office, to the coaching staff, to the players and figure out who is part of the solution and who is part of the problem. He should reassure fans that his number one priority is getting this fixed and returning this team to the prestigious organization that his father created.

I know a lot of people would question how believable these statements would be without any actions to back them up, but at least he would be on the record as upset and dedicated to changing things. His silence, fair or not, is interpreted as acceptance and that is fueling the hopelessness and frustration that fans are feeling. Bud Adams, the owner of the Titans put his entire organization on notice after a 51-20 beat down to the Chicago Bears. His team responded with a 37-3 win on the road at Miami the next week. The Kansas City Chiefs have become WAY too used to losing. They need a fire lit under them. Romeo and Pioli lack the credibility to do it at this point since the players know that they may not be around much longer (hopefully). Clark Hunt is the only one that can do it.

His team is a joke, a laughing stock, the worst team in the NFL. It’s beyond the players just playing better. It’s beyond the coaches coming up with a better game plan. It’s beyond Scott Pioli finding better players. This team needs a new direction. Clark Hunt is the only one that can demand that.

We’re waiting Clark. We WANT to believe! We WANT to show up in the tens of thousands, draped in red from head to toe. We WANT to stay until the very last whistle, screaming our heads off the entire time. You just have to give us some hope, a reason to believe that you’re as passionate about getting this fixed as we are. We need some sign that this team means more to you then a bottom line. We need you Clark, we need you to speak up, and our patience is running out.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!

First off, welcome to “Armchair Week” here at Arrowhead Addict. Our beloved head man Patrick Allen is taking some time off this week after getting hitched this last weekend and although he has some pre-written posts scheduled and our regular writers will be putting up their regular excellent content, the bottom line is that you’re going to be getting a whole lot of yours truly this week. (And you thought this season couldn’t get any worse, didn’t you?) Anyway, I’ll try my best to hold down the fort in Paddy’s absence. Also, a preemptive thanks to Chris Nance who will be helping out with breaking Chiefs news since during the day I have this thing called work that tends to get in the way of my Chiefs blogging (I know, priorities right?).

Enough about that though. Now back to your regularly scheduled Chiefs coverage…

When the Kansas City Chiefs got their hats handed to them by a bad Oakland Raiders team coming off their bye week I lost what little faith I had left in head coach Romeo Crennel. My thinking was that if you couldn’t get a team ready to play (both emotionally and schematically) against a division rival, at home, with an extra week to prepare, you have no chance to get them ready for any team, ever. I knew Romeo wouldn’t get fired after that game though since they had to turn around and play San Diego on a short week. However, I truly believed that after the SD loss (in prime time no less) that the Chiefs would put Romeo out of his misery.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, Romeo fired himself, just not as head coach. He removed himself as the team’s defensive coordinator and promoted LB coach Gary Gibbs to DC. That wasn’t the only move that was made to shake things up. As most of you already know, starting CB Stanford Routt was released and DL Shaun Smith was added to the roster. My initial thought was that the Chiefs were insane. They no longer had any clue what they were doing. The only positive that I could come up with was that the Chiefs had been SO bad that any change was worth a shot. Maybe the Chiefs will win the lottery and one of these moves will actually spark something. Probably not, but hey, we’re desperate here!

Then I heard an interesting theory from 610 Sports’ Danny Parkins. His thought was that these moves were a sign that Clark Hunt had essentially taken away Scott Pioli’s control and was allowing Crennel a chance to make some moves as he saw fit. The idea being that Pioli is for sure gone but Hunt is waiting to make it official until he has a replacement ready to take over (enter rumors that Marty Schottenheimer met with Clark last week?). With the decision on Pioli made, Clark decided to give Romeo one last chance to prove to whomever the new GM is going to be that he should be allowed to keep his job. So Romeo brings in Smith who he has wanted all along but Pioli didn’t think fit the “Right 53.” He also cuts the Pioli-signed Routt that many are now reporting didn’t buy into Romeo’s system and was taking a lot of Crennel’s time in practice. Think about it: has Pioli ever shown himself to be quick to admit a mistake? Of course not, and cutting Routt after 8 games of a 3 year contract when he was suppose to be the reason it was okay that he let Brandon Carr walk doesn’t seem like a Pioli move at all. This theory feels right to me, but maybe I’m just so desperate to see Pioli gone that I’m willing to buy into any logical theory that comes to that end.

Regardless, the Chiefs now enter tonight’s nationally televised game with both Romeo and Pioli still in place (for now). If Romeo’s latest changes have no effect on this game and the Chiefs get dominated once again, then I see no hope that Romeo can get this team to play good football, EVER. He had all offseason and they started the year flat. He had the bye week and they looked terrible and unmotivated. He changed silly locker room signs from “Eliminate Bad Football” to “Play Good Football” and the team still stinks. If this latest round of changes is equally ineffective then it’s officially over. They can leave him in place for the rest of the season, but it will just be as a placeholder. These latest moves already scream of desperation and if they don’t work then the team has 100% lost all faith in him. I don’t see how any other changes could be made as the season continues that the players could take as serious improvements and not just the desperate acts of a clueless coach that is throwing 30+ years of NFL experience out the window and just throwing “stuff” against the wall to see if anything sticks.

The good news for those of you that are hoping the Chiefs land the first overall draft pick is that I think you may very well get your way. If I had to bet money on it, I’d say that we see the same pathetic Chiefs tonight as former head coach Todd Haley gets his revenge on Pioli and the Chiefs. However, there is still a very, very, VERY small part of me that remembers how this team played for Crennel at the end of last season. I wouldn’t fall out of my armchair tonight if the Chiefs come out and show some fight for their coach. That probably still won’t be enough to beat Big Ben on his home field, but maybe, just MAYBE, it will be enough for us KC fans to not be completely embarrassed by the product we see from our team on the field.

Let’s just say that I won’t be holding my breath though.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello, Addicts, I have to say that a Sunday with no depressing Chiefs loss was pretty nice. With the embarrassment of the San Diego loss in the rearview mirror and the ensuing loss to the Steelers still a week away, I have a chance to vent some general Chiefs-related thoughts at you. I’ve once again decided to “borrow” my format from Sports Illustrated’s Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback (which is a must-read) and present you with a variety of topics.

Here we go……

* I now believe that Clark Hunt will wait to fire anyone until the end of the season. Friday or Saturday was the perfect time to make a move since it would have given the Chiefs extra time to get their new coach/GM up and running with almost a week and a half between games. If Clark wouldn’t make a move after a nationally televised embarrassment like we saw on Thursday night, I don’t think it will happen any time soon. I just hope that he doesn’t wait too long on the new GM. Clark needs to fire Pioli before the season is over so that the new GM can hire his coach before all the best candidates are scooped up. That’s what happened when Pioli was hired.

* I think Scott Pioli is a coward for not firing Romeo Crennel after the Chargers game. It’s clear that Romeo doesn’t have the Chiefs ready to play from an emotional or strategic standpoint. With Pioli’s job on the line he doesn’t want to have to admit that he screwed up again with his coaching hire only eight games into Romeo’s official tenure. Much like his insistence on sticking with Cassel, his decision to keep Romeo has more to do with him not wanting to admit he made a mistake than it does with doing what is best for the Chiefs. This is absolutely a fireable offense.

* If I was ranking the Chiefs head coaches since Marty left, I think I would go Vermeil, Haley, Edwards, Cunningham, and then Romeo. It’s a pretty pathetic group overall, but here’s my thinking. Vermeil had the best overall record and the Chiefs had a 13-3 season under him. His offense was amazing. Haley was absolutely crazy, his preseason plan last year was a disaster, and his offensive coordinator situation was even worse. That having been said, it’s clear that his ability to push players and hold them accountable is sorely missed this season. If he’s learned his lesson on not going “off his rocker” quite so much I think he could still be a good NFL head coach if given another chance. Edwards was a mess but I respect his ability to spot talent. At least he left the roster with a lot of future Pro Bowlers. Cunningham was just as crazy as Haley, but without the results. Then we have Romeo, who has shown no ability to motivate, lead, or devise a winning game plan whatsoever. At this point I can’t think of one positive quality that he brings to the Chiefs as a head coach.

* Question: If Clark Hunt had backed Todd Haley in the Haley/Pioli feud and fired Pioli last season instead, would the Chiefs be better off right now?

* I’m not a diehard K-State fan, but I have watched a few of their games this year and I’ve come away very jealous of how well coached they are. That team never comes out not ready to play. Even more impressive is how the coaching staff makes adjustments as the game goes on. K-State rarely blows a team out early on, instead they feel the other team out. They see what they are doing well and what they are struggling with and then the coaching staff adjusts what they are doing to stop them and take advantage of their holes. The result is a team that usually dominates in the second half. The KC coaches haven’t figured out how to do this. I REALLY hope that the staff next year can motivate, game plan, and make adjustments in-game. This year’s staff is 0 for 3 in those departments.

* I’ve begun turning my attention to the first round QB prospects for next year’s NFL draft as a way to get my mind off this year’s team. As excited about Geno Smith as I was a month ago, I am equally concerned now. I’ve mentioned before that I felt like he just accepted defeat in the K-State game and sulked around on the sideline. What really worries me though is his numbers the last three games. He started the year against a Division II school and four Division I teams that had an average defensive ranking of 82.5. In those games he averaged 399 yards, 81.4 percent completion percentage, 9.8 YPA, with 24 TDs and zero INTs. However, since then he’s played three teams that have an average defensive ranking of 25.3 and has averaged 227 yards, 58.5 percent completion percentage, 4.8 YPA, with five TDs and three INTs. 227 yards/game, 58.5 percent, and 4.8 YPA in a pass-heavy college spread offense with two NFL caliber WRs is REALLY bad. If he can’t put up better numbers than that against good college defenses, then what is he going to do against NFL caliber ones?

* Finally, after spending some time on YouTube looking at the college QBs, I stumbled across some post game interviews that got me thinking. The Chiefs are a HORRIBLE football team. Assuming the Chiefs do draft a first-round QB, they are probably going to go through some struggles as this team tries to break free of its losing ways. So KC is going to need a QB that can handle losing, handle adversity, and really lead this team. So I’ll leave you with a video I put together showing all three first-round QB prospects after key losses this season. You can judge for yourself who you would like leading your favorite team.

Hi, my name is Lyle Graversen. I am a Kansas City Chiefs fan.

Up until this season, I was a “homer.”

Not just a little homer, a great big ole homer.

When I first started writing blog posts about the Chiefs on another blog, I literally adopted the Kool-Aid Man as my avatar because people were constantly calling me a Kool-Aid Drinker because of how positive I was about the team. I have, on more than one occasion, publicly stated that I choose to focus on the positive because if I follow the Chiefs as a means of entertainment, it doesn’t make sense to me to focus on the negative and be upset all the time. Yes, all sports fans will have moments of disappointment, but overall following your favorite team should be fun. So in the words of Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t worry, be happy,” right?

Well KC fans, this admitted homer has found his breaking point. As I sat in section 316 of Arrowhead Stadium yesterday, watching a BAD football team dominate my favorite team, my fan status officially shifted from “homer” to “disgruntled.” The Kansas City Chiefs are a HORRIBLE football team and there is no positive spin that any rational human being can put on them.

The Oakland Raiders are NOT a good football team. The Raiders were 2-of-12 on third downs in that game and still dominated the Chiefs. We were so inept on offense that even though we were only down two scores at one point with a full quarter to go, people were leaving because they knew there was no way on God’s green earth that the Chiefs were going to get two touchdowns in one quarter. By the end of the game my beloved Arrowhead Stadium, once one of the most feared stadiums in all of sports, looked like this:

Chiefs fans are nowhere to be seen and the area once known as the “Sea of Red” turned into a Midwest version of the “Black Hole.” It’s gut-wrenching. The folks at saveourchiefs.com are planning a “blackout” for the Chiefs home game against the Bengals. We now have a pretty good idea of what that will look like. Let’s hope Clark Hunt is smart enough to know that the black shirts for that game are part of a protest and not just that the Raiders fans had so much fun at Arrowhead that they decided to come back!

What is clear to me now (and keep in mind, this is coming from a blogger that has written multiple posts on how I support Scott Pioli and Matt Cassel) is that the Chiefs are a total disaster.

They have the worst QB situation in the NFL. Matt Cassel or Brady Quinn? It doesn’t matter. They are both completely unable to manage even a moderately competent NFL offense. They both have shown an amazing ability to turn the ball over at a record-setting level.

The roster in general is not ANYWHERE NEAR as good as we thought it was before the season. Even with horrible QB play and horrible coaching (I’ll get to that in a moment), a talented NFL roster would at least compete. They would at least hold a lead for a few seconds of regulation through seven games. They would make a stand. They would show some heart and pride in their play. None of that is happening. This team is BAD from a talent standpoint.

This is the worst coached team in the NFL, and possibly in the history of the Chiefs franchise. I’ve only been following the Chiefs since the 80s, but I’ve seen some bad coaches in that time (Gunther Cunningham and Herm Edwards), but Romeo and his staff are making them look like Vince Lombardi. Let’s for a moment look past the fact that Romeo has, on multiple occasions, admitted to the press that he didn’t know why the team played bad. Let’s ignore the fact that when asked why the Chiefs’ best offensive player (Jamaal Charles) only carried the ball five times, he responded “Now that I’m not exactly sure either.” Let’s pretend that for some reason Romeo actually does know why, but has decided its a good idea to play dumb in the press (If so, he is doing a REALLY good job).

Even if that was true, the Chiefs are still the worst coached team in the NFL. You know why? Because after two weeks to prepare to play a bad football team at home they came out unmotivated and unprepared. The Raiders were the more aggressive and more physical team from the get go. The offense looked like they had no clue of what to do against the Raiders defense. Often times when teams come off the bye, their first offensive drive is a prearranged, scripted drive designed to attack the weaknesses that they’ve seen in the opponent’s defense. So KC came out for their first offensive drive, with energy high after an opening drive Carson Palmer interception for Oakland, and did what? Went three-and-out.

They had all that time to prepare and couldn’t design a play to even get a first down. Then they come out after halftime where one would think that the coaches would have them refocused and motivated to turn it around, and supposedly the coaches should have made adjustments to the game plan based on what had happened in the first half, and what do the Chiefs do? They fumble the snap on the first offensive play and turn the ball over.

This team is making a living off stupid, bone-headed, momentum-killing mistakes. Make a defensive stop before halftime? Oops, muffed a punt. Old Seabass actually misses a FG? Don’t worry, the Chiefs jumped offside so he can try again! Actually have a WR run a decent route AND the QB saw him downfield AND got the ball to him? OHHHHHHHH, bounces right off his hands.

Seriously, no well-coached team plays like that. Not for this long. The Chiefs have played 420 minutes of regulation football and have NEVER HAD A LEAD! Think about that.

I wish I could still be a homer.

I wish I could write something for you fellow Chiefs fans that could lift your spirits and give you some hope for the rest of the season.

I’ve got nothing.

The Kansas City Chiefs have stomped the homer right out of me.

I still love this team. I will still root for them to win every week.

I just see no hope until large scale changes are made. Scott Pioli must be fired. Romeo Crennel and his staff must be fired. The Chiefs must draft a REAL franchise QB.

Maybe I do have one positive thing to leave you with!

The Chiefs are on pace to draft any QB they want in this year’s draft. I guess there’s that.

As always, thanks for reading and (heavy sigh) GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’d like to start this piece by making two statements. First, I believe Scott Pioli deserves to be fired. Second, I don’t believe Scott Pioli will be fired this season. Without going into a big debate about why I believe these two things, I’ll just say this: Pioli should be fired because the overall product he has put on the field four years into his tenure as GM of the Kansas City Chiefs is not good enough. However, I think because of his relationship with Clark Hunt and how much money he saved Clark over the past four years, he will be given a chance to finish out his contract and will go into the 2013 season as the Chiefs GM once again. I’m not happy about this, but if I had to guess, that’s my prediction. If I’m wrong, and Pioli is fired before the season is over, I will be a\one happy fan/blogger.

But that is not what I want to debate today.

IF I am correct that Pioli will be back for another season as the KC general manager, how worried should Chiefs fans be about Pioli calling the shots this offseason? The absolute #1 objective for this offseason is to find a franchise QB, so what should KC fans think about Pioli being the guy to make that decision?

Obviously, since 99 percent of us want the guy run out of town, the answer is probably that we want Pioli to have no part of that decision. I agree, I do. However, let’s set aside the Pioli torches and pitchforks and the “every decision that Pioli has ever made SUCKS!!” mentality and see if, when it comes to drafting QBs, Pioli has earned that reputation.

Now, again let me say that I’m not trying to be a Pioli apologist. The Chiefs QB situation is indefensible. I think it’s impossible to argue that Pioli has done enough at that position during his time in KC. Would it have helped if he had brought in some better QBs via free agency? Sure, but I don’t think that’s what most of us that want Pioli gone are really wanting. We don’t want another FA stop gap, we want the Chiefs to draft and develop their own franchise QB. So I’m not going to waste any time looking at what free agents Pioli could have brought in to challenge Matt Cassel. I will focus on the Draft.

During the four seasons that Pioli has been drafting for the Kansas City Chiefs, 14 current starting QBs have been selected in the Draft. That’s about 44 percent of teams in the NFL that have found a starting QB via the Draft since Pioli came to KC. When you hear that number by itself, it seems ridiculous that Pioli couldn’t have selected one of those players or the Chiefs. However, in his interview with sports radio 810 last week, Pioli implied that the Chiefs haven’t been in great position to draft a first round QB. Does he have a point? It sure seems like the Chiefs have had enough early first-round picks to make it happen. However, when I went back and looked, nine of those 14 current starting QBs that have been selected since Pioli came to KC were taken before KC had their first pick. Those players are:

2009: Matthew Stafford
2010: Sam Bradford
2011: Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder
2012: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill

Now, I think it’s reasonable to take Stafford, Bradford, Newton, Luck, and RG3 off the table and say that KC had little to no shot at landing any of those QBs regardless of what Pioli may have wanted. The only one of those that would have even been up for discussion was the RG3 pick and with Washington forking over three #1 picks and a second to move up just a couple spots, it’s hard to imagine what KC would have had to give up to beat them out while moving up nine spots. So the question is, should Pioli have moved up to take Locker, Gabbert, Ponder, or Tannehill?

Looking at the situation in 2011, KC was coming off a 10-6 division championship where Cassel made the Pro Bowl with 27 TDs and only 7 INTs. Yes, he was horrible against the Ravens in the playoffs and many fans had their doubts about him long term, but with their other holes, was anyone clamoring for Pioli to move up and take Locker, Gabbert, or Ponder? If so, I don’t remember that.

In hindsight, would KC have been better off if they had? Sure, but I don’t know that Pioli should be ripped for not moving up to take one of those guys considering where they were at, what they would have had to give up, and what kind of season the team and Matt Cassel were coming off. So that leaves us with Ryan Tannehill. The overwhelming majority of KC fans seemed nervous about the Chiefs taking Tannehill at #11 if he was still there. Tannehill was a prospect that scouts said had NFL “tools” but didn’t win a lot of games or put up huge numbers while at Texas A&M.

The Chiefs did have Tannehill in for a private workout, so Pioli did at least look into it. Tannehill has looked like a good pick thus far, so it appears that the Chiefs may have been well-served to move up and get him. Maybe they looked into it, maybe not. Who knows what the Dolphins (or one of the teams in front of them) would have been asking for. I think there is more room to criticize Pioli on this one than the 2011 draft, but if not trading multiple picks to move up for Ryan Tannehill is Pioli’s biggest mistake in terms of moving UP for a QB, I don’t know if that is all that bad.

So now let’s look at the QBs that KC could have drafted since Pioli took over as GM. Here is a list of Pioli picks over the past four years and the QBs that they could have had with those picks in the first three rounds. The QBs in BOLD are current NFL starters.

2009:
#3 – Tyson Jackson – Mark Sanchez (#5), Josh Freeman (#17)
#34 – (Traded for Cassel) – Pat White (#44)
#67 – Alex Magee – Stephen McGee (#101)

2010:
#5 – Eric Berry – Tim Tebow (#25)
#36 – Dexter McCluster – Jimmy Clausen (#48)
#68 – Jon Asamoah – Colt McCoy (#85)

2011:
#21/26 – Jonathon Baldwin – Andy Dalton (#35), Colin Kaepernick (#36)
#70 – Justin Houston – Ryan Mallet (#74)

2012:
#11 – Dontari Poe – Brandon Weeden (#22)
#44 – Jeff Allen – Brock Osweiler (#57)
#74 – Donald Stephenson – Russell Wilson (#75), Nick Foles (#88), Kirk Cousins (#102)

So let’s look at these one year at a time. In Pioli’s first year in KC he traded our second round pick for Matt Cassel (and Mike Vrabel) who was coming off a pretty solid season filling in for Tom Brady. In hindsight, would Josh Freeman have been a better pick than Tyson Jackson? Yes, but Freeman was seen as a bit of a risk at #17 that season, let alone at #3. The only QB even considered in the top 10 after Stafford was Sanchez and he has struggled as much as Cassel has. I don’t think Pioli deserves a bad rap for not drafting our QB in his first year here. You can criticize him for signing Cassel to his long term deal, but I think the draft (QB wise) was justifiable.

Next up is the 2010 draft. Does anybody want Tim Tebow, Jimmy Clausen, or Colt McCoy to be the future of the QB position in KC? I don’t, so I don’t think we can hold it against Pioli for not drafting our franchise QB in the 2010 draft.

The 2011 draft is interesting to debate. In hindsight, Andy Dalton looks like he would have been a MUCH better pick for the Chiefs than Jon Baldwin. I don’t think anybody can argue that KC is better off for having Baldwin over Dalton. However, as I mentioned before, the Chiefs were coming off a division win and Cassel going to the Pro Bowl. Plus, the WR position was so bad that the Chiefs started Kevin Curtis who they had just signed off the street at WR in the playoffs. As much as we as fans can now look back at this draft pick and go “What was he thinking?” it’s hard to argue that Pioli was wrong to take a WR given the previous season. You can make an argument for Dalton, but much like the Tannehill discussion above, I’m not sure that it shows Pioli to be incompetent when it comes to drafting QBs because of this choice. Kaepernick and Mallet may prove to be great QBs, but its hard to judge that until they start multiple regular season games in the NFL. I’m pretty happy with the Justin Houston pick anyway.

That leaves us with the 2012 draft. This one (in my opinion) contains Pioli’s biggest mistake. I’m not upset that the Chiefs didn’t take Weeden. His age made taking him at #11 too big of a risk (in my opinion). I’m still not sold on him as a long-term franchise QB. He may end up being a solid starting QB, but I’m not upset that Pioli didn’t reach for him at #11 (or trade back, etc). Osweiler is still an unknown. He’s supposedly very raw and I don’t think any scouts thought he was ready to walk in and start as a rookie. So again, I’m not upset that we didn’t take him in the second round.

However, the third-round selection of backup tackle Donald Stephenson instead of either Russell Wilson, Nick Foles or Kirk Cousins looks like a huge mistake by Pioli. Foles and Cousins are both unknowns both showed some real upside in training camp and preseason action.

Russell Wilson has walked in as a 5’11″ rookie and already looks better than Matt Cassel in his fifth season as a NFL starter. Pioli could have picked Wilson in the third, signed another OT in free agency, and been MUCH better off than the team is now. Plus, drafting Wilson in the third would have allowed Cassel to still enter camp as the starter, there wouldn’t have been expectations to play a third-rounder right out of the gate, plus if Wilson never materialized, no big deal, it was just a third-rounder. It was a no-lose situation and Pioli blew it. I think if you look at his KC draft history, that was his biggest miss when it comes to drafting QBs.

So if I’m ranking Pioli’s biggest QB draft mistakes in KC, I would go:

1. Not drafting a QB in the third round this year instead of a backup OT.

2. Not trading up for Ryan Tannehill.

3. Not being able to admit that Cassel’s Pro Bowl was probably a fluke and drafting Andy Dalton instead of filling the hole at WR with Jon Baldwin.

Other than that, I don’t know that you can complain about much else in terms of Pioli and drafting QBs. I suppose you could add passing on Brandon Weeden, not reaching for Josh Freeman, or not trading every draft pick for the rest of time for RG3, but that seems like reaching for the sake of bashing someone we all want gone. Are those three mistakes listed above enough to make you objectively say that Pioli could not draft a franchise QB? It’s not like he has let Pro Bowler after Pro Bowler slip through his fingers. On the other hand, if he’s so good at evaluating talent, why didn’t he recognize sooner that Cassel wasn’t good enough? I think that is actually the biggest strike against him, as opposed to anything specific he has done or not done in the draft when it comes to QBs.

There will be no doubt about it this time around. The Chiefs will go into the 2013 offseason needing to find their new QB. Even if Scott Pioli is still around, he won’t be able to put it off anymore. There will be no sticking with Matt Cassel this time. So if the Chiefs stay on their current course and end up with a top 5 pick, Scott Pioli will be in uncharted waters. He’ll be in the market for a new QB while sitting in position to draft one of the elite prospects. If that happens, does his track record leave you with no confidence for him to choose correctly? Has the overall failure of Pioli to build a consistent winner unfairly branded him as unable to find a good QB in the draft or is that reputation deserved?

For once, I’m not sure what I think.

I still think Pioli should be fired.

I still think Hunt will probably keep him around for at least one more year.

I’m just not sure what Pioli will do with a high draft pick and QB at the top of his wish list. As much as I don’t want Pioli to be around to answer this question, if I’m honest with myself, I don’t feel as bad about Pioli’s track record of drafting QBs now that I’ve looked at the actual picks and the situation he was in at the time. I’m not excusing the state of this franchise overall, it’s pitiful. I’m sure some will choose to label me a Pioli apologist just for suggesting this is up for discussion. I’m just trying to be objective. I’d love to hear what you all think about this in the comments. Has Pioli proven he can’t find a QB in the Draft or has he simply not been in a good position to land one? Sound off, Addicts!

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Clark Hunt,

As I hope you know by now, fans of your team are fed up. Many believe that you don’t care as long as you are making a profit. That may or may not be true. Time will tell and your actions (or lack there of) over the coming weeks will speak volumes to those of us that live and die by this team.

If you do truly care about the product you are putting out and the feelings of the fans that support your team with their time, money, and passion you won’t need any more motivation to make some changes. However, if you are only driven by the almighty dollar, as your detractors say, here is a little added incentive for you.

While you may always have the big fat check from the NFL TV contracts, my guess is that a successful business man like yourself understands that in order to make as much money as possible on a product, that product must have a positive public perception. Otherwise, not only will local ticket sales tail off, but the money that comes in via merchandising, advertising, sponsorships, etc. will also suffer.

With that in mind I’d like to draw your attention to what the national perception of your team is. Here is a collection of comments, rankings, and observations from various national media members that have all come out in the past few days. This is what the country now thinks of your multi-million dollar company.

Gregg Rosenthal – NFL.com
“Seventy-nine teams have started 1-5 since the NFL’s new playoff format began in 1990. None of them have made the playoffs. The 2012 Kansas City Chiefs are not the team that is going to break this streak………..It’s not just about the 1-5 record. It’s how the Chiefs have lost, by 28 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 18 points to the Buffalo Bills and 17 points to the San Diego Chargers. They aren’t competitive against mediocre teams…………Pioli is highly unlikely to change head coaches again if he sticks around. So this is more about chairman Clark Hunt. The Chiefs want to be a stable franchise. We sense Hunt would like to show patience with Pioli. The rest of this season is about Pioli’s future. If the Chiefs remain a dumpster fire and finish with just a few wins, it will be hard to keep Pioli around.”

NFL.com Power Rankings:
Ranked #32
“This is getting ugly very, very fast. Brady Quinn continued the underwhelming quarterback play, which isn’t surprising. What is surprising is how the defense has been getting torched this season. Tampa Bay produced 463 yards of offense despite only having the ball for 26 minutes. That speaks to lots of big plays or “chunk” yardage, like Mike Williams’ 62-yard touchdown catch. Or another 62-yard grab by Tiquan Underwood (Tiquan Underwood?!). Or Doug Martin’s 42-yard catch-and-run. Take your pick. Oh, and on the subject of picks, the Chiefs aren’t getting enough of those, either — at least not enough to make up for all the yards allowed.”

ESPN Power Rankings:
Ranked #32
“The wheels have come off, and it doesn’t matter who the starting quarterback is.”

ESPN’s Bill Williamson (AFC West Blogger) reacting to Power Rankings:
His range for KC (31-32)
“The film doesn’t lie. The Chiefs are awful right now. This ranking won’t make the team’s beleaguered fans any happier.”

Yahoo! Sports Power Rankings:
Ranked #31
“The banner people got their wish, and you’re not going to believe this, but Brady Quinn playing in place of Matt Cassel did not magically solve all the Chiefs problems. I know, I was surprised, too. The Chiefs are off this coming week, and then come back to the face the Raiders, renewing a rivalry every bit as exciting as the one between Jacksonville and Tennessee.”

Yahoo’s Michael Silver:
“While Pioli has failed at building a strong organization, he has succeeded in helping Hunt save tens of millions of dollars over the past few seasons by taking advantage of the uncapped year (and other CBA-related nuances) to penny-pinch on payroll. If and when Pioli does sign an extension, that will be the real reason why.”

Pro Football Talk Power Rankings (done by alleged Pioli buddy Mike Florio)
Ranked #32
“With the first pick in the 2013 draft . . . .”

Doug Tucker, AP and Yahoo! Sports:
“Six weeks after launching the season with quiet hopes of winning the AFC West, the Kansas City Chiefs have staggered into their bye week 1-5. It’s not just any old 1-5. It’s an ugly 1-5. Every loss but one has been a blowout. The offense has not scored a touchdown in the last eight quarters. Their lone victory came on an overtime field goal in New Orleans. Not once has Kansas City been ahead on the scoreboard when the ball was snapped.”

Clark Judge, CBSSports.com:
“Romeo, Romeo, where aren’t thou? At the bottom of the heap, that’s where.”

Jen Floyd Engel, Fox Sports:
“As it turns out, Brady is that good. He and coach Bill Belichick are why the Patriots have been so good for so long. This does not qualify as earth-shattering or soul-crushing news unless, of course, you are the Kansas City Chiefs (or more succinctly, their fans) and you bought into this idea that Scott Pioli was really why New England won, was the genius behind the genius and was going to bring “The Patriot Way” to KC once he was hired as general manager………This is how Pioli ended up in KC, where he has proven himself not to be a genius or really even very good at his job. This is his fault, kind of, insomuch as he has been unable to land himself another Brady. Nothing can take away from Pioli’s obvious role in all of those Super Bowl rings and years of success in New England. He played a part for sure. As we watch this ugly train wreck go down in Kansas City, let us also remember the absurd amount of luck that came in finding Brady.”

Are you getting the picture, Clark? These aren’t just comments about a team losing, many of them are actually mocking your team for how bad they are.

Do you see what has happened to the national perception of your business? You have a bigger problem than just some fans cheering your injured QB or griping about the team on a blog. The value of your franchise is starting to decline because EVERYONE now sees that the quality of this organization is suffering. Not just a little, but so much that the Kansas City Chiefs are becoming a national punch line.

Sadly, the bad perception of your organization may run even deeper than the fans and the national media. Ask yourself this, Clark, why wouldn’t Peyton Manning even consider talking to your team about coming to KC? Why wouldn’t Jeff Fisher even interview for a coaching position with the Chiefs? It seems that the NFL’s best and brightest don’t think much of this business that you are running either.

It’s time to step up, Clark. I don’t care if you do it for fans like me who live and die with every win and loss, for your own bottom line, or just because you have a big ego and don’t want to be associated with losing and made fun of. The point is that there is NO sensible reason to just stay the course right now. This course is one that is running your biggest money maker into the ground.

It’s time to fire Scott Pioli and get this team headed in a new direction.

That’s not just fan rhetoric, Clark, it’s also good business.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Kansas City Chiefs lost again on Sunday. They lost at home, AGAIN. Matt Cassel playing poorly, AGAIN (when the team even allowed him to throw). In fact, the offensive game plan clearly showed that the team no longer has any faith that Matt Cassel can help them win games. In the first 30 plays the Chiefs offense had 26 running plays and a mere four passes. That really tells you all that you need to know about KC’s trust in Matt Cassel. The Chiefs basically decided that they would be better off with no passing game at all than a passing game led by Cassel. Matt Cassel simply isn’t a good NFL starting QB. You may have been thinking that based on the title of this piece, I would be arguing otherwise. I’m not. If you were planning on getting in a “should Matt Cassel start another game for KC” debate at the close of this piece you won’t get any argument in favor of Matt Cassel coming from this author.

So what do I mean when I say that this isn’t Matt Cassel’s fault?

I mean that directing your frustration, anger, and sometimes outright hatred at Matt Cassel is misguided. Does anyone argue that Matt Cassel isn’t a good guy? Isn’t Matt Cassel a good teammate? Does anyone question Matt Cassel’s work ethic? How about his desire to win? Aren’t those really the only things a player can control? Matt Cassel’s problem has never been about the stuff that he can control. Matt Cassel’s problem is that he isn’t any good. It’s not from a lack of trying, the guy just doesn’t have the necessary skills needed to succeed at the NFL level. It’s an ability issue.

So why be so mad at Cassel?

Think of it this way. Imagine your boss at work gives a coworker a promotion. The coworker lacks the abilities needed to do his new job and fails miserably. The coworker is doing everything he can to succeed, giving his all, but still can’t do the job. Instead of admitting the mistake and finding someone more competent for the position, your boss keeps the same guy there for four years. You would be frustrated and angry about it, but who would you be more upset with, your coworker or your boss that put him in that position and refuses to do anything about it.

My point is obviously that KC fans should channel their anger at Scott Pioli, not Matt Cassel.

KC fans are so frustrated with the state of their beloved team that they can no longer contain their excitement over a different QB playing for their team. I think the percentage of fans that want Matt Cassel to suffer physical pain are very small. These fans, literally want revenge for the frustration that Cassel’s play has caused them. If you are in this group I feel sorry for you. That seems like a pretty bitter and hateful way to view the world. However, I think more fans would fall under the heading of “excited to move on from Matt Cassel.” Some of these fans cheered when Cassel was hurt, not because they wanted Cassel to be in pain, but because they were SO desperate for anyone other than Matt Cassel to play QB for the Chiefs that they couldn’t contain their excitement when Quinn had to come in. Was this in bad taste? Yes, it was. Was this situation created by Scott Pioli? Yes, it was. Do you think, for one second, that the crowd would have reacted that way if it was Kyle Orton who had been out their struggling after being re-signed in the offseason to replace Matt Cassel? I don’t. Do you think that if it had been a struggling first-round draft pick laying out there on the turf that the fans would have cheered? I don’t.

That’s what outsiders, the national media, and perhaps even Eric Winston don’t get. KC fans aren’t so much upset that their QB isn’t playing well. It’s that the SAME QB that has been underwhelming fans for the better part of four years is still out there struggling and the powers-that-be continue to deny that it’s an issue. Fans want a light at the end of the tunnel and thus far the Chiefs’ higher ups have refused to give it to them. Then when Cassel was laying on the turf and Quinn started to come onto the field they saw a small flicker of that light off in the distance. KC fans (at least most of them) don’t actually think Brady Quinn is some great savior that will salvage this pathetic season and lead the team to a Super Bowl. They just see a possible light at the end of the “Matt Cassel tunnel.” Some fans think that an injury is literally the only possible way to get Cassel out of the lineup. They’ve lost hope in the decision makers for their team to do what is right. It’s sad that an injury was some fans’ only hope for this team, but unfortunately that is where we are at.

Things are turning ugly in Kansas City. If fans don’t see some change soon they may explode. Every fan is responsible for their own actions, but if the explosion does happen, it will be in part because Scott Pioli provided fans with the metaphorical matches and gunpowder by not finding this team a competent starting QB in his four years on the job. I’m not in favor of change just for the sake of appeasing the fanbase, but at some point the Chiefs must prove to their fans that they are willing to admit their mistake and move forward. Not starting Matt Cassel for the rest of the 2012 season regardless of his health would be a step in that direction.

I am hoping for two things to come out of this situation. The first is that Scott Pioli comes to the realization that I just mentioned and moves on from the Matt Cassel era. The second is that Matt Cassel makes a full and speedy recovery, because no “win” or “game” is worth the long-term health and happiness of a fellow human being. All Matt Cassel has ever done is try his best to win games for the team that I love. I am grateful to him for that. I wish him nothing but the best in his life going forward. I just want the people that run the Chiefs to realize that he shouldn’t be the starting QB for my team anymore. That should be something that we can all agree on, no matter how unhappy we are with the product that the Chiefs have put on the field.

I still think that KC has the best fans in the world. I hope the next time the Chiefs take the field at Arrowhead that the fans earn that reputation. I also hope that the Chiefs treat the fans like they deserve to be treated and prove to them that they are committed to putting players on the field that can actually help them to win games. I no longer think that Matt Cassel is one of those players, but I still wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Through four games, the 2012 Kansas City Chiefs are a failure. They aren’t a slight failure. They aren’t a couple of plays away from being 3-1 instead of 1-3. They are a REALLY bad football team. When a football team struggles, the primary targets of the fans’ wrath are the starting QB, the head coach, and the GM. All three are currently taking justifiable criticism for their performance this season, but starting quarterback Matt Cassel is clearly public enemy number one in Kansas City. At this point, Cassel has very few supporters left. My stance so far this season has been that Cassel may not be a very good quarterback, but this team was supposed to be built to win in spite of that.

Here’s the problem with my previous stance. It relied on three things: The Chiefs being able to control games with their rushing attack; the defense keeping the other team out of the end zone; and Matt Cassel not making huge mistakes that hurt the team. Say what you will about the failures of Cassel’s supporting cast (I’ll get to them in a minute), but Cassel has been a complete failure at protecting the football. In 2010 when KC went to the playoffs, Cassel was responsible for eight total turnovers (seven INTs and one fumble lost) in 15 games played. Thus far in 2012, Cassel has already turned the ball over 10 times in only four games.

You can really trace the turnover problem all the way back to the end of that same 2010 playoff season. In his first 14 games played that season, Cassel only had six total turnovers. That’s only 0.43 turnovers per game. In those 14 games the Chiefs were 10-4. Starting with the final regular season game of 2010 (vs the Raiders) and including the playoff loss to the Ravens, Cassel has turned the ball over 26 times in 15 games. That’s 1.73 turnovers per game. In those 15 games, the Chiefs are 5-10. Is Matt Cassel solely responsible for all 10 of those loses? Of course not, there is plenty of blame to go around. However, since that Raiders game, Matt Cassel has simply turned the ball over too many times and has only been able to win one of every three starts that he has made in the last year and a half. That’s just not good enough.

If you are going to try and win with a quarterback with a limited upside like Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson, that QB simply CANNOT turn the ball over. When they do, the team has to play out of a hole, and that usually means passing the ball and putting more responsibility on the QB that the team wanted to just be a “game manager.” Matt Cassel is doing just that, and it is costing the Chiefs dearly. It’s like NFL quicksand and Matt Cassel keeps stepping in it.

So, as of today, I am no longer going to defend Matt Cassel to anyone. Yes, I still think the rest of the team is putting him in a horrible position, but Cassel deserves the heat he is getting. Do I think Brady Quinn is more talented than Matt Cassel? No, I don’t. I think he lacks the talent to win at the NFL level, too and could possibly be even worse than Cassel. Before you say “Nobody is worse than Cassel!” let’s take a moment to remember the Tyler Palko debacle. However, if Quinn could simply not turn the ball over he would be an upgrade over Cassel and put the Chiefs in a position to win games the way they originally set out to this season, with their run game and defense. That’s assuming that the run game and defense are able to handle their end of the bargain.

Which leads me to my next point.

The rest of the offense around Cassel and the defense deserve just as much criticism as Matt Cassel does. The offensive line was supposed to be a strength on this team. To their credit, they have opened an occasional crease and allowed Jamaal Charles to break a long run. However, I (like many others) expected the line to be good enough to run the ball between the tackles even when the other team is ready for it. That hasn’t been the case. The Chiefs offensive line has simply looked weak at the point of attack all season. Our young guards Asamoah and Allen have both been overpowered so severely at times that they almost tackled the running back themselves. The only time that KC seems to be able to run with much success is when KC is down big and the other team is keying in on harassing Matt Cassel.

The pass protection has been equally disappointing. Cassel has been sacked 13 times in 4 games. That’s 3.25 sacks per game. Last season with Barry Richardson at RT and Casey Wiegmann at C, the Chiefs allowed 2.44 sacks per game in Cassel’s nine starts. So statistically speaking, the offensive line is worse so far this year at protecting the QB. Eric Winston replacing Richardson was supposed to be the biggest upgrade of the offseason and thus far it has been a complete disappointment.

The running backs and wide receivers have had their share of the blame as well. The Chiefs’ playmakers have lost five fumbles (including three against the Chargers) and a couple of Cassel’s interceptions have been caused by WRs or TEs that deflected passes up into the air when they could have made the catch. Basically, the entire offense has been a total failure with the exception of a couple of big plays by Jamaal Charles.

Simply drafting a first round quarterback will not fix all of these issues. Do I want to see a new QB in KC? You bet I do. Would Geno Smith and his 600+ yards passing and eight TDs in one game get me excited if he was wearing red and gold next season? Without question it would. However, if you think simply swapping Cassel for Geno Smith fixes everything, you’re dead wrong. Geno Smith playing with an offense that performs the exact same way that the Chiefs have thus far in 2012 would be equally bad. Yes, Smith might create more plays, but a rookie starting his first NFL season is also likely to make a lot of mistakes, especially if the rest of the team is putting the whole game on his arm as the Chiefs have often done with Cassel this season.

Finally, I can’t leave the defense out of this either. Yes, they have shown flashes in stretches these last two games. Yes, the offense has hung them out to dry on multiple occasions. That having been said, they are allowing 34 points per game and have only created two turnovers. They’ve been flat out bad and are every bit the failure that the offense is. The pass coverage in particular has been embarrassing. Wide receivers and tight ends can simply run across the middle and catch balls all day long. Eric Berry has been exposed as still having major coverage issues and the Chiefs linebackers have been equally horrific in coverage. The defensive line has done a horrible job of creating pressure. Although, Ropati Pitoitua did come through with two sacks on Sunday. For the record, that’s two sacks in one start for KC (2.00 sacks per start) while Dorsey and Jackson have combined for six sacks in 99 starts (0.06 sacks per start). Maybe KC should consider starting Pitoitua in the base defense and use Dorsey as a pass rushing DT in the nickel and dime packages (not that he’s shown much of an ability to excel in that role).

KC simply must find a way to get more out of all of their players or heads should roll. If Crennel can’t fix the defense (his specialty), then he should be fired. If players can’t do a better job, then they should be cut, regardless of their draft slot or contract. The Chiefs need accountability. Say what you will about Todd Haley (he was crazy, messed up the play calling, messed up spring training, he was REALLY crazy, etc.) but at least he held people accountable. At least I didn’t feel like I was more angry about the team’s failures than the head coach was. At least he held every single player accountable, no exceptions. If the players really like Crennel as much as they’ve said, they better start playing for him because so far the “wise old Grandpa Romeo” act isn’t cutting it.

Finally, Clark Hunt should hold Scott Pioli accountable for this mess. If this keeps up much longer Arrowhead will quickly empty and Hunt will start losing money. It’s time for Pioli to stop trying to out-think everyone else in the room and just follow good, old-fashioned, proven-to-work, NFL strategies. If you don’t have a good QB, find one; no matter what the cost. If a player (or coach) isn’t producing, replace him even if it means admitting that you made a mistake in drafting/signing him. Finally, stop trying to draft guys that you think you have figured out are secretly good and pick more guys that are proven playmakers. Look at Justin Houston, he’s not a guy that Pioli would have ever drafted in the first round, but he fell into his lap and now his TALENT is winning out. It seems to me that we could use some more of that kind of talent at QB, ILB, and safety right about now. If Clark Hunt doesn’t think Pioli is capable of making those changes then Clark needs to fire him.

This collection of players, coaches, and management are turning our beloved team into a joke. The Chiefs are dead last in turnover differential. The Chiefs have been outscored by 174 points dating back to the start of the 2011 season. They’ve been outscored 78-29 in the first half this season. They’re the only team that hasn’t drafted a first-round QB in the last 25 years. There are younger fans that literally haven’t seen this team win a playoff game since they started following the team. I’m considered a “homer” by most, but at some point there is only so much that you can take.

KC fans have a right to be upset about how this team is producing. There is plenty of blame to go around. But if it makes you feel better to blame it all on Matt Cassel, fine, I won’t argue with you anymore. He has been bad and I hope the Chiefs are finally willing to admit it and move on. However, making Matt Cassel the lone scapegoat for this team would be a mistake and would take the heat off of the players, coaches, and GM that are also very much to blame.

Here’s to hoping that this team gets held accountable this week and can drastically improve their performance against the Ravens next week. I’m one of those fans that the Chiefs love because no matter how bad they play I’ll still be back next week cheering them on 100 percent. That doesn’t mean my eyes can’t see the problems that are there in front of me. If KC doesn’t get them fixed quick, the Ravens are capable of making things look even worse than the Chargers did. For all of our sakes, let’s hope that I don’t have to write a 2013 draft prospect post next week after only five games.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For the second straight season the Kansas City Chiefs have started the season off by going 0-2 in particularly humiliating fashion. In 2011 it was easy to explain the losses after Todd Haley’s bizarro preseason approach and season-ending injuries to key players like Tony Moeaki, Eric Berry and Jamaal Charles. Chiefs fans (myself included) convinced themselves that the 2012 season opening loss to the Atlanta Falcons was due in large part to the four missing defensive starters (specifically star players Tamba Hali and Brandon Flowers). However, despite the return of Hali and Flowers for Week 2, the defense put up another poor showing against the Buffalo Bills, a team with much less offensive firepower than the Falcons. The offense was equally unimpressive this time around as well.

So what is going on?

Why are the Chiefs so bad?

After watching both games I had my suspicions, but I wanted more proof than just my gut reaction. So I tore into the stats a little bit to see if the numbers supported what I thought I was seeing. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, the numbers confirmed my suspicions 100 percent.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are two main reasons that the Chiefs are off to a horrible start. One has to do with the offense and one with the defense. Before I tell you exactly what these reasons are, I want to be clear about one thing. Matt Cassel is not one of the two main reasons the Chiefs have been horrible this year. I understand that he has turned the ball over. I understand that he has serious flaws in his game, but as I stated last week, we already knew that the Chiefs won’t win if it’s all on Matt Cassel’s shoulders. The team is supposed to win by running the football and playing good defense. Thus far, Cassel has had to carry far too much of the load. That’s not how things were supposed to go this season. Which leads us to the two reasons the Chiefs are off to such a bad start.

Reason #1: The Chiefs’ Run Game Is A Fraud

The Chiefs are averaging 151 yards per game and about 5.3 yards per carry through the first two games of the season. On the surface, those are great numbers. Numbers that if sustained, would put them near the top of the league in rushing at the end of the season. However, these numbers are misleading. The Chiefs simply have not been able to run the ball effectively when the game was on the line.

Here’s the proof:

If you take out the meaningless rushing yards that the Chiefs racked up after the opposing team had the game sealed and started playing strictly a prevent defense it changes those numbers drastically. I subtracted the rushing yards KC got after falling behind 40-17 to Atlanta and 35-3 versus Buffalo. Without those garbage time yards the rushing totals drop from 302 yards on 57 carries to 166 yards on 39 carries. So 45 percent of KC’s rushing yards have come after the other team’s defense has basically stopped trying to stop the run. When you subtract those yards the YPC drops a full yard from 5.3 to 4.3.

Unfortunately, the bad news doesn’t stop there. If you subtract the 39 yards rushing by Matt Cassel on QB scrambles, the numbers drop to 36 carries for 127 yards and only 3.5 yards per carry.

So on meaningful rushes by KC’s running backs, the Chiefs are only averaging 3.5 yards per carry. That number by itself just isn’t good enough for a team that is supposed to rely on its running game to move the ball.

Here’s the really scary part (as if those numbers weren’t bad enough):

46 of those 127 yards came on one big play (by Jamaal Charles). So on the other 35 non-garbage time rushes the Chiefs have only gained 81 yards. That’s a pathetic 2.3 yards per carry.

So, 2.3 yards per carry by a team that was hyped as possibly being the best rushing team in all of the NFL before the season began. Now, the offensive line deserves credit for the 46-yard run, so the actual non-garbage time YPC is 3.5, but that 2.3 YPC number does give you an accurate picture of what the run blocking has been like on 97 percent of the meaningful rushes thus far this season. If the Chiefs want to score enough points to win games (especially if the defense is struggling) they must find a way to run the ball before the game is out of hand and that starts up front with the offensive line.

Reason #2: The Sub-Package Defense Has Been A Total Failure

Anyone who has watched every painful snap of the Chiefs first two games would probably state with absolute confidence that the Chiefs defense as a whole has been a total failure. It’s hard to argue with that. I certainly won’t make a case that the Chiefs defense has been great in any aspect, but it seemed to me that the sub-package (specifically when the Chiefs go to two defensive linemen) has been especially bad.

Let me pause here and admit that these numbers are not a complete study on the KC sub-package. When you have an 8 a.m. Monday posting time, it’s hard to do a ton of research after a Sunday game ends. I simply didn’t have enough time to go through and re-watch both games and chart every play that the Chiefs played in their sub-package defense. However, in ESPN’s play-by-play break down, they do note every play that was in the shotgun formation. Since the Chiefs are almost always in their sub-package against the shotgun, I thought this would give me a snapshot of how the sub-package defense is doing. Here is what I found:

Matt Ryan and Ryan Fitzpatrick were a combined 19-26 (73 percent) when throwing from the shotgun. They were a combined 14-24 (58 percent) when throwing from under center. That’s a pretty big difference.

The combined rushing stats for all QB scrambles and RB rushes from the shotgun formation are 17 rushes for 132 yards, that’s 7.8 YPC with three TDs. On the other 42 rushes from under center (or the wildcat) the Chiefs have allowed 153 yards for only 3.6 YPC and ZERO TDs.

Speaking of TDs, six of the eight TDs scored by the opposing offenses were scored from the shotgun formation. I went back and watched the highlights of the other two TDs (both vs. ATL) and even though they weren’t from the shotgun they were both against the Chiefs’ sub-package defense. So all eight TDs allowed by the defense have come against their sub-package.

Those numbers say A LOT. Again, these aren’t the concrete numbers of sub-package vs. base defense, but I think that it clearly shows that this is where the major problem with the defense lies.

Nothing in the sub-package is working. No one is getting pressure on the QB. The two down linemen are consistently out of position and allowing big runs by both the QB and the RBs. As a result, Derrick Johnson and Eric Berry are playing up too close to the line of scrimmage and are leaving huge patches of open field behind them where WRs and TEs are running free all game long.

Johnson and Berry are two of KC’s most talented players, but both have been rendered useless thus far. Johnson’s coverage drops have been especially horrible (one can only hope that he’s not 100 percent back from his ankle injury) and Eric Berry’s talent is being completely wasted because he is playing so close to the line of scrimmage. I get that he is good against the run, but when you put him down that low with only two down linemen to tie up blockers it means he is often taking on offensive linemen, fullbacks, and tight ends that are running free and he can’t roam to the ball to make plays. In my opinion, KC would be better served letting Elam play down there in the box and utilizing Berry’s speed and athleticism in the middle of the field. As it stands, the Chiefs haven’t gained anything from Berry’s return from injury when that should have been one of the biggest upgrades on the team this year.

Some of the failure of the sub-package is on the players for not doing their jobs, but a lot of it has to go on Romeo and the coaching staff for not making adjustments when it is clear that things are not working, AT ALL. If I were New Orleans I would come out on Sunday and run every single play out of the shotgun with multiple WRs and force KC to prove that they can stop me with their sub-package personnel, because unless Romeo can figure out how to do just that, the KC defense is going to continue to struggle.

I wish I saw a simple fix for either of these two issues. To be honest, I don’t really understand why either one is as bad as it is. The Chiefs have Jamaal Charles and Peyton Hillis in place of Thomas Jones and Jackie Battle AND upgraded from Barry Richardson to Eric Winston and are running the ball much less effectively. On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs shut down Aaron Rodgers and the best passing attack in the NFL last season using almost all sub-package defense. In that game the Chiefs used Kendrick Lewis, Sabby Piscatelli, Brandon Carr, Allen Bailey, and Wallace Gilberry compared to Abram Elam, Eric Berry, Stanford Routt, Dontari Poe and Ropati Pitoitua this year. I understand that there is a lot of turnover there, I just don’t see where there is such a severe drop off in talent that it justifies going from a great defense to a horrible one. My only hope is that all the different players just haven’t “jelled” yet and will come together as the season goes by. I guess the same could go for the offensive line as well.

Regardless, the coaching staff had better figure out a way to address these two issues ASAP, otherwise the fate of the team will continue to rest on the arm of Matt Cassel, and we all know that Cassel’s arm isn’t one that will carry KC to where they want to go unless the rest of the team is holding up their end of the bargain. All we heard coming into the season was how good the Chiefs roster was from 2-53, while the most important position (QB) was where they were “just okay.” Many experts predicted that the Chiefs roster from 2-53 was SOOOO good that they’d overcome the mediocre QB. Well, Cassel has lived up to his end of the bargain and has been “just okay.” The real question is, “What is up with players 2-53?”

That is where the Chiefs must improve (and fast) if they want to salvage this season.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KC fans and fellow Addicts, I know that the Chiefs’ first game did not go as we had all hoped it would. I just returned home from my pilgrimage to Arrowhead and I wish I had it in me to string together a well-crafted and cohesive article, but I struggle to do that some (okay, most) weeks even when I’m not exhausted. So in honor of AA and FanSided’s partnership with SI.com, I thought I’d pay homage to SI’s Peter King and his Monday Morning Quarterback column. If you don’t read it every Monday, you’re missing out. King basically shares his thoughts and observations on a plethora of NFL topics. It’s as good as it gets when it comes to national writers who cover the NFL. So here is my feeble attempt at a KC Chiefs Monday Morning (Armchair) Quarterback.

• There were a lot of KC fans leaving the stadium Sunday fuming about Matt Cassel. I understand that his second interception was bad and that the failed screen pass throw away looked ridiculous, but overall Matt Cassel did his part to win that game. I know some fans will hit the ceiling when they read that, but it’s true. The Chiefs are built to win by running the ball and playing good defense. Matt Cassel is supposed to get the ball to his play-makers and pick up some first downs, and he did that. They only ran the ball “okay” in my opinion (more on that in a second) and the defense allowed scoring drives on the Falcons’ first eight possessions. Matt Cassel is not a QB that can win a shoot-out like that. We knew that already, but if the run game is stronger and the defense makes stops, the Chiefs can win with the Matt Cassel that played on Sunday.

• The run blocking wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. I know they rushed the ball for over 100 yards, and yes, Jamaal Charles is back and looked good, but most of his yards were gained because he’s the man, not because the offensive line was pushing around an undersized Atlanta front seven. Charles lost yards on several carries because there was just nothing between the tackles and it was too late for him to bounce it outside with any success. Peyton Hillis looked a lot like Thomas Jones (just with a lot more fight in him) because of the lack of running lanes. I REALLY hope the Chiefs can run between the tackles with more success as the season goes on. I for one think they may need to sign a true fullback. I love Eachus and all, but if they are struggling between the tackles they need a bigger bruiser in there at FB to bust things up.

• Why is Shaun Draughn getting meaningful snaps? I mean, he’s solid depth and I’m glad we have him, but Hillis only got seven carries. On third and long, wouldn’t it make more sense to have either Charles or Hillis out there? At least the defense would be scared of the threat of one of those two and it might open things up for one of the TEs or WRs. Anyone else think that’s kind of silly?

• Can we throw one deep ball to Jon Baldwin? Just one? I mean the guy was all anyone could talk about during training camp. I understand that he was invisible during preseason, but you know who else was invisible during preseason? Steve Breaston. Don’t get me wrong, I like Breaston, but not so much that Baldwin should only see the field for a handful of plays and not see a single ball thrown his way. Maybe the guy doesn’t run routes well. Maybe he doesn’t get off the jam well. What we do know about Baldwin is that if you throw a ball up to him in one-on-one coverage he has the ability to make an amazing highlight reel catch. So why in the wide, wide world of sports couldn’t we take one shot down field to him when we’re down two scores? I don’t get it.

• Allen Bailey is hurt. Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey have been scientifically proven to lack the “pass rushing gene” that is needed to apply pressure on a quarterback. That basically left two active defensive linemen left as possible pass rushers in the sub package next to Dontari Poe. Those two are Ropati Pitoitua and Jerrell Powe. Now, I’m happy to have Pitoitua on the roster and I think he’s great insurance in case something happens to Dorsey and Jackson, but I think he’s more of a Dorsey/Jackson type player in that he’s strong against the run but not much of a pass rusher. However, Jerrell Powe has repeatedly flashed a strong bull rush in his preseason snaps. Sometimes he does it when he’s suppose to be “two gapping,” which may be why they have been reluctant to play him at NT in the past, but it would make him a great candidate to play next to the other Poe in the sub package. Can you imagine the interior line of an opponent having to prevent the pocket from collapsing with those two wide loads charging at them? PLAY POWE IN THE SUB PACKAGE!!!!!!!!!! DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Tell me if I’m wrong here. Don’t we have a defensive back on the roster that has successfully played CB in this defense when Brandon Flowers was dinged up before? Didn’t Travis Daniels actually look pretty good filling in on the outside in previous seasons? Did I make that up? I get that they like him playing more of a nickel/safety role, especially with Lewis out, but since we have Elam and Arenas who can play safety and nickel respectively, WHY ARE WE PLAYING DANIELS THERE WHILE REEVES AND BROWN ARE GETTING ABUSED ON THE OUTSIDE?!?!?!?!?!?!?

• We didn’t lose this game because we didn’t re-sign Brandon Carr, just stop that talk right now. If we had re-signed Carr we wouldn’t have signed Routt. That means that this game would have had Carr and Reeves as the starting corners and Reeves still would have been Julio Jones’ whipping boy. As much as its fun to scream about all our cap space and how we could have signed both Routt and Carr, it’s not realistic. I’m sure Routt was looking to sign with a team where he could start and the Chiefs are already rated #1 in the NFL in cash spending on their defense even without re-signing Carr. We all wanted Carr back, but when you already have two huge contracts in your secondary (Flowers and Berry), I don’t think any GM in the NFL would have signed a third DB to a contract the size that Carr signed with Dallas. Wasn’t everyone pretty happy with KC’s offseason a month ago? What has changed to get so many people up in arms?

• I was pretty impressed with Dontari Poe. He’s obviously a LONG way from proving he was worthy of the high pick the Chiefs spent on him, but I think he’s shown enough thus far that KC fans can start to get excited. Actually, the entire run defense looked really good against the Falcons. The Chiefs’ problem was that there was ZERO pass rush without Tamba Hali. Zero pressure plus a third-string CB matching up with Julio Jones equals trouble. Hopefully the Chiefs will get some of their defensive starters back for the Buffalo game (Hali, for sure) and things will look a lot better.

I think that’s it for this week. Let me know what I missed or where I’m wrong in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, it’s finally here. The NFL season is upon us and we can now officially say it’s “game week”. The preseason is officially in the rearview and the 53 man roster has been set (at least for now). It’s time to stop talking hypotheticals and actually look at this week’s match up. For the Kansas City Chiefs that first match up comes against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons, as we currently know them with Thomas Dimitroff as GM, Mike Smith as the head coach, and Matt Ryan as the starting quarter back, have been together since the 2008 season when all three first came to Atlanta. In those four seasons the Falcons have been one of the better teams in the NFL. During that span they have gone 43-21 (67.2%) with three playoff births and have finished with a winning record in all four seasons. The Falcons have been especially good at home where they are 26-6 (81.3%). On the road they have still been a good team going 17-15 (53.1%). Despite having a winning record on the road, I think most Chiefs fans like their odds at home a lot more than they would if the Chiefs had to travel to Atlanta to face “Matty Ice” and the Falcons.

A great deal has been made about stopping the Falcons offense without the suspended Tamba Hali and the pressure he imposes on the quarterback. Another major concern for KC fans is the health of the KC secondary where Brandon Flowers may or may not play and Kendrick Lewis has already been ruled out. So I thought I’d take a look at the Falcons over the past four years and see if I could find a recipe for beating them. I started by looking at how getting to Matt Ryan effects the Falcons.

I specifically looked at the difference in winning percentage between games where Ryan was sacked 2 or less times versus games where he was sacked 3 or more times. I also broke down the winning percentages for those same categories when the Falcons were on the road. Here is what I found:

In games where Atlanta allows 2 or less sacks they are 35-15 (70.0%).

In road games where Atlanta allows 2 or less sacks they are 13-9 (59.1%).

In games where Atlanta allows 3 or more sacks they are 8-6 (57.1%).

In road games where Atlanta allows 3 or more sacks they are 4-6 (40.0%).

A drop in road winning percentage from 59.1% to 40.0% when on the road is note worthy. So getting constant pressure on Ryan does help tip the scales to the home team’s favor. In this regard, losing Tamba Hali for this game will hurt the Chiefs. However, as you will see in a minute, this difference in winning percentage is actually the least significant of the four areas I looked at. I think you’ll find the other three slightly more encouraging.

Next I looked at how Matt Ryan’s passing totals effect the Falcons’ winning percentage. There is a valid concern that Ryan may rack up big stats against a banged up KC secondary, so I broke it down to games where Ryan threw for under 250 yards versus games where he threw for 250 yards or more. Here is what I found:

In games where Ryan threw for under 250 yards the Falcons are 29-7 (80.5%).

In road games where Ryan threw for under 250 yards the Falcons are 12-5 (70.6%).

In games where Ryan threw for 250 yards or more the Falcons are 13-12 (52.0%).

In road games where Ryan threw for 250 yards or more the Falcons are 5-10 (33.3%).

These numbers caught me by surprise. The Falcons’ road winning percentage is over 30 points higher when Matt Ryan passes for fewer yards. I went in expecting the winning percentage to be skewered a little by the fact that QBs often rack up big totals in losses because they are passing a lot to try and come from behind. What I wasn’t expecting was to find that the Falcons have only won five road games in four years where Ryan has thrown for 250 yards or more. To be fair to Ryan, three of those five wins came last season. So it appears as he develops as a QB he is more likely to carry his team. However, the stats still say that the Falcons’ game plan for winning on the road doesn’t usually include Ryan winging the ball all over the field. That’s good news for the Chiefs and their banged up secondary. The logical conclusion then is that the Falcons rely more on their run game when trying to win games on the road. That’s where we’ll take a look next.

I specifically looked at the difference in winning percentage in games where the Falcons rushed the ball for 100 yards or more versus games where they rushed for under 100 yards. Here is what I found:

In games where Atlanta rushed for 100 yards or more they are 29-8 (78.4%).

In road games where Atlanta rushed for 100 yards or more they are 12-6 (66.7%).

In games where Atlanta rushed for under 100 yards they are 14-13 (51.9%).

In road games where Atlanta rushed for under 100 yards they are 5-9 (35.7%).

So basically, when the Falcons rush for 100 yards or more on the road, their odds of winning almost double. They win two out of three games when they rush for 100 yards but they lose about two out of three when they don’t (on the road). That’s a pretty significant stat. I’d say that of the three stats we’ve looked at so far it’s the most significant. I feel confident saying that KC’s ability to stop the Atlanta run game will have a major impact on the game. One plus for KC in this area is that their two starting 3-4 DEs (Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson) were the top rated at their position at stopping the run last year. That’s good news for KC fans. If Derrick Johnson isn’t able to play then that will be a blow to the KC run defense and the other players will have to step up to fill his void if they hope to win this important battle.

Finally, I thought I should look at the opposite side of the ball. So I decided to simply look at points allowed by the Atlanta defense. I looked at Atlanta’s winning percentage when they allow 24 points or less versus when they allow 25 points or more. Here is what I found:

In games where Atlanta allowed 24 points or less they are 38-7 (84.4%).

In road games where Atlanta allowed 24 points or less they are 16-5 (76.2%).

In games where Atlanta allowed 25 points or more they are 5-14 (26.3%).

In road games where Atlanta allowed 25 point or more they are 1-10 (9.1%).

Wow. Just….wow. In four years the Falcons have only won ONE road game where they allowed over 24 points. We’re not talking about the KC offense having to score 45 points, just 25. Not only do the Falcons practically NEVER win when they allow over 24 points on the road, they are VERY GOOD on the road when they allow 24 points or less. A 76.2 winning percentage on the road is more than impressive. We have now found the most significant factor in the KC/Atlanta game. The KC offense must score points if they want to win. The numbers say that if KC can score over 24 points that their odds of winning jump from 24% up to 91%. That’s about as cut and dry as it gets.

The good news for KC fans is that the starting offense has looked about as good as it ever has during the preseason since Matt Cassel arrived in KC. The run game looks strong and new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll seems to have a good system and relationship going with Cassel that will allow him to play to his strengths.

So in conclusion, the loss of Tamba Hali and the injuries to KC’s secondary are important and will have an effect on the game. However, it doesn’t mean that KC can’t execute a game plan that is proven to beat the Falcons. If the Chiefs can stop the run on defense and score points on offense then history says they have an excellent shot at beating the Falcons. That should give hope to all KC fans.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes it is REALLY hard to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan. Unfortunately, for the last decade “sometimes” has actually been most of the time. Years of failure and a young generation of fans that have never seen a playoff win have turned many fans to pessimists. We as Chiefs fans have literally been conditioned to expect the worst. Some (like myself) try to fight this conditioning. We start each new season with a “this year will be different” attitude. Most years by midseason we optimists are forced to admit that we were wrong. We tuck our collective tails between our legs and start dreaming about what the Chiefs can do to make our dreams come true next season.

I’ve stated before that I see my outlook on the Chiefs as one of optimistic realism. In other words, I’m not oblivious to the problems that the Chiefs have, I just choose to believe (or at very least hope) that they will find a way to overcome those problems. The 2010 season was such a rush, because for once the Chiefs actually lived up to my optimism. So when the 2011 season rolled around I decided I wanted to go to the opening day game against the Bills. My optimism runnethed over. I was convinced that they would build on 2010 and take the next step toward building a Super Bowl winner. But as I sat there in my nosebleed seats watching the Chiefs get blown out of the water I had an all too familiar thought run through my mind…

You know the one. It’s the scene from the Adam Sandler movie the Waterboy when Rob Schneider’s character yells out….

“OH NO, WE SUCK AGAIN!!!”

After that week one game some people abandoned ship right away. I convinced myself it was a fluke and that week two against the Lions would be different.

“OH NO, WE SUCK AGAIN!!!!”

Over the next few weeks the Chiefs showed some life. About the time my optimism was returning the Miami Dolphins came to town.

“OH NO, WE SUCK AGAIN!!!”

Still, because of a weak division the Chiefs weren’t out of it. They started Tyler Palko for four games.

“OH NO, WE SUCK AGAIN!!!”

They fired Todd Haley, beat the undefeated Packers, and all they had to do was beat the Raiders at home and they could even make the playoffs despite all the agony that they had put us through! Two blocked field goals later, you guessed it…

“OH NO, WE SUCK AGAIN!!!”

Fast forward to the 2012 preseason. After free agency, the draft, and the return of the ACL crew, most KC fans were on the optimistic bandwagon. The first preseason game only fueled the optimism, but after back-to-back loses to the Rams and Seahawks many fans are now starting to sound the alarm once again. I’ll admit that it’s hard to defend a team that losses 44-14 at home to a team starting a rookie 3rd round draft pick at QB. So the question of the day is should we still be optimistic or are we bound to “suck again”?

No one can really know the answer to this right now. The fact is we won’t even begin to get our answer until the Chiefs and Falcons kick off on September 9. In the meantime, let’s set aside our biases and see if we can come to some kind of logical conclusion about where this team stands. So I’ll set aside my “homerish” optimism and some of you will have to set aside your pessimism. What I’d like to do is compare where we are today with where we were last year about this time. We’ll go position by position (including the coaching staff) and I’ll try as much as possible to keep my opinion out of it so you can take a hard look at the roster and make a realistic call as to whether or not we should believe that the Chiefs will be better this year.

Here we go.

Quarterback:

2011 – Cassel, Palko, Stanzi
2012 – Cassel, Quinn, Stanzi

So the question here is simply who would you rather have as the #2 QB, Tyler Palko or Brady Quinn?

Running Back:

2011 – Battle, Jones, McCluster (Charles on IR after 1 game)
2012 – Charles, Hillis, Draughn/Gray

Technically, a year ago at this time KC still had Jamaal Charles, but since he was lost so early and was a non-factor in 2011 the choice here is would you rather have Battle, Jones, and McCluster at RB or JC, Peyton Hillis, and some combination of Shaun Draughn and Cyrus Gray?

Wide Receiver:

2011 – Bowe, Breaston, Baldwin (1/2 season), Copper, Colbert
2012 – Bowe, Baldwin, Breaston, McCluster, Wylie, Copper

So this one takes a little more explanation. In 2011 Bowe and Breaston were the clear starters with Baldwin not having an offseason and then breaking his hand in training camp. This year Baldwin has been a camp star but Bowe missed all of camp with his hold out. The rest comes down to if you’d rather have Dexter McCluster and Devon Wylie or Keary Colbert.

Tight End:

2011 – Pope, Becht, O’Connell (Moeaki on IR before week 1)
2012 – Moeaki, Boss, Maneri

Pope and Becht or Moeaki and Boss? Not much else to say.

Offensive Line:

2011 – Albert, Lilja, Wiegmann, Asamoah, Richardson, Hudson, Gaither
2012 – Albert, Lilja, Hudson, Asamoah, Winston, Allen, Stephenson

As far as the starting lineup goes, there are two differences. First is Wiegmann’s declining ability but veteran experience against Hudson’s strength and inexperience. Then there is the change from Richardson to Winston that I think speaks for itself.

Defensive Line:

2011 – Dorsey, Gregg, Jackson, Bailey, Gilberry, Gordon, Powe
2012 – Dorsey, Toribio, Jackson, Bailey, Poe, Powe, Pitoitua, Gordon

Not all of the guys I mentioned for 2012 will probably make the team, which is a good problem to have. So I guess it comes down to if you would rather have Gregg and Gilberry or Powe, Toribio, and Pitoitua.

Linebacker:

2011 – Hali, DJ, Belcher, Studebaker, Houston, Sheffield, Greenwood
2012 – Hali, DJ, Belcher, Houston, Studebaker, Siler, Sheffield

The only real difference this year is that Houston has had a full offseason and is the undisputed starter on his side. Also, Brandon Siler is back from his Achilles’ injury.

Defensive Backs:

2011 – Flowers, Carr, Arenas, Daniels, Brown, Lewis, McGraw, Washington, Piscatelli (Berry on IR after week one)
2012 – Flowers, Routt, Arenas, Brown, Daniels, Menzie, Berry, Lewis, Elam

This one is very hard to judge for me. Carr is gone and has been replaced by Routt. Eric Berry is back from his injury but both Flowers and Lewis are banged up and could miss time. Depth-wise the Chiefs have replaced McGraw and Piscatelli with Menzie and Elam.

Special Teams:

Special teams’ key players are all the same as last year with the addition of Devon Wylie as a possible return man.

Coaching Staff:

2011 – Haley, Muir, Crennel, Hoffman
2012 – Crennel, Daboll, McMahon

Crennel vs. Haley. Haley/Muir vs. Daboll. Hoffman vs. McMahon. You could debate quite a bit on any of these areas. I think the big differences are Haley’s overall attitude versus Crennel’s and then how Daboll is running the offense versus how things were working under Haley/Muir.

So now that we’ve looked at this team versus last year’s team I want everyone to stop and think without any of your own homer/hater tendencies about how this team stacks up against last year’s squad. Is this a better group of players or not? Do you feel better or worse about the coaching staff? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Now that you’ve made up your mind, I have to put my 2¢ in as well. I don’t think there is any question that the 2012 roster is better than the 2011 roster. I don’t know that I can judge how the 2012 Chiefs compare with the other 2012 NFL teams, but they are clearly better off than they were last year. Getting the ACL crew back is huge. Peyton Hillis over Thomas Jones is huge. Eric Winston over Barry Richardson is huge. Justin Houston and Jon Baldwin look like they might be break out players this year. Dexter McCluster seems to have finally found his home in the slot. Abram Elam over Sabby Piscatelli as the back up safety makes me feel much better. Finally, the working relationship between Cassel and new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll seems 100 percent better than Cassel had with Todd Haley.

The only downside I can see to this season is the early injuries in the secondary. If both Flowers and Lewis miss extended time and Stanford Routt can’t live up to the standard that Brandon Carr set then the secondary could be an issue. Otherwise I don’t see any reasons to believe this team won’t be better than last season, even if they did get land blasted by the Seahawks on Friday night. If the Chiefs can lose Pro Bowlers like Charles and Berry, have their first-round pick miss half the season, start Tyler Palko at QB for four games, start Barry Richardson at RT for 16 games, have Sabby Piscatelli on their 53 man roster, and fire their coach midseason and still win seven games and be in the running for the division, then there is no reason to believe that they can’t do much better than that this year.

So even though Friday was HORRIBLE, I haven’t lost all of my optimism and I’m certainly not ready to say…

“OH NO, WE SUCK AGAIN!!!”

So where do you stand? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, KC fans, that wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for Saturday night was it?

The Chiefs team, as well as its fans, got knocked off their collective “high horse” by the Rams. The question now becomes “who are the real Chiefs?” Are they the team that looked so good against the Cardinals or the team that got punched in the mouth by Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson, and the St. Louis Rams? The truth, of course, probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Being the veteran arm chair quarterback that I am, I think I’ve seen enough to make some assumptions about the Chiefs this season. Earlier this summer we played a little game called “Tell Me I’m Wrong“. Now that the Chiefs have packed up and left St. Joe and headed back to KC, I thought it was time that we play again. So I’m going to lay some of my opinions out there, and you tell me if I’m wrong.

Here we go!

1. Matt Cassel will be a good NFL-caliber QB under offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

Cassel has looked really good through two preseason games, going 18-24 (75 percent) for 209 yards (8.7 YPA), 1 TD, 0 INTs, only one sack, and four scoring drives. The best part is that he and Daboll seem to be on the same page. Daboll seems to understand Cassel’s limitations and is playing to his strengths. Daboll is opening up the field with multiple targets, especially on short to intermediate routes. By my count, Cassel has already completed passes to eight different guys (McCluster, Boss, Charles, Draughn, O’Connell, Hillis, Baldwin, and Moeaki) in less than three quarters of play. Cassel will need to complete more passes down the field to his WRs than he has thus far to keep defenses honest, but the return of Dwayne Bowe should help in that department. Finally, Cassel has proven in the past that with a good offensive coordinator and weapons to work with, he can produce.

In 2008 with New England and 2010 in KC, Cassel had good offensive weapons at his disposal and offensive coordinators who played to his strengths. In those seasons he completed 61 percent of his passes for 7.0 YPA with 48 TDs and 18 INTs. In 2009 Todd Haley fired his offensive coordinator right before the season started and called the plays after. In 2011 Haley promoted Bill Muir to what looked to be a “figure head” offensive coordinator while Haley, Muir, and QB coach Jim Zorn appeared to have a “staff meeting” between plays to debate what play should be called. In those seasons Cassel also had less weapons at his disposal thanks to a bad overall roster in 2009 and injuries to Charles and Moeaki in 2011. The result was Cassel completing only 56.6 percent of his passes for 6.1 YPA with 26 TDs and 25 INTs in those two seasons. I have seen enough this preseason that I feel comfortable saying that Cassel is going to produce like the QB from 2008 and 2010 and have another good (not elite, but good) season under Brian Daboll.

Tell me I’m wrong!

2. Ricky Stanzi is a cool guy and a proud American, but not that great of a QB.

KC fans are SO desperate for the Chiefs to draft and develop their own franchise QB that they become instantly obsessed with any guy that shows the slightest glimpse of making that dream come true. I like Ricky Stanzi as much as the next guy, but anyone who has watched him play those first two preseason games has to admit that he’s the third best QB on a team that most don’t think has very good QBs. If you need someone to give you hair care tips or hang out with on the 4th of July, Ricky Stanzi is your guy. However, if you need a QB to take over if Matt Cassel goes down, that guy would be Brady Quinn.

Tell me I’m wrong!

3. The Chiefs can be a top ten defense without Kendrick Lewis, but not without Brandon Flowers.

I was as worried as anyone when I saw Kendrick Lewis on the sideline, visibly upset, and holding his shoulder. Lewis is a good, up-and-coming player that really seemed to improve as last season went along. That having been said, if he does miss significant time (that news may have been released by the time you’re reading this), I don’t think it will be near as big of a blow as losing Berry was last year or if Flowers doesn’t come back in time from his foot injury this season. In a nut shell, Romeo’s secondary consists of the CBs locking up WRs in man coverage on the outside, the SS is the “wild card” that sometimes is up in run support and sometimes drops into coverage, and the FS often plays “center field,” looking for the players that have gotten past their defenders.

Good man-to-man corners are hard to find, and shut down ones like Flowers are incredibly valuable. Likewise, a player like Berry that can be so good in run support and has CB like coverage skills are impossible to replace. Although the Chiefs may not have a single player that can produce at Lewis’s all around level at FS, I think a combination of Abram Elam (run support) and Travis Daniels (playing “center field”) can fill his void without a major drop off in production (as long as Berry stays healthy). On the other hand, if Flowers is out or hampered with his foot injury for any amount of time, it will really hurt the Chiefs defense. Jalil Brown and Javier Arenas may be solid as a 3rd or 4th CB, but neither can take away a side of the field like Flowers can. Obviously, the worst case scenario would be both Flowers and Lewis missing extended time. In that case, the expectations of the defense would be greatly reduced.

Tell me I’m wrong!

4. Jovan Belcher is the most under-appreciated KC Chief.

As I mentioned above, the mere possibility of the Chiefs developing their own QB has led to a cult like following of young Ricky Stanzi. Stanzi is 24, has never thrown a pass in a regular season game, and hasn’t even looked very good in preseason action. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old Belcher has two years of NFL starting experience and has showed consistent improvement since he joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Maine (yes, Maine). Belcher has been a solid, but not spectacular starter since he earned that spot two years ago. Romeo talks highly of him. Derrick Johnson has said multiple times how vital Belcher is to his success. Yet many KC fans entered 2012 hoping Belcher would get beat out for his starting spot by 26-year-old Brandon Siler. Siler has less starting experience, less proven production on the field, a major injury to over come, is older than Belcher, and wasn’t developed by KC. I don’t get it! Belcher is only one year older than Justin Houston and Kendrick Lewis. Why isn’t anybody excited by Belcher as an up-and-coming player? I’ve got news for you. There is no “battle” for the starting ILB spot next to Derrick Johnson. That spot belongs to Jovan Belcher. Brandon Siler needs to worry about Leon Williams who has looked faster and more productive than Siler.

Tell me I’m wrong!

5. The Chiefs need to try Jerrell Powe in the sub package on passing downs.

Okay, here’s the situation as I see it. Jerrell Powe is low on the Chiefs depth chart at NT because he doesn’t play the position the way Romeo wants it played. The KC NT is suppose to “2 gap”. This means he lines up over the center and is responsible to stay put and “plug” both gaps on either side of the center if the play comes his way. Thus far, Powe has stood out at NT because he is penetrating into the backfield on a regular basis. This has led some KC fans to think he deserves more playing time at NT. The problem is that when Powe penetrates through one of the gaps on either side of the center it leaves the other gap open for the running back. It means that for every play Powe stuffs or disrupts there is another that hurts the defense. Romeo is not a fan of this kind of inconsistency. At the rate things are going, I won’t be shocked if Powe were to not make the final 53 man roster. Anthony Toribio is playing the position “how Romeo wants it played” and Dontari Poe was the #11 overall pick. That leaves Powe as the #3 guy at a position where teams don’t usually carry more than two.

So my question is, if Powe is showing the ability to get good penetration into the backfield, why not try him in the sub package on passing downs? Thus far, I’ve seen KC use Bailey, Poe, Jackson, Gordon, Pitoitua, Bair, and Long in the sub package. Surely they could find a couple snaps in the second half to give Powe a shot too. All I know is that I’ll be furious if they cut Powe this year and he goes on to be a disruptive force in the middle for another team. The Chiefs need to give him a shot on passing downs. Besides, being able to have the Po(w)e Boys pushing the pocket on passing downs would be fun to say. You know it’s the kind of thing they would like to say on ESPN.

Tell me I’m wrong!

So there you have it, Addicts. I’ve laid it out there for you. Now I’m daring you to tell me I’m wrong. If you think so I can’t wait to read your arguments in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 2011 the Kansas City Chiefs were coming off a 10-6 season and a division title. The NFL was coming off a lock out that wiped out the entire offseason program. Every team in the NFL was scrambling to get ready for the coming season. Then head coach Todd Haley decided that these special circumstances warranted a new approach to training camp and the preseason. Haley decided that instead of jumping right in and hitting, he would put an emphasis on conditioning. He wanted to get his team in shape and try to protect them from injuries that might occur if they rushed into things before the players were ready.

Let’s just say that thing didn’t go quite as he had planned. The Chiefs looked horrible in the preseason, going 0-4 and getting outscored by a margin of 90-42. Unfortunately, the hangover from the preseason lasted into the regular season where KC would be outscored by a whopping margin of 89-10 in the first two weeks. To make matters worse, not only was the team not ready to play, but also his plan to protect his players from injury was equally unsuccessful. By the time the curtain closed on week two of the regular season the Chiefs had lost three vital players in Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, and Tony Moeaki. The early season blows proved too much for both KC and Todd Haley to take. The Chiefs finished 7-9 and in last place in the AFC West and Haley was fired with three weeks left to go in the season.

Fast forward to 2012 and it doesn’t take an expert to see that the Chiefs have a different approach this season. In fact, it literally appears that KC is dead set on making sure that no trace of the “Haley Way” of doing things can be found. The Chiefs started having physical practices right out of the gate in training camp. The Chiefs came into the first preseason game and looked ready to play football. The first team players got extended looks and even seemed to run plays that might be used in the regular season instead of the “vanilla” play calling of the Haley era.

What really caught my attention during the game were the quotes from both Clark Hunt and Scott Pioli as they sat in the announcers’ booth at different points in the game. I’m paraphrasing here, but Clark Hunt pointed out that the Chiefs underachieved last year and Pioli commented on how much more prepared the team was this year and specifically pointed out how much more effective the staff was at getting the plays in to Cassel (a clear shot at Haley’s OC by committee disaster last season that often led to Cassel barely having time to get the play off). Hunt and Pioli did everything but say, “Todd Haley really messed things up last season and now that he’s gone we think we’ll be a lot better.”

Does the blame for last season lay solely at the feet of Todd Haley? I don’t know. He certainly deserves a lot of the fault, but was it his idea to keep Barry Richardson at RT, Thomas Jones at RB, Tyler Palko as the primary backup QB, and Sabby Piscatelli as an NFL player? We’ll never know how much of that was on Haley and how much was on Pioli. What we do know now is that the anti-Haley approach to training camp and the first preseason game this year produced un-Haley like results.

In other words, the Chiefs won.

In Haley’s three seasons as the Chiefs head coach the Chiefs went 0-3 in preseason openers and 1-11 overall in the preseason. Not only did the Chiefs go 0-3 in preseason openers, but they scored only 6.7 PPG in those games and didn’t score a single first quarter point as they were outscored in that quarter a combined 20-0. That’s a far cry from Friday night when they scored 27 points and led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Does this mean that KC will play better when the games count? I don’t know. I do know that last season’s preseason opener against Tampa Bay was one of the worst preseason games I’ve ever seen and the Chiefs followed that up with one of the worst regular season openers I’ve ever seen (a 41-7 home loss to the Bills). The sad part is that Tampa Bay went on to finish 4-12 and Buffalo only 6-10. So even if Arizona isn’t very good this season, the Chiefs are still clearly off to a better start after one preseason game.

How much better? Take a look for yourself.

Basically, everything was heads and tails better this year. The one area that looks worse is rushing yards allowed and that’s only because the backups allowed one 67-yard long run by William Powell. The interesting (or sad) thing is that TB was actually the worst team Haley faced in the preseason opener in terms of their end of the year record that season (4-12). KC also lost 20-10 at Atlanta (13-3) in 2010 and 16-10 to Houston (9-7) in 2009. If you average out the numbers from those 3 games and compare them to Friday night it is still equally favorable.

Finally, Matt Cassel’s play was by far the best we’ve seen in a preseason opener. In the other three preseason openers combined Cassel has gone 8-13 for 40 yards and no TDs or INTs. So on Friday night when Cassel went 5 of 6 for 67 yards and a TD he threw for more yards and TDs than he had in his other three preseason openers combined. He also led his only two first quarter TD drives in a preseason opener.

All in all, Friday really couldn’t have gone much better than it did. Again, we don’t know if that will lead to more regular season wins. After all, Tampa Bay had a FANTASTIC preseason opener last season and ended up going 4-12. The only thing we really know is that the “Todd Haley Way” is no longer the Kansas City Way. Based on the early results, it looks like that might be a very good thing.

Other random observations from Friday:

I REALLY like Brian Daboll. Based on what I saw at training camp and how he called the game and had the offense ready on Friday I think there is every reason to be excited about KC’s new offensive coordinator.

I stand by my prediction that Peyton Hillis will end 2012 with more touches than Jamaal Charles. Not because Charles won’t be healthy or effective, but because Hillis will be productive and KC will try to keep Jamaal fresh and explosive.

Steve Maneri could just be a starter in the making. I expected him to win the third TE job because of his blocking ability (and Jake O’Connell stinks), but if Maneri can catch (and run) like he did Friday he could become more than just a third TE. Imagine if KC lines up in a three TE power/short yardage set and then goes play action, who is going to get the least attention from the defense in coverage? Maneri, of course, and if he can consistently catch the ball like he did Friday it gives Daboll one more toy to play with.

The offensive line gets a great big thumbs up from me. They made me eat my words. I reported that pass protection looked bad the day I was at training camp, but they didn’t allow a single sack. Not only did the first string look good, but the backups held their own as well. That’s a HUGE improvement over last preseason when poor Ricky Stanzi ran for his life on every single snap.

Justin Houston beat Tamba Hali to the QB for a sack. Just take a moment and think about how scary that is for the teams KC will face this year.

Abram Elam, welcome to KC. Donald Washington, say hello to Sabby Piscatelli for me.

Did anybody else notice that Matt Szymanski booted every kickoff he did for a clear touchback and then did a pretty good job punting as well. There’s no place for him on the roster, but keep that guy’s number on speed dial in case something should happen to one of our kickers.

I think that’s it for this week. Let’s hope the good times keep rolling against the Rams this weekend.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last Friday I jumped in my trusty Nissan Sentra and set out for my second annual pilgrimage to Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph. This time I made a quick pit stop in Topeka to pick up my dad, who had never been to camp before (hey, pops!). After having a great experience last year, I was really looking forward to seeing how things would look under Romeo this year. There has been great coverage out of camp thus far, and most of it has mentioned how the camp this year has had an even faster tempo and energy than previous camps.

Unfortunately for those of us at camp on Friday, it was not a real energetic day. Romeo said as much in his press conference on Saturday. It didn’t help that about 20 percent of the practice was dedicated to punt team work. However, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t walk away with some observations and predictions based on what I saw. So let’s get to it.

I’ll start with the offense.

First of all, my initial impression of new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is very positive. He was the most energized person on the field. He came out ahead of most of the players and coaches and shook hands, signed autographs, and posed for pictures with fans. He then proceeded to warm up Jon Baldwin (more on him in a minute) one-on-one while they waited for the rest of the team to get out to the field. He threw Baldwin some passes and then did a drill with him where he’d stand behind him and throw a ball up over his head and Baldwin would have to react instantly when it dropped into view and try to snatch it out of the air.

The thing I really like about Daboll is that he seems to balance his “harsh criticism” with positive energy more than Todd Haley did. Yes, he will jump on a guy who does something wrong, but 30 seconds later he’s right back to teaching or hopping up and down like a little kid because somebody did something he liked. It’s hard to judge an offensive coordinator before we see how his offense produces, but after watching him in action for one practice, I’m encouraged.

Watching the quarterbacks on Friday was not real encouraging. Of all the position groups they had one of the least impressive days. Cassel was Cassel, meaning that he was clearly the leader and #1 QB, but didn’t really impress. Quinn wasn’t really any better. I will say one thing: At this point Quinn is 100 percent  the #2 QB in camp. He always took the second team snaps ahead of Stanzi and when the QBs broke into two groups it was always Cassel with Quinn and Stanzi with Tanney. Despite the fact that Quinn hasn’t been great, he knows Daboll’s system and I didn’t see Stanzi do anything to deserve to pass him on Friday. Stanzi will have to clearly out-play Quinn in the preseason to claim the #2 QB job (in my opinion).
(Notice Daboll coaching WR Josh Bellamy as he runs his route)

The running backs were a different story. They all looked really good and I think the battle for the #3 RB spot could be one of the best to watch. I would have guessed that Cyrus Gray was a shoo-in for the job but I think Shaun Draughn may have something to say about that. Draughn looks a lot more powerful than Gray but still has a pretty explosive burst. I’d like to see Gray win the job, but if I didn’t know which back was which and you asked me who looked the best on Friday, I would have said Draughn.

The best part of the entire practice was at the very end when they did some red zone work and Jamaal Charles took the first snap of the drill put a sick cut on the first defender and then streaked outside to the end zone. It drew a round of “OHHHHH!!!” from the other players and sure looked like the old JC from before the injury to me.

The WRs were interesting to watch as well. As I mentioned earlier, Baldwin was one of the first players to hit the field and warmed up with Daboll before practice started. When the entire team started running together, Baldwin was the first player back by 15 yards. Now I didn’t see Baldwin make any highlight reel grabs like have been reported from other practices, but what I did see that has me just as excited is that Baldwin was clearly the hardest working WR on the field. Also, I remember that when I first saw Baldwin last year my thought was “Wow, he’s tall but kind of lanky. I hope he can take the physical nature of the NFL.” One year later things are very different. Baldwin is clearly bigger. I really noticed it in his legs. They almost looked like toothpicks last year, but not anymore. Just to be clear, I’m not saying he’s out of shape and put on weight. He clearly spent the offseason in the gym.

One other note on the WRs, Dexter McCluster appears to be 100 percent a slot WR. I’m not sure we’ll see him at RB at all this year. Not only did he spend the entire practice with the WRs, but Daboll gives the slot WRs some specific work of their own. During WR drills all the WRs would run some routes and then after they had all had a couple reps Daboll would have Dex, Devon Wylie, and Zeke Markshausen run a couple slot specific routes before they went on to the next drill. Dex clearly seems to be the top slot guy right now, as he was always ahead of Wylie both in drills and when they used a slot guy in 11 on 11 drills.

Besides the QBs, the other group that struggled on Friday at times was the offensive line. On about 50 percent of the 11 on 11 pass plays there was a pass rusher that could have sacked the QB. Justin Houston seemed to be able to get there anytime he wanted (more on him in a minute). It was really noticeable when a defender would run up to the QB and just stand there for two seconds until the QB got rid of the ball.

Now maybe since they weren’t tackling, the offensive line wasn’t going all out like they would in a game situation, or maybe the QBs have been instructed not to scramble as much in these drills and throw from the pocket, but the pass protection from the first team on down looked really suspect to me. I should also mention that the run blocking looked a lot better than the pass protection did. The other thing that I noticed was that Rodney Hudson seems to have added some bulk as well. There was some talk when he was drafted about him possibly being undersized for the NFL, but if you look at the picture below you can see how much bigger he is than Lilja.

One last offensive observation, I think the base package for the offense this year will be a two TE set with both Moeaki and Boss. It’s clear that Daboll wants to utilize the different looks he can get with these two. They lined up in 11 on 11 drills with 2 TEs a lot and at times would even put one in the backfield as an H-back (with the starters, it was Moeaki). Maybe this was because Bannon wasn’t practicing Friday, but I get the feeling that we may not see a lot of traditional fullback use outside of goal line and short yardage plays.

Now on to the defense.

Overall the defense looked pretty good on Friday. The question continues to be if the reason the defense looks good is because the offense hasn’t been very good or vice versa. I guess we’ll get a pretty good indication this Friday when KC plays its first preseason game. Brandon Flowers may not have practiced on Friday but he was walking around without any kind of noticeable limp.

Like most others who have attended camp this year, I paid special attention to Dontari Poe. He’s definitely as big and athletic as advertised. In the limited reps I saw him take I thought he looked mediocre going against double teams but almost unstoppable when matched up one on one. In one specific rep he went one on one with Lilja and drove him straight backwards about 10 yards. Unlike others who have reported from camp I still think Poe starts the season playing mostly in the sub package next to Bailey where he can use his freak athleticism to push the pocket. Then as the season goes by I think he’ll start to get more snaps at NT.

Speaking of NT, Anthony Toribio continues to be #1 on the depth chart. The KC Star even has a piece on him today. Before the offseason started I thought Amon Gordon would start at NT if Poe wasn’t ready since he played pretty well in limited reps last year, but I didn’t see Gordon take any reps with the first string defense. It was usually Toribio out there with Dorsey and Jackson in the base 3-4 with Poe getting a couple of snaps as well. If that doesn’t change as the preseason goes along it could mean that Jerrell Powe is going to have a real fight on his hands just to make the roster.

You have to think that Jackson, Dorsey, Poe and Bailey are locks for the final roster. Last year the Chiefs had six active defensive linemen on game day and two more that made the 53 but were inactive most games. If Toribio remains the starting NT that only leaves one active DL spot for games between guys like Powe, Gordon, Brandon Bair (who many are high on), Ropati Pitoitua (who is huge and was good enough to play regularly for the Jets), and 7th round draft pick Jerome Long. That’s another spot where KC fans will want to watch how things shake out during the preseason.

I was bummed that Siler didn’t practice, but he seemed to be moving around okay so hopefully he won’t miss any significant time. The LB who looked the best on Friday was Justin Houston. As I mentioned earlier, there were multiple times in 11 on 11 drills where he was instantly in the backfield and could have hit the QB if it was allowed. If he’s healthy all season I’d be shocked if he doesn’t get double digit sacks. The other interesting thing to watch may be if Andy Studebaker can keep his roster spot. I really like Studebaker. He’s smart, hardworking, has a great attitude, and is a solid special teams player. That having been said, I just don’t see the upside with him that you can see in Cameron Sheffield, Gabe Miller, and even the recently signed Edgar Jones. All of those other players have the speed and athleticism to be more of a threat in pass rush situations then Studebaker. If those other guys can show that they can play just as well on special teams then it could be the end of the road for Studebaker.

The final preseason battle that I’ll be keeping a close eye on is DeQuan Menzie and Jalil Brown. As others have reported, Menzie had a really good day on Friday with a couple of nice break ups. Jalil Brown also looked pretty good. Brown has the physical tools to be a Brandon Carr type corner. It’s just a matter of him developing the coverage skills. Overall, I feel really good about the secondary. Especially since Eric Berry appears to be back at 100 percent already. If we could go all season and the only DBs to see action on the field were Flowers, Routt, Arenas, Daniels, Brown, Menzie, Berry, Lewis, and Elam I think we’ll be all be very happy. It would certainly be an upgrade over the play of guys like Sabby Piscatelli, Donald Washington, and others who saw the field last year.

So overall I thought the defense looked ready to have a fantastic season.

The top three things/players I was disappointed in on Friday:

1. The QBs
2. The Pass Protection
3. Dwayne Bowe Not Being There

The top three things/players that impressed me on Friday:

1. Jon Baldwin
2. Justin Houston
3. Brian Daboll

When you look at my list of things that disappointed me on Friday, it’s a little worrisome that all three involve the passing game. Based on my one day at camp my prediction for the first preseason game is that the run game and defense look good and that the passing game struggles. That certainly wouldn’t be out of character for the Chiefs so I’m not exactly going out on a limb there.

If you’ve never been to training camp before I really recommend it. It’s a good time (even if the team has a down practice) and you get to see some of your favorite players up close and personal. Also, I highly recommend eating at Boudreaux’s while you’re in town. They have great Cajun food if that’s your thing (I recommend the Jambalaya and the Fried Alligator).

KC fans, we have a game this week! Isn’t life great?

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With the start of training camp this last week, football season is now officially upon us. I have to say that as a Chiefs blogger that is music to my ears. We can finally start talking about what is happening on the field as opposed to just speculating over who’s opinion will ultimately be correct. So it would stand to reason that my first post after the start of camp would be about camp, right? Well, no. This last week while most KC fans were pouring over every little tidbit of information that was coming out of the opening of camp I was on a 5 day road trip with my wife. So there is no way I could add anything of importance to the already fantastic camp coverage that AA is dishing out this week (next week will be a different story). What I can talk about after my trip is something that most KC fans are equally passionate about, BBQ. My road trip included stops in Memphis, St. Louis, and Kansas City where I ate at some truly legendary BBQ joints. So I thought this week I’d share my BBQ experiences and then turn it over to you guys so you can share your best BBQ experiences and cast your vote for who has the best BBQ on the planet. Maybe you’ll even be inspired by something you read and will incorporate some BBQ into your next game day experience (if you weren’t already).

Now, let me start with a disclaimer. I am not the world’s leading expert on BBQ. In fact, many of you can probably add a lot more to the discussion when it comes to KC BBQ then I can. So if you disagree with my take on BBQ I openly invite you to share your thoughts in the comments. Then the readers can make up their own mind.

Alright, let’s start with my stop in Memphis. I had never been to Memphis before and I was really excited to eat some of their BBQ. After KC, Memphis may have the next best BBQ tradition on any single city in the world. Now, even though I might have been content eating BBQ for every meal, I was on a trip for my wife and I’s anniversary so I decided one BBQ stop in each city would probably be best. That made my decision in Memphis a tough one. There are literally dozens of good BBQ places to choose from. The most famous is the Rendezvous near downtown and Beale Street. However, after reading some reviews online the consensus was that even though Rendezvous was the most famous, the BBQ was actually better at some lesser known places. After considering some places like Tom’s and Corky’s I ended up picking Central BBQ. Wow, it was a good choice. I wanted to try a little of everything so my wife and I shared a 1/2 slab rib combo with pulled pork and smoked turkey. We got their homemade chips and BBQ beans as sides and then split an order of their pulled pork BBQ nachos.

The ribs fell off the bone, the pulled pork had an amazing smoky flavor, and the nachos were AMAZING. They had three different sauces, their traditional, a hot, and a vinegar based sauce. I’m not a huge vinegar sauce fan and the hot tasted a little too “tabasco-y” for my liking. The regular sauce was very good though. There wasn’t a single thing that wasn’t VERY good. In the end, individual items at our other two stops stood out over anything at Central, but it was the only stop where I thought everything was great. If you are ever in Memphis, I would definitely check it out.

Next, we were off to St. Louis. Now, I know some of you will refuse to believe that St. Louis has anything to offer KC fans in the area of BBQ. I understand where you are coming from and I admit that St. Louis doesn’t have the history or reputation for BBQ that either KC or Memphis has. I just ask, that as BBQ fans, you hear me out because the place we went to is 100% worth checking out if you are ever in St. Louis. That place is Pappy’s Smokehouse.

Going into the trip, Pappy’s was the place I expected to be my least favorite. That having been said, the reviews of the place were excellent and even though it’s a fairly new place it has quickly become the top BBQ place in St. Louis (Roper’s Ribs is also well known, but the reviews of Pappy’s were better especially from people that weren’t from St. Louis). Much like the famous KC BBQ havens, you should be prepared to wait in a long line at Pappy’s. We went at 11:30am on a Monday and still had to wait in line for 30 minutes just to order. It was worth every minute. I ordered a 1/2 slab combo with sweet potato fries, fried corn on the cob, and added an order of pulled pork.

Let’s start with what didn’t really impress me. The pulled pork was just good, not great. It lacked the really smoky flavor that Central had. Also, the sauces at Pappy’s were just okay. My wife really liked their “Sweet Baby Jane” sauce, but it was a little too sweet for me. The regular and hot were good, but not memorable to me. However, the fried corn on the cob was really good (and different). The sweet potato fries were possibly the best I have ever had. Finally, the ribs were AMAZING!!! I was really surprised. After trying the sauces and not being blown away I wasn’t expecting the ribs to be that good. They are made with both a Memphis style dry rub but also are cooked with some sauce on them. However, no sauce is added after they come off the smoker. The result is this BBQ bark like crust on them that was about the best thing I have ever tasted. I know I’ll probably never be allowed back in KC after saying this, but they may have been the best tasting ribs I’ve ever had. Also, the people at Pappy’s were great. The owner came in while we were there and was a super nice guy. Their smoker is right on the street outside the restaurant and when the guy taking the ribs out of the smoker saw me taking a picture, he actually brought the platter of ribs right up to the window.

So if you are ever in St. Louis, do yourself a favor and go to Pappy’s Smokehouse. Forget the fact that you are in St. Louis and just go as a BBQ fan. You won’t regret it.

Finally, on our way home to the Wichita area we stopped in KC for one last BBQ stop. I had never been to Oklahoma Joe’s before and I decided that it was time for me to try their legendary Z-man sandwich. For those that aren’t from KC or aren’t familiar with Oklahoma Joe’s they are actually located in a gas station at 47th and Mission (I think they have opened up a couple more locations now, but this is the original).

Now, just because they’re located in a gas station doesn’t mean you won’t wait in a long line. We were there at 1pm on a Tuesday and still waited for about 35 minutes to order (and I was told that wasn’t long at all). Even though Oklahoma Joe’s has a lot to offer, their famous menu item is the Z-man sandwich that consists of their beef brisket smothered in BBQ sauce and melted provolone cheese and topped with a couple of onion rings. My wife and I split a Z-man and a slab of ribs.

I’ll start by saying that the Z-man 100% lived up to the hype. I REALLY wished that we had each got our own Z-man and just split a 1/2 slab of ribs. The Z-man was probably the best thing I have had in the three major KC BBQ places that I have been to (Oklahoma Joe’s, Arthur Bryant’s, and Gate’s). Also, true to the KC tradition the sauce at Oklahoma Joe’s was by far the best I had on the trip. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve been to Arthur Bryant’s and Gate’s, but I think this sauce may have been my favorite of the three (admittedly, I haven’t ever had Jack Stack). The only let down was that the ribs were just okay. Don’t get me wrong, they were good and with that great sauce on them I had no problem finishing my half of the slab, but the ribs at both Central and Pappy’s were better in my opinion. I also wish that I would have tried the pulled pork there so I could have compared it to the other two places.

I don’t know if it’s possible for me to pick a favorite between the three stops. Oklahoma Joe’s had the best sauce and the Z-man was amazing. Pappy’s had those amazing ribs and the sweet potato fries and fried corn were great too. Central may not have had anything as good as the Z-man or Pappy’s ribs (although those BBQ nachos were close) but they were the only place that didn’t have something that was just okay (like Pappy’s pulled pork or Oklahoma Joe’s ribs). So I highly recommend all three places to any BBQ lovers out there, with the “must try” list including Oklahoma Joe’s Z-man, Pappy’s ribs and sweet potato fries, and Central’s BBQ nachos.

So now it’s your turn Addicts. Where is your favorite BBQ place? Have you been to other great BBQ places outside of KC that fellow traveling Addicts need to check out? With football season about to get underway it’s a great time to plan road trips to go watch your favorite team play. Those road trips are always that much better when they include a stop for some great BBQ. One last side note, if you’re planning a trip to KC or any other major city check out tripadvisor.com. They have reviews and ratings of all the restaurants, hotels, and attractions in all the major cities and you can easily find the top places to check out while you’re there. That’s how I found most of the places on our road trip.

So now I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the great BBQ debate so please fill up the comments section with all of your favorites.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. – is anybody else suddenly hungry?

Welcome back, Addicts, to the third and final installment of my NFL dead zone series “If You Ran The Chiefs.” In this series I simply lay out an often discussed topic in Chiefs Nation and you guys tell me what you would do if you were in charge. If you missed either of the first two posts here are the links:

Part 1 of the series was about what you would do with Dwayne Bowe.

Part 2 of the series was about what you would do with Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey.

Even though we had a good discussion in the previous two posts, today’s post is really the one that most Chiefs fans get worked up about. Today we’ll discuss what you would do at the most important position on the field. I’m talking, of course, about the quarterback. No player on the Chiefs roster gets fans more worked up than current quarterback Matt Cassel. Some feel the guy is solid, while others are ready to run him out of town with torches and pitch forks. Again, I’m not here to sell you on my opinion this week. I simply want to lay out some options and have you tell me what you would do.

Before I lay out the options I’ll try to objectively put Matt Cassel in perspective. Unless you are the “homer to end all homers,” I think we can all agree that Matt Cassel in not one of the elite QBs in the NFL. You simply can’t put him side by side with the Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers of the world. The discussion is more about if Cassel deserves to be in the “solid but not spectacular” middle range of NFL QBs.

The chart below shows the career stats of Matt Cassel and nine other NFL QBs. I listed their career completion percentage, yards per attempt, and QB rating. I was going to list their career TDs and INTs, but since there is a wide range in games played I decided that TD percentage and INT percentage would be better. In other words, 4.3 percent of Matt Cassel’s pass attempts have been TDs and 2.5 percent have been interceptions. You can look below at how those percentages hold up. I included a wide range of QBs from the elite Eli Manning to the questionable Tarvaris Jackson. The QBs are listed in order of career QB rating, but obviously that doesn’t represent their actual ability.

So what, if anything, can we take from this chart. First, it’s clear that career numbers can’t paint the whole picture. Eli Manning has a career QB rating similar to Matt Cassel and Matt Hasselbeck but we all know that Eli has reached a point now in his career where he is playing at a much higher level than those other two. I purposely included Eli’s numbers just to show that QBs can develop as years go by. The question is if Cassel has peaked or if he could continue to improve?

I also feel the chart shows that Cassel is simply not a horrible QB as some may claim. Matt Hasselbeck took the Seahawks to the Super Bowl and Joe Flacco, Alex Smith, and Mark Sanchez have taken their team as far as the conference title game despite having career stats that are similar or worse than Matt Cassel’s.

Out of this segment of 10 “mid-level” NFL QB’s Cassel ranked seventh in completion percentage, eighth in YPA, fourth in TD percentage, third in INT percentage, and fourth in QB rating. If this group of QBs is a good representation of “mid-level” NFL QBs (you can be the judge of that), then it appears that Cassel is just that: a mid-level QB. His numbers certainly don’t show him to be better than this group as a whole, but they certainly don’t show him to be worse either. They seem to show that he’s somewhere in the middle of the “mid-level” QBs.

The question now is, is that good enough for him to remain the starting QB in Kansas City?

So what should KC do at QB going forward? It’s time for you to make the call.

Here are the options as I see them.

1. Stay committed to Matt Cassel 100 percent going forward.

Good QBs are hard to find and the Chiefs would be foolish to let him go in hopes that they find a Hall of Fame caliber QB. Elite QBs are so few and far between that you are much more likely to bust than find someone that is a clear upgrade over Cassel. A bust at QB could set the Chiefs back 3-4 years and by then the window to win with the talent currently on the roster will be closed. The Chiefs already have a good quarterback on the roster and fans need to get over the fact that he’s not going to throw for 5,000 yards and 40 TDs.

2. The future is Ricky Stanzi.

Stanzi has the ability to be a winner in the NFL and a clear upgrade over Cassel. The team should base Cassel’s time as the starter in KC on Stanzi’s development. Cassel is just good enough to keep the seat warm and not rush Stanzi before he is ready, but as soon as they feel Stanzi is up for it, the job is his.

3. Do whatever it takes to draft a franchise quarterback.

Super Bowl winners have elite QBs that they drafted (usually in the 1st round) and developed. Cassel will never be elite and even though Stanzi has a cult following in KC, he’s simply not an elite QB prospect. KC needs to draft a QB in the first round next year, period. If it doesn’t look like there will be one available where they are picking then the Chiefs should trade away whatever it takes to move up and get their man. It’s time to break the curse of Todd Blackledge.

4. Sign (or trade for) a veteran QB to be the starter next offseason.

The Chiefs are built to win now. If Cassel isn’t up for the job then the Chiefs don’t have time to waste on developing Ricky Stanzi or throwing a rookie into the fire. So next offseason whoever the top QB on the market is, he comes to KC. Pay whatever it takes and don’t take no for an answer. There are enough weapons on this team to make it a great destination for a veteran QB who wants a shot to win as long as the Chiefs are willing to pay them what they feel they deserve.

So which of these options would you go with if you ran the Chiefs? If you have an option that isn’t listed we’d all love to hear it too. Just post your answer in the comments below and let’s see just what Chiefs Nation wants to do at the QB position moving forward. I can’t wait to hear what you think.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome back, Addicts, to week 2 of my NFL dead zone series “If You Ran The Chiefs.” If you missed last week when you let me know what you would do with Dwayne Bowe if you were in charge, check it out here.

This week it’s time for you to take a stand on what you would do long term with Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson if you ran the Chiefs. In case you didn’t read last week’s piece, let me give you the basics. Unlike other posts that I’ve done in the past, these posts aren’t about me trying to sell you on my way of thinking. It’s also not about predicting what the Chiefs will actually do. This is your chance to tell your fellow Chiefs fans what you would do if you had the chance.

Before we get to the different options that you can choose from for Dorsey and Jackson, let’s get an idea of just who they are as players. Once again we turn to the football gurus at Pro Football Focus. These are the guys that grade every player of every team on every single snap and then let us know how they did. I’ve actually got four different articles/studies that Pro Football Focus did that I’ll reference here. I highly recommend clicking on all four links and reading them all. They are:

Three Years of Pass Rushing Productivity: Interior D-Line

In this three-year study (2009-2011), PFF looks at the total number of passing snaps the players were in for and then the number of hits, hurries and sacks that they created on those snaps. They use that information to come up with their pass rush productivity number. So it’s not about who had the biggest totals but who did the most with the snaps that they had.

The Results:
Tyson Jackson was rated the second least productive pass rushing interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
Glenn Dorsey was rated the sixth least productive pass rushing interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
These guys are just flat out horrible at getting to the QB. Period.

Three Years of Tackling Efficiency: Interior Rushers

This is another 3 year study (2009-2011) where PFF looks at how many tackles to missed tackles defensive linemen have to come up with their tackling efficiency rating. Again, it’s not about totals, but efficiency with the chances they had.

The Results:
Tyson Jackson was rated the 10th most efficient tackling interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
Glenn Dorsey was rated the 15th most efficient tackling interior defensive lineman in the NFL.
With 32 teams in the NFL, one team having two DL rated in the top 15 is pretty impressive. Washington was the only other team to do so. So basically, when Dorsey and Jackson have a chance to make a tackle, they almost always do.

2011 Run Stop Percentage: 3-4 Defensive Ends

In this study over just the 2011 season PFF looked only at 3-4 DEs and the number of run snaps that they were in for and how many stops they made on those snaps. Then they simply ranked the players based on the highest percentage of stops per snaps.

The Results:
Tyson Jackson was the #1 3-4 DE in the NFL in both total run stops and run stop percentage.
Glenn Dorsey was ranked #2 in total run stops and #6 in run stop percentage.
So not only did Jackson and Dorsey make more stops than any other 3-4 DEs, but their percentage of stops per run snaps were also at the top of the list.

When you combine these last two studies what it tells you is that Dorsey and Jackson are two of the most effective run stoppers in all the NFL.

Secret Superstar: Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey, DEs, Kansas City Chiefs

Finally, this article is from a series at PFF where they identified a player (or players) from each team that were “secret superstars” in that they were great at what they do, but not many people notice. Here is a direct quote from the article.

It’s not often you’ll get somebody trying to tell you that a pair of Top 5 draft picks are a secret, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do in this article. Most people, and even some Chiefs fans, will tell you that both Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey have been colossal failures. They have been, at best, mediocre players when nothing less than studs would have been acceptable for such a huge outlay in the draft, but the truth is a little more complex than that.

When most teams look to the defensive line at the top of the draft, they’re searching for impact pass rushers; guys that can rack-up sacks and bring the heat on opposing quarterbacks. The Chiefs’ defensive scheme isn’t quite like that, and what they want from their linemen is stout play against the run. They’ve found exactly that from these two players, but people are so fixated on their failures in terms of pass rushing that nobody seems to have noticed.

I think that quote sums up Dorsey and Jackson perfectly. They are horrible at rushing the passer. They are great at stopping the run. The debate comes when the discussion shifts to which of the two is more important. Some argue that it’s a passing league, so pass rushing is the most important. Others argue that in the KC scheme, it’s all about stopping the run. So what should KC do with these two? Dorsey is set to become a free agent at the end of this coming season and even though Jackson has one more year left on his contract after this season, his salary for 2013 is so huge that something will have to be done before that. So basically the Chiefs must decide the fate of both of their starting 3-4 DEs in the next calendar year.

Now it’s time for you to tell everyone what you would do with these two if you ran the Chiefs.

Here are the options as I see them.

1. Pay whatever it takes to re-sign both Dorsey and Jackson long term. They are worth every penny even if they never get to the QB.

2. Re-sign both of these players but only if they will sign contracts that are team friendly. Pass rushers get the big dollars, run stoppers don’t.

3. Re-sign Jackson, but not Dorsey. Jackson is younger and had the better season last year. Dorsey is a better fit as a 4-3 DT.

4. Re-sign Dorsey, but not Jackson. Dorsey has been more consistent than Jackson. Plus, I have never gotten over the frustration of the Chiefs taking Jackson at #3 overall and would like to move on.

5. Get rid of both Dorsey and Jackson and get a couple of 3-4 DEs that can get some pressure on the QB. It’s a passing league now and run stopping is over-rated.

Okay, Addicts, now it’s up to you. What would you do with these two if you ran the Chiefs? Post your answer in the comments below. Don’t feel like you have to go with one of these five choices either. If you have an original idea, that’s even better. I look forward to seeing what Chiefs Nation thinks we should do with these two former top 5 picks.

Come back next week for the third and final piece of the series where you’ll tell everyone exactly what you would do at the QB position if you ran the Chiefs.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello, loyal Chiefs fans. As we sit and watch the minutes slowly tick away while we await the start of training camp, I’ve once again been racking my brain to try and think of something interesting to talk about. With little to no new information coming out of Arrowhead this month the only way to make this interesting is to get you, the reader, involved. Your original and varied outlooks on different topics make for a much more interesting Chiefs discussion than just reading something I came up with. So here’s what I decided to do. This week’s post is the first of a three-part series called “If You Ran The Chiefs.” For the next three weeks I want your feedback on what you would do if you were in charge of our beloved team.

This week we’ll tackle the Dwayne Bowe contract situation.

Next week we’ll take on what the Chiefs should do (long-term) with former first round picks Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson. Finally, in two weeks we’ll get your opinion on what the Chiefs should do at the quarterback position.

Okay, let’s talk D-Bowe.

Before I give you some options for what you would do with Bowe going forward, let’s make sure we get a fair picture of who Dwayne Bowe is as a WR. In his five seasons in the NFL he has averaged the following per season:

71 receptions
985 yards
13.8 yards/reception
7 TDs

Now, those numbers are hampered by the 2009 season where he missed games because of a suspension for PEDs. If you take out 2009 the averages become:

77 receptions
1,085 yards
14 yards/reception
8 TDs

Last season Bowe ranked 10th in the NFL in receptions, 13th in yards, and 45th in TDs. The year before he finished ranked 19th in receptions, 7th in yards, and 1st in TDs.

The other stat you have to figure in with Bowe is dropped passes. According to the always amazing stat gurus at Pro Football Focus, last season Bowe was 6th in the NFL in dropped passes among WRs with 10. In fact, according to this article at Pro Football Focus, between the years of 2008 and 2010 Bowe had the second highest percentage of dropped passes in the NFL at 13.87 percent (behind only Braylon Edwards). That means that over that three year time span, Bowe dropped almost 14 percent of the catchable passes thrown his way.

So bottom line, is Dwayne Bowe a big time WR talent? Yes, you don’t lead the NFL in TDs like Bowe did in 2010 (with 15) if you aren’t a supreme talent. However, you also have to admit that Bowe has some consistency issues. Between the dropped passes and a suspension for using an illegal substance to help him lose weight before the start of the 2009 season there are reasons to be cautious.

Now, nobody knows exactly what Dwayne Bowe is thinking in terms of his contract. He and his agent could certainly point at his receptions, yards, and TDs over the past two seasons and say that he deserves a contract in the same range that Vincent Jackson just got with TB (5 years, $55.5 million with $26 million fully guaranteed). Now, I don’t see Scott Pioli giving Bowe that much money. I also don’t see D-Bowe as the type to take less money than he could get on the open market in order to stay with a run first, small market team that has Matt Cassel as its QB. That is just my opinion though. And this isn’t about my opinion or even Pioli’s for that matter. Today, you are in charge.

So what would you do about Dwayne Bowe if you ran the Chiefs?

Here are the options as I see them:

1. Pay Dwayne Bowe whatever it takes to keep him long term.

If he wants Jackson money, give it to him. Our passing game would have been HORRIFIC without Bowe these past couple of seasons. The Chiefs simply can’t allow him to leave under any circumstances and we have the money to pay him.

2. Sign Bowe now if he’ll take a reasonable deal, otherwise make him play under the franchise tag and see what happens.

If Baldwin plays great then maybe you can afford to let him walk after this season, or if Baldwin looks good and Bowe just has an okay season then maybe you can re-sign Bowe at a discount. If Bowe plays great and Baldwin doesn’t look like a number one WR then you’ll probably have to tag Bowe again and then pay him mega dollars.

3. Play Bowe for one more year under the franchise tag and then let him walk.

Bowe is just too inconsistent to invest in a long-term contract. Get what you can out of him while he plays for a huge deal but let someone else be the one to gamble those millions on a knucklehead.

4. Sign Bowe to a long-term deal now and then trade him before his value drops.

I’ve heard several fans suggest this. The idea is that you sign Bowe to a contract now while KC can afford him and get another good year or two out of him and then trade him while his value is still high. This would be a very Patriot-esque type of move. The only danger here would be if Bowe dogs it after getting a big deal and torpedoes his trade value.

Now I’m sure there are other options or variations of these that you could come up with but I think those four options pretty well sum up most people’s opinion. I considered making this a poll, but I’d rather get people talking in the comments. So post which of these four options you would do with Bowe if you ran the Chiefs in the comments below with a short justification and we’ll see just how Chiefs Nation would handle the Bowe contract situation.

Come back next Monday for part two of the series when we’ll talk about what you would do with Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson if you ran the Chiefs.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As fans of the NFL look ahead to the 2012 NFL season, two teams have emerged as the early favorites in the AFC West; the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. It’s not hard to figure out why Denver is seen as a favorite. They are the defending division champs and they added one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in free agency. So naturally, they’ll win the division, right? Well, not so fast my friends.

Many “experts” are starting to realize that the Kansas City Chiefs were a blocked FG away from winning the division, despite the fact that Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry, and Tony Moeaki were out for the year, they fired their coach mid-season, and started Tyler Freaking Palko for four games. The only thing holding people back from loving the Chiefs is that people don’t have a lot of faith in Matt Cassel.

It makes for an interesting test of how teams can best win games in the NFL. KC is seen as a team with a stacked overall roster, but without the caliber of a QB that one usually needs to go far in the playoffs. Denver is seen as a team with some holes in their roster, but has one of the best QBs to ever play the game.

In fact, I can make a case that if you look at all the other areas of these teams, there might not be a single other position group that Denver has an edge over KC in other then QB. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look.

Running Backs:
Denver – Willis McGahee, Ronnie Hilman, Knowshon Moreno
KC – Jamaal Charles, Peyton Hillis, Cyrus Gray

If Jamaal Charles is 100 percent back, then this is a hands down win for KC. If Charles is only say 80 percent of what he was, then it is closer, but I still like the idea of Peyton Hillis running to prove last year was a fluke and he’s still a premier NFL RB.

Wide Receivers:
Denver – Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, Andre Caldwell, Brandon Stokely, Matt Willis
KC – Dwayne Bowe, Jonathan Baldwin, Steve Breaston, Dexter McCluster, Devon Wylie

Now, if we’re talking which group will end up with better numbers this coming season, the safe bet is the Denver crew, but that has more to do with who will be throwing them the ball and how much the offenses throw the ball in general. If you’re just talking about the ability of the WRs themselves, I think you have to give the edge to KC, mainly because they have the only proven elite level WR in Bowe. The Denver WR core is solid, but with an elite QB, the KC group would be scary.

Tight Ends:
Denver – Jacob Tamme, Joel Dreessen, Virgil Green
KC – Tony Moeaki, Kevin Boss, Jake O’Connell

In the pass catching department, this one is pretty much even. Tamme had a 60+ catch year with Manning in Indy and Dreesen caught six TDs last season in Houston. However, Moeaki and Boss are both much better blockers then Tamme and Dreesen so that puts the edge, once again, in KC’s favor.

Offensive Line:
Denver – Ryan Clady, Chris Kuper, JD Walton, Zane Beadles, Orlando Franklin
KC – Branden Albert, Ryan Lilja, Rodney Hudson, Jon Asamoah, Eric Winston

This is a hard one for me. Clady looked like the best up and coming tackle in the NFL as a rookie but has slipped a little since, while Albert continues to be a solid and more consistent player. Winston is better than Franklin, period. Kuper, assuming he comes back healthy, is probably the best guard between the teams but Asamoah isn’t far behind him. Beadles has some upside, but Lilja is much more experienced. Walton has playing experience, but didn’t look that good while Hudson has yet to play a snap at center in the NFL. I think Denver fans may argue it’s a tie, but I think the clear gap between Winston and Franklin gives KC the edge.

Defensive Line:
Denver – Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, Justin Bannan, Derek Wolfe, Ty Warren
KC – Glenn Dorsey, Tyson Jackson, Dontari Poe, Allen Bailey, Amon Gordon

This is another one that is so hard to judge because of the different schemes that the two teams run. I think it’s clear that the Denver group is far better at rushing the passer and the KC group is far better at stopping the run. Dumervil is the best player on this list, but it’s hard for me to say the Denver DL is better when I have serious questions on their ability to stop the run. If Dontari Poe comes in and impresses from day one he could tip the scales in KC’s favor, but for now I’ll call it a tie.

Linebackers:
Denver – Von Miller, Joe Mays, Wesley Woodyard, Nate Irving, (DJ Williams suspended)
KC – Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson, Justin Houston, Jovan Belcher

Chiefs and Broncos fans could argue all day about who is better between Miller and Hali, but what isn’t debatable is that with DJ Williams already suspended six games for an illegal substance and more games likely being added to it for a second DUI arrest, the Broncos don’t have anybody else at LB that stacks up with Derrick Johnson. Furthermore, I would say that Justin Houston has shown more upside than any of the other LBs on Denver’s roster as well. Despite Denver having the amazing Von Miller, KC takes this one as well.

Cornerbacks:
Denver – Champ Bailey, Drayton Florence, Tracy Porter, Syd’Quan Thompson, Omar Bolden
KC – Brandon Flowers, Stanford Routt, Javier Arenas, Travis Daniels, Jalil Brown

Well, between Bailey and Florence the Broncos have about 150 years of NFL experience. The question is whether or not their old man bodies hold up. If Denver has a hidden fountain of youth in their locker room, then this could actually be a win for Denver. However, I think if you asked the other 30 NFL GMs which of these CBs they would like at this point of their careers, they would all pick Brandon Flowers. I’ll give Denver the edge in experience but KC the edge in athleticism and call it a tie, but with an asterisk that if Bailey falls off drastically, it swings to the Chiefs.

Safeties:
Denver – Mike Adams, Quinton Carter, David Burton, Rahim Moore
KC – Eric Berry, Kendrick Lewis, Abram Elam, DeQuan Menzie

Eric Berry. Chiefs win.

Special Teams:
Denver – Matt Prater, Britton Colquitt
KC – Ryan Succop, Dustin Colquitt

This is probably the one area where Denver is the clear winner. They were better in both kick return and punt return averages and Britton out-punted his brother last season. Prater and Succop put up pretty similar numbers last year. This one belongs to Denver.

So in summery, Denver has a much better quarterback and better special teams. Everywhere else KC is either better or it’s too close to call. Although I should also probably give credit to Denver for having a better all-around pass rush. The wide spread belief is that today’s NFL is all about the quarterback. This year in the AFC West, the Broncos and Chiefs will put that theory to the test. I for one can’t wait to see how it turns out.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really wanted to write about the latest breaking news in Kansas City Chiefs football this week. There’s just one problem. There isn’t any. I turn on ESPN and the only football news I get is more Saints bountygate, blah, blah, blah. At this point I’m ready to put a bounty on anybody that tries to talk about bountygate one more time. We thought we had escaped the collective bargaining agreement once the lockout ended last summer, but now not even one year later we’ve got the players association crying that Roger Goodell has too much power when it comes to discipline issues.

I’M SORRY, WHO GAVE HIM THAT POWER?!?!?!?

I was under the impression that the players association actually had representatives that helped negotiate the deal and that the players as a group signed off on it. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it because then I’d have to put a bounty out on myself. However, it did get me thinking.

What would I do if I had almighty power over the NFL?

Now that’s a game I can play to pass some time during the offseason. To me there are some simple changes that need to be made and I think I may just be the man for the job. So this week I’ll hit you up with my campaign platform for NFL Comissioner/Almighty King of the NFL Universe (this last part should be said by cupping your hands around your mouth, using the loudest/lowest voice possible, and then echoing “Universe” 2-3 times).

1. Let the players have some fun.

Here’s the thing, I think Goodell has it right when it comes to cleaning up the game. I’m fine with getting rid of the helmet to helmet hits and handing out harsh suspensions for players who break the rules. That’s all well and good, but you can only get away with that if the players are behind you. That will never happen if you don’t let the players have some fun. So the first part of my “fun campaign” is putting TD celebrations back in. You can choreograph whatever you want, use teammates, even use “props.” There would only be one game per week where the players wouldn’t be allowed to do TD celebrations and that’s Monday Night Football. Why you ask? Well for MNF I would hire both Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, who both will be happy for a paycheck (Ocho’s done; he won’t make Miami’s final cut). Each one would be assigned one of the teams from the game that night and when their team scored, they would do a celebration right in front of Roger Goodell, who I would keep on the NFL payroll just so I could force him to sit on the sidelines for MNF games and have those two take turns doing ridiculous TD celebrations in front of him. Fans would then go online and vote on which of the two former diva WRs had the best celebrations that night and in the postgame they would announce the winner. Goodell would have to shake the winner’s hand and present him with a golden sharpie.

That should get the players on my side.

Just in case that’s not enough, I would also allow each team to pick two players each week that could tweet from the sideline. One from the offense and one from the defense. The team would pick the players so that way if they didn’t trust someone to control themselves, they could refuse to pick that guy. Also, players could only tweet when their side of the ball was off the field. Social media isn’t going away so you might as well embrace it and control its use.

2. Stop ripping fans off with the preseason games.

Roger Goodell has constantly tried to champion the NFL going to an 18 game regular season. He claims that its for the fans. Fans love regular season football. Fans don’t like paying regular season prices for preseason games. So naturally the only solution is to take away 2 preseason games and replace them with 2 regular season ones. WRONG!!!!! With players suing the NFL every other day for their health problems related to playing in the NFL and the league claiming they want to make the league safer, adding two more regular season games isn’t an option. The real solution is simple but Goodell will never stand up to the greedy owners to back it. CHARGE LESS FOR PRESEASON GAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here’s my plan:

The first two preseason games would be played at or near the team’s training camp facility. So the Chiefs would play one game in St. Joseph and one game at the training camp location of one of their preseason opponents. These games could still be televised, but admission would be open to the public at $5 per ticket. It would help the local economies of the training camp cities and allow fans from different areas to see NFL football at a price anyone can afford. The fans would be excited to be there and you could probably bring some new fans in since many training camps are held in areas that don’t have their own NFL team.

The second part of this plan is that the final two preseason games will be played in the regular NFL stadiums like they currently are. The difference is that NFL owners will be forced to charge half price for the tickets to these games. If a seat costs $100 in the regular season it costs $50 in the preseason. The owners could still charge full price for parking and concessions, but tickets must be half price.

The owners would throw a fit that I’m taking money out of their pockets, but if they don’t like it they can sell the team to someone else. After all, I’m the Almighty King of the NFL Universe (again, hands cupped, echo, etc.).

3. The Pro Bowl must be completely revamped.

Okay, the Pro Bowl is a joke. The fans know it. The players know it. Roger Goodell knows it. Fans tune in because they just love anything that has to do with NFL football. Here’s what I’m going to do. The game is gone. There is no football game. We’ll still call it the Pro Bowl for tradition’s sake, but it will actually be a position by position skills competition. It will be moved back to the weekend after the Super Bowl so that players from the Super Bowl teams could compete. What would happen is that each position would do a series of combine-esque drills. There would be a scoring system for each drill and after all of that position’s drills the player with the highest score would be named that year’s Pro Bowl Champion at their position. This would come with a hefty cash award so the players would be motivated both by the money and for bragging rights. Tell me you wouldn’t rather watch Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Eli Manning battle it out in a series of passing contests more than that sorry game of touch football that the Pro Bowl has become.

So there you go, Addicts, that’s my platform for being Almighty King of the NFL Universe (you know the drill by now). Do I have your vote? Who’s with me? Do you have your own platform? Are you interested in running against me? I’d love to hear your thoughts. So hit me up in the comments section with your ideas.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, my fellow KC Chiefs fans, welcome to the football dead zone. The stretch between the NFL Draft and the start of training camp is probably the least exciting time to be a die-hard NFL fan and definitely the hardest time to be an NFL blogger. Yes there are some interesting tidbits coming out of OTAs, but until they actually put pads on and hit somebody, everything is pretty much just speculation.

So what can we do to try and get some good old-fashioned football debates going?

Well how about we play a new game called “Tell me I’m wrong!” It’s easy, I’ll make some predictions that I 100 percent believe about the upcoming season and you tell me when you think I’m wrong. Then I’ll respond to your comment and tell you why you’re wrong for thinking that I’m wrong. It will be great, trust me (hey, it’s the offseason, what else are we going to talk about?).

Ready to play?

Here we go……

1. Stanford Routt will lead KC in interceptions.

I don’t think Routt is a better player than either Brandon Flowers or Eric Berry. However, I do think he will be the most thrown at player in the Chiefs’ secondary. My guess is that Routt may not be as consistent as Brandon Carr was, but he will make more big plays. Carr was a great cover corner but he never was a big interception guy (he averaged just two per season over his four years in KC). I think Routt will probably give up more big plays than Carr did, but will help make up for it by coming up with more big plays. Teams will be tempted to test him both because he may give up an occasional big play and because of Flowers’ great coverage skills opposite him. Plus Routt will be lined up a lot against #2 WRs (as opposed to last season in Oakland when he had to cover the other team’s #1). Because of this, I think Routt will be good for about five interceptions this coming season.

Tell me I’m wrong!

2. Amon Gordon will play more snaps at 3-4 NT this season than either of the “Po(w)e Boys”.

When the Chiefs drafted Dontari Poe with the #11 pick, most national commentators stated that Romeo Crennel would plug Poe in at NT from day one. I haven’t ever believed that to be true. I’m not bashing Poe, or even bashing the pick, just the logic that he would walk right in and be the starting NT. The NT in the Chiefs 3-4 is all about technique and leverage. Those two things happen to be two of Poe’s weakest areas coming out of college. Do I think Romeo and defensive line coach Anthony Pleasant can teach Poe the technique needed to be a starting 3-4 NT? Yes. Will it happen in one offseason? Probably not. Poe has been running with the first team nickel package, but is way down the depth chart at NT (even Anthony Toribio has gotten snaps ahead of him). So that leaves KC with either Gordon or last year’s 6th round pick Jerrell Powe as the starting NT to begin the year. I know fans are enamored of Powe, but the Chiefs have shown no signs thus far that they share that infatuation. Gordon was active over Powe all of last season and when the Chiefs base defense took the field for the first time in OTAs it was Gordon that lined up at NT. In addition, Gordon also has the versatility to play the 3-4 DE spots. So if Dorsey or Jackson were to go down mid-game the Chiefs could slide Gordon over to DE and play Dontari at NT (since he will be active for sub packages). The same could not be said for Powe who hasn’t played at all at DE or in the sub package. I won’t be surprised if Dontari Poe is the starting NT by the end of the season, but I still believe that Amon Gordon will lead the team in snaps played at NT when the season comes to an end.

Tell me I’m wrong!

3. Undrafted FA Josh Bellamy will beat out seventh round draft pick Junior Hemingway for the final WR spot.

I stated before that there really isn’t much that you can take from OTAs other than speculation. I think Josh Bellamy may be an exception. In Romeo’s presser following the undrafted player tryouts, Bellamy was the first player he mentioned when talking about players that got his attention. Then in this OTA update by the Kansas City Star’s Adam Teicher it mentions that with Bowe holding out and Baldwin missing a practice, Bellamy got a few reps with the first string (with no mention of Hemingway). Finally, in this locker room interview, Josh Looney talks about how Bellamy has experience playing defensive back and how that defensive experience helps him to excel on special teams. If Bellamy has flashed more as a WR thus far AND has a leg up on Hemingway on ST (where the last WR will see most of their action) I think Bellamy may be the clear favorite at this point despite the fact that Hemingway was drafted and Bellamy was not.

Tell me I’m wrong!

4. Peyton Hillis will finish the year with 100 more touches than Jamaal Charles.

I love Jamaal Charles. I think he is the most talented player on the team. That having been said, he has a small frame for a NFL running back and is coming off major knee surgery. The Chiefs previously were careful with Charles’ workload and that was before his knee injury. When the season begins, I wouldn’t be surprised if Charles only averaged 8-12 touches per game until the Chiefs start to feel comfortable that he is full strength. If the Chiefs are a run first team that could leave a solid 15-20 touches for Hillis. Plus, Hillis has proven in the past that he is a good receiver out of the back field so the Chiefs don’t have to take him off the field in passing downs. If the Chiefs let an ineffective Thomas Jones have more carries than a healthy Charles; I can’t imagine they wouldn’t let a more effective Hillis carry the load while they slowly bring Charles back. Over the course of 16 games 100 touches would only be an average of 6.25 touches per game.

Tell me I’m wrong!

5. Jonathan Baldwin will play well enough this season that the Chiefs will let Dwayne Bowe walk in free agency next offseason.

Part of the “Patriot Way” has always been knowing when to let a player go. Whether it was cutting Lawyer Milloy, trading Richard Seymour, or releasing Randy Moss, the Patriots have never been afraid to move on. Dwayne Bowe is an incredibly talented player who has always had a bit of a reputation as a “knuckle head.” Bowe may be wanting a huge long-term deal like the one Vincent Jackson signed this offseason, but I just don’t see Pioli giving him that kind of money. Listen to Pioli talk about the scouting process they use on draft picks. He always talks about the players’ “make up” and how they will mentally handle the NFL life and having millions of dollars in their pocket. Ask yourself this, would Pioli have been comfortable drafting Dwayne Bowe out of college based on those criteria? I don’t think he would have. The only way I see him giving Bowe big money is if he thinks he has no choice. Enter Jon Baldwin. Baldwin was a first-round pick by Pioli. He missed time last year on top of having a shortened offseason. Already in OTAs he is getting noticed for highlight-reel, big play catches. If Baldwin can carry that over to the regular season and looks like a #1 caliber WR, that is bad news for those wanting Bowe to stay in KC long term. I’d love to see both Baldwin and Bowe in KC long term, but if KC remains a run-first team they simply don’t need two #1 WRs. I think Jon Baldwin will show himself to be that caliber of player this year and give Pioli the leverage to let Dwayne Bowe walk.

Tell me I’m wrong!

6. Matt Cassel will silence his critics (well, at least some of them) by having his best season in KC.

I already made my case for Matt Cassel in my piece last week. The basis of my argument is this: Every time Cassel has had a good run game and at least an average defense he has put up good results. I think he has a chance to have the best defense of his career this coming year and if Jamaal Charles is healthy then KC could very well lead the league in rushing again. Plus, if you look at Cassel’s WRs in 2010 when he put up good numbers and even made the Pro Bowl (as an alternate), they were horrible after Dwayne Bowe. The additions of Steve Breaston, Jon Baldwin, and even Devon Wylie should mean Cassel has a significantly better core of WRs than he did in 2010. Plus, no one can question Cassel’s work ethic and you know that in the face of all the criticism he’s faced he will do everything possible to prove his critics wrong. I believe everything is lining up for Cassel to have his best season in KC.

Tell me I’m wrong!

So there you go, Addicts, I’ve given you loads of ammo to fuel a good debate in the comments section. Surely one of these made you go, “No Way That Happens!!!!” So let me have it in the comments. I look forward to hearing about how wrong I am.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ask any NFL fan on the planet which player on the Kansas City Chiefs has the most pressure to produce in 2012 and you will get the same answer. Matt Cassel. There is no player more debated, no player more hated, and no player more crucial to a Kansas City playoff run in 2012.

Let me start by saying that I’m not a Matt Cassel homer (at least not any more). In fact, when it was announced that he was done for the year after week 10 last season, I did a post stating that Matt Cassel should never start another game in KC. However, after KC finished 7-9, putting them out of position to draft a franchise QB, and Peyton Manning chose the Broncos, the Chiefs had no choice but to go with Cassel again in 2012.

Some fans still have hope for Cassel.

Some fans have no hope for the Chiefs as long as Cassel is the QB.

A few weeks back I did another piece detailing how teams with a top 10 run game and a top 10 defense have good luck making and winning in the playoffs despite average and even poor QB play. My goal with that post was to convince people that even if they didn’t believe in Cassel that they should still be excited for the upcoming season.

This time I’m going a step farther. Even if you don’t believe that Cassel is a good QB, there is reason to believe he will put up very good numbers in 2012.

The reason for this is that Matt Cassel is a chameleon.

What I mean by that is that Cassel tends to take on the appearance of the team around him. Surround him with a good team and he looks pretty good. Surround him with Bobby Wades and Barry Richardsons and he looks pretty bad. Now, a true franchise QB is able to win without elite talent. Look at Peyton Manning, he won 10 or more games consistently in Indy and then when he went dow,n they were the worst team in football. Matt Cassel will never be that guy, but let’s look at the numbers he has put up when he’s put in a good situation.

What I’ve done this week is look at how the play of the rest of the team seems to affect Cassel’s performance. When Cassel first got here, it was easy to just look at his WR talent as the difference. In NE, he had Randy Moss and Wes Welker and when he got to KC he had Dwayne Bowe and some bums off the street. It’s also been popular to put the emphasis on who is calling the plays for Cassel. When Josh McDaniels and Charlie Weis were calling plays he did well and when Todd Haley and Bill Muir were calling plays he looked bad. Now even though I think those things do obviously make an impact, I think there is more to the story. Let’s look at the numbers.

Here are Cassel’s numbers in his four seasons as a starting QB.

59 percent completion percentage
208 yards/game
6.6 yards/attempt
74 TDs to 43 INTs
82.2 average QB rating

Pretty average, huh?

Here’s where it gets interesting. Cassel has had two very good seasons (2008 and 2010) and two not so good seasons (2009 and 2011). Here’s the numbers for those seasons.

2008 and 2010
61 percent completion percentage
220 yards/game
7.1 yards/attempt
48 TDs to 18 INTs
91.2 average QB rating

2009 and 2011
56.6 percent completion percentage
193 yards/game
6.1 yards/attempt
26 TDs to 25 INTs
73.3 average QB rating

That’s a pretty big difference. It would be easy to chalk this up to Cassel just being inconsistent, but when you look at the other team numbers in those seasons there are definitely some parallels. Before we get into the numbers let me clarify the numbers for last season. To be as accurate as possible I went through the game stats for the nine games Cassel played in 2011 and averaged them out instead of using the averages for the entire season. So the final 7 games don’t factor into the averages for last season.

First, let’s look at the run game.

In 2008 the Patriots had the #6 run game at 142.2 yards/game.
In 2010 the Chiefs had the #1 run game at 164.2 yards/game.
That’s an average of 153.2 yards/game for his two successful seasons.

In 2009 the Chiefs had the #11 run game at 120.6 yards/game.
In 2011 the Chiefs were averaging 124.4 yards/game (that would of ranked #11).
That’s an average of 122 yards/game in his two poor seasons.

That’s a difference of 31.2 rushing yards/game between his good seasons and poor ones.

Now let’s look at the defenses.

In 2008 NE ranked #10 in yards allowed (309 yards/game), #8 in points allowed (19.3 points/game), and #19 in yards allowed per play (5.4).
In 2010 KC ranked #14 in yards allowed (330.2 yards/game), #11 in points allowed (20.4 points/game), and #12 in yards allowed per play (5.1).
That’s an average of 319.6 yards/game, 19.85 points/game, and 5.25 yards/play allowed.

In 2009 KC ranked #30 in yards allowed (388.2 yards/game), #29 in points allowed (26.4 points/game), and #30 in yards allowed per play (5.8).
In the first 9 games of 2011 KC gave up an average of 364.3 yards/game (would have ranked 23rd), 24.2 points/game (would have ranked 23rd), and 5.9 yards per play (would have ranked 28th).
That’s an average of 379.6 yards/game, 25.6 points/game, and 5.84 yards/play allowed.

So in Cassel’s good seasons, his defenses gave up almost 60 less yards/game, 5.75 less points/game, and about 0.6 less yards per play.

What this shows is that when the team around Cassel is producing at a high level and the pressure isn’t all on him to win the game, Cassel thrives. When the rest of the team is struggling and Cassel has to go out and carry the team, he fizzles. Is that what you want in your QB? No, not ideally. However, if you believe that the Chiefs’ run game and defense should be good next year, then you have to admit that Cassel is likely to play well.

I think you can make a case that next year KC could field the best run game that Cassel has had to date. KC was averaging 124.4 yards/game with Thomas Jones, Jackie Battle, and Barry Richardson at RT. This year those three will be replaced with Jamaal Charles, Peyton Hillis, and Eric Winston. That bodes well for Matt Cassel.

As I stated before when Cassel went out last season the Chiefs defense was giving up 364.3 yards/game, 24.2 points/game, and 5.9 yards/play. However, the defense really started clicking in the second half of the season where they averaged 295.9 yards/game, 17.1 points/game, and 4.9 yards/play. If the Chiefs defense is able to average those numbers in 2012 it would also be the best defense Cassel has had to date.

So as the offseason and training camp go by, will I be watching to see how the WR core is looking? Yes. Do I think it’s important that Brian Daboll’s offensive system is successful? Of course. But I think history has shown that those aren’t the only factors that will have a dramatic impact on Matt Cassel’s success. The good news is that those “other factors” are all looking good for next season.

That is why I think Matt “The Chameleon” Cassel will thrive in 2012.

So what do you think, Addicts? Will Cassel look good again in 2012? Do you think there is a direct correlation between how the rest of the team plays and how Cassel performs? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, Chiefs fans, isn’t it nice to talk about football that is actually taking place on a field and not just offseason hypotheticals? Granted, it may just be OTAs and they may not be wearing full pads or hitting anybody, but last week, the 2012 Kansas City Chiefs actually took the field together. So I thought it was my duty to make my weekly post about what took place (and will take place) on the field.

First, let’s look at what we might have learned already from one week of OTAs.

#1. The Chiefs need another quality safety on the roster.

When the Chiefs’ first-string defense took the field last week, their starting safeties were a CB and an undrafted rookie free agent. I could probably just stop right there, but let me elaborate just a little. All signs point to both starting safeties Eric Berry and Kendrick Lewis being fully healthy for the start of the season and the Chiefs seem to have plans for fifth-round pick De’Quan Menzie at safety as well, so hopefully by the time the first preseason game rolls around, the safety situation will already look much better just because of the players that will be back.

That having been said, last year the depth at safety was exposed and the Chiefs would be foolish if they didn’t make strides to remedy this. Travis Daniels is a quality #3-4 CB, but he shouldn’t be starting at safety. Terrance Parks was the rookie that started next to Daniels. He’s an undrafted rookie out of Florida State. Now, I am excited by the fact that the Chiefs started Parks over veteran Donald Washington. It means one of two things: Either the Chiefs think they have found a hidden treasure in Parks, or they have realized that Donald Washington is horrible. Either option is good in my book.

Now, I wouldn’t get too excited about Parks just yet. I did some digging and couldn’t find ANY good scouting reports on Parks. NFL Draft Scout had 70 safeties listed in their database for this years draft and Parks wasn’t one of them. Nothing at Draft Tek or Draft Countdown either. This guy wasn’t seen as good enough to even warrant a profile on the major draft/scouting sites. To his credit though, he is playing ahead of two other undrafted safety prospects in Neiko Thorpe and Tysyn Hartman that were at least on the radar of most major scouting services. FSU’s website lists Parks at 6’2″, 215 lbs. and describes him as a “big, physical safety.” Maybe the Chiefs like Parks in the hybrid LB/S role that Jon McGraw played in the nickel packages.

One question I do have about the safety position going forward is where exactly they see De’Quan Menzie playing? Do they see him in McGraw’s role? Do they want him to compete with Arenas in the nickel? Is he just a backup for Berry and Lewis?

Regardless, the Chiefs continue to bring in veteran free agent safeties so I think it is a safe bet that the Chiefs see a hole in the roster at this position as well.

#2. Dontari Poe will contribute in sub packages even if he isn’t ready to start at NT.

Word quickly spread mid week that Dontari Poe was already running with the first team thanks to a tweet from the Chiefs PR guy Josh Looney. However, this initial report was a little misleading. Poe wasn’t running with the first team at NT. He was running with the first team in the sub package. Basically, Poe was filling the hole left by the Chiefs not re-signing Wallace Gilberry. Now, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing at all. The Chiefs used their sub package a little less than 50 percent of the time so you can make a case that making an impact as a pass rusher in the sub package is just as important as making an impact at NT.

If you think about it, this makes sense. Playing NT in the KC version of the 3-4 takes very good technique. Without going into specifics, the short version is that you have to be able to anchor yourself against double teams and hold your ground so that you can plug the gaps on both sides of the center. Think about it this way: two average NFL linemen weigh a combined 600 lbs., even at an impressive 350 lbs. Poe is still at a 250 pound disadvantage when double teamed. Without the proper technique he’ll get pushed around. However, in the sub package sets, Poe’s job will be to push the pocket from the interior. Yes, this involves some technique, but it will be much more conducive to him using his natural freakish athleticism. The good news for KC fans is that even if Poe needs MAJOR work on his technique (as many have feared) it appears he will still have an important way he can contribute from day one.

While we’re on the topic of the NT, there is one other thing we learned from OTAs. Amon Gordon is still ahead of Jerrell Powe. Powe is a fan favorite. The guy just looks the part of an NFL NT. Many had hoped that the Chiefs only had Gordon on the active roster ahead of Powe last season because he could also back up the 3-4 DE spots. But with Kelly Gregg gone and the “new Poe” still learning the position, this would be a perfect time for “old Powe” to run with the first string at NT. It didn’t happen. I would love to see Powe succeed and if both of the “Po Boys” turned into difference makers it would be great for KC. I just think all the “Po Boys” supporters had better brace themselves for the fact that neither of them may be the starting NT for week one. If I had to put money on who the starter for the opener would be I would go with Gordon. The Chiefs website lists Gordon at only 305 lbs. compared to Powe’s 335 lbs., but as you can see from this screen shot from a recent kcchiefs.com video it looks like there may not be that big of difference anymore (Gordon is 99, Powe is 95). Gordon did flash some ability while backing up Gregg, so I would be okay with him holding down the fort until Poe is ready.

#3. The additions of Peyton Hillis and Brady Quinn benefit the entire offense.

In addition to any production these players give the Chiefs on the field this fall, their additions have benefited the Chiefs already this offseason while they are installing Brian Daboll’s new offense. Having two players that are already comfortable in his system helps the other players to pick it up. Hillis himself mentioned how he is able to help his teammates with the new playbook. I don’t know if Quinn will ever see the field, but I see Hillis playing a major role. I think when all is said and done, the Peyton Hillis signing will look like one of the best of the Scott Pioli era.

Another side note on Quinn, since he has the advantage of already knowing the system it would be a major upset if Ricky Stanzi beats him out for the #2 QB spot. I suspect the order will be Cassel, Quinn, Stanzi, but if Stanzi fights his way into the #2 spot I will take that as a sign that the Chiefs really like what they are seeing and could bring hope to those that would like to see him develop into the starter down the road.

#4. Eric Winston is fully healthy.

This was never a huge concern and wasn’t talked about very much in the KC media. While KC fans were celebrating the Winston signing, I read on some Texans fan sites that many Houston fans were speculating that part of the reason they released him (in addition to his salary cap number) was that they were concerned that he wasn’t fully healthy. At the time I dismissed it as Houston fans trying to reason away the loss of such a good player. However, when the Chiefs drafted OL in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the draft a small warning alarm did go off in the back of my mind. Why others speculated that Stephenson was a possible replacement for Albert, I wondered to myself if he was a back up plan in case Winston did have some injury issues. That alarm was silenced this week when Winston was a full participant in OTAs. The Chiefs basically help out anyone with so much as a hang nail, so the fact that Winston was out there the whole time tells me they have no injury concerns with him. The additions of Winston and Hillis combined with the return of Jamaal Charles (who tweeted this week that despite his ACL injury he still thinks he’s the fastest player on the team) should make the Chiefs one of the top rushing teams in the NFL next year.

Now it’s time for some of the questions I have as the offseason program continues.

#1. After Hali and Houston is there anyone else on the roster that can get to the QB?

Hopefully, Dontari Poe can provide some interior pass rush, but other than Poe the Chiefs didn’t add a single player to improve their ability to get to the QB. The Chiefs finished tied for the third fewest sacks in the NFL last year. I have hope that Houston will step forward, but if either he or Hali miss time due to injury they will have to have someone else step up and get to the QB. Andy Studebaker has looked like an average all around LB during his limited playing time, but not a big pass rush threat. That pretty much leaves Cameron Sheffield and Gabe Miller as the only other options on the roster. So keep an eye on those two as the offseason goes forward to see if either man is up for the task.

#2. Is Brandon Siler healthy, and if so, can he challenge Jovan Belcher?

One of the main positions that the Chiefs did not address in the draft that many fans wanted them to was ILB. Despite some of our claims that Belcher is doing a fine job, many fans would like to see him pushed out of the starting lineup. About the only player capable of doing that currently on the roster is Brandon Siler. Siler missed all of last season and did not participate in OTAs last week. Wether this was just a safety precaution, or if Siler is still not able to go, we just don’t know. So keep an eye on Siler’s health and spot on the depth chart as the offseason progresses.

#3. What are the Chiefs going to do at FB this season?

The Chiefs let Le’Ron McClain walk without any kind of reports surfacing that they were trying to resign him. To date, I have not heard any reports about the Chiefs bringing in veteran FBs for tryouts. That tells me that the Chiefs are comfortable with what they currently have on the roster. Last year they drafted Shane Bannon out of Yale in the 7th round. Now, 7th rounders are usually a long shot to make the team, but FBs are an exception. Typically, if you use ANY draft pick on a FB, he’s your guy. So my guess would be that its Bannon’s job to lose. The only other options (assuming that Daboll plans on using a typical FB) are undrafted rookie Taylor Gentry and Peyton Hillis. Hillis does have FB experience, but I also see him as the “Thunder” to JC’s “Lightning” and typically when you have your “Thunder” back on the field you put a FB in front of them, so I don’t see Hillis being the only FB option on the game day active roster. There is a very cool inspirational video on Gentry that makes me want to pull for him going forward (seriously, check it out), but my guess is that Bannon is the guy this year.

#4. How will the WR depth chart shake out?

I for one, have no doubts that Dwayne Bowe will be ready to go for the regular season and will put up typical Bowe numbers. I think its safe to say that Jonathan Baldwin and Steve Breaston will also be major contributors. After that is where things get interesting. The Chiefs played former 2nd round pick Dexter McCluster at WR this last week. My guess is that we’ll see a little of Dex at both RB and WR as Daboll tries to keep defenses on their toes. Dex may not be a huge part of the offense, but unlike Evan Silva of Pro Football Talk who said he may not even make the team this year, I don’t think he is fighting for a roster spot. Dex will be on the team, I just don’t know how many reps he’ll get. The Chiefs also used a 4th round pick this season on Devon Wylie. Wylie seems to be a true slot WR with the best break away speed on the team, so he should get some reps as well.

That’s 5 WRs that I feel safe saying will contribute some. That could leave just one more spot (two max) for WRs. Terrance Copper has been a mainstay on the Chiefs since Pioli came to town. He’s a great special teams player and just this week Romeo said of his performance in OTAs that “Copper just makes touchdown catches”. The Chiefs also drafted Junior Hemingway, so he’s clearly an option as well. Josh Bellamy did well enough at the rookie camp that Crennel singled him out as someone that flashed some real ability. Here is a youtube highlight video of Bellamy who looks like he has some potential. I think Jeremy Horne is probably out of chances and recently signed Aaron Weaver and fellow undrafted rookie Brandon Kinnie are probably the ultimate long shots. I for one will be keeping a close eye on the WR position as well because I think the battle for the last WR on the 53 man roster could be a good one.

So there you have it Addicts. That’s what I’ve learned from one week of OTAs and the questions I still have going forward. I’ll also pass along this tidbit for those looking for every possible detail coming out of OTAs, a recent post at Arrowhead Pride shared some tweets from Nick Jacobs of Metro Sports. The post is a good collection of his observations from OTAs and I would highly recommend following him on twitter if you want more of these tidbits going forward. He’s got an interesting one on who Matt Cassel worked with this offseason and that he thinks its clearly helped him.

So how about you guys? Have you learned anything from OTAs so far? Do you have other major questions going forward? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!