Traditionally, NFL teams have had strong and weak sides. Offensively, it started with the positioning of the tight end. The side the tight end was on was strong and the other side was weak. As passing became a more and more of important part of the offense, things changed. Since most quarterbacks were right handed, defenses positioned their better pass rushers to rush the left side, or the blind side, of the quarterback. Football is an ever evolving game, so of course offenses adjusted. They put their more agile, generally smaller tackles on the left side, while the right side was the domain of the less mobile, stronger tackles. The same trend exists on a smaller level at the guard position as well. The run game also benefited from this. Most backs are right-handed and prefer to run right rather than left. Since the left side of the line was more mobile, they were more effective at pulling and leading right. Defenses also followed suit. It’s why Tyson Jackson and Jovan Belcher are on the left side of the defense, while Glenn Dorsey and Derrick Johnson are on the right side. So, what is next and how does it affect the Chiefs and their draft needs?

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Being in ‘enemy territory’ I am used to being a minority fan. The vast majority of the other team’s fans are decent. However, there may be a few to worry about. I never really had a stadium problem anywhere I went. The worst was when one of the Cleveland Brown dog mascots squirted water at me. To be fair, I was calling for the dog catcher before that.

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Yes, Addicts, I have the history of suffering, as all Chiefs fans who remember the seventies do. I suffered during the 1977 season, where the Chiefs went two and twelve. The Chiefs then hired Marv Levy, and the NFL expanded to 16 games. So, the Chiefs responded in true pathetic fashion by showing they could lose 12 games in a 16-game season just as easily as they could lose 12 games in a 14-game season. That’s bad. Through it all there was hope. There were players to root for, silver linings to see. However, at my age, I am just tired. I am tired of ‘rebuilding’ when I see other teams improve quickly. I am so tired of being non-competitive. What is an Addict to do? What can we look for this season?

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There is simply no way to polish that turd of a performance. To add insult to injury, Eric Berry was lost for the year. Berry is probably the defensive player the Chiefs could least afford to lose. So, where do the Chiefs go from here?

Well, the official Merlin preseason prediction of 7-9 goes out the window. Without Berry and Moeaki, the Chiefs will be doing well if they win five games. No season is lost, but realistically, the Chiefs are no longer playoff contenders. The rest of the season, I will be evaluating the following.

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1. The first team offense establishes a rhythm. This should result in some decent drives and points on the board. Did the Chiefs achieve this goal? Not even close. The offense was kept under wraps and was unable to establish any good rhythm, unless you count making sure Dustin Colquitt was ready.
2. The first team defense show consistency and can shut teams down. This goal was partially satisfied. However, I would have liked to see more consistency. Depth on this team is mostly unproven and young.
3. Key reserves on both sides of the ball look ready to play well. Here the Chiefs don’t have a lot of veteran depth, though some players like Cameron Sheffield looked good.
4. Rookies start to get their feet wet. Here the Chiefs did fairly well. Several rookies got some good playing time. I like what I saw out of Powe and Houston. Hudson got some good playing time, but more at guard than center. That bears watching. Unfortunately, Baldwin wasn’t able to get much playing time.

Overall, the Chiefs pre-season was lackluster at best. It doesn’t do anything to make a Chiefs fan feel this team is ready be a solid playoff team. That assessment, however, pales compared to this anonymous assessment from ‘NFL insiders’ on Pro Football Weekly.

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That baby of mine wouldn’t let me in.

So move it on over. Rock it on over.

Move over little dog, a mean, old dog is movin’ in.-GEORGE THOROGOOD – MOVE IT ON OVER (Hank Williams)

That’s right, Mr. Balwin, welcome to Todd Haley’s doghouse. You may not realize it, but you are in good company. See that hole in the wall? That matches Derrick Johnson‘s fist. That Krispy Krème doughnut? Dwayne Bowe left it. That one is a bit stale, you may want to throw it out. You see, Jonathan, you are in some select company. Todd Haley’s doghouse is more formally known as Todd Haley’s Home For Talented Athletes With Attitudes. Your problem is that you have talent, a ton of it. All your life you have been the best at your position on your team, no questions asked. However, your life took a dramatic turn. You entered the NFL zone. Here, you are not the most talented player at your position on your team. In time, you may be the most talented player at your position, but not right now. Consider the quote from Crash Davis in the movie Bull Durham:
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Well Addicts, The Chiefs went out and conducted a practice under the guise of a game last week.

What did we learn about the Chiefs first string?

Nothing.

No, I am not worried about the score. Though the Chiefs management should be embarrassed to collect money for that practice. What did we learn? I was encouraged by the play of Jerrell Powe and Ricky Stanzi. Jonathan Baldwin showed some of the athleticism that made him a first round draft pick. Rodney Hudson, Allen Bailey and most of the rookies had their moments. All in all, there were encouraging signs for the current rookie crop.

However, all was not good. I have written before about my concerned about the offensive Since Casey Wiegmann didn’t play it’s unfair to draw too many conclusions about the first string line. However, it’s very fair to be concerned about the offensive line depth. Tyler Palko and Ricky Stanzi spent most of their time at quarterback running for their lives. Right now Rodney Hudson is the only solid depth we have on the offensive line. Ryan O’Callaghan is borderline and Jared Gaither can’t make it a couple of practices without being hurt. Although Gaither has a lot of talent, the most important ability is availability. Don’t be shocked if Gaither doesn’t make the team. He is a low risk, low price signing, but the Chiefs are not in the business of coddling problem children, despite his skills. Fans of the Chiefs should be holding their breath all year that Albert and Richardson stay healthy. This is a prime area for a new player to be brought in. Backup tackle and backup quarterback are the two spots where we are most likely to see a new player brought in. Tyler Palko didn’t do much to cement his status as the second string quarterback.

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Now that the lockout is over and we are looking at ten (ten!) years of labor peace, Addicts and fans everywhere can breath a sigh of relief. For the NFL, however, there is no sigh of relief. Instead, the Chiefs are deep into a mad sprint of signings. Surely, Scott Pioli had a plan, like all responsible teams. However, plans are plans and he has to adjust fast to changes. Already the Chiefs are busy signing UDFA’s, filling out the bottom of the training camp roster. Almost all of these names will be forgettable. One or two may make the team and another couple could end up on the practice squad.

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When it comes to voting for an all-time list of anything, I have serious concerns. Basically, most voters don’t know the history well. Therefore, there is a built-in bias towards more recent players. When you have someone like a Bob Gretz compiling a list, it tends to be a more accurate list.

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Addicts, while we all hope that there is NFL football this season, one thing is certain. There will be college football this season. My heart belongs to the Chiefs, so I always watch football with an eye towards who the Chiefs might be interested in. As much as I like Branden Albert and Barry Richardson, I can not see the Chiefs winning a Super Bowl with them as the bookend tackles. We may see Albert slide inside to guard, or you can see Richardson moved to a backup, swing tackle role. Either way, we could easily see a new player at a starting tackle position.

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Here at Merlin’s Magic, I tend to shy away from the labor talks. However, there have been some reports that haven’t received much attention that warrant discussion and hope. This article was posted a couple of days ago on Pro Football Talk. The money shot is this quote:

it’s important to keep in mind the fact that, as Peter King of SI.com pointed out in today’s Monday Morning Quarterback, the two sides aren’t really all that far apart.

The crux of the dispute relates to money, especially since the non-economic terms offered by the NFL on March 11 contain many very player-favorable provisions,

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First, let’s take a refresher on the needs. I have the Chiefs primary needs as: C, WR, NT, in no particular order. Secondary needs are RB, OT, SOLB. The Giants then Tampa pick before the Chiefs, with the Colts following the Chiefs pick. It is important to be aware of the needs of teams picking around you. This is especially true when you are talking about trading picks.

When you look at the draft board, it’s quite apparent that the Chiefs have a bit of a problem. Of the players likely to be around at #21, there isn’t a player at a primary need position that is good value at #21. Yes Addicts, I can hear the folks on the Taylor train complaining. Let’s take a detour and talk about why Phil Taylor has a second round grade on Draft Tek and why I agree with that and don’t see the value for him at #21.

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This week, Adam and I are going to continue our positional dives looking at potential draftees. I am going to take the wide receivers and Adam will follow with a look at the offensive tackles. So, who are some wide receiver prospects that might be attractive to the Kansas City Chiefs? We need to keep in mind that Todd Haley’s roots are with coaching wide receivers. He is extra hard on those players and demands a lot from them. One thing that is very clear is that Haley had a pathological aversion to dropped passes. Given that AJ Green and Julio Jones figure to go high in round one, I will not cover them here. The Chiefs primarily need a receiver fast enough to stretch the field. So, I will concentrate more on speed receivers.

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Phil Taylor Baylor 6′ 3” 334 lbs

Phil is the first nose tackle that may be available. A lot of Chiefs fans have fallen in love with Phil. It’s easy to see why. He has a true nose tackle build. He has good hands, a strong lower body and does well occupying blockers. Phil lost a lot of weight after the season and showed very well at the Senior Bowl, the Combine and at Baylor’s Pro Day. Those workouts have pushed Taylor into the late first round or early second round draft territory. He did have some character issues at Penn State. That may be an issue, but it does appear that those issues are in the past.

Despite his positives, I don’t think the Chiefs will draft him. My conclusion is not based on his character issues, but on other factors. Scott Pioli looks for certain things when evaluating football players. Along with athletic skills to fit the position, he looks at other factors. He prefers players with a long track record of performance, preferably against a high level of competition. Pioli also looks for a track record of dedication to the game, plays with a high motor and exhibits strong leadership qualities. He also prefers intelligent players. I can’t speak for Taylor’s intelligence, but the rest of the list does not scream Phil Taylor. Talyor lacks conditioning and played college football at a much higher weight. Sometimes, that weight was in the 380+ lbs territory. Taylor has done a great job losing a lot of weight and showing well in the post season work. Some team may be seduced by Taylor’s potential. I don’t think that team will be the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Last week, I looked at a few prospects that I was curious about. Let’s go through them and see how they rate after the Combine.

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At best, the Combine might produce a fun moment. The Terrence Cody man boobs weigh in and the Tom Brady ‘who knocked me down and took my lunch money’ shots are priceless. Despite the fun and ‘watching the fieldturf grow’ excitement, there is some value in the underwear olympics. This is an opportunity for players to measure themselves against other players in controlled drills and other measureables. For the elite prospects, this is of limited value. However, for mid-later round prospects, especially prospects from non-elite schools, this event can make the difference of a round or three of draft position. A friend of mine (shoutout, GB!!!) called my attention to a recent article recalling a 2007 interview with Scott Pioli talking about the Combine when he was with the Patriots. I would assume his comments would be highly applicable to today’s Chiefs. With all that in mind, let’s talk about a few mid-late round prospects the Chiefs may be interested in whose draft ranking could be affected by the Combine.

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This week on Draft Thursday, Adam and I are going to mock the Chiefs picks in a full seven round mock. I did this last year and had a lot of fun doing it. This year, readers can compare Adam’s choices and mine. In the comments, feel free to respond and post your own mock of Chiefs picks. To make this a fair exercise, we all need to follow some rules. The big board on Draft Tek is the official board to make picks from.  The rules are as follows. You can go up five positions from your draft position. For example, The Chiefs first round pick is #21. So, players from #16 and down are eligible to be selected. You are free to go down as far as you want to select a player. Feel free to reach down to #30 (as an example) for pick #21. Since we don’t know the compensation, if any for the Jared Page trade, that trade will not be factored in. We are going to assume reports are true that we traded our sixth round pick and Alex Magee for Tampa Bay’s fifth round selection (#148). Now on to the selections.

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For our first installment of Draft Thursday, Adam and I will be taking a look at a couple of prospects and their Chiefs draft potential. I will be taking the North squad and Adam will be reviewing the South squad. While the Senior Bowl itself was interesting, the practices were the more important part of the evaluation for NFL scouts. The move from college to the pros is a huge leap and learning curve. How a player prepares and practices against good talent can be a very good indicator of that player’s ability to learn and grow. With that in mind, let’s review some of the North players that increased their draft stock and what that may mean for the Chiefs.

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In addition to my love for the Kansas City Chiefs, I also am a life-long fan of the New York Yankees. I normally do not discuss the Yankees here, for two reasons. One, it tends to annoy the Yankee haters (there are more than one around here) and two, it doesn’t usually have much to do with the Chiefs. However, I was struck by a comparison that I want to discuss here. Being a fan of the Yankees means that you don’t lack for resources in building a team. Almost any big free agent is in play, if wanted. You don’t lose players because you don’t have enough money to pay them. Also, the Yankees can afford to gamble on big contracts to unproven players. What does this have to do with the Chiefs? Not much, but I am talking about Chief fans and Yankee fans.

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By far the AFL’s top rivalry, and one that carried over to the NFL. The Raiders, like the Cowboys, have heated rivalries with all of the teams in their division, but the Chiefs are special. Mainly because the Chiefs are the only AFC West team with a winning record against the Raiders. The feud reached its zenith in the 1990s when Marcus Allen left the Raiders to join the Chiefs.

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During the season, I am always revising the needs, based on the Chiefs play on the field. This review will have the current needs. These needs are so current, they are yet to appear on DraftTek.com. They will be included in the next update, maybe, perhaps, unless I change my mind again. As usual, I am open to changing my mind. Via Draft Tek, I get feedback from many Chiefs fans and I welcome it. All the feedback goes into my thinking. I am not omniscient, just don’t tell Paddy. He might cut my salary from nothing to half of that. I don’t think I can take that kind of cut. The economy is tight.

The highest level of draft needs contain the following positions, in no particular order: NT, C, WR. Sharp readers will note that QB is no longer on the highest level of needs. Matt Cassel has played about as good as I think he can play. Play like that keeps his job very secure. However, as Scott Pioli always reminds us, he looks to increase competition at all positions, always.

The secondary level of draft needs are: QB, WR, Right OT. This year, Draft Tek has split the offensive tackle needs from OT to Left OT and Right OT. Yes, that’s not a misprint. WR is down twice. I would like to see us bring in two wide receivers.

As many readers have pointed out, the Chiefs are quite thin at many position. The tertiary needs are quite full, containing these positions: DE, OLB, SILB, WILB, FS, CB, RB, OG, LOT. What this grouping basically says is that beyond the first two tiers, we are looking for help across the board. We are looking to bring in the best player among a group of most positions. This is a good strategy for almost all teams, but especially for teams lacking quality depth at many positions.

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I have been thinking about that when the comparison of Colin Brown and Ryan Lilja occurred to me. Every year, teams

try to place players that they feel have some potential on the practice squad. Occasionally, another team will swoop in and claim that player. Almost all of the time, the player never develops into a contributor and fans forget about it.

However, there are those examples of players that went on to be contributors (Wallace Gilberry), solid players (Ryan Lilja) or even Pro Bowlers (Brian Waters). It’s easy to remember the good players we got, or the ones that got away. For example, the September first, 2008 Chiefs practice squad consisted of S Dowayne Davis, LB Aden Durde, WR Marques Hagans, G Edwin Harrison, DT Derek Lokey, WR Kevin McMahan and DE Jason Parker. Lokey is the only one that registers at all. The fact is that if a certain player shows a lot of promise, teams keep them on the roster.

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It feels good to see the same basic blueprint being carried forward. The provides some long needed continuity. Teams that continue to change direction have a hard time winning. With his second draft behind him, Scott Pioli is starting to shape the Chiefs into the kind of team he wants to go to war with. Given that, I have been thinking about some training camp battles that may shape the Chiefs for years to come.

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