John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

According to Pro Football Focus, Tamba Hali had one of the ten best games at3-4 OLB in the NFL last season.

PFF is going through each positional group and picking out the players who had the ten most productive games according to their grading system. Hali came in at #4.

Here is what PFF had to say:

When the Vikings came to town it seemed the Chiefs had a plan in place, with Hali attacking Phil Loadholt relentlessly. By the time the game was over, Hali had notched two sacks, two hits, and eight pressures as Minnesota couldn’t handle his speed off the edge. That qualifies as a big day.

What else is there to say? Hali is a force and is one of the best backers in the NFL. Now that Justin Houston will be entering his second season and with the addition of Dontari Poe, it is going to be even harder for defenses to spend all their time worrying about Hali.

Tamba not only impacts the game himself, he makes the other players around him better. That means if Houston continues his success from late last season, he could be in for a big year.

Whether it is Hali or Houston getting to the QB, the Chiefs figure to have much improved pass rush in 2012.

Tamba Hali Had One Of 2011′s Best OLB Performances - Arrowhead Addict - Arrowhead Addict - A Kansas City Chiefs Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more

The Kansas City Chiefs have been in the midst of a youth movement for many years now, and it’s safe to say they are nearing the phase where the team’s cupboard is relatively full.  The 2012 season was the first of several, then, where this franchise attempted to take that next step: moving from a genuine rebuild to a genuine stockpiling of talent for a championship.

To do that, you always need to keep your eyes on the horizon.  The problem is that this transition can prove to be incredibly difficult for one major reason: all those rookie contracts you inked a few years ago during the youth movement are coming to an end.  All of a sudden, young whippersnappers you were paying pennies on the dollar are up for a new contract, and if they hit the open market, any player with talent will subsequently be overpaid by a team ahead of the Chiefs in the stockpiling process, a team that unlike the Chiefs, believes it’s only a player or two away.

How 2012 Played Out

I wrote about this very subject a year ago:

But the Chiefs will be entering the stage in 2012 that is often a fatal stumbling block for teams that are trying to rebuild: retaining the young talent they’ve brought in/groomed/developed.  This is often a perilous step in rebuilding franchises, as established franchises are usually more willing than Chiefs-type rebuilding squads to throw bloated contracts at players looking for a second-contract. Teams on the up and up that can’t afford to frequently overpay, like the Chiefs will be, are often on the losing ends of these deals.

The 2012 offseason was really our first glimpse at this problem.  The following players were up for contract this offseason (starters are bolded):

QB Kyle Orton
RB Thomas Jones
FB LaRon McClain
WR Dwayne Bowe
WR Jerheme Urban
TE Leonard Pope
OT Barry Richardson
C Casey Wiegmann
NT Kelly Gregg
DE Wallace Gilberry
ILB Jovan Belcher (RFA)
ILB Brandon Siler
CB Brandon Flowers
CB Brandon Carr
CB Travis Daniels
S Jon McGraw
K Ryan Succop (RFA)

That’s a hell of a list — that’s 11 starters!  Plus some key backups.

The results, predictable: 2 players received an extension midseason (Flowers & Succop), 2 backup players signed a one-year deal this offseason (Siler & Daniels), and 2 players will have signed a one-year tender, pending a longer-term deal (Belcher & Bowe). The rest, gone with the wind.  And while nobody is shedding tears over losing McGraw or Richardson, there was a ton of doubt over why the Chiefs didn’t pursue Orton or Carr.

The thing is: they probably did.  But look at everybody they had to rope in, and try to do it in financially reasonable ways.

Then throw in a team like the Dallas Cowboys, a team that believes it is only a piece or two away from championship contention.  They are always more willing than up-and-comers like the Chiefs to overspend (or “pay retail,” as Jerry Jones phrases it) for final puzzle pieces like both Orton (3 years, $9 million to hold a clipboard) and Carr (5 years, $50 million, legitimate #1 corner money).

Next year’s offseason is proving to be similarly challenging.  The following players will be up for contract in 2013 (we are not yet assuming Bowe gets a longterm contract):

QB Brady Quinn
RB Peyton Hillis
WR Dwayne Bowe
WR Jeremy Horne
TE Jake O’Connell
OT Brandon Albert
OG Ryan Lilja
DE Glenn Dorsey
ILB Jovan Belcher
ILB Brandon Siler
CB Travis Daniels
CB Jacques Reeves
DB Kyle McCarthy
FS Donald Washington
P Dustin Colquitt
LS Thomas Gafford
Plus DE Tyson Jackson’s impending $15 million year, which will demand a response.

Starter-wise, this is looking a little less brutal, but is still going to force some major decisions for this team going forward.  Who will get the franchise tag (only 1 player can)?  Who will get a midseason extension (usually only 2 will)?  Who will hit the free market and will subsequently get dramatically overpaid (as at least one of our key starters is likely to)?  Who can be replaced via talent we already have on the roster, free agency, and the draft?

What do you think, Addicts?

1. Who do you slap the franchise tag on in 2013?
2. What two Chiefs do you think we should get extended throughout the season.
3. Explain how you are going to replace or resign every other starter and/or key contributor.

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“Visions of sugarplums danced in their heads” ~ The Nutcracker

You’ve probably seen such comments mentioned recently: “Brian Daboll has a lot to work with in K.C..” ” The Chiefs have one of the best rosters in the league right now.” ” Brian Daboll has a lot of toys to play with.”

These “toys” of course are players in his new “Nutcracker” offense. Now, it’s up to new Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll to choreograph, and pull the right strings, to get the most of a talented troupe.

So, how much has the Chiefs offense grown just since the end of the 2011 season?

1. New Offensive Coordinator: Brian Daboll
2. Replaced RB Thomas Jones with Peyton Hillis
3. The return of RB Jamaal Charles
4. The return of TE Tony Moeaki
5. The return of QB Matt Cassel
6. The addition of TE Kevin Boss
7. The addition of back-up QB Brady Quinn
8. The addition of RT Eric Winston
9. The drafting of slot WR Devon Wylie
10. The drafting of OG/OT Jeff Allen
11. The drafting of OT depth Donald Stephenson
12. The drafting of RB Cyrus “Cy-Fi” Gray
13. The drafting of WR Hemingway
14. The franchising of WR Dwayne Bowe

When you make a list, it’s immediately apparent that the Chiefs loaded up on offense this off-season. Why? One possible explanation is that the two teams in the Super Bowl had horrible overall defenses last season… and still made it to the biggest game of all. The lesson to be learned from this: a potent offense wins championships. Well, at least the current formula for winning a championship has temporarily become slanted that way.

So, what will a Daboll “championship” troupe have to offer this year?

• Running back by committee? √ Check. Ivory Thunder and Ebony Lightning are going to make it difficult for teams to weather the Chiefs storm.
  
• A wide open passing attack? √  Check. In theory. The contingent component here is QB Matt Cassel’s timing and accuracy.
• Two tight end sets? √  Check. Going to help passing and running games.
• Multiple slot receivers with “kwiks?” √  Check. Dex and Wylie… a la Wes Welker… will wow the audiences.
  
• Speed for the deep ball? √  Check. If Cassel can get the long ball to JBal with the requisite distance and consistency?
• Passing over the middle with success? √  Check. Not only Bowe but, now there’s Boss and Wylie plus Moeaki is back.
• Strength at the point of attack to punch it in near the end zone or grinding the clock down late in the game? √  Check. Improved line play plus Peyton Hillis and Cyrus Gray. Here they come to save the day.
  

The list is imposing enough but, perhaps the list should be called “what will Pioli offer to Daboll this year?

So, what would you imagine that Brian Daboll could do with all these top notch options? Creating mismatches should be near the top of his list..

In a recent post by Nicholas Alan Clayton called “Peyton Hillis: The Chiefs Best Signing of 2012”, he points out that,

When we face teams with heavy-footed, run-stuffing linebackers, we can let Charles dance around them or burn by them. If we’re up against a finesse team with coverage linebackers, we can let Hillis run them over.

Peyton Hillis is the original Mr. Ground-and-Pound himself. If you’re privileged enough to have been a Chiefs fan in the early 1990’s then you may recall a young man named Christian Okoye. Christian was 6-1 and weighed 253 lbs. Hillis goes 6-2 and is 250 lbs. and can bring it like Okoye did but, he also likes taking it to the open field and has the speed to do that.

Whether Peyton’s difficulties last season were real or perceived, we do know Mr. Daboll used him effectively in 2010 (1,654 combined rushing and receiving yards). That alone will boost Hillis’ confidence enough for Daboll to get a max effort from him. With Hillis under a one-year contract, I’d be reasonably surprised if he didn’t rush for 1,000 yards in 2012.

Wondering what Brian Daboll has in store for Jamaal Charles? Think Reggie Bush. Bush gained 100 yards or more in 5 out of his last 9 games, was a regular receiving threat out of the backfield and ended up with more than a thousand yards on the year. Daboll knows how to get players like JC and Dex into space, where they can use their crowd pleasing speed and elusive-butterfly-of-love abilities.

“I think with all the players, your job as a coach is to see where they fit.”

~ Brian Daboll

How about the Chiefs new tight-ends-duet, Kevin Boss and Tony Moeaki? Pro Football Focus said of Boss and Moeaki,

“… if the Chiefs are getting the TE (Boss) who finished as PFF’s No.3 TE in 2009 (+17.4), they’re getting a real weapon… (he’s) in the same category as players like Kellen Winslow and Heath Miller… In the last 10 years only a handful of TEs have hit 500 receiving yards in their debut seasons (556). Moeaki was PFF’s No. 6 TE in 2010 and posted strong peripherals across the board. If healthy, he will outperform his ADP by a wide margin.

Has Daboll been around long enough to evaluate his current roster? Does he know what he has to work with? “Skill-wise, I think we have some stuff to work with.”

Daboll describes Moeaki as a “very skillful tight-end.” The two tight-end sets that New England has popularized and taken great advantage of in the past two seasons should become a staple of the new Daboll offensive machine.

And Brian Daboll knows about WR Jon Baldwin: “the Baldwin kid from Pittsburgh, big, he can make acrobatic catches.”

In a Q&A with the Chiefs new puppet master he goes on to explain,

I think that your job is to go through… the different practices and get a bird’s-eye view of the 11 guys, or the 15 guys with the different personnel groups that you’re going to be in and out of, and determine who’s the best and will give you the best chance to win.

Trick plays? Daboll once used prized OT Jake Long as a tackle-eligible and then split him out wide. He said it “didn’t work” but, that it “looked good.”

It means that Brian Daboll is ready, willing and able to place his new toys in a position to win.

I sure do wish it was time to play with the marionettes right now.

So, you can call it “the Chiefs offense” but, I like to think of it as “Daboll Toys Inc.”

Any string you can’t wait to see pulled?

P

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Jason Miller-US PRESSWIRE

The Kansas City Chiefs are continuing to add to their roster.

The team has announced that it has (officially) signed second round pick Jeff Allen and fifth round pick DeQuan Menzie.

Along with the two draft picks, the Chiefs also added four free agents.

DB Dominique Ellis (5-11, 195), TE Martin Rucker (6-5, 251) and LB Leon Williams (6-3, 248) all signed after taking part in a tryout during last weekend’s rookie mini-camp.

The team also signed free agent offensive lineman Rich Ranglin (6-3, 315).

Williams is an interesting signing. He was drafted by Cleveland when Romeo Crennel was the head coach. In 2007 he started nine games for the Browns, recording 85 tackles, four sacks and three pass defenses. Despite his decent stats, Williams hasn’t started an NFL game since that season and he did not play last season. He is 28.

Rucker, like Williams, was drafted in the fourth round by the Crennel-led Browns. He has bounced around the league since leaving Cleveland and has failed to catch on in Philly, Dallas and Jacksonville. He’ll face an uphill battle to make the roster with the Chiefs already having Tony Moeaki and Kevin Boss. His best shot is to unseat Jake O’Connell.

KC’s roster now stands at 87 players. They are allowed to carry a max of 90 this offseason.

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