Holy crap we are about to have football again.  This Friday we will actually get to see the Red and Gold take the field for the first time in 7 months, and I am very excited.  Sure it’s only the preseason, and at best the first string players will only be on the field for the first series of downs, but after the craziness of this past off season it might as well be the freaking Super Bowl.

So all of this excitement has got me to thinking about the upcoming season, and I thought it would be fun for all of us to get some pre-preseason predictions on record to see just how close our expectations are to reality.  At the end of the season I will go through and tally up who had the most correct answers and they will be dubbed the winner of this little contest.  I will donate my entire months Arrowhead Addict salary to the winner (bad time to tell you all this is basically a volunteer gig…).

We will start after the jump.  Merlin, you can play so long as you leave the cover on your seeing stone.

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Weis may be gone but don't expect him to take the Chiefs' offense with him.

There is a long standing joke that NFL stands for “Not For Long”.  This idea stands true to anyone within a professional football organization.  From the General Manager, to the Head Coach, down to the players, you never know when you time will be over. There are often times when head coaches and general managers receive more credit, or blame, then they deserve. The 2010 Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis was a perfect example of a coach getting more credit then he deserved.

Weis was part of a Bill Belichick lead Patriots dynasty and the Head Coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  In that time Weis became well known and respected for being an offensive mastermind. Weis won three Super Bowl titles as a coach with the Patriots as he called the plays for one of the league’s most prolific offenses. Weis brought that wealth of knowledge and all his credentials to the Chief.
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When Charlie Weis decided to split town after just one year as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, speculation ran rampant that Weis and head coach Todd Haley simply couldn’t get along and that the rift is what caused Weis to leave.

I’ve often said that I don’t have a problem with KC’s secretive ways under Scott Pioli but I’ve also said that by being so secretive, the organization forfeits it’s right to be righteously indignant when those following them incorrectly speculate on the reasoning of certain moves.

Thus when Weis departed, it was no surprise when the organization offered little in the way of an explanation, nor was it surprising that some decided on their own that personality differences between Haley and Weis was at the root of the departure.

If you caught The Morning Fix earlier today, you may have noticed that the first article we linked to was from CBSSports.com and concerned Weis. The article, brought to us by Dennis Dod, has some new quotes from Weis and seems to indicate that Weis’ leaving had much more to do with his family than Todd Haley.

One very interesting aspect of the article is a story about some problems Charlie and his wife Maura had with the care of their daughter Hannah, who is a special needs child. I’ll let you read the article for yourself but in short, the school responsible for bussing Hannah home failed to deliver her on time on a couple of different occasions, leading Weis and his wife into severe panic about the whereabouts of their daughter. According to the article, the bus drive failed to notify Hannah that she was at her stop and the girl then ended up riding the entire route to the end.

From the article:

“At that point, Kansas City was dead to Maura. Charlie felt the same way, even as his contributions helped the Chiefs win the AFC West and helped quarterback Matt Cassel go to the Pro Bowl.”

The article goes on to talk about Charlie’s son, who will be starting his coaching career at Florida, as another contributing factor to Weis inquiring about openings at Florida.

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Kansas City Chiefs GM Scott Pioli made an appearance on The Border Patrol, a program on Sports Radio 810 this morning and once again demonstrated his keen ability to talk for an extended period of time without saying anything at all.

For the record, I am a Pioli fan. I didn’t like his 2009 but if 2010 was a result of the groundwork laid by the organization in 2009, then I think 2009 was worth it. I don’t like to spend too much time judging Pioli’s methods because I don’t need to. In the end, Pioli will be judged by what the Chiefs do on the football field. If they continue to win, Pioli will be primarily viewed in a favorable light. If the Chiefs start taking step backwards…well, you get it.

I know some of you are bothered by Pioli’s secretive manner. I can understand that. Does the organization need to keep even the smallest things a secret? Do they really get a huge advantage over their opponents by shrouding themselves in mystery?

I don’t know. I really don’t know how much it helps or how much of it is really necessary. I mean I cover this team. More information from the Chiefs would make my job easier and possibly more fun at times. That being said, I’m also a fan and what I really care about is what the Chiefs do on the field. Trust me, nothing would make my job easier or more fun than deep playoff run topped with a trip to the Super Bowl.

That being said, Pioli gave a rare “interview” today and I managed to catch most of it.

After the jump, I’ve got a few quotes from KC’s GM.

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This one is going to be tough.  I can’t recall ever ending a season more unsure of my coaching staff.  I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way.  I mean literally unsure.  As in, not sure. 

In the past, our coaches have always had very well defined strengths and weaknesses.  We all knew exactly what Martyball was.  Vermeil was all offense.  Gunther was all crazy.  Herm was the most incompetent and infuriating coach of all time.  Even our coordinators have either been people we all pretty much liked (Gunther stint 1, Al Saunders, Chan the man) or total hacks (Mike Solari, Paul Hackett, Greg Robinson, Gunther stint 2).  I’ve always felt like I had a total handle on our coaching staff.  I no longer feel that way.

Part of this is just getting older and realizing I don’t know everything.  But this really has been a tough group to nail down.  Good record, easy schedule, high-profile coordinators combined with an inexperienced head coach.  Where the hell do you assign credit (or blame) there?  Both our offense and defense had highs and lows.  The team overachieved, yet folded in the end and came out flat multiple times.  With respect to the coaching, this was a very mixed bag.  Peanuts and cashews, sure, but also several of those nuts that are too hard and throw off the texture continuity. 

We’ll begin……at the beginning.

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Source: KCChiefs.com

Well, the Kansas City Chiefs’ NFL season is finally finished.  Sure, there were highs (beating the San Diego Chargers).  And there were lows (losing to the Chargers).   But, for me at least, this whole season surpassed my expectations.  For the most part, that’s all I’m going to say about that.

I could go back through the season and play the blame game.  I could go back and say, “If they had only listened to me they would have won it.”  I could complain about the play calls, schemes, and personnel packages.  But I’m not going to do that.  It’s useless to do so.  The simple fact is that the Chiefs made it to the playoffs and lost.  Change one thing about what occurred in the regular season and maybe we don’t make it to the playoffs at all.
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Source: Yarkbarker.com

At his end of the year press conference, Todd Haley said he was open to anything when asked if he would consider calling his own offensive plays next season leading to the usual media over interpretation and alarm sounding.

I didn’t initially report Haley’s response to the question because I didn’t want to add to what I knew would be a sensationalized interpretation of his words. I knew this because the fact that the offense did not perform well in 2009 when Haley was calling the plays combined with the Bob Fescoe’s post playoff pizza conspiracy, would lead to general panic in Chiefs Nation and would be yet another log on Jason Whitlock’s “Todd Haley Is An Egoistical Jerk” bonfire. Now that Pro Football Talk is reporting it (PFT incidentally has been having a nice little back and forth with Whitlock for the last week) I figured I had to say something.

Haley was pretty much saying the same thing for his entire press conference which was basically that the offseason evaluation process was about to begin and that the Chiefs were open to doing anything they can to improve the team. Haley, as he usually does, gives pretty much the same answer to every question and never gives a straight answer to anything so when he was asked if he would consider calling the plays next year there was no way he was going to say no.

In fact, what Haley said was this:

“I’ll consider anything, but it’s going to be a very thorough evaluation of the entire system,” he said. “We had a real good coordinator here in Charlie [Weis] that has moved on to Florida. We have to make sure we continue to develop our coaches and have good coaches on the staff.”

More after the jump.

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Keep it coming little man (source: blogs.pitch.com)

The Chiefs game last Sunday sucked.  Aside from the 9 yards per carry Jamaal Charles averaged, I had a hard time grasping the fact that this was the same team I had seen dismantle the Titans just two weeks ago.

That is all I am going to say about the game.  We all know how we feel about it, so to spend 1000+ words going over and over that disgraceful showing would not only be pointless, it would be sadomasochistic.

Before I get to my main points pertaining to the title of this post, I need to get some words in prefacing not only why I am surprised at the current situations the fans and Chiefs organization face, but how baffled I am that not a week removed from the best season in recent memory where our beloved Chiefs won as many games in one year as they had in the previous three that there is such a state of unrest and uncertainty about where this team is headed based only on very thin reporting, skepticism, and pure speculation.

More after the jump

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The exciting 2010 season already starts to fade into memory...

Yes, this past Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2010 season ended with a thud on the cold, hard, two-toned turf of Arrowhead Stadium. And just like that, a nation of Chiefs fans was cut off cold turkey.

If you’re like me—and if you’re reading (or for that matter, purposefully avoiding) this blog right now, I know that in some way you are—you’re experiencing a bit of a psychological break. We’ve all been on a weekly cycle of ebb and flow…win and sometimes lose…soar and crash…vent and recover…for the last four-plus months, and it’s not the kind of routine you just delicately step away from.

Last week, Lyle made a nice analogy between our Chiefs’ uneven progress and the art of potty-training, explaining that with any young team, fits and starts and “accidents” are all part of the process. To apply my own, much more convoluted and less appropriate bathroom-related analogy, one might say that the Kansas City Chiefs’ season rather suddenly went down the toilet on Sunday. And now that our toilet is clogged to the point of cracking because it’s full of Chiefs (Shaun Smith in particular), it sure would be nice if we could just shut off the water main and remove the pressure from the situation.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way with adrenaline. (more…)

Source: KCstar

The Kansas City Chiefs may be out of the playoffs but the action around the team continued today when Bob Fescoe of 610 Sports reported that Haley stripped Weis of his play calling duties in the second half of Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

I held off on reporting Fescoe’s claim because I was at work and wasn’t able to hear the actual report that was given on the radio. Later, Pro Football Talk reported Fescoe’s claim but I was still weary of posting it without hearing the original and also because I was picking up on some claims that the information might be flimsy.

Looks like that may have been a good call. From Pro Football Talk:

Not a good day for Bob Fescoe and 610 Sports.

McCoy joined the Broncos in 2009 after spending a number of seasons with the Carolina Panthers in a number of different positions. McCoy is familiar with the type of system the Chiefs run and the terminology he he used under McDaniels would be similar to the Haley/Weis playbook.

McCoy was first mentioned a possible replacement for Weis last week by Kansas City star reporter Kent Babb.

Dear Coach Haley,

Before the upcoming playoff battle in Arrowhead Stadium, I would like to assume the role as spokesperson for the Chiefs Nation, and more specifically the Addicts here at Arrowhead Addict.  I know that we need no introduction as you probably read our site as often as anyone else, so I will spare rehashing things you already know; for instance that we are the best Kansas City Chief’s blog on the internet.  During your mid week preparation I feel that it is our duty to let you know a few things that we feel very strongly about concerning your organization, and the team you have built these past two years.

First and foremost we would like to say congratulations for the season you and your team have had.  It has been very exciting for all of us to go through the ups, downs, and situational head scratching to ultimately finish the season with an AFC West title that we all take pride in.  It has been too long since we tasted sweet victory over our rivals, and this year has been the light at the end of a long black spiraling tunnel our fan base has traveled through the past several years.  For this we are grateful.

Remember as you read this that although we have no monetary ties to the team other than the countless millions we have invested in Chiefs paraphernalia, tickets, parking passes etc, we have just as much emotional and personal investment in this team (and possibly more) than any one of your players or staff members.  We are the reason that your team exists, and the tax money from Jackson County is the reason you have an awesome newly renovated stadium to play in.  On top of that the legendary home field advantage you gain from us is feared throughout the NFL, and is one of the reasons you and your team will not be watching the playoffs from home this year.  So although this letter contains things you may not want to hear from us, I feel you owe it to the Addicts to continue reading…

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This week the Kansas City Chiefs will host a playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium.

I’ll be honest with you Arrowhead Addicts, when I came on board as a writer midway through this season, even with our early division lead, I didn’t think I’d be writing those words. I had hope, but not faith. So this should be the most exuberant week to be a Chiefs fan in years. However, that’s not the vibe I’m getting from a lot of fans right now.

There are two main topics that seem to be taking away from our playoff excitement. The first is the loss to the Raiders (and how bad we looked in it). The second is the announcement of and fallout from Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis leaving KC to take the same position with the Florida Gators.

However, none of that is on your mind right now. What you’re thinking right now is “What does any of this have to do with potty training and Goldilocks?”

I’ll tie it all together and hopefully get you ready for this Sunday after the break.
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pain don't hurt (source: Three Kings tattoo parlor)

At the beginning of the season I promised I’d get a tattoo if the Chiefs made the playoffs.  I like tattoos (although this is only my second), I love the Chiefs, it seemed like a great match.  Of course, I didn’t actually think we’d reach the land of milk and honey.  Few did.  But that doesn’t mean I had any intention of waffling.  When the Chiefs clinched that spot, I was more than happy to fulfill my end of the bargain.  I felt they’d earned it. 

The first place I went was staffed by a fat, dirty hippy with white man’s dreadlocks.  I stood at the counter for five minutes while he told his co-worker an inane story about swimming in the East River (filth is cool!).  When he finally acknowledged my presence and I told him what I wanted, he scoffed, looked at his equally grotesque compatriot, and disdainfully remarked “that shouldn’t be too hard.”  I turned around and walked out without saying a word.  My God did I hate that guy.  I think I still do. 

The second stop was better.  Cute, friendly girl behind the counter who appeared to have decent hygiene.  I told her I wanted the biggest KC Chiefs Arrowhead $250 would buy.  She laughed.  Then she introduced me to John the tattoo artist, who instantly recognized my LOTR ink.  I was sold.  Two hours later I was walking home with a sore shoulder, an empty wallet, and an inflated sense of pride.  Thanks, Three Kings! (and F you, East River tattoo)

That was last week.  The shoulder is still sore, the wallet is still empty, but the pride took a serious hit yesterday.  It isn’t easy to bask in a division championship after yet another humiliating loss to a rival.  All three AFC West teams own a blowout victory over the Chiefs this season.  The combined score in our six divisional games was 153-90.  Think about that for a second.

I’m not trying to say we don’t deserve our playoff spot.  We do.  For all the Raiders’ AFC West heroics, they lost to some pretty bad teams outside the division, as did the Chargers.  Denver, obviously, was a train-wreck.  If anyone from the West deserves a playoff spot, its us. 

Still, this loss definitely tells us a few things, none of them good.  First of all, it tells us all Haley’s noise about improving every week and giving max effort was essentially whistlin’ Dixie.  This team laid down twice in a month in the midst of a playoff race.  Just absolutely laid down.  When evaluating Haley, how can we possibly overlook that?  I’m not going to act like I know why our team came out flat in important games, but I’m not going to pretend it didn’t happen either.  For whatever reason, on multiple occasions our coaching staff did not have these guys ready to play.   

Big Matt Monday continues after the jump:

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There is now little doubt that Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis will be departing Kansas City so not the focus shifts to who will replace him.

According to Adam Caplan is reporting that a personnel source told  FOXSports.com that a name to keep an eye  on is Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

Daboll was the wide receivers coach under Weis in new England so he is familiar with the offensive system the Chiefs are running. Daboll could find himself available if Browns GM Mike Holmgren decides to fire head coach Eric Mangini and his staff at the conclusion of the season. The Browns have shown improvement this season, however, Mangini has failed to increase the team’s win total from a season ago and Holmgren’s patience may be wearing thin.

The Browns have not exactly been a scoring juggernaut this season. They rank 30th in passing and 19th in rushing. Though to be fair to Daboll, the Browns haven’t exactly had the best QB play starting Jake Delhome, Senneca Wallace and Colt McCoy at different times throughout the season. On top of that, Mangini has been criticized as being too conservative on offense so Daboll may not necessarily be at fault.

What do you think Addicts? Would you be interested in Brian Daboll as a possible replacement for Charlie Weis?

The rumors have been swirling since Friday that Kansas City offensive coordinator Charlie Weis was going to leave the Chiefs to take the same position with the Florida Gators.

The rumors appear to be true.

The Associated Press is reporting that Florida will make the Weis hire official on Monday.

Weis has been with the Chiefs for less than a year and this sudden move, which appears to be lateral, raises a log of questions.

Why would Weis back out of his commitment with the Chiefs after less than a year, especially after the team and the offense has had such a successful season?

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Hey Randy, how close is this to you? (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Hey Chiefs Addicts!  I hope everyone had a great night and held their liquor, I didn’t drink much because I had to work.  I did however hang with the ultra cool crowd and watch Rockin’ Eve with Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest.  I think this is the last year I will watch it while Clark is still on the show.  It’s too depressing to watch him on television.  God bless you Dick Clark, but it is probably time to hang it up.

Well, this is a Chiefs blog so I will hop back to it.  Tomorrow will be the last Sunday of the NFL regular season, and the Chiefs are fortunate enough to close out the “first season” at home with the Faders coming in to KC.  On the site we had a big week.  We smashed the monthly traffic record and have been on high with the Chiefs clenching the division.  Randy reported back from the Titans game on another Arrowhead Adventure, and Lyle went over his top ten reasons the Chiefs won the West.  Double D ran down the current DVOA rankings for the Chiefs, and Merlin weaved his magic into Raiders Week.  As far as Patrick, he handed out his weekly arrowheads after a total domination of Tenessee.

I hope this new year holds great things for the Addicts, and the Chiefs Nation in general.  So the site is now yours Addicts.  There is a lot to talk about:  the Raiders game, the playoffs, the Chuck Weis drama (I hope this ends soon), and the pro bowl selections.  I still think if Manning wasn’t “Manning” that his season wouldn’t have got him into the game over Cassel.  What do you think?

Have a good night Addicts!

We learned Weis’ son was set to go to U-T to work under Muschamp in the football office while going to school and now will follow him to Fla

@theprogramkc via Twitter

Would Todd Haley accept Josh McDaniels as his new offensive coordinator?

Rumors are flying around that Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis might blow town to take the same position with the Florida Gators.

If Weis were to depart, there would be a number of options available to the Chiefs. It has been suggested that Kansas City GM Scott Pioli might be interested in bringing in Josh McDaniels, who was fired as head coach of the Denver Broncos earlier this year. McDaniels succeeded Weis as the offensive coordinator in New England a few years back and was largely credited for helping develop Chiefs QB Matt Cassel.

McDaniels is not very popular among Chiefs fans after coaching in Denver. There was also an incident earlier this season where Kansas City coach Todd Haley refused to shake McDaniels’ hand after a blowout loss in Denver. Give the incident, it seems hard to believe that Haley and McDaniels would be able to coexist, however, if the Chiefs were looking for a seamless transition for Matt Cassel and their offense, McDaniels would probably be the logical choice.

Thus we move on to our AA Saturday poll:

There are some rumors swirling about that Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss could leave the team after this season to take the offensive coordinator job at Florida.

This business started last week when ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that Weiss could leave KC for another job and that he would be replaced by Josh McDaniels.

Then, Pat Dooley down in Florida who works for the Gainesville Sunreported that he is hearing there is a chance Weis could be a leading candidate to take over as the Florida Gators offensive coordinator.

Specifically, here is what Dooley said:

“In terms of Florida’s Offensive Coordinator, if you’re driving in your car, I want you to pull over. When I say this, you’re going to freak out. I think this is going to happen but I don’t know that it’s going to happen. That’s why you won’t see it in the paper (Gainesville Sun) tomorrow unless I get another source on it.”

“I’ve heard this from some people in the NFL, that that’s going on. My first reaction was, ‘are you kidding me, why would Charlie Weis leave Kansas City to go to Florida in the same job’? … Wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense.”

I’ll tell you why I think it is all crap, after the jump.

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“What’s exciting to me as the head coach is we have a lot of guys that really care…These guys care and that is such a refreshing, positive thing out of this group… I’ve heard so many of our coaches, myself included, say this is a fun group to be around and coach, and it’s because they care.”

— Coach Todd Haley (December 5, 2010)

Yes, it’s true—this team cares. And ’tis the season when we all make a point to tell each other just how much we care. We double-check our holiday-card lists and we send the very best (or, in the case of Shaun Smith, reach out and touch someone). So I dug around in the Chiefs’ outgoing mailbag and here, with apologies to the good folks at Hallmark, are a few of the seasons greetings that I found…

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Last Sunday the Chiefs put away the Cardinals in pretty convincing fashion. And by “convincing” I am mainly referring to result on the scoreboard.

Among other things, I thought Cassel looked very comfortable in the pocket and his footwork, from my perspective anyway, continues to show improvement. Moreover, I thought the numbers that Cassel and Bowe put up together said a lot about both players considering Bowe was Cassel’s only go to receiving option in the game. The one thing I remember Weis saying when he hired was that job number one was fixing the quarterback. In my purely subjective opinion, I believe it is fair to say that Weis is making significant progress on that front. This week’s DVOA stats may indicate otherwise however.

On defense, the thing that impressed me most was how the Chiefs performed in the red zone. Beyond that, I thought they looked a little suspect, especially in coverage. Call it bend-but-don’t-break D if you like, but I saw some things going on that just looked plain bad to me. By now, we’ve probably all seen comments about how much better our defense plays when Kendrick Lewis is in. Again, this week’s DVOA analysis might have a completely different take.

On special teams, I thought Colquitt was damn near spectacular and that’s about it. Aside from Colquitt, did Special Teams do anything to lift themselves out of their ongoing slump?

Let’s see if we can gain a little greater insight into these burning questions, just beyond the jump.

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Source: Yardbarker.com

The Kansas City Chiefs are winning more than they are losing these days but there are still plenty of questions about their quarterback play.

Anyone who has watched the Chiefs over the last two years can tell you QB Matt Cassel has improved in many areas. Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis met with the media the other day and talked about a few areas he has seen Cassel improve it.

“I’ll give you a couple: What’s his touchdown-to-interception ratio,” asked Weis. “Twelve to four, so if you look at that, you’d have to say that anyone who is a three-to-one ratio in touchdowns to interceptions, he’s doing something right. How many times has he been sacked? I’m saying he’s one of the fewest sacked quarterbacks in the league and he’s not turning the ball over. I think that the one other thing that you’ll notice is he’s hurt a lot of teams when they put pressure on us – he’s the number one rated quarterback under blitz situations.”

More after the jump.

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Source: Yardbarker.com

Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator needed to have emergency gallbladder surgery.

But he had to beat the 49ers first.

After living through roughly 48 hours of pain, Charlie Weis underwent surgery this week but he was back at practice today.

Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star reported that coach Weis was confined to his motorized cart.

Weis has showed immense dedication to his work and to the Kansas City Chiefs this week. Don’t ever let anyone say Charlie Weis isn’t a football man through and through.

Welcome back coach.

From Shariff’s twitter:

NewSchoolSS Shan Shariff

I have just learned that Charlie Weiss had an emergency gallbladder surgery early this morning. He was supposed to have it done last night.

NewSchoolSS Shan Shariff
Doctors advised Weiss NOT to coach last night but he insisted on it, coached and had it done this morning. He is out & fine.

Early today, Todd Haley spoke about Weis but he did not get into specifics.

“Health, that’s a family-business deal,” Haley said. “That being said, there is nothing life-threatening, heart attack-related, any of the couple things that have been brought to my attention regarding Charlie. I will make that statement.”

We wish Charlie a speedy recovery. We’ll have more as this develops.

Chiefs offensive coordinator cleared up a few things about Jamaal Charles’ workload on Friday afternoon. Here are the message points that Weis drove home.

1)      Begin with the end in mind

“They are both capable of (carrying the football 20 times a game),” Weis said, referring to Charles and Thomas Jones. “But you have to think along with the head coach; think about the big picture and the length of the season. You have to be thinking about Week 7, Week 8, Week 12 and Week 14. You can’t just be thinking about one game and one game only. We look at them both as frontline players.”

2)      Charles’ offseason shoulder surgery has no bearing on his current workload.

“No,” Weis said when asked if it did.

I don’t know if that clears up anything for me, but it’s what Weis had to say. You can check out the video on the Weis interview regarding Sunday’s game on the Mothership. Weis sounds confident in what they are doing with the offense and Matt Cassel. What do you think Addicts?

Will Matt Cassel Step Up or Sit Down? (Source: Yardbarker)

During a recent Kansas City Chiefs game, a commentator suggested that Charlie Weis was brought in for one reason: to turn Matt Cassel into an elite quarterback. True, or not, few would argue that Cassel is considered to have achieved this status already. If Cassel’s re-haul is actually a major focus of Weis, then they both have some work to do. Yet, it would be reasonable to expect Cassel’s performance in the beginning of the reconstruction project to be worse than his performance at the end of his 2009 campaign, as he relearns some things he had done in years past.  

Supposedly, one of the strengths of Weis, is his ability to develop a quarterback, so this idea could have some merit. We do know that a change at offensive coordinator forces players to make adjustments, especially at the quarterback position. Although Cassel has had the entire preseason to work with Weis, perhaps he just needs more time – but how much?  

More after the jump:  

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In which Chiefs do I invest my emotional capital? (source: blog.localtextbook.com)

I’m not going to talk much about Saturday’s Chiefs/Bucs clash of the titans.  I saw most of the first half, but on a shitty feed with a slow Internet connection.  I’m not the best guy to break this game down, and I’m not really that into dissecting preseason games anyway.  I came away from the game encouraged that Matt Cassel looked better, but discouraged that Thomas Jones is still starting*.

*Everyone has their explanation for this.  Some make sense, some don’t.  Until I see some evidence that Haley actually favors Charles over Jones, I’m viewing this as a potential problem.

Its hard for me to get excited about a loss to the Bucs.  Coming into this game the general consensus seemed to be “we should beat these guys.”  Then we lose and the consensus is “It was close.  Progress!”  Over the past three years I’ve heard Chiefs Nation call every loss that wasn’t an absolute blowout progress, and to me the word itself has gotten stale.  I need to see wins to declare progress, particularly when playing against one of the worst teams in the NFL.

But that’s not what this post is about.  This post is about a tactic I’ve been using over the years when looking towards the future.  A tactic that upholds optimism while limiting disappointment.  It’s also a good way to test your scouting eye.  This wonderful, magical tactic is called hedging your bets.
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Anyone still interested in submitting can send a submission to Patrick.ArrowheadAddict@gmail.com. I am accepting submissions until midnight on Sunday the 13th. Thanks to all who have already submitted. I really appreciate your work. We have gotten a lot of great stuff and it is very competitive. This article is a good example of the quality of work we are looking for. More submission posts are forthcoming.

-Patrick

This submission is from Nick Bates. It had no title.

Will the Chiefs get it together this year? (Photo Source: Yardbarker.com)

How has this happened? How does a team that has a total of 6 wins in two years (2 in 2008 and 4 in 2009) capture the imagination of the lay-fan in Kansas City? There are many explanations, some even good, but none are rational enough to help explain why people think the Chiefs are moving into contention in the AFC West and the conference.

A lot of people, perhaps, forget how last year ended. Of course, all anyone can remember is the season finale against the Denver Broncos where the Chiefs, “put the hammer down” according to the season ticket commercials and Mitch. They beat a team that had not completely quit—but believe it, they freakin’ quit.

Derrick Johnson finally played and turned in the game of his otherwise bland career by returning two interceptions (Orton gifts) for touchdowns. Jamal Charles lit up the Broncos’ D to the tune of 259 yards and two touchdowns. Hell, Mike Cox even got into the end zone for the only time all year.

Everything was all good in Chiefs’ land. Todd Haley and Charles were all-but making out on the sideline celebrating like they were putting the finishing touches on a 12-and-4 season, only it was the opposite, 4-and-12.

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Source: ESPN.com

I was at my daughters swim practice the other day and I had a brief but interesting conversation with one of the other dads. He is a college scout for a NFL team so I asked him what he thought of the Chiefs draft. His response wasn’t what I expected.

He said he didn’t know what the Chiefs did in the draft but they had hit a homerun on the coaching staff.  He had a great deal of respect for Pioli and Haley already but getting those two coordinators (Weis and Crennell) was huge in his opinion.

I went home disappointed. Thanks for the compliment on the coaching staff but I wanted to hear how bad ass Eric Berry was going to be. I wanted to hear that Dexter McCluster was going to set the league on fire. I wanted to hear that the Chiefs draft was the envy of the league.

After going home and thinking about it, maybe I didn’t hear what I wanted to hear but maybe I heard something better. Maybe what I heard was without a quality coaching staff it doesn’t matter who you draft. Maybe what I heard is a quality draft is predicated on what the coaching staff does with those players once they arrive and without proper structure and guidance any pick could be a failure? That would explain why some teams always seem to have good drafts and some teams always seem to have bad ones, wouldn’t it?

The Chiefs finally have a really smart football guy in charge of the show in Scott Pioli. In a little over a year he has put together a coaching staff full of really smart football guys in Haley, Weiss, Crennel, Carthon, and Thomas to name a few. This staff has the ability to have a huge impact not just on this years draft class but the entire roster.

I don’t know what this upcoming season has in store for us as far as wins and losses go. We certainly have a schedule that appears ripe for the taking. The only thing I am sure of is we are going to be a smart, tough football team that loves to play football!

Source: Yardbarker.com

Todd Haley gave his daily press conference following today’s OTA practice. I took the liberty of transcribing some of the highlights for those of you who can’t watch video at work. (you’re welcome)

Enjoy!

On D-Bowe:

“I’m looking at Dwayne no different than any of these other guys. As a young player that is learning on the go that we feel has a chance to be a good player that has to do certain things to be a good player and be talked about with real good players which I’ve talked about in the past with him.”

“He’s much further along in the offseason compared to where he was last year. And that’s progress as far as I’m concerned. This other thing is family business and I’m not trying to get too caught up in it.”

More from Coach Haley after the jump:

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No, the father of the Chiefs 2010 offensive scheme will not even be on the field Monday. He’ll be somewhere in Florida, more than likely on a golf course. The man behind the Chiefs offense is Ron Erhardt. It is an approach that he developed from his time as a head coach at New England, seasons as an NFL offensive coordinator with the Giants-Patriots-Steelers and Jets and even a bit back to his own days as a college head coach at North Dakota State.

The Erhardt philosophy does not establish any sort of new agenda in the sport. It’s a tried and true formula.

“Its run the ball and then throwing play-action passes off of those runs,” Haley said when asked last week to describe the offensive philosophy for the 2010 Chiefs.

BobGretz.com

I had to share this with you guys. This kid may be a long shot to make it in the NFL but I think anyone who can make a catch like this at least deserves a shot.

The hell of it is, the refs ruled it a TD, reviewed it and ruled it incomplete. This is why refs get a bad name…

Well, today the team announced the signing of former Notre Dame receiver, David Grimes.

From KCChiefs.com:

David Grimes, a former Notre Dame wide receiver under Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, has been added to Kansas City’s roster. Though he was a weekend tryout invite, Grimes does not qualify as a rookie. He actually entered the league in 2009 as an undrafted free agent with Denver, but was released prior to the start of the regular season. Since Grimes does not have an accrued season of NFL experience, he was eligible to participate in the Chiefs rookie camp.

At 5-9, 183, Grimes has both receiving and return experience. He caught 90 passes for 900 yards with seven TDs during his career at Notre Dame and also returned 36 kickoffs for 852 yards.

It will be interesting to see if this former Weis player can make the team. Welcome to the Chiefs, David and good luck!

Source: Yardbarker.com

The chiefs still have some holes to fill and some depth to add but here are 5 areas I think the team has greatly improved this offseason. In no particular order:

1. Offensive Line

You know, the more I think about it, the more I am beginning to believe that the offensive line got a bad wrap last season. I am not saying they were great because they most certainly were not, but there were a lot of factors that lead to the line’s poor performance and not all of them were within their control. That, however, is a subject for another column.

The Chiefs are much improved on the offensive line heading in to the 2010 season. They added Ryan Lilja, who will likely become their other starting guard opposite Brian Waters.

Scott Pioli also brought in Casey Weigmann to help create competition and depth at the center position. Rudy Niswanger has not played very well but he is a hard worker and has a lot of experience. He is definitely a Pioli/Haley guy and if he can improve, I think they will let him keep the starting C spot. Having a guy like Weigmann around could certainly help Niswanger continue that development.

In the draft, the Chiefs added Jon Asamoah out of Illinois, who was regarded as the 2nd best G prospect in the draft class. Asamoah may not start right away but he is likely to see plenty of snaps. The Chiefs seem to be interested in using him at the G and C positions so his versatility will give KC much needed depth along the interior of their line.

The Chiefs appear to be happy with Albert and O’Calahan manning the tackle positions but there is some concern about the depth behind those two players. Still, the line is much improved over last season.

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Source: Yardbarker.com

Monday is here and it is time for me to officially weigh in on the Chiefs draft. There have been mixed reviews among Chiefs fans on just how well the front office did last weekend. Overwhelmingly, the fans I have talked to seem to be thrilled with Berry, pretty happy with McCluster and Asamoah and totally baffled at the lack of action in the nose tackle and linebacker department.

I understand the feeling. I too was shocked as the Chiefs passed over Terrence Cody and
later, Cam Thomas during the draft. We have talked at length here on AA about the Chiefs needs at NT. While we didn’t all always agree on where NT should go on the priority list, we all did agree that it was a priority.

I have been sleeping on it and I still don’t have an answer as to why the Chiefs skipped the nose tackle position all together. I just don’t know. I do know, however, that Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel are not stupid men. They know the importance of the position. They have broken down the tape of last year’s defense and they know more about what went wrong than we do. So while I would like to be raking Pioli and Co. over the coals right now like many around the blogosphere, I am going to give the benefit of the doubt right now. The offeason is still young and I anticipate KC will still make a move at the position.

Shortly after the weekends festivities, we took a reader approval poll and the most of our readers gave the Chiefs a solid B on their draft. Out of over 700 votes and counting, here is the breakdown:

B-370 votes or 49%
A-199 votes or 29%
C-148 votes or 20%
D-32 votes or 4%
F-6 votes or 1%

So 69% of Addicts gave the Chiefs either an A or a B and only 5% gave them a failing grade.

Well, after giving it much though, my grades are in and so is my reasoning…after the jump!

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Source: Yardbarker.com

Again, you can trust nothing here. The Chiefs may just want to trade back but you have to believe, given Charlie Weis’ history with Clausen, that the Notre Dame QB is a possibility for KC in the 2nd round.

From Pro Football talk:


As the question of where Jimmy Clausen will end up begins to dominate the second day of the NFL draft, the Kansas City Chiefs are increasingly being linked with the Notre Dame quarterback.

Adam Schefter reported on ESPN Radio this morning that the Chiefs actually liked Clausen enough to take him with their first-round pick, fifth overall. It’s just that they liked the player they took, Tennessee safety Eric Berry, a little better.

So if Clausen is still available when the Chiefs’ second-round pick, No. 36 overall, comes up, could they really pass on a player they thought was worthy of a Top 5 overall selection? Schefter also said Chiefs offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Clausen’s college coach, will lobby G.M. Scott Pioli with Kansas City’s second-round pick.

Is it possible the Chiefs could take Clausen? Yes. Is it likely? No.

The only scenario I could see where the Chiefs would take Clausen is if they had another team willing to take Cassel and his contract, for at least a late 2nd or early 3rd rounder. If they really, really believe Clausen is a franchise QB and they think he is better for the team than Cassel, the must move Cassel and get extra picks. No matter who the QB is in KC, he won’t succeed with poor receiving and defense.

The Chiefs have too many needs at other positions to do this half-assed. They can’t take Clausen and let him sit behind Cassel as an insurance policy. It would be a waste of a pick and it would sabotage Cassel and the 2010 season.

The Chiefs need to use this draft to give Cassel the tools to succeed. If he doesn’t, they can always get a QB next year.

The most maddening example comes from an otherwise great article by Michael Ash at Warpaint Illustrated:

Someone might say “If Cassel plays badly, can’t we just draft a quarterback next year?” That’s certainly a possibility. But it’s also possible that the Chiefs won’t find themselves in a position to do so.

The 2010 schedule has seven games against teams that are picking in the top 10 of this year’s draft. Even if Cassel doesn’t play any better, the easier schedule alone might account for a few extra wins. That could push the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick past the point where the top quarterbacks are taken. [...]

So will Pioli take any steps to avoid this potential disaster? Much like San Diego did a few years ago with Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, the Chiefs could draft a quarterback, sit him, and see what happens with the incumbent starter.

But I can’t see Pioli doing it.

The refrain won’t stop. The logic is there for the pick but Pioli won’t take Clausen because he simply won’t do it. Pioli passed on Sanchez. Pioli didn’t make a play for Quinn. Pioli won’t do it.

I don’t care. There are picks that make sense for this team, there are picks I can live with, there are picks that I can be happy with. But nothing does this team more good for the longest amount of time than bringing in Jimmy Clausen.

And this drumbeat of mine is not going to stop in the days leading up to the Draft.

It looks like the Kansas City Chiefs are planning to upgrade their wide receiving unit.

In addition to an upcoming meeting with Minnesota wide receiver Eric Decker, members of the Chiefs will meet with Ohio wideout Taylor Price in Columbus, OH on Friday, per a league source.

Price is projected as a 3rd round pick but has created a lot of buzz for himself and could move in to the 2nd round. It has also been said that inconsistent QB play at Ohio cost him from getting more national attention.

Price is said to be a very solid route runner with a good first step. He ran a 4.2 40-yard dash at the Combine and is 6 feet tall and weighs in at 204. He caught 56 passes for 784 yards for the Bobcats.

After the jump I have posted some highlights. Price looks like he has pretty good hands. Could Price be a steal in the late 2nf or early 3rd for the Chiefs?

What do you think Addicts?
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I can’t help but feel energized over the recent acquisitions the Chiefs have made; Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel, Thomas Jones, Shaun Smith, Jerheme Urban, Ryan Lilja, Casey Weigman, etc.  It appears that we are already a better team even before the draft.   But I have felt this way before only to be punched in the gut; really hard.

What made the 4-12 2009 season so difficult for me was the promise of a new beginning.  We had hired the best GM in football, hired a new offensive minded coach who was tough as nails, brought in a few veteran free agents, and traded for a potential franchise QB.  Gone were the old regime and the previous 4-12 and 2-14 seasons.  We were going to be winners again.  The focus was on winning and not developing. We were going to win.  Isn’t that what they said?  Well that did not happen, as you all are painfully aware.

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Source: Yardbarker.com

Even though Charlie Weis has left Notre Dame, he is still keeping one of his former players in his rear view mirror. Irish standout, and this bloggers favorite 2nd round receiving prospect, Golden Tate, recently mentioned that he still talks to Weis. From UHND.com:

Speaking of Weis, Tate says that he still keeps in touch with his former head coach. “I spoke with him on my way over here. I gave him a call to see how he’s doing. He’s probably going to come back to South Bend pretty soon so I’m going to try to meet as soon as I can.”

The fact that Weis and Tate are keeping in touch certainly doesn’t mean it is a lock that the Chiefs are going to draft the receiver. It isn’t out of the ordinary for college players to keep in touch with their mentors as they approach their pro careers. Still, you have to believe Weis would be interested in having Tate in his offense, perhaps as the team’s slot receiver. Familiarity with Weis and his offensive philosophy would certainly shorten Tate’s NFL learning curve.

The Chiefs have already demonstrated they are interested in adding more receiving help when they attempted to trade for Cardinals WR, Anquan Boldin. As things stand now, I think that if Tate is available when the Chiefs use their first draft pick in round 2, they will take him.

What do you think, Addicts? Would Tate be a good fit for the Chiefs offense? Is he worth the Chiefs early 2nd round pick?

Photo Source: Yardbarker.com

As we told you in today’s Morning Fix, Chiefs offensive coordinator, Charlie Weiss, had a one on one dinner with Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour. LeFevour is projected to be a 3^rd round draft prospect.

Was the dinner anything more than the Chiefs doing their due diligence? I don’t think so. Sending scouts to workouts to do due diligence is one thing. Sending your offensive coordinator to have dinner with a potential 3^rd round QB, is something else entirely.

The fact that the Chiefs are looking at QB’s does not mean they have given up on Matt Cassel. If they really thought Cassel was a bust they would most likely be making a play for Notre Dame and Charlie Weis product, Jimmy Clausen in the first round. The Chiefs could easily give up one of their two second round picks to trade up to the Lions slot to ensure they could grab Clausen at #2. He might even be available when the Chiefs pick at #5, which could offer them a very good chance to trade back but that is a topic for another column.

While I don’t think the Chiefs have given up on Matt Cassel I believe they aren’t entirely sold on him either. The truth is, they shouldn’t be.

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Bowe doesn't always catch them all but he can catch some that others can't. Source: yardbarker.com

The once high expectations for Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe seemed to lowered a bit in the past year. Bowe’s exciting rookie season in which he had 995 yards and 5 touchdowns had the Arrowhead faithful believing that the Chiefs may finally have found the #1 receiver they had long been waiting for.

Bowe’s numbers improved in his 2nd season, which was somewhat amazing considering the QB carrousel that was turning in KC that year. Even though he had to catch passes from Damon Huard, Brodie Croyle, Tyler Thigpen and that receiver in the first Raiders game that Herm decided to put in at QB, Bowe’s numbers still improved. He caught 16 more balls in his sophomore campaign and broke the 1000-yard mark. He also snagged 7 TD passes. Sure, the kid was having some trouble with drops but most Chiefs fans were sure that would be corrected when Todd Halley was brought in as the head coach. Everyone though Bowe was heading for a breakout 3rd season.

You know what happened next. The Chiefs traded away Tony Gonzales, taking away the only other legitimate downfield threat aside from Bowe. They failed to add adequate help, making Bowe a double team on nearly every passing down. Haley rode Bowe hard, realizing he had potential but terrible technique. Bowe was knocked down the depth chart and was initially somewhat resistant to Haley’s methods.

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“The thing about Matt is that he did continue to improve,” said the coach. “He continued to go in this direction, which is good. He’s an extremely tough guy, mentally tough, because it was not an easy year to be the quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, and he withstood that onslaught. He didn’t show any signs of cracking, he’s working his butt off right now, he’s into football.”

Despite mostly praising Cassel, Haley did not rule out taking a quarterback in the draft.

“I think any position would be open to address in some form or another,” he said. “Now, it may be to get a guy to develop to step into the role at some point. Across the board, we have needs and that’s only natural. We just have to do a good job of finding as many good football players as we can get, however we can get them.”

“He’s a great quarterback coach, one of the best I’ve ever had. He’s probably the smartest coach I’ve ever been around,” Clausen said. “Coach Weis definitely knows what he’s doing. He puts me in a great position to go out there and just play football and make plays.”

Weis is known for having success with his QB’s having helped to bring along Tom Brady, Cleveland QB Brady Quinn and now Clausen.

Let’s hope he has the same success with Matt Cassel.

Matt Conner of Arrowhead Pride is covering the Combine and it looks like he caught up with former Notre Dame receiver and Patrick Allen favorite, Golden Tate.

“It’s always a dream to play for the coach who taught you and made you into the receiver that you are,” says Tate. “But I’m excited to play for any team and help them get to the Super Bowl.” Of course, several GMs and Coaches have noted that agents are teaching their pupils better than ever how to handle the press and it certainly shows in PC answers like that one.

Tate, however, did lend insight into Charlie Weis’ input on the coming out process, giving him advice both before and after this recent 2009 season. “I spoke with Coach Weis before the season and he said that unless you have 1,500 yards receiving and 16 to 17 touchdowns, I would not come out early. Well, I ended up with 1,500 and, I think, 15 touchdowns, so that’s right around there.” Later on, he added that Coach Weis was one of the persons helping him weigh the decision carefully. “Before making the decision to come out, we weighed the pros and cons and the pros were better, so I came out early.”

If the Chiefs could snag Tate in the 2nd round I would be really excited. Unfortunately, I am convinced that unless they can trade back, KC is going to draft a NT with their first pick round 2 and by the time they pick again, Tate is sure to be gone. Who knows? Maybe they will take Dez Bryant at #5. Stranger things have happened.

There is no word on what or who the two talked about, however, if I wanted to speculate and I think I do, I would say it was Boldin. Obviously player acquisition is Pioli’s role but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has given some marching orders to his staff. There is a chance the Chiefs are putting out feelers this weekend trying to determine who is available and for what price.

What do you think Addicts? Are the Chiefs going to make a run at Boldin?

Let me begin by saying that I believed at the time of his hire that Scott Pioli was the best choice available. I still believe that but would also add that Scott Pioli was probably the only candidate worth having. A “no-brainer” if you will. At a time when time was truly of the essence, it still troubles me that Clark Hunt took so long to agree to terms with Pioli.  It is because Pioli came so late to KC that I think it is not only tough, but also unfair, to make a definitive call on how well or poorly he has performed. Lest there be any doubts as to my motives here, any negative opinions I express should not be regarded as some sort of indictment against Pioli, but rather simply my critique of major moves he has made and the approach he appears to be taking all in the ultimate hope being that even he can recognize his weaknesses and thus improve upon them.

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Dwayne Bowe. Someone to build on.

“But for this week’s game, I just think it’s not fair to him. I just think Damon, he got us some momentum going and hopefully we can build on that, said Herm Edwards during a September 9th press conference in 2008.

Nearly a year and a month later, the Chiefs had a new coach, and Damon Huard was long gone. This time, it was Todd Haley putting on his construction hat.

HALEY: I was really proud of the guys. I think they pulled together and overcame adversity, overcame some injuries in some key spots to score a touchdown and tie the game and give us a chance to potentially win the game. I think that’s something we definitely as a team have to build on.”

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With the exception of their AFC West division mates in Oakland, nobody in the league has been worse against the run over the last three seasons than the Chiefs. They have given up an average of 148.7 rushing yards per game. And, there is no coincidence that they are 10-38 in those three seasons.

The Problem Waiting For Romeo … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs-Bob Gretz.com

If the Chiefs want Romeo Crennel as their defensive coordinator, the next move is theirs.

Crennel’s agent, Joe Linta, said Tuesday the veteran coordinator’s preference was to work next season for the Chiefs.

“Would he take it if they offered the job? I suppose he would,” Linta said.

Crennel wants to work for Chiefs-KC Star

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