Through the draft and free agency, the Chiefs appear to have taken a few decisive steps towards addressing some of their biggest offseason needs. Through free agency they made a very necessary and very significant upgrade at Right Tackle in signing Eric Winston, arguably the most important move of all. They also made a rather bold (some would argue questionable) move, in using their #11 draft pick on the massive, athletic, Combine Wonderkind nose tackle Dontari Poe; deemed long on potential while seemingly short on production, generally speaking.

In free agency they also acquired CB Stanford Routt (to replace Brandon Carr), the once promising QB Brady Quinn,  veteran Kevin Boss at TE, and RB/FB Peyton Hillis. The Chiefs further backfilled on OL depth needs  in the 2^nd & 3^rd rounds of the draft, plus added at least a couple of players who could very well improve the Chiefs’ special teams production  among other things. Such offseason moves, along with the return of key players out with injuries last season, ongoing development of younger players, all tend to suggest there is ample reason for optimism if not a bit excitement for the upcoming 2012 season and beyond.

Well, almost.

I’m not looking to be a downer here with what I’m about to say. There is still one position on this team where objective minded souls can have a lingering and legitimate concern. Unfortunately, it is the most important position of all, to wit, our starting quarterback.  Unless Brady Quinn finds a way to retap his college mojo this summer, or Ricky Stanzi absolutely wows in training camp, it remains a pretty safe bet that Matt Cassel is all but guaranteed to be Chiefs starting quarterback come fall.

I’ll be honest. I don’t really believe in Matt Cassel. I see in him as a guy whose best season basically saw him serve as a middle man for Casey Weigmann and Jamaal Charles. I consider MC’s mechanics in the play action to be substandard, his fakes unconvincing, his decision making in the pass game generally atrocious, and his ability to carry this team on his back if needed completely lacking. In short, he’s not a guy I’m ready to trust to lead the Chiefs to championship.

He’s just not.

Of course Cassel’s apologists are quick to point out that the year prior to his coming Kansas City, he won 11 games with the Patriots. Well whoop dee frikkin doo. That same team won 16 straight the prior season (technically 18-0 prior to the Super Bowl).  All that tells me is that Matt Cassel could be viewed as a guy who will lose you at least 5 games on an otherwise near perfect team. Much as I love my guys, the Chiefs can not (yet) realistically be considered a near perfect team.

In case you have not picked up on it yet, I feel it is reasonable to argue that the Chiefs, not for lack of trying perhaps, did not meaningfully address a very big need at the quarterback position this offseason. That said, are we out of options at this point?

Maybe, maybe not?

One NFL backup quarterback whose career I’ve held a long interest in is still a free agent. This is a guy who while in college, put up impressive passing numbers and rushing numbers. He was among the leading candidates to win the Heismann Trophy his senior year in college. Right up until he blew out his ACL that is.

Anybody know who I am talking about yet?

I am (of course?) referring to former U of Oregon standout Dennis Dixon. Remember him? Primarily because of injury concerns he ended up being taken in the 5^th round of the 2008 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, being variously shuffled around the Steelers depth charts behind the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Charlie Batch, and Byron Leftwich.  Dixon also sat out the 2011 season due a torn meniscus.

As of this writing, Dennis Dixon remains an unrestricted free agent, looking for an opportunity to prove himself once again a winner. As you can probably imagine, I would love to see Dennis Dixon take his shot with the Chiefs, combining a team that loves to run and with a guy who can certainly run when needed and oh who can, by the way, toss an accurate deep pass or two .

Hell, Dixon showing what he’s got as a potential Chief seems to me a whole lot better idea than just standing pat at this point. Besides, what harm is there in amping up the QB competition another notch?

That’s my Double Take Addicts.

Enough of my rambling. I really want to hear your take on Dennis Dixon as a potential Chief?

Sad to say, one thing it turns out I was correct about, with one possible exception, was the linebacker situation. In the face of prevailing opinion that our linebacker corps would be the strength of our defense, I said no, that it would be our biggest weakness on defense. Told you so. The aforementioned exception comes as a result my assumption that this would be the year that Derrick Johnson amounted to something.

Brodie, son, I am giving up on you this year and probably forever. There, I said it. I feel much better. Point is, if you’re going to be out until at least October 19^th, number one, YOU ARE NOT DURABLE and number two, if you are not durable, your evaluation is over because YOU ARE NOT AVAILABLE. Even though I might someday have you as my #3, understand that you and I have broken up.

The remainder of this post has been paid for by the Campaign For Hope and Change and I approve this message.

I truly hope the Chiefs win more than 4 games this year (but don’t ask me how!) to avoid the shackles of the Top 5. If the remainder of this season can devoted to some purpose other than developing talent, it would be to work for the opportunity to trade down our #1 pick so that we can acquire even more talent via extra draft picks. That is all but impossible if you’re stuck in the top 5. I will consider this season a huge success if we somehow manage to land somewhere between pick 6 and pick 10 of the ’09 Draft/

Is there anything that can be done to improve this team right now? Yes. First off, I would try to work a trade involving Kolby Smith for Dennis Dixon. You see, the concern about Dixon going into last year’s draft was not about his level of talent, but rather, whether and how soon he could recover from his injury. Long story short, he recovered and in case you haven’t noticed, the Ducks are a mere shadow of their former selves without him. Dixon is a proven difference maker and contrary to the popular expectations, he healed ahead of schedule and indeed is now the recipient of an NFL paycheck. Pittsburgh has him buried at #3. Dennis Dixon (Note the great initials he bears. Coincidence??? I think not!) is far and away better than any QB currently on our roster. Pull the trigger. Please.

I strongly suspect the Chiefs are in the midst of an organization-wide leadership crisis that starts at the front office and permeates all the way down to the playing field. Carl Peterson knows his contract will not be renewed and that he is little more than a caretaker for the stadium renovation process. In short, he is a lame duck and at this point probably does not really care to set any kind of meaningful expectations for Herm, the staff, or the team.

In response to this leadership vacuum, my campaign for Marty Schottenheimer as the Chiefs next GM begins today.

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