Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Chiefs, in a somewhat surprise move, cut RT Eric Winston earlier this offseason.

Most thought Winston would have no trouble landing on his feet. He has played quite well throughout his career and has been graded well each season by Pro Football Focus.

Only, despite being on the market for weeks, Winston is having trouble finding what he considers a fair deal.

Winston said on Sirius XM NFL Radio that he thinks compensation in the $3-4 million range would be fair.

“In the $3-4 million range is something that I think is more than fair for a starter who has played pretty well throughout his career,” Winston said.

Winston added:

“It’s also frustrating in the sense that there are still a lot of teams with money to spend, but it doesn’t seem like anyone wants to spend it.”

Winston is right. Despite there being teams out there that need tackle help, like the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and even the Chiefs, none of those teams seem to be ready to make a bold move right now.

I think this is all due to the talent level of the tackles coming out of the NFL Draft. This year’s class is believed to be particularly deep so I wouldn’t be surprised if teams are rolling the dice that they’ll be able to fill their needs in the draft.

In the end, Winston may have to roll the dice as well. He can take one of the offers he has on the table (the Chargers have supposedly extended an offer) or he can roll the dice himself and hope he regains some leverage when a team that needs help at tackle misses out on their targets in the draft.

All I know is I hope Winston doesn’t end up in San Diego.

Well, these new guys sure know how to keep us guessing.

When you think they’re going to zig, they zag. For weeks, reports were coming out about unproductive contract negotiations with the Chiefs’ unsigned stars and our new GM’s affinity for the “draft-and-develop” and “best-player-available” approaches. When the new regime traded our 2^nd rounder (and more) for QB Alex Smith, it seemed cemented that LT Brandon Albert would be allowed to walk, Bowe would be tagged and denied a long-term deal for another year and the Chiefs would draft the best tackle available.

Then, the team locked up all three of the team’s most important free agents – including Albert – in a day. Chiefs nation rejoiced. This made the offensive linemen a secondary need moving forward and freed our hands to do whatever we pleased in the draft. Then, just as suddenly, the team cut our second-best lineman at the opposite tackle spot.

RT Eric Winston’s $4.5-million salary was more than reasonable given his skill and the value of the position.  Did they need the cap space? Well, by restructuring DE Tyson Jackson’s contract, they doubled their cap space for 2013 and they still have Matt Cassel on the roster due $7.5 million next year. More head-scratching ensues.

Maybe they want to go young? Perhaps they’ll move Albert to RT, or start the 1^st-overall tackle selection there. But, they just traded a high pick for a veteran quarterback. Not exactly a rebuilding move. If there were any doubts that the new regime believes it can win now, those were certainly dashed by the signing of CB Dunta Robinson, who is 31 and will make an average of $5 million a year for the next three.

Josh D. Weiss-USA TODAY Sports

Immediately, speculation was rife that the Chiefs intend to move him to free safety. This of course did not stop CB Javier Arenas from mouthing off to a local blogger who had the temerity to suggest that the team that gave up 29 passing touchdowns last year (only four teams allowed more) could use some cornerback help.

After spending a few days trying to reconcile the seeming contradictory nature of these moves over the past week, I finally realized the simple truth that we can only see a portion of the plan right now. Free agency hasn’t really started and the Draft is still more than a month away. Trying to figure out what the new regime is doing is like trying to put together a puzzle with only about 10% of the pieces.

To me, this is what we are seeing:

Reid wants an O-line that can pass block

Overall, Pro Football Focus rated the Chiefs offensive line as the 12^th best in the league in 2012, but that ranking was pushed up for them being the 8^th best run-blocking unit. They were far less effective when you look at their pass blocking (14^th) and amount of penalties accrued (15^th). Winston was pretty much the embodiment of that. Winston is a gnarly run-blocker, but committed 10 penalties and isn’t at his best blocking for passers.

This is actually both a deep Draft and free agency year for tackles, so if HC Andy Reid and company think they can find better and cheaper pass-blocking tackles out there, then this move makes perfect sense. In the NFL, it is considered a gentlemanly move to cut players as soon as you are confident you will be moving on from them. Releasing Winston now gives him a jump on free agency and the best chance to get value for his services. Had they waited until after the Draft, most teams looking for right tackles would have likely already filled their roster holes and the money out there would be spent as well.

Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

The names I would keep my eye on are Gosder Cherilus of the Lions and Winston Justice, who previously played for Reid in Philly and will come cheap. The team is also reportedly arranging workouts with top tackle prospects Luke Joeckel and Eric Fisher.

The new regime respects this defense

I honestly expected a lot more turnover on the defensive side of the ball by this point. However, the fact that the Chiefs kept Jackson and reportedly want to hold on to DE Glenn Dorsey shows that they think that this defense doesn’t need to be fiddled with much. They picked up Robinson quickly after he was cut by Atlanta for a surprisingly reasonable price. Generally, players will get a bit more money before free agency opens up, because they are essentially allowing the team to fill a hole and narrow their focus before the floodgates open. Once it’s open season on free agents, everyone’s personal value goes down.

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

That’s why, to me, the Robinson signing smacks of opportunism. The team knew they wanted to bring in a starting quality CB or two, they sent Robinson an offer not looking at him as a priority target and it worked. The contract isn’t huge, but having Dunta gives them some flexibility. I would be surprised if we don’t sign at least one more free agent D-back (the Rams’ Quintin Mikell is my best guess).

This is what GM John Dorsey means by “best player available”

BPA is the new zeitgeist phrase of the Chiefs blogverse. It’s what Dorsey lives by, and I think it’s been largely misunderstood. In order to pick whatever you believe is the best value out there, you need to have a solid team in the first place. If your fridge breaks, you don’t go out and buy a second washing machine just because it’s on sale. Very few people will be excited if the Chiefs use their 1^st-overall pick on an offensive tackle, but if Dorsey thinks that the guy is a future Hall-of-Famer and there’s no longer any gaping holes on the roster, I can live with it.

We still need to get ourselves a backup QB (ideally through the Draft) and fill in a bit of depth here and there, but I think we starting to see the new guys make their mark on this team. The O-line is going to be reworked (although we’re not quite sure how), but otherwise we will be a team that rewards their own and fights to compete every year.

My qualms with specific moves aside thus far, I’m increasingly optimisitic for where this franchise is headed.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Now former Kansas City Chiefs RT Eric Winston joined the Danny Parkins Show on 610 Sports Radio today to talk about his recent release from the team.

Winston’s release came as a bit of a surprise and caused quite a stir on Twitter last night. The news prompted some fans to tweet at Chiefs’ LT Branden Albert, who was recently the recipient of the franchise tag, if he would move to RT to take Winston’s place. Albert, as he has done before, explained that he was not interested in playing any position other than LT and then promptly deleted his Twitter account.

While Albert doesn’t appear to be taking Winston’s departure to well, Winston himself was professional and courteous when talking about the situation with Parkins.

“I think they looked at all their options and decided this was the best one,” said Winston, after pointing out that the Chiefs have a lot of options available because they have the No. 1 draft pick.

I’ve got no beef with them,” Winston continued. “Look, they called me up the right way. I had a good talk with John Dorsey here recently and that’s that.”

Winston also reported that he was healthy, despite a recent report from Jason la Canfora of CBS Sports that there were “serious injury concerns.”

“I got a minor scope of my elbow out, after the season and that was it. I’ve already been cleared for that. I’ve been lifting and running now for a month.”

“I’ve started 103 consecutive games in my career. I haven’t missed a start, I haven’t missed a play in I can’t remember. I feel like anybody playing football has some serious injury concerns but other than that, I don’t have anything that’s holding me back.”

Winston was then asked about being cut twice in two years. The hosts asked how much Winston though he had left.

“You know, I’m going to let my play speak for that,” Winston said. “I’ll let other teams speak for that. I feel like, in a way, if the old regime was still here I’m probably still here. I think it’s more of a philosophical thing coming in and probably a little bit, some bad luck. In Houston, I had a long talk with Kubiak and was assured it didn’t have anything to do with my play there. They had some cap situation and they felt like this was a position that they could cut and still get by and they were right. They won 13 games this year and they put in a young RT that did a good job for them and that’s that. I think it’s just, I think sometimes you have some bad luck in a way. I’m going to land on my feet. I’m not going to sit here and explain to everybody why I’m good. I put my resume out on the field every Sunday. That’s the way I look at it. If you like what you see, great. If you don’t then you don’t.”

Winston was professional throughout the interview. He said there was no ill will between himself in the new regime. He was also very complimentary of the current players in the locker room, in particular he named Jon Asamoah, Branden Albert, Justin Houston and Ryan Lilja as players he grew close to.

Now that you’ve had some time to think on it, how do you Addicts feel about Winston being released?

According to Pro Football Talk.com, the Kansas City Chiefs have released RT Eric Winston.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Chiefs are releasing Winston. He’ll hit the free agent market immediately, a few days before it opens.

Winston was due to earn a base salary of $4.9 million in 2013. He signed with the Chiefs after being cut last year by the Texans.

The move gives the Chiefs the flexibility to take Luke Joeckel with the first pick in the 2013 draft, and then to move Joeckel or Branden Albert to the right side.

Wow. I am shocked. We just interviewed Winston for Arrowhead Addict earlier this week and the veteran RT seemed excited about the future of the Chiefs under the new regime.

This certainly changes things as far as the offensive line goes. Moving on from Winston sure does seem to make it a slam dunk that the Chiefs will select LT Luke Joeckel with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

I have to say, I don’t get this move at all. Winston’s base salary wasn’t going to be that much of a cap hit for the Chiefs. You can never have enough tackle talent and even if the Chiefs are planning to take Joeckel, it would have been smart to keep Winston on the roster.

Unless there is some kind of injury issue, I really don’t like this move.

Branden Albert reacted to the news on Twitter and he seemed less than thrilled:

What????

— Branden Albert (@Balbert76) March 7, 2013

Goodnight on that note

— Branden Albert (@Balbert76) March 7, 2013

Then he added:

I have a lot respect for this @ericwinston …. One of my favorites I have met on this journey…. Hope the best for you #salute

— Branden Albert (@Balbert76) March 7, 2013

“@brocandfriends: @balbert76 your strictly a LT is what your implying?” You damn right

— Branden Albert (@Balbert76) March 7, 2013

Eric Winston confirmed he has been cut:

Just wanted to confirm that I have been released. Even though it was an incredibly tough year on and off the field last year, I wouldn’t

— Eric Winston (@ericwinston) March 7, 2013

Trade the relationships I made in KC and the overall experience I had for anything. It was an honor to be a Chief … tmi.me/MSlvJ

— Eric Winston (@ericwinston) March 7, 2013

But the best in the future…. On to the next adventure!

— Eric Winston (@ericwinston) March 7, 2013

Here is the kicker:

Release of Eric Winston by Chiefs saves $700K in cap space but $4.9 million in cash wp.me/p14QSB-7xfK

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 7, 2013

The deal will save the Chiefs some cash but Winston wasn’t really going to be making an impact on the cap at all. Very strange.

UPDATE:

Looks like PFT may have it wrong. The Chiefs could actually be saving $3.5 million against the cap with this move.

@spotrac @brian_mcintyre Winston’s signing bonus was $4M. His $900k ’12 base salary was fully GTD. KC gains $3.5M in cap room with Winston.

— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) March 7, 2013

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Monday evening, I had the pleasure to sit down with Kansas City Chiefs starting right offensive tackle, Eric Winston. Although Eric informed me that the players have been instructed by the front office to not discuss the pending Alex Smith trade until in becomes final, we had plenty to talk about with everything else going on in the Sea of Red.

The first issue we discussed was the huge news that broke just after 3 p.m. on Monday. That news, of course, heralded the return of Dwayne Bowe and Dustin Colquitt to the ranks of “under contract” players and placed the franchise tag on Eric’s left-side counterpart, Branden Albert. I asked Eric what his reaction was to the news of Bowe and Colquitt’s contracts and Albert being named the 2013 franchise player.

“I think it’s great. They have all been Chiefs from day one. I think when you’re building the team, you have to reward the guys who have been there and been through the struggle. You can’t underscore what that does for the locker room. The other guys take notice that [the Chiefs organization] are taking care of other guys. Anytime you do that, it bodes well for you down the road.”

Since Eric brought up the new Chiefs leadership, I asked him what he thought about them. It’s obvious Andy Reid and John Dorsey had a plan when they arrived in Kansas City, and they are executing it with near military precision. I asked Eric if he’d met the new “general,” Andy Reid.

“He seems like a guy who had a plan and he’s going to enjoy the fresh start. He’s going to do a lot of good things here.”

On that same vein, I asked Eric if he thought his new head coach’s playbook would involve a significantly different blocking scheme than he was used to. Remember, Eric was brought on last year, in part, because of his familiarity with the zone-blocking scheme. Although Eric said he hadn’t seen an actual playbook yet, he did have this to say about Reid’s offense:

“In Philly they did a lot of zone blocking there as well having LeSean McCoy. Sometimes they went to power blocking, but that was just out of necessity. It’s all about knowing your personnel and it will be interesting to see what they come up with and what fits the best for us.”

The next question I posed to Eric is one that is on everybody’s mind right now. Many fans thought the Chiefs would draft Geno Smith with the #1 pick. Then the Chiefs traded for Alex Smith. Then everybody thought the pick would be LT Luke Joeckel out of Texas A&M. Now the Chiefs have tagged Branden Albert. At this point, nobody really knows who the Chiefs are going to draft come April 25^th. I asked Eric, if he was the general manager, whose name he would send up to Roger Goodell on the stage in New York City.

“You know, it’s a very hard question in the sense that you know it’s going to cost your buddies one of their jobs. So it’s very tough for me to say oh, let’s go take a DB or let’s go take a left tackle or let’s go take a running back, because you know what that means. There’s only 53 spots so that means someone’s out of here.”

This is something that fans don’t really think about, but these men are a team. They are a unit from year to year, season to season and when new faces come in, others fade away. Eric put it best when he said that he doesn’t really like to get caught up in it.

“It’s our job to just blend together well and work together.”

This brought us to talking about young talent on the team. One thing that most Chiefs fans can agree on is, while it seems that Scott Pioli didn’t draft defensive linemen very well, the offensive linemen he drafted seem to be picking up the game and playing well rather quickly. One in particular is Donald Stephenson. He started the year as Branden Albert and Eric Winston’s understudy at offensive tackle, but was thrust into a starting role with Albert’s late season injury. I asked Eric how he thought Stephenson was coming along as pro.

“I think your first year is a huge learning curve. You have to learn how to practice; you have to learn how to be a pro. That’s not just year one, but that’s year two and three. You can see his skills come along. He’s got a lot of great skills. He could be a heck of a player in this league, but I think at the same time he’s going to have to keep developing.”

Eric went on to say that the “biggest jump would be from year one to year two,” and I’m inclined to agree with him. In not just talking about offensive linemen, but professional football players in general, how many times have we witnessed that “sophomore slump?”

“I think what kind of work he puts in the off season, what kind of work he puts in at OTAs and camp this year will probably determine what kind of player he’s going to be in his career.”

Along those same lines I wanted to hear Eric’s thoughts on the rest of the offensive line. I asked him what kind of future he saw for the Chiefs’ front five; if it was bright or dismal. He had only optimism for the direction the line was headed. He started off praising two of the younger members of the line in center, Rodney Hudson and guard/tackle, Jeff Allen.

“I didn’t get a whole lot of time to watch Rodney [Hudson] because he got hurt, but the guy has a great anchor, but he’s still mobile enough to move around and do things he’s got to do, but he can get down and pick up the pass rush.  I think Jeff Allen’s got a lot of talent. You’re looking at a guy that the sky’s the limit. He’s got a nasty attitude, but in a good way.”

His highest praise though, was reserved for right guard, Jon Asamoah.

“Jon Asamoah is a guy who is very underrated in this league. He’s going to be a heck of a right guard for a long time. He’s got everything you want from toughness to smarts and he can strike. He’s going to get better and that’s saying something, because I already think he’s pretty damn good.”

These words were quite encouraging coming from someone who plays next to these young and upcoming stars every game. In fact, I told Eric this was refreshing to hear, especially for Chiefs fans who remember the days of Willie Roaf, Casey Wiegeman, Will Shields and Brian Waters. Eric laughed and then said in all seriousness that “that was probably the best offensive line in the history of football.” And he meant it. We know the current Chiefs’ O-Line isn’t there yet, but if the young talent is as good as the veteran right tackle thinks, who knows. To use his words, “the sky’s the limit.”

Our conversation next turned to AFC West opponents. I was curious who Eric thought was the toughest division rival to block against. Without hesitation, he told me it was the Denver Broncos.

“As a tackle having to go against Von Miller and [Elvis] Dumerville all day is tough. It’s like going against the Colts when I played for Houston.”

In talking about his time at Houston, we discussed the fact that he’s blocked for two of the most explosive and arguably the best running backs in the NFL in Arian Foster with Texans and now our beloved Jamaal Charles with the Chiefs. I asked him to compare the two backs in running styles and describe the difference.

“Jamaal is a speedster and he’s so explosive. When he hits the open field, he hits it and he is gone. A lot of those guys [running backs] with this body type don’t like the contact. He does a great job of if there are only four yards to get, he goes and gets those four yards.”

Eric then spoke about Arian Foster in contrast to Jamaal Charles, describing him as a bigger, more fluid back and a strider. Regardless, and he may be biased, but he went on to say he didn’t think there was “anyone as fast as [Charles] in the league.”

Next, I tried to go all controversial and asked Eric about a statement, directed towards Branden Albert, made by general manager John Dorsey saying:

“Who’s to say both of those guys are locked in to playing left tackle? Maybe one plays left guard, center, right guard, right tackle. You put your best five offensive linemen out there. There are so many options out there right now. Anything is possible.’’

I wanted to get Eric’s take on this. His answer was exactly what I thought it would be.

“I think that’s easier said than done. It all looks good on paper, but some of us don’t play well at those positions.”

I got the distinct impression from him that it was a matter of pride with him and his fellow linemen. Tackles are tackles and guards are guards and unless your hand is forced, you don’t move around. I guess we’ll see what happens with the draft on April 25^th.

Our conversation then turned to Eric’s friend, the much maligned Matt Cassel. Although Eric wasn’t allowed to discuss the impending trade, he can see the same writing on the wall as everyone else. Matt most likely won’t be in Kansas City next year; at least not as a Chief. For that matter, Brady Quinn who was “the other” starting quarterback last year likely won’t be in a Chiefs jersey either as he becomes an unrestricted free agent next Tuesday. A team losing one leader is one thing, but this team will probably be starting from scratch as far as on-field leadership goes. I asked Eric how that can affect a team and the dynamic involved.

“Ideally you always want to draft a guy or get a guy early on, like we did in Houston with Schaub. Sometimes it doesn’t work that way and guys have to rally around whoever’s out there. I think it’s Coach Reid’s and John Dorsey’s job to go find that guy and it’s our job to rally around him and be there for him.”

At this point, I felt like I had drilled Eric enough. He was gracious enough to call me at my home and take time out of his life to talk to me. I figured I would end the interview with a question from my daughter. She wanted to know Eric’s favorite color. The kid loves the Ray Lewis commercial and thought it was cool that I was interviewing a football player. It’s maroon, by the way.

Eric and I finished our phone conversation with him asking me about my military service and where I had been stationed. He was part of the NFL branch of the USO tour last year and he traveled to Afghanistan to visit my deployed brothers and sisters in arms. Even more than taking time to give me an interview, the fact that he took time out of his life to travel to the other side of the world gave him even more ”status” in my eyes. From start to finish with this interview process, Eric Winston has been a 100 percent class act.

I’m not sure where the Chiefs are headed this year. After everything the team has been through in the last few years, who knows what’s in store. I predicted an 11-5 season last year with one playoff win and we see where that got me. One thing I do know is that with “the old Warhorses” like Eric Winston and Branden Albert holding down the offensive line with all the upcoming stars inbetween, the Chiefs do indeed have a bright future. My optimism is rapidly rising. It is clear that Andy Reid and John Dorsey have a plan and they are executing. It is a “win now” versus “build for later” attitude.  Regardless, this season should be very interesting to watch, and our Chiefs may just win a few games along the way. The Sea of Red is back, the warriors out front are led by Eric Winston and Branden Albert and I’m good with that.

That’s how I see it Addicts. What say you?

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Chiefs RT Eric Winston talked with Arrowhead Addict contributor Jason Seibel recently. The two discussed a number of moves the team has made recently, including the re-signing of Dwayne Bowe and Dustin Colquitt.

But when you are talking to a guy that many in the NFL believe is one of the game’s best right tackles, you have to ask him about the Chiefs’ young offensive line.

There has been a lot of talk surrounding lineman and and the Chiefs this offseason. With LT Branden Albert nearly hitting free agency and LT Luke Joeckel being frequently being named a popular replacement candidate for Albert in mock drafts, Chiefs fans got a little more clarity on the situation when the team used the franchise tag on Albert this week.

Despite the fact that Albert received the tag, there is still talk among media experts that the Chiefs could still draft Joeckel and move Albert to guard. According to Winston, that idea might not work out so well.

“I think that’s easier said than done,” Winston said. “It all looks good on paper, but some of us don’t play well at those positions.”

Winston has a point. All the talk about Albert moving to guard seems to stem from the fact that Albert played the position in college. Still, Albert was drafted to play tackle in the NFL and has played the position quite well, particularly last season when he was credited with only giving up one sack.

Winston touched on a couple of other interesting topics, including guard Jon Asamoah, a player he feels is underrated.

“Jon Asamoah is a guy who is very underrated in this league, said Winston. “He’s going to be a heck of a right guard for a long time. He’s got everything you want from toughness to smarts and he can strike. He’s going to get better and that’s saying something, because I already think he’s pretty damn good.”

Winston talked a lot more about the offensive line, including Jeff Allen, Rodney Hudson and Donald Stephenson. Be sure to stick around later today to catch the entire interview.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Chiefs fans, on the whole, don’t appear to be too happy about the news yesterday that the team plans to trade for 49ers QB Alex Smith.

But that doesn’t mean Smith’s new teammates don’t like the idea.

Right tackle Eric Winston, who has never been shy of expressing himself to the media, weighed in on the trade yesterday via the USA Today.

“It’s about winning,” Winston said. “Alex is a guy who’s been there and has what it takes. Alex can beat you a lot of different ways. He’s a lot more athletic than people give him credit for. It’s an exciting time with all the new people coming in. It was definitely a change of direction the organization felt we needed to go in.”

Winston also touched briefly on the future of his teammate, QB Matt Cassel.

“I have a friendship with Matt Cassel. Obviously, you had the sense they were probably going to go in a different direction just because of the totality of all that’s happened. But at the same time, you realize it’s going to cost some of your friends their jobs,” Winston said. “Obviously, the organization wanted to bring in new blood. You know that going in. You know everybody is up for review and that’s just how it is. For me, it’s personally bittersweet because I believe in Matt. I think Cassel can get it done. Maybe it will be a great change for him and he can go somewhere else where he can get a fresh start as well.”

It is nice for Winston to speak up for Cassel. The fact of the matter is, Cassel hasn’t gotten it done.

Unfortunately, despite his recent success, a great number of Chiefs fans seem to think Alex Smith’s Chiefs career will end the same way as Cassel’s.

In failure.

The time is now to see what Brady Quinn can do. Unlike the classless fools who were cheering the fact that Matt Cassel sustained a head injury, I am not happy that he got hurt. However, the fact that he is means that this is the most sensible to move things over to Quinn.

It can be justified by saying that they want to make sure Cassel is fully healthy before putting him on the field and if Quinn plays well, then no further explanation will be needed as to why he is out there. If he struggles, they can put a healthy Cassel back in there in a few games and claim it was the plan all along.

John David Mercer-US PRESSWIRE

But what are we really going to get out of Quinn? Quinn is a player who has played hot and cold his whole career and played in just 15 NFL games, throwing a total of 356 passes. But, since he threw almost all of those passes in Cleveland, he’s an unknown player for most NFL-watchers.

ESPN’s Scouts Inc. write-up on him notes, “He looks the part and puts up great numbers in workouts as well as the weight room but has struggled to transfer the numbers to the field. He does not have much of a feel for the pass rush and tends to hold on to the ball too long. He struggles to throw the deep ball with accuracy.”

That last bit sounds quite familiar.

One way or the other though I wanted to watch Quinn in a full game before passing judgment. Because we just played the Ravens, I thought it would make sense to go back and watch Quinn against his former division rival to compare him with Cassel. Quinn lost the job to Derek Anderson (which should tell you something) in the middle of the team’s Week 3 game against Baltimore. But, by the time the Ravens came to Cleveland in Week 10, Quinn was back as the starter.

But, after seeing the box score, I decided that game would be a snoozer. The Browns lost 16-0 and Quinn went 13/31 (41.9%) for 99 yards, 0 TD’s, 2 INT’s. Cassel’s line for the day yesterday was 9/15 (60%) for 92 yards and 2 INT’s. In other words, the last time Quinn played the Ravens he threw more and was less effective than Cassel.

But, I figured Quinn deserved a better look than that. So, I decided to go back a game. Cassel was also bad against the Chargers last week, and it just so happened that the Quinn-led Browns played San Diego in Week 13 of the 2009 season.

It turns out that this game was probably the best of Quinn’s career. He went 25/45 (55%) for 271 yards, 3 TD’s, 0 INT’s. While the Chargers were able to march all over the Browns putrid defense, Quinn kept them in this one to the end, eventually falling 30-23.

On the opening drive, Quinn looked sharp and the whole offense had an up-tempo feel. He ended up taking them down for a score and was 6/6 for 61 yards and missile TD to his tight end. It was exactly the type of opening drive that Chiefs have totally failed to muster under Romeo Crennel. With Brian Daboll calling the plays, Quinn in this game continued to look poised and in control, throwing several good 3^rd-down passes on his second read.

Watching a game from three seasons ago is a surreal experience and it shows you how quickly things change in the NFL. At the time this game was played, Indianapolis was 12-0. LT was still playing for the Chargers. S Abram Elam, playing for the Browns, allowed an easy TD to Mike Tolbert.

But, as brilliant as Quinn looked in the first quarter, as the game went on he started looking like Matt Cassel more and more. While he managed to not fumble the ball on a 4^th-down QB sneak, he allowed himself to be stripped while scrambling on 3^rd & Goal. In the end, he finished the first half with 12/20 (60%) for 159 yards, 1 TD, one fumble. All and all, not bad.

Although he managed to get another couple touchdowns in the game, he looked downright bad during large stretches of the second half. Most of his yardage came from YAC after checkdowns. Due to his inaccuracy, at some point Daboll put Josh Cribbs in for an entire drive of wildcat, which Quinn capped off with a short touchdown.

John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Everyone knows he has guns, but he seemed too eager to show it. All of his throws are bullets, which causes a high amount of drops because the receivers don’t have time to adjust to the ball and it comes in with such a velocity that it bounces off their hands. He beaned his TE in the head on a slant when he wasn’t even looking. Granted, the Browns have had a motley crew of awful receivers for a decade, but he missed several of his guys by a mile. Overall in the game, he missed everything he threw deep and even managed to miss his running backs on checkdowns several times.

And, again, this was probably his best game.

The moral of the story is that the Chiefs need to put Quinn in. Cassel is hurt and hasn’t been very effective. It’s possible that Quinn has improved his game in the last three years. Still though, if his tape is any indication, Quinn is not going to be an improvement over Cassel.

But, I’m not sure he necessarily needs to be more skilled than Cassel, just more efficient. If he can keep the ball moving and not turn it over, than the Chiefs “brawling” (to borrow a phrase from Eric Winston) gameplan can work.

I’m excited to see what he can do, but I think Chiefs fans should have no illusions – this guy is not going to take us to the promised land.

First off, an explanation of how I am approaching this: I don’t look at this list as the 10 most productive players necessarily, but rather how important they are to the team and how much their loss would be felt. This is not a list of the Chiefs best players. A way of looking at it is, “who could we least afford to lose to a season-ending injury.”

1.) OLB Tamba Hali

This one may be a shocker right out of the gates. I know many people would put RB Jamaal Charles as the most important player to the Chiefs if they want to make a playoff run, but I get to differ. The Chiefs still managed to come within a blocked field goal of the playoffs without JC (and a whole lot else) last season. The Chiefs still had the 15^th best rushing attack last year behind Jackie Battle, Thomas Jones and Dexter McCluster – not an inspiring bunch.

However, the Chiefs also only had 29 sacks (3^rd least in the league) – 12 of which were Tamba Hali. Hali also probably deserves an assist on most of the other sacks that Chiefs players racked up, as opposing teams shifted their pass blocking to eliminate the pressure from #91. OLB Justin Houston should continue to up his game this year, but it’s hard to know how many sacks he would have gotten in 2011 if teams weren’t so focused on Hali. One thing we know for sure – if Hali goes down, our pass rush will be less than half as effective as it is when he is on the field.

Tamba Hali tackles Chiefs -- err -- Broncos Quarterback Kyle Orton, forcing a fumble in the process.John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Furthermore, the AFC West quarterbacking got a heck of a lot better this year. We won’t be playing against FB Tim Tebow twice a year, Rivers will surely bounce back from his worst season on record, and we won’t be so lucky as to catch Carson Palmer straight off the couch. We’re going to be playing Peyton Manning, Rivers and Palmer in late-season games for the division title. We will need Hali for that, hands down.

2.) SS Eric Berry

To my great surprise, the Chiefs have not addressed the team’s dreadful safety depth with anything more than a 5^th-round CB who projects to the position and a handful of low-level journeymen and UFA’s. Berry going down last year spelled doom for the Chiefs defensive backfield, despite the fact that we have very talented corners. McGraw is dependable as a smart, slow veteran, but with both he and Berry out of the line up, Kendrick Lewis cannot make up the difference. The idea that Donald Washington might see the field for anything other than special teams this season keeps me awake at night.

3.) LT Brandon Albert

Our tackle depth is a mystery right now. While the Chiefs have a bunch of young bodies behind their bookends with Albert and Winston, there are no proven commodities among them. While LT’s are generally looked at as the guys who keep their QB’s healthy, Albert has also been vital to the Chiefs’ run blocking. The team was massively better running to the left than the right last year. If Albert were to go down, they would likely move Winston to LT, a position he is not ideally suited for, and we would be leaving a question mark at RT that could very likely be worse than Barry Richardson – as hard as that is to imagine.

4.) CB Brandon Flowers

What? Three out of the top four are defensive players? But our defense was strong and our offense was weak! True. But, with the exception of the Chiefs, the AFC West is going to be a passing division in 2012. Rivers is poised for a bounce-back, Peyton Manning is in Denver, and Oakland is going to be forced to pass due to the fact that they now have bad running back depth and they will be in shootouts with opponents because their pass defense was decimated in the offseason.

I still think Berry is more important than Flowers overall to the Chiefs pass defense, but losing Flowers would also put KC in a pinch. I am high on Routt, but he did not fair well as the #1 CB in Oakland and Javier Arenas and Jalil Brown should really stay in the slot. Travis Daniels could fill in for a game of two as the #2 CB, but he’s not athletic and would be a liability long-term.

5.) WR Dwayne Bowe

Jon Baldwin has yet to prove he can take on the #1 role. The Cassel-to-Bowe connection remains the entire passing offense.

6.) RB Jamaal Charles

Finally, you’re thinking, he gets around to mentioning our franchise player. I put Charles 6^th because we unfortunately don’t know what we’re getting out of him this year and because the Chiefs now have killer RB depth. Our offense is indisputably more dangerous with him on the field, but we will be able to soldier on without him. Still, out of the ‘backs in the Chiefs stables, he is the only one with true home-run ability and that is something that the offense lacks all around. If the Chiefs want to be a contender, we have to make some big plays.

7.) QB Matt Cassel

He may not be Canton-bound, but he can be very productive with the guys the Chiefs have on the roster. Quinn has been inconsistent in his career and Stanzi is a mystery box.

8.) LB Derrick Johnson

Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

DJ is the rock to the Chiefs’ defense. He’s a tackling machine and is a mean run-stuffer. He also can be counted on to make 1-2 phenomenal head’s-up plays per game.

9.) RT Eric Winston

Winston is here for the same reasons as Albert — he would be extremely difficult to replace. But, we also need to him to cover the Chiefs right side because effective pass blocking there will allow Moeaki and Boss to release and be additional targets for Cassel or to block downfield for Charles and Hillis.

10.) NT Dontari Poe

While I don’t think expectations should be too high, I’m betting that Poe ends up contributing for us this season. If we don’t get production out of Poe we will be relying on Amon Gordon – a decent starter at DE, but a substandard NT. Poe has the chance to make the entire defense stronger, or weaker.

Thomas Campbell-US Presswire

Arguably the best and most important free agency pickup the Chiefs have made since Scott Pioli became GM was the signing of RT Eric Winston.

By landing Winston, the Chiefs were able to turn a team weakness into a strength. In a way, the Chiefs were very fortunate that Winston was even available. Players of his caliber are rarely cut, however sometimes salary cap situations force teams to part with a player they would rather retain. In this instance, Winston was a casualty in Houston.

Peter King of SI.com asked Winston to write a bit about what it is like to be a veteran cap casualty for his MMQB column today. Winston has some very interesting things to say and he especially shed a lot of light on what it was like to be recruited by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kansas City was aggressive from the start. When a team schedules a visit, you usually receive a call from the general manager, head coach or position coach telling you how excited they are that you are coming in and how interested they are in you. With the Chiefs, I received calls from all three of them. They made it clear that I was a priority and that I needed to make sure that I got on the plane from Miami and make it to Kansas City.

Often accused of not being aggressive enough (by me) in free agency, it appears as though the Chiefs pulled out all the stops for Winston. Every player is different but it appears in the case of Winston, the extra effort went a long way.

Another interesting nugget from Winston’s write up is that the Chiefs plan to continue running a zone-blocking scheme.

Knowing that a new offense was being installed had me wondering what kind of offense would be coming in. The offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, has traditionally run more of a “power or gap” blocking scheme and the line coach, Jack Bicknell Jr., who just came over from the Giants, has done the same. Now, I feel like I could be successful in any scheme, but I really have grown to love running the zone scheme and understand it well. So going in I wasn’t expecting to hear that the Chiefs would run a zone-blocking scheme, but that’s exactly what I heard. That was like icing on the cake to what had been an already positive visit.

It is good to know that despite having yet another offensive coordinator, the Chiefs will have some continuity on offense. The Chiefs have been running a zone-blocking scheme for a while now so Winston should be able to step right in and get to work. The scheme suites runners like Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster who can make a lot happen with small creases provided by the offensive line.

For the Chiefs to win in 2012 they are going to need to heavily rely on their running game. The Chiefs have much more talent on both sides of the ball than they did in 2010 when they won the AFC West. Should the team stay healthy in 2012, there is a chance they could return to the top of the division.

The other title I considered was ”Chiefs finally get first-round quarterback” with a picture of Brady Quinn. In the end, I went with the more obvious joke. 

I think we can all agree this is the most exciting free agency of Chiefs GM Scott Pioli’s tenure. Granted, that isn’t saying much, but by any standard this early flurry has been noteworthy. I’ll get to what I think of each move later. Let’s start with the big picture.

Pioli, once again, has switched up his game. His first year he went “bad ‘n boring” in both draft and free agency. In year two his drafting, at least, improved, but I still thought I had him pegged. It was those team captains he was after, and ever would be, thought I. Then the next year he picked Justin Houston and Jon Baldwin, and I had to admit that when it came to the draft, Pioli was actually a bit of a wild card.

His free agent strategy, though, had always remained the same. Set modest goals, avoid top players. An almost exact continuation of the Herm Edwards strategy, oddly enough.

The Chiefs weren’t shy about it, either. About the only thing Pioli didn’t keep secret was his distaste for free-agent spending sprees. That wasn’t the way he did things, wasn’t part of The Patriot Way. He was too smart for that. He was building through the Draft. Drafting and aggressive free agent moves were mutually exclusive, apparently. So the cap room sat there, for three years.

Now here we are discussing a successful Pioli foray into the free agent feeding frenzy. I’ll admit it, Addicts, I never thought I’d see the day. All the “build through the draft” parakeets crowing about free agent signings. It’s a beautiful thing.

What’s really interesting about these moves, though, is that I am now faced with quite the logic-dilemma. I’ve been saying since Pioli got here that he needed to be more active in free agency, and that you could spend big and still spend smart. I’ve also said that when it came down to it, I didn’t think he had the chops to get it done when competing with other teams for players. With one huge signing, Pioli has proven me both wrong and right. Wrong about him, right about free agency.

(more…)

Free agency is always a nervous time for a Chiefs fan.

As has been the M.O. of the Pioli regime, KC entered free agency slowly and cautiously like a 5-year-old wading into a murky pond. With a lot of guys I had strongly trumpeted as priority signings getting deals elsewhere (namely OG Carl Nicks and NT Paul Soliai), my blood pressure was getting dangerously high by late last week.

But, after a flurry of moves in the last two days, I think every fan should be satisfied with the haul so far – FB Peyton Hillis, QB Brady Quinn, TE Kevin boss and RT Eric Winston.

The Hillis signing is the one I am the most lukewarm about. If Daboll can get him playing to his 2010 level, then it will be the steal of the year — $3 million for a top-10 rusher. My guess is that after all of the 2011 drama, no other team wanted to touch Hillis and he figured the best place to resurrect his name would be under Daboll again in KC, which is why we got him for a song. The fact that it is a one-year deal means that he knows he has to deliver. But after his antics last year, I am very nervous about counting on him, especially if (knock on wood, God forbid, double fingers crossed) Jamaal Charles goes down again. I would have much preferred if we had picked up Mike Tolbert – a similar player skill-set wise, who is much more reliable.

Brady Quinn makes sense for a lot of reasons – Crennel drafted him and Daboll also worked with him in Cleveland and they know what they are getting. Biggest positive: he is not Tyler Palko.

However, the Chiefs’ two best signings so far were easily Kevin Boss and Eric Winston. Although his production as a pass-catcher has dropped off considerably since his days at the Meadowlands, Boss is known as a great blocker, and the fact that he has hands (unlike the litany of no-name #2 tight ends the Chiefs have had recently), is certainly a plus.

Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

Eric Winston is the sort of brilliant signing we all dream about. Winston immediately turns the Chiefs’ biggest weakness into a strength at the right tackle position. While I hope the Chiefs will still make some good pickups for depth along the O-line, I think we now have one of the best units in the NFL. If Wiegmann retires and Jeff Saturday doesn’t follow Manning to wherever he finally ends up, then I think it would make sense to bring him on board if he would be interested in making a couple million as a coach-in-pads and backup center.

Even if the middle of our line – RG Jon Asomoah, C Rodney Hudson and LG Ryan Lilja – has a mediocre year, I don’t think it will impact our running game in 2012, which will likely be the core of our offense. Jamaal Charles has always been best when he gets the opportunity to bounce runs to the outside, and now with Brandon Albert and Winston bookending the edges and Moeaki and/or Boss sealing DE’s and linebackers inside, he is going to break some big ones, plain and simple.

All of this means one thing loud and clear to me – expect the Chiefs’ first-round pick to be DT/NT Dontari Poe. Poe is an extremely high-upside guy who looks like he could hold down any spot on a 3-4 front. As Crock examined earlier, neither he nor Devon Still perfectly fit Crennel’s specific gap scheme on the D-line. But a guy like him, who has the power and motor to demand double and triple-teams with the speed to release off blocks and pursue runners, has to be considered.

Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

He is a taller than prototypical nose tackles at 6’4” and may end up being better served as a penetrating NT like the Cowboys’ Jay Ratliff, but I think Crennel is a good enough defensive mind to be able to craft a scheme that would allow his unique talents to shine.

The Chiefs could play a three-man front of Glenn Dorsey, Amon Gordon and Poe at DE on early downs to stuff the run, then move Poe to NT with Allen Bailey and Wallace Gilberry at the end positions on obvious passing downs. Thus, picking Poe could finally allow the Pioli to own up to his earlier error and cut Mr. Tyson Financial Burden Jackson, which would save the Chiefs literally tens of millions over the next two years.

The only danger that this doesn’t happen is if the Panthers decide to grab him at #9 in the draft, although I think it is more likely that they go after one of the falling O-linemen or edge pass rushers. Still, if it looks like the Panthers might be dead set on getting Poe, I wouldn’t be against sacrificing our second-rounder to move above them and be assured to snatch him. If he appears to be the real thing in workouts, then he’s the guy we have to have – these sorts of talents are just too rare.

If Poe is gone, then I think the next move is to target ILB Luke Kuechly. Although I think Jovan Belcher has done enough to keep his job, Kuechly is the next best talent available at an area of need for the Chiefs.

Still, with Kelly Gregg likely to retire and with Soliai re-signing in Miami, the only remaining glaring hole on the Chiefs’ roster is NT and Poe is the only guy available to fill that spot. He is a no-brainer pick, and should become just one more joker in KC’s deck come opening day in September.

Dec 11, 2011; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Brady Quinn (9) before the game against the Chicago Bears at Sports Authority Field. The Broncos defeated the Bears 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

You have no idea how badly I want this update to be that Eric Winston has signed with KC. Unfortunately, we can’t say that YET. However, there is good news. After spending all day in KC (including a lunch at Jack Stack that caused him to say “Whoa. That was impressive”) Adam Teicher is reporting via twitter (@adamteicher):

Can update the Eric Winston situation. He’s still in KC. Looks like he will stay another nite. #Chiefs could still sign him tonite or Sat.

So hopefully we will get word any time that Winston has signed. I can’t imagine he’d stay in town a day and a half if they weren’t working something out. It’s like we’ve got our own little Mario Williams situation going on here.

The other interesting news to come out this evening comes from Fox’s Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez):

#Chiefs set to host Brady Quinn on a free agent visit, @FOXSports.com has learned. Story being posted asap.

So the Chiefs are finally bringing in a possible #2 QB. Not exactly the type of guy that will likely beat out Cassel like many were hoping for. What do you think Addicts?

UPDATE: Marvez is now reporting that Winston has cancelled his visit to St. Louis and doesn’t plan to reschedule. That sounds good right? The next part does not sound encouraging.

Winston met Thursday and Friday with the Kansas City Chiefs but a signing isn’t imminent. Winston began his tour Wednesday by meeting with the Miami Dolphins.

Winston is expected to resume taking free-agent visits again soon. The Baltimore Ravens are another strong bidder for his services, a source said.

Sept 12, 2010; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans offensive tackle Eric Winston (73) blocks against the Indianapolis Colts in the second quarter at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

Yesterday, reports were everywhere that Thursday was the day that KC would be hosting free agent tackle Eric Winston. Chiefs fans all over began to get discouraged when no word on Winston signing came down the line. Then a report surfaced that Winston was headed to Baltimore tomorrow to meet with the Ravens, and the assumption was that the Chiefs had let Winston come and go without a contract.

Chiefs fans can sleep tonight knowing that the Chiefs are still in the running to sign Winston before he visits any other teams after this series of Tweets from the KC Star’s Adam Teicher (@adamteicher):

Just received updated info: Winston arrived in KC later than scheduled. Got medical stuff done today . . .

Will continue his meeting with Chiefs tomorrow. Could possibly sign before he gets out of town.

For those asking whether I think #Chiefs have a real shot at signing Winston, I think he wouldn’t still be here if they didn’t

My guess is he will sign with #Chiefs. Don”t hold me to that but when a free agent is in your town, you’re the favorite until he goes

So keep those fingers crossed that Pioli treated Winston to some BBQ tonight and that tomorrow they get a deal done. Adding Winston to a FA class that includes CB Stanford Routt, RB Peyton Hillis, and TE Kevin Boss would make this a really strong class for the Chiefs.

Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

Finally some exciting news.

According to Pro Football Talk, free agent RT Eric Winston has visits lined up with Miami, Kansas City and St. Louis. Winston will start in Miami.

This is very good news for the Chiefs, however they need to hope Winston doesn’t stay in Miami. Hopefully KC will be able to offer enough to lure him away from the Dolphins even if Miami does make an offer.

We also don’t know Winston will visit the Rams or Chiefs next after leaving Miami.

Cross your fingers that Peyton Manning continues to drag his feet. That could keep the Dolphins for making any big signings.