I think we’re all still trying to wrap our heads around the new regime’s first draft and its apparent strategy moving forward.

While most fans have been hoping to see the team tick as many need boxes as possible in the course of the three days at Radio City Music hall, that doesn’t appear to be the way that Chiefs GM John Dorsey does things. It seems that Dorsey views free agency as a means to fill holes, while the Draft serves to add talent, regardless of position.

The team selected SEC players with its compensatory 3^rd-rounder, its 4^th and its 5^th-round pick but the rest of players it took were from relatively small programs. 1^st overall pick OT Eric Fisher was the first player from the MAC selected that high in the conference’s history. DE/OLB Mike Catapano became the first Princeton player drafted in 12 years. NFL fans worldwide suddenly learned that there is a University of California … in Pennsylvania … after Kansas City picked C Eric Kush in the 6^th round.

Chiefs fans who were furiously googling these guys likely found very little – often not even a photograph. On one hand, the obscurity of these names showed that Dorsey and Chiefs HC Andy Reid have been doing their homework and were digging for diamonds in the rough. On the other hand, one wondered whether these guys were even on any other team’s draft boards.

I think it shows that the new regime is realistic about what it is going to get from the Draft. This is a team that counts on getting prospects – not players – from the Draft. With virtually all the team’s needs filled through free agency, late April was a time to pick up some young, unfinished products. The two big knocks against small school players is that they are difficult to evaluate due to the quality of the opponents they faced on tape and they are also expected to have a longer, tougher transition to the NFL.

But, for Fisher, Kush, Catapano, and TE Travis Kelce, that won’t be a problem, they won’t be expected to make major contributions this year. With the exception of Fisher, who will likely end up as the team’s full-time right tackle this year, the other small school guys have a line of veterans ahead of them.

Paul Frederiksen-USA TODAY Sports

However, it would be a mistake to view these guys as purely depth players. One of the biggest blind spots in Draft coverage is that commentators tend to only look at each team’s current needs and evaluate their draft on how those picks fit with what the team will need in the coming season. The reality is that actual front offices are looking much further to the 2014 and 2015 seasons – especially regimes in their first year or with solid job security.

Indeed, one of the over-looked aspects of the Chiefs’ draft was not how they added pieces for this season, but rather how it shows they are building the team for 2014.

Take a quick look at the list of Chiefs starters whose contracts will be up in the next two years and you’ll see what I mean. The notables include (presumed starters in italics):

Free Agents in 2014:

WR Dexter McCluster (slot)

TE Tony Moeaki

S Kendrick Lewis

G Jon Asamoah

G Geoff Schwartz

RB Shaun Draughn (3^rd down back)

Free Agents in 2015:

C Rodney Hudson

FB Anthony Sherman

WR Jonathan Baldwin

DE Allen Bailey

RB Nate Eachus

QB Alex Smith

Looking at this list and projecting that most of the 2013 draft class will sit this year now makes sense. All three of the Chiefs’ starting interior O-linemen are up for free agency in the next two years and the only one who we have under contract until 2015 is Hudson, who is a bit of a question mark coming off of a broken leg. In this situation, it makes perfect sense to take a high-upside center from a small school knowing that he may have to step in at one of those three interior roles in the next two years.

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Similarly, despite the fact that the Chiefs already had two good blocking/pass-catching tight ends in Moeaki and Anthony Fasano, it makes perfect sense to draft Kelce knowing that Moeaki is injury-prone and in a contract year. Kelce may not see the field this year, but his presence on the roster gives the team options at TE next year when Moeaki will be looking at the door. Depending on how Moeaki plays and his health holds up, he may be disposable or he may be valuable, but the team will have a better bargaining hand with Fasano locked up long-term and a young, dynamic tight end in the wings who will be playing on a cheap, multi-year contract.

The same goes for the running back position behind RB Jamaal Charles. Third-round pick Knile Davis was the biggest head-scratcher of the Chiefs draft. He’s been banged up and last put up good tape in 2011. Spending a year in the meeting rooms as the #4 RB will hopefully allow him to heal up and be ready to take up the reins as the contracts for the two guys ahead of him come to an end.

Both De’Quan Menzie (who spent his rookie season on IR) and 5^th-round pick Sanders Commings project as CB/S hybrids and both have the big bodies and hard-hitting style to make them potential replacements for Lewis, who is oft-injured and also in a contract year.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

I should say that I don’t necessarily expect these draft picks to replace all of the incumbents, but you have to admire the cleverness and forethought that Dorsey brings to this front office. No matter what happens this season, he has already set up the team to have flexibility and depth at positions where it will potentially be vulnerable after the next round of free agency.

The one big looming 2015 free agent on that list is obviously Smith and anyone’s guess is as good as mine what the team’s opinion of him will be when February 2015 rolls around. He may have just won us a championship; he may have proven to be garbage without the mentorship of 49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh.

I also have absolutely no idea what to expect out of UDFA QB Tyler Bray. He may turn into something, he may turn into nothing. What I do know is that the team wagered absolutely nothing on him so even if his ceiling is that of an average backup, it will have been a sound move.

One way or the other, given that Smith is 29, don’t be surprised to see a quarterback taken high in next year’s draft regardless of how he plays in 2013. His contract will be up the following year and this is just how Dorsey rolls.

Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Kansas City Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis has said that he will start this Sunday in Tampa Bay, in comments made to the Kansas City Star. 

“I’m back this weekend,” Lewis said. “I’m saying that. Coach hasn’t put his stamp on there but I’m feeling good and I’m feeling confident to go out there and help my team and I’m ready if he allows me to.”

Lewis has been injured since the preseason and has yet to take part in a regular season game. He has been replaced by a rotating group including Abram Elam and Travis Daniels. The results haven’t been so good.

Lewis has been limited in practice the last couple of weeks. However, today he practiced in full.

“In practice I’ve (run) into a couple of guys, collided, (hitting) before practice to challenge myself to gain the confidence I need going forward’’ he said. “I build confidence every day.

“Right now, my shoulder is feeling better than it has since I hurt it.”

Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

Well, Kansas City fans, at this point during the week I’m sure we’re all a little exhausted of hearing about the the Chiefs’ failure against the Rams Saturday night. The Chiefs secondary was lacking in some things (to say the least), the injured status of Kendrick Lewis and Brandon Flowers has us all concerned and Ricky Stanzi performed miserably. To boot, we all have questions pertaining to just what caused Tamba Hali’s suspension. But let’s try to brighten up here. Bowe is back, Cassel is continuing to do well in Daboll’s offense and, at the pace he’s going, Peyton Hillis is looking to be a strong candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. Further, the Chiefs are better off seeing the weakness in their D now instead of, say, the fourth preseason game; the two remaining preseason games should provide us fans with a good litmus test for what to expect from our Chiefs at the start of the regular season now that Crennel knows just what kind of adjustments need made that could hamper some of the better QBs in the league, several of which the team’ll be facing right off the bat.

Before making my predictions last week, I considered how I saw the Chiefs’ 53-man roster fleshing out and drew the following conclusions:

ST: K – 1, P – 1, LS – 1

OFF: QB – 3, RB – 4, WR – 7, OL – 8 or 7, TE – 3 or 4 (8 OL & 3 TE, or 7 OL & 4 TE)

DEF: DL – 7 or 8, LB – 8, DBs– 10 or 9 (7 DL & 10 DBs, or 8  & 9, respectively)

When considering this structure, I felt a few position group numbers were a little high, but a quick look at last year’s roster, courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference, assured me that I’m pretty well in the ballpark. And, yes, having a minimum of nine guys in the secondary and a possible ten still seems a little excessive, but when you consider that last year’s active roster, at one point or another, included Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr, Eric Berry, Kendrick Lewis, Jalil Brown, Travis Daniels, Javier Arenas, Reshard Langford, Jon McGraw, Donald Washington & Sabby Piscitelli, I’m not too far off base. Of the nine or ten DBs I expect to make the roster, do I expect all of them to be on the active roster come game day? No; just as I don’t expect the 7^th WR, 8^th OL, 8^th LB, or 3^rd QB to be on the active roster. Remember, though it’s a 53-man roster, only a maximum of 46 players may be active on game day (up from the previous CBAs 45-man limit), which leads us to this week’s predictions:

1.  With Flowers and Lewis out for an indeterminate amount of time, Crennel will take a hard look at the DBs on roster (I know, I’m friggin’ Nostradamus, right?). Chalking up Saturday’s problems to a secondary that is “young”, “inexperienced” and lacking “maturity”, Crennel will focus mostly on filling out the roster with the more veteran players. Though some of these players’ ceilings may not be as high as some of the newer guys, their consistency and reliability in the short term will prevail over longer term, but potentially better, developmental projects. As I see it the roster will consist of : 1. Flowers; 2. Routt; 3. Berry; 4. Lewis; 5. Abram Elam; 6. Travis Daniels; 7. Jalil Brown; and, 8. Javier Arenas. This leaves one maybe two spots to take on either Jacques Reeves and a project player, or two project players, with the likely candidates being Dequan Menzie, Terrance Parks and Tysyn Hartman. Dequan Menzie may be in the same boat as Junior Hemingway; an injury plagued camp may spell practice squad, but I think the odds of that are worse than with Hemingway, and choosing Menzie and either Parks or Hartman over Reeves to fill out the bottom of the roster wouldn’t be too surprising. That being said, I could somewhat understand if Reeves was chosen to stay on roster with the other candidates being practice squad eligible. In any event I would not be shocked to see all three of Menzie, Parks & Hartman keep ties with the team, even if one or two is/are kept in the capacity of practice squad player(s). The remaining options (Fenner, Fanor, etc.) just don’t strike me as making the cut in any capacity.  That includes Donald Washington, who despite being a veteran and “more mature”, seems to me to be too costly of a save at this point.

Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

2. Stanzi will still make the roster, but as the No. 3 QB and only for the purposes of continued development. He’s just not looking that good right now, and if a playoff berth is still in the cards and push comes to shove (Cassel and Quinn are unable to play), Pioli has enough sense to make a powerplay for a much better QB. The three I could see getting the most consideration in this hypothetical situation are Matt Moore, Matt Hasselbeck and Mark Sanchez. Moore has the most (and recent) experience in a Daboll-driven offense and could slide in and understand the terminology, assignments, etc. the easiest. Hasselbeck, on top of the reasons Paddy pointed out, not only provides consistently good play, but given his age would not be perceived as a threat to Cassel. And I think Sanchez is simply better than he’s given credit for: he’s actually improved every year he’s been in the league, he has playoff wins under his belt, and given a more stable locker room and stronger supporting offensive cast, I think he would surprise. Obviously, this hypothetical scenario also takes place later in the season where Moore, Hasselbeck and Sanchez may be seen as expendable for the right price. In any case, I don’t see Stanzi taking the field if the Chiefs still have a shot at the playoffs; until he shows us significantly more than he has, I think I’d rather see Zorn suit-up and take the field.

3. Following another lackluster game performance, Josh Bellamy’s stock has dropped some, but he should still be counted as a candidate for the last WR slot (though arguments for Markshausen and, as KCMikeG pointed out, Jamar Newsome have gotten stronger). Bear in mind that a) the last WR isn’t likely to sniff the active roster, b) injury to Bowe or Baldwin will be overcome by Breaston resuming the role of the No. 2 WR, a role he held for most of his career (remember: Boldin played out of the slot in Arizona), and c) an injury to McCluster will result in Breaston, and eventually Wylie, being able to fulfill the role being carved out by Dex. If Breaston or Wylie get injured, it’ll be a blow, but likely not a humongous one. If any two of Bowe, Baldwin and Breaston get injured, the Chiefs would definitely be in trouble, but unless both of those injuries were expected to be long-term, I’d anticipate we’d see Daboll calling for more 2-TE sets until one of the guys returned.

Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

4. I’ve grown quite fond of Kendrick Lewis. As last year wore on after Berry’s injury, Lewis started to improve by leaps and bounds, and I firmly believe he is a better player now than he otherwise would’ve been at this point in his career had Berry not been injured. In the face of adversity, Kendrick rose to the occasion, and how can you not love a player capable of that? But that being said, I agree with AA’s own Lyle Graversen that the loss of Flowers is greater than the loss of Lewis. Abram Elam will provide adequate temporary replacement of Lewis until Lewis can heal up; however, one of the greatest disappointments concerning Kendrick’s injury is that the newly implemented defensive scheme of putting Lewis and Elam in at safety and letting Eric Berry roam freely and wreak havoc is in danger of not being utilized until his Lewis’ return. Enter Travis Daniels. I’ll admit, I was pretty indifferent to Travis Daniels prior to this season (didn’t love him, didn’t hate him), but since he switched to taking on safety duties, I have a little more hope in his capability to make significant contributions to the team. There are two preseason games left, and I would not be the least bit surprised to see Daniels tested harder at safety to see if he can provide suitable replacement for Lewis in the new scheme so it can start being effectively used before Lewis heals up and returns. With Tamba a certain loss in the Atlanta game, and Flowers and Lewis uncertainties as to whether or not they’ll play, Daniels being coached up enough so that the new scheme isn’t a liability may be integral to a Chiefs victory on opening day. That may be a lot of faith to put into Daniels, but a roving Berry may be the team’s best hope for a victorious pass defense without Flowers, Lewis and Hali in the mix.

Thus concludes my predictions/observations for this week, Addicts. If you disagree with anything I’ve said or proposed, or think that there’s a player I’m not giving enough credit to (or giving too much credit to, for that matter), let me hear it in the “Comments” section. And as always, Go Chiefs!!!!!

Well, KC fans, that wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for Saturday night was it?

The Chiefs team, as well as its fans, got knocked off their collective “high horse” by the Rams. The question now becomes “who are the real Chiefs?” Are they the team that looked so good against the Cardinals or the team that got punched in the mouth by Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson, and the St. Louis Rams? The truth, of course, probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Being the veteran arm chair quarterback that I am, I think I’ve seen enough to make some assumptions about the Chiefs this season. Earlier this summer we played a little game called “Tell Me I’m Wrong“. Now that the Chiefs have packed up and left St. Joe and headed back to KC, I thought it was time that we play again. So I’m going to lay some of my opinions out there, and you tell me if I’m wrong.

Here we go!

1. Matt Cassel will be a good NFL-caliber QB under offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

Cassel has looked really good through two preseason games, going 18-24 (75 percent) for 209 yards (8.7 YPA), 1 TD, 0 INTs, only one sack, and four scoring drives. The best part is that he and Daboll seem to be on the same page. Daboll seems to understand Cassel’s limitations and is playing to his strengths. Daboll is opening up the field with multiple targets, especially on short to intermediate routes. By my count, Cassel has already completed passes to eight different guys (McCluster, Boss, Charles, Draughn, O’Connell, Hillis, Baldwin, and Moeaki) in less than three quarters of play. Cassel will need to complete more passes down the field to his WRs than he has thus far to keep defenses honest, but the return of Dwayne Bowe should help in that department. Finally, Cassel has proven in the past that with a good offensive coordinator and weapons to work with, he can produce.

In 2008 with New England and 2010 in KC, Cassel had good offensive weapons at his disposal and offensive coordinators who played to his strengths. In those seasons he completed 61 percent of his passes for 7.0 YPA with 48 TDs and 18 INTs. In 2009 Todd Haley fired his offensive coordinator right before the season started and called the plays after. In 2011 Haley promoted Bill Muir to what looked to be a “figure head” offensive coordinator while Haley, Muir, and QB coach Jim Zorn appeared to have a “staff meeting” between plays to debate what play should be called. In those seasons Cassel also had less weapons at his disposal thanks to a bad overall roster in 2009 and injuries to Charles and Moeaki in 2011. The result was Cassel completing only 56.6 percent of his passes for 6.1 YPA with 26 TDs and 25 INTs in those two seasons. I have seen enough this preseason that I feel comfortable saying that Cassel is going to produce like the QB from 2008 and 2010 and have another good (not elite, but good) season under Brian Daboll.

Tell me I’m wrong!

2. Ricky Stanzi is a cool guy and a proud American, but not that great of a QB.

KC fans are SO desperate for the Chiefs to draft and develop their own franchise QB that they become instantly obsessed with any guy that shows the slightest glimpse of making that dream come true. I like Ricky Stanzi as much as the next guy, but anyone who has watched him play those first two preseason games has to admit that he’s the third best QB on a team that most don’t think has very good QBs. If you need someone to give you hair care tips or hang out with on the 4th of July, Ricky Stanzi is your guy. However, if you need a QB to take over if Matt Cassel goes down, that guy would be Brady Quinn.

Tell me I’m wrong!

3. The Chiefs can be a top ten defense without Kendrick Lewis, but not without Brandon Flowers.

I was as worried as anyone when I saw Kendrick Lewis on the sideline, visibly upset, and holding his shoulder. Lewis is a good, up-and-coming player that really seemed to improve as last season went along. That having been said, if he does miss significant time (that news may have been released by the time you’re reading this), I don’t think it will be near as big of a blow as losing Berry was last year or if Flowers doesn’t come back in time from his foot injury this season. In a nut shell, Romeo’s secondary consists of the CBs locking up WRs in man coverage on the outside, the SS is the “wild card” that sometimes is up in run support and sometimes drops into coverage, and the FS often plays “center field,” looking for the players that have gotten past their defenders.

Good man-to-man corners are hard to find, and shut down ones like Flowers are incredibly valuable. Likewise, a player like Berry that can be so good in run support and has CB like coverage skills are impossible to replace. Although the Chiefs may not have a single player that can produce at Lewis’s all around level at FS, I think a combination of Abram Elam (run support) and Travis Daniels (playing “center field”) can fill his void without a major drop off in production (as long as Berry stays healthy). On the other hand, if Flowers is out or hampered with his foot injury for any amount of time, it will really hurt the Chiefs defense. Jalil Brown and Javier Arenas may be solid as a 3rd or 4th CB, but neither can take away a side of the field like Flowers can. Obviously, the worst case scenario would be both Flowers and Lewis missing extended time. In that case, the expectations of the defense would be greatly reduced.

Tell me I’m wrong!

4. Jovan Belcher is the most under-appreciated KC Chief.

As I mentioned above, the mere possibility of the Chiefs developing their own QB has led to a cult like following of young Ricky Stanzi. Stanzi is 24, has never thrown a pass in a regular season game, and hasn’t even looked very good in preseason action. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old Belcher has two years of NFL starting experience and has showed consistent improvement since he joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Maine (yes, Maine). Belcher has been a solid, but not spectacular starter since he earned that spot two years ago. Romeo talks highly of him. Derrick Johnson has said multiple times how vital Belcher is to his success. Yet many KC fans entered 2012 hoping Belcher would get beat out for his starting spot by 26-year-old Brandon Siler. Siler has less starting experience, less proven production on the field, a major injury to over come, is older than Belcher, and wasn’t developed by KC. I don’t get it! Belcher is only one year older than Justin Houston and Kendrick Lewis. Why isn’t anybody excited by Belcher as an up-and-coming player? I’ve got news for you. There is no “battle” for the starting ILB spot next to Derrick Johnson. That spot belongs to Jovan Belcher. Brandon Siler needs to worry about Leon Williams who has looked faster and more productive than Siler.

Tell me I’m wrong!

5. The Chiefs need to try Jerrell Powe in the sub package on passing downs.

Okay, here’s the situation as I see it. Jerrell Powe is low on the Chiefs depth chart at NT because he doesn’t play the position the way Romeo wants it played. The KC NT is suppose to “2 gap”. This means he lines up over the center and is responsible to stay put and “plug” both gaps on either side of the center if the play comes his way. Thus far, Powe has stood out at NT because he is penetrating into the backfield on a regular basis. This has led some KC fans to think he deserves more playing time at NT. The problem is that when Powe penetrates through one of the gaps on either side of the center it leaves the other gap open for the running back. It means that for every play Powe stuffs or disrupts there is another that hurts the defense. Romeo is not a fan of this kind of inconsistency. At the rate things are going, I won’t be shocked if Powe were to not make the final 53 man roster. Anthony Toribio is playing the position “how Romeo wants it played” and Dontari Poe was the #11 overall pick. That leaves Powe as the #3 guy at a position where teams don’t usually carry more than two.

So my question is, if Powe is showing the ability to get good penetration into the backfield, why not try him in the sub package on passing downs? Thus far, I’ve seen KC use Bailey, Poe, Jackson, Gordon, Pitoitua, Bair, and Long in the sub package. Surely they could find a couple snaps in the second half to give Powe a shot too. All I know is that I’ll be furious if they cut Powe this year and he goes on to be a disruptive force in the middle for another team. The Chiefs need to give him a shot on passing downs. Besides, being able to have the Po(w)e Boys pushing the pocket on passing downs would be fun to say. You know it’s the kind of thing they would like to say on ESPN.

Tell me I’m wrong!

So there you have it, Addicts. I’ve laid it out there for you. Now I’m daring you to tell me I’m wrong. If you think so I can’t wait to read your arguments in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note: For Internal Use Only. Coaches, players and fans of the Raiders, Chargers and Broncos are not authorized to read this post.

It’s that time of the year. The Draft and free agency have passed and we all feel like we have the best team in the league.  In fact, everyone feels like they have the best team in the league. The only problem is that 31 of them are wrong and we’re probably one of them.

Thus, it has come time for me to assume the role I have carved out on this site and that is being the Debbie Downer. We still have holes and weaknesses. Talented coordinators are going to be able to target those weaknesses and we need to be thinking about how to mask them.

If I am an opposing coach, this is how I plan my game:

Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE

1.) Defend RB Jamaal Charles. How? By keeping him out of the end zone. Provided he is back to his old self, he’s almost certainly going to rack up 100+ yards on us. Let him; just don’t let the safeties get beat. Pay the mascot another bounty for taking him out (Just kidding, they’ll be watching this time).

2.) Throw deep. Now, this may seem like a strange prescription given that the Chiefs have one of the best secondaries in the league. However, it makes sense for several reasons.

First off, S Eric Berry and CB Brandon Flowers are scary, scary men when healthy, but there are other bits of the pass defense that are vulnerable. S Kendrick Lewis is a smart ball hawk, but he doesn’t have the wheels to keep up with speedy receivers streaking downfield. Routt is known to willingly take a holding or interference call if he feels like he is losing the wideout, rather than risk give up a touchdown. Send our best track star on a sprint down field a few times per game just to see what happens. Depending on the coverage, we can fake Berry off to the other side, we may get lucky with a blitzing DB, or our guy might just be able to outrun his man. There’s also a good chance we can scare Routt into eating an erroneous penalty. We’ll also probably get favorable matchups with our tight ends against their linebackers and safeties.

Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Secondly, as we saw last year, all of the Chiefs’ explosive plays comes from two guys –Charles and WR Dwayne Bowe. There is simply no one else on the team who generates big plays with any consistency. While each of those two is guaranteed to have a couple of good-gainers on us, limiting their ability to score will keep the Chiefs off the board. KC was 31^st in scoring last year and 14^th in the league in 2010 when they had all their stars healthy. As long as the game stays close, we will be able to make big plays on them, and it’s likely they won’t be able to keep up. They counted on the ability to run at will and chew clock in 2010. If we can get a couple of quick, easy touchdowns on them, they won’t be able to use that to their advantage.

3.) Stand tall on first and third down. Jamaal Charles is at his best on first down –108 of his 230 carries (47 percent) were on first for 7.2 yards-per-carry (YPC) in 2010. But, he only averaged 5.2 YPC up the middle. Let him have it. On early downs, keep our backers and ends out in contain on the edges. If we can do that, we can force them into lots of third-down situations. In 2010, the Chiefs were 20^th in the league in converting on third down, 27^th in 2011. Watch out for RB Peyton Hillis on third.

4.) Play smart, the Chiefs likely won’t. In 2010, KC was the 12^th most penalized team in the league. In 2011, they were 9^th, and they just added a couple of Raiders. They are a very young team, and when they are frustrated, they will gift you yards. Let’s not be so generous.

5.) Win in the beginning. Both Hillis and Charles put up their best numbers in the first quarter. As long as they are just tallying up yardage while we are tallying up points with a few big plays, we can live with that. Matt Cassel had a passer rating of 52.3 in the fourth quarter of games that were decided by seven points or less. He’s not much better in overtime. If we are still leading going into the fourth, we have to feel good about our chances of winning.

So, Addicts, that’s how opposing teams will be looking at us. What do we do to counter?

With four days to the Draft, we still have no idea who the Chiefs are going to pick first in the Draft.

I myself have argued for Poe, for Tannehill and for neither. The fact is that there is not a single right answer in this year’s Draft for the Chiefs. I believe strongly there are multiple ways they could go that will pay off for them down the road. It’s one of those beautiful times when the question is more about how the Chiefs will get stronger, not whether.

With that in mind, over the last few weeks I’ve been reviewing the Chiefs’ tape. In an admission of total powerlessness to my NFL addiction I paid the $69.99 to re-up my subscription for the NFL Gamepass to be able to watch NFL Network and all the games of the 2011 season on demand until August.

While I’ve already watched every game the Chiefs played in 2011, some stand out more memorably in my mind due to a mix of factors. Because I watch live games from 8-9 hours ahead of Eastern Time all year (meaning noon kickoffs at Arrowhead are either 9 or 10 p.m. here), sleepiness/alcohol remain obstacles to proper analysis. I also feel like the offseason narratives tend to take a life of their own the further and further we get away having actually seen some football played. We all agree that the Chiefs are going to be better and in contention for the division title again this year. But they were downright bad in certain areas last years – and not just at positions where we had injuries.

Therefore, I decided I would take a look a back at the season of ups and downs in a mixed order so to not just look at the awful start and the inspiring finish, but try to see how players played in the season as a whole. My final goal of looking back was to scout the Chiefs’ additions this offseason.

First up:

Week 15 Raiders at Chiefs, L 16-13

• Why: I was actually physically present at this game and long wanted to revisit it, because, although I had great seats and a marvelous view of how it went down, I continued to find it very hard to wrap my head around just how we managed to lose this game. Save for an easy field goal that was blocked as time expired, this would have won the division for us. I also figured it would be a good chance to scout CB Stanford Routt, who saw the light and joined the Chiefs after being cut by the Oakland freak show.
• Moving the ball: The Raiders have a very good front seven, and while the Chiefs didn’t run all over them, we overall did not have problems getting downfield. The fact that we only put 13 points on the board was due primarily to two blocked field goals, some questionable penalties and one AWFUL Kyle Orton interception in the endzone.
• Game-changing defense: Overall, it’s pretty clear that the majority of the Chiefs’ playmakers are on defense. We all love Hali and Flowers, but what was most interesting in this game was the play of S Kendrick Lewis and CB Javier Arenas. Each are young and promising players who also make bone-headed moves at times. Arenas, 24, had a timely interception that could have changed the game in the Chiefs’ favor. But as usual, he also drew a few penalties and got beat on a throws to the flat (although depending on the coverage scheme for that play, it could have been intentional). Lewis, 23, broke up two key passes, and again had a game of stout run support, but he also got beat BADLY on the first play of overtime, which was a deep pass to Denarius Moore that ended up sealing the Raiders’ victory. I have a love/hate relationship with both of these guys. They make plays, plain and simple, plus Arenas is a very valuable special teamer. At times they look so great I hate the idea of drafting or signing their replacements through free agency. But they also make some really deadly mistakes. In the end I think they will keep getting better and will be great for the Chiefs down the road. What gives me pause is the idea: can we afford it if they don’t?

Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

• Stanford Routt is very, very good: Look, Brandon Carr was a great fan favorite and Routt had horrendous 2011 numbers. He both gave up more touchdowns than any other corner in the NFL, he was also the most penalized guy at his position. But, if you actually watch him play, you understand why. First off, the Raiders are a blitz-happy, man-on-man defensive team, which means that whoever is covering the other team’s #1 option is screwed a good portion of the time. That defense was designed for Nnamdi Asomugha, who can handle being on an island, but Routt just doesn’t have his phenomenal ability. Still, he did very well with what he had to offer. As for penalties, the Raiders are the most penalized team in the league and this Week 16 nearly beat the single-game record for penalties. The fact is that it was clear Routt knew the score, knew he had no help half the time, so whenever he felt like Dwayne Bowe was about to break away from him, he took the 10-yard defensive holding penalty rather than give up a touchdown. In the end, he had an interception and held Bowe to six catches and a touchdown (a beautiful, undefendable left-arm bullet-pass). In my mind, that is overall a wash, which, on a team with crappy D-backs against the clear #1 target, is more than admirable. As for his stats and performance for the Chiefs, I think he will be a great #2 CB, and with S Eric Berry able to get to both sides of the field to help out in pass support with his insane athleticism, I think Routt will be safe to lay up on the penalties and just do what he does. In KC, he won’t have to carry the entire defensive backfield on his shoulders.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

• Our offensive line is serviceable: Even against the solid Oakland front seven, the Chiefs were very productive running the ball, and only passed it when it was absolutely necessary, despite the fact that the Raiders were overall weaker in the secondary. For what G Ryan Lilja lacks in pass-blocking, he remains a very good run-blocker, especially when pulling to the outside.
• The “not getting it done” factor: The Chiefs suffered from this all season long. Sure, we lost by the freak probabilities of having a game-winning field goal blocked as time expired. But the Chiefs should have never been in that position. We outplayed the Raiders for all but a few big moments. We should have won by two scores, but we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities the way that winning teams find a way to do.
• Insight for the Draft: This was a very evenly matched game and when we play the Raiders next two times, it will not be so close in terms of the level of talent on the field. With all of the Chiefs’ injured players back plus free agent acquisitions and the Draft (Oakland is all but skipping the Draft this year), we should be able to roll these clowns on paper going into the next meeting. However, they will still be able to shoot at our Achilles’ heel – if Berry is out or is covering a different guy, we do not have any other pure athletes in our secondary that can keep up with the Raiders’ signature track-squad WR corps. If we continue to have problems scoring, this tendency to give up big plays late will still kill us in the end. Lewis may be a great run-support banger safety, but he is a liability against speedy downfield weapons. If the Chiefs trade back in the first round, I will have no problem with selecting Mark Barron with our first pick.

Kelly Lambert-US PRESSWIRE

Barron to KC? What do you think?

Kansas City Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis said on Twitter last night that he had a successful surgery.

Later in the evening, Nick Wright of 610 Sports Radio tweeted that Lewis had surgery on a shoulder injury he suffered in the season finale against the Denver Broncos.

According to Wright, Lewis suffered the injury midway through the game and played through the pain. In case you needed one, that is yet another reason to like Kendrick Lewis.

Lewis had a very nice sophomore season for the Chiefs. He doubled his tackle total from 30 to 60 in his second year. He also turned in 10 pass defenses and three interceptions, one of which he returned for a TD.

The return of Eric Berry next season should only help Lewis be more effective. The fact that he improved this season without a player like Berry next to him is a good sign.

Here’s to a speedy recovery for Kendrick.

We continue our offseason evaluation of the Kansas City Chiefs’ roster. We’ve already taken a look at Jovan Belcher and Barry Richardson. Today we move back to the defensive side of the ball to evaluate our first rookie, Kendrick Lewis.

In many ways, Lewis was the surprise of the season for the Chiefs. Going into last year’s draft, most assumed that if the Chiefs did draft Eric Berry to play strong safety that he would be playing alongside Jarred Page. Page, however, had other ideas and decided not to sign his tender offer so the Chiefs decided to trade him to the New England Patriots for a conditional draft pick in September of 2010.

The Chiefs had prepared themselves for Page’s future departure by drafting FS Kendrick Lewis in the 5^th round. Lewis quickly impressed his coaches and while he wasn’t originally named as the starter at FS, he quickly took over the roll.

Some folks have question how much Lewis played vs. John McGraw but thanks to our friends at Pro Football Focus, I can tell you.

Snaps: (including the playoffs)

Kendrick Lewis: 879 (played in 13 games)

John McGraw: 456 (played in 14 games)

In fact, some folks around the site mentioned that they thought the Chiefs played McGraw too much in the playoff game. This is not really true. McGraw was only on the field for 19 of the 80 defensive snaps in the playoff game. The reason it seemed like McGraw was on the field more than he actually was is because he was playing so poorly. In fact, the Baltimore game was McGraw’s worst game of the season by a long shot. But we’ll talk about McGraw later.

Let’s take a look at Lewis’ numbers with Pro Football Focus. Read this if you have questions about how PFF evaluates and grades players.
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The Kansas City Chiefs are down in Mobile, Alabama for this weekend’s Senior Bowl game and it appears they have been busy talking with multiple players.

We told you earlier in our roster evaluation of RT Barry Richardson that the Chiefs were seen talking to OT Anthony Castonzo out of Boston College but as the day went on, a few more names emerged.

The first and perhaps most interesting, is S Quinton Carter out of Oklahoma. Carter is considered the top free safety in the draft and NFL Draft Scout has him projected as a 2nd round pick.

More after the jump.

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Kendrick Lewis likes hardware.

In what has become a common theme this season, a couple of Kansas City Chiefs are up for weekly NFL awards.

Kendrick Lewis has been nominated for the Pepsi Rookie of the Week award for his two interception game against the St. Louis Rams.

Lewis will be going up against four other rookies, including Jimmy Clausen of the Carolina Panthers, LeGarrette Blount of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arthur Moats of the Buffalo Bills and Aaron Hernandez of the New England Patriots.

More after the jump.

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Source: Yardbarker.com

Safety Kendrick Lewis saw his status for today’s game against the Denver Broncos downgraded Saturday from probable to questionable.

The news was first reported by Bob Gretz.

Lewis was originally listed as probable when the Chiefs released their injury report on Friday so the change is not good news for the Chiefs. A downgrade at this point means Lewis will probably be inactive for today’s game.

How important is Lewis to the Chiefs defense? Well as Joel Thorman from Arrowhead Pride pointed out yesterday, the Chiefs at 7-1 when Lewis is in the lineup and 0-3 without him. If may just be a coincidence but with a team that likes to throw as much as Denver coming to town, I would rather have Lewis’ youth and speed on the field.

Thankfully the Chiefs will have a veteran safety net in place in Jon McGraw. While McGraw may not have all the tools athletically as Lewis, he is a smart veteran leader and he is unlikely to make any major mental errors that could lead to a deep Denver TD.

Unfortunately, the Lewis news also means we are likely to get a healthy dose of Donald Washington today. Washington was absolutely atrocious when the Chiefs played the Broncos in Denver.

What do you think Addicts? How important is Kendrick Lewis to KC’s defensive success?

Ricky Price spent some time with the Chiefs last season. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The Kansas City Chiefs have made a late roster move this evening, releasing linebacker Charlie Anderson in order to promote safety Ricky Price to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.

Why the late move, you ask?

Chances are this means either John McGraw or Kendrick Lewis is not going to be able to play Sunday. If this is a worst case scenario, both could be out.

McGraw joined the injury report on Thursday as he was limited with a knee injury.

Lewis has been battling a hamstring injury that kept him out of last week’s game against the Oakland Raiders.

The promotion of Price could mean the Chiefs are in trouble at safety. Last week, when Lewis was ruled out because of his hamstring injury, the Chiefs went with a combination of John McGraw and Donald Washington at free safety. Now however, with both McGraw and Lewis banged up, the addition of Price to the roster is likely a precautionary move. If either McGraw or Lewis is probable to sit out and the other is going to try to play through an injury, the Chiefs would be foolish to go into Sunday’s game with no depth behind Donald Washington.

Both McGraw and Lewis made the trip to Denver with the team so it is likely both will be game time decisions. We’ll get you the inactives shortly before tomorrow’s game.

Props to Matt who alerted us of this news in the comments of another thread. You guys are on the ball today!

JoshLooney Josh Looney Kendrick Lewis (hamstring) and Dexter McCluster (ankle) remain “limited” with their injuries; Brian Waters (shoulder) limited too #Chiefs

Crap. I don’t like the sound of this. Not one bit. With the way the Broncos throw the ball we need Lewis and his speed back and with our offense needing to get jump started, I don’t want to see both McCluster and Waters riding the pine.

I’m feeling discouraged. Tell me it is going to be alright.

Eric Berry has struggled in his first two games but the positives are there as well. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

We have been talking a lot about Matt Cassel as of late and I expect that to continue over the course of the season.

One guy we haven’t really been talking too much about over the last two weeks, is Chiefs first round draft pick Eric Berry. There has been so much to talk about, what with the team starting off 2-0 and the emergence of guys like Tony Moeaki, Dexter McCluster, Javier Arenas and so forth that Berry has gotten lost in the shuffle.

So how has Berry done thus far?

The Chiefs have given up 4 touchdowns thus far to opposing offenses and you can arguably blame Berry for 3 of those touchdowns.

In Week 1 against San Diego, Berry blew his coverage on Antonio Gates in the red zone, allowing the All-Pro TE to cut inside and reel in a perfectly delivered pass from Philip Rivers. Later in the same game, Berry got a little to aggressive coming up to cover Gates and allowed Legedu Naanee to slip behind the defense for a long touchdown reception.

In Sunday’s game against the Browns, Berry again got a little too aggressive, biting on a play fake (as did Kendrick Lewis) thus providing no help for CB Brandon Carr. The result was another long touchdown pass, this time courtesy of Seneca Wallace to Joshua Cribbs.

That being said, Berry is playing pretty darn well. Find out why after the jump.

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Eric Berry is going to be one of Kansas City's Big 3. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

Sports has seen a couple of famous trios in the last few years. First there was the “Big 3″ in Boston and now there is the “Really Big 3″ in Miami. The love story of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade has got me thinking.

Is there a “Big 3″ in Kansas City?

You could group a few players together to make a trio for the Chiefs. You could argue that Bowe, Chambers and McCluster are a “Big 3.” They may not be future hall of famers but collectively they are vital to the Chiefs success this season. You could pair together Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones with say, Jackie Battle and argue that the backfield will be the Chiefs biggest strength this season.

Yet when thinking this whole thing out, I didn’t go that route. For me, the Chiefs do have a “Big 3″ going in to the 2010 season. These 3 aren’t your typical triple threat. They aren’t well known around the league and no one fears them. The Chiefs’ “Big 3″ are not big because they are accomplished NFL football players. They are big because they will play a crucial part in the future of the Kansas City Chiefs.

I’m talking about Eric Berry, Kendrick Lewis and Javier Arenas. (more…)

Source: Yardbarker.com

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed their first draft pick as the team announced today that they inked 5th round selection, DB Kendrick Lewis.

From the press release:

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that the club has signed fifth-round draft pick DB

Kendrick Lewis.

Lewis (6-0, 198) was the first of Kansas City’s two fifth-round selections (136th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft. He appeared in 44 games (38 starts) at Mississippi, producing 226 tackles (140 solo), six interceptions, 18 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also registered 10.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks (-34.0 yards) and two blocked kicks. He also recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown.

I told you last night on Addict TV that the Chiefs were likely to ink a rookie or two this week. The Chiefs have not released the terms of the deal at this time but the Chiefs tend to sign their later round picks to 3 year contracts.

Congratulations to Lewis. Welcome officially to the Kansas City Chiefs.

“It was a play-action play where they were trying to flood the zone and I was in the deep post,” Lewis said of the INT. “It was my deepest threat and I just jumped the play and was able to make a big play off of it.”

Although he noted that it is just a June practice session, Haley is pleased with the progression of his young players.

“I am excited about this Kendrick Lewis and making him a Chief,” Haley said. “There is something about this young group, they haven’t been wide-eyed. They have a long way to go don’t get me wrong and none of these guys you can anoint but they have a confidence about them that I am sure will be shaken and rattled at different times and we will have to see how they respond.”

KCChiefs.com

Source: Yardbarker.com

The Chiefs had their 10th OTA practice today. The reports are coming in so lets get to it.

Bob Gretz reports that the defense had the advantage over the offense today. There were 2 picks during the 7 on 7 drills, one belonging to rookie Kendrick Lewis and the other to Travis Daniels.

Is it just me or does Daniels seem to come up with a pick every practice?

The other big news is that Kendrick Lewis lined up along side Eric Berry with the first team defense. Jarad Page had better get his butt to Arrowhead or he could end up being an overpaid backup  instead of an underpaid starter.

Here is some more from Gretz:

Fifth-round draft choice Kendrick Lewis was running with the No. 1 offense, replacing Jon McGraw and working next to fellow rookie Eric Berry. Again, it’s too early in the process to say there was anything definitive in the move and whether it was a reward or just a coaching shuffle of the roster. Lewis looked very much at home back there with Berry and grabbed an INT and knocked down another pass.

Derrick Johnson and Jovan Belcher continued to run with the first-team defense.

Here’s the No. 1 defense for this week: Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson at DE, Ron Edwards at NT, Mike Vrabel and Tamba Hali at OLB, Johnson and Belcher at ILB, Maurice Leggett and Brandon Carr at CB and Lewis and Berry.

When the No. 1 defense went to the nickel, Jackson and Edwards come out and DE Wallace Gilberry and rookie CB Javier Arenas come in. On Monday they showed their dime defense for the first time, with Belcher coming off and CB Travis Daniels coming onto the field.

Offensively, the Chiefs worked a bit on their no-huddle “Red Ball” offense to mixed results. QB Matt Cassel was 3 of 5 throwing the ball, including a nice hookup with WR Dwayne Bowe. The first play in that segment was an incompletion when Vrabel did not buy a fake and knocked the pass down.

Be sure to check out the rest of Bob’s report here.

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

Working on getting more on Lewis for you. He is another tea captain…

Here is Mike Mayok from NFL Network on Lewis:

He plays faster than he times. Lewis’ stock fell because he ran 4.72 and 4.81. But when you put the tape on, you see No. 1 flying all over the field. He had two INTs, three forced fumbles, two kick blocks and he was voted a captain by his teammates. This pick has Scott Pioli’s fingerprints all over it. He’s a good charcter, try-hard, overachiever type that will work his tail off to get better.