Would You? Could You? Chiefs Fans? 2013

It’s time to play… Would You? Could You, Chiefs fans?

Like any other fan in the Addict, I dream dreams for the Chiefs… of Montana in red and gold, of Marcus Allen diving over the pile for a Chiefs TD, and of Priest Holmes following his HOF blockers into the end zone… ooooops… that wasn’t a dream at all… just a pleasant flashback. Things haven’t always been this bad in Kansas City. We used to actually have some incredible talent on the roster.

Anyway… now I’m dreaming of a heavenly off season… dumping Pioli and Crennel… hiring Reid and Dorsey… mastering free agency and drafting the hell out of the draft.

To do that… as the song says… A Change is Gonna Come. Let’s see if you could live with these changes:

Would you… could you… trade away our first round picks this season and next season if it meant the Chiefs could secure the likes of Joe Flacco? On Thursday during an interview with Metro Sports Andy Reid said that first round choices are a 50-50 hit-miss proposition. So, it makes mathematical sense to give away two number one picks to get a proven Super Bowl winner at the most important position on the field. I’d do that trade in a minute. Pro Football Talk (PFT) is reporting that some teams have been thinking of making this bid before the postseason even took place. Now that the postseason has played out, in grand fashion for Mr Flacco I might add, it would be a steal to get this Joe in the fold… for the remainder of his career. Mr Hunt, if you ever have considered a time that you might want to be opening your pocket book wide… now’s that moment.

Would you… could you… cut Kevin Boss and Steve Breaston? Not to worry — consider that job done for you. A bigger question may have to do with who else you would be… or could be… willing to cut yourself? It’s now clear that the reigning rulers of Chiefstopia are adamantly at it when it comes to tailoring the team and altering the atmosphere in the Arrowhead dressing cubbies.

From Clark Hunt’s two week turn-around of Crennel & Pioli to Reid & Dorsey… to Reid’s nimble & methodical hiring of a fresh and minty staff… to the Shaun Smith prescribed off season routine… to the signing of a mini-van load of practice players… to Dorsey’s admonitions that’s there’s not a lot to like in this year’s QB draft class… to bringing in the absent-hinded Safety Husain Abdullah… and now the releasing of Boss and Breaston — things are beginning to shift to a magnitude that screams: don’t blink or you’ll miss it! Now, you can begin to get a sense for just how dramatic the make-over will be by the time next season starts.

The question is: who else would you either cut if you could and be glad to do the honors yourself… or who do you predict get’s cut next? My prediction is… Glenn Dorsey is not far behind Boss and Breaston and gets no name-sake grace from the new Chiefs GM.

Would you… could you… widen the football field another 35 feet? Proponents say this will cut down on injuries. Andrew Hawkins, owner of the Cincinnati Bengals thinks adding width to the playing field would save a lot of injuries. Hawkins says,

"“It would prevent a lot of the severe collisions. Guys are getting faster every year. We know that. But with the NFL spacing being more confined than the CFL, there are a lot more big hits. There are a lot more tight windows. It would prevent not all, but a larger portion, of big hits.”"

NFL great QB Warren Moon says doing that, would open up a lot of huge spaces in the defense and make it much easier for the offenses to score. Which, Moon calls “an unfair advantage.”

I tend to agree with Warren Moon and while I could see ten feet being added to each side of the  field — 12 yards total would change the dynamics of the game thus alter offensive and defensive statistics. That would ultimately usher in a heterogeneous era, an era that shouldn’t be compared to the great game of football as we’ve known it up to this point in time.

Would you… could you… allow both Glenn Dorsey, the Chiefs 5th pick in the 2008 draft, and Tyson Jackson, the Chiefs 3rd pick in the 2009 draft… would you… could you… allow them to walk away from the team? ProFootballFocus has suggested that the reason that Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson and now Justin Houston have all made the Pro Bowl is because of the play of Dorsey and Jackson. If GD & TJ eat up blockers in front of them then Hali, DJ and Houston can get to where they want to go without having to go through a brick wall to get there. The demands of a 34 defense for DEs is dramatically different than they are for a 43 DE. Yes, we’d all like to see a lot more push from our DE duo when it comes time to rush the passer, but they have done an above average job of stuffing the run. The Chiefs real run stuffing challenge comes up the middle — not Dorsey and Jackson’s territory. While I’m making a case for both of them to be retained…. I’m really saying that even though all of this may be true… I’m ready to allow them to walk. Why? Because the amount it would cost to resign them would make signing Dwayne Bowe and Branden Albert prohibitive. The question then is: who is more valuable to the team — Bowe and Albert — or Dorsey and Jackson. Based on their performances over several years… priority wise… it’s Bowe first and Albert second. Bye-bye Glenn and Tyson.

Would you… could you… project the Chiefs to battle for the division crown in 2013 based solely alone on the fact that the they have the 5th weakest strength of schedule in the league?  Even with all the positive moves going on in Chiefslandia this offseason you’d probably be off your rocker to predict anything like that quite yet. Why? Because all three other teams in the AFC West have even weaker schedules next season. Take a look.

Would you… could you… admit that only one of the following players are going to be the Chiefs opening day starting QB in 2013: Geno Smith, Matt Barkley, Tyler Wilson, Mike, Glennon, Alex Smith, NIck Foles, Brandon Weeden, Michael Vick, Matt Cassel, Brady Quinn, Ricky Stanzi, or Alex Tanney?

I believe that about covers it. If you think the Chiefs could possibly end up with someone who is not mentioned here… please speak up now or forever hold your piece. I think it’s important to narrow our choices down so that we can know what to expect next year.

Oh… I heard JaMarcus Russell is available. I understand he has a big arm… and tongue!

Would you… could you… draft Manti’ Te’o with the second pick of the second round? Te’o, a once ballyhooed top ten ranked pick, has fallen off the deep end, in more than one way, and now finds himself in a free fall. So, how much has his hinky-slimy-hijinks changed your opinion of him as a football player? No, I don’t want to hear another comment about his — invisible entourage — but, I am interested in how much he could help the Chiefs. The question is, would he help… or would his presence eventually turn the Chiefs locker room into a unreality-TV-internet-phenomenon? Which also means he won’t be very helpful on the field.

I say take him if he’s there at pick #34.

Would you… could you… predict that after three season from now, the best QB’s in the league will be Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick? AR and CK should become the torch bearers. In what is likely to be the beginning of the post Brady Manning era (figuring Manning plays at least one more season and Brady three) you look around the league at the best QBs and ask: who else could it be? I wonder if Robert Griffin III will be healthy enough to scale the heights and remain there. I wonder if Joe Flacco has already reached his pinnacle and there’s only one direction left for him to go and it’s not up. I wonder if Drew Brees will be able to sustain his tasmanian production or if there’ll be a big drop off by then. I wonder if Matt Stafford will ever get to work with a whole team that is worthy of his talent. I wonder if Andrew Luck’s 27th in the league QBR will ever ascend to the NFL heavens. I wonder if Sam Bradford will ever get to throw to a better than average receiver (or just how long he can survive with Barry Richardson protecting his non-blind side). I wonder if Russell WIlson will have a sophomore slump or continue to amaze. I wonder if Matty Ice will melt in Atlanta without his baby binky, Tony Gonzales.

Yes, l ask myself similar questions about Kaepernick and Rodgers but, every time I watch them they both woo me and wow me so much that it’s hard to believe, three years from now, that both of them won’t be in the middle of sculpting their way to Canton.

In the meantime… I wonder, will the Chiefs have a QB worth mentioning?