Some fresh quotes from our fearless leaders

“We want to be successful in free agency. Being aggressive doesn’t always equate to being successful.”

-Scott Pioli

“Long-term, successful football teams are built through the draft.”

-Clark Hunt

“….just going out and signing players in order to sign players so it looks like you’re doing something to upgrade your football team.”

-Scott Pioli (on what he WON’T do)

“I would think numerically we’ll be very active. I can’t say specifically we’d sign what’s regarded as a high-priced or high-demand free agent.”

-Clark Hunt

Man, I am getting sick of reading this stuff.  And I really don’t see why Clark Hunt and Scott Pioli have to keep beating this drum.  It’s like they’re trying to find as many ways to verbally justify cheapness as possible.  We’ve heard all this many times before.  Do we really need another “build through the draft” media blitz?  I thought this regime liked secrecy, but they’re not exactly playing it close to the vest with the free agent strategy.  Aren’t they worried other teams will intercept these nuggets of brilliance?  I mean shoot, if word gets out the way to win is NOT to go after good players, all the “right guys” are gonna get snatched up before we can even lure them away from their various practice squads.  And where the right guys go, the block eaters will follow.

Teicher had an article in the Star the other day entitled “New Rules may Curtail Chiefs’ free-agency shopping.”  As in, “we wanted to spend money, but these darn rules won’t let us!”  Nice blame-shift, Chiefs*.  You don’t want to go after free agents, fine, but that was true long before these new rules.  This smells like they’re setting up another excuse, and that worries me. 

*I would love to be at the PR meeting where they decide what news to “leak” to the press every week.  I’ll put the people in these meetings up against Hollywood execs in a slime-off any day.

What I want to see is Scott Pioli taking responsibility for this team’s personel.  When he does that, he’ll be fully motivated to improve it.  He clearly didn’t feel responsible for last year’s roster, and it showed.  My question is, when does this team’s talent level become Pioli’s responsibility?  How many years?  Is this season being written off like last year was?  I know its only February, but when I read an article talking about how hard its going to be to find good players, I know thats what the team told Teicher.  There’s really only one possible motivation for that.

Look, I’ve already lowered my expectations for free agency.  This isn’t about spending money anymore.  I just want one thing: accountability.  This is true for the Chiefs as well as the Royals.  Don’t tell us how smart your plan is, show us.  And if it doesn’t work, thats on you.  Its not the market, its not the rules, its not the last guy, and it certainly isn’t us.  It’s you.  You’ve got a way you want to do things?  Fine.  But your job isn’t to implement a process; its to win games.  If the process leads to wins, great.  If it doesn’t, ADJUST THE FUCKING PROCESS. 

I’m paranoid, I recognize that.  But it feels like I’ve seen this movie before.  It’s been playing in Kansas City for a long time.

I like to think I’m a reasonable man

Here’s what I want to happen this offseason:

1) Scott Pioli brings in at least one decent starter on each side of the ball through free agency

2) Scott Pioli maximizes the value of his draft picks

That’s it.  The coaching staff has already been upgraded, now start upgrading the roster.  Should be pretty simple for the Best Personnel Man In The Game, right?  God I hope so.

I’ve been ranting about the Chiefs refusal to spend money for three years now.  I’m sure its gotten old.  The truth is that although our last few offseasons have been pathetic, I’ve got to live in the now.  This ridiculous uncapped year is going to limit free agents and inhibit roster turnover.  I won’t bore you with the details, but the short version is that the new system forces players to remain with the team that drafted them for a minimum of six years.  So a lot of players who thought they were getting their first crack at free agency are having that process delayed.  Derrick Johnson is an example of this.

Realistically, there are only going to be a few top guys available.  I’d like to see us make a run at somebody big, but its probably not going to happen.  Demanding the Chiefs spend money in arguably the worst year to do so isn’t constructive.  So I’ll cease those demands.  What I won’t cease demanding is that the Chiefs improve their roster.  I happen to think that requires more financial investment, but apparently Clark Hunt and Scott Pioli disagree.  I’ll yield to their judgement on this one.  Hey, they’re the experts.  Or at least, the sons (or sons-in-law) of experts.  If they can build a winner spending less than almost every other team, bully for them.  That would be impressive.

Of course, they still have to actually build that winner.  That’s the real trick.  Much more difficult than just asserting its inevitability.  I don’t want more assurances that this is the right path without the requisite evidence to back it up.  I don’t want more talk of patience.  I don’t want to hear about how bad things were when they got here.  I don’t want to hear the word foundation.  And for god’s sake please don’t refer to any of this as a process. All I care about is that we get better players, and win more games.  I don’t care how. 

If Scott Pioli doesn’t think he needs to spend the big bucks to find good players, fine.  But he’s still gotta find the players.  So far the best offensive player he’s brought in is 31-year-old Chris Chambers and the best defender is 34-year-old Mike Vrabel.  Not good enough.  All of our best players, all of them, were here before Pioli and Haley.  If Pioli wants any respect, that has to change.  He has to bring in some good players of his own.  Like I said, I don’t care where they come from, but he needs to find them.  Not pro bowlers, solid players.  That is not too much to ask.

As far as the draft is concerned, I love the idea of picking Tyson Jackson again.  Really show everyone we mean it.  In all seriousness, my biggest fear is that Pioli falls in love with another late first-round talent based on a perceived system fit.  It’s pretty obvious thats what happened with The Tin Man, and that showed a lack of creativity that scared the hell out of me.  I’m hoping Pioli learned from last year’s draft, but he probably still thinks he did a great job.   Hey, maybe he did.  That Succop pick was pretty great and I like Magee.  The problem is picking Jackson third didn’t maximize that pick’s value.  This is true regardless of what you think about Jackson as a player.  The Best Personnel Man In The Game had the third pick in the draft and he used it on a block-eater.  The spin at the time was that Pioli wanted a solid man in the trenches and would fill in playmakers around him in the future.  I find that logic flawed, but the point is that these playmakers have to come from somewhere.  If they’re not going to come from free agency, we’ve got to draft them.

This post rambled a bit, but my initial purpose was to re-evaluate my desires for this offseason and make them more realistic.  A shopping spree isn’t going to happen, and it probably isn’t even possible.  I’d like to see us at least pursue Vince Wilfork, but you gotta think we’ll be outbid.  Wilfork has already said he’d like to play in Miami or Tampa Bay.  That means we’d probably have to pay more than those teams to get him.  Former Patriot or not, I don’t see Wilfork ending up in KC. 

The sad reality is that free agency for the Chiefs this year is probably going to look a lot like it has the past two years.  The difference is that this time it might actually be beyond our control.  So I’m lowering my expectations.  I don’t want stars, I just want a few decent finds.  If a safety, he should be better than Mike Brown.  If an offensive lineman, he should be better than Mike Goff.  If a linebacker, he should be better than Corey Mays.  You get the idea. 

The draft is key.  And if rookie contracts retain a six-year minimum in the future, the draft will take on even more significance.  If a team drafts well and gets to keep their players for at least six years, that team should theoretically be able to remain competetive even without a salary cap in place.  This is supposed to be a great draft class, especially at the top.  It’s a good year to have an extra second round pick.  It’s time for Pioli to display some of this drafting prowess we’ve heard so much about.

I guess what I’m saying is that I bet Terrance Cody could eat a lot of blocks…..

Big Matt’s initial draft chat

I know its only January, but I can’t help myself.  My mind drifts to potential draft outcomes every day.  Obviously the landscape will change a little after the Senior Bowl and a lot after the combine, but I’ve got some early thoughts.  They might surprise you.

First of all, I don’t think we should trade down.  I’ve been beating the trade down drum hard these past couple years, so this is definitely a change of pace for me, but hear me out.  The Chiefs need elite players, I think we can all agree on that.  Jared Allen and Tony Gonzalez are gone, Brian Waters is showing his age, and Dwayne Bowe hasn’t turned into the star we hoped he would.  Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson combined for one sack this year.   Jamaal Charles and Brandon Flowers look like rising stars, but the fact remains that when it comes to top talent, the Chiefs are sorely lacking.  The best remedy for that, in this draft anyway, is to stand pat.  There are two reasons our particular situation dictates this.

1) Scott Pioli has shown (and said….multiple times) that he isn’t interested in overpaying for free agents.  Translation: there is no chance of the Chiefs landing a top flight free agent.  When your team is terrible, your coach is an asshole, and you play in Kansas City, overpaying for top talent is the only option.  Assuming you actually want top talent, that is.  Pioli and Haley have shown no inclination that they do.  In fact, not bringing in top free agents seems to be an odd source of pride for Pioli.  My guess is he just doesn’t think he needs them.  Pro Bowlers don’t win championships, The Patriot Way does.  Don’t expect Pioli to sign anyone exciting.  If we want a big-time player, the 5th overall pick is our best/only chance to get one.

2) With the 5th pick, we are perfectly situated to fill one of our biggest needs.  More importantly, we can do so without sacrificing upside like we did for The Tin Man.  Either Eric Berry or Russel Okung, maybe both, figures to be available.  Either of those guys would fill a huge need, and both would be well worth the fifth overall pick.  If we trade down, both will be gone by the time we pick.

I’m still trying to decide who I would prefer.  I’ve always loved drafting safeties, and Eric Berry is the absolute cream of the crop.  He’s the sexy pick.  People say you can’t draft a safety that high, but I say you can if it means replacing Mike Brown with the next Ed Reed.  Or, better yet, we could draft Berry and have Brown mentor him!  Of course Brown will have to be the starter so as not to undermine his credibility as mentor, but Berry could be ready to step into the starting role by, oh, I don’t know, I’ll ballpark it…..2014.  Also known as the year Glenn Dorsey finally hits his stride.  By then he’ll have gotten his PHD in block consumption.

As much as I love Berry (and I do), I actually think Okung might be the better pick.  Even as a rookie this guy would be an immediate upgrade over Branden Albert.  It’s possible Albert could still make a good left tackle; he improved as the year went on.  But that’s not a position you should leave to chance.  And it’s not like picking Okung would even necessarily be bad for Albert.  Moving him back to left guard, where he played in college, could be the best thing for him.  And that would allow us to move Brian Waters to center, an idea I think has merit.  Waters’ straight-ahead strength (and declining mobility) make center his ideal spot.  So, essentially, drafting Russel Okung would send positive ripples across most of our line.  Great value.  And even if you buy into the theory that our line was OK by year’s end (which I sort of do), picking Okung couldn’t possibly hurt.  Offensive linemen are like pitchers: you can never have too many good ones.

Of course, our defense needs a lot of help.  We have massive holes at safety, inside linebacker and nosetackle.  I couldn’t fault someone for wanting to go defense with that first pick.  I just don’t think its necessary.  We can get a stud defender with that early second rounder.  Once again, this draft class seems uniquely suited to fit our needs.  USC safety Taylor Mays, Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes, and Tennessee NT Dan Williams are all definite first-round talent, and they’ve all been slipping in various mocks I’ve read*.  Any one of them could fall to us, and any one of them would be a steal.

*The popular sentiment is that mock drafts are meaningless.  That’s true and false.  What some dude on some blog (aka me)thinks is, indeed, meaningless.  But even guesses come from somewhere.  A broad group of educated guesses, when taken as a whole, has merit.

Early second-round picks can be a tremendous boon if used correctly.  Whenever a team in the first round makes a dumb pick (see anyone in the AFC West last year), all the legit talent gets pushed back.  Savvy teams at the top of the 2nd round can really take advantage of that.  This is precisely what happened with Brandon Flowers.  Flowers was a projected first-rounder, but concerns over height and a lackluster 40 time scared teams away and he fell to us.  It could happen again.  I’ve got my eye on Spikes and Mays in particular.  Mays will probably go in the first just because of how great he was a as junior, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Brandon Spikes fall to the second.  Rey Maualuga and James Laurinitas, the two top inside linebackers in last year’s class, both fell to the second round.  Clearly teams don’t like spending first round picks on inside backers.  We can, and should, take advantage of that if the opportunity arises.

I’ve gone back and forth on this, and will continue to do so, but for now I think we go Okung in the first and defense in the early second.  This could end up being a really great draft for us.  Preliminary analysis seems to indicate the players we need should be there when we need them.  When Carl Peterson first came here he had a #3 and a #5 overall pick in his first two years (we all know who he picked).  Ironically, Scott Pioli will be afforded the exact same luxury as the man he replaced.  Peterson used his picks to turn the franchise around.  Will Pioli do the same?  He used his first on a block-eater.  Now its time for a block provider.  The scales must be balanced.  The forms must be obeyed.

Interested to hear what you guys think.  Berry or Okung?  Someone else?

PS Our boy DP finally got a new post up over at Bullpenboys.  Great stuff, as always (look out for the Men’s Wearhouse line).  If you want to talk Royals, get your asses over there and lets get some chatter goin’.  Pitchers and catchers report in like a month.  I heard Jason Kendall’s veteran presence in spring training is gonna be off the charts.

PPS While on the subject of Royals, you should all be reading Royalsreview.  Will McDonald, the lead blogger, is phenomenal.  There are some really great commenters, too.  Intelligent, insightful and funny.  They’re able to hope for good things without totally deluding themselves like Chiefs fans have.  Read a royalsreview comment thread and then compare it to one at arrowheadpride.  The difference is startling.  It’s like going from Steinbeck to a first grader scribbling in crayon.

Romeo Crennel, core players, and becoming Patriots West

I may be jumping the gun on this, but it looks like the Chiefs are going to hire Romeo Crennel.  Much like the Weis hiring, I’m in favor of this move.  True, Crennel, like Weis, flamed out at his last job.  While I do think thats relevant, its definitely not a deal-breaker.  The last time Crennel was coaching a defense he did a damn good job.  And really, could he possibly be worse than Clancy Pendergast?  No way.  Crennel is a huge upgrade.  Having said that, this move does concern me because of what it could imply about the future of the Chiefs, both immediate and long-term.

We’ll start with the here-and-now.  Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel are both flashy, big-name hires.  They’ll excite the fan base and give the Chiefs some rare positive press in the national media.  Both good things.  Arrowhead was barely half-full by season’s end, so obviously these fans need something to get excited about.  There was hope that, given this disastrous season, Scott Pioli would be forced to sign a few top free agents in order to put some butts in the seats.  Now it seems that won’t be necessary.

Are you following me here?  Pioli needed to make a couple big moves, and now he’s made them.  I suggest you all prepare yourselves for another boring offseason.  I didn’t think Pioli would change his ways even before these hires.  Now I’m sure he won’t.  Signing Weis and Crennel gives our GM the breathing room he needs to spend another offseason bringing in “right guys” instead of “best guys.”  See, Pioli and Haley still don’t see this season as any kind of failure on their part.  Instead of humility we get quotes like, “The important thing about this year was just to get through it*.”  Rather than admitting mistakes, our leadership is putting forward the idea that they were faced with an impossible task.  Apparently the eight months between the time they were hired and the start of the season wasn’t nearly enough time to adequately prepare.  Todd Haley described it as a “scramble.” 

*Hey, I’m glad they were able to get through it.  Really, I am.  That must’ve been hard for them.  I wish there was something I could’ve done to help, because it was all sunshine and roses on this end.  2009 was almost as fun as 2008!

The point is, the Chiefs don’t see any problem with the way they handled free agency.  Pioli is on the record saying his approach will be similar this year.  The only thing that could’ve forced his hand was a need to generate excitement and sell tickets.  Hiring his former buddies from New England has taken care of that problem for him.  Now he’s free to spend the month of March looking for the next Jovan Belcher.

But enough about the present.  If being KC sports fans has taught us anything, its that the present is meaningless.  Only the future matters.  So lets think long-term.  Scott Pioli’s obvious long-term goal is to turn the Chiefs into the next New England Patriots.  If we didn’t know that before (which we did), we certainly do now.  Weis and Crennel are the nail in originality’s coffin.  But is that a problem?  Mimicking the success of others is good if it leads to success for us, right?  Absolutely.  I have no problem becoming Patriots West if it means a Super Bowl victory, or any playoff success for that matter.  I’m just not convinced copying a team that was formerly dominant is the way to achieve dominance ourselves.

Professional sports, and the way we study them, are evolving at an incredible rate.  Every year time-honored ideas once considered sacrosanct are proven irrelevant or, in some cases, downright incorrect.  Tactics that were revolutionary five years ago are old hat now.  The Patriots won their last Super Bowl six years ago.  Is attempting to re-create a team that used to be great the way to achieve greatness?  I’m not so sure.  The Braves were awesome in the 90s, and we’ve all seen the results of Dayton Moore trying to implement the Atlanta “process”* in Kansas City.  Moore looks out of touch, out of date, and out of his league.  By no means has Pioli reached GMDM territory, but I’d feel a lot more comfortable if it seemed like he had some ideas that weren’t directly pilfered from Bill Belichick.  I’d rather my GM figure things out on his own, discover his own unique truths that other teams don’t yet have access to.  Organizations that are ahead of the curve are the ones that excel.  Copying someone else is the literal opposite of being ahead of the curve.  Football changes.  So should methods.  Thinking you have all the answers, or even that you know all the questions, is a surefire way to stagnation.

*Trust the process.

Now lets talk about core players.  Or rather, Todd Haley’s core players.  Yikes.  I’m trying to think of a way to defend Haley here, but I’m drawing a serious blank.  What the hell was he talking about?  Babb asks who his core players are and he name-drops Brodie Croyle and Quinten Lawrence?  Lawrence was cut not once, but twice this year.  At what point did he become one of Haley’s top guys?  Was it before or after he was cut in favor of Lance Long and Bobby Wade?

And Brodie Croyle?  Seriously?  I would think one of the requirements of being a core player would be, you know, playing.  Playing well, ideally.  Claiming Croyle is a key part of the future is preposterous.  I’ve supported Haley up until now, but I won’t tolerate that kind of nonsense.  Don’t piss on my leg and tell me its raining, Todd Haley.  I got quite enough of that from the last regime.  We all know Croyle isn’t good, so enough of this ridiculous charade.  I don’t want to hear about what a hard worker or great presence he is, either.  Unless those things translate to good performance on the field, they really don’t matter. 

Haley did list Charles, Hali and Flowers, so at least he got those right.  DJ also made the list, which I would applaud except for the fact that he rode the pine behind inferior talent all year.  Are we supposed to believe that was all part of some master plan?  Please.  Johnson was in the doghouse until those two touchdowns.  If I was him I’d tell Haley to kiss my ass.  Then I’d go play for a team that likes guys with talent.

One final thought: Neither Matt Cassel nor Tyson “Tin Man” Jackson were cited as core players, despite having the biggest contracts on the team.  I was shocked Haley left them out.  Could that have been an accident?  Regardless, you gotta think they’d be # 1 and 2 on Pioli’s list.  Appparently he and Haley don’t always see eye to eye on personel.  An interesting development to say the least.  Something tells me we haven’t heard the last of this one.

Whitlock ‘n’ Weis

There’s a lot to talk about today.  Professor Whitlock’s grades dropped and we signed Charlie Weis to be our offensive coordinator.  It’s an exciting time.  I’ll start with Whitlock’s grades, which I look forward to every year.

We all know I’m an unabashed Whitlock homer.  He’s the most entertaining, insightful sportswriter I’ve ever read, and I think we’re incredibly lucky to have him in KC.  I’ve always known he was a divisive figure, but it wasn’t until the past few years that I realized how much hatred there is for him in Kansas City.  The blogosphere is awash with people ranting and raving about what an “idiot” he is, saying he doesn’t know anything about football, and calling him names like “Whit-less” and “Fatlock”.  It’s pathetic.  I’m not claiming Whitlock is necessarily a personnel expert or football genius.  I don’t think even think he’s ever claimed that.  What he is is a smart football fan who played in college and has been covering the sport, and the Chiefs in particular, for most of his adult life.

That’s not to say I always agree with him.  He definitely writes with an agenda, and some of the time his analysis is schewed because of that.  Whitlock is a slave to his own biases, just like any of us.  But what makes him different is his ability to cut through bullshit and see things for what they are.  This is a truly rare gift.  It allows him to expose hard truths, which is something no one else covering the Chiefs has the courage or talent to do.  His insight into this new regime has been excellent.  Although past editions have been funnier, this report card was by far his most accurate.  He was right on the money with almost all of his evaluations.

The Big Three (Dorsey, Jackson and Cassel) were all given Ds, which I thought was fair.  None of them were even remotely good, yet all have the potential to get better (we hope).  Failing grades would’ve been too harsh, but none of those guys deserve a C either.  I particularly liked his assessment that Jackson didn’t actually show any flashes.  Too often people associate simply being young with showing flashes, and the hard truth here is that The Tin Man didn’t really show any.  All we can do is hope he gets better.

Whitlock also postulates that all the positive noise about Dorsey this season was designed merely to increase trade value.  Obviously I agree with that theroy as well, but it will be put to the test soon enough.  I’m fairly confident Dorsey will at least be shopped.  When a notoriously tight-lipped team starts telling the press how pleased they are with a defensive lineman who made $13 million dollars per sack, it smells a little fishy.  I’ve seen the phrase “Dorsey’s emergence” used several times.  Emergence?  Really?  Is that what its called when the #5 overall pick of the ‘08 draft gets subbed out on obvious passing downs and spends running plays being escorted meekly away from the ball?  If Dorsey had half the year he’s supposed to have had, we’d have seen evidence of it.  He’ll be shopped, mark Hatt’s words.

Professor Whitlock was also on the money with his grades of most of our key talent.  Charles was his valedictorian, receiving a 98.  That was definitely valid.  Hali, Flowers, Carr, DJ, Chambers, Succop and Colquitt all got solid Bs.  Branden Albert got a C, but I agree with Whitlock that Albert is no bust.  I expect him to be better next year, when he switches positions or is allowed to put on some weight (hopefully).  Brian Waters also got a B, and that was the one I didn’t agree with.  Waters definitely lost a step this year.  Whether it was age or disgust with all the losses, something caught up to him.  I saw him whiff on more blocks this year than I ever have before.  By no means do I think Waters is cooked; a move to center could be great for his career.  But he definitely didn’t deserve a B for his 2009 effort.

As always, the bad grades were the funniest.  You could tell Jason enjoyed failing Pioli and Haley’s boys.  You know, “the right guys”?  Talkin’ ’bout guys like Mike Brown, Mike Goff and Sean Ryan.   Or Andy Alleman and Ikechuku Ndukwe, Bill Parcells’ housewarming gifts to his son-in-law.  And of course Pioli and Haley both got Fs.  Were those grades justified?  It could be argued either way, but without Jamaal Charles’ week 17 explosion this season would’ve looked like a total waste.  I am a little surprised he graded Haley lower than Pioli.  I guess the difference between a 50 and a 55 is meaningless at that point.

It was a shame to see my boy D-Bowe failed, but I suppose that was justified too.  He’ll be back.  Or maybe he’ll become my Jeff George.  Either way, I’m not leaving this bandwagon.  I still think Bowe is a potential superstar.

One last grade I really didn’t agree with was Bernard Pollard.  The commentary was perfect, but the grade was only an 85.  Pollard gets an A in my book.  His highly publicized Houston renaissance made the Chiefs look like a bunch of clowns.  This couldn’t have played out any better for him.  If Chan Gailey deserves an A (which he does), so does my boy Pollard.

Moving on from the grades, here’s Whitlock’s newest article on the Charlie Weis hiring.   This would be an example of when you have to take him with a grain of salt.  His main idea that Haley and Weis’ egos won’t allow them to work effectively together seems like an attempt to be provocative amidst the excitement caused by Weis’ hiring.  The way he dissects their past relationship is interesting, but I’ve drawn a much more optimistic conclusion.  We have a top flight offensive coordinator now.  That’s a good thing.

Yes, this “poor man’s Patriots” approach is lame, and yes, Weis just got canned after not meeting expectations at Notre Dame.  Still, this hire has to improve our offense.  How could it not?  We’re going from an in-over-his-head first-time head coach doubling as an OC to one of the top coordinators in the league.  Even if Weis did ride Belichick’s coat-tails in the NFL, you can’t argue with his offensive results at Notre Dame, where he ran a pro-style offense.  Granted, Haley can’t curse out Charlie Weis on the sideline and expect it to fly, but having an assistant coach with some clout could be good for him.  Maybe Weis can tell Haley no the next time he wants to try a Tim Castille halfback pass.  Hell, maybe he can even help convince Pioli to bring in some playmakers.  I can’t imagine he wants to make his return to the NFL coaching Lenny Pope, Lance Long and Terry Copper.

One last thing: I’m not saying we have to bring in Romeo Crennel.  I am saying we have to fire Clancy Pendergast.   Immediately.

Beans’ Refried Rams Recap

This was originally a comment on my last post, but I thought I’d elevate it to post status.  If any of you would like to do a guest post email me and I’ll put it up with some sort of title that includes your name (Beans did that part for me on this one).  By way of an example, I asked Katz to do a guest post about 6 months ago.  I was going to call it Katz’z Korner.  I can come up with something just as clever for any of you.  Now, on to the Recap.

First let me take a moment to congratulate the Chiefs on a fantastic win. I only got to see the highlights as they came in during the Cowboys-Eagles game, but man did it look entertaining. Charles makin’ plays, DJ with those two picks for TDs, it just looked like fun. Great way to end an otherwise disappointing year. It makes you think about hope for the future. The Rams, on the other hand…

- The game was the third straight home game to be blacked out. Didn’t see a minute of it. I ran a couple errands though and listened to the radio team. One of the Rams series on offense I heard was: sack, sack, QB hit causing an incompletion. The announcer (the HOME team’s announcer) said it was the worst protection he’d ever seen in the NFL. The Rams gave up 8 sacks for the game. Exciting!

- After scoring 6 points yesterday, the fightin’ Rammies averaged out to just under 11 points/game at 10.9. They scored 16 touchdowns total in the year. Hatt, maybe you’re right to think they’re going offense with the #1 pick.

- BUT! By giving up 28 points to the 49ers, the Rams secured their place as the 29th-ranked defense in the NFL. Hard to distinguish which side of the ball is worse.

- Local media has been saying that Chris Long has improved his play in the past couple of months and beginning to resember a #2 pick. I wouldn’t know, the home games are all blacked out.

- More Ammo for Hatt Against Herm’s Beliefs Dept.: The Rams had the #1 rusher in the NFC with Stephen Jackson and his 1,400+ yards. They won 1 game. YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PASS IN THE NFL. Why can’t these coaches grasp this concept yet?

- Spagnuolo came out today and said he will be making no coaching changes this offseason. Dick Curl turns 70 in a couple months and is our QB Coach. Smart!

- GM Billy Devaney still won’t discuss the #1 pick, but the Recap is sticking with Suh for now. I’m currently listening to a drive-time sports talk show and the guys are seriously discussing bringing in Vick to solve the QB problem. How hilarious would that be?

- To close up the first edition of the Recap: It came to my attention this morning that the Chiefs will visit the Rams for a regular season game next season. The Rams have won 1 home game in the past two seasons. Let’s all hope the Chiefs can turn it around this offseason because that game WILL be a guaranteed win and there WILL be cheap tickets available. My guess is that Chiefs fans will outnumber the home fans. Maybe it’ll even sellout and be on local TV!*

* Doubtful

The Gloves Come Off, Part Two – The Players

Note: I wrote this post before the Denver game, which I assumed would be another meaningless loss.  Instead the Chiefs showed up big time.  Denver isn’t good, but still, our guys came to play.  They were fired up when there was no reason to be.  I think that speaks well of Haley (although that Castille play….yikes).  Also if I’d posted this after the game I probably would’ve devoted more space to praising Jamaal Charles.  One last thing: congrats to Glenngarry Glenn Dorsey on finally getting a sack.  It was a good one, too.  His best play as a Chief in my opinion.  Maybe we’ll see a few more of those next season. 

Hey gang, welcome back.  Some great comments on Part One.  Let’s keep up the chatter here.  I’ll start: Three nights ago, on New Year’s Eve, a friend who shall remain nameless (Ol’ 2) and I watched The Wickerman*.  We had paused the movie and were making a bet on whether or not Nic Cage would die when we heard a bunch of racket.  Turns out the clock had struck.  I never saw it coming.  When I took a minute to reflect on the fact that it was 2010, one of my first thoughts was of the 2010 Chiefs season and what our team will look like.  The unfortunate truth is that we’re just as much in need of an overhaul as we were at this time last year.  There are only 5 or 6 guys on each side of the ball who should realistically be starting in the NFL.  The results have spoken for themselves.

*This movie was actually worse than I thought it was going to be.  Also not quite as funny.  But still pretty funny.

We’ll start here: the three highest paid players on the team are Matt Cassel, Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson.  The jury is still out on all of them, but the fact remains that in 2009 we obviously didn’t get a lot of bang for our buck.  As with The Trinity*, excuses abound for all of these guys.  None of them hold a lot of water with me.  What I saw from all three was straight-up poor performance.  Here are the facts:

*I think Cassel, Dorsey and Jackson should be known as the Big 3.  All have massive contracts, all have been bad, all are vital to our success……I probably won’t call them that actually. 

1) Matt Cassel has thrown 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.  He averages less than 200 yards passing per game, and his completion percentage is 55, despite throwing almost entirely short passes.  His deep balls are consistently underthrown, and even his mid-range passes have been erratic.  During the first half of the season it was easy to blame Cassel’s struggles on the rest of the offense.  Bad line, no running game, not enough weapons, etc.  But then we signed Chris Chambers, the line started playing better and Jamaal Charles exploded.  All good things.  The problem is, Cassel didn’t get better, he got worse.  December was by far his worst month, with a hideous QB rating of 54.  He threw 3 touchdowns to 8 interceptions despite much improved pass protection and a vibrant running game.  When the rest of the offense got better, he got worse.  It doesn’t make any sense. 

2) Glenn Dorsey is one of the most popular players on the Chiefs.  Read any Chiefs blog or message board and you’ll see him showered with praise.  I don’t want to go into this too much right now since its a topic I’ll cover more fully in part 3, but the point is that there are plenty of people (in Kansas City, anyway) who think Dorsey had a breakout year*.  Obviously, I disagree.

*This has to be the most celebrated 0-sack season for a defensive lineman in NFL history.

Dorsey apologists have taken the somewhat paradoxical approach of asserting that his job isn’t to put up stats, while at the same time pointing to his tackle statistics as proof that he’s doing doing well.  I guess the only stats that don’t matter are the ones he doesn’t have.  Stats like sacks, forced fumbles and tackles for loss.  Since he doesn’t do these things, we’re told they’re not important.  I call bullshit on that.  Those things are incredibly important for a defensive lineman no matter what system he plays in.  The expected totals are lessened for a 3-4 lineman, admittedly, but 0 sacks for a defensive end who has started 14 games is totally unacceptable.  Riddle me this: if, after the 2008 draft, I’d told you Glenn Dorsey would have one sack in his first 30 starts, what would you have said?  Would you have scoffed and told me sacks weren’t important?  Would you have asked how many blocks he’d noshed?  Here’s a scary factoid: Ryan Sims had 5 sacks in  his first 30 starts.  As in, five times as many as Dorsey.

You all know where I stand on Sims Dorsey.  He should be traded before its too late.  It may be too late already.  Other GMs now have two full seasons of footage to look at.  If Dorsey looks the same on game-film as he does in real-time we could be hard-pressed to find a bidder, tackles or no tackles. 

3) The bar was set pretty low for Tyson Jackson.  The second he was drafted everyone affiliated with the Chiefs started cautioning patience and warning us to keep expectations low*.  I was willing to give The Tin Man a pretty wide berth, too.  But I wasn’t prepared for this.  Jackson has been totally invisible.  He had a couple games where he made some tackles, but, like Dorsey, he failed to register a single sack or forced fumble.  He also clearly struggles against the run, just ask Jerome Harrison.  Needless to say, Tyson Jackson hasn’t looked like the next Richard Seymour. 

*Never a good sign when everyone in your organization tells you to keep expectations low for the number 3 overall pick. 

But don’t take my word for it.  Sports Illustrated didn’t even have Jackson going in the first round of its annual December NFL redraft.  Profootballfocus.com has Jackson ranked dead last among 3-4 defensive ends….by a wide margin.  Bleacher Report highlights the Orakpo comparison I mentioned a few days ago.   By all accounts, The Tin Man has been bad this year.  It’s certainly possible that he’ll improve, but he’s got a long way to go before he comes close to justifying that pick.  I doubt he ever will.

Kent Babb reported the Chiefs are saying they’re looking to stand pat at defensive end.  With the money and draft picks they have invested there, they basically have to.  That didn’t stop Babb from mentioning that for all the money and playing time we invested in Dorsey and Jackson, it was Wallace Gilberry and Alex Magee who got to the quarterback, combining for 6.5 sacks to Jackson and Dorsey’s zero.  Very telling in my opinion.

So we’ve covered the Big 3.  As far as the rest of the roster is concerned……got any gum?  What can I say, things are bleak.  For the first time since 1978, the Chiefs don’t have a single pro bowler.  We’re weak virtually everywhere.  The thing is, I don’t really have a problem with most of these guys.  They just shouldn’t be starters.  Previous Chiefs teams always seemed to have a few terrible players you loved to hate.  It was fun, a good scapegoat goes a long way.  Who do you scapegoat on this team?  OK, let me rephrase that: who, other than Rudy Niswanger, do you scapegoat on this team?  I honestly don’t see a lot of terrible players, just a bunch of guys who should be backups and special teamers masquerading as starters.  It makes me miss the days when after a touchdown I could just yell out, “God damn it, Bartee!” and all seemed right with the world.  What do I yell out now?  God damn it…..players on the team?

There are a few bright spots.  Brandon Flowers and Jamaal Charles both look like future stars.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see either in the pro bowl next year.  Tamba Hali has been a much-needed force in the pass-rush.  Without him the Chiefs would probably be lookin’ at another 10-sack season.  Let’ see, who else…..Mike Vrabel, Chris Chambers and Brian Waters all probably have a little gas left in the tank.  Brandon Carr and Demorrio Williams are decent.  And lets not forget about our two MVPs: Ryan Succop and Dustin Colquitt!

One positive of having mediocrity pretty much across the board is that we can easily find a place for any good player Scott Pioli can get his hands on.  We don’t have to be picky about certain positions in the draft or free agency.  Linebackers, safeties, nose tackles, receivers, tight ends, guards, tackles and centers can all fit on this team.  In theory, that should make it a little easier to plug in whoever we can get and increase the overall talent level.  We don’t have to go out and focus on certain positions that might not have great options available.  We can simply target the best players available. 

Did I say best players avialable?  Sorry, I meant right players available.  My bad gang, I’m still getting used to The Patriot Way.  Speaking of which, its looking like both Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis may be headed to KC.  Jason LaCanfora of the NFL network tweeted that KC is the most likely spot for Weis, and Adam Shefter is saying Crennel is expected to be our next defensive coordinator.  I’ll take both of these guys.  You want to know why?  3 reasons:

1) Everyone knows who they are, which is exciting in a lame way.

2) Although both flamed out in their last jobs, they’d be replacing Clancy Pendergast and nobody, so thats got to be an improvement.

3) They both look hilarious. 

Good enough for me.

The Gloves Come Off Part One – The Trinity

Those of you who still give enough of a shit about the Chiefs to read this blog have probably noticed that its been a while since I’ve posted.  Rest assured, this isn’t because I have nothing to say.  I’ve been trying to get a post up ever since the Cleveland game, but none ever neared completion.  Every paragraph spawned two or three more, and the end of the post seemed farther away with every word I wrote.  I finally came to the conclusion that a single post couldn’t contain all I wanted to say.  I’ve decided to break this down into three posts attempting to illustrate the failures that have led to this most recent disastrous season.  At the end of each post, I’ll explain how I believe the failure in question can be remedied.  Part 1 will focus on the Chiefs Holy Trinity: Clark Hunt, Scott Pioli, and Todd Haley.  Part 2 will focus on the roster itself, and part 3 will focus on the fans, media and blogoshpere.  It seemed natural for the Trinity to come first.

We’ll start with Clunt.  I’m generally not that impressed with anything our owner has to say*, but charisma and oratory skills aren’t necessarily crucial in an owner.  All a good owner needs to do is hire the right GM and give him the resources to do his job.  Whether or not Scott Pioli works out, he seemed like the right hire at the time.  Clunt did what was necessary to bring in the top GM candidate (ostensibly), and I’ll give him some credit for that.

*The exception to this is whenever Clunt talks about his respect for the Rooney family.  I can’t get enough of that!  My only question is, why not throw the Krafts some love?  What are they, chopped liver?  I don’t use the word hero very often, but Bob Kraft may be the greatest hero in American history.

Having said that, he showed questionable judgement allowing himself to be sold on Herm Edwards’ vision.  Any rational thinker should’ve been able to see that EPK* Construction’s “rebuild” was doomed to failure.  The fact that our owner apparently couldn’t see this is troubling, and speaks poorly of his intelligence.  And I’m not willing to just assume Clark Hunt is a smart guy.  The sins of the father can’t be blamed on the son, but it works the other way, too.  A son doesn’t get credit for his father’s successes.  There’s a reason hereditary lines of succession have been doomed to failure throughout human history.

*Edwards, Peterson, and Kuharich for new readers or those who still haven’t picked up on that.

Am I saying Clark Hunt is a cheapskate?  No, I’m not saying that.  But it’s certainly possible.  There are 2 things the Herm era and the fledgling Pioli era have in common: losses and low payrolls.  Maybe Clark Hunt is willing to spend money, but we’ve seen no evidence of that.  If next year is indeed uncapped, a miserly owner will be a serious handicap.  I don’t really think Clark Hunt is miserly (yet), but if this pattern continues eventually our owner’s commitment to winning should come into question.

Of course, Scott Pioli says the Chiefs spending is actually about average*.  He says the media is unaware of “certain factors” when calculating their numbers.  He doesn’t elaborate on what these factors are, or why they apparently affect our numbers so much more than other teams.  But hey, if Pioli says our bargain-basement team costs just as much as teams with real NFL players, I for one believe him.  I mean, who should I believe?  The people who objectively report on salary cap figures?  Please.  Those dummies are obviously biased against Kansas City.  According to them we spend less than almost every team in the league!  Too bad they fail to take “certain factors” into account.  What factors?  That’s none of our damned business.  Our only concerns should be buying tickets, paying for stadiums, and thanking sweet baby Jesus for the privilege of watching NFL football.

*If you want to hear the interview, go here and scroll down to the “Ask a GM” segment.  He’s basically taking a page out of David Glass’ playbook.  Every year Forbes Magazine publishes the profit margins for every MLB team, and every year Glass claims the numbers are wrong without elaborating on why or how.  The old ” lie while accusing someone else of lying” trick.  The fact is Pioli (or Glass) could easily squash these supposedly incorrect numbers by opening up the books and explaining the discrepency, but that will never happen.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.

For whatever reason, our team doesn’t spend money.  As mentioned above, this could be due to stingy ownership.  I think the more likely explanation for 2009’s pathetic offseason is that Scott Pioli just didn’t feel any pressure to bring in top players.  At first it seemed to me like he was just taking a mulligan on 2009, but that doesn’t tell the whole tale.  Whitlock’s assessment of his inactivity hits much closer to the mark.  Pioli clearly gave priority to establishing “The Patriot Way”.  He eschewed top free agents and brought in old-timers and special teams players not because of frugality, but because he believed his “way” would generate success regardless of talent level.  His top draft pick was used to reach on a player with limited upside because he was ideally suited to the 3-4.  Clearly, Scott Pioli is a guy who values system over talent.  I think thats a problem.

Even those who believe in Pioli’s methods should take a good hard look at the moves he’s actually made.  His biggest offseason free agent signings were Mike Goff, Zach Thomas, Bobby Engram, Monty Beisel and Mike Brown.  How’d those work out?  Some of his scrap-heap ”finds” have been OK, but has he really unearthed any diamonds in the rough?  Who?  Chambers and Vrabel are over the hill and Mays, Pope and O’Callaghan are mediocre.  All of our best players were here before Pioli.  In fact, he cut a player (Bernard Pollard) who was better than anyone he brought in.  The only truly impressive personnel move I’ve seen him make was drafting Ryan Succop in the seventh round.  I’m gonna need to see a lot more than that before I start polishing Pioli’s next Executive of the Year trophy.

The rallying cry of the “In Pioli We Trust” crowd is, of course, that it’s too early to judge our new GM.  We heard the same thing with Herm even into his third year, and we’ve heard it about every terrible draft pick we’ve made for the past 10 years.  Everyone in the NFL, be it player, coach or GM, is apparently given at least one year, and oftentimes several years before they can be evaluated in any way.  As I’ve said many time before, this argument is utter nonsense.  It requires no evidence, insight, or even logical thought.  In fact, it cannot co-exist with any of those things.  It’s a weak attempt at a broad dismissal of all possible criticism.  If someone is attempting to use this argument, it’s a pretty good indicator that the player/coach/GM in question has, at the very least, been unsuccessful.  There can always be extenuating circumstances for this, but no extenuating circumstance can justify ignoring an entire season (or more) of information.  Extenuating circumstances, if there are any, should be evaluated along with all results, not used to cancel them out.

Scott Pioli is still at the beginning of his career as a GM, and I can’t claim to know exactly how things will turn out.  Nobody can.  But we can use what we do know to make the best possible educated guess.  That’s what evaluation is, and it gives no mulligans.  Maybe Pioli will improve.  I certainly hope so.  But from where I’m sitting his grade so far isn’t good.  If Todd Haley, Matt Cassel and Tyson Jackson step it up next year, Pioli’s 2009 grade will obviously improve.  But we can’t just assume all of those things will happen.  The Tin Man has been invisible, Cassel has looked like a backup and Haley has been borderline embarrassing.  There are plenty of excuses available for all three, but even the biggest homer would have to admit that none of them have been good this year.  If those guys produce the same results in 2010 as they did in 09 (I’d be willing to bet at least 1, and probably 2 of them will), Pioli will have some explaining to do.  At that point it’ll be time to start asking if maybe Clunt should’ve hired the “right” GM instead of the “best” one.

Does this mean I’m off the Todd Haley bandwagon?  Tough question.  I still like the guy.  But what has he done well?  The offense stinks, the defense stinks, and his favorite players are some of the worst on the team.  Let me put it this way: if Willie Bloomquist and Ross Gload were football players, they would be starting on the Chiefs.  We’d be reading stories in the Star about how hard they work.  We’d be calling Gload the quarterback of our defense and throwing Bloomquist wide receiver screens.  I know hard work is important, particularly in football, but this aversion* to top level talent has permeated our entire leadership structure, and I just don’t see how that can do anything but hurt our team.  Why couldn’t Haley get along with Bernard Pollard?  Why doesn’t he like Derrick Johnson?  Why was Jamaal Charles sitting behind Larry Johnson when he’s clearly a much better player?  Why has Branden Albert regressed?  Why has Dwayne Bowe’s worst season come under a guy who was supposed to be a wide receivers expert?  There are too many questions like this, and I haven’t heard plausible answers for any of them.

*Aversion is maybe not the right word here.  Indifference?  Aloofness?  I actually think it might be aloofness.  Like, “yeah, great players are nice, and if they want to sacrifice money, freedom, and dignity to play here, fine.  But we don’t need them.”

The fact is Haley hasn’t really done anything well.  He’s alienated players, mismanaged the roster, assembled a pitiful/nonexistent coaching staff, and made one bizarre game-day decision after another.  I’ve heard people say they think Haley is dumb.  I don’t agree with that.  He doesn’t exactly light it up at press conferences, but I’d take his stoic, Eeyore vibe over the Herm Edwards hard-laughin’-bad-lyin’ approach any day of the week.  I guess his sharp contrast to Herm is probably the only real reason I like Haley.  Oh well, the heart wants what it wants, right?  Just because I like Haley that doesn’t mean I’m blind to his faults, and they have been many.  You can certainly make the case that he should be fired.  At the very least, we should recognize that he hasn’t done a good job.

This season was a mess, and it would be dishonest to ignore the role our current leadership played in creating it.  Yes, Herm and Carl’s ineptitude ensured Pioli and Haley would have an uphill climb.  But nobody was expecting a playoff berth, or even a .500 season.  All I wanted to see was a better team than last year.  Expecting our new leaders to improve upon the worst season in team history is not unreasonable.  It was a very modest goal, and they couldn’t pull it off.  We lost to Oakland, Buffalo and Cleveland at home.  We nearly let some guy named Jerome Harrison break the all-time rushing record.  We don’t have a single pro-bowler.  We’re ranked 28th in offense and 30th in defense.  We’re dead last in rushing defense.  We’ve picked up 50 less first downs than our opponents and almost 1400 less yards.  For the second straight year, we’ll be picking third in the draft.  If you call that progress, you need a lesson on the meaning of the word.

This post may have seemed like a lot of doom and gloom, but this season definitely warrants it.    I suppose I could stick my head in the sand and write about Tim Castille’s touchdown catch, the Chiefs in the community, or how good Matt Cassel was against the Browns, but there are plenty of people doing that already.  I’ll leave the spin to the Chiefs PR department.  The sad truth is that there is still A LOT wrong with this franchise.  The Gloves Come Off series is a direct response to that.

That doesn’t mean I think everything is hopeless.  I knew for a fact that Herm and Carl would never lead us to the promised land.  I don’t yet know that about Pioli and Haley.  Most of the evidence so far is against them, but they could improve if they recognize 2009 as the failure that it was.  They weren’t building, they weren’t laying a foundation, they weren’t changing a culture; they were failing.  Are they self-critical enough to realize that, or will they continue to deflect all responsibility for this mess onto the last regime?  We’ll find out before next season even starts.  If the phrase “Its not the best 53 players, its the right 53 players” remains in the Pioli lexicon, we’re in serious trouble.  But if Pioli uses every means at his disposal to aggressively improve this team, things could very well start to turn around.  He needs to sign some legitimate free agents, and he can’t be afraid to take bold action on draft day.  This first round pick needs to be a home-run.  Carl Peterson inherited a dismal franchise in 1989, but he was able to use top 5 picks in back-to-back years on Neil Smith and Derrick Thomas, the cornerstones of our success in the 90s.  Pioli will have had back-to-back top 3 picks*.  They need to have a similar impact.

*This will be the Chiefs 3rd straight year picking in the top 5.  Other than about 50,000 devoured blocks, we don’t have a lot to show for it.

Pioli is the member of the trinity I’ve criticized the most, but they all need to step it up.  Clunt needs to open up the wallet, Pioli needs to bring in good players, and Haley needs to get them to produce.  Those things all sound pretty simple, but none of them happened in 2009.  If the Chiefs are serious about contending, it has to start at the top.  If any one member of the Trinity fails to do what I mandated above, 2010 will look a lot like 2009…..which looked a lot like 2008…..which looked a lot like…..fuck.

So very tired

I can remember being madder and more hopeless last season, but I can’t ever remember having been so bored.  Sunday’s loss to the Bills was hard to sit through.  I remember at one point thinking I was ready to go home and then noticing, to my horror, that the game was still in the third quarter.  And it didn’t feel like the Chiefs were doing us any favors keeping it close, either.  Even when we were seemingly driving for a game-winning touchdown, I never seriously thought we’d win.

I enjoyed watching the defense for a while, until it dawned on me that Buffalo fans were probably thinking the same thing about their defense.  The reality is any running back who touched the ball Sunday picked up big yards.  The only thing that kept this from being a shootout was truly terrible quarterback play.  I don’t know who looked worse, Fitzpatrick or Cassel.  Cassel threw for more yards, but 4 picks and no touchdowns is a terrible game no matter how you slice it.  And these awful performances are coming at a time when pass protection seems to be slightly improved and our running game has become a threat.  Cassel should be getting better.  Is the receiving corps to blame, or do we have a more serious problem on our hands?

For the record, I still look at Cassel as basically a younger Trent Green.  The similarities are striking.  We bring in a high profile new leader who promptly trades for his old team’s backup quarterback.  In both cases, a subpar, ramshackle offense was thrown together and the QB struggles in his first year.  If Pioli can put together a decent offensive line and provide sufficient weapons, Cassel will probably be a similar quarterback to Green.  Solid, but not spectacular.  I’m just hoping this season doesn’t permanently damage our QBOTF’s psyche.  That would be devastating.

A few responses to recent comments:

• Phantic- I wouldn’t be in favor of drafting Cody either, but the thing that impresses me is he has 9 tackles for a loss this year.  That’s a lot, and I’ve always thought that stat was underrated.  Tackles for loss is the “sack” of run defense.
• Sesame Cake- I’ve definitely noticed our line is better without Goff.  Unbelievably, I think he might’ve actually been the worst one.  I’d like to put him and Niswanger in diapers and make them fight to the death.
• Sesame Cake (again)- That Whitlock article was incredible.  When he writes an article like that, it makes Beast Nation look even stupider for hating on him.  I frequently see him referred to as an idiot.  I’d love to look at a police lineup of all the people who’ve made that accusation.  I’d speak through the mike on the other side of the glass and be like, ”…….Uh, Number 3?  Where do you hang out at night?……yes, OK, thank you number 3…….OK, Number 4, what was the last book you read?” 
• Beans- I actually had a feeling Spagnuolo was going to be a disaster.  He just seemed like kind of an idiot, and I’d heard reports that the reasonhe hadn’t been hired as a head coach before was that he gave bad interviews.  I can’t imagine what that means, but it doesn’t sound good.  Imagine getting to that point and then blowing the interview.
• Boom Boom- How long would your boner last if we drafted Suh.  Weeks?  Months?
• DP- I’d like to read a Bullpenboys Jason Kendall write-up at some point.  Until then, there’s this.  God I love Rany.
• Greens- I just re-read that post where you said you liked Brodie Croyle’s “free-wheelin’ attitude.”  Hilarious.  Was that comment made before or after the disastrous fake punt play?  I actually think it might’ve been after.
• KCO- If Pioli really isn’t talking to Haley, that means this season has gone worse than he expected.  I guess thats, I don’t know, good maybe?  Will Pioli realize his mere presence isn’t enough to turn a team into a winner?

My dad offered me two club level tickets to sunday’s game.  Do I take him up on that?  I’ve always loved going to Arrowhead, and its been a while.  I’m only in KC a couple times a year, so my opportunities to attend a Chiefs game in the near future could be few and far between.  Part of me feels like I should go. 

But for this?  Do I really go see us play the Browns in week 15 of a 3-11 season?  Do I really put more money in Clunt’s gigantic Texas-wallet?  Do I really give my support to another wasted season? 

I think I want to go, and I think I want to tailgate.  We should have an official BMCC tailgate!  This is the perfect game for it, in a way.  I’m gonna get the ball rolling on this.  First call: Boom Boom.

Offseason priorities

Believe it or not, I’m still excited to be watching these Chiefs games.  Yes, it would be nice to watch games that matter, but that ship sailed a long time ago.  Does that mean these last four games are irrelevant?  Absolutely not.  See, there’s this quarter system…..

Seriously though, these last four games are still useful.  Obviously, this team has a lot of holes.  Too many to fill in one offseason, particularly if this offseason is anything like the last one.  These last four games are about determining the difference between our wants and needs.  Which positions do we absolutely have to upgrade, and which ones can we get away with standing pat?  We’ll start with the defense.

Defensive line

Analysis: Despite a fourth consecutive draft in which one or more top picks were used on defensive lineman, this unit remains a clear weakness.  They don’t pressure the quarterback and they don’t stuff the run.  Tyson “Tin Man” Jackson has been invisible.  Glenn Dorsey has over 40 tackles and I can’t remember any of them.  In theory, defensive end should eventually become a strength.  But in theory, communism works.  I’m not willing to sit back and assume these guys will become studs just because of their high draft selection and massive contracts.  I need to see plays being made.  And no, falling on a fumble another player caused during a 31 point blowout does not qualify as a big play.  Still, Dorsey continues to draw rave reviews from fans.  I guess its possible he’s having the greatest sack-less season in the history of defensive linemen.  It’s also possible he just isn’t very good.  No one wants to hear this, but the sad truth is that Ron Edwards has probably been our best lineman this season. 

Solution- Unfortunately, our opportunities to improve the line are limited.  Tyson Jackson isn’t going anywhere, so we just have to hope he gets better.  I’d say the same for Dorsey, but I still think he’ll be traded.  I was jumping for joy when he recovered those fumbles, because if we’re going to get good value for him that stat sheet needs some filling out.  We should all be hoping Dorsey gets at least one sack before year’s end.  Of course its entirely possible he’ll stay a Chief for years, but there is reason to think otherwise.  First of all, the very fact that Pioli used the #3 pick on Jackson indicates he wants guys who fit the 3-4.  Dorsey’s adjustment to the 3-4 hasn’t been terrible, but he’s a 4-3 player if ever there was one.  And you know the league’s best personnel man didn’t draft Alex Magee to ride the pine.  If we could get a second rounder for Dorsey, I’d be all for it, because Magee would provide an immediate upgrade in the pass-rush.  In any case, our starting defensive ends for 2010 are on the team already.

Hopefully the same isn’t true of our NT.  Ron Edwards is a fine player, but he’s not someone you want starting at one of the defense’s most important positions.  NT needs to be upgraded.  The top draft prospect is Alabama’s Terrence Cody, and he’s had a monster year, but I for one am not really in the mood to spend another 3 years hearing about how long it takes linemen to develop.  We need someone who can step in right now and take pressure off our young defensive ends so they can develop properly.  In short, we need Vince Wilfork.  Wilfork is set to become a free agent, but most people asssume the Patriots won’t let that happen.  I’m not so sure.  The Patriots just spent a 2nd round pick on Boston College NT Ron Brace, and at the time it seemed to me like this was done with Wilfork’s departure in mind.  New England has a history of letting top players, particularly defenders, leave before they outlive their usefullness.  If they let Wilfork go, we need to do whatever it takes to bring him to KC. 

Linebackers

Analysis: This has been the unit I’ve been most interested in since the start of the season.  By my count we have seven linebackers who have seen significant playing time.  I can’t say the group has been impressive as a whole, but there are definitely some usable parts in there.  The questions is, which parts?

Tamba Hali, obviously, is here to stay.  His successful transition to linebacker has probably been our defense’s biggest bright spot, and his monster performance on sunday was easily the best by any Chiefs defender this year (or last).  Vrabel has been solid, but he isn’t getting any younger.  Still, it is good to see him out there.  It makes our defense seem a little more legitimate and professional, as lame as that sounds.  Plus he’s a mentor!

Demorrio Williams continues to rack up tackles, and that pass he tipped to Mike Brown last week was incredible.  Truly beautiful defense.  I was proud of him.  Its a shame Speedwagon’s solid season has to come at the expense of Derrick Johnson’s playing time.  When DJ is on the field, he looks as good as he ever has.  For whatever reason, he isn’t often on the field.  Obviously Haley doesn’t like him.  I’ve heard some people say that Johnson freelances too much, often forgetting about his assignments.  That could be true, but we have no way of knowing.  I for one don’t have a Chiefs defensive playbook handy. 

Corey Mays, Jovan Belcher and Andy Studebaker are all essentially scrap-heap pickups, but its not inconceivable that one of them could be a diamond in the rough.  Sesame Cake did hear Pioli talking up Belcher.

Solution: I think we’re set at outside linebacker, at least for next year.  It’d be nice to have another pass rusher to complement Tamba, but we have too many other, more pressing needs.  Vrabel has said he’d like to return, and I think having him in place while we see if either Studebaker or Belcher are for real is a pretty decent plan.  We only have so many draft picks, and I’d like to see one of them used on a middle linebacker.  Corey Mays isn’t embarrassing himself, but he obviously isn’t the answer either.  He’d be a great backup, lets put it that way. 

Last year’s draft had some pretty great inside linebacker prospects, but other than Brandon Spikes I don’t see anyone dominant in this draft class.  And even Spikes is basically another Big Hatt Rey Maualuga pipe-dream.  We’d have to use our first round pick to get him.  Given the state of our offensive line, that probably wouldn’t be wise.  But we need to find a punishing inside linebacker to start next to Demorrio, who is more of a sideline-to-sideline guy.  Maybe we can find someone in the second round.  Sean Weatherspoon?

Secondary

Analysis: I swear I’m not going to spend this section complaining about Bernard Pollard.  Seriously, I’m not.  I mean sure, it was monumentally stupid to cut him, but seriously guys, lets move on.  Why do you insist on dwelling on it?  What, just because Pollard is thriving and his replacement is a washed up “right guy”? 

Sorry about that.  Actually, no I’m not.  I can’t watch Mike Brown creak around out there without thinking about Pollard laying wood on people in Houston.  Safety, once thought of as strength, has become a serious weakness for us.  It at the beginning of the year you’d told me Jon McGraw was going to be our best safety I’d have thought our record would be even worse than it is.  Luckily, McGraw has been a decent stand-in.  Page’s injury didn’t help, but the reality is that he was benched before he ever got hurt.  More damaging, in my mind, was Maurice Leggett’s injury.  I was interested to see what he could do at safety. 

I don’t feel like I need to say too much about our cornerbacks.  Brandon Carr is solid, and I have a recurring dream about being Brandon Flowers’ roommate.  In the last one he said he’d get me a tryout with the Chiefs.  Hopefully next time we’ll find out what position my subconcious thinks I should play.  The answer, no matter what it is, is sure to be pretty funny.

Solution: First and foremost, we need a new strong safety.  I’ve become enamored of Tennessee’s Eric Berry, and would be pretty psyched to see us pick him in the first round.  I know our offensive line needs help, but Berry might be too good to pass up, particularly given that a new strong safety is probably our defense’s biggest need.  Come on, admit it, it would be exciting to watch a stud rookie safety flying around making plays out there.  We haven’t had that since Shaunard Harts (cheap shot). 

I’ve read a lot of people saying we also need a new free safety, but I don’t think thats necessarily true.  Page is likey gone given his status as a prominent Herm guy, but Jon McGraw could do the job adequately, if not well.  And I’d really like to see Legget given a chance to win the job.  Our defense has a disturbing tendency to give up the big play.  Having a free safety with speed and cover skills could only help that problem.  Leggett got picked on somewhat as a corner, but he’s shown a certain knack for being in the right place at the right time, and he’s certainly eager to go for the big play.  These are both qualities that play better at safety than corner.  And besides, with Carr and Flowers in place as starters and Pioli having spent a high 4th rounder on Donald Washington, Leggett doesn’t seem to have much of a future here as a cornerback.

Yes, our defense has been bad this year.  Really bad.  But I don’t think things are quite as hopeless as the numbers indicate.  With a few key moves Scott Pioli can turn this into a respectable unit.  And by “key moves”, I don’t mean drafting a defensive lineman from LSU and then bringing in a few old guys.  Its time to be pro-active.