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.