The myth of the killer defensive tackle(sasquatch isn’t real)
It seems like about half the mock drafts I’ve looked at have the Chiefs taking either Sedrick Ellis or Glengarry Glen Dorsey. Granted, mock drafts are almost completely worthless. The people compiling them usually don’t know what they’re talking about and seldom get even the top few picks right. But even Chiefs fans seem to think we’ll go after a d-tackle in round 1. And, shockingly, most of them seem OK with that. Given our recent hideous failures drafting defensive tackles, I would think Chiefs fans would want Carl Peterson to keep as far away from that position as possible. Yet I’ve heard(read) no public outcry. Has our memory really become that short?
First of all, when you’re “building through the draft*” it would seem elementary that you can’t repeatedly use first-day picks(rounds 1, 2 & 3) on the same position. We did just use our second AND third round picks last year on defensive tackles. Drafting another defensive tackle with our first pick this year would basically be an admission that Turk and Tank are busts**. Herm and Carl have made a lot of noise about how great their last few drafts have been(they’ve been decent), so I find it hard to believe they’re willing to admit mistakes on last year’s 2nd and 3rd round picks this early in the game. Herm has already foolishly guaranteed the first round pick would start, so a new tackle combined with last year’s top performer Alfonso Boone and Herm’s inexplicable favorite Ron Edwards would seem to leave little room in the middle of the line for the double T’s. On the plus side, I would love to hear Herm and Carl dance around questions about what picking a defensive tackle means for Turk and Tank. That would be high comedy.
Aside from protecting our fearless leaders’ precarious house of cards, there is yet another reason why we can’t use our first round pick on a defensive tackle: the myth of the killer defensive tackle isn’t real. Teams love using first-day picks on defensive tackles because they command less salary than other positions, but their production rarely measures up to where they were picked. There have been 54 defensive tackles taken in rounds 1-3 in the new millenium. That’s a lot. Anyone care to venture a guess as to how many defensive tackles had even 5 sacks last year? 10. 54 defensive tackles were drafted with money picks in the last 8 years, and there are only 10 in the whole league who had even 5 sacks. Granted, people around the league will say that a defensive tackle’s job is to eat up blockers and get a push up the middle(NFL speak), not necessarily to get sacks. I think there’s some truth to that. But if that’s all you’re asking of your defensive tackles is it really wise to invest top picks in them? 54 tackles taken in the first 3 rounds, and almost none of them are playmakers. Can we afford to use our highest pick since 1989 on a guy to clog the middle of the field? We tried that once a few years back. As I recall it didn’t work out too well.
*I’ve heard the phases “rebuilding year” and “building through the draft” so many times from Chiefs talking heads and fans in the past few months that the word “build” now makes me sick to my stomach. The bobo Chiefs website has had a series of articles called “building an offensive line” running for a while now in which they simply describe how other teams around the league have assembled their O-lines. it’s pathetic.
**I still have some hope for Tank, but there is no doubt in my mind Turk is a bust. His entire senior year at Tennessee he had 1 sack, yet supposedly we brought this guy in as a pass-rush specialist. I guess he can fill the void left by former pass-rush specialist Kendrell “poop-scoop” Bell.
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Whoa Whoa Whoa…I did not come to this site expecting a full on Bell-Bash. You know KB’s my boy! Adding to the laugh attack we’re about to experience on Saturday is the fact that Jared Allen may be leaving. I don’t know what kind of sources and spin today’s story in the Star has around out (I’m sure it will all be very interesting if he does leave) but it presents a very interesting scenario for us to witness and that is: How loyal is KC to King Carl. I mean, wouldn’t this town go batshit if JA was run out of town? Wouldn’t people finally say they’ve had enough and flat out boycott Chiefs games? It just would seem like the next logical move to me.
And really, does anyone like this guy? Obviously he’s a slimeball but I was surprised when Trent came to town with the Dolphins in the preseason and we were privy to the extremely awkward conversation that Carl and Trent had before the game via HBO’s show (which I can’t remember the name of). It looked like Trent wanted nothing to do with him. To me, Carl has gotten away with so much because this city is so gosh darned forgiving…too forgiving. There’s just no way Carl would still be around in a larger market.
i have to get serious here for a second. i think i’m done.
i’ve been a strong chiefs supporter for 18 years now, and this is all just too much.
i’m out.
If allen is run out of town, alot of people will join tom. Allen claims that promises were made to him about a new contract. King Carl said allens two dui’s were the reason he wasn’t getting what he wanted. Now it comes out of the allen camp that no offer was ever made from the chiefs and allen and his agent claim they were willing to put all kinds of clauses pertaining to off field situations. Sounds to me like carl royally f’d up once again. Has anybody heard the sound bite of carl telling rhonda moss that allen will be a chief if the chiefs want him. Rhonda then asks if the chiefs want him and carl responds with “at this point and time, i don’t know”. What a dick. Dominant pass rushing d-ends in their fourth year are not guys you trade when you are rebuilding.
Thank god we still have d-mac