KCChiefsFan88
09-21-2004, 10:20 AM
From kcchiefs.com. I think Peterson might have skipped over his Bob Moore middle man and wrote this one himself.
DAWES: The Wedge Issue
Sep 21, 2004, 3:03:44 AM by Media Watch by Rufus Dawes
Free agency has become a wedge issue.
As you may or may not know, wedge issues are political campaign topics that work well for one side and not for another. Free agency is a wedge issue for the Chiefs simply because media and increasing numbers of the public believe the team did nothing in free agency this off-season to prop up its defense and its wide receiver corps.
In contrast, the rest of the league profits by significant pick-ups from other teams that automatically catapults its teams into the playoffs and beyond.
Free agency works well for the rest of the NFL but poorly for the Chiefs. That’s the heart of the matter, so say the media and the public. But in making that point over and over again, few names are seldom discussed. Who are these players who would have made the Chiefs what they aren’t today? Let’s examine this past season’s free agent market to find out:
Defensive Line: (DE) Jevon Kearse, (DT) Warren Sapp, (DE/DT) Robaire Smith, (DT) Cornelius Griffin, (NT) Ted Washington, (DT) Luther Elliss, (DE) Philip Daniels, (DE) Grant Wistrom
Assessment: The Chiefs drafted Ryan Sims and Junior Siavii over the past couple of years, young players they believe and evidently still believe will be good players. Picking up an aging Warren Sapp, Ted Washington or a Brian Young isn’t going to facilitate that. Taking Sims and Siavii nullifies picking up Griffin and Smith. Kearse certainly could have been a consideration but he would have come at an enormous price and carries some injury liability. Elliss has a history of injury, too, and is injured again. Phillip Daniels is Eric Hicks but older. Wistrom got $15 million to sign, so case closed there.
Linebacker: Ian Gold, Randall Godfrey, Eric Barton, Marcus Washington, Carlos Emmons, Mike Barrow, Jesse Armstead, Barrett Green
Assessment: Kawika Mitchell was taken in the second round last season and, according to Vermeil, is the future. So, too, is Scott Fujita, a young player who only recently broke into the starting lineup. The other outside backer, Shawn Barber, is a free agent the team only picked up a year ago and has a substantial investment in. So, any move you make at linebacker the replacements have to be clearly better than what you have now. Two are young and one is the product of just what the team is accused of not doing enough of: picking up accomplished unrestricted free agents.
Armstead and Barrow are long in the tooth. Godfrey’s an inside backer and the team has one who’s not going to get any better sitting on the sideline. Washington, Emmons, and Green are comparable to what the Chiefs have now, so can you argue that the team would be better served by benching any of its current starters? Ian Gold is coming off major knee surgery.
Defensive Back: (CB) Troy Vincent, (CB) Bobby Taylor, (S) John Lynch, (CB) Shawn Springs, (CCB) Antoine Winfield, (CB) Fernando Bryant
Assessment: Vincent and Taylor are aging. The Chiefs made a run at Vincent but he was looking for more money and he got it. So did Winfield who received a $10 million signing bonus. Bryant is comparable to Warfield and McCleon while Shawn Springs in some circles maybe even suffers in comparison.
When did safety become a problem for the Chiefs? The team re-signed both its starting safeties including one who was an all-pro last year. How would inking John Lynch help?
Wide Receiver: Marcus Robinson, Tai Streets, Dez White
Assessment: As this list clearly indicates, pickings were slim. There weren’t any from the AFC. Robinson is big – nearly 6'4" – and doesn’t fit Vermeil’s style of play. Streets is similar to Kennison and Morton. White could have been a consideration since he’s young and only going into his fifth year, but don’t forget, at the time the Chiefs were counting on Boerigter.
No NFL team has had much luck in luring away a wide receiver from another team in the free agency era and had it turn out to be a sure-fire success. The Chiefs have been more successful than most. Derrick Alexander and Andre Rison were two of the most successful pick-ups and we all know how long they lasted. The former was the team’s MVP and set a team record and the latter a Pro Bowler.
Summation: Dick Vermeil says he “lives in a state of concern,” but apparently he saw nothing in the free agent market to lead him to believe it would alleviate it. Was he right? From published accounts, Vermeil and company counted on the young players developing and, indeed, they still may.
We’re well past the time or soon to be for the jokes about “Greg Robinson must be laughing or smirking.” The people who continue to repeat it are the ones who were in the front of the mob laying it on Robinson’s back anyway. The onus now falls on the players. The young ones have to develop and the older ones have to step it up, including the influx of free agents the team added last year that got people excited who are griping now. Whether they can do it fast enough to rescue a season only two games old is a matter for future debate.
The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.
DAWES: The Wedge Issue
Sep 21, 2004, 3:03:44 AM by Media Watch by Rufus Dawes
Free agency has become a wedge issue.
As you may or may not know, wedge issues are political campaign topics that work well for one side and not for another. Free agency is a wedge issue for the Chiefs simply because media and increasing numbers of the public believe the team did nothing in free agency this off-season to prop up its defense and its wide receiver corps.
In contrast, the rest of the league profits by significant pick-ups from other teams that automatically catapults its teams into the playoffs and beyond.
Free agency works well for the rest of the NFL but poorly for the Chiefs. That’s the heart of the matter, so say the media and the public. But in making that point over and over again, few names are seldom discussed. Who are these players who would have made the Chiefs what they aren’t today? Let’s examine this past season’s free agent market to find out:
Defensive Line: (DE) Jevon Kearse, (DT) Warren Sapp, (DE/DT) Robaire Smith, (DT) Cornelius Griffin, (NT) Ted Washington, (DT) Luther Elliss, (DE) Philip Daniels, (DE) Grant Wistrom
Assessment: The Chiefs drafted Ryan Sims and Junior Siavii over the past couple of years, young players they believe and evidently still believe will be good players. Picking up an aging Warren Sapp, Ted Washington or a Brian Young isn’t going to facilitate that. Taking Sims and Siavii nullifies picking up Griffin and Smith. Kearse certainly could have been a consideration but he would have come at an enormous price and carries some injury liability. Elliss has a history of injury, too, and is injured again. Phillip Daniels is Eric Hicks but older. Wistrom got $15 million to sign, so case closed there.
Linebacker: Ian Gold, Randall Godfrey, Eric Barton, Marcus Washington, Carlos Emmons, Mike Barrow, Jesse Armstead, Barrett Green
Assessment: Kawika Mitchell was taken in the second round last season and, according to Vermeil, is the future. So, too, is Scott Fujita, a young player who only recently broke into the starting lineup. The other outside backer, Shawn Barber, is a free agent the team only picked up a year ago and has a substantial investment in. So, any move you make at linebacker the replacements have to be clearly better than what you have now. Two are young and one is the product of just what the team is accused of not doing enough of: picking up accomplished unrestricted free agents.
Armstead and Barrow are long in the tooth. Godfrey’s an inside backer and the team has one who’s not going to get any better sitting on the sideline. Washington, Emmons, and Green are comparable to what the Chiefs have now, so can you argue that the team would be better served by benching any of its current starters? Ian Gold is coming off major knee surgery.
Defensive Back: (CB) Troy Vincent, (CB) Bobby Taylor, (S) John Lynch, (CB) Shawn Springs, (CCB) Antoine Winfield, (CB) Fernando Bryant
Assessment: Vincent and Taylor are aging. The Chiefs made a run at Vincent but he was looking for more money and he got it. So did Winfield who received a $10 million signing bonus. Bryant is comparable to Warfield and McCleon while Shawn Springs in some circles maybe even suffers in comparison.
When did safety become a problem for the Chiefs? The team re-signed both its starting safeties including one who was an all-pro last year. How would inking John Lynch help?
Wide Receiver: Marcus Robinson, Tai Streets, Dez White
Assessment: As this list clearly indicates, pickings were slim. There weren’t any from the AFC. Robinson is big – nearly 6'4" – and doesn’t fit Vermeil’s style of play. Streets is similar to Kennison and Morton. White could have been a consideration since he’s young and only going into his fifth year, but don’t forget, at the time the Chiefs were counting on Boerigter.
No NFL team has had much luck in luring away a wide receiver from another team in the free agency era and had it turn out to be a sure-fire success. The Chiefs have been more successful than most. Derrick Alexander and Andre Rison were two of the most successful pick-ups and we all know how long they lasted. The former was the team’s MVP and set a team record and the latter a Pro Bowler.
Summation: Dick Vermeil says he “lives in a state of concern,” but apparently he saw nothing in the free agent market to lead him to believe it would alleviate it. Was he right? From published accounts, Vermeil and company counted on the young players developing and, indeed, they still may.
We’re well past the time or soon to be for the jokes about “Greg Robinson must be laughing or smirking.” The people who continue to repeat it are the ones who were in the front of the mob laying it on Robinson’s back anyway. The onus now falls on the players. The young ones have to develop and the older ones have to step it up, including the influx of free agents the team added last year that got people excited who are griping now. Whether they can do it fast enough to rescue a season only two games old is a matter for future debate.
The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.