Couple that with our negative plays on first down, and you have opponents facing second and short/med, us facing second and long.

There's your 4-12 record in a nutshell...

I've been pimping him for weeks.

I'm ahead of the curve.

The Chiefs need a mountain in the middle.

Maybe Crennel can be activated.

While it's a mildly interesting conglomeration of stats, the article doesn't really address why, or how they can fix it.

It's kind of like popular science doing an article that tells us the sky's blue.

He's a heck of a LBer. I can see us making worse picks. I'm thinking he may end up being one of the prizes in this year's draft. The kid is a workhorse and can bring the hammer down. I've been impressed with his play.

The play up the middle has to improve. McClain would certainly help us, IMO. I just really like how he has a nose for the ball and delivers solid tackles time and again.

I like that despite the fact that he has protypical size and speed, he's heady and studies tape like he's peyton frikkin manning at LB. Saban's purportedly called him the smartest player he's ever coached. Which is a pretty rare thing to hear about a defensive player.

And I also like that he's been playing in a 3-4 at bama.

It's a perfect fit in my mind. Which means he's going before we pick, or we're taking Okung with him on the board, and I'm breaking my TV in April.

On this note, Petro and Kevin Harlan had a short discussion as to why Glenn Dorsey should be our tackle in the 3-4. They based this statement on the success that Jay Ratliff is having in Dallas, and he is barely over 300, if that. His quickness for a big man is what makes him so disruptive in the 3-4 Dallas runs, according to Petro. That being said, having DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer on the outside may help that, as well.

Point being is that we may not actually need a 360 pounder in the middle if we can figure a way to use the guys we have now properly.

How? 1) NT that occupies double teams and can help collapse the pocket a bit, 2) Dorsey continue to improve and not re-injure his leg, 3) Jackson live up to a first round draft status, 4) Magee improve, 5) More talented ILB play.

IMHO, ILB impact is going to rely upon the front 3.

They run a different 34 than KC. 1 gap vs 2 gap. If KC keeps the current scheme they need an immovable object in the middle.

I think Jackson or Magee will eventually be our NT, although whether that's in '10 or '11 I don't know. That's what I thought when we drafted them both last year.

I'm no expert, but I'd say that the scheme we ran last year sucks, and we need another one.

Hell, all three of our ends looked lost most of the time last year. I have high hopes that Romeo will scrap our version of the 3-4 and install one that actually, you know, works.

We seemingly have a bunch of guys on our line whose forte is to get upfield, not take up space.

There's definitely going to be some kind of change on the line, with the dc and the d-line coach gone.

Since they implemented the scheme without the correct talent and DC to run it, I'd say that the powers that be like the scheme and it'll stick around.