ChiefsPlanet - GRETZ: Anti-Climatic Cuts

GRETZ: Anti-Climatic Cuts
Sep 03, 2006, 10:19:53 PM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

For those that had paid any attention to the words and deeds of Herm Edwards in the off-season and through the pre-season, there was little about the Chiefs latest roster reduction that should have startled anybody.

There was but one surprise on the 53-man roster that the Chiefs now stand with as they get ready for the opener next Sunday against Cincinnati: rookie running back Derrick Ross. Coming out of Tarleton State in Texas, Ross wasn’t even in the first wave of rookie free agents signed after the draft. Once he did ink a deal with the Chiefs, he showed the team very quickly why he was a two-time Division II All-America.

So why did he get just seven carries in the pre-season (for 29 yards) and why did Edwards seldom mention his name in the last six weeks? The Chiefs were hoping to keep him under wraps, push him through waivers and put him on the practice squad. Instead, they decided to keep him on the 53-man roster and not take any chances.

That’s it: that was the only surprise. The 22 moves announced on Saturday were predictable in every case.

Let’s start with the notion that the greatest ability a player can have is his availability. That’s why veteran defensive linemen Carlos Hall and Junior Siavii are gone. Hall showed flashes of being a top-notch NFL end last season, but he’s spent way too much time on the injury report and was a practice ghost through this pre-season. He was unreliable in his availability and that’s the No. 1 sin in this head coach’s eyes. Siavii was much the same, although he’s never shown even flashes of ability that would have justified his selection in the second round of the 2004 Draft.

If anybody paid attention to Edwards and his words, he kept saying outright and through his actions that his team was going to get younger. And while there will not be a huge change in the team’s average age (there are still 14 players who are 30 or older), 10 rookies did make the roster and all of them will are or will soon be 22 or 23, with the exception of WR Jeff Webb, who is already 24.

Throughout the off-season, he also made it plain that there had to be some roster turnover. There always is in the NFL, but the Chiefs have made just one post-season in the last eight seasons, so there was little reason to keep the entire group intact, especially on the defensive side.

So, there are 16 new faces on the team, split evenly between offense and defense. But it’s on defense where the new faces will get plenty of playing time (DE Tamba Hali, DT Ron Edwards, DT James Reed, CB Ty Law, S Bernard Pollard and S Jarrad Page.) Among the new offensive faces, only RB Michael Bennett figures to get his hands on the ball.

There were roster question of either-or at both the defensive and offensive lines after the four pre-season games. But what the Chiefs did was actually go neither, in deciding to release both Hall and Siavii and both, in deciding to keep rookie blockers Rudy Niswanger and Tre Stallings.

The personnel business in pro football is a 365-day a year job and just because there’s a 53-man roster does not mean the work is done. There are hundreds of names floating through the league right now on the waiver wire and the Chiefs will troll the list.

More than likely they are looking for young veterans at defensive end and offensive tackle. Because Hall couldn’t get out of the trainer’s room, they are a bit light at defensive end. On the offensive side, Kevin Sampson has retained his starting job on the right side according to Edwards, leaving Will Svitek as the No. 1 backup at both tackle spots. After a poor pre-season, there’s not a lot of confidence around Arrowhead in Jordan Black’s ability to play either tackle position right now.

There’s also a practice squad to put together, as eight more players will join the team, but are not allowed to play on game-day. Some of those released on Saturday, will come back in that fashion.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2006/09...climatic_cuts/