9-1 Andy Reid Q&A OL/TE notes
 

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said that Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Rams would be important for those Chiefs still fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster.
"Most of those guys that were on the fence are going to get an opportunity to play,” he said. “We'll go through and evaluate it. There are some spots there that are very important in the reps that these guys get in our evaluation."

Reid said that it’s likely tight end Demetrius Harris will see his first action since last year against the Rams.

"There's a good chance,” he said. “I kind of want to go back and see how he feels after today. If he does it won't be a ton, but there's a chance he plays Thursday."

Reid said that offensive lineman Zach Fulton would take snaps at center on Thursday.

"I'm going to get him a few reps this game,” he said. “Right now I feel pretty comfortable about it unless something changes in the game. I think he needs that work. I think that will be good for him."

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/article...5-b9114a6e68e2

Forgot about Fulton at C. Obviously they're comfortable enough with him in practice to play there but it will be nice to see him get time there against the Rams. It's interesting, to me at least, because as the cuts approach and depending on how well he looks I think it's possible they cut Kush. If Allen and Fulton can play C there's no need to Kush to be on the 45 man game day roster. They take the 5 starters and 2 backups. Backing up C only won't get you on the game day roster. Depending how many they keep it might push Kush off the roster...might.

I think TE is interesting too. I expected Harris to start off the season on PUP and be activated later. I don't think it's likely they keep 4 TE's and going with so little experience behind Kelce with O'Shaunessy and Harris seems a bit risky.

This can't be true.

Everyone said Morse was drafted to play G and was horrible at C...

haven't heard or seen one single issue with any of his snaps, regular or from the gun

What the heck is the deal with Kush? Is he that bad?

No they didn't.

Morse started training camp at guard for the first week.

The only person that said Morse had difficulty snapping was Hamas, who had first hand knowledge, IIRC.

I still haven't seen any reason why Kush shouldn't be starting.

Awful pick.

http://www.chiefsdigest.com/predicti...r-version-3-0/


• QUARTERBACKS (3): Alex Smith, Chase Daniel, Aaron Murray

OVERVIEW: Smith is the starter, while Daniel is the backup unless a trade opportunity became available. The former Tiger provides the organization with an established veteran and very accurate quarterback. Murray is third on the depth chart, but showed consistent progress throughout the third preseason game. Bray (knee) has been present on the field during training camp, but still has not participating in practices.

MISSING THE CUT: Tyler Bray (IR Candidate)

• RUNNING BACKS (4): Jamaal Charles, Knile Davis, Charcandrick West, Anthony Sherman

OVERVIEW: Davis is an intriguing trade candidate for a team in need of a zone style running back with a strong offensive line in front of them. Otherwise, Davis will be the No. 2 in Kansas City and provide the Chiefs a downhill runner and returner. West has likely locked in his place on the roster with a strong offseason. He showed promise in 2014, but just needed time to develop under running backs coach Eric Bieniemy. The former Abilene Christian back runs with speed, vision and urgency on each carry.

He is also a very effective pass catcher out of the flats. Reaves is a powerful runner but will be unable to topple the top three backs. Ware has promise as a pass protector and good speed but the numbers are too much to overcome at this point.

MISSING THE CUT: Darrin Reaves, Spencer Ware

• WIDE RECEIVERS (7): Jeremy Maclin, Albert Wilson, Jason Avant, De’Anthony Thomas, Chris Conley, Da’Ron Brown, Fred Williams

OVERVIEW: The top five receivers have been set for quite some time, and the battle has been at the sixth and potentially seventh wide receiver spots. Brown has shown impressive upside as a receiver and gunner on special teams. Williams has taken advantage of every opportunity from rookie camp through the third preseason game and has forced his way onto the roster with consistency. If Brown or Williams were to be cut there is a big risk in not sneaking them on the practice squad.

Hemingway sustained a hip injury during camp and missed most of it. Hammond has been praised by the coaching staff for his knowledge at all three receiver positions on offense and his special teams contributions. The problem is that Hammond does not provide the same athletic ability or upside of Brown or Williams.

MISSING THE CUT: Junior Hemingway, Frankie Hammond Jr., Tello Luckett

• TIGHT ENDS (3): Travis Kelce, Demetrius Harris, James O’Shaughnessy

OVERVIEW: Kelce and O’Shaughnessy are set at their positions. Both have struggles in the run blocking and the Chiefs will need to go with a third tight end that is an effective in that department. Ryan Taylor provides athletic ability, but the Chiefs have similar skill sets in Kelce and O’Shaughnessy. The Chiefs will need a sixth blocker for week one of the season against the Texans. Harris was activated off the PUP list and should have a good shot at the final 53.

MISSING THE CUT: Richard Gordon, Ryan Taylor

• OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (9): Eric Fisher, Ben Grubbs, Mitch Morse, Jeff Allen, Donald Stephenson, Eric Kush, Zach Fulton, Paul Fanaika, Jarrod Pughsley.

OVERVIEW: The Chiefs will likely keep around nine offensive linemen and the above players are the best that they have on the roster. There is an opportunity to add depth at two positions in center/guard and guard/tackle with roster cuts from around the league. Pughsley will be the toughest decision the Chiefs have among these nine. He has technique and talent worth developing, but trying to sneak him on practice squad would be risky. Duvernay-Tardif did not make the cut because he still gets beat by the same moves and doesn’t appear to understand the angles of his blocks. He has seen two weeks with the first team offense, but evaluation shows a lack of progress.

MISSING THE CUT: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Garrett Frye, Daniel Munyer, Tavon Rooks

• DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (6): Dontari Poe, Mike DeVito, Allen Bailey, Jaye Howard, Mike Capatano, Nick Williams

OVERVIEW: The Chiefs will likely keep five or six defensive linemen depending on the status of Poe. His presence on the practice field has been a positive sign, but his status remains unknown until he practices. Williams has shown enough to capture time on the active 53 if Poe is unavailable for the first few weeks. David Irving looks like a player the team is trying to sneak on the practice squad at this point. He will need a year to develop his size and strength but the talent is there. Hebron Fangupo has shown some flashes during camp and preseason but not enough to topple Williams. Rookie Rakeem Nunez-Roches needs a year of development in the weight room before he will be ready to compete.

MISSING THE CUT: Hebron Fangupo, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, and David Irving

• LINEBACKERS (8): Justin Houston, Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson, Josh Mauga, Dee Ford, Dezman Moses, Ramik Wilson , Frank Zombo

OVERVIEW: The linebacker position will likely see between eight to nine players depending on the numbers needed at receiver and safety. Moses has shown promise during the preseason that warrants a roster position. Zombo gives the team flexibility as an inside and outside backer. He is also one of the leaders on special teams and provides justification for going with one player less on the roster. March had meniscus surgery after the preseason opener and his timetable for a return remains unclear, so an IR position is possible. Alexander could likely be snuck onto the practice squad.

MISSING THE CUT: Josh Martin, D.J. Alexander, James-Michael Johnson, Ja’Gared Davis, Justin March (IR Candidate)

• CORNERBACKS (5)*: Phillip Gaines, Jamell Fleming, Marcus Peters, Steven Nelson, Marcus Cooper

*NOTE: Sean Smith will serve a three-game suspension to start the season and will not count against 53-man roster.

OVERVIEW: Smith’s suspension will likely put Cooper on the roster during Smith’s time away from the team. Olatoye has shown promise during camp and had a handful of special teams tackles. He is worthy of a spot on the practice squad.

MISSING THE CUT: Deji Olatoye, Kevin Short

• SAFETIES (5): Ron Parker, Husain Abdullah, Tyvon Branch, Eric Berry, Kelcie McCray

OVERVIEW: The team will likely need to keep five safeties until Berry is back to 100 percent football conditioning. It also provides the team versatility in some of their coverage with Smith gone. McCray is solid in coverage and a big part of the special teams. Commings was unable to stay healthy for a third consecutive camp and Sorensen could find a home on the practice squad.

MISSING THE CUT: Sanders Commings, Daniel Sorensen

• SPECIALISTS (3): Dustin Colquitt, Cairo Santos, James Winchester

OVERVIEW: Colquitt, Santos, and Winchester don’t have competition.

• PRACTICE SQUAD (10): WR Frankie Hammond Jr., FB Spencer Ware, OG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OG Daniel Munyer, DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches, DE David Irving, ILB D.J. Alexander, CB Deji Olatoye, CB Kenneth Penny, S Daniel Sorensen

OVERVIEW: The practice squad rules can get a little hazy based on what is classified as accrued seasons. If Hammond is eligible, he could find a home here with his knowledge of the season and ability to step in because of an injury. Ware has enough talent worth stashing on the squad. Duvernay-Tardif likely wouldn’t be picked up by another team if subjected to waivers and this would be a great spot for him to develop.

Munyer is a player worth investing a spot in. He has the right technique and mentality to play on the offensive line. Nunez-Roches needs time to develop his strength as does Irving. Alexander doesn’t have enough tape that warrants an active roster spot on other teams. Olatoye has good speed and instincts that could fill in well if an injury occurred.

———-

Nick Jacobs is a contributing writer for ChiefsDigest.com. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @Jacobs71.

And that was mentioned as a weakness numerous times after he was drafted.

Awful.

LDT won't be cut. Neither will FHJ. And Avant can **** right off.

JFC, FHJ averaged 13 yards per punt return last year, which would have been the highest in the league if he had five more qualifying punts.

I don't know who Nick Jacobs is but he's a ****ing dumbass.

That article has them keeping Fanaika and cutting LDT. Bullshit.

I just think it's interesting with Kush. On one hand you could figure they know what he can do and are comfortable enough with him they gave Morse all those snaps just to prepare him for being able to snap. On the other I could see the slight chance of Kush not making it at all.

Fanaika too. Why give him the reps at RT? Because if he's going to make the roster he's not earned a starting job obviously and backing up just G on game day isn't going to be enough. That's what I assume is their thinking anyway. Doesn't matter what I think but trying to guess how they are looking at it

:facepalm:

yep. I was glad to see the games and reading camp reports daily there wasn't any issues becuase I expected a few