Mid-Term Evaluation: Grading Scott Pioli

[Nightfyre]

Please provide your grade of Scott Pioli through the first two and a half years of service, along with some insight about why you graded him so.

Mine:

Changes in Head Coaches:
Firing Chan Gailey - B - It was a no-brainer. Keeping him on in the capacity of an offensive coordinator was somewhat of a mess, but maybe they got some intel out of him they otherwise wouldn't have.

Hiring Todd Haley - B - I like Todd Haley. I think he has the capacity and balls to bring us to the Superbowl. He definitely does things his way, which is both good and bad. He is also willing to adapt as he goes.

Drafting:
2009 -
Round 1:
Tyson Jackson - (D) A 5-tech drafted at number 3 who should have been drafted somewhere around the middle of the first round. Jackson has failed to impress in his first two seasons; however, that is typical of defensive lineman as their development cycle is thought to average three years. He cannot possibly live up to his draft position.

Round 2:
Matt Cassel - (C) - Cassel has probably played at a B- level, but the huge contract he is under mitigates his play. Further, Pioli continues to stick with him despite his limited upside and time-in-service.

Mike Vrabel - (C) - provided below-average play due to his speed, but supposedly provided veteran leadership. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that part.

Round 3:
Alex Magee - (F) - Traded to the Buc's to swap a fifth round pick for a sixth round pick two years later.

Round 4:
Donald Washington (C) - A high upside pick that just didn't pan out. I like this pick at the time. Still on the roster (they refuse to give up on him)

Round 5:
Colin Brown (F) - Didn't even make the opening season roster.

Round 6:
Quinten Lawrence (C) - Mediocre non-contributor, Currently on the Practice Squad

Round 7:
Javarris Williams - (C) - Released and subsequently signed with the Texans.

Jake O'Connell - (C) - How does this guy justify a roster spot?

Ryan Succop - (A) - What a pickup. A good kicker with the leg to become an elite one.

2010:

Round 1:
Eric Berry - (A+) - A super high upside pick with great intangibles, made the pro-bowl his first year.

Round 2:
Dexter McCluster - (C) - An undersized player they envisioned at the slot. He did win us the first game of the 2010 season, but he suffered an injury. It's hard to pin down just what McCluster will contribute. Regardless, at this point it appears unlikely to be worth a second round pick.

Javier Arenas - (B-) - He is likely a career nickel-back, which he does well and has upside at. Given the frequency with which nickel-backs are used in todays NFL, I am going to say he has potential to justify his draft position, but he will have to become pretty elite.

Round 3:
Jon Asamoah - (B+) - He is starting in 2011, and while he does not yet appear to be elite, he certainly has the potential.

Round 4:
Tony Moeaki - (B) - An elite tight-end in the making. The only caveat is that he has difficulty remaining healthy. May the lord bless us with a miracle surgeon.

Round 5:
Kendrick Lewis - (A) - A starting FS whose play in 2010 was adequate. Here's hoping he continues to improve.

Cameron Sheffield - (B) - After suffering a freak neck injury in 2010, we finally get to see Sheffield this year. He appears to be a moderate-upside player.

2011 Draft:
Round 1:
Jonathon Baldwin - (B+) - A top ten talent/athlete with character questions and a skill-set in severe need of an overhaul. Drafted near the bottom of round 1. His measurables are off the charts. He is slightly bigger than Larry Fitzgerald and as athletic. He must improve his attitude, his route-running, and his ability to break off press coverage. Amazing Hands. I hope this kid pans out, because I see Larry Fitzgerald upside.

Round 2:
Rodney Hudson - (B) - A highly-touted guard/center, but slightly undersized. Based on the preseason he is going to take some polish, but another good selection based on the information we have now.

Round 3:
Justin Houston - (B+) - A first round talent who dropped due to a failed drug test. He appears to have elite upside based on what we have seen thusfar.

Allen Bailey - (B+) - Another highly talented individual who appears to have elite upside.

Round 4:
Jalil Brown - (B) - Appears to have the stuff to make it as a number 2 corner, based on what we've seen thusfar.

Round 5:
Ricky Stanzi - (B) - Appears to have a better skillset and arm than Cassel, but we do not have a sufficient sample to draw any conclusions yet.

Round 6:
Gabe Miller - (C+) - Currently on the IR. I have not seen him play yet.

Jerrel Powe - (B) - Appears to have quite the upside for a nose tackle. Many would have been happy to see him drafted in round four, let alone six.

Round 7:
Shane Bannon - (C) - Currently on the practice squad.

OVERALL DRAFTING GRADE: B
I added less weight to the first draft given the timeframe in which Pioli was added.

Notable Free Agents:
2009:
Jovan Belcher - An UDFA who appears to have high upside as a MLB.
Terrence Copper - Special Teams player

2010:
Casey Weigman - A veteran with good presence in the locker room. Played well early in the season but lost too much weight/steam in the second half to be effective.

Thomas Jones- A veteran presence in the lockerroom, probably responsible for us maintaining Charles (an oft overlooked point.) On the other hand he did break our first round picks hand.

Ryan Lilja - A great pickup at Guard. A starter with some miles left on him.

Shaun Smith - An awesome pickup on the defensive line. He moved on to the Titans but provided one of his best years to KC.

Mike Brown - Lost too much speed to be effective.

Jerhame Urban - Still has a roster spot anyway.

2011:

Steve Breaston - Appears to be a solid addition, currently starting opposite Bowe.

Kelly Gregg - Hopefully he can show Powe the ropes. no one is sure how much he has left in the tank.

Steve Piscitelli - Safety depth, sort of.

Brandon Siler - Appeared to be a terrific pickup until he hit the IR.

Keary Colbert - Has a roster spot. Maybe he can show some of his old magic.

Le'ron McClain - An all-pro FB should provide excellent improvement in the short yardage running game, an area sorely missed last season.

Free Agency Grade: B-
We have added some players, however I would say Pioli has only done a slightly above-average job thusfar acquiring talent through free agency.

Pioli's overall grade: B

He has substantially improved the roster and the coaching staff. However, he has a long way to go to bring us to the Bowl.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Laz

this is the biggest twisted piece of crap ever

'good' is an extremely relative term

Houston is a good team but saying that winning against them is the same as winning against the Steelers is just plain stupid.

every year in the NFL there are 8 or so elite teams that will get their wins no matter what. There are also around 8 crappy teams that aren't going to make it regardless. The rest of the teams in the league have their win/loss record go up and down based on SOS.

So technically yes "good teams win no matter what" but only the elite type teams.

There is huge grey area around that statement.

The Chiefs are NOT elite yet so they can still be a better team than last year and have a worse record because of their SOS.

This! A thousand times this! This is what I was trying to say.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Laz

this is the biggest twisted piece of crap ever

'good' is an extremely relative term

Houston is a good team but saying that winning against them is the same as winning against the Steelers is just plain stupid.

every year in the NFL there are 8 or so elite teams that will get their wins no matter what. There are also around 8 crappy teams that aren't going to make it regardless. The rest of the teams in the league have their win/loss record go up and down based on SOS.

So technically yes "good teams win no matter what" but only the elite type teams.

There is huge grey area around that statement.

The Chiefs are NOT elite yet so they can still be a better team than last year and have a worse record because of their SOS.

I think there's only 3 elite teams.

Green Bay, Pittsburg and New England.

[Bewbies]

Originally Posted by milkman

I think the talent on this roster is capable of competing with most of the teams in the league.

67% of games last season were decided by a touchdown or less.

That's one or two plays a game that decide the outcome.

This team's fortunes, as I've said numerous times, lies squarely on Cassel.

The plays he makes, or fails to make, could be the difference between 10-6 or 6-10.

Bingo.

[Chief Faithful]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I agree with you for the most part, as mentioned in my first post in this thread. And I have said it many times before, including the first draft thread.

But that being said, to only hit on Mr. Irrelevant is below what almost anyone on this board would have done, by just reading the draftabulator posts.

I am sure Pioli cashed his paycheck that week, so he does need to take some of the responsibility IMO for that draft failure. It will always be part of his body of work.

Yeah, it was a bad draft, yet it was still better than many of the Peterson era drafts plus, 2009 has proven to be a bad draft for many teams. You are right, Pioli owns the 2009 draft, but I don't think it is a good representation of what we will see in the future. I believe the 2010 &11 drafts are a better representation. Under Pioli and the new scouting department they just seem to be more prepared and informed. Plus, they are not looking for the best talent they are looking for the right talent, which tells me they have a template. Scouting can me much easier when you know what you are looking to find.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by milkman

I think there's only 3 elite teams.

Green Bay, Pittsburg and New England.

fair enough ... but the concept still stands

Good =/= Elite

Elite teams get their wins no matter the schedule but everyone else is effected in various degrees by their SOS.

[Chief Faithful]

Originally Posted by milkman

I think the talent on this roster is capable of competing with most of the teams in the league.

67% of games last season were decided by a touchdown or less.

That's one or two plays a game that decide the outcome.

This team's fortunes, as I've said numerous times, lies squarely on Cassel.

The plays he makes, or fails to make, could be the difference between 10-6 or 6-10.

To me the ability of Cassel to make plays is only half the equation. I believe Haley when he says the team is not at the point where it can make mistakes and still win.

[boogblaster]

he's try'n ... hopefully he gets it done ....

[Chiefnj2]

People say the Packers are elite, yet they finished 10-6 and lost to teams like the Skins and Dolphins.

In your third year of a rebuild you should have turned a corner and you should be able to beat some playoff teams. If they can only beat sub .500 teams, then they haven't turned the corner and realistically aren't any better than the Herm Edward's Chiefs.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Chief Faithful

To me the ability of Cassel to make plays is only half the equation. I believe Haley when he says the team is not at the point where it can make mistakes and still win.

I think that's true for all but the elite teams.

And it's still true for them, just to a lesser extent.

[Reerun_KC]

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

the only real difference is at QB....but we're not supposed to talk about that


point is, as milkman said, this season comes down to Cassel...if he's the superstar that reerun and that weirdo pats fan says he is, then we're fine...

Holy shit this day just gets better and better...

Now Cassel is superstar? Oh please please find the post where I have said this...

Otherwise your nothing more than a talking head like your boy Herm...

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

People say the Packers are elite, yet they finished 10-6 and lost to teams like the Skins and Dolphins.

In your third year of a rebuild you should have turned a corner and you should be able to beat some playoff teams. If they can only beat sub .500 teams, then they haven't turned the corner and realistically aren't any better than the Herm Edward's Chiefs.

The Pack lost 16 players (I think) to injury at some point during last season.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

The schedule was very soft last year, anyone that says different has their head buried in the sand.

Give me the NFC West every year please, 40% of the team's win total. They may not win a single game against the NFC this year, it would not surprise me.

So that right there could be the difference between 10-6 and 6-10.

and???? It sure the hell beats losing to those same shitty teams. If Oakland had swept the NFC West, they'd have been division champs, same goes for the Bolts. No game is a gimme in the NFL. I'm as much tired as the "tough schedule" BS as I am the "weak schedule" one. You play who your dealt and take care of business.

[morphius]

Originally Posted by Laz

this is the biggest twisted piece of crap ever

'good' is an extremely relative term

Houston is a good team but saying that winning against them is the same as winning against the Steelers is just plain stupid.

every year in the NFL there are 8 or so elite teams that will get their wins no matter what. There are also around 8 crappy teams that aren't going to make it regardless. The rest of the teams in the league have their win/loss record go up and down based on SOS.

So technically yes "good teams win no matter what" but only the elite type teams.

There is huge grey area around that statement.

The Chiefs are NOT elite yet so they can still be a better team than last year and have a worse record because of their SOS.

The way I look at it is as simple as we only have 2 games different than everyone else in the AFC West, that's it. If we beat the second place AFC West team twice that makes up for any disadvantage we have in the 2 possibly harder games.

[the Talking Can]

Originally Posted by Reerun_KC

Holy shit this day just gets better and better...

Now Cassel is superstar? Oh please please find the post where I have said this...

Otherwise your nothing more than a talking head like your boy Herm...

you're the king butt hurt Cassel white knight....you own that


and the truth remains...the only difference between us and those "good" teams is QB...

if Brady played for us, and Cassel played for New England...we'd be the 'good' team...same for Rothelessburger...same for Green Bay...same for anyone

but thankfully, according to you, Cassel is awesome...so we're Golden

[Chiefnj2]

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

and the truth remains...the only difference between us and those "good" teams is QB...

A better QB can cure everything. TJax will be a force against the run, WRs will get open, Richardson won't be a swinging gate, short yardage runs won't be stuffed, etc.