"The way it looks now back-up Geoff Schwartz ... will likely sign elsewhere."

[Direckshun]

So says the guy who runs draftinsider.net, Tony Pauline, talking to people all week at the Combine:

Kansas City Chiefs:

I'm told Branden Albert may not be the only veteran offensive lineman out the door in Kansas City. The way it looks now back-up Geoff Schwartz, who received heavy interest at the combine, will likely sign elsewhere.

Follow Tony Pauline @TonyPauline.

He's also reporting the rumor that the Raiders want to try to re-sign McFadden, but they are unlikely to pull it off.

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

He's not an "average" tackle. Give that shit a rest..

Joe Thomas
Jake Long
Ryan Clady
Jordan Gross
D'Brickashaw Ferguson
Michael Roos
Jason Peters
Nate Solder
Duane Brown
Russell Okung
Joe Staley
Trent Williams

You think he is better than these guys?
Albert is not the worst or anything, but he is not elite either. He is very much the definition of average.

[Sofa King]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

Joe Thomas
Jake Long
Ryan Clady
Jordan Gross
D'Brickashaw Ferguson
Michael Roos
Jason Peters
Nate Solder
Duane Brown
Russell Okung
Joe Staley
Trent Williams

You think he is better than these guys?
Albert is not the worst or anything, but he is not elite either. He is very much the definition of average.

Yeah actually. I think he is better than quite a few of those guys.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

Joe Thomas
Jake Long
Ryan Clady
Jordan Gross
D'Brickashaw Ferguson
Michael Roos
Jason Peters
Nate Solder
Duane Brown
Russell Okung
Joe Staley
Trent Williams

You think he is better than these guys?
Albert is not the worst or anything, but he is not elite either. He is very much the definition of average.

I do think he's better than a few guys on that list, yes.

And by the way, Jake Long doesn't belong on that list at all.

[htismaqe]

Here's an excerpt from Neil Hornsby over at PFF - he wrote this last year when the Chiefs talked about trading him to the Dolphins.

Despite my protestations to the contrary I’ve seen many people quote our stats to the effect “Albert is PFF’s 25th-ranked tackle in 2012 or 17th-ranked left tackle”. This paints him as a mid-tier player and as such not a huge upgrade on Martin. I think that’s taking our work out of context and not fair on Albert who I personally feel is a much better player than that.

If you, like I, assume pass blocking is the most important part of a tackle’s job and rate players in that order he becomes the 11th-rated tackle and ninth-placed left tackle. Further, when you dig into our advanced normalization data (we don’t have this on the site but it takes account of teams whose quarterback gets rid of the ball quickly, giving them an unfair advantage) he becomes the sixth tackle with only Joe Thomas, Russell Okung, Michael Roos, Andrew Whitworth and Ryan Clady ahead of him. As for his run blocking, it’s always been a little disappointing for an ex-guard but not problematic and similar to those other tackles I’ve just mentioned with the exception of Okung who is better than the rest in that regard.

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by Sofa King

Yeah actually. I think he is better than quite a few of those guys.

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I do think he's better than a few guys on that list, yes.

And by the way, Jake Long doesn't belong on that list at all.

Albert has turned down contracts similar to the one that Ryan Clady recently signed. Do you think Albert is worth that 10 mil a year average like Joe Thomas gets? I sure don't.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

Albert has turned down contracts similar to the one that Ryan Clady recently signed. Do you think Albert is worth that 10 mil a year average like Joe Thomas gets? I sure don't.

Yeah, he's worth that to somebody.

To the Chiefs, who have Stephenson and Fisher under contract? No, probably not.

[Mr. Laz]

over/under how many years people will complain about Albert being gone?

every block he makes for his new team
every missed block by his replacement


will they bitch more about Pioli,Cassel or Albert going forward?

we need a poll.

[RunKC]

I think Direkshun is right about one thing: we are taking an OL fairly early. Wouldn't be shocked to see that in the 3rd rd

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

over/under how many years people will complain about Albert being gone?

every block he makes for his new team
every missed block by his replacement


will they bitch more about Pioli,Cassel or Albert going forward?

we need a poll.

Of course, people just bitch for the hell of it. The team never makes any mistakes...

[Chief Roundup]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

over/under how many years people will complain about Albert being gone?

Truly depends on how Fisher does replacing him at LT and how the team fairs from that position.

[Easy 6]

Albert may not be elite, but he's certainly an above average player, he's a second tier guy... the only thing wrong with that is he wants first tier money.

Someone else can go ahead and give it to him.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

over/under how many years people will complain about Albert being gone?

every block he makes for his new team
every missed block by his replacement


will they bitch more about Pioli,Cassel or Albert going forward?

we need a poll.

Over/under on how many people bitch and moan that "Albert never played like that" when he's succeeding with another team?

[OldSchool]

Originally Posted by RunKC

I think Direkshun is right about one thing: we are taking an OL fairly early. Wouldn't be shocked to see that in the 3rd rd

It's pretty much guaranteed at this point unless Reid and Co are comfortable with having to start one of our depth guys. I'd like to see Watkins, Johnson, and Kush get some snaps. All talented players, just limited experience.

But, that doesn't change the fact that we really do need a potential starting caliber swing tackle though. If Fisher and/or Stephensen goes down at any point and we don't have a capable replacement in the fold like we did last year, we're screwed with the schedule that we have coming up.

[saphojunkie]

The problem with Branden Albert is that we've seen elite. After watching Willie Roaf for those glorious years, it is next to impossible for me to say Albert is elite. He isn't.

He might be one of the best in the league right now, but that doesn't make him elite. He still struggles against speed rushers and frankly doesn't dominate his position the way you expect a franchise left tackle to. You don't look at Albert lined up against a talented pass rusher, then move down the line because you have sheer confidence in him. At least, I sure as hell wouldn't if I were QB.

It's just that you have to pay top dollar for a top tackle, even if he isn't "historically" elite - that is, he isn't elite for the position compared to the benchmark set by guys no longer in the league. But compared to the rest of the guys now, yes... he is "elite" and he commands a lot of money as such.

To put it another way, Branden Albert is a B+ tackle who will be paid like an A+ tackle. And for me, I'd rather have a B or B- tackle, but paid accordingly, and use that money elsewhere to get rid of a C player.

But that's me. I'm 100% in favor of dumping guys who are overpaid for their skill level, though they might not be overpaid according to their ranking in the league.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Big John played better in a zone blocking scheme. Reports (and late season games) suggest that we're moving towards more of a zone blocking scheme this season and doing away with the system we used last year.

Thank goodness.

Jamaal is going to rape again next season.