Chiefs TEICHER- Chiefs draft helps, but it doesnt fill all the gaps - Page 4

C-Mac · 05-06-2008, 08:13 AM

Chiefs draft helps, but it doesnt fill all the gaps
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

The Chiefs wanted to help Brodie Croyle stay upright by fixing up their offensive line — but first-round draft pick Branden Albert is the only newcomer of impact up front.
More on the Chiefs
With every sack, every feeble rushing play, every three-and-out series, the Chiefs resolved they would take this offseason to fix their forlorn offense.

They would repair their decrepit offensive line, they would give Brodie Croyle the tools to succeed as an NFL starting quarterback, they would take some of the considerable burden off their overtaxed defense.

Despite the Chiefs’ elation over their recent 12-player draft, their efforts are coming under question.

“You can only do so much in the draft,” said former Washington and Houston general manager Charley Casserly. “It’s still a work in progress. They got better where they could get better.”

Yet it’s difficult — if not impossible — to argue the Chiefs will be better on offense. They do have some reasons for optimism. They traded an offensive coordinator learning on the job, Mike Solari, for a proven veteran, Chan Gailey.

Running back Larry Johnson won’t be a holdout again and — if the law of averages prevails — won’t miss half the season because of a foot injury. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe could be even better than he was as a rookie.

Elsewhere, the Chiefs appear held together with a lot of wishful thinking. Croyle has yet to win a game or prove he’s a high-quality NFL starter. The offensive line still has holes. The Chiefs are relying on a boost from two third-round draft picks, running back Jamaal Charles and tight end Brad Cottam.

“Can you get everything you want in the draft? No,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. “But we got a lot. We got some tight ends. We think we’re better there. We’ve got another runner. The problem is they’re all young, but that’s OK.”

The offensive line, the source of many ills last year, was to be the focal point. But Branden Albert, the second of two first-round draft picks, is the only newcomer of impact.

Albert will join Brian Waters and Damion McIntosh in the starting lineup. The two other starters will come from a group of journeymen and young players that includes Wade Smith, Herb Taylor, Anthony Alabi, Adrian Jones, Rudy Niswanger and Will Svitek.

They hoped to draft several linemen but wound up with Albert and sixth-round tackle Barry Richardson.

“The best thing they did was stay disciplined in the draft,” Casserly said. “They could have gone and drafted five offensive linemen right off the bat, but if they did that, maybe four of them can’t play. What good does that do for them?

“There was an elite group of offensive linemen in the draft this year. The Chiefs got one of them. That group went faster than anybody thought. So if they would have drafted an offensive lineman in the second round, they would have been getting a third- or fourth-round offensive lineman. They didn’t do that, and they should be commended for that.”

Since late last season, the Chiefs also added Smith as a free agent and Alabi and Jones off waivers. Two of those players could wind up starting.

“It’s not like we haven’t signed some guys that are pretty decent football players,” Gailey said. “Nobody’s proven it yet, but we think they have a chance to help us.

“The one thing Herm and Carl (Peterson, president/general manager) and Bill (Kuharich, vice president of player personnel) didn’t want to do was reach for somebody just because it would have been nice to have another one.”

Bowe, meanwhile, is the Chiefs’ only proven wide receiver.

Their other receivers are Jeff Webb, free-agent addition Devard Darling, former Arena League star Bobby Sippio, Maurice Price, fourth-round pick Will Franklin, sixth-round choice Kevin Robinson and three undrafted free agents.

“Bowe had a good year last year,” Edwards said. “We’ve brought some guys in. We drafted (Will Franklin). (Maurice) Price was a young guy we had hope for last year and he got hurt. We brought in Darling. We have some guys.

“I’m comfortable with the guys we have, but we’ll continue to look. There will be some guys available June 1. If we look at these guys all through (offseason practices) and minicamp and no one has really taken that No. 2 spot and run with it, we might go and bring somebody in.”

The Chiefs have already talked about Charles being the big-play threat at running back that neither Johnson nor Kolby Smith is. They once had similar hopes for Michael Bennett, but that never materialized in large part because of their dependence on Johnson.

For now, the Chiefs sound determined to make Charles part of the plan.

“He can score from anywhere on the field,” Gailey said. “He’s got that kind of speed. And he’s better between the tackles than I think people give him credit for even though he’s only 200 pounds.”

keg in kc · 05-06-2008, 12:59 PM

They did sign 1-2 free agents. Devard Darling and DeMorrio Williams.

Fish · 05-06-2008, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Micjones

Years of quality service time.
You can't demonize the process because the staff chose to ignore the other side of the football.

To identify players who will provide you with some of the best service time your franchise will ever enjoy? Absolutely.

Your argument fails because it doesn't take anything else into consideration.
Had we been able to identify talent in the Draft on the defensive side of the football this team would've accomplished more than what they did.

Our failures in the Draft (yesteryear) isn't a reason not to utilize it effectively in the future. The same is true of Free Agency.

Forgive me for shooting a little higher than quality service time as a success indicator.

And I'm not refusing to take anything else into consideration. As myself and others have repeated, we're not advocating to ignore free agency. Not in the least. But right now, this year, it didn't make any sense to go after the FA guys that would have made you happy. That in no way means that in following seasons we won't take advantage of free agency.

Micjones · 05-06-2008, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keg in kc

You don't build a team with free agency, you build a team in the draft and use free agency to put the last pieces in place.

Which is what I've been advocating.

Quote:

We're not at the 'last pieces' stage yet, and even if we were, this was an extremely weak free agent class.

Why do Free Agents have to be the last wave of a rebuilding project?
Answer: They don't.

Quote:

And like it or not, free agency is losing steam, and has been for several years now. Teams either hold on to their best players or trade them off to the highest bidder. Usually all you find on the market now is old, infirm or high risk players, or mid-level talent trying to land high-dollar contracts. Let the buyer beware, in other words.

Which would explain how FA's are getting record contracts in Free Agency...

I could quickly name a dozen young, healthy FA's this off-season.

Coogs · 05-06-2008, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

Herm has had a full 3 drafts to work with. Everyone acts like this past offseason was his first year. There should already be a solid foundation if his drafting has been worth a crap.

We should know this season if we have been drafting well the past two drafts. If Croyle, Tank, Turk, Webb, Smith, Hali, Page, Pollard, Taylor, Stallings pan out to some degree (which some already have), the past two drafts would have to be considered successes.

Chiefnj2 · 05-06-2008, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coogs

We should know this season if we have been drafting well the past two drafts. If Croyle, Tank, Turk, Webb, Smith, Hali, Page, Pollard, Taylor, Stallings pan out to some degree, I would think the past two drafts would have to be considered successes.

After 3 full drafts with a new coach a team shouldn't be less than 8-8.

Coogs · 05-06-2008, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

After 3 full drafts with a new coach a team shouldn't be less than 8-8.

And believe it or not nj I really think 8-8 is possible this season. It might not happen, but I am a heck of a lot more optomistic on reaching 8-8 this season than I was reaching 8-8 last season.

whoman69 · 05-06-2008, 01:23 PM

The time to fill the holes on our O-line was before the draft. We now have two positions in which we will have to rely on unproven players to contribute a great deal. There are some positions like safety or running back where you can get worth from an unproven player. O-line is usually not one of them. Its great we added what looks like a stud in the draft. Its not enough. IMO this team will be overachieving if it can get 6 wins this year. I also want to know where the wide receiver is that will take the double teams off Bowe. We dropped two receivers to save on cap room and didn't sign any. More journeyman to the rescue.

keg in kc · 05-06-2008, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Micjones

Which would explain how FA's are getting record contracts in Free Agency...

I could quickly name a dozen young, healthy FA's this off-season.

Free agents are getting record contracts specifically because the free agent pool is thinning-out. As I mentioned, you're seeing mid-level (read: mediocre, unproven) talent getting enormous contracts because there simply isn't very much to choose from. You just don't find "can't miss" prospects on the market anymore, because teams are either keeping them or trading them. They don't let anyone with any real value walk, not for free.

That doesn't mean a player can't slip through the cracks, but if a guy's available, there's going to be a reason for it.

As for your "dozen young, healthy FAs", there's likely already a dozen young, healthy players on the roster that are in no palpable way different than they are.

raybec 4 · 05-06-2008, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcchiefsus

What's to say Faine would be any better than Niswanger? Rudy Niswanger did pretty damn good at right guard last year and with his size I think he will be a significant upgrade over Wiegmann.

How about we just see how the guys on our roster develop. Perhaps Herb Taylor develops into the next Jacob Bell at right guard. Similar size and both were collegiate tackles.

Thats exactly right, isn't the whole point of a youth movement to give the young guys a chance to play?

keg in kc · 05-06-2008, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raybec 4

Thats exactly right, isn't the whole point of a youth movement to give the young guys a chance to play?

Insanity!

Other teams' castoffs must be better than players still on our roster.

Coogs · 05-06-2008, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoman69

The time to fill the holes on our O-line was before the draft. We now have two positions in which we will have to rely on unproven players to contribute a great deal. There are some positions like safety or running back where you can get worth from an unproven player. O-line is usually not one of them. Its great we added what looks like a stud in the draft. Its not enough. IMO this team will be overachieving if it can get 6 wins this year. I also want to know where the wide receiver is that will take the double teams off Bowe. We dropped two receivers to save on cap room and didn't sign any. More journeyman to the rescue.

Whoman69,

Long time, no talk! Good to see you around again! I read a piece s couple three months ago where Herm was hoping to put Webb in the slot. My guess is Darling and Franklin will battle for the 2 spot. Will it be enough to take some heat off of Bowe and Gonzo?

Let's hope so.

Micjones · 05-06-2008, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keg in kc

They did sign 1-2 free agents. Devard Darling and DeMorrio Williams.

Darling is camp fodder on any other team.
Williams was a good signing though.
Be he was signed at a position where we really didn't need help.

Brock · 05-06-2008, 01:56 PM

They also signed C/LT Wade Smith.

Mecca · 05-06-2008, 02:05 PM

"We have to rely on unproven players"

All players are unproven at some point in their careers, some of you have been fans of this team for so long god forbid a young guy be given a chance.

I'm sorry paying an interior OL 5 mill a year is ****in dumb. Not to mention to sign anyone in the Chiefs position they'd have to wildly overpay because of how bad the team is.

People need to chill out, the teams that handle things properly are the ones who don't overspend in FA or use FA all that much......

True Fans are out in full force wanting to win their 8 games.

Mecca · 05-06-2008, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Micjones

Darling is camp fodder on any other team.
Williams was a good signing though.
Be he was signed at a position where we really didn't need help.

Did someone not tell you that this team is really not going to compete this year? This isn't remotely about this year.

05-06-2008, 08:13 AM
C-Mac Lurker Extraordinaire Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Wally World Casino cash: $2013699	TEICHER- Chiefs draft helps, but it doesnt fill all the gaps Chiefs draft helps, but it doesnt fill all the gaps By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star The Chiefs wanted to help Brodie Croyle stay upright by fixing up their offensive line — but first-round draft pick Branden Albert is the only newcomer of impact up front. More on the Chiefs With every sack, every feeble rushing play, every three-and-out series, the Chiefs resolved they would take this offseason to fix their forlorn offense. They would repair their decrepit offensive line, they would give Brodie Croyle the tools to succeed as an NFL starting quarterback, they would take some of the considerable burden off their overtaxed defense. Despite the Chiefs’ elation over their recent 12-player draft, their efforts are coming under question. “You can only do so much in the draft,” said former Washington and Houston general manager Charley Casserly. “It’s still a work in progress. They got better where they could get better.” Yet it’s difficult — if not impossible — to argue the Chiefs will be better on offense. They do have some reasons for optimism. They traded an offensive coordinator learning on the job, Mike Solari, for a proven veteran, Chan Gailey. Running back Larry Johnson won’t be a holdout again and — if the law of averages prevails — won’t miss half the season because of a foot injury. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe could be even better than he was as a rookie. Elsewhere, the Chiefs appear held together with a lot of wishful thinking. Croyle has yet to win a game or prove he’s a high-quality NFL starter. The offensive line still has holes. The Chiefs are relying on a boost from two third-round draft picks, running back Jamaal Charles and tight end Brad Cottam. “Can you get everything you want in the draft? No,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. “But we got a lot. We got some tight ends. We think we’re better there. We’ve got another runner. The problem is they’re all young, but that’s OK.” The offensive line, the source of many ills last year, was to be the focal point. But Branden Albert, the second of two first-round draft picks, is the only newcomer of impact. Albert will join Brian Waters and Damion McIntosh in the starting lineup. The two other starters will come from a group of journeymen and young players that includes Wade Smith, Herb Taylor, Anthony Alabi, Adrian Jones, Rudy Niswanger and Will Svitek. They hoped to draft several linemen but wound up with Albert and sixth-round tackle Barry Richardson. “The best thing they did was stay disciplined in the draft,” Casserly said. “They could have gone and drafted five offensive linemen right off the bat, but if they did that, maybe four of them can’t play. What good does that do for them? “There was an elite group of offensive linemen in the draft this year. The Chiefs got one of them. That group went faster than anybody thought. So if they would have drafted an offensive lineman in the second round, they would have been getting a third- or fourth-round offensive lineman. They didn’t do that, and they should be commended for that.” Since late last season, the Chiefs also added Smith as a free agent and Alabi and Jones off waivers. Two of those players could wind up starting. “It’s not like we haven’t signed some guys that are pretty decent football players,” Gailey said. “Nobody’s proven it yet, but we think they have a chance to help us. “The one thing Herm and Carl (Peterson, president/general manager) and Bill (Kuharich, vice president of player personnel) didn’t want to do was reach for somebody just because it would have been nice to have another one.” Bowe, meanwhile, is the Chiefs’ only proven wide receiver. Their other receivers are Jeff Webb, free-agent addition Devard Darling, former Arena League star Bobby Sippio, Maurice Price, fourth-round pick Will Franklin, sixth-round choice Kevin Robinson and three undrafted free agents. “Bowe had a good year last year,” Edwards said. “We’ve brought some guys in. We drafted (Will Franklin). (Maurice) Price was a young guy we had hope for last year and he got hurt. We brought in Darling. We have some guys. “I’m comfortable with the guys we have, but we’ll continue to look. There will be some guys available June 1. If we look at these guys all through (offseason practices) and minicamp and no one has really taken that No. 2 spot and run with it, we might go and bring somebody in.” The Chiefs have already talked about Charles being the big-play threat at running back that neither Johnson nor Kolby Smith is. They once had similar hopes for Michael Bennett, but that never materialized in large part because of their dependence on Johnson. For now, the Chiefs sound determined to make Charles part of the plan. “He can score from anywhere on the field,” Gailey said. “He’s got that kind of speed. And he’s better between the tackles than I think people give him credit for even though he’s only 200 pounds.”
Posts: 5,637

05-06-2008, 12:59 PM	#46
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	They did sign 1-2 free agents. Devard Darling and DeMorrio Williams.
Posts: 58,682

05-06-2008, 01:56 PM	#58
Brock Say hello to my little friend Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Larryville Casino cash: $9598422	They also signed C/LT Wade Smith.
Posts: 47,314

05-06-2008, 02:05 PM	#59
Mecca Hockey Town Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kansas City, Missouri Casino cash: $2267050	"We have to rely on unproven players" All players are unproven at some point in their careers, some of you have been fans of this team for so long god forbid a young guy be given a chance. I'm sorry paying an interior OL 5 mill a year is ****in dumb. Not to mention to sign anyone in the Chiefs position they'd have to wildly overpay because of how bad the team is. People need to chill out, the teams that handle things properly are the ones who don't overspend in FA or use FA all that much...... True Fans are out in full force wanting to win their 8 games.
Posts: 111,144