New-Look Chiefs Turning Attention to NFL Draft

[FringeNC]

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireSto...inglePage=true

The wholesale overhaul of the Kansas City Chiefs is nearly complete.

Andy Reid has been hired to replace Romeo Crennel as coach, and longtime Packers personnel man John Dorsey has replaced Scott ***** as general manager. Most of the assistant coaches are on board, and now the Chiefs can start turning their attention toward the rebuilding job.

That includes preparation for the NFL draft.

The Chiefs finished 2-14 last season, matching the worst record in their 53-year history. But the byproduct of all that on-field suffering is that they have the No. 1 pick for the first time, giving Kansas City a good place to start turning around the team.

"We're in a unique position," said Dorsey, who will work closely with Reid but have final say over personnel decisions. "We all know there is some pressure involved in that."

It is pressure unlike anything he's ever experienced.

Dorsey began his career as a scout for the Packers, and eventually rose to direct of college scouting and director of football operations. But his primary responsibility was assembling the draft board, and the final decision ultimately came down to the Packers' GM — Tom Braatz early in his career, Ron Wolf and Mike Sherman after that, and most recently Ted Thompson.

Now, when the final seconds are ticking away on April 25, all eyes in the Kansas City draft room will turn toward Dorsey for a decision that could shape the future of the franchise.

"Ultimately, we're just trying to win Super Bowls. That's what we're trying to do," said Dorsey, adding that he plans to use a similar blueprint to Green Bay.

"History and time has proven — and that's all I know — but this system works," Dorsey said Monday. "That's what I'm going to try to implement."

Examining the Packers' drafts over the past two decades yields a few ideas about how Dorsey will proceed: He'll likely choose the best player of available, regardless of position needs, but also understands the importance of drafting for depth at quarterback.

Many outsiders panned the choice of quarterback Aaron Rodgers when Brett Favre was firmly ensconced in Green Bay, and Rodgers has turned into a Super Bowl champion. Matt Flynn was picked in the seventh round and became a valuable commodity as a backup, while other guys such as Matt Hasselbeck and Aaron Brooks developed into starters elsewhere in the NFL.

"What we've always tried to do is develop a third guy," Dorsey said, "and develop him and see if he can be a 2 or a 1."

By contrast, the Chiefs have spent only one pick — a fifth-rounder — on a quarterback in the past six drafts, and the result has been disastrous play at the game's marquee position.

Matt Cassel is still under contract, even though he was benched last season. Brady Quinn played just as poorly, while Ricky Stanzi never saw the field during the regular season.

"Any time when you begin to build a franchise, let's be real, the quarterback is a very important part," Dorsey said. "As you note the last couple weeks in the playoffs, the quarterback position is a very important position to the long-term success of the organization."

Important enough to spend the No. 1 overall pick on it?

Not necessarily.

Dorsey and Reid both insisted they plan to draft the best player available, and that may not be a quarterback. West Virginia's Geno Smith is widely considered the best prospect at his position, but some draft analysts believe he's only worthy of a late first-round selection.

"My draft philosophy, you'd love to get good players. That's the primary thing," Reid said. "As the general manager comes in, that's what he's going to do. That's his responsibility."

It's not as if the Chiefs don't have other needs.

Left tackle Branden Albert and wide receiver Dwayne Bowe can both become free agents, and there are gaping holes along the defensive line, at linebacker and in the secondary. And it just so happens that some of the best available players fit those needs: Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel, Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner and George linebacker Jarvis Jones.

One thing that Dorsey made clear is that he won't reach for a player.

"Philosophically, you stay true to your board," he said. "You spend all those months staying true to your board, and all of a sudden you have to jump a player due to positional needs? I don't think you do that. Historically, we have proven you don't do that."

Dorsey plans to keep the Chiefs scouting department intact through the draft, but he's also bringing with him an entire season's worth of his own scouting work from Green Bay.

That will be augmented by work done at college all-star games, various pro days organized by schools, the annual scouting combine and from hour upon hour of highlight tapes.

"It's going to be a focus of our fans, the media and our personnel department here for the next three or so months," Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said of the No. 1 pick. "It's very important we get that pick right."

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[IAmABabySeal]

Originally Posted by silver5liter

But you did just say Nassib is better. Gotcha

Yes now I did...young Brett Favra I see in him. I could be wrong. That's what this place is for, to talk and debate these things. If people wanna measure d's we can.

[silver5liter]

Originally Posted by IAmABabySeal

Yes now I did...young Brett Favra I see in him. I could be wrong. That's what this place is for, to talk and debate these things. If people wanna measure d's we can.

whip it out big boy

[crazycoffey]

Bored with the conversation

[IAmABabySeal]

Originally Posted by silver5liter

whip it out big boy

ideally I like Star #1 overall, I think he can be a dominant presence at DE here. Then trade back into the 1st for a Wilson or a Nassib

[silver5liter]

Originally Posted by IAmABabySeal

ideally I like Star #1 overall, I think he can be a dominant presence at DE here. Then trade back into the 1st for a Wilson or a Nassib

You think another D lineman is going to have a bigger impact to this team than a QB?

[Easy 6]

Bobs back, that much is perfectly clear.

[chief52]

Originally Posted by okcchief

I would prefer Geno Smith, but it's pretty dumb to question Dorsey and Reid based on their track record. I would say they have a better chance of making the correct pick than you or I.

Exactly right. We all go do our job during the day while these guys study players for hours on hours. Meet them...talk to them...prepare for the draft. Then people on bulletin boards that surf the net say they know more than Dorsey and Reid. Pretty f'ing crazy thought, isn't it?

I support the Chiefs draft who ever those players may be. Dorsey and Reid and Hunt want to win more than any of us. It is their life.

[dj56dt58]

Originally Posted by okcchief

I would prefer Geno Smith, but it's pretty dumb to question Dorsey and Reid based on their track record. I would say they have a better chance of making the correct pick than you or I.

We'll see, Chiefsplanet certainly would have done better than Pioli. Honestly a lot of members here would draft better than the shit we've had lately.

[Smed1065]

So pass on GS and invest 2 picks in a less QB. Gotcha.

Then the "there always next year".

We club baby seals.



Troll

You forgot to say we can trade the comp pick to move up-

[Rasputin]

[FringeNC]

Interesting tidbit from Dan Pompei on Geno Smith, not sure if posted:

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/...litz-2131.html

Some in the NFL community are predicting the draft stock of West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith will drop between now and April as teams learn more and more about how Smith is wired. Smith has the physical ability to be a first round pick, but NFL teams are wondering if he has the complete package. “He needs to have a strong interview,” one front office man said. “And I don’t think he will.”

[ChiefSuspect]

Originally Posted by RustShack

when Andy went through his issues with the family and his sons early on, that was a time for Joe to step in and try to make every decision," McNabb said. "That's when you kind of felt like Andy lost his power. And every decision that was made, it was going through Joe."

"It didn't matter who the GM was at that time, because when Tom Heckert was here, it seemed like Joe made every decision," McNabb said. "And it was so easy for him to just kind of push Heckert out

When Heckert left the Eagles, Howie Roseman took over as GM, but at first he seemed to be doing Banner's bidding

Banner "was already grooming Howie" to take Heckert's position, "so basically he could make every decision and just have Howie there with the title.

McNabb seemed to confirm rumors of power struggles: "Now Andy came back and regained some of the power, but Joe was the one that was holding all of the power, I felt, and everyone in the locker room knew that."

You have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Eagles' "GM" does. It's not the same role as a GM for most other teams. I don't care what McNabb says. Joe Banner was certainly making decisions and had his fair share of input, but he approached it from the contracts and business side of things. That's probably what McNabb is referring to. The players had a lot of exposure to Banner, and they all pretty much hated him because he was the one who negotiated contracts for the team. Anyone who left on bad terms left because of Joe Banner. That doesn't mean that he had personnel control, though.

There was certainly a power struggle, and that ultimately let to the departure of Tom Heckert and eventually the departure of Banner. But make no mistake, Andy Reid has had full and final say over personnel decisions from 2002 until his firing this year. That is indisputable.

McNabb is more referring to the relationship between Banner and the GMs, all of whom were always outranked by Reid.

[ChiefSuspect]

Originally Posted by RustShack

Anyone who says Banner didn't run the Eagles, and pushed Heckert out is uninformed and an idiot for trying to argue different. If Banner liked Heckert, he would keep him in Cleveland.

Anyone who says that any GM for the Eagles or Joe Banner ever ran the show and outranked Reid has absolutely no clue what they're talking about and literally couldn't possibly be more wrong.

[RustShack]

Originally Posted by ChiefSuspect

You have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Eagles' "GM" does. It's not the same role as a GM for most other teams. I don't care what McNabb says. Joe Banner was certainly making decisions and had his fair share of input, but he approached it from the contracts and business side of things. That's probably what McNabb is referring to. The players had a lot of exposure to Banner, and they all pretty much hated him because he was the one who negotiated contracts for the team. Anyone who left on bad terms left because of Joe Banner. That doesn't mean that he had personnel control, though.

There was certainly a power struggle, and that ultimately let to the departure of Tom Heckert and eventually the departure of Banner. But make no mistake, Andy Reid has had full and final say over personnel decisions from 2002 until his firing this year. That is indisputable.

McNabb is more referring to the relationship between Banner and the GMs, all of whom were always outranked by Reid.

You are right that Reid HAD full control, but he lost it a few years ago to Banner.

[ChiefSuspect]

Originally Posted by RustShack

You are right that Reid HAD full control, but he lost it a few years ago to Banner.

No, he didn't. And if you say this 100 more times, it will still be just as completely and totally wrong as it was the first time. Joe Banner never, ever had full personnel control in Philly. Never.

Look it up.