Andy Reid seems to think all Tackles are created equal . . .

[TomBarndtsTwin]

If history is any indication, Andy Reid seems to value an elite Right Tackle just as much as an elite Left Tackle:


Eagles make OT Runyan highest-paid lineman ever

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Posted: Monday February 14, 2000 08:30 PM

Jon Runyan rejected a six-year deal from the Tennessee Titans. Ezra O. Shaw/Allsport
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Philadelphia Eagles broke ground on a $25 million practice facility and signed a $30 million free agent Monday.

Jon Runyan, a 6-foot-7, 330-pound right tackle, became the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history when he signed a 6-year, $30 million deal. Runyan, 26, leaves the AFC Champion Tennessee Titans for an Eagles team that is coming off a 5-11 season.

"It was going to take something to get me out of Tennessee and here I am," Runyan said. "There's a great feeling around here. The team is moving in the right direction. They stepped up and made the decision easy on the business end."

Runyan, who arrived in Philadelphia late Saturday night, said all along his decision would come down to money. Runyan's agent, Ben Dogra, said Tennessee offered him a six-year deal in excess of the $27 million package Cleveland gave to free-agent tackle Orlando Brown last year. However, the Eagles' offer is significantly more front-end loaded.

"There was no bidding war," Dogra said, adding that the Eagles initial offer was lower than the Titans'. "Tennessee had an offer to make him the highest paid lineman. We asked them if they would move on their offer. They probably called our bluff, thinking they would be bidding against themselves."

Runyan received a $6 million signing bonus and will get an additional $3.5 million if he is on the roster Feb. 21. His base salary for the 2000 season is $500,000. Runyan will count $5 million against the salary cap this year. He will earn $3.5 million in 2001-03. His salary increases to $4.5 in 2004 and $5.5 million in 2005. A Pro Bowl clause could make the final year worth $6.5 million.

"He's the best right tackle in football, bar none," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "Everything starts with the offensive line. Having that philosophy, he is a key ingredient. He's a big part of this."

Runyan, a four-year veteran, played for three, 8-8 Titans teams prior to Tennessee's Super Bowl run this year. He believes there are similarities between his former team and his new team.

"I feel comfortable here," Runyan said. "They have a great, young quarterback [Donovan McNabb], a good running back [Duce Staley] and a solid defense. It's hard to turn down."

Runyan will team with 6-foot-7, 350-pound left tackle Tra Thomas to give the Eagles formidable bookend tackles. He helps solidify an offensive line unit that has not played well consistently since the early 1980s. The last offensive lineman to represent the Eagles in the Pro Bowl was Jerry Sisemore in 1982. Runyan also allows the Eagles to address other needs, namely wide receiver and defensive line, with the No. 6 pick in April's draft.

"This is obviously a position we feel secure at," Reid said. "Does it mean we won't take another lineman in the draft? No."

Runyan was scheduled to leave Philadelphia on Sunday. However, he decided to stay another day as a good faith gesture to prove he was serious about the Eagles. The team has been burned by free agents in the past who used their visit to Philadelphia as a bargaining tool. Dogra said he had not scheduled any other visits for Runyan though several teams are believed to have expressed interest.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/foo..._ap/?mobile=no

Just thought this was interesting to read so many years later . . . .

Some food for thought . . . . or discussion . . .

[HMc]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Forget about #1. How about spending #34 on the ''best' QB in a shit QB class". He would've been there, and they'd have looked like geniuses for doing it.

It would have been a good option. And to be fair to almost all of chiefsplanet, most here were ****ing ropable at the decision to trade that pick away.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Forget about #1. How about spending #34 on the ''best' QB in a shit QB class". He would've been there, and they'd have looked like geniuses for doing it.

but..but..we would then be denied the ultra-talented, game-changing juggernaut that IS Alex Smith! Oh, the horror!
Posted via Mobile Device

[TomBarndtsTwin]

Originally Posted by HMc

That entirely contradicts the rest of your post.

Even if their ceilings are identical, Smith looks about 100 times more likely to reach it.

So you approve of signing undrafted QBs in the search of a franchise QB? And you prefer that to spending the ~40th pick on a guy that had am awful lot of 1st round noise about him? Seriously?

100x more likely, huh? You willing to place a bet in Vegas on those odds?

Ahhhhh, yes . . . . . the first round 'buzz'. There's that talk again. And yet not a single team picking in the first round selected him. Go figure.

No, I don't prefer the Chiefs go dumpster-diving to find their future franchise QB, but I'd rather them sign an UDFA like Bray than spend 1.1 on Jamarcus Russell Part Deux.

But that's just me . . . .

[Wallcrawler]

The biggest fan of the Runyan signing back then was Michael Strahan.

[Bump]

the more I think about it, the more the pick makes sense.

The QBs weren't there I guess. Although I'd still much rather this worked out with Fisher + Geno just for the hope.

But it makes sense to value both tackles. ****ing Justin Houston, just look at him! He ****ing rapes shitty RT's all the time and you watch it. Other teams have 2 rushers too, Casey Mathews on the Packers come from the right. I mean, it makes sense to protect the passer in a super pass happy league.

[TomBarndtsTwin]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Forget about #1. How about spending #34 on the ''best' QB in a shit QB class". He would've been there, and they'd have looked like geniuses for doing it.

Moot point. We didn't have the #34 pick to do just that.

Trading our #2 pick for Alex Smith was certainly not my choice.

[HMc]

Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin

100x more likely, huh? You willing to place a bet in Vegas on those odds?

Ahhhhh, yes . . . . . the first round 'buzz'. There's that talk again. And yet not a single team picking in the first round selected him. Go figure.

No, I don't prefer the Chiefs go dumpster-diving to find their future franchise QB, but I'd rather them sign an UDFA like Bray than spend 1.1 on Jamarcus Russell Part Deux.

But that's just me . . . .

3 posts ago it was the Jets with the 39th pick..Now it's the 1.1.

The goalposts are shifting.

I'm fine with picking up Bray as a UDFA. Would have been fine with using the 34 on Smith. I think you are desperate to conclude that they did better than the jets, and will use all sorts of wierd non-reasoning to do so.

[GoChargers]

Originally Posted by ILChief

Everyone knows all you need is the 15 th best LT and four fat guys from the Golden Corral on your OL /CP

The Super Bowl participants from the last few years certainly didn't need an elite LT. Most of them were playing backups, washed-up vets, or inexperienced young guys at that position. They also had great quarterbacks and playmakers all over the roster. /Reality

[GoChargers]

Originally Posted by chiefsfan_91

I honestly don't see what the problem people have with game managing QBs is. We just had one win the Super Bowl. Frankly, Alex Smith is leagues better than Joe Flacco. QB is the most important position in sports because it is the only position that can actually make or break a team. Case in point, Matt Cassel. He was far, far worse than a game manager. He literally threw games away. A Game Manager won't lose you the game; which is important. The Game Manager won't wow you with stats, or amaze you by calling 15 audibles before the snap, but he won't make costly mistakes either. And that's what this organization needs right now. Someone who can step in, take the reigns for a few seasons and can be a part of the development of a guy like Tyler Bray, who is raw, but has all the physical tools. I'm really liking the way this new regime is building the Chiefs. Its been a long time since we've been dominant in the trenches, and the way its looking, that's all about to change

[TomBarndtsTwin]

Originally Posted by HMc

3 posts ago it was the Jets with the 39th pick..Now it's the 1.1.

The goalposts are shifting.

I'm fine with picking up Bray as a UDFA. Would have been fine with using the 34 on Smith. I think you are desperate to conclude that they did better than the jets, and will use all sorts of wierd non-reasoning to do so.

Okay, I'm going to say this again slowly . . . .

The Chiefs did not have a pick in the second round, therefore the only way they could have spent a first or second round pick on a QB would be to use 1.1.

We are having this conversation in the context of the CHIEFS, not the Jets, drafting a QB high in the draft.

I'm not sure why this is so hard to understand.

[HMc]

Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin

Okay, I'm going to say this again slowly . . . .

The Chiefs did not have a pick in the second round, therefore the only way they could have spent a first or second round pick on a QB would be to use 1.1.

We are having this conversation in the context of the CHIEFS, not the Jets, drafting a QB high in the draft.

I'm not sure why this is so hard to understand.

Then why on earth did you bother posting this?

If the goal is always to obtain a "franchise" QB, which I believe it should be, then I would much rather be the Chiefs than the Jets.

[L.A. Chieffan]

like I said in another thread. Alex Smith will be the best quarterback over any of these guys over the next two or three seasons.

[TomBarndtsTwin]

Originally Posted by HMc

Then why on earth did you bother posting this?

You really need to go back in the thread and read my posts from earlier.
I explained my position very clearly:

Summary:

This is, for all intents an purposes, a weak QB class. Most NFL scouts concur with that assessment. Most scouts also believe Bray has a ceiling as high as ANYONE in this draft. But, obviously, his floor is much lower. Which is why he went undrafted.

Therefore, since the goal is to get a high ceiling guy and for him to realize his potential; I would much rather the Chiefs sign a guy like Bray as an UDFA, then draft a guy like Geno, who offers roughly the same ceiling, and additionally costs you a high draft pick. Further, since the Chiefs don't have a second round pick, the only way they could have drafted Geno would have been to spend 1.1 on him. And, IMO (and many other NFL scouts opinions), that would have been a HUGE reach and not good value for the pick.

If Geno was still sitting there in the 4th round and the Chiefs wanted to pull the trigger on him then, I could have lived with that also. But he wasn't and they didn't.

That's about as succinctly as I can explain my position. Again, if you need additional clarification, read back through the thread . . . .

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin

Moot point. We didn't have the #34 pick to do just that.

Trading our #2 pick for Alex Smith was certainly not my choice.

The fact that we decided to trade that pick for Alex Smith in January instead of using it to draft a player that could have had a great positive impact on the franchise for years moving forward (and I don't limit that possibility to Geno Smith) is precisely the point that I was making.

It's really ironic in a way. Every justification for Fisher at 1.1 with regard to Albert (Albert will be gone in 3-4 years, Fisher will ascend to be a better player than Albert in time, etc) would be an equally valid justification for not making that move for Alex Smith.

[TomBarndtsTwin]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

The fact that we decided to trade that pick for Alex Smith in January instead of using it to draft a player that could have had a great positive impact on the franchise for years moving forward (and I don't limit that possibility to Geno Smith) is precisely the point that I was making.

It's really ironic in a way. Every justification for Fisher at 1.1 with regard to Albert (Albert will be gone in 3-4 years, Fisher will ascend to be a better player than Albert in time, etc) would be an equally valid justification for not making that move for Alex Smith.

Don't disagree with you at all on the Alex Smith decision and whether that is what was best for the franchise long term.

But it was the decision the Chiefs brass made, so going into the draft we had to play cards with the hand we had . . . .

I would have much rather kept the #34, signed a veteran stopgap familiar with the system for a couple years, while Reid groomed whatever young-QB-in-waiting to be ready to take over by 2015, if not 2014.