Chiefs’ free-agent class has been major letdown

[Hammock Parties]

A nice sundering of Pioli on Thanksgiving day.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/21...-has-been.html

When Romeo Crennel really wants to torture himself, he will let his mind wander back to the September afternoon in Buffalo when tight end Kevin Boss was hit in the head after making a catch. Boss suffered a concussion, ending his season, and the Chiefs have suffered when trying to pass the ball ever since.

“Sometimes I go down through the stats, and his pass-receiving average is up there and he really didn’t catch that many balls,’’ Crennel said. “When you’ve got a big target like that who can get down the field and make some plays, I think he would have definitely helped our offense.

“We hoped when we added him to the team that he would have been a big plus for us. I think he would have been had he been able to stay healthy.’’

Perhaps losing Boss was bad luck or perhaps, given his history of concussions, the Chiefs should have anticipated problems for him. Either way, Boss isn’t the only member of this year’s free-agent class to come up empty for the Chiefs.

Cornerback Stanford Routt played in just seven games before being released after missing curfew before this month’s game in San Diego. Peyton Hillis was supposed to be a key part of a backfield combination with Jamaal Charles, but an ankle injury and ineffectiveness have limited his playing time.

Quarterback Brady Quinn will return to the starting lineup in time for Sunday’s game against Denver at Arrowhead Stadium but can only hope he will play better than he did in his first two games this season.

Only right tackle Eric Winston has been a productive player, but he hasn’t been a difference-maker, not with the Chiefs at 1-9 and last in the league in scoring.

What’s worse, Winston may be the only one of the group with the Chiefs next season. Routt is already gone, Hillis and Quinn are on one-year contracts and it’s not wise to assume Boss, given his concussion history, will play again.

The Chiefs made lesser finds in free agency like Ropati Pitoitua, now starting on the defensive line in the absence of the injured Glenn Dorsey, and Edgar Jones, one of their better special teams players.

But the others were the acquisitions the Chiefs were counting on.

“Free agency can be a finicky thing,’’ Winston said. “It can be very hard to assimilate.’’

Routt is perhaps the most dramatic case. The Chiefs knew when they signed him they would have to change some of the habits Routt got into from his years with the Raiders. It obviously wasn’t happening as quickly as the Chiefs had hoped.

The circumstances for Hillis are far different, but the Chiefs haven’t received from him anything close to what they had hoped. They expected him to share the backfield duties with Charles but before and after the high ankle sprain that cost him three games, Hillis hasn’t played much.

He was on the field for six plays in last week’s game against Cincinnati. His signature play of the season was his goal-line fumble in Buffalo.

“We were expecting quite a bit out of Peyton and then that injury I think set him back,’’ Crennel said. “He missed several games with that injury (when) we could have used him. But injuries are part of this business and you have to deal with them and work through them. Hopefully, he can get back up to speed that he was before he was injured.’’

Hillis didn’t sound optimistic that would happen.

“It’s pretty frustrating,’’ he said. “When you move teams, you never know how things will turn out, but it’s been a struggle. I feel I’m fully capable now. It’s nothing I can explain. If I could, I’d change it, try to fix it. But there’s something to this that I can’t figure out. It takes its toll on you. It’s hard sometimes to get out of that rut.’’

Quinn has time to make his season a successful one. But the Chiefs have yet to score an offensive touchdown with him as their quarterback and, given the way things have gone for their offense, it seems unlikely he will be able to resurrect his career in the final six games.

That leaves Winston, whose comments critical of Chiefs fans aside, seems to have found a home in Kansas City. The Chiefs signed him to plug a hole at right tackle and help pave the way in the running game for Charles and Hillis.

But because the Chiefs have been behind in so many games, they haven’t been able to use his abilities in the way they hoped. According to the statistic service Stats, Inc., Winston has allowed four sacks, highest on the team though not in the top 25 in the league.

“I like to think I’ve worked out reasonably well, but maybe some fans would disagree with that,’’ Winston said. “I feel like I’ve played pretty well. My sacks are lower than they’ve been in probably a year or two. My hurries are probably a little higher, but that’s a by-product of probably being behind in so many games. That’s tough sledding. And let’s be honest. I’m not the prototypical (pass blocking) kind of tackle. I’m probably better in the run game and with play-action passing.’’

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Touchdown Kansas City !!!

Aside from Winston going off about the booing, (and you have to admit, that it's understandable) He is not a bad player...

Not at all.

He's a very good run blocker and horrible pass blocker.

He's an upgrade, no doubt about that, but he's as overpaid as you can get for a RT...

[kcxiv]

lol, he thinks boss would have helped us? lol Yeah, ok! You still need someone to throw him the ****ing ball! I wonder what they do when they at the tape the next day and see the throws Cassel misses when you have WR's wide open but Captain Staredown doesnt look at anyone besides his first option.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Rausch

Not at all.

He's a very good run blocker and horrible pass blocker.

He's an upgrade, no doubt about that, but he's as overpaid as you can get for a RT...

He's not paid very much. For a free agent, his value is good enough.

This was a fine free agent acquisition. I'm not going to bag on pioli for it. He should have done more of these and they should have been done at core positions instead of low value ones. Winston isn't the problem. It's only a problem because the move should have been at qb or cb. I would gladly overpay Brandon Carr if that meant not getting Winston.

[mcaj22]

not paid very much?

hes one of the top paid RTs in the NFL lol

[Ace Gunner]

Tell ya what, Winston can go climb a burning aids tree.

[CoMoChief]

The way the entire Carr thing was handled IMO should have gotten him canned.

He was a low round project that got a lot of starting time early and grew into the position and became very good at his craft and this ****ing loser of a GM couldnt sign him to a 2nd contract. If Flowers ends up getting pissed about the deal then he gets pissed and holds out, or you restructure his deal as well...we had the money to do both.

Instead we gave "almost" the same amount of money to a horrible CB that didn't even make it halfway into the season without being axed from the team due to suckage and stupid curfew shit.

The Chiefs are a ****ing laughingstock...given the franchise's history of laying turds, I wouldn't/couldn't expect anything else.

[Chief Roundup]

I think we all should be thankful for Winston's irrational rant that got ran over and over and over and over on national tv. That rant timed with the banner is what made the media look deeper and helped propell the movement in the very beginning.

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by Chief Roundup

I think we all should be thankful for Winston's irrational rant that got ran over and over and over and over on national tv. That rant timed with the banner is what made the media look deeper and helped propell the movement in the very beginning.

That and the Chiefs continue to lose in horrible fashion.

AIM FOR THAT NFL SINGLE SEASON TURNOVER RECORD BOYS!!!!

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

not paid very much?

hes one of the top paid RTs in the NFL lol

Um. No he's not. He wanted top 5 tackle money. He didn't get it. 4 years 22 mil isn't a terrible contract for an above average right tackle.

[whoman69]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Daboll's offense is ****ing atrocious.

How does this guy still have a job?

I mean, seriously, how? It's perhaps one of the, if not the, worst offense I've seen since the 2004 rule change. It's absolutely pathetic.

I like the offensive line. I think that with a coordinator that is capable of calling a game beyond Pee Wee league stuff and a real QB, this would be a top ten/five level line.

To be honest, with Cassel as the starter you have to toss out a ton of the playbook. He has proven that when given crap he will churn crap out. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement, but its the best I can give.