Teicher: Picking through the picks - Page 2

tk13 · 04-25-2005, 01:09 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/11480442.htm

Picking through the picks

After acquiring players in draft, trades and free-agency, Chiefs must come together as team

By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star

The flurry of player acquisitions finally ended for the Chiefs Sunday when they made seven picks in the final four rounds of the draft.

Now comes a potentially bigger task: Sorting through the pile of bodies and determining exactly what they have.

The Chiefs begin the process of fitting the pieces together this weekend when they hold a rookie camp at their Truman Sports Complex practice facility. It continues in the middle of May when they open a series of offseason practices and then in June with a three-day full-squad minicamp.

The process may not be seamless, but coach Dick Vermeil wasn't concerned.

“I don't think it will take long,” Vermeil said. “Obviously, (cornerback Patrick Surtain) won't take long. He will fit right in. He's been playing press coverages and all the other variations of coverages we've been playing all along. He's the kind of guy you won't change many of his techniques. He'll just fit how he plays into our scheme.

“(Safety Sammy Knight) already knows our defense. He's into the books and studying how he does it. He's ahead of schedule.”

The Chiefs still have to figure out exactly how they will use two of the offseason's most important acquisitions, linebackers Kendrell Bell and Derrick Johnson. Bell, a free agent from the Steelers, is tentatively scheduled to play in the middle while Johnson, the first-round draft pick, could battle with Scott Fujita, if he's healthy, for one outside spot.

Shawn Barber, if he's healthy, will start at the other outside spot. If he's not ready, Kawika Mitchell and Keyaron Fox are the leading candidates.

The injuries to Fujita, Barber and Maslowski are clouding the issue.

“I'm looking down the road and expecting them to be healthy,” Vermeil said. “I think Maslowski is the furthest away because he's been out (a year and a half). Maz has the biggest jump to make.”

The Chiefs added seven rookies Sunday to Saturday's draft haul of Johnson and third-round punter Dustin Colquitt. None of Sunday's picks have a good shot of doing anything more than contributing on special teams as rookies.

The Chiefs started their day by adding to their depth at wide receiver by picking Florida State's Craphonso Thorpe in the fourth round. The speedy Thorpe had a big junior season before breaking his right leg late in the season.

He returned to play for the Seminoles last year, but his numbers were down in receptions (51 to 40), yards (994 to 496) and touchdowns (11 to two).

Before the day was over, the Chiefs added a developmental quarterback in Tulsa's James Kilian (seventh round), two offensive-line prospects in Stanford's Will Svitek (sixth) and Southern Mississippi's Jeremy Parquet (seventh) and three defenders in Illinois State linebacker James Grigsby (fifth), Miami of Ohio cornerback Alphonso Hodge (fifth) and Baylor defensive end Khari Long (sixth).

Other than some undrafted rookies the Chiefs will sign this week, their roster today may look similar to the one they bring to River Falls, Wis., for the start of training camp in three months.

“We all feel pretty comfortable about the tentative roster we have right now,” said president/general manager Carl Peterson, who indicated the activity of the last few days had gobbled up much of what remained in the Chiefs' salary cap. “We made a sincere effort to address our needs.”

The Chiefs plan to see how things settle and then may continue their shopping after June 1, particularly if they're concerned the injured linebackers aren't recovering at a satisfying pace.

The Chiefs may do some roster trimming in June when the unamortized portion of bonuses can be stretched into next year for salary-cap purposes. The strongest candidate for June release is wide receiver Johnnie Morton unless he agrees to a reduction in his scheduled base salary of $3 million.

“Right now, we're planning on him being back,” Vermeil said recently.

BigChiefFan · 04-25-2005, 02:50 PM

Pretty good article for Teicher. He actually reported the news.

Coogs · 04-25-2005, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tk13

I'm probably in the minority, but I'd rather have Barber over Fujita, all things being equal. Not sure Barber can come back 100% though so maybe that's moot.

I know I am in the minority, but wiith them we have been in the bottom 2 to 3 defenses for 2 years. I have had enough of both of them.

tk13 · 04-25-2005, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coogs

I know I am in the minority, but wiith them we have been in the bottom 2 to 3 defenses for 2 years. I have had enough of both of them.

Yeah, but I still think Barber was our best defensive player in 2003. Last year he struggled, but if he could come back healthy he'd be our 2nd or 3rd best LB. We still have a lot of guys that we've been a poor defense with, can't get rid of them all...

04-25-2005, 01:09 AM
tk13 ... Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $1622500	Teicher: Picking through the picks http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/11480442.htm Picking through the picks After acquiring players in draft, trades and free-agency, Chiefs must come together as team By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star The flurry of player acquisitions finally ended for the Chiefs Sunday when they made seven picks in the final four rounds of the draft. Now comes a potentially bigger task: Sorting through the pile of bodies and determining exactly what they have. The Chiefs begin the process of fitting the pieces together this weekend when they hold a rookie camp at their Truman Sports Complex practice facility. It continues in the middle of May when they open a series of offseason practices and then in June with a three-day full-squad minicamp. The process may not be seamless, but coach Dick Vermeil wasn't concerned. “I don't think it will take long,” Vermeil said. “Obviously, (cornerback Patrick Surtain) won't take long. He will fit right in. He's been playing press coverages and all the other variations of coverages we've been playing all along. He's the kind of guy you won't change many of his techniques. He'll just fit how he plays into our scheme. “(Safety Sammy Knight) already knows our defense. He's into the books and studying how he does it. He's ahead of schedule.” The Chiefs still have to figure out exactly how they will use two of the offseason's most important acquisitions, linebackers Kendrell Bell and Derrick Johnson. Bell, a free agent from the Steelers, is tentatively scheduled to play in the middle while Johnson, the first-round draft pick, could battle with Scott Fujita, if he's healthy, for one outside spot. Shawn Barber, if he's healthy, will start at the other outside spot. If he's not ready, Kawika Mitchell and Keyaron Fox are the leading candidates. The injuries to Fujita, Barber and Maslowski are clouding the issue. “I'm looking down the road and expecting them to be healthy,” Vermeil said. “I think Maslowski is the furthest away because he's been out (a year and a half). Maz has the biggest jump to make.” The Chiefs added seven rookies Sunday to Saturday's draft haul of Johnson and third-round punter Dustin Colquitt. None of Sunday's picks have a good shot of doing anything more than contributing on special teams as rookies. The Chiefs started their day by adding to their depth at wide receiver by picking Florida State's Craphonso Thorpe in the fourth round. The speedy Thorpe had a big junior season before breaking his right leg late in the season. He returned to play for the Seminoles last year, but his numbers were down in receptions (51 to 40), yards (994 to 496) and touchdowns (11 to two). Before the day was over, the Chiefs added a developmental quarterback in Tulsa's James Kilian (seventh round), two offensive-line prospects in Stanford's Will Svitek (sixth) and Southern Mississippi's Jeremy Parquet (seventh) and three defenders in Illinois State linebacker James Grigsby (fifth), Miami of Ohio cornerback Alphonso Hodge (fifth) and Baylor defensive end Khari Long (sixth). Other than some undrafted rookies the Chiefs will sign this week, their roster today may look similar to the one they bring to River Falls, Wis., for the start of training camp in three months. “We all feel pretty comfortable about the tentative roster we have right now,” said president/general manager Carl Peterson, who indicated the activity of the last few days had gobbled up much of what remained in the Chiefs' salary cap. “We made a sincere effort to address our needs.” The Chiefs plan to see how things settle and then may continue their shopping after June 1, particularly if they're concerned the injured linebackers aren't recovering at a satisfying pace. The Chiefs may do some roster trimming in June when the unamortized portion of bonuses can be stretched into next year for salary-cap purposes. The strongest candidate for June release is wide receiver Johnnie Morton unless he agrees to a reduction in his scheduled base salary of $3 million. “Right now, we're planning on him being back,” Vermeil said recently.
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04-25-2005, 02:50 PM	#16
BigChiefFan MVP Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: In the Top 10 Casino cash: $9924205	Pretty good article for Teicher. He actually reported the news. __________________ A 35 year drought can make you thirsty.
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