Chiefs Babb: Chiefs draft Memphis nose tackle - Page 2

**Tribal Warfare** · 04-27-2012, 04:00 AM

Poe-tential: Chiefs draft Memphis nose tackle
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star

Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel sat in front of a group of skeptics and seemed almost giddy. He had his man, nose tackle Dontari Poe, and said it had nothing to do with Poe’s performance at February’s NFL scouting combine.

Honest. Well, almost nothing.

“Running 4.9 (seconds), now,” Crennel said of Poe’s time in the 40-yard dash, “not all 350-pound guys can do that.”

The Chiefs selected Poe, a stranger even to many who live in southwestern Tennessee before becoming the superstar of the combine, with the No. 11 overall pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

“Never coached, never been around a big guy with his type of talent,” said Mike DuBose, Poe’s defensive line coach at Memphis and a former head coach at Alabama. “… With Dontari, because of the circumstances around him, I think he’s just learning to play this game.”

Before he learned the game, as a stout ninth-grader at southeast Memphis’ Wooddale High, Poe played bass drum in the band. Then the school’s football coach, Cedric Miller, passed him one day — you can’t help but notice someone that big — and asked Poe why he was toting a drum and not stretching out a football jersey.

The kid gave it a try, and that was that. Poe went on to Memphis and, although he finished his junior season in 2011 with just one sack, emerged as a potential first-round NFL pick. It all started with a bass drum and a chance encounter.

“Being in the band taught me discipline,” Poe said Thursday night, shifting his words toward football. “It was kind of new going into it, but I kind of caught on quick.”

That’s what DuBose said Poe does well: He gets up to speed quickly. And that’s what the Chiefs will need him to do. The Chiefs gambled on Poe, who the skeptics panned as a combine wonder who underachieved in college, and who his supporters insist was simply not asked to make big plays at Memphis. The talent, DuBose said, is there; specializing him as a nose tackle, as the Chiefs plan to do, will reveal it.

“I don’t think he’s a polished football player, by any means,” DuBose said. “I don’t think that’s Dontari’s fault; I think that’s our fault.”

Unable to make a lasting impression in college, Poe said Thursday, he began training in Arizona after his junior season — waiting for his chance to grab NFL evaluators’ attention. He grew stronger and faster before his time came at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, every pro prospect’s most important job interview.

Poe, at 346 pounds, completed 44 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press. He broad-jumped 8 feet, 9 inches and completed the shuttle run in 4.56 seconds.

Crennel said the Chiefs liked Poe even before his combine performance. Crennel is a former defensive line coach, and the team’s biggest hole in 2011 was, by far, at nose tackle. Poe’s combine performance just solidified their interest. But it also threatened to put Poe out of the Chiefs’ reach.

“All of the reports that they had on the guy,” Crennel said of the Chiefs’ evaluations, “talked about how good he was as a player and his ability, and those reports came before the combine. Now, when we went to the combine and saw what he did at the combine, that perked our ears more.”

Afterward, Poe was no longer a secret. Instead, he was a specimen: a giant who could move like a ballet dancer. Crennel said Thursday that, more than anything, the uptick in attention caused concern inside the Chiefs’ front office. What if the team’s work would be wasted? What if all the chatter meant the Chiefs would now miss out on him?

So when the 11th pick arrived Thursday, a moment of peace amid a first round to that point filled with trades and chaos, the Chiefs and Crennel made good on all that preparation. Crennel couldn’t contain his excitement.

“I think we’re going to see a really good player,” the coach said.

Now that it’s done, Poe just has to make good on the idea that the combine wasn’t his ceiling, but rather a sign of a work ethic and untapped potential that aren’t often seen.

“Like I’ve told everyone else,” Poe said, “my motivation is pretty much unlimited right now. I’m so ready to just get in and prove to them that I belong here, and I belong at the next level.”

**The Bad Guy** · 04-27-2012, 05:49 AM

I was really down on the pick, however, there's some factors here that only show up on tape. Guy played 60 snaps a game, which is a ton. Conference USA is a complete passing conference. I read a crazy star last night that 49% of the passes were bubble screens or quick hitch type passes.

The problem I have is all we heard from the Chiefs is Bpa but in the end it was all about need.

I'm willing to be patient with him.

eazyb81 · 04-27-2012, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Definitely a need-first pick, rather than a value-first pick.

The Chiefs, under Pioli, never cease to surprise.

The upside is that they are so uncommitted to any one way of evaluating players they clearly avoid tunnel vision.

They treat the scouting process like an art, not a science. Every prospect is evaluated on their own terms.

This is what's so interesting to me.

Dontari Poe is essentially the exact opposite of what we thought Pioli looked for in the draft.

He's a boom or bust underachieving product that was more impressive in the combine than on the field.

So does this mean that the Poe pick is all Crennel? Does it mean that we are desperate for a NT and are willing to gamble? Or does it mean Pioli is flexible and he really doesn't have a "type" of player?

Very interesting. I would have lost a ton of money in a bet, because I wouldn't have thought Poe would even be on Pioli's list for the #11 pick.

**the Talking Can** · 04-27-2012, 06:07 AM

I'm going to say one last thing about poe, and then get over it...I hope he's the monster we've wanted at NT

what really hacks me off, way more than reaching for a combine star, is the justifications I've seen that 'at least he's a need'....

it's totally cool to take a 'risk' at a position of 'need'....for a NT

but leading up to this draft, and every other draft going back to forever, scads of people argue the exact opposite about QBs...you can't take risks for a QB...

and that attitude permeates this organization, and pioli specifically, as well...they're fine going to YEAR 5 with Cassel (which is going to happen)...because, you know, QBs are risky to draft in the first

but we'll burn a #11 on a ZERO production combine champion without batting an eye...

we're never going to address the most crying need on this team....we just aren't

**Bane** · 04-27-2012, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

I'm going to say one last thing about poe, and then get over it...I hope he's the monster we've wanted at NT

what really hacks me off, way more than reaching for a combine star, is the justifications I've seen that 'at least he's a need'....

it's totally cool to take a 'risk' at a position of 'need'....for a NT

but leading up to this draft, and every other draft going back to forever, scads of people argue the exact opposite about QBs...you can't take risks for a QB...

and that attitude permeates this organization, and pioli specifically, as well...they're fine going to YEAR 5 with Cassel (which is going to happen)...because, you know, QBs are risky to draft in the first

but we'll burn a #11 on a ZERO production combine champion without batting an eye...

we're never going to address the most crying need on this team....we just aren't

**The Bad Guy** · 04-27-2012, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

we're never going to address the most crying need on this team....we just aren't

Not when we continually have general managers that are so ****ing stubborn that they will go to endless lengths to defend the shitbags we have.

I'm with you. The roster is SB ready, except for the QB, which means it's about 8-8 ready.

It's maddening they continue to try to sell us on the Cassel.

chiefzilla1501 · 04-27-2012, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

I'm going to say one last thing about poe, and then get over it...I hope he's the monster we've wanted at NT

what really hacks me off, way more than reaching for a combine star, is the justifications I've seen that 'at least he's a need'....

it's totally cool to take a 'risk' at a position of 'need'....for a NT

but leading up to this draft, and every other draft going back to forever, scads of people argue the exact opposite about QBs...you can't take risks for a QB...

and that attitude permeates this organization, and pioli specifically, as well...they're fine going to YEAR 5 with Cassel (which is going to happen)...because, you know, QBs are risky to draft in the first

but we'll burn a #11 on a ZERO production combine champion without batting an eye...

we're never going to address the most crying need on this team....we just aren't

That's fine, but what were the options this year? You were willing to trade up to #7 for a qb that is a huge reach anyway?

I don't care if Poe fills a need. If the chiefs drafted decastro, THAT would be a needs based pick. I am ok with the pick because they picked a guy that plays a position of high positional value. We can bitch about th qb all we want and rightfully so, but given our options... To throw away an entire draft for rgIII or to trade up on a qb that should be a late first rounder....

**the Talking Can** · 04-27-2012, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

To throw away an entire draft for rgIII or to trade up on a qb that should be a late first rounder....

would be 'risky?'

it never ends with you guys....'positional value' is just code for need...it's basically parody at this point

locomoulds · 04-27-2012, 06:30 AM

A link about Poe:

http://draftcountdown.com/blog/archive/oct11.php#oct28

Read down to Oct 28th entry, Includes a video about Poe

**Tribal Warfare** · 04-27-2012, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by locomoulds

A link about Poe:

http://draftcountdown.com/blog/archive/oct11.php#oct28

Read down to Oct 28th entry, Includes a video about Poe

Even though Poe doesn’t get a lot of press there are many in the scouting community that are stamping sure-fire first round grades on the gigantic defensive lineman. If there was ever a perfect example of the “Planet Theory”, which holds that there are only so many people on Earth with a certain unique blend of size and athleticism, it is Poe!

hence, it doesn't surprise me that much

**YayMike** · 04-27-2012, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

I was really down on the pick, however, there's some factors here that only show up on tape. Guy played 60 snaps a game, which is a ton. Conference USA is a complete passing conference. I read a crazy star last night that 49% of the passes were bubble screens or quick hitch type passes.

The problem I have is all we heard from the Chiefs is Bpa but in the end it was all about need.

I'm willing to be patient with him.

Just playing devil's advocate here, but who in your opinion was the BPA when we were on the clock?

WhiteWhale · 04-27-2012, 06:35 AM

He's pretty much going to get the Tamba Hali treatment.

The sad thing is that even a great NT prospect is going to struggle as a rookie trying to play NT. This guy is going to take a beating, just like Hali, even if he does become a good player because fans didn't want him.

I'm not really a fan of the pick, but you all are kinda drama queens.

**The Bad Guy** · 04-27-2012, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

would be 'risky?'

it never ends with you guys....'positional value' is just code for need...it's basically parody at this point

These drones still think you can win with a marginal QB. You never "throw your whole draft away" for the most important position in sports.

chiefzilla1501 · 04-27-2012, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the Talking Can

would be 'risky?'

it never ends with you guys....'positional value' is just code for need...it's basically parody at this point

You're an idiot. Drafting a guard to draft a guard is filling a need because you took the safe pick. Low upside, low ability to impact your team, but he will play the position well.

Weve complained for years that we won't take a risk on a qb or nt because they're too risky. One down, one to go. I don't know why you're complaining about not taking a risk on a qb and justifying it by getting upset that we took a risk on an unpolished nose tackle. We needed to take a risk on either of those.

WhiteWhale · 04-27-2012, 06:37 AM

Okay, so I've gathered that everyone wanted us to pick a QB at 11 from all the bitching.

Who?

**YayMike** · 04-27-2012, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bad Guy

Not when we continually have general managers that are so ****ing stubborn that they will go to endless lengths to defend the shitbags we have.

I'm with you. The roster is SB ready, except for the QB, which means it's about 8-8 ready.

It's maddening they continue to try to sell us on the Cassel.

This is really a great point, take a risk at NT (Poe), take a risk at WR (Baldwin), but don't take a risk at QB??? I don't get it. Even if we take a QB today, it will be a second tier QB and we will fart through another season where the defense is wasted.

There isn't a QB left in this draft that we could take that would make me say, "You know Scott, you really are trying to win it all this year, and you realize that Cassel is a peice of shit. Good job."

04-27-2012, 04:00 AM
Tribal Warfare The Boom Boom Room Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $422813	Babb: Chiefs draft Memphis nose tackle Poe-tential: Chiefs draft Memphis nose tackle By KENT BABB The Kansas City Star Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel sat in front of a group of skeptics and seemed almost giddy. He had his man, nose tackle Dontari Poe, and said it had nothing to do with Poe’s performance at February’s NFL scouting combine. Honest. Well, almost nothing. “Running 4.9 (seconds), now,” Crennel said of Poe’s time in the 40-yard dash, “not all 350-pound guys can do that.” The Chiefs selected Poe, a stranger even to many who live in southwestern Tennessee before becoming the superstar of the combine, with the No. 11 overall pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night. “Never coached, never been around a big guy with his type of talent,” said Mike DuBose, Poe’s defensive line coach at Memphis and a former head coach at Alabama. “… With Dontari, because of the circumstances around him, I think he’s just learning to play this game.” Before he learned the game, as a stout ninth-grader at southeast Memphis’ Wooddale High, Poe played bass drum in the band. Then the school’s football coach, Cedric Miller, passed him one day — you can’t help but notice someone that big — and asked Poe why he was toting a drum and not stretching out a football jersey. The kid gave it a try, and that was that. Poe went on to Memphis and, although he finished his junior season in 2011 with just one sack, emerged as a potential first-round NFL pick. It all started with a bass drum and a chance encounter. “Being in the band taught me discipline,” Poe said Thursday night, shifting his words toward football. “It was kind of new going into it, but I kind of caught on quick.” That’s what DuBose said Poe does well: He gets up to speed quickly. And that’s what the Chiefs will need him to do. The Chiefs gambled on Poe, who the skeptics panned as a combine wonder who underachieved in college, and who his supporters insist was simply not asked to make big plays at Memphis. The talent, DuBose said, is there; specializing him as a nose tackle, as the Chiefs plan to do, will reveal it. “I don’t think he’s a polished football player, by any means,” DuBose said. “I don’t think that’s Dontari’s fault; I think that’s our fault.” Unable to make a lasting impression in college, Poe said Thursday, he began training in Arizona after his junior season — waiting for his chance to grab NFL evaluators’ attention. He grew stronger and faster before his time came at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, every pro prospect’s most important job interview. Poe, at 346 pounds, completed 44 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press. He broad-jumped 8 feet, 9 inches and completed the shuttle run in 4.56 seconds. Crennel said the Chiefs liked Poe even before his combine performance. Crennel is a former defensive line coach, and the team’s biggest hole in 2011 was, by far, at nose tackle. Poe’s combine performance just solidified their interest. But it also threatened to put Poe out of the Chiefs’ reach. “All of the reports that they had on the guy,” Crennel said of the Chiefs’ evaluations, “talked about how good he was as a player and his ability, and those reports came before the combine. Now, when we went to the combine and saw what he did at the combine, that perked our ears more.” Afterward, Poe was no longer a secret. Instead, he was a specimen: a giant who could move like a ballet dancer. Crennel said Thursday that, more than anything, the uptick in attention caused concern inside the Chiefs’ front office. What if the team’s work would be wasted? What if all the chatter meant the Chiefs would now miss out on him? So when the 11th pick arrived Thursday, a moment of peace amid a first round to that point filled with trades and chaos, the Chiefs and Crennel made good on all that preparation. Crennel couldn’t contain his excitement. “I think we’re going to see a really good player,” the coach said. Now that it’s done, Poe just has to make good on the idea that the combine wasn’t his ceiling, but rather a sign of a work ethic and untapped potential that aren’t often seen. “Like I’ve told everyone else,” Poe said, “my motivation is pretty much unlimited right now. I’m so ready to just get in and prove to them that I belong here, and I belong at the next level.”
Posts: 42,193

04-27-2012, 05:49 AM	#16
The Bad Guy Scott Pioli Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: The Copacobana Casino cash: $9363645	I was really down on the pick, however, there's some factors here that only show up on tape. Guy played 60 snaps a game, which is a ton. Conference USA is a complete passing conference. I read a crazy star last night that 49% of the passes were bubble screens or quick hitch type passes. The problem I have is all we heard from the Chiefs is Bpa but in the end it was all about need. I'm willing to be patient with him. __________________
Posts: 23,212

04-27-2012, 06:07 AM	#18
the Talking Can Supporter Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: street Casino cash: $10022208	I'm going to say one last thing about poe, and then get over it...I hope he's the monster we've wanted at NT what really hacks me off, way more than reaching for a combine star, is the justifications I've seen that 'at least he's a need'.... it's totally cool to take a 'risk' at a position of 'need'....for a NT but leading up to this draft, and every other draft going back to forever, scads of people argue the exact opposite about QBs...you can't take risks for a QB... and that attitude permeates this organization, and pioli specifically, as well...they're fine going to YEAR 5 with Cassel (which is going to happen)...because, you know, QBs are risky to draft in the first but we'll burn a #11 on a ZERO production combine champion without batting an eye... we're never going to address the most crying need on this team....we just aren't __________________ Clark Hunt: "Thank god for the Dominican pool boy"
Posts: 51,585

04-27-2012, 06:30 AM	#23
locomoulds Starter Join Date: Dec 2008 Casino cash: $9994905	A link about Poe: http://draftcountdown.com/blog/archive/oct11.php#oct28 Read down to Oct 28th entry, Includes a video about Poe
Posts: 75

04-27-2012, 06:35 AM	#26
WhiteWhale Bring it on Ahab! Join Date: May 2011 Location: Doo-Dah Casino cash: $10015152	He's pretty much going to get the Tamba Hali treatment. The sad thing is that even a great NT prospect is going to struggle as a rookie trying to play NT. This guy is going to take a beating, just like Hali, even if he does become a good player because fans didn't want him. I'm not really a fan of the pick, but you all are kinda drama queens.
Posts: 14,861

04-27-2012, 06:37 AM	#29
WhiteWhale Bring it on Ahab! Join Date: May 2011 Location: Doo-Dah Casino cash: $10015152	Okay, so I've gathered that everyone wanted us to pick a QB at 11 from all the bitching. Who?
Posts: 14,861