GRETZ: Battle Gone; More to Come - Page 3

Coogs · 08-11-2006, 08:10 AM

I know everyone knows Battle is toast, Just thought I would post the article in a new thread.

_____________________________________________________________

GRETZ: Battle Gone; More to Come
Aug 11, 2006, 7:57:03 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

RIVER FALLS, WI – It will not go down as one of the more earth-shaking personnel moves in recent Chiefs history.

But the decision to release cornerback Julian Battle on Friday certainly caught the attention of his once fellow teammates.

And there will be more “surprises” in the coming days and weeks as Herm Edwards begins to pull out the weeds in the Chiefs roster.

“Just not good enough,” was Edwards’ reply when asked why Battle was released. “We did it now so he would have a better opportunity of catching on somewhere else.”

A spot was needed with the signing of quarterback Jeff Smoker, but there were others on the roster that could have been sent packing at this time. The decision to waive Battle was done to send the message that Edwards has stressed from Day One in Kansas City: he doesn’t want the players to feel too comfortable about their status.

Battle was one of those players who felt very comfortable. The Chiefs attempted to trade him on Friday. Actually, it’s the second time in the last few weeks they floated his name on the NFL grapevine hoping for a nibble. When they signed veteran cornerback Ty Law the week that training camp starters, Battle expressed his displeasure and asked to be traded.

They found no takers then, and none this week, so he was released.

The fact that Battle actually thought he was tradable was a symptom of his biggest problem: he thinks he’s good enough. Yet, the fourth-year pro has done nothing during his time with the Chiefs to show he could be a contributing player to the defense. His season last year was wiped out by an Achilles’ tendon injury in mini-camp. But he rehabbed and was at 100 percent through the off-season program and during two weeks of training camp.

Battle’s biggest problem was his lack of consistency. There have been times since he joined the Chiefs when he showed flashes of ability. Physically, he might be as gifted a cornerback as Dale Carter.

But the times when he displayed that ability were few and far between. He could not carry it from one play to another. Even in practice, he would handle coverage well on one play, then he would come back on the next play and completely forget about what he learned just 30 seconds earlier. Plus, he’s prone to penalties. Last Friday night in the practice against the Minnesota Vikings, on his first play of one-on-one pass coverage, he was flagged for holding by the NFL game officials who were working the affair.

Edwards isn’t going to put up with that type of inconsistency. That’s one of the major reasons that cornerback Eric Warfield was sent packing in the off-season. This defense is built on a foundation of strong, consistent fundamentals. Battle never figured that out.

His release is another defensive draft failure for the Chiefs. Battle was a third-round pick in 2003, a first-day choice and he joins recent first-day busts like DT Eric Downing (3rd-round, 2001), DT Eddie Freeman (2nd-round, 2002) and DT Junior Siavii (2nd-round, 2004), who remains missing in action in this training camp and could be the next weed pulled from the roster.

When Dick Vermeil was the head coach, his approach to player evaluation could be characterized as: we’ve seen you perform at least once, so we believe you have the ability to do it again and we’ll work with you to make that happen.

Edwards attitude is: do it once, then show me you can do it again, and again, and again, and then I’ll believe you can play.

Julian Battle never came close to achieving that performance level.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

|Zach| · 08-11-2006, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jspchief

I think he will be too. Maybe not big as in "productive", but big as in "number of snaps".

Hali will likely see about 50% of the snaps at most. And even if he wins the starting job on day 1, Hicks will still be the #2 DE.

Yup.

ck_IN · 08-11-2006, 10:03 AM

Carl's the GM. If we've drafted poorly, he's the guy to blame. I don't care who the coach wanted, it's ultimately the GM's responsibility. When Carl showed some balls in 2003, he got a good player.

And that year he went against his coaches wishes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not excusing CP from our pitiful drafts. All I'm saying is DV and his scouts told CP to get player X and for the most part that's the player that CP drafted.

Should CP have been more diligent before drafting the likes of Downing, Freeman, Minnis, Battle, etc? Probably. But those were the guys that DV and his staff wanted. The bulk of the blame goes squarely to Dick.

htismaqe · 08-11-2006, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ck_IN

And that year he went against his coaches wishes.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not excusing CP from our pitiful drafts. All I'm saying is DV and his scouts told CP to get player X and for the most part that's the player that CP drafted.

Should CP have been more diligent before drafting the likes of Downing, Freeman, Minnis, Battle, etc? Probably. But those were the guys that DV and his staff wanted. The bulk of the blame goes squarely to Dick.

Yep.

Mr. Laz · 08-11-2006, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yep.

and the decision to keep giving his coaches the power to screw up the draft is who's fault?

hawkchief · 08-11-2006, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laz

and the decision to keep giving his coaches the power to screw up the draft is who's fault?

Amen.

|Zach| · 08-11-2006, 10:14 AM

Technicians work hard at the Chiefs lab to study the draft and its empirical nature.

Eleazar · 08-11-2006, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZachKC

I think you folks that are expecting Hicks to get released are going to be dissapointed.

Eric Hicks will be a big part of this defense in '06

I agree, I didn't mean that. I was just envisioning the mood of celebration if all the defensive pariahs were cut at once.

Idahored · 08-11-2006, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laz

and the decision to keep giving his coaches the power to screw up the draft is who's fault?

That's what you hire a coach for. There are very few GM's that make all the draft decisions. Most give the coach a large part of the responsibility. Otherwise why not just have a GM and assistant coaches. There are some exceptions to this, but they are few and not always successful. I have no problem with Carl letting his coaches pick the players they want for their system.

htismaqe · 08-11-2006, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laz

and the decision to keep giving his coaches the power to screw up the draft is who's fault?

Um, that's his job.

Coogs · 08-11-2006, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bwana

Which is why Junior Siavii and Eric Hicks can't be resting all that well at night. Siavii naver has brought jack to the table and Hicks has been missing in action for years.

Yesterday afternoon on 610, I heard an interview with Holthus (I just caught the end of the interview, so I am not 100% sure it was him, but it sure sounded like him). Anyway, he said Hicks is having a great camp, not a good camp, but a great camp. If this is true, this is good news for our side I would think.

Mr. Laz · 08-11-2006, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Um, that's his job.

uh ... no it's not

his job is to win games ... not make his coaches feel good about themselves.

if a coach is good at selecting talent then he should let them

if a coach isn't ... then he shouldn't

**CosmicPal** · 08-11-2006, 10:54 AM

Quote:

“Just not good enough,” was Edwards’ reply when asked why Battle was released. “We did it now so he would have a better opportunity of catching on somewhere else.”

He has no chance of getting on anywhere.

Think about it- we were one of the worst passing D's the past few seasons and if you're not good enough to make this squad, then I don't think you have a "better" opportunity anywhere else.

Damn, that's harsh.

I'm surprised by Battle's release, 'cause I would have figured Bartee would have been the first to go. Who knows, maybe Edwards has finally gotten Bartee to turn his head around and look at the ball now.

|Zach| · 08-11-2006, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmicPal

He has no chance of getting on anywhere.

Think about it- we were one of the worst passing D's the past few seasons and if you're not good enough to make this squad, then I don't think you have a "better" opportunity anywhere else.

Damn, that's harsh.

I'm surprised by Battle's release, 'cause I would have figured Bartee would have been the first to go. Who knows, maybe Edwards has finally gotten Bartee to turn his head around and look at the ball now.

As sad as the no INT schtick is Battle has actually gone on the field and made a few plays here and there...he isn't consistant enough to be a player for us I wouldn't mind if he got cut but the guy has done some good things during his time...you can't say the same for Battle.

htismaqe · 08-11-2006, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laz

uh ... no it's not

his job is to win games ... not make his coaches feel good about themselves.

if a coach is good at selecting talent then he should let them

if a coach isn't ... then he shouldn't

His job isn't to win games. He's a GENERAL manager.

His job is to hire people to win games. And that assumes that winning games is even part of the company charter handed down by the owner. Given what we've seen over the last 20 years, I'm gonna guess that winning games isn't priority #1.

hawkchief · 08-11-2006, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laz

uh ... no it's not

his job is to win games ... not make his coaches feel good about themselves.

if a coach is good at selecting talent then he should let them

if a coach isn't ... then he shouldn't

Careful, Laz. You are about to be labeled as making merely dumbass and stupid comments, by the board mods. It's important that we revere Carl and all that he does here on CP. Carl is a terrific GM, and we shouldn't ever question how he so effectively runs the Chiefs.

08-11-2006, 08:10 AM
Coogs In Search of a Life Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Northern Kansas Casino cash: $1044349	GRETZ: Battle Gone; More to Come I know everyone knows Battle is toast, Just thought I would post the article in a new thread. _____________________________________________________________ GRETZ: Battle Gone; More to Come Aug 11, 2006, 7:57:03 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ RIVER FALLS, WI – It will not go down as one of the more earth-shaking personnel moves in recent Chiefs history. But the decision to release cornerback Julian Battle on Friday certainly caught the attention of his once fellow teammates. And there will be more “surprises” in the coming days and weeks as Herm Edwards begins to pull out the weeds in the Chiefs roster. “Just not good enough,” was Edwards’ reply when asked why Battle was released. “We did it now so he would have a better opportunity of catching on somewhere else.” A spot was needed with the signing of quarterback Jeff Smoker, but there were others on the roster that could have been sent packing at this time. The decision to waive Battle was done to send the message that Edwards has stressed from Day One in Kansas City: he doesn’t want the players to feel too comfortable about their status. Battle was one of those players who felt very comfortable. The Chiefs attempted to trade him on Friday. Actually, it’s the second time in the last few weeks they floated his name on the NFL grapevine hoping for a nibble. When they signed veteran cornerback Ty Law the week that training camp starters, Battle expressed his displeasure and asked to be traded. They found no takers then, and none this week, so he was released. The fact that Battle actually thought he was tradable was a symptom of his biggest problem: he thinks he’s good enough. Yet, the fourth-year pro has done nothing during his time with the Chiefs to show he could be a contributing player to the defense. His season last year was wiped out by an Achilles’ tendon injury in mini-camp. But he rehabbed and was at 100 percent through the off-season program and during two weeks of training camp. Battle’s biggest problem was his lack of consistency. There have been times since he joined the Chiefs when he showed flashes of ability. Physically, he might be as gifted a cornerback as Dale Carter. But the times when he displayed that ability were few and far between. He could not carry it from one play to another. Even in practice, he would handle coverage well on one play, then he would come back on the next play and completely forget about what he learned just 30 seconds earlier. Plus, he’s prone to penalties. Last Friday night in the practice against the Minnesota Vikings, on his first play of one-on-one pass coverage, he was flagged for holding by the NFL game officials who were working the affair. Edwards isn’t going to put up with that type of inconsistency. That’s one of the major reasons that cornerback Eric Warfield was sent packing in the off-season. This defense is built on a foundation of strong, consistent fundamentals. Battle never figured that out. His release is another defensive draft failure for the Chiefs. Battle was a third-round pick in 2003, a first-day choice and he joins recent first-day busts like DT Eric Downing (3rd-round, 2001), DT Eddie Freeman (2nd-round, 2002) and DT Junior Siavii (2nd-round, 2004), who remains missing in action in this training camp and could be the next weed pulled from the roster. When Dick Vermeil was the head coach, his approach to player evaluation could be characterized as: we’ve seen you perform at least once, so we believe you have the ability to do it again and we’ll work with you to make that happen. Edwards attitude is: do it once, then show me you can do it again, and again, and again, and then I’ll believe you can play. Julian Battle never came close to achieving that performance level. The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Posts: 21,673

08-11-2006, 10:03 AM	#32
ck_IN Feels so good. Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $10004900	Carl's the GM. If we've drafted poorly, he's the guy to blame. I don't care who the coach wanted, it's ultimately the GM's responsibility. When Carl showed some balls in 2003, he got a good player. And that year he went against his coaches wishes. Don't get me wrong, I'm not excusing CP from our pitiful drafts. All I'm saying is DV and his scouts told CP to get player X and for the most part that's the player that CP drafted. Should CP have been more diligent before drafting the likes of Downing, Freeman, Minnis, Battle, etc? Probably. But those were the guys that DV and his staff wanted. The bulk of the blame goes squarely to Dick. __________________ As sweet as Tupelo Honey
Posts: 2,718

08-11-2006, 10:14 AM	#36
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $5096768	Technicians work hard at the Chiefs lab to study the draft and its empirical nature.
Posts: 53,518