Whitlock: Wanted: More Offense - Page 7

siberian khatru · 05-01-2007, 06:26 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/182/story/89730.html

Wanted: more offense
By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist

In case you forgot, when last we saw our Chiefs, the final score was 23-8, the Chiefs didn’t get a first down until late in the third quarter, Larry Johnson rushed for 32 yards, and the Indianapolis Colts fielded one of the league’s worst defenses.

Carl Peterson, Herm Edwards and Bill Kuharich should have been forced to re-watch KC’s playoff loss in the hours leading up to the draft. Maybe then they would have been reminded of what they needed to do over the weekend.

Kansas City’s offense needs a major injection of youth, talent and energy. Somehow that has all been forgotten this offseason. So after signing two free-agent linebackers, the Chiefs reluctantly settled on a wide receiver in the first round of the draft and then settled on a Turk and a Tank, two defensive linemen, in the second and third rounds.

Am I the only one who remembers Indianapolis? Am I the only one who remembers that Dick Vermeil went overboard trying to build an offense and that Herm promised to build a complete team?

Am I the only person who thinks it is absolute lunacy to hand Larry Johnson any more contract leverage?

Let me be the first to label this offseason a failure. I don’t mind climbing out on limbs. I’ll be the first to apologize if I’m wrong. But from my view, the Chiefs played this thing all wrong.

They did not do near enough to fix their decaying offense. Will Shields retired. Trent Green is on his way out. Larry Johnson wants Peyton Manning money. The Chiefs never replaced Willie Roaf or Tony Richardson. Eddie Kennison is old.

And let’s see, a little more than three months after the most embarrassing offensive performance in the history of the league, the Chiefs take a flier on Sylvester Bowe or Dwayne Morris or SlyBowe.

Hey, I’m not down on Dwayne Bowe, the receiver out of LSU. I was happy about his acquisition. I called it a great pick at the time. But the Chiefs needed to do more on the offensive side of the ball.

They should have taken an offensive tackle in the second round. Who? I don’t know. If there was no tackle worthy of a second-round pick, I’d have taken another receiver. In the third round, they should have selected Louisville running back Michael Bush, a sure-fire top-15 pick had he not broken his leg. The Raiders took Bush with the first pick of the fourth round. He might be the steal of the draft.

Right now, if Larry Johnson holds out in a contract dispute, Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard should sue Peterson, Edwards and Kuharich for negligence.

It is impossible to develop a young quarterback (Croyle) without the proper complementary surrounding talent. It appears Croyle is going to get Schottenheimered, which is quarterback death caused by neglect.

Dick Vermeil put on a five-year clinic on how to develop a quarterback. You pamper quarterbacks. Peterson didn’t pay attention, and Herm spends his free time fantasizing about 9-3 field-goal shootouts.

Did anyone notice that the Colts drafted a receiver in the first round and an offensive tackle in the second? The Colts are constantly giving Manning new toys to play with.

Croyle and Huard got Bowe and upgraded life-insurance policies. Meanwhile, Herm and Gunther Cunningham got a Tank and a Turk to maneuver, and a new kicker.

If Johnson is a no-show, the Chiefs won’t score a touchdown this season. Not an offensive one. Even with Johnson, the KC offense is still highly suspect. Bowe is not a burner. He won’t open up passing lanes for Tony Gonzalez. In fact, Bowe is likely to crowd Gonzalez’s zones. Best-case scenario, Bowe is a T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Bengals receiver who plays opposite speedster Chad Johnson.

The Chiefs don’t have a Chad Johnson. They don’t have a dominant offensive line, either. They have a top-flight, 31-year-old tight end and a punishing, overworked, hard-to-like running back who wants a $30 million signing bonus. That’s it.

The Chiefs made five key acquisitions this offseason: two linebackers, two defensive tackles and a receiver.

Rewatch the Indy playoff game and ask yourself whether the offseason strategy makes any sense at all.

'Hamas' Jenkins · 05-01-2007, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chief Faithful

I agree with all your sediments except I look at Bennet as that 4th pick, which also makes this draft look better. What would have made this draft better is if CP had successfully traded Green or Wesley for an additional first day pick to be used on OL.

Overall, I was pleased with this draft. They filled the remaining holes on the defensive front 7, added much needed depth and youth at RB and TE, and finally addressed the WR position (after how many years?). There was just too many needs to address everything in one draft. Maybe next year they can take care of CB, QB, and OL.

If the draft were as long today as it were in the 50's, even then Wesley wouldn't be worth a pick in the first half of the draft.

I doubt he makes another NFL roster. He's too goddamned stupid to play his position, which is pretty sad given what MENSA members like Ed Reed are able to do.

chiefsfan1963 · 05-01-2007, 11:10 AM

I agree with the spirit of the article. Our O needs a lot work and given the moves of late it is clear we will drop further in league rankings probably below Top 20.

Hopefully we can find some major help in the free agency undrafted rookies group that can fill the holes until next year's draft and free agency market.

WHo knows what type of team we will field this year, but appears right now that a true rebuilding season is what we will witness. Which means that we could finally have a long awaited Top 10 or 15 pick in next year's draft with at least 7 picks one in each round. If we can get a extra 3rd or 4th rounder for Trent that will be a huge bonus.

Even with all this I don't see this team fully turning around until Herm and CP leave the building. I look at Sean Payton, the 2nd year HC of the Saints and what he accomplished in his first year and I realize how much this team is underachieving. After the abysmal performance in the playoffs last year I realize how far we have dropped since the departure of DV.

Yes the D has improved, but the tradeoff is not worth it.

keg in kc · 05-01-2007, 11:18 AM

When you have 7 picks (and really, only the first 3-4 rounds count, in my book, and we didn't have a 4th), and absolutely no control over what other teams take, you can only do so much. Like it or not.

And I can guarantee you this: if we'd taken Staley or another OT, we'd be seeing the same article, but it would be about how we'd reached for a tackle and neglected necessary defensive picks.

In the end, this all boils down to what Vermeil did from '01 to '05. It's going to take 3-4 years to recover from that, because there is not a core of young talent on the roster. We have very few homegrown players.

htismaqe · 05-01-2007, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefsfan1963

I agree with the spirit of the article. Our O needs a lot work and given the moves of late it is clear we will drop further in league rankings probably below Top 20.

Hopefully we can find some major help in the free agency undrafted rookies group that can fill the holes until next year's draft and free agency market.

WHo knows what type of team we will field this year, but appears right now that a true rebuilding season is what we will witness. Which means that we could finally have a long awaited Top 10 or 15 pick in next year's draft with at least 7 picks one in each round. If we can get a extra 3rd or 4th rounder for Trent that will be a huge bonus.

Even with all this I don't see this team fully turning around until Herm and CP leave the building. I look at Sean Payton, the 2nd year HC of the Saints and what he accomplished in his first year and I realize how much this team is underachieving. After the abysmal performance in the playoffs last year I realize how far we have dropped since the departure of DV.

Yes the D has improved, but the tradeoff is not worth it.

There was no trade-off. This aging offense was ALREADY on it's last legs before Herm got here.

Sean Payton's team has A LOT of drafted talent left over from the previous regime. Herm got NONE of that. He got several guys over 35...

carlos3652 · 05-01-2007, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefsfan1963

After the abysmal performance in the playoffs last year I realize how far we have dropped since the departure of DV.

LOL... 1 Playoff game (0-1) in 5 years and the worst defense in the NFL through those years...

I dont think we have the worst offense in the nfl, and we have already been to a playoff game with Herm... How have we dropped so far since DV???

I understand that the Offense isnt the same, and it probably never will be, especially when you lose Hall Of Famers....

Time to rebuild... and Herm is the guy to do it right...

Chiefnj · 05-01-2007, 11:30 AM

Bad first round draft picks set teams back 3-4 years.

To make up for Sims and Siavii Herm has had to bring in 5 guys - Reed, Edwards, Boone, McBride, and Tyler.

keg in kc · 05-01-2007, 11:32 AM

Frankly, the team may have overachieved to hit 9-7 last year, with the injuries on the offensive line.

I liked Vermeil when he was here, and still like him, but damn if he didn't leave this team in even worse shape than he found it. And that's saying something when you look at the drafts from before he got here.

We've probably lost a decade of Chiefs football to bad drafts, essentially from one head coach, although the decline started in the mid-90's.

Think about that.

A whole decade.

Chiefnj · 05-01-2007, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keg in kc

Frankly, the team may have overachieved to hit 9-7 last year, with the injuries on the offensive line.

I liked Vermeil when he was here, and still like him, but damn if he didn't leave this team in even worse shape than he found it. And that's saying something when you look at the drafts from before he got here.

We've probably lost a decade of Chiefs football to bad drafts, essentially from one head coach, although the decline started in the mid-90's.

Think about that.

A whole decade.

I think 1996 was the last excellent draft in KC. 1997 they got Tony g, but that was about it. Since then it has been poor to average. Plus, when you have a lot coaching changes you get more turnover and it is difficult to tell if players would have developed or not.

htismaqe · 05-01-2007, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj

To make up for Sims and Siavii

You forgot about Freeman, he was also a 2nd rounder.

And Eric Downing. He was technically a 3rd, but he was our first pick that year.

keg in kc · 05-01-2007, 11:50 AM

I'd agree with that.

Although I think you could even argue that the '96 draft wasn't more than average, itself. Woods was never a legitimate pro bowl calibre player, but he did start, so that's a success. Tongue was shipped off relatively quickly. Browning was a career complimentary player, but at least he spent his career here. Horn did nothing here. Donnie Edwards (who I've never been a fan of) was probably the best of the bunch, and he was shipped off, as well.

The thing that gives me hope is that 3-4 years of good drafting can build the foundation for a decade of success. Hopefully last year was the beginning of that.

chiefsfan1963 · 05-01-2007, 12:10 PM

No questions all you guys have good points against DV tenure here, but I believe CP should get more of the criticism and the responsibility during those 5 years. I truly believe this franchise will truly be better off with new blood in the Front Office. The right GM could have enhanced DV strength's by not letting his weaknesseses get in the way of him bringing a Championship or 2 to KC. A better GM and his staff would have done better in the drafting the right players and forecasting our needs due to aging players. If I was a GM the past 5 years for KC I would have done what ever I could do to maintain the finest OL in the league. Each of my line man would be evaluated in terms probability of retiring or being injured, and I would have been constantly filling the well with top draft prospects and free agency moves. Some one like Roaf and Shields could have easily retired 3 years ago given their age. I would be paranoid after I had lineman more than 6 years that possiblity of retirement could happen at any time no matter what they say.

I'm sorry but the GM and his Front Office bare most of the responsibility here not DV. DV brought us the finest O this franchise has ever seen, and all we needed was a Top 20 D and we would have at least 1 SB during his tenure. We would have been better off with a GM who has a sense urgency and something to prove rather than a GM who has been here for 20 years and is an OLD DOG and doesn't want to learn new tricks or shake the boat.

Chiefs Pantalones · 05-01-2007, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

He ran a 4.4 at his pro day.

Futhermore, timed speeds are bullshit. Terrell Owens ran a 4.6 and was drafted in the third round. Bowe is almost the EXACT same type of wide receiver.

Does this look slow to you?

Do you have anymore highlight gifs of Bowe?

Chiefnj · 05-01-2007, 12:13 PM

DV built a great offense through free agency and trade acquisitions. He built a poor defense through the draft and free agency. The end result after 5 years was an old offense that needed to be rebuilt and a semi old defense that needs to be replaced.

The only plus side to Herm at the moment is that the D he is building is being built through the draft so it will still be relatively young in a few years when he is run out of town for not being able to build an O.

keg in kc · 05-01-2007, 12:14 PM

I don't have a problem with holding Peterson responsible for the failure of his head coaches. He never should've been granted this last extension, which he received following a losing season. Which means, in fact, that Lamar Hunt was ultimately responsible for the bad drafting, if we're going to just keep passing the buck up the ladder.

Beyond that, if Peterson gets the blame for the bad draft, then he gets the credits for the good ones. Everyone seems to wants to give Herm credit for last year.

Vermeil gave us nothing but a hand job, and a lot of people (myself included) fell for it. My own opinion is that he and Al Saunders were more interested in proving themselves the real masterminds behind St. Louis' offensive explosion, and because of that the total focus of this franchise during his tenure was statistics and record-breaking. Even if that came at the expense of success, be it short- or long-term.

That, in the end, is the Vermeil legacy. And it's taking years to recover from it.

And I do think you can hold Carl responsible for that. Since he hired the guy. But it doesn't change the fact that Vermeil was what he was, and left the team as he did.

Coogs · 05-01-2007, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiefnj

DV built a great offense through free agency and trade acquisitions. He built a poor defense through the draft and free agency. The end result after 5 years was an old offense that needed to be rebuilt and a semi old defense that needs to be replaced.

The only plus side to Herm at the moment is that the D he is building is being built through the draft so it will still be relatively young in a few years when he is run out of town for not being able to build an O.

Don't forget to include Gun along with DV on assembling that defense. Gun's shopping lis of players is eating up cap space, and not doing much in return.

05-01-2007, 06:26 AM
siberian khatru 21st Century Schizoid Fan Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: The Gates of Delirium Casino cash: $1994950	Whitlock: Wanted: More Offense http://www.kansascity.com/182/story/89730.html Wanted: more offense By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist In case you forgot, when last we saw our Chiefs, the final score was 23-8, the Chiefs didn’t get a first down until late in the third quarter, Larry Johnson rushed for 32 yards, and the Indianapolis Colts fielded one of the league’s worst defenses. Carl Peterson, Herm Edwards and Bill Kuharich should have been forced to re-watch KC’s playoff loss in the hours leading up to the draft. Maybe then they would have been reminded of what they needed to do over the weekend. Kansas City’s offense needs a major injection of youth, talent and energy. Somehow that has all been forgotten this offseason. So after signing two free-agent linebackers, the Chiefs reluctantly settled on a wide receiver in the first round of the draft and then settled on a Turk and a Tank, two defensive linemen, in the second and third rounds. Am I the only one who remembers Indianapolis? Am I the only one who remembers that Dick Vermeil went overboard trying to build an offense and that Herm promised to build a complete team? Am I the only person who thinks it is absolute lunacy to hand Larry Johnson any more contract leverage? Let me be the first to label this offseason a failure. I don’t mind climbing out on limbs. I’ll be the first to apologize if I’m wrong. But from my view, the Chiefs played this thing all wrong. They did not do near enough to fix their decaying offense. Will Shields retired. Trent Green is on his way out. Larry Johnson wants Peyton Manning money. The Chiefs never replaced Willie Roaf or Tony Richardson. Eddie Kennison is old. And let’s see, a little more than three months after the most embarrassing offensive performance in the history of the league, the Chiefs take a flier on Sylvester Bowe or Dwayne Morris or SlyBowe. Hey, I’m not down on Dwayne Bowe, the receiver out of LSU. I was happy about his acquisition. I called it a great pick at the time. But the Chiefs needed to do more on the offensive side of the ball. They should have taken an offensive tackle in the second round. Who? I don’t know. If there was no tackle worthy of a second-round pick, I’d have taken another receiver. In the third round, they should have selected Louisville running back Michael Bush, a sure-fire top-15 pick had he not broken his leg. The Raiders took Bush with the first pick of the fourth round. He might be the steal of the draft. Right now, if Larry Johnson holds out in a contract dispute, Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard should sue Peterson, Edwards and Kuharich for negligence. It is impossible to develop a young quarterback (Croyle) without the proper complementary surrounding talent. It appears Croyle is going to get Schottenheimered, which is quarterback death caused by neglect. Dick Vermeil put on a five-year clinic on how to develop a quarterback. You pamper quarterbacks. Peterson didn’t pay attention, and Herm spends his free time fantasizing about 9-3 field-goal shootouts. Did anyone notice that the Colts drafted a receiver in the first round and an offensive tackle in the second? The Colts are constantly giving Manning new toys to play with. Croyle and Huard got Bowe and upgraded life-insurance policies. Meanwhile, Herm and Gunther Cunningham got a Tank and a Turk to maneuver, and a new kicker. If Johnson is a no-show, the Chiefs won’t score a touchdown this season. Not an offensive one. Even with Johnson, the KC offense is still highly suspect. Bowe is not a burner. He won’t open up passing lanes for Tony Gonzalez. In fact, Bowe is likely to crowd Gonzalez’s zones. Best-case scenario, Bowe is a T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Bengals receiver who plays opposite speedster Chad Johnson. The Chiefs don’t have a Chad Johnson. They don’t have a dominant offensive line, either. They have a top-flight, 31-year-old tight end and a punishing, overworked, hard-to-like running back who wants a $30 million signing bonus. That’s it. The Chiefs made five key acquisitions this offseason: two linebackers, two defensive tackles and a receiver. Rewatch the Indy playoff game and ask yourself whether the offseason strategy makes any sense at all.
Posts: 69,374

05-01-2007, 11:10 AM	#92
chiefsfan1963 Veteran Join Date: Oct 2001 Casino cash: $10005060	I agree with the spirit of the article. Our O needs a lot work and given the moves of late it is clear we will drop further in league rankings probably below Top 20. Hopefully we can find some major help in the free agency undrafted rookies group that can fill the holes until next year's draft and free agency market. WHo knows what type of team we will field this year, but appears right now that a true rebuilding season is what we will witness. Which means that we could finally have a long awaited Top 10 or 15 pick in next year's draft with at least 7 picks one in each round. If we can get a extra 3rd or 4th rounder for Trent that will be a huge bonus. Even with all this I don't see this team fully turning around until Herm and CP leave the building. I look at Sean Payton, the 2nd year HC of the Saints and what he accomplished in his first year and I realize how much this team is underachieving. After the abysmal performance in the playoffs last year I realize how far we have dropped since the departure of DV. Yes the D has improved, but the tradeoff is not worth it.
Posts: 1,948

05-01-2007, 11:18 AM	#93
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	When you have 7 picks (and really, only the first 3-4 rounds count, in my book, and we didn't have a 4th), and absolutely no control over what other teams take, you can only do so much. Like it or not. And I can guarantee you this: if we'd taken Staley or another OT, we'd be seeing the same article, but it would be about how we'd reached for a tackle and neglected necessary defensive picks. In the end, this all boils down to what Vermeil did from '01 to '05. It's going to take 3-4 years to recover from that, because there is not a core of young talent on the roster. We have very few homegrown players.
Posts: 58,682

05-01-2007, 11:30 AM	#96
Chiefnj MVP Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Willis, Harris and Davis. Casino cash: $10004900	Bad first round draft picks set teams back 3-4 years. To make up for Sims and Siavii Herm has had to bring in 5 guys - Reed, Edwards, Boone, McBride, and Tyler. __________________ "I always tell (the assistant coaches), 'Make it simple, 'cause I'm stupid,'" Edwards said. "This ain't computer football." Herm Edwards, 3-20-07 Q: Herm, back on December 25th you were asked if Trent Green was your starter going into next season and you said, ‘yeah, why wouldn’t he be?’ Have you changed your mind on that? EDWARDS: No, I have not.” (1-11-07)
Posts: 6,811

05-01-2007, 11:32 AM	#97
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	Frankly, the team may have overachieved to hit 9-7 last year, with the injuries on the offensive line. I liked Vermeil when he was here, and still like him, but damn if he didn't leave this team in even worse shape than he found it. And that's saying something when you look at the drafts from before he got here. We've probably lost a decade of Chiefs football to bad drafts, essentially from one head coach, although the decline started in the mid-90's. Think about that. A whole decade.
Posts: 58,682

05-01-2007, 11:50 AM	#100
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	I'd agree with that. Although I think you could even argue that the '96 draft wasn't more than average, itself. Woods was never a legitimate pro bowl calibre player, but he did start, so that's a success. Tongue was shipped off relatively quickly. Browning was a career complimentary player, but at least he spent his career here. Horn did nothing here. Donnie Edwards (who I've never been a fan of) was probably the best of the bunch, and he was shipped off, as well. The thing that gives me hope is that 3-4 years of good drafting can build the foundation for a decade of success. Hopefully last year was the beginning of that.
Posts: 58,682

05-01-2007, 12:10 PM	#101
chiefsfan1963 Veteran Join Date: Oct 2001 Casino cash: $10005060	No questions all you guys have good points against DV tenure here, but I believe CP should get more of the criticism and the responsibility during those 5 years. I truly believe this franchise will truly be better off with new blood in the Front Office. The right GM could have enhanced DV strength's by not letting his weaknesseses get in the way of him bringing a Championship or 2 to KC. A better GM and his staff would have done better in the drafting the right players and forecasting our needs due to aging players. If I was a GM the past 5 years for KC I would have done what ever I could do to maintain the finest OL in the league. Each of my line man would be evaluated in terms probability of retiring or being injured, and I would have been constantly filling the well with top draft prospects and free agency moves. Some one like Roaf and Shields could have easily retired 3 years ago given their age. I would be paranoid after I had lineman more than 6 years that possiblity of retirement could happen at any time no matter what they say. I'm sorry but the GM and his Front Office bare most of the responsibility here not DV. DV brought us the finest O this franchise has ever seen, and all we needed was a Top 20 D and we would have at least 1 SB during his tenure. We would have been better off with a GM who has a sense urgency and something to prove rather than a GM who has been here for 20 years and is an OLD DOG and doesn't want to learn new tricks or shake the boat.
Posts: 1,948

05-01-2007, 12:13 PM	#103
Chiefnj MVP Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Willis, Harris and Davis. Casino cash: $10004900	DV built a great offense through free agency and trade acquisitions. He built a poor defense through the draft and free agency. The end result after 5 years was an old offense that needed to be rebuilt and a semi old defense that needs to be replaced. The only plus side to Herm at the moment is that the D he is building is being built through the draft so it will still be relatively young in a few years when he is run out of town for not being able to build an O. __________________ "I always tell (the assistant coaches), 'Make it simple, 'cause I'm stupid,'" Edwards said. "This ain't computer football." Herm Edwards, 3-20-07 Q: Herm, back on December 25th you were asked if Trent Green was your starter going into next season and you said, ‘yeah, why wouldn’t he be?’ Have you changed your mind on that? EDWARDS: No, I have not.” (1-11-07)
Posts: 6,811

05-01-2007, 12:14 PM	#104
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	I don't have a problem with holding Peterson responsible for the failure of his head coaches. He never should've been granted this last extension, which he received following a losing season. Which means, in fact, that Lamar Hunt was ultimately responsible for the bad drafting, if we're going to just keep passing the buck up the ladder. Beyond that, if Peterson gets the blame for the bad draft, then he gets the credits for the good ones. Everyone seems to wants to give Herm credit for last year. Vermeil gave us nothing but a hand job, and a lot of people (myself included) fell for it. My own opinion is that he and Al Saunders were more interested in proving themselves the real masterminds behind St. Louis' offensive explosion, and because of that the total focus of this franchise during his tenure was statistics and record-breaking. Even if that came at the expense of success, be it short- or long-term. That, in the end, is the Vermeil legacy. And it's taking years to recover from it. And I do think you can hold Carl responsible for that. Since he hired the guy. But it doesn't change the fact that Vermeil was what he was, and left the team as he did.
Posts: 58,682