Whitlock's player grades...

[shaneo69]

Highest marks go to Huard
JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star

The Chiefs’ 2006 valedictorian is the one student who was excused from taking Saturday’s final exam in Indianapolis.

Damon Huard, KC’s backup quarterback, received the highest grade in my football class this season.

Huard threw 11 touchdowns and just one interception. He kept KC’s season alive when starter Trent Green got hurt in the season opener. A free agent this offseason, the Chiefs would be wise to consider re-signing Huard and letting Green continue his career elsewhere.

Rookie safety Jarrad Page received the second-highest grade. Page had a solid regular season and then improved his grade by intercepting Peyton Manning.

Ty Law, the teacher’s pet, managed to receive a low B despite being a class clown much of the regular season. Many of Law’s fellow students were amazed that he answered every question right on the final exam. Another football professor (Randy Covitz) has called for an investigation to see whether Peyton Manning supplied Law the answers on the final exam. Law’s grade will survive the investigation.

The bad grades were rather predictable. Ryan Sims and Kendrell Bell should both be expelled from school after this season. Dante Hall also is in trouble.

Herm Edwards destroyed his grade by bombing the final.

The Chiefs players’ grades (the first number) reflect their performance this season. Numbers in parentheses reflect players’ rankings on the team from 1 through 54 in terms of Jason Whitlock’s preseason expectations.

A

97 Damon Huard (43): Kansas City’s backup quarterback situation was described as “irresponsible” before the season. Huard made his critics look foolish, filling in for Trent Green the first half of the season. Huard tossed 11 touchdowns and just one interception. He led the Chiefs to a 5-3 record in his eight starts. In retrospect, Mike Solari found a play-calling rhythm with Huard that should have never been disturbed. It might make sense for the Chiefs to dump Trent Green and bring back Huard as the starter next season with Brodie Croyle waiting in the wings.

94 Jarrad Page (37): This late-round draft pick is quite a playmaker. He picked off three passes in the regular season and baited Peyton Manning into an interception in the playoffs. Page will be a day-one starter next season. He has terrific instincts, isn’t afraid to fill running lanes and could develop into an on-field leader. Might be the next Deron Cherry.

93 Dustin Colquitt (22): Should have made the Pro Bowl. Just murdered the football all season. Flirted with a 40-yard net average. Set a postseason record with a 66-yard punt in the playoffs. Uncorked a 72-yarder in the regular season. Dick Vermeil’s third-round draft pick was worth it in 2006.

92 Tony Gonzalez (3): Was an absolute beast during critical three-game stretch — San Diego, Seattle and St. Louis — when the Chiefs saved their season. Gonzo caught 17 passes for 307 yards and two TDs during that stretch. He was much better at breaking tackles and picking up yards after the catch this season. Given the amount of money he wants, he might be done in KC. I’d pay Gonzalez and keep him. The Chiefs don’t have any other big-time pass catchers.

91 Larry Johnson (1): Set the NFL record for carries in a season (416) and broke his own Chiefs record for rushing yards (1,789). He’s not the class valedictorian for several reasons. He averaged a career-low 4.3 yards per carry. He had just 10 runs of more than 20 yards. He still refuses to block. He ran his mouth too much. LJ is a poor leader. He’s more distraction than leader. He betrayed the faith Herm Edwards placed in him by publicly knocking the coaching staff. His interview with HBO’s Cris Carter was embarrassing. LJ needs to decide what’s most important: winning or building a persona that fits in at Roc-A-Fella.

90 Kendall Gammon (24): KG always gets an A. He might long snap forever. He’s as reliable as death, taxes and a Carl Peterson ticket-price increase.

B

86 Tamba Hali (11): A far better pass rusher than I imagined. Hali led the Chiefs with eight sacks. He certainly gave the kind of consistent effort the Chiefs expected when they plucked him in the first round. Hali’s best game was in KC’s ultra-important victory over Denver in which he had six tackles and 1.5 sacks. It’s easy to imagine Hali settling in as a consistent double-digit sack end.

85 Jared Allen (6): His sack total dipped from 11 in 2005 to 7.5 this season, but his overall play did not slip. Allen had a couple of incredible games. Dominated the Rams with two sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Embarrassed the Raiders with a sack, forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Allen lost points for his performance at Pittsburgh. As were most of the Chiefs, he was a total no-show against the Steelers. The Chiefs expect Allen to play with passion in every game.

84 Brian Waters (2): Bounced back from a knee injury in just two weeks. But we’ve come to expect perfection from Waters, and he wasn’t perfect without his Willie Roaf sidekick. Waters and the entire offensive line lost points for the playoff performance. The coaching staff thought Waters, Will Shields and Casey Wiegmann would dominate the interior of Indy’s defensive line and linebackers. It didn’t come close to happening. Waters is a tremendous leader.

83 Bernard Pollard (32): Might be a step slow to unseat Greg Wesley at safety next season, but Pollard was a good second-round pick. He blocked two punts, including one against Jacksonville in the regular-season finale that he scooped up for a touchdown. Was a dominant player on special teams. He’ll get his chance to make plays on defense next season.

81 Ty Law (4): Went from Ty Slip-n-FLaw to everything I ever imagined in the final two weeks of the season. Ty aced the final exam, beating the Jaguars with an interception and picking off Peyton Manning twice in the playoffs. Big-time players make big-time plays in the clutch. Ty Law is a big-time player. He played with a completely different level of confidence and intensity against the Colts. Why? That’s a question Carl Peterson and other general managers will be asking this offseason. Is Ty Law back? Or does Law only want to play when the full spotlight is turned on? Of course, I’d bring Law back next season. But I do wonder why Law seems to have lost his lust for tackling. He was once one of the most physical corners in the league. Now, he’s Deion Sanders with 4.8 speed.

80 Eddie Kennison (14): Eddie Money was out to prove he’s a No. 1 receiver and worthy of a new contract. He had a good regular season given the circumstances — Green’s concussion and Herm’s conservative offense — catching 53 passes for 860 yards. Eddie was the anti-Ty Law, bombing the final exam. Eddie will never live down the goose egg and two drops he posted against the Colts. Eddie is not a No. 1 receiver. The Chiefs must add two receivers this offseason.

80 Jason Dunn (29): The Chiefs didn’t miss Jason Dunn at all against the Colts. No sir. The run blocking was as good as ever, wasn’t it? Dunn increased his grade by skipping the final exam.

80 Lenny Walls (36): Lenny gets a solid grade because he far exceeded my low expectations. Gunther Cunningham and Herm Edwards thought Walls was good enough to be in a regular rotation with Ty Law and Patrick Surtain. Early in the season, Walls made a few plays in coverage. Late in the season, Walls might as well have been Lenny Kravitz in coverage.

C

79 Kawika Mitchell (8): Led the team in tackles for the second straight year, but his play slipped. Maybe it was a byproduct of Herm’s Cover 2 scheme, but Kawika wasn’t around the ball nearly as much in coverage this year. He defensed nine passes in 2005. He knocked down just one pass this season. Mitchell seemed a step slower this season.

79 Will Shields (13): The Chiefs say Shields is still playing at a Pro Bowl level. I’m not so sure. The future Hall of Famer struggled in the playoffs, and Baltimore’s Trevor Pryce got the best of Shields yet again. It’s probably time for Shields to retire.

78 Greg Wesley (9): I actually liked the way Wesley played this season. He missed two games, so his tackle numbers were down and so were his interceptions. Wesley was more physical this year. He and Jarrad Page should be a great combination next season. I’d still love to know what happened to him on the play when he and Ty Law let a Baltimore receiver run down the middle of the field uncovered.

78 Kris Wilson (21): The Chiefs finally unveiled their secret weapon, the Human Matchup Problem. Wilson played fullback and tight end this year. He scored three touchdowns and caught 10 balls. He could develop into a consistent playmaker in the right scheme.

77 Jordan Black (26): People are going to hate that I’ve closed I-65 and given him a passing grade. But JB did not play nearly as poorly as his critics think. He showed promise. The Chiefs are down on Black because they don’t want to pay him a bunch of money this offseason. Black probably will end up on another team’s roster and finish the job of developing into a pretty good left tackle.

77 Jimmy Wilkerson (34): Here’s another guy who aced the final exam. Wilkerson was very active as a defensive tackle in the playoff game. The Chiefs will spend much of the offseason shopping for DTs. Don’t be surprised if Wilkerson, a former defensive end, winds up as KC’s three-technique DT. He has the explosion and athletic ability to be an inside playmaker. Another offseason in the weight room, and he should develop the necessary power.

76 Casey Wiegmann (12): The main reason KC’s playoff game plan was horrific was because it played right into Wiegmann’s weakness. He’s too small to be good at the point of attack. Wiegmann is at his best pulling and getting out on the edge in space. Wiegmann is one of the few centers athletic enough to pull and cut down linebackers and safeties. The Chiefs tried to slam Larry Johnson up Wiegmann’s backside, and it turned into a disaster.

74 John Welbourn (27): He is not an offensive tackle. Period. Welbourn is a nasty, dirty inside fighter. You put him out on the edge, and speed rushers beat him to the corner. He played out of position all season.

73 Derrick Johnson (7): Bottom line, DJ didn’t make nearly enough big plays in his sophomore season. This is an unfair comparison, but I’m rarely fair. DJ was taken three picks after Shawne “Lights Out, Steroids In” Merriman, who is the most dominant defensive player in the league. Merriman posted 17 sacks in 12 games this season. DJ had 4.5 sacks, zero interceptions and few Pro Bowl votes. Right now, DJ is more potential than production.

73 Benny Sapp (31): I blame the coaching staff for Sapp’s disappearance from the defensive game plan. Yes, injuries played a role in Sapp’s role, but Gunther went with Walls ahead of Sapp in nickel early in the season. Sapp was a terrific nickel corner in 2005. Teams knew he was going to blitz and still couldn’t stop him from harassing the quarterback. Sapp recorded no sacks in 2006. His tackle total dipped 65 percent. The Chiefs benched a 2005 playmaker.

72 Boomer Grigsby (38): Rudy didn’t develop into anything all that special on the kick coverage teams. He’s an average special-teams player. He did not fill the void created by Gary Stills’ departure.

71 Sammy Knight (16): Slammin’ Sammy split time with KC’s young safeties. Despite that, his tackle numbers did not really slip. Sammy is still pretty good in run support. He’ll stick his nose in there and stop a running back cold. Sammy is much too slow in pass defense. It’s too easy to get behind him. Can’t imagine him returning to KC next season.

70 Rich Scanlon (39): Played in only nine games this season and made nine tackles. A special-teams star a year ago. Made news this year when he was placed on injured reserve the final week of the season to protect a practice-squad receiver no one has ever heard of.

70 Chris Terry (41): Couldn’t beat out Jordan Black or John Welbourn on the offensive line. Not a 2007 solution.

70 Kyle Turley (42): What were the reasonable expectations for an offensive tackle who began the year at 250 pounds, with back problems and determined to come back as a tight end? Yeah, I’d say seven starts and a switch from left tackle to right tackle. No reason to blame Kyle Turley for KC’s Willie Roaf problem.

70 Brodie Croyle (44): The Chiefs love Croyle as the starting QB in 2008. I’ll believe it when I see it.

70 Derrick Ross (47): He’s strictly a special-teams player.

70 Jeff Webb (50): If this man isn’t given the chance to return kickoffs next season, then you know Dante Hall has compromising photos of Carl wearing a kilt and snuggling with Al Davis.

70 Kris Griffin (52): One day, his grandchildren will chuckle when they learn that he couldn’t beat out Kendrell Bell.

70 Priest Holmes (54): Did exactly what I expected him to do. Nothing. With no more paydays on the horizon, Willie Roaf tucked comfortably into a pot of gumbo and Larry Johnson emerging as a superstar, there was no reason for Holmes to continue playing. Now I half expect Holmes to return in ’07. The Chiefs need him. Johnson needs Holmes to carry the ball 100 times. For the right price, doctors will tell Holmes what he needs to hear to get back on the field.

D

69 Ron Edwards (18): Looks just like Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight. Not nearly as menacing as Knight. Wouldn’t you love to see Edwards hang Mike Solari and Herm Edwards over a balcony for that vanilla offensive game plan against Indy?

69 James Reed (19): Herm and Reed were together in New York. Reed was probably one of the few people not at all shocked by KC’s offensive performance in the playoffs.

69 Ronnie Cruz (20): Got hurt early in the season. Is he the fullback of the future? Will have to wait until next training camp to find out.

68 Samie Parker (28): Nobody in the NFL celebrates a routine play quite as enthusiastically as Parker. Samie did nothing that says he’s worthy of being a No. 2 receiver. Samie is just a guy. He brings little to the table.

67 Keyaron Fox (30): Was supposed to push Kendrell Bell for the starting job. When he got a chance to play, he didn’t look any better than Bell. He’s now pegged as a marginal player in KC.

66 Rod Gardner (48): Failed as a first-round pick for Washington. Never given much of a chance in KC’s offense.

65 Eric Hicks (33): You’ve heard of local radio talk-show hosts Bland and Blander. Well, in a farewell letter to his listener, former 610 midmorning host Blandest tabbed Hicks as a future Chiefs hall of famer. I (spit) you not. According to Blandest, Hicks is a victim of a defensive scheme that does not take advantage of Hicks’ abundant talent. With that in mind, I did not give Hicks an F for his seven-tackle 2006 performance.

64 Patrick Surtain (5): I know it’s fashionable to beat up on my boy Ty Law and ignore Surtain. The numbers speak for themselves — one interception and four passes defensed. That’s one more interception than he had all of last year and five fewer passes defensed. Shutdown corner? Depends on what you’re shutting down.

64 Chris Bober (40): Picked up a couple of starts and some playing time this season when Brian Waters got hurt. Didn’t impress anyone.

62 Michael Bennett (45): Averaged 5.6 yards per carry but went down way too easy. Was the victim of too many shoestring tackles. Turned several 20-yard runs into 6-yard gains.

60 Trent Green (10): Now that the cape is off Superman, the Chiefs need to cut ties with Trent Bledsoe. And I say that with all due respect to Green. I have a great deal of respect for what he accomplished here. He’s a sensational leader. But it’s over in Kansas City. Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots had the courage to sit Drew Bledsoe and his big contract in favor of an unheralded late-round draft pick, Tom Brady. Herm Edwards and Carl Peterson didn’t display that same courage. Instead, Herm played mind games with Huard before the Miami game, raising the possibility of Huard keeping the job. Huard cracked. Before the Indy playoff game, Herm raised the possibility of Green losing his job and the entire offense cracked. Trent Brunell wants to continue playing. He might have something to offer Washington and offensive coordinator Al Saunders. Here, Green is finished with this fan base. The intangibles that made him a terrific player have been erased. The offense is vastly different, and it’s time for a different quarterback.

60 Dee Brown (46): He is not an NFL running back. He must be very good on the coverage units. I don’t get why he’s on the roster.

60 Tre Stallings (49): Have no idea who he is. Just another guy not good enough to make anyone forget Willie Roaf or replace Will Shields next season.

60 Rudy Niswanger (51): Repeat what I just said about Stallings.

60 Casey Printers (53): Based on what we saw in the preseason, I’m wondering why the Chiefs felt as if he had to be elevated from the practice squad. If Printers develops into an NFL quarterback, I’m going on a diet and will be in some team’s minicamp in 2008.

F

59 Dante Hall (15): The Human Joystick is as out of date as Atari. He’s a victim of trying too hard to live up to the hype. He bought the hype that he can make everyone miss. He doesn’t trust his blocking wedge. He’s an unreliable receiver. If the Chiefs bring Hall back next year, it should be solely as a return man, and he should be forced to win the job in training camp.

59 Kevin Sampson (25): Has anyone ever told Sampson about Marty Schottenheimer’s theory about availability being more important than ability? You can’t make the club sitting in the tub.

51 Lawrence Tynes (23): The other LT is turning into the second coming of Lin Elliott. The chip-shot field goal he missed after Ty Law’s interception was the final piece of evidence that things were not going to end well on Saturday. LT2 is a joke.

44 Ryan Sims (35): Trezelle Sims completed his third straight embarrassing season. After averaging one tackle per game his previous two seasons, Sims sliced his average in half in 2006 — seven tackles in 16 games. In 59 career games, Sims has put his arms on a ballcarrier 74 times. He’s recorded five career sacks. This is just a guess, but the Chiefs have probably paid him $3 million per sack. Say what you want about W. Bush, but Ryan Sims has flourished economically under the Bush administration.

41 Kendrell Bell (17): A friend sent me a text message during the second quarter of Saturday’s playoff game wondering whether Kendrell was playing. I’m still amazed that my friend noticed that Kendrell was not a part of the defensive game plan. How was Kendrell standing on the sideline looking swollen and prison muscled any different than Bell standing on the field looking swollen, prison muscled and lost?

[Brock]

Can't find much to disagree with there.

[Frazod]

Nobody on our offensive line deserves higher than a D. And I'd give Bigfoot a B.

[siberian khatru]

The Hicks comment is hysterical. Who's the radio guy who pimps Hicks?

[HemiEd]

Kris Wilson a C? He missed catching one ball the whole season, he caught a few balls from Green that were almost impossible to catch. His blocking was great at times for learning a new position.
Tynes did not have a good year, but I would not give up on him.

[Reerun_KC]

Let me guess you can fumble 10 times and lose 5 in 8 games and only throw 1 pick, that gets you an A for Huard?

I need some drugs...

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by frazod

. And I'd give Bigfoot a B.

At least you know who he is now.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

At least you know who he is now.

Yeah, but I forgot who you are.

[Mr. Laz]

[B]76 Casey Wiegmann (12): The main reason KC’s playoff game plan was horrific was because it played right into Wiegmann’s weakness. He’s too small to be good at the point of attack. Wiegmann is at his best pulling and getting out on the edge in space. Wiegmann is one of the few centers athletic enough to pull and cut down linebackers and safeties. The Chiefs tried to slam Larry Johnson up Wiegmann’s backside, and it turned into a disaster.

Everyone who doesn't think that coaching played a big part in the collapse of our offense should sit in the corner and read this aloud to the class one thousand times.

[SithCeNtZ]

Law deserves a D just like Surtain. For every Law pick there was multiple passes he either fell down or blamed someone else for not being in the right place. His 2 picks against Indy had nothing to do with him being a good corner and more to do with Manning screwing up. He didn't jump a route or anything like Page did.

[Hammock Parties]

His grade for Wesley and his grade for Knight should be switched. And his grade for DJ was a joke. Other than that...pretty good.

[Chiefnj]

Every member of the offense should get a 10 point deduction because of the playoff game.

Grade "A" players this year: Hali, Allen, Page, Gammon, Gonzalez (barely).

[DMAC]

"70 Jeff Webb (50): If this man isn’t given the chance to return kickoffs next season, then you know Dante Hall has compromising photos of Carl wearing a kilt and snuggling with Al Davis."



AMEN!

[StcChief]

Wonder how the Chiefs organization grades compare...

I guess we will see who gets cut.

[wutamess]

He’s recorded five career sacks. This is just a guess, but the Chiefs have probably paid him $3 million per sack. Say what you want about W. Bush, but Ryan Sims has flourished economically under the Bush administration.