Chiefs’ free-agent class has been major letdown

[Hammock Parties]

A nice sundering of Pioli on Thanksgiving day.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/21...-has-been.html

When Romeo Crennel really wants to torture himself, he will let his mind wander back to the September afternoon in Buffalo when tight end Kevin Boss was hit in the head after making a catch. Boss suffered a concussion, ending his season, and the Chiefs have suffered when trying to pass the ball ever since.

“Sometimes I go down through the stats, and his pass-receiving average is up there and he really didn’t catch that many balls,’’ Crennel said. “When you’ve got a big target like that who can get down the field and make some plays, I think he would have definitely helped our offense.

“We hoped when we added him to the team that he would have been a big plus for us. I think he would have been had he been able to stay healthy.’’

Perhaps losing Boss was bad luck or perhaps, given his history of concussions, the Chiefs should have anticipated problems for him. Either way, Boss isn’t the only member of this year’s free-agent class to come up empty for the Chiefs.

Cornerback Stanford Routt played in just seven games before being released after missing curfew before this month’s game in San Diego. Peyton Hillis was supposed to be a key part of a backfield combination with Jamaal Charles, but an ankle injury and ineffectiveness have limited his playing time.

Quarterback Brady Quinn will return to the starting lineup in time for Sunday’s game against Denver at Arrowhead Stadium but can only hope he will play better than he did in his first two games this season.

Only right tackle Eric Winston has been a productive player, but he hasn’t been a difference-maker, not with the Chiefs at 1-9 and last in the league in scoring.

What’s worse, Winston may be the only one of the group with the Chiefs next season. Routt is already gone, Hillis and Quinn are on one-year contracts and it’s not wise to assume Boss, given his concussion history, will play again.

The Chiefs made lesser finds in free agency like Ropati Pitoitua, now starting on the defensive line in the absence of the injured Glenn Dorsey, and Edgar Jones, one of their better special teams players.

But the others were the acquisitions the Chiefs were counting on.

“Free agency can be a finicky thing,’’ Winston said. “It can be very hard to assimilate.’’

Routt is perhaps the most dramatic case. The Chiefs knew when they signed him they would have to change some of the habits Routt got into from his years with the Raiders. It obviously wasn’t happening as quickly as the Chiefs had hoped.

The circumstances for Hillis are far different, but the Chiefs haven’t received from him anything close to what they had hoped. They expected him to share the backfield duties with Charles but before and after the high ankle sprain that cost him three games, Hillis hasn’t played much.

He was on the field for six plays in last week’s game against Cincinnati. His signature play of the season was his goal-line fumble in Buffalo.

“We were expecting quite a bit out of Peyton and then that injury I think set him back,’’ Crennel said. “He missed several games with that injury (when) we could have used him. But injuries are part of this business and you have to deal with them and work through them. Hopefully, he can get back up to speed that he was before he was injured.’’

Hillis didn’t sound optimistic that would happen.

“It’s pretty frustrating,’’ he said. “When you move teams, you never know how things will turn out, but it’s been a struggle. I feel I’m fully capable now. It’s nothing I can explain. If I could, I’d change it, try to fix it. But there’s something to this that I can’t figure out. It takes its toll on you. It’s hard sometimes to get out of that rut.’’

Quinn has time to make his season a successful one. But the Chiefs have yet to score an offensive touchdown with him as their quarterback and, given the way things have gone for their offense, it seems unlikely he will be able to resurrect his career in the final six games.

That leaves Winston, whose comments critical of Chiefs fans aside, seems to have found a home in Kansas City. The Chiefs signed him to plug a hole at right tackle and help pave the way in the running game for Charles and Hillis.

But because the Chiefs have been behind in so many games, they haven’t been able to use his abilities in the way they hoped. According to the statistic service Stats, Inc., Winston has allowed four sacks, highest on the team though not in the top 25 in the league.

“I like to think I’ve worked out reasonably well, but maybe some fans would disagree with that,’’ Winston said. “I feel like I’ve played pretty well. My sacks are lower than they’ve been in probably a year or two. My hurries are probably a little higher, but that’s a by-product of probably being behind in so many games. That’s tough sledding. And let’s be honest. I’m not the prototypical (pass blocking) kind of tackle. I’m probably better in the run game and with play-action passing.’’