TEICHER - TIME TO REBOOT

[bringbackmarty]

TIME TO REBOOT
Edwards takes aim at complex KC roster
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

I n Herm Edwards’ perfect world, he might like to start almost from scratch in building the Chiefs roster. He might grab a handful of young players like Tamba Hali, Jared Allen, Derrick Johnson and Larry Johnson, and then fend for himself to fill out the remainder of the starting lineup.

His reality won’t be that simple. As much as Edwards might like to take a butcher knife to the roster, the Chiefs are tethered to too many fat contracts given to underperforming players to allow that to happen.

Let’s say the Chiefs want to get rid of the following veterans: Priest Holmes, Trent Green, Dante Hall, Ryan Sims, Eric Hicks, Kendrell Bell, Ty Law, Sammy Knight and Greg Wesley. It’s a safe assumption they would like to rid themselves of most.

The cost of dumping those nine players could run as high as $32 million against their salary cap. That prohibitive amount guarantees at least some will return.

So think scalpel instead of butcher knife, changes on something less than a large scale.

The Chiefs are now sorting through those decisions.

“There will be some tough decisions, and there will be some unpopular decisions,” Edwards said. “We’ll make those in a manner that is best for the football team. It’s never personal.

“We’ll take our time. We won’t make emotional decisions. That’s always a bad decision when you get emotionally involved.”

The Chiefs have the luxury of time. Free-agency doesn’t begin until March.

Here’s a peek at what those changes might involve.

Offense

The Chiefs won’t let the results of one playoff game, albeit a miserable one, dictate their choices.

“You never let one game, one play, determine your decision making,” Edwards said. “You look at the whole season, what you’re trying to accomplish, where you fell short, the things you did well, the things you didn’t do well.”

The broader picture shows their most important decision is at quarterback. Trent Green, who will be 37 next summer, didn’t play well enough to automatically enter next season as the starter.

The Chiefs probably will keep either Green or Damon Huard, a potential free agent, but not both. Much could depend on whether Green will accept a cut in his scheduled salary of $7.2 million.

Brodie Croyle, with any kind of offseason showing, will enter training camp as the No. 2 quarterback.

The line could look similar depending on the retirement decisions of guard Will Shields and center Casey Wiegmann and the success in re-signing tackle Jordan Black, another potential free agent. The Chiefs probably will make an effort to re-sign Black if the cost isn’t prohibitive.

The Chiefs would plug the loss of Shields with John Welbourn and the loss of Wiegmann with Chris Bober or Rudy Niswanger.

The loss of Black is a bigger problem. The Chiefs have no other obvious candidate to play left tackle, so they would be forced to fill the hole in free-agency or the draft.

Otherwise, the only issue is right tackle. The Chiefs used four starters last season with little success. The leading candidate would be midseason addition Chris Terry.

The Chiefs would appear to have little choice but to sign a wide receiver or draft one. Eddie Kennison will be 34; Samie Parker and Hall have provided the Chiefs with little.

Look for Jeff Webb, who played little last season as a rookie, to claim a starting spot.

“Webb will be a part of this offense,” Edwards said. “He needs to be. He’s a good football player. We’ve got to get him on the football field.”

The Chiefs also must add a fullback. One possibility could be backup linebacker Boomer Grigsby.

Defense

The Chiefs in the last few years of Dick Vermeil’s time as head coach thought they were one or two good players away from building a solid defense. So they lavished free-agent riches on players such as Bell, Knight and Law.

They soon will pay for this strategy. Bell has by all measures been a lousy signing. Knight and Law might have made sense but don’t run well enough to be productive players in Edwards’ system.

“We’re in a period of transition,” president/general manager Carl Peterson said. “(Edwards) had his first year now with this football team, and a lot of it he inherited. He knows what he wants to do, and he expresses to me and our player personnel people where he wants to go. Now he’s had a full year of evaluation of his players and certainly has his thoughts, and I want those thoughts because he is the captain of the ship.”

The biggest issue for the Chiefs is what to do with Bell. Because his scheduled salary of slightly more than $3 million is guaranteed, Bell would cost the Chiefs more against their salary cap to release than keep.

Middle linebacker Kawika Mitchell is a potential free agent, and the Chiefs appear inclined to try to re-sign him. If they do, Mitchell might move to one of the outside positions. The Chiefs would then look to free-agency or the draft for a middle linebacker.

The Chiefs will again be in the market for a high-quality defensive tackle. Unless one gets released, it appears none will be available in free-agency.

They appear to have little choice but to try again with a high draft pick. They would then try to re-sign at least two of their potential free agents in James Reed, Ron Edwards and Jimmy Wilkerson. Sims is probably finished with the Chiefs.

Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard are the likely starters at safety, making Knight and Wesley expendable. Look for the Chiefs to draft a cornerback and prepare him to take Law’s starting spot.




what a joke, griggsby @ FB? weaka to the outside instead of fox or bell, who costs too much to release.