Teicher: Free agency kicks off, Chiefs look to be aggressive [Archive]

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tk13

03-02-2005, 02:06 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/11025694.htm

Free agency kicks off
Former Titan Rolle is scheduled to visit today

By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

Former Tennessee Titans cornerback Samari Rolle was scheduled to be the Chiefs' first invited guest today when the NFL's annual free-agent bazaar officially opens for business.

But Rolle won't be the Chiefs' last free-agent visitor. They have compiled an ambitious wish list hoping to repair a porous defense that last season deprived them of a chance to defend their 2003 AFC West championship.

No other visits were set as of Tuesday, but the Chiefs were hoping to schedule meetings with a group of players that includes cornerbacks Fred Smoot of Washington and Ken Lucas of Seattle, and linebackers Kendrell Bell of Pittsburgh, Ed Hartwell of Baltimore, Jeremiah Trotter of Philadelphia and Ian Gold of Tampa Bay.

The Chiefs also have talked with the Dolphins about a trade for cornerback Patrick Surtain. All of the players other than Surtain, Rolle and Gold were scheduled to be free agents if not re-signed by their current teams by the late Tuesday deadline.

Rolle was released by the Titans last month. Gold was released by the Buccaneers on Tuesday.

The Chiefs may not get around to all of the players on their list — and they are certain to visit with others. But the heavy accent on cornerbacks and linebackers shows where their free-agent emphasis will be.

“We're planning on being aggressive,” coach Dick Vermeil said. “We're not going to be ridiculous about it. But we'll be aggressive.

“We would like to be able to come up with a cornerback, a linebacker and a safety who can add competition and upgrade those positions, force the players we have to get better and improve the performance on game day. There are a lot of guys out there, but you can't afford them all. There are no guarantees we'll get any of them.”

The Chiefs have obvious holes at cornerback and linebacker. At corner, they were pleased last season with the play of only Eric Warfield. William Bartee, Dexter McCleon and Julian Battle struggled, leaving the Chiefs shorthanded.

Any of the cornerbacks on their list would provide an upgrade.

The Chiefs also suffered at linebacker. In the middle, Mike Maslowski missed all season because of a knee injury, and Kawika Mitchell, a former No. 2 draft pick, failed to develop as hoped.

On the outside, Shawn Barber missed the last half of last season because of a knee injury. He will probably start the season on the injured list because of surgery.

So, the Chiefs could use a pair of linebackers. Bell, a top pass rusher, is an intriguing prospect, but he missed most of last season because of a sports hernia. He could play in the middle or outside.

Trotter and Hartwell are middle linebackers, while Gold is best on the weak side.

Neither of the Chiefs' starting safeties, Greg Wesley and Jerome Woods, played well last season. The job of one or the other may be vulnerable, even though each signed a new, long-term contract last year.

“They both had injury problems through the year,” Vermeil said. “Hopefully that's the reason they didn't play well. We're not going to take that chance. We've got to try to upgrade the performance at that position either with someone we don't have right now or somebody on our roster. But the positions have to be played better.”

Halfback Derrick Blaylock, linebackers Monty Beisel, Quinton Caver and Fred Jones, and deep snapper Kendall Gammon are the Chiefs' unrestricted free agents.

The Chiefs have three restricted free agents in linebacker Scott Fujita, wide receiver Marc Boerigter and safety Shaunard Harts after each player was offered a one-year contract for $656,000.

They did not plan to offer a contract to fullback Omar Easy, making him a free agent.

HolmeZz

03-02-2005, 02:11 AM

"There are no guarantees we'll get any of them."

Yeah, I really don't want to hear that shit.

Digital Takawira

03-02-2005, 02:15 AM

teicher=captain obvious

so if i went to espn, kffl, and kcchiefs.com and turned all their chiefs news for the week into an article, i could write for the star too?

alanm

03-02-2005, 02:22 AM

teicher=captain obvious

so if i went to espn, kffl, and kcchiefs.com and turned all their chiefs news for the week into an article, i could write for the star too?
Who was the black dude who covered the Chiefs who left for the east coast? Man I miss him. :(

Phobia

03-02-2005, 02:24 AM

Who was the black dude who covered the Chiefs who left for the east coast? Man I miss him. :(

I don't know. I think we should call him "that black dude". He is the one who abandoned us, ya know?

Or we could call him Ivan.

Pants

03-02-2005, 02:26 AM

Who was the black dude who covered the Chiefs who left for the east coast? Man I miss him. :(

Black dude - Whitlock hasn't left, unfortunatelly. Ivan Carter did - [edit: not] white dude.

EDIT: Of course, Phobia had to edit his post while I was writing mine. :rolleyes:

The Bad Guy

03-02-2005, 02:33 AM

Carter is a black dude as well.

Philly.com says the Eagles and Trotter aren't even talking and that 2 sources confirmed that the Chiefs are going after him.

tk13

03-02-2005, 02:34 AM

I'm not sure if given the choice of combinations, would I want 2 CB's/1 S, 2 LB's/1 CB, 1 LB/1 CB/1 S... or whatever else we could come up with. I'm all for getting a safety. Maybe not the highest priced guy out there but if we can add a solid player go for it. Problem is we need so much help at CB and LB we probably have to get that done first and hope Woods and Wesley hold together....

Pants

03-02-2005, 02:35 AM

Oh, I thought, Ivan was the dude with the glasses, balding and all. Dammit.

HolmeZz

03-02-2005, 02:36 AM

I'd give my left nut for Trotter.

Digital Takawira

03-02-2005, 03:04 AM

I'd give my left nut for Trotter.

i think he'd rather have money for a signing bonus.

Digital Takawira

03-02-2005, 03:06 AM

Black dude - Whitlock hasn't left, unfortunatelly. Ivan Carter did

ivan carter > all other kc sports writers. how in the hell does the star let him go but keep around guys like teicher and whitlock?

HolmeZz

03-02-2005, 03:07 AM

i think he'd rather have money for a signing bonus.

I just thought he'd like to know he has options.

Digital Takawira

03-02-2005, 03:10 AM

hey, whatever gets him to sign here........

alanm

03-02-2005, 03:17 AM

I don't know. I think we should call him "that black dude". He is the one who abandoned us, ya know?

Or we could call him Ivan.
That's the guy. Ivan Carter. And you're right. It's a shame he up and left. The Star should have given him a decent raise to stay. I sometimes think Teicher just reads the newswires and just bangs out stories that everyone already knows about anyway.

alanm

03-02-2005, 03:20 AM

Oh, I thought, Ivan was the dude with the glasses, balding and all. Dammit.
That's Posnanski.

booger

03-02-2005, 03:21 AM

Philly.com says the Eagles and Trotter aren't even talking and that 2 sources confirmed that the Chiefs are going after him.

Yep, saw that too. The steelers resigned RFA Larry Foote(who played Bell's spot while injured) to a Five year deal and probably won't attempt to resign kendrell. I saw somewhere that the Giants want him as well.

The spot John Clayton had on sportscenter also mentioned Hartwell as a guy who is going to go out and make alot of money. Said he could land one of the best deals of all players this year in free agency.

booger

03-02-2005, 03:25 AM

"There are no guarantees we'll get any of them."

Yeah, I really don't want to hear that shit.
I could of gone without that too. That's just how that old fart is I guess.

Atleast he didn't have a problem bitching about safety play and the "we aren't going to take that chance" line was good to here on the subject.

alanm

03-02-2005, 03:25 AM

Yep, saw that too. The steelers resigned RFA Larry Foote(who played Bell's spot while injured) to a Five year deal and probably won't attempt to resign kendrell. I saw somewhere that the Giants want him as well.

The spot John Clayton had on sportscenter also mentioned Hartwell as a guy who is going to go out and make alot of money. Said he could land one of the best deals of all players this year in free agency.
I just saw where Dexter Coakley is looking for a job. Someone's going to snap him up in a jiffy.

booger

03-02-2005, 03:30 AM

I just saw where Dexter Coakley is looking for a job. Someone's going to snap him up in a jiffy.
He might not get a ton of money though. He is on the wrong side of 30, tuning 33 next season. Definatly a guy to keep an eye on though considering the $$$ it looks like we could spend on our top priority's.

Anthony Simmons of Seattle is another guy to watch for at OLB. Only 29 and might get released in the next week or so because of a roster bonus. He has been injured though.

alanm

03-02-2005, 03:43 AM

He might not get a ton of money though. He is on the wrong side of 30, tuning 33 next season. Definatly a guy to keep an eye on though considering the $$$ it looks like we could spend on our top priority's.

Anthony Simmons of Seattle is another guy to watch for at OLB. Only 29 and might get released in the next week or so because of a roster bonus. He has been injured though.
Well, If we spend a ton of money on CB's. Coakley would be a decent pickup on the cheap. Even at 33 he's still better than anything we have. Marvcus Patton even now retired a couple of years is better than what we have now. Someone should be on the phone to him to see what he's up too. :)

booger

03-02-2005, 03:59 AM

Well, If we spend a ton of money on CB's. Coakley would be a decent pickup on the cheap. Even at 33 he's still better than anything we have. Marvcus Patton even now retired a couple of years is better than what we have now. Someone should be on the phone to him to see what he's up too. :)
:thumb: Agreed.

Our LB situtation is a mess and he would definatly upgrade, would also be a good teacher for Key Fox and any other young guys we draft.

I would totally crap in my drawers if we could get One of the top 4 MLB's (Hartwell, Pierce, Trotter, Bell) Surtain, Lucas, Rolle, Smoot, one of them, and Ian Gold.

Being realistic sucks though and I would be happy with a top CB and MLB which it looks like they are targeting.

OLB options could get interesting.

beer bacon

03-02-2005, 04:03 AM

:thumb: Agreed.

Our LB situtation is a mess and he would definatly upgrade, would also be a good teacher for Key Fox and any other young guys we draft.

I would totally crap in my drawers if we could get One of the top 4 MLB's (Hartwell, Pierce, Trotter, Bell) Surtain, Lucas, Rolle, Smoot, one of them, and Ian Gold.

Being realistic sucks though and I would be happy with a top CB and MLB which it looks like they are targeting.

OLB options could get interesting.

Hartwell, Rolle, and Gold would indeed be fantastic. If we picked up Carlos Rogers and another member of the back seven in the second round we might be contenders to win the offseason.

If we did somehow manage that I think I would die waiting for the season to start.

booger

03-02-2005, 04:12 AM

Hartwell, Rolle, and Gold would indeed be fantastic. If we picked up Carlos Rogers and another member of the back seven in the second round we might be contenders to win the offseason.

If we did somehow manage that I think I would die waiting for the season to start.
:thumb:

The really good thing is they HAVE to spend money on guys like this or they wouldn't even visit. Agents would not send a player here if they were not in the same ballpark.

It looks like we are being smart and serious and that is great. Now us fans have to sit back and be patient. :)

teedubya

03-02-2005, 04:54 AM

I cant wait until next years One and Done. :banghead:

the Talking Can

03-02-2005, 07:39 AM

I'm surprised DV said they were going after a safety, I figured they would stand pat there...I haven't heard of safties other than Bashir(?) from the Colts, and he ain't great.

milkman

03-02-2005, 08:10 AM

:thumb: Agreed.

Our LB situtation is a mess and he would definatly upgrade, would also be a good teacher for Key Fox and any other young guys we draft.

I would totally crap in my drawers if we could get One of the top 4 MLB's (Hartwell, Pierce, Trotter, Bell) Surtain, Lucas, Rolle, Smoot, one of them, and Ian Gold.

Being realistic sucks though and I would be happy with a top CB and MLB which it looks like they are targeting.

OLB options could get interesting.

I think we will get one of those top 4 MLBs, and we'll land one of the top 4 CBs on the market.
Then I think Carl will go after one of the 2nd tier CBs.

I still believe 2nd tier corners and outstanding front seven is the best formula for defensive success, but I could live with the moves I expect from the Chiefs, as long as they add another LB and a DE in the draft.

dirk digler

03-02-2005, 08:25 AM

Unlike last year I actually have hope that CP and DV are going to try to improve this horrible D by adding very good talent. I would like to sign Hartwell and Rolle and if they could get a trade for Surtain that would be the best offseason the Chiefs have ever had IMO.

I am really excited to see what happens in the next few days.

dirk digler

03-02-2005, 08:26 AM

I'm surprised DV said they were going after a safety, I figured they would stand pat there...I haven't heard of safties other than Bashir(?) from the Colts, and he ain't great.

Reggie Tongue?

milkman

03-02-2005, 08:30 AM

If they sign Hartwell and Rolle, why make a trade for Surtain, when there are other corners that will cost as much to sign, and that won't cost a draft pick?

Why not go after a Smoot, Lucas or Baxter instead, and use that 2nd round pick on another player?

If they did sign Rolle and Hartwell, I don't believe there'd be enough money left under the cap to get any of those guys anyway.

It would have to be a 2nd tier guy.

dirk digler

03-02-2005, 08:35 AM

milkman

03-02-2005, 08:37 AM

Good point but from what I have heard Smoot and Baxter are looking for 10 million plus signing bonuses as well. I don't know what Lucas is looking for.

Isn't Surtain looking for a 12-14 mil signing bonus in a renegotiated contract with a new team?

milkman

03-02-2005, 08:38 AM

Anyone hear what Dyson is after in bonus money?

Saulbadguy

03-02-2005, 08:40 AM

I'm surprised DV said they were going after a safety, I figured they would stand pat there...I haven't heard of safties other than Bashir(?) from the Colts, and he ain't great.
Because we are going to sign Rolle or Surtain, and convert them to Safety.

dirk digler

03-02-2005, 08:57 AM

Isn't Surtain looking for a 12-14 mil signing bonus in a renegotiated contract with a new team?

I think it is somewhere in that area. Whoever we try to sign as a CB in FA we will have to pay big bucks to.

whoman69

03-02-2005, 09:39 AM

Why give up the picks if we don't have to? Surtain is not head and shoulders above anyone who is not costing us picks, so why do it? The final price is going to be the same.

Coach

03-03-2005, 09:17 PM

Wow, can't believe I missed this thread.

There are a lot of guys out there, but you can't afford them all. There are no guarantees we'll get any of them.”

The hell you aren't guaranteed. You just want your own f**king stinking players to keep their f**king stinking positions, and you still want your f**king stinking coaches, especially that DB coach Guinta (WTF) his name is, even though he's just a waste of time and effort. Leave the f**king decision making on the defensive assistant coaches to Gunther, and let him choose whoever the f**k he wants in order to have this damn thing work.

If you and Carl Peterson don't get either Hartwell and/or Rolle, there will be plenty of pissed-off Chiefs fans, not only on this board, but around the globe, and you'll be really suprised how almighty f**king pissed off we will be, especially the way ya'll f**ked up last year's FA plan. Break the f**king bank if you have to anyways. After the 05 season, most likely Priest Holmes, Shields, Roaf, and some other guys will be retired, and we'll be right back to square one. I'm f**king tired of seeing Mighty Mouse Dexter McCleon acting like a homeboy b**ch whenever he does something good, by flexing his f**king arms or doing the incomplete signal, only to see his a** get burnt repeatedly. Injury or no injury, he doesn't cut it.

Ugh, I'm sorry about the rage, but Coach Vermeil has no credibility to me, none. I'll be so happy once his ass is run out of town.

splatbass

03-03-2005, 09:37 PM

Wow, can't believe I missed this thread.

The hell you aren't guaranteed. You just want your own f**king stinking players to keep their f**king stinking positions, and you still want your f**king stinking coaches, especially that DB coach Guinta (WTF) his name is, even though he's just a waste of time and effort. Leave the f**king decision making on the defensive assistant coaches to Gunther, and let him choose whoever the f**k he wants in order to have this damn thing work.

If you and Carl Peterson don't get either Hartwell and/or Rolle, there will be plenty of pissed-off Chiefs fans, not only on this board, but around the globe, and you'll be really suprised how almighty f**king pissed off we will be, especially the way ya'll f**ked up last year's FA plan. Break the f**king bank if you have to anyways. After the 05 season, most likely Priest Holmes, Shields, Roaf, and some other guys will be retired, and we'll be right back to square one. I'm f**king tired of seeing Mighty Mouse Dexter McCleon acting like a homeboy b**ch whenever he does something good, by flexing his f**king arms or doing the incomplete signal, only to see his a** get burnt repeatedly. Injury or no injury, he doesn't cut it.

Ugh, I'm sorry about the rage, but Coach Vermeil has no credibility to me, none. I'll be so happy once his ass is run out of town.

Why don't you tell us how you feel? :)

htismaqe

03-03-2005, 09:39 PM

BigRedChief

03-03-2005, 11:15 PM

Why give up the picks if we don't have to? Surtain is not head and shoulders above anyone who is not costing us picks, so why do it? The final price is going to be the same.

Would you like to name a second round pick of the Chiefs that has helped the team since Grunhard?.......Waiting.......As I thought, Why does it matter?

Hammock Parties

03-03-2005, 11:16 PM

BigRed, your sig is too tall man.

InChiefsHeaven

03-03-2005, 11:21 PM

"They did not plan to offer a contract to fullback Omar Easy, making him a free agent."

Aw shit! Now who the hell am I going to adopt?? Say it ain't so!!

TEX

03-04-2005, 06:07 PM

"Free Agency Kicks Off, Chiefs look to be aggressive" - ROFL