Mr. Laz
10-12-2006, 03:06 PM
FEW TEARS SHED FOR DALTON
www.profootballtalk.com
The slurp job that ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli performed on former Chiefs defensive tackle Lional Dalton has prompted several of our readers to question whether Dalton is represented by Len's bestest buddy, Joel Segal. (Actually, Dalton is represented by Rick Smith, who isn't generally regarded as a member of the Pasquarelli pack.)
But despite Len's explanation that Dalton didn't fit into the Herm Edwards "one-gap" defensive scheme and the suggestion that Dalton will be a "hot property" on the market, the chatter we're hearing out of Kansas City is that some teammates regarded Dalton as a royal pain in the butt.
Moreover, coach Herm Edwards said in August that new players wouldn't be necessary as the team moves from a two-gap to a one-gap system. And we're not so sure that Dalton isn't a fit for a one-gap system, since the team actually used a one-gap system in 2004, the season in which Dalton first joined the team.
For those of you out there who glaze over when the terms "one-gap" or "two-gap" are used, it has nothing to do with Michael Strahan's teeth. Instead, it refers to the number of gaps in the offensive line for which the linemen are responsible. For example, a nose tackle in a two-gap system lines up hat-to-hat with the center, and is responsible for the space between the center and the left guard, and the center and the right guard. In a one-gap system, the defenders have only one opening in the line for which they are responsible, and the linemen usually put their bodies in that space prior to the snap.
With that said, we're not saying that Dalton won't find a home. But given that he was playing for the ninth-year minimum salary ($710,000), it's a safe bet that the Chiefs tried to trade him before cutting him loose. And if there were multiple teams interested in the guy, we have a feeling that someone would have offered up, say, a seventh-round draft pick in order to get dibs on him.
www.profootballtalk.com
The slurp job that ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli performed on former Chiefs defensive tackle Lional Dalton has prompted several of our readers to question whether Dalton is represented by Len's bestest buddy, Joel Segal. (Actually, Dalton is represented by Rick Smith, who isn't generally regarded as a member of the Pasquarelli pack.)
But despite Len's explanation that Dalton didn't fit into the Herm Edwards "one-gap" defensive scheme and the suggestion that Dalton will be a "hot property" on the market, the chatter we're hearing out of Kansas City is that some teammates regarded Dalton as a royal pain in the butt.
Moreover, coach Herm Edwards said in August that new players wouldn't be necessary as the team moves from a two-gap to a one-gap system. And we're not so sure that Dalton isn't a fit for a one-gap system, since the team actually used a one-gap system in 2004, the season in which Dalton first joined the team.
For those of you out there who glaze over when the terms "one-gap" or "two-gap" are used, it has nothing to do with Michael Strahan's teeth. Instead, it refers to the number of gaps in the offensive line for which the linemen are responsible. For example, a nose tackle in a two-gap system lines up hat-to-hat with the center, and is responsible for the space between the center and the left guard, and the center and the right guard. In a one-gap system, the defenders have only one opening in the line for which they are responsible, and the linemen usually put their bodies in that space prior to the snap.
With that said, we're not saying that Dalton won't find a home. But given that he was playing for the ninth-year minimum salary ($710,000), it's a safe bet that the Chiefs tried to trade him before cutting him loose. And if there were multiple teams interested in the guy, we have a feeling that someone would have offered up, say, a seventh-round draft pick in order to get dibs on him.