Hammock Parties
01-14-2008, 08:41 AM
And stupid.
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2008/01/14/gretz_an_international_mailbag/
The Chiefs Nation is a very international bunch. In the last two weeks, I’ve received e-mail from four different continents. Here’s from the folks around the world and what they are asking and saying about the Chiefs.
From Graeme, whose e-mail address indicates he’s from Canada:
“Exactly why should anyone with properly functioning mental faculties “bet on” a GM who has overseen zero playoff wins in a decade and a half to restore a franchise to greatness? He’s done it before? I disagree. We’ve had regular season success, I’ll grant you that. But playoff wins are what the NFL is about, and how a GM with as little playoff success as Carl is granted total immunity is beyond logical comprehension, unless the rumours of the Hunt family’s frugality are true (I’ve read that the Chiefs’ payroll is among the league’s smallest).
The Chiefs’ front office futility is beginning to look like the Lions’. You can blab all you want about the contribution of the young players (contributed us all the way to a 9 game losing streak!) but kcchiefs.com has often repeated that a draft class cannot be properly evaluated for several years. I’m not convinced yet of our young safeties, who seem to miss too many tackles and produce too few big plays. Likewise with Derrick Johnson. Besides him, D-Bowe (maybe) and Hali, who would start on a playoff team? Who would start on New England and Indianapolis? These teams are our competitors. We shouldn’t be satisfied with competing with wild cards and almost-were’s. Call me a pessimist; call me a fair-weather fan. I understand you have to tow the company line. But please don’t insult the fan base. We’re not idiots. We’ve witnessed the 12 losses.
“I have no faith in Carl or Herm ever landing any team in the Super Bowl. Carl can’t evaluate talent, and Herm simply can’t out-coach the league’s top coaches. You’re obviously more patient than I, although I’d contend that a decade is more than patient enough to wait for a playoff win. I don’t plan on living to 300, I’d like to see a playoff win sometime soon.
“The likelihood of you printing this article is probably comparable to the likelihood of a Super Bowl trophy in KC in the next 5 years; you only seem to print letters by buffoons whom you can turn the tables on in an attempt to deflect blame (which looks overly defensive, by the way, and hurts your credibility). So I will at least ask you to halt your poorly disguised, biased defense of unsatisfactory accomplishment and write about something else for once.
“To ask us to watch Herman Edwards football for 16 games and then read Herman Edwards (defensive) articles is too much to ask of the ill-treated fan base.”
Graeme, if indeed you are north of the border I’m afraid the polar winters have turned you into far more than a pessimist. Your glass isn’t half empty; it sounds like it’s never had anything in it. Maybe you should hit the Labatt Blue a bit more often. Cheer up pal; it’s not nearly as bad as you think.
First a correction: you’ve read that the Chiefs payroll is among the league’s smallest? Then you are reading bad information. I’ve not seen the final numbers for this season, but the Chiefs are likely right around the middle of the pack when it comes to what they pay their players. The Hunt’s are frugal? Did you notice at all the big money they paid last year to Tony Gonzalez and Larry Johnson, including big guarantees for both the tight end and running back.
You are correct that a draft class cannot be properly evaluated for several years. So why do you then throw the players who are on the field from those classes under the bus so quickly? Have they made mistakes? Oh my yes. That’s how you get better in this league. Those miscues stick out more often when you are playing with a group of guys all doing the same thing. Plug a rookie or younger player into the Colts or Patriots, teams dominated by veteran players, those mistakes are more likely to get covered up.
A draft class can’t be properly evaluated until the players get on the field; that’s one thing that Herm Edwards is making sure happens. These guys are playing. If he’s making the wrong selections, then the guy who will pay the price is Herm Edwards.
I can’t believe that you’ve been a Chiefs fan very long, or you would not discount so thoroughly what Carl Peterson was able to do with this franchise in the 1990s. They have not gotten the job done in the last decade and for that, he deserves blame.
As for printing your e-mail, that’s no big deal. You are allowed to have your opinions, no matter how wrong-headed and depressing they may be. My advice – whether you take it or leave it – is to go grab a Molson’s and get that glass half-full.
From David, writing to us from Iraq:
“Are there any candidates on a short list for offensive coordinator? How about Art Shell for O-Line coach? Please do an article about what we can expect to look for with our Chiefs during the next 3 months prior to the draft. Scouting, releasing players, signing Free Agents, re-signing Allen, when can we expect the new coaches to be hired, what are the player and coaches schedules like in the off season, etc? And, are any Chiefs coming to Iraq again? I’d like to meet them if they come to the Baghdad area (Camp Slayer).”
First David, thank you for your service and stay safe, so you can roll through this Chiefs off-season. By the time you read this, the Chiefs will be very close to filling their coaching positions, especially offensive coordinator. They’ll want that guy in place by the time of the Senior Bowl week practices, which begin January 21st in Mobile, Alabama. Where it will end up, I’m not sure, but in talking with Herm Edwards, I know he really likes the idea of a coordinator who doesn’t come in with a system, but evaluates what is on hand and creates a Chiefs offense. Edwards wants to implement the Denver blocking style, so whomever he hires will have to come equipped with a background in that scheme. That would lave out Art Shell.
There will be a lot of players released or allowed to move onto free agency here in the next six to seven weeks. Probably 15 to 18 players in all will likely move off the roster. Just check the ages on a Chiefs roster and most of those players will be over the age of 30. Others will be young players who haven’t been able to make their way into the starting lineup or have lost their jobs in the opening formation.
Jared Allen will wear a Chiefs uniform next year, whether with a long-term contract or as the club’s franchise player, earning more than $9 million for the season.
Edwards hasn’t finalized the team’s off-season schedule quite yet, but they’ll stay scattered around the country probably until March 1st and then players will start making their way back to the stadium and the workout facilities there. Complicating matters this year is the construction going on at the team’s practice building. Right now, the team’s weight room is in the process of being moved into the visitor’s locker room inside Arrowhead.
As for Chiefs that may be headed to Iraq, I haven’t heard of any, but stay in touch with kcchiefs.com and you can bet if any players are headed that way, they’ll make a mention.
Again, stay safe.
From Neil, an Englishman living in Ireland:
“I was just reading your ‘Dipping in the Mailbag’ piece and was especially interested in the letter on what it means to be a Chiefs fan. I’m English and live in Ireland but I’ve been supporting the Chiefs since we signed Montana way back when. My flatmate at Uni was a big Redskins fan and when we watched the highlights Montana was about the only player I’d heard of so I thought “what the hell, I’ll support them.”
“I’ve stuck with the Chiefs through the years, I’ve been taking vacations based on the Chiefs schedule for the past 11 years. I’ve even worn my Chiefs jersey to a game at Oakland and taken 3 hours of abuse (which was fun). I genuinely can’t understand the fans who say I’m never going back to Arrowhead because the Chiefs sucked this year. Seriously??? It’s the best place I’ve been to see a game and I’ve traveled all over the place watching the Chiefs. Were we good this year? Hell no! But you don’t just stop supporting your team because of that! Crazy talk.
“This year I was at the game in San Diego (fantastic), then onto KC for the home games with Jax (less said the better) and Cincinnati (good win).
“Anyhow, you said in that piece that we need to draft a T, G and C this year. While I agree with you that the draft is the way forward, is this not just too big a rookie chunk to bite off? 1st round pick almost has to go T but there could be a couple of good FA G available (I’m thinking Faneca or Lilja). Surely starting 3 rookies on the O Line would be a recipe for disaster? A FA patch here, while not ideal, would do a more serviceable job for now. You say we need to see if Croyle is the one next season but how would he do that behind a line including 3 rookies? We also can’t overlook our pressing need for youth at CB too; you can only spend so many picks on the O Line.”
Neil thanks for your e-mail and your thoughts. Your approach to being a Chiefs fan is something a lot of folks here in America could learn from. (WE WANT DUMB FANS)
You are correct about the offensive line; starting three rookies would be problematic. I don’t think you are going to see the Chiefs spend a lot of money on a free agent, which takes a guy like Alan Faneca in Pittsburgh out of the picture. But a guy like Ryan Lilja might come at a much lower cost. Whether Lilja is an upgrade with the team’s new offensive system remains to be seen.
This is nothing more than a guess on my part, so do not hold me to this, but I would expect to see Brian Waters and Damion McIntosh starting next year, with one free agent signed from another team and a draft choice. The fifth spot could be a draft pick or one of the young guys already with the team: Rudy Niswanger, Will Svitek, Herb Taylor or Tre Stallings.
But I think it’s imperative the Chiefs draft a center, guard and tackle this year, along with a pair of cornerbacks. Those would be the first five choices if I were the King of Arrowhead.
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2008/01/14/gretz_an_international_mailbag/
The Chiefs Nation is a very international bunch. In the last two weeks, I’ve received e-mail from four different continents. Here’s from the folks around the world and what they are asking and saying about the Chiefs.
From Graeme, whose e-mail address indicates he’s from Canada:
“Exactly why should anyone with properly functioning mental faculties “bet on” a GM who has overseen zero playoff wins in a decade and a half to restore a franchise to greatness? He’s done it before? I disagree. We’ve had regular season success, I’ll grant you that. But playoff wins are what the NFL is about, and how a GM with as little playoff success as Carl is granted total immunity is beyond logical comprehension, unless the rumours of the Hunt family’s frugality are true (I’ve read that the Chiefs’ payroll is among the league’s smallest).
The Chiefs’ front office futility is beginning to look like the Lions’. You can blab all you want about the contribution of the young players (contributed us all the way to a 9 game losing streak!) but kcchiefs.com has often repeated that a draft class cannot be properly evaluated for several years. I’m not convinced yet of our young safeties, who seem to miss too many tackles and produce too few big plays. Likewise with Derrick Johnson. Besides him, D-Bowe (maybe) and Hali, who would start on a playoff team? Who would start on New England and Indianapolis? These teams are our competitors. We shouldn’t be satisfied with competing with wild cards and almost-were’s. Call me a pessimist; call me a fair-weather fan. I understand you have to tow the company line. But please don’t insult the fan base. We’re not idiots. We’ve witnessed the 12 losses.
“I have no faith in Carl or Herm ever landing any team in the Super Bowl. Carl can’t evaluate talent, and Herm simply can’t out-coach the league’s top coaches. You’re obviously more patient than I, although I’d contend that a decade is more than patient enough to wait for a playoff win. I don’t plan on living to 300, I’d like to see a playoff win sometime soon.
“The likelihood of you printing this article is probably comparable to the likelihood of a Super Bowl trophy in KC in the next 5 years; you only seem to print letters by buffoons whom you can turn the tables on in an attempt to deflect blame (which looks overly defensive, by the way, and hurts your credibility). So I will at least ask you to halt your poorly disguised, biased defense of unsatisfactory accomplishment and write about something else for once.
“To ask us to watch Herman Edwards football for 16 games and then read Herman Edwards (defensive) articles is too much to ask of the ill-treated fan base.”
Graeme, if indeed you are north of the border I’m afraid the polar winters have turned you into far more than a pessimist. Your glass isn’t half empty; it sounds like it’s never had anything in it. Maybe you should hit the Labatt Blue a bit more often. Cheer up pal; it’s not nearly as bad as you think.
First a correction: you’ve read that the Chiefs payroll is among the league’s smallest? Then you are reading bad information. I’ve not seen the final numbers for this season, but the Chiefs are likely right around the middle of the pack when it comes to what they pay their players. The Hunt’s are frugal? Did you notice at all the big money they paid last year to Tony Gonzalez and Larry Johnson, including big guarantees for both the tight end and running back.
You are correct that a draft class cannot be properly evaluated for several years. So why do you then throw the players who are on the field from those classes under the bus so quickly? Have they made mistakes? Oh my yes. That’s how you get better in this league. Those miscues stick out more often when you are playing with a group of guys all doing the same thing. Plug a rookie or younger player into the Colts or Patriots, teams dominated by veteran players, those mistakes are more likely to get covered up.
A draft class can’t be properly evaluated until the players get on the field; that’s one thing that Herm Edwards is making sure happens. These guys are playing. If he’s making the wrong selections, then the guy who will pay the price is Herm Edwards.
I can’t believe that you’ve been a Chiefs fan very long, or you would not discount so thoroughly what Carl Peterson was able to do with this franchise in the 1990s. They have not gotten the job done in the last decade and for that, he deserves blame.
As for printing your e-mail, that’s no big deal. You are allowed to have your opinions, no matter how wrong-headed and depressing they may be. My advice – whether you take it or leave it – is to go grab a Molson’s and get that glass half-full.
From David, writing to us from Iraq:
“Are there any candidates on a short list for offensive coordinator? How about Art Shell for O-Line coach? Please do an article about what we can expect to look for with our Chiefs during the next 3 months prior to the draft. Scouting, releasing players, signing Free Agents, re-signing Allen, when can we expect the new coaches to be hired, what are the player and coaches schedules like in the off season, etc? And, are any Chiefs coming to Iraq again? I’d like to meet them if they come to the Baghdad area (Camp Slayer).”
First David, thank you for your service and stay safe, so you can roll through this Chiefs off-season. By the time you read this, the Chiefs will be very close to filling their coaching positions, especially offensive coordinator. They’ll want that guy in place by the time of the Senior Bowl week practices, which begin January 21st in Mobile, Alabama. Where it will end up, I’m not sure, but in talking with Herm Edwards, I know he really likes the idea of a coordinator who doesn’t come in with a system, but evaluates what is on hand and creates a Chiefs offense. Edwards wants to implement the Denver blocking style, so whomever he hires will have to come equipped with a background in that scheme. That would lave out Art Shell.
There will be a lot of players released or allowed to move onto free agency here in the next six to seven weeks. Probably 15 to 18 players in all will likely move off the roster. Just check the ages on a Chiefs roster and most of those players will be over the age of 30. Others will be young players who haven’t been able to make their way into the starting lineup or have lost their jobs in the opening formation.
Jared Allen will wear a Chiefs uniform next year, whether with a long-term contract or as the club’s franchise player, earning more than $9 million for the season.
Edwards hasn’t finalized the team’s off-season schedule quite yet, but they’ll stay scattered around the country probably until March 1st and then players will start making their way back to the stadium and the workout facilities there. Complicating matters this year is the construction going on at the team’s practice building. Right now, the team’s weight room is in the process of being moved into the visitor’s locker room inside Arrowhead.
As for Chiefs that may be headed to Iraq, I haven’t heard of any, but stay in touch with kcchiefs.com and you can bet if any players are headed that way, they’ll make a mention.
Again, stay safe.
From Neil, an Englishman living in Ireland:
“I was just reading your ‘Dipping in the Mailbag’ piece and was especially interested in the letter on what it means to be a Chiefs fan. I’m English and live in Ireland but I’ve been supporting the Chiefs since we signed Montana way back when. My flatmate at Uni was a big Redskins fan and when we watched the highlights Montana was about the only player I’d heard of so I thought “what the hell, I’ll support them.”
“I’ve stuck with the Chiefs through the years, I’ve been taking vacations based on the Chiefs schedule for the past 11 years. I’ve even worn my Chiefs jersey to a game at Oakland and taken 3 hours of abuse (which was fun). I genuinely can’t understand the fans who say I’m never going back to Arrowhead because the Chiefs sucked this year. Seriously??? It’s the best place I’ve been to see a game and I’ve traveled all over the place watching the Chiefs. Were we good this year? Hell no! But you don’t just stop supporting your team because of that! Crazy talk.
“This year I was at the game in San Diego (fantastic), then onto KC for the home games with Jax (less said the better) and Cincinnati (good win).
“Anyhow, you said in that piece that we need to draft a T, G and C this year. While I agree with you that the draft is the way forward, is this not just too big a rookie chunk to bite off? 1st round pick almost has to go T but there could be a couple of good FA G available (I’m thinking Faneca or Lilja). Surely starting 3 rookies on the O Line would be a recipe for disaster? A FA patch here, while not ideal, would do a more serviceable job for now. You say we need to see if Croyle is the one next season but how would he do that behind a line including 3 rookies? We also can’t overlook our pressing need for youth at CB too; you can only spend so many picks on the O Line.”
Neil thanks for your e-mail and your thoughts. Your approach to being a Chiefs fan is something a lot of folks here in America could learn from. (WE WANT DUMB FANS)
You are correct about the offensive line; starting three rookies would be problematic. I don’t think you are going to see the Chiefs spend a lot of money on a free agent, which takes a guy like Alan Faneca in Pittsburgh out of the picture. But a guy like Ryan Lilja might come at a much lower cost. Whether Lilja is an upgrade with the team’s new offensive system remains to be seen.
This is nothing more than a guess on my part, so do not hold me to this, but I would expect to see Brian Waters and Damion McIntosh starting next year, with one free agent signed from another team and a draft choice. The fifth spot could be a draft pick or one of the young guys already with the team: Rudy Niswanger, Will Svitek, Herb Taylor or Tre Stallings.
But I think it’s imperative the Chiefs draft a center, guard and tackle this year, along with a pair of cornerbacks. Those would be the first five choices if I were the King of Arrowhead.