Mr. Laz
09-21-2008, 10:08 AM
Rebuilding must begin with a quarterback
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David Maxwell
Quarterback Brady Quinn could have
been drafted by the Chiefs if general
manager Carl Peterson had shown a
little vision.
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<!-- END /pubsys/production/story/story_assets.comp --> Here’s my problem with Chiefs Home Makeover 2008: It’s pretty much pointless. Well, maybe not pointless; some good may come from it. The Chiefs are starting a bunch of rookies and young guys. Those rookies and young guys figure to get better as the year goes along. It’s fair to expect that these Chiefs will play with a lot of energy, and they should make some strides, and they undoubtedly will have at least a few good moments that will make the future look a bit more promising.
But here it is week three, and already everyone can see the fundamental flaw in the plan: The Chiefs do not have a quarterback. And it’s now blatantly obvious they will not have a quarterback when the season ends, either.
That’s really more than a flaw. Rebuilding a football team without a quarterback is like rebuilding the Jackson Five without Michael: You could do it, but what would be the point? The Chiefs are starting Tyler Thigpen today even though there is no reason to believe he’s an NFL starting quarterback. They wait for the return of Brodie Croyle even though there is no reason to believe that his body can take the pounding. And of course, Damon Huard, like duct tape, can hold things together in an emergency, you know, when he’s not having one of those pesky sore neck concussions.
Anyone can see there’s no future with any of these choices. So this year, the Chiefs are on a treadmill. It doesn’t matter how hard they run, they won’t get anywhere. When the season ends, the Chiefs (and all of us) will have to go through the pain all over again, this time rebuilding around a yet-to-be-determined young quarterback.
Here’s the hard part to accept: The Chiefs really have no one but themselves to blame. The story could have been different. One year ago, the Chiefs leaders saw a young quarterback they loved. In fact, love might not be a strong enough word. Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson said he had never been as impressed after interviewing a young quarterback. Several others in the organization quietly said that this kid had everything you could ever want — arm, composure, athleticism, intelligence. He was a star in the making. They all seemed to agree.
But the Chiefs did not draft Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn.
And now, you have to believe, they wish that they had found a way to do that.
•••
Yes, it may seem like the Chiefs still don’t quite get the whole “rebuilding” process. That’s because: They don’t get it. The truth is that for a long time, the Chiefs officially did not want to even use the word “rebuilding.” No. They were retooling, transitioning, revamping. They were getting younger, they were looking to the future, they were hoping for a fresh start.
Those weren’t just word choices. The Chiefs for a decade now have put Band-Aids on wounds and backup quarterbacks behind center. Now, to be fair, there was a time when they were pretty good at finding Band-Aids. They went 13-3 one year with St. Louis’ backup quarterback, St. Louis’ backup cornerback, Baltimore’s rejected running back, New Orleans’ spurned left tackle and a deep-threat wide receiver who had been let go by four teams.
So, for a long time, they worked hard to put off rebuilding. You can tell by looking at the moves they have made since 2006. Look, the Chiefs:
1. Gave a big contract to 32-year-old cornerback Ty Law.
2. Gave 30-year-old tight end Tony Gonzalez a five-year extension.
3. Renegotiated Larry Johnson’s contract to make him the highest-paid runner per year in the NFL — this after he set an NFL record for most carries in a single season.
4. Signed 34-year-old linebacker Donnie Edwards.
5. Signed 31-year-old defensive end Alfonso Boone.
6. Signed 30-year-old offensive tackle Damion McIntosh, signed one-time Pro Bowl kick returner Eddie Drummond, brought back once-retired, once-suspended guard John Welbourn, traded for veteran running back Michael Bennett, played footsie with Trent Green when it was clear he was finished, brought in 207-year-old kicker John Carney …
And so on. I’m not judging the specific moves here — I’m glad that the Chiefs have Tony Gonzalez and Donnie Edwards, a couple of pros — just pointing out the trend: These are not things rebuilding teams do. These are moves teams make when they believe they are only a couple of players away from being contenders.
And too many of the Chiefs brass believed that. They refused to see the truth — the team was collapsing. The Chiefs treated the rebuilding call the way many of us treat that odd sound we hear coming out of our cars. We ignore it, then we turn up the radio … and we shift our thinking only when the car has conked out in a mall parking lot. It’s pretty simple: The Chiefs were for the bridge to nowhere before they were against it. It took nine consecutive losses last season to convince them finally to go into full rebuilding mode.
When the Chiefs went into Draft Day 2007, they had not yet been convinced of the impending doom. The receiving corps was poor. The defensive line needed lots of help. The special teams was a mess. The offensive line was collapsing. And more. There were leaks springing everywhere. Trouble is, the Chiefs still felt like they could plug enough holes to compete.
Enter Brady Quinn. I spoke with Carl Peterson the day before the draft, and I can honestly say that in a dozen years I have never heard him speak so highly about a college player. He went on and on about Quinn’s skills, his football IQ, his presence. I was just looking over my notes from that day, and I see that Peterson actually compared Quinn to Joe Montana. He was not saying that Quinn could be as good as Joe Montana, of course. But he said that he saw many of the same qualities.
At the time, the Chiefs had a messy quarterback situation. They had not yet traded Trent Green, they still had Damon Huard, and they seemed to like their own young quarterback Brodie Croyle. But here’s what Peterson said when I asked if he would take Brady Quinn should the guy slide to the 23rd pick in the draft:
“That won’t happen. He will go early. But I’ll tell you this: I love Brady Quinn. If he is somehow available with the 23rd pick, he will be a Kansas City Chief. I don’t care how many quarterbacks we have.”
There’s nothing ambiguous about that. Peterson loved Quinn. He obviously was confident that Quinn would not slip through or he would not have tipped his hand. But Quinn slid through the top five picks, then the top 10. He made it past pick 15, and pick 18, and pick 20, and suddenly it became apparent that the Chiefs might actually have a shot at drafting Quinn.
And this is where Carl Peterson, coach Herm Edwards, all of those Chiefs rebuilding gurus blinked. Look, I don’t know if Brady Quinn will be a good NFL quarterback; nobody does yet. The guy is a backup in Cleveland. But that’s not the point. The point is that Peterson and others believed in him. They saw greatness in him. And when Quinn dropped to the 22nd pick, one pick before Chiefs, here was the quarterback they believed in, well, they just sat on their hands and watched Cleveland trade up and over them and grab Quinn.
Why? If the Chiefs loved Quinn as much as they said, how could they let him get so close and then lose him? How could they not trade up themselves? Here’s why: The Chiefs were not ready to rebuild then. You take a young quarterback, and you’re admitting that you are taking a step back. You know that you will probably struggle for a while. You will have to put up with mistakes and lost confidence and bad interceptions and probably some boos and all those other Eli Manning things. The Chiefs were just not eager to go there.
Instead, they waited, and they took receiver Dwayne Bowe. They thought he might bring some immediate help. And he was the best rookie receiver last year. This is no knock on Bowe. He’s done some exciting things — how about that catch he made last week against Oakland? — and he certainly could become a star. But really, one of the sure signs that you’re a going-nowhere team is when you have talented wide receivers and no quarterback who can get them the ball (see: Arizona, Detroit, Tampa Bay, etc.).
Anyway, you don’t build a championship football team around Dwayne Bowe. With few exceptions, the way to win a Super Bowl is to build a well-rounded team around a quarterback with star power. The trouble is, the Chiefs weren’t thinking Super Bowl. They were thinking about squeezing one more playoff appearance out of a team that was out of gas.
Now the Chiefs must spend the rest of 2008 spinning their wheels, looking for small signs of improvement and hoping that a promising college quarterback emerges for the 2009 draft. Or maybe they can trade for Brady Quinn. Then, the real rebuilding process might begin.
<hr class="infobox-hr-separator"> @ Go to KansasCity.com for updates from the game, Chiefs video and the Red Zone blog.
< Previous page (http://www.kansascity.com/180/story/806616-p2.html)
To reach Joe Posnanski, call 816-234-4361 or send e-mail to jposnanski@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com
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David Maxwell
Quarterback Brady Quinn could have
been drafted by the Chiefs if general
manager Carl Peterson had shown a
little vision.
<script text="text/javascript" language="Javascript">ar storyImage = $("#storyAssets .image img").width(); if (storyImage > 0){$("#storyAssets").width(storyImage);} </script> <!-- End: /pubsys/production/story/assets/image_embedded.comp --> <!-- /mi/pubsys/story/asset_list, include_asset_type=>"factbox" -->
<!-- END /pubsys/production/story/story_assets.comp --> Here’s my problem with Chiefs Home Makeover 2008: It’s pretty much pointless. Well, maybe not pointless; some good may come from it. The Chiefs are starting a bunch of rookies and young guys. Those rookies and young guys figure to get better as the year goes along. It’s fair to expect that these Chiefs will play with a lot of energy, and they should make some strides, and they undoubtedly will have at least a few good moments that will make the future look a bit more promising.
But here it is week three, and already everyone can see the fundamental flaw in the plan: The Chiefs do not have a quarterback. And it’s now blatantly obvious they will not have a quarterback when the season ends, either.
That’s really more than a flaw. Rebuilding a football team without a quarterback is like rebuilding the Jackson Five without Michael: You could do it, but what would be the point? The Chiefs are starting Tyler Thigpen today even though there is no reason to believe he’s an NFL starting quarterback. They wait for the return of Brodie Croyle even though there is no reason to believe that his body can take the pounding. And of course, Damon Huard, like duct tape, can hold things together in an emergency, you know, when he’s not having one of those pesky sore neck concussions.
Anyone can see there’s no future with any of these choices. So this year, the Chiefs are on a treadmill. It doesn’t matter how hard they run, they won’t get anywhere. When the season ends, the Chiefs (and all of us) will have to go through the pain all over again, this time rebuilding around a yet-to-be-determined young quarterback.
Here’s the hard part to accept: The Chiefs really have no one but themselves to blame. The story could have been different. One year ago, the Chiefs leaders saw a young quarterback they loved. In fact, love might not be a strong enough word. Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson said he had never been as impressed after interviewing a young quarterback. Several others in the organization quietly said that this kid had everything you could ever want — arm, composure, athleticism, intelligence. He was a star in the making. They all seemed to agree.
But the Chiefs did not draft Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn.
And now, you have to believe, they wish that they had found a way to do that.
•••
Yes, it may seem like the Chiefs still don’t quite get the whole “rebuilding” process. That’s because: They don’t get it. The truth is that for a long time, the Chiefs officially did not want to even use the word “rebuilding.” No. They were retooling, transitioning, revamping. They were getting younger, they were looking to the future, they were hoping for a fresh start.
Those weren’t just word choices. The Chiefs for a decade now have put Band-Aids on wounds and backup quarterbacks behind center. Now, to be fair, there was a time when they were pretty good at finding Band-Aids. They went 13-3 one year with St. Louis’ backup quarterback, St. Louis’ backup cornerback, Baltimore’s rejected running back, New Orleans’ spurned left tackle and a deep-threat wide receiver who had been let go by four teams.
So, for a long time, they worked hard to put off rebuilding. You can tell by looking at the moves they have made since 2006. Look, the Chiefs:
1. Gave a big contract to 32-year-old cornerback Ty Law.
2. Gave 30-year-old tight end Tony Gonzalez a five-year extension.
3. Renegotiated Larry Johnson’s contract to make him the highest-paid runner per year in the NFL — this after he set an NFL record for most carries in a single season.
4. Signed 34-year-old linebacker Donnie Edwards.
5. Signed 31-year-old defensive end Alfonso Boone.
6. Signed 30-year-old offensive tackle Damion McIntosh, signed one-time Pro Bowl kick returner Eddie Drummond, brought back once-retired, once-suspended guard John Welbourn, traded for veteran running back Michael Bennett, played footsie with Trent Green when it was clear he was finished, brought in 207-year-old kicker John Carney …
And so on. I’m not judging the specific moves here — I’m glad that the Chiefs have Tony Gonzalez and Donnie Edwards, a couple of pros — just pointing out the trend: These are not things rebuilding teams do. These are moves teams make when they believe they are only a couple of players away from being contenders.
And too many of the Chiefs brass believed that. They refused to see the truth — the team was collapsing. The Chiefs treated the rebuilding call the way many of us treat that odd sound we hear coming out of our cars. We ignore it, then we turn up the radio … and we shift our thinking only when the car has conked out in a mall parking lot. It’s pretty simple: The Chiefs were for the bridge to nowhere before they were against it. It took nine consecutive losses last season to convince them finally to go into full rebuilding mode.
When the Chiefs went into Draft Day 2007, they had not yet been convinced of the impending doom. The receiving corps was poor. The defensive line needed lots of help. The special teams was a mess. The offensive line was collapsing. And more. There were leaks springing everywhere. Trouble is, the Chiefs still felt like they could plug enough holes to compete.
Enter Brady Quinn. I spoke with Carl Peterson the day before the draft, and I can honestly say that in a dozen years I have never heard him speak so highly about a college player. He went on and on about Quinn’s skills, his football IQ, his presence. I was just looking over my notes from that day, and I see that Peterson actually compared Quinn to Joe Montana. He was not saying that Quinn could be as good as Joe Montana, of course. But he said that he saw many of the same qualities.
At the time, the Chiefs had a messy quarterback situation. They had not yet traded Trent Green, they still had Damon Huard, and they seemed to like their own young quarterback Brodie Croyle. But here’s what Peterson said when I asked if he would take Brady Quinn should the guy slide to the 23rd pick in the draft:
“That won’t happen. He will go early. But I’ll tell you this: I love Brady Quinn. If he is somehow available with the 23rd pick, he will be a Kansas City Chief. I don’t care how many quarterbacks we have.”
There’s nothing ambiguous about that. Peterson loved Quinn. He obviously was confident that Quinn would not slip through or he would not have tipped his hand. But Quinn slid through the top five picks, then the top 10. He made it past pick 15, and pick 18, and pick 20, and suddenly it became apparent that the Chiefs might actually have a shot at drafting Quinn.
And this is where Carl Peterson, coach Herm Edwards, all of those Chiefs rebuilding gurus blinked. Look, I don’t know if Brady Quinn will be a good NFL quarterback; nobody does yet. The guy is a backup in Cleveland. But that’s not the point. The point is that Peterson and others believed in him. They saw greatness in him. And when Quinn dropped to the 22nd pick, one pick before Chiefs, here was the quarterback they believed in, well, they just sat on their hands and watched Cleveland trade up and over them and grab Quinn.
Why? If the Chiefs loved Quinn as much as they said, how could they let him get so close and then lose him? How could they not trade up themselves? Here’s why: The Chiefs were not ready to rebuild then. You take a young quarterback, and you’re admitting that you are taking a step back. You know that you will probably struggle for a while. You will have to put up with mistakes and lost confidence and bad interceptions and probably some boos and all those other Eli Manning things. The Chiefs were just not eager to go there.
Instead, they waited, and they took receiver Dwayne Bowe. They thought he might bring some immediate help. And he was the best rookie receiver last year. This is no knock on Bowe. He’s done some exciting things — how about that catch he made last week against Oakland? — and he certainly could become a star. But really, one of the sure signs that you’re a going-nowhere team is when you have talented wide receivers and no quarterback who can get them the ball (see: Arizona, Detroit, Tampa Bay, etc.).
Anyway, you don’t build a championship football team around Dwayne Bowe. With few exceptions, the way to win a Super Bowl is to build a well-rounded team around a quarterback with star power. The trouble is, the Chiefs weren’t thinking Super Bowl. They were thinking about squeezing one more playoff appearance out of a team that was out of gas.
Now the Chiefs must spend the rest of 2008 spinning their wheels, looking for small signs of improvement and hoping that a promising college quarterback emerges for the 2009 draft. Or maybe they can trade for Brady Quinn. Then, the real rebuilding process might begin.
<hr class="infobox-hr-separator"> @ Go to KansasCity.com for updates from the game, Chiefs video and the Red Zone blog.
< Previous page (http://www.kansascity.com/180/story/806616-p2.html)
To reach Joe Posnanski, call 816-234-4361 or send e-mail to jposnanski@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com