... Playing a position he's never played before.

Most likely we still won't know for sure a year from now.

Hire Mecca NOW!

...as he gets helped off the ground after being pancaked.

So who thinks Turk Mcbride wont be on the 53 man roster

Or some player makes him look laughably bad running around...Hali is the guy who got beat around the edge by Trent Edwards, let's remember that.

I don't know why they want him to play standing up it doesn't make any sense...

God, I hope so. I'm getting tired of people saying he's "solid."

Kill yourself for forcing me to remember this shit.

Most 3-4 OLB's have never played the position before. Hali at least was used as a stand up rusher at times with Penn St. I really don't think he will be great, but I think back at his normal playing weight he will be serviceable and maybe even healthy.

I'll be pissed if he makes it ever Studebacker or Walters.

Great point, but most are also athletic freaks of nature.

Hali? Yeah, not at all.

The difference is most ends that go to 3-4 OLB, are undersized speed rushers with great natural athletic gifts. Tamba Hali isn't that...go back and look at his draft workout numbers...

The thing about Hali is I remember in 06' when Gunther would use the Falcon defense which looked like a 3-4 Hali did good but he wasn't asked to cover. Which is why he's not an every down 3-4 player. Williams should start and Hali should play obvious throwing downs.

Williams is really small to be lining up like that....I don't think he has a position.

Beisel would start if Hali didn't.

I actually like Williams at ILB a lot even though he is a bit undersized.

Are we drafting players to play a position that they have never played again?:grr:

I haven't seen enough of him to evaluate him personally. My references were based upon what the team's doing with him. However, you really want to see 325 lbs or more on the nose in today's game. When you look at the best NTs in the game (guys like Ngata, Wilfork, Hampton and Williams), you're looking at a whole lot of beef on the hoof.

Thats why I don't think he will be one this year if ever, but hes also shorter than you want your DE's too.

I don't wanna second guess the decision at this point, but I am concerned about this offense without a 2nd reliable pass-catcher. If Bradley could stay healthy we'd be golden, but the odds aren't in our favor.

Who knows if Haley can make something of Webb or Darling.

I am somewhat excited about what Engram brings to this offense, but he's meant to play in the slot. We need a healthy, reliable, and productive #2. Either that's you Mark Bradley...or someone needs to be on the phone with Matt Jones or someone else still available.

I'm surprised someone hasn't signed Jones already.

I'm more surprised that Haley's content with the pieces he has at WR.
He must be supremely confident in his ability to get the most out of them.
I'm not so sure...

I'm really hoping I'm way off here and that this is much less pressing than I believe it to be now.

We'll see once the pre-season starts...
Jones would definitely be on speed dial though.

Bowe, Bradley, and Engram can be a pretty deadly trio. Hell DVD as a fourth option isn't bad at all either.

What do ya mean? I've said this before this is the best WR core the Chiefs have had in sometime. Bowe is a beast, Bradley can stretch the field, and Engram is money on 3rd down. If the Chiefs can get any production from LJ & Charles this will be a good offense.

I'm thinking camp and full pads are all they're waiting on in terms of making a final decision. That said, if they can get a good price they should jump now because Jones' problems are the kind that can be fixed much easier than the others on that list.

As pass heavy as this offense will be, too much depth is just about enough.

Mark Bradley hasn't been able to stay on the field.
He's easily this team's 2nd best pass-catcher after Bowe.
If he goes down... You have either Darling, Webb, or a 36-year old Engram vying for the starting job. Darling and Webb are major underchievers. Who knows whether or not Engram can be counted on.

Without a good #2 Bowe's gonna see a lot of double teams.

IF Bradley can stay healthy. I think history has proven that to be unlikely.

Ok ya'll know I'm a Pioli butt boy. But to even insinuate this a good receiver corp right now would be delusional. there will be other moves. The TG trade was not about 2009. It was about the long term. It won't be pretty this year. Look for defensive improvement and hope for a 5-11 record and be patient.
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Right, but we DO have a system that places a premium on physical conditioning so we might not have seen the best of him yet.

I'm willing to be patient.
What I'm wondering though is why you'd stunt the growth of ascending players like Bowe and Cassel who need another reliable target to take the pressure off of both of them and contribute to their maturation? If there were NO options available to help improve the corps you might have an argument.

I think being in better physical condition will help, but it's not as though he began his career in Kansas City. Furthermore, it's not like the injury bug just got his address last season. He's always struggled to stay healthy.

Maybe Haley would rather Cassel get used to the system instead of stunting his growth and running the old system that utilizes the TE.

Engram is our new Gonzalez, he just plays at a position Haley wants to use instead of TE.

Losing Tony G will be huge for the Chiefs-pretty dumb move on their part.

I don't understand the move.

You spent a 2nd round pick on a QB. You should do everything in your power to surround him with as many weapons as possible so he can succeed.

If Cassel doesn't light it up in the first few weeks, I can tell you what will happen. The fans will turn on him, will boo him off the field, and will scream for Thigpen to start. I wish it weren't true, but it's the sad reality.

And trading away your #1 target and not doing much to shore up the o-line doesn't help Cassel.

The best player at his position ever will be hard to replace?

Yup. TE isn't an important position in Haley's offense. They obviously didn't want to spend that kind of money on one.

Where was he at before KC? Didn't he come from OSU?

That's fine in theory we just don't have those receivers at the moment.

If that is true then Chief fans are dumb****s and Haley is a failure for listening to fans.
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I'm fine with that. Give him another WR then.

If the Chiefs run the ball well enough, they have the receivers to field a competent passing attack.

Um that's what fans do, a bunch of people thought Thigpen was the answer. If Cassel isn't awesome people are going to go nuts.

LMAO

I fall somewhere in the middle of his take, but you'll never see me "screaming for Thigpen" unless it involves getting his attention to keep him from getting run over by a moving vehicle or some such scenario.

Which is fine. I'm not suggesting that we rely on a Tight End to give us WR-type production.

But with Engram being only half as productive at the position...it pressurize Bowe's situation.

I'm excited about Engram, but I believe his biggest contribution will be on Third Downs. I'm looking for someone who can stretch the field and give Engram the middle part of the field to work with.

OK we trade a 2nd round pick, we get a franchise QB in his 20's AND a seasoned veteran who is one of the best at his position in a scheme we are switching to.

We trade an old TE for a second round pick, TE is also a position of little value and even less in our new scheme considering we won't use it very often.

QB has a lot more value that TE, LB is also more valuable not to mention BOTH. Gonzalez himself didn't even think anyone would trade a 2nd round pick for him.

Engram brings exactly the same thing Gonzalez does, just at a position our new offense will utilize.

He played in Chicago prior to coming to Kansas City.

At his age it's really hard to project what Engram is going to do.

You KNOW they're going to double team Bowe all day long until one of the other guys shows themselves to be a legitimate threat.

Did he and Leggitt come at the same time?

Agreed.

I'm HOPING for 500 yards 3-5 TD's.
I'd be surprised if he gave us anything more than that.
And that's not #2 WR type production so... If Bradley's injury problems continue... We're in trouble.

You can't double team Bowe with Jones on the other side.
Well you could, but you'd get gouged by Jones and Engram.

This is why the Chiefs are like a 4 win team.

You don't expect a new HC and GM to turn it around the first year anyways, maybe they plan on drafting a WR early next year. Maybe they wanted a 2nd round pick next year vs this year because they wanted to wait until Pioli had his own scouting department in place and so everyone was on the same page.

2008 was the first season for both Leggett and Bradley, so yes.

Legget came as an undrafted free agent a few years ago.. we picked Bradly up during the season last year..

Precisely!

Engram=TG??? really I think the stats would disagree.

Um Matt Jones isn't even good.

I think he means that Engram's hands are just as reliable.
And I agree... I just think he plays a different position, the slot, and won't give us the kind of everydown contribution that Gonzalez did.

He's plenty #2 WR good. And if he joined the team he'd be our 2nd best WR in the time it took him to pick his jersey number.

No shit? I guess the vets were keeping him on the bench.

If you can't make it as a WR in Jacksonville you are not good.

Gonzo does basically what Engram does from another position. Neither are deep threats, they are sure hands when you need it in the middle of the field. If Engram was always on a poor team where he was forced to be to top threat then the stats would agree.

Jones' lot in JAX wasn't solely based on performance. He was their best WR with a bullet last year.

Do you honestly think that a WR who snags 65 balls and racks up 700+ receiving yards doesn't provide protection for Bowe?

Is he "I'd rather rape myself with a toilet brush"-bad?:D

What the **** are you even talking about with him?

Well, if he came a few years ago, I never noticed him starting until last year.

I'm also not a big fan of signing guys who get busted for snorting coke in their car.

Emmit and Micheal disapprove of this post.:evil:

2008 was the first time he made the team. He was an undrafted free agent the same year.

Actually maybe he didn't come a few years ago.. I'm thinking of Brackenridge..

Yeah I caught myself!

I'll be happy when the team is good so we don't have to discuss how we hope we get production from crappy dudes.

Don't forget about the Quinten Lawrence kid we drafted in the 6th round this year. He gives us some much needed speed.

ROFL This.

Doesn't have to be Jones. He's but one option.

BUT...
I guess I don't get riled up as some about athletes in Jones position.
My expectation of Professional Sports culture, which is often ANYTHING BUT moral, is a little different.

Maybe, just maybe Pioli plans on signing Burress.

I can't understand the advantage in waiting to do so...
His court date is in September IIRC.

It's not like he'll have a real idea of what Burress' fate will be prior to the season starting.

If he'd brought him in 2 months ago he'd be very well conditioned, partially acclimated to the offense, AND in the beginning stages of developing some chemistry with his QB.