I can't believe there's not a thread about Gun's interviews on the front page...
 

Gun did back-to-back interviews on 610 and 810 today, great stuff, I think I might actually become a fan.

I think he's been reading Chiefsplanet for some time. More specifically, the ****er is stealing my research! :D

First he said that "all great defenses have great safeties" and talked alot about Dawkins and Lynch. Then he went on to say that he and his staff spent alot of time since the end of the season formulating an argument about how to build a defense. He said a great defense is built with first day draft picks (an argument that I made 2 or 3 years ago by going through several rosters and showing how many 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounders New England, Baltimore, Tampa, and others had for starters). His research led to some interesting points

All of the top defenses in the league had at least 8 1st-day picks starting on defense (except Pittsburgh, they were the anomaly). We had 4 when he got here. The juicy tidbit is that we had 7 last year and he sees 9 this year (I'm guessing that means Hali and Pollard are being counted on to start right away). He also said that in the NFC there were only 4 starting CB's who were not 1st-day draft picks.

Battle was a first day pick. Which other CBs do we have who were first day picks? Or does this mean we are getting Law?

Don't hurt your wrist jerking yourself off

Let's hope for the Law Dog...
his numbers are a bit better than Battle's....

Surtain was a 2nd-rounder.

I think Walls was undrafted, but I can't remember for sure.

He wasn't going to comment about Law, and I wouldn't read too much into it that way.

Must be rough being so bitter all the time...

So it WAS McCleon's fault!! I knew it!

Why didn't record them interviews and do a write up for us? Slacker!


PhilFree:arrow:

I was in my damn car, driving to Sucks Falls, South Dakota...

Gun has too much free time. He should be conducting bag drills, not thinking.

Some more points:


-Gun personally broke down and looked at 94 players.

-He said he got the 2 guys in the first 2 rounds that he personally wanted.

-Said that Pollard is going to be a great safety. Besides being a huge hitter he has great hips, good open field movement, and great open field tackler. He wants a safety that "if you get one big hit a game they will know you are back there."

-As far as DE goes. He was a HUGE Hali supporter. Says he reminds him of Leslie O'Neal in many ways. Said when he asked Hali during the personal interview why his weight fluctuated between 260-275 during the season his response was "If I was playing a grind it out running team with a big RB I would play at 270-275. If it were a mobile QB I would get down to 258-260." Said nobody had answered that question that way since O'Neal. Said Hali has great balance and great power.

-Also said that they had info that 2 teams right after them in the 1st rd were after Hali. Made it sound like LJ Sr. had inside info on who was interested in him.

-He also talked about Manny Lawson. Said Lawson is all straight-line. Asked Lawson what his favorite move was and he said the "push-pull", which is bull rush. Gun said it worried him when a guy that small wants to rely on a bull rush. He said he was afraid Roaf would "road grade" Lawson every day at practice.

-Gun fought for Bell to stay again this year(must have been thoughts to cut him?) Said Bell can still play at a high level. Was cautious with Bell last year coming off injury and learning a new system. Is going to let him loose this year and take him to the next level.

-Cover 2 needs tackling LB's who can run to the ball(which he thinks we have in Kawika, DJ, and Bell), and a pass rush(which he thinks we have now in Allen and Hali)

-CB. Said Jimmy Williams and Cromartie are Cover 2 CB's. Jonathan Joseph(who he was asked about) isn't the prototypical Cover 2 CB.

-Leaves Ty Law up to Herm and Carl. Knows they are talking to him.

Gun is always the optimist and positive. So he says he is really "excited" for the season.

Any info about plans at DT? Who starts next to Sims? Who plays CB if we don't get Law?

Actually, Dexter was a 2nd-rounder.

He was talking about Hicks and those guys.

In fact, he said San Diego has TEN starters on defense that were drafted 1st-day. The only starter they had last year that wasn't was Donnie Edwards...

Thanks for that! I was on the road for 5+ hours and forgot alot of what he said...

We're too busy arguing who's the biggest **** on the board. Save your football interviews for training camp

What were you doing here? (if I may ask)


Plus, if Pollard is going to start, who gets benched I wonder?

I say, let Gun do his freakin job. It seems like DV would never listen to him. We deffinately seem to have more of an attitude on Defense. I think Gun is tired of being laughed at.

These points make me feel really good about our draft. Now I'll believe it when I see it w/ Pollard, still skeptical there. But to get Hali, suppose I have to include Pollard, then Croyle, Webb and Maxie, I'm pretty stoked!

Sure hope he's right about Bell... :shrug:

ROFL

Working. I'm currently in the basement of KELO TV.

Gunther sure seemed excited about Pollard. In fact, he almost seemed more stoked about Pollard than Hali.

Was this post necessary? :shake:

You may not be, but I for one am interested in things our DC has to say.

If he is starter material he may still not start in the begining. Nobody needs to be benched for now unless they stink in the preseason.

I'm excited about Pollard, too. He is what our defense has been sorely lacking-a player who loves to hit. He also will send a message to those who want to catch the ball by knocking them on their asses. Just like Tom Jackson kept repeating when some questioned the Bernie Pollard pick..."yea but he can hit, he can hit."

As much as I'd like to see Bell stay, if Gun has any other intentions of what he said there might as well cut Bell and find someone who can fit the job instead of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

I may be alone in this, Mr. Otter, but I haven't given up on Bell as yet. I don't think he was used correctly last year (as many have said), but I also believe his shoulder was giving him more problems than many knew.

Additionally, I don't believe he whines, neg reps, or has contracted herpes, and he probably has a high sperm count, too.

FAX

that post had nothing to do with what Gun said, or Gun at all.

If I would have known sooner, we could have went over to Kotter's high school to see if we couldn't get him in trouble. The phone calls weren't enough last time.

And I'm with you Fax, I'm behind Bell for this season. I hope he doesn't disappoint again.

You're not alone Mr. Fax, I've been one of Mr. Bells biggest supporters.

I actually drove the Bell Bandwagon throughout the entire season despite the growing number of objects being flailed at me twoards the last quarter.

Iowanian and Big Daddy were quiet a handfull, such bulllies.

I'm firmly for giving Bell another chance. But after seeing how he was played in Pittsburg and then in KC then comparing the results just saying "shit or get off the pot".

I'll reserve you a seat for 9/10.

No, had everything to do with you being a jackass...

Note the smilies in the original thread starter.

I support keeping Bell for one reason:

He's a former 1st-round draft pick, and a former DRoY at that.

They don't just grow on trees.

Um, try reading that again. In the NFC there were only 4....

Not in the NFL. Thus having nothing to do with our roster this year or last.

I wonder if he means Battle starting at corner. I have a hard time seeing Pollard unseating Knight this season.

Hmm, I believe I read it correctly.

It seems Gunther would like to have more first day picks as his starters, no? If Gun follows his own advice he would select a first day pick as the CB opposite surtain. Of the CBs currently on the roster I believe only Battle is a first day pick. This also follows last year's preseason when Gun challenged Battle to "take his (Warfield's) job". Of course this is pure speculation but, ¿what else is there to do in the offseason?

It gets really interesting because there are four CBs (Battle, Hodge, Sapp, Maxey) who might start or might not even be on the roster. Anyway, of the corners we currently have on the roster who do you think will start?

Who do I think will start? Surtain (duh) and Battle would be my early picks. I like Sapp a lot but I think he is too small to be a regular starter.

and if they had just drafted 3 defensive ends he would of said all great defenses start upfront.

he's a freakin' parrot who repeats whatever they tell him to repeat


i think that's part of the reason why Carl likes him so much ... easily controlled.

Yeah, of our current CBs I would guess that Battle is Gun's first choice to start. But Battle may or may not be healthy.

* Battle has size and (did have) speed and has some limited NFL experience. Battle was also Gun's choice to start last year and then hurt himself. Is he healthy enough to play and/ or start this year?
* Sapp has NFL experience but is not prototypical CB size and I think Gun puts a premium on size and speed. Will Sapp's experience override his physical shortcomings and keep him on the roster?
* Hodge has size but was a day 2 pick, has only practice squad experience and was selected before Herm got here. Will Hodge's practice squad experience earn him a roster spot over Maxey?
* Maxey has size and speed but was a day 2 pick. Obviously, Maxey has no NFL experience and only limited college experience but he was chosen in the Herm Edwards era. Will we try to sneak him onto the practice squad this year to gain experience or will Gun be enamored by his physical attributes?

I have the deepest respect for your gridiron acumen, Mr. Laz. You are spectacularly well versed in the art. However, I don't know if Gun is easily controlled or not. In fact, he may lack the control lobe entirely.

In the past, I have observed behavior in Gun that would shame a drunken Planeteer.

FAX

Hah! I keep forgetting we have Walls. I wonder where he fits in to this mess?

Like you wouldn't have picked being the devils advocate no matter what he had said?

Doesn't that sound easily controlled too?

The thing that worries me more than any thing else about Bell's play last year was his lack of speed. I don't know if he made DRoY despite his lack of speed or if he lost some speed. But when we got him, we heard how fast he was, but in the open field he looked like he was running in concrete. I don't expect much from Bell. Hope I'm wrong.

Gunther said on both radio stations that Bell is the fastest 6 yards in football or something to that effect.

What he was trying to get acrossed is that the guy is EXPLOSIVE, not fast. In other words, he should be rushing the passer, not covering tight ends...

Nothing would shame me...er..I mean a drunken Planeteer....

You may be onto something there.

Well, let's hope that's the case for this year, as last year was a failed experiment, that Bell was lining up (for the most part) aganist a TE.

Gunther addressed that. He said Bell needed to learn the system. He almost made it sound like he played Bell out of position on purpose so that he would learn...

maybe controlled was the improper word to use Mr. Fax.


perhaps "company man" would of been more appropriate?


basically they will all want to talk up their draft picks ... i don't think it has much to do with Mr. Htismaqe suggestions.

Bell wasn't/isn't a bad player, he's a misused player.

If we started blocking with Gonzo and running Dunn out in Gonzo's routes I doubt we'd see the same production...

Based on his comments about Kendrell Bell, I don't believe Gunther is spouting the company line. I think he's the guy standing on the table trying to get people to listen to him.

Carl was ready to cut Bell. The only reason he's still here is because of Gunther.

Let me put it this way:

What Gunther says about these draft picks is true and genuine. He may be WRONG, but he's not insincere. The "company line" you hear about these guys from Carl or Herm or Kuharich when they gush about Hali and Pollard CAME from Gunther, not the other way around.

I listened very closely to what he said yesterday. This isn't 2000 Gunther...

I love gunther he know how to pick talent. Also we got guys that look like they want to kill somebody not be gq cuties.Pollard look like a guy who will knock your teeth in and then make out with your girlfriend last year we had william bartee a guy who would be happy with a paycheck.

Mah little girl just got a round of applause at her 3RD recital...

Ganz genau...

Last year, Bell was dropped into coverage alot. His hunting grounds should be LOS & enemy backfield.

So Guther is saying Bell is explosive, yet Gunther misused him and put him in a scheme that did not play to his strengths? Brilliant. That gives me all kinds of confidence this year.

And that, Mr. kcnut, is how defense should be played.

FAX

Believe what you want, but Bell was misused...

Who misused him? The same guy who is with the team this year running the show on D. Like I said, it inspires tons of confidence.

The only thing that gives me confidence for THIS year (it doesn't exactly make me feel good, though) is that Gunther almost sounded like last season was a sacrificial year.

He made it sound like we didn't have the horses on defense last year to get it done, and he knew it early. So he put guys like Bell in there to learn the system, rather than to do what they were good at.

I skipped my morning coffee so perhaps I a bit slower than usual this morning, but what new "horses" do the Chiefs have this year as starters? Who are the new horses who are going to make a dramatic impact and make a big difference on D?

If Gun did in fact make it sound like last year was a sacrificial year (which I doubt) then screw him for wasting DV's final year and a twilight year of guys like Green, Roaf and Shields.

If Herm is going to want to play cover 2, I don't see how Bell's role is changed any for the better.

He was actually a second round pick - number 39 overall.

looks like your reasoning might need adjustment :D

I don't buy the sacrificial year. They tried, it didn't work, and now they spin. Just like every other team does. Same goes for talking up the draft picks, every team does it. Just the way it is.

Gun is the only guy that DOESN'T give me confidence for this year. Damn, last season he specifically asked for Knight, Surtain, Bell, and Hall. Seems to me like he may have asked for one more too. He also had a 2nd year Allen, a vastly improved Mitchell, and a huge bonus in DJ. WTF does he mean he didn't have the horses to get it done and had to sacrifice the season?

IMO, he should have been thrown out the door with the old regime.

No, the reasoning doesn't need adjustment, the type does.

He was a former first-DAY pick. :D

The new horses are Hali and Pollard.

As for the rest of your post, I see your point.

I understand what you're saying and I'm right there with you. I can't stand Gunther.

But what's the point of going into next season thinking that we can't win as long as he's here?

I might as well root for another team if that's the case.

You could always pull for the Royals. :)

Two rookies are the horses to turn the page this year?

I love the Hali pick. But reality tells me, (a) Hicks (who is a Gunther favorite) is still going to get playing time, (b) rookie impact is always limited, (c) Hali's impact is going to be further limited by the sub-par performance of KC's DT's. and (d) Gun and Herm have already discussed moving Hali into a DT spot in some situations even further limiting, IMHO, Hali's impact.

As for Pollard, I'm coming around to liking the pick more than I did a week ago, but I don't see him unseating Knight, the defensive leader and brains of the team.

I also agree with what Coogs has already posted. First it was "I can win with the existing players, they just need a new scheme." Then it was "I really need this shopping list of players." The shopping list is obtained and then it is "I still need more."

:LOL:
You are NOT alone.

I think Ron Edwards is going to be a good new horse as well. A healthy Carlos Hall is going to help too.

Gunther threw Hicks under the bus. He flat-out said that this team had 4 1st-day picks starting on defense when he got here. Now they've got seven. He said we're gonna have 2 more.

And again, I don't disagree with you at all. I just can't see what product purpose is served by poo-pooing the upcoming season because of something like this.

I didn't want him retained, but he was. Might as well give him what he wants. The worst thing that could happen is that he fails and we start over. However, the upside is that he's FINALLY right.

Did yours?

The only two posts above you were htismaqe's thread starter (which had everything to do with Gun, and el borracho's which was at least about our 'D' and therefore indirectly about our DC. Both were more relevant than yours. My reaction was mostly because I thought you were replying to htismaqe. Apparently he thought so to (post #6). Next time may I suggest to quote the post you want to reply to?

I am begining to think he was replying to el borracho, not you. Even if that was the case I don't think el borracho's was so unrelated to the topic to merit such a reaction. Sedated would have done well to add something to the discussion, instead of just attacking someone.

Agreed. I hope Pollard is everything the Chiefs think he is. But even so, I think he should alternate with Knight at most.

Good, well reasoned post.

Side note:

Nothing will make me happier than the sight of Battle as a stud CB. If nothing else, for the cool name he has. Seems like the Chiefs stopped filling the roster with cool names (Lanier, Hill, Otis Taylor, etc) after the Stram era and now are more into forgetable common names (Johnson, Wilson, Williams, etc.)

Actually, he was responding to me and the portion of my post where I was saying "I told you so."

He missed the smilie, or he was looking for some reason to bitch at me.

I'm really thinkiing we can win, but it is going to be difficult. It seems to me as if most of the weaker opponents on our schedule have upgraded their talent significantly. Plus, I already think we are behind several teams as far a realistic possibilities of going to the Super Bowl as on May 5th. Indy, NE, Denver, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, to name a few.

I like the Head Coaching change. I like the new assistant coaching changes. But I am a little leary on Gun being the weak link that will prevent us from possibly going to the Super Bowl. It seems as if the new HC has come in and told the DC we are going to run the cover two. I'm thinking if Gun really believed in the cover two, then that would have been the staple of what we were doing, not something we are going to change to.

I think he is full of crap, and has been elected to Pope status around here because of a 4 down sereis against the Bills many years ago when he blitzed the hell out of Collins on first-and-goal late in the game.

If we go to the Super Bowl, I personally feel it wil be in spite of Gun instead of because of Gun.

Which of our weaker opponents upgraded any more than we did?

Cincy is soft, as soft as we have been under Vermeil. And Denver? Please.

The more I think about this draft and the more I read about the team, the less I think we're gonna go full-on Cover 2...

wow. that's pretty harsh.

one way or the other Gunther did something stupid...he played a player that was injured and sucked, or he "sacrificed" a year to let a player learn a new position...personally, I still think Gun is part of the problem....his schemes and talent evaluation skills are questionable...but we're stuck with him...

No kidding. Consider the outcome the last time we faced each of these teams. [shudder]