Pioli vs. Peterson
 

You'll like this one. I promise.

http://kan.scout.com/2/830977.html

Since Scott Pioli was introduced as the new Head of Football Operations for the Kansas City Chiefs, much has been said. It has been noted that little fanfare accompanied his first press conference, that he revealed little of real importance during it, that he gave no indication on the future of Herm Edwards.

None of that really stood out to me as I watched Scott Pioli talk to us for the first time as a Chief. Instead, I was struck by his humility, his easy demeanor and the fact he took every question in stride like a professional.

There wasn’t a hint of arrogance during Pioli’s introduction despite the fact he possesses more postseason bling than anyone else running the Chiefs today. In fact, none of Pioli’s three championship rings were present on his fingers Wednesday. He also wasn’t sporting a USFL Championship ring, or a leather coat.

In other words, nothing Scott Pioli did this week reminded me one bit of Carl Peterson.

Honestly, I was sort of concerned when the Chiefs hired Pioli. There’s no questioning his football chops, but everyone knows how the media has been handled in New England since Bill Belichick first donned his hoodie. I’ve heard stories from people who covered the Patriots that put me ill at ease. I wondered if the Chiefs hadn’t replaced Peterson – not known for his love of the media – with a GM who could be even more disagreeable.

Maybe those stories just came from bitter mouths. It doesn’t appear that Pioli will be anything but a total pleasure to deal with from a media standpoint after observing him during his introductory press conference.

In fact, if what’s running around is true – that Pioli really prefers not to deal with the media all that much – then we’re all going to be much better off. Not just those of us who cover the team, but the fans and anyone who gives a lick about the Chiefs winning or losing on Sundays.

Really, should we be surprised that the Chiefs didn’t win a playoff game in the last 15 years? When your GM is spending too much time worried about what the media is or isn’t saying and tries to fight them at every turn through the team website, he’s losing precious hours that could be better spent evaluating talent, better spent doing what the best front officers in the NFL do.

If Pioli intends to ignore the opinions spouted weekly by any number of writers covering the Chiefs, what else is there to do besides the work of a true GM? I don’t imagine he’ll be watching soap operas or playing video games. I imagine most days, when he’s not on the road scouting, he’ll be hunkered down inside his Arrowhead Stadium bunker watching tape and working like a demon to bring the most talented players and coaches to Kansas City. The Chiefs can only be better for it.

This leads me to a little story I want to share with all of you. If you ever wondered just how far Carl’s obsession with the media extended, look no further than the following.

It was just last season when I found out that the tiniest of jabs could distract Peterson. I wrote a throwaway column, nothing groundbreaking, speaking of the players the Chiefs had jettisoned during the 2007 offseason, and their replacements. I praised the Chiefs for ridding themselves of Trent Green, Lawrence Tynes, Ryan Sims, Eric Hicks and Sammy Knight, most of whom went on to unspectacular seasons elsewhere. Let’s ignore for the moment that dumping Tynes, in hindsight, was a terrible move.

But none of that mattered. Because in the midst of all that praise for the Chiefs, was an inconsequential sentence about the fact that UCLA kicker Justin Medlock was a terrible pick who, to quote myself, “blew up in Carl Peterson’s face.” To validate that statement, it was later learned the pick went against the consensus in the Chiefs’ War Room (some preferred Mason Crosby, who was taken a round later by Green Bay).

OK, maybe the wording was a tad harsh. Maybe I was wrong to bring up Medlock in the middle of an otherwise positive column. But can anyone sit here today and say it wasn’t the truth? Apparently, the truth really hurt Peterson, because it was only a few hours before I got word that apparently, he wasn’t too happy about it.

What did it really matter? Why was he bothering to read anything I wrote (ESPN and Sports Illustrated aren’t exactly banging down my door)? How was it moving the Chiefs closer to a Super Bowl? Was the Medlock pick – a fifth-rounder - really that big of a deal?

We’ll never know the answers to those questions. Peterson is gone. In his place is Scott Pioli, who probably doesn’t care what I write about, as long as it’s the truth. By the way, the mid-round kicker he drafted in 2006 (Stephen Gostkowski) also blew up, to the tune of a Pro Bowl appearance this season.

You should also mention that odd, media-blasting final press conference.

How so? The guy couldn't kick an XP to save his life.

Tynes is 24 of 28 since leaving the Chiefs.

But he sucked when he was here.

Here's more of the same from a different source:
 

What Scott Pioli Brings to Kansas City-Part One: The Draft

Chiefs fans are extremely excited now that Clark Hunt has officially chosen Carl Peterson’s replacement. Not only that, but it’s the guy that has been at the top of Chiefs fans wish list since Hunt announced Peterson’s resignation on December 15th. That man, of course, is Scott Pioli, formerly the director of player personnel in New England.

Pioli will have control of all aspects of the football side of the organization. He will decide if Herm Edwards should stay or go. He will be leading the draft war room. He will decide which free agents the team will pursue, and any trades the team may negotiate.

We are going to study what we may be able to expect from a Scott Pioli regime. I say “may expect” because we really don’t know for sure. Yes, Pioli has a great resume and had great success in New England. That doesn’t necessarily preclude success anywhere else though. Other circumstances are different. A different owner. A different coach. A different fan base. Get the idea? What I’m saying, I guess, is I’m very excited that the Chiefs got the best available man for the job, but not too excited until I see some moves of his pay off.

First, we will examine what we can expect from Pioli in the draft. The draft is where the foundation of every team is built. Free agents help, yes, but the bulk of most teams is from the draft. Pioli came to New England in 2000, participating in nine total drafts. Now, we don’t know for sure what choices he made or what input he had, but we can pretty well guess he had a pretty loud voice in the New England war room. Those noted as starters by Pro-Football-Reference.com for even one season are counted in the starters number from each draft.

2000 draft-10 total picks, 2 starters. Notable picks-Tom Brady, 6th round, Patrick Pass, 7th round

2001 draft-10 picks, 4 starters. Notable picks-Richard Seymour, 1st round, Matt Light 2nd round.

2002 draft-6 picks, 4 starters. Notable picks-Daniel Graham, 1st round, Deion Branch, 2nd round.

2003 draft-10 picks, 6 starters. Notable picks-Ty Warren, 1st round, Eugene Wilson, 2nd round, Asante Samuel, 4th round, Dan Koppen, 5th round.

2004 draft-8 picks, 2 starters. Notable picks-Vince Woolfork, 1st round, Ben Watson 2nd round.

2005 draft-7 picks, 4 starters. Notable picks-Logan Mankins, 1st round, Ellis Hobbs, 3rd round, Nick Kaczur 3rd round, Matt Cassel, 7th round.

2006 draft-10 picks, 1 starter. Notable pick-Stephen Gostkowski, 4th round

2007 draft-9 picks, 1 starter. Notable pick-Brandon Meriweather, 1st round

2008 draft-7 picks, 1 starter. Notable pick-Jerod Mayo, 1st round.

Total draft picks-70. Total starters-24.

Carl Peterson draft picks during the same time frame.

Total draft picks-72. Total starters-27.

Hmm. Not much difference there. In fact, Carl has the slight edge. Admittedly, there are flaws with this system, as it does list guys such as Ryan Sims as starters. It doesn’t differentiate between good starters and bad ones. Lets stretch it out to those who have started 3 or more seasons…

Pioli-14

Peterson-8

Getting a starting gig isn’t the hardest part. Like I said, Ryan Sims had one for two seasons. It’s holding it. And Pioli has shown a distinct advantage in getting players in the draft good enough to get and hold on to a starting job.

But, Chiefs fans, also notice that Pioli’s success rate in getting these players is still only 20%. That means 80% of his picks have had little or no impact on the field. But, in the Pioli years in New England, only one first round pick could be considered a true bust, Laurence Maroney. And he’s been hampered by injuries or they may have none that can be considered a true bust out of the first round.

I think its safe to say that while we may only get the same number of starters out of the draft as before, the quality of those starters can be expected to be much better. And we won’t have to worry as much as that the Chiefs will blow their first round picks on Trezelle Jenkins or Ryan Sims.
http://www.studyofsports.com/?p=930

Not really. We dumped him because we thought we could find an elite kicker. Instead we went through a bunch of shitty ones and may have found a decent one in Barth. Maybe. We're no better off.

And was beat out for the starting job by John Carney in NY... who replaced him here in KC.

That's funny. I bet John's plan is to follow him around his whole career and keep taking his job. Maybe Tynes slept with his wife. Or punched her.

Tynes is still on their roster. He just had an injury.

Was the Medlock comment what got you the letter?

No, the letter was due to an article about Herm.

But that's another good point. What is Carl doing wasting time writing letters to internet hacks? It's a nice gesture, but he really has better things to do I'm sure. Or had. Whatever.

I understand he is still on their roster... but even while healthy Carney was getting the FGAs.

Dude, Tynes spent most of the season injured. He's their long-term kicker.

I understand he spent time injured this season with knee problems... and Carney is surely not a long-term option seeing as he might retire this offseason.

That said, even when healthy he was the #2 behind Carney.

I would think that if Tynes was THAT good, he would have supplanted Carney once healthy... which he did not. In his defense though, Carney had a hell of a year.

Tynes was only injured for the first 4-5 weeks of the season. They kept giving the kicks to Carney even after he recovered. Tynes even ran his mouth about how he was back and it was time for Carney to hit the bricks, and a month later he was still on the sideline watching.