Chiefs All-Decade Team - Inside Linebackers
 

With the end of the decade, it's time for us to select our all-decade team for the 2010s. Credit to Direckshun for the idea; I'm just implementing it.

Here are the rules:

1. I'll put up lists of position groups one at a time.

2. Each list will contain guys who had at least one notable stat line in their career. I'll generally put them in descending order of some key stat.

3. The stats will contain ONLY their body of work between 2010 and 2019 for the Chiefs. No pre-2010 stats and no stats for other teams.

4. The number of roster spots will be the same as the number of roster spots on the 2019 Super Bowl roster for the Chiefs.

5. You can use whatever criteria you want to select the team. It can be total stats for the decade, it can be dominance in a shorter period, it can be playmakers who didn't screw up badly, whatever. It's your call. Feel free to use any criteria not listed in your decision. For example, if you know that Terrance Copper was an amazing blocker, you can build that into your decision.

6. In a subsequent poll we will determine which players are the starters on the all-decade team. In the first round, you're just going to fill the 53-man roster.

Our next position group is inside linebackers. FOUR inside linebackers will make the all-decade team. So pick FOUR inside linebackers.

No one in b4 poll.

I'm going to be interested in seeing how Jovan Belcher fares in this poll. He had the second-most starts at ILB in the decade, but he also ... you know.

DJ, Ragland, Hitchens, Lee

Basically, DJ and the guys who won the SB.

Good lord what a depressing list.

Mark Simoneau?!?!

Holy shit.

Wasn't a 3-down player?

Was inconsistent at sticking blockers and making plays in the run game in spite of that being his primary job?

Murdered Cassandra Perkins and then killed himself in front of his head coach, leaving his daughter without any biological parents and scarring Romeo Crennel for the rest of his life?

What? What are you talking about? Finish your sentence.

1. Derrick Johnson
2. No one else

What a garbage group, (outside of DJ). LMAO

This is a really tough one to pick. Obviously, DJ is on the list, but after that I'm not so sure. My other three are:

Hitchens - I think he's come on and shown value, and he's held the job at a top-four pace in terms of starting.

Josh Mauga - He was the quarterback of the defense during his era. He wasn't an all-star, but he earned his job and held it for a while.

DJ Alexander - He made a pro bowl as a special teams demon, and in the very limited game action he got, he did well. I still remember that he made one of the best run stuffs of the decade during some meaningless game.

But man, this is hard. The other contenders are:

Jovan Belcher - I try to keep the off-field stuff out of the equation, but in this case it rises above my threshold enough that I can't discount it. The all-decade team needs to be a group that passes basic public relations muster. On the field, he's an obvious all-decade guy, but I couldn't vote for him.

Reggie Ragland - He certainly made some plays this year, but the truth is that he's a one-down linebacker. That's fine and valuable, but not all-decade material.

Ben Niemann - He has thrived for an undrafted guy, but like Ragland, he's a one-down player.

Cory Greenwood - This guy is one of the best special teams linebackers we've ever had. I strongly considered him, but I think Alexander takes his spot in this regard.

I voted for Belcher idgaf. His play on the field was better than most of this trash list, and would we have even fired fat Scott without him?

If DJ's hands weren't made of stone he'd probably have 20+ INT's too. I wonder if they keep stats on dropped INT's?

Same thing goes for honey badger

It's one of those three.

DJ
Hitchens
Ragland
DJ Alexander (great special teams player)