Gretz's Foundation Update: rookie progress report

[aturnis]

Foundation Update
October 9, 2008 - Bob Gretz |

The Chiefs 12 draft choices from the 2008 NFL Draft are the foundation of the franchise’s rebuilding effort. Ten of those 12 are on the active roster, joined by six other rookies.

The bye week seemed a good time to sit down with Herm Edwards and talk about his football babies.

-DT GLENN DORSEY (left) – Through five games, Dorsey has been credited with 19 tackles and one forced fumble. “He’s getting better each week,” said the coach. “He’s the most unselfish defensive lineman we have. He’s doing exactly what we are asking him to do. He’s beating up the guard and he’s taking on the double-team block so he doesn’t have the stats people look at. But he’s giving the linebackers the chance to go make plays. He has to improve on his pass rush, in using his hands. That takes time, especially when you are playing against the kind of guards he’s playing against.”

-LT BRANDEN ALBERT (below) – Over three games and one half, Albert has shown the Chiefs they were correct in moving him from guard, where he played most of his college career, to tackle. The only thing that’s held him back are injuries, a foot in the pre-season and now a dislocated right elbow which has cost him the last game and a half. “He’s doing very well,” Edwards said. “You draft a guy, you ask him to play left tackle, he misses the whole pre-season and then he comes in the first game and he plays every snap. And, it turns out he played those snaps really well. I’m not sure people realized how unusual that was. He continued to follow that up in the games after that.” When asked if he the Chiefs can consider the left tackle spot filled for the next decade, Edwards said: “I wouldn’t know why not. With his talent and his mentality, he’s going to be there a long time.”

-CB BRANDON FLOWERS (below) – In five games, Flowers has 26 tackles and a fumble recovery. “The game is not too big for him,” said Edwards. “He has great moxie and he’s tough. He’s learning how to play nickel back (the cornerback covering the slot receiver when the Chiefs go with five defensive backs.) It will take him a year. It took Ronde (Barber of Tampa Bay) about a year and five games to figure it out. I see Brandon on the same road.”

-RB JAMAAL CHARLES – So far in five games, Charles has run the ball 21 times for 98 yards and caught 12 passes for 68 yards. He’s also returned three kicks for 79 yards and has three tackles in special teams coverage. That’s not nearly the production the Chiefs envisioned for the fleet back out of Texas. “We don’t have enough plays,” said Edwards. “He’s been the guy that’s probably been hurt the most by that. If we can get eight or nine plays put together, then we can start using him and getting the ball in his hands, and let him go. I think the more he gets in there, the more he touches the ball, you know he can make a big play. If we can stay on the field, I think you will see more and more big plays from him.”

-TE BRAD COTTAM – Cottam has played all five games, but has yet to turn up in the statistics with a catch on offense or a tackle on defense. “Cottam has gotten a lot better,” said Edwards. “He’s becoming the blocker we thought he was and he’s starting to understand the passing game. If he can continue to stay healthy, he’s going to develop into a pretty good tight end.” The coaches like enough of what Cottam has shown them, that in the Denver game there were five or six offensive plays where Tony Gonzalez left the field and Cottam was the only tight end in the Chiefs offensive alignment. “We’ll continue to do that,” said Edwards. “It’s a chance to give Tony a rest. We are at a point right now with Cottam that we feel comfortable with him out there.”

-S DAJUAN MORGAN – Morgan has played in all five games, but most of his action has come in the kicking game, where he has one tackle in coverage. He also has seven tackles in limited defensive time, most of that coming last Sunday against Carolina, where he saw his biggest block of playing time. “He reminds me of Bernard (Pollard) in his rookie year,” said Edwards. “He’s kind of trying to figure it all out. He’s had some boo-boos, but then all the sudden you see him come up and support the run and you go ‘Wow, look at this guy.’ He’ll be better in the second half of the season because he’s getting some playing time now. If you don’t play a lot in real games, you don’t understand the speed of the game. For those guys at safety, it’s understanding that speed and taking the right angle. He’s still learning that.”

-WR WILL FRANKLIN – He’s caught just one pass for eight yards in the three games where he has been active. Franklin does not play on the special teams, so he hasn’t been able to make a contribution there. “He’s doing OK,” said Edwards. “We are going to try and get him more involved in the offense, especially in the slot receiver role. He’s very comfortable in that role. Brodie (Croyle) trusts him and he’ll throw him the ball and I think you’ll start seeing that happen pretty quickly.”

-CB BRANDON CARR – In five games, Carr has 26 tackles, one interception and two fumble recoveries. In this past Sunday’s game against Carolina, the Chiefs defensive coaches assigned Carr to veteran WR Steve Smith and he had him 80 percent of the game in man-to-man coverage. “We wanted to put him on Smith because he’s fast and he’s big and he could run with him (Smith),” said Edwards. “For the most part, he did a pretty good job on that guy. Steve came up to me at one point in the game and said ‘Herm, I like your corners. They are good players.’ What you can never lose sight of is this: until we get back in our division, they’ve never seen these receivers before. Ever game is a new learning experience for both of these guys (Flowers and Carr.) What they are learning right now and holding their own is huge for their future.”

-WR-KR KEVIN ROBINSON – Robinson’s knee surgery back in June kept him off the practice field for the entire training camp and now the first five weeks of the season. He’s on the PUP list and he can start practicing after the sixth regular-season game. Edwards said they plan is for Robinson to begin practicing and that would give the Chiefs a three-week window to decide on whether they’ll move Robinson to the active roster, keep him on the PUP list or release him.

- OT BARRY RICHARDSON – He was active for his first NFL game on Sunday in Carolina and played on special teams. “He’s right where we thought he would be,” Edwards said. “He needs work and time.”

-DE BRIAN JOHNSTON – The seventh-round pick has been active for all five games and has two tackles. “He’s getting better. He’s getting a lot better for a guy who is as raw as raw gets,” said Edwards. “He’s played a lot of football all the sudden. He’s learning and he’s gaining confidence. He’s got to get stronger.”

-TE MICHAEL MERRITT – The leg injury he suffered at the end of his college career has kept Merritt from practicing at any point with the team. His status on the Non-Football Injury list is the same as a player on the PUP list. He can begin practicing after the sixth game and the team then has three weeks to make a decision. Edwards said he hopes they’ll have Merritt working next week.

-FB MIKE COX – The undrafted free agent has been the starting fullback, catching four passes for 10 yards, returning one kick for eight yards and contributing two tackles on special teams. “He’s doing OK,” Edwards said. “He’s getting better. He’s a good football player. He kind of grows on you.”

-CB MAURICE LEGGETT – Another undrafted free agent who made the final roster, Leggett has two tackles in the kicking game and one kickoff return for 30 yards. He’s gotten a handful of plays as the Chiefs dime cornerback. “He’s playing better on special teams,” said Edwards. “He just doesn’t have t he confidence that Flowers and Carr have right now.”

-LB WES DACUS – Since being added to the active roster before the Denver game, Dacus has contributed two tackles in the kicking game. “He’s really come in and done a good job on special teams,” Edwards said of the undrafted free agent.

-LB ERIK WALDEN – Claimed off waivers from Dallas before the first game of the season, Walden is leading the Chiefs special teams with 10 tackles. “He can run and hit,” said Edwards. “He’s done a real good job on special teams. He’s an interesting guy for us and what he might be able to do on defense as well.”

-RB DANTRELL SAVAGE – Over the first five games, Savage has returned three punts for minus-one yard, eight kickoffs for a 27.3-yard average and he’s contributed a pair o f tackles in the kicking game. His only mistake so far came in the Carolina game when he took a punt return sideways and ended up losing 10 yards. “Just a rookie mistake,” said Edwards. “He really hasn’t had too many of those. I love that kid.”

-G BRIAN DE LA PUENTE – Claimed off waivers before the opener, after he was released by San Francisco, De La Puente has been inactive for every game. “We’re probably going to move him to center,” said Edwards. “We think he might be able to play that position and play it well.”

[keg in kc]

Steve came up to me at one point in the game and said ‘Herm, I like your corners. They are good players.’

That's pretty cool, if true.

[Hammock Parties]

I'm flabbergasted that Herm thinks Carr did a good job on Smith. Carr got ****ing (oops, sorry Braincase, keep your kids off Chiefsplanet) dominated. I'm not so sure Smith wasn't just jerking Herm's chain.

[ArrowheadHawk]

After reading this article. I realized that the chiefs still suck.

[aturnis]

Herm has a "So and so told me such and such that one time" story for everything. I think he's full of shit.

[philfree]

Originally Posted by Claythan

I'm flabbergasted that Herm thinks Carr did a good job on Smith. Carr got ****ing (oops, sorry Braincase, keep your kids off Chiefsplanet) dominated. I'm not so sure Smith wasn't just jerking Herm's chain.

Smith is a great WR and maybe it was because they ran the ball down our throat but he only had 96 yards recieving. I know 96 yards is pretty good but Steve Smith against a rookie could have had 196 yards. And one of the plays Carr gave up(if it was even his responsablity that play) was for 38 yards. I like our young corners too!

PhilFree

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by philfree

Smith is a great WR and maybe it was because they ran the ball down our throat but he only had 96 yards recieving. I know 96 yards is pretty good but Steve Smith against a rookie could have had 196 yards. And one of the plays Carr gave up(if it was even his responsablity that play) was for 38 yards. I like our young corners too!

PhilFree

He had 96 yards in three quarters. Carr got his ass kicked.

He would have gotten his ass kicked even worse if we had stopped the Panthers from running the ball for 200 yards.

[philfree]

Here's the thing I see with all our young players and draft picks. It seems like no matter how talented of players we put on the field we teach them that they're gonna suck until they learn this or that. It's like we coach them down. So much so they can never live up to their potential most of the time. I know there is a learning curve but I think the Chiefs coaches make it steeper than it really is.

PhilFree

[philfree]

Originally Posted by Claythan

He had 96 yards in three quarters. Carr got his ass kicked.

He would have gotten his ass kicked even worse if we had stopped the Panthers from running the ball for 200 yards.

It could have been worse but Steve Smith makes Pro Bowl CBs look bad. And you know I did watch the game so I'm pretty sure I know what went on. He did O.K. for rookie IMO. Especially since our D can't pressure the QB.

PhilFree

[FAX]

Nice little feel good piece from the Blobster. He calls the 2008 draft the "foundation" of the rebuilding effort, though. I could have sworn (and probably did) that they were calling the 2006 draft the "foundation" a year or so ago. Odd, that.

In other news ... Earlier this evening, a lady person I know said these words to me in parting, "Ta, ta." It struck me as very unusual because you rarely hear that said anymore ... at least around here.

Nevertheless, it started me thinking about something ... why are there two "tas" instead of just one "ta" or maybe even three "tas" in that phrase? I guess one "ta" might sound like she's choking and wants to avoid suffering through an humiliating Heimlich Maneuver whilst having her breasts crushed like ripe canteloupe in someone's anxious and altogether unnecessary urgent grasp. And I guess three "tas" might sound a little like she was impersonating a machine gun out of the blue which is kind of classless, when you think about it. Nevertheless, those may not actually be the real reasons. Do you guys, by any chance, know why we live in a two "ta" world?

FAX

[Deberg_1990]

I hope Kevin Robinson works out eventually.....

[aturnis]

With no pass rush, the receivers had ALL DAY to get open. But yeah, Smith was probably talking shit and Herm was too damned stupid to know it.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by philfree

It could have been worse but Steve Smith makes Pro Bowl CBs look bad. And you know I did watch the game so I'm pretty sure I know what went on. He did O.K. for rookie IMO. Especially since our D can't pressure the QB.

PhilFree

He got his ass kicked. It happens. He'll get over it. We shouldn't sugar coat it.

Welcome to the NFL.

[FAX]

In a strange and ironicalish way, this whole zero pass rush thing we have going on might be a disguised good for our young corners. Imagine how well they'll play when we actually start getting pressure on the quarterback!! They could probably play man-to-man blindfolded by that point.

FAX

[philfree]

Originally Posted by Claythan

He got his ass kicked. It happens. He'll get over it. We shouldn't sugar coat it.

Welcome to the NFL.

He could have gotten his ass kicked alot worse. JMHO

PhilFree