Teicher: Waters thinks Chiefs don’t need offensive-line upgrade

[Tribal Warfare]

Waters thinks Chiefs don’t need offensive-line upgrade
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

To Brian Waters, the numbers speak with clarity. During the season’s final few games, the Chiefs became one of the league’s most explosive running teams while significantly reducing the number of times quarterback Matt Cassel was sacked.

There can be no better endorsement of the Chiefs’ much-maligned offensive line.

“They say stuff rolls downhill, and we’re at the bottom,” Waters said Monday as the Chiefs, who finished their 4-12 season with a 44-24 win over the Broncos on Sunday in Denver, cleared out their lockers and scattered for winter. “We take that burden because we’re big boys.

“But the last two years, I don’t think that some of my offensive linemates have been judged properly. I feel a lot of eyes that have been judging some of my teammates are unqualified eyes. There are a lot of people basing their opinions off what they know, and a lot of people don’t know football.

“In our position, everything is all about what other guys do. Everything is about how many times the quarterback got hit or it’s all about how many rushing yards we had. We’re pretty much (tied) to the numbers.”

His comments suggest that given Kansas City’s recent offensive improvements, Waters, a four-time Pro Bowl guard, believes the Chiefs don’t need to make upgrading their offensive line an offseason priority.

During the season’s final eight games, running back Jamaal Charles trailed only Tennessee’s Chris Johnson in rushing yards with 968. Charles averaged 6 yards per carry in that time.

Chiefs quarterbacks were sacked 37 times in the first 10 games, but Cassel went down only eight times in the final six. In Denver, he wasn’t sacked for the first time all season.

Some of the improvement has to do with changes on the line. On the right side, Ryan O’Callaghan replaced Ikechuku Ndukwe at tackle and Wade Smith replaced Mike Goff at guard.

The line also had time to adjust after the Chiefs abruptly changed their offense during the preseason when they fired coordinator Chan Gailey.

“That affected us greatly,” Waters said. “We’d be lying to ourselves to not think that the change in offense two weeks before the regular season started didn’t harm what we had already kind of got going. But that’s the head coach’s prerogative to make that type of change.”

The biggest reason for the line’s improved play was Charles, who is smaller and quicker than Johnson and doesn’t need as much space to be an effective runner.

“What we were trying to do offensively wasn’t to the strength of Larry,” Waters said. “We were trying to be a little more open-space, a little bit more no-huddle, a little bit more fast-hitting type of offense. We know Larry, and when he was in his greatest time, he was more of a pounder.

“We finally got comfortable in what we were trying to do. The idea of what we were trying to do from game to game has changed through the course of the year and we finally settled on who we are and we weren’t going to change that.

“Talentwise, I don’t think I’ve ever played with anybody as talented as (Charles) is, with the explosive ability he has. He has the ability to make a 5-yard run a 50-yard run just like that.

“He has the ability to make us look better.”

Monday’s interview ended Waters’ seasonlong silence. Waters asked to be traded last winter shortly after Todd Haley was hired as the Chiefs’ head coach.

Waters said his silence shouldn’t be interpreted that he was unhappy playing for the Chiefs.

“With the stuff I came back here with during the offseason, I just wanted to kind of stand out of the way and just do my job and allow this whole situation to show itself,” Waters said. “I didn’t want to get in the way. I know people are always trying to make it seem like you feel this way or you feel that way. I just wanted people to see this whole program for themselves. I didn’t want to be a distraction.

“It was just a good year for me to focus on my own job.”

Waters started 15 games this season, missing last month’s Cleveland game because of a sore hamstring. That ended a streak of 51 consecutive starts.

He also missed out on the Pro Bowl after playing in Hawaii the previous year,

“I think I had a solid year,” Waters said. “I don’t think I performed any worse than I’ve performed over the last few years.

“I feel I have plenty left in the tank.”

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

This really isn't the main issue. Albert played at an extremely high level last year in Gailey's scheme. Haley and Muir changed from that scheme to a zone blocking scheme.

If Haley and Muir had been here in 2008, Albert would have never been drafted. They're forcing a square peg in a round hole and to Albert's credit, he's making the adjustment nicely.

I expect him to become even more comfortable after working in this scheme for the next 9 full months.

I agree fully with this, but I don't know how comfortable he'll get in totality. He got better, but just marginally, and in honesty, there wasn't any other direction for him to go other than up. I would also look at the switch from Johnson to Charles and Charles' higher degree of elusiveness and speed versus Larry's "I don't give a shit and I'll run up the posterior of anything in front of me and just fall down" style of running might have had a lot to do with the "improvement" in the offensive line. His 7 sacks and 13 penalties (2nd most by an offensive tackle in 2009) and myriad of bad plays isn't that reassuring.

I do hope he gets it and the team is able to draft elsewhere, but right now, the Chiefs have the worst offensive line in football, and Albert might have been the worst of the lot this past season. I think that the Chiefs go into this next draft with a plan of hope for the best but plan for the worst and they end up with a potential starter at LT with one of their picks in the first three rounds. The only thing keeping the Eric Berry hopes alive was that our safety play might have been actually worse than our offensive line play, if that's even possible.

[Mecca]

It would be brilliant to take a OT 5 when none of them are even worth top 10 picks this year.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Mecca

It would be brilliant to take a OT 5 when none of them are even worth top 10 picks this year.

You can start thanking Mike Brown now for the Chiefs selection of Eric Berry on draft day - and don't forget to thank Mike Shanahan too when he picks Bradford or Clausen instead of Berry.

The only way the Chiefs don't end up with Berry is if St. Louis drafts Suh, Detroit McCoy and Tampa is sitting there without a defensive tackle. They go with Berry at that point and the Chiefs end up selecting Anthony Davis at #5.

[Mecca]

Uh dude Washington wouldn't take a safety anyway, I don't think they want to have Landry and another safety both making top 10 pick salaries.

[Titty Meat]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Uh dude Washington wouldn't take a safety anyway, I don't think they want to have Landry and another safety both making top 10 pick salaries.

Orly? Is that why they drafted Landry when they already had Taylor?

[Red Dawg]

Originally Posted by kcxiv

We need a Tight End, and Defense defense defense.

I would have said QB too, but thats not going to change.

What needs to change is our WR's need stop dropping the damn ball. 48 drops! I bet that cost us 1,000 yards, 30 first downs and 3 wins. Nothing wrong with Cassel, he'll be good if he can get good Wr's.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by billay

Orly? Is that why they drafted Landry when they already had Taylor?

does that seem like a Mike Shanahan thing to do?

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Brock

does that seem like a Mike Shanahan thing to do?

Yep, as Shanahan has had some of the weirdest drafts in recent memory. The year that they signed Champ Bailey, in that next draft he picks cornerbacks with the first three picks. The year Jake Plummer finally gets the Broncos not only their first playoff win in the post-Elway era, but takes them to the AFC Championship game, Shanahan trades up in the first round to take a quarterback.

So, yeah, I have no doubt that Mike Shanahan would take Eric Berry, even with LaRon Landry on the team. Especially since Landry has been less than productive this season, and looks like he's not really suited to be a free safety in the NFL. (Taylor Mays fans take note of the following article.)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/3...m-laron-landry

[MOhillbilly]

Originally Posted by billay

Orly? Is that why they drafted Landry when they already had Taylor?

GW D scheme starts w/ safety play.

[Mecca]

Laron Landry plays a style of safety that doesn't lead to big numbers, he's used much the same as Mays is used at SC.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by billay

Orly? Is that why they drafted Landry when they already had Taylor?

Do you really believe that Mike Shanahan will take a safety?

I don't think there's anyway that'll happen, at all.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Yep, as Shanahan has had some of the weirdest drafts in recent memory. The year that they signed Champ Bailey, in that next draft he picks cornerbacks with the first three picks. The year Jake Plummer finally gets the Broncos not only their first playoff win in the post-Elway era, but takes them to the AFC Championship game, Shanahan trades up in the first round to take a quarterback.

So, yeah, I have no doubt that Mike Shanahan would take Eric Berry, even with LaRon Landry on the team. Especially since Landry has been less than productive this season, and looks like he's not really suited to be a free safety in the NFL. (Taylor Mays fans take note of the following article.)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/3...m-laron-landry

Shanahan will want a QB and/or a RB if not offensive line.

Safety is a luxury they can't afford.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Shanahan will want a QB and/or a RB if not offensive line.

Safety is a luxury they can't afford.

That's what I think too. I'll admit Shanahan likes drafting DBs, but I don't see how that jives with what he already has in DC.

[Mecca]

He's an offensive coach going to a team with a pathetic offense but a pretty good defense, acting like Washington is going to take a safety is pretty far fetched.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by Mecca

He's an offensive coach going to a team with a pathetic offense but a pretty good defense, acting like Washington is going to take a safety is pretty far fetched.

I tend to agree, but the guy is pretty unpredictable.

Who saw him trading up to take Cutler?

Nothing would really surprise me.