The Chiefs don't need an over priced FA to be better next year...

[|Zach|]

Ok here it goes. Most of the board will disagree with me. Some will pass me off as an idiot homer...some will say I don't know anything about football and thats fine. I expect this from Chiefsplanet. I would be dissapointed actully if I don't hear things like that and I will be dissapointed if Laz doesn't put himself on the cross in yet another thread for not being a homer but...

I believe the Chief defense will be better next year and here is why I believe that.

They don't have to be that much better for this team to get to the place it wants to be. They didn't win the superbowl last year but I believe the Colts were just as good as any team in the NFL. During the game we only needed the Colts to punt once. One little punt and the offense and special teams could have put it together enough to win the game. They tore apart our defense like it was a complete joke and it was a complete joke. The Colts would line up and Manning would walk his happy ass to all those lineman and just call out plays. For some reason the defense never decided to move or audible at all. Nothing would change and we would pretty much show what we were going to do before the play. I don't care who is playing defense when you play like that you are going to get your ass kicked.

Not every player that is a FA is going to be an automatic upgrade. It seems to be a very popular opinion that "anyone else would be better than what we have." I think this is foolish I think we have a great CB in Eric Warfield. Did he get beat last year? Of course he did its the damn NFL and offense is taking over. Did make a lot of great plays also? Yes. I think he did.

The Chiefs will have a better defense next year if...

• Ryan Sims plays up to his potential
• The defense attacks with 11 men doing their jobs
• Arm tackles are eliminated
• The intensity comes back (alot of that passion comes from coaching)

I will be very worried about the Chiefs defense if...

• Maslowski is our MLB
• There isn't more rotating on the D Line to make use of our player's different strenghts
• Chiefs Planet members get control of wheeling and dealing with the Chiefs and we sign an over priced Hugh Douglas type player

Predictions from the thread to the field

• Eric Hick's will have a great season under Gunther's style of defense.
• Vonnie Holliday will have an awful season and either get beat out in camp or replaced in the regular season
• Mitchell if given the nod to start will be a solid player and fierce hitter in the middle for us. Gunther has a knack for developing talent at the LB position.
• William Bartee will play well in a limited roll for the Kansas City Chiefs
• In the coming years Julian Battle will become the best Chiefs CB since James Hasty

[KHinz57]

Originally Posted by MrBlond

KHinz, otoh, is an idiot homer who knows nothing about football.

j/k

Okay, I'll admit it openly, I probably am an idiot homer ... who knows a little about football ... but if anyone watched the games last year and the year before that, and heck, the year before that, you could easily see that it probably wasn't any individuals fault that the Chiefs defense was so bad ... most of them have the necessary tools to do well ... but anytime you play under a horrible scheme, what do you expect to happen? Gunther Cunningham should've been back way sooner, and now because of thid idiocy with Greg Robinson, our window of opportunity is dangerously closing.

[htismaqe]

I've been saying since Gunther drafted him that Bartee has all the physical tools to be a good CB in this league.

[KHinz57]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I've been saying since Gunther drafted him that Bartee has all the physical tools to be a good CB in this league.

Well then that makes 3 of us ... because everyone else on here views William Bartee as the worst cornerback in the league. Just goes to show how much they really know. I'm not saying he's the best ... nor is he great, but I think he will play solid defensive under a truely solid defensive coordinator with a decent scheme.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by KHinz57

Well then that makes 3 of us ... because everyone else on here views William Bartee as the worst cornerback in the league. Just goes to show how much they really know. I'm not saying he's the best ... nor is he great, but I think he will play solid defensive under a truely solid defensive coordinator with a decent scheme.

Many here threw an absolute fit when Gunther started Pat Dennis over Bartee when Warfield got hurt that season.

Gunther stated at the time that Dennis was more "ready" than Bartee, but that Bartee had far more potential. He said Dennis was as good as he would ever get, but Bartee needed work.

After that season, in comes Greg Robinson, who brought Ray Crock-o-shit with him.

I still think Bartee can be a good player given some decent coaching. I also think Battle has a bright future.

[MrBlond]

Carl Lewis has all the tools to be a HOF CB.

5 years of overwhelming evidence leads me to believe that he is far below an average NFL nickleback.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by MrBlond

Carl Lewis has all the tools to be a HOF CB.

5 years of overwhelming evidence leads me to believe that he is far below an average NFL nickleback.

5 years?

William Bartee was drafted in the 2000 draft and has logged FOUR years of service. He played 1 season under Gunther and 3 under the unmentionable one.

It's all moot, anyway. This board literally BEGGED for Gunther Cunningham. They got him. Gunther thinks Bartee can play.

Maybe next time, people will be more careful what they wish for.

[KCTitus]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Maybe next time, people will be more careful what they wish for.

Lord, I sure hope not...it would take away all the fun.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

It's all moot, anyway. This board literally BEGGED for Gunther Cunningham. They got him. Gunther thinks Bartee can play.

Maybe next time, people will be more careful what they wish for.

I make fun of Bartee's 45 degree field of vision as much as anyone, but if Gunther sees an upside to him then I'm willing to suspend my disdain for a season and give him the chance.

[Hoover]

I think Hicks is the one who finds himself on the bench behind Wilkerson or R-Kal. Holliday has a better first step and I think Gun will motivate him

[MrBlond]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

5 years?

William Bartee was drafted in the 2000 draft and has logged FOUR years of service. He played 1 season under Gunther and 3 under the unmentionable one.

It's all moot, anyway. This board literally BEGGED for Gunther Cunningham. They got him. Gunther thinks Bartee can play.

Maybe next time, people will be more careful what they wish for.

I included his last year at Oklahoma.

I was ambivilant about Gun. I think he is a competent NFL DC. As was McGinnis and Jauron and Williams. I think, given some talent to work with, that he can field good defenses.

But returning the same 11 dregs that have sucked for 2 years doesnt give me much hope of seeing a dramatic improvement in our defense.

And, imo, Bartee is the dregiest dreg that dregged last year. As for Gun liking him, don't forget that Gun liked Kurt Schottenhiemer as his Defensive Coordinator.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by ZachKC

I love the usage of words.

- funny, I prefer grunts and finger pointing.

Posting "I love using words" on a BBS. . .

[Baby Lee]

Bartee gets beat by accurate passes. He generally covers well, but fails to look back for the ball. And the reason we notice his 'stiff neck' is because he's still in the picture when the ball lands in the reciever's arms. As maddening as it is to watch him get burnt like that, it is still much better than seeing other players get burnt and not even being in the picture.
From here, there are two things to improve on. Of course we can work on getting him to look around and feel the pass coming. But even more productive would be pass rush pressure. Don't let the QBs get off those perfect passes and the tightness of Bartee's coverage is gonna make the QB check down under pressure.
Bartee is gonna look a lot different to a QB under pressure than he does to a QB who has all day and the knowledge that, if he can float a perfect pass, he can get it to the receiver no matter how tight Bartee's coverage is.

[KC Dan]

What an idiot homer, Zach.

Nice layout of your thoughts, not bad at all. I happen to agree in large part that the leap required by the defense really isn't that much but the DL push and CB play must improve some way either by FA pickup and new scheme or by more enthusiasm. R Kal for example picked up the entire defensive intensity each time he stepped on the field last year. Hopefully, he will suu more action in 2004.

[MrBlond]

If we cannot give up on Bartee WTF can we give up on? Does Ted White still have time to develop into a solid NFL QB?

I mean 4 Frikken years (thanks, htis! ) is a career in the NFL. At some point the shit play isnt just a fluke or an excellent throw by the QB or a great route by the WR or a bad scheme or an injury or poor coaching in college or being played out of his "natural position" or youth or inexperiance or an unlucky jersey number or off-the-field distractions or one leg shorter than the other.

Sometimes the butler did do it.

[ArrowheadHawk]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Bartee gets beat by accurate passes. He generally covers well, but fails to look back for the ball. And the reason we notice his 'stiff neck' is because he's still in the picture when the ball lands in the reciever's arms. As maddening as it is to watch him get burnt like that, it is still much better than seeing other players get burnt and not even being in the picture.
From here, there are two things to improve on. Of course we can work on getting him to look around and feel the pass coming. But even more productive would be pass rush pressure. Don't let the QBs get off those perfect passes and the tightness of Bartee's coverage is gonna make the QB check down under pressure.
Bartee is gonna look a lot different to a QB under pressure than he does to a QB who has all day and the knowledge that, if he can float a perfect pass, he can get it to the receiver no matter how tight Bartee's coverage is.

By golly I bet your right.