Star rips Carl and Herm over Sims

[Hammock Parties]

Rippin' Carl! Rippin' Herm!

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chi...ry/590987.html

He dropped himself onto a chair in a crowded sports bar in Atlanta. He was surrounded by the hopeful, mostly family and friends. His father sat to his right, his agent to his left. A cell phone was on the table in front of him.

Ryan Sims wore a black suit with pinstripes on that April morning, when the group gathered to watch the 2002 NFL draft. Sims was a defensive tackle from the University of North Carolina. He was confident that morning he would be a top-10 draft pick. But Sims’ father, Ronnie, had heard bad things about some teams. There were a handful of franchises Ronnie Sims would just as soon pass on his son — even if they had a high pick.


“There are certain teams that you’re hoping don’t draft your kid,” Ronnie Sims says now. “And Kansas City was one of them.”


Ryan Sims’ phone rang. He flipped it open and pressed it to his right ear. One of the teams Ronnie Sims had heard about was on the other line.


Ryan Sims slid on a Chiefs hat and smiled anyway.


•••

The Chiefs need a sure thing. Six years have passed since the Chiefs traded up to grab Sims with the No. 6 overall pick, a mistake that cost the franchise and Sims for years. It is a mistake the Chiefs cannot afford to repeat when this year’s draft starts Saturday.


Whether they like it or not, reminders of Sims — and the pitfalls of repeating such a mistake — will be all around them.


They have the No. 5 overall pick, their highest since taking Sims. But now, the stakes are higher. They have two first-round picks and 13 choices overall. Coach Herm Edwards wants at least five starters out of this year’s crop, and he implied this week that some coaches and executives might not be around to patch the holes if they don’t get it right this time.


The Chiefs drafted Sims in 2002 because they thought he would be a starter for five, maybe 10 years. Instead, the player they thought was the sure thing wound up taking up space on the roster for five seasons. The Chiefs dumped him last year, trading Sims for a seventh-round pick.


“We thought we solved the problems for many years ahead,” says Dick Vermeil, the Chiefs coach in 2002.


The decision produced a residual effect that still reverberates at Arrowhead Stadium and beyond. The Chiefs still have questions at defensive tackle. The selection elicited criticism of Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson’s player evaluation skills. After Sims was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, the Chiefs were responsible for $1 million of Sims’ signing bonus, money spent paying for nothing but a mistake.


Vermeil thought Sims was a “can’t miss.” Now he’s a 27-year-old backup lineman who might have already peaked. He hasn’t started a game since 2005 and has missed 28 games in six seasons because of injuries. It started that day in April 2002, when the wrong team drafted the wrong player.

“It stunted his growth tremendously,” says Ronnie Sims, himself a former pro athlete. “Ryan was glad to be up out of there. He was like, ‘I don’t care what they give me; they can give me a jersey.’ He was just glad he got out of Kansas City.”


•••

A year after they selected Sims, the Chiefs drafted another defensive tackle. A year later, they chose another one. And another in 2007.
In three of five drafts since 2002, the Chiefs have spent at least one selection trying to make up for the Ryan Sims mistake. Peterson says the financial burdens are stiff for a draft-day bust, but the worst residual effect of drafting Sims was that the Chiefs paid him $9.75 million in guarantees and received no certainty or longevity at defensive tackle.


“If I could have gone back and taken that pick back and done someone else, I’ve got to say, ‘Absolutely, yes,’ ” Peterson says. “You’ve got to be able to live with that decision for some time.”


Drafting Sims came down to hearsay and a scouting breakdown. Sims played alongside Julius Peppers at North Carolina and was strong and quick — with 11 sacks his final two years. John Bunting, Sims’ college coach, sold Vermeil that Sims, not Peppers, was the star of the Tar Heels’ line. Some said Sims would be the next Warren Sapp.


“I don’t think there’s any flaws,” Vermeil said of Sims at the time.
The Chiefs had the No. 8 overall pick in 2002. It wasn’t high enough to get their man. Kansas City traded two draft picks to the Dallas Cowboys to move up two spots after Chiefs executives heard the Minnesota Vikings, sitting at No. 7, were going to draft Sims.


By picking Sims, the Chiefs passed on tackles John Henderson (No. 9 overall) and Albert Haynesworth (No. 15), who have combined to play in three Pro Bowls.


Peterson admits it was a mistake to draft Sims — “It was probably a reach,” he says — but says he does not regret passing on Henderson and Haynesworth, who carried character concerns before the 2002 draft.


But Vermeil says it might have been worth taking a chance on one of them. How could it have turned out worse for the Chiefs?


“If there was a mistake made,” Vermeil says, “we’re the ones who made it.”


•••

Two weeks before the 2002 draft, Ronnie Sims began hearing whispers. Agents were calling to warn Ryan Sims that three teams had reputations. The Cincinnati Bengals were cheap, Ronnie Sims was told. The Seattle Seahawks would be a bad fit. The warnings about the Chiefs were simple, Ronnie Sims says: Kansas City’s general manager was Carl Peterson.

Ronnie Sims says he heard Peterson was an unfair negotiator and that he tried to sign high draft picks for less than their value.


But then Ryan Sims’ cell phone rang, and he sat in that sports bar and smiled wide because he was going to play for the Chiefs.


“At the time,” Ronnie Sims says, “the kid was just happy to be drafted.”


Months later, though, the sides reached a financial impasse. Training camp began, and Ryan Sims wasn’t there. Then the preseason games started, and Sims still wasn’t there. More than a month after the preseason began, Sims signed a five-year contract with the Chiefs. What happened between draft day and signing day remains up for debate, and some hard feelings remain.


Peterson says Sims’ agent, Hadley Engelhard, made unrealistic contract demands and was “foolish” to hold Sims out of camp. Peterson says he reminded Engelhard that the longer a player holds out, the more likely he is to be injured when the regular season begins.


“Without question,” Peterson says, “his agent was extremely difficult.”


Ronnie Sims says Peterson was unreasonable and refused to discuss what the Sims side thought was an appropriate deal.

“He was trying to offer No. 8 or 9 pick money,” Ronnie Sims says. “If I’ve got stock worth $20, you’re not going to give me $10 for it.”


Sims signed on Aug. 28, 2002, more than five months after the Chiefs made him their top pick. Sims was overweight, and Vermeil told reporters Sims was unfit to play because he was “fat and out of shape.”

Sims started two games before he dislocated an elbow and missed the rest of the season. Six months after they drafted Sims, the Chiefs already had regrets.

“It’s just like buying a Mercedes with a bad rear end; it doesn’t run real good,” Vermeil says now. “But you’ve spent a lot of money on it.”


The elbow was the first of many injuries to Sims, who Peterson maintains might have avoided such a fate if he had reported to training camp on time. Regardless, Sims’ elbow injury started a chain reaction that led to more injuries, which led to a label that he was unsuited to playing regularly in the NFL.


When Vermeil left the Chiefs after the 2005 season, Herm Edwards took over. Ronnie Sims says Edwards misled Ryan Sims and lied to him about his future in Kansas City. When the topic of Sims was brought up to Edwards last week, the Chiefs coach rolled his eyes and said he would not comment on the former first-round pick.

“I’ll leave that one alone,” Edwards says.


But Ronnie Sims is outspoken about his son’s time here. He says Ryan Sims received substandard coaching, and executives blamed Sims for not being the team’s salvation. Once Ryan Sims was traded, his father says, his play and attitude improved. It took five years, Ronnie Sims says, for his son to settle in at a place and feel wanted — and that place was not Kansas City.

“They would tell you one thing, and then they would go behind your back and tell you something else,” Ronnie Sims says. “I don’t operate like that.

“Trust me, there’s a reason why people want out of Kansas City. It’s got to be Carl, I guess. It’s got to be something. Every guy I know who left Kansas City and was on another team, they’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m glad I got out of Kansas City.’ ”


•••

Peterson sits behind his desk at Arrowhead Stadium and stares at a paper that contains some of Ryan Sims’ statistics.


Peterson leans back and reads aloud the number of starts Sims made for the Chiefs.


“Thirty-six of fifty-nine games,” Peterson says, dropping the paper back on his desk.


He shakes his head and doesn’t say anything for a long time. Then he looks up.


“I can blame it on player personnel,” he says. “I can blame it on coaches. I can blame it on myself.”


Six years after one of the worst draft picks in Chiefs history, there remain as many questions toward future drafts as there is blame for the 2002 draft. As a result of what happened the last time the Chiefs had a top-10 pick, some fans distrust Peterson and the Chiefs’ scouting department.


Peterson hasn’t forgotten what missing on Sims did to the franchise. Few will let him forget it. So all he can do now is sit behind a desk and shake his head at a decision Peterson admits was far from a one-year mistake.

Ronnie Sims says he had his concerns the Chiefs were a bad fit. Looking back, he says, both sides would have been wise to avoid each other.

“What Ryan knows now,” Ronnie Sims says, “he wishes Kansas City hadn’t drafted him. And I’m sure they wish they hadn’t drafted him, too.”

[eazyb81]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

Here is the head scratcher -

"Peterson admits it was a mistake to draft Sims — “It was probably a reach,” he says — but says he does not regret passing on Henderson and Haynesworth, who carried character concerns before the 2002 draft."

Peterson doesn't regret not taking Henderson??? WTF?

He's saying he doesn't regret passing on them because they were too risky for that pick. They both had character issues, and Henderson had some lower back problems that scared many teams off.

[Chiefnj2]

Originally Posted by eazyb81

He's saying he doesn't regret passing on them because they were too risky for that pick. They both had character issues, and Henderson had some lower back problems that scared many teams off.

How could you look back with 20-20 and not say you don't regret it? Henderson hasn't had character issues and his back hasn't been a problem. Haynesworth has had character issues.

[TEX]

Outstanding - Now I bet it's finally safe to say what some of us said after two years, that Ryan Sims is/was/always will be a TOTAL BUST!

The Chiefs, desperate for DL help, gave Sims EVERY chance to prove himself. All he did was PROVE he couldn't play. The end.

[Reerun_KC]

Originally Posted by TEX

Outstanding - Now I bet it's finally safe to say what some of us said after two years, that Ryan Sims is/was/always will be a TOTAL BUST!

The Chiefs, desperate for DL help, gave Sims EVERY chance to prove himself. All he did was PROVE he couldn't play. The end.

QFT....

And Carl is still a embarrasement to the city of KC, the Chiefs and its loyal fanbase...

Regardless if the Sims are being portrayed as whiney bitches, Carl is a fuck tool plain and simple....

[eazyb81]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

How could you look back with 20-20 and not say you don't regret it? Henderson hasn't had character issues and his back hasn't been a problem. Haynesworth has had character issues.

Because with the info you had at the time, you couldn't take him that high. Most had Henderson as the 4th DT on the board by the time the draft rolled around because of some really poor workouts.

I guess hindsight is 20/20, and I see what you're saying because Henderson has been a beast (I wanted us to draft him that year), but there were major concerns with him, especially at #6 overall.

[StcChief]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

From 1998-2002 we got Hall and Wesley out of the drafts. Having a monkey throw darts at the board would have had more success.

This is the reason we are in this predictament now.

exactly.... the busts year in and year out killed this team.

we need all 13 picks and better have 50% fit factor, next year 10 picks need 50% again.

that happens I'll think Krumrie,Herm, and Bill have earned some respect,

we really won't know about 1/3 of the picks until 2010-2012....

[alpha_omega]

Ronnie who???

[Sanka]

Why is Ryan Sims even relevant? I personally want to forget about the horror that was the Ryan Sims experiment, and to be honest till this article I totally forgot about the fat shit.

[Reerun_KC]

Originally Posted by alpha_omega

Carl who???

FYP

Thats more like it...

[Reerun_KC]

Originally Posted by Sanka

Why is Ryan Sims even relevant? I personally want to forget about the horror that was the Ryan Sims experiment, and to be honest till this article I totally forgot about the fat shit.

Because Carl is still the GM and people are still paying Carl and the Chiefs....

Why is Carl even relevant?

[Baby Lee]

But Ronnie Sims is outspoken about his son’s time here. He says Ryan Sims received substandard coaching

Geez, if only he had the same coaches Jared All . . . . Oh wait!!

[Sanka]

Originally Posted by Reerun_KC

Because Carl is still the GM and people are still paying Carl and the Chiefs....

Why is Carl even relevant?

Good question. I don't know the answer. They both suck if you ask me though.

[PastorMikH]

I see where Sims got his bad attitude. I wonder if Daddy Ronnie is a lazy panzy that would let a sore toe keep him from work too?

[PastorMikH]

FWIW, Carl has had 3 top 10 picks, and though he may have stunk on the last one, the first two were great picks. Also, I tend to think part of the problem with Sims was DV and his staff. They couldn't pick a D-player for squat. If Allen hadn't been a long-snapper prospect they probably would have blown that one too.

[StcChief]

Originally Posted by PastorMikH

FWIW, Carl has had 3 top 10 picks, and though he may have stunk on the last one, the first two were great picks. Also, I tend to think part of the problem with Sims was DV and his staff. They couldn't pick a D-player for squat. If Allen hadn't been a long-snapper prospect they probably would have blown that one too.

Rep. the long snapper part is probably true, they didn't find a diamond in the rough as #4 pick, they were getting an insurance policy for aging Kendall Gammons.