Sam Mellinger: Chiefs whiff on chance to improve at QB
 

Scott Piolii will be happy to read this in the morning's paper....

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/20...o-improve.html

ROFL

Can't say I disagreee

Do us a favor and copy the text. Some of us us mobile phones.
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Your wish is my command.......

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Chiefs whiff on chance to improve at QB

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/20...#storylink=cpy

The question is simple, and I am asking it directly: Do the Chiefs have a better quarterback situation now than when last season ended?

In other words, is Matt Cassel with Brady Quinn better than Cassel with Kyle Orton? Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli is trying to answer the question, and for that he gets credit.

For the answer itself, though, you can be the judge:

“I think we have a very good quarterback situation now,” he says. “I haven’t looked at it through that prism. I think we have a very good and very competitive quarterback situation. I really do. And it is what it is. You know what I mean? That’s the situation we have. And I’m very comfortable with it.”

Pioli promises he’s good with this, but it’s hard to imagine many Chiefs fans feeling the same way. Peyton Manning is in Denver now, without taking the time to even visit Kansas City — even after talking with Pioli and hearing owner Clark Hunt take the Chiefs’ wooing national.

Instead, the Chiefs have a clearly inferior quarterback situation after an offseason publicly devoted to improving the quarterback situation. Orton beat out Quinn in Denver last year, is the only one of the two with any NFL success … and left to be the backup in Dallas.

Pioli called Orton’s contract (essentially a three-year contract worth $10.5 million) “very, very generous,” but when he’s done mocking the deal he’ll have to realize that money the Chiefs have and will soon be required to spend could’ve been used to back up his own public promises.

An offseason that began with Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel talking about better quarterback competition, and that spiked with owner Hunt telling the world his team wanted Manning, is now winding down with a weaker quarterback situation than what the Chiefs ended last season with. Let that sink in.

Pioli did a lot of good things this offseason, and he might do more before next month’s draft. The Chiefs signed a power running back (Peyton Hillis) to complement Jamaal Charles. They signed a legitimate No. 2 cornerback (Stanford Routt) when the price for Brandon Carr went too high. They added a solid tight end (Kevin Boss) as insurance for Tony Moeaki.

Most important, they signed the free-agent market’s best right tackle (Eric Winston) to fill the first-string’s biggest hole.

It’s just that on what should have been the Chiefs’ most important offseason priority — the only thing that could’ve drastically improved the franchise — Pioli whiffed.

That’s it.

Just whiffed.

And worse: He apparently doesn’t even know why Manning wouldn’t consider the Chiefs.

“He never explained to me nor did I ask,” Pioli said. “ … I don’t think it was my place to do that.”

Now, Pioli even addressing this is progress. A year ago, it would’ve been hard to imagine him talking about a player who signed somewhere else. But the Chiefs have made a concerted effort to speak more openly to fans, so Pioli found himself talking about his pursuit of Manning.

But what came in the answers can be no consolation to Chiefs fans.

The Chiefs — considering the team’s cap space, strong roster and Hunt’s words — were among Manning’s biggest snubs. Among other teams that couldn’t get a face-to-face with Manning, Washington traded for the opportunity to draft Robert Griffin III and the Seahawks signed Matt Flynn to a surprisingly reasonable contract.

Pioli’s conference call with reporters on Tuesday was cut short after about 17 minutes by some technical glitches, and he didn’t respond to follow-up questions sent through the team’s communications department about whether he knew whether Manning’s snub was fueled by anything specific about the Chiefs.

That means many will speculate that well-known drama within the organization made Manning unwilling to even visit (even as another Chiefs source stressed this wasn’t the case).

That’s not entirely fair. Manning’s snub of the Chiefs isn’t necessarily a middle finger at Hunt or Pioli any more than his refusal to meet with the Seahawks or Jets is a middle finger to those organizations.

If it was only about the best chance of winning right away, the Chiefs are a better choice than the Broncos. But if it was only about the best chance of winning right away, the 49ers, a team he also snubbed, are a better choice than the Chiefs.

Manning held his introductory news conference in Denver on Tuesday and spoke mostly in generalities about choosing the Broncos.

He emphasized his comfort with owner Pat Bowlen and VP of football operations John Elway — which could be interpreted that the Chiefs lacked the right leadership.

But he also said “this is a now situation” and Elway added “there is no plan B” — which can only be heard as the antithesis of Pioli’s Chiefs.

Manning’s truest and unfiltered thoughts about the teams he didn’t choose probably won’t ever go public. That’s just not his style, and Pioli says he won’t spend time worrying over things he can’t control, that his job is to manage the things he can control.

But Pioli’s well-earned reputation of being meticulous and researching every possibility makes it hard to believe he’s content taking an ambiguous thanks-but-no-thanks from the one player who could’ve instantly made this franchise a serious Super Bowl threat.

Pioli did enough other good things to take some of the sting from not upgrading at quarterback, but if he didn’t find out why Manning skipped Kansas City, then how can he know whether it was something he could control?

And if he really doesn’t have the answer, how can Chiefs fans know everything possible is being done to win a championship?

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/20...#storylink=cpy

Pioli is a ****ing liar.

Rotting scrotums > Pioli

Thanks

I agree with this article!! The Chiefs whiffed in a big way, granted 5 years 90+ mil...was way to much to spend on Manning. Question is will Cassle show up next year or are we doomed before the season starts?

Nothing says Chamionship! Like the GM referring to the QB situation as "it is what it is".

/wrist

The Matt Cassel is a ProBowl Quarterback. Feel good about it.

We have whiffed for the last 40 years. Lenny the Cool is only QB the Chiefs got right. Jury is out on Stanzi and maybe even Brady Quinn but I want us to go after a high round QB if not this year then next. I'm not upset we didn't get Manning, I'm upset that year after year we fail to get a QB from the draft that we can get excited about and have some hope.

lol, Its not about whiffing on manning imo. ITs just we are stuck in the same ****ing situation as always, no damned legit qb.

Year after year, im sorry but i learned my lesson. We arent winning shit without a good qb. I fullly understand that now and there's nothing that wil change my mind. We stand no chance to win the Superbowl with Matt Cassel. NONE

Well.... It kind of is. If Matt Flynn is turns out to be a stud, then Pioli will look like a dumbass, but otherwise, what should he have done? I suppose re-signing Orton was a way he could have gone, but c'mon... that's not the change at QB everyone is looking for. Basically, in FA it was Manning or bust and he didn't want to be a Chief. I hope they address it in the draft but you can't manufacture a franchise QB out of thin air. The organization made it clear that Cassel isn't the golden boy by pursuing Manning. It's a matter of time and opportunity until Matt is out of the picture. That doesn't make Pioli a shitty GM.

The moment he passes on a legit QB shot to stick with Cassel or any other "safe" option, I'll agree, but I don't know what else he could have done. (Again, other than sign a former back-up that looked good with an elite offense)

I think this fanbase is too easy to pour all of our years of QB woes onto Pioli. He tried to address it with Cassel and clearly failed. They've now publicly admitted their mistake with the pursuit of Cassel. If they stand pat, I totally get the hate. I hope they don't. I guess we'll see.

THe thing is, the fans have seen this script already. We know how it ends up. It ends up in a first round play off ass raping at best. Defense is good, gets us to the play offs, but in the play offs when you need your Offense to step up and make plays, it dont work.

I remember that Ravens game a few years back. Jamaal Charles broke a 50 yarder for a td we go up 7-0 and then proceed to give up 30 unanswered points. We dont even move the ball after that. WE still dont have a QB that can make the big play. Say wha tyou want about FLacco that game. He was making some damned good passes to Heap all day long and we couldnt do ANYTHING.

Same thing will happen once we face them elite teams. It makes me not really look forward to football season because, ive already seen this movie.

I really do believe that Polio is starting to feel the heat from this Cassel experiment.
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Nothing new, Peyton didn't want to come here. Cassel is horrible. We should have kept Orton. Need to draft a QB. Pioli is cheap.

I think he is on a short leash from Clark Hunt as it was Clark Hunt who made Pioli to fire Haley. So if Pioli is that big of an idiot to put his stock in Cassel he deserves to be fired.

Which he already did and look how that turned out.

I agree, other than break the bank on Manning and have no upgrades anywhere else, what else should he have done? We might still make some crazy ass move to get Tannehill, but other than that, there were no legit QB 's out there. Orton is Cassel 2.0. A little better than Matt but not enough to make giving him a contract worth it.

We won't be winning the division this year IMO. But we'll be a good team and we'll have to hope for a QB next year. Again.

Did Pioli seriously mock Orton's $10.5 million contract? After giving $60 million to an inferior QB he had to trade a high 2nd round pick to get?

$96 Million / 5 years / 36 year old injured QB - No thanks.

If we really want a franchise QB we would've been further away from getting one with PM here, maybe Orton too.

I would say we are just about where we started last year. Maybe slightly better. Orton is certainly better that Quinn but as others have said he (Orton) and Cassell are pretty even IMHO.

Yeah, I found that humorous as well, considering he paid Orton $2.5M for THREE GAMES last year.

“I think we have a very good quarterback situation now,” he says. “I haven’t looked at it through that prism. I think we have a very good and very competitive quarterback situation. I really do. And it is what it is. You know what I mean? That’s the situation we have. And I’m very comfortable with it.”

is Scott Pioli really this stoopid?

Kind of hard for me to blame Pioli for not getting Manning. If a guy doesnt want to go somewhere or the Owner only wants to pay so much, nothing he can do about it. Simple as that.

The Chiefs would have been better served tanking the season last year like the Colts did.

F it! Move on. Pioloi probably knows exactly why Manning didn't choose KC, but why rub salt in the wound? We have enough talent on this team now to win with a mediocre QB. The Chiefs should actually be the antithesis of what every other team is trying to be, which is a pass first team. We should have a clock chewing, wear you down offense with a lot of teams will not be prepared to handle. I see us winning the division more than I see a Manning led broncos winning it.

It sucks to read that but there's nothing else he can say unless he wants to throw all three of our QBs under the bus.

We didin't whiff on Manning because he was never even pitched our way.

Didn't get over $5mil in the 1st year of his contract? :shrug:


I feel like the KC press hate Pioli so much that they are really trying to get him run out of town.

as they should.
he doesn't have a clue when it comes to QB's.

While I want to agree with that he really has had to many to choose from.

We should trade Pioli and our 1st and 2nd round picks to the Donks for Horseface. At least Horseface will do everything in his power to bring us the franchise QB the Kansas City Chiefs deserve.

It's the offseason and the media needs a story. I do agree with you however. Mellinger keeps comparing the Cassel/Orton combo to Cassel/Quinn, but what he doesn't say is that they really were never "together.". Cassel was done for the year when Orton came in.

The Flynn suggestion is a good one in theory, but Flynn wanted to go to a familiar place with a very good chance to start, and that is exactly what he is getting in Seattle. KC would have had a hard time winning that battle as well.

I am just thankfull that Pioli didn't continue to chase Manning throughout FA only to lose other potential FA's like the 49ers and others did. If Manning didn't see what KC was all about and at least give them a visit, then so be it. Admittedly KC wasn't Eric Winston's top choice either until coming to KC, seeing the town, and meeting with the brass.
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when your team is on the verge of Greatness (except for QB) as the case with the Chiefs you get aggressive.
by signing Quinn to compete with Cassel, he surrendered.

Not enough.

Absolutely. If I were a Denver fan, I'd be a little uneasy that Quinn is gone, and they alienated the only other backup they have in Tebow. Now, they have to draft a QB or sign a no-namer just to fill the slots....with a 36 yr old QB coming of neck surgery at the helm.

IMO, if PM would have chosen the Chiefs, I don't believe Pioli/Hunt would have gone after another young 1st rd caliber QB until PM retired or went down. By then grooming a QB is pretty much out of the question, you just have to throw him in the fire.

I've laways hated Manning so not getting him keeps life simple. I would have gotten on board if we did get him but I would have to put an * beside all the games he played in. So after Manning who should we have agressively went after? Orton? Really?

I would rather have Orton as a starter over The Matt Cassel. Football is more exciting when you can throw past five yards.

yep.

like threebag said at Least keep Orton he can throw the ball past five yards.

I agree, Should have AT THE VERY LEAST kept Orton.

I don't think Orton wanted to be a Chief so that's a moot point to me.

It was Pissoli's job to convince him to stay here.

i understand the concept of "if you're ever gonna see a rainbow you gotta stand a little rain" but 4 years of Casshole is a bit much.

Yeah it is. In the end I think Orton would have been just as big a disapointment as Cassel. Changing for the sake of change isn't going to make any difference.

The writers are reading Chiefsplanet, now, or they finally grew a brain.

that may be true but at least our opponents would have to respect the field beyond 5 yards with Orton.

but IMO Pioli asked Orton to backup Cassel and that was an insult to Orton.

We could have cut Cassel, and signed Orton for less than half of what Cassel's making over the next three years. Maybe Pioli could have brought Cassel back as depth and paid him league minimum -- if he is even worth that.

Do you really believe that Pioli is going to try a potential franchise QB, and better yet, do you want this coaching staff withing 100 miles of that QB?

yep.

Manning, Orton, any coach worth a ****, if they don't want to be here, what are you going to do?

Get someone who can make this a place that QB's want to play at.

I'm guessing Orton would have played here if we had cut Cassel.

I'm not sure I trust Clark to find his own replacement.

Orton would have stayed here had he been offered the starting job.
isn't it Pioli's job to upgrade?

Orton was an upgrade for lat least the upcoming season.

Maybe Tebow's dad will do us a big favor and force the issue.

This.


The Orton part of the equation is a dead giveaway to the underlying story. He knew last season then that Cassel was going to start this year no matter what. That's why he hit the road ASAFP. All of this Manning talk is just the front office blowing smoke up our ass.


This franchise is so ****ed it's scary.

Cassel better get zapped by lightening or something so the light bulb flips on.

The boo birds will destroy the team this year if he plays as in the past.

I would really like to see if Denver could make a trade for Mallet. Offer up a R3 this year - see if they can make something work. Mallet would be an ideal backup for Manning and they would potentially have their long-term QB fix in place and after spending a year with Brady, then 2-3 with Manning ... you couldn't ask for more really.

No shit if we had this roster plus Andrew Luck oh my god we would be talking about at least 4 to 7 years of dominance in the AFC

Why would New England do that? they really have no reason to take a third round pick for Mallet just doesn't make any sense

[QUOTE=scho63;8478724]Scott Piolii will be happy to read this in the morning's paper....

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/20...o-improve.html

"...but if he didn’t find out why Manning skipped Kansas City, then how can he know whether it was something he could control?"

Truly insightful. :clap:

:shake:
I totally disagree with this statement-he went to Dallas to be a backup and he is NOT going to ever start while Romo is healthy so Kansas City was actually a BETTER opportunity to start, if that's what he really was after....

Cassel can't break his hand if he only hands off the ball, or does a quick flat or slant pass. Get used to the boredom that will be our offense.

For the umpteenth time tanking exists only in the mind of internet draftmasturbaters. They were too used to a prime Peyton carrying thier ass and Painter really does blow at a record level. I'm suuuuure all those players the Colts cast off were out for the best interest of the Colts and not for themselves!!!

yes...yes he did

I'm going to create some sob story about a kids' biggest wish is to meet Matt Cassel, and how it would be a great surprise at the kids' birthday party. I would pretent to be, say, Kreskin The Magician and would like Matt to come on up to the small impromptu stage to 'help' me with a trick. I would turn my top hat upside down to demonstrate there is nothing in the hat.

I would then ask Matt to stick his right hand in there to confirm, then BAM!.....Bear Trap in the hat.


Oh...and I need to borrow somebodys kid.

With the Manning and RGIII/Luck scenarios falling through, Orton was the best option for the Chiefs this offseason.

They should have re-signed Orton and shit-canned Cassel.

Introduce him to Vargo Hoat. No more throwing hand coachthlayer.

If Cassel fails next season and takes the Chiefs down with him, then Fat Scott should be fired.

what are folks' prediction on the Chiefs record. and what would it take in your opinion, to get Scooter Polio fired?

I say they go 8-8.
if they go 5-11 or less, he'll be fired.

I think it was a designed whiff. Any competition would only be designed to boost Cassel's confidence. Orton would have actually challenged him to start. Quinn more than likely will not be able to.

The Quinn signing is a fine one. It's a project guy on a one year deal for little money and for a backup role. I just feel it was disingenuous for them to act like there was really going to be a competition.

True fans everywhere hate this comment although you are spot on.

I think we should have resigned orton and sign flynn, then try to trade casshole on draft day for PB&J sandwich (with the crust still on!) and moved the **** on.

9-7 or 10-6. We went 7-9 last year with Cassel and Palko starting. Yes we still have Cassel, but no Palko. But we also achieved this with a harder schedule minus Charles, Berry, and Moeaki. We also had Richardson at RT last year. Outside of the Cassel situation, every other one of those is better now. Barring a crap ton of injuries I don't see how we finish 8-8 or worse.

Yeah, all those impending free agents that knew they weren't coming back to the Colts wanted them to have the 1st pick in the draft. Painter sucked balls, so he'd lose his job and never get a chance again. But, but, but Garcon fumbled on purpose!!! The sacrifice of those men. ROFL

Great article. Hope Pioli spit his coffee all over himself when he read this.

Arrowhead Pride ‏ @ArrowheadPride Close
Heard Kietzmann saying the Chiefs should trade for Blaine Gabbert (no, I'm serious). One emailer just suggested the same (/pulls trigger)



I for one, want NO part of Blazed Garbage.

They also could have signed Orton or Garrard, yet made no effort. They continued to put their Palko (Painter) out there every week while making a half hearted atempt at best to address the QB situation by bringing a 40 plus year old Collins out of retirement. Yup management was dedicated to winning when Peyton's future was still in doubt and Luck was waiting for the team that got the #1 pick. :thumb:

Manning is not a QBoTF so I don't find that upsetting at all. The upsetting bit is that Pioli didn't try harder for a QB last year when we had the opportunity and that there doesn't appear to be any QBoTFs beyond the first two QBs in the upcoming draft.

Seriously, who would be more valuable to this team right now- Justin Houston or Ryan Mallet? Hell, I would rather have Mallet than last year's 2nd round pick, Rodney Hudson.

I can't say I'd want no part, he could probably give casshole and brady queff a decent run for their money. BUT I wouldn't advocate a trade for him.

The three games Orton played made it painfully obvious what needed to be done. The very least, very least, Orton should have been retained.

I'd take Gabbert in a hearbeat.


FFS, look what he had to deal with last year. No training camp, no weapons besides MJD.

I'd take him off their hands, sit him behind Cassel for a year if you ahve too.

What's Todd Reesing up to?

I am not sure how you can say that. He indicated he did, but that he wasn't really wanted. He knew after his last game that they were not going to offer him a contract.