Chiefs Defensive Line Scrambles For Position

There are many meanings to the word “technique.”

When it comes to describing a defensive line and its relevant formation, it is often indicated by number and defines a player’s position. With that in mind, this is the first year in recent memory I can ever remember where EVERY defensive lineman will play a different position this coming season compared to the year before.

To me, this is both fascinating and mind-boggling. Lets look how this is “supposed to” play out (no pun intended).

Ron Edwards—Will make the switch from defensive tackle to nose tackle. Probably will struggle. He needs to play lower as well as anchor, because he will take on the double team. I think his overall strength will determine just how effective he is. He should add maybe another 10-15 pounds of muscle. While many other players are shedding weight, he will be asked to gain.

Tank Tyler—He will be making the same switch as Edwards, but in Tyler’s case, he’s more natural at that position. He has tremendous upper body strength. What he needs to do is improve his lower body strength so he doesn’t play so top heavy. He’ll need Edwards to split time there with him, because he won’t have the stamina.

Alphonso Boone—This will be his third switch. Started at DT, last year moved to DE and now will be a five technique. The Kansas City Star said they thought Boone was the best DT the Chiefs have had in the last 10 years when he played inside on a 4-3. He won’t have that option this year. Soft body, but still has the size to play at the five.

Tamba Hali—Tamba will lose weight and play outside linebacker. Interesting, but concerns abound because of lack of speed and pass coverage issues. He’ll give it a shot and I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.

Turk McBride—Now this is a joke. A 280-pound defensive tackle has to “make it” at linebacker or he’s out. It’s one thing to move from DT to DE, but linebacker? Sorry, management, but you’ll be cutting a second round pick because he doesn’t fit your system. Wasn’t it a second round pick they got for Gonzalez? Food for thought.

Wallace Gilberry—Wasn’t drafted, but had 10 sacks as a senior at Alabama. He would have a shot to bulk up and play inside in the old days. Now, it’s a matter of losing a lot of weight, or else. I also might point out he runs a 5.0.

Glenn Dorsey—I feel sorry for this guy. First, Edwards insists on lining him on top of a guard, rather than at three tech, where he could shoot the gaps. Now, he’s moving outside to a Bbse end at 6’1″, 298 lbs.? Another management screw up.

Alex Magee—Their third rounder works best at the three, like Dorsey. So naturally, they’ll be playing him out of position as a five. At 300 lbs., he is a fit outside, but he’s more quick than powerful. Occupying blockers is the key.

Tyson Jackson—Even he has to move from DT, which he played at LSU, to DE. In his case the move IS justified and he will be a natural there. He is one of the few linemen they have that, if pushed, can push back.

All the others, pretty much the same.

The question here is do you have a system to fit the players, or the opposite?

Management is making it known THEY are in control, like it or not. I just hope as a fan, they don’t screw these kids up.

 

 

For Scouts: Seeing Is Believing

It always amuses me when people talk about someone looking better than they really are because of having a great “supporting cast.”

For NFL scouts, there is nothing amusing about it.

While most think of offense, lets look at defense. Lets also modify the term “supporting cast” for something more trivial.

How about the guy standing next to you.

In 2001, Ryan Sims and Julius Peppers stood side by side for North Carolina

At the University of Tennessee, it was Albert Haynesworth and John Henderson

Years later, North Carolina State really took the cake. They had four and three went on to be First-Round Picks—Mario Williams, Manny Lawson, and John McCargo. The fourth became a Third Rounder named Tank Tyler

This brings to mind some obvious questions.

Did Peppers make Ryan Sims look better than he really was?

Peppers was always doubled and sometimes even triple teamed in college. Sims wasn’t.

At Tennessee, it was even more confusing. For Haynesworth and Henderson it wasn’t a matter of whether one made the other one look better.

They both faced alternating double teams but which one is better?

North Carolina State had one of the most dominating defenses in years in 2006. That  was also a nightmare for scouts.

How can you evaluate all four guys when they all arrive at the ball at the same time? So much for studying film. 

It was only in his senior year that Tyler stood out.

A team’s dream can be a scouts nightmare.

 

Chiefs, Tell my why?

TELL ME WHY ….

Matt Cassel hasn’t signed yet

Tyler Thigpen didn’t earned a chance to start this year

Brodie Croyle can’t stay healthy long enough to prove himself

Larry Johnson is acting like a choirboy

Jamal Charles is running so much between the tackles instead of in space

Kolby Smith is still on crutches

Dwayne Bowe hasn’t made the Pro Bowl

Devard Darling was considered an “up and coming” talent

Jeff Webb was considered by Edwards as a “major part of our offense”

Terrance Copper doesn’t turn out to be a major sleeper

Bobby Engram will be one of the best WR coaches one day

Kevin Robinson can run only one route

Rodney Wright can’t run any routes at all

Mark Bradley was released by a team desperate for Recievers

Brad Cottam will be even 50% of what Gonzalez is

Brandon Albert will be the next Willie Roaf

Brian Waters has taken 12 years to get angry

Rudy Niswanger will be looking over his shoulder all year

Mike Goff isn’t still a Charger

Damion McIntosh can’t get used to playing on the Right Side of the line

Barry Richardson reminds me of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Wade Smith threw great blocks in the little time he played

Eric Ghiaciuc doesn’t get the starting nod at Center

Tyson Jackson will be the first Lineman this year who won’t be pushed around

Glenn Dorsey will be forced to play out of position for 2 years in a row

Alex Magee doesn’t surprise people with his pass rush moves

Tank Tyler runs out of gas before halftime

Turk Mcbride can possibly play Linebaker

Tamba Hali won’t improve his Sacks

Mike Vrabel has been absent thus far from all “group” activities

Zack Thomas will have at least one more good year left

Derrick Johnson can fly all over the field but can’t shed a block

Corey Mays be the leading ST tacklers

Monty Biesel won’t anchor the Wedge on Special Teams

Demarrio Williams didn’t make more of an impact last year

Andy Studebaker will beat the odds and start one day

Darrell Robertson won’t make the Pro Bowl one day

Brandon Flowers won’t be the next Antoine Winfield

Ricardo Colclough has a snowballs chance in Hell of making the team

Brandon Carr can only run in a straight line

Maurice Leggett doesn’t get more respect

Travis Daniels was a wasted Free Agent signing

Donald Washington was their 3rd pick when they had much bigger needs

Jared Page is on the ground so much

Dejuan Morgan will get alot more playing time

Mike Brown may be signed to bring leadership to a very young secondary

Bernard Pollard will be this years breakthrough player

Haley and Gailey won’t be butting heads all year

Pioli has any input at all when it comes to Offensive ad Defensive issues

 

Note to editors- please allow only one space between lines -Thanks

Analyzing the Kansas City Chiefs’ QB Situation: Anybody Remember This Guy?

Boy, what a difference a year makes!

Twelve months ago Brodie Croyle was declared the Chiefs’ starting quarterback. The team was so high on him they stated just before the 2008 draft that they had “no interest” in drafting Matt Ryan of Boston College had he been available to them in round one.

There was a lot to like about Croyle. He was a proven winner, he started for a respected college team, and he won without any talent around him. He had a great arm and great leadership ability. He also picked up the offense pretty fast.

Yes, despite the QB being a third round pick, Herman Edwards declared that the Chiefs were “Croyle’s team.”

Now here we are one year later, and Croyle will be fighting hard just to make the team. If he does, he’ll be holding a clipboard. Not exactly where he imagined he would be.

The No. 1 job now belongs to Matt Cassel. Of course, we should wait because Mr. Haley just declared that he must “fight” for that starting position. YEAH RIGHT…does this team think the fans are so stupid that they are to believe that Cassel with his $14 million salary has to fight to be the starter?

I hate to bash management, but let’s cut through this BS. Cassel is the guy.

Interesting game going on here though. Why hasn’t he signed? Is management waiting to see how well he does this year before giving him a huge contract? Not a bad idea except for one thing: Denver is still very much interested in Cassel, and if there is a bidding war after this season, I bet Cassel goes to whoever offers him the most cash. I would.

There is another issue with Cassel. Scott Pioli brought him over with the intentions of adopting a Patriot spread offense. Todd Haley wants a vertical offense. Haley will win out here. Cassel will now be playing in a scheme he’s not proven in with a below average offensive line and dime a dozen wide receivers (except for Dwayne Bowe).

As bad as I feel about Tony Gonzalez leaving, it will be interesting seeing this offense without him. Gonzalez can make any quarterback look good, and that’s a problem if you really want to determine whether a QB is a franchise QB or not.

Regardless of the scheme and personnel, Cassel is THE GUY.

Then there is poor backup Tyler Thigpen. Many people didn’t know who this kid was. Even after he was claimed by Kansas City before Minnesota could slip him onto the practice squad, he was still an unknown except for a handful of scouts.

What he did last year was amazing. I will not bore you with the rest since anyone reading this can fill in those blanks

Imagine, though, if there really is an “Open Competition” as Haley says, and Cassel loses. Or what if Thigpen is needed by midseason because Cassel struggles? If I’m Thigpen, boy would I be angry.

Matt Cassel will be making almost $15 million. Thigpen will make about $200,000. If you do the math, Cassel will make 75 times as much as Thigpen this year. If you were Thigpen, how would you feel?

Which brings us back to Brodie. How much of a shot will he have?

Is it possible he could leapfrog the other two and return to being the main guy?

If what Haley says is true, then there is that chance. However, I wouldn’t hold your breath. This is a battle that is won before it is even fought, and there is not a Chief fan out there who doesn’t know it.

Waters and Cutler Take “Personal Injury” To Whole New Level

Does anyone out there know if an NFL player has ever been put on injured reserve because they got their feelings hurt? 

“Impossible,” you say? At some point in our lives, we all learn the same universal lesson:  Nothing is impossible.

Case in point: Jay Cutler and Brian Waters. Theirs is a tale of two “tough guys” who turned into wimps.

Now, I won’t go to great lengths to rehash the background on these two, because their incidents have already been very well documented and discussed this offseason (Cutler especially grabbed the headlines).

The Cutler situation was simple: Denver’s new head coach had clandestine conversations with other teams regarding a possible three-way deal which would have brought Matt Cassel to Denver. It made sense, as new sideline stalker Josh McDaniels had a good working relationship with Cassel in New England.

But Cutler found out, got pissed, took a stance, and finally got traded. In a matter of a few weeks, the Denver Broncos went from having a franchise quarterback to a below-average one.

Of course, now many people are saying that Kyle Orton (brought in from Chicago in the Cutler trade) is actually pretty good. Really?

If Orton was any good, then he wouldn’t be arriving in Denver along with two first-round draft picks.

The whole story is kind of hard to believe. You would think that Cutler would realize that it is natural for a head coach to want to bring in players they have existing relationships with. It happens all the time; look at Kansas City front office hirings.

But Cutler felt insulted. His feelings were hurt and he just had to leave.

Then there’s Brain Waters of Kansas City. Nobody really knows exactly what went on here, though everyone thinks they do. The only two people who really know are Waters and coach Todd Haley, but Haley won’t address the issue and Waters’ explanation is just too subjective to be taken seriously.

Basically, Haley had just been named head coach and was busy as hell. Waters wanted to meet with him, but Haley didn’t have the time. When they did eventually get together, tempers flared, and Waters came back with a trade request. Evidently, like most star players, Waters feels the world revolves around him and woke up to the reality that it doesn’t and never has.

Look, Haley is not a player’s coach and may even be a prick, but maybe that’s what’s needed in KC. Chief players had it easy under Herman Edwards and Dick Vermeil because those two were player’s coaches. Haley isn’t, but that might just mean maybe that Waters needs to adapt and grow up a little.

For me, both of these scenarios beg the question “Isn’t football the definitive ‘tough guy’ sport?” Don’t guys play with broken bones, torn tendons, concussions, and some times even refuse to come out of a game even when they’re badly hurt? Aren’t they true warriors? 

I think that yes, most are, and that includes Waters. It’s hard to believe that a player can handle playing in extreme pain but can’t handle having hurt feelings.

Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment of others, ultimately forgive, and move on.

The character of both these men will be tested in the near future.

« Previous Page

NFL Sport Channel Latest

• Just How Far Would You Go?
• Sorry Rex, But It Isn’t Happening
• Super Bowl Predictions: Five Stat-Free Reasons Why the Eagles Will Reach The Super Bowl
• Seahawks Attempt to Turn Corner With Heavy Pursuit of Pete Carroll
• Bill Cowher Unlikely to Coach in 2010