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Football Links 5/16/11 - The draft is well behind us. Enough time for some things to sink in.
Recapping the draft:
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1 - Jon Baldwin, 26th overall, WR, 6'4'', 228 lbs - 1st round is where you look for an elite WR. Known for throwing his teammates under the bus, but his team DID suck. His upside is ridiculous, and he has strong ties to Larry Fitz and Darrelle Revis. Looking for him to drop 8 to 10 pounds. If he can run in the low 4.4s at 220 pounds, he will be a devastating weapon. |
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2 - Rodney Hudson, 55th overall, C, 6'2'', 299 lbs - A solid player, most likely the starting C for the next several years. Should be able to come right in and start any interior line position, as needed. All KC did at tackle (so far) is shift D-Lineman Bobby Greenwood to OT. |
3a - Justin Houston, 70th overall, OLB, 6'3'', 270 lbs - Reminds folks of Terrell Suggs, and it was Terrell Suggs I kept bringing up as the kind of player I'd like to see coming to the Chiefs. This will give the Chiefs a potent 4-man rush, regardless of which OLB is coming and which is falling back. This is something they haven't really had for their 3-4, since they started hybridizing their 4-3 in that direction.
3b - Allen Bailey, 86th overall, "Rush DT", 6'3'', 285 lbs - Short-term, the idea is to bring him in to play DT in nickel situations, to rush the passer. I'm still trying to figure out just what I think about this guy. I'm trying to get past my preconceptions and just look at the player for what he is. He weighed in at 285 for the combine and Senior Bowl week, where he seemed sluggish. He dropped to 275 for his Pro Day, and looked pretty quick in shorts, for a guy his size, which is what has my intuition telling me "Steve: He's an OLB masquerading as a lineman." But the initial interest in this guy is probably from projected upside as a guy who will "simply shut down the right side of the offensive line with his ability to play the run." (Walterfootball). Nevertheless, my intuition is telling me this might be a guy who will be an unbelievably strong, durable and BIG OLB, when he maxes out his true pound-for-pound power and quickness. They might want him to bring competition to both T-Jax and Dorsey. If he can play in the 290s, all the better. I'll be looking at his situation closely. We may look back at him as a late-3rd steal. We might look on him as a busted reach-for-upside, too stiff to play LB and not suited to play bigger.
4 - Jalil Brown, 118th overall, DB, 6'1'', 205 lbs - Overshadowed by his teammate, Jimmy Smith, this guy just might benefit more from the transition to the pros, where his jamming skills will be of more use than in the college game. He projects as more of a free safety, but considering some of the WRs the Chiefs face, I'm projecting more inverted coverages in certain games, when the Chiefs will want to be able to blitz, and a big, physical jammer might be just the ticket in some of those games. Having DBs who WILL come up and manhandle ANYbody is a big plus, and will put the bum's rush to some of those offenses that are used to passive responses to their tree-sized wideouts. 6'5'' receivers aren't expecting to be bullied.
5a - Ricky Stanzi (On Walter), 135th overall, QB, 6'4'', 223 lbs - The latest of what Pioli reckons will be his annual QB picks. Looks like a good all-around player/athlete, with a head-start on learning pro offense.
5b - Gabe Miller, 140th overall, LB, 6'3'', 250 lbs - Projects as an OLB. Looking at him on film, I see a guy who brings the kind of push that's been missing from the KC D, in spots. He will be joining a large group of wannabe's, with the return of Studebaker, Vrabel, Sheffield, and Hali, and newbie Houston (and POSSIBLY Bailey, but probably not). 6 - Jerrell Powe, 199th overall, NT, 6'2'', 335 lbs - The long-awaited NT pick is finally made. Once the #1 prospect, many pro scouts felt a lackluster switch to 4-3 is an indication of what they can't get out of him at the next level. Much as we all wanted him, and wanted KC to take him much sooner, if picking him was in the plan, this has the look of a project pick. Hard to say, though. I think Romeo Crennel knows how to suit his 3-4 to a player like Powe. I fully expect to see Ron Edwards return, and Bailey and Powe in the wings behind Shaun Smith. Looking to the future, a slightly smaller DE like Bailey might be the perfect pairing with a true 330-lb space-eating NT.
7 - Shane Bannon, 223rd overall, 6'2'', 266 lbs - Taking another TE/FB. Known as a pass-catching FB who BLOCKS. This new approach to the O-backfield is refreshing. The Haley regime has added only guys with solid ball skills, and trained-up Jamaal Charles to expand his repertoire, which is something I always thought was lacking in 'most all of Carl's picks, except for Kimble Anders, who wasn't much on the blocking side.
Old Stuff. Chiefs went 10-6 during the 2010 season and were 1-and-done in the 2010 postseason. 2/12/11 - At this writing, all await a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to be struck between the NFLPA and the NFL owners. Free Agency (FA) and the coming draft are both kind of up in the air, although that doesn't stop my friends on Arrowhead Pride from talking for hours about whom the Chiefs should sign in FA and select in the draft.
My position on what the Chiefs ought to do this offseason is no position. Just keep building the way they have been, looking for value and Team First. After 2 years, the mgmt has brought the team up to competitiveness, with room to grow and they haven't painted themselves into any corners. At this point, they have a pretty solid base on which to build, and a strong enough team concept to basically get better just by picking the best player/value available.
Lots of folks want KC to address the nose tackle and right offensive tackle positions aggressively this go-round, with quite a few wanting an interior offensive lineman, as well. I agree with those being apparent needs (especially facing the 2011 schedule, assuming there is a season). But I also see a team with a good enough foundation that the main thing is to be sure that whomever you bring it, it be as good or better than what they have. Sure, a great nose tackle would be cool, but that defense gets better by improving ANY of the position groups. The guys they already have will simply execute at a higher level, thanks to having one more teammate that executes at a higher level. Maybe a fancy inside linebacker or a thumper of an outside linebacker tips the scales for them. I'm not too excited about fancy inside linebacker, but I'm convinced the coaching is good enough to make things gel. There's more than one way to skin a cat, and GM Scott Pioli and HC Todd Haley appear to understand how to keep a team on the up-tick, so far.
2/12/11 - At this writing, all await a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to be struck between the NFLPA and the NFL owners. Free Agency (FA) and the coming draft are both kind of up in the air, although that doesn't stop my friends on Arrowhead Pride from talking for hours about whom the Chiefs should sign in FA and select in the draft.
My position on what the Chiefs ought to do this offseason is no position. Just keep building the way they have been, looking for value and Team First. After 2 years, the mgmt has brought the team up to competitiveness, with room to grow and they haven't painted themselves into any corners. At this point, they have a pretty solid base on which to build, and a strong enough team concept to basically get better just by picking the best player/value available.
Lots of folks want KC to address the nose tackle and right offensive tackle positions aggressively this go-round, with quite a few wanting an interior offensive lineman, as well. I agree with those being apparent needs (especially facing the 2011 schedule, assuming there is a season). But I also see a team with a good enough foundation that the main thing is to be sure that whomever you bring it, it be as good or better than what they have. Sure, a great nose tackle would be cool, but that defense gets better by improving ANY of the position groups. The guys they already have will simply execute at a higher level, thanks to having one more teammate that executes at a higher level. Maybe a fancy inside linebacker or a thumper of an outside linebacker tips the scales for them. I'm not too excited about fancy inside linebacker, but I'm convinced the coaching is good enough to make things gel. There's more than one way to skin a cat, and GM Scott Pioli and HC Todd Haley appear to understand how to keep a team on the up-tick, so far.
A shout out to KC Fans at Arrowhead Pride! Maybe this will be a spot to house some homemade x's and o's. I dunno. I've been working on animated voice-overs for my math students, and it looks like the technology is at a point (functionality and affordability) where I can do some fun things.
Someone please remind hmills110 to ask the Arrowhead Pride folks (Click on the Arrow Head, below) for source code or hosting information for their asynchronous chat front-end. It's superior to the product used by my school, and I bet I could implement it on my personal VDNS. Last touched, 2/13/11