SB Nation - Lewis Sanders

Do the Chiefs Have Anyone in for Free Agent Workout Day?

Joel Thorman — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:06:25 -0000

3 months ago: Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley, left, and Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh talk at mid field after the Ravens won 38-24 during an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in Baltimore. The Ravens won 38-24. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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Tuesdays are generally the day of the week that teams bring in free agents for workouts. Presumably, the Kansas City Chiefs are doing the same today. There's usually quite a bit of movement on Tuesday and today is no exception.

The Tyler Thigpen trade today means there is an opening on the 53 man roster. The early favorite, per speculation earlier this week, is Lance Long being promoted from the practice squad.

Here are a few moves that may be of interest:

Former Chief WR Taurus Johnson tried out for the Lions today. He was signed as a UDFA (and the Chiefs worked him out pre-draft) by the Chiefs and released on the final big cutdown day.
T Levi Jones worked out for the Packers. The team isn't in a whole lot of need at left tackle so we assume this was for a shot as a right tackle.
S Keith Davis tried out for the Titans today. The Chiefs reportedly worked him out way back in March but there's been no movement on this. He's a special teams guy as well.
CB Roderick Hood tried out for the Titans as well. The Chiefs have reportedly worked out a few defensive backs in recent weeks.
The Patriots released LB Prescott Burgess yesterday. As we've noticed, the Chiefs like former Patriots. (As butchcassidy pointed out in the comments, Burgess was only a Patriot for a few weeks. He was previously with the Ravens, who play the Patriots this season)

Here's a list of official transactions.

This certainly isn't a comprehensive list of players that might interest the Chiefs. The Tuesday workout players are rarely reported but last week we found out the team worked out two defensive backs, Corey Ivy and Lewis Sanders, as well as return man Justin Miller.

We'll stay on top of any reports that come out regarding the Chiefs free agent workouts.

Chiefs Scouts, Coaches Stayed Busy Last Week

Joel Thorman — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:00:30 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

Chiefs scouts were in Gainesville, FL this weekend checking out the Gators take on the Volunteers. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

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Though the NFL transactions sheet will show only two moves for the Kansas City Chiefs last week - released Turk McBride and signed Bobby Wade - they were very active.

College scouts attend a lot of games every year but only a few are reported. Last weekend, there were a few games Chiefs scouts attended:

That's one of what is probably dozens of teams and players the Chiefs are keeping their eye on.

There were also a few reports out of players that came into town for a workout. Interestingly, they're all cornerbacks:

Pretty interesting, huh? Well, maybe not to everyone but it's interesting to me because this helps us keep an eye on a position that the Chiefs are possibly looking to upgrade. Of course, the more I try to predict about this team, the more I'm wrong.

Tuesday is usually the free agent workout day in the NFL so we'll be keeping our ears open over the next few days.

Chiefs Work Out Another CB, Former Patriot

Joel Thorman — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:04:02 -0000

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports the Kansas City Chiefs worked out Lewis Sanders, a cornerback previously with the New England Patriots.

Sanders began his NFL career as a fourth round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2000. After four years in Cleveland, he spent two years with the Houston Texans and one with the Atlanta Falcons before making his way to New England last season.

He has five career interceptions but hasn't recorded one since 2005. He's been in a reserve role with 29 starts in an eight year career.

While he's only recorded one kick and no punts in his NFL career, he was a proficient kick returner while at the University of Maryland. He ranks sixth in school in history in return yards (956) and tenth (7) in interceptions.

Problems? According to his official Patriots bio, he's been placed on the reserve/injured list four times in career. Also, his lack of returns in the NFL is interesting considering he did well at the position in college.

The 31 year old corner very good size at 6'1", 210 pounds. Many corners are under six foot.

Schefter reports that the Chiefs worked him out this week, which is interesting because I would have guessed they would have been more active with free agent players last week when the status of Brandon Flowers was up in the air.

This is now the third cornerback the Chiefs have worked out recently - or, more accurately, the third cornerback that has been reported to have worked out in Kansas City. Rest assured, folks. The Chiefs have been very active with workouts.

Interestingly, they've all been listed at right cornerbacks, which is the position Flowers plays. My guess is that they're keeping tabs on a few players in case his injury lingers.

Will the Pioli/Parcells/Haley Connection Bring Any Remaining Free Agents to the Chiefs?

Joel Thorman — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:37:19 -0000

Note: Primetime did the leg work on the tables and I did the writing. -Chris

If you're been reading Arrowhead Pride for a little while now, you know that Scott Pioli and Todd Haley are big on bringing in coaches and players that they've worked with before. Which makes perfect sense. It's a natural human instinct to take the known over the unknown.

It's gotten to the point where as soon as we hear of a new player the Chiefs have signed or are interested in, we look for the Pioli/Parcells/Haley connection and it's inevitably there.

Why look for a Bill Parcells connection in addition to a Pioli/Haley connection?

Well because the legendary coach has had some big time influence on the Chiefs current GM and head coach.

Todd Haley began his career as the New York Jets' wide receivers coach under Parcells in 1997. Haley also coached under Parcells from 2004 to 2005 as the wide receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys, while Parcells was the head coach.

Todd is the son of Dick Haley, who is the current Player Personnel Analyst for the Miami Dolphins and former Director of Player Personnel for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets. Haley, his father Dick and Parcells all worked together in New York from 1997 to 1999. Haley was the Jets wide receiver coach; Parcells was the head coach; and Dick Haley as the Personnel Director.

Haley and Scott Pioli worked together from 1997 to 2000, when Pioli was the Director of Pro Personnel for the New York Jets.

As far as Parcells and Pioli go, both worked together in New York for the Jets in the late 1990s while Parcells was the head coach there. Oh, and Scott Pioli also married Bill Parcells' daughter. They're probably pretty tight.

So it's one big happy family over there at One Arrowhead Drive nowadays.

Every single coach hired by the new Kansas City Chiefs' brass has had some sort of Scott Piloli/Todd Haley/Bill Parcells connection.

Special teams coach Steve Hoffman (Parcells)
WR coach Dedric Ward (Haley, Parcells and Pioli)
Defensive quality control coach Pat Perles (Haley)
Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast (Haley)
Offensive line coach Bill Muir (Pioli and Haley)
LB coach Gary Gibbs (Parcells and Haley)
Joel Collier (Pioli)

It's the same thing with the free agents the Chiefs have signed this off season:

LB Monty Beisel - Played for Arizona in 2008 under Chiefs' DC Clancy Pendergast
QB Matt Cassel - Former New England Patriot under Pioli
WR Terrance Copper - Signed to the Cowboys by Bill Parcells when Todd Haley was working with the wide receivers
CB Travis Daniels - Former Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel, who coached under Belichick and Pioli in New England, traded for him prior to the 2008 campaign
WR Bobby Engram -Played for the Bears when Todd Haley worked with wide receivers
LB Darrell Robertson - New England practice squad in 2008 and a former Georgia Tech player under Chan Gailey
TE Sean Ryan - Played last year in Miami for Bill Parcells and for Haley and Parcells in Dallas from 2004 to 2005
TE Tony Curtis - Played for Haley and Parcells in Dallas from 2005 to 2006

Is that enough evidence that these guys prefer working with people they've worked with before?

It makes sense to take a look at who the top remaining free agents and see where the Pioli/Haley/Parcells connection is. It's likely that any future free agent signings will come from this group.

The top offensive and defensive free agents connected to Pioli, Haley and Parcells are after the jump.

Offense
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Pioli	Haley	Parcells
Rex Grossman	QB	6'1"	222	28		CHI 03-04
Lorenzo Neal	FB	5'11"	255	39		NYJ 97	NYJ 97
Marty Booker	WR	6'0"	212	32		CHI 01-03
Kelley Washington	WR	6'3"	218	29	NE 07-08
Jerame Tuman	TE	6'4"	255	33		AZ 08
Brandon Gorin	RT	6'6"	308	30	NE 03-05
Rob Petitti	RT	6'6"	347	26		DAL 05	DAL 05
Terrence Metcalf	G-T	6'3"	325	31		CHI 02-04
Evan Mathis	G	6'5"	304	27			MIA 08
Grey Ruegamer	G-C	6'4"	310	32	NE 00-02
Matt Lehr	G-C	6'3"	300	30			DAL 03-04
Edgerrin James	RB	6'0"	219	30		AZ 07-08

Back on Monday, I asked you what was the biggest positional need for the Chiefs after the draft. You responded by saying that wide receiver, offensive tackle and outside linebacker were the Chiefs' biggest needs.

WR Marty Booker has already had a workout with the Chiefs and left without a contract offer (We assume).

Former 3rd round pick Kelley Washington is an option too I guess, although I'm not sure what he would bring to the table considering his poor career numbers.

At best, I think any of the offensive line free agents out there would be back ups to our current crop of linemen.

The defensive free agents are pretty slim pickings as well. Check them out.

Defense
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Age	Pioli	Haley	Parcells
La'Roi Glover	DT-NT	6'2"	285	34		DAL 05	DAL 03-05
Chris Cooper	DT-DE	6'5"	275	31		AZ 07	DAL 04
Vonnie Holliday	DT-DE	6'5"	290	33			MIA 08
Rosevelt Colvin	DE-LB	6'3"	250	31	NE 03-08	CHI 01-02
Ebenezer Ekuban	DE	6'3"	265	32			DAL 03
Derek Smith	ILB	6'2"	245	34			MIA 08
Junior Seau	ILB	6'3"	250	40	NE 06-08
Willie McGinest	OLB-DE	6'5"	270	37	NE 00-05
Mike Brown	S	5'10"	210	31		CHI 01-04
Rodney Harrison	S	6'1"	220	36	NE 03-08
Lawyer Milloy	S	6'0"	210	34	NE 00-03
Roy Williams	S	6'0"	235	28		DAL 05-06	DAL 03-06
Keith Davis	S	5'10"	193	30		DAL 05-06	DAL 03-06
Terrence Holt	S	6'2"	208	29		AZ 07
Cameron Worrell	S	5'11"	199	29		CHI 03-04
Mike Green	S	6'0"	195	32		CHI 01-04
Deltha O'Neal	CB	5'11"	194	32	NE 08
Jason Webster	CB	5'9"	187	31	NE 08
R.W. McQuarters	CB	5'10"	198	32		CHI 01-04
Lewis Sanders	CB	6'1"	190	29	NE 08
Aaron Glenn	CB	5'9"	185	36		NYJ 95-00, DAL 05-06	NYJ 97-99, DAL 05-06
Roderick Hood	DB	5'11"	198	27		AZ 07-08
Travis LaBoy	DE	6'3"	250	27		AZ 08

Considering that the top remaining linebackers are all over 34-years old and that the Chiefs have already signed two veteran LBs, I don't see the Chiefs signing Junior Seau, Willie McGinest or Derek Smith. McGinest could theoretically fill at defensive end in addition to linebacker but his age prohibits most investments in him.

S Keith Davis left KC without a contract offer after a private visit to KC back in March.

DE Travis LaBoy, like Primetime wrote this morning, really does seem to be the most viable option for the Chiefs on this list, although I'm not sure what the odds of him coming to KC truly are.

Last year, we would have crossed off any one on this list that was over the age of 27 but that's no longer the case. Now, with the draft over and compensation for many of these players at a minimum, we could be looking at more signings.

Would you like to see any of these free agents signed by the Kansas City Chiefs?

Poll

How many of these free agents will the Chiefs sign?

0

52 votes

1

108 votes

2

212 votes

3

154 votes

4

71 votes

5+

86 votes

683 votes | Poll has closed

Chiefs' Front Office is Likely Done Mining their Former Teams

Chris Thorman — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:47:53 -0000

via multimedia.heraldinteractive.com

Back in February, we examined each of the Kansas City Chiefs' coaches for a Todd Haley/Scott Pioli/Bill Parcells connection and we found one with each and every coach. Each of the Chiefs' free agent signings have a connection to either Haley or Pioli as well:

LB Monty Beisel - Played for Arizona in 2008 under Chiefs' DC Clancy Pendergast

QB Matt Cassel - Former New England Patriot

WR Terrance Copper - Signed to the Cowboys by Bill Parcells when Todd Haley was working with the wide receivers

CB Travis Daniels - Former Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel, who coached under Belichick and Pioli in New England, traded for him prior to the 2008 campaig

WR Bobby Engram -Pplayed for the Bears when Todd Haley worked with wide receivers

LB Darrell Robertson - New England practice squad in 2008 and a former Georgia Tech player under Chan Gailey

So are the Chiefs likely to pursue any more Cardinal or Patriot players? Probably not. Check out the remaining unrestricted free agents for each team.

New England UFAs Remaining

CB Deltha O'Neal
CB Lewis Sanders
DL Kenny Smith
OL Barry Stokes

Arizona Cardinals UFAs Remaining

FB Terrelle Smith

The Chiefs don't have much use for any of those guys so I wouldn't expect any more crony deals to go down. I've also been perusing the NFL free agency list and haven't come across any other Haley/Pioli connected UFAs. If you get a chance, check out that list and see if you can predict any other signings based on a Haley/Pioli connection.

Golden Nuggets 10/4/08

Fooch — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:52:21 -0000

We're a day away from yet another big game for the 49ers. The team is 2-2 and as with any early .500 team, there is cause of optimism and cause for pessimism. I remain optimistic, although the offensive line is not giving me a lot of reason to.

Heading into tomorrow's game I'm not sure how to describe my expectations. The Patriots were annihilated by the Dolphins but they're still coached by Bill Belichick and the hooded one had two weeks to prepare for the 49ers. I do not expect the 49ers to roll out a 38-13 victory, that's for sure.

We're only a quarter of the way through, but it's already been a loooooong season for Tully Banta-Cain. While nothing's guaranteed, I think it's safe to say he'll be active tomorrow given Manny Lawson's injury.

Speaking of injuries, nothing surprising in the injury report for this week. Lawson is listed as doubtful and all three Patriots mentioned Thursday (LB Eric Alexander, CB Lewis Sanders adn WR Kelley Washington) are all doubtful.

Last week Mike Nolan said he used a challenge because he wanted to call a timeout anyways and figured why not try and get a reversal. Mike Sando put together a breakdown of the use of challenges by Nolan and Belichick.

Adalius Thomas and Mike Nolan know each other pretty well from their time in Baltimore together. Probably why they tried to sign him last year (that and the fact that he's really good).

49ers offensive line a major concern: Thank you Captain Obvious.

Patriots scout.com site on 5 reasons the Patriots would lose tomorrow.

Brent Jones will be an honorary captain for tomorrow's game.

Jamie Martin didn't think there were any juicy theories about Mike Martz and SpyGate.

Coming off an ugly game against the Dolphins, the Patriots rush defense will have it all it can handle in Frank Gore.

This is good timing with Steve Young getting his jersey retired tomorrow.

A general look at the 49ers by a Massachusetts newspaper that thinks we're a team making progress.

Kentwan Balmer is one of nine 2008 first round draft picks not to make a start this season. Although he did get 20 snaps last Sunday and is slowly seeing his role expand.

Brief discussion about halfway down about potential trick plays by the 49ers. If they do decide to run some direct snaps like the Dolphins did, I really hope they use Michael Robinson or Arnaz Battle for them. Although apparently Frank Gore thinks he can throw the ball pretty well.

Nate Clements vs. Randy Moss: What football is all about

Fooch — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:00:05 -0000

The first four weeks of the season have seen the 49ers secondary squaring off against everybody from Calvin Johnson, Roy Williams and Larry Fitzgerald to Courtney Taylor, Logan Payne and Terrance Copper. In spite of last week's performance, the 49ers secondary remains a strength in my opinion. With that in mind I thought we'd take a look at the biggest matchup of week, along with some other important matchups.

Matchup of the Week
Nate Clements vs. Randy Moss: As interesting as I think Walt Harris and Wes Welker is, the matchup everybody will be watching is 6-4 super-freak Randy Moss vs. 6-0 Nate "Lockdown" Clements. Clements has been money well spent and prior to Brady going down, Randy Moss slipped into the rejuvenation machine. However, both the principals face some problems this week.

Nate Clements will be hoping and praying the pass rush steps up this week. As good as he is, if even a guy like Matt Cassel gets enough time, eventually he'll probably find Moss. Maybe it won't happen early on, but eventually Clements will get worn down. On the other side of the ball, aside from the opening week, Matt Cassel has struggled to develop a rapport with Randy Moss. Raiders and VIkings fans are probably wondering when he'll repeat his behavior in those cities.

Other matchups
Patriots pass rush vs. 49ers offensive line: The Patriots pass rush managed next to nothing two weeks ago versus the Dolphins and witnessed Chad Pennington absolutely pick them apart. It was helped in great part by a great running game, but either way Pennington was 17/20 for 226 yards. Given the number of sacks JTO has suffered thus far, a full game on his feet would really be quite nice.

49ers pass rush vs. Patriots offensive line: One thing I've noticed is that Ray McDonald has been especially quiet up to this point. He's made plays but he hasn't been the impact guy I thought he would be at the beginning of the season. Any thoughts on what has kept him from blowing up for the 49ers? Aside from McDonald, I'd expect we'll see a bit of Tully Banta-Cain for the first time. He had some good performances in the preseason garbage time so who knows what we can expect. I do know that Parys Haralson and Roderick Green need to bring the speed off the outside and get Cassel frazzled as early as possible. If they can get Cassel hearing footsteps early it will make their job all the easier.

49ers receivers vs. Patriots secondary: One interesting advantage might be the injury of third corner Lewis Hobbs Sanders who has missed all of practice this week. If they're short on cornerbacks, a healthy 49ers wide receiver corp could potentially do some damage. Arnaz Battle is coming off probably the best game of his career and a chance to face a rookie like Terrence Wheatley.

49ers running game vs. interior of Patriots defense: As Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams showed last week, this defense can be run upon. I'm sure Belichick has the defense prepped for Frank Gore, but Gore brings enough talent to overcome such gameplans if he gets enough touches. The Patriots interior includes the likes of Vince Wilfork at nose tackle, Tedy Bruschi and Jerod Mayo at inside linebacker and hard-hitting Rodney Harrison at strong safety. I include Harrison because of the support he can bring in the run game. Aside from some ugly blocking against the Seahawks, the offensive line has opened up just enough space for Frank Gore to squeeze out some sizeable runs. A solid running game is absolutely, positively essential to protecting JTO.