SB Nation - Brian Waters

Chiefs WR Bowe Back to the First Team; Dorsey Appears to be Okay

Joel Thorman — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:33:30 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

The Kansas City Chiefs returned to the practice field this afternoon in preparation for the final home game of the season (Keep the streak alive!) against the Cleveland Browns.

A few big notes from practice today.

Bowe is back

Bowe is back to the practice field and back to the first team specifically. He received first team reps and, per Josh Looney of KCChiefs.com, didn't look like he had lost a step.

Bowe's transition back to the team will continue this week. If all goes well, which we think it will, he should be on the field on Sunday.

Dorsey appears to be fine; Waters, too

Chiefs DE Glenn Dorsey appears to be healthy after suffering a knee injury in last Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills.

I saw him in the locker room after the game with a brace on his knee (not the same injury he had in college). He was back on the practice field so it appears all is well.

Brian Waters also suffered an injury in last Sunday's game. Looney also reports he was back on the field practicing. He was off to the side in agility drills, though.

Chiefs GM Identifies Cassel, Waters as Offensive Leaders

Joel Thorman — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:23:01 -0000

Photo Source

It's fitting that the Kansas City Chiefs GM has identified the quarterback and the oldest offensive lineman as leaders on the offensive side of the ball.

Speaking to Roger Twibell of 610 Sports this week, Scott Pioli talked about (what else) progress with the 2009 Chiefs.

"I see he (Matt Cassel) and Brian Waters as the leaders. And in those situations I was talking about, those two really stepped up for the offense and made sure the other nine players continued to play hard when we came back against the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and the game against Pittsburgh."

The Chiefs played a tight game with all three of those playoff contending teams. However, like the 2008 Chiefs, it's been and up-and-down season. After a momentum shifting win against Pittsburgh, Pioli acknowledged the four-turnover, 28 point debacle against the Chargers.

"There were two steps forward then one big step back with last week's game," he said.

The Chiefs are in a nice position the next three weeks, all of which are home games. However, a quirk in the schedule has the Chiefs next three opponents coming off of a Thursday night game, meaning they'll have three extra days of rest.

Pioli said that everyone in the building sees progress. Those three games he mentioned could be positive signs for the future but the goal remains the same.

"At the end of the day we need to start winning some football games."

Chiefs Coach Talks About Winning With 22 Guys Off the Street Quote

Joel Thorman — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Stephen Morton - AP

about 1 month ago: Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley, right, shakes hands with offensive guard Brian Waters after a late touchdown in fourth-quarter action during an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

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Eight and a half months ago, Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star reported that Brian Waters attempted to meet with head coach Todd Haley and GM Scott Pioli. Per Whitlock, Haley declined the meeting and told Waters, "22 guys off the street could win two games."

The Chiefs won their second game yesterday.....their second in nine games. The Chiefs will likely win more than two games season, but probably not much more. At first, it seemed that some used that quote as a rallying cry for keeping the players accountable. Over a half-a-season later, the results aren't there so those words have been held against him (by the fans and media).

Haley was asked about the quote that he reportedly said nine months ago.

"Whether I did or didn’t it’s private conversation," he said declining to confirm nor deny the report once again, "whether it did take place or didn’t take place."

I believe that he said it and Whitlock's report was correct and I would guess that Haley is happy to at least match that win total. It would have been open season on the head coach if he didn't win two games with that quote hanging over his head.

Haley was prodded further on the words and declined to comment because it was a hypothetical question.

He was also asked, by 610 Sports Nick Wright, whether he felt the new regime was carrying itself with a bit of arrogance that hadn't been earned.

"I’ve never been characterized as being arrogant," he said, "at least to my face that I know about. I try not to appear arrogant in any way because I don’t feel arrogant."

Haley said he feels like he's apologized when he's done something wrong or inappropriate and has not carried himself in an arrogant fashion.

The First Pick for the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2010 Draft is... Not an Offensive Lineman

Jon Yoon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:00:37 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

about 1 month ago: Tennessee's Eric Berry, left, intercepts the ball intended for Marcus Rucker (18) who was hit by Tennesse's Dennis Rogan (41) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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I have really enjoyed contributing to the Arrowhead Pride community so far. One viewpoint that has taken me completely by surprise is the overwhelming cry for the Chiefs to draft an Offensive Tackle in the first round.

I’ve been as vocal as anyone about how poor the talent is on this year’s offensive line and I still believe it was inexcusable for the Chiefs to pass on an interior linemen in the early rounds of the 2009 draft, but in the first round, we have to think about the problem a little differently. And I’m going to use the next few minutes of your time to try to convince all of you to think differently by attacking this viewpoint from several different angles.

Draft Philosophy:

I want to first start with draft philosophy, because there seem to be very different opinions about optimal draft-day approaches. The two most popular strategies are to draft BPA (Best Player Available) and to draft for Need. My personal opinion is that it needs to be a little bit of both with a much heavier emphasis on BPA in the earlier rounds. When I think about drafting in the first round, particularly in the top 5, I like to lump players into talent categories. You have your "can’t miss" players, your solid and consistent but unspectacular players, and your raw with upside players. That, of course, needs to be weighted with positional value—an average quarterback is going to receive just as much consideration as a very good linebacker—and with a team’s specific needs—Matt Stafford would obviously not be on San Diego’s target list with a young Philip Rivers on the roster.

I know I’m dumbing that analysis down a bit, but I wanted to make the following point as clearly as possible: with a top 5 pick, you do not pass up a top-tier player for a second-tier player unless you are convinced that a very good long-term player already exists on the roster.

I realize that we can’t really create these draft boards until we get into the heart of NFL Draft season, but unless something drastic changes over the next few months, there aren’t any can’t miss players at offensive tackle (the only position on the line with high first round positional value). Russell Okung looks to be the top OT in the draft, and he isn’t a player I’d take with playmakers still on the board. Reaching for a player is one thing; passing up on a playmaker in order to fill a need is a whole other animal. So from a BPA standpoint, it doesn’t appear that an offensive lineman is in the cards.

And look, here’s another reality we have to face. As much as I like Matt Cassel, he’s probably not going to engineer the same kind of explosive offense that Drew Brees or Peyton Manning engineer. I wouldn’t want for the Chiefs’ entire future prospects to revolve around Cassel’s ability to take over games from start to finish. The Chiefs are probably going to be a defensive team first. That doesn’t mean that you completely ignore offensive weapons, but it does mean that you place a little more weight on defensive players over offensive players.

The Big, Unappreciated Nasties

Another point to consider is that the biggest holes on the Chiefs’ offensive line are at positions that carry very low positional value. The Chiefs desperately need to upgrade at Center and Right Guard, as well as to groom Brian Waters’ eventual replacement. Ryan O’Callaghan hasn’t been bad at Right Tackle, but the Chiefs could probably do a lot better there too. These are three positions where the highest positional value tends to be in the late first round or early second round.

The Chiefs will likely have an early second, a later second, and an early third round pick. If two of those picks are used on upgrading one of those offensive line positions, then there is a good chance the offensive line improves by leaps and bounds without having to waste a high first round pick. Why waste a top 5 pick on an offensive linemen when there are so many opportunities to bring in top-level talent at 2-3 other positions on the line later in the draft?

Incremental Value

Let’s go back to the discussion that a player you draft would have to be significantly better than the guy you already have or a guy you can get in later rounds or free agency. In the Chiefs’ case, it could be too soon to write the book on Branden Albert. He’s playing at a new weight in a new offensive scheme. I thought it was really interesting when Haley a few weeks back spoke about how Albert’s weight loss has forced him to play with better technique, which is evident, because a lot of the mistakes he’s making are technique-related. Because he played Guard in college, his learning curve is higher than most young Left Tackles, which means that he deserves a little more leeway to make mistakes. Call me crazy, but I still like Albert’s upside. He has terrific feet and athleticism for a left tackle, so his ceiling is really high.

If you use a top 5 pick on a tackle, you better be sure that he’s going to be better than Albert and that he carries the same amount of upside. And you better hope that it’s by a fairly significant margin. Otherwise, you’re drafting a Left Tackle and bumping Albert to guard. Basically, you’d be draining a top 5 pick to draft a Guard, and that is simply unheard of. Drafting a Guard in the top 5 is a monumental reach.

Re-looking at Positional Value

I’ll let my bias show here. The three guys that intrigue me so far are players who play positions of traditionally low positional value. And given the talent in this year’s draft, as of now, the player who would make the biggest impact on the Chiefs today is Eric Berry or Taylor Mays. If you would prefer not to take those guys, then the next logical choice is probably Terrence Cody.

Nobody doubts the importance of the Nose Tackle position and yet, it carries such low positional value. It’s arguably the most important position on a 3-4 defense. The reason it carries such low draft positional value is: 1) in the past, there weren’t that many 3-4 defenses; 2) most 3-4 defenses were happy with their current Nose Tackle; 3) most teams that ran the 3-4 defense were playoff teams, so they tended to draft lower in the first round. That’s not the case today. There are less teams running the 3-4, so finding a quality Nose Tackle is going to become a little more difficult. We saw that in the last draft when the Chiefs drafted a 5-technique Defensive End. The demand for 3-4 players has lifted most of those players’ positional value.

At the Safety position, we also need to re-think positional value here too. Offenses are opening up their passing games. Years ago, you could have a dominant 1-2 punch like Jerry Rice and John Taylor. In order to beat this 1-2 punch, you had to bring in shutdown corners and bring in enough of a pass rush to force the QB to make poor decisions. In today’s league, things work a bit differently. Lots of teams like to spread the offense out. If we can’t beat you with Colston, we’re going to beat you with Lance Moore. And if you don’t like that, we’re going to dump off to a running back in open space.

When I watch Safeties like Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed, they can see a play develop almost as quickly as the Quarterback can. One of the best defenses against an aggressive pass offense is a Safety that can anticipate a pass play before it develops. The Chiefs’ Safeties wait for plays to come to them. They don’t go toward the plays like the elite playmakers do. Against San Diego, Rivers would dump off a short pass to Darren Sproles and there wouldn’t be a player within miles of him. Watch Troy Polamalu on screen passes—he blows up screen passes like a speeding bullet. Against both Jacksonville and San Diego, watch how many teams are safeties aren’t exploding to the right gap or how many times they take a poor angle to make a tackle. The Chiefs’ safeties make way too many mistakes and even if they didn’t make mistakes, they just don’t have the nose for the ball to disrupt offenses as much as a playmaker would.

They say the Safety has become the Quarterback of the defense and there’s a lot of truth to that. Your Defense can do just fine with a solid but unspectacular Safety, but bringing in a playmaker at Safety can bring your defense to the next level.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 11/11

NJ Chiefs Fan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:00:23 -0000

via www.kcchiefs.com

Veterans Day! Thanks to all those who have, or are currently serving. To all you poor bastards in harm's way, stay safe.

Also, you might have heard, Larry Johnson cleared waivers.

Of course, it’s not the fault of Shields. His decision to retire was a smart one at that time, and he’s no villain. But Johnson’s problems were more than just Shields’ decision to retire. After the 2005 season, LT Willie Roaf retired. After the 2007 season, C Casey Wiegmann was not re-signed and he ended up with Denver. The Chiefs offensive line has been in a state of flux for the last three years and there’s no question that’s been a problem for Johnson. There have been two centers, three right guards, three right tackles, two left tackles and one left guard in Brian Waters.
The unsettled offensive line has been a problem for anybody trying to run the ball for the Chiefs. In the 2004 through 2006 seasons – where four of the five positions never changed – the Chiefs finished an average of sixth in the NFL in rushing offense, with per game production of 142 yards. For the 2007 through 2009 seasons, the Chiefs average spot is 24th, with per-game production of 95.7 yards.

It Was All Will Shields Fault … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz

KC Star Photo Gallery: Students tour WWI museum with the Kansas City Chiefs Rookie Club

KC Star Video: Haley discusses his running backs

With a pass rush that still can’t get to the quarterback and an offensive line that still can’t protect one, the Chiefs will enter the 2010 offseason needing to fix the same problems they suffered from in 2008. This frustrating lack of progress isn’t likely to sit well with a fanbase that’s suffering through another dismal season.

It’s even harder to rally the fans when - looking at the big picture - it’s hard to identify any real, tangible accomplishments the team has made. The new staff installed their preferred schemes on offense and defense this year and inserted Matt Cassel into the lineup at quarterback.

But by themselves, do those things get anyone pumped up for the future?

Fans know about the switch to a 3-4, but no one can say if that move will eventually result in a good defense. The same holds true on the other side of the ball. As for Cassel, the jury is out on him until he can drop back without defenders in his face.

In a season that was supposed to represent a fresh start and a step forward, it feels like the Chiefs are on a treadmill to nowhere. The same problems exist, there are still no obvious fixes in the pipeline, and – once again – we’re stuck waiting for the offseason in the hopes that the team will make smarter and more frequent talent additions than they did the year before.

Chiefs Still Running The Treadmill from WPI

He’s done movies. He’s hobnobbed with Oprah. He was even part of a reality series.

And former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez took another step into the pantheon of superstar athletes: he has posed nude. He and his wife October both posed nude for a ad that will be running for the People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Tony G. & October for PETA from Bob Gretz

"At the time where we needed to stay together and a time where we needed to not have anybody say anything about anybody," he said, "I kind of lost that perspective on it. I kind of got dragged into a conversation where we were talking more about coaches and talking about credibility and things of that nature. One guy says one thing, another guy says one thing, and you completely lose yourself. You make a mistake, and you say the wrong thing.

"One little thing I say, and it’s going to be blown up to you guys and the perception of me grows as far as I’m the worst person who’s ever put on cleats."

Johnson tells radio show he'd like to return to Chiefs someday from KC Star

It wasn’t the first time Louisburg football coach Gary Griffin had received the honor, but that doesn’t make it any less special for him.
Thanks to the Wildcats’ 14-0 victory over Paola on Oct. 29 that earned them the district title, the Kansas City Chiefs decided to give the Louisburg coach a little something extra to add to his trophy case. The Chiefs named Griffin as the Kansas High School Coach of the Week, but he knows the award goes beyond just one person.

"Really, this award should be called Team of the Week," Griffin said. "It is really about how the team performs on how they decide who gets the honor, and our guys work really hard. Our assistant coaches work just as hard I as do and deserve the credit as well.
Chiefs honor Griffin as Coach of the Week from Louisberg Herald

Player Tweets

almighty31 had a great time at the 3rd and long luncheon. wats next???????? hmmmm

BFlowers24 jus laying here tryna get over this cold i had since sat. night.....n e body got any solutions...about how to get ova a runny nose?

Media and Fans

Adam_Schefter No apparent takers on LJ yet - not a good sign for him.

SI_PeterKing ...This is what it comes down to: I actually am defending Lechler over Colquitt, tho Shane's 7.5 gross yards and 4 net yards better. Lunacy.

JoshLooney not funny! RT @wattsupman: You mean other than their W-L record :) RT @JoshLooney: A very troubling statistic w/ Chiefs http://bit.ly/6nPtH

kb_kcstar The Texans reportedly will pass on LJ. My money is on New England, but I'm also not sure teams are jumping over themselves to sign him.

Finally, a very Happy Birthday to Joel!! Go Chiefs!

via www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com

Albert Officially Questionable, Three Other Chiefs Probable

Joel Thorman — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:19:39 -0000

And our first "official" diagnosis of Branden Albert for the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday matchup with the San Diego Chargers: Questionable.

Per the NFL injury report, this means he has a 50/50 chance of playing.

He did practice today for the first time this week, and has been out of the walking boot all week, but he was not with the first or second team. Multiple outlets have speculated that his outlook for Sunday is not good.

"Getting better every day," head coach Todd Haley said in comments nearly identical to what he says about Albert everyday. "It’s probably going to go down to the wire with him. He’ll be listed as questionable."

The Chiefs will have to announce their inactives about 90 minutes prior to Sunday's game so that's when the next set of information will come out on Albert. He did practice today, so he's passed Haley's "gotta practice to play" test.

The coach also indicated that Albert could be active and not start.

Haley said Ryan O'Callaghan looks to be healed from a shoulder problem that landed him on the Thursday injury report.

Brian Waters, Jarrad Page and O'Callaghan were all listed as probably which means it's a virtual certainty they'll play.

If Albert can't go, expect Wade Smith to step in at left tackle.

One thing to think about, though. The Chiefs have a bye next week so Haley and Co. may be inclined to let Albert sit this game, and have next week off in order to prevent this ankle problem from lingering all season. I'm not privy to any details on Albert's medical situation but that may be the right move in order to protect him for the long run.

Chiefs LT Branden Albert Returns to Practice

Joel Thorman — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:33:44 -0000

Kansas City Chiefs left tackle Branden Albert is dressed and practicing with the other offensive linemen according to Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star. Just yesterday, Babb thought the odds of Albert playing on Sunday against the San Diego Chargers were going down so this is encouraging news.

Update 12:00 PM: Per Bob Gretz, Albert was not participating with the first or second team so his availability for Sunday is still in doubt.

Albert hadn't practiced with the team all week instead jogging and walking on his own in the rehab area. He has been listed on the injury report as limited with an ankle injury.

Practice reports from Mr. Looney and Mr. Gretz should be coming out soon. Here are a few of the injuries we're keeping our eye on.

Ryan O'Callaghan: A surprise addition to the injury report yesterday. He's got a shoulder problem and that's about the extent that we know. He was listed as limited yesterday.

Update 12:00 PM: Per Bob Gretz, O'Callaghan was with the first team today wearing a neck roll.

Jarrad Page: A full participant yesterday with a lingering shoulder injury that kept him out of last week's game. We expect him to practice today. The only question is whether it's with the first team.

Brian Waters: He was upgraded yesterday from limited to a full participant in practice with an ankle injury. This appears to be the same ankle injury that kept him out of a few plays in the Washington Redskins game.

O'Callaghan Enters the Chiefs Injury Report

Joel Thorman — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:51:18 -0000

Kansas City Chiefs starting right tackle Ryan O'Callaghan appears on the Thursday injury report with a shoulder injury. He was labeled a limited participant. O'Callaghan was not listed on the injury report yesterday and we have had no reports of an injury.

Branden Albert continues to be listed as a limited participant with an ankle injury. Multiple reports have said he was just jogging and walking during practice. Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star says the odds of him playing on Sunday against the San Diego Chargers are going down.

Meanwhile, Brian Waters was upgraded to a full participant in today's practice. He's been battling an ankle injury.

Jarrad Page is also listed as a full participant with the shoulder injury that kept him out of last week's game. In his absence, Jon McGraw has apparently secured the starting job at safety (for now).

Mike Goff was on the injury report yesterday with a non-injury related issue but was back at practice today.

If Albert can't go, Wade Smith figures to take his spot again. He's been seeing the reps in practice since Albert's been out. If O'Callaghan can't go, Ikechuku Ndukwe is listed as his backup.

Chiefs Pitching a Shutout Against Redskins

Joel Thorman — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:26:18 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

2 months ago: A member of the FedEx Field grounds crew stands on the tarp that protects the turf during light rain before the NFL football game between The Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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It's halftime of the Kansas City Chiefs road contest against the Washington Redskins.

There are definitely some pockets of open seats here in FedEx Field. Judging by some fan messages I've read this morning, a lot of folks are upset CBS is showing this game in D.C. instead of the Giants/Saints.

Well, tough. We're in a ~~battle of offensive ineptitude~~ defensive battle. Here a few interesting notes from Chiefs PR:

Dustin Colquitt now has more punts inside the 20 than any Chiefs punter in history
Chiefs have a first half shut out for the first time in almost exactly two years.

Here are a few more notes from the first half of today's game:

LJ on pace for 100 yards

RB Larry Johnson currently has 56 yards rushing which puts him on pace for his best day of the year topping his season high of 78 yards against the Oakland Raiders in week two.

LJ's stat sheet is pumped up by a 17 yard run which is his high for the season.

First quarter: 4 carries, 14 yards/2 catches, 8 yards

Second quarter: 7 carries, 42 yards/1 catch 4 yards

Down goes Waters

On a 3rd and 5 from the 49 yard line, with under 3:00 left in the first half, Chiefs G Brian Waters went down. He was grabbing his left leg while trainers tended to him for a few minutes on the sideline. He got up, and walked off the field under his own power.

We're checking on the situation now will keep everyone informed when/if we learn anything.

Update: Waters came back for the third quarter.

Campbell vs. Cassel

Jason Campbell is curently 9/16 for 89 yards. Matt Cassel is currently 10/17 for 80 yards.

So far, neither quarterback has taken the lead. Campbell threw an interception with no time left in the first half.

Chiefs Offensive Line Holding Steady in Their Mediocrity

Chris Thorman — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:00:24 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

2 months ago: Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, center, is pulled down by New York Giants safety C.C. Brown, left, and safety Michael Johnson after running up the middle for a 15-yard gain during the second quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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If you've been reading sports blogs long enough, you've certainly come across Football Outsiders. Basically what those guys try to do is take some of that Sabermetric baseball stat thinking and bring it into the NFL. The stats don't always translate into hard facts and personally I found the stats to be inaccessible to the normal fan but it's still interesting to see what these guys come up with.

Through the fourth week of the NFL season, here's what Football Outsiders has to say about the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line:

Ranked 31st in run blocking
Ranked 28th in pass protection
Ranked 19th running to the left end
Ranked 6th running at the left tackle
Ranked 31st running up the middle
Ranked 32nd running to the right tackle
Ranked 7th running to the right end

Now I'm assuming right and left ends means running outside of where the tackles are lined up. The Chiefs don't show much of a preference in which side they choose to run the ball at, running both left and right about equally so far this season.

While these Football Outsiders NFL stats are nice to have, I still prefer our method of tracking the Chiefs offensive line improvement, or lack thereof.

Our tracking numbers are after the jump.

Stats	+/- Change	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4
Sacks	2	3	2	3	5
Rush yds	6	29	173	99	105
Rush TDs	0	0	0	0	0
Rush 1st downs	2	1	10	4	6
Penalties	-2	1	6	4	2
Tackles for loss by def.	5	8	6	5	10
QB Hurry	2	2	6	5	7
Stuffs	-2	6	3	8	6

Of course, the caveat (and there always seems to be at least one or two) is that the Giants have the #1 ranked defense in the NFL. So keep that in mind as you discuss these numbers.

It's tough to see zero rushing TDs so far this season but we're used to it. In 2007, the Chiefs didn't get their first rushing touchdown until Week 6.

One bright spot is that despite the Giants having one of the better if not best defensive lines in football, the Chiefs were able to reduce the number of rushing stuffs by their running backs.

Also, offensive lineman penalties continue to drop which is a HUGE relief. Brandon Albert and Brian Waters both had false starts last week and that was it.

The floor is yours APers, unless you're already burnt out on o-line talk. If that's the case, I'm going to be doing this post earlier in the week so it's more relevant.