SB Nation - Darrell Robertson

Chiefs Waive Four Players

Joel Thorman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:23:34 -0000

The Kansas City Chiefs announced they have waived four players today (via Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star).

Long snapper Thomas Gafford, defensive tackle T.J. Jackson, wide receiver C.J. Jones and linebacker Darrell Robertson were let go by Kansas City.

Gafford saw action in nine games last season as the team's long snapper and Jackson appeared in four games the season before that.

This pushes the Chiefs down to 81 players on the roster. The team is allowed to bring in 80 to training camp.

The Chiefs signed Robertson about three months ago. Here's a little more info on him courtesy of Bob Gretz:

At 6-4, 246 pounds, Robertson was on the New England practice squad last year. He came into the NFL as a college free agent with Dallas in 2008 out of Georgia Tech, where he was recruited and played for Chiefs offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. In the ‘08 pre-season with the Cowboys, he was credited with four tackles and one for minus yardage. He played two games last year in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos and had six tackles.

It's funny, we were just talking about the viability of Robertson as a pass rusher a couple days ago. He had one year remaining on his contract with a base salary of $310,000.

LS Thomas Gafford was signed October 29th of last year. He had two years remaining on his contract at base salaries of $295,000 and $385,000.
DT T.J. Jackson was signed December 30th of last year. He had two years remaining on his contract at base salaries of $460,000 and $545,000.
C.J. Jones was signed March 5th this year. He had one year remaining on his contract at a base salary of $385,000.

Looks like Chris was right when said "Don't sweat these no name free agents signings by the Chiefs."

I was sitting here on a boring day at work thinking nothing was going to happen at Arrowhead today. I should have known the Chiefs would make roster moves on Friday afternoon when there would be the least amount of media coverage.

Who will be the last one to be cut?

H/T oldchiefs fan and The Scootness in the FanShots

The Chiefs Have a Plethora of Linebackers (Fourteen to be Exact)

Chris Thorman — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:53:22 -0000

Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson works the blocking sled during practice Monday at the team's workout facility. RICH SUGG/The Kansas City Star (via KansasCity.com)

View full size photo »

And before we start, the movie scene that I always think of when I hear the word "plethora":

Jefe: I have put many beautiful pinatas in the storeroom, each of them filled with little suprises.
El Guapo: Many pinatas?
Jefe: Oh yes, many!
El Guapo: Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?
Jefe: A what?
El Guapo: A *plethora*.
Jefe: Oh yes, you have a plethora.
El Guapo: Jefe, what is a plethora?
Jefe: Why, El Guapo?
El Guapo: Well, you told me I have a plethora. And I just would like to know if you know what a plethora is. I would not like to think that a person would tell someone he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has *no idea* what it means to have a plethora.
Jefe: Forgive me, El Guapo. I know that I, Jefe, do not have your superior intellect and education. But could it be that once again, you are angry at something else, and are looking to take it out on me?

Carrying on....

On a simple level, a switch from the 4-3 defense to the 3-4 defense is going to require more linebackers on your team, if only because you now have four guys standing up behind the defensive line instead of three. Unfortunately, it's a little more complicated than that. The Chiefs are trying to figure exactly who fits where during these OTAs.

Let's review our linebacker situation this morning to see exactly what we've got going on.

Where Did They Come From?

The Kansas City Chiefs currently have fourteen linebackers on their active roster. Of those fourteen linebackers, three were listed as linebackers on the roster during the 2008 season:

The Chiefs added three more linebackers as college undrafted free agents in the weeks following the 2009 NFL draft:

Jovan Belcher
Corey Smith
Pierre Walters

And the team added five more linebackers this off season through free agency and one trade:

Where did the next three linebackers come from? Well, as Kent Babb noted today (Welcome back by the way Kent), former defensive linemen Turk McBride, Tamba Hali and Andy Studebaker are now listed as linebackers on the active roster. We've known about a possible (probable) switch by these guys to the linebacker position but recently it's become official.

Hali at least played linebacker in college. McBride said that, other than a handful of situations, he hasn’t played enough of the position at any level to claim any real experience. Regardless, that’s his position now, and he knows that coaches won’t wait while he adjusts to a learning curve.

So the Chiefs bring in eight guys this off season that are listed as linebackers (those UDFAs are almost assuredly not competing for a starting spot; just special teams) and then convert three more current d-linemen to the same position.

Think that linebacker is an important position in the 3-4? Important enough to switch three players' positions? Todd Haley does.

"Well, it’s such a big change for a couple of those guys. I don’t think you can judge them too quick on anything that they’re doing. But, there’s nobody that we look at and say, ‘no chance,’ so far to this point. The dropping and those guys that have been defensive ends that are now stand-up and dropping and doing those things, that’s a big change for them. But, again, I think we’re seeing progress every day and that’s good."

The conversion from defensive line to linebacker for these guys appears to be permanent, judging by Turk McBride's comments:

"Definitely right now," McBride said, "I can’t say I’m a good linebacker. But the more repetitions I take, I think I should do well at it. I tell myself: You have to start thinking like a linebacker. I can’t think like a defensive lineman anymore.

Derrick Johnson's Role

Where does 2005 first round pick Derrick Johnson fit in all of this? As DJ himself noted a couple of weeks ago on the Red Zone podcast, he's going to be playing inside linebacker in the Chiefs' new 3-4 defense. Zach Thomas says that is the best position for DJ:

"This is going to be his best scheme," Thomas said. "It’s definitely weakside linebacker-friendly. It can exploit the talent that he has. Everybody knows how talented and fast he is. If he gets this down where he’s not thinking, just rolling around and just having fun and he knows what to do, he’ll be a great player in this scheme."

Todd Haley chimed in on DJ yesterday:

"I’m not going to get in to where he was drafted because that doesn’t really matter to me now. What matters to me is that I’ve got guys that can help us win and I would say the position he’s playing gives him a chance to excel. Derrick’s been following Zach around and you can see that there’s some chemistry building between that group in general. I like the way that he’s worked this off-season. He’s been a consistent guy, always here, always working, up in the room studying and trying to get better. I think he has a chance to get better this year."

It's a do or die year for Derrick Johnson. Then again, I thought last year was too...

Who is Playing Where?

New faces. New positions. Where do they all fit in? In the 4-3 we called the linebackers nicknames, based on position, from weakside to strong side "WILL, MIKE, SAM" (for strong, middle, weak). But in the 3-4 they are named (in the same order weak to strong) WILL, MIKE, TED, and SAM. We haven't gotten much info on who's playing where

As Kent Babb noted, yesterday during OTAs, the first team linebackers lined up with Tamba Hali and Monty Beisel lined up on the outside and Zach Thomas and Derrick Johnson playing inside. Once Mike Vrabel comes to camp though, Beisel will likely be relegated to the second team and Vrabel will take his place on the outside.

That leaves Turk McBride, Corey Mays, Darrell Robertson and Demorrio Williams as the possible backups to the starting crew. Belcher, Walters, Smith and Dacus are likely the guys who are more concerned with standing out on special teams as their chance to make the Chiefs' roster.

More 3-4 Reading

One place I have to recommend for clear analysis on the 3-4 defensive is hoosierteacher's MHR University posts on the topic. I highly recommend you check some of those stories out. TheQ also had a FanPost last month that started a great conversation about the depth chart.

There's really a lot of info I left out here because this could be just a massive post. Chime in with your thoughts below.

Poll

Will Hali, McBride and Studebaker be successful in their transitions to linebacker?

Yes

199 votes

No

243 votes

Not sure

260 votes

702 votes | Poll has closed

Chiefs Sitting on $31.6 Million to Spend

Joel Thorman — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:56:15 -0000

Uh, Scott, you know there's a salary minimum, right?

The Kansas City Chiefs have spent approximately $95.4 million on player personnel this season. Problem is, that's still $31.6 million away from the $127 million salary cap for the 2009 NFL season (H/T Bill Williamson at ESPN for the $31.6 million figure).

This is BY FAR the most amount of cap space remaining in the AFC West. The Broncos ($12.5 million), Chargers ($7.8 million) and Raiders ($8.2 million) are nowhere near the Chiefs when it comes to cap space.

Below are a few of the places Chiefs GM Scott Pioli has been spending his money.

$745,000

$14.65 Million

$620,000

$3.2 million

$1 million

$875,000

$310,000

$535,000

$1.01 million

$620,000

$1 million

$310,000

$535,000

$1.545 million

$620,000

$385,000

$745,000

S Jarrad Page**

*Restricted free agent signed tender

**Restricted free agent has not signed tender

New GM Scott Pioli spent $14.65 million on his new quarterback, Matt Cassel, but other than that has scraped the bottom of the barrel as far as paying free agents. He inherited Mike Vrabel's contract from the Patriots (coincidentally one he helped negotiate) and spent a million plus on Zach Thomas and the RFAs.

The cap value of the Chiefs' 2008 rookies was about $11.6 million. But that was with 12 draft picks. This year, with only eight picks (and just one first rounder), the Chiefs will likely spend between $6-8 million (we'll be getting more in depth on what the Chiefs can expect to pay their rookies tomorrow).

So, let's say after the rookie deals are done the Chiefs are looking at $24 million to spend. If you're Scott Pioli, what are you spending $24 million on?

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.

Chiefs Free Agency Roster Moves Summary

Chris Thorman — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:31:37 -0000

Additions	Subtractions	UFA Re-signed	UFA not Re-Signed	Visited/ Interested
QB Matt Cassel	CB Pat Surtain	S Jon McGraw	LB Pat Thomas	SS Keith Davis
LB Mike Vrabel	LB Donnie Edwards		G Adrian Jones	WR Keary Colbert
WR C.J. Jones	QB Damon Huard		S Oliver Celestin	WR Bobby Engram
LB Darrell Robertson	TE Michael Merritt		LB Rocky Boiman	LB Clark Haggans
CB Travis Daniels			DE Jason Babin

Since not all of you get to obsessively check Arrowhead Pride for hours a day, here's a roster roundup to help people get caught up.

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed/traded for six players; cut four players; re-signed one unrestricted free agent; and had a number of players in for free agent visits.

The Chiefs have 68 players on the roster. And as of right now, we'll add six players through the draft (possibly more if you don't forget about compensatory picks, which I think we'll get at least one).

That leaves about a half dozen or so players that the Chiefs will add at some point this off season. The current roster is far from concrete. Players currently on the roster will be cut as others at their position become available or they've worn out their potential with Todd Haley.

I've linked back to our discussions about some of those players in case you want to catch up.

Film review: Cowboys vs. Vikings - Bubble Watch edition

Dave Halprin — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 21:01:59 -0000

I’ve watched the film on the Dallas Cowboys game with the Minnesota Vikings and have compiled my film review – The Bubble Watch edition. Not quite a traditional film review, I concentrated on those areas where I think we have decisions to make. Mainly, this included the offensive line, WR, OLB and the secondary. Later tonight, I’ll post my 53-man roster prediction.

One note, the Cowboys sure wanted to get a look at the line, the receivers and Bartel because in the second half when the Vikings kept blitzing and getting pressure, the Cowboys kept on throwing the ball basically abandoning the running game.

Offensive line

Joe Berger – For the most part I liked the game he played and would rate it better than Pat McQuistan’s or Cory Procter’s. He showed good mobility when he had to pull and was also good about picking up the right defender on those plays. His pass protection was pretty solid for most of the evening. I saw him blow a pass protection on a stunt and then he just got beat another time. He was also slow getting out on a screen. But for most of the game he was delivering a very solid performance.

Pat McQuistan – McQ got almost all the snaps at Kyle Kosier’s vacant left guard position but had some problems along the way. He did have moments when he was powerful in the run game and showed some mobility on the pull blocks, but didn’t always find a guy to block. He had a few soft moments in pass protection including one pitiful play. He also had three plays where his run blocks were complete failures and one almost led to a turnover. He did get downfield nicely on a screen pass.

Cory Procter – Procter only played a couple of series at left guard towards the end of the game. My guess is they are not considering him seriously for Kosier’s spot. Procter still suffers from being a little soft in the middle, he’s very susceptible to getting pushed straight back and he’s not as agile when he has to pull. He showed nothing in this game that should really change his status one way or the other.

Doug Free – Good thing my man Free isn’t really fighting for a roster spot because he played a lousy game. He was repeatedly beaten in pass protection and had a hard time recognizing some of the blitzes and stunts. The speed rush was really giving him trouble.

James Marten – I actually came away with the feeling that Marten played alright for him, which isn’t an overwhelming endorsement. He still had plays where he whiffed on blocks or didn’t hold his ground, but they were fewer than I’ve come to expect from him.

Mike Jefferson – He had a few moments, especially towards the beginning where he caught some balls and made a few plays. He did have one easy drop and he didn’t show up on special teams at all. But he did get the nod as the starter next to Sam Hurd, so that could be an indication about how the Cowboys view him. He did get a couple of good blocks downfield in the run game.

Danny Amendola – He made a few plays catching the ball and blocking downfield, but really looks like if he’s going to stick it will be because he can add to the special teams. As both a backup punt and kick returner, he gets an advantage. But he didn’t exactly shine in this game, but didn’t make any big mistakes.

OLB

Justin Rogers – Don’t see him as “on the bubble” so didn’t chart him. They need his experience (the little he has) and his play on special teams.

Erik Walden – He didn’t really impress in the pass rush department but he did do a better job than I’ve seen him do before at standing his ground against the run. He did blow an easy tackle in the backfield on one play. But what caught my eye was that on four kick/punt coverage plays, Walden showed up around the ball and made a couple of tackles. If he can contribute on special teams, that’s a great sign for him sticking around.

Tearrius George – If George could have had a couple of more games like this or showed some of this in camp, the Cowboys would for sure create a place for him on the roster. The guy had at least six plays in the backfield. He had a great penetration blowing up a run, he got a couple of sacks and hit the QB a couple of other times disrupting passes. Now, he did a lot of this later in the game against the Vikings’ scrubs, but it still was an impressive performance. The question is - was it too late to change his future?

Darrell Robertson – Just didn’t do enough to change his fate.

CB/S

Evan Oglesby – Helped himself again this game with a nice breakup of a pass in the endzone, another pass break up later, a good tackle against the run and generally no big mistakes. The only bad thing I saw him do is use bad technique and turn his back to a receiver on a short pass. One problem for Oglesby is he doesn’t show up much on special teams and that could hurt his chances.

Alan Ball – Had one great special teams play on punt coverage and one good deep coverage but not much else. He just doesn’t make a lot of plays.

Dowayne Davis – A couple of nice tackles on defense but not much on special teams where he needs to shine to make the team. Didn’t really help himself much during the game.