SB Nation Blog: ChiefDJ

Do the Kansas City Chiefs really need a Fullback?

ChiefDJ — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:59:02 -0000

From the FanPosts. -Chris

Very interesting analysis by JJ Cooper at AOL Fanhouse comparing the Pittsburg Steelers offense when it uses a Fullback vs. the 2 TE formation.

Going into the 2007 season, there was much ado made about who the Steelers FB would be and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians moves towards using more double TE sets.

As it turns out when the season was finished, Willie Parker had more productive runs and Ben Roethlesburger was a more productive passer in the 2 TE sets by a considerable margin over having a blocking FB in the backfield.

PARKER'S STATS

Form. ATT YDS AVG

1 TE 410 1754 4.28

2 TE
331 1530 4.62

What's most telling is how much more common it was for the Steelers to use one back and two tight end sets last year. Parker had 177 carries out of a one-back formation in 2005 and 2006 combined. But when Whisenhunt left for Arizona, he took the fullback-centered offense with him. Last year, Parker had 184 carries out of a one-back set, and as you can see from the stats, he was very effective out of the one-back formation.

The story is the same for Roethlisberger. He had more attempts last year (78) out of two tight end sets, than he had in either 2005 (when he had 55 attempts) or 2006 (42 attempts). But what's most remarkable is how good Roethlisberger is out of two tight end sets. In the past three seasons, Roethlisberger has 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions when throwing out of two tight end sets. He has 16 touchdowns and 15 interceptions when throwing out of one tight end sets.

BIG BEN'S STATS

Form. A C Yards YPA

1 TE 259 426 3108 7.3

2 TE 115 175 1648 9.4

About the only stat that I could find where Roethlisberger was worse when throwing out of two tight end sets was his sack percentage. He's a little more prone to being sacked (11 percent of attempts compared to 8 percent), but that is more than made up for by his increased productivity when he gets the ball off.

This is a similar discussion we've heard Herm Edwards and Chan Gailey discuss, whether they will take 3 TEs and a FB or simply go with 4 TEs and no FB. There are obvious benefits to both.

With 2 TE formations, not only do you have extra blockers on the offensive line that will help out rookie LT Branden Albert and provide extra protection for Brodie Croyle, you also have an additional receiving target (and another player the defense has to account for), and big targets at that with Tony Gonzalez (6'5") and Brad Cottam (6'7").

On the other hand, if the Chiefs can find an effective blocking FB that can clear the lanes for LJ (if our offense is capable of creating lanes this year that is) that would be worth its weight in gold right there. I'm not all that jazzed about the FB catching out of the backfield, its nice, but it reminds me too much of Mike Solari's negative yardage passes to Kris Wilson last year. I have high hopes that Chan Gailey is going to be trying to move forward down the field rather than sideways and backwards.

How does Brodie Croyle compare to other recently drafted QBs

ChiefDJ — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:10:30 -0000

From the FanPosts. Welcome SI.com readers! I know a lot of you are coming over here this morning and I wanted to make sure you checked out the rest of the site. Enjoy! -Chris

The following is a comparison of recently drafted QBs, the point of it being how those QBs relate to the Chiefs Brodie Croyle. Since they have had a variety of playing time, most of the stats will be displayed as percentages for a more consistent representation.

One thing you notice is that, especially amongst other QBs drafted in the 2006 class (same year as Croyle), how little variation there are amongst their stats, even with QBs who have had considerably more playing time than Croyle. As you go further down the list, you run into more established QBs who by their third year really took hold of their team and improved, but you do not see drastically higher stats.

Top 5 reasons the Chiefs offensive line will be better in 2008

ChiefDJ — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:49:14 -0000

Nice work DJ. This is this morning's post. -Chris

The offensive line is the heart of the offense. If you have a good line, mediocre players will look great, but if you have a bad line, even a superstar will look like a dud.

How bad was the Chiefs offensive line last year?

* 31st in total yards
* 31st in pnts/game
* 28th in 3rd down conversion
* 1st in sacks allowed
* 32nd in rushing yards
* 30th in rushing TDs
* 2nd in punt attempts
* Can't find the stat, but we are in the bottom couple in 3 and outs as well.

Those are hard stats to swallow friends, and we are all familiar with them. We've gone around and around about what happened to put us in such a terrible position, but lets take a look at the top 5 reasons to believe the offensive line and thus the offense will be much better in 2008.

1. Wiegmann, Welbourne, Terry and Turley are gone
Let's face it. There aren't too many guys that could be put in to replace these guys that would be worse. Wiegmann was good in the Vermeil/Saunders offense (or was it Shields and Waters that made him look good?) but he is getting older (will be 35) and is undersized for the Chiefs power running game. Welbourne, Terry and Turley... Horrible. Old vets that quickly declined and new they were on their way out. No matter who they put in will be better than these guys.

2. Chan Gailey
Solari may have been a good offensive line coach, but its clear that he had no clue how to manage it as an offensive coordinator. Chan Gailey's teams have been to the playoffs 11 of 14 years he's been in the NFL as both an O.C. and head coach. He does not just run schemes, he runs plays to the talent of his players combining old school smash mouth and zone blocking schemes.

3. 2-Tight End Sets
This is a prime example of Gaileys scheming to the level of his players. With 4 of 5 players on the O-line being new to their positions and a rookie LT, putting extra TEs in to help the offensive line blocking will make a huge difference in building their confidence to eventually stand on their own more often. This will help rookie LT Brandon Albert to develop as well by giving him help on the outside while he is making the transition to LT from Guard in college.

4. Brandon Albert
It's not the homer in me. In two to three years, Brandon Albert will be considered the best Left Tackle to come out of the 2007 draft. There will be some growing pains as there are with all rookies, but the 2 TE sets will help him out. Albert has the size, athleticism and intelligence to be a great NFL LT. It helps he has a vet like Brian Waters next to him passing on the knowledge he received from Hall of Famer Willie Roaf.

5. We found the beef
The Edwards/Gailey offense is very much about running up the gut smashmouth style. We have the perfect running back for this in Larry Johnson. In the past couple of years, the Chiefs have been in transition where they were still using players fit for Vermeils offense and trying to use them for smashmouth. It didn't work well. All the starters on the 2008 offensive line have been selected to play in the new offensive scheme.

Bears Defense Tried to Maim Cedric Benson, Failed, Set Franchise Back 10 Years ...

ChiefDJ — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:20:41 -0000

Bears Defense Tried to Maim Cedric Benson, Failed, Set Franchise Back 10 Years Glazer: I mean, hell, one year, they tried to hurt [Benson] to make sure that Thomas Jones was going to be the starter. That's how bad it was with that team. And-- Patrick: Wait ... his teammates tried to hurt him in practice? Glazer: Oh yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. [...] Patrick: Who told you this? Was it a Bears defensive player that told you this? Glazer: No, it wasn't *a* Bears defensive player; it was about ten of them.

IGN: So then, what was the funniest thing you heard a corner say to you last yea...

ChiefDJ — Fri, 30 May 2008 23:33:56 -0000

IGN: So then, what was the funniest thing you heard a corner say to you last year? Dwayne Bowe: "Hey D-Bo, when the ball comes this way, I'll let you block. Don't be hitting me all late and stuff."

Herm Edwards on the cutting edge of NFL Offense?????

ChiefDJ — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:41:33 -0000

Article from NFL.com. Here is a snippet of the article

Will bigger be better?

As we continue to see defenses get faster and more athletic to handle all the matchup problems offenses throw at them, perhaps it is time for offenses to try a different tact. The trend is to use 230-pound middle linebackers who can get to the deep middle, 250-pound defensive ends who are best known as pass rushers, safeties with corner skills who are a bit undersized from the old-school 6-foot-2, 225-pounder, in-the-box strong safeties, weakside backers who are converted safeties, and extra defensive back packages based on down and distance. The defenses did what they had to do -- build units based on speed.

Marc Serota / Getty Images

Don't be surprised to see new Dolphins boss Bill Parcells mold his team's offense into a jumbo unit that can bully undersized defenses.

I get the feeling that a few offensive coordinators are starting to see a new opportunity emerging from these defensive tactics.

It was suggested to me that a few teams may be considering an old-fashioned offensive mentality that might be more from the Vince Lombardi school than the spread offense of 2007. It just might be time to send two big in-line tight end types out on to the field with a big old-fashioned fullback and a power runner. It might just be time to punch these quick defenses right in the nose with some smash-mouth power football.

One coach told me his team's divisional opponents dictate this switch -- tighten the line splits down so quick defensive linemen can't penetrate a gap, and roll a short-yardage philosophy out in the middle of the field.

It's still in the formative stages, but here's the plan as I understand it: Force the undersized weak linebacker to play on the line of scrimmage; make the hybrid safety play in the box, make the undersized pass rusher play over the offensive tackle with a tight end able to block down on him and send a fullback, who is bigger than the middle linebacker, right at him. It might not be exciting football but it would be a very interesting way to attack speed defenses.

Later in the article Kirwan talks about the potential of the Miami Dolphins as an example of a team that could benefit from doing this, mainly because Bill Parcells is an old school guy and a celebrity.

But does it not sound like the writer was sitting at a bar with Herm Edwards and Chan Gailey and listening to them talk about what the Chiefs offense was going to be like from now on? I mean, Herm has been preaching the power running offense since he got here and finally has an Offensive Coordinator in Chan Gailey (I think Chan is Herms soulmate) that is smart enough to make it work.

I mean, look at that last paragraph and think about Herm on the Red Zone show with Soren Petro from a few weeks ago where he was talking about how

TE Cottam really has some speed for a guy that big.

ChiefDJ — Sun, 11 May 2008 04:05:43 -0000

Tyron Brackenridge in surgery after bar fight

ChiefDJ — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:46:23 -0000

Was listening to 610AM this afternoon and they said that CB Tyron Brackenridge was having surgery on his jaw today after getting into an altercation at a nightclub called "Envy".

Reportedly he was with several other Kansas City Chiefs players when they began being harrassed by another group. Brackenridge was punched in the face, causing unknown injuries to his jaw. The story so far is that the Chiefs players were essentially jumped by the other group and were doing nothing wrong.

No arrests have been made and the police have said they have no intention of arresting any Chiefs players at this time. Will post more as I find it.

As Herm (and my mom) always says "Nothing good ever happens after midnight.".

Herm on Red Zone w/ Soren Petro

ChiefDJ — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:41:00 -0000

Head Coach Herm Edwards was on the Red Zone show with Soren Petro this afternoon and I thought I would pass along some tidbits:

Why Alfonso Boone at LDE: When asked why he is planning to put Boone at LDE instead of Turk, Herm replied that Turk WOULD be playing DE alot in passing situations. But he wants Boone at DE most of the time because Boone will be much better at stuffing the run on the right side where teams rush the majority of the time. When Soren replied that then teams would be passing and Boone wouldn't be able to apply enough pressure, Herm said (paraphrasing):

"Good. We want them to pass because then we have them right where we want them. Take away the run and they're playing right into our hand because when we know they're passing, we don't have to just rush four guys. We can rush five guys. We can rush six guys. If we can take away the run, we're the ones in control."

On drafting Jamaal Charles because he was BPA: While talking about the Chiefs strategy in the draft of taking the Best Player Available Herm says: "And then when you're in the third round and Jamaal Charles is still sitting there, I said "Are you kidding me?! We gotta get that guy!".

On drafting Morgan when they have Pollard & Page: Soren asked about why the Chiefs took the Safety DaJuan Morgan when they still had Pollard and Page and whether it meant that one of their jobs were in danger. Herm replied that those players are still in good standing but they wanted to have more safeties to rotate in and keep fresh. He indicated that on known passing downs they could use three safeties on the field at the same time.

On the possibility of turning Pollard into a Linebacker: Herm indicated they had not even considered changing Pollards position, but that they have always wanted to move him down in the box for run defense more but in the past they have not had the other pieces on the defense to be able to do that alot.

Guys Herm liked in the draft but didn't get: Herm said they really liked Antoine Cason, CB from Arizona, and thought he might fall to them but he was selected by San Diego in the late 1st round. He also really liked RB Jonathan Stewart from Oregon who he said would become a "complete back".

Where Herm thinks the Chiefs will be picking in next years draft: "Oh man, maybe mid 20s, early 20s. Somewhere around there."

2008 draft and where we go in 2009

ChiefDJ — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:41:48 -0000

Years from now we will look back on the "Dirty Dozen" from the 2008 draft as the cornerstone of the franchise. I'd like to take a minute and analyze the positions on the team and why the players that were chosen were chosen and how they will affect us going forward.

The most important thing we have to remember is, this is a multi-year rebuild. The Chiefs did not have a checklist of our needs and go through the draft checking them off and making sure they had 1 of everything. So it is no surprise that there are still holes to be filled. I think the approach the Chiefs are taking is very interesting and clearly reflects that they plan on going into 2009 still in rebuild mode instead of "win now" mode.

Quarterback: There is no doubt that Herm is prepared to sink or swim with Croyle. The Chiefs never even sniffed a QB in the draft. If Croyle can develop and, most importantly, lead the team to some impressive wins that give us hope that he can be the leader the offense desperately needs, we will be forgiving of his learning mistakes. Hopefully Thigpen can continue to develop and by 2009 take over the backup position from Huard and the Chiefs can draft another good QB prospect to put in the pipeline for the third stringer.

Offensive Line: This was our most outrageous problem last year. But if we analyze what happened, it is encouraging that 90% of the problem is ALREADY fixed. The right side of the line from Center on over was populated by aging offensive linemen that had lost themselves. With Will Shields gone, Wiegmann was exposed as an undersized Center that was not a fit for the new offensive philosophy. Welbourne, Terry and Turly were aging vets that had simply lost it. All four of these guys knew that just by their age their days were numbered and maybe that had an effect on them as well. Just by getting those four improved the roster.
Going forward, I see Branden Albert eventually becoming the best LT to come out of the 2008 draft class, he just has everything you want in a LT physically and mentally except for experience and that will come in time. Waters will continue to man LG for another year or two. It sounds like the Chiefs have alot of faith in Niswanger at Center. The Chiefs clearly hope that Barry Richardson can be developed into a Right Tackle, but that may take some coaching up to get to that point. He doesn't have that realy nasty streak that you look for in a road grating run blocker. In the meantime I think they will move McIntosh to the right side. This may be a position the Chiefs address in next years draft if Richardson do. Same with Right Guard. Herb Taylor might work out here, as could Alibi.
What I see in 2009 is an average, if inexperienced in places offensive line, and for all the problems that poses, it will be a huge upgrade over what we had in 2007. More work will be done with the line in the 2009 draft.

Running Back: We're sitting pretty with RBs. LJ will continue to be the workhorse and should have the chip back on his shoulder after a miserable 2007. Kolby Smith proved himself a reliable backup that can be depnded on to not lose much when LJ is off the field.
The addition of Jamaal Charles is very exciting to me. The two back set that is becoming popular in the NFL is a great weapon for running teams and fit squarely in with Herms philosophy. A backfield with LJ and Charles present the defense with some difficult decisions. LJ can bash them up the middle and run over them while Charles is elusive and capable of getting to the corner and streaking up the field. Charles also has very good hands in the receiving game and can be motioned out of the backfield to get a free release and use his speed to burn the linebacker that will be covering him.
I also believe that we are FINALLY going to have a legit fullback this year in Mike Cox. He was a weapon in Chan Gaileys Georgia Tech offense that is a true run blocker, but has good hands catching the ball out of the backfield as well.

Wide Receiver: We are still a bit weak at this position, but we have some prospects that could turn out to be very good players. Dwayne Bowe has superstar written all over him. There is no doubt that he will be the first guy Brodie Croyle looks for in the passing game. Behind him there are alot of questions. Jeff Webb has been steady but is still a work in progress. This will be his third year so we should start seeing something from him if he has anything to show. I never really see Webb being more than a 3rd WR and will probably work out of the slot alot. Will Franklin has the speed we are looking for in a #2, but we shouldn't expect alot out of him his rookie year. Again, it will likely take about three years before we can really pass judgment on him. Devard Darling is still pretty much an unknown. I think physically he is alot like Bowe, but whether he has the same aggressiveness to get to the ball we will have to wait and see. Just because of his experience, I look for Darling to be the #2 receiver going into 2008.

Tight End: What Chan Gailey does with the tight end position this year should be interesting. There is alot of talk about two tight end sets. Tony Gonzalez, obviously, shows no sign of slowing down and hopefully will be around at least another two years. The Chiefs drafted Brad Cottam primarily as the blocking TE, but he DOES have good hands in the receiving game as well. His height and build is very similar to Tony Gs, so hopefully over the next couple of years Tony can show Cottam the tricks of the trade. Michael Allen, if he can develop, looks to be the heir to the receiving TE position with Tony Gs gone, but as a 7th round pick a year ago, he could just as easily disappear in a year or two. If they are good enough special teams players, don't be surprised to see the Chiefs take 4 TEs on the roster.

Defensive Line: Losing Jared Allen hurt. Especially since we ended up with Glenn Dorsey in the draft. But regardless, the Chiefs must move forward. Look for Tamba to be moved to the right side where he should be more productive. Herm hinted that Alfonso Boone might start out at Left DE, which at first I thought was an indictment of Turk, who played DE in college. Instead, I see this as the Chiefs having a plan for the future and not wanting to interrupt it. They don't want Turk to play DE. They want him as a 3 technique pass rushing DT (now he will be in the rotation behind Dorsey) and instead of interrupting his progression at that position to go fill a hole at DE, they are going to allow him to continue working where they want him for the future. Boone will not be a speed rusher from DE, but he will fill the position adequately.
The Chiefs could have drafted a DE earlier in the draft, but the quality of DEs was very poor after the third one went off the board. Instead of drafting a mediocre one just because we needed it, they skipped it completely. Look for them to draft one very early next year.
Hopefully Tank Tyler can win a job as a starter because we desperately need his strength to handle multiple linemen to free up Dorsey to rush the passer. Dorsey should become a force in the middle.

Linebackers: I'm guessing this will be Donnie Edwards last year as a starter. The value of his experience to the Chiefs young defense cannot be overstated. This will be a pivotal year in the career of Derrick Johnson. He has incredible talent but has underperformed in years past. If he has the season he is capable of having, I think Herm will consider moving him to Middle Linebacker for 2009. By then he will likely be the oldest player on the Chiefs defense and he certainly has the speed required by that position to cover in the field. It all depends on whether he finally "gets it". DeMorrio Williams will probably be a backup for alot of 2008 but should take over Donnie Edwards spot in 2009. Chiefs will probably be looking to draft another LB next year to fill the other OLB position.

Safeties: I think Jarred Page will continue to develop very well at the free safety position and I see him there for years to come. Pollard is exactly what the Chiefs want from the Strong Safety and I don't see him in any danger of losing that position unless he does not develop. Remember that he was drafted as a Junior and didn't play defense much his rookie year, so in alot of ways, he is a little behind what we might expect from a third year guy. If the CBs are able to improve with the infusion of youth, look for Pollard to be moved into the box for run support A LOT. The guy is buillt like a linebacker and I really think the coaches are not able to use him the way they want to right now because of the weakness of our cornerbacks. Morgan looks to be the perfect backup safety, able to play both safety positions and said to be an excellent special teams player. I look for Wesley to be traded or released in short order.

Cornerback: This was the Chiefs defense weakest position last year. Law and Surtain are simply too old, even in the Cover 2. Law is gone, I wouldn't be surprised to see Surtain replaced as a starter by midseason if Patterson or Brackenridge develop enough. Flowers is the prototypical Cover 2 CB and I look for him to take Laws starting spot right away. Brandon Carr is very interesting to me. He has all the physical ability of an elite CB. Good height, very good runner. He needs alot of work on his technique and get used to the heightened level of competition. If Herm can develop him over the course of a couple of years, he could turn out to be an outstanding CB. If he can, Carr will be the corner that takes receivers on man-to-man when they move Pollard down into the box.

Kick Returns: This was a serious weakness for the Chiefs last year. I have high hopes that Kevin Robinson can be the cure for our kick return woes. Over his 4 year college career, he broke the NCAA record with an average of 17 yards per touch (What this means is that every time he touched the football, whether in the return game, as a wide receiver, whatever, he averaged 17 yards each time he touched it). He is fast and very elusive. Hopefully he can translate his success at the small college he went to into the NFL. If nothing else, he HAS to be better than Eddie Drummond. If Robinson has little success, don't be surprised if the Chiefs send Jamaal Charles out to take some kicks.

Kicker: The Chiefs currently have about 5 kickers on the roster and it looks like they are going to try them all out and go with the most consistent. If they dont find a solid guy this year, look for them to leave no stone unturned in finally solving their Curse of Nick Lowry over the next few years. How many games over the last 20 years would we have won with a good field goal kicker??

PARKER'S STATS
Form.	ATT	YDS	AVG
1 TE	410	1754	4.28
2 TE	331	1530	4.62

BIG BEN'S STATS
Form.	A	C	Yards	YPA
1 TE	259	426	3108	7.3
2 TE	115	175	1648	9.4