Hear me out on this one and give me a chance to explain.

Prior to the the beginning of free agency, five positions were commonly said as needs in the draft for the chiefs. QB, RT, NT, RB and ILB.

We have completely eliminated RT and temporarily eliminated RB as our needs with the signings of Winston and Hillis. QB is a whole 'nother discussion and isn't going to be addressed in the first round of the draft. This leaves us with NT and ILB.

Most of the mock drafts are now predicting one of three players to the chiefs.

1. Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis.

2. David DeCastro, OG, Stanford.

3. Luke Kuechly, ILB, Boston College.

Poe and Kuechly both fit the NT/ILB needs and are the top ranked players in the draft at their respective positions. DeCastro doesn't fit an immediate need because Lilja is serviceable (for now) but he is mocked to us because he is probably the safest pick in the draft and a fantastic prospect.

What about Jovan Belcher?

First off, don't get me wrong, I do like Jovan Belcher. I think he's a good story, an undrafted free agent out of Maine who has stepped in and really helped the chiefs out. I'm very happy the chiefs tendered him and I do want him to have some kind of role in the chiefs defense this year. However, to have any kind of chance at a deep playoff run this year, the chiefs need to have a terrific and intimidating defense. I just don't see a defense with Belcher as being top notch. I think more of the recent Pittsburgh defenses that fielded LB's like Farrior, Foote, Porter, Woodley, Harrison....etc.

Point is I think we need to upgrade our SILB spot and I'd rather not address it in the first round of the draft unless we have to.

Now on to what this article is really about, Curtis Lofton.

If you haven't noticed, linebackers not named D'Qwell Jackson (the browns of course) are signing very team friendly deals, the market just seems to be weak. Stephen Tulloch- 5 years 25 million. Dan Connor 2 years 6.5 millon. Jameel McClain 3 years 10.5 million. You get the point, Lofton probably won't get overpaid this offseason and could probably be had on a decent deal, especially with the negotiating skills of Scott Pioli.

The Fit

I realize Lofton played ILB on a 4-3 defense for the falcons and he will have to transition to our 3-4. The good news is, its much easier to transition from ILB-->SILB than ILB-->WILB. The SILB has much less responsibility in coverage, which is good because Lofton is mediocre at best in coverage. The SILB MUST be good against the run and Lofton is a premier run stopper. Lofton is a vocal leader and has been called the soul of the falcons defense.

Can you imagine having three Pro-Bowl caliber linebackers on the roster? Now thats what I call scary.

Now I realize its gonna be tough to lure him out of Atlanta without overpaying, but I'm pretty sure Pioli can pull it off. The longer he remains on the free agency, the cheaper he will become.

Keep in mind, if we were to get Lofton, that would continue to open our draft options up a bit and would narrow it down to basically DeCastro or Poe.

What do you think?

Before we start, shoutout to chiefs cheerleaders

Alright, serious tone now. First of all, these are the free agents that I think the chiefs need to retain.

1. Dwayne Bowe- We have the salary cap room to pay the man and we can not allow our #1 WR to walk via free agency. Lock Bowe up long term, it's as simple as that.

2. Brandon Carr (Franchise Tag)- Signing Bowe allows us to use our franchise tag on Carr.

3. Le'Ron McClain- I love the nasty edge McClain has and the heart that he plays with. An elite FB in my book.

4. Barry Richardson- Although I agree with the rest of AP on the fact that Richardson was an awful starter, I think he must be kept for depth.

5. Wallace Gilberry- The last thing I think we should do is strip this team of the few potential pass rushers we have on the D-Line. Assuming he doesn't request too much cash, I want to see Gilberry re-signed.

6. Amon Gordon- He's quite the journeyman, but he's captured my heart a little like Shaun Smith did (although not as much). He provides decent depth on the D-Line.

7. Jon McGraw- He's also a great depth player and special teams contributor.

8. Jovan Belcher- He is a decent starter at ILB and who I think the chiefs should bring back. Belcher and Siler should push each other and split time next to DJ.

Before Free Agency Starts

Pioli dials up the Rams front office and swings a trade something along the lines of this for the #2 overall pick.

2012 1st round pick, 2013 1st round pick, 2013 3rd round pick and Brandon Carr.

Maybe Pioli can swing a deal for slightly less, or maybe this offer won't even be enough, but something along these lines is what I would guess.

My rationale behind the trade

First of all I do not want to let Brandon Carr walk for just a compensatory pick or possibly less. At the same time, I do not think that we should tie up such a large amount of our salary cap in corners. We have Flowers (an elite player), Routt (a solid #2, who excels in the man press), Arenas (a steadily improving CB who is terrific in blitzing situations), Brown (A young player who has high upside), Reeves (a depth body as of now, who has the ability to suprise). Basically the defensive backfield is crowded and I wish we would of paid Carr in the first place and never signed Routt, but that decision has already been made.

The chiefs desperately need a franchise QB. I think Cassel can keep the chiefs in contention and we can be a good team with him, but we will never be great. The last 9 superbowls have been won by Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. This is a passing league and elite QB's are becoming more important than ever before.

Free Agency

1. Paul Soliai- Arguably the most important position in a 3-4 defense is the NT. Anchoring against the run and occupying blockers on the D-line so the LB's can shoot the gaps is so important. Hopefully Powe can continue to develop, but as of right now there is not a starting NT on this team. Soliai will plug this hole immediately and give the chiefs there first true NT since forever. Having a true nose will improve everyone else in the front 7. Wait....Tamba Hali improve? Scary.

2. BenJarvus Green-Ellis- I personally believe that Jamaal Charles will come back and from injury strong and replicate his success from two seasons ago. However, we need someone other than Thomas Jones or Jackie Battle to supplement Charles. The law firm was great in short yardage situations and has NEVER fumbled in his NFL career. He can spell Charles and be the main back in goal line situations. Also, he shouldn't be too pricey.

3. Ben Grubbs- I really like this guy and I, like the rest of AP, think we need to upgrade our offensive line. The Ravens have already committed a ton of money to Evan Mathis and they still have Ray Rice to worry about so I think Grubbs will hit the open market. He's great at both run blocking and pass blocking and he ran some zone blocking in Baltimore (although limited).

I tried not to sign to many premier FA's here because its not exactly the chiefs style to spend right up until the cap. These are the major three players I think we need to sign. As for the rest of the depth positions and competition, I leave that for Pioli to determine.

The Draft

1st Round #2 Overall- Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

With this pick, the chiefs get their franchise QB and future starter. Let Cassel start until RG3 learns the playbook and is ready to take over. I can't saw enough good things about this guy....He's intelligent, has a strong arm, has the ability to run, is a pass first QB, is a class act....etc. I could go on forever about the guy, but I know you have all read the numerous reports on him and evaluations. I encourage you to watch the videos on his combine interviews and especially the video where he is speaking with Mariucci. He's got the heart and commitment that many players lack, and a whole lot of talent. The upside on RG3 is the highest in the draft. Alright, I need to stop drooling.

2nd Round #44 Overall- Zebrie Sanders, OT, Florida State

A solid tackle prospect who was a four year starter at FSU. The chiefs desperately need some help at RT and this man fits the bill. He's a big presence at 6'6" and 310 pounds and has pretty quick feet that should allow him to protect the Chiefs QB. He could probably start right away, a full offseason is going to do wonders for many draftees this year.

3rd Round #75 Overall- Billy Winn, DE/DT, Boise State

Let's face it, neither Dorsey nor Jackson have lived up the being top 5 picks. Jackson has been improving and Dorsey is good at stopping the run, but overall they aren't the impact players you expect from that position in the draft. Dorsey will be a free agent after this season and its time to bring in some more young talent at the position. I like Bailey and think he will continue to improve, but the chiefs need more options. Winn has experience in 3 man fronts and he's both explosive and a good tackler. He might need to bulk up a little but I think he's a solid choice.

4th Round #107 Overall- Michael Egnew, TE, Missouri

I'll start this by saying I absolutely love Tony Moeaki and can't wait to see him back next year. That being said, he's an injury prone guy, and I don't want to be stuck trotting Pope or whoever else out on the field if he goes down. Also, the Patriots have shown what two good receiving TE's can do. Egnew is a good receiver who will need to work on his blocking at the NFL level. However, he is a high effort player who earns the respect of coaches and teammates.

Rounds 5-7- BPA.

Late round speculation at this point is pretty hard, Pioli will probably want to grab another pass rush prospect and maybe some safety depth. I will leave that up to him.

Chiefs Roster

As i said before, I'm not going to go into full 53 player detail, and a lot of the competition and depth will be found by Pioli. This is only a strong foundation of the roster.

Offense

QB- Matt Cassel, Robert Griffin III, Ricky Stanzi

RB- Jamaal Charles, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Dexter McCluster

FB- LeRon McClain

WR1- Dwayne Bowe, Terrance Copper

WR2- Jonathon Baldwin

Slot- Steve Breaston, Dexter McCluster

TE- Tony Moaeki, Michael Egnew, Jake O'Connell

LT- Branden Albert

LG- Ben Grubbs, Ryan Lilja

C- Rodney Hudson, Thomas Gafford

RG- Jon Asamoah

RT- Zebrie Sanders, Barry Richardson

Defense

DE- Glenn Dorsey, Billy Winn, Wallace Gilberry

NT- Paul Soliai, Jerrell Powe, Amon Gordon

DE- Tyson Jackson, Allen Bailey

OLB- Tamba Hali, Cameron Sheffield

ILB- Jovan Belcher, Brandon Siler

ILB- Derrick Johnson, Demorrio Williams, Cory Greenwood

OLB- Justin Houston, Andy Studebaker

CB- Brandon Flowers, Javier Arenas

CB Stanford Routt, Jalil Brown

SS- Eric Berry, Donald Washington

FS- Kendrick Lewis, Jon McGraw

K- Ryan Succop

P- Dustin Colquitt

LS- Thomas Gafford

Overall

I think this would put the chiefs in a great position to win the division next year and also set the chiefs up for a bright future. I really don't see a hole in that lineup. Other than the depth players Pioli will fill in. This offseason would fill our need at NT, RT, RB, and QB. While upgrading us at G. Assuming Moaeki, Berry and Charles come back, this team looks fantastic. Whats your thoughts?

The selection of Jonathon Baldwin with the Chiefs first round pick came as a suprise to me as well as many other chiefs fans. That being said, I really like the selection the more and more I think about it. However, many critics label the selection as a "reach" and are quick to point out Baldwin's flaws. After the jump I will explain why Baldwin is indeed first round talent and not a reach at all.

Continue reading this post »

Alright, to start I'm rather new to the world of European football, that being said, I'm a devout Chelsea fan. I have a few questions that I tried researching but can't seem the find the answer for. Mostly regarding the different leagues and trophies.

I completely understand how the England football league system works, with the premier league at the top and countless levels below it. I also understand how the bottom 3 teams in premier drop down and the best teams from the league below move up. I understand all of this, however I don't understand which cup means the most to us.

There is the regular premier league cup that goes to the team with the most points in the premier league right? And there is no playoff of any sort, it goes to the team with the most amount of points.

Then there is the 2 other cups? The football league cup which includes only the top 4 divisions of England's football teams and the FA Cup which includes the top 10 or so divisions of England's football teams. Both of these are single elimination tournaments correct?

Aside from that there is also the UEFA leagues. The Champions league which takes the top 4 teams from the premier league standings and enters them along with the top 2-4 teams from other countries top leagues. And the winner of the Champions league is decided sort of like the world cup right? Teams are split into small 4 team groups and the top 2 advance. All the teams that advance are entered into a single elimination tournament?

And the other UEFA league is Europa. This is the exact same as the Champions league except its second best. So it takes the teams that are ranked 5-8? in the premier league? Or are the entrants decided some other way?

All this being said, Which trophy means the most to us? The regular Premier League cup, the Football League cup, the FA cup, or the UEFA champions league cup? In what order do the cups rank in importance to us?

Sorry for asking so many questions, but thanks for helping me out, I really appreciate it. GO CHELSEA!

-Nick

Alright, like many football I rushed out and grabbed the newest madden a few days after it came out. After I drove home,  I plugged it i my Xbox and let it load up.

I started up a game at Arrowhead against the Broncos. Unfortunately, I lost the coin toss, but I stuffed the return attempt at the 15.

What happened next is what made my day. Orton took place behind center and after sending and after sending a man in motion hiked the ball. It was a hand off to Knowshon Moreno and the Hole was as big as a Truck between Shaun Smith and Tyson Jackson. He flew through the first level and broke through the tackle attempt by Williams (The other LB's were nowhere to be found).

At this point he was regaining speed and in the clear, it looked to me as if no other defenders were in his path to an 85 yard TD run. However, a computer controlled flash of red and gold closed in on Moreno from out of nowhere in a heart beat and OBLITERATED him. Knocked the ball loose and left Moreno on the ground in shambles. I noticed during the camera sequence it was none other than Eric Berry. Vrabel grabbed the loose ball and ran it back to the 10, where I finished off the drive with Charles.

Not bad for the very first play in the new game huh?

What's everyone else's opinion about the New Madden and our Chiefs?

Alright, to start I know you've seen a million of these and would rather watch the Wilford Brimley commercial for Liberty Medical than read another, but I think you will like it. I spent hours researching and tweeking my draft until it was perfect.

Regarding trades, I would LOVE to trade down, but i just don't see it easily happening. Even if it does, it's so hard to predict to what team or for what picks that I just can't make my draft involve a trade with our first pick. Anyway enough blabbering.

Continue reading this post »

Alright, I created this post cause i have seen loads of doubts and uncertainty directed towards Larry Johnson in the last few weeks. Not pointing the finger at our fans in specific, but all NFL fans.

 For one, many believe that he is too old and that he is about to hit that wall that 30 year old backs tend to hit (He is turning 30 in November). However, he is still rather fresh compared to most others. He sat third on the depth chart for a few years under Vermeil and was never really the featured back until his third year. Also, he has only went over 200 carries in a year TWICE. In my mind, the word 30 means nothing, Tomlinson is 30 and he has accumulated about 2700 carries in his career. Larry has carried the ball a total of about 1250 times in his career (so 46% percent of Tomlinson's carries). 

I remember two years ago when all the espn anchors sat there and watched some Larry clips and just marveled at the tenacity he ran with, the combination of power and speed. I watched Larry play at Penn State, i was even at the game where he rushed for 279 yards in the first half against Michigan State. He ripped up college opponents like it was nothing. He finished 3rd in the Heisman voting and might have won if Penn State built the hype (Coach Paterno doesn't believe in boosting a Players Heisman chances, he cares about the team, not individuality.

Larry still owns a 4.5 ypc average over the course of his career. That's more than Tomlinson and many others. Also, as us chiefs fans know, he has the ability to bash and move through defenders. I love watching the clip of Larry just tossing Quentin Jammer. He has huge cutback ability and knows how to work the field. He started this season only 432 yards from being the Chiefs all time leading rusher.

I don't mean to stray a little,but in the last few years we have done little to help keep up rushing game intact. The retirement of Roaf and Shields, along with the departure of Wiegmann, Dunn, and Richardson have crippled our run blocking. We have lost two probowl lineman, your starting center, and a great blocking FB and TE. In my opinion, the chiefs need to spend some money/draft picks to rebuild the run game (as i'm sure everyone else thinks).

Anyway, I don't know about the rest of you chiefs fans, but I'm tired of hearing the negativity towards Larry. I think he still has it in the tank. If our o-line opens a few holes I think he can wreak havoc on opposing defenses. So I can't wait for people to realize that Larry is still Larry. Starting this weekend with the Raiders. 

P.S. This is my first Fanpost here at AP. So if i did anything wrong feel free to let me know. I'm a diehard chiefs fan and I'm happy to have joined the best sports community out there. Thanks to all :)

Make sure you guys leave comments! I want to hear opinions