Per Scout.com, KC has the sixth most room left under the cap, out of the 32 teams in the league, with just over $17 million left. I've seen the estimation of around six million or so that needs to be set aside for draft picks, leaving about $11 million or so to potentially spend on free agents this season. Who should they spend it on? How much will they spend?

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In Todd Haley's 46 games as Head Coach (including the one playoff game) his teams lost by 20 or more points 13 times, including 5 times in 13 games this year.

5 of the blowouts happened in Haley's first season, when he had a very young bad team. Those kinds of losses are likely to happen with that kind of roster, so it's not necessarily surprising that we got slaughtered so many times in that season.

But the next year, we won 10 games and the division, but we still got pummeled by 20+ points 4 times, including the regular season finale and the playoff game, both at Arrowhead.

Then this season, we were demolished 5 more times, including the first two games of the season, making 4 consecutive blowouts, 3 at Arrowhead. Something was very wrong, beyond the injuries. The team bounced back strong for a while after that, but then the beatdowns began again.

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I bet that if before the draft, we had been told that we would do this with our first 4 picks, a lot of people would have been quite happy:

1. Justin Houston.

2. Jon Baldwin.

3. Jerrell Powe.

4. Ricky Stanzi.

I would have been. Maybe you wouldn't, and that's fine, but I think those are some good players with good potential that fill needs, and they all would have been taken about where they seemed to be projected to go, without any seemingly big overdrafts, according to the prognosticators.

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The only game the Chiefs played in January 2010, they went into Denver and routed the Broncos. The lowly Chiefs won only their 4th game of the season, while the Broncos, who still had a chance at the playoffs, could barely put up a fight at home.

Then as 2010 progressed, the Chiefs signed some useful free agents, added two of the top coordinators in the game, and had a draft that has been raved about and has already provided big dividends on the field.

The rest of 2010, the Chiefs played 15 regular season games and won 10 of them, equaling their win totals of the previous three seasons combined. 

Then 2010 ended. Unfortunately.

In January 2011, the Chiefs played two games, getting demolished at home in Arrowhead by the Raiders, and then trounced by Baltimore in Arrowhead in the first round of the playoffs. 

Also in 2011, Charlie Weis left as offensive coordinator, and rather than another big name being brought in, he was replaced by the offensive line coach already on staff.

2010 was a magical year where everything seemed to go right. 2011 has already had a miserable beginning. The 2010 schedule seemed to break very nicely for the Chiefs, but the 2011 schedule looks far rougher, loaded with playoff teams including both conference champions. 

Tamba Hali is currently without a contract, as are several other key performers from 2010. The collective bargaining agreement in the NFL is still up in the air, and no one knows what that will mean going forward. 

Was 2010 just a fluky year where everything went right, and when the clock struck midnight on December 31, 2010, it all came crashing back down?

It's all just a coincidence, right? We'll be good again in 2011... right?

Updated 6/15, after the releases of Kolby Smith, QB Matt Gutierrez, TE Leroy Banks, OL Jermail Porter, DB Andre Jones and OL Nick Landry.

Offense:

QB: Matt Cassel, Brodie Croyle, Tyler Palko, Billy Stull

WR 1: Dwayne Bowe, Terrence Copper, Lance Long, Jeremy Horne

WR 2: Chris Chambers, Jeherme Urban, Quinten Lawrence, Menelik Holt, David Grimes

(Slot WR): Dexter McCluster, Urban, Long, Rich Gunnell

RB: Jamaal Charles, Thomas Jones, Dexter McCluster, Jackie Battle, Javarris Williams, Kestahn Moore

FB: Tim Castille, Mike Cox, Tervaris Johnson

TE: Leonard Pope, Tony Moeaki, Brad Cottam, Jake O'Connell, Cody Slate

LT: Branden Albert, Barry Richardson, Ike Ndukwe

LG: Brian Waters, Jon Asamoah, Rudy Niswanger, Ndukwe, Darryl Harris, Tyler Eastman

C: Casey Wiegmann, Niswanger, Asamoah, Andrew Lewis

RG: Ryan Lilja, Jon Asamoah, Colin Brown, Niswanger, Andrew Lewis

RT: The Disappearing RT Ryan O'Callaghan, Ike Ndukwe, Lemuel Jeanpierre

Defense:

DE: Tyson Jackson, Wallace Gilberry, Jeffrey Fitzgerald

NT: Shaun Smith, Ron Edwards, Derek Lokey, Dion Gales, Garrett Brown

DE: Glenn Dorsey, Alex Magee, Bobby Greenwood

LOLB: Mike Vrabel, Andy Studebaker, Cameron Sheffield, Justin Cole

LILB: Derrick Johnson, Demorrio Williams, David Herron

RILB: Jovan Belcher, Cory Mays, Cory Greenwood

ROLB: Tamba Hali, Cameron Sheffield, Justin Cole, Pierre Walters

LCB: Brandon Flowers, Donald Washington, Mike Richardson, Travis Daniels, Jackie Bates

RCB: Brandon Carr, Javier Arenas, Maurice Leggett, Donald Washington

SS: DaJuan Morgan, Jarrad Page, Kendrick Lewis, Reshard Langford, Jon McGraw

FS: Eric Berry, Kendrick Lewis, Ricky Price

Specialists:

PR: J. Arenas

KR: J. Arenas, McCluster

P: Dustin Colquitt

K: Ryan Succop, Austin Signor

LS: Thomas Gafford

Updated 5/17 after TE Leroy Banks signed.

Like before, I'm sure everyone is going to have suggestions for moving players around or up and down.

Offense:

QB: Matt Cassel, Brodie Croyle, Matt Gutierrez, Tyler Palko, Billy Stull

WR 1: Dwayne Bowe, Copper, Lance Long, Jeremy Horne

WR 2: Chris Chambers, Jeherme Urban, Quinten Lawrence, Menelik Holt, David Grimes

(Slot WR): Dexter McCluster, Urban, Long, Rich Gunnell

RB: Jamaal Charles, Thomas Jones, Dexter McCluster, Javarris Williams, Kestahn Moore, Kolby Smith

FB: Tim Castille, Mike Cox, Tervaris Johnson

TE: Leonard Pope, Tony Moeaki, Brad Cottam, Leroy Banks, Jake O'Connell

LT: Branden Albert, Barry Richardson, Ike Ndukwe, Nick Landry

LG: Brian Waters, Jon Asamoah, Rudy Niswanger, Ndukwe, Darryl Harris, Tyler Eastman

C: Casey Wiegmann, Niswanger, Asamoah, Andrew Lewis

RG: Ryan Lilja, Jon Asamoah, Colin Brown, Niswanger, Andrew Lewis

RT: Ryan O'Callaghan, Ike Ndukwe, Jermail Porter, Lemuel Jeanpierre

Defense:

DE: Tyson Jackson, Wallace Gilberry, Jeffrey Fitzgerald

NT: Shaun Smith, Ron Edwards, Derek Lokey, Dion Gales, Garrett Brown

DE: Glenn Dorsey, Alex Magee, Bobby Greenwood

LOLB: Mike Vrabel, Andy Studebaker, Cameron Sheffield, Justin Cole

LILB: Derrick Johnson, Demorrio Williams, David Herron

RILB: Jovan Belcher, Cory Mays, Cory Greenwood

ROLB: Tamba Hali, Cameron Sheffield, Justin Cole, Pierre Walters

LCB: Brandon Flowers, Donald Washington, Mike Richardson, Travis Daniels, Jackie Bates

RCB: Brandon Carr, Javier Arenas, Maurice Leggett, Donald Washington, Andre Jones

SS: Jarrad Page, DaJuan Morgan, Kendrick Lewis, Reshard Langford, Jon McGraw

FS: Eric Berry, Kendrick Lewis, Ricky Price

Specialists:

PR: J. Arenas, Andre Jones

KR: J. Arenas, McCluster, Andre Jones

P: Dustin Colquitt

K: Ryan Succop, Austin Signor

LS: Thomas Gafford

I started with the depth chart listed at yahoo.com, made changes based on this site's roster: http://www.arrowheadpride.com/roster  and then added the new acquisitions.

Feel free to make changes, because there's surely some stuff wrong/people missing, and I'm sure everyone is going to want to move players around or up and down.

Offense:

QB: Matt Cassel, Brodie Croyle, Matt Gutierrez, Tyler Palko, Billy Stull

WR 1: Dwayne Bowe, Copper, Lance Long, Chandler Williams, Jeremy Horne

WR 2: Chris Chambers, Jeherme Urban, Quinten Lawrence, Menelik Holt, David Grimes

(Slot WR): Dexter McCluster, Urban, Long, Rich Gunnell

RB: Jamaal Charles, Thomas Jones, Dexter McCluster, Javarris Williams, Kestahn Moore, Kolby Smith

FB: Tim Castille, Mike Cox, Tervaris Johnson

TE: Leonard Pope, Tony Moeaki, Brad Cottam, Leroy Banks

LT: Branden Albert, Barry Richardson, Ike Ndukwe, Nick Landry

LG: Brian Waters, Jon Asamoah, Rudy Niswanger, Ndukwe, Darryl Harris, Tyler Eastman

C: Casey Wiegmann, Niswanger, Asamoah, Andrew Lewis

RG: Ryan Lilja, Jon Asamoah, Colin Brown, Niswanger, Andrew Lewis

RT: Ryan O'Callaghan, Ike Ndukwe, Jermail Porter, Lemuel Jeanpierre

Defense:

DE: Tyson Jackson, Wallace Gilberry, Derek Lokey

NT: Shaun Smith, Ron Edwards, Dion Gales, Garrett Brown

DE: Glenn Dorsey, Alex Magee, Bobby Greenwood, Jeffrey Fitzgerald

LOLB: Mike Vrabel, Andy Studebaker, Cameron Sheffield, Justin Cole

LILB: Derrick Johnson, Demorrio Williams, David Herron, Michael Johnson

RILB: Jovan Belcher, Cory Mays, Michael Johnson

ROLB: Tamba Hali, Cameron Sheffield, Justin Cole, Pierre Walters

LCB: Brandon Flowers, Donald Washington, Mike Richardson, Travis Daniels, Jackie Bates

RCB: Brandon Carr, Javier Arenas, Maurice Leggett, Donald Washington, Andre Jones

SS: Jarrad Page, DaJuan Morgan, Kendrick Lewis, Reshard Langford, Jon McGraw

FS: Eric Berry, Kendrick Lewis, Ricky Price

Specialists:

PR: J. Arenas, Andre Jones

KR: J. Arenas, McCluster, Andre Jones

P: Dustin Colquitt

K: Ryan Succop, Austin Signor

LS: Thomas Gafford

(Updated 5/17, for new TE Leroy Banks)

I love all the mock drafting posts and all the chat about the draft which is TONIGHT! I cant get enough of it who can? All of the mockings and the info are good. But none of the mockings are the ULTIMATE! Exscept for THIS one!

This is the ULTIMATE mock draft! It's almost time, so here it is! I've looked at the USA Today and watched ESPN and crunched all the numbers till my calculater was sore, so  here is the ultimate mock draft! FINALE!

Come on! Piolo you better do this draft or else your an idiot!

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He's one of the very worst players out there, according to the numbers on this website: Pro Football focus.

http://profootballfocus.com/cstats.php?tab=by_team&season=2009&teamid=16&stype=a&stats=o

PFF watches film of every play and rates each player on every snap. Ryan gets an overall rating of -20.1, which is worst on the team and one of the very worst in the league.

He's played 469 offensive snaps, and has allowed 2 sacks, 3 QB hits and 3 QB pressures. He's committed 5 penalties, has dropped 4 of the 18 passes that have hit him in the hands, and has also fumbled once. (not included in the numbers: he very nearly fumbled one of his two TD catches-- if he had, his numbers would be even worse.)

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Seems like there are quite a few players out there now who should be of interest to KC.

For handy reference, here are some of them:

Hank Baskett, WR

Jon Runyan, OT

Langston Walker, OT

Lance Long, WR/PR (there's a rumor that he's been released, but I can't find anything on the web about it)

Steve Justice, C

Chris Patrick, OL

Are any of these guys better than what we have now? Who else is out there who should be on the list? Must be some defensive players available who would be upgrades. (And don't say Pollard, he had his shot and couldn't make this team.)

Third down: we went 2-10 on third downs. Additionally, we turned it over on a 4th down late (and converted a totally meaningless fourth down at the end of the half.) That means we were 2-11 when the drive was at stake.

Baltimore went 10 for 17 on third downs, and converted the only 4th down they tried, when they ran in the clinching touchdown at the end. That's 11 for 18 for them when the drive is at stake.

They converted several third and longs: a third and ten, a third and 14, and a couple of third and 8s IIRC. KC on the other hand, had two drives stopped short when Bradley failed to get the first down after making the catch near the marker. Haley pointed out "When you’re on the sticks on a third down, you’ve got to get the first down. That’s just the NFL. You’ve got to get the first down and keep the drive alive."

Which leads to another disappointment that hurt our chances:

Mental errors: Bradley's first down failures were two big mental errors. He didn't pay attention to the first down marker, and killed two drives because of it. There were some other mental mistakes that hurt too-- the penalty that wiped out the safety, Croyle not getting the play off early in the game, among others.

Which leads to another disappointment that hurt our chances: the horrible start. Baltimore had 11 first downs before we had one. The defense couldn't get off the field in the first half, and I think that came back to haunt us late, as our D-line seemed tired. They pushed us two yards back off the line on almost every play late, and I think part of that was because our defense was out there so long early. Additionally, even when we scored our first couple TDs, it wasn't because of long drives by the offense, it came off special teams and defense, so our D had to go right back out there again quickly. I think it caught up to us at the end.

But overall, considering everything-- playing a very good team on the road, which has two very good lines, without Cassel or Flowers,  falling behind early-- we looked pretty good.

But we obviously need to make more plays on third down to win games. Can we? Will we? Why couldn't we do it today?

It's getting a little tricky to keep up with all the new guys, but here's an attempt:

Current Depth chart, as of 4/26. New players in all caps.

TE: Cottam, T. CURTS, S. RYAN, J. COLLINS, J. O'CONNELL 

T: Albert, McIntosh, Richardson, Taylor, BROWN

C: Niswanger, W. Smith

G:  Waters, GOFF, A. Jones, E. Harrison, De La Puente, T. Washington

WR: Bowe, Bradley, ENGRAM, Q. LAWRENCE, COPPER, CJ JONES, R. WRIGHT, T. JOHNSON, Darling, Webb

QB: CASSEL, Thigpen, Croyle, I. Martin

RB: L. Johnson, Charles, K. Smith, J. WILLIAMS, Savage, Battle

FB: Cox

DE: Dorsey, T. JACKSON, A. MAGEE, McBride, ROBERTSON, Boone, Babin, Johnston, Studebaker, Gilberry, B. GREENWOOD

NT: Tyler, Jackson, Lokey

OLB: VRABEL, D. Johnson, Hali, D. Williams, ROBERTSON, C. MAYS, P. WALTERS, J. BELCHER

ILB: Z. THOMAS, BEISEL, Dacus, B. ABARE

CB: Flowers, Carr, D. WASHINGTON, Leggett, DANIELS, Colclough

S: Page, Pollard, Morgan, Celestin, L. FRYAR, McGraw

PK: Barth, SUCCOP, MARTINEZ, MEYERS

P: Colquitt

(Please feel free to post any changes you think need to be made to the depth chart.)

Seattle removes franchise tag from Hill, so now he can be signed without compensation. 

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlesports/archives/167365.asp?source=mypi

OLB, still young, would be a great pickup for the Chiefs. Hopefully we'll go offense with the rest of this draft, now that we've added two more top 3 draft picks to a defense that was already full of them.

(Need to add nine more words to this post or it can't be published for some reason, hopefully now that I have done so, it will be way more full of information.)

Current Depth chart, as of 4/22. New players in all caps.

TE: Cottam, S. RYAN, J. Collins

T: Albert, McIntosh, Richardson, Taylor

C: Niswanger, W. Smith

G:  Waters, GOFF, A. Jones, E. Harrison, De La Puente, T. Washington

WR: Bowe, ENGRAM, Bradley, COPPER, Darling, CJ JONES, Webb, R. WRIGHT

QB: CASSEL, Thigpen, Croyle, I. Martin

RB: L. Johnson, Charles, K. Smith, Savage, Battle

FB: Cox

DE: Dorsey, McBride, ROBERTSON, Boone, Babin, Johnston, Studebaker, Gilberry

NT: Tyler, Dorsey, Jackson, Lokey

OLB: VRABEL, D. Johnson, Hali, D. Williams, ROBERTSON, C. MAYS

ILB: Z. THOMAS, BEISEL, Dacus

CB: Flowers, Carr, Leggett, DANIELS, Colclough

S: Page, Pollard, Morgan, McGraw, Celestin

PK: Barth

P: Colquitt

KR: Savage

(Please feel free to post any changes you think need to be made to the depth chart.)

Current Depth chart:

TE: Gonzalez, Cottam, J. Collins

LT: Albert, Taylor, Carnahan

LG: Waters, A. Jones, De La Puente

C: GOFF, Niswanger, W. Smith

RG:  Niswanger, GOFF, A. Jones, E. Harrison, T. Washington

RT: McIntosh, Richardson

WR: Bowe, ENGRAM, COPPER, Bradley, Franklin, CJ JONES

QB: CASSEL, Thigpen, Croyle, MArtin

RB: L. Johnson, Charles, K. Smith, Savage, Battle

FB: Cox

LDE: Hali, McBride

NT: Tyler, Dorsey, Jackson

RDE: Dorsey, Babin, Boone, Johnston

OLB: VRABEL, D. Williams, ROBERTSON

ILB: BEISEL

ILB: Boiman, Dacus

OLB: D. Johnson, C. MAYS

LCB: Carr, DANIELS, Colclough

FS: Page, McGraw, Celestin

SS: Pollard, Morgan

RCB: Flowers, Leggett

PK: Barth

P: Colquitt

KR: Savage, Robinson

(Please feel free to post any changes you think need to be made to the depth chart.)

Looks like we've picked up 5 new likely starters since the offseason began: Cassel, Vrabel, Goff, Engram and Beisel. Not bad, we still have the draft to come. And more players will get cut later in the offseason and we still should have a lot of cap room.

Needs: Another OT, a DE, 2 LBs? Hopefully we can add two new likely starters in some of those spots with the draft, plus another couple of contributors who will start in the future. And fill the other holes with signings later this offseason.

Here is where we were at the end of the season:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/depth-chart/KC

Yikes. That's bad. How have we upgraded so far?

Depth chart:

TE: Gonzalez, Cottam, J. Collins

LT: Albert, Taylor, Carnahan

LG: Waters, De La Puente

C: Niswanger, W. Smith

RG:  A. Jones, E. Harrison, T. Washington

RT: McIntosh, Richardson

WR: Bowe, ENGRAM, COPPER, Bradley, Franklin, CJ JONES

QB: CASSEL, Thigpen, Croyle, MArtin

RB: L. Johnson, Charles, K. Smith, Savage, Battle

FB: Cox

LDE: Hali, McBride

NT: Tyler, Dorsey, Jackson

RDE: Babin, Boone, Johnston

OLB: VRABEL, D. Williams, ROBERTSON

ILB: BEISEL

ILB: Boiman, Dacus

OLB: D. Johnson, C. MAYS

LCB: Carr, DANIELS, Colclough

FS: Page, McGraw, Celestin

SS: Pollard, Morgan

RCB: Flowers, Leggett

PK: Barth

P: Colquitt

KR: Savage, Robinson

Please post a more accurate depth chart if you can, I'm sure I've left people out and have some things wrong.

Anyway, the point is, we have made some upgrades but a lot of work remains. I'd like to see 2 more new starters in the OL, one or 2 more at DL and a couple more linebackers. Pick up 3 or 4 more new starters, slide the incumbents down the chart, and we don't look that bad, especially in the AFC West. I'd say it's realistic to pick up 1 or 2 new starters from the draft. So if we can get 2 more new starters in free agency and from other teams cuts, that would be a really great offseason, filling most of the big holes.

Most of the time, that would be unrealistic to pick up that many new starters, up this team had so many holes, it's not that hard to add that many new starters.

I found this post on the Patriots section of a Red Sox message board, posted by a Pats fan named "dynomite."

It's pretty interesting, and any opinions here are not mine but those of a Patriots fan.

"Out of these 66 picks it's pretty stellar, with 2003 and 2005 (and perhaps 2008) being outstanding years. Maybe 19 or 20 true starters in the bunch. It's a very solid draft record, with few true mistakes.

Perhaps his greatest draft accomplishment (apart from the Moss and Welker deals) is that, of his 1st and 2nd round picks, the only "busts" were Chad Jackson in 06 and Bethel Johson in 03. (We'll never know about Marquise Hill in 04, sadly) Overall this list makes me feel better, though. He's a great executive and it sucks he's leaving, but it's not as if they guy had a Midas touch -- late round steals were few and far between.

4th round (120) Asante Samuel, CB, 2003
5th round (164) Dan Koppen, C, 2003
6th round (206) LeKevin Smith, DT, 2006
7th round (230) Matt Cassel, QB, 2005
7th round (239) Tully Banta-Cain, DE, 2003
7th round (244) David Givens, WR, 2002

Above average, probably, but to only draft 5 "noteworthy" players after Round 4 in 8 drafts isn't anything Canton worthy.

The drafts:

2008 draft (if Wheatley or Wilhite turn into a starter and KOC sticks as our long-term backup this was an A+ draft)

1 (10) Jerod Mayo, LB
2 (62) Terrence Wheatley, CB
3 (78) Shawn Crable, LB
3 (94) KOC, QB
4 (129) Jonathan Wilhite, CB
5 (153) Matthew Slater, WR
6 (197) Bo Ruud, LB

2007 draft (looks pretty horrible, but not once you factor in Welker and Moss. There was noting to be had at the end of that draft beyond Tyler Thigpen and Nick Folk -- I guess it was worth seeing if anyone stuck, and Lua might be decent, but... wow.)

1 (24) Brandon Meriweather, S
4 (127) Kareem Brown, DT
5 (171) Clint Oldenburg, OL
6 (180) Justin Rogers, DE
6 (202) Mike Richardson, CB
6 (208) Justise Hairston, RB
6 (209) Corey Hilliard, T
7 (211) Oscar Lua, LB
7 (247) Mike Elgin, OL

2006 draft (again, not great. The fact that LeKevin Smith is our best late round pick in the last 3 years is pretty suprising. Andrews showed promise as well.)

1 (21) Laurence Maroney, RB
2 (36) Chad Jackson, WR
3 (86) David Thomas, TE
4 (106) Garret Mills, TE
4 (118) Stephen Gostkowski, K
5 (136) Ryan O'Callaghan, T
6 (191) Jeremy Mincey, DE
6 (205) Dan Stevenson, OG
6 (206) LeKevin Smith, DT
7 (229) Willie Andrews, S

2005 draft (obviously this one was pretty fantastic -- for 5 of your first 6 picks to become starters is really, really good)

1 (32) Legan Mankins, OG
3 (84) Ellis Hobbs, CB
3 (100) Nick Kaczur, OT
4 (122) James Sanders, S
5 (133) Ryan Claridge, LB
7 (230) Matt Cassel, QB
7 (255) Andy Stokes, TE

2004 draft (unlike them to miss on all 3 mid-draft picks)

1 (21) Vince Wilfork, DT
1 (32) Benjamin Watson, TE
2 (63) Marquise Hill, DE
3 (95) Guss Scott, S
4 (113) Dexter Reid, S
4 (128) Cedric Cobbs, RB
5 (164) P.K. Sam, WR
7 (233) Christian Morton, CB

2003 draft (fantastic overall, but man, we suck at drafting WRs...)

1 (13) Ty Warren, DT
2 (36) Eugene Wilson, CB
2 (45) Bethel Johnson, WR
4 (117) Dan Klecko, DT
4 (120) Asante Samuel, CB
5 (164) Dan Koppen, C
6 (201) Kliff Kingsbury, QB
7 (234) Spencer Nead, TE
7 (239) Tully Banta-Cain, DE
7 (243) Ethan Kelley, DT

2002 draft (...except in this draft, which was pretty good overall)

1 (21) Daniel Graham, TE
2 (65) Deion Branch, WR
4 (117) Rohan Davey, QB
4 (126) Jarvis Green, DE
7 (237) Antwoine Womack, RB
7 (244) David Givens, WR

2001 draft (Pioli's first as Director of Player Personnel -- 2 great picks and then... eh.)

1 (6) Richard Seymour, DL
2 (49) Matt Light, OT
3 (86) Brock Williams, CB
4 (96) Kenyatta Jones, OL
4 (119) Jabari Holloway, TE
5 (163) Hakim Akbar, S
6 (180) Arther Love, TE
6 (200) Leonard Myers, CB
7 (216) Owen Pochman, K
7 (239) T.J. Turner, LB

Anyone got a record of Pioli's free agent signings and trades? Obviously the Welker and Moss moves worked out pretty amazingly for them, to name two.

As bad as our defense was this past year, we could turn it around with just a few players, as long as they were the right ones taught by the right coaches.

No matter who our GM or head coach is, I really would like to see us move to a more aggressive, attacking defense instead of the passive cover-2. We'll have to wait and see whether that happens this year or not.

Personnel-wise, we might not be that far away. Two key free agent signings to shore up our weakest areas might go a long way to going from horrible to decent, which is the easiest leap to take.

Should we go after a couple of young vet free agents for the defense? If so, who?

I like Jonathan Vilma at MLB (if he is available) and Terrell Suggs at DE. Vilma is 26, rookie of the year in 2004, led the NFL in tackles with 173 in 2005, 132 this year. He averages about 8 tackles per game and makes a lot of plays. He's played both in a 3-4 and a 4-3. Suggs is also only 26, a 3-time Pro Bowler, has played OLB in a 3-4 and DE in a 4-3 and is a solid pass rusher.

They would fill two gaping holes, and make the other players around them better by comanding the attention of the offense and getting double-teamed.They won't come cheap, but if we could land them that would go a long way to shore up some gaping holes and keep us from having to spend two or three more first-day draft picks on defense this year. (We'll still need to spend at least one either way though.)

Yes, Pioli is one of them.

"ESPN’s Chris Mortensen has reported that Pioli is on the radar of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, and that Hunt specifically has mentioned Pioli in connection with the possibility of making another 20-year hire for the job.

Other candidates, per Mortensen, are Ravens director of pro personnel George Kokinis, Ravens director of college scouting Eric DeCosta, Colts assistant G.M. Chris Polian, and even former Browns G.M. Phil Savage.

Per Mort, Hunt is also interested in keeping coach Herm Edwards, but if the new G.M. doesn’t want to keep Edwards it won’t be a deal breaker."

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/12/30/chiefs-to-chase-pioli-too/

Anyone got good info on the the other names?

2 sacks yesterday for Hali, and he was in the backfield a lot on passes in the previous couple weeks, though with nothing to show for it.

He's looked much better since moving to the left side. He was invisible on the right. He's also struggled with injuries this year, that might well have affected his production.

I think he's making progress, and though I doubt he'll ever be a big time pass rusher, he could be a solid, useful player. Not what you want from a first round pick, but the pick has been made, there's no going back, so we need to determine what Hali is going to do going forward.

We still need a couple big pass rushers though. And it wouldn't hurt to blitz once in a while either. We're not going to get many sacks even if Hali continues to get penetration, but he is the only one who does. The QB will just step to the side and have plenty of time to get the ball away.

There seems to be divergent opinions on Pollard around here, so maybe we should have a thread about him. He was a 2nd round pick and is in his second year as a fulltime starter. That's a significant player.

I am not impressed with his game. He is a hitter, no doubt. And he's made some plays on special teams, especially as a rookie. But beyond that, I don't see much that's impressive about him. He has been credited with exactly one pass defensed this year, according to his nfl.com page. That's horrible. Maybe it's a statistical fluke, or it's the fault of the bad players around him? But I don't buy that, he always seems to be a split second too late to make the play. It's gotten to the point where I started calling him "Too Late" Pollard yesterday.

He has made some tackles, but a safety is going to make tackles when the players in front of him aren't very good and especially if receivers are always catching passes right next to him. That's my opinion on Pollard, big hitter but is out of position too much and always arrives too late to make the play. He's not a rookie anymore, he should be entering his prime as a DB, and he should be in the proper position on most plays but that's not how I see him playing. IMO, he makes too many mistakes and misses too many tackles. Since he's been a starter, the defense has regressed badly. Maybe someone can make the case that it's not his fault, that he has nothing to do with that. If you can, then do it.

I see him as fine as a 3rd safety and special teamer, but that's not a good return from a 2nd round pick. And it seems like he's going to be a starter here as long as the management that invested that 2nd round pick in him is in charge.

What's the case for him being a good player?

The Chiefs have so many new players that you can't follow them all without a program, and even if you have a program, it had better be a recent one. A very recent one.

These are some of our Kansas City Chiefs:

(to keep it simple, JPUFUL stands for Just Picked Up From the Unemployment Line and URFA stands for Undrafted Rookie Free Agent.)

Rocky Boiman, LB: picked up from the unemployment line a few weeks ago.

Weston Dacus, LB: URFA.

Oliver Celestin, S: JPUFUL.

Ricardo Colclough, CB: JPUFUL.

Wallace Gilberry, DL: URFA, just picked up.

David Macklin, DB: JPUFUL.

Connor Barth, PK: URFA

Thomas Gafford, LS: JPUFUL

Maurice Leggett, URFA

Mark Bradley, WR: former second round pick of the BEars, but got cut in September, PUFUL by KC in October.

Mike Cox, FB: URFA

In addition, we have some late-round picks playing who were only known to the kind of diehards who watch the second day draft coverage on TV and scour the depth charts to find out all they can about the backups: 

Will Franklin, WR: 4th round rookie, has been hurt and hasn't played much.

Kevin Robinson, WR/KR: 6th round rookie.

Brian Johnston, DE: 7th round pick, rookie.

Brandon Carr, CB: 5th round pick from Grand Valley State, has started lately and done well, so he's not a new name to the diehards around here.

And don't forget:

Tyler Thigpen, QB: drafted by the Vikings in the 7th round last year, cut and then PUFUL by KC before the season started, played in one game then got hurt. Was 3rd string when the season started, now is well known by any Chiefs fan paying attention, but still pretty anonymous to most casual NFL fans.

Hopefully this crew will be like Butch and Sundance, who kept getting the best of their pursuers, who kept asking "Who are those guys?" I'll bet the Chargers know who some of these guys are now.

The Chiefs as a team have 3 sacks on the season. 49 different individual players in the NFL have as many or more sacks than the Chiefs have as a team.

The whole team has only one sack since opening day on September 7th.

Those are just pathetic stats. I don't care how often teams run or whatever, 3 sacks on the whole season, only one in the last 5 games is just horrible.

Derrick Thomas must be rolling in his grave. Then again maybe not, since he's tied with most of the team in sacks. Hey so am I! 

Here are our sack leaders on the season:

Derrick Johnson: 1.5

Alphonso Boone: 1

Pat Thomas: 0.5

Derrick Thomas: 0

Me: 0

Buck Buchanan: 0

Art Still: 0

Gary Spani: 0

Curley Culp: 0

Sarah Palin: 0

The Easter Bunny: 0

Eric Cartman: 0

Tamba Hali: 0

Tank Tyler: 0

Glenn Dorsey: 0

Turk McBride: 0

Demorrio Williams: 0

It seems like our GM For Life can oversee just about anything without ever getting fired. What would it take for us to get a new GM? Running the franchise into the dirt and making us the laughingstock of the league isn't enough, apparently. Winning zero playoff games for decades obviously isn't enough. What the hell IS enough?

This team will never win another playoff game with Carl in charge. He did a good job in the 80's and early 90's, but the game passed him by a long time ago. He's always been terrible at choosing QBs and this team is dying for a QB now and for the future. The franchise is in shambles and it's getting worse. The man in charge needs to be held accountable for this.

Both parties really need a change, but it's been this way for a long, long time but nothing happens. How many NFL GMs have lost their jobs during Peterson's run as Chiefs GM? Dozens, I'm sure. How many playoff games did those sacked GMs win?