SB Nation User Blog: TheQ

Chiefs' Roster Auditions in the Jungle

TheQ — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 01:31:09 -0000

From the FanPosts. I tweaked the title just a touch. -Primetime

As the '08 version of the Kansas City Chiefs come limping to the finish line this Sunday in Cincinnati, the most interesting story lines are off the field. Who will be the teams new GM? And will the coaching staff be revamped or will Herm and the usual suspects be allowed to continue on? Lots of good drama to look forward to as we approach free agency and the draft.

But there is no substitute for real live football being played, and this is our last chance to rate, review, dissect, and break down our team. Here are some of the things I am going to be watching for:

Defensive end play. We are all expecting to upgrade this position either in free agency or the draft, but do we have players worth keeping even for depth? Hali has actually played better the last month of the season. He seems healthier and more comfortable at his left end position. He has also been bringing some pressure as of late. Let's all hope this season was a fluke. Babin has been a welcome surprise and at least brings some experience to a very important position in our defense. He hustles, but seems a step slow for me. I personally think Turk and possible even Johnston have more potential and should get the nod. One more game to prove himself. Gilberry has been a non factor and I still think Boone is a defensive tackle masquerading as an end.
Derrick Johnson our middle linebacker? I am not sure if Pat Thomas was that bad, or if DJ might actually be the answer? But I thought DJ looked pretty good playing there last week in only his third game since college at the Mike. I know a lot of people would much rather see us take a stab at one of the stellar crop of draftees, but if he can fill the position, that would actually be a good thing. There should be some quality outside linebackers that we can draft in later rounds. I am curious to see how he finishes up the season. As a former 1st round pick, we really need DJ to be a success.
Can #27 (Vientisiete for you Ochenta y Cincho fans) still pound the rock? I am under the impression that he still has some tread on those tires, and with the rather large salary cap hit we would take to cut or trade him, he may still have a place in KC for one more year. Too bad we are probably looking at another possible suspension if things don't go well in a Kansas City courtroom. This of course is largely dependent on the next thing I am going to be watching.
Offensive line play. Picking no worse than 3rd, the Chiefs will be staring at a surperb threesome of offensive tackles. Smith, Oher, and Monroe should all be fantastic at the pro level, and though Albert's play has been excellent ( I think he has been our best lineman all year), we still have to consider the quality of player that will be availible picking that high. If nothing else, perhaps another team views one of them as a player that is worth trading up into the top five for? This is also a draft with some top flight centers availible, and if things go well, perhaps Alex Mack will be sitting atop the second round for us. Nothing against Niswanger, but I think he would be a better guard, and that is a position of need for this young team. We have had 2 and 3 guards sitting on the practice squad all season long trying to find depth for our interior blocking. This is a serious postition of need for us. Wade Smith and Herb Taylor are good back-ups, but I still think we need to upgrade the offensive line.
#4. Tyler Thigpen has been probably the biggest reason that the second half of the season has even been bearable to watch. He has given hope to the hopeless and generated offense out of futility. I am pulling for #4 to have a big finish and give us all something to debate as we go into the draft. Regardless of his finish though, this position needs more depth. Two of the quarterbacks who started the year on the roster are on IR and they are both a crapshoot to make the team next year. Quinn Gray may or may not have potential, but I just don't see him having much of a future in KC. Everyone knows that I am hoping the Lions continue their ridiculous record of bad drafts and pass on Bradford, but in lieu of that, I would like to see us draft Graham Harrel or Mark Sanchez in the 3rd or 4th round. You can never have enough good QBs.
Special Teams. Yes, special teams. I would like to see Connor Barth get a few chances to kick some field goals Sunday so he can go into the offseason on a high note. Colquitt has really struggled this year to be a consistent punter, and after watching him have a stellar year last year, this has been hard. I know he has been hurt, but I would love to see him boom some high, hard to catch punts this Sunday. We all love D.C. and know he will come back strong next season. Our long snapper Thomas Gafford has done OK, but he has definitely screwed some snaps this season. Darche should be back next season, I hope. There has been so many different names on the backs of jerseys on special teams this year, it is a pretty good bet that none of them will be back next season? But one name that I have noticed show up that I think has potential (at least for special teams) is Curtis Gatewood. Very quick and solid tackler, he seems to be the second half's Eric Walden. As hard as this season has been to field a good special teams unit, a coaching change might have the greatest immediate effect on this unit, as well as a good infusion of talent.
Could this be the last time we see Tony G in a Chiefs uniform? Maybe not. He seems to like being the #1 target in the emerging Arrowspread offense. But new regime, lack of tradable players, and uncertainity for the immediate future of the Chiefs will make this subplot and interesting one all the way up to the draft. If this is it, we should enjoy it. Besides Derrick Thomas, may he rest in peace, Gonzalez is the best Chiefs player of my lifetime.
Attitude. We are only playing for pride at this point. A win can prevent the worst record in franchise history, and we need 4 sacks to keep from being the worst ever sack squad. The Bengals have serious offensive line woes so we might be able to avert this dubious distinction. I hope we see a young team that continues to play with good energy and effort, and somehow finds a way to finish a game.

Our Chiefs have a lot of very important decisions coming up that will affect the franchise for a long time to come. Here is to hoping that we make all the right moves and next year we are talking about how good it is to have turned it around! Go Chiefs.

"All I want for Christmas is a winning football team."

TheQ — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 01:38:47 -0000

"All I want for Christmas is a winning football team."

Need a GM?

TheQ — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 01:10:18 -0000

Need a GM?

Kirwan's list of probables.

Some Coaching Candidates

TheQ — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:29:56 -0000

Some Coaching Candidates

Spagnuolo and Schwartz are my favorites.

In the moments just after the game, there were tears, as one player sat in front of his locker and...

TheQ — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:44:32 -0000

In the moments just after the game, there were tears, as one player sat in front of his locker and sobbed. There was anger, as another player threw a chair across the room. There was disbelief as the head coach wasn’t quite sure what to tell them this time.

"I don’t have a speech for this one," Herm Edwards said.

Bob Gretz

Stat Comparison from the Anti-Stat Guy

TheQ — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:19:15 -0000

Stat Comparison from the Anti-Stat Guy

As we consider the value of the pass heavy Spread offense in the NFL, here are the top 5 passing offenses in the league vs. the top 5 rushing offenses in the league. None of the top 5 passing teams appear to be serious playoff contenders (3 of the top 5 probably won’t be in the playoffs) while most of the top 5 rushing teams appear to be poised for a long playoff run or they are in contention to make the playoffs. As much as the game changes, it remains the same. There is no substitute for a good running game. To Spread or not to Spread? What do you guys think our offense should be next season?

Top 5 Passing Teams

1. New Orleans Saints 310.2

2. Arizona Cardinals 301.0

3. Denver Broncos 280.5

4. Houston Texans 264.4

5. Philadelphia Eagles 249.5

Top 5 Rushing Teams

1. New York Giants 154.6

2. Atlanta Falcons 146.7

3. Tennessee Titans 146.1

4. Carolina Panthers 146.0

5. Baltimore Ravens 144.0

Crabtree staying at Tech?

TheQ — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:27:19 -0000

Crabtree staying at Tech?

Lubbock must be more fun than I thought?

And lest we forget there is HOPE...

TheQ — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:07:37 -0000

And lest we forget there is HOPE...

The Case for Bradford

TheQ — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:05:37 -0000

I want to preface this post by making one thing clear: I am a Missouri Tiger fan. I will try to keep that in mind this Saturday night as they match up against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium. My favorite college quarterback is playing (bum thumb and all) and he doesn't play for the Tigers.

I should also say that I was never a "Croyle Believer" or thought that Damon Huard had a few good years left in him when the season started. And Herm forbid that I naysay the gospel that Thigpen is spreading (the guy's playing pretty darn good). But has he completely negated the need for a QB? Forgive me for being skeptical, but even if you have a Tom Brady there is no guarantee that an injury won't derail your Super Bowl hopes. Looking at prospective college quarterbacks, I for one think Bradford is going to be a special quarterback at the next level.

Through 12 games, Bradford has completed 68% of his passes for 4080 yards with 46 touchdowns against only 6 interceptions. He set the freshman record last year with 36 touchdowns and led the nation in passing efficiency with a 176.53 rating (ahead of Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow). This year he has a 190.97 rating and is a front runner to win the Heisman along with fellow Big 12 athlete Colt McCoy. Although McCoy has arguably done more for his team this year, won the head to head match-up, and was named to the Big 12's 1st team offense (Bradford was the 2nd team QB), Bradford is by and large favored to win the Heisman. Another one of college football's many strange quirks that I just don't understand.

In the "Year of the Quarterback" in the Big 12 with guys like McCoy, Daniel, Harrell, and Freeman, I think that Sam Bradford is going to end up being the best NFL Quarterback of the bunch. He was the only one of those guys that played in a Pro Style offense in college, albeit with a bunch of NFL caliber players that helped him look really good, like Gresham and Iglesias. If the "Arrowspread" continues to enjoy success we may actually be better off with a Spread QB like Harrell? But if I had to wager who would end up being a potential Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, I would bet on Bradford. He is accurate, smart, competitive, 6'4" ,220#s and has loads of potential. We have just 2 more games to judge this young QB's play and one of those just might be the BCS Championship Game.

Now I completely realize that the Chiefs have needs all over the field, and we could see more instant gratification by drafting some more beef on the O line or speed on the D line. Believe me, I could make excellent cases for drafting Andre Smith or Brian Orakpo in the first round too. But after sitting through a few seasons of average to no quarterback play, keep in mind at one point this last season there was some desperate talk of signing one Daunte Culpepper, how can we not put enough emphasis on the quarterback position?

There is plenty of time to debate and decide on the Kansas City Chiefs #1 overall pick in the '09 Draft. Cases will be made for linebackers, defensive ends, and offensive lineman, and many would actually be mad or sad that we passed on a "sure thing" lineman or the next great LB. There will be the inevitable argument about the 50/50 proposition that drafting a 1st round QB is. There is a long list of QBs that we could take a flyer on in later rounds with much less financial risk and much lower expectations.

The Thigpen Gamble is currently being hashed and processed in the minds of personnel people within the Chiefs organization. This will definitely play a part in what we do next April, and I by no means wish to belittle what Bones has been able to do since he has been given the chance. I think the thing that impresses me the most about Thigpen is how quickly he seems to learn on the job. If he continues on this pace, we truly may not need another QB? At the very least I think we have a solid #2. But if I were jumping out of an airplane, I wouldn't do it without a parachute, and it better be a damn good one! In my mind it is time to bite the bullett, roll the dice, do five more cliched things that don't have anything to do with football, and draft a quarterback. I would like to hear which quarterbacks (if any) everyone likes coming out in next year's draft and why?

Black Hole Dominance

TheQ — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:02:34 -0000

via www.freewebs.com "Welcome to Hell Mr. Vader. "

No other AFC West team owns a winning record against the Raiders. We are 50-44-2 against them.

Reason for optimism? It is good to see someone else believes we have a chance against the Oakland Raiders this Sunday. But it won't be easy.

For the Chiefs to see a 6th consecutive road victory against a hated division rival it will require a reversal of fortune, luck, mojo, and whatever else we can rely on to stop the run. The Raiders are coming off of an impressive 31-10 road victory against the division leading Broncos. By far the most well rounded performance by a Raider team in quite some time.While the Chiefs are coming off a very embarrassing defensive performance against the Bills. It would seem that these two teams are headed in opposite directions, but recent history says otherwise.

After the Raiders came into Arrowhead earlier this season and beat down our Chiefs, the Raiders went back to their losing ways, never quite turning the corner and becoming a decent NFL team. Both teams have had more than their share of strife and off field incidents (Al Davis' ridiculous Kiffin press conference vs. Larry Johnson's "I'm going to kill your boyfriend" comment/suspension). Does the losing contribute to the madness or does the madness contribute to the losing?

Throughout this whole season I have been waiting for the Chiefs to take one of our "embarrassing moments" and use it as a rally point, and at the very least show some heart. I am not sure if NFL salaries are so good that no one cares about losing, or if losing itself is not what it used to be? On Sunday we will find out if we are playing for pride and "right now" or if we are playing for #1 Pick and next year.

To win they will have to find a way to stop the 10th ranked rushing team in the NFL. This has not been an area that we have shown competence in. If we are unable to do that, it is going to be a long afternoon in Northern California. It will also be interesting to see how our new "Arrowspread" offense will fare against Rob Ryan's Take No Prisoners Defense. He definitely had our number in the last game.

If I were to look at how these two teams match up statistically, I would have to honestly say the Raiders should win in a blowout (eat your heart out guys at Silver and Black Pride!). But since this is a rivalry game, I am going to throw all that stuff out the window and say that somehow, someway the Chiefs are going to find a way to win one. Our Black Hole Dominance is rarely in question, and what would make more perfect sense in a season of such ups and downs for both teams that the team that isn't supposed to win, will. Go Chiefs!