Although many of you will disagree with this post, I am just sharing today's story about Matt Cassel.

Per the Village Voice, the Broncos are still interested in acquiring Cassel:

For those of you focusing only on March Madness, the news out of Denver is that quarterback Jay Cutler is distressed that the Broncos new coach, former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, has a big lean towards Matt Cassel, New England's starting quarterback last year who was recently traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. McDaniels developed Cassell and is apparently working hard to engineer a deal that would bring him to the Broncos. No matter who in the Denver franchise tries to deny it, that would seem to be the case, or why would McDaniels be lavishing such praised on Cassel?   
 
As it's highly unlikely that any team would keep two quarterbacks of the caliber of Cutler and Cassel on their roster, it seems very likely that Cutler, who demanded a trade after meeting with McDaniels over the weekend, will soon be traveling.

I added the bold to the text to highlight that this sentence is in the present tense.

Here is a link to the entire article, posted on Tuesday March 17, 2009.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/03/a_chance_for_re.php

Obviously trading Cassel might seem like a step backwards.  Moreover, it seems like one of those silly fantasy football discussions.  Nonetheless, if McDaniels truly is interested in acquiring Cassel, the Chiefs should at least consider listening.  Who knows, maybe we can turn the 2nd round pick we just gave up into a 1st rounder or into a 2nd and a 3rd?

Perhaps this title would have been more effective?

At couple of minutes ago I checked the ratio of comments to "A true chiefs fan" post to my previous post.  It was 23 to 0.  That means that "A true chiefs fan" was infinitely more effective than I was at eliciting discussion.  Depressing.

Who was the last fullback drafted in the first round?  Where does fullback rank on the positional hierarchy?  Above long-snapper, punter and kicker, clearly.  But what about above guards?

What role does the fullback play in the new (?) Haley-Gailey offense?

What is Pioli's position on Mike Cox?

These are questions for which I would like answers.

We signed Cox as (a highly-ish rated) undrafted free-agent last year.  Cox can block (?), but can't really run/catch-and-run the ball.  How good of a blocker is Cox?  In the top-10 of FBs in the league?  To be valuable to the Chiefs, he needs to be a very good or even excellent blocker because he is not much of a runner/receiver.  It is unfortunate that better blocking metrics do not exist.  We may never really know how well Cox can block.

I suppose this is not the most exciting post.  Debating our QB situation or our LB situation seems much more interesting.  Nonetheless, fullback is a position on the team and it deserves (at least some) of our attention.

This is going to sound absurd to most of you.  If Josh McDaniels really wants Matt Cassel as his QB, shouldn't the Chiefs consider trading Cassel for Jay Cutler?  Perhaps the Chiefs have to give up a little more than Cassel.  That still seems fine to me.  Cutler has much more talent than Cassel and his hands down a much better QB.  In fact, Cutler could be the best QB in the league in a couple of years and keep his reign for a long time.  Although flipping Cassel may sound absurd, it will less so after reading this from USA Today:

http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/player.asp?sport=NFL&id=3608

Wow!  USA Today is reporting that Adam Schefter is reporting that Cassel may not stop at KC and that he is going to be flipped to a third team.

Here is the quote from USA Today, posted at 1:06pm EST:

Feb. 28, 2009 - 1:06 p.m. ET

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports that Matt Cassel is expected to be traded to the Chiefs, but there may a third "mystery team" in play.

Schefter has softened his wording, saying the deal has been "agreed to" and "expected." Paperwork has been drawn up; Cassel will be traded. Schefter says there is now some question whether Kansas City could be his final destination. The "mystery team" is supposedly a surprise, which would seemingly rule out Tampa. That team could either swoop in or get involved in a three-way deal. Cassel is also working out a possible contract, which is probably the biggest factor in holding up this news. It's possible the Patriots agreed to trade compensation, but Cassel's contract demands are holding the deal up. If Cassel is dealt, it's safe to say the Tyler Thigpen era is over before it started. Here is a link too: http://fantasyfootball.usatoday.com/content/player.asp?sport=NFL&id=3237   This does not make a ton of sense to me, but it is what is being reported.

Is Mark Bradley really the answer at the number two receiver slot?  He was a great value last year, but I am worried about his ability to stay healthy and be productive over a whole season (even if healthy).  Check out his numbers at NFL.com:

http://www.nfl.com/players/markbradley/profile?id=BRA220941

I would argue for keeping Bradley on the roster and letting him compete for PT.  However, counting on Bradley and Will Franklin to be our #2 and #3 receivers (not necessarily in that order) seems overly optimistic.   The Chiefs need more real competition at receiver.  Perhaps Laveranues Coles, just cut by the Jets?

http://www.nfl.com/players/laveranuescoles/profile?id=COL366580

Or should we focus on drafting a player in the middle rounds?

Is all of this a moot discussion?  Are we going to draft Crabtree?

More cuts are on the way.  Who are likely suspects to get the axe?  Perhaps these four will be next.

Larry Johnson - RB - $5,656,190 (2008 cap value) - no stats needed

Ron Edwards - DT - $1,850,000 (2008 cap value) - 9 tackles, 0 starts

Jon McGraw - S - $695,000 (2008 cap value) - Herm's gone

Devard Darling - WR - $1,335,853 (2008 cap value) - Carl Peterson's gone

What are your thoughts on the next round of cuts?

The Boston Herald has picked up the story about the Chiefs offering Pioli the job.  They are still citing 610 Sports, but having a real newspaper pick up the story makes it seem a bit more legit.

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/patriots/index.php/2009/01/07/report-pioli-offered-chiefs-job/

MSNBC also picked up the story.  Cites 610 Sports.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28554012/

And as the Star reports, the Chiefs are likely Pioli's only remaining suitor.

http://chiefsblog.kansascity.com/?q=node/606

I am thinking about changing my screen name to pleasepassrush.  Seriously.  "Bas's" post got me thinking more about this problem.  Improving the pass rush is the single biggest problem we face going into the offseason.  We just set the record for fewest sacks in a season.  Moreover, there is litle hope on the horizon.  There are few premium pass rushers in the draft or in free agency, and Turk, Tank, and Dorsey look like secondary-type rushers at best.

Our other problems seem much more tractable.  For example, as Bas points out, there are some solid free agent linebackers available.  I am particularly interested in Karlos Dansby (ARZ), Michael Boley (ATL), or Angelo Crowell (BUF).  The draft has some good linebacking as well (e.g., Aaron Curry or James Laurinaitis in Round 1, others later on).  Likewise, we can take a top offensive tackle prospect with the third overall pick and a second-tier QB prospect later in the draft (i.e., Rounds 2 through 5).

As far as pass rushers go, I think we are in a difficult position.  My guess is that Carolina resigns Julius Peppers (who grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina, and has played for the Panthers his whole career) and the other free agents appear to be a poor fit (e.g., Suggs is a 3-4 OLB) or not that good.  In the draft, Brian Orapko is not good value at third overall and there really isn't anyone else at defensive end that we might consider at third overall.  I suppose Aaron Maybin (Penn State) is an exception, but he is pretty small (6'4, 236lbs) so he would seem to be just be a situational pass rusher as a rookie for the Chiefs (a better fit would be an OLB in a 3-4) and he is a sophomore who may not come out in the draft.

What should the Chiefs do about the pass rush problem?  Are we two years away from even beginning to solve this problem?