KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 2009 PREVIEW
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 2009 PREVIEW
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
For the past few years, it’s almost like the Kansas City Chiefs have been on a road trip. Their exceptionally-passionate fans have been riding along, bellowing a cacophony of gripes and complaints from the backseat. The fans viewed the road trip not as an adventure but as a means for reaching a destination. They looked up to the front seat and saw GM Carl Peterson riding shotgun as the navigator and refusing to pull out a map. Peterson insisted that he knew exactly where they were going.
Perhaps he did. But what really drove fans nuts was that head coach Herman Edwards was in the driver’s seat, married to the right-hand lane and petering along 15 miles per hour under the speed limit. When fans told Edwards to pick it up, he smiled and told them to be patient. When fans suggested a short cut, Edwards again smiled and preached patience. But patience doesn’t fly in today’s NFL. Especially when your taxpaying fan base recently helped foot part of your $375 million stadium renovation bill. At the clip they were traveling, the Chiefs would have reached their destination sometime around the debut of hover cars.
There was expected jubilation when team chairman Clark Hunt finally sided with the fans and relieved Peterson––who served this franchise admirably for 20 years––of his duties. Longtime Patriots front office bulldog Scott Pioli was given Peterson’s shotgun seat. Pioli immediately changed drivers, dropping Edwards off at a truck stop and tapping Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Using a familiar New England map that showed myriad routes to prosperity, Pioli instructed Haley to pull a U-turn and make a sharp left. In the process, key veterans Donnie Edwards, Patrick Surtain and Tony Gonzalez were dismissed.
From there, the road trip became a cross-country race. The Patriot map told Pioli to instill a system––in this case, a spread offense and 3-4 defense––before acquiring personnel. Haley, erudite in the spread offense, was tasked with filling out a coaching staff. For offensive coordinator he chose Chan Gailey, a throwback with a predilection for power-running that will have to be tweaked to favor the pass. Haley also lured respected longtime NFL assistant Bill Muir to handle the offensive line. Defensively, Haley hired his coaches before even knowing who exactly would coordinate things. He eventually chose his fellow Cardinals assistant Clancy Pendergast over former Saints defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs (Gibbs will now coach the linebackers). At first blush, this appears to be an eclectic but well-constructed staff.
Kansas City’s next move was filling out the roster. Instead of gambling on the development of Brodie Croyle or Tyler Thigpen, Pioli went out and traded for a quarterback who was of that exact same mold (i.e. young) only had broken his NFL seal and proven to be the real deal: Matt Cassel. In uncharacteristic munificence, the Patriots surrendered Cassel, as well as linebacker Mike Vrabel, for a mere second-round pick (No. 34 overall). With an abundance of salary cap space (perhaps the only perk to inheriting a team with very few quality players), Pioli soon gave Cassel a six-year, $63 million contract ($28 million guaranteed).
By finding a franchise quarterback to commandeer a shotgun-heavy system practically tailored to Cassel’s skills, the other issues on offense––shoddy front line, weak receiving corps, unhappy star running back––became a little less bleak. Thus, most of the rebuilding efforts were then directed towards the defense.
Needing to fill a 3-4 and upgrade what was statistically and ostensibly the worst pass-rush in NFL history last year (10 sacks total), Pioli took a surprising––and perhaps brilliant––route: he built the defensive line. Instead of reaching on first-round pass-rushing prospects like Aaron Maybin, Brian Orakpo or Robert Ayers, the Chiefs selected LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson. This despite already having defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey––Jackson’s LSU teammate and last year’s No. 5 overall pick. For good measure, Kansas City’s third-round pick was spent on another space-eating end: Alex Magee. The theory is that a domineering front line will control the trenches against the run, backing opposing offenses into an even tougher corner on passing downs. This, in turn, makes life easier for pass-rushers. It’s an unusual approach but one that Pioli thought worked well when his former Patriots team won three Super Bowls after drafting Richard Seymour.
But aside from signing sagacious veteran linebacker Zach Thomas, Kansas City’s offseason activity stopped there. Gaping holes at nose tackle, outside linebacker and safety all but ensure that the defense, like the offense, will experience some speed bumps in 2009. But at least fans know the Chiefs are on the right track. And at least the car is moving fast enough for the speed bumps to no longer feel like road blocks.
Click here to continue reading, or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/kansas-city-chiefs-2009-preview/
By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com
For the past few years, it’s almost like the Kansas City Chiefs have been on a road trip. Their exceptionally-passionate fans have been riding along, bellowing a cacophony of gripes and complaints from the backseat. The fans viewed the road trip not as an adventure but as a means for reaching a destination. They looked up to the front seat and saw GM Carl Peterson riding shotgun as the navigator and refusing to pull out a map. Peterson insisted that he knew exactly where they were going.
Perhaps he did. But what really drove fans nuts was that head coach Herman Edwards was in the driver’s seat, married to the right-hand lane and petering along 15 miles per hour under the speed limit. When fans told Edwards to pick it up, he smiled and told them to be patient. When fans suggested a short cut, Edwards again smiled and preached patience. But patience doesn’t fly in today’s NFL. Especially when your taxpaying fan base recently helped foot part of your $375 million stadium renovation bill. At the clip they were traveling, the Chiefs would have reached their destination sometime around the debut of hover cars.
There was expected jubilation when team chairman Clark Hunt finally sided with the fans and relieved Peterson––who served this franchise admirably for 20 years––of his duties. Longtime Patriots front office bulldog Scott Pioli was given Peterson’s shotgun seat. Pioli immediately changed drivers, dropping Edwards off at a truck stop and tapping Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Using a familiar New England map that showed myriad routes to prosperity, Pioli instructed Haley to pull a U-turn and make a sharp left. In the process, key veterans Donnie Edwards, Patrick Surtain and Tony Gonzalez were dismissed.
From there, the road trip became a cross-country race. The Patriot map told Pioli to instill a system––in this case, a spread offense and 3-4 defense––before acquiring personnel. Haley, erudite in the spread offense, was tasked with filling out a coaching staff. For offensive coordinator he chose Chan Gailey, a throwback with a predilection for power-running that will have to be tweaked to favor the pass. Haley also lured respected longtime NFL assistant Bill Muir to handle the offensive line. Defensively, Haley hired his coaches before even knowing who exactly would coordinate things. He eventually chose his fellow Cardinals assistant Clancy Pendergast over former Saints defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs (Gibbs will now coach the linebackers). At first blush, this appears to be an eclectic but well-constructed staff.
Kansas City’s next move was filling out the roster. Instead of gambling on the development of Brodie Croyle or Tyler Thigpen, Pioli went out and traded for a quarterback who was of that exact same mold (i.e. young) only had broken his NFL seal and proven to be the real deal: Matt Cassel. In uncharacteristic munificence, the Patriots surrendered Cassel, as well as linebacker Mike Vrabel, for a mere second-round pick (No. 34 overall). With an abundance of salary cap space (perhaps the only perk to inheriting a team with very few quality players), Pioli soon gave Cassel a six-year, $63 million contract ($28 million guaranteed).
By finding a franchise quarterback to commandeer a shotgun-heavy system practically tailored to Cassel’s skills, the other issues on offense––shoddy front line, weak receiving corps, unhappy star running back––became a little less bleak. Thus, most of the rebuilding efforts were then directed towards the defense.
Needing to fill a 3-4 and upgrade what was statistically and ostensibly the worst pass-rush in NFL history last year (10 sacks total), Pioli took a surprising––and perhaps brilliant––route: he built the defensive line. Instead of reaching on first-round pass-rushing prospects like Aaron Maybin, Brian Orakpo or Robert Ayers, the Chiefs selected LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson. This despite already having defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey––Jackson’s LSU teammate and last year’s No. 5 overall pick. For good measure, Kansas City’s third-round pick was spent on another space-eating end: Alex Magee. The theory is that a domineering front line will control the trenches against the run, backing opposing offenses into an even tougher corner on passing downs. This, in turn, makes life easier for pass-rushers. It’s an unusual approach but one that Pioli thought worked well when his former Patriots team won three Super Bowls after drafting Richard Seymour.
But aside from signing sagacious veteran linebacker Zach Thomas, Kansas City’s offseason activity stopped there. Gaping holes at nose tackle, outside linebacker and safety all but ensure that the defense, like the offense, will experience some speed bumps in 2009. But at least fans know the Chiefs are on the right track. And at least the car is moving fast enough for the speed bumps to no longer feel like road blocks.
Click here to continue reading, or visit: http://www.nfltouchdown.com/kansas-city-chiefs-2009-preview/
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