Monday, February 25, 2013

The Answer (Probably)


Here it is, everyone. Here's the big news we've all been waiting for- the answer to the biggest question concerning Kansas City football. The Chiefs have chosen their new quarterback, and agreed to terms to bring him to KC. Probably.

Since San Fran officially announced a willingness to trade Alex Smith, the Chiefs have clearly emerged as the team with the most interest. According to Greg Rosenthal of NFL.com, the deal between Smith and KC is “all but done.” A few hours after this news broke, Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports tweeted that the 49ers told other interested teams that a deal involving Smith was “effectively complete. Can't be finalized til league year begins 3/12.” This followed several other tweets from around the league that were essentially announcements from teams pulling out of negotiations for the San Fran QB. By late Sunday night, Kansas City appeared to be the only candidate still in the race.

If it's all true, the search is over. The new franchise QB is here- or at least, he'll be here on March 12th. We can all move on from the QB situation once and for all. Probably.

In another NFL.com report, Ian Rapaport mentions that because of the odd situation in San Francisco last year, the Chiefs know that Alex “won't tear the place apart if he's replaced.” That's a very important and understated point. Several sources have pointed out Reid's interest in using the first draft pick on offensive lineman Luke Joeckel. However, with this move the Chiefs leave themselves the option to draft whichever 2nd or 3rd round QB catches their attention. If Ryan Nassib or Matt Barkley or Tyler Bray become the apple in Andy's eye, the Chiefs can still grab him, probably in the 2nd round. Probably.

Everything is still up in the air, unfortunately. Who knows how we'll use our 2nd round without knowing the 1st round pick? We could trade down and change the draft order. We could trade the 2nd round pick in free agency. It could be gone already; for all we know, the Chiefs already traded the 2nd round draft pick for Alex Smith and signed the official/unofficial contract.

Since every theory is built on a foundation of probable-truths and hearsay, nothing will be clear fact until we hear it from the mouth of someone within the Chiefs organization. At the very earliest, this would come on March 12th, the technical start to the new football year. For now though, it seems as if all the rumors and all the reading between-the-lines point to Smith being the answer. With the mediocre Matt Flynn and the untested Nick Foles* as the other legitimate options in free agency, Alex Smith seems to be the optimal choice. As much as I can read into it, Smith is coming to Kansas City, and the Chiefs made the best decision possible for this situation.

You know, probably.

* The Foles/Chiefs situation has supposedly ended with another stern rejection from the Philadelphia front office. According to USA Today, the Eagles reiterated to Reid on Saturday that Foles was not currently on the market. Why they said this publicly the first time while simultaneously naming their price is still a worthy question. Nonetheless, it seems Foles is officially off the list. That is, until a few weeks from now, when free agency begins, draft stocks shift, and every team's long-term plans become more concrete. Don't let the strong posturing fool you- if Smith isn't coming to Kansas City, Foles still looms in the shadows as an intriguing dark-horse. 

Monday, February 18, 2013

The Answer (Maybe)


The search is on for the new Chief's QB, and a new front-runner just emerged. Andy Reid is dancing a rather awkward dance with the front office in Philadelphia at this moment. Maybe it's less of a waltz and more of a slow-paced boxing match at this point, with Andy waiting to counter after Philadelphia's latest moves. As the hearsay spread that Reid and Co. weren't interested in acquiring Michael Vick, the Eagles resigned him to a one-year extension for $7 million.

It seems like Vick was waiting for an invite from Reid, and he never got one.

News broke earlier this week that Reid and the Chiefs have interest in Eagles QB Nick Foles. This would be the first proverbial counter-punch that Reid threw in response to Philly re-signing Vick and also hiring QB Dennis Dixon to compete with him (and Foles, so they say) for the starting job. Andy was responsible for Foles' hiring in the previous draft, where he picked him in the 3rd round and saw enough potential in Nick to start him in 6 games. In those six games, Foles completed more than 60% of his 265 pass attempts and recorded a TD/INT ratio of 6/5. After Vick posted a positive ratio for touchdowns and picks 4 out of his 10 games and completed below 58.1% of his passes, many Eagles fans were left hoping for Foles to return as their starter. Even now, that may happen.

The Eagles front office is simultaneously telling the press that they aren't considering trading Foles AND letting the league know it would take at least a 1st or 2nd round pick to pique their interest. Whenever you hear business talk like that, chances are the two parties are about to, you know, do business together. So, don't let the lofty valuations or bargaining jargon fool you- Foles is on the market, and the Chiefs want him. This is all part of the dance/fist-fight that will quite possibly end with Foles starting his next season in red.

The question now isn't whether Foles is available- it's whether he can be had for a reasonable exchange. The Eagles are reading off page one of the Haggling for Dummies handbook and setting the bar high as their first step of negotiations. There's been no word from either side, at least not publicly, about what else Philly would take in exchange for their possible 3rd-string QB. All the faith is with Reid here, both from the fans and, presumably, from the front office in KC. He knows Foles, so his valuation of him in the current market will determine what happens next. If he can convince Philly to part with their third-string QB for a reasonable price, Foles becomes the answer to the Chiefs' most important question. If the Eagles can't make it worth it for Reid and Kansas City, we'll go right back to the drawing board to further analyze all the Smiths and Flynns and Barkleys out there.

Reid will hopefully never reach the Big Brother levels of secrecy that Pioli has in years past. Every team, however, (or more to my point, every business) keeps certain things under wraps and out of the public eye for good reasons. Things have been quiet since Saturday. Too quiet. Just the fact that Reid's interest in Foles went public seems a telling sign of at least partial commitment to that plan. I have a feeling that Foles will be here in KC next year- whether or not he will start is an entirely different debate.

So, what do you think? What would you offer to Philly in return for Foles? Do you think Foles is the real answer at franchise QB? Do you think I'm moronic for one reason or another? Let me know in the comments section. You can be as honest and mean as you want, guys, it's the internet.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Hoping For Hope From Hopefuls


This January, the Chiefs signed two offensive linemen, a veteran defensive tackle and a young wide receiver to the 2013 roster. This comes as the first wave of player acquisitions since the induction of the Reid-Dorsey regime. Though I was chomping at the bit to analyze these guys when I saw that we had already hired four free agents, there sadly isn't much here to analyze. My excitement seems to have gotten the best of me. Of the four newly-signed Chiefs, three of them have a combined one game of NFL experience, and exactly zero starts. Only one of the four was drafted- offensive lineman Ryan Durand- and he was a 7th round pick.

Maybe “boatload of talent” was overstating things a bit.

Although improvement at all these positions is necessary to success, these probably aren't the long-term solutions Kansas City needs. But hey, what do I know? The Chiefs have significantly improved their ability to scout for talent with all the previously detailed coaching hires. Obviously they know more than I do, but right now no one can know whether they hired these players for depth or for serious consideration for a role as a starter.

So, let's see the situation for what it gives to us- another opportunity for hope. These guys aren't rejects or burnouts or busts. They're all just untested youngsters, and they've all caught the eye of somebody in the Chiefs front office. John Dorsey alone brings a dozen years of analyzing the skills of young players. Mark DeLeone, Dave Toub and other assistants plan to- or at least hope to- contribute their opinions to the process of finding talent, as well. By upgrading the Chiefs front office, Clark Hunt leaves fans without a reason to doubt that we've hired players with potential to make an impact.

So, let's meet some of the guys who will make the preseason (relatively) interesting.

Let's start with the obvious outlier in this list of otherwise young, unproven players. Daniel Muir played four seasons with the Colts and one each with Green Bay and the Jets before signing with the Chiefs. Muir got the bulk of his experience with Indy in '09 and '10, when he played in a combined 30 games and started in 24. Dan also brings valuable playoff experience to KC. With the Colts, he started in four postseason games and recorded 11 tackles.

Of all the new members to sign with the Chiefs, Muir probably has the best chance to get consistent playing time. The Chiefs list only two other defensive tackles and two nose tackles on the roster. Anthony Toribio is an unimpressive DT with zero career starts and seven tackles in 15 games. The only other defensive tackle on the team is Shaun Smith, a soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. If you ask me, Smith was great on special teams and provided a spark every time he was plugged into the defense. Clark is showing an openness to spend, but it's easy to envision him putting his money elsewhere to improve the team through free agency (Alex Smith, anyone?) Maybe a defensive line that includes Muir can be effective, but a line that includes Poe, Muir and Toribio looks like the worst in the league on paper. So essentially, Muir>Toribio, but Muir<The Average Starting DT, so the work at this position is far from over.

Speaking of positions with serious need for an upgrade, let's talk about the holes on offense. Dwayne Bowe's future in red and gold is undoubtedly in question, and the rest of the receiving core under-performed through the whole season. Tyler Shoemaker won't fix all the Chief's problems in the passing game, but he'll get a chance to help. Shoemaker is a wide-out from Boise State that was signed by the Bucs after going undrafted in 2012. Before training camp began in Tampa, Tyler was released. That leaves us knowing nothing about this guy beyond his college career. He was the best receiver on his team for a Division I competitor, but wasn't able to impress any team enough to get drafted. Did someone in KC see a spark of greatness in this unknown, undrafted receiver? Was there something important these talented scouts noticed that others couldn't see? I guess that's for them to know and us to find out in fall.

Steven Baker and Ryan Durand play a very different position but come to town with very similar question marks surrounding them. Durand was drafted 239th overall in 2009 and spent the year with the Titans practice squad. He joined the active roster in 2010, but only played a handful of downs in a single game. The next year, Ryan returned to the practice squad. In 2012, he spent a single week on the Dolphins roster before being released. As you can tell, his resume conjures little confidence.

Baker's history is equally uninspiring. He joined the league with the Colts in 2012, but was released on August 31st. He spent the rest of the year on the Cardinals practice squad. So if you do the math, that's two guys that yielded zero playing time with four teams. That's four groups of talent scouts that passed on these guys. Like I said- not too inspiring.

Just remember, though, how harshly Scott Pioli was ridiculed and lambasted for not providing depth at the offensive line positions. Remember the injuries that left the Chiefs scrambling just to find 11 guys to run onto the field. Remember the fumbles caused by a guard playing at center for the first time in his eight-year-long career. Remember all that, and appreciate what the Chiefs are trying to do here. Depth isn't a sexy thing to talk about as a fan, but it's crucial to building a perennially successful franchise. Without depth, we'd have a bunch of Sabby Piscitelli's out there every Sunday. I shudder at the thought.


Friday, February 8, 2013

Meet the Gang, Part 10- The Big Finish


We're finishing off our introductions today with a look at the new quality control coaches. Although they go mostly unnoticed, it should be clear to Chiefs fans why quality control is an important focus this year. Allow me to introduce the men who will do their damnedest this year to disallow the same level of crap witnessed in years past.

Mark DeLeone- Mark comes to KC fresh off his first NFL season at the same position in New York. DeLeone coached for Temple, New Hampshire, Iowa and Florida U before making the jump to pro ball. Mark has laid claim to a plethora of job titles in his short career. In Florida, he worked alongside Urban Meyer to prepare wide receivers, offensive linemen and tight ends for SEC football. That year, 7 All-SEC players came from Gainesville. Prior to that, DeLeone began as a defensive assistant for Iowa in '07 and '08, then worked for New Hampshire in 2009 as the director of football operations and assistant offensive line coach. He also attends football camps in the off-season and plans to be heavily involved in the recruiting process. A seriously well-rounded football guy like Mark, whose dad is a former NFL assistant and current college coach, will be well-received here in Kansas City.

Andy Reid also brings with him his former coach's assistant, Corey Matthaei to assist in quality control. Andy also hired his son, Britt Reid, as a quality control coach. After a serious drug possession case, Britt has since cleaned up and engaged himself in football. He's spent three years as a grad assistant helping the offense at Temple, and now with the help of his dad, he gets his first chance at the professional level. Andy's son will likely analyze film and statistical data for the Chiefs in 2013.

And there you have it- that wraps up the new coach introductions for this year. This has been insightful and all that, but I'm ready to get back to the real football talk. When does the season start? September Nth? Oof. Thank goodness for baseball and March Madness. Yeah, I said it football fans. Baseball's great. Just embrace it.

Tomorrow, I'll start with free agency acquisitions. The Chiefs recruited a boatload of talent already, so I have plenty more introductions left to write. After getting to know 18 new coaches and coordinators (yeah, I think I miscounted the first time,) we already have four newly hired Chiefs to meet. Roughly four. So, I've still got a lot of work to do- and I'm excited to do it.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Meet the Gang, Part 9- Behind the Scenes


It's time to get technical, folks. We're going to appreciate the unappreciated. Today we're looking at the guys nobody ever thinks about. Here we have coaches that no one ever sees and no one ever acknowledges, but without them any team in the league could quickly become the Oakland Raiders. Since the Chiefs have flirted with such an abysmal fate lately, it's about time we met the guys behind the scenes and gave them some credit.

Mike Frazier- Statistical Analysis Coordinator- Mike was hired by the Eagles as their first full-time statistical analysis coordinator immediately after graduating Wooster College. This move joined Philly with other successful teams like Green Bay and New England who happily cut a check to someone for providing them in-depth mathematical breakdowns of the game. Not all teams in the NFL have succumbed to this growing trend. After Baltimore hired Sandy Weil to a similar position last year and used his input to win a championship, it just might start to catch on. Hopefully, Mike can bring KC the same kind of success with his number-crunching as Sandy did for the Ravens.

Barry Rubin- Head Strength and Conditioning Coach- Here's some exciting news- the Chiefs just hired a Hall of Famer to their coaching staff. Rubin was inducted into the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame in 2003. This came during a successful tenure in Green Bay where those who worked with him praised Barry's efforts in running the intricate strength and conditioning program and helping the medical staff with injury rehab. In 2010, his talents were wanted in Philly by, you guessed it, Andy Reid. Andy brings yet another former Eagles coach with him to KC, but since this time it's a guy with HOF stamped on his resume, the complaints should come few and far between. If the Philadelphia Chiefs are the most athletic team in the league, fans won't mind it one bit.

Rubin brings with him his former assistant in Philly, Travis Crittenden. Before joining the Eagles staff, Travis served as the director of football operations and general manager for Competitive Edge Sports. At this training facility in Atlanta, Crittenden supervised pro players through off-season training and groomed college players for the NFL combine.

Bonus Coach: Kevin O'Dea- Assistant Special Teams Coach- Since I wasn't smart enough to write about Kevin alongside his supervisor, special teams coordinator Dave Toub, let's learn about him now. Kevin spent four years in the Coast Guard before enrolling in Lock Haven University and beginning his coaching career as a wide receivers coach in 1986. From there, he coached at Virginia and Penn State in various positions until being hired onto the Chargers staff in '94. Since then Kevin has coached for five other NFL teams and even spent time in the UFL with the Hartford Colonials. According to Toub, O'Dea is an expert in the art of kicking, so while Dave supervises the return game, it looks like Kevin will keep his focus on Dustin Colquitt and Ryan Succop. 

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Meet the Gang, Part 8- Meet the Defense


Defensive line coach Tommy Brasher and secondary coach Al Harris both bring proven success to KC, but they also bring two vastly different histories. By the time Harris was drafted by the Bucs in 1997, Brasher had already logged 15 seasons as a defensive line coach in the NFL. Brasher's career began as an assistant at Arkansas in 1970- four years prior to the birth of Alshinard Harris in Pompano Beach, FL.

Harris spent 14 seasons as a cornerback in the NFL, playing mostly with Philly and Green Bay. That's right- four years with Andy and seven with John Dorsey. With the Packers, Harris started 102 games and reached the Pro Bowl in '07 and '08. In 2009, Al blew his knee out and dramatically altered his future career path. Harris tore a lot of sciencey-sounding acronyms in his left knee and immediately had it surgically reconstructed. Al has fought to rehab the blown left knee ever since. During the 2010 season, Harris signed a 1-year deal with the Dolphins, but after just three games he suffered a season-ending hamstring injury. Shortly after being placed on the Injured Reserve, he was released. So, Al went back to the rehab program, this time for a blown hammy. He healed up fast, and only seven months after being released from Miami, Harris agreed to terms with the Rams. Nine games into his first season in St. Louis, Al's career was dealt its final blow when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. After all that fighting to get back, Harris' season was ended early once again. This wouldn't keep him out of the league for long, though; Harris interned as a coaching assistant in Miami that following season. The work he did there, as well as his determination and affection for the game were enough to convince Reid and Dorsey to give him his first job as a full-time secondary coach. Along with his veteran knowledge from the DB position, Al brings a proven work ethic to a secondary with Pro Bowl-caliber youngsters on the roster. Although his work is being overseen by Emmitt Thomas, this tough, battle-wizened vet will get every chance to put his mark on the Chiefs secondary in 2013.

Facing adversity with toughness is definitely one the things these two men have in common. In 2001, Tommy Brasher received the Ed Block Courage award for his impressive determination shown during his fight against cancer. Brasher spent most of the '01 season battling to recover from surgeries in which 67 lymph nodes and a malignant tumor in one his salivary glands were removed. And oh, by the way, he continued to coach, and the Eagles defense ranked 2nd overall that year. As Tommy battled through life-threatening illness, his team ranked 7th in sacks, and his student, defensive tackle Corey Simon, recorded the second most tackles from any defensive lineman in the league. A strong mentality based on toughness and iron will is vital to creating a powerhouse defense. You can bet your ass Tommy Brasher will bring that to Kansas City.  

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Meet the Gang, Part 7- Bob Sutton


In 1973, the release of Dark Side of the Moon was blowing the minds of hippies and rebels and flower children everywhere. Richard Nixon was still telling the press he wasn't a crook, The Exorcist was scaring everyone back to church, and Bruce Lee was finally karate-chopping bad guys for an American audience. In baseball, the American League began playing with designated hitter rules for the first time. In football, Dan Shula's Dolphins recorded the first and only perfect season in NFL history. Chiefs owner Clark Hunt was just an eight year old boy watching Len Dawson throw bombs to Otis Taylor.

What was Bob Sutton doing? Coaching football. What's he doing now? Coaching football, for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sutton brings 40 uninterrupted years of coaching experience to KC's defensive coordinator position. He started his coaching career in 1973, serving as a grad assistant under legendary college coach, Bo Schembechler. After nearly two decades at various positions and colleges, Bob found himself coaching Army in 1991. There he stayed until the Jets hired him in 2000. In New York, Sutton worked at four different positions under four different coaches in 13 seasons.

Bob brings all the stout defensive mentality from New York, without the huge mouth or the drama. Sounds perfect for Kansas City. But, the statistics reveal some sub-par performance in recent years. Overall, the Jets ranked 18th or lower in three of the last five years. Sadly, two of those crappy seasons outrank Kansas City's defense of the same year, and, not-so-sadly, the stats also show that when the Jet's D is good, it's really good. In '09 and 2010, the Jet's defense ranked 1st and 5th, respectively. Each of those years, New York sent two defensive players to the Pro Bowl. Tamba, Houston, Eric Berry and Derrick Johnson all went to Hawaii this year, and they aren't the only Chiefs on defense that will go in the future. With talent like this already in place, Bob Sutton should prove to be a good choice. Coaches and league experts praise Bob for his mentoring abilities and high football IQ. I've stated before that this team has all the pieces necessary for elite status. With any luck (no year-long injuries,) Sutton is the kind of coach that can make them a top-5 defense.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Meet the Gang, Part 6- Two Andys and a Chung


The season is officially over. Every NFL fan that wasn't rooting for the Ravens turns their focus back to their own team today, and wonders what could bring them to the next Big Game. Chiefs fans, however, are already accustomed to spending their days waiting and debating over major moves for their franchise. The upcoming weeks and months will be heavy with anticipation. All the stats and breakdowns and in-depth analysis in the world can never truly show fans what the Chiefs will be in 2013. There is plenty of content to analyze, plenty of moves to critique, but nothing will be known until Week 1 of the 2013 season. I wish I didn't use that line about holding your breath already. Is it too early to recycle that one?

In case you weren't paying attention, the Chiefs cleared house and rebuilt a coaching staff in a matter of weeks, with most of the moves coming before the legendary Har-Bowl. Let's look at the current staff in Philly for the sake of comparison:

On the team's website, the Eagles list Chip Kelly as their head coach, former Eagle Duce Staley as a special teams quality control coach, Ted Williams as the running backs coach and Keith Gray as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. That's it. The Eagles have so-far made moves to hire a head coach, a running backs coach and two other assistants. In that time, KC added 19 new members to the coaching staff and retained veteran coaches Emmitt Thomas and Gary Gibbs. It took the Chiefs four days to hire Andy Reid after Philadelphia let him loose. It took the eagles twelve days to find another head coach. After hiring Reid on the 7th of January, the Chiefs took only four days to announce the hiring of a new offensive and defensive coordinator. The Eagles have yet to fill either position. Just seven days after choosing their new head coach, the Chiefs' staff listed a new GM, all new coordinators and a nearly full roster of freshly-hired assistants. Essentially, Kansas City rebuilt their program in a week. The process isn't completely over, but the bulk of the work was done before they crowned a champion in New Orleans.

The way Mr. Hunt dove into the market reveals a courage and wisdom for which Chiefs fans in the past gave him little credit. The work isn't over, but a positive impression has been made.

The exciting, confettiful ending to the Super Bowl marks a huge moment for Chiefs fans. At this very second, a Chiefs employee is on the phone with someone, somewhere, trying to bring Alex Smith to Kansas City. The fight is on between KC, Cleveland and other NFL bottom-feeders to find their new franchise QB. But, regardless of whether Smith starts for the Chiefs next year or not, the franchise knows it needs improved protection for the QB. The offensive line is loaded (with or without franchise-tagging Brandon Albert) with talent and youth, much like the rest of the team. All KC should need is a talented, young coach to mentor them, right? Let's hope so.

Andy Heck- this Fargo native offers 20 combined seasons of NFL O-Line experience- 11 years as a player for the Redskins, Seahawks and Bears, and 9 from a long tenure as the offensive line coach in Jacksonville. There, Andy did what the rest of the Jaguars did- he wallowed in mediocrity for most of a decade. The numbers aren't impressive. The Chiefs allowed 8 more sacks than the Jaguars did last year, but only Indianapolis allowed more hits on their QB. According to Advanced NFL Stats, the Jags' offensive line earned a lower overall ranking than the Chiefs' line for the last five years.

The stat's don't signify much of an improvement from this hire, but Heck's never coached an offensive line like the one taking the field for KC next year. Andy Reid shows a lot of faith here by hiring him from an almost-always-crappy franchise and giving him a chance to play a huge role in a totally rebuilt offense. While the two Andys prepare this offense for 2013, Chiefs fans and employees alike will simply have to trust the 'Stache with this odd decision. Maybe Reid just thinks he fits perfectly with the new assistant offensive line coach. Which is a totally smooth segue that brings me to...

Eugene Chung- here, we have another example of Andy Reid sticking with what's comfortable. New England drafted Chung 13th overall in the '93 draft, and after three years with the Pats, Eugene played a season each with Jacksonville and Indy. From there, Chung went on to coach under Reid for three years as an offensive line assistant.

The Chiefs roster includes Pro Bowl tackles Eric Winston and Brandon Albert, as well as Jon Asamoah, Jeff Allen and Donald Stephenson- three raw, athletic, young linemen drafted no later than the 3rd round. Those draft picks need to make a difference out on the field, and they need to do it this year. Chiefs fans should all be hoping beyond hope that these two coaches realize just how important their roles will be to the team's chances. It doesn't matter if we pick up Alex Smith or Colin Kaepernick or Tom Brady- if we can't keep our new quarterback safe in the pocket, this team will continue to fail.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Meet the Gang, Part 5- New Hope and New Help for QB


What separates the Chiefs from the two teams fighting to call themselves champions today? Lots of stuff. It may actually be simpler to count the things we have in common, but what is perhaps the biggest difference? The defense in KC isn't elite yet, but it certainly showed signs of improvement and clutch holding power. This is a good enough defense right now to be competitive if matched with even an average offense. So the offense is the problem- but, not all of it. KC ranked 5th league-wide in total rushing yards this year, with Jamaal listed in the top five for season rushing yards, average yards per carry, average yards per game and total yards from scrimmage. Clearly, Jamaal has what it takes to be a winner and push the Chiefs toward the playoffs. #25 can only let this team down by getting injured.

So, the defense has hope and the running game is great- obviously not KC's biggest flaws. That narrows it down to the passing game. Neither team in this year's Super Bowl had incredible passing stats in the regular season; Baltimore and San Fran ranked 15th and 23rd in total passing yards, respectively. The Chiefs rank dead last, though. Anyone who watched the games each Sunday can clearly see that Kansas City needs to evolve on the offensive side of the ball. Compared to watching a game with at least one competent passing attack, the Chiefs' Sunday viewing experience felt downright juvenile. The rest of the league enlisted field commanders with rifle arms to bomb the opposition. Meanwhile, the Chiefs were playing around with Nerf guns and Super Soakers. While everyone rode around the neighborhood on their shiny, new ten-speeds, KC was pedaling away on one of those plastic, tricolor Playskool bikes.

Let me get to the point before my metaphors get any weirder. The QB crippled the Chiefs' chances to succeed last year. The last team to rank last in passing yards and still make the playoffs was the Ravens in '03. That Baltimore squad still ranked 8th in overall offense, and its legendary defense featured several future-Hall of Famers like Ed Reed and the man of the hour, Ray Lewis. In the nine seasons that followed, teams that ranked last in passing yards averaged 4.4 wins per year and never recorded a winning season. Recent changes for the Chiefs will help them to avoid this fate.

Kansas City started the season by limiting their offense in order to cater to a limited QB. Whoever starts at quarterback next year will be an upgrade, but he'll need to deal with the struggles of learning a brand new offense. Because of this, and also because of the QB position's cerebral nature, this year's choice of a quarterbacks coach is crucial to future success. Andy Reid has yet again gone with a former assistant from Philly to bolster the coaching staff- shocking, I know. Before we lose ourselves to the bright lights and high drama of the day, let's quickly get to know the new Chiefs quarterbacks coach- Matt Nagy.

Nagy's resume is a quick read, but he brings hands-on QB experience and strong work ethic to his first quarterbacks coach position. After playing six seasons at QB in the AFL, Matt quickly started his coaching career by climbing the ranks in Philly under Andy Reid. After two years as a coaching intern, Nagy claimed a position as offensive assistant to begin the 2010 season. The next year, Andy upgraded his position to offensive quality control coach. I won't pretend to know much more about this guy. I have no idea what he brings to the table from an X's and O's standpoint. All that aside, I still really like this hire. Nagy offers, at the very least, a list of accomplishments based solely on his hard work and determination. Whoever the next Chiefs quarterback is, hard work and determination will be exactly what he needs to succeed. Other factors will influence this QB's chances considerably, but no other person will have more effect on KC's new big hope than Matt Nagy.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Meet the Gang, Part 4- Keeping the Ends Tight (I Know, Eww)


As everyone looks forward to watching the year's biggest game, Chiefs fans will inevitably look back with bitterness at their own team's miserable season. The past is the past though, guys. Change is happening- good change. Let's not forget that amidst all the confetti this Sunday. Don't let all the Kaepernicking and squirrel-dancing make you fail to realize that we've got a good thing going, right here in KC. Allow me to do my part by introducing another (hopefully) integral part of the new Chiefs coaching staff.

Tom Melvin has a long history of coaching offensive lines that dates back to 1984, when he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at San Francisco State University. The previous year, Melvin played on the O-Line under, guess who, offensive line coach Andy Reid. Tom also coached for North Arizona U., UC Santa Barbara and Occidental College before Reid hired him in '99 as an offensive assistant and quality control coach for the Eagles.

Tom's greatest claim to fame is the overall awesomeness of Brent Celek. Under Melvin's supervision, Celek led the league in YAC (yards after the catch.) In the last four years, Brent averaged 59.25 catches per season. That time frame marks the period in which KC went without their former hero, Tony Gonzales. No Chiefs tight end has recorded a single season with more than 47 receptions since Tony G. last wore the red and gold.

If Melvin can groom a 5th round draft pick into one of the league's best offensive weapons, Chiefs fans have good reason to be excited. For the record, Kevin Boss was drafted earlier in the 5th round of the same draft as Brent Celek. And he's freaking 6'6. Who's to say Melvin won't turn Boss into another major weapon? Even if Boss is a bust, Tom would still be hard-pressed to garner less productivity from the other TE's on the roster. In Celek's 2009 campaign, he gained 971 receiving yards. I've added up the yards from Kansas City's most productive tight end from 2012, 2011 and 2009, and the sum is still less than Brent's total for that single season.

Melvin can immediately have a big impact on a terrible offense. The talent has been there; Moeaki and Boss are both capable of being impact guys on this offense, and the roster lists three other untested tight ends in Maneri, O'Connell and Martin Rucker. The problem was the quarterback and the coaching scheme. Now that both of these concerns are being remedied, Chiefs fans can expect some vastly increased productivity from a promising group of tight ends. Just stay healthy this year, damn it.



BONUS NOTE- In his last full season at QB, Alex Smith was second only to Eli Manning for the most comeback wins and game-winning drives. I'll try to get through this weekend without having an aneurysm while I think about the possibilities. Keep your fingers crossed, Chiefs fans.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Is Alex Smith Coming To KC?


The new coach introductions go on the back burner for the moment, in lieu of exciting potential news. According to Eric Branch of the Niner Insider Blog, Andy Reid wants Alex Smith. Branch quotes Trent Dilfer, who has strong ties with former teammate Alex Smith, in saying that Reid "really likes Alex." He's shown it before in 2011, when he expressed interested in grabbing Smith during free agency. Dilfer also confirms a "courtship" between the two in prior years, and goes on to explain the adaptable and ready-to-learn nature of Andy Reid.

"I think Andy wants to change a little bit offensively," Dilfer says.

This comes in stark contrast to the resounding wave of complaints from Eagles Nation (Eagles Kingdom? Eagleville? Yeah I don't care.) Many fans in Philly stormed the message boards and the radio talk-shows to shout "Good riddance" when Andy left town. Eagles fans with this opinion claim Reid was stubborn and unchanging. He did coach a talented team to a terrible, underwhelming season, after all. The reasons for anger seem logical. However, if anyone knows exactly how fan anger can cloud one's opinion to the point of illogicality, it's a Chiefs fan. Are my presumptions about Andy unfounded? Could he seamlessly alter his style to cater to this team's unique skill-set? Since it may be the difference between rooting for playoff seeds and rooting for draft picks, I certainly hope so.

Unless San Francisco wants to pay $7.5 million to their back-up who respectfully and justifiably wants to play elsewhere, Smith will be on a different roster by April 1st. Knowing this league, it won't be long after the Big Game until Alex finds himself holding a new uniform while the press takes photos. The Chiefs haven't missed a beat so far. This is the piece that brings it all together. This is the moment that solidifies the future. Pray for me and my blood pressure.