Key Players Re-signed, Part 2- Struggling With Commitment

Clark Hunt, Andy Reid and John Dorsey, who will hitherto be referred to as Clark and Company, agreed to use the Chief's franchise tag promptly this year. In order to solidify the offensive line, they applied it to Pro Bowl tackle, Branden Albert. Was this the right decision? Could more be done with the tag? How does this influence draft day? And, first off, does having a great offensive line really matter in this era of football? Let's (try to) find out.

The value of an elite offensive line is highly debatable these days. With agile QBs taking over the league, the effect of an unstoppable O-Line may be more diminished than ever before. In fact, according to Advanced NFL Stats, 3 teams made the playoffs with top-ten lines last year, but 3 teams with offensive lines ranking in the bottom-ten also made the playoffs, including the Super Bowl Champion Ravens.

For the record, two of the teams that made the playoffs with bad offensive lines (Seattle and Washington) are led by two of the most athletic quarterbacks ever to play the position. However, Baltimore's line ranked second to last in the league, behind only Pittsburgh, and they won the Lombardi trophy with a kinda-sorta-mobile QB in Joey Flacco. I mention this because Alex Smith is considered by most to be more mobile than Flacco. It's also worth noting that the Ravens passed the ball on 56% of there snaps, whereas both the Redskins and Seahawks threw less than 47% of the time. Even with an incompetent passing game and an offense built around Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs passed on 49% of their offensive possessions last year. With an offensive makeover performed by a pass-friendly veteran coach, the 2013 Chiefs should have a similar passing percentage with similar QB mobility as the 2012 Champion Ravens.

Does this mean KC should avoid using their resources to upgrade the offensive line? No- not when you look at the team's other choices for the franchise tag. The list of other unrestricted free agents is highlighted by Peyton Hillis, Steve Breaston and Matt Cassel. While it would be advantageous to get more value out of your franchise tag than re-hiring an offensive lineman, the Chiefs truly had nothing better to do with it. Would you rather hold onto Breaston for $10.5 million? How about retaining Andy Studebaker for $9.6 million? No way. So KC holds onto its most valuable UFA, he signs the contract and the deal is done.....which would all just be grand, if it actually meant that Albert would be playing here in 2013. Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story.

Albert now stands as a holdout. He is currently the only Chief on the roster not attending the first phase of Andy Reid's new voluntary off-season program. Instead, he waits for KC to offer him a long-term contract, or find a worthwhile deal with another team to send Albert elsewhere. The 28 year old lineman is telling the press he wants a longer commitment before showing up to camp. On NFL AM, Albert said "Until I know my situation with certainty I'm going to stay away." He went on to tell the media that he's unsure of what he'll do when the mandatory program begins.

The Chiefs have from now until then (with "Phase Three" workouts beginning May 14) to either come to terms with their veteran lineman or find an suitable trade offer. It's at that point when things start looking ugly and the team has the right to start fining Albert for every day he misses. On March 22^nd, ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted that KC was “seeking a second-round pick in this year's draft as well as another pick in 2014 in a trade for franchise OT Branden Albert.” Judging from the rumors that are swirling around at this point, Miami seems to be the most viable, if not the only, team interested in that deal. Clark and Company have moved swiftly thus far with major, team-changing decisions, so for all we know, a deal could be made tomorrow. However, the upcoming draft, and the Chiefs' position therein, play a key role in determining Albert's worth to the organization.

If the team trades Albert, it would be almost obvious to go with a highly-regarded lineman like Luke Joeckel or Eric Fisher with the first pick, especially since KC has already parted ways with another seasoned lineman in Eric Winston. But, the Chiefs have until prime-time on April 25^th to probe and evaluate and analyze and make damn sure they don't use the #1 overall pick on an overrated offensive lineman. Maybe they fall in love with Fisher or Joeckel. Maybe they retain Albert and decide to upgrade defensively through the draft, instead. Maybe they decide to trade down for more value. There is plenty of time left until draft day to evaluate the numerous options, and it would seem wise to use however much is necessary to get the best deal possible. They would gladly take the previously mentioned original asking price for Albert if someone offered, but it sounds like even Miami would try their best to talk the Chiefs down from that original ask.

Whichever way the Branden Albert situation gets sorted out will define KC's role in the upcoming draft. With the QB situation seemingly solidified and many flawed positions filled with talent from free agency, this signing (or lack thereof) could be the final deciding factor for how KC uses that first overall pick. Things will be much more clear once we know whether or not the Chiefs will need to upgrade the O-Line- to the point where KC's choice could be made very simple by the situation at hand. RGR will be here to report any news on the matter, so we can then make the next step in pondering our draft day fantasies. Stay tuned for any major breaking news, and check in later this week for more analysis of this year's off-season signings.

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 5^th 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 15^th and 23^rd 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 8^th 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.