Teacher Teicher

Adam Teicher, of the KC Star, has put out his projections for the final 53. About 45 of the players are either clear cut rotation players, or special teams necessities. Here is the list, and a few comments.
QUARTERBACK (3)
Matt Cassel, Brodie Croyle, Tyler Palko. Hard to argue here.

RUNNING BACK (4)
Thomas Jones, Jamaal Charles, Jackie Battle, Tim Castille. Castille or Cox is the question. Castille is new and may have more upside. Cox is a very good blocker, which is the first thing to consider in a Full Back.

WIDE RECEIVER (6)
Chris Chambers, Dwayne Bowe, Dexter McCluster, Terrance Copper, Jeremy Horne, Jerheme Urban. Copper was a Special Team ace, but may have been passed in Camp. If so, he is iffy. Horne and Urban are just the front runners in crowded race for the last spot or two. If he makes the squad, Horne likely bumps Copper.

TIGHT END (3)
Leonard Pope, Tony Moeaki, Jake O’Connell. With the likelihood of some two Tight End sets, three TEs are necessary.

OFFENSIVE LINE (9)
Branden Albert, Brian Waters, Casey Wiegmann, Rudy Niswanger, Ryan Lilja, Ryan O’Callaghan, Barry Richardson, Jon Asamoah, Ikechuku Ndukwe. I disagree on a couple points. I think Wiegmann has finished his playing career. On the other side, Colin Brown will make the roster.  

DEFENSIVE LINE (6)
Tyson Jackson, Ron Edwards, Glenn Dorsey, Shaun Smith, Derek Lokey, Wallace Gilberry. Garrett Brown or Alex Magee might make the cut.

LINEBACKER (9)
Mike Vrabel, Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson, Jovan Belcher, Andy Studebaker, Cameron Sheffield, Corey Mays, Demorrio Williams, David Herron. Herron is another ST player. Corey Mays may be on the line here and do not forget Walters.

DEFENSIVE BACK (10)
Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr, Javier Arenas, Mike Richardson, Maurice Leggett, Eric Berry, Jon McGraw, Kendrick Lewis, Donald Washington, Reshard Langford. More ST people: McGraw (ST Captain), Washington, Langford. Coverage teams have gotten a lot of attention, and it has shown in preseason. I have trouble seeing why Richardson is on the list over Travis Daniels. More than likely Leggett (and possibly Sheffield) will start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Richardson and Washington are on thin ice.

SPECIALIST (3)
Ryan Succop, Dustin Colquitt, Thomas Gafford. Cut in stone.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/30/2188800/chiefs-projected-roster.html#ixzz0yDiVHfMD

JMN

Tags: Final 53, Kansas City Chiefs

Bring some Flowers

He was a second round choice in a so-so class of Corner Backs. He has played on defenses that ranked in the bottom third of the league his entire career. He is not nearly as fast as many of the men he is guarding. As such, it is natural that Brandon Flowers is easy to overlook, except for one thing–he makes plays.

To Chiefs faithful, we have known Flowers could play all along. Others are starting to catch up. Yahoo did an article on 10 under rated players. Here is what they had to say about Flowers:

Kansas City Chiefs DB Brandon Flowers– The Chiefs’ defense has been a mess for the last few years; only endbacker Tamba Hali has been a consistent standout. But with the selection of safety Eric Berry in the first round this year, some real athleticism and game intelligence has found its way to Kansas City. Another player to watch is Flowers, whom the Chiefs selected in the second round of the 2008 draft. While Flowers showed some impressive characteristics in his rookie season, he really matured in his second year. He tied with Cincinnati’s Leon Hall for fifth in the NFL in passes defensed, and bumped his interception total from two to five. With Berry playing center field in that defensive backfield, Flowers’ Pro Bowl potential may finally be unlocked.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-NFL-s-10-most-underrated-players;_ylt=AnJ9AogM5Yj2DJgD6Hyh0wdDubYF?urn=nfl-265758

The article opens with a reference to Nnamdi Asomugha, which is never a bad thing for a CB. It  also does not hurt that he and Tamba have some company.

JMN

Tags: Brandon Flowers, Kansas City Chiefs, Tamba Hali

Guest Columnist

He goes by ryknowssd, and he is as devoted a Chiefs fan as you will find. He also has a fine eye for the game, and for game stats. I will be posting his postgame comments when they are available. Apologies for the short hand. I inserted some help on occasion. 

• [Matt] Cassel needs to start developing some pocket awareness. Badly. He also needs to start going through his progressions. There were at least 6 or 7 incompletions that would’ve easily gone for 6-20+ yard gains, had he just gone scanned the field before he either (a) tucked the ball & ran or (b) threw the ball into double/triple coverage/a bench full of 3rd stringers.I loves me some Derek Lokey in short yardage situations as a FB. Reminds me of Fridge Perry back in the days.
• If [FB] Castille makes this team over Cox, I’m gonna start a riot at 1 Arrowhead Drive.
• D-Bo [Dwayne Bowe] made [Pro Bowl CB Samual] Asante look like a fool all game long. Love it. He’s also dramatically improved his blocking technique. Every time we had a 10+ yard run, he made a critical block. In fact, the screen pass to McCluster that went basically nowhere (not the one where Samual lit him up), Bowe had two pancake blocks on that single play. He impressed the hell outta me in terms of blocking and receiving this week.
• Tony Moeaki is the best blocking TE we’ve had on the roster since Jason Dunn was in the peak of his career. Dude is a baller. He needs to work on his route running hardcore, he could use some time on the JUGS machine and Haley needs to coach him up on how to use his body to shield defenders from the ball, but he has loads of potential. I loved what he showed me this week (aside from dropped passes & poor routes).
• Corey Mays is still horrible in coverage. Not much else to say there.
• [Jovan] Belcher needs to be a starting ILB next to DJ. Mays sucks in coverage, Demo gets eaten alive by lineman and fullbacks…Belcher and DJ are the only ILBs we have who can handle their responsibilities in both phases of the game. Demo belongs in the nickel package and Mays belongs in goal line packages. Nothing more for either of them unless injuries occur.
• Eric Berry is a freakin’ stud. He missed two tackles he could’ve made by my count, but one was a nice juke by McCoy and the other was on McCoy’s TD play where Berry was knocked out of the play by McGraw’s shotty tackling and/or an Eagles O-lineman falling down in front of him. Either way, both were understandable missed tackles…but I’m trying to find something to criticize. It’s not easy with him.
• [Brandon] Flowers is a beast, as usual.
• [Brandon] Carr really impressed me this week…but he still needs to get his head around and look for the ball. That irritates me to no end. He relies on WRs’ actions too much to make plays. Against better opponents, he’s gonna continue to look silly until he fixes that problem. It’s really his only flaw IMO.
• [OLBs] Scheffield and Studebaker are going to be HUGE role players for us this year as long as they can both stay healthy. Once we get 3 or 4 weeks into the season, their play should allow Tamba some more 1on1 blocking assignments and as a result, we should see our overall team sack totals rise considerably. Both of them have great motors and are still developing their technique and pass rushing move repertoire. It should be exciting to see their progression throughout the season.
• Tamba.
• Leonard Pope sucks.
  I finally saw some flashes from Jake O’Connell. He displayed some very nice blocking on a few plays. Maybe that’s what the coaches are seeing on the practice field and maybe he can actually translate that into game day situations this year if he stays on the active roster.
• Branden Albert had a hell of a game. The only plays I saw where he could’ve possibly done better were solely because Trent Cole is a beast. There was one running play off left tackle where he actually made four freakin’ blocks. FOUR!!! One where he just punched a LB into the backfield to get him away from the RB, the next was against a DE that he just pancaked, then he turned up field just to pancake another linebacker and then he got a piece of a corner that just happened to be near him. Yes, he had a couple penalties against him…but look who he was lined up against one on one. It was Trent Cole. I’d be jumping offsides, too. I can’t bring myself to hold that against him. He was also great in pass protection all game long. Did you notice that Trent Cole only had 2 tackles and 1 PD? That’s because Phat Albert held him in check.
• Rudy [Niswanger C] had a solid, yet unimpressive game. He punched two guys on two different plays so that he could get to the 2nd level…and both times, the guy he was SUPPOSED to latch onto and drive out of the play ended up making the tackle at or near the LOS. One other play, he got caught off balance and allowed pressure on Cassel (who ended up freaking out and trying to scramble up the middle). Granted, those were the only 3 plays I could find where he messed up at all, but still. He needs to fix those mental errors.
• [C Casey] Wiegmann can’t handle anyone who is stronger than he is. He’s still a good zone blocker who can get to the 2nd level consistently, but he isn’t strong enough or quick enough anymore to consistently execute his assignment. It’s obvious that he’s still a damn good leader, though. I’m personally hoping we keep him around for the final roster.
• All of our offensive lineman SUCK at cut blocking.
• [Ryan] Lilja had a great game. There was one play where he got caught off balance and almost allowed pressure on Cassel, but recovered and saved the play. He impressed me on several occasions. That’s something he hasn’t done until now. He tried to cut block a defender 4 or 5 times and was unsuccessful every time, though. I’m not sure if that was what he was assigned to do or just a last ditch effort to block his man, but every attempt was pretty pathetic…just like the rest of our lineman’s attempts at cut blocking.
• B-Rich [Barry Richardson] needs to be our starting RT. He still has issues pass blocking because of mental mistakes (he had difficulty picking up blitzers in non-obvious situations), but other than that, he did a very nice job. That’s definitely more than I can say about ROC the last few weeks in pass pro.
• B-Dub [Brian Waters] had one very bad mental mistake that resulted in a Cassel sack, but otherwise had a solid night. He’s slowly losing what little speed he had in his prime and it shows. He most definitely should never be used on pulls/screens/etc at this point in his career. He’s mainly a drive blocker, pass blocker and mentor. That’s about it.
• [Mike]Vrabel is Vrabel. Consistent and underwhelming…yet very knowledgable, predictable, smart and familiar with our scheme. He’s a leader who knows his ish, but lacks the explosiveness to rush the passer like he once did in his prime. If Stud[ebaker] and/or Sheff[ield] can keep progressing, he’ll be relegated to a role player/backup by mid-season IMO.
• [The DL group of] Gilberry/Dorsey/Gales is gonna be a fun combo to watch this year in obvious passing situations. All of them can put pressure on the QB. None of them can consistently GET to the QB…but they can all damn sure get to him and cause chaos.
• TJax [Tyson Jackson] has markedly improved his pass rushing skills, but they’re still not up to par of what he’s capable of IMO. His ability to shed blocks, bull rush and take on double teams is really what’s impressed me this year so far. He’s a completely different player in that department and that’s a damn good thing.
• Ron Edwards is Ron Edwards. He’s mediocre and nothing more. Nothing less. We need a NT in next year’s draft and there’s no disputing that. Unless Cassel tanks this year, NT is easily our biggest need.
• [Dexter] McCluster and [Javier] Arenas might prove to be the best picks we could’ve possibly made and as a guy who didn’t think much of either pick when they were made, I’m gladly eating crow now. Arenas is easily our best return man since the ex-factor and McCluster will give us an incredible amount of versatility, no matter the situation. He can catch, run, return kicks, the list goes on and on…but the thing I like most is that if Charles goes down with an injury, we can just sub in McCluster and have him share the carries with TJ. That’s an incredibly valuable asset to have on your roster.
• I’m a firm believer that we have the NFL’s best special teams unit. Our kick coverage has been incredible, we have Colquitt (aka GOD), Succop has improved his overall game over last season, Arenas/McCluster/Lawrence/Charles is a deadly combo as return men and our improvement in blocking assignments on returns is nothing short of incredible. Honestly, I can’t think of any other team who is better as an overall unit in special teams. That’s something we need to be very proud of.
• Thomas Jones isn’t anything spectacular, but he’s obviously one of our most consistent players on the roster. He reads his blocks well, still has good agility, great vision, great leadership values and he’s a complete player. With my GM hat on, I have to commend Pioli & Haley for bringing this dude in here. He exemplifies the type of player we’ve needed on this roster for years. A leader in every sense of the word.
• [WR Chris] Chambers is about as solid a #2 WR there is in the league. Good blocker, consistent hands, savvy veteran and runs pretty consistent routes. Doesn’t flash anything special, but gets the job done. Then again, not many people can drag DBs on their back for 10 yards like D-Bo can. Maybe my expectations are too high? Meh.
• I’ll reserve judgment on players like Langford, Lewis, Palko and J-Will until I see more of them.

JMN

Tags: Kansas City Chiefs, postgame, ryknowssd

The First Cut is the Deepest.

Actually, the first cut is the easiest. Roster adjustment deadline is 31 August 2010. To that end, the Chiefs have released four players. From the Mothership:

 The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Sunday that the club has released T/G Tyler Eastman, RB Kestahn Moore, TE Cody Slate and QB Bill Stull. http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/article-2/CHIEFS-RELEASE-FOUR-PLAYERS/c1dae94d-3a90-4a66-b504-f920f48fa0d4

None of these names is a shock. The dexcrition “camp body” is appropos. Tougher choices will be following.

JMN

Tags: Kansas City Chiefs, Roster Cuts

Let’s NOT Keep Doing This.

Just recently we had a spinal injury scare to Maurice Leggett. http://chiefschatter.com/2010/08/23/there-is-scary-and-then-there-is-scary/ Now we have a similar scare with fifth round pick Cameron Sheffield. He and Eagles Running Back Mike Bell hit hemet to helmet.

Sheffield was carted off the field, with movement precautions. Fortunately, he is doing fine. http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2010/8/28/1655820/chiefs-lb-cameron-sheffield

JMN

Tags: Cameron Sheffield, Kansas City Chiefs

What a Rush.

Reports of the demise of the Chiefs pass rush may have been exaggerated. In Friday’s game, the Chiefs registered five sacks, and Tamba Hali had none of them. On the other hand, Andy Studebakerlooked very good on the strong side. He is looking like a long term asset, which will free Mike Vrable to move inside if necessary. Demorrio Williamsalso had two sacks, while Dion Gales had the fifth.

Overall, the defense has been getting some very good contributions from free agents. Studebaker stood out in the stats, but Jovan Belcher is pushing for starting time andWallace Gilberry is providing push from the line.

JMN

Tags: Andy Studebaker, Kansas City Chiefs, Pass Rush

Sweet.

You gotta love it. Eric Berry has a new contract, serious bank, and he wants a Chevy. OK, not just any Chevy, this one. For more information: :http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/forced-induction/1313999-national-speed-build-2010-chevrolet-camaro-eric-berry-nz1200-1-200hp.html

Just as important as a star player wanting an American built car, is the fact that $10,000 for each future sale will go to the Eric Berry Foundation, to help kids have safe places to play. http://ericberryfoundation.org/

JMN

Tags: Camero, Eric Berry

Is the End Defensive?

A big flap has developed over the role of 2009 first round draft pick Tyson Jackson. KC Star reporter Kent Babb tweeted:

Todd Haley said today that there’s a chance Wallace Gilberry could become a starting DE. Well … that isn’t good news for Dorsey or Jackson.

He followed this with an article stating:

Coach Todd Haley said that Gilberry, who entered the league in 2008 as an undrafted free agent, has an opportunity to unseat a top-five draft pick for a spot on Kansas City’s first-team defensive line…

 

“This is an open competition up front,” Haley said. “Wallace is in a competition to try to be one of the guys in the front three in the 3-4 defense, and I think he can do that. He’s got to play with great technique, he’s got to do the things the way he’s supposed to do it, and he’s got to know what to do.”

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/24/2173448/unheralded-chiefs-end-gilberry.html#ixzz0xeF6Un8L

Haley has said that all players are the same, regardless how they were aquired. In the game Friday, Wallace Gilberrytook some snaps on first down. Previously Gilberry has been a nickel package specialist. From this Babb believes that Tyson Jackson has lost the starting position.

However, consider the basic quote.

“This is an open competition up front,” Haley said. “Now, this game coming up we’re probably going to have to get into a little bit more role-related spots. Wallace is in a competition to try and be one of the guys in the front three of a 3-4 defense. I think that he can do that, but he has to play with great technique.”

Babb omitted the bolded line, which marks the situation as applying to role players. Clearly Gilberry is earning a bigger role with the team, but that is a long shout from unseating the starter.

JMN

Tags: Kansas City Chiefs, Tyson Jackson, Wallace Gilberry

There is scary, and then there is SCARY.

This was the second. In the game Saturday, Chiefs Defensive Back Maurice Leggett was carted off the field with neck restraints. Ever since Darryl Stingley was permanently paralyzed 32 years ago, the NFL has been very aware of neck and spine injuries. If there was anychance of a paralyzing injury, great care is taken. This was no exception.

Fortunately, the early results, and it still very early, are promising. Leggett has good movement in the extremities. I will update as news becomes available. So far the team has not made an official statement.

Update: Still no official team statement, but Head Coach Haley has said:

“Everything looks good,” head coach Todd Haley said. “There is nothing spinal or anything like that. He was in a pretty good condition and I think that the trainers and doctors did everything that they were supposed to do as far as taking all precautions. It’s a scary situation, but that part of it is out of the mix.”

 Leggett tweeted:

tweeted at approx. 24 Aug, 8 PM CT 

JMN

Tags: Kansas City Chiefs, Maurice Leggett

Homegrown.

He goes by ryknowssd, and I do not know his real name. i do know that he is one of the more informed and analytical hard core fans I rub elbows with. Here is his take on the defense. For the record, he promoted Dan Williams as the #5 pick.

CB: Flowers – Another year’s experience (improvement) – stud. Nuff said.
CB: Carr – Another year’s experience (improvement) – inconsistent, but flashes brilliance every once in a while. Let’s hope he can put that together and reach his potential. I’m not holding out hope.
CB: Arenas – New addition improvement to our secondary – N/A
SS: Berry – New addition improvement to our secondary – N/A
FS: Lewis – New addition – Is he better than Page? Worse? Time will tell. Jury’s out here.
OLB: Tamba – Another year’s experience (improvement) – Stud.
ILB: DJ – Spent a year in Haley’s doghouse (improvement) – Finally seems to “get it” and is sticking to his assignments. HUGE improvement.
ILB: Belcher – Another year’s experience (improvement) – he’s bulked up without losing any speed and he’s an all around better player because of his extra experience now. I love this kid.
ILB: Demo – wash – he seems to be fired up & ready to compete for playing time. A fired up Demo is a good Demo IMO. That’s something he’s lacked the last couple years.
OLB: Vrabel – wash – we added Crennel, which he’s very familiar with…so I consider that an improvement, but he’s also another year older. I’ll call it a wash.
OLB: Studebaker – Another year’s experience (improvement) – he looks much quicker this year and he’s reacting instead of thinking when he’s on the field. As far as I can tell, the camp reports are true. He’s ready for a starting role. The question is whether or not he can unseat Vrabel. I know that his great play has already moved Vrabel to ILB in our nickel package. How much longer will it be before that happens with every package we run?
DE: Dorsey – Another year’s experience (improvement) – His pass rushing presence looks slightly improved and based off his Q&As with the media I’ve read, he seems much more comfortable with Crennel’s defense than the others he’s run in the past. Another year under his belt can’t hurt things, either.
DE: TJax – Another year’s experience (improvement) – Since I already touched on him earlier in this post, I’ll pass on commenting again.
DE: Gilberry – Another year’s experience (improvement) – Not much to say here. He looks like a beast so far this year. Definitely an improvement over last year.
NT: Edwards – wash/downgrade – He’s a year older and unless Lokey really steps it up, he’s gonna be playing a ton of snaps again. And that means he’ll be winded again and that means inconsistent play.
NT: Lokey – Another year’s experience (improvement) – He’s bulked up to over 300 lbs now and it shows in his play. He’s more stout at the point of attack, but he still has difficulty shedding blocks IMO. We’ll see how much he’s actually improved once the season starts.

JMN

Tags: Defense, Kansas City Chiefs