Chiefs Add Veteran Center

The Chiefs announced on Thursday the signing of unrestricted free agent center Eric Ghiaciuc.

For the past three years, Ghiaciuc was the starting center for the Cincinnati Bengals, who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Central Michigan. He started 13 of 15 games during the 2006 season, all 12 of the games he played in 2007 and the entire 16-game schedule in the Bengals 2008 season. Neck, thumb and foot problems cost him four games during the ’06 season.

Ghiaciuc is 6-4, 303 pounds and will be 28 years old at the end of this month. The ’09 season will be his fifth in the NFL.

The Michigan native attended Oxford High School where he was all-state in football and also won a state wrestling championship. He also participated in track and field.

His last name is pronounced “GUY-check.”

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/30

We are living day No. 120 of the year.

On April 30, 1945, Adolph Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker. Ono this day in 1789, George Washington took the oath of office as the first elected President of the United States.

And on April 30, 1803 the United States completed with France the Louisiana Purchase, buying the so-called Louisana Territory. This area as over 828,000 square miles and included the entire states of Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa and Nebraska, as well as parts of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Louisiana.

The cost: $15 million. That’s right, the biggest part of the lower 48 was purchased 206 years ago today for about the same amount of money the Chiefs will pay QB Matt Cassel this season.

Amazing.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Football fans who subscribe to Comcast Corp.’s extra-cost sports package seem likely to lose one of their favorite viewing choices at 11:59 tonight – the 24-hour NFL Network. The two organizations, which have battled publicly and in court, have not reached a new carriage agreement, and the old one expires.

Comcast has asked the National Football League to continue the carriage under terms of the current contract. The NFL has refused and would like Comcast to place the channel on a general-interest tier that does not require viewers to pay the extra $7 a month. About two million people get Comcast’s sports package.

Comcast relocated the NFL Network to the sports package in 2007, the Philadelphia cable giant said, when the NFL more than tripled subscription fees. The move saved the cable-TV company an estimated $50 million a year in programming costs. The NFL Network’s core programming is eight live NFL games.

…Read More!

Thursday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

We are about to move into the month of May and who would have bet four months ago that Larry Johnson’s name would still be on the Chiefs roster?

The NFL Draft passed without Johnson being dealt away. There was little chance of that happening anyway, because there is no market for Johnson when it comes to a trade. There’s just too much baggage for teams to seriously consider making a deal for him, even for something as low as a seventh-round choice.

There’s his contract, which is significant even if Johnson lost the grievance hearing that lifted the guarantee from those dollars this season. There’s the possibility of further sanctions from the NFL for his off-field problems, especially after he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in a plea bargain with those two assault charges. And, there’s the fact he’ll be 30 years old in November.

Right now, Johnson is handling the situation better than just about anything he’s gone through in the last two or three years. He’s working hard in the off-season strength and conditioning program and he’s keeping his mouth shut. Both of those are smart moves.

Whether it’s new agent Peter Schaeffer or the realization of his situation, maybe both, but right now L.J. has to hope that his future is in Kansas City.

That’s right, Kansas City, the same place he wanted to escape from so badly back in January now holds what amounts to his best hope of playing and making the type of money that’s called for in his contract. …Read More!

More Moves at Arrowhead

The purge of the Chiefs personnel department continued as V.P. of Player Personnel Bill Kuharich was released Wednesday morning.

Kuharich joined the organization in 2000 as director of pro personnel.  He was named to his current position in 2006 and worked closely with then head coach Herm Edwards in the drafts of 2006 through 2008.  He has 26 years of experience in pro football personnel.

Reports out of Detroit had the Lions interested in hiring Kuharich back in January, but the Chiefs refused to grant the Lions permission to speak with him at that time.

He’s the seventh person in the team’s personnel department that has been sent out the door this week by new GM Scott Pioli.

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/29

It’s the 119th day of the year

On April 29, 1967 Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight championship belt a day after he refused induction into the U.S. Army. On this day in 1986, Roger Clemens struck out a major-league record 20 Seattle Mariners.

Born on April 29, 1947 in Wichita was Jim Ryun and four years later the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Born on April 29, 1954 was comedian Jerry Seinfield.

And born on April 29, 1918 in Detroit was legendary football coach and philosopher George Allen (left). He began his coaching career at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa in 1948 and finished it up at the age of 72, when he took over the program at Long Beach State for one season. In between he coached 21 years in the NFL and two years in the USFL.

Here are some of the best George Allenisms from his coaching career:

• People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit.
• Leisure time is that five or six hours when you sleep at night
• Winning is the science of being totally prepared.
• If you want to catch more fish, use more hooks.
• Every time you win, you’re reborn; when you lose, you die a little.
• The street to obscurity is paved with athletes who can perform great feats before friendly crowds.

…Read More!

Wednesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

I’ve got a note sitting on my desk reminding me to write something about the NFL’s need for a rookie pay scale.

I wrote the note to myself about two weeks ago and there are little notations on the paper about arguments for the idea that rookies shouldn’t be able to come in and push the NFL pay scale higher without having played a down.

Yes, I was going to be all indignant and push for those dollars to go to the veteran players in the league.

Then the Detroit Lions went out and caved in on contract negotiations with No. 1 draft choice Matt Stafford.

Tom Condon proved once again that he’s just about the best agent that ever came down the pike. At a time and economy where it seemed improbable, no make that impossible for the price of the first draft pick to increase, Condon got the Detroit Lions to pay Stafford $72 million over six years. But the key number is $41.7 million in guaranteed money.

Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL owners want a rookie-salary scale, but when it came time for them to put the brakes on that first-round money, the Lions stepped on the gas instead. How they let that happen is beyond understanding and eliminates any sympathy I have for teams who have to pay the big money at the top of the draft.

The Lions had all the leverage in this deal. Reportedly they already had a contract worked out with Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry for something less than what No. 1 choice Jake Long got last year from Miami ($30 million in guaranteed dollars.) Curry even said publicly he would take less if he were the first choice by the Lions.

Coming off a 0-16 season it’s not like Detroit is a quarterback away from the playoffs. They need help at every position on the field. Sure Stafford’s got potential, but there were other quarterbacks in the draft and there will be better prospects next year, maybe the year after. Stafford was not that once in a lifetime quarterback, if there really is such an animal. …Read More!

The Legend of Crash

The date on the yellowed clipping is torn, but it was from sometime in October of 1986. It’s a story I wrote for the Kansas City Star about then Chiefs special teams coach Frank Gansz.

Frank allowed me to sit in on a special teams meeting during the early part of that season. I got the chance to see what so many players had talked about over the years. There was nothing quite like going to a meeting where Crash Gansz had the floor.

In the dark of that meeting room, tape of a football game played on a large television screen. One team was kicking off, the other returning. The teams would meet in a series of violent collisions, replayed over and over with no sound.

No sound that is until the voice of Frank Gansz voice pierced the quiet.

“Men, look at this team cover this kick,” Gansz told the kick coverage team. “That’s mediocre coverage by that team. No one is taking risks. No one is trying to force the action. Napoleon once said if the art of war consisted of not taking risks, then the glory and winning would be in the hands of mediocre talent.

“Gentlemen, we do not want to be mediocre. We do not want to limit ourselves. Don’t put limits on me. I hate it. I don’t want somebody to call me mediocre.”

No one would ever call Frank Gansz mediocre. Some would look at his 8-22-1 record as the head coach of the Chiefs in 1987-88 and call him a bad coach. He was anything but, sabotaged in his one chance to be an NFL head coach by a players strike, injuries and some very poor personnel decisions by the front office.

Frank passed away on Monday in Dallas. He came out of retirement to coach the kicking game for June Jones at SMU last year and was preparing for year two with the Mustangs.

Let me get this on the record right now: I have a hard time being objective about Gansz. The happenstance of his career and my career pulled us together on and off the field and I got to know more about him than just about any coach that has ever crossed my path in over 30 years in the business. …Read More!

Tony G. Says Good Bye In KC

Tony Gonzalez returned to Kansas City on Tuesday, something he plans to do plenty of in the coming years.

The new Atlanta Falcons tight end took the time to meet with the K.C. media and pass along his thanks to Chiefs fans that have supported him so well for the last dozen years.

“Being able to play for some of the best fans, the best people,” said Gonzalez in a press conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. “The people who have stopped me and said congratulations, we are going to miss you. The fans have been incredible.

“I’m still going to be around. Kansas City is my second home and I will be here quite often. I have businesses set up here. My foundation, Shadow Buddies, is here. That’s where it’s going to get hard, the friends and the friendships

“Change is good. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s a positive situation.”

Former Chiefs President-GM Carl Peterson was in the house at Skies Restaurant, as was former Chiefs FB Tony Richardson, in town during a break from off-season workouts with the New York Jets.

“I’m sad, I’m anxious, a little scared, a little weird saying I’m an Atlanta Falcon,” Gonzalez said. “But change is good, it’s like being drafted all over again, and gives me a chance to go out there and prove myself.”

Gonzalez said he met twice with new GM Scott Pioli and head coach Todd Haley, but he did not request a trade.

“I didn’t ask for a trade and they didn’t come to me and ask if I wanted a trade,” Gonzalez said.

Here is sound from the Tony Gonzalez press conference:

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/28

We are in Day No. 118 of the year.

On April 28, 1945 Benito Mussolini and his mistress were executed by a firing squad of the Italian resistance movement. And talk about juxtaposition: born on this day in 1908 was Oskar Schindler, the Austrian businessman who saved more than a thousand Jews from the Nazi death camps. And born on this day in 1937 was Saddam Hussien, who killed many thousands of people during his time as dictator of Iraq.

And on this day in 1993, Jim Valvano died of bone cancer. He was 47 years old. Less t han two months before he passed, Valvano spoke at the ESPY Awards where he received the Arthur Ashe For Courage. Jimmy V loved to talk, but his speech that night will always be his most remembered words, especially this passage:

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week you’re going to have something special.”

back in March of 1993. It’s worth the time.

Jim Valvano was something special.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Eagles’ first-round draft pick arrived at the NovaCare Complex for the first time yesterday with a father who didn’t look anything like him and, in fact, didn’t even know him for the first eight years of his often turbulent life. Jeremy Maclin, a star wide receiver during his two seasons at Missouri, met Jeff Parres when he joined a peewee football team in Kirkwood, Mo., at the age of 9. “I’ve coached little league football for 20 years,” Parres said. “It’s my passion and I was coaching my older son’s team. Jeremy joined the team when he was nine.”

Parres, a urologist, said it was evident early that Maclin had special athletic talent. “We play in the city of St. Louis, and it’s a pretty competitive league,” Parres said. “You could see Jeremy was good. He was one of the two or three better athletes in his age group.”

In time, something else besides Maclin’s immense talent on a football field became obvious to Parres and his eldest son, Tyler. “On weeknights, we’d take him home after practice and there were times when there was no one at home and the doors would be locked, and he’d have to climb through the windows to get in,” Parres said. “And then he wouldn’t have any dinner sometimes. Those were the tough times.”

…Read More!

Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

I’ve searched for the best way to explain why a bunch of talented people were shown the door on Monday at the Chiefs offices.

There was no public announcement but new GM Scott Pioli has begun the process of purging the team’s personnel department. Now that the ’09 NFL Draft is over, Pioli is going to hire his own people to handle the scouting process.

None of this comes as a surprise to any of those people who lost their jobs on Monday. As I said, there’s no official announcement, but the word inside the building was that all but two of the team’s seven scouts had been fired. Also left go was long-time director of college scouting Chuck Cook. He’s the guy in the white hat, far left in the photo. Chuck has been part of the Chiefs organization for 25 years. The guy next to him, holding up a yellow stopwatch is scouting coordinator Bruce Lemmerman, who was one of the scouts released.

Eventually, if it hasn’t happened already, that group of dismissed employees will include V.P. of Player Personnel Bill Kuharich.

Only a handful of people in the personnel department will survive and it’s unlikely any of them will be in a position of power or leadership once the dust settles.

How best to explain what’s going on inside the Chiefs? That’s what I’ve struggled with trying to explain. Here goes. …Read More!

RIP Frank Gansz

Late Monday afternoon in the same Dallas hospital where Lamar Hunt passed away two-plus years ago, one-time Chiefs head coach Frank Gansz died. He was 70 years old.

“Heaven became even a better place today … God Bless Frank Gansz,” posted SMU head coach June Jones to his Twitter page Monday evening.

Last Wednesday, Gansz had knee replacement surgery and at some point in the process or just afterwards, his heart stopped beating. He had been on a respirator in Presbyterian Hospital since then, with his family around him. Gansz had come out of retirement last year to work with Jones and the Mustangs program. It was his 38th year in coaching on the college and NFL levels.

Gansz was head coach of the Chiefs in 1987-88, replacing John Mackovic who was fired in January 1987. The Chiefs went 8-22-1 under Gansz. He was fired in January 1989 by Carl Peterson and replaced by Marty Schottenheimer.

He was special teams coach with the team in 1981-82 and then again in 1986 when he also carried the title assistant head coach. It was the special teams that got the Chiefs into the playoffs that year, beating Pittsburgh 24-19 in the final game of the ’86 regular season with every Kansas City point scored from the kicking game. It was one of the greatest special teams performances in league history.

June Jones is right, heaven is a better place. It’s also a bit more organized with Crash Gansz in the house. More motivated as well.

We will have more on the Frank Gansz and his time in Kansas City on Tuesday.

Monday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

There’s a lot to cover in the hangover haze of the 2009 NFL Draft, especially if you rode the pony from Matt Stafford at No. 1 to Ryan Succop at No. 256.

And that’s the biggest bone I have to pick with Scott Pioli. The Chiefs GM held that last choice of the draft, Mr. Irrelevant as he’s become known over the years, and he gives us a kicker? Come on! To wait all that time and end the draft with a foot jockey? Listen, I know kickers are part of the game and who knows, this guy may end up being a top-shelf guy. But give us some thick-necked kid from some small college in the middle of nowhere who will grab this opportunity as the greatest moment of his life.

Now we know for sure, we have hard evidence that Pioli is a personnel maniac.

Who trades into the bottom of the seventh round because he just has to have a tight end-fullback type from Miami of Ohio? That’s what the Chiefs GM did, working a swap with the Dolphins and giving up the Chiefs seventh-round pick next year for No. 237 this year. Pioli drafted Jake O’Connell, who near as anyone could find started just three games during a four-year college career. That’s reaching deep into the draft pot!

So how did the Chiefs do in the ’09 Draft? Folks, I’ve got to tell you the only thing more worthless than a mock draft is grading drafts the day after they are done. You won’t find that here, so if you are looking for a B or C or F, the only grade I’m giving the Chiefs is the same one I’ll give the other 31 teams: incomplete. See me in December 2011, as this draft class wraps up its third season in the league.

But here are some off the cuff thoughts on the Chiefs draft picks.

First, there’s no question it’s not a sexy group and I doubt these picks set fire to the ticket buying lines into Arrowhead. That’s OK, because Pioli’s job is to put a winning team on the field; the organization has a lot of other folks to handle the ticket selling. And I can remember this: there was no stampede on the ticket office 20 years ago when the Chiefs used the fourth choice of the draft to take a linebacker out of Alabama named Derrick Thomas. He was as unknown to the average Chiefs fan at that time as Tyson Jackson is to the Chiefs followers of today. …Read More!

Mr. Irrelevant: K Ryan Succop/South Carolina

Ryan Succop/South Carolina/K

• HT: 6-3
• WT: 218 pounds
• Born: September 19, 1986
• High School: Hickory High School, North Carolina

2008 season:20 of 30 on field goals; of his 61 kickoffs, 25 went for touchbacks

2007: 13 of 17 on field goals; averaged 41.6 yards on punts, but had three blocked.

2006: 16 of 20 on field goals; averaged 43.7 on punts.

2005: handled kickoff duties as a true freshman

7th-Round Choice: FB/TE Jake O’Connell/Miami (Oh.)

Jake O’Connell/Miami of Ohio/TE-FB

• HT: 6-3
• WT: 250 pounds
• Born: November 6, 1985
• High School: Gulf Coast High School in Naples, Florida
• Testing: 4.66 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 41-inch vertical jump, 10-foot, 4-inch broad jump, bench pressed 225 pounds 28 times.

2008 season: played in 12 games. He caught 25 passes for 258 yards.

2007: played in 13 games with three starts. He caught 14 passes for 152 yards and two TD catches.

2006: played in 11 games, caught seven passes for 43 yards and two touchdowns.

2005: played in five games.

2004: red-shirt freshman season.

Overall Evaluation: Chiefs dealt their 7th-round choice in 2010 to Miami to pick up pick No. 237 in the ’09 Draft.  O’Connell is viewed as potential tight end, H-Back, fullback .  He’s considered a good special teams player.

7th-Round Choice: RB Javarris Williams/Tenn. State

 

Javarris Williams/Tennessee State/RB

• HT: 5-10
• WT: 223 pounds
• Born: April 8, 1986.
• High School: Foster High School in Richmond, Texas
• Testing: 4.51 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 33.5-inch vertical leap, 9-feet, 8-inch broad jump, bench pressed 225 pounds 25 times.

2008 Season: started 10 games, missing the final two games with a hamstring pull. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference’s offensive player of the year and to the All-OVC first team. He ran for 1,037 yards on 207 carries with 15 TD runs. He caught 19 passes for 245 yards and one TD.

2007: started 11 games. He ran for 1,187 yards on 195 carries, a 6.1-yard per carry average with 12 TD runs. He caught 14 passes for 240 yards.

2006: played in 11 games and started seven. Williams was selected to the second-team All-Ohio Valley Conference team. He ran for 1,233 yards on 245 carries and scored on 11 TD runs. He caught 13 passes for 210 yards and a TD.

2005: played in 11 games and started five. Williams was selected to the second team All-Ohio Valley Conference. He ran for 872 yards on 202 carries with four TD runs. He caught 12 passes for 93 yards.

Overall Analysis: strong, powerful runner, who gained 100 yards or m ore in 20 of the 43 games he played. He’s fifth in all-time rushing in Ohio Valley Conference history. Some scouts have concerns over the number of carries he brings out of college football with 849 carries and 58 catches.

6th-Round Choice: WR Quinten Lawrence/McNeese State

Quinten Lawrence/McNeese State/WR

• HT: 6-0
• WT: 184 pounds
• Born: September 21, 1984
• High School: Carencro High School, Louisiana

2008 season: Started the first five games, but then suffered a leg injury that ended his season. Lawrence finished with 12 catches for 209 yards and a touchdown. He also returned a punt for a touchdown and played some defensive back as well.

2007: Started all 12 games. He was second-team All-Southland Conference. Lawrence caught 31 passes for 645 yards and six TDs. He also returned seven kickoffs for 106 yards.

2006: Started all 12 games. He was selected the team’s MVP and a honorable mention All-Southland Conference. He ran the ball seven times for 97 yards and caught 29 passes for 479 yards and two TDs.

2005: Played in nine games and started five at wide receiver. He caught 27 passes for 572 yards and sixTDs. He also returned seven kickoffs for 167 yards.

Overall Analysis: Lawrence is very fast with sub 4.3-second speed in the 40-yard dash. Scouts dinged him for his thin frame and lack of strength. Although he did not do much returning in college, he has skills for that with speed and his tendency to run straight ahead, not sideways. Good hands and was a reliable receiver over his time. Some teams projected him as a possible CB because of his speed. Ran track at McNeese, turning in a personal beset 10.49 in the 100 meters

5th-Round Choice: OT Colin Brown/Missouri

Colin Brown/Missouri/OT

• HT: 6-8
• WT: 325 pounds
• Born:
• High School: Braymer High School, Missouri, where he was an all-state basketball player.
• Testing: in Pro Day at Missouri he ran 5.38 seconds in 40-yard dash, 27.5 inches in vertical jump, 8-feet, 4-inches in the broad jump and he bench pressed 225 pounds 23 times.

2008 season: started 14 games at right tackle, but missed some game time because of a sprained right ankle. He was selected honorable mention for All-Big 12 Conference by the coaches. He was first-team All-Big 12 Academic Team.

2007: started 14 games at right tackle. He won the team’s J. Ed “Brick Travis Interior Lineman Award and was selected All-Big 12 Conference honorable mention by the conference’s coaches.

2006: played in 13 games with some game action on offense at left guard, where he was No. 2 on the depth chart.

2005:
played 2 games as a backup center. Brown was given a scholarship at the start of the season.

2004: red-shirt freshman season as a walk-on.

Overall analysis:  started 28 consecutive games at RT in Mizzou’s very effective and prolific offense in the 2007-08 seasons.  He showed up in the Tigers program as a walk-on from Braymer, which is on Route A at the intersecton of Route 116, just off Route 36 between Cameron and Chilicothe in Caldwell County.  Yes, he grew up a Chiefs fan.  His versatility of being able to play all five positions and his time in a winning big-time program like Missouri figure to be major reasons he was selected by the Chiefs.  He was a McDonald’s All-America nominee in basketball, where as asenior he averaged 18.5 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks per game for a team that went 26-3 and reached the Misouri state quarterfinals.  He also earned first-team All-Missouri as a defensive tackle in his senior season. Overall he won 11 athletic letters at BHS. “This is a dream come true,” Brown said. “Everybody up in this area is a Chiefs fan. To be able to be right here staying at home and playing for the Chiefs  is unbelieveable, a dream come true.”

4th-Round Choice: CB Donald Washington/Ohio State

Donald Washington/Ohio State/CB

• HT: 6-0
• WT: 197
• Born: July 28, 1986.
• High School: Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis.
• Testing: 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 45-inch vertical leap, 11-feet, 3-inch broad jump, bench pressed 225 pounds nine times.

2008 season: played in 11 games and started twice at cornerback. He was suspended for the first two games of the season for violating team rules. He was credited with 22 total tackles, 1 interception and 1 recovered fumble.

2007: started 13 games at the field cornerback position. He was credited with 39 total tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception that he returned 70 yards for a TD, 1 forced fumble.

2006: played in 13 games and started nine times as boundary cornerback. He was named the team’s most outstanding first-year defensive player. Washington was credited with 41 total tackles, 2 forced fumbles and 1 recovered fumble.

2005: red-shirt freshman season.

Overall Evaluation:  senior season started poorly as he served a two-game suspension for violating team rules, in an incident that the program has not publicly identified.  When he returned, other players were performing well  in the cornerback positions and he couldn’t get back on the field.  Washington’s stock went up at the NFL Scouting Combine when he showed his atheltic ability.  His vertical jump and broad jumps were the highest in the Combine.  Despite that athletic ability, he’s not been a big play maker, intercepting just two passes in the 37 games that he played.  He did some work covering the slot receiver and that’s something the Chiefs liked in their evaluation of him.  Todd Haley says he’s a four-down player who will help the Chiefs on special teams. Washington will graduate in June from Ohio State with a degree in communications.

Chiefs Third-Round Choice: Alex Magee/Purdue

Arcilla Alexander Magee/Purdue/DT-DE

• HT: 6-3
• WT: 298 pounds
• Born: April 28, 1987
• High School: Osewego High School, Illinois
• Testing: 5.03 in 40-yard dash, 29.5-inch vertical jump, 8-feet, 7-inch broad jump, lifted 225 pounds 30 times.

2008 season: played in 12 games, starting 11 times at left defensive end. He was credited with 28 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 recovered fumble.

2007: started 13 games at right defensive tackle. He was credited with 38 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles and 1 recovered fumble. He also blocked a pair of kicks

2006: played in 14 games and started seven games at right defensive tackle. He was credited with 33 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 interception, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovered fumble. He also blocked a kick.

2005: played in 11 games and started two games at right defensive tackle. He was credited with 18 tackles, with 1 tackle for loss.

Overall Evaluation: versatile player who can play at tackle and defensive end. He has quick feet and is good in pursuit. Magee is not bulky, but he has good strength. Similar in style to Arizona’s Darnell Dockett. Has limited pass rush ability, having played just one season at DE and finishing 50 games and 33 starts with just six sacks.  Magee really helped his stock with a good week of practice at the Senior Bowl, where he showed his quick hands and quick feet.  Some scouts think he can be a better pass rusher either inside or outside with more coaching.  Magee said Sunday that in just a short period of time with Chiefs D-Line coach Tim Krumrie during a workout, he learned a couple things he did not know.

Draft Day II Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Ugh, another defensive lineman.

That seemed to be the general attitude of the fans at the Chiefs Draft Day Party at the team’s practice facility on Saturday afternoon.

When Tyson Jackson’s name was announced as the team’s first-round draft pick, it did not light a fuse with the fans. A defensive end? Another defensive lineman? A fifth time in the last eight years with the team selecting a defensive lineman with their first choice?

There had been so much talk about linebacker Aaron Curry, considered the best defensive player in the draft. There were the dreams of some that with the departure of Tony Gonzalez, the Chiefs would go out and get another weapon for Matt Cassel, somebody like Michael Crabtree. Everyone expected Scott Pioli to trade out of the pick because he comes from the Patriots who have made trading draft picks an art form.

Long suffering Chiefs fans hoped that a pass rusher was coming in the Draft, something to punch up what was the league’s all-time worst pass rush last year.

None of that was a factor when Pioli told the Chiefs reps in New York to hand in Jackson’s name.

In four seasons at Louisiana State, Jackson had 18.5 sacks; his best season in getting the passer on the ground was his sophomore year (2006) when he had 8.5 sacks.

But Pioli sees Jackson as a talent and person who could become the cornerstone for the Chiefs defense for many years to come, and he had a story to backup that feeling. …Read More!

Jackson Fits The Mold

From the Truman Sports Complex

Why was the Chiefs first-round selection defensive end Tyson Jackson out of Louisiana State?

Because of all the reasons that Scott Pioli has been talking about since the day he walked into the Chiefs facility back in the middle of January. As he said then and has repeated many times, he’s trying to create a team with the 53 players that fit, not the 53 best players.

And with his first selection as the man in charge of the Chiefs draft room, that’s exactly what he got done.

No doubt there are many Chiefs fans who wrinkled up their noses because their team was drafting another defensive lineman; the fifth time in the last eight years that the team’s first choice played on the line of scrimmage. Visions of Ryan Sims, Junior Siavii, Tamba Hali and Glenn Dorsey danced in their heads and the front half of those visions was nightmares.

And there are some Chiefs fans that are not going to like this, but there are great similarities to the basic fundamentals that Pioli brings to the table with the foundation blocks that Carl Peterson thought important. Maybe the biggest factor they share is the belief that football teams are built on the line of scrimmage.

That wasn’t exactly what Pioli was looking for when he walked into the draft room Saturday morning. But after QB Matt Stafford went to Detroit and OT Jason Smith was selected by St. Louis, the radar screen had several possibilities for the Chiefs. Ultimately, there was only one choice.

There may have been players ranked higher by all the pundits, draftniks and even NFL teams. Guys like LB Aaron Curry and WRs Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin were still there. So were OT Eugene Monroe and QB Mark Sanchez. …Read More!

No Deal With Cassel

From the Truman Sports Complex

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli said Saturday afternoon after the team made its selection in the first round that there is no new contract or contract extension done with QB Matt Cassel.

“I heard about that, somebody mentioned that,” said Pioli. “News to me.”

The NFL Network reported that the Chiefs and Cassel had agreed to a six-year extension for $36 million around 1:15 p.m.  SI.com’s Peter King, who is in Kansas City for the draft, talked with two different people in the league who said there was no new contract situation with Cassel.

Cassel is currently playing under the franchise player tender offer he signed with New England that will bring him $14.65 million.

DE Tyson Jackson is No. 1 For Chiefs

Anthony Tyson Jackson/Louisiana State

• HT: 6-4
• WT: 296 pounds
• Born: June 6, 1986
• High School: West John High School in Edgard, Louisiana, where he was Louisiana 2-A defensive player of the year as a senior.
• Testing: 4.94 seconds in the 40-yard dash; 28.5 inches in the vertical jump, 8-feet, 6 inches in broad jump.

2008 season: started all 13 games at left defensive end. Named second team All-SEC honors. He was credited with 36 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, 1 recovered fumble.

2007: played in 14 games, with 13 starts at left defensive end. He had 36 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble.

2006: played in 13 games with 12 starts. Named second-team All-SEC honors. He had 37 total tackles, 8.5 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, 1 forced fumble.

2005: played in 13 games, 13 total tackles. He had 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss … earned SEC All-Freshman team honors.

2004: red-shirt freshman season.

 

And the Kansas City Chiefs select … Tyson Jackson

Truman Sports Complex

With the third pick in the first-round of the NFL Draft  the Chiefs selected DE Tyson Jackson from LSU.

 The St. Louis Rams selected OT Jason Smith out of Baylor with the second selection.

No surprises on the first pick, as the Detroit Lions immediately submitted the name of Georgia QB Matt Stafford less than 60 seconds after Commissioner Roger Goodell opened the Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Do Cassel & Chiefs Have A Deal?

From the Truman Sports Complex

NFL Network is reporting Saturday afternoon that the Chiefs have negotiated a long-term contract with QB Matt Cassel. They are reporting it’s a six-year deal with $36 million in guaranteed  money.

But SI.com’s Peter King, who is in Kansas City for the draft is reporting that the report is false, and that Cassel and the Chiefs do not have a new deal.

As we’ve come to expect, the Chiefs are saying nothing, neither yes or no, to the news.

Stay tuned for more details.

Draft Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Scott Pioli called it a mosaic, this process of pulling together personnel for the 2009 Chiefs and beyond.

A mosaic, a puzzle, a landscape, a blueprint … call it what you want, but the reason Pioli sits in the No. 1 seat in the Chiefs Draft Room Saturday is because of what happened during his nine years with the New England Patriots.

And what happened in nine years and nine drafts in Foxboro is 116 victories in this decade and three Super Bowl championships. That’s with one year to go in the first decade of the 21st Century.

Those drafts were the cornerstone of the Patriots success. The 77 draft picks used and the numerous trades the team pulled off with other draft choices provided the greatest part of the team’s talent. There were other trades, signings of UFAs and street free agents that brought in contributors.

But the Patriots won, and Pioli got his new job in the middle of America, because of that draft success.

Now, he’s in the driver’s seat. Before, he was in the No. 2 chair. Now, he’s No. 1 and Todd Haley is in the co-pilot’s seat. There is no Bill Belichick in the equation.

To understand how Pioli will drive the Chiefs vehicle, we can study the draft-day track record of the Patriots. We did that earlier this week on the site. You can find the information and details on every one of those 77 draft choices by clicking right here.

This history gives us a profile of what we can expect to come through the door with the seven draft choices that the team currently holds in this year’s seven-round selection meeting.

What can we expect? Here goes: …Read More!

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors on Draft Eve

It was late January. The site was the Tampa Convention Center. Mark Sanchez (below) plopped down on a sofa in a suite belonging to the folks at Gatorade. Dressed in a suit, Sanchez was getting ready for a full afternoon of media interviews at the Super Bowl.

He answered questions pleasantly, had something to say, was excited about his future and spent more time asking about Kansas City than answering questions about his future.

Now, almost three months later, Sanchez and his future may be the biggest news of the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

   Lions & Stafford Agree To Mega-Contract/Details After the Jump

The NFL rumor mill says there are six teams reportedly interested in Sanchez, including the St. Louis Rams who have the second pick. The other teams are Seattle at No. 4, Cleveland in the fifth spot, Denver at pick No. 12, Washington at the 13th pick and the New York Jets with selection No. 17.

Friday evening, NFL.com reported that the Rams have purchased a plane ticket from Los Angeles to St. Louis for Sunday night in the name of a Mark Sanchez. This news came out of the Rams offices in St. Louis. It may be true, it may be a ploy or maybe the travel folks at the Rams had some frequent flier coupons that were about to expire.

On Friday, Jets GM Mike Tannebaum told ESPN that he was interested in trading up. He said that desire wasn’t necessarily for Sanchez. Denver head coach Josh McDaniels told the Denver Post that the Broncos at No. 12 had heard from Jacksonville at No. 8. The Jaguars want to trade down.

And on Friday, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder said his team would not trade away a first-round pick next year to move up this year. …Read More!

Tony G Meets Atlanta

Tony Gonzalez and his wife Toby were lounging around in bed Thursday afternoon in a New York hotel room, watching Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler and enjoying a quiet day. They were in the Big Apple for promotional appearances this week centered around the NFL Draft.

That’s when his phone rang. It was Chiefs coach Todd Haley and he was calling to tell Gonzalez that he was headed to Atlanta.

On Friday, Tony and Toby landed in Atlanta and were introduced to the media by owner Arthur Blank and GM Thomas Dimitroff, the man who made the deal to get the 10-time Pro Bowler.

“I’m here for one reason and that’s to win a Super Bowl,” Gonzalez said. “I haven’t won a playoff game in my whole career. That’s something I’m definitely trying to make sure that’s not going to be an end for me. I want to come her go to the playoffs and win playoff games. I want to go to the Super Bowl and win the Super Bowl.”

Gonzalez posed with owner Arthur Blank (far left), head coach Mike Smith and GM Thomas Dimitroff (far right).

Gonzalez said his phone conversations with Haley, who then handed the phone to Pioli, were positive.        …Read More!

Rooting Interest In First Round

There are a couple of Chiefs with rooting interest in what happens in the first round of Saturday’s NFL Draft.

Tank Tyler hopes the Chiefs draft his former high school teammate Aaron Curry (top).

Branden Albert has his fingers crossed that his team will bring in his former college teammate Eugene Monroe (bottom).

While most of the guys in the Chiefs locker room will look at the draft just so they learn the names of their new teammates, Tyler and Albert have rooting interests.

Tyler and Curry were teammates at E.E. Smith High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. DeMarcus Lamon Tyler was in the class of ’03 at Smith and Aaron Curry was part of class of ’04.

“To have the privilege to play with Aaron again would be crazy,” Tyler said last weekend as the Chiefs went through their mini-camp. “He was one of the guys in high school who I felt like played with the same kind of enthusiasm and energy that I did. He always had a great passion for the game. I know he’d be a very valuable pick for us.”

With the help of Tyler and Curry, the Golden Bulls were ranked No. 1 in the state, reached the Eastern AAAA finals and finished with a 12-3 record. The teammates spent time talking to each other last week when Curry made a visit to Kansas City.

“I wish I had a camera at that moment,” Curry said Tuesday to the Fayetteville Observer. “Here we were, me and DeMarcus, in a hallway. We had gone from playing high school football together and talking about our dreams to play college football to discussing what it takes to be an NFL player. It was one of those surreal situations.”

Albert and Monroe spent three seasons together at the University of Virginia (2005-06-07). Monroe started 18 games in ’06-’07 at left tackle, with Albert opening 23 games at left guard. When Monroe was injured during the ’07 season and missed two starts, Albert moved over to left tackle. …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/24

It’s the 114th day of the year.

On April 24, 1704 the first regular newspaper published in this country came out. It was the Boston News-Letter. On this day in 1913, the Woolworth Building opened in New York. At 57 stories it was the world’s tallest building at the time, built for $13.5 million, or less than Matt Cassel will make this season.

A couple of divas share April 24 as their birthday: Shirley MacLaine born in 1034 and Barbara Streisand in 1942. On this day in 1974, Bud Abbot of Abbott & Costello fame passed away.

And on April 24, 1907, Hershey Park opened in Hershey, Pennsylvania. If you’ve never been to Hershey then you don’t have evidence of why they call it “the sweetest place on earth.” Milton Hershey opened the amusement park complex some 102 years ago.

The park also has a big place in sports history. It includes the Hershey Park Arena, the site of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game and Hershey Park Stadium, where for years they played the annual Big 33 All-Star game involving Pennsylvania school boy football players against opponents that have changed over the years from state to state and even the whole country. Some of the players who have played in Hershey were Tony Dorsett, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Curtis Martin, Jim Kelly, Marvin Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger. And the Dallas Texans – not Lamar’s team but the first one’s who played in 1952 – finished their season using Hershey Park as their home base. The owner in Dallas went bankrupt and the league took over the team.

If you are ever back east, take the time to visit Hershey. And yes, the street lights are in the form of Hershey’s Kisses. Really.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: In the way the best quarterbacks see the whole field, Thomas Dimitroff, who’s the son of a quarterback, grasps the big picture. And when have we been able to say that of the man charged with hiring players for the long-suffering Falcons?

At 4:42 p.m. Thursday, someone named Ray posted this on an ajc.com blog: “It sure feels good to know you’ve got one of the best GMs in the game. [It] kind of feels like the Braves’ moves of the ’90s. You always figured JS [John Schuerholz] would make the best moves for the Braves. Now we’ve got that for the Falcons.”

This came barely an hour after the Falcons consummated a trade with Kansas City for the Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez. At 33, Gonzalez isn’t what he was, but he’s way better than anything the Falcons had. And, by parting only with a Round 2 pick in next year’s draft, Dimitroff has cleared the path to do what he intended all along.

…Read More!

Chiefs Sign A TE Named Tony

The Chiefs dealings in the last 24 hours make them even on tight end Tonys.

Say good bye to 10-time Pro Bowler Tony Gonzalez.

Say hello to Tony Curtis (right).

The Chiefs announced the signing of Curtis on Friday, less than 24 hours after trading Gonzalez to the Atlanta Falcons.

Curtis – 6-5, 251 pounds, 26 years old – has seen action in 36 games during his three-year NFL career with Dallas (2006-08). He has caught 11 passes for 80 yards with three TDs and has five tackles in the kicking game to go with three kickoff returns for 27 yards.

He caught 14 passes for 112 yards and three TDs for the Cologne Centurions in NFL Europa during the league’s final season back in 2007. He entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Dallas in 2005 out of Portland State.

A California native, he grew up in Seaside and was named Monterey County Athlete of the Year in 2001.

Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Be careful what you wish for.

Chiefs fans wanted change. They wanted the broom to sweep through Arrowhead Stadium and push out all that was old.

They wanted new.

They got it. Be careful what you wish for.

The new regime of Scott Pioli and Todd Haley made their second biggest move of the off-season on Thursday when they dealt 10-time Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez to Atlanta for the Falcons second-round choice in the 2010 NFL Draft. Only dealing a second-round pick for QB Matt Cassel rivals what went down with Gonzalez.

The broom is sweeping its way through the Chiefs and now many of those fans who wanted change are not happy. Gonzalez is a fan favorite and he’s now gone, off to finish his career with a team that has a bird on its helmet rather than an arrowhead.

What comes with change is pain. This one wasn’t easy for anybody to choke down, even Gonzalez who wanted desperately to have a chance to be part of a winning team again. Bittersweet is the word most often used.

There are a lot of different windows into the reactions to this deal.

EMOTIONAL

Fans make an emotional investment in their favorite teams and players. Remember fan is from the fanatical, defined as irrationally enthusiastic; excessively zealous.

And darn pissed off that No. 88 was sent packing. There was an investment made in Gonzalez over the last 12 years. He was gifted athletically, handled himself with class, gave back to the community and did nothing but represent the Chiefs and Kansas City in the best manner possible. …Read More!

That Nasty R Word

Funny how Carl Peterson and Scott Pioli both dislike the same word:

Rebuilding.

The Chiefs were more than a year into trying to rebuild the roster under Herm Edwards before Peterson could choke out the word.

And on Thursday, when the Chiefs actions made it very plain that 2009 is about rebuilding, the man who replaced Peterson moved quickly to squash use of the term.

“We don’t believe in the rebuilding term and all that stuff,” Pioli said just moments after the team traded Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2010 second-round draft choice. “This is something we feel was in the short-term and long-term interests of the Chiefs and the program we are moving forward with right now.”

Right now as the dust settles on the departure of a 10-time Pro Bowl tight end, it sure looks like rebuilding. Pioli may not want to say so, but losing the team’s leading receiver last season and one of the most consistent and productive offensive players in the league doesn’t do much to help his new quarterback Matt Cassel and the Chiefs offense for the 2009 season. …Read More!

Tony G. Is Gone

Tony Gonzalez finally got his wish.

On Thursday, the Chiefs traded Gonzalez to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for a second-round choice in the 2010 NFL Draft.

“It’s somewhat bittersweet,” Gonzalez told FOXSports.com. “I love Kansas City. I grew up in Kansas City. The city means a lot to me. I got there when I turned 21. It will be sad to leave a city I love. But I’m looking forward to making a Super Bowl run in Atlanta every year for the next three or four years.

“With Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White and now myself, we have the chance to be in the top 5 in the league in offense every year. How could I not be excited to join that team?

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli said Thursday afternoon in a conference call with the Kansas City media that the Chiefs did not shop Gonzalez, but reacted to an offer made to them by the Falcons.

“We did not seek to trade Tony,” Pioli said. “But there was an opportunity that came to us and after a lot of internal discussion in a short time we decided to make the trade.

“We did what we felt was in the best interest of the Kansas City Chiefs in the short-term and the long-term.” …Read More!

Checking Out Pioli’s Track Record

In the last nine years, the New England Patriots have enjoyed one of the most successful decades in pro football history.

They’ve won 116 games in the regular and post-season and three Super Bowl championships.

The man who led the team to this remarkable achievement is Bill Belichick.

The man who was at his side for each and every one of those victories and titles was Scott Pioli.

That arrangement changed back in January when the Patriots’ success led Clark Hunt to knock on Pioli’s door in search of a new leader for his franchise.

What brought the young Chiefs owner to hire Pioli as his general manager was the Patriots success in the NFL Draft. Over the last nine years the Patriots have been one of the league’s best teams at pulling talent from the annual selection meeting.

They have not failed in the first round. They have found starters in the middle rounds. And they have mined the late rounds for talent and contributions, including the play of former sixth-round draft choice Tom Brady.

To understand what Pioli will bring to the table this weekend as he takes charge of his first Chiefs draft, we must review the history of what he was able to get done in New England.

MORE

Sad News On Frank Gansz

Former Chiefs head coach Frank Gansz is in a Dallas hospital and the outlook is not good.

The 70-year old Gansz is suffering complications from a knee replacement surgery according to the Dallas Morning News. His son Frank Gansz Jr. has flown into Dallas to be with his father, who is at Presbyterian Hospital. That’s the same hospital where Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt passed away several years ago.

At SMU’s spring practice Thursday morning, head coach June Jones “teared up” when he discussed Gansz according to the Morning News. It was Jones who talked Gansz into coming out of retirement and work with SMU last year.

“He is on a lot of kids’ minds,” SMU defensive coordinator Tom Mason said. “I know it’s on my mind.”

Gansz has coached for 38 years, 24 in the NFL and 14 in the collegiate ranks. He was special teams coach with the Chiefs in 1981-82 under Marv Levy and in 1986 with John Mackovic. He was head coach of the Chiefs in 1987-88. His last NFL job was as special teams coordinator in 2000-01 with Jacksonville.

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/23

It’s the 113th day of the year.

On April 23, 1635, the first public school in what would become the United States was opened. It was called Boston Latin School in obviously Boston, Mass.

It was on April 23, 1985 that Coca-Cola introduced New Coke to America. I know people who stocked up on the original Coke because they couldn’t stand the new taste. In less than three months, the folks at Coca-Cola would send New Coke back to the lab and they brought back the old formula.

On April 23, 1988 Pink Floyd’s album The Dark Side of the Moon left the charts after spending 741 consecutive weeks (over 14 years) on Billboard Magazine’s Top 200.

And on April 23, 1995 Howard Cosell passed away in New York City. He was 77 years old. Once many years ago, I spent an entertaining hour, sitting at a gate at the airport in Atlanta as Cosell entertained a group of media types from Pittsburgh. Oh my, he was pompous, but he made you laugh because he was completely serious and that just made his pontificating even funnier. Especially comments like this one:

“The importance that our society attaches to sport is incredible. After all, is football a game or a religion? The people of this country have allowed sports to get completely out of hand.”

Maybe it got out of hand. If true, that’s why anybody outside of New York ever knew who Howard Cosell was in the first place. Without sports and the fanatical fans, he would have remained Howard William Cohen, New York attorney. Instead, he became an unforgettable figure in our memories of sports.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
What if a team could look into the future and draft the NFL defensive player of the year, an offensive tackle who would become the highest paid at his position, a record-breaking Super Bowl quarterback, one of the better kickers in the NFL, a Pro Bowl linebacker, a two-time Pro Bowl running back, All-Pro tight end and others who would go on to play with distinction?

That would be some draft, except the college prospects who went on to all those accomplishments have one thing in common — not one was drafted.

…Read More!

Thursday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The clock is ticking as the start of the 2009 NFL Draft draws closer.

It’s also ticking on the Chiefs attempts to deal out of the third spot in the first round.

And it’s ticking on the possible trade of tight end Tony Gonzalez.

The next 48 hours will decide if Chiefs GM Scott Pioli can pull off a deal or two and add more draft picks by giving up the third selection and the future Hall of Fame tight end.

Listen, Pioli has deal-making in his blood. He was part of it so many times with the Patriots. They approached draft day trades on two avenues. If one of their targeted players was still available, they wanted to make sure they got him and New England would trade up. If there wasn’t a player on their list who was available at their pick, they were likely to trade down.

Of course, we know nothing for sure on how Pioli views the prospects in this draft or the possibility of trading out of the pick. Those cards continue to be held close to the vest.

The same goes with the Gonzalez situation and whether or not Pioli will deal the veteran tight end who wants to be elsewhere.

One man’s prediction: he gets stuck with the third pick, but does work out a deal for Gonzalez.

Here’s a closer look. …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/22

It’s Day No. 112 of the year.

Born on April 22, 1922 on a U.S. Army base in Nogales, Arizona was Charlie Mingus, one of the great jazz musicians in history. Mingus played the bass like nobody before or since. He was also incredible prolific as a writer and composer and his discography would take months to listen to all the works. He suffered from depression and ALS late in life and died in January 1979.

Mingus also had one of the great lines of all time:

“Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple.”

Born on April 22, 1937 was actor Jack Nicholson. On April 22, 1984 the great photographer Ansel Adams passed away. A decade later, former President Richard Nixon died.

And on April 22, 2004, former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman (left) was killed by friendly fire in the mountains of Afghanistan. He was 27 years old.

The bird cage stays in the AFC West today with a pre-draft bent.

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:
Midas’ touch has gone cold, not quite turning out fool’s gold but perhaps at times generating a lesser metal than the pure bullion of 2004 and ’05. There was a time not too long ago that the widespread perception was that Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith could practically do no wrong.

The Philip Rivers-Eli Manning trade and entire 2004 draft. Shawne Merriman. Antonio Cromartie. Luis Castillo. Chris Chambers. Keenan McCardell and Roman Oben. But the past year or so has brought a spell of unfulfilled promise. Buster Davis. Anthony Waters. Antonio Cromartie. Luis Castillo. An 8-8 record.

Smith has acknowledged publicly that he needs to do a better job in personnel decisions and that this team he’s built is not quite capable of “competing with the big boys.”

…Read More!

Wednesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The one thing about the NFL Draft is that it creates a lot of history.

All one has to do is be willing to dig into the past. Sometimes it’s quite instructive and points the way to the present and future.

A new era in the Draft will begin for the Chiefs this weekend with the first effort by Scott Pioli and Todd Haley. With seven selections, including the third choice in the 2009 Draft, the new duo will get a chance to quickly make history.

Years from now, will Pioli/Haley be able to match what got done in the past with this team, both good and bad?

Will they be able to find players like Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell and Willie Lanier (right)?  Will they stay away from players like Trezelle Jenkins, Brian Jozwiak and Gary Butler?

Those player are at the extreme ends of  Chiefs history in the AFL and NFL Drafts.  They are some of the best and they are some of the worst.

Today, we have one man’s opinion as the best and worst draft picks in Chiefs history, starting with the first American Football League Draft in November of 1959, through last year’s draft class of 12 players selected in April 2008.

The team’s previous 49 Drafts have been divided into four separate eras: the AFL days, Hank Stram Era, Jim Schaaf Era and the Carl Peterson Era.

Within each group, we divine the best and worst of that era. In looking at the history, several factors must be remembered. Today, the 32nd pick is the final choice of the first round. In the AFL years, it was the last pick of the fourth round in that league and there was competition for that talent as the NFL held its own draft. In those early days, only players that actually signed with the Texans/Chiefs became part of the equation in our  handing out good and bad grades.

We also did not grade out players from the last two drafts at the same level as the previous 47 classes; there just hasn’t been enough time to judge them.

An important statistic in our process was games played and Pro Bowl nominations. We limited our worst Chiefs draft choices to players taken in the first 75 picks. In today’s league that would be the first two or three rounds. Likewise, we gave extra credit when a player was taken in later rounds who started and played a large number of games, even if not at a Pro Bowl level.

One thing that comes across in all the eras: good players were drafted and bad players were drafted. No decision maker in Chiefs history was perfect. I know a lot of Carl Haters think Peterson completely screwed up the draft for two decades but the evidence shows otherwise. Hank Stram found Hall of Famers, but he also had plenty of stumbles along the way. …Read More!

Lions Draft Update 4/21

Detroit Lions GM Martin Mayhew talked with the media in Motown on Tuesday about the 2009 NFL Draft. The Lions own the first pick and he did not reveal who the club prefers.

But Mayhew said they had narrowed their focus on who they might pick and they are in the process of trying to negotiate a contract. He said he thinks they will get the parameters to a deal done before the pick must be made.

Mayhew also said the Lions have been fielding a number of calls from teams interested in trading up to the top spot.

Here are some noteable excerpts from the transcript:

• On whether they’ve narrowed down who they want to pick No. 1 overall to a couple guys or are there more than a couple: “I think it’s narrowed down. I think it has narrowed down pretty dramatically.”

• On how many players they’ve narrowed it down to: “I wouldn’t give a number.”

• On where they are with negotiations for the potential No. 1 pick: “We are moving forward on getting something done as we said we would do.”

• On the chances that they’ll agree to terms with whomever they pick before: “I think very good. That was our plan, we talked about that back at the combine – that’s very important and we plan on getting something done prior to making that selection.” …Read More!

If the Chiefs Keep #3, Fans Want Monroe

So we dipped into the pool of fan preference, but we changed the depth of the water and we got quite different results.

In two previous polls, fans wanted the Chiefs to either trade down or select LB Aaron Curry.

We added one proviso for the third poll: no trade down.

And if the Chiefs can’t get out of the first round, the name more fans want to see called is “The Chiefs select Virginia OT Eugene Monroe.

He received nearly one-third of the votes cast in our two-day vote. Monroe finished well ahead of Curry. The Wake Forest linebacker had 18.5 votes.

Monroe and Curry were easily the top two choices in the poll, finishing well ahead of LSU DE/OLB Tyson Jackson who was third in the voting.

Surprisingly, despite the presence of both Matt Cassel and Tyler Thigpen, there were nine voters who want the Chiefs to go after quarterbacks Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez.

Here’s how the voting broke down: …Read More!

Chiefs Make Moves

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs subtracted three and added one to their roster on Tuesday.

They released OT Andrew Carnahan, WR-KR Kevin Robinson and LB Curtis Gatewood.

They signed TE Sean Ryan (right).

Ryan, 6-5 and 260 pounds, has spent the last five years banging around the NFL, spending time with Dallas, the New York Jets, Miami, New Orleans and San Francisco.  Over his career, he’s caught 12 passes for 105 yards.  Ryan came into the league as a fifth-round choice of Dallas in the 2004 NFL Draft out of Boston College.  He spent the ’04-’05 seasons with the Cowboys and was traded in ’06 by Dallas to the New York Jets for a seventh-round draft choice.  He played the ’06 and ’07 seasons in New York.

Last year, Ryan played one game for Miami (week No. 1), and one game for New Orleans (week No. 6) before signing with San Francisco on November 3rd.  He played in six games with the Niners, starting their Nov. 30 game against Buffalo. …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/21

It’s the 111^th day of the year.

It was on April 21, 1836 that Sam Houston led forced of the Republic of Texas to a decisive victory over Mexican General Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto near what is now LaPorte, Texas. There’s no truth to the rumor that the Texas army wore helmets with an outline of the state of Missouri on the side. Also this day in 1918, the great German fighter pilot ace Manfred von Richthofen, the “Red Baron” was shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France.

And on April 21, 1910, Mark Twain died in Redding, CT. He was 74. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri, Twain became one of America’s favorite authors, especially with his characters Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. He was quite a philosopher. Here are my favorite Twainisms:

• Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read.
• The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.
• Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it.
• If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uniformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.
• If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.

From the New York Times:
Ozzie Newsome thought he was a draftnik during his Hall of Fame playing days, even interrupting a round of golf during Ken Stabler’s charity tournament one year to call back to Cleveland to ask whom the Browns were drafting that day. Then Newsome retired, and the first day of the rest of his career proved one thing: he knew a lot about playing tight end and almost nothing about the draft.

His very first day as a low-level member of the scouting department came in the spring of 1991, when the Browns, then under the rookie coach Bill Belichick, were convening their draft meetings. Newsome walked into a room filled with members of the personnel department and was stunned.
…Read More!

Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Whether the Chiefs use the third choice in the 2009 NFL Draft or not, the player selected there will be the 74th player that can lay claim to the title of “third player drafted.”

 The odds would say that the third player selected each year   should be a player who goes on to a successful career. The whole premise of the draft is the better players are taken first, and thus their chances for success should be greater.

What does history show us with this pick? That like all selections, anything is possible. A look at the 73 third picks is quite a tableau of different NFL careers.

There have been Hall of Famers, guys like Antony Munoz, Barry Sanders, Y.A. Tittle, Dick Butkus (both to the left), Merlin Olsen and Bobby Layne. That’s one end of the spectrum. At the other end are guys like Akili Smith, Andre Wadsworth, Heath Shuler, Bruce Pickens and Steve Spurrier: complete busts as pro football players.

Only the most serious of football historians know anything about the very first third pick of an NFL Draft. That came in 1936 when the Pittsburgh Steelers chose William Shakespeare, an All-America halfback and punter out of Notre Dame. Bill Shakespeare declined the opportunity to continue his football playing career. He went on to lead a very full life, as he went from private to captain during World War II and won the bronze star for gallantry in action. He later went on to run a manufacturing company in Cincinnati. Shakespeare, who gained the nickname “The Bard of Staten Island” passed away in 1974.

The Chiefs have never used the third pick of the NFL Draft since joining the selection meeting with their American Football League mates in 1967. They actually held the third choice in 1988, but they got spooked that the man they wanted – Nebraska defensive end Neil Smith – would not be there. So they made a deal with the Lions and moved up to the second spot and drafted Smith. Detroit with that third choice grabbed safety Bennie Blades. …Read More!

Analyzing The 2000-08 Patriots Drafts

There’s no question that the guts of the New England Patriots championship teams in 2001, 2003 and 2004 were built on the drafting abilities that came from the partnership of Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli.

How good were they in the draft? Check out the three Lombardi Trophies for the best evidence. And the guys that have been key factors in those victories: Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Matt Light, Dan Koppen, Vince Wilfork, Asante Samuel, all were Belichick/Pioli draft choices.

Overall, the Patriots selected 77 players in nine drafts. From that group came 16 Pro Bowl trips to this date, by seven different players. At one point or another, 54 of those players got on the field for the Patriots, 17 became starters at some point and not counting the 2007-08 classes, 15 of 63 picks started at least 36 games.

For a comparison, let’s look at the Chiefs in the same period. They drafted 72 players and from that came five Pro Bowl trips by three players. At one point or another 59 players got on the field for at least one game for the Chiefs, 16 became starters and excluding the ’07-’08 classes, 11 of 53 picks started at least 36 games.

Conclusion: the Patriots got more top-notch play from their draft picks based on championships and Pro Bowls. It was tougher to get on the field in New England than in Kansas City, yet the Patriots were able to get more solid starters out of the draft than a team with a less successful decade.

They did that by drafting in first round spots that were not primo: in nine drafts they averaged the 20th position.  They had 11 first-round choices in that time frame, but gave up one in compensation for getting Belichick.  The other first round pick was taken away by the league in the videotaping scandal.

So how much credit goes to Pioli? There’s no question he was a key part of the process and there is no denying that he deserves credit, along with a handful of other personnel people, scouts and coaches. But there’s also no doubt that having Belichick as the triggerman is quite an advantage over other teams.

Pioli’s fingerprints are on these nine Patriots drafts. They made some great selections and they made some that did not pan out. There seldom made early mistakes, getting production out of all their first round picks, although they were not nearly as successful in the second and third round.

But one characteristics of any good drafting team is the ability to find starters and contributors on the second day, which until last year was the fourth through seventh rounds. The Patriots have hit the jackpot there, finding guys like Brady, Koppen, Samuel, James Sanders, Matt Cassel, Patrick Pass, David Givens and Stephen Gostkowski. Four of those players have been to the Pro Bowl. All were taken at pick No. 118 or lower.

Super Bowls and victories are the ultimate evidence of good drafts.  The Patriots have three championships, although the last one was now five years ago.  In this decade, they’ve won 5, 11, 9, 14, 14, 10, 12, 16 and 11 games.  That’s a total of 102 regular season victories.  Add another 14 victories in the post-season and that’s 116 winning games with one full season yet to be played.

The Steelers of the 1970s won four titles and a total of 113 games.

The 49ers of the 1980s won three titles and a total of 117 games.

The Cowboys of the 1990s won three titles and a total of 112 games.

Here’s how the Patriots handled the NFL Draft over the last nine seasons, with a pick-by-pick review of the 77 choices that have helped them put together what will be the winningest decade in pro football history.

This is the resume of Scott Pioli.

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/20

It’s the 110th day of the year.

On April 20, 1912, the first game was played at Fenway Park in Boston and on April 20, 1916 the Chicago Cubs played their first game at Weeghman Park, which became Wrigley Field.

It’s Patriots Day in Boston, so they’ll be running the 113th Boston Marathon on Monday. There are 26,384 entrants in the race that will start in Hopkinton and roll through Framingham, Natick, Wellesley and Newton before arriving in Boston.

And born on April 20 was former player-Heisman Trophy winner-now coach Steve Spurrier, who arrived in 1945 in Miami Beach. One of his best lines of Spurrier’s colorful coaching career came when he heard that a fire burned 20 books at the dorm used by the Auburn football team.

Spurrier said: “But the real tragedy is that 15 hadn’t been colored yet.”

From the Associated Press: Felix “Doc” Blanchard, the 1945 Heisman Trophy winner and Army’s Mr. Inside in one of college football’s most famous backfields, has died. He was 84. Blanchard’s daughter, Mary Blanchard, told The Associated Press late Sunday night in a phone interview that her father died of pneumonia at home in Bulverde, a small town in central Texas, earlier in the day.

Mary Blanchard said her father had been living with her and husband for about the past 20 years and he had been in good health until recently coming down with pneumonia. “He’s been strong all his life,” she said.

The bruising fullback Blanchard, listed at 6 feet, 208 pounds, and Glenn Davis, aka Mr. Outside, helped Army win consecutive national titles in 1944-45. Notre Dame coach Ed McKeever was quoted as saying about Blanchard in 1944: “I’ve just seen Superman in the flesh. He wears No. 35 and goes by the name of Blanchard.”

…Read More!

Detroit & St. Louis Draft Update 4/20

With the clock ticking, the pressure ratchets up on the teams at the top of Saturday’s first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

So we check in with the Lions and Rams five days out.

DETROIT

In the past five days, the Detroit Lions have met with the agents for three players that are under consideration as the first selection in the 2009 NFL Draft: QB Matt Stafford, OT Jason Smith and LB Aaron Curry.

But they gave none of those representatives any clue as to their direction with the choice. That will likely come in the next few days. If the Lions are serious about having an agreement in place with a player before they turn his name in at little bit after 3 p.m. CDT this Saturday, then they will have to get busy in the next four days to hammer out a deal.

As the Lions wrapped up a weekend veteran mini-camp, head coach Jim Schwartz was not interested in tipping the club’s hand.

“We’re still exploring all options,” Schwartz told the Michigan media. “You guys have seen the people that have been in here. We’re still exploring all options right now.”

Schwartz was asked when he would like the decision to be made on the top pick.

“I really haven’t put a timetable on that,” he said. “What time’s the draft start?” …Read More!

Monday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The first practices of the Pioli/Haley Era went down over the weekend at the Chiefs facility in the Truman Sports Complex.

Five sessions in three days, with three of those held inside because of the rainy weekend in Kansas City.

There was great anticipation on the part of many for this work. But what little the new regime was willing to allow outsiders to see looked a lot like the practices held on the fields by many coaches before them.

Let’s say the only noticeable difference was it was a tidy work environment. Only players, coaches and support staff were allowed on the field. That would be trainers, equipment guys and those from the video department. The only person who didn’t fall into that category was Pioli, who watched the work up close and personal and took notes.

But football practice is football practice, and there really isn’t much different that gets done, especially when the players are not wearing pads. They push, they shove, they run, they jump, but it doesn’t become football until everybody is wearing the shoulder pads and even minimal contact is encouraged.

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot to learn, especially for the players and the coaches. This was the first time Haley’s staff worked together on the practice field, so there were logistical issues to handle. And the players had to get a taste of the style of Haley and his staff. They want up tempo practices, just as most coaching staffs do these days. But there are different ways to handle that.

All in all, it was a time for education. And yes, I’m sure a little evaluation. Haley said this weekend wasn’t about looking at players and making decisions. “I told the players that you’re not going to make the team or not make the team this weekend,” Haley said. “You’ve got a better chance of making the team lifting and running the way we want it done.” …Read More!

Year-by-Year New England Drafts

2000

New England had to give up its first-round pick to the New York Jets in compensation for signing Belichick as head coach. That turned out to be a pretty good swap.  Most of the draft prep for that year was done by the previous group, headed by Bobby Grier.  It was a situation similar to what Pioli faces this year with the Chiefs.

They drafted 10 players, but only one became a starter and that was Tom Brady
(left), selected in the sixth-round with the 199th selection. That pick alone makes the ’00 Draft a success.  It quite possibly is the best value choice in the history of the draft.  There are four Hall of Famers who were selected later than Brady: QB Bart Starr (’56/No. 200), DE Andy Robustelli (’51/No. 228), WR Raymond Berry (’54/No. 232) and OT Roosevelt Brown (’53/No. 321).  

Fourth-round RT Greg Randall was the starter in the ’02 championship season.

The only other major contribution came from seventh-round RB Patrick Pass who was with the team most of the decade.   Nice pick up there for the Patriots.

PATRIOTS 2000 DRAFT

2001

Belichick/Pioli had all year to prepare for this draft and their style became obvious early.

They hit on first-round DL Richard Seymour (right) with the sixth pick of the Draft. Seymour has been a five-time Pro Bowler and the rock that Belichick built his defense on.

In the second round they got OT Matt Light with the 48th choice. Light became an immediate starter at left tackle and has been there since, earning two trips to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.

After those first two picks, the ’01 Draft class was pretty slim pickings for the Patriots. Four of the remaining eight players never got on the field at any point for New England. At that time, the Patriots were not nearly as deep or talented as they would become, so overall this draft was very good at the top and a wasted effort after the second-round.

The Patriots won their first Super Bowl at the end of the ’01 season.

PATRIOTS 2001 DRAFT

2002

Coming off their first Super Bowl title, Belichick/Pioli did not have a very good draft class in ’02; at least it did not have a long term effect on the Patriots.

Only fourth-round DE Jarvis Green (left) remains with the team; he’s been part of the defensive line rotation but has never been a full-time starter. Still, he’s appeared in over 100 games and has 27 career sacks.

The Pats got some production out of a pair of wide receivers: second-round Deion Branch and seventh-round David Givens. Branch had 3,469 receiving yards in four seasons, but held out in the fall of ’06 in a contract dispute. New England sent him to Seattle, getting a first-round draft choice in exchange. Givens played in 53 games and had 2,214 yards in receiving. He left as a UFA after four seasons.

At the top of the draft was TE Daniel Graham, the 21st pick out of Colorado. It took him two years to crack the starting lineup for the Patriots and in five seasons he caught just 120 passes. Graham’s forte is blocking and did that well enough starting in a pair of Super Bowls. He left the team in March ’07 when he signed as a UFA with Denver.

PATRIOTS 2002 DRAFT

2003

This quite possibly will go down as the best of the Belichick/Pioli drafts. This class helped propel the team to back-to-back Super Bowls.

Ty Warren (right), Eugene Wilson, Asante Samuel and Dan Koppen became immediately contributors for Belichick. Not bad, considering Samuel and Koppen came out of the fourth and fifth rounds, picks 120 and 164.

Warren has been a solid contributor on the defensive front of the Pats and has been a durable player. Playing with Seymour on the front pushed New England into its second Super Bowl season. Coming out of the second round, Wilson worked the corner and was part of two Super Bowl defenses. Out of the fourth round, Samuel became a starter in his second season.

Only Brady can top Koppen when it comes to being a value pick for Belichick/Pioli. As the 164^th player selected, he became an immediate starter and has been there for every game since, save a five-game shoulder injury in ’05.

Another second-round pick, WR Bethel Johnson proved to be a bit of a bust for the Patriots, playing just three seasons and catching only 30 passes. He was traded in ’06 to New Orleans for a first-round bust for the Saints, DT Johnathan Sullivan, who did not make Belichick’s final roster.

Out of the seventh round, New England got a contribution from LB Tully Banta-Cain, who worked mostly on special teams. He left as a UFA in ’07, but returned to the Patriots this off-season.

PATRIOTS 2003 DRAFT

2004

New England hit it big with first-round choice Vince Wilfork (right), the 21st choice in the Draft. He’s made the Pro Bowl and has been a big run-stopper in the middle of the Patriots defense since his rookie year. Wilfork became a starter in his second season and has been very durable. With Seymour and Warren, this trio has been the foundation of the defensive unit.

The rest of the draft class was less than sterling when it came to contributions. This was a third Super Bowl season, so it was tougher for mid to late round draft choices to find playing time. Late first-rounder TE Ben Watson remains part of the New England mix, but he’s been largely a blocker in his five seasons with just 138 catches.

Tragedy struck this group when second-round DE Marquise Hill drowned in his native New Orleans in 2007. In three seasons, Hill had been a bit player.

The last five members of this class played a total of 26 games for the Patriots.

PATRIOTS 2004 DRAFT

2005

In hindsight, this draft class may go down as the most effective in the Belichick/Pioli Era. Pretty much drafting in the last spot of each round because they were coming off their third Super Bowl, they were able to not only land talented players, but performers who jumped right into the lineup.

Right off the bat, they grabbed OL Logan Mankins (left) out of Fresno State with pick No. 32. He has now started the last 64 consecutive games at left guard. He made the ’07 Pro Bowl.

Without a second-round pick, they grabbed CB Ellis Hobbs in the third round and he’s been a two-year starter and also a kickoff returner, including a 108-yard scoring return. Later in the third round, they drafted OT Nick Kaczur and he became a starter as a rookie. Only a shoulder injury in ’06 kept him out of the lineup. In the fourth round came James Sanders, who remains a starter.

And in the seventh round, they grabbed QB Matt Cassel, the backup QB out of Southern Cal. We know how this story ends, with that seventh-round investment growing into the second-round choice Pioli gave up to get him with the Chiefs. Any time a team can turn a seventh-rounder into a second-round pick, that’s a major plus.

PATRIOTS 2005 DRAFT

2006

When a kicker is the highlight of the draft class, everyone knows it wasn’t a very good group.

Finding Stephen Gostkowski in the fourth-round was another gem by Belichick/Pioli. He’s been to the last two Pro Bowls as the AFC’s kicker.

The rest of the 10-player class has been ordinary, especially No. 1 choice RB Laurence Maroney (right).He’s averaged just 661 offensive yards a season and hasn’t become the main focus of the team’s offense in the running game.

Second-round choice WR Chad Jackson spent two years with the team before being released last year, having caught just 13 passes for 152 yards. As the 36th player selected in the ’06 Draft, Jackson was the biggest Patriots bust of the decade. His inability to make the team forced Belichick/Pioli the next year to deal for Wes Welker and Randy Moss.

The rest of the class produced role players and no full-time starters.

PATRIOTS 2006 DRAFT

2007

This has to be considered a disappointing draft class for the Patriots. They used three picks to acquire Welker and Moss, so the picks did provide something for the team’s offense. The moves proved positive additions for that undefeated ’07 season.

It’s tough to crack a veteran team like this for any younger player, but among the nine players selected, they’ve played just a total of 42 games with New England. Seven of those nine have not been on the field for the Patriots in two years; none remain with the team.

First-round S Brandon Meriweather (left) got into the starting lineup at the end of last season.

After that, the only other draft choice to get on the field for New England was CB Mike Richardson, who appeared in 10 games last year in the Patriots defense.

PATRIOTS 2007 DRAFT

2008

Belichick/Pioli drafted for need in the first round and got LB Jerod Mayo (right) out of Tennessee with the 10th pick of the first round. He went on to lead the team in tackles in his first season and won several Defensive Rookie of the Year honors for his play.

Second-round CB Terrence Wheatley seldom got on the field in the New England defense as a rookie, and was not credited with a tackle on special teams. Third-round LB Shawn Crable did not play in the first eight games and then went to the injured-reserve list for the last half of the season.

Fourth-round CB Jonathan Wilhite started the last four games of the season at LCB, replacing veteran Deltha O’Neal.

Fifth-round WR Matt Slater produced 12 tackles in the kicking game.

PATRIOTS 2008 DRAFT

Patriots 2008 Draft

2008

Round/Pick	Pos.	Player	Games/Starts	Notes
1/10	LB	Jerod Mayo	16/16	Mayo became the Patriots starting MLB last year and ended up winning AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.  He had 130 total tackles, along with 1 forced fumble and 1 recovered fumble.  In Game No. 10 against the Jets, Mayo took part in 20 tackles.  He forced a fumble in Game No. 15 against Arizona.
2/62	CB	Terrence Wheatley	6/1	Wheatley saw very little playing time in the Patriots defense, picking up just two tackles in his six games.  His only start came in early November at LCB against Indianapolis. He was not credited with any special teams tackles.
3/78	LB	Shawn Crable	0	Crable went on the injured reserve list on Nov. 5 because of a shin injury.  He was inactive for the first eight games of the season.
3/94	QB	Kevin O’Connell	2/0	O’Connell had late appearances in two victories for the Patriots, hitting four of six passes for 23 yards against Miami and Arizona.
4/129	CB	Jonathan Wilhite	16/4	Wihite started the last four games of the season at left CB.  Before that he contributed four tackles  on special teams.  He finished with 19 tackles and 1 interception.  He had seven tackles against St. Louis in the seventh game and his interception came against Oakland in the 14th game.
5/153	WR	Matthew Slater	14/0	Slater worked on special teams, returning 11 kickoffs for 155 yards, a 14.1-yard average.  He had 12 tackles in coverage.
6/197	LB	Bo Ruud	0	Ruud spent the entire season on the injured-reserve list with an ankle injury suffered in the pre-season.

Patriots 2007 Draft

2007

Round/Pick	Pos.	Player	Games/Starts	Notes
1/24	S	Brandon Meriweather	32/11	Meriweather spent most of his rookie season contributing on special teams, providing 18 tackles in the kicking game during the ’07 season. He started the last 10 games at strong safety last season. In two seasons he has 67 total tackles, 2 sacks, 4 INTs, 2 forced fumbles.
4/127	DL	Kareem  Brown	NE: 0  - NFL: 1/0	Brown was released by the Patriots in November ’07 and signed two days later by the NY Jets. He played one game in ’07 for New York.  He made the ’08 roster, but did not play and was moved to the practice squad.
5/171	T	Clint Oldenburg	NE: 0  - NFL: 1/0	Oldenburg was released on the final pre-season cut in ’07 and then spent two weeks on the Pats practice squad. He was released then, signed to the Jets practice squad and stayed in New York through Aug. ’08 when he was released. He’s been with St. Louis and Denver since.
6/180	LB	Justin   Rogers	NE: 0  - NFL: 31/0	Rogers was released on the final cut of the ’07 pre-season and was claimed on waivers by Dallas.  In two seasons with the Cowboys, he’s contributed 30 tackles in the kicking game and four on defense.
6/202	CB	Mike Richardson	10/0	A hand injury kept Richardson off the field and on IR for the whole ’07 season.  He was released at the end of the pre-season in ’08 and added to the practice squad.  He was activated in Oct. and played in 10 games.
6/208	RB	Justice Hairston	0	Hairston was released in the ’07 pre-season and he was added to the Colts practice squad where he spent a lot of ’07-’08.
6/209	T	Corey   Hilliard	NE: 0  - NFL: 5/0	Released in the final cut before the ’07 pre-season, Hilliard was added to the Colts practice squad. He was activated and played three games in ’07 and two games in ’08.  He was released early in Oct. ’08 and sent back to the practice squad.
7/211	LB	Oscar Lua	0	Lua spent the ’07 season on the injured reserve list with a knee injury.  He was released by the team in Feb. ’08.
7/247	G/C	Mike Elgin	0	Elgin was released in September ’07, and has spent time on practice squads of the Jets and Colts.

Patriots 2006 Draft

2006

Round/Pick	Pos.	Player	Games/Starts	Notes
1/21	RB	Laurence Maroney	30/9	In the last three seasons, Maroney has carried the ball 388 times for 1,673 yards and 12 touchdowns. He caught 26 passes for 310 yards and 1 TD.  In his rookie season he returned 28 kickoffs for an average of 28 yards a return.  In three years he has four games with over 100 rushing yards and two games with 20 or more carries.
2/36	WR	Chad Jackson	NE: 14/1 - NFL: 18/1	Jackson was a major flop for the Patriots, appearing in only 14 games over two seasons (2006-07), catching 13 passes for 152 yards and 3 TDs.  He spent the first part of the ’07 season on the PUP list. Jackson was released at the end of the ’08 pre-season and signed with Denver where he played in ’08.
3/86	TE	David Thomas	32/13	Thomas saw extensive playing time in ’08, starting 10 games in the Patriots offense. He’s caught 21 passes for 261 yards and a TD in his career.  He was on the IR list in early Oct. ’07 with a foot injury.
4/106	FB	Garrett Mills	NE: 0  - NFL: 9/0	Mills never got on the field for the Patriots; he went to the injured reserve list in November ’06 with a thigh injury.  He was cut by the Patriots in Sept. ’07 and claimed on waivers by Minnesota, where  in two seasons he’s caught seven passes for 91 yards.
4/118	K	Stephen Gostkowski	48	Gostkowski became the Patriots kicker as a rookie and has hit 77 of 90 FGs, an 85.6 percentage.  He’s missed one of 158 PAT kicks. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in
5/136	T	Ryan O’Callaghan	26/7	O’Callaghan saw limited playing time in his two seasons (2006-07) before moving to the New England injured reserve list for the ’08 season with a shoulder problem.  He remains with the team.
6/191	LB	Jeremy Mincey	NE: 0  - NFL: 9/0	Mincey was released on the final cut before the ’06 season. He spent most of the ’06 season on the San Francisco practice squad and started the ’07 on Jacksonville’s practice squad, before he was activated.  He spent most of ’08 on the Jax PUP list.
6/205	G	Dan Stevenson	0	Stevenson was released on the final cut before the ’06 season and spent several years on the Pats practice squad.  He moved on to Miami’s practice squad and active roster  in ’06 and then he spent time with Houston in the ’08 off-season.
6/206	DT	Le Kevin Smith	31/0	Smith over three seasons (2006-08) has contributed 16 tackles and one recovered fumble on defense and two special teams tackles.  He saw more playing time in the last half of the ’08 season.
7/229	CB	Willie Andrews	30/0	Andrews saw largely special teams action in two seasons (2006-07) with the Pats, contributing 23 tackles on special teams.  He was released in July ’08.

Patriots 2005 Draft

2005

Round/Pick	Pos.	Player	Games/Starts	Notes
1/32	G	Logan Mankins	64/64	Mankins became an immediate starter at left guard on the Patriots line and has not been out of the lineup since.  Over his career, he’s been called for holding just four times and given up 11 sacks. Made the’ 07 Pro Bowl
3/84	CB	Ellis Hobbs	63/49	Hobbs became a full-time starter at right corner late in the ’06 season and has not been out of the lineup since.  In four seasons he has 162 total tackles, 9 interceptions. 2.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 5 recovered fumbles.  He also has returned 105 kickoffs, averaging 27.7 yards a return and three touchdowns, including a 108-yard TD return.
3/100	T	Nick Kaczur	54/49	Kaczur became a starter in his rookie season and has been there since, the only exception coming in the ’06 season when a shoulder injury limited his availability.
4/133	S	James Sanders	55/36	Sanders worked his way into the starting lineup, after spending his first two seasons as a backup.  Overall, he has 125 total tackles, 5 INTs, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 2 recovered fumbles.  He returned an INT for a TD as a rookie.  He re-signed with New England as a UFA in ’09
5/170	LB	Ryan Claridge	0	Claridge never got on the field.  He was released in August ’05 and August ’06 by the Patriots.
7/230	QB	Matt Cassel	30/15	Cassel became the starter halfway through the Patriots season opener last year and turned n a top-notch season, directing the team to an 11-5 record, although no post-season berth.  He’s thrown for 23 TDs and 13 INTs.  He brought back a second0rund pick to the Patriots in the ’09 trade with the Chiefs.
7/255	TE	Andy Stokes	0	Stokes was cut in early Aug. ’05 by the Patriots.  He then spent time with Arizona (’06) and Seattle (’07) on practice squads and off-season rosters.

Patriots 2004 Draft

2004

Round/Pick	Pos.	Player	Games/Starts	Notes
1/21	DT	Vince Wilfork	77/67	Wilfork became a starter in his second season w ith the Patriots and has been out of the lineup for only three games since (leg injury in 2005.)  In five seasons he has 189 total tackles, 7.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles.  Made the ’07 Pro Bowl.
1/32	TE	Ben Watson	55/40	Watson has been a contributor in four of his five seasons with the team, playing only one game as a rookie and spending the rest of that first season on the IR list with a knee injury. Watson has 138 catches for 1,698 yards and 15 TD catches.
2/63	DE	Marquise Hill	13/0	Tragically died when he drowned in Lake Ponchatrain on May 27, 2007. In his three seasons with the team, he’d been a bit player, contributing just three tackles on defense in 13 games.
3/95	S	Guss Scott	6/2	Scott contributed just 20 tackles in limited playing time on defense in two seasons with the Patriots (2005-06). He spent his entire rookie season on the IR list due to a knee injury and most of the ’05 season as well.  He was released Sept. ’06 and subsequently played five games with Houston and also spent time with the Jets, Dolphins and Seahawks.
4/113	S	Dexter Reid	NE: 13/2  - NFL: 39/3	Reid played one season with the Patriots (2004), appearing in 13 games with two starts at strong safety and he contributed 10 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 recovered fumble on defense and 15 tackles on special teams. He was released by the Pats in Aug. ’05 and spent time with the Colts, where he appeared in 26 games in the ’05 and ’06 seasons.
4/128	RB	Cedric Cobbs	NE: 4/0  - NFL: 6/0	Cobbs began his rookie season on the PUP list. He was activated at mid-season and appeared in four games.  He carried the ball 22 times for 50 yards. Cobbs was released in Aug. ’05.  He spent the ’06 and part of ’07 season with the Broncos.  He is currently in Arena Football2 with Arkansas.
5/164	WR	P.K. Sam	3/0	Sams appeared in 3 games during his rookie season and then spent the second half of the ’04 season on IR with a groin injury and was released in Sept. ’05.  He spent time with the Bengals, Dolphins, Raiders and Bills, who signed him in Jan. ’09.
7/233	CB	Christian Morton	NE: 0/0  - NFL: 14/3	Morton was released in Sept. ’04 by the Patriots and has since spent time with the Falcons, Redskins, Panthers and Broncos, who released him in Aug. ’08.

Patriots 2003 Draft

2003

Round/Pick	Pos.	Player	Games/Starts	Notes
1/13	DT	Ty Warren	92/80	After learning the ropes his rookie season, Warren has been a solid starter for the Patriots, missing only four games in the last five seasons.  He has 222 tackles and 20 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 6 recovered fumbles.
2/36	CB	Eugene Wilson	NE: 62/55 – NFL: 74/65	Wilson played five seasons with the Patriots (2003-07), totaling 188 total tackles, 10 interceptions with one TD return, 2 forced fumbles, 2 recovered fumbles.  Signed with Tampa Bay as UFA in March ’08. Released by Bucs and signed by Houston for ’08 season.
2/45	WR	Bethel Johnson	NE: 39/7  -  NFL: 50/9	In three seasons with New England (2003-05), Johnson was unable to crack the starting lineup.  He had 30 catches for 450 yards and 4 TDs. He did have two TDs on kickoff returns of 92 and 93 yards. The Patriots traded him in June ’06 to New Orleans for DT Johnathan Sullivan. The Saints released him in Aug. ’06 and he played late in the ’06 season with Minnesota.
4/117	DT	Dan Klecko	NE: 29/3 - NFL: 63/6	The son of former Jets DL Joe Klecko, he began his NFL career as a DT, but now is considered a RB.  Klecko played three seasons with the Patriots (2003-05) where he had 17 total tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and he also caught three passes for 18 yards. Klecko was released in September ’06.  He went to Indianapolis and then signed last year as a UFA with Philadelphia.
4/120	CB	Asante Samuel	NE: 75/53 – NFL: 90/68	Samuel spent five years with New England (2003-08) and became a full-time starter halfway through his second season.  He had 210 tackles and 22 interceptions, with three returned for TDs.  Samuel also contributed four forced fumbles.  He had 10 interceptions in the ’06 season. Samuel signed as a UFA with Philadelphia in February ’08. Named to ’07 Pro Bowll.
5/164	C	Dan Koppen	88/87	As the 164th player selected in ’03, Koppen has to go down as one of the best value picks of that Draft.  He became an immediate starter for the Patriots and other than missing seven games in the ’05 season because of a shoulder injury, he’s been the snapper for Brady/Cassel.  Koppen has allowed just nine sacks over his career.  However, 4.5 of those sacks came in the ’08 season. Named to ’07 Pro Bowl.
6/201	QB	Kliff Kingsbury	NE: 0  - NFL: 1/0	Kingsbury spent the ’03 season on the Patriots roster, but did not appear in a game.  He was released in the ’04 pre-season.  In ’05 he spent time New Orleans, Denver’s practice squad and then the N.Y. Jets, where he played one game, hitting one of two passes for 17 yards.  He was released by Buffalo in ’06.
7/234	TE	Spencer Nead	NE: 0 -NFL: 10/0	Released after his rookie pre-season with the Patriots in Aug. ’03, Nead signed with St. Louis where he spent the ’03 season, appearing in 10 games and catching one pass for six yards. He was released in ’04, claimed on waivers by Atlanta but released at the start of the ’04 training camp.
7/239	LB	Tully Banta-Cain	NE: 54/5  -NFL: 82/15	Banta-Cain spent four seasons with New England (2003-06) as a part-timer and special teamer.  For the Pats, he contributed 33 total tackles, 8 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 recovered fumble. In March ’07 he signed as a UFA with San Francisco.  After two seasons with the 49ers he was released and signed again by the Patriots in Feb.’09.
7/243	DT	Ethan Kelley	NE: 1/0 - NFL: 36/9	Kelley was released after his rookie pre-season and spent the ’03 season on New England’s practice squad.  He made the Patriots roster for the ’04 season, but appeared in just one game and was credited with one tackle.  He was released in Aug. ’05 and signed with Cleveland, where he played three seasons with the Browns.

Patriots 2002 Draft

2002

Round/Pick	Pos.	Player	Games/Starts	Notes
1/21	TE	Daniel Graham	NE: 63/49 - NFL: 94/80	Graham was the second tight end selected in the ’02 Draft and it took him two years to crack the Patriots starting lineup. In five seasons with the Pats (2002-06), he caught 120 passes for 1,993 yards and 17 TDs.  He signed with Denver as a UFA in March 2007.
2/65	WR	Deion Branch	NE: 53/43 -NFL: 33/32	His best season was 2005, when he caught 78 passes for 998 yards and five TDs. In four seasons with the Pats (2002-05) he caught 266 passes for 3,469 yards and 18 TDs.  He was traded in Sept. ’06 after a pre-season holdout to Seattle for a first-round draft choice.
4/117	QB	Rohan Davey	7/0	Davey spent three seasons with the Patriots as a backup QB, appearing in seven games and completing eight of 19 passes for 88 yards with no TDs and no INTs.  He was cut in August 2005.  He spent time with Arizona, but did not play in a regular season game.
4/126	DE	Jarvis Green	108/34	In seven seasons (2002-08) Green has never earned starter status, but he’s been a reliable fill in and role player along the defensive line.  He had 131 total tackles, 27 sacks, 9 forced fumbles and 6 recovered fumbles. Last year, Green played 14 games, with 3 starts at LE and RE (2).  He had 31 tackles and 1 recovered fumble.
7/237	RB	Antwoine Womack	0	Womack never got on the field in the NFL.  He went to the PUP list in August 2002 and was released at the end of the 2003 pre-season by the Patriots. He spent time with the N.Y. Giants but did not play a regular season game.
7/253	WR	David Givens	NE: 53/27 -NFL: 58/32	He sent four seasons with the Patriots (2002-05), contributing 158 catches for 2,214 yards and a dozen TD catches. Givens signed as a UFA with the Tennessee Titans in March ’06, but played in only five games because of a knee injury.  He was released in February ’08.

Patriots 2001 Draft

2001

Round/Pick	Pos.	Player	Games/Starts	Notes
1/6	DT	Richard Seymour	111/105	Seymour became an immediate starter for the Pats defense and has remained there for eight seasons. He spent part of the ’06 and ’07 seasons on the PUP list due to elbow and knee injuries. He has taken part in 359 total tackles, 39 sacks, 2 INTs, 3 forced fumbles and 6 recovered fumbles. Five-time Pro Bowler.
2/48	T	Matt Light	113/111	Light became an immediate starter at LT for the Pats in his rookie season and the only time he’s missed time came in the ’05 season when he eventually went to the IR list due to an ankle injury.  He’s been hit with six holding flags and allowed 54 sacks in his career. Two-time Pro Bowler.
3/86	CB	Brock Williams	NE: 0 -  NFL:12/0	Williams spent his rookie season on the IR list with a knee injury and was released by the Patriots in Sept. ’02.  He spent that season on the team’s practice squad, before moving on to Chicago in ’03 and Oakland in ’04.
4/96	OT	Kenyatta Jones	NE: 18/12 -  NFL: 21/14	Jones became a starter for the Pats in ’02, opening a dozen games at T and allowing 4.5 sacks.  He opened the ’03 season on the PUP list and was released after his arrest for assaulting his roommate.  He spent part of the ’03 and ’04 seasons with Washington.
4/119	TE	Jabari Holloway	NE:0 – NFL: 26/16	Holloway spent his rookie season on the Pats IR list with a hamstring injury and was released in Aug. ’02. Claimed on waivers by Houston, he played in the ’02 and ’03 seasons for the Texans, catching a total of 15 passes for 157 yards.
5/163	S	Hakim Akbar	NE:6/0 -NFL:10/0	Akbar played in three games in his rookie season before going to the PUP list.  He was released by the Pats in Mar. ’02 and claimed on waivers by the Texans, who cut him. Akbar played four games for the Rams in the ’02 season. He also spent time with the Bucs and Jaguars.
6/180	TE	Arther Love	0	Love began the ’01 season on the PUP list and when activated, did not play a game. He was released in Sept. ’02 and was added to the practice squad. Love signed with Denver in ’03 and was released.
6/200	CB	Leonard Myers	NE:15/1 -NFL:17/1	Myers spent two seasons (2001-02) with the Patriots, appearing in those 15 games with one start at RCB. He had 17 total tackles on defense and six tackles on special teams.  He was released in Aug. ’03 and then spent time with the Jets and Lions.
7/216	K	Owen Pochman	NE: 0 -        NFL: 10/0	Pochman was released by the Patriots in Sept. ’01 and claimed on waivers by the Giants, where he kicked in 10 games during the ’01 season, making eight of 17 FGs.  He also punted five times for a 29.2-yard average. He also spent time with the Packers, Rams, 49ers and Bills
7/239	LB	T.J. Turner	2/0	Turner played in two games his rookie season and was credited with three tackles  in the kicking game. He was released after the ’01 season and signed with the 49ers but did not play.

Patriots 2000 Draft

2000

Round/Pick	Pos.	Player	Games/Starts	Notes
2/46	G	Adrian Klemm	NE: 26/10  - NFL: 42/18	Klemm was with the Patriots for parts of five seasons (2000-04). He spent the first half of his rookie season on the PUP list and was activated on Nov. 1. The next day he went to the IR list.  He also spent time there in the ’03 and ’04 seasons because of ankle injuries.  He signed with the Packers as a UFA in Mar. ’05 and was released in Sept. ’06.
3/76	RB	J.R. Redmond	NE: 33/5  - NFL: 50/6	Redmond got more action in his rookie season than the other two seasons he was on the Patriots roster (2001-03).  He finished with 164 carries for 527 yards and 1 TD and 35 catches for 263 yards and 2 TDs.  He was released  in Aug. ’03 and spent part of the ’03 season and ’04 with Oakland.
4/127	T	Greg Randall	NE: 35/22 -NFL: 51/38	Randall was a starter for the Patriots ’01 Super Bowl team, opening 16 games at RT.  In his three seasons, he was called for holding once and gave up 7.5 sacks.  He was traded in ’03 to the Texans for a 5th-round draft choice.  He played one season in Houston and later had time with the 49ers, Rams and Browns.
5/141	TE	Dave Stachelski	NE: 0 - NFL: 9/0	Stachelski was released on Aug. 14, ’00 and claimed on waivers by New Orleans.  He played six in six games there, making one catch for five yards.
5/161	DT	Jeff Marriott	0	Marriott out of Mizzou was released on Aug. 27, ’00.  He later spent time with the Jaguars and Rams but never saw regular season action.
6/187	S	Antwan Harris	52/2	Harris spent four seasons (2000-03) with the Patriots, and contributed 22 total tackles, 1 sack and 1 INT, along with 21 tackles in the kicking game.  He started one game at nickel back and another at strong safety. Harris was released in Jan. ’05 and signed with Cleveland.
6/199	QB	Tom Brady	113/111	Does anything really need to be written or said?
6/201	DT	David Nugent	NE: 15/1 - NFL: 24/1	Nugent saw limited playing with the Patriots in two seasons (2000-01), contributing four tackles.  He played in ’02-’03 with the Ravens.
7/226	LB	Casey Tisdale	0	Tisdale was released on Aug. 21, ’00. He later spent practice squad time with the Chiefs (’01), Texans and Ravens.
7/239	RB	Patrick Pass	NE: 78/11 -NFL: 79/11	Pass spent part of seven seasons with the Patriots (2000-06) and largely saw action in special situations and on special teams, where he had 50 tackles.  He carried the ball 128 times for 526 yards and 3 TDs and caught 66 passes for 570 yards and 1 TD.  He signed with the Giants in ’07

Mini-Camp Update Sunday A.M.

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs wrapped up their first mini-camp under Todd Haley on Sunday morning with another indoor practice session.

There were the same 64 roster players on the field for the workout, as TE Tony Gonzalez, LG Brian Waters and LB Mike Vrabel were missing. 

“It was pretty good today,” Haley said afterwards.  “Better than Day 1 and 2.  It was encouraging.  Long way to go.”

When asked what he learned from the three days, Haley said: “They are interested in listening and trying to do things the way we want to do them. That’s one of the criteria for being on this team, you are going to have to do it the way you are coached to do it.  They are listening and paying attention and doing it the way we are talking about.

“Again, we have a long ways to go.”

Haley again stressed that the mini-camp was about teaching and learning, and not so much about evaluation of the players.

“There’s no pads so there is only so much that you can see,” Haley said. “You try not to do it (evaluate), because you can make a mistake doing that in your first mini-camp without pads and a couple days of learning. You could quite possibly make some mistakes if you judge too quick.

“I told the players you are not going to make the team this weekend. You have a better chance of making the team lifting and running the way we want it done.”

“It was really a chance for the coaches to kind of figure each other out.  There is a lot of tweaking that has to go on.

Sunday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From the Truman Sports Complex

Matt Cassel proved to be a living, breathing, engaging Chiefs quarterback on Saturday as he met with the Kansas City media face-to-face between practices at the team’s mini-camp.

WHERE IS TONY G? CHECK IT OUT AFTER THE JUMP.

If you like personable, you’ll like Cassel. The young man walked into the room filled with over a dozen media types and went person to person, shaking hands and beginning the preliminary task of putting names with faces.

And he then handled about five minutes of questions, and did it all with a smile on his face.

“I’m very happy to be here,” Cassel said. “I’m excited about being here. I’m excited about the coaching staff and everything going on. We are setting the environment, we are setting the foundation right now, and we are getting better.”

According to Cassel, he hasn’t approached the last month with the Chiefs any different than say last off-season with the Patriots when he was a backup to Tom Brady.

“Like I’ve always done, I’ve gotten in here and get going with football and I’ll work as hard as I can and put myself in the best physical and mental position going into the season,” Cassel said.

He promises that nothing will change his approach.

“I had the great opportunity of learning from a guy like Tom Brady, who is a professional in every sense of the word, a guy that I look up to and still talk to on a weekly basis,” Cassel said. “As a young quarterback, he taught me how to be a professional and a starting quarterback in this NFL. He’s a guy that never took it for granted.

“That’s something I take with me as I move on in my career away from the Patriots and here with the Chiefs.” …Read More!

Sal Helps The American Cancer Society

One of Kansas City’s favorite Chiefs is hosting a Casino Night that will benefit the American Cancer Society’s Kansas City Relay for Life.

Dan Saleaumua became a favorite of Chiefs fans for his play in the 1990s, his penchant for recovering fumbles from the bottom of the pile and his always present smile. He’s still active as a tireless crusader for the American Cancer Society, and Chiefs fans can help him out and they’ll get a chance to see the big man.

The Casino Night goes down on Saturday night, May 2 at the Figlio Tower in the Country Club Plaza. The address is 2009 W. 46th Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64112.

The event begins at 7 p.m. and runs through midnight. Food, drinks, gaming and raffles are all part of the evening’s entertainment. Admission is $50.

You can also donate to the cause and share in the prizes without attending the event – receive 10 raffle tickets for each $20 in donations.

For all the details, or to buy tickets or donate online, visit https://www.saleaumua.com/

Saturday Mini-Camp Update P.M.

From the Truman Sports Complex

The afternoon session of the Chiefs mini-camp played out much like the morning workout, or at least what the media was allowed to see.  The team worked  inside to escape the wet conditions.  There were 66 players on the field, with three from the roster missing: Tony Gonzalez, Brian Waters and Mike Vrabel.

Two notes from the day:

HELMETS: Right now the Chiefs are practicing in helmets that do not include the Chiefs arrowhead logo on either side.  They are just plain red helmets, with the players name written in tape across the front of the helmet.   This is an old Bill Parcells motivational tool where the players must earn the right to wear the logo.  Parcells did this in Dallas, where in the off-season the Cowboys helmets did not have the star on the side.  Eventually, at some point whether through the off-season program, training camp or pre-season, they reach a point where they will earn the honor of wearing the arrowhead. …Read More!

Why Zach Thomas Is In Kansas City

From the Truman Sports Complex

Why would a soon to be 36-year old, seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker sign up with a team that’s coming off a 2-14 season and in total rebuild mode?

Zach Thomas had five reasons over and above the biggest reason he plays and that’s his love of the game:

• 1. Scott Pioli
• 2. Toddy Haley
• 3. Matt Cassel
• 4. The Miami Dolphins
• 5. Middle linebacker

They were all factors in his decision to sign with the Chiefs and continue his football career after 12 seasons in Miami and last year in Dallas.

“I knew everything is changed here,” Thomas said Saturday afternoon in a break between mini-camp practices at the Chiefs facility. “I’d like to be here for that change, kind of like Miami did last year, you know, turn it around.

“I’m excited just to come out here and try to make a difference. I’m excited for the opportunity and that’s why I’m here.

The key in him making his move to K.C. was those five factors.

PIOLI/HALEY

Last year, Pioli chased Thomas on the free agent market when the former was working for the Patriots. Thomas ended up signing with Dallas because of his desire to have a chance to play back in his home state o f Texas.

“It all starts at the top,” Thomas said. “When you’ve got the best GM in Scott Pioli and you look at his past.

Thomas didn’t know that much about Haley, but was sold after meeting with the new head coach.

“When I came in here, I was a little skeptical at first about coming to the team,” Thomas said. “When I came in and talked to Todd (Haley), he was straight to the point. He wanted to change the mindset of the players. He really grabbed me right there. I knew once you get the mindset of this team changed, I want to be part of it. …Read More!

Saturday Mini-Camp Update A.M.

From the Truman Sports Complex

The media got a 25-minute view of the Chiefs third practice of their voluntary mini-camp.  It was held indoors because of the rainy weather Saturday morning.

There were 66 players on the field. That included two kickers who are trying out: Carlos Martinez and Mark Myers.

The only players not visible on the field during that window of opportunity were TE Tony Gonzalez, LG Brian Waters and OLB Mike Vrabel.

There were seven players there who were limited or not taking part in practice because of injury rehab.  Those players were: QB Brodie Croyle, RB Kolby Smith, CB Maurice Leggett, DL Alfonso Boone, DT Glenn Dorsey, DE Turk McBride and DT T.J. Turner.

Defensive ends McBride, Tamba Hali and Andy Studebaker were doing individual drills with the linebackers.

The No. 1 offense line was Rudy Niswanger at center, Wade Smith at left guard, Mike Goff at right guard, Branden Albert at left tackle and Damion McIntosh at right tackle.

More from mini-camp later this afternoon.

Saturday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

We don’t believe in doing mock drafts on this site, so don’t expect one in this next week as we head to the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

But we will do mock trades, because it seems that at least half of the Chiefs fans think the team should deal that third pick in the first round to pick up more draft choices.

On paper, that’s a solid idea. But as with all trades, it takes two to make a deal. Teams at the top of the round are looking for a partner to play poker. Right now all they’ve got is a game of solitaire.

As we’ve written recent history shows us that the chances of a Chiefs trade in the first round are very slim. The last time the third choice was traded was the 2000 Draft and in the last seven NFL Drafts, only one top five pick has changed hands. You know all the reasons, topped by the big-money contracts to these picks at the top of the round, good but unproven talents.

Scott Pioli made it plain this week that he wasn’t actively seeking trades, but he is willing to listen to offers for that third spot. For him to pull the trigger, another team is going to have to make it worth his while in compensation, i.e. draft picks in return.

That limits the field of potential trading partners, because teams that are past the No. 10 slot in the first round would have a hard time coming up with a draft choice package to equal the value of the No. 3 pick.

As we’ve mentioned before, NFL teams use a draft pick value chart to divine the worth of a position in rounds one through seven. Teams don’t all use the same chart, but there’s usually not a lot of difference. The most prevalent value chart says the third pick is worth 2,200 points. For the reasons why it’s so infrequent those picks are traded, maybe the top of the draft needs to be recalibrated. That’s a discussion for another time.

But those 2,200 points would seem to be the minimum in return Pioli would accept for the No. 3 position. Putting together that many points would be trouble for a lot of teams in the draft. In some cases it would eat up their entire trove of picks. Finding somebody like the New Orleans Saints, who were willing in the 2000 NFL Draft to deal away all their picks and some in 2001 for the chance to select RB Ricky Williams is a tough assignment. There are just not many Mike Ditka’s out there willing to make deals like that, especially in light of the fact that Ditka was out of job some eight months after making the deal. …Read More!

What Should The Chiefs Do? Volume III

Twice we’ve conducted a poll of readers with the same results: Chiefs fans want their team to either select LB Aaron Curry with the third choice in the first round or trade the selection and pick up more draft choices.

We’ve written at length about how tough a trade would be.  Because of that, we are taking version No. 3 of the poll and we are changing the rules.

Here’s what I want to know.  The Chiefs can’t deal the pick, so they have to select a player.

Who should that player be?

In 25 words or less give me the rationale for the player.  Just one name, no either/or, no if Detroit and St. Louis does this, the Chiefs do that.  Factor in your predictions for the Lions and Rams in making the Chiefs selection.

Make a pick and tell us why.  Voting is open until 5 p.m. on Monday

Carl Peterson Era (1989-2008)

CARL PETERSON ERA (1989-2008): Peterson was the final word on draft day from the time he joined the team in 1989.  Head coaches Marty Schottenheimer, Gunther Cunningham, Dick Vermeil and Herm Edwards had plenty of input along the way, and Peterson generally went with their desires.  The Personnel Department under Peterson was handled by Whitey Dovell (1989-91), Lynn Stiles (1992-96 and 2001-05), Terry Bradway (1997-2000) and Bill Kuharich (2006-08).

Best

#	Player	Year	Rnd/Pos	Comment
1	Will Shields	1993	3/74	Shields played in 224 games, never missing one due to injury and started 223 consecutive games with a dozen Pro Bowl nominations.  Considering his 3rd round position and status as a future Hall of Famer, he’s probably the greatest value pick in Chiefs history.
2	Derrick Thomas	1989	1/4	DT’s career ended early with his passing after a car accident.  He played in 169 games, made nine Pro Bowls and was the leading sacker in the 1990s. Thomas takes his rightful place in the Hall of Fame with the class of 2009.
3	Tony Gonzalez	1997	1/13	After 12 seasons, Gonzalez is the Chiefs leading receiver in catches, yards and TDs and pro football’s leading tight end receiver in all of those categories.  He’s made the Pro Bowl 10 times.  A future Hall of Famer.
4	Dale Carter	1992	1/20	Carter was a handful off the field with some of his antics, but on the field he was a playmaker in his 104 games with the Chiefs.  He also was a four-time Pro Bowler.
5	Tim Grunhard	1990	2/40	Grunhard shared the starting center job early in his career with Hall of Famer Mike Webster and then became an institution at the middle of the Chiefs offensive line.  The Notre Dame product played 169 games and made the Pro Bowl after the 1999 season.
6	Donnie Edwards	1996	4/98	Edwards was as productive a 4th-round pick as there has been in Chiefs history, playing 197 games total: 117 with the Chiefs and 80 in San Diego.  He earned a Pro Bowl trip while with the Chargers.
7	Jerome Woods	1996	1/28	Woods is the last Chiefs defensive player selected to the Pro Bowl, coming after the 2003 season.  He played 128 games at both strong and free safety and was a tackling machine.
8	Dave Szott	1990	7/180	One of the best value choices in Chiefs draft history, Szott played 142 games in a red and gold uniform.  He came out of Penn State and quickly established himself at left guard where he was one of the league’s most under-rated performers.
9	Dante Hall	2000	5/153	One of the great returners in recent NFL history, Hall made two trips to the Pro Bowl.  He has to go down as one of the better value picks in team history.
10	John Browning	1996	3/68	Although he battled injuries early in his career, Browning was one of the most versatile defensive players in team history.  The Miami product played all four defensive line spots at one time or another in his 121 games with the Chiefs.

Worst

#	Player	Year	Rnd/Pos	Comment
1	Mike Elkins	1989	2/32	If he was taken at the 32nd choice today he would be a first-rounder; Elkins played in just a single game with the Chiefs during his one year with the team, throwing two passes, with one interception.  Once released by the Chiefs, he did not play for another team. A very poor evaluation by the Chiefs.
2	Matt Blundin	1992	2/40	Blundin played in just two games with the Chiefs and another with the Lions, giving him a three-game NFL career.  He did play one spring in Europe.  Again, a very poor evaluation.
3	Trezelle Jenkins	1995	1/31	Eight games are all the Chiefs got out of this first-round draft choice.  Remember, the Chiefs traded down on draft day from No. 19 to No. 31.  Luckily they picked up some extra choices, because they got nothing from Jenkins.
4	Snoop Minnis	2001	3/77	Minnis came out of Florida State in the third round, played 15 games as a rookie and then never again saw the field for a regular-season game.
5	Sylvester Morris	2000	1/21	A promising rookie season ended with a knee injury, one of several that Morris suffered and allowed him to play just those 15 games in the NFL.
6	Troy Dumas	1995	3/97	Picked up with a choice gained in the trade down that produced Jenkins, Dumas played in just 15 games for the Chiefs.
7	Eddie Freeman	2002	2/43	One of the many defensive line failures the Chiefs selected in the most recent drafts, Freeman played in 20 games before his career simply disappeared.
8	Julian Battle	2003	3/92	Although he played in 25 games over several seasons, Battle never really left a mark in the secondary as a cover man. He was too inconsistent, too error prone.
9	Rashaan Shehee	1998	3/88	As a rookie, Shehee had a clear path to the starting spot at RB, with Marcus Allen retired and Greg Hill leaving the team.  He could not produce and his career was short, just 25 games.
10	Junior Siavii	2004	2/36	The Chiefs traded out of the first round and grabbed Siavii early in the second.  Just one problem: nobody apparently asked Siavii whether he enjoyed football.  Apparently he did not, as he played in 26 games and was a major disappointment.

Jim Schaaf Era (1975-88)

Jim Schaaf Era (1975-1988): Schaaf was the GM and the man who oversaw the personnel operation in the days after Hank Stram was fired.  He served until he was fired and replaced by Carl Peterson.  Schaaf worked with head coaches Paul Wiggin, Marv Levy, John Mackovic and Frank Gansz and they had great input into who the team selected in the Draft.  The personnel department was handled by Les Miller (1975-87) and Whitey Dovell (1988.)
Best

#	Player	Year	Rnd/Pos	Comment
1	Albert Lewis	1983	3/61	A four-time Pro Bowl selection Lewis worked his way into the starting lineup in his second season out of Grambling.  He ended up playing in 150 games with the Chiefs before finishing his career with 75 games with the Raiders.
2	Neil Smith	1988	1/2	A five-time Pro Bowl selection Smith played 138 games with the Chiefs before he left and finished his career in Denver.
3	Art Still	1978	1/2	A four-time Pro Bowl selection Still was an immediate starter after he was drafted with the second choice of the ’78 Draft out of Kentucky.  He ended up playing 135 games with the Chiefs before finishing his career in Buffalo.
4	John Alt	1984	1/21	Twice selected for the Pro Bowl Alt was a solid rock at left tackle for the Chiefs after he overcame early injury problems.  He ended up playing in 179 games.
5	Kevin Ross	1984	7/173	One of the best late-round choices in Chiefs history, Ross became a starter in his rookie season and ended up playing in 156 games in the red and gold.  He also earned two trips to the Pro Bowl.
6	Lloyd Burruss	1981	3/79	Coming out of Maryland, Burruss became a starter at strong safety as a rookie and ended up playing in 145 games.  He had 20 INTs and scored five touchdowns and earned a trip to the ’86 Pro Bowl.
7	Henry Marshall	1977	3/74	Marshall ranks among the leading receivers in franchise history, with 416 catches and 33 TDs over his 165-game career.  He was drafted out of Missouri.
8	Gary Spani	1978	3/58	The all-time leading tackler in franchise history, Spani came out of Kansas State and played 124 games with the Chiefs, totaling 999 tackles.
9	Gary Green	1977	1/10	A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Green played in 100 games with the Chiefs, grabbing 24 interceptions before finishing career with two seasons with the Rams.
10	Carlos Carson	1980	5/116	A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Carson played in 120 games with the Chiefs, catching 352 passes with 33 TDs.

Worst

#	Player	Year	Rnd/Pos	Comment
1	Elmore Stephens	1975	2/34	Arraigned on murder charges shortly after he was selected by the Chiefs out of Kentucky, Stephens never played in the NFL.  He was a tight end.
2	Brian Jozwiak	1986	1/8	The Chiefs knew Jozwiak had tested positive for marijuana when they drafted him.  They did not know he had arthritic hips.  Jozwiak played in 28 games and struggled in each one.
3	Cliff Frazier	1976	2/41	A DT out of UCLA, Frazier played just 14 games for the Chiefs.  You may have seen him a few times in the movies (North Dallas Forty, House Party, U.S. Marshals.)  Few remember seeing him on the field.
4	Cornelius Walker	1975	3/59	Selected in the round after Stephens, Walker’s NFL career was similar: he never played in a game.  He was a defensive tackle out of Rice.
5	Paul Palmer	1987	1/19	Palmer played 27 games for the Chiefs before his career ended in KC when he told several players before a game in Pittsburgh that he was going to lay the ball on the ground.  The team suspended him.
6	Ethan Horton	1985	1/15	Drafted as a running back out of North Carolina, Horton played just 16 games for the Chiefs before he was released.  He eventually signed with the Raiders, moved to tight end and played 100 more games as a blocker and receiver.
7	Sylvester Hicks	1978	2/29	Desperate for help along the defensive line in ’78, the Chiefs drafted two D-Linemen with their first two picks.  Art Still worked out, Hicks did not, playing in 43 games before he was sent packing.
8	Todd Blackledge	1983	1/7	It was the great QB Draft of ’83, with six selected in the first round.  Blackledge was the second and least successful, playing in 40 games for the Chiefs.  He finished up his career in Pittsburgh.
9	Rod Walters	1976	1/14	Walters played in 52 games with the Chiefs over four seasons at guard and tackle.  He never established himself as a solid starter at any of those positions.
10	Anthony Hancock	1982	1/11	Speed merchant out of Tennessee, Hancock played 59 games for the Chiefs, catching 73 passes and never establishing himself as the game-breaker the Chiefs hoped they drafted.

Hank Stram Era (1967-74)

Hank Stram Era (1967-74): Once the leagues combined on the draft in ’67 and there was no longer competition for signing players, Hank Stram was the man in charge of all personnel, with final say so on who the team drafted.  His personnel man in this period was Tommy O’Boyle, along with help from Lloyd Wells and others.

Best

#	Player	Year	Rnd/Pos	Comment
1	Willie Lanier	1967	2/50	Lanier is the only Chiefs player from the Super Bowl years in the Pro Football Hall of Fame who was drafted after the league’s combined their selection meeting. He played 149 games for the Chiefs over 11 seasons and played in eight all-star games in the AFL and NFL.
2	Jack Rudnay	1969	4/101	Rudnay missed the 1969 season because of injury, but once he got on the field in 1970, he seldom left until his career was completed in 1982.  He played in 178 games, with 171 starts, including 144 in a row.  He appeared in four Pro Bowls.
3	Jim Lynch	1967	2/47	Taken three spots ahead of Lanier, Lynch played in 151 games over his 11 seasons, including 148 straight.  He finished his career with 31 takeaways.
4	Ed Podolak	1969	2/48	Drafted in 1969, Podolak missed his rookie season because of injury.  Once he got on the field in 1970, he started producing, playing in 104 games, starting 66 and producing over 8,000 all-purpose yards.
5	Jim Marsalis	1969	1/23	Marsalis played 78 of his 90 career games with the Chiefs, earning Pro Bowl trips his first two seasons in the league.
6	Tom Condon	1974	10/250	Known today as one of the busiest player agents in pro football, Condon played in 147 games for the Chiefs as a 10th round draft choice out of Boston College.
7	Matt Herkenhoff	1974	4/94	After playing a year in the World Football League, Herkenhoff joined the Chiefs and appeared in 125 games at tackle, where he was a solid player.
8	Mo Moorman	1968	1/19	Moorman was a contributor to the Chiefs Super Bowl championship and played in 73 games over his career with the team.
9	Charlie Getty	1974	2/41	Getty played in 120 games with the Chiefs at tackle, after being drafted out of Penn State.
10	Wilbur Young	1971	2/39	Although he’s most remembered for his time with the Chargers, Young played in 94 games with the Chiefs before heading west.

Worst

#	Player	Year	Rnd/Pos	Comment
1	Scott Lewis	1971	2/42	A defensive end out of Grambling, Lewis did not play a game in the NFL.  The Chiefs could have drafted T Dan Dierdorf (43rd pick) or LB Phil Villapiano (45.)
2	Billy Bob Barnett	1970	3/61	A defensive end out of Texans A&M, Barnett did not play a game in the NFL.  The Chiefs could have drafted DB Charlie Waters (66) instead.
3	Paul Krause	1973	3/72	An offensive lineman (not the safety) out of Central Michigan, Krause did not play a game in the NFL.  The Chiefs could have drafted T Leon Gray (78), LB Greg Bingham (79) or LB Tom Jackson (88.)
4	David Jaynes	1974	3/66	One game is all that Jaynes played in the NFL.  Drafted out of Kansas, the Chiefs could have selected RB Mark van Eeghen (75), WR Nat Moore (78) or WR John Stallworth (82.)
5	Gary Butler	1973	2/27	Butler was the Chiefs only pick in the first three rounds of the’73 Draft.  He washed out after 22 games played over two seasons. The Chiefs could have selected G Guy Morriss (28) or RB Greg Pruitt (30.)
6	Andy Hamilton	1972	4/97	The Chiefs had only two picks in the first five rounds of the ’72 draft.  Hamilton was the second.  The wide receiver out of LSU played in 24 games before his career ended.
7	Gene Trosch	1967	1/24	In 27 games with the Chiefs, Trosch did nothing to convince Stram and his coaches that he could be a starter along the offensive line.
8	Woody Green	1974	1/16	Drafted out of Oregon, Green played in 28 games for the Chiefs over three seasons.  He had legal troubles off the field.  The Chiefs could have selected LB Fred McNeill (17) or WR Lynn Swann (21.)
9	Sid Smith	1970	1/26	Drafted out of Southern Cal on the recommendation of then Trojans coach John McKay, Smith played 42 games with the Chiefs and never distinguished himself.
10	Jeff Kinney	1972	1/23	Grabbed in the first round out of Nebraska, Kinney played in 50 games for the Chiefs over parts of five seasons.

AFL Era (1960-66)

AFL Era (1960-66): These were the wild and wooly days of pro football, with competition for players that sometimes was ridiculous in approach and manner.  Remember the story of Otis Taylor going out the bathroom window of a Dallas motel to get away from NFL babysitters.  Lamar Hunt and Hank Stram made the picks in these years and with some choices it often came down to signability.  It was less so with Hunt, as he went ahead and drafted guys like Don Meredith, Bob Lilly, Ronnie Bull, Gale Sayers, Mike Curtis and others who signed almost immediately with the NFL.

Scouting help in those years came from Will Walls, Don Klosterman, Lloyd Wells and Bobby Beathard.  Klosterman was key, as he was responsible for the classes from 1963 through 1966.

 Best Choices

#	Player	Year	Rnd/Pos	Comment
1	Bobby Bell	1963	7/56	Today, Bell would be a second-round choice at No. 56.  Based on what he did on the field, he would be the first choice in any draft.  He was selected so late because the AFL thought he was locked into signing a deal with the NFL and the Vikings.  The Chiefs drafted Bell and he signed and played 168 games over 12 seasons with nine trips to the All-Star Game or Pro Bowl. He earned a ticket to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2	Buck Buchanan	1963	1/1	Buchanan was one of only two players from a predominately black college to be selected first in an AFL-NFL Draft.  He played in 182 games over 13 seasons with eight All-Star Games or Pro Bowls. He ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
3	Jim Tyrer	1961	3/?	Tyrer spent 12 seasons and 168 games with the Chiefs.  He was in nine AFL All-Star Games or Pro Bowls over his career.
4	Ed Budde	1963	1/8	Budde was the final choice of the first round, appearing in 14 seasons and 177 games.  He was selected to seven AFL All-Star Games and Pro Bowls.
5	Jerry Mays	1961	5/?	Mays was part of a ’61 Draft class that ranks as the second best in franchise history.  He played 10 seasons and 140 games and earning tickets to six AFL All-Star Games and Pro Bowls
6	E.J. Holub	1961	1/?	Holub remains one of the best trivia questions in football history: name the only man to start Super Bowl games on offense and defense.  He played 127 games over 10 seasons and was selected to five AFL All-Star Games.
7	Fred Arbanas	1961	7/?	Arbanas played nine seasons and 118 games, with five trips to the AFL All-Star Game. He caught 198 passes for 3,101 yards and 34 TDs.
8	Otis Taylor	1965	4/29	Taylor would be a first-round pick today at No. 29.  Over his 11-year career, he appeared in 130 games, catching 310 passes for 7,306 yards and 57 TDs.  He was in three AFL All-Star Games and Pro Bowls.
9	Jan Stenerud	1966-Redshirt	3/?	Stenerud was drafted in ’66 while he was still at Montana State and joined the Chiefs the next year.  He spent 19 years in pro football, the first 13 with the Chiefs.  Stenerud was part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of ’91.
10	Chris Burford	1960	NA	Burford was part of the first group of players selected by the Texans in that first AFL Draft.  Teams selected by position, rather than in any certain order.  Burford became the first college player to sign with the Texans and he palyed for eight seasons and 103 games, catching 391 passes for 5,505 yards and 55 TDs.

Worst (players that signed with the Texans-Chiefs)

#	Player	Year	Rnd/Pos	Comment
1	Al Dotson	1965-Redshirt	1/?	Dotson was selected out of Grambling in the ’65 AFL-Redshirt Draft with one year of college ball left. He ended up playing one game with the Chiefs in 1965 before leaving in the expansion draft to Miami. He ended up playing 47 games in pro football
2	Elijah Gipson	1966	4/?	Gipson never played pro football, for the Chiefs or anyone else.
3	Mickey Sutton	1965	6-45	Sutton never played a regular-season game for the Chiefs, but did get on the field for five games with Houston in ’66.  He was drafted in the 7th round/90 by Chicago in the ’65 NFL Draft.
4	Ron Caveness	1965	2/16	Caveness played in seven games for the Chiefs in the’65 season.  He was made available in the ’66 AFL Expansion Draft and he was selected by Miami.  He eventually ended up in Houston, where he played in 39 games over three seasons.
5	Jimmy Saxton	1962	10/75	Saxton played 13 games as a rookie with the Texans, carrying the ball three times for one yards.  He caught five passes for 64 yards.  Saxton did not play after the ’62 season.
7	Bill Miller	1962	2/11	Miller played 14 games with the Texans as a rookie, catching 23 passes for 277 yards.  He spent five more years in pro football with Buffalo and Oakland.
8	John O’Day	1961	8/?	O’Day never played pro football for the Chiefs or anyone else.
9	Eddie Wilson	1961	3/19	Wilson spent three years with the Chiefs, but his biggest contributions came as a punter, where he averaged 34.8 yards per kick.  He played in 42 games, before he went to Boston in ’65.
10	Pete Bethard	1964	1/2	Beathard was the second player taken in the ’64 AFL Draft, but he was never able to unseat Len Dawson as the Chiefs starter. He played in 52 games in two different stints with the Chiefs, with a TD/INT ratio of 43/84.  Beathard played 110 games in pro football, also wearing the uniform of the Oilers, Cardinals and Rams.

?-information on some early AFL Drafts is sketchy when it comes to the order of selection.

Friday Mini-Camp Update

From the Truman Sports Complex

Although they were behind closed doors, the Chiefs had their first practice under new head coach Todd Haley outside in the April sunshine Friday morning at the Chiefs facility.

Afterwards Haley met with the media and said he was pleased with the morning work.

“We got one under the belt,” Haley said. “That first one wherever you are, is always a chaotic day. Overall, I thought it went pretty well.”

For Haley and his coaching staff, it was a chance to introduce their way of practicing. The head coach acknowledged there were some habits visible among the returning players that did not match the sought after level of intensity he and his coaches expect from their team.

“There’s an art to practicing efficiently and fast,” said Haley. “This is going to be an up tempo deal. There is an art to getting done what you need to get done as a player.”

Haley did not provide a roll call of those participating. He said there were 60-plus players on the field for what is a voluntary camp. With 67 players on the roster, that means a handful of players were not taking part, but Haley said he had heard from those not attending and was satisfied with their explanations.

“We had a bunch of guys out there that looked like they wanted to be there, and ran around; it was a fun time,” Haley said.

When asked who would learn more this weekend, the coaches or players, Haley acknowledged the learning curve was equal.

“This is my first time with my staff together on the field,” said Haley. “You think you’ve covered everything … but until you are out there doing it, you always realize a handful of things that you didn’t (cover).”

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/17

Friday is Day No. 107 of the year.

Born on April 17, 1915 was Joe Foss, war hero, Governor of South Dakota and the first commissioner of the American Football League.

On April 17, 1907, some 11,747 people were processed through Ellis Island, the largest number of immigrants in any one day. In 1961 on this day was the Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba; that didn’t turn out so well. And on April 17, 1964, Ford unveiled the Mustang at the New York World’s Fair.

In the future this day will be remembered as the first day the world of pro football did not have John Madden as part of it since 1967 when he joined the Raiders as linebackers coach.

As Madden said good bye yesterday after retiring from his 30-year television career, it brought to mind his induction speech in Canton for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After being introduced by Al Davis, Madden launched into one of the most unusual and emotional speech’s in Hall history. At one point he said:

“Here is the deal: I think over in the Hall of Fame, that during the day, the people go through, they look at everything. At night, there’s a time when they all leave. All the fans and all the visitors leave the Hall of Fame. Then there’s just the workers. Then the workers start to leave. It gets down to there’s just one person. That person turns out the light, locks the door.

“I believe that the busts talk to each other. I can’t wait for that conversation, I really can’t. Vince Lombardi, Knute Rockne, Reggie, Walter Payton, all my ex players, we’ll be there forever and ever and ever talking about whatever. That’s what I believe. That’s what I think is going to happen, and no one’s ever going to talk me out of that (laughter). These guys are going, ‘Oh, no, hope I don’t have to put up with his BS for an eternity’.”

I think by now Madden’s bust has learned Knute Rockne isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but his old tormentor Hank Stram is, so I’m sure there’s plenty of great conversations happening there.

From the Oakland Tribune:
As the sun rose Thursday morning over Madden’s home in Pleasanton, a statement declaring his retirement appeared on NBC Sports’ Web site. Just after 8:15 a.m., Madden explained his rationale further on his daily radio show on KCBS 740-AM, starting off by saying: “I recided, I decided to retire. Heck, I can’t even say it.”

There was no satellite hookup or no glamorous press conference, be it here or in New York, where he maintains a second home (with a third in Carmel and a fourth in San Francisco). There was no Madden sighting, not even at his Pleasanton office, where phone calls flooded in from well-wishers. Madden took a low-key approach in exiting one of the most high-powered careers ever in sports broadcasting. That’s so Madden, so common-guy like.

“I haven’t talked to a lot of people,” Madden said. “I’ve gotten a lot of calls and a lot of texts though.”

…Read More!

Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

OK all you Chiefs fans that want the team to trade away the No. 3 pick in the first round of next weekend’s NFL Draft … Scott Pioli has spoken.

Pioli said on Thursday that he’s not out beating the drums trying to deal his first-round pick. He also said he would listen to any offers. He also said the Chiefs would be prepared to make a selection in the first round no matter where they are picking.

So we learned absolutely nothing new about where the Chiefs stand with that first round pick. If you expected anything more just because Pioli and head coach Todd Haley came out of the draft bunker to speak with the media, then you haven’t been paying attention to these guys over the last three months.

Pioli allowed that his willingness to trade would depend on who might still be on the board when it came time for that third pick.

“Tell me who is on the board and who is not … I don’t know if we want someone to make us an offer,” Pioli said. “Here’s what I know: when it’s our turn to pick, whenever that is, we are going to know who we are picking off that board. If there’s an opportunity to make a trade, we’ll listen. You have to take your time, be patient, not be reactive and think things through to make the best decision.

“It’s not the best decision at that second, but long term.” …Read More!

Pioli, Haley Speak On Draft

From the Truman Sports Complex

Scott Pioli and Todd Haley came out of the draft bunker and spoke to the Kansas City media Thursday afternoon about next weekend’s NFL Draft and this weekend’s veteran mini-camp that begins on Friday.

It should come as no surprise that this duo let no secrets slip out in their comments, specifically when talking about the player who could be their selection at No. 3 in the first round next Saturday. In fact, in nearly 45 minutes of conversation, they did not speak the name of a single player who is available in this draft.

But they did have things to say. Here are the highlights.

Pioli, on what part of the roster the Chiefs hope to improve in the draft: “I wouldn’t say there is a specific focus on one part of the team. There are a lot of places where we need to improve, roster spots one through 53 and a lot of different positions. One of the things that we want to consistently do is upgrade the team and upgrade positions across the board.”

Pioli, on developing a team with the right 53 players, not necessarily the best 53 players: “This is something Todd and I have spent a lot of time on and something that we both believe based on our histories. It’s the right 53 players. The best 53 players does not necessarily mean the most skilled, the most athletic, the most talented. It’s something we tried to address this off-season in terms of the veteran players that we’ve brought in; guys that we know are proven winners, guys that have a certain work ethic. When we get player we want to get the right type of players that fit Todd’s leadership style and our collective belief in work ethic and the overall makeup of the player.”

Pioli, on whether the Chiefs will be drafting on need, or for the best player available: “Some teams do it on need, some do it on best player available. I think it’s a combination of those two things. You have to take into account who is the best player available, and you have to take into account what your needs are. I really believe it is a combination of those two things.”

Haley, on where returning players are going to play in the Chiefs new defensive scheme in this weekend’s mini-camp: “We’ve got them lined up right now, but every discussion we have as a coaching staff is let’s see what this weekend looks like. This weekend is more about teaching, so it’s unfair to think we’ll come out of it that we’ll have any idea about evaluations. We want this camp to be about the players learning a little bit about the terminology, the system and a little bit about us as a coaching staff and how we are going to act out there. ” …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/16

We’ve reached day No. 106 on the year.

And in future years April 16, 2009 will be remembered as the day John Madden retired from broadcasting football games.  That news came down Thursday morning from NBC, as he’ll hang up his microphone after 30 years.

Born on this day in 1928 was Dick “Night Train” Lane, one of the best players in the history of professional football. Born on April 16 in Austin, Texas, he was discovered as an infant in a dumpster by a woman who went on to raise him. He played 14 years for the Rams, Cardinals and Lions and was named to seven Pro Bowl teams. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974.

Born on April 16, 1947 was Lew Alcindor, who became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Born on this day in 1952 was Bill Belichick.

And on April 16, 1881 in Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fought his last gun battle. Remarkably, he would go on to become a sportswriter, eventually writing a column for the New York Morning Telegraph. In fact, he died at his desk while typing his column in 1921 at the age of 67. Funny, but he survived as a gun fighting but sportswriting killed him … that’s what this business can do to a person.

Masterson’s most famous written lines:

• “Every dog, we are told, has his day, unless there are more dogs than days.”
• “New York is the biggest boobtown there is. They will buy any damned thing here.”
• “When a man is at the racetrack he roars longer and louder over the twenty-five cents he loses through the hole in the bottom of his pocket than he does over the $25 he loses through the hole in the top of his pocket.”

From the St. Joseph News-Press: Politics is more like professional golf than football. Football’s a team sport. Golf’s all about the individuals And that’s why jeopardy hangs around St. Joseph’s latest — and, until recently, best — chance at landing the Kansas City Chiefs’ annual summer training camp.

Politics too often isn’t about making things happen. It’s about whose interests are getting served and who gets to take credit. That’s something I learned while covering it for about four years as a Statehouse correspondent. You can pick up the same lesson by watching with a passing interest for about three minutes.

Gov. Jay Nixon, whose administration assumed office after the state and Missouri Western negotiated the deal with the Chiefs in December 2008, had a two-inch putt to make something good happen for this city, the state of Missouri and Western. It’s starting to look as if he’d rather walk off the green than even take a swing.

 

…Read More!

Thursday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

There are a lot of Chiefs fans who have nothing good to say about Herm Edwards.

The team’s 6-26 record over the last two seasons painted Edwards as an incompetent in the eyes of some followers and pundits. They did and do not want to cut him any slack despite the efforts he was making to turnaround the team with a complete rebuilding job. Turns out Clark Hunt wasn’t going to cut him any slack either; despite supporting Edwards plan, Hunt allowed Scott Pioli to make the decision to fire the coach.

No matter his record, Edwards deserves credit for the quality of the people he brought to the football team.

Here’s a statistic that is quite stunning in a world of pro football, where players are constantly getting themselves into trouble with law enforcement:

Among the players that joined the team in three seasons under Edwards, only two were charged with any crimes. And, amazingly those two players – Michael Merritt and David Macklin – were arrested this year, after Edwards was let go as head coach.

Merritt was a seventh-round choice in the 2008 NFL Draft, arrested on February 5 in Orlando for suspicion of marijuana possession. Macklin, who was signed as an injury replacement last year, was arrested on March 13 and charged with drunken driving in Newport News, Virginia. Both players were released by the current Chiefs administration just days after they were arrested.

All the players that faced legal trouble between the arrival and departure of Edwards were men that he inherited. From 2006 through this year, there were seven incidents involving five Chiefs players. Along with Merritt and Macklin there was S Greg Wesley who was charged with assault on the bouncer at a nightclub on the Country Club Plaza, DE Jared Allen was arrested twice on driving under the influence charges and RB Larry Johnson was charged twice for simple assault. …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/15

It’s day No. 105 of the year.

On April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln dies from wounds inflicted the previous evening by assassin John Wilkes Booth. Andrew Johnson is sworn in as the 17th President of the United States.

On this day in 1892, the General Electric Company was formed. On April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic, just a few hours after hitting an iceberg the previous night. In 1924, Rand McNally published its first road atlas.

And on April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line.

What most people don’t know is that pro football broke the barrier the year before, when Kenny Washington and Woody Strode played for the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL and Bill Willis and Marion Motley played for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference.

Remarkably, Washington and Strode played football at UCLA with Jackie Robinson. They were all part of the 1939 Bruins team, making up three of the four backfield spots. This was at a time when there were only a handful of black athletes playing major college football. Robinson, in fact played minor league football in Hawaii and California in 1941 before the outbreak of World War II.

It wasn’t until 1945 that Robinson played professional baseball, signing a contract with the Kansas City Monarchs.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The first time the Steelers signed James Harrison, they got him for a $5,000 signing bonus. Then they cut him, then cut him again, then cut him again. Baltimore, another NFL team known for its great linebacker play, did not want to be outdone, so they too signed and cut him.

Yesterday, Harrison wore a dark brown suit that would have cut heavily into his first signing bonus. That’s more like tip money for him now as the Steelers formally announced his six-year contract (he counts $6.2 million against their salary cap this year) that will pay him a signing bonus of $10 million, or 2,000 times his first as a pro.

And he intends to collect on the full $51,175,000 of the six-year contract, even though he will be 37 at its conclusion.

…Read More!

Wednesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

When you finish 2-14 and you are stuck in flyover country, you are never going to see many breaks when it comes to scheduling in the NFL.

LIONS CLAIM WILL FRANKLIN/DETAILS AFTER THE JUMP

That’s certainly the case for the Chiefs as they hit the field this fall for the first year of Pioli/Haley Era.

When you are struggling team, all games are tough ones. But no matter how you slice this schedule cheese, the Chiefs got handed some smelly slices.

Take their season opener. Rather than allow them to begin at home, the league sent them on the road, to face a Ravens team in Baltimore that reached the AFC Championship Game last year. There was the perfect matchup available for that game either home or road, against the Denver Broncos.

In the 50th season of the American Football League, the league should have honored the memory of the league’s founder Lamar Hunt with a home game against one of the original eight. That could have been Denver. It would have made all the sense in the world. And the Broncos were available; instead they will travel to Cincinnati to open the season.

Here’s another reason that Broncos-Chiefs opener would have been great theater: Matt Cassel. Why shouldn’t Denver’s new head coach Josh McDaniels start his career trying to stop the quarterback he wanted so badly and who led to the divorce with Jay Cutler.

See, that matchup would have been a natural, but when the guys and computers in the league office never considered it because the Chiefs aren’t good enough on the field, or powerful enough in league circles to catch a break. …Read More!

2009 Chiefs Schedule

The NFL did the Chiefs no favors in the schedule they handed the team for the 2009 regular season. The league announced the dates and times of all 256 games on its card for this fall on Tuesday evening.

Even though they could have been at home for the opening weekend – the Royals are out of town – the league decided to send the Chiefs on the road to start the season against the Ravens in Baltimore on Sunday, September 13th.

The Chiefs home opener will come the following Sunday, when they host Oakland.

The schedule is a killer at the start, with Baltimore, Philadelphia, the New York Giants, Dallas, Washington and San Diego in six of the first seven games.

The Chiefs will wear their throwback uniforms for home games against Dallas on October 11 and on October 25 against San Diego.  They will wear them on the road on November 15 in Oakland.

All the Chiefs games are Sunday, with no prime-time matchups. Flex scheduling late in the season could change that. All games start at noon with the exception of the AFC West road games in Oakland and San Diego (3:05 p.m.) and Denver (3:15 p.m.)

The Chiefs did get a good bye week, with the time off falling almost exactly at mid-season.

Here’s the schedule:

…Read More!

Lions & Rams Draft Update #2

In the days of shadows and light before the 2009 NFL Draft, there is nothing concrete beyond the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams own the first two selections.

Is Matt Stafford going to be the guy in the first chair? Various media outlets have reported the Lions have made up their mind and will take the Georgia quarterback. It’s also been reported that the Rams will go with Baylor tackle Jason Smith in the second position.

But the facts as we know them don’t match up. It’s time to update.

DETROIT

Lions President Tom Lewand spoke this week and tried to say as little as possible about his team and its plans for the No. 1 pick.

“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but I don’t think it does us a whole lot of good to discuss publicly what kinds of negotiations we’ve had or parameters we’ve been outlining with representatives for different players,” Lewand said, as quoted by the Detroit News. “I think what’s important for us to do is make sure all components involving particularly the No. 1 overall draft choice are in place before we make that selection.

“That’s a very dynamic process right now, particularly with where our system is. It’s not just the player and his ability on the field, although that’s obviously the bulk of it. But it’s the player off the field, and it’s the contract, and how that fits into things.” …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/14

It’s the 104th day of the year.

On April 14, 1828 Noah Webster copyrighted the first edition of his dictionary. For those who may have forgotten, that’s the book with all the correct spellings of words. It was something people used before Spell Check. On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth.

Born on April 14 were a couple of famous baseball players. In 1941 it was Pete Rose and in 1966 Greg Maddux.

And on April 14, 1860 the First Pony Express rider reached Sacramento around 1 a.m. The mail pouch or mochila left St. Joseph at 7:15 p.m. on April 3rd, crossed the Missouri River on a ferry and headed west with great fanfare and festivities. The first rider out of St. Joe is thought to have been Johnson William Richardson.

 From the Philadelphia Daily News:
THE ONE AND ONLY certainty about the 2009 NFL schedule to be unveiled tonight is that not everyone is going to be happy with it. Some teams won’t like the placement of their bye week. Others will gripe about a three-game October road trip or playing four of their first five games against playoff teams or having to make a cross-country road trek the week after a Monday night game.

The league’s television partners also won’t be completely happy. Fox and CBS will complain about some of the games they lost to NBC, ESPN and the NFL Network, and ESPN will complain about the quality of its Monday night package, and NBC will complain about having to pay for an extra driver to get the Madden cruiser from Miami to Seattle for back-to-back games in December.

“This is one of the most complicated and complex things I’ve ever been involved with,” said Howard Katz, the NFL senior vice president for media operations, who, for the last 4 years, has been the lucky guy charged with constructing the league schedule.

“You’re trying to serve 37 different masters – the 32 individual teams and the five networks.

…Read More!

Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

We are going to mock today.

No, there will not be a mock draft. If there’s one thing you won’t see from this site any time in this century it’s a mock draft.

No, I’m going to break new ground here. I’m going to do a mock Chiefs schedule for the 2009 regular season.

The NFL will release its full schedule on Tuesday evening, turning it into a television show. Nobody can turn an event with no action (NFL Draft) into a TV extravaganza like the folks at the NFL league office.

Much as the Draft 10 days from now, we know some particulars about the schedule for each team. For instance, we know the teams they will play at home and on the road. In some cases because of conflicts with other tenants or nearby stadiums, we know when a team may be at home and when it would have to be on the road. We also have history to evaluate and analyze, although how the league cobbles together the schedule each year remains one of the great sports mysteries.

But there’s enough information to put together a mock schedule, certainly as much info as most people have to create a mock draft.

Let me address the mock drafts before I bring you the first mock schedule in web history.

Listen, I’ve done mock drafts before and quite frankly, I think they are a waste of space and bytes in newspapers, magazines and the Internet. For fans, I think a mock draft is fine. If a bunch of buddies or fans want to sit around and play GM or personnel director and try to divine just who will be available to a favorite team, that’s cool. …Read More!

Chiefs Annouce Thomas; Waive Will Franklin

The Chiefs made it official on Monday, announcing the signing of LB Zach Thomas.

No details of the contract were provided for Thomas.

In another move that would have to rank as a surprise, the Chiefs released WR Will Franklin.  He becomes the second member of the Chiefs 2008 class of 12 draft picks to be released.  Franklin was a fourth-round selection, the 105th player selected overall in the ’08 Draft out of Missouri.  He appeared in 13 games last year, starting against San Diego in Arrowhead Stadium when the team opened with three wide receivers.

Franklin caught seven passes for 83 yards  and he returned one kickoff for 16 yards.  He had a 42-yard catch against New Orleans.

He joins seventh-round selection TE Michael Merritt on the waiver wire.  Merritt was released earlier this year after he was arrested in Orlando.

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/13

It’s the 103rd day of the year.

On April 13, 1961, the forces at Ft. Sumter surrendered to Confederate forces in the start of the Civil War. On this day in 1902, James C. Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming. He would open many more. On April 13, 1866, American outlaw Butch Cassidy was born in Beaver, Utah.

And on April 13, 1945, Bob Kalsu (left) was born in Oklahoma City. Kalsu went on to play football at the University of Oklahoma and he was the Buffalo Bills rookie of the year in 1968 after he started all season at guard. To satisfy his ROTC obligation, he entered the Army as a Second Lieutenant with the 101st Airborne and arrived in Vietnam in November 1969. He was stationed at the mountain-top Fire Support Base Ripcord in July 1970 located in the A Shau Valley of South Vietnam, when a 23-day battle started with the North Vietnamese Army. American forces were outnumbered eight to one, as they were bombarded for three weeks by the NVA forces before pulling out of the base. Kalsu was killed on July 21. His was the only death among active American pro football players in the Vietnam War.

Sadly, two days after his death, his wife gave birth to his son, James Robert Jr. It was only after the birth that doctors told Jan Kalsu that her husband had been killed.

Bob Kalsu would be celebrating his 64th birthday today.

From the New York Times:
The streak lasted so long that during its span, Warren Sapp crafted a Hall of Fame-caliber professional career, retired, finished a season on “Dancing With the Stars” and began a second career as an analyst on the NFL Network.

It wound through so many generations of football players that Sapp stumps people with a trivia question: who was the highest-drafted University of Miami player the year before the streak started? (Running back Donnell Bennett, second round in 1994, by Kansas City.)

The streak has hung on for so many years that when Sapp spoke to Kenny Phillips, who saved the streak when the Giants chose him with the final pick in the first round last year, he welcomed him to an extraordinary Hurricanes club. “I said, ‘Way to keep the streak going,’ ” Sapp recalled recently. “It’s a common bond with someone who is 13 years removed from me.”

…Read More!

Monday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

A few tidbits and thoughts as the Chiefs head into a week that will end with the first mini-camp for Todd Haley and his coaching staff.

ITEM: CHIEFS ADD ZACH THOMAS/WHY NOT KEEP DONNIE EDWARDS?/DOES  THIS MEAN NO AARON CURRY?

The Chiefs and veteran linebacker Zach Thomas agreed to a one-year contract over the weekend. Thomas is expected in town this week to sign the deal and take part in the weekend’s mini-camp.

So why would the Chiefs sign Thomas, who will be 36 on September 1, after releasing veteran Donnie Edwards, who himself is 36? And, does this signing take the Chiefs out of the picture for using that third choice on Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry?

Let’s start with the second question first.  It’s hard to believe the signing of Thomas has any effect on what the Chiefs will do at No. 3.  If they’ve decided Curry is their  guy, then they will still go ahead and draft him; doing anything different wouldn’t make sense.  But everyone needs to remember that we have no idea if they think Curry is the guy at No. 3.

On to the initial question of why Thomas over Edwards.  First, Thomas is the big inside backer that the Chiefs do not have on their roster. There are eight backers on the list and the biggest is Vrabel at 6-4, 261. He could play inside, but he’s been an outside linebacker during his career. The biggest ILB would be Monty Beisel at 244 pounds. Edwards played inside linebacker or middle linebacker for both the Chiefs and Chargers, but he was 225 pounds. Thomas is a lot closer to the prototype middle/inside backer. …Read More!

Chiefs Sign LB Zach Thomas

One of the most decorated inside linebackers in the NFL over the last decade is joining the Chiefs defense.

LB Zach Thomas (5-11, 242) has agreed to terms with the Chiefs.

A seven-time Pro Bowler, the 35-year old Thomas played the last season with the Dallas Cowboys. He spent the first 12 years of his career with the Miami Dolphins, who selected him in the fifth-round of the 1996 NFL Draft out of Texas Tech.

After the ’07 season, Thomas considered free-agent contract offers from New Orleans and New England, but ended up signing a one-year contract with the Cowboys.

Last season in Dallas, he played in 15 games, starting 13 and was second on the team in tackles with 164. He also had a sack and he recovered a fumble.

Over his career, he has 1,076 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 17 interceptions.

Easter Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

The readers of this web site have made it plain they view two avenues for the Chiefs in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

The most popular, but only by the smallest of margins, is to draft LB Aaron Curry from Wake Forest (left).

The second option is to trade out of the pick, moving down in the draft and picking up some extra draft choices in return.

We are now two weeks away from when the Chiefs must pull the trigger and the team’s chances of dealing away their spot in the selection rotation behind Detroit and St. Louis does not look very good.

More and more, word leaks from draft rooms around the NFL that while teams think this draft has a lot of talent, none of it is consider sure-fire, can’t miss, absolutely Grade A talent. It sounds more and more like the value in this draft will come from picks No. 10 through 20, maybe all the way down to the 25th selection.

Teams grade players in different manners, and with different numerical and alphabetical systems. For instance, a 1+ or A+ player is considered a future Hall of Famer. This is talent that’s ready to play and play now and figures to be on the field for many years.

An informal poll this week of five teams produced not a single 1+ or A+ player in this draft class. There are good players available, but each one of them has some warts that make teams cautious. Club personnel all talked highly of Curry, blockers Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe, quarterback Matt Stafford and receivers Jeremy Maclin and Michael Crabtree. But all agreed there were unanswered questions about each one. …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/10

It is Day No. 100 of the year.

On this day in 1874 the first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Over time it has become a day of celebration around the country. It was on this day in 1912 that the RMS Titanic left Southampton, England on its maiden and only voyage. On April 10, 1916, the Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) was founded in New York.

Born on April 10, 1936 was coach-broadcaster-icon John Madden and on April 10, 1938 was quarterback-broadcaster-icon Don Meredith. The new owner of the Baltimore Ravens, Steve Bisciotti was born on April 10, 1960.

And on April 10, 1992, comedian Sam Kinison died in an auto accident with a drunken driver outside of Needles, California. Very loud and always profane, watching Kinison was like watching a tornado fly across the Kansas landscape, touching down every once in awhile and causing destruction that made you laugh, even if it wasn’t politically correct.

Here are two of his best:

• “The Russians haven’t been to the moon. You know why? Because they’re space pussies… You really want to impress us? Bring us back our FLAG, assh#@*@!”
• “You want to help world hunger? Stop sending them food. Don’t send them another bite, send them U-Hauls. Send them a guy that says, “You know, we’ve been coming here giving you food for about 35 years now and we were driving through the desert, and we realized there wouldn’t BE world hunger if you people would live where the FOOD IS! YOU LIVE IN A DESERT!! UNDERSTAND THAT? YOU LIVE IN A FU&#@^% DESERT!! NOTHING GROWS HERE! NOTHING’S GONNA GROW HERE! Come here, you see this? This is sand. You know what it’s gonna be 100 years from now? IT’S GONNA BE SAND!! YOU LIVE IN A FU&#%@ DESERT! We have deserts in America, we just don’t live in them!”

From the Westchester, N.Y. Journal-News:
Tom Coughlin has been a fan and admirer of UCLA coach John Wooden, he of those 10 national championships in 12 years back in the 1960s and ’70s, for his entire life. Coughlin had called Wooden for short phone chats two, three times a year since the mid-’90s. But he had never met the great coach in person.

Not until last Thursday, as the NFL owners meeting in Dana Point, Ca. broke up and the NCAA’s Sweet 16 began. It was then that Coughlin made the 78-mile drive north from the meetings to the 98-year-old Wooden’s modest apartment in Encino for an audience of three hours “that felt like five minutes,” Coughlin said.

“You know, people have those lists of 100 things they want to do before they die?” he said. “This was a top-10 for me. Top-10.”

…Read More!

Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Jarrad Page has gotten a peek at the Chiefs new defense.

But only a peek.

At a time when Chiefs defensive players would love to dive head first into the new defense they’ll play under coordinator Clancy Pendergast, the coaching staff is throwing around information in a very limited fashion.

“He (Pendergast) showed me some things; the basics,” Page said on Thursday after getting in his workout during the Chiefs conditioning program. “But right now is the time for us to be working on our conditioning. That’s how (Todd) Haley laid out the schedule for us. Now is the time to be working on our bodies. Soon it will be time to work in the classroom.”

That time will likely begin on Monday. The Chiefs have a three-day mini-camp scheduled for next weekend. Just to get the players lined up in the right spots, the coaches will have to spring some information.

Think of the defensive playbook like the average best-seller at the neighborhood bookstore. So far, Page has seen the table of contents and the introduction. The rest remains a bit of a mystery.

“Right off the bat, you know there are a lot of things different because it’s the 3-4 and not the 4-3,” said Page. “It will take some time, but we have a lot of intelligent guys on the defensive side of the ball and there won’t be any trouble picking it up.” …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/9

This is Day No. 99 of the year and we reach the end of former Chiefs players we can honor, since they’ve never handed out a three digit number – although there have been a few lineman big enough to wear it. We salute all the 99s, worn first by Ernie Ladd and then everyone from Wilbur Young to Mike Bell, Vaughn Booker, Duane Clemons and Vonnie Holliday.

It was on April 9, 1965 that General Robert E. Lee surrended the forces of the Army of Northern Virginia to General U.S. Grant of the Union Army at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War.

Born on April 9, 1898 were a couple of names that made their mark on football history: Curley Lambeau and Paul Robeson. Lambeau played and coached and today Lambeau Field is named after him in Green Bay. Robeson would become known for more than his football playing, but in 1917 and 1918 he was an All-America end at Rutgers University. He was called the greatest player of his era by Walter Camp, the father of American football.

And on April 9, 1932 in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Albert Robert Gretz Jr. arrived in the world, the first son of Albert Sr. and Mary.

Happy 77th Pops!

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Brad Childress said he doesn’t mind if Adrian Peterson gains weight, but the Vikings coach said it’s probably unrealistic to think the Pro Bowl running back will reach his stated goal of 230 pounds. “Well, you know what, 230 is awful big,” Childress said Wednesday. “They are not required to weigh in right now, but I can tell you that he doesn’t look any different, maybe even a little bit thinner right now.”

Listed last season at 6-1 and 217 pounds, Peterson said he hopes to gain 7 to 12 pounds with a goal of beginning next season weighing between 225 and 230 pounds. He hopes the extra weight will enable him to better withstand the punishment he takes.

…Read More!

Thursday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The 2009 payrolls for Major League Baseball came out yesterday.

There’s little in the way of comparisons that can be made between the baseball numbers and those of the National Football League. One league has a salary cap; the other a luxury tax. One has a minimum payroll level that must be met; the other does not.

But there is one common denominator that stands out when you look at MLB and the NFL side-by-side: it’s darn near impossible for an owner in either sport to buy a championship.

According to the Associated Press analysis of the baseball numbers, the ’09 team payrolls ranged from a high of $201.4 million for the New York Yankees, to No. 30, the Florida Marlins payroll of $39.8 million. The median payrolls belonged to the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays at approximately $81 million.

In the NFL this year, the salary cap ceiling is $127 million. The floor is $111 million. Teams must spend somewhere between those parameters.

There are different views on the plusses and minuses of these two economic platforms. Generally, the pundits consider the NFL model to be better for the game, since none of the 32 NFL teams can spend that much more under the salary cap than another team. The difference in the NFL this year is $16 million from cap to the minimum. In major league baseball, the difference is $161.6 million between the Yankees and the Marlins.

How then can the 2008 Detroit Lions be explained? In a league where the salary cap is supposed to bring parity, this team went 0-16. That should not happen in pro football. It’s proof positive that the salary cap system can’t correct bad personnel decisions.

Victories in football or baseball still come down to two things: talent and team. No matter which word comes first, they have to be paired together. There are a lot of owners that have spent a lot of money in both sports on talent, while ignoring the element of team. …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/8

It’s the 98th day of the year, and we honor the men who wore that number for the Chiefs, led by defensive ends Eric Hicks and Leonard Griffin.

On this day in 1975 Frank Robinson managed the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first black manager in major league baseball. And on this day in 19897, Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigned amid a controversy over racial comments he made on the TV show Nightline.

It was on April 8, 1992 that tennis great Arthur Ashe announced he had AIDS, acquired through blood transfusions.

And on this day in 1926, Vegas comedian Shecky Greene was born in Chicago. Back in the 1970s, Greene was one of the highest paid comics in the country. One of my favorite Shecky Green jokes was when he talked about how Frank Sinatra saved his life one night. Five guys were beating him up, just punching and kicking him when Sinatra said “OK, he’s had enough.”

Don’t forget to tip your wait staff.

From Yahoo.com:
The woman in the Facebook picture is attractive, with auburn hair and icy blue eyes. She is flanked by several other women, each armed with an inviting smile and curvy features. Along with the photo is a hopeful note from the female “fan” asking to be added to a player’s personal networking profile.

The twist? These women don’t actually exist, at least not in the way that some unsuspecting NFL prospects are led to believe. Indeed, they are a figment of one NFL team’s imagination – a phony Facebook profile, used as a tool by one franchise in the pre-draft vetting process. A Trojan horse that, when used effectively, unlocks a door to a world of Internet pictures and information which most NFL teams are now consistently compiling to help polish their dossiers on draft picks.

“It works like magic,” said a personnel source that was familiar with his team’s tactic of using counterfeit profiles to link to Facebook and Myspace pages of potential draft picks. The source directed Yahoo! Sports to one of the team’s “ghost profiles” – a term he coined because “once the draft is over, they disappear. It’s like they were never there.”

…Read More!

Wednesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

“Laws are like sausages; it is best not to see them being made.”

There is a dispute among historians as to who first uttered that profound comment on the nature of politics. Various sources credit German politician Otto von Bismarck, Winston Churchill, Benjamin Disraeli, Clarence Darrow and Mark Twain.

I think it must have been von Bismarck, because he is definitely given credit for this line: politics is not an exact science.

I always think about sausages when the politicians invade the Toy Department. This week some of that wonderful behind the scenes, political backbiting is going on and it involves the Chiefs and their future training camp home in St. Joseph at Missouri Western University.

Let’s establish this right up front: the sky is not falling. This is about a training camp site for July 2010, not this year. And more than likely what’s rattled out of the state capital this week is just part of the sausage making, like the lovely ladies are doing to the left.

What has surfaced in media reports out of Jefferson City makes it pretty easy to see this is about partisan politics, Republican vs. Democrat, city vs. country, downstate vs. upstate, Kansas City vs. St. Louis. It appears the man behind all this is Governor Jay Nixon and his staff.

Any time you see a line like “legal documents and confidential correspondence obtained” you know somebody is out there leaking the information. That’s the source of a Kansas City Star story that popped up Tuesday out of Jeff City.

Let’s see if we can summarize the story here with as little sausage grease as possible. The Chiefs want to return to the Kansas City area for training camp. The folks in St. Joe, led by Missouri State Senator Charlie Shields and the leaders at Missouri Western have been pitching the team on their school for several years. …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/7

Day No. 97 of the year and we salute those who have worn 97 over the years, including Scott Radecic, Keyaron Fox and Dan Saleaumua.

On this day in 1862, the Union army won the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee under the direction of General U.S. Grant. The great singer Billie Holliday was born on April 7, 1915 in New York. In 1933 prohibition was repealed on beer.

And on this day in 1859 Walter Camp was born in Connecticut. Camp became the man known as the “Father of American Football” thanks his work as dominant voice in the college rules committee in the late 1800s. It was Camp that invented the system of downs and the points system in the early days of the transition from rugby. He created the safety and the offensive alignment of seven men on the line and four in the backfield

All of this came together well over 100 years ago and remains the foundations of the game. Evidence that Camp got it right the first time.

From NFL.com columnist Vic Carucci:
Getting the choice right means the player performs spectacularly for many years to come, while the team makes steady improvement. Think Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Getting it wrong means the franchise can be stuck in a quagmire for multiple seasons. Think Tim Couch, followed 12 months later by Courtney Brown, of the Cleveland Browns … or David Carr of the Houston Texans … or … you get the point.

Thanks to a decade of virtual non-stop escalation of the guaranteed dollars the top overall pick receives, every NFL team views the notion of executing the choice with an overwhelming sense of dread. It’s a case of too much risk and not enough reward.

…Read More!

Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The decisions handed down in the grievances filed by the NFL Players Association against the league that involved the contracts and payments to Larry Johnson and Plaxico Burress will reverberate for a long time in the league.

Special Master Richard Burbank’s rulings that were announced on Monday basically made it impossible for teams to seek paybacks from players who are not available to play because of their actions off the field.

Get arrested, get suspended, make yourself unavailable for the team that paid you millions of dollars and that’s OK, according to Burbank’s decision. His ruling basically means that once a player receives a bonus, there’s no way for the team to get that money back, even if the player is not around to hold up his end of the bargain by playing.

The only reason the Chiefs were able to win the bigger part of their situation with Johnson was two-fold. One, the money had not yet been paid. It was tied up in guaranteed portions of his base salary in 2009 and 2010 and Burbank ruled that was different than money already paid. Plus, Johnson’s contract contained specific language that he would forfeit the guaranteed money if he were unavailable because of a league suspension.

Johnson did get back the pro-rata portion of his signing bonus that he lost for missing four games (three on team suspension/one on league suspension.) Burbank again ruled that the money was already paid, so Johnson could not be penalized. …Read More!

Lions & Rams Draft Update

As far as the NFL Draft is concerned, the Chiefs know only a few things for sure. Right now, they have the third pick in the first round.

Ahead of them at this moment are Detroit and St. Louis. Whether those are facts still in evidence come Saturday afternoon, April 25th remains to be seen.

Until, something is different, we will update you every few days on the chatter in Motown and the ‘Loo on the status of where they are with their preparations for the draft and their teams.

DETROIT

The Detroit Free Press writes that the fact that Jay Cutler is now off the market, solidifies Matt Stafford’s spot as the Lions choice at the first pick.

“At the end of the day, it probably comes down to how much they like Matt Stafford or don’t because they need a quarterback, that’s the most important position,” said former Texans and Redskins general manager Charley Casserly. “And if they are sold on him, that’s probably where they’ll turn first.

“I think Stafford’s a talented player. … But maybe he shouldn’t play right away,” Casserly added. “Carson Palmer didn’t play his rookie year. Daunte Culpepper didn’t play his rookie year. Donovan McNabb didn’t play until late into his rookie year. So I’m not so sure it isn’t better to bring the guy in, let him sit for a year, and then have him ready to go the second year.” …Read More!

L.J.’s Grievance Decision In

Special Master Richard Burbank released his decison Monday on the grievance filed against the Chiefs by the NFL Players Association involving guaranteed money in Larry Johnson’s contract.

Burbank ruled in favor of the Chiefs who removed the guarantee on base salary money for the 2009 and 2010 seasons after Johnson was suspended for one game by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.  The contract contained specific language that would remove that guarantee.  One part of the clause was forfeiture of guaranteed money with an NFL suspension.  It does not mean Johnson can’t earn the money by making the team, but it’s no longer a guaranteed payment.

But Burbank did have something in his ruling for Johnson on his signing bonus.  At the time of his suspension, L.J. forfeited a pro-rata portion of his signing bonus for missing that game.  The Special Master ruled that money could not be taken by the Chiefs.

The question now is just what the Chiefs plans are for Johnson.  There have been published reports that if the Chiefs prevailed in the grievance they would release the running back.  That’s not necessarily the next logical step, however.  Releasing him now wouldn’t accomplish anything but get him out of the building.  If that’s what the Chiefs want, then he should be released by sundown.  If not, then there is no reason to make a move at this time.

Johnson can also expect further sanction from the Commissioner on the two charges where he pled guilty last month.  Goodell said he would revisit the issue after the cases were completed.

Last week, Johnson’s grievance was presented by the players association along with one for New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who was docked $1 million from his signing bonus after he shot himself in the thigh at a New York City nightclub last year.  Burbank ruled in Burress’ favor on that one, saying a team could not withhold or dock signing bonus money for a suspension.

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/6

Day No. 96 of the year and we salute the small number of players who have worn the number for the Chiefs, including defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson and linebackers Aaron Pearson and Monty Beisel.

On this day in 1970 Maurice Stokes died in Cincinnati. Unknown too many young basketball fans, Stokes was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 1956 playing for the Rochester Royals. He had 38 rebounds in one game that season and set a new NBA record for rebounds in 1957 with an average of 17.4 per game. In the final game of the 1958 regular season, Stokes suffered a concussion when his head banged off the floor in Minneapolis. Several days later, he suffered a seizure and fell into a coma and was left partially paralyzed. Doctors eventually diagnosed him with encephalopathy, a brain injury that damaged his motor skills. He was cared for over the last years of his life by his former teammate Jack Twyman before he died of a heart attack at the age of 36.

Stokes story was made into the movie Maurie, that was released in 1973. Former football player turned actor Bernie Casey played Stokes.

Oh by the way, the Rochester Royals became the Cincinnati Royals and they became the Kansas City Kings in 1972.

From colts.com:
If the NFL Draft is a mysterious process, Bill Polian said there’s at least one area that’s often not complex at all. The area: draft day trades. Polian, currently preparing for his 12th draft as the Colts’ president, said while the perception of draft-day trades may have something of a back-room, wheeler-dealer feel, the reality in the NFL Draft often is significantly less exciting.

…Read More!

Monday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Talk to the Chiefs players who sat through Todd Haley’s first team meeting last Monday, and there’s one thing they all seemed to carry out of the room.

They were the words, “Everyone has a clean slate.”

Those outside the building figured those words were sent in the direction of running back Larry Johnson, who sat in the meeting. Johnson’s off-field problems and his long laundry list of incidents and situations needed a clean slate.

But everyone in the room seems to have taken those words to heart; especially every player returning from last year’s 2-14 debacle.

A clean slate means they don’t have to carry the wounds of that long season on their shoulders.

“I took what he said that day as meaning our season started at that moment,” said second-year cornerback Brandon Carr. “It was going to be about what happened going forward, not what happened in the past with the guys in the room.”

Certainly, there are many lessons that came from the 2008 season that should be carried on by those players who were part of the losing. The general manager stepped away and the head coach and more than half of his staff were fired. They paid a price for the losing with their jobs.

But the players were part of the problem last year as well. Few played up to their potential. Several turned in good seasons, but in the most important measure of any team – winning or losing – they were all failures. …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/5

It’s the 95th day of the year.

Born on April 5, 1937 was former Secretary of state Colin Powell. On this day in 1964, General Douglas MacArthur died.

And on April 5, 1955 Winston Churchill resigned as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He was one of the great leaders in the world and he had a way with words. Here are a couple of his best:

• Never give in – never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy
• Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time
• And my favorite, when Lady Nancy Astor said to him: “Winston, if I were your wife, I’d poison your tea.” Churchill answered: “Nancy, if I were your husband, I’d drink it.”

From New York Times columnist William Rhoden:
A few days after committing the blunder of his life last year, Plaxico Burress sat in a Giants office with a look on his face that General Manager Jerry Reese had never seen before. Reese had seen plenty — mostly looks of indifference through all the fines and suspensions levied during the course of Burress’s four years with the Giants. The lectures all seemed to go over, under and around Burress, but never seemed to penetrate.

Then on Nov. 29, Burress crossed the line. He accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a Manhattan nightclub with an unlicensed gun he had tucked into his waistband. Burress was charged with two counts of criminal weapons possession. Worse, his recklessness incurred the wrath of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has made the prosecution of illegal weapons possession one of his pet projects.

As Burress sat in Reese’s office that day, there was no slouching, no looking out the window. He leaned forward, looking in Reese’s eyes, paying attention to every word he spoke. When Reese told Burress that he was finished for the season, suspended without pay and fined, Burress was visibly shaken. He told Reese how much the Giants meant to him, said they were effectively his family.

Today, Burress has no football family.

MORE

By releasing him, the New York Giants have tried to teach Burress a lesson that he should have learned many years ago: there are consequences for his actions. He’s been in low-grade trouble most of his life, never learning from his  mistakes, getting into more at the next turn.  The Giants put up with his antics because of what he could bring on the field.  Now, there’s no idea when he can again contribute.  Burress is going to spend time behind bars, that much we know for sure.  That’s the temperature of the legal situation in New York and frankly, it will be the best thing that ever happened to him.

From the Detroit Free Press:
If 24 years as a team executive taught Charley Casserly anything, it’s that the Lions are trying to trade the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. And if Casserly’s experience has taught him anything else, it’s that the Lions probably won’t be able to trade the pick.

“Every team that I know that’s had the first pick recently has tried to trade it, including us when I was in Houston,” said Casserly, who wielded the top pick twice — as general manager of the Texans in 2000-06 and as GM of the Redskins in 1989-99. And the outcome of those negotiations?
“No takers,” Casserly said. “Not even a discussion worthwhile having.”

Since the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, 10 teams have traded the No. 1 overall pick. As recently as the 1990s, the top pick was dealt four times that decade. But only one team in the past 11 years has traded the crown jewel of the draft, April 25-26 in New York

MORE

The worst thing that can happen to a team is getting the first pick  in the draft.  It means you were really, really, really bad the season before on the field.   The Draft is designed to help the bad teams, but having that first pick is a pot load of pressure for the player and the person who selects him.  He is supposed to be the savior.  He seldom is and those failures are painful.  That’s why nobody wants the pick, not even if they earned it.

From the Orange County Register: Former USC quarterback Todd Marinovich was behind bars Friday for failing to show up at a drug rehabilitation progress review in a Newport Beach court this week, authorities said. Marinovich had gone through drug programs before when an Orange County judge gave him another shot after he pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and resisting arrest two years ago.

Marinovich, 39, was being held at the Orange County Jail without bail, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Web site. He is scheduled to be in court Monday.

Marinovich was arrested by probation department officers for violating terms of his probation after he pleaded guilty two years ago to felony possession of a small amount of methamphetamine and misdemeanor syringe possession and resisting arrest.

MORE

Could it possibly be 18 years now that Todd Marinovich was the quarterback for the Los Angeles Raiders in a post-season game at Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs? He ended up playing all of eight games in the NFL.

He was just 22 years old at the time, after leaving Southern Cal early. Marinovich was a screwed up kid then and nearly two decades later, he obviously remains a screwed up kid. What a sad waste of a life.

Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

Like a volcano that spews hundreds of thousands of pounds of rock and lava into the air when it goes off, the Jay Cutler trade continues to cause after-shocks and ash storms in the Mile High City.

Cutler landed on the shores of Lake Michigan, head coach Josh McDaniels had something to say on Friday, so did owner Pat Bowlen who sent his season ticket holders a letter. Turns out, Cutler is not fond of his new offensive coordinator in Chicago and folks in New England are again questioning why Bill Belichick got so little from the Chiefs for Matt Cassel.

There’s plenty of other stuff going down, including the New York Giants releasing troubled WR Plaxico Burress, Michael Vick’s bankruptcy plan was rejected, possible positive drugs by potential draftees are being disputed and assorted of other interesting items.

But first, the last gasps of the Cutler trade.

CUTLER ARRIVAL IN CHICAGO: He was introduced Friday afternoon by the Bears, with GM Ted Phillips (left) and head coach Lovie Smith (right). “Obviously there’s been a lot said, on my part and the Broncos part, over the last couple of months,” Cutler said. “I think both sides would possibly do a few things differently. But everything happens for a reason. That’s behind me. This is a dream come true for me. And I’m looking forward to the future.”

Cutler acknowledged being a Bears fan growing up in southern Indiana. Asked about the high expectations that followed him into Chicago, Cutler chuckled at the notion that he is the savior of the franchise. “I don’t see myself as that at all,” he said. “In this league, I think I’ve learned over the past three years that it takes offense, it takes defense, it takes special teams, and it takes great coaching. If you don’t have all four of those, you’re not going to go very far.” Here’s the video from Chicago. …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/3

It’s the 93rd day of the year and those who wore the No. 93 in the red and gold are led by defensive lineman John Browning.

Born on April 3, 1924 in Omaha was actor Marlon Brando. Born on this day in 1942 was singer Wayne Newton and in 1961 comedian Eddie Murphy. On this day in 2007, Grambling’s legendary coach Eddie Robinson passed away.

And it was on April 3, 1882 when the outlaw Jesse James was shot twice in the back of the head by Robert Ford in James’ home in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Now, it’s one more edition of all Cutler, all the time.

From Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon: The critical question the morning after the debacle is whether the Washington Redskins have alienated Jason Campbell the way the Denver Broncos did Jay Cutler a month ago. Do we think Campbell is going to publicly snub his owner and coach, perhaps blow off a couple of weeks of team workouts, maybe pout and demand a trade? Here’s one of many reasons the Washington Redskins should be overjoyed Campbell is their quarterback. When Campbell’s coach called him at 7:30 yesterday morning, Campbell answered the telephone. Jim Zorn didn’t have to wait 10 days for his quarterback to return a message.

“I answered the phone,” Campbell said, “and Coach Zorn said to me, ‘Come meet me at the office.’ I did, and we had a long talk. I told him: ‘Coach, if you support me through this, I’ll be fine. Even if they get rid of me, there will be no hard feelings between you and me.’ And he said, ‘Jason, you and I can do a lot of good things together.’ He told me he’d be there for me all day. And believe me . . . that went a long, long way on a day like today.”

MORE                                                                         

…Read More!

Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

You don’t really think the Denver Broncos are done, do you?

Whether or not the Broncos have pulled their own caboose out of the fire with the trade that went down Thursday for Jay Cutler remains to be seen. There’s no question Denver got a nice package for their cranky quarterback: two first-round picks, a third-round pick and Kyle Orton from the Chicago Bears.

The Broncos would never trade Cutler for Orton straight up, so it’s hard to believe they have him pegged as their quarterback for the future. He’s an insurance policy for 2009.

But now that they have a pair of first round picks – No. 12 and 18 – the Broncos can try to trade up to get Matt Stafford, Mark Sanchez or maybe even Josh Freeman. Two of those quarterbacks from the college ranks will be gone by pick No. 12 in the first round on April 25. Quite possibly all three will be taken.

If the Broncos like Stafford and Sanchez especially, then they need to trade up. NFL teams establish the value of picks through a trading chart. They all vary a bit in numerical value. For instance, one chart has the first pick in the draft is worth 3,000 points and the second selection is 2,600 points. The Chiefs choice at No. 3 is worth 2,200 points.

OK, so the Broncos with No. 12 (1,200 points) and 18 (900), that’s a total of 2,100 points. Throw in that third-round pick the Broncos got from Chicago (195) and you’ve got 2,295 points.

That would land them right in the Chiefs neighborhood at the third pick. …Read More!

Chiefs React to Cutler Trade

From the Truman Sports Complex

“Really?”

“Is that April Fool’s a day late?”

“No way!”

As they took part in an event to benefit autism in a parking lot west of Arrowhead Stadium, members of the Chiefs secondary reacted to the news that the Denver Broncos traded quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears.

It’s safe to say there were no tears in the eyes of guys like safety Jon McGraw and cornerbacks Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr as they reacted to the deal.

“We don’t mind at all that he’s out of the division, heck out of the conference,” said Carr. …Read More!

Grievance Decision Likely Next Week

There’s the chance Special Master Stephen Burbank has been busy in the last 24 hours and will be ready on Friday to release  his decision on the grievance involving Larry Johnson. 

But more than likely the annoucement will not come down until early next week.  The NFL Players Association representing Johnson and the NFL Management Council representing the Chiefs made their arguments during a 3 1/2-hour hearing at the University of Philadelphia Law School.  The NFLPA’s general counsel Richard Berthlesen told the Associated Press that a ruling should come down within a week.

Johnson’s grievance was originally set to be heard with one filed in the name of former Atlanta defensive back Jimmy Williams.  But Burbank decided to pair Johnson’s situation up with the grievance involving New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

Again, the NFLPA says the Chiefs violated the collective bargaining agreement between the league and players because of language in Johnson’s deal.  There was wording in the contract that removed the guarantee on future  money if the running back was suspended by the NFL.  That happened last November.  Johnson can still earn the money – his base salary for 2009 – but it’s not guaranteed.

If Burbank upholds the Chiefs clause, they could release Johnson and not take a salary cap hit for the guaranteed base salary.  It would also make him easier to trade, since another team without a renegotiation would inherit the deal.  But cap relief is not imperative to the Chiefs right now, because they have plenty of room available under the ’09 limit of $127 million.

Engram Impressed by Cassel

From the Truman Sports Complex

He admits that he hasn’t quite gotten up in time to work out yet with the Chiefs quarterbacks, who begin at 7:30 each morning.

“I’m still trying to get adjusted to the two-hour time change,” Engram said Thursday afternoon. “That would be 5:30 my time (Seattle).”

But on Friday, Engram plans to join Matt Cassel, Tyler Thigpen and Ingle Martin and anybody other arms that may be part of the early morning workout class.

“I think I’ll come in with that early group and catch some balls,” Engram said. “We’ll definitely get it cranked up next week.”

Engram is anxious to start working with the quarterbacks and especially Cassel, who impressed him a great deal last year when he stepped in for Tom Brady and became the Patriots 15-game starter.

“You don’t go through a whole season; that’s not a fluke,” Engram said. “Just watching Matt and the way he controlled the game when we played them. Watching him up close, he was very calm in the pocket. He knew where he wanted to go with the football, he delivered some strikes and he just commanded the team.”        …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/2

It’s the 92nd day of the year and we pause for the briefest of moments to honor those who wore No. 92 at Arrowhead. It’s a brief moment because there haven’t been many who have excelled in the number. The best may have been Darren Mickell. Others who have worn the number were Dan Williams, James Reed, Carlos Hall and Eric Downing.

On April 2, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond. On April 2, 1992, the “Teflon Don” New York Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering. He was later sentenced to life in prison, where he passed away.

On this day in 1743, Thomas Jefferson was born in Shadwell, Virginia and on April 2, 1995 Harvey Penick died in Austin, Texas. A teaching golf pro and golf coach at the University of Texas for 33 years, over a decade ago he put his teaching philosophy on paper in Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book, the best selling sports-related book in history.  One of Penick’s most famous quotes: “Life consists of a lot of minor annoyances and a few matters of real consequence.”

Yeah, but those minor annoyances can drive you crazy.

One observation: saw a national webpage listing of stories Wednesday night and here were four that appeared one after another:

• Man wants guilty (murder) plea withdrawn in (Sean) Taylor case.
• Man accused of shooting (Richard) Collier gets trial delay.
• (Plaxico) Burress gun case adjourned until June.
• Two slain in N.Y. condo owned by Saints (Jonathan) Vilma.

Don’t know what it means, but it sure caught my attention.

Other items that did as well follow.

From the Nashville Tennessean: The Titans have asked the NFL to look into tampering charges against the Washington Redskins in the signing of defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, sources familiar with the situation said. The Titans recently turned in what they considered to be evidence that the Redskins had contact with Haynesworth before he became a free agent in February. The league indicated to the Titans that it planned to look into the matter.

Haynesworth, who played his first seven NFL seasons with the Titans, agreed to terms on a $100 million contract with the Redskins five hours into the free agency period on Feb. 27. Titans officials declined to comment Wednesday. Greg Aiello, senior vice president for the NFL, would neither confirm nor deny that the Titans had contacted the league.

“There are issues of tampering that come up from time to time and if we need to take some action then of course we announce that,” Aiello said. “Until then we don’t comment on it.”

…Read More!

Thursday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

There’s a great deal of pressure on the Denver Broncos.

And they have only themselves to blame for the position they sit in right now.

Yes, they’ve been dealing with a whiny, apparently bratty, way too sensitive player in Jay Cutler.

But responsibility for where this situation sits right now – owner Patrick Bowlen has publicly said the team will trade Cutler – falls directly on the Broncos.

If the manner in which the team has handled things with Cutler is an example of the Broncos Way in the post-Mike Shanahan Era, then Chiefs fans and those of the Chargers and Raiders should rejoice. The once mighty Broncos have allowed themselves to get pushed and pulled about by a 25-year old quarterback who has never thrown a post-season pass.

Here’s a case where a player has apparently fired his team. Give Cutler and his agent Bus Cook credit for pulling this one off.  Me thinks they took advantage of a franchise without an experienced general manager, without an experienced head coach and with an owner who no longer had his security blanket (Shanahan) to show him the way.

Cutler again shot off  Wednesday night, telling FOXSports.com: “I was surprised they decided to trade me this soon.   I didn’t want to get traded. This wasn’t me. They had been going back and forth saying things, wanting me to be their quarterback and then they didn’t.  I really didn’t want this. I love Denver. I really like my teammates. I didn’t want it to get this far.”

Every time  this kid opens his mouth, you wonder how he’s been able to get as far as he has in life.  The Broncos are no better. Take Bowlen’s announcement Tuesday night that the team had reached the point where it would trade the quarterback? Why make that announcement? More importantly, why make that decision? …Read More!

Bottom of the Bird Cage 4/1

We are now in the 91st day of the year and the start of a new month and we say salute to No. 91s in Chiefs history, led by Tamba Hali, Ken Kremer, Leslie O’Neal and R-Kal Truluck.

It was on April 1, 1891 that the Wrigley Company was founded in Chicago. Soon, gum was everywhere. On this day in 1976, Apple Computers was formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in Cupertino, California. They would incorporate in less than nine months and go on to take over the computer world.

On April 1, 1984, the legendary singer Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father, with a gun that Gaye had bought for him. And born on this day in 1929 was the legendary football coach Bo Schembechler, the man who put the fire back into Michigan football.

Here’s Bo’s most famous quote: “When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing!”

I wonder how Bo would have handled Jay Cutler? Remember what he did as Michigan athletics director when basketball coach Bill Frieder took a job at Arizona State before the 1989 NCAA tournament; he sent Frieder packing immediately and had assistant Steve Fisher coach the team. The Wolverines won the national title.

From the Denver Post:
This is no April Fool’s joke. Pat Bowlen was referring to a conversation Tuesday morning between Bus Cook, Cutler’s agent and Broncos general manager Brian Xanders. According to a source close to Cutler, Xanders told Cook he had better get in touch with his client because Bowlen wanted to speak to his quarterback. By Tuesday evening, Bowlen had reached his breaking point.

Thus, Bowlen, in the 25th anniversary of owning the club, has dismissed iconic head coach Mike Shanahan and is about to dump his franchise quarterback in the same offseason. Shanahan, who had been the Broncos’ coach the previous 14 seasons, was fired Dec. 30 and replaced 12 days later by McDaniels. Here’s a twist — while Bowlen was declaring the end of the Cutler era, Shanahan sank a hole-in-one, according to his former attorney Harvey Steinberg. Shanahan got his first hole-in-one soon after getting fired by the Oakland Raiders in 1989.

Cutler had heard about Bowlen’s statement Tuesday but said by text message, “I’m not talking about it.”

…Read More!

Wednesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The man pictured to the right is former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

If all is on schedule, there will be a hearing today on the grievance filed by the NFL Players Association against the Chiefs over guaranteed money in Larry Johnson’s contract.

What does Vick have to do with L.J.’s situation?

The history of the Falcons quarterback’s legal problems and guaranteed money in his contract are all part of the picture with what happened with the Chiefs running back.

It comes down to this: just how much personal responsibility is there for an NFL player to behave himself when he’s being paid multi-million dollars?  The old saying is “buyer beware”, but shouldn’t their be a standard of behavior the buyer can expect for his investment?  And if there is going to be a standard, why can’t the team get back some of its investment.

Let’s start with Vick and his situation and work forward from there to Johnson and his problems and contract.

Vick signed a 10-year, $130 million contract extension in December of 2004; it included a $37 million signing bonus. In July 2007, Vick was charged with federal crimes involving dog fighting. In August he pleaded guilty and he was suspended by the NFL. In November 2007, he entered prison even before he was sentenced, which came in December. …Read More!