Birds, Bucs & Pack In Pre-Season

The NFL released the game matchups for the 2010 pre-season on Tuesday afternoon and the Chiefs will spend the first two weeks of the exhibition season on the road.

Todd Haley and team will open against former teammate Tony Gonzalez and the Falcons at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on the weekend of August 13-15.

The next week, they stay in the NFC South and face the Buccaneers in Tampa on the weekend of August 20-22.

It’s the Philadelphia Eagles coming to town on the weekend of August 27-29 for pre-season game No. 3 and the first contest at the renovated Arrowhead Stadium.

The final practice game will come on September 2-4 at Arrowhead against the Green Bay Packers.

The Chiefs have not played a pre-season game in Atlanta since 1988 and have not been to Tampa for an exhibition game against the Bucs since 2000. The last time the Eagles came to Kansas City for a pre-season game was 1979 and the Packers haven’t played one of the early games at Arrowhead since 1990.

The NFL regular season schedule should be released sometime in the next two weeks.

Flowers Ready to Bloom

From The Truman Sports Complex

The injury occurred at the end of the 2009 pre-season. Brandon Flowers landed badly and what happened in his shoulder was not good. It was messed up, with the exact nature of the mess one of those state secrets around the Chiefs.

It’s safe to say that the pain never went away. Flowers was scratched from the season opener in Baltimore, but then played the final 15 games on the schedule. He did it with a great deal of discomfort, probably a pain killing shot or two, but with the attitude that he had to play. There was never a consideration on his part of shut down his season, even in the second half of the season when the Chiefs were so far out of contention they couldn’t see first place in the AFC West.

“All the guys I went through training camp with and all the off-season workouts, they had been with me the whole time and that would have been selfish of me to sit down and just tell them they’ve got the last few games because I want to rest my shoulder and make sure I’m alright,” Flowers said. “I was going to go out there and spill my blood, sweat and tears with my brothers.” …Read More!

McNabb to Chiefs? … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

Gotcha!

The current rumors about the future employer of QB Donovan McNabb remained just that after the close of business in the NFL on Tuesday.

Over the last week, just about every team in the league with the exception of the Chiefs has been linked to a trade for the Philadelphia quarterback. Don’t fall for any April Fool’s Day jokes on Thursday about McNabb heading for Arrowhead. But don’t be surprised if somebody reports it as fact.

I’m not quite sure there’s anything we can completely believe in this soap opera. It has not played out behind the NFL scenes, but in the media that cover the Eagles and the NFL. There have been so many contradictory reports on McNabb, the Eagles and where he might play in 2010; it’s a real indictment of the willingness of the media to be manipulated by forces that make being first with the news more important than being right.

A week ago, there were stories written in Philadelphia that a deal was all but finalized between the Eagles and St. Louis Rams for McNabb. There were no sources named for that nugget, but Rams GM Billy Devaney did go on the record and declare the rumor “nonsense.”

In fact through it all, there are only three people willing to stand by their comments with use of their names: Devaney, Eagles coach Andy Reid and McNabb himself, although his comments came from the printed word rather than spoken.

Call it a giant mess of rumor, innuendo and sometimes sheer fantasy. When you wade through the pond and the scum that sits on top of the water in this situation, there’s really very little that is real. …Read More!

The Best Chiefs Draft Picks Of All-Time

There’s just 36 hours left to vote on the best Chiefs draft choices of all time.

Polls will be open until late Wednesday night for readers to vote on the 10 best Chiefs draft choices in the past 50 years. Rank them in order, one through 10, with No. 1 being the best selection in the history of the franchise.

The NFL is celebrating the 75th NFL Draft by asking fans to vote for the 75 best draft choices in league history.

For those that have a life and don’t know all the draft choices in team history off the top of their head, here’s a link for a fairly good list of Chiefs draft choices over the years.

Attach your picks to this post.

Importance of Pro Days … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

The total attendance inside the University of Oklahoma’s Everest Center on Monday morning was unknown. But combine the NFL types, along with the media that showed up at the Sooners indoor training complex and there were more than 100 people watching Sam Bradford throw the ball.

Thousands of dollars and man hours went into what was a 30-minute throwing session for the former Heisman Trophy winner and Sooners starter. That’s right, 30 minutes and 63 throws. Bradford did not do anything else during this session. Oh, he was measured – 6-5 and 236 pounds – and he spent time with representatives from several teams, and even had breakfast before the workout with the St. Louis Rams contingent including GM Billy Devaney and head coach Steve Spagnuolo.

There were other Oklahoma players that worked out before Bradford’s session; most of them either did not take part in the drills at the NFL Combine or were not invited to Indianapolis. It was Oklahoma’s Pro Day, one that will be repeated on Tuesday at UCLA, Houston and Alabama, and then on Wednesday at Texas, Southern Cal and South Carolina.

Pro Days are a rather recent phenomenon in the personnel world of the NFL. A decade ago there were but a handful of these events around the country. Now, they are held every spring at every college that produces players that the NFL is interested in.

What are they for? More than a few folks in the NFL ask that question every year when they are jumping on planes and heading for Lubbock, Corvallis, Starkville and Gainesville to see players run around in their underwear. …Read More!

Chambers Glad To Be Back

From the Truman Sports Complex

“It felt so good to come into a locker room that I know.”

That was just part of the excitement WR Chris Chambers experienced on Monday as he joined the rest of his teammates for the first day of the Chiefs off-season strength and conditioning program.

And that was one of the reasons Chambers signed so early in the free agency period. After he injected some life into their offense over the second half of the ’09 season the Chiefs wanted him back. And after being released by the Chargers last year, Chambers wanted to sign with a team that wanted him.

That made the three-year deal for just under $15 million easy to accept for the 31-year old, 10-year NFL veteran.

“I didn’t want to go somewhere I had to start over and learn a different system,” Chambers told the media. “I’m glad to be around the guys again.” …Read More!

Starting To Sweat … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

Monday morning is the kickoff to the Chiefs off-season strength and conditioning program and the tension and anxiety level in the locker room must be significantly lower than it was at this time last year.

Todd Haley hopes it’s not too low; a healthy dose of anxiety is something he wants for every one of his players.

There isn’t a soul on the roster that after his performance during the team’s 4-12 season in 2009 that should feel he’s arrived in the NFL and he can’t improve his production and efficiency. If there is someone of that mindset, he will be exposed very quickly once the bodies are set in motion during the workouts.

Last year at this time, the team began Year No. 1 under Haley without much of an idea of what they faced. They soon learned that no matter what shape they reported in, they were not nearly in good enough shape for this head coach. By the time the workouts were over in June, there had been some 700+ pounds lost, gallons of sweat poured from the players and there were more than a few hard feelings along the way.

It was during these sessions that the returning Chiefs found out there head coach wasn’t a guy that was going to pat them on the back and tell them to try harder next time. It was a real culture shock to those players who may have known only Dick Vermeil and Herm Edwards as head coaches. Various players ended up spending time in Haley’s dog house for showing up overweight, out of shape and/or unwilling to change their mindset. Branden Albert, Dwayne Bowe, Derrick Johnson, Glenn Dorsey, Jamaal Charles and others had to change their ways. …Read More!

Bounty Of Picks … Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

For any NFL team that takes the path of building through the draft, every April is a very important time for the future of the franchise.

No other team in the league faces a more critical 2010 NFL Draft than the Chiefs. It very well could be the most important selection meeting for Team Hunt since the earliest days of the AFL-NFL wars for talent.

This week, the league released the official selection order for this year’s draft. Shake out the back story behind the 255 draft choices and there are several noteworthy developments. Among them is this:

The Chiefs have eight of the top 144 selections. That’s one of the best potential hauls of any team in the league.

Cleveland is the only club that can top that with nine of the first 146 picks. As an example of how many gifts the Chiefs will enjoy this season, the Chicago Bears have just three picks in the first 180 and the Carolina Panthers have only three of the first 174 slots. Like the Chiefs and Browns, the Bears and Panthers did not make the playoffs last year.

Those eight choices for the Chiefs are all that they have in this year’s draft, as they are without sixth and seventh round selections. Both of those choices went to Miami, the sixth for offensive linemen Andy Alleman and Ikechuku Ndukwe and the seventh was dealt in last year’s draft to allow the Chiefs to select TE Jake O’Connell. …Read More!

Blackouts & Changes … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

The NFL said Goodbye Orlando on Wednesday, as the league wrapped up its annual March meetings. Much was voted on and even more was discussed.

One of those subjects was television blackouts, which should be on the minds of all Chiefs fans as the month of March comes to an end and the 2010 season is now less than six months away.

Nobody within the Chiefs will go on the record when it comes to how many season tickets are spoken for with this fall’s home schedule. But a little birdie told me the number at this point is less than 40,000. It’s the lowest number of season tickets for the Chiefs since the 1988 season.

Obviously there’s a lot of time to sell tickets, but with a 10-38 record over the last three seasons and a very ordinary lineup of teams coming to Arrowhead Stadium, the potential for blackouts will be there each and every week.

That was also the case last season, but the Hunts bought enough tickets through the season to put nine of the 10 games on local television. They reached their limit for the final home game against Cleveland, thus breaking the club’s streak of TV blackouts that dated back to 1991.

Last season, there were 22 local TV blackouts around the league, up from nine in the 2008 season. Bad teams, bad economy and too-high ticket prices led to the growth in games that were not sold out to qualify for complete television coverage.

It’s something that Commissioner Roger Goodell said the owners talked about during the week in Orlando. …Read More!

Help Sal Fight Cancer

In the 50-year history of the franchise, Dan Saleaumua would have to rank among the top 10 most popular players with Chiefs fans. That smile, that laugh, his everyman demeanor, along with his skill at making things happen on the field made for a very big fan following.

Long after his career ended, Saleaumua continues to give back. Fans can help him assist the American Cancer Society by taking part in his Swing for the Cure Golf Tournament.

Set for Deer Creek Golf Club in Overland Park on Saturday, May 10th, Sal will join golfers for 18 holes, lunch and an awards presentation after the round. The shotgun start is 8 a.m. For an individual the cost is $125 and its $400 per foursome. All proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society.

“No matter what else happens in our economy and in our lives, cancer never quits,” Sal said. “And we can’t quit helping to find a cure.”

Playing spots and sponsorship opportunities are available. Visit www.saleaumua.com for more information. Questions can be directed to .

Sharing A Story Of Sharing

There is a great story in today’s Chicago Sun-Times about Chiefs OLB Andy Studebaker and one of the things he’s been doing in the months since the end of the 2009 season.

The details about Studebaker’s rise from Division III Wheaton College to the NFL is a story that most Chiefs fans have gotten to know through this site and others in the 22 games that he’s been part of the team’s active roster; he was signed on November 19, 2008 off the Eagles practice squad.

But his effort to help other people is what’s interesting in this story and those efforts didn’t just start when he made the NFL.

Here’s the link if you want to read the story yourself.

And, here’s a brief Cliff Notes version: Studebaker and his wife Mallory led a trip recently to South Africa, where they helped refurbish an orphanage established by a former Wheaton football player. The Studebakers along with 14 current Wheaton players painted and laid concrete during their week in the country.

It’s a continuation of what Studebaker did when he was attending Wheaton. Then, he took spring break trips with his teammates not to a beach in Florida or Mexico, but went to Senegal, South Africa and Romania where they handled similar projects.

It’s a very good story about a very good man.

A Good First Step … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

The NFL owners took the necessary first step on Tuesday when they approved a change in overtime rules for post-season games.

Here’s to hoping they take the necessary second step and approve the change for all games, not just the playoffs. They’ll have that chance at the next league meetings, coming up in May in Dallas.

Under the new rule, if the team winning the overtime coin toss goes down on its first possession and kicks a FG, the other team would get a possession, with a chance to tie the game with a field goal or win it with a touchdown. A field goal would put the game under the old sudden-death rules where the next team to score wins the game.

The measure passed 28-4, a cushion of four votes; it needed 24 of the 32 teams to vote yes. Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati and Minnesota voted against the change.

Reports from the meetings in Orlando seem to indicate there were quite a few teams that were of the same mind as Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt – why not institute the change for regular season games as well. But the owners decided to put that off until May.

”There was a lot of sentiment in the room to change this rule also for the regular season,” said Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, co-chairman of the league’s competition committee. ”The idea was to go back and study it . . . and then come back in May or next year or whenever it may be because there is an idea that this system needs to be changed.” …Read More!

Owners Change Overtime

In an overwhelming vote for change, the NFL owners approved altering the rules for overtime in the playoffs on Tuesday at the league meeting in Orlando.

The proposal passed easily by a 28-4 count. There were 24 votes needed for passage. Voting against were Buffalo, Minnesota, Baltimore and Cincinnati.

The Chiefs cast one of the 28 votes for the change. Starting with the 2010 post-season, if the team that wins the overtime coin toss drives down the field for a touchdown, they will win the game.  If they drive for a field goal, the other team will have an offensive possession and the chance to tie the score with their own 3-pointer, or win the game with a touchdown.

If the score remains tied after each team had a possession, then the next team that scores wins the game.

Why Peterson Is At The NFL Meetings

The blogosphere has been percolating with talk of Carl Peterson sightings at the NFL meetings in Orlando at the ultra plush Ritz Carlton Grand Lakes Resort down in Orlando.

Certainly, C.P. has never met a four-star hotel he didn’t like, but he’s not down there just saying hello to old contemporaries and hitting the Greg Norman designed golf course.

Peterson is working with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. No, he’s not replacing Bill Parcells as the major football domo of the Chiefs. He’s working with Ross to sell NFL owners on Game-Day Vision, an interactive mobile device that will be available to season ticket holders at Sun Life Stadium this fall for Dolphins games.

Game-Day Vision brings right to the fan access to replays, updates of other games, statistics and other features like ordering food and drink that can be delivered directly to the seat. What the Dolphins are doing this year is giving their season ticket holders the device for the entire season. Fans get one device for every two seats they hold. …Read More!

Time For Overtime Change … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

The NFL owners will sit in their large meeting room at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Lakes Resort on Tuesday and debate changing the rules of overtime.

Whether they vote up or down on a proposal to alter overtime procedure in the playoffs does not solve the major problem of overtime in the post-season, regular season, pre-season or any season:

Why should a flip of a coin play such a huge impact on the outcome of a game?

Seriously – it’s just plain unfair to have both teams play for 60 minutes, have the score tied and then hand one team an advantage over the other. I know that the team that wins the overtime coin toss does not always take the game on that first possession.

But if they score, the other team should have a chance to put points on the board as well. That currently is not the case. And if the new rule suggested by the league’s Competition Committee is passed, it won’t address that inequity either.

Under the proposal the only change comes if the team that wins the toss drives down and kicks a field goal. If that happens, then the other team gets a possession where they can tie the game with a FG or win the game with a touchdown. If they achieve neither, the game is over. If they tie it back up with a FG, it becomes sudden death.

This idea does not go far enough. What the flip is wrong with giving a guarantee to each team of having a first down on offense? That is far more equitable. It forces both teams to play offense, defense and special teams. …Read More!

No Extra Picks For Chiefs

As expected the Chiefs were shutout when the NFL came down with their compensatory picks for the 2010 NFL Draft.

Each year the league awards extra selections in the draft based on free agency signing and losses from the previous season. The formula is unknown, but supposedly involves the size of player contracts and the on-field conributions of the free agents signed and lost.

The Chiefs were active in signing free agents last year, and lost a few players, none to a major contract. A player like Tony Gonzalez does not count in this situation because he was traded to Atlanta.

In previous drafts, the Chiefs had eight compensatory picks, including the special teams duo of K Ryan Succop and P Dustin Colquitt.

The bigger winner this year was Cincinnati, as the Bengals picked up third and fourth-round choices, two picks in the top 131 choices. New England received the most picks with four, including three in the seventh round. Tennessee, Pittsburgh and Carolina had three each. Of the league’s 32 teams, 19 received compensatory picks.

Here are the selections, which come at the end of each round, beginning with the third: …Read More!

Owners Meetings Begin … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

It’s called the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes Hotel (left) and let me assure you, this ain’t no Motel 6.

It’s the land of luxury and it’s one that the owners and management of the NFL and its 32 teams have come to expect when they get together for their annual March meeting that began on Sunday.

The No. 1 item on the agenda for the owners in their four days in Orlando, Florida is the labor situation between the league and its players. The NFL says the current system is flawed and is making the economics of the game impossible for the owners. But there’s not going to be a lot of folks feeling sorry for these guys when they are hangin’ at a place like the Ritz.

The resort is part of 500 tropical acres just outside Orlando with a Greg Norman designed golf course, an area to learn fly fishing, a zip line for those adventurous enough to fly through the pines of central Florida. Let’s not forget the 40,000 square foot spa, with 40 different treatment rooms and various therapy pools. That doesn’t even include the regular pools.

Obviously things aren’t so bad that clubs can’t dump a couple hundreds of thousands of dollars into a few golf scrambles, Swedish message, tiny little hot dogs and crab cakes for the cocktail parties and dinner tabs with wine and other beverages that will easily rack up tabs that finish the night with a total that includes a comma.

Hey, it’s their money and they can spend it however they like. But it doesn’t jibe with their claims of impending poverty because of the most recent collective bargaining agreement that was shoved down their throats by former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue some five plus years ago. Only two owners stood up at that time and said the deal was bad: Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson and Mike Brown of Cincinnati. They were painted as an old coot owner and a cheap owner. Turned out they were just smarter and quicker on the uptick than some of the other men in the room. …Read More!

PERSONNEL MOVES- DAY #15-16 UPDATE

It happened through the free agency wire but essentially the Dolphins and Cardinals traded linebackers.

Miami got the better of the deal. They signed former Arizona starter Karlos Dansby as a UFA in the early days of the free agency period to a 5-year, $43 million deal. Just in the last two days the Cardinals signed LB Joey Porter (right) to a 3-year deal for $17.5 million. Porter played last season with the Dolphins.

The Dolphins agreed to a contract with Dansby and officially released Porter on the same day, March 5th, the opening of free agency. It was two weeks before Porter found employment with the Cardinals.

Porter’s signing was the only highlight of the first two days in the third week of the NFL off-season. That lack of action figures to continue as the NFL’s movers and shakers have all traveled to Orlando for the league’s annual March meetings.

Here’s the roundup of the light traffic on the waiver wire for the last 48 hours:

…Read More!

Always Looking For Talent … Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

Finding football players good enough to participate in the National Football League is a dirty, rotten, stinkin’, 24/7, 365 days a year journey.

It never stops. Ever.

Holidays, vacations and birthdays do not darken the lights of the NFL personnel office when it comes to finding players. The NFL’s annual March meetings will begin on Sunday in Orlando, and here’s betting that GM Scott Pioli and head coach Todd Haley will spend more time talking about potential Chiefs, than they will about other league business, or even Mickey Mouse and his friends over at Disney World.

The football calendar is broken up into segments when it comes to finding players. From the college football season, to all-star games, to the NFL Combine, to Pro Days, private workouts, the NFL Draft, signing undrafted players as free agents, mini-camps, off-season programs, OTAs, spring practices on college campuses, the CFL, the indoor game, training camps, pre-season games and then it’s fall and the cycle starts all over again.

When the family is made up of 32 brothers, none want to be left out. So they spend millions of dollars every year. The good teams look under every rock, check every tip and assume nothing in the journey. Some 90 percent of the information is nobody’s secret, shared alike by the whole family.

But it’s that 10 percent of the information that can make a difference, and allow a team to inject talent into their roster. Here’s an example where 10 years ago the Chiefs never stopping the personnel process and that produced a talented player. …Read More!

Off-Season Moves/NFC Review … A Cup O’Chiefs

As the NFL closes in on two full weeks of the 2010 off-season, one thing has become clear.

Quarterbacks are in high demand and even bad ones and untested ones are getting big money. That was the case last year, when 15 NFL starts was enough for Matt Cassel to get the biggest contract in Chiefs franchise history.

Deals like that one continue and they were the highlight of Day No. 13 of the new business year in the league. The Chiefs were quiet, as they did not announce any moves after being so busy the last few days with the deals for Thomas Jones, Jerheme Urban, Shaun Smith, Casey Wiegmann and Ryan Lilja.

But, back to quarterbacks and their money, for instance Charlie Whitehurst (above). He spent the past four seasons as the No. 3 quarterback with the San Diego Chargers. He played in two regular season or post-season games, putting up a pair of running plays for 13 yards and a touchdown. Whitehurst has yet to throw a pass that counted in the NFL.

And, yet he signed a new contract on Wednesday with the Seattle Seahawks. As a restricted free agent, Whitehurst worked out a deal with the Seahawks, and the club turned around and worked out a trade with the Chargers. Seattle and San Diego swapped spots in the second round of next month’s draft (a move of 20 spots) and the Seahawks also give up a third-round choice in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Whitehurst inked a two-year contract, worth $5 million per year. That’s right, $5 million for a quarterback who hasn’t thrown a single pass in a regular-season game. …Read More!

Berry Injures Toe

Everyone knows new Chiefs defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel is a tough guy when it comes to defense.

Just ask safety Eric Berry, considered one of the best defensive players available in next month’s draft.

They held a Pro Day workout for Berry in Knoxville on Wednesday and Crennel was there and in fact, was running the defensive back drills for Berry. All it took was two reps and Berry was done for the day with a sprained left big toe.

Seriously, Crennel had nothing to do with the injury. Berry said he felt like he stepped in a hole on the University of Tennessee practice field. He was backpedaling and when he planted to run forward, he stopped and held up his foot. After a conversation with Crennel, Berry was done for the day and went to the training room on a jog.

It was 30 minutes of ice on the toe and then he walked away from the football complex with a limp. Both Berry and his agent said it was a minor injury and would not be a major problem in the future.

“They said it wasn’t major,” Berry said, referring to UT’s training staff in a conversation with the Knoxville News-Sentinel. “Just a little disappointed I didn’t finish the drill.” He added that had this happened in a game, he would have continued to play.

Off-Season Moves/AFC Review … A Cup O’Chiefs

The signing of G Ryan Lilja to a three-year contract on Tuesday kept alive what has been a busy 10-day period for the Chiefs in free agency.

In fact, they have been the busiest teams in the league when it comes to adding talent to the roster. They’ve kept six of their own players and signed five UFAs. They’ve kept or added OLB Mike Vrabel, WR Terrance Copper, RB Jackie Battle, WR Chris Chambers, QB Matt Gutierrez, RB Kolby Smith, RB Thomas Jones, WR Jerheme Urban, NT Shaun Smith, C Casey Wiegmann and Lilja (above with Peyton Manning.)

No other general manager in the league has turned in more contracts to the league office in the last two weeks than Scott Pioli. Denver has made nine moves for second spot in the AFC. Over in the NFC, Detroit and Washington also have made nine moves.

For our accounting purposes we are adding up the unrestricted free agents signed or re-signed, the restricted free agents who have signed their tender offer and any players acquired through trades.

When it comes to signing new players, only Pittsburgh can match the Chiefs total of five. That alone is quite a surprise since the Steelers have never been known as a major player in free agency. Like the Chiefs, Pittsburgh has signed a lot of UFAs, but they haven’t been the big name types with big dollars attached to their move. …Read More!

Chiefs Get Lilja Back

On Tuesday the Chiefs corrected a mistake made nearly six years ago when they signed G Ryan Lilja.

It’s a three-year contract, but no financial details from the club.

The six-year veteran from the Indianapolis Colts returns to the Chiefs, the team where he began his NFL career. He was released in early September in 2004 when the Chiefs were cutting their roster to the regular-season limit of 53 players. Dick Vermeil and his staff hoped to get Lilja passed through waivers and sign him to the practice squad.

But the Colts claimed him on waivers and by the next season, he was a full-time starter at left guard. Lilja played in 66 games, started 59, as well as eight games in the playoffs including a pair of Super Bowl starts. Those eight starts in the post-season are more than the rest of the current offensive linemen on the Chiefs roster combined.

The 6-2, 290-pound Lilja prepped at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, then went on to Coffeyville J.C. and K-State. He signed with the Chiefs in 2004 as an undrafted college free agent.

Lilja missed the 2009 season because of a knee injury. He also missed time during the ’06 season because of a knee problem. He will celebrate his 29th birthday in October.

A Second Look At The Moves … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

The smoke has cleared in the free agency period around the NFL. The roster activity will not stop completely when it comes to hiring and firing of players in the league, but the pace has slowed considerably.

Just check out the activity from Monday at the bottom of this post. There were four UFA signings announced where a player changed teams. The movement of LB Paris Lenon, CB Marcus Hudson, WR Ruvell Martin and ILB Larry Foote didn’t create much of splash.

But that’s where the available players sit right now. There are a few players every day coming available; for instance, QB Chris Simms and S Deon Grant because available after they were released by the Broncos and Seahawks.

We’ll take a look at the best signings around the league on Wednesday. Here on Tuesday, we’ll take a look at the Chiefs roster moves since the start of the new league year, plus the day before it all began when they re-signed LB Mike Vrabel (above). Here’s my view on what the Chiefs have gotten done, in order or importance to the team in 2010:

1. Signed free agent RB Thomas Jones – Much has been written about the acquisition of Jones last week and there’s no sense going back over plowed ground. Suffice to say that just about everyone in the league thinks the Chiefs really helped themselves and their offense. As long as that over 30 running back wall doesn’t drop on Jones all at once, the signing of Jones fills a big hole on the roster and depth chart. …Read More!

L.T. Or T.J.? … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

The merry-go-round of NFL personnel moves made an interesting circle on Sunday.

That’s when the New York Jets signed former San Diego RB LaDainian Tomlinson (right) to a two-year contract, reportedly worth $5.1 million.

This is the same Jets team that released its leading rusher from last season in Thomas Jones because he wouldn’t take a pay cut. Jones signed with the Chiefs last week; it’s a two-year deal, worth $5 million. It has been reported that Jones gave the Jets a chance to match that offer. Instead they decided to sign Tomlinson to a deal that is essentially $100,000 more than what Jones got from the Chiefs – two years, $5.1 million.

Releasing Jones and filling that spot by signing L.T. is a move that has the NFL collectively scratching its head. The Chiefs signing of Jones has gotten the stamp of approval from everyone in the league, because of what he can potentially bring to the Kansas City offense and the relatively low price the Chiefs are paying him. Some pundits have ranked it among the league’s top five moves of the off-season. Not so with New York’s double move at running back. …Read More!

Jets Say Good Bye to T.J.

The Jets were busy on Sunday. They signed LaDainian Tomlinson to replace Thomas Jones.

But they wanted to thank Jones for three strong seasons, so they bought a full page ad in the Kansas City Star. If you want to you can check it out in Sunday’s paper on page A-11.

Or, if you’ve grown out of handling the daily fish wrap, just click on read more and you can see the ad.

Given how unusual placing this ad is, one wonders why the Jets didn’t keep Jones, especially in a season where there’s no salary cap.

Take a look: …Read More!

Day No. 10 Free Agency Update

It will go down as one of the worst draft day trades in the history of the NFL.

That’s all that can be said for the Cleveland Browns decision back in April 2007 to trade back into the late first-round of the NFL Draft so they could draft Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn (right).

On Sunday, the Browns traded the disappointing Quinn to the Denver Broncos for FB Peyton Hillis, a sixth-round selection in 2011 and a conditional choice in 2012.

Here’s what Quinn gave the Browns on the field in three seasons: 14 games played (out of 48), 13 starts, 184 of 353 passes (52.1 percent), 1,902 yards (5.4 yards per attempt), 10 TD passes and nine interceptions.

To acquire Quinn, Cleveland sent a second round choice (No. 36) in the ’07 Draft and a first-round pick in the ’08 Draft that turned into the 22nd choice to Dallas for the 22nd spot in the ’07 first-round. The Browns had already made a great decision taking OT Joe Thomas with the third pick in the first round.

It’s one of series of draft day blunders that have haunted the Browns since they returned to the NFL in 1999. That year, they had the first pick of the draft and selected QB Tim Couch, who was a bust. The next year they had the first choice again and took DE Courtney Brown, who was also a bust. In 2001 their third pick was DT Gerard Warren; a bust. A year later they used the 16th choice for RB William Green; a bust.

What followed were C Jeff Faine, TE Kellen Winslow, WR Braylon Edwards and LB Kamerion Wimbley; all first round picks from 2003-2006. When the Browns also traded Wimbley on Sunday to Oakland that meant all of those choices were no longer part of the Cleveland roster.

Also making headlines on Sunday was the New York Jets signing RB LaDainian Tomlinson; more on that in the morning.

Here’s what went down on Sunday in the league: …Read More!

Day No. 9 of Free Agency Update

Rather than return back to New Orleans, where the Super Bowl Saints were interested in having him serve as a backup to Drew Brees, it’s Cleveland where Jake Delhomme (left) plans to continue his NFL career.

Delhomme agreed to terms on Saturday with the Browns, where he has a chance to winning the starting quarterback job for new football guru Mike Holmgren and head coach Eric Mangini. They’ve booted Derek Anderson to free agency and they are ready, willing and able to trade Brady Quinn. They picked up Seneca Wallace in a trade with the Seahawks.

So Delhomme has a chance to continue as a starter after ending his run at Carolina with a benching last year. He threw eight TD passes during the’09 season, against 18 interceptions. His passer rating was a horrible 59.4.

Here’s the activity from a quiet Saturday around the league: …Read More!

Day No. 8-Free Agent Update

A lot of things are changing in Larry Johnson’s life these days.

He’s going to be a Daddy in the coming months; it will be his first child. On Friday, he found a new football home, signing a three-year contract with the Washington Redskins where he’ll play for Mike Shanahan.

It’s also a chance for L.J. to return to his roots; he was born and raised in the state of Maryland and growing up, his favorite football team was the Washington Redskins.

The former Chiefs back signed for $3.5 million a year in base salary, with the chance to earn another $500,000 a season through incentives.

“It’s funny, the first baby outfit I ever was put in was a Redskins outfit,” Johnson told a Washington radio station this week. “And that’s all we watched, was Redskins and Cowboys in our house, so I grew up a Redskins fan.”

Johnson will give Shanahan a two-headed monster at running back with Clinton Portis.

“It’d be just like how me and Priest Holmes was way back in the day,” Johnson said. “It’d be nice to be able to play aside somebody like that.” …Read More!

Wiegmann Returns to Chiefs

Free agency can make for sometimes strange circumstances like two years after he left, C Casey Wiegmann returns to the Chiefs.

His signing was announced on Friday by the team. Wiegmann was released before the start of free agency by Denver; he played the last two seasons with the Broncos. The Iowa native signed in the Rockies as an unrestricted free agent in 2008, after playing seven seasons with the Chiefs.

Wiegmann has played 14 seasons with the Colts, Jets, Bears, Chiefs and Broncos, appearing in 195 games with 168 starts. Right now, he has a streak of 143 consecutive starts at center and has taken 9,078 consecutive snaps at the position.

He will turn 37 in July.

2010 NFL Draft Order

COMPLETE ORDER FOR 2010 NFL DRAFT

BEGINS THURSDAY, APRIL 22 AT 6:30 PM CDT

Here is the updated selection order for the 2010 NFL Draft.

The first round will start on Thursday, April 22 at 6:30 PM CDT with the second and third rounds on Friday, April 23 at 5:00 PM CDT followed by rounds 4-7 on Saturday, April 24 at 9:00 AM CDT.  

The Best Chiefs Picks … Weekend Cup O’Chiefs

On Friday the NFL will announce a contest in honor of the 75th NFL Draft that will be held in April.

They are going to ask fans to vote on the 75 best draft choices in league history. Fans are asked to go to NFL.com where they will find a list of 320 players. From that group, they are asked to select 75 choices as the best of all time. The top 10 choices will be announced on April 22nd during the first round of the 2010 Draft.

Voting begins on March 12th and will run through April 18th.

We know a good idea when we hear one, so here’s a chance for Chiefs fans to pick the best draft choices in their favorite team’s history. We aren’t going to ask for 75; that might be hard to fill out that field!

No, I’m interested in the top 10 Chiefs draft choices of all time. There’s no other qualification(s) for the selections, just the 10 players that in your mind were the best draft selections by the Hunt Family franchise beginning in 1960 and running through 2009.

Rank them in order, one through 10, with No. 1 being the best draft choice in team history.

Attach your list of 10 to the comments on this post. Voting remains open until 11:59 p.m. Saturday, March 20th.

I look forward to seeing your selections and for your reading pleasure, here’s my top 10 Texans-Chiefs draft picks of all time: …Read More!

Getting To Know: Thomas Jones

Full name: Thomas Quinn Jones

Born: August 19, 1978

Hometown: Big Stone Gap, Virginia, a small town in southwest Virginia, just over the mountains from Harland County, Kentucky. It’s an area where Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina come together at various angles. The 2000 Census said the population was 4,856 folks. He also spent time while growing up in Appalachia, Virginia, a town of less than 2,000 which was across the Big Stone Gap from the town of the same name.

Family: Oldest son of Thomas and Betty Jones. Both parents worked in coal mines, as their fathers did before them. His mother spent nearly 20 years working the night shift, retiring 10 years ago with a back injury. He has five sisters: Gwen, Beatrice, Knetris, Knetta and Katrice. His younger brother Julius Jones went to Notre Dame and was drafted in the second round in 2004 by Dallas. He’s played six seasons for the Cowboys and Seahawks. …Read More!

Chiefs Add Wide Receiver

Wide receiver is one of the positions the Chiefs needed to infuse with more talent in the current off-season. They re-signed Terrance Copper and Chris Chambers and now they’ve added another pass catcher through free agency.

The Chiefs announced the signing of UFA WR Jerheme Urban on Thursday.

Urban is entering his seventh NFL season after playing with Seattle and Arizona. A graduate of Trinity College in Texas, he’s played in 47 games with six starts. He’s caught 87 passes for 1,231 yards and seven touchdowns.

Last season, he played in 10 games for Arizona, catching 18 passes for 186 yards.

He first hooked up with Chiefs head coach Todd Haley in Dallas during the 2006 season when he was part of the practice squad. When Haley moved to the Cardinals in 2007 as offensive coordinator, Urban signed as a free agent with Arizona in September, after he was released by the Cowboys.

Urban was a talented athlete at Trinity, where he also participated in track, winning 12 conference individual titles in six different events: 100 meters, 400 meters, 400-meter hurdles, long jump, triple jump and javelin.

Stupid Until Proven Innocent … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

The presumption of innocence, otherwise known as innocent until proven guilty is one of the foundation stones of American society and has roots that reach back to England, ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.

In this current age of instant news and the 24-hour news cycle, it’s become a harder concept to live by and accept. Too much becomes known too fast about a moment in time. The standard of presuming innocence does not exist outside American courtroom in this 21st Century; it’s survival in jurisprudence can be debated as well.

It happens all the time. A person will be charged with some sort of crime or felonious behavior and it will become big headlines. A grand-jury indictment signals the perp walk that television loves, even though an indictment is not a finding of guilty or not guilty.

These days it seems more like guilty until proven innocent.

This civics lesson comes because of the latest incident that involves Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben is accused of sexual assault last week in Milledgeville, Georgia. A 20-year-old student at Georgia College and State University told authorities that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her at in a women’s bathroom at nightclub near the college campus. Police at the scene interviewed Roethlisberger and members of his party and permitted them to leave.

The woman was treated at a Milledgeville hospital that night and released.

Join me by repeating three times:

OK, innocent until proven guilty, innocent until proven guilty, innocent until proven guilty.

…Read More!

Day No. 6 Free Agent Update

T.O. is still looking for a new football home. Antonio Bryant is not.

Both receivers were in Cincinnati this week. Bryant got a contract, Owens did not. Whether any of that makes Chad Ochocinco happy, we’ll have to check on Tweeter to find out.

“I’m happy we have my friend Antonio Bryant, but I’m hurt at the same time,” he wrote from Los Angeles where he’s practicing for his upcoming appearance on Dancing With The Stars. “It would have been great teaming up with 1 of the best.”

Bryant signed a four-year, $28 million deal, a contract similar to the one the Bengals gave last year to UFA WR Laveranues Coles who was a disappointment during the ’09 season.

As for Owens, he tweeted what might have been.

“I’m en route back 2 LA imagining wht WE could hv done 2gether!! Holy delta skymiles Robin! U talk about unstoppable!!” is what he posted.

Here’s what else went down on Wednesday, as free agency pushed towards the end of its first week: …Read More!

McClain Discloses Illness

Alabama LB Rolando McClain said on Tuesday the he suffers from Crohn’s Disease, an intestinal affliction that he controls with medication.

McClain made the announcement at the Alabama Pro-Day workout, where he ran the 40-yard dash (right) in 4.6 seconds, but then became ill when running other agility drills.

Whether this has an effect on how he’s viewed by teams – like the Chiefs – in next month’s NFL Draft remains to be seen. But McClain said he has dealt with Crohn’s since his freshman year in high school. If that’s the case, then it should not be a concern to teams because of how McClain played during his college career with the Crimson Tide.

He’s considered a top half of the first-round draft choice and certainly should be someone the Chiefs will consider at the No. 5 pick, although that may be too high for McClain.

McClain also revealed that he played most of the last month of the season with a hamstring injury that was never revealed, even to his teammates.

Chiefs Sign Big NT

Day No. 6 of free agency has brought a big move for the Chiefs.

That’s big as in size, not importance. The Chiefs have signed NT Shaun Smith, a UFA from Cincinnati to a one-year contract.  The 6-2, 325 pound Smith is entering his seventh season in the league and he’ll be 29 years old in September.

Smith has played in 63 games for New Orleans, Cleveland and Cincinnati, but has started just 27 times. He has 152 total tackles and two sacks, both of those coming in 2007 when he was with the Browns.

His most famous moment in the NFL wasn’t even on the field. It came in December of 2008 when he punched teammate QB Brady Quinn in the Browns weight room. That the Chiefs have gone ahead and signed him with Romeo Crennel – the former Cleveland head coach – as their defensive coordinator tells you something about what they think they can get out of Smith.

At least it gives them another player on the roster who has nose tackle size after veteran Ron Edwards.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Smith finished up his high school career at Wichita Heights H.S. in Wichita. He went to Butler County Community College for two years and then the University of South Carolina. He signed as an undrafted free agent with Dallas in 2003.

Experienced Legs … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

It is one of the most proven truisms of pro football: running backs hit the wall when they reach 30 years of age.

The accumulation of carries, hits and knockout shots take the tread off the tires of running backs much faster than any other position in the game. Quarterbacks are coming into their prime when they reach 30. Receivers keep getting older and older, productive beyond the 30th birthday. Pass rushers, run stoppers and pass defenders don’t physically deteriorate like running backs.

That’s why more than one coach has decided that when it comes to running backs, they are either going to use two for a running back-by-committee, or they are going to get themselves a young stud and use up all his carries.

All of this became part of the picture of the 2010 Chiefs when they signed soon to be 32-year old running back Thomas Jones to a two-year contract worth $5 million total, with another half-million available on incentives

Jones became the first outside free agent to sign up with Pioli/Haley in this second season. …Read More!

Day No. 5 Free Agency Update

This time of year can be tough on players as they are cut loose by teams, or must sit down and decide where they want to move their family if they are going to continue their careers.

Sometimes the emotions get the best of them. Take now former Cleveland QB Derek Anderson.

Speaking via e-mail to a Cleveland area paper, Anderson did not hide his feelings about being released on Tuesday by the Browns.

“The fans are ruthless and don’t deserve a winner,” Anderson wrote when asked for a reaction to being released. “I will never forget getting cheered when I was injured. I know at times I wasn’t great. I hope and pray I’m playing when my team comes to town and (we) roll them.”

Anderson was released less than 24 hours after the Browns consummated a trade that brought QB Seneca Wallace to Cleveland for a ’11 draft choice.

The signing action has slowed in the first week of free agency. The Denver Broncos made the only splash on Tuesday with the dual signings of DE Jarvis Green from the Patriots and NT Jamal Williams from the Chargers. Along with Justin Bannan who was signed late last week, it provides a complete makeover of the team’s defensive line.

Here’s what went down on Day No. 5: …Read More!

Thomas Jones Joins Chiefs

Veteran free agent RB Thomas Jones has agreed to a two-year contract with the Chiefs.

The news popped Tuesday afternoon, Day No. 5 of the free agency period. According to ESPN, Jones will get a two-year deal, worth $5 million and he’ll have the chance to improve those numbers with some incentives.

Jones will be 32 in August and is entering his 11th NFL season.  The Virginia native has played in 148 regular season games with Arizona, Tampa Bay, Chicago and the last three seasons with the New York Jets. Jones has 2,280 carreis for 9,217 yards and 62 TDS and 32 career 100-yard rushing games. Seven of those came last season when he had a career high 1,402 yards rushing on 331 carries and 14 TDs.

Hoping For More … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

OK, so you are a Chiefs fan and you are having a hard time dealing with your teams approach to free agency.

Sure you like the fact that the re-signing of WR Chris Chambers (left) was announced on Monday, a three-year deal for up to $15 million with performance bonuses and just short of $6 million in guaranteed money.

But you don’t like the fact that the best players in the 2010 crop of UFAs have changed area codes and none have added the 816. You want sparkle, you want names like Peppers, Rolle and Dansby signing deals and walking away with a truck load of Hunt Family money.

Let me assure those that may feel the Chiefs have not done enough in the first four days of shopping that they’ve fallen victim to the allure of free agency. It’s far too early to make a ruling on the ability of GM Scott Pioli and his folks to handle this part of the personnel picture; free agency is just four days old right now.

While it’s not sexy, they’ve gotten things done by re-signing Chambers, OLB Mike Vrabel and WR Terrance Copper. And the free agency market doesn’t close after a few days or even a week; it runs up to the start of training camp in late July. The teams that fly out of the chute with their checkbooks don’t get any extra victories or points on the scoreboard.

Last year it was the Washington Redskins that dropped a huge contract on DT Albert Haynesworth and got him signed in the first 24 hours of free agency. Last year, Washington finished with a 4-12 record, the same as the Chiefs who did not sign a UFA on the first day they were allowed. …Read More!

Day No. 4 Free Agency Update

Apparently refreshed after sending the coaching staff to a ski resort for the weekend, the Pittsburgh Steelers suddenly dove into the free agency pool on Monday.

It wasn’t like the Steelers suddenly opened the vault and started throwing the Rooney money around. No, they followed the pattern that’s been a franchise principle since the start of free agency back in 1993. They’ll sign unrestricted free agents, but they won’t be the big names for the big contracts.

They zero in on role players that will help fill out what is largely a home-grown roster. They did that in a big way on Monday, signing WR Arnaz Battle, WR Antwaan Randle El (right), S Will Allen, OT Jonathan Scott and re-signing safety Ryan Clark.

Those are not the type of names that will flash across the scroll on ESPN all night. Battle is 30 years old and will be in his eighth season. With San Francisco for 88 games in the last seven years, he caught more than 35 passes only twice and has 178 catches for 2,150 yards and 11 TD catches. Randle El came into the league as a Pittsburgh draft choice and returns after several mediocre seasons in Washington.

Allen was drafted and played six seasons in Tampa Bay. He’ll be 28 in June and is very good on special teams. Scott started a handful of games for the Bills last year. Clark was a starting safety for the Steelers last year, who was allowed to become a UFA and spent part of Monday in Miami talking with the Dolphins. But he decided to re-sign with the Chiefs.

Combined, those five players signed deals that wouldn’t even equal half of the guaranteed dollars ($42 million) that the Bears will pay DE Julius Peppers.

Here’s the rest of the action from Monday around the NFL: …Read More!

Chiefs Re-Sign Chambers

There are two kinds of activity in NFL free agency. There is going out and signing players from other teams. And, just as important, there’s signing your own free agents that you want to keep on the roster.

The Chiefs are getting things done when it comes to keeping their own players as they announced Monday afternoon that they had re-signed vetern WR Chris Chambers. As always, no details were released by the team about the deal. But ESPN reports that it’s a three-year deal for as much as $15 million, with $5.9 million in guaranted dollars.

Everyone knows how important it was for the receiver starved Chiefs to hang onto Chambers. In nine games last year for the Chiefs he caught 36 passes for 608 yards and four TD receptions. After RB Jamaal Charles, Chambers was the most consistent and productive player on the team’s offense.

He will be 32 years old in August and the coming season will be his 10th in the NFL, after playing previously for Miami and San Diego.

Chambers joins OLB Mike Vrabel and WR Terrance Copper as UFAs or potential free agents who have re-signed with the club.

Don’t Doubt Marty’s Tears … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

The tears Marty Schottenheimer shed on Saturday when he was talking about becoming the 40th member of the Chiefs Hall of Fame were real.

They were always real with Marty. The German’s emotions are always close to the surface. You won’t find many men that have been in the game of football tougher than Martin Edward Schottenheimer. He was so tough that he didn’t much worry about those salty drops coming from his eyes, or the clutch that would come in his throat or what other people might think of them. When something flips that switch, he’s unafraid of allowing his emotions to take control for a few moments.

Many people questioned those tears at times, calling them phony. Those folks didn’t know Marty. I know Marty and I can tell you he’s one of the least phony people you would ever want to meet in any area of life. What you saw with Marty is what you got. He was stubborn, sometimes very stubborn, but he was never afraid to fix a mistake. He once said the best advice his father ever game him was never to be afraid of making a decision, because if you make the wrong decision, you just get another chance to make a decision, and another chance to get it right. …Read More!

Day No. 3 Free Agency Update

The NFL grapevine bubbled over the weekend that the Chiefs were interested in veteran running backs.

ESPN and various New York media outlets reported that Thomas Jones would be visiting the Chiefs on Monday, after being released by the Jets on Friday.

And the San Francisco Chronicle reported Sunday evening that Raiders RB Justin Fargas (left) would also be visiting with the Chiefs soon. Fargas was released over the weekend. The team said Fargas did not pass a team physical. Fargas said the whole situation was about money – he’s due a $1.7 million bonus on Monday.

“I was told by the coach that they were moving in a different direction,” Fargas told the Chronicle. “They said it was strictly about money … I know some things were put out there, I guess they said I didn’t pass a physical. I’m a little disappointed by the way it happened but I understand it’s a business.

“I definitely appreciate being able to spend seven years as a Raider. I’ve always loved the Raiders. I just want to do everything I can to help another team win a championship. I still have a lot of football in me. I’m fine (health-wise).” …Read More!

Answer Bob – The Combine

The questions were good; I hope the answers are the same. Here’s what I had to say about questions that came in post-NFL Combine. I hope they are educational and illuminating, and at the lease coherent.

Here we go.

—

Mad Chief says: “Which player(s) struck you the most as having the “total package” (i.e. skills, intelligence, demeanor, etc.) And thanks again for your coverage, Bob. It was outstanding! …Read More!

Day No. 2 Free Agent Update

Yes, the pace of free agent signings slowed on Day 2, but then that’s pretty normal in a season with a salary cap. So far, there doesn’t seem to be much difference without a cap, although I would bet there are some contracts creatively structured to take advantage of no cap.

The Chiefs again got one of their own signed, inking UFA WR Terrance Copper to a new deal. Copper got almost no chance in the offense last year, but was a factor on special teams with 16 tackles, that was No. 2 with the Chiefs.

It sounds like RB Thomas Jones (left), who was released by the New York Jets on Friday is headed to visit the Chiefs on Monday. That’s what ESPN reported on Saturday.

There’s no mystery that the Chiefs are seeking help for Jamaal Charles in the K.C. running game. Whether Jones is the best fit for that remains to be seen, given the fact he’ll turn 32 in August and will be in his 11th NFL season. But the 5-10, 212-pound Jones is a workout freak (check out those biceps in the picture) and he has the hard-nosed attitude that the Chiefs prize these days.

In 10 NFL seasons, he’s run 2,280 times for 9,217 yards and 62 TDs. Jones had a career best season in 2009 with 1,402 rushing yards and 14 rushing TDs. That included a career high 331 carries.

Here what went down on the personnel front Saturday in the NFL: …Read More!

Marty Schottenheimer Joins Chiefs Hall of Fame

Marty Schottenheimer will be officially announced this evening as the latest addition to the Chiefs Hall of Fame.

Schottenheimer’s honor was to be part of Saturday night’s 101 Banquet at the Westin Crown Center Hotel.

Over his 10 years as head coach of the Chiefs, the team had a 104-65-1 record. That’s second in victories only to Hank Stram’s and his 129 winning efforts over 15 seasons.

His career head coaching record of 205-139-1 ranks sixth all-time in the NFL behind only Don Shula, George Halas, Tom Landry, Curly Lambeau and Chuck Noll. The western Pennsylvania native was head coach of the Chiefs, Browns, Redskins and Chargers.

Schottenheimer will be honored at a game during the 2010 NFL season at Arrowhead Stadium.

Marty and his wife Pat, along with son Brian (offensive coordinator of the New York Jets) were in Kansas City for Saturday night’s announcement. …Read More!

Chiefs Free Agent Update – Saturday

The Chiefs announced Saturday afternoon that they had re-signed WR Terrance Copper. The veteran receiver became an unrestricted free agent on Friday. As always no details were provided on the deal.

Last season, Copper’s first with the Chiefs, he was the team’s second leading tackler on special teams with 16. He c aught four passes for 68 yards, including a 50-yard catch on the Chiefs first offensive play of the season finale against Denver. Copper is entering his seventh season and will turn 28 years old next week.

Also, the Indianapolis Colts signed OL Andy Alleman. A three-year NFL veteran, he was not offered a restricted free agent tender by the Chiefs.

Day#1 Brings Big $ … Weekend Cup O’Free Agents

Lions head coach Jim Schwartz was on an airplane to Nashville and knocked on DE Kyle Vanden Bosch’s door a minute after midnight. Bears head coach Lovie Smith flew late Thursday night to Charlotte, where the Bears picked up DE Julius Peppers and gave him a ride back to Chicago.

And in Pittsburgh, the Steelers coaching staff was preparing for a trip to a ski resort in the nearby Laurel Highlands for a weekend bonding experience.

Such was the first day of free agency in the 2010 NFL season. Some teams were busy, some teams were focused and some teams were waxing their skies and packing turtlenecks, unfazed by the unrestricted free agent class that became available on Friday.

The big winner financially was Peppers (right), who signed a six-year deal with the Bears that’s worth at the top end $91.5 million. He may not see that figure, but the defensive end will get $42 million guaranteed and $40.5 million in the first three years of the deal. Remember when the Vikings signed Jared Allen two years ago as part of the trade with the Chiefs for the defensive end. Allen at the time got the biggest contract for a defensive player in NFL history: six years, $74 million and $31 million in guaranteed money. Peppers deal leaves Allen’s contract in the dust. …Read More!

Busy Hours As Free Agency Opens

As usually happens, the first hours of the NFL’s free agency period has been plenty busy.

And the charge has been led by the normally penny-pinching Chicago Bears.

The McCaskey/Halas family has opened the lock box and in the first half-day of free agency the club has signed two of the biggest names in this year’s crop of unrestricted free agents: DE Julius Peppers (left) and RB Chester Taylor (center). They also signed big TE Brandon Manumaleuna (right).

Peppers got a six-year deal worth $40 million in the first three years. Taylor’s deal is for four years, $12.5 million with $7 million in guaranteed money. Manumaleuna signed a five-year deal with $5 million guaranteed dollars.

Another NFC North team was also active: the Detroit Lions. They signed DE Kyle Vanden Bosch to a four-year $26 million deal and also inked WR Nate Burleson to a five-year, $25 million deal with $11 million in guaranteed money.

CHIEFS UPDATE: Restricted free agents QB Brodie Croyle and LB Corey Mays received tender offers from the team before Thursday night’s deadline. Both were given contract offers for $1,759,000. If another team made them an offer and the Chiefs did not match, the signing team would have to forfeit a second-round choice.

Also, national websites are speculating that the Chiefs are one of three teams chasing a trade for Arizona WR Anquan Boldin that could be wrapped up today. New England and Baltimore were the other teams.

The National Football Post reports that OLB Mike Vrabel’s one-year contract with the Chiefs is worth $1.6 million in base salary and a $1.425 roster bonus. Last year, Vrabel’s base salary was $2.2 million.
…Read More!

Gentlemen, Start Your Wallets … Friday Cup O’ Free Agents

The 2010 NFL season has officially begun, kicking off Thursday night with the start of free agency.

Some teams were busy right when the clock struck free agents. Despite the new economic landscape of the league operating without a salary cap, the free agency scene does not figure to change much. There will be a lot of action in the first few days of free agency and then the big money trail will grow cold.

Names like Julius Peppers, Karlos Dansby, Antrel Rolle, Chester Taylor, Dunta Robinson and Darren Sharper should be in the headlines very quickly.

The chances are slim that any of those names will end up wearing the red and gold uniform of the Chiefs. GM Scott Pioli said last week the Chiefs would be active like they were last season. That translates to signing eight to 10 free agents, but none of the big names and none of the big contracts. They will focus first on their own free agents that they want to keep, like the new contract for LB Mike Vrabel (right).

Each of those players named above would be a big transfusion of talent into the Chiefs roster. But so far it doesn’t look like the Clark Hunt-Pioli way includes spending big money on UFAs.

It sounds like the Chiefs were a player for San Diego RB Darren Sproles who seemed on his way to becoming an unrestricted free agent. And, they may still be pending further developments with the Chargers. After making Sproles their franchise player in ’09, the Chargers said they were not going to tender Sproles in ’10. But the Chargers had a change of heart and gave Sproles an offer on Thursday that requires first and third-round compensation if another team signed him. According to Sproles’ agent Gary Wichard, the interest of other teams got the Chargers attention. But grumpy G.M. A.J. Smith may be willing to settle for far less than a first and third. How about a second-round pick for Sproles? …Read More!

Chiefs Sign Vrabel; Tenders To RFAs

Busy times for all NFL teams as the league sprints towards the start of a new business year at 11 p.m. Central Time.

The Chiefs have worked out a new contract with OLB Mike Vrabel, keeping him from reaching unrestricted free agency. Vrabel, who came to the Chief as part of the deal for QB Matt Cassel, will be playing his 14th NFL season and will turn 35 in August. Last season he was sixth on the team in total tackles with 65, along with two sacks two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Last week during the NFL Combine, head coach Todd Haley said: “I think the world of Mike. I think he’s a heck of a player and he was a heck of a positive influence for me as a first-year head coach in multiple areas. He’s just a tremendous football player that is fun to be around.”

Also, the Chiefs have given tender offers to starting center Rudy Niswanger, starting RT Ryan O’Callaghan, backup tackle Ikechuku Ndukwe and S Jarrad Page; all came with a second-round draft choice as the compensation. For four-year veterans Niswanger, O’Callaghan and Page, that’s one-year deals for $1,759,000 and for three-year player Ndukwe that’s a tender worth $1,684,000.

Plus, the Chiefs have given five-year LB Derrick Johnson a first-round tender offer of $2,621,000.

OL Andy Alleman did not receive a tender offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

New World Of Restricted Free Agency

The new league year will begin at 11 p.m. Central Time on Thursday.

With it comes a new landscape of no salary cap for the first time in the NFL since 1993.

What will happen around the league in these circumstances will be interesting to watch in the coming weeks. That’s especially true when it comes to restricted free agents, one of the great oxymorons in professional sports. Coupling free with restricted does not make much language sense, and as it’s played out over the years, it hasn’t made much sense for the players.

Until this year, a restricted free agent was a player who had three years of experience in the league. With the owners opting out of the agreement with the players and bringing into play the uncapped season in 2010, changes came to the restricted class. Now a restricted free agent is a player with three to five years of experience in the league.

That means there are 212 players with four and five years of experience who are about to become restricted free agents (RFA) rather than unrestricted (UFA). And there are 212 players like San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman who are not very happy about the change. …Read More!

A Little Bit Of Everything … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

General thoughts, tidbits and musings after the NFL Combine and just hours before the 2010 season begins with the start of free agency.

PARALYSIS OF ANALYSIS – In the last 24 hours I’ve read at least two dozen stories on the Internet about players who got a push up from their performance at the Combine and those that hurt themselves.

This outlook is typical of today’s media coverage of anything – there has to be winners and there has to be losers. Any relationship with reality doesn’t really matter. All these reports of players going up and down based on their time in the 40-yard dash or how many reps they had in the bench press are pure speculation. It’s the media playing GM or personnel director.

Joe Haden (right) the cornerback from Florida supposedly hurt his chances because of his 40-yard time, while Taylor Mays, a safety out of Southern Cal moved up the board with his unexpected 4.43 in the 40.

When it comes time to make a pick in the first round in April, the most important thing for Haden and Mays will not be what happened in Indy. It will be what the film showed when they played in Gainesville and at the Coliseum in Los Angeles.

Talk to the real scouts and decision makers and they left Indy with just another part of the evaluation process. For 99 percent of the players, the Combine was just another piece of a large puzzle that began at the start of their college career. Of all the numbers generated at Lucas Oil Stadium, I’d bet that one percent were a surprise to the guys who work the personnel end of the street.

A defensive back runs the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds instead of 4.59 is no big deal. …Read More!

Chiefs Release Darling, Savage; Sign QB

The Chiefs were busy on the transactions front Wednesday, just about 36 hours before the start of free agency in the NFL.

They released a pair of veteran players who finished the 2009 season on the injured-reserve list: WR Devard Darling and RB Dantrell Savage.

And they signed journeyman QB Tyler Palko (left).

At 6-1, 215 pounds, Palko has bounced around over the last three seasons since he left the University of Pittsburgh. He went undrafted and was signed as a free agent by New Orleans. Palko spent most of the ’07 season on the Saints practice squad and was cut before the start of the ’08 season. He was signed in December ’08 by Arizona and went to training camp with the Cardinals in ’09 but was released.

Last year, Palko signed with the California Redwoods of the UFL but was released before the start of the season. That took him to the Canadian Football League where he signed with the Montreal Alouettes. But he was allowed out of his contract last December when he was signed by Pittsburgh as a backup quarterback when both Ben Roethlisberger and Charlie Batch were injured. Palko was on the game-day roster for one game, but did not play. …Read More!

Ask Bob – About The NFL Combine

Back from Indianapolis and the NFL Combine. It was a very intense four/five days of players, coaches and general  managers.

But it provided a lot of grist for the pre-draft mill and I’m sure there are plenty of questions about what went down at Lucas Oil Stadium.

So load it up between now and Friday at 5 p.m., hit me with your questions about the Combine and the players there and over t he weekend I’ll p rovide you with some answers.

Let the posting begin.

What Could Have Been … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

From No Longer in Indianapolis, Indiana

The pro football world has been focused on Lucas Oil Stadium for the better part of the last week as the NFL Combine went down.

What a gold mine for Indianapolis. There were more than 2,000 visitors checked into hotels at the end of February. That’s a convention business that any city would love to have in the winter months, especially one where the snow fell for several days. That’s 11,000 to 12,000 hotel room nights for the week. Indianapolis’ downtown restaurants were packed all week with club personnel, agents, folks from the NFL Players Association, media, job seekers and players.

And all of it – the Combine, the hotel nights, the packed restaurants, the newspaper and Internet datelines – could have been in Kansas City.

It was just about four years ago that the folks who put on the Combine each year, National Football Scouting, Inc., were taking bids not only for hosting future Combines, but for relocating their offices from Tulsa. Kansas City was a finalist under consideration at the time. The other finalist was Indianapolis.

Ultimately, NFS accepted the Indianapolis bid because there was no facility in Kansas City able to host the Combine. …Read More!

NFL COMBINE: Raiders Coach Tom Cable

From Indianapolis, Indiana

It was a flip of the coin back in early January whether Tom Cable would be the head coach of the Oakland Raiders for the 2010 season.

And there was real debate as to what would be best for him: to keep the job as Raiders coach or get fired and escape the craziness that always seems to dominate the scene around Al Davis’ team. But Cable is still there and preparing for the start of free agency and the NFL Draft.

He spoke at the NFL Combine and covered a lot of ground in a short period of time, as he talked about the Raiders quarterback position, JaMarcus Russell, Richard Seymour, Javon Walker, possible changes to the NFL overtime rules and his own job status.

Enjoy the listen.

NFL Combine: CB Joe Haden

From Indianapolis, Indiana

When Joe Haden went off to college at the University of Florida he planned on playing quarterback. There was one problem with that: the Gators already had a quarterback, fellow by the name of Tebow, first name Tim.

Given a chance to change positions, Haden picked wide receiver. There was one problem with that: the Gators already had a top-line receiver, fellow by the name of Harvin, first name Percy.

Florida coach Urban Meyer gave him another chance to switch. He moved to cornerback and after three years, he’s preparing to move on to the NFL. Coming into the 2010 NFL Combine, Haden was rated as the No. 1 pure cornerback prospect and is considered a top 10 choice in April’s NFL Draft.

Haden talked about his changing of positions and his future at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Adios Indy … Tuesday Cup O’Combine

From Indianapolis, Indiana

Sometime Tuesday morning, the secondary will be on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, the last position group to go through testing and drills at the 2010 NFL Combine.

By dinner time, most of the NFL will have sprinted to the airport and scattered back to home bases around the country. That’s where they will evaluate their experiences from the Combine and factor them into the puzzle that is the ’10 NFL Draft in late April.

There’s a lot of attention placed on what happens at the Combine, tests like the 40-yard dash and bench press. There’s the very important medical information and the psychological testing. Also important are the interviews teams conduct with individual players.

More comes out of the Combine than just those numbers, tests results and interview notes. It’s a convention for NFL scouts and personnel types. After a day at the stadium and then interviews in the hotels of downtown Indianapolis, league types head for the bars, saloons and restaurants sprinkled throughout a vibrant city center. They complain about their boss, they complain about the long hours, they tell stories from the road and they enjoy the camaraderie of high-stress jobs in a very visible business.

If you hang around long enough and get to know these men, they will provide bits of information about what teams are really thinking about the prospects that will be available in the Draft. If you buy them a couple of beers, they’ll tell you more, all off the record and not for attribution. …Read More!

NFL Combine: QB Colt McCoy

From Indianapolis, Indiana

As all the attention has fallen on Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow at the NFL Combine, Colt McCoy has been the forgotten quarterback.

That’s hard to believe given his career at Texas and the fact that while Bradford was rehabbing and Tebow was home watching, it was McCoy that started in the BCS National Championship Game.

One of McCoy’s problems as far as the NFL is concerned is the fact he did not finish that start against Alabama, going out with a serious shoulder injury. He says he’s completely recovered, but like all the top QBs at the Combine, McCoy won’t throw until the Texas pro day in Austin later this month.

There’s no doubt in his mind that he can play and be successful in the NFL. Here’s part of what he told the media over the weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium.

NFL Combine: Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan

From Indianapolis, Indiana

His golf handicap is probably rising on a daily basis now that Mike Shanahan has something to do besides working on his short game.

The former Broncos head man spent a year out of the NFL, collecting some $7 million from Denver owner Pat Bowlen and playing golf on almost a daily basis. He jumped back into the pro football merry-go-round earlier this year when he agreed to become the newest victim of Daniel Snyder’s head coach shooting gallery with the Washington Redskins.

Shanahan inherits a 4-12 football team that has problems on the line of scrimmage and a quarterback situation with Jason Campbell that is not settled. But Shanny is glad to be back looking at tape, hiring coaches and scheming to stir thing up in the NFC East.

Go With The Safeties … Monday Cup O’Combine

From Indianapolis, Indiana

Some might call it wacky, others could use a word like crazy, but I’ve dealt with evaluations like that before, and sometimes they’ve even been correct.

Over the weekend here at the NFL Combine I had a revelation. Maybe it’s been too much time in Lucas Oil Stadium over the last few days and too many interviews and too many adult beverages after hours and too … I’ll stop there.

I know what the Chiefs should do with at least two of their early picks in April’s 2010 NFL Draft.

They need to use their first-round choice on Tennessee safety Eric Berry. He’s the smiling guy above on the right. With one of their selections in the second, third or fourth rounds, they need to draft Florida State safety Myron Rolle. He’s the smiling guy above on the left.

Two safeties? Yeah, sounds kooky I know. But let me tell you this. After meeting and speaking with Berry and Rolle, I’m willing to roll the dice and say these two guys are locks to make it and make it big in the NFL. Over the last four days, more than 100 players have been brought to meet with the media. There have been some impressive young men, like QBs Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy. Defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy were outstanding.

But nobody left an impression on me more than Berry and Rolle. …Read More!