5 posts tagged “draft”
So I asked myself this morning a question in which many people would struggle finding the answer to. What are Kansas City Chiefs fans thankful in the year of 2008? The best draft? No! Beating the Broncos? No! Cheap ticket prices? Yes! Looks like thats the only thing we can be thankful for this Thanksgiving as Chiefs fans. On a more serious note, I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving games
TEN @ DET--TEN
SEA @ DAL--DAL
ARI @ PHI--ARI
Today is the day ladies and gentleman! A few teams have already kicked off their season earlier this week as they started training camp. Few have yet to begin. Today, the Kansas City Chiefs are going north to River Falls, WI. The bus heading to training camp will be full of young football players and few veterans. However, two players will not be on the bus as they will need their own personal transportation to River Falls.
Since I last made an entry, the Chiefs agreed to terms with Jamaal Charles from Texas, Brad Cottam from Tennessee, Brandon Flowers from Virginia Tech and Branden Albert drafted out of Virginia.
Jamaal Charles had one of the fastest 40-Yard Dash times as he ran a 4.38 time. That made him the fourth fastest running back entering the draft this year. In the 38 games Charles played, he started in 17games and was one of the most feared running backs in the Big XII. The former Longhorn started all 13 contests this past season carrying the ball 258 times for 1,619 yards with 18 TD’s. He averaged 6.3 yards per carry. Charles will bring his speed to Kansas City by helping out Larry Johnson carry the ball along with Kolby Smith as Charles looks to be competing for the backup spot. Head Coach Herm Edwards also wants to give Charles a shot at the kick return position. The Chiefs have not been so successful in screen plays with their running backs the past couple of years, but with the speed Charles contains, don’t be surprised if you see him involved in screen patterns. Charles will be a huge part in the renovating offense. Charles earned first team All-Big 12 honors and was named third-team All-America and was a two year member of the Texas track team.
Next up is the gigantic 6’8” tight end out of Tennessee, Brad Cottam. He started 38 games but started nine. However, he still got a lot of playing time despite the low amount of starts. Cottam told me that it’s a privilege as a rookie to be mentored by the best tight end in NFL history, Tony Gonzalez. Gonzalez last season broke the record for most touchdowns by any tight end in an NFL career and with four years remaining on his contract can set the bar high. Gonzalez is a great receiver and an outstanding blocker. Cottam only caught 21 passes and one touchdown in his three year career at Tennessee. Cottam however was known for his blocking. He told me he feels that during his career, he may be used as a blocker at first but he’ll develop his way into being a receiver after a couple years. With the new offensive tackles in Kansas City, Cottam’s main purpose will be to help block the defensive ends with the tackles. In the NFL today, there are a lot of great pass rushers in the defensive end spot. Cottam would help Brodie Croyle a lot by giving him more time to throw.
Many started to believe the Chiefs would have the best draft once they took Brandon Flowers out of Virginia Tech out of the second round. Flowers was projected to be drafted in the first round, but due to his height, he fell short. But Herm doesn’t see anything wrong about the 5’9” cornerback who was a key reason why the Hokies made the Orange Bowl. Edwards drafted the former hokie because of his physicality Flowers brings on the gridiron. In 41 games, Flowers got 158 tackles and 10 interceptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Flowers also recorded 17 stops for -71 yards. Flowers was a big pick up for the Chiefs in the second round and will be a huge part of the team as he fits Herm’s requirements as he is a physical. Flowers was the fifth cornerback taken in the draft.
Last but most important was guard/tackle, Branden Albert. Albert was known to be one of the best offensive lineman in the draft. The Chiefs contained the fifth pick in the draft and received the 17th pick after trading Jared Allen to Minnesota. The Chiefs were prepared to take Albert with the fifth pick, until they could not resist but take Glenn Dorsey who astonishingly fell to the fifth pick in the draft. The Detroit Lions were on the clock with the 15th pick, however, the Chiefs swapped first round picks and gave a couple draft picks to Detroit to get the 15th pick as they feared the Arizona Cardinals would have taken Albert with the 16th pick. The Chiefs do the unthinkable and get some of the best players on the board available. Branden Albert was one of those guys. The Kansas City Chiefs were last place in running with the football last year, that’s very rare to see in Kansas City as the offensive line could not create a whole and give space for running backs last season. The offensive line spot is the number one on the Chiefs priority list for things to improve on, and with Branden Albert, they will improve. It’s very rare that you see Branden Albert get beat by a defensive lineman in college. Albert has outstanding pass protection as he stays balanced on his feet and keeps his hands in front of himself. The former cavalier started nine games at guard and two games at tackle his senior year. As a guard, Albert would run to the outside and would take down linebackers and even defensive backs to give running backs space to run. This is a great addition for the Chiefs as Albert will help out Larry Johnson bounce back and repeat his 2006 performance. Albert will play tackle for the Chiefs. Keep in mind, Larry Johnson loves to go behind offensive tackles and attack the outside, so Albert would be a big weapon for LJ as he will block alongside with Brian Waters.
The Kansas City Chiefs were at Arrowhead as 300 fans showed up to give their farewell to the team as they prepare to go on a journey to River Falls, WI and change things around. However, one player was not at Arrowhead and that was Glenn Dorsey. Carl Peterson has yet to sign the first draft pick. Will Glenn Dorsey hold out, or will the LSU standout come and replace Jared Allen’s key role on the defensive line?
The Kansas City Chiefs go to River Falls, WI for training camp on July 24th, but practice officially begins the 25th. With that said, the Kansas City Chiefs still have nine unsigned draft picks, which to let me believe that not everyone will be accounted for by the time training camp approaches. Not many national pundants give teams an “A+” draft grade. Many people felt the Chiefs had that type of draft, and it’s disappointing that the team is at the stage where they may not have all of their draft picks signed. Yes, I know many teams are about to sign their players now, but look who’s our general manager. In my previous entry, I brought up examples of how he’s dealt with trades and negotiations. After the successful draft, Carl Peterson had an opportunity to get back some respect by trying to get his draft picks signed, and so far, signs are not looking good. I’m not going to spend my time repeating what I said in my previous blog. I’ve said just about everything on my mind about this situation. I’ll call Carl a genius if he can get all the nine players in camp on time.
Here is a list of players who are presently unsigned: DT Glenn Dorsey (1st round/5th overall), LT Branden Albert (1st round/15th overall), CB Brandon Flowers (2nd round/35th overall), RB Jamaal Charles (3rd round/73rd overall), TE Brad Cottam (3rd round/76th overall), S DaJuan Morgan (3rd round/82nd overall), WR Kevin Robinson (6th round/182nd overall), DE Brian Johnston (7th round/210th overall) and TE Mike Merritt (7th round/239th overall).
Be sure you check out the “Chiefs Endzone Show” on TheSportsStuff.com or subscribe on iTunes.
Hello everyone. Please forgive me for my long hiatus. I did not forget about you guys J. I’ve been involved in OTA’s and mini-camps and I have interviewed players for my internet radio show and for an article I will write for 435 South Magazine. But on with that, I will be posting on here daily or every other day. But with all of that said, lets move on to the draft review.
Jamaal Charles—This is where things began to sky rocket for the Chiefs. Many talented football players were available on the draft board, and the Chiefs took advantage by taking Charles from Texas. Larry Johnson missed half of the season due to a severe foot injury. Now with Kolby Smith (drafted last year) and Jamaal Charles behind him, he won’t need to carry the load. There will be guys behind him to help carry the running game. Watch out for Charles this season. Expect Herm to use him in screen pass or third and long situations. Charles was the second fastest running back coming into the draft.
Brad Cottam—First the Chiefs get one of fastest players in the draft, now they receive the biggest blocker in the draft. When I interviewed Cottam, he said it’s a privilege to work with Tony Gonzalez his rookie year and get advice from him. When I asked Cottam how he thinks he will be developed in the NFL, he responded by saying, “Starting out in the NFL my primary role will be more blocking, but I think I’m capable of doing both.” Cottam at 6’8” may be doing a lot of blocking, but as he develops, he’ll be the key tight end in Kansas City once Tony Gonzalez begins stepping down.
DaJuan Morgan—Another talented football player available in the third round. Morgan is one hard hitter and has the speed to play the game of football. Third year safety Bernard Pollard says he has the all the abilities to play the safety position. Another third year safety, Jarred Page told me that he can play all three defensive back positions. Jarred Page and Bernard Pollard were the starting safeties last season and combined for five interceptions. Morgan will come in and try to help the Chiefs in the INT category (as well as Brandon Flowers.
Will Franklin—One of Chase Daniel’s favorite target last year in college. Franklin’s key role will be a reliever for guys like Dwayne Bowe and Devard Darling. Bowe was one of the best rookie receivers last year, so Franklin can digest a lot out of Bowe.
Brandon Carr—Carr is another good cornerback who was available in the fifth round on the board for Kansas City. Carr will be another relief player on this team as he may play the quarter position behind Surtain, Flowers and Brackenridge.
Barry Richardson—Richardson is possibly going to be a key player in the tackle position. The offensive line was the biggest concern for the Chiefs last year as they allowed fifty-four sacks. Larry Johnson loves attacking the outside, so the Chiefs will need their offensive tackles to stop up in the running game.
Kevin Robinson—Another wide receiver coming into Kansas City, however, Robinson may not see much playing time at the wide receiver spot. The Kansas City Chiefs return on special teams has not been the same the past couple of years with Dante Hall declining and Eddie Drummond coming off of a disappointing season. B.J. Sams was picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs from Baltimore to come in to repair the special teams. It is likely that Sams and Robinson will battle for the kick return spot heading into river falls in July, but regardless of who wins the battle, both guys may get a decent amount of returns off of kick offs and punts. Robinson is similar to Hall when it comes to small size, but Robinson does have the height advantage, but the question will be is if he has the speed like Hall.
Brian Johnston—Despite Johnston being selected in the seventh round, there may be an opportunity for him to start at the defensive end position late in the season. He’ll be learning from third year veteran, Tamba Hali who’s had fifteen and a half sacks in his first two years will be teaching Johnston a lot. Defensive line coach Tim Krumrie loves to get on everyone and always works to make a player get better, so that will be another bonus for the former Gardner-Webb defensive end.
Mike Merritt—Merritt is the last of a dozen draft picks for the Kansas City Chiefs. Merritt will be developmental type of player in the NFL. He’ll be learning a lot from Tony Gonzalez just like Cottam. Merritt has not been the best receiving tight end, but he’ll make some big holes for running backs on the outside. Expect him to be involved in goal line plays to help the offensive tackles to allow the Chiefs to succeed on quarterback sneaks.
The Chiefs had quarterback as a position of need, however, head coach Herm Edwards feels Brodie Croyle is a skilled player and instead of having another quarterback to compete with him, Edwards chose to bring in weapons to help out the new starting quarterback. From my views, the point of this draft was not only to build for the future, but it was also used to help Croyle. Croyle now has a lot of talented players around him, now it’s up to him to take advantage of that and lead his squad in this rebuilding season.
Be sure you check out my internet radio show, “The Chiefs Endzone Show” featured on TheSportsStuff.com and on the itunes music store. Everyone have a good day, I’ll be back with another entry tomorrow.
Hello ladies and gentleman, boys and girls of all ages! Thank you for reading this blog. I am Farzin, a young broadcaster from the "City of Fountains," Kansas City! I host an internet radio show called the "Chiefs Endzone Show" featured on TheSportsStuff.com and on the itunes music store. I started the show since mid July of 2007 and it has been a big success so far. I also have a video blog. Check out my internet TV show at Youtube.com/busbrain1.
This is going to be my official blog, so sit back and enjoy. This first blog entry will be a bit long as I recap some off season events that occurred before I had this blog.
We all know this is now Herm Edwards' team. A team with a lot of young athletes. That is the direction Herm wants this team to go at. Clark Hunt, owner of the Chiefs and Herm Edwards want to rebuild their team through the draft.
The week of the draft, Jared Allen trade talks started heating up as the un-happy sack champ felt he was not getting the treatment he deserved. He asked for a new contract heading into the 2007 season, Carl Peterson, GM, CEO, and President of the Chiefs refused. Allen's contract has expired, but the Chiefs slapped the franchise tag on him giving him a 1 year-$9 million contract. Allen however was un-pleased as he was looking for a long term deal. His request was actually "Dwight Freeney" type money, which is more than Peyton Manning money. Allen also felt offended when Carl Peterson went out in public and said that Allen is a "young man at risk" referring to Allen's two DUI's. After talks with the Vikings and Bucs, Allen made a trip to Minnesota and earned first class treatment. After his visit with the Vikings, Allen cancelled his trip to Tampa as he wanted his new home to be built in Minnesota. The trade talk began and in the end, Allen got traded to the Vikings for a 1st round pick, 2 3rd round picks (one from Denver), and both teams traded 6th round picks. The Vikings were huge winners after this trade, making them the heavy favorites to win the NFC North. I hope the Packers, Bears and Lions all have a good group of offensive lineman, because that Vikings front four on defense will be unstoppable. Now on with the Chiefs.
The Kansas City Chiefs were heading into the draft with 13 picks, more than any team in this draft. Here are my takes on the new Chiefs.
Glenn Dorsey--A powerful defensive tackle. This is not the best class of defensive tackles, however, despite the weak class, Dorsey is being said to be one of the best defensive tackles to ever enter the draft in the last ten years. Many were surprised he fell to the Chiefs. With Tamba Hali playing his original position, right end, to replace Jared Allen, you have a very nice defensive line and the Chiefs will have a better run stopping defense as they have struggled in that category the past couple of years. In this division you have LaDanian Tomlinson, Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas and Selvin Young (along with Larry Johnson) who are great running backs. So with Glenn Dorsey and a good supporting cast with him on that front four will come in handy. Let’s not forget, McFadden and Dorsey ran into each other a lot in college as rivals, now they will run into each other a lot in the NFL! Dorsey was a big factor in the championship game with the LSU Tigers. This is the second year in a row the Chiefs pick a player from LSU with their first pick.
Branden Albert--I must say, I was unhappy when the Chiefs passed up on Ryan Clady, my projected 5th pick for the Chiefs. But with the 17th pick, the Chiefs feared Arizona (who was 16th) would take Albert, so Kansas City bumped themselves up to 15th and swapped picks with Detroit, got Albert. A great guard, who Herm Edwards says he will be playing left tackle on the Chiefs. This is a great move by the Chiefs by moving Albert to the tackle spot, because of the fact Larry Johnson loves attacking the outside when he has the ball. With Brian Waters and Branden Albert on the left side, you can expect LJ, as well as the other running backs to go left more. The right side of the offensive line is still in question. But for now, you can depend on Waters and Albert. Albert was also projected by many to go 5th to the Chiefs, but he still fell into the laps of KC in the 15th pick.
Brandon Flowers--The first 2nd rounder for KC, however, the Chiefs get themselves a 1st round material corner back. Flowers will be a big replacement for Ty Law, he'll be wearing #24 just like Law did. Flowers was one of the key leaders for the VT Hokies making a run to the Orange Bowl. The guy has the skills that Ty Law had back when he was an impact player for the Patriots. He looks to be the similar type of corner in Kansas City. He's got great coverage and good hands. After the nice steal in the second round, many began wondering if the Chiefs will come out with the best draft.
I will talk more about the second day and my final review on KC's draft tomorrow in my next entry. Until then, check out the "Chiefs Endzone Show" on TheSportsStuff.com and itunes music store and my video blogs at youtube.com/busbrain1.
--Farzin
