Walter Chiefs Grade

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Walterfootball.com Review of the Chiefs

Chiefs sign NT Kelly Gregg (1 year): A- Grade
This is a pretty good signing. Turning 35 in November, Kelly Gregg is not the player he once was, but should still be an effective run stopper. He'll offer a cheap upgrade at nose tackle and keep the seat warm for rookie Jerrell Powe.

Chiefs sign WR Steve Breaston (5 years, $25M; $9.5M guaranteed): MILLEN ON SHROOMS Grade
This signing was from a few days ago, but details are now known. The Chiefs signed Steve Breaston to a 5-year deal worth $25 million with $9.5 million guaranteed.

Umm... what the hell is this? OK, so if even if there wasn't anything wrong with Breaston, spending $25 million overall and $9.5 million guaranteed on a slot receiver is overly excessive. But Breaston isn't fine; the Cardinals were eagerly willing to let him walk because they know his knees are shot. This is an awful signing.


2011 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
WR Steve Breaston, ILB Brandon Siler, NT Kelly Gregg.

Early Draft Picks:
WR Jonathan Baldwin, C Rodney Hudson, DE/OLB Justin Houston, CB Jalil Brown, NT Jerrell Powe.

Offseason Losses:
OC Charlie Weis, WR Chris Chambers, G Brian Waters, DE/DT Shaun Smith, NT Ron Edwards, DE/OLB Mike Vrabel, CB Maurice Leggett.

2011 Kansas City Chiefs Offense:
What the Chiefs were able to accomplish in 2010 was a testament to the impact great offensive and defensive coordinators can have in the NFL. Matt Cassel was lost in 2009, completing 55 percent of his passes as he threw for 2,924 yards, 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with a dreadful 5.9 YPA. With Charlie Weis, Cassel's numbers improved to 3,116 yards, 27 touchdowns, seven picks, with a 6.9 YPA and a 58.2 completion percentage.

Unfortunately for Cassel, Weis is gone. Weis and Todd Haley were at odds with each other, as Haley reportedly stripped Weis of his play-calling duties in the second half of the team's playoff loss to Baltimore. Cassel will undoubtedly struggle with first-year coordinator Bill Muir; the former Patriot quarterback was already showing signs of regression at the end of last season. In his final two games, including the playoff contest, Cassel was a combined 20-of-48 for 185 yards, no touchdowns and five interceptions. That's a completion percentage of 41.7 and a YPA of 3.9.

Cassel's just not very good. He has accuracy issues and struggles to make all of the throws because of a lacking arm. Cassel completed just 14-of-57 attempts longer than 20 yards in 2010, bad enough for last place in that category in the NFL.

Cassel has two very talented players around him to prevent a complete collapse. Those would be obviously be Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe. Charles is one of the better running backs in the NFL, capable of going the distance on any play. What's frustrating, however, is that Haley refuses to utilize Charles as much as he should, perhaps believing that Charles is too small and brittle (5-11, 199) to carry the load. Charles received only one touch after the first drive in the second half of that Baltimore loss. That's inexcusable.

Bowe impressively snagged 15 touchdowns last year. It's unreasonable to expect him to duplicate that feat - especially with the departure of Weis - but Bowe remains a legitimate No. 1 receiver. He'll be joined by two new acquisitions in the receiving corps: rookie Jonathan Baldwin and former Cardinal Steve Breaston. Baldwin is a physical freak at 6-4, 228, but like most rookies, he's going to struggle this year because of the shortened offseason. Breaston, meanwhile, was probably a waste of a signing. Arizona put forth no effort to retain him because his knees are shot.

Luckily for Cassel, he'll have a secondary reliable weapon in tight end Tony Moeaki, who hauled in 47 receptions for 556 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie in 2010. Moeaki was constantly injured at Iowa, so it was a pleasant surprise to see him stay healthy in his first NFL season.

Kansas City's offensive line remains a concern. The good news is that the team was happy to get back center Casey Wiegmann for one more year. Wiegmann is a declining player at 38, but he's reliable and will provide some continuity up front as rookie Rodney Hudson is groomed to replace him.

The bad news is two-fold. First, the Chiefs still have gaping holes at the tackle positions. Left tackle Branden Albert surrendered 11 sacks (including one in the playoff loss) and was penalized nine times last year. On the other side, Kansas City will feature a platoon of Ryan O'Callaghan and Barry Richardson. The former is the better of the two, but he can't stay healthy. Richardson, meanwhile, is brutal in pass protection.

Second, the Chiefs parted ways with their best offensive lineman this offseason, Brian Waters. Second-year Jon Asamoah will step into the left guard slot. Asamoah has just one career start. He played well in that game, but the Bills didn't exactly offer much of a challenge. With Waters gone, Kansas City's new top lineman is right guard Ryan Lilja, who gave up just one sack.

2011 Kansas City Chiefs Defense:
Just as Charlie Weis worked miracles with the offense, Romeo Crennel upgraded a Kansas City defense that overachieved past its talent level in 2010. Though unlike Weis, Crennel will remain with the team for a second year.

One area in which the Chiefs struggled despite Crennel's best efforts was run defense. They ranked 20th in the NFL, allowing 4.4 yards per carry to the opposition. That figure will improve in 2011, thanks to the addition of nose tackle Kelly Gregg. Gregg is old (35), but still proved to be a sound, two-down run-stuffer with the Ravens last year. He'll probably wear down as the season goes on, so Kansas City fans will be hoping that sixth-round rookie Jerrell Powe can step in if needed in late November or December.

A pair of former top-five draft picks join Gregg up front. After two disappointing seasons, Glenn Dorsey played very well in 2010. He didn't offer much of a pass rush (two sacks), but was very stout against the run. Tyson Jackson, on the other hand, struggled once again. He gave way to Wallace Gilberry on third down. The 6-2, 270-pound Gilberry was second on the team with seven sacks. He'll be back in 2011 after getting a second-round tender this offseason.

Gilberry trailed only Tamba Hali in sacks. Hali had a magnificent 2010 campaign, recording 16.5 sacks if you count the pair he registered in the playoffs. Hali was franchised, and figures to be even more dangerous once the Chiefs can develop rookie Justin Houston at the other rush linebacker position. Houston was a first-round talent who slipped to the third round this past April due to character concerns. He probably won't contribute much this year because of the shortened offseason, so it'll be up to Andy Studebaker to replace the retired Mike Vrabel; Studebaker had 2.5 sacks in limited playing time in 2010.

The rest of Kansas City's linebacking corps is comprised of Derrick Johnson, a Pro Bowler, and Jovan Belcher. Belcher is relatively unknown, but played well at times last season. The 24-year-old Maine product stood out in the playoff loss to the Ravens, notching five tackles and two sacks. He'll face training camp competition from former Charger Brandon Siler.

The strength of the Chiefs' defense is in the secondary. Kansas City boasts one of the top cornerback tandems in the entire league. Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr were largely responsible for the team ranking fifth in the NFL in terms of YPA allowed (6.6).

Kansas City's safety play wasn't bad either. Eric Berry, chosen No. 5 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft, really struggled early on, but settled in as the season went along. He was great in the team's loss to Baltimore. Kendrick Lewis, manning the free safety slot, was solid, but unspectacular.

2011 Kansas City Chiefs Schedule and Intangibles:
As stated earlier, the loss of Charlie Weis will be huge. New offensive coordinator Bill Muir never developed a quarterback when he held that job in Tampa Bay from 2002 to 2008, so it's likely that Matt Cassel, and consequently the offense as a whole, will regress this season.

The Chiefs brought back the Arrowhead magic that was missing between the 2007 and 2009 seasons. In that span, Kansas City was 4-20 as a host. In 2010, that record was 7-2, though one of the two losses was to Baltimore in the playoffs.

Here's a dubious Todd Haley stat: In his two years with the Chiefs, he is 3-7 after Dec. 5. That obviously has to improve.

The Chiefs had that Dexter McCluster punt return for a touchdown in the opener against San Diego, but didn't score again on special teams after that. Javier Arenas' 8.3 punt return average was disappointing.

Kicker Ryan Succop drilled 25-of-29 attempts as a rookie in 2009, but was just 20-of-26 last year. He was just 1-of-3 from 50-plus. Meanwhile, punter Dustin Colquitt was solid, maintaining a 44.4 average with 33-of-88 attempts inside the 20.

Kansas City feasted on a ridiculously easy schedule last season; excluding Seattle for obvious reasons, the team didn't beat a single playoff squad in 2010. In fact, the Chiefs battled just three teams that reached the postseason last year: aforementioned Seattle, Indianapolis (19-9 loss) and Baltimore (30-7 loss). It gets much more difficult this year. Six of this season's opponents reached the playoffs: Indianapolis, New England, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Green Bay and the New York Jets.

2011 Kansas City Chiefs Analysis: Kansas City overachieved last year, thanks to great coaching and an easy schedule. The team won't be as lucky in 2011. Charlie Weis is gone, while the schedule is more taxing.

I expect the opposite to occur this year. Instead of being worse than their record indicated in 2010, they'll be better than their record indicates this season. Their brutal, late stretch of consecutive games against the Patriots, Steelers, Bears, Jets and Packers will knock them out of AFC West contention.

Projection: 5-11 (TBA in AFC West)

I agree obama is among the worst in history. unfortunately he and Bush have been the last 2 and prob rank 1 and 2 worst ever. so its real bad when you combine that with KC fans having some of the worst owners to boot. I'm speaking of all around KC fans that like all teams here like the Royals, sporting KC, and Mavericks to go along with the Chiefs. I'm an all around KC fan that realizes my teams have terrible ownership and I'm a democrat that knows the president he voted for is shit. I'm not always right and know it, but I also wont ride the fence to cover myself when I'm wrong. So even with the Hali signing I think Hunt is shit. But Hali is a bad motherfucker.

FatThucker wrote:

Chiefs09 wrote:

so since planes have crashed that makes flying dangerous? the facts show flying is among the safest methods of travel in the world. but since a plane has crashed in the past I guess the argument that flying is dangerous is overflowing with water. just because and under .500 teams comes along once every 100 years does not make the argument any good. so I guess now that we have seen Obama as president and seen what a terrible job he has done no black man could ever make a decent president? it has happened.

The two worst analogies I've ever read. Again, I never said this scenario is likely to happen. My point would be equivalent to 'a plane has crashed at least once in the history of flying'. If anything your dumbass proved my point.

I've been trying to pretend you're not talking to me when you say 'you can't call them a SB contender and then blah blah blah' because I haven't, so stop making that a part of your argument. You can't put words onto my keyboard like that.

No I proved my point. Just because something has happened doesnt make it a good argument for it to keep happening. If KC picks in the top 15 next year that will mean they arent even close to being contenders. It actually means they will be taking a step back since they were in the 20's this year. Unless you want to admit that that was mostly schedule driven.

Why do you keep doing this. I agree with you our schedule is much tougher this year. Good luck getting someone to argue against you.

the argument is whether or not the are still in rebuid mode. either its a team that is built and ready to contend for the SB or they are still building it. building and rebuilding are the same to me in this case. Or I guess you can say they have been rebuilding since 1970 since they havent been to it since then.

We are in rebuild mode. I don't care about your hard feelings against the Chiefs in the past. There's a new regime, a new king in town. We've only been rebuilding since 2009 when Pioli and Haley were first brought aboard. 2010 if you throw out their first draft. They are in rebuild mode and I don't think the roster is to the point yet where I feel the team should go all in and try to win a SB this year. I think the Chiefs are putting together a young, very competitive, deep football team with good leadership capable of making multiple late post-season runs. So what if they're not hosting the Lombardi at the end of this season?

FatThucker wrote:

Chiefs09 wrote:

Everyone else on here seems to think that KC is primed and ready to go somewhere now. You cant think they are primed and ready and then say we will probably have a top 15 pick next year. doesnt make sense.

I've agreed all along we won't have as good a record as last year. I just don't agree with you that it will all be Cassel's fault

lol. I missed this post earlier. I dont think it will be all Cassels fault. Most will be on the Dline. It is worse than Cassel. I think we have the best LB in the game. And one of the best young secondaries in the game too. Hali led the AFC in sack with 0 help from the dline. and our secondary had to cover longer than any other in the league. many of our sacks were coverage sacks. Dorsey is the only solid all around player on our line right now. On offense we have the best RB in the game and solid backups behind him. We have a good WR in Bowe, good TE if he stays healthy, and finally a little depth at WR. If Cassel doesnt put up top 5 numbers it's all on him this year as far as the O goes. Though we are terrible at RT too. We have a lot of pieces just not all of them yet. So sounds like you and I are on similar pages as to where they are now. We just disagree on Hunt. You think he is god like most on here and I think he is shit. I guess you cant be a fan of a team if you arent a fan of the owner too. Sorry didnt know all the rules. But if you go back someone posted on here KC is primed and ready this year. Not

Richardson isn't the best, but he's far from terrible. I'm more worried about Lilja playing well a full season along with Casey, not to mention a first year starter at RG.

I think this is the last year of the "rebuild". We will be contending for the playoffs. We are one of the if the the most talented young team in the NFL. Most of the pieces are in place now, they just need time together and coaching. But a SB run is coming in the next few years for KC. Even if they don't get it, they will be one of the teams with a legit chance in a few years.

Alright Chiefs09, except the end where you started talking Hunt, I nearly agreed with your entire last post. Now that I regain consciousness, I have to have ask why you would say that I think Hunt is god? What have I ever said about Hunt? I don't know who the fuck Clark Hunt really is or even does. The only thing I have defended is his cheapness. So far, in his few years as owner, he has spared no expense bringing in top office and coaching personnel. Other than that, who gives a shit about Clark Hunt? Everything is on Pioli and Haley's shoulders. Clark Hunt is nothing but an ATM. He does nothing for the football team but pay the bills. I don't see the problem with that.

Now if we want to make football/baseball comparisons, can you honestly say that David Glass shows the same willingness to field a winning team as Clark Hunt? I know you're gonna argue that David Glass is just an ATM as well, but it's baseball. Baseball sucks. No one gives a shit. I wouldn't spend my money on players for the Royals if I were David Glass either.

And you've stated numerous times that it will be, and has been, all Cassel's fault

Walter Hates Pioli. Plain and simple.

FatThucker wrote:

And you've stated numerous times that it will be, and has been, all Cassel's fault

I have said the O will be his fault yes. But I have said numerous times we have one of the worst, if not the worst, Dlines in the game. If this team takes a step back it is actually 100% Piolis and Hunts fault.

As long as they get 100% credit for not picking in the top 5 this year.

They don't deserve credit. Just blame. You should know its a very easy task just to turn around that Carl/Herm team in just a year or two. So easy, every team should be able to do it and win Super Bowl every year.

FatThucker wrote:

As long as they get 100% credit for not picking in the top 5 this year.

No comment? You sure seem to be doing a lot of talking otherwise

And please don't do something gay like throwing a hissy fit and changing your username to 'GOD'! Hahahahahahahahahaha! I can almost guarantee you will though!

had they picked top 5 they could have gotten julio. If you arent gonna make a SB run might as well pick top 5. at the end of the season what did they win? 2nd worst division. SB is the only win that means shit. So If KC didnt have the 32nd pick every year I'd rather the #1.

Chiefs09 wrote:

had they picked top 5 they could have gotten julio. If you arent gonna make a SB run might as well pick top 5. at the end of the season what did they win? 2nd worst division. SB is the only win that means shit. So If KC didnt have the 32nd pick every year I'd rather the #1.

That might be the stupidest thing I've ever year. How many teams have EVER went top five pick to SB champions?

Chiefs09 wrote:

had they picked top 5 they could have gotten julio. If you arent gonna make a SB run might as well pick top 5. at the end of the season what did they win? 2nd worst division. SB is the only win that means shit. So If KC didnt have the 32nd pick every year I'd rather the #1.

Are you really trying to make us believe you would bitch less if we had the #1 overall pick this year? Ignorant. Constantly contradicting yourself doesnt make you edgy, it makes you completely full of shit.

You can let us know if youre just not man enough to admit Pioli and Haley have completely turned around the Chiefs, but have still left you unsatisfied (unlike your Andrew Luck poster)

Carll Peterson and L. Hunt put together a great fball team for for a decade that never won shit. So in the end they turned around nothing. going 15-1 is no different than 1-15 if you dont finish the job in the end. every year there are 31 losers in the end. So til Pioli wins a SB he has done nothing with this team. You can bring in all the young talent in the world and if it doesnt produce SB championships it means shit. Just like the teams that spend big in FA and dont win it. So you can be a big spending losers like Wash and Oakland or you can be low spending losers like Buffalo and KC.

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