Grizzled Guru … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Grab the nearest dictionary, whether it’s from Webster’s or some other publisher, and look up the word grizzled. There will be multiple definitions, including this one:

Grizzled (griz’eld) adj. The result of being exposed to something terrible for a long period of time and having the results show through your appearance and state of mind.

But all that’s necessary to provide a definition of grizzled would be this picture:

That’s Bill Muir, the definitive grizzled veteran in the coaching ranks of the National Football League. The Chiefs offensive coordinator and offensive line coach has been there and done that in a career in football that reaches its 50th consecutive year in 2011. His college playing career began in 1962, and every fall since those small college days Muir has been part of football in coaching and scouting roles. In the year when he will turn 69, he’s going strong.

And, make no mistake about Muir’s state of mind. He’s as mentally sharp as he begins his 38th season in the NFL and his first year as the Chiefs offensive coordinator. …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 7/31

From St. Joseph, Missouri

As far as the Chiefs players were concerned late Sunday afternoon, their head coach was a maniacal madman.

For the first time in this year’s training camp the Chiefs were on the field twice on Sunday. They put in a 65-minute walkthrough session in the morning and then a 2½-hour practice in the afternoon.

At the end of the afternoon workout that went down under sunny skies and oppressive heat and humidity, Todd Haley did not make his players run gassers, laps or sprints. At the point of the day when they were the most tired, most worn out and most distracted by their misery, Haley ran them through a concentration drill.

The players lined up in rows five yards apart. Every player was required to take a three-point stance, bending over and placing one hand on the ground while standing or crouching. They had to wait in that position until Haley blew his whistle. They then had to sprint five yards before stopping and doing it all over again. The idea is this – at their most tired, say near the end of the fourth quarter, players are susceptible to making mental mistakes. On offense it’s a false start; on defense it’s jumping offside. They are the type off plays that drive coaches crazy and kill momentum. Haley varied the time between the times he blew his whistle. He threw in some shouted signals, varying the pace and level of his voice.

When it was all done, Haley had just two players jump. The Chiefs players were able to quickly refocus and they got off the field once they put together five consecutive plays without illegal movement of any kind. …Read More!

Chiefs Personnel Update – 7/31

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The revolving door that is NFL personnel in this post-lockout transition time continues to whirl.

On Sunday, the Chiefs got one of their own signed and added a starter from one of their AFC West rivals.

DE Wallace Gilberry signed his restricted free agent tender and will be available for practice on Thursday with the rest of the free agents.

Joining them that day will be former San Diego Chargers LB Brandon Siler (right). The 6-2, 239-pound product of the University of Florida is entering his fifth NFL season, after being drafted in the seventh round by the Chargers in 2007.

Over the last four seasons in San Diego, he had 161 total tackles, 3 sacs, 1 safety, 2 INTs and 3 fumble recoveries. In the 2010 season he had 44 tackles, a sack and an interception. He’s been a major player on the Chargers special teams over his career.

As an RFA, Gilberry did not have much leverage in his contract situation with the Chiefs. He’ll play for his tender offer and then will become an unrestricted free agent in 2012, if the Chiefs don’t tie him up with a new long-term deal.

Here’s the complete rundown, updated through Sunday evening: …Read More!

Just A Walk In The Park With Family

After practice on Saturday, head coach Todd Haley got a chance to see some of his children on the field at Missouri Western State University. That included the youngest of the five kids, son Richard who he is holding.

Who Will Lead? … Sunday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

When the names Vrabel and Waters were taken of the Chiefs roster it was something more than just two fewer bodies on the training camp roster.

The departures of OLB Mike Vrabel to retirement and LG Brian Waters to the waiver wire removed an entire level of leadership from the Chiefs locker room, sideline and the playing field. Forget the role those two had with the players union, where they were members of the NFL Players Association executive committee. That was just one avenue of their leadership quotient with the Chiefs.

And, it doesn’t even begin to cover what those two men brought to the locker room each and every day. It wasn’t because of their status in the NFL Draft when they came into the league – Vrabel was a third-round choice by Pittsburgh and Waters wasn’t even drafted coming out of North Texas State.

It’s what they did in the league that made their name. Vrabel had 226 games of NFL experience over 14 seasons and post-seasons, with three Super Bowl rings and one trip to the Pro Bowl. Waters had 166 games and 5 Pro Bowls over 11 seasons. That’s 392 games in the league, split on defense and offense.

In two years with the Chiefs, Vrabel had a huge influence on young defensive players like Derrick Johnson, Andy Studebaker and even last year’s rookie star Eric Berry.

“I learned everything from him,” said third-year ILB Jovan Belcher. “You learn how to work hard. You learn that communication is the key when you are on the field. He was a great source of information and inspiration.” …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 7/30

From St. Joseph, Missouri

It was more mental than physical Saturday afternoon for the Chiefs.

Under sunny skies and humid conditions, Todd Haley put his team through a 2½-hour session at Missouri Western State University. The pace was somewhere in between a regular practice and a walkthrough and there was considerable time spent on sorting through plays, fundamentals and situational football. It was certainly a much slower pace than Friday’s first camp practice.

Haley tested his team’s concentration by going into a situation drill where the offense tries to draw the defense offside on fourth down and short. The offense was successful just once, as DE Glenn Dorsey jumped the line of scrimmage.

First-round draft choice WR Jonathan Baldwin suffered the first injury of his NFL career. On a quick slant pattern, QB Matt Cassel threw a rocket-like pass that bounced off Baldwin’s hands. He returned to the huddle grabbing at his left hand, as trainers worked on him. They seemed to be concentrating on his left thumb. Baldwin did not go back into practice.

Here are a few observations from an afternoon where there was not a great deal done on the physical side: …Read More!

From The Mouth of Todd – 7/30

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Less is more – that’s the theme for Todd Haley and his coaching staff as they rolled into Day #3 of training camp at Missouri Western State University.

As the Chiefs coaches continue to deal with the short window for preparation and the new rules coming from the labor agreement, the emphasis on teaching will not expand, but contract.

“You are going to see us over-fundamental,” Haley said. “Technique is going to be very important for our football team, that we are doing things the right way; staying with the do less better, at least in this early part of camp.”

After watching his team get through its first full day of camp work on Friday, the head coach gave an overall thumbs up.

“I was encouraged by how guys looked as a group, all things considered,” Haley said. “Clearly we have a ways to go, but I do feel good about how the day went. …Read More!

Chiefs Sign NT Kelly Gregg

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Veteran NT Kelly Gregg, released earlier in the week by the Baltimore Ravens has found a new home.

Gregg agreed to a one-year deal with the Chiefs on Friday. The 12-year veteran spent the last nine years playing the nose for the Baltimore Ravens defense that was always considered among the best units in the league.

The 6-0, 320-pound Gregg will be 35 years old in November. He came into the NFL with Cincinnati in 1999 as a sixth-round draft choice. He spent most of the ’99 season on the Bengals practice squad until he was signed in December of that year by Philadelphia. The Eagles released him before the 2000 season, and he was picked up by the Ravens for their practice squad.

He moved up to the varsity in the 2001 season and in 2002 became the starting nose tackle. Gregg has been there since, with the exception of the 2008 season where a knee injury knocked him out for the year.

On the numbers side, he has 509 total tackles in his career and 19.5 sacks.

Born in Wichita, Gregg grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma, where he was a three-time state wrestling champion for Edmond North High School. He played college football for the Sooners and in his time at Norman he was named all-Big 12 first-team defensive tackle in his junior (1997) and senior (1998) seasons.

The Chiefs announced Saturday that they had signed WR  Zeke Markshausen. Out of Northwestern, the 5-11, 185-pound Markshausen went to training camp last year with the Bears but did not make Chicago’s regular season roster.  He played in 27 games at Northwestern, catching 92 passes for 864 yards with three TDs. He had 91 receptions for 858 yards with three scores as a senior.

Lift & Run Is Haley’s Way … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Chris Harr is 21-year old rookie guard from Chattanooga, Tennessee who is taking the hardest road that can be traveled to begin a career in the NFL. He signed with the Chiefs this week as an undrafted college free agent.

(On the left, that’s Jonathan Baldwin and Todd Haley talking before Friday’s practice.)

Harr was on the field Friday for the first practice of training camp. On a steamy afternoon where the humidity seemed a physical, living monster, Harr ran on the practice field at Missouri Western State University. He walked on the field. Harr stood on the field.

And eventually he was down on his hands and knees, losing his lunch, breakfast and quite possibly dinner from the night before. It was a moment that was hard to miss, even from 100 yards away. Eventually, he got back on his feet with the help of some trainers.

Welcome to the 2011 NFL season, one that started just this week and has forced players, coaches and 32 teams to go old school in the first days of camp. Thirty years ago, players came to training camp to get in shape. Over the last decade that changed and players showed up for camp in good condition. Those that did not take part in their club’s off-season conditioning programs often found themselves on the street, looking for work.

On the MWSU practice fields on Friday, Todd Haley started making up for the off-season conditioning program that was cancelled by the owners’ lockout. The Chiefs head coach knows that time in the pre-season is limited; his team’s first pre-season game is now less than two weeks away and the regular season is just six weeks down the road.

But he’s not going to worry about installing offensive or defensive schemes right now.

He wants to find out how hard his players worked on their own when it comes to strength and conditioning. …Read More!

Personnel File – 7/30

From St. Joseph, Missouri

In the last week the pace of personnel moves around the NFL has been staggering. Rookies, veterans, free agents, franchise players and the like have been dominating the transactions.

The Chiefs have joined that parade to the point where it’s darn near impossible to keep track of the comings and goings. It’s been an unprecedented week in player matters within the league as four months of an off-season were crammed into less than a week. On Friday, teams were officially able to sign free agents, whether their own or from other teams. But those free agents can’t get work on the practice field until Thursday, when the new league year will officially begin.

It’s all led to long hours, many phone calls and heaven know how many words in negotiations.

For your consideration and my sanity, I’m going to update the personnel moves every chance I get. …Read More!

Chiefs Vote To Recertify NFLPA

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The Chiefs were one of five NFL teams that voted on Friday to approve the re-certification of the NFL Players Association as their union.

When the NFL owners locked out the players back in March, the NFLPA decertified as a union as part of their labor strategy. That allowed individual players to file an anti-trust suit against the league. The so-called Brady v. NFL suit was dropped as part of the labor agreement between owners and players.

But to continue on with the agreement, the players association must again become a union, so they can represent the current NFL players collectively. One half of the membership, plus one, must approve re-certification.

On Friday, the Chiefs got their vote done here at Missouri Western State University. They joined Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver and Jacksonville. All five teams reportedly voted unanimously in favor of re-certification.

Chiefs Announce 10 Free Agent Signings

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Reinforcements are on the way for the Chiefs after their first day of training camp. Only problem is, the 10 free agents will not be able to get on the field until Thursday.

Signings were announced with:

• UFA – RB Jackie Battle, WR Steve Breaston, WR Terrance Copper, CB Travis Daniels, S Jon McGraw, OT Ryan O’Callaghan, TE Leonard Pope and C Casey Wiegmann. Battle, O’Callaghan and Pope are new additions to the list.
• RFA – FB Mike Cox signed his tender offer.
• ERFA – S Reshard Langford signed his tender offer.

Training Camp Practice Report – 7-29

From St. Joseph, Missouri

There were 59 players working on the field Friday afternoon as the Chiefs had their first practice of the 2011 training camp at Missouri Western State University. A nice crowd was watching on the two practice fields under cloud cover, but very humid conditions.

It was a time for Todd Haley and his staff revealed some of the changes with the team that have gone down over the last few months, even the last few days. None came as a surprise if you’ve been reading this site closely:

• The shuffling of the offensive line began with last year’s RG Ryan Lilja, moving into the LG spot that was the home of Brian Waters for a decade. Jumping into the RG spot with the first unit was Jon Asamoah. With free agents missing at center and right tackle, working with the first team were Darryl Harris at center and former d-lineman, now RT Bobby Greenwood.
• Dexter McCluster is now a RB, moving into the backfield from WR where he worked last year. McCluster was a back in his senior season at Mississippi.
• Quinten Lawrence is now a CB, moving to defense from the offensive side where he’s been a wide receiver for the last two years. He also changed his uniform number, dropping No. 14 and now wearing No. 31. Early in his college career at McNeese State he played in the secondary.

Asamoah was thrilled with his chance to get into the starting lineup, and whether it’s at right guard, left guard or center, he doesn’t plan to leave. …Read More!

From the Mouth Of Todd – 7/29

From St. Joseph, Missouri

While specific details were not provided, Todd Haley was optimistic that TE Tony Moeaki will not be out of practice very long.

The second-year tight end started training camp on Friday with a spot on the Physically Unable to Perform List. Essentially that means Moeaki was unable to pass the team’s pre-season physical, either by a decision from the team doctor or the inability to complete the necessary work to pass the conditioning test.

Moeaki ended last season with some minor knee problems, but Haley did not provide any details of what’s ailing him at this point.

“There’ nothing major with any of the players you might see on that list,” Haley said of the PUP players, which at this time includes Moeaki and RB Tervaris Johnson. “Having not seen them for an extended period of time, the one thing you don’t want to do is aggressively overdo it. It’s a little more on the side of prudence with Tony.”

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CHIEFS SIGN FIRST-ROUND DRAFT CHOICE JONATHAN BALDWIN TO FOUR-YEAR DEAL. DETAILS TO COME

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Overall, Haley indicated he was pleased with the physical condition that most of his players as they reported to camp on Thursday.

“I’m encouraged by the way the majority of them look like they’ve taken care of themselves,” Haley said. “That’s not always easy when you are on your own. Not everyone is at the same level but I’m encouraged by the way everybody looks.”

Haley indicated that in the first days of camp the emphasis would not be on football, but on strength and conditioning.

“When we get comfortable adding football to it, that’s what we are going to do,” he said. “But early on the emphasis will be on lifting and conditioning. You’ll see that in the mornings. Then, we’ll slowly start to add real football. It will start out at a pretty slow pace. That’s our plan and we will adjust when we see the team get on the same level.”

Installing offense and defensive systems are not quite as important right now on Haley’s To-Do list as getting his team in shape.

“Our No. 1 priority is to evaluate the guys that are here and trying to get them to a similar level of readiness,” Haley said. “That’s going to take some time.

“We missed a lot, and we can’t cram it all into a couple days. We are going to try and be patient and gather steam as we go. We have to make sure our team is ready to hold up to the rigors of an NFL season.”

Morning Camp Report – Day #2

From St. Joseph, Missouri

There have been a few sprinkles on the campus of Missouri Western State University on Friday as the Chiefs went through their first morning of training camp.

It was breakfast, meetings and some conditioning work in the morning. This afternoon will be the first practice of the season.

Update on the personnel front:

• DL Shaun Smith is out the door, as the UFA signed with the Tennessee Titans. That leaves the Chiefs very light at nose tackle.
• TE Tony Moeaki could not pass the team physical on Thursday and was placed on the PUP list. The nature of his injury is unknown.
• Also placed on the PUP list after failing the physical was RB Tervaris Johnson. He suffered a knee injury in training camp last year and spent the 2010 season on the injured-reserve list.

With Johnson out, the Chiefs are very low at running back with just four players available – rookie Shane Bannon, Jamaal Charles, Thomas Jones and Dexter McCluster.

Was It The Money? … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

The way things went on Thursday around the Chiefs one would think that GM Scott Pioli was struggling to get his 2011 payroll under the league’s salary cap by next week.

But the Chiefs were far from hitting the roof of the cap Thursday morning, and they were even further away by the end of the day.

By slicing veteran Pro Bowl G Brian Waters and veteran WR Chris Chambers, Pioli removed two of the highest salaries on the 2011 Chiefs. In the final season of his current contract, Waters was set to make $3.5 million. Chambers, who Pioli signed to a big contract last season (3 years, $12 million, with $5.9 million in guaranteed money) was going to receive $2.9 million.

There are a lot of teams around the league that are giving their rosters financial haircuts quite similar to the two Chiefs released for a total of $6.4 million.

They added another $405,000 when first-year CB Jackie Bates was also released on Thursday.

How much was money a factor in these moves? It would be wrong to say it was not a factor. And, it would be wrong to think that it was the major reason Waters and Chambers were put on the street.

Let’s start with Waters, a five-time Pro Bowler who started strong last year, but then saw the level of his performance slowly drop off during the long season. That’s not a surprise for a man who was 33 and playing in his 11th NFL season. There’s no question that his best seasons are behind him, something even Waters would admit. In this off-season, his attention has been diverted by the NFL owners’ lockout, as he was a member of the NFL Players Association executive committee.

Its doubtful Waters would have been in the type of condition that Todd Haley wants from his players and there isn’t a lot of time to get there in the next six weeks before the season opener. Waters indicated that the decision on being removed from the Chiefs roster was a mutual call, and he also said he wants to continue his career. That wouldn’t be a surprise, because there are teams where Waters could go and slowly get himself into shape to play and be a huge improvement over what’s already there. …Read More!

Chiefs Shocker – Brian Waters Cut

In what will go down as the biggest surprise so far of the just three-day old 2011 NFL season, the Chiefs announced Thursday evening that they had released veteran LG Brian Waters.

That Waters future with the team was short term was taken for granted. The 34-year old, 11-year veteran was at the end of his career and had one more season to go on his contract, due $3.5 million this season.

But the Chiefs decided that Waters was expendable.

“He and I had a good discussion and mutually agreed that this is a sound football decision for both Brian and the Chiefs,” said GM Scott Pioli in a statement released by the team at 8:41 p.m. “Brian has been an integral part of this organization and will always be part of the Kansas City Chiefs. We wish him nothing but the best.”

The same publicity release carried a quote from Waters, who said in part: “The Chiefs and I have mutually agreed on this decision and although I look forward to continuing my career, I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Kansas City.”

Waters was a five-time Pro Bowl blocker, making the NFL’s all-star game in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010. He appeared in 163 games with 149 starts for the Chiefs since joining the team in 2000 as a street free agent. He entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent TE with the Dallas Cowboys in 1999.

Waivers Start Today – Chris Chambers Is Gone

The NFL’s makeshift calendar for post-lockout life included the start of waivers at 3:01 CDT on Thursday afternoon.

Many players around the league had already been told they are getting the heave-ho with the start of waivers – Baltimore TE Todd Heap, Cleveland QB Jake Delhomme, Dallas WR Roy Williams, Denver RB Correll Buckhalter are just a few that have known for days that they would be on the street.

Now add to that group Chiefs veteran WR Chris Chambers .  He showed up at the team’s facility today, but was told there was no reason for him to continue on to St. Joseph and Missouri Western State University. With the waiver wire open, the Chiefs released Chambers and CB Jackie Bates.

Chambers’ spot on the roster was in doubt since the wildcard game in the AFC playoffs back in January when Chambers was a game-day inactive and Kevin Curtis, who had been with the team for four days, played in the game.

Many of the veterans being whacked are because of the salary cap. But that’s not a problem for the Chiefs. Still, money is always a factor with GM Scott Pioli. Considering the drafting of Jonathan Baldwin and the agreement reached with UFA Steve Breaston, there was really no place for Chambers to fit into the depth chart.

The release put an end to one of the worst decisions made by Pioli in his two-plus years in charge of the Chiefs. The GM who got his job because he sold Clark Hunt on his ability to operate the franchise without overpaying players, has to be regretting the 3-year, $12 million contract he gave Chambers last year, including $5.9 million in guaranteed money. After coming over on a waiver-wire claim at mid-season in 2009, Chambers became an unrestricted free agent after the ’09 season. How much competition there was at the time for Chambers services is unknown, but Pioli got him signed.

For $5.9 million, the Chiefs got 22 catches for 213 yards and a single TD in 13 games.  That worked out to $268,181 per catch. The contract has proven to be the worst negotiated by Pioli in two seasons. This year, Chambers was scheduled to make $2.9 million with a $500,000 roster bonus. That won’t be happening.

Last year, Chambers dealt with a dislocated finger and the inability to get away from coverage.  He dressed for 13 games, started seven times and in five games did not catch a pass. In five other games, he caught just one throw. His only TD catch of the season came in a blowout loss in Denver.

CHIEFS SIGNING UPDATES

The Chiefs have signed 7 of their 9 draft choices as they headed for St. Joe. They got deals worked out with 2nd-round OL Rodney Hudson, 3rd-round DL Allen Bailey, 4th-round CB Jalil Brown, 5th-round QB Ricky Stanzi, 5th-round LB Gabe Miller, 6th-round DT Jerrell Powe and 7th-round FB Shane Bannon. Foxsports.com reported Bailey’s deal at 4 years, $2.67 million with a $556K signing bonus. Stanzi’s father confirmed his signing and told a Cleveland area newspaper the deal is worth $2 million.

That leaves the top 3 draft choices unsigned: 1st-round WR Jonathan Baldwin and 3rd-round LB Justin Houston.

Also, DB Maurice Leggett, a restricted free agent who did not receive a tender offer from the Chiefs, has agreed to terms with the Detroit Lions.

Training Camp Practice Schedule

The Chiefs released their schedule for practices at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph on Thursday afternoon.

All practices, whether walkthrough (no pads or helmets) or with pads will be open to the public. This weekend’s first round of practices will feature the players in helmets and shells, but not full pads.

Practices moved inside because of weather considerations are not open to the public.

Admission is free to the public with the exception of Family Fun Day on Saturday afternoon, August 6, when admission is $12. Parking will be free that day. Other days, parking at Missouri Western near the practice fields and Spratt Stadium is $5 per day.

JULY

29 – 3:30 p.m. walkthrough.

30 – 3:30 p.m. walkthrough.

31 – 3:30 p.m. (possible pads.)

AUGUST

1 – 10:50 a.m. walkthrough; 3:30 pm. practice in pads.

2 – No practices scheduled.

3 – 9:45 a.m. walkthrough; 7:15 p.m. night practice in pads.

4 – 10:50 a.m. walkthrough; 3:30 p.m. practice in pads.

5 – 10:50 a.m. walkthrough; 3:30 p.m. practice in pads.

6 – 1:30 p.m. practice in pads; FAMILY FUN DAY

7 – No practices scheduled.

8 – 10:50 a.m. walkthrough; 3:30 p.m. practice in pads.

9 – 10:50 a.m. walkthrough; 3:30 p.m. practice in pads.

10 – 10:50 a.m. walkthrough; 7:15 p.m. night practice in pads.

11 – No practices scheduled.

12 – Chiefs vs. Buccaneers, Pre-season Game #1.

13 – No practice.

14 – 10:50 a.m. walkthrough; 3:30 p.m. practice in pads.

15 – 10:50 a.m. walkthrough; 3:30 p.m. practice in pads.

16 – 10:50 a.m. walkthrough; 3:30 p.m. practice in pads.

17 – 2:30 p.m. practice – FINAL IN ST. JOSEPH.

Now That’s An Offense! … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

It’s third-and-8 in the fourth quarter of the Chiefs season opener on September 11 against the Buffalo Bills.

Head coach Todd Haley and offensive coordinator Bill Muir send out a package of five skill position players to work with QB Matt Cassel. At the wide receiver spots are Dwayne Bowe and Jonathan Baldwin. In the slot receiver position is Steve Breaston. Lined up in the backfield in the shotgun formation with Cassel are Jamaal Charles to the left and Dexter McCluster to the right.

Just two years ago the Chiefs offense did not have a weapon of any kind that scared opposing defenses. While going 4-12 that season, the offense produced 26 touchdowns, with only one pass play longer than 50 yards and no receiver with more than 50 receptions or more than 608 yards. It was only in the last part of the season that Charles came on and because an offensive force.

That will not be the case in the 2011 Chiefs season. Bowe, Baldwin, Breaston, Charles and McCluster – that provides the potential for explosion, big plays and opposing defenses struggling to keep up with the ramifications of those five players on the field together. That group doesn’t even include pass catching TE Tony Moeaki.

After saddling him with only one real receiving threat in that 2009 season, the Chiefs front office has given Cassel a full toy box to play with in 2011. …Read More!

Haley Taps Zona-Connection For Breaston

The Chiefs finally jumped into the free agency waters on Wednesday evening when they wrapped up a 5-year agreement with former Arizona Cardinals WR Steve Breaston.

When Breaston arrived in the desert as a fifth-round draft choice of the Cardinals out of the University of Michigan in 2007, the new offensive coordinator for Arizona was a former wide receivers coach named Todd Haley.

They will not be reconnected in a Chiefs offense that finished the 2010 season badly in need of targets for QB Matt Cassel. But since losing to Baltimore in the playoffs, they’ve added first-round draft choice Jonathan Baldwin and now Breaston to go with last year’s leading receiver Dwayne Bowe.

At 6-0, 189 pounds, Breaston is not the big receiver that NFL teams look for these days. In four seasons playing behind Larry Fitzgerald and at times Anquan Boldin, he’s caught 187 passes for 2,528 yards and 7 TD catches. He averaged 13.5 yards per catch.

Breaston also spent three years returning punts for Arizona, averaging 7.8 yards on 113 returns with a 73-yard TD return in 2007. In his first two seasons, he also took back kickoffs, averaging 21.7 yards on 95 returns. He remains the Big 10 Conference’s all-time leading punt returner (127 returns for 1,599 yards.)

Chiefs Name 10 Rookie Signees

The number of undrafted rookies signed by the Chiefs stands at 10 and the team released those names on Tuesday afternoon.

Added to the group mentioned on Tuesday were OL Butch Lewis of Southern Cal, LB Amara Kamara from Temple and WR Josue Paul from Central Connecticut (that’s him above.)

Lewis started 26 games over four years at left guard, right guard and right tackle for the Trojans. He stands 6-4 ½ and weighs 312 pounds.

Kamara is a native of Liberia who grew up in New Jersey is 6-0, 238 pounds. In 48 games for the Owls, he had 240 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and one interception.

The 5-11, 223-pound Paul caught 103 passes for 1,563 yards in 38 games and was a good kick returner with four TDs and a 21.8-yard average.

Here’s the complete list of UDFA so far: …Read More!

Day #2 In Progress

With a lot of money available to them, NFL teams are spending big on free agent players. That’s apparent after the first 27 hours of free agency.

The Chiefs have not opened their wallet up to this point. On Tuesday morning, veteran NT Ron Edwards signed a 3-year, $8.25 million contract with the Carolina Panthers. He becomes the first UFA for the Chiefs to leave the team.

It’s a wonder the Panthers had any money left after signing DE Charles Johnson. Carolina signed him to a 6-year deal that could be worth as much as $72 million, with $32 million in guaranteed money and reportedly $30 million in a signing bonus.

That deal had to make Chiefs OLB Tamba Hali smile. Here’ the career numbers for Johnson and Hali:

In other early Tuesday NFL personnel news WR Santonio Holmes re-signed with the Jets for 5 years, $50 million, $24 million in guaranteed money. QB Matt Hasselbeck is now with Tennessee and QB Donovan McNabb has been traded to Minnesota. Pittsburgh re-signed CB Ike Taylor, while Washington got a deal done with WR Donte Stallworth.

A Look At The Leader … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

Depending on the point of view, Clark Hunt is a miser, a savvy businessman or a young man feeling his way in running the Hunt Family’s most visible business.

There’s a chance he might be all three. As the Chiefs are about to begin their fifth season under his direction, the picture of Hunt remains a bit fuzzy and out of focus.

There’s no question he’s a bright young man who was part of the owners’ negotiating committee that got an agreement between the league and its players that will bring labor peace for the next 10 years. While he was not a driving force in those negotiations like New England’s Robert Kraft or Jerry Richardson of Carolina, he did play a role, especially in piecing together the league’s new supplemental revenue plan that will help keep the playing field level for the next decade.

Yet, he’s also the business leader who decided the way to handle his franchise during the owners’ lockout was to slice the paychecks of the little people working for him. Seemingly oblivious to the PR disaster outside the building and the discontent inside the building until this week, he rode in on a white horse and will return the funds that were cut, while also giving his non-contract employees a 3 percent raise retroactive to March 1. Call it a great decision, one that never should have been made in the first place.

Hunt is the same man who runs an organization that tried to charge firemen who were going to hold the American flag in pre-game ceremonies on September 11. If they wanted to stay and watch the game, pay up. It’s the same franchise that wanted to take away the ability to stay and watch the game for the tickets takers and parking lot attendants who have always had that benefit. …Read More!

Day #1 NFL Signing Season

Oregon Ducks DE Brandon Bair signed with the Chiefs on Tuesday.

We are posting at 9 p.m. CDT, so the first day of signing players is not complete. Knowing how the league works, and how GM Scott Pioli approaches his business, it will likely go well into the night.

With nothing official from the Chiefs, they have added some players to their roster today:

• Agreed to new contracts with 3 of their own unrestricted free agents – C Casey Wiegmann, WR Terrance Copper, DB Travis Daniels.
• Signed at least 7 undrafted rookie free agents – Oregon DE Brandon Bair, Michigan State TE Charlie Gantt, Tennessee-Chattanoga OL Chris Harr, North Carolina OT Mike Ingersoll, Virginia Union OT David Mims, Texas A&M DL Lucas Patterson, Auburn CB Demond Washington.

Among the veterans, Wiegmann agreed to a one-year deal. He’ll be attempting to play his 16th NFL season at the age of 38. Copper will sign a 3-year deal, terms undisclosed. He led the Chiefs special teams last year. Daniels deal is unknown, but on his Twitter account Tuesday night he said he agreed to terms.

…Read More!

Chiefs Get Back To Work

Truman Sports Complex

At 8:01 a.m. Tuesday the player parking area of the Chiefs facility was pretty much empty; only a few cars of the locker room staff were there.

By 9:01 a.m. when the building finally opened to players for the first time since the middle of March, parking spaces were at a premium.

The NFL got back to full-time work on Tuesday morning and the Chiefs were arriving to see trainers, locker room staff and coaches that they haven’t seen in over four months.

Scott Pioli and Todd Haley met with the media just before the doors and the head coach was especially excited about seeing his boys again.

“We’ve got a good group of guys that are fun to be around and you miss being around them,” Haley said. “You miss babies being born and deaths in the family. That part of it was hard.” …Read More!

Gentlemen, Start Your Wallets … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Here’s the complete list of restricted and unrestricted free agents as released by the NFL on Monday.

The most unusual time in pro football history – heck, maybe the history of American professional sports – will begin Tuesday morning when NFL teams can reopen their facilities to their players. That will happen at the Truman Sports Complex at 9 o’clock, as players can report for physicals, voluntary strength and conditioning and meetings with coaches.

It’s the first step of a remarkable two to six weeks between now and the start of the 2011 regular season. Not only must 257 players from April’s NFL Draft be signed, plus another couple hundred undrafted rookie free agents, there are more than 500 free agents in various categories.

The league has approximately 1,900 players with its 32 teams, and Tuesday morning there are over 1,000 that need to be signed to their first contract or their next deal.

This unprecedented period will test the abilities, patience and skill of every front office in the league. What normally happens over the span of four-plus months (March-April-May-June and part of July) is going to be crammed into the next 10-15-25 days. It will have an effect on every team as they sort their new 90-man roster and begin training camp in the next few days. …Read More!

Official Free Agent List 2011

Restricted Free Agents (60)

(Received qualifying offers from their old clubs and are subject to the first refusal/compensation system of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement)

The Old Club has a right of first refusal to all players listed above. In order to submit an offer sheet, a New Club must have available the required choice, defined as its own or better choice in the applicable rounds, in the 2012 NFL Draft. Offer sheets may be submitted to an Old Club until 10:59 pm CDT on Saturday, August 20.

 Restricted Free Agents/Now Unrestricted Free Agents (38)

(Players with fewer than four seasons who received no qualifying offer or no minimum tender from their Old Club, thus making them unrestricted free agents.)

Non-Exclusive Franchise Players (4)

 The Old Club has a right of first refusal to the players listed above and compensation of two No. 1 Draft choices. In order to submit an offer sheet, a New Club must have available the required choices and may submit to the Old Club until 3 p.m. CDT on the Tuesday following the 10th regular season weekend.

Unrestricted Free Agents/Old Team has ROFR (1)

Unrestricted Free Agents (443)

Numbers Game Starts For Chiefs

Now that the labor deal is done, comes the hard part for individual teams as they implement the changes created through the new agreement.

A lot of numbers must be juggled involving the salary cap and roster.

For the Chiefs, the only salary cap presents an issue only in them getting over the minimum cap floor. It’s the roster that will be in the spotlight for Pioli/Haley and their minions.

Here’s the roster math:

• 90 – the roster size for the start of the pre-season.
• 47 – total players the Chiefs have under contract.
• 1 – franchise player tendered in OLB Tamba Hali.
• 6 – restricted free agents tendered contracts.
• 1 – exclusive rights free agents tendered a contract.
• 9 – 2011 draft choices.

Do the math and that means the Chiefs have 64 of those spots that are spoken for at this time.

They must fill 27 spots to reach the 90-player roster limit.

The Chiefs have 14 unrestricted free agents as well.

Yes, There Is A NFL Labor Deal

Peace at last. The NFL owners and players have a new 10-year labor agreement.

Now, the news changes with this labor situation on a minute-by-minute basis. But at 1 p.m. CDT here’s what’s happened and reported:

• The NFL players executive committee and player reps have unanimously approved the contract. So have the plaintiffs in the Brady v. NFL anti-trust suit. Player union leader DeMaurice Smith told the media about five minutes after 1 o’clock about the vote.
• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell along with team owners Jerry Richardson, John Mara and Robert Kraft met with players and signed off on the deal. They briefly spoke to the mediaa outside union headquarters at 1:20 p.m. CDT.
• The agreement was finalized around 2 a.m. CDT on Monday morning.
• There is no opt-out in the final deal – it’s a 10-year agreement.
• The NFL will distribute to teams at 5 p.m. CDT on Monday an official list of 2011 free agents.
• Team facilities will open on Tuesday.
• Also on Tuesday, draft picks and undrafted college players can be signed.
• Also, also on Tuesday negotiating can begin with all veteran players without contracts. But they can’t be signed until Friday.
• New York Jets owner Woody Johnson told his employees that the money from the salary cut they took at the start of the lockout would be immediately returned. Supposedly it will go by direct deposit by the end of business on Monday. What say you Clark Hunt?

Wide Receiver Free Agents

Minnesota’s Sidney Rice, Santonio Holmes of the Jets and Arizona’s Steve Breaston top the available receivers.

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With the NFL owners’ lockout about to come to an end, the agenda for the 2011 season is set to begin and a big part of that will be the free agent signing period.

It figures to be a frenzied start as the league compressed into a week to 10 days what normally takes several months. As one of the NFL teams that must spend a lot of money in the 2011 season to reach the minimum level of spending under the salary cap, the Chiefs figure to be a buyer in this free agency period. Knowing how GM Scott Pioli works, they will approach the free-agent market with very specific plans and the chance of the Chiefs spend willy-nilly on free agents is very low.

One spot that will require attention will be wide receiver. The Chiefs helped themselves by selecting Jonathan Baldwin in the first round of April’s NFL Draft, but they need more talent at the position. That’s especially true if the Chiefs are following through with their plans to move Dexter McCluster to running back on a full-time basis.

The Chiefs have two in-house UFAs in Terrance Copper and Kevin Curtis. Copper has not been much of a contributor to the offense over the last two years, but he’s a key special teams player, the leader of that group in the 2010 season. I would expect the Chiefs will re-sign him. Curtis joined them for the game against Baltimore in the first-round of the playoffs and whether he’s a factor in coming back remains to be seen. …Read More!

Finally, A Deal? … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

That rattling you may have heard over the weekend was pro football, reaching for the keys to unlock the National Football League.

Finally, the owners’ lockout of the players appears to be on life support. Sometime Monday, the players will come out from behind closed doors with news that they’ve approved the agreement with the owners. Those words will not be the final chapter of this fourth-month labor-odyssey, but they will start the momentum towards football returning to the field and out of the conference rooms and courthouses.

Here’s what is expected from the players meeting in Washington, D.C.:

– The executive committee of what used to be the NFL Players Association will approve the agreement with the owners that was tweaked and changed over the weekend to the satisfaction of the players. This is the group that includes Chiefs LG Brian Waters, former Chiefs LBs Mike Vrabel and Scott Fujita and former Chiefs FB Tony Richardson. These are the guys that know the deal best and figure to vote unanimously for the deal.

– When that happens, there are two next steps. The plaintiffs in the Tom Brady v. the NFL anti-trust suit must then approve the agreement because settling that case is part of the labor deal. Joining Brady were Vrabel, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Vincent Jackson, Ben Leber, Logan Mankins, Brian Robinson, Osi Umenyiora and rookie Von Miller. That approval seems fait accompli at this time … a little French lingo for you.

– The other next step is approval of the agreement by the team player reps. That vote will be done via a conference call. C/G Rudy Niswanger will be representing the Chiefs locker room in this vote. It’s hard to imagine that the reps will not approve the deal, but there could be some unhappy teams and thus player reps out there. Expect that vote to approve; it will be interesting to see if the players release the vote total if it’s not 32-0. Maybe there’s a team that will go the Al Davis route and abstain. …Read More!

Pioli & Personnel – The Draft & Rookie Free Agents

We’ve been taking a comprehensive look at the player personnel decisions made by Chiefs GM Scott Pioli since he was appointed to the job in January 2009. We’ll look at the moves in three parts:

• FIRST PART – Inherited players, here’s the link.
• SECOND PART – Veteran players acquired as free agents, in trades and waiver claims; here’s the link.
• TODAY – Draft picks and rookie free agents.
• FINAL – A personnel wrap-up and look ahead.

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When an NFL team makes it known that it wants to build its roster through the annual Draft that does not leave much room for error. It takes a consistent record of adding multiple players each and every year. A draft-day bust creates a domino effect on the personnel future of the team as it tries to recover from the mistake.

Each season the process begins with seven selections per team and that number goes up and down depending on how much wheeling and dealing is done. Draft picks are powerful currency in the NFL. Building through the draft requires that the large majority of this currency pays off in talented players on the roster.

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli has gone through three NFL Drafts as the man in charge of Chiefs personnel. His first draft class in 2009 has been a major disappointment, a group that led to roster red ink. His second draft class in 2010 had a strong rookie season, including a trip to the Pro Bowl for first-round pick SS Eric Berry. After one season, it’s in the black.

His third draft class in 2011 received high grades from the draftniks who rate those types of things. There’s no question that for the Chiefs and their road to building a team that annually competes for a spot in the playoffs, the draft picks in ’11 are hugely important. Failure is not an option. …Read More!

New Quirks In Labor Deal

If all goes as planned on Monday, the next steps in the process of negotiating a labor deal between the league and its players will unlock the gates and start the ball rolling on the 2011 season.

The players will meet on Monday and will vote on the agreement they received last Thursday evening from the owners. The deal has been tweaked over a weekend of negotiations, apparently to the satisfaction of both sides. There are plenty of issues that still must be decided, but those can’t happen until the recertification of the NFL Players Association.

That makes 100 percent certainty in reporting all the changes a bit of a gamble, especially when it comes to dividing up the $9 billion revenue pie each year. So we are going to stick with a few matters involving players and practice that have become known from the deal.

GAME-DAY ROSTER = 46

For the last 20 seasons (1991-2010) teams had a limit of 45 players that could be dressed for action in the game, plus a 46th player as the inactive third quarterback.

The new agreement pushes the number to 46, with no provision for the No. 3 quarterback. In essence, the same number of players will be available but that 46th guy does not have to be a quarterback. What we are likely to see is fewer teams taking three QBs into a game, instead using that last roster spot for players at other positions that may contribute on special teams or special packages on offense and defense. …Read More!

Pioli’s Draft Picks & Rookie Free Agents

There have been 15 draft choices and 31 rookie free agents that were signed by the new regime in 2009-10. There are still 24 of those 46 players in the organization.

We’ve rated these personnel decision as either hits, misses or incomplete. This is based entirely on what the player has done on the field, in relationship with how he was obtained.

———- 2009/2010 Draft Choices ———-

CB Javier Arenas/2nd round-2010: contract signing announced on 7/28/10. HIT

C/G Jon Asamoah/3rd round-2010: contract signing announced on 7/29/10. HIT

SS Eric Berry/1st round-2010: contract signed on 7/30/10. HIT

OT Colin Brown/5th round-2009: contract signing announced on 6/30/09; placed on injured-reserve list on 9/5/09; released on 9/4/10. MISS

DE Tyson Jackson/1st round-2009: contract signing announced on 8/7/09. MISS.

WR Quinten Lawrence/6th round-2009: contract signing announced 7/30/09; released on 10/25/09; named to practice squad on 10/26/09; promoted to active roster on 11/28/09; released on 12/19/09; re-signed on 12/22/09; released on 9/5/10; named to practice squad 9/5/10; named to practice squad 9/7/10; promoted to active roster 12/25/10. MISS.

FS Kendrick Lewis/5th round-2010: contract signing announced on 7/30/10. HIT.

DE Alex Magee/3rd round-2009: contract signing announced on 7/30/09; traded to Tampa Bay on 10/19/10. MISS.

WR Dexter McCluster/2nd round-2010: contract signing announced on 7/28/10. HIT.

TE Tony Moeaki/3rd round-2010: contract signing announced 7/22/10. HIT.

TE Jake O’Connell/7th round-2009: contract signing announced on 6/26/09. MISS.

LB Cameron Sheffield/5th round-2010: contract signing announced on 7/20/10; placed on injured-reserve list on 9/15/10. UNKNOWN.

K Ryan Succop/7th round-2009: contract signing announced on 6/18/09. HIT.

CB Donald Washington/4th round-2009: contract signing announced on 7/30/09; placed on injured-reserve list on 1/5/11. MISS.

RB Javarris Williams/7th round-2009: contract signing announced on 7/23/09; released on 9/5/09; named to practice squad 9/6/09; promoted from practice squad on 12/5/09; released on 9/4/10. MISS.

————— DRAFT PICK TRADES 2009-2011 —————

• Picks For Players
  

2ND-ROUND (#34) choice to New England for QB Matt Cassel and OLB Mike Vrabel. HIT.

6TH-ROUND (#173) choice to Miami for G Andy Alleman and G/T Ikechuku Ndukwe. MISS.

• Picks For Picks
  

1ST-ROUND (#21) choice to Cleveland for 1ST-ROUND (#27) and 3RD-ROUND (#70) choices. Drafted WR Jonathan Baldwin and LB Justin Houston. UNKNOWN.

4TH-ROUND (#102) AND 5TH-ROUND (#144) to Houston for 3RD-ROUND (#93) choice. Drafted TE Tony Moeaki. HIT.

7TH-ROUND (#212) choice in 2010 to Miami for 7th-Round (#237) choice in 2009. Drafted TE Jake O’Connell. MISS.

• Players For Picks
  

OBTAINED 2ND-ROUND (#50) choice in 2010 for TE Tony Gonzalez in 2009 trade with Atlanta. Drafted CB Javier Arenas. UNKNOWN.

OBTAINED 5TH-ROUND (#142) choice in 2010 for QB Tyler Thigpen in 2009 trade with Miami. Drafted LB Cameron Sheffield. UNKNOWN.

OBTAINED 5TH-ROUND (#144) choice in 2010 for DT Tank Tyler in 2009 trade with Carolina. Used choice to move up and selected TE Tony Moeaki. HIT.

OBTAINED 5TH-ROUND (#135) choice in 2011 for DE Alex Magee in 2010 trade with Tampa Bay. Used choice to move up and selected QB Ricky Stanzi. UNKNOWN.

———- UNDRAFTED ROOKIES SIGNED ———-

TE Leroy Banks – signed 5/17/10; released 6/14/10; signed 7/28/10; released 9/3/10. MISS.

CB Jackie Bates – signed on 5/8/09; released 9/5/09; named to practice squad 9/6/09; signed reserve-future contract 1/4/10; placed on the injured-reserve list 12/8/10. HIT.

LB Jovan Belcher – signed on 5/8/09. HIT.

DL Garrett Brown – signed on 4/25/10; released 9/3/10; named to practice squad 9/5/10; released from practice squad 9/7/10. MISS.

LB Justin Cole – signed on 4/25/10; released 12/1/10; named to practice squad 12/3/10; signed reserve-future contract 1/12/11. UNKNOWN.

TE Tom Crabtree – signed on 5/8/09; released on 9/5/09; named to practice squad 9/6/09; released from practice squad 9/29/09. MISS.

TE T.C. Drake – signed on 4/25/10; released on 5/6/10. MISS.

OL Tyler Eastman – signed on 4/25/10; released 8/29/10. MISS.

DL Jeffrey Fitzgerald – signed on 5/17/10; released 8/17/10. MISS.

CB Londen Fryar – signed on 5/8/09; released 9/4/09. MISS.

DE Dion Gales – signed on 5/8/09; released on 9/5/09; named to practice squad 9/6/09; promoted to active roster on 12/12/09; released 9/4/10; named to practice squad 9/5/10; signed reserve-future contract 1/12/11. UNKNOWN.

OT Cameron Goldberg – signed on 5/8/09; released on 9/1/09. MISS.

LB Cory Greenwood – signed on 5/17/10; re-signed with the Chiefs for 2011 season on 3/5/11. HIT.

DE Robert Greenwood – signed on 5/8/09; released on 9/5/09; named to practice squad 9/6/09; signed reserve-future contract on 1/4/10; released on 9/4/10; named to practice squad 9/5/10; signed reserve-future contract 1/12/11. UNKNOWN.

WR Rich Gunnell – signed on 4/25/10; released 9/3/10. MISS.

G Darryl Harris – signed on 5/8/09; released 9/5/09; named to practice squad 9/5/09; promoted to active roster 12/19/09; released 9/4/10; named to practice squad 9/5/10; signed reserve-future contract 1/12/11. UNKNOWN.

WR Jeremy Horne – signed on 4/25/10; released on 10/23/10; signed reserve future contract 1/12/11. HIT.

OL Lemuel Jean-Pierre – signed on 4/25/10; released 9/3/10. MISS.

LB Micah Johnson – named to practice squad 12/8/10; signed reserve future contract 1/12/11. UNKNOWN.

LB Michael Johnson – signed on 4/25/10; released 5/10/12. MISS.

WR Taurus Johnson – signed on 5/8/09; released on 9/5/09. MISS.

RB Tervaris Johnson – signed on 4/25/10; released-injured 8/7/10. MISS.

DB Andre Jones – signed on 5/17/10; released 6/14/10. MISS.

OL Nick Landry – signed on 4/25/10; released 6/14/10. MISS.

OL Andrew Lewis – signed on 4/25/10; released on 8/3/10. MISS

S Ricky Price – signed on 5/8/09; released on 9/5/09; named to practice squad on 10/28/09; promoted to active roster 12/26/09; released 9/4/10; named to practice squad 9/5/10; promoted to active roster 11/13/10. HIT.

TE Cody Slate – signed on 6/3/10; released on 8/29/10; named to practice squad 1/5/11; signed reserve-future contract 1/12/11. UNKNOWN.

LB Corey Smith – signed on 5/8/09; released on 9/4/09. MISS.

QB Bill Stull – signed on 8/17/10; released on 8/29/10. MISS.

WR Verran Tucker – signed on 7/31/10; released 9/4/10; named to practice squad 9/5/10; promoted to active roster 10/23/10. HIT.

LB Pierre Walters – signed on 5/8/09; released 9/4/10; named to practice squad 9/5/10; signed reserve-future contract 1/12/11. HIT.

Lockout Continues Into Weekend

Enjoy the weekend dear NFL fans – nothing in the owners’ lockout of the players will change before Monday.

On Friday afternoon, the players association executive committee e-mailed its membership and telling them that there will be no votes on approving a deal with the NFL until Monday at the earliest.

If true – and in this labor fight change happens all the time – that means that NFL teams will not be opening their facilities as planned on Saturday for their players. It also means they will not be negotiating contracts with their free agents, draft choices or other free agents around the league.

And, it makes a league established July 27 start for training camps improbable. It sounds more like it will be July 30-31 or August 1 before the 32 teams can open their training camp doors and start the season.

The players, their negotiators and lawyers continue to go over the paperwork that was sent to them by the owners on Thursday evening. They will work the weekend, possibly negotiating with the league, in hopes of bridging the gaps that remain in the agreement.

The biggest factor is the recertification process of the NFL Players Association. There are important elements of an agreement between players and owners that can’t be negotiated without the NFLPA regaining union status, items like drug testing, league discipline, etc. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday that the owners’ support of the agreement depends on the recertification. Goodell and NFL lawyers have said without that, the league will not re-open its doors.

So enjoy what everyone an involved hope is the final weekend of no football for the next six months.

What’s Next For NFL, Players?

The sun came up Friday morning and the National Football League pulled back the curtains on a new day, only to see some of the same storm clouds in the sky.

After a wild Thursday night in the stalled labor agreement between owners and players, it now makes Friday the next big day in the situation. And, the team with the ball in its hands is what used to be called the NFL Players Association. The immediate future is up to them.

So what can we expect from the players on July 22?

That’s exactly what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is considering. Most of the league’s movers and shakers were in the Boston suburb of Newton Centre on Friday morning, attending the funeral services for Myra Kraft, the wife of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. She passed away on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer.

Once they pay their respects to the Kraft Family, Goodell and his staff will have to find more time and energy to deal with the players. Ultimately, what’s likely to happen on Friday is this: …Read More!

Owners Try Pushing Players Into Corner … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

In the battle between billionaires and millionaires, score one for the guys with the extra zero.

The NFL owners showed on Thursday some of the negotiating tactics that have made them billions of dollars over the years and allowed professional football to become America’s past-time. By announcing that they had ratified a labor agreement by a 31-0 vote, the owners backed the players into a corner and put the spotlight directly on the guys that wear the helmets and pads.

Essentially, the owners and their front-man NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made a major production out of the league approving its own proposal, one that included significant items that were reportedly news to the players’ negotiators. Essentially the NFL pulled the hidden ball trick, coming onto the labor negotiating field with their Thursday proposal tucked under their expensive Italian suits.

The owners got into the end zone and kicked the extra point while the players were still huddled up on the sidelines. …Read More!

Hunt Will Visit K.C. On Friday

That’s Carolina owner Jerry Richardson (left), NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt (right) in Atlanta on Thursday.

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Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt is scheduled to be at the team’s offices on Friday to speak with his employees about the labor situation.

Hunt has been deeply involved in the negotiations between the league and players as a member of the NFL’s labor committee. He was involved in probably 80 percent of the internal sessions and meetings with the players.

Right now, he’s scheduled to meet first with the Chiefs coaching staff, and then with the rest of the employees in the building.

It will be interesting to see if he apologizes for being one of the few teams in the NFL that forced salary cuts on employees during the owners’ lockout. Maybe more interesting will be whether he outlines if and when those employees will get their money returned to them. Most of the seven teams that cut salaries said they would return the money if there were no games missed during the lockout.

The Chiefs have not talked publicly about their post-lockout plans.

NFL Sets Tentative Timetable For Football’s Return

Here’s what the NFL released Thursday evening on the schedule for the next two months involving the league as it comes back from four months of the owners’ lockout.

———- JULY ———-

July 23 – Voluntary training, conditioning and classroom instruction permitted until first day of clubs’ pre-season training camps; Free Agency List to be issued and will become effective on the first day of the 2011 League Year; Clubs/players may begin to renegotiate contracts; Clubs may begin to sign drafted rookies and their own UFAs, RFAs, Exclusive Rights Players and Franchise Players; Waivers begin for the 2011 League Year; starting at 1 p.m. CDT, clubs may negotiate with but not sign undrafted rookie free agents, free agents, and other clubs’ UFAs, RFAs, and Franchise Players.

July 24 – Starting at 1 p.m. CDT, clubs may begin to sign undrafted rookie free agents.

July 27 – The 2011 League Year starts at 1 p.m. CDT, provided that recertified NFLPA has ratified the agreement; Free Agency Signing Period begins; Clubs may sign free agents and other clubs’ Unrestricted Free Agents; Clubs may sign Offer Sheets; Trading period begins; All Clubs must be under the Salary Cap with the top 51 rule applying (that’s the top 51 salary numbers on the roster.); Rosters expanded to 90-man limit; Training camps open for all clubs. Day One activities will be limited to physicals, meetings, and conditioning. No pads permitted on Day Two (Thursday) or Day Three (Friday). …Read More!

What Clark Hunt Had To Say

Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt was in the middle of all the negotiations between the NFL owners and players.

After the announcement that the NFL had approved its version of the agreement, here is what  Hunt had to say:

“It’s been a long process; a tedious process. I do think we’ve ended up with a deal that’s fair to both sides … not everyone got what they wanted in the deal, but that usually is a sign of a fair agreement. I want to specifically thank the players who took part in the process, Jeff Saturday, Dominique Foxworth and the others. Their work was tremendous. We would not be standing here today without their steadfast involvement in the process over the last several weeks. I can just say on behalf of the Kansas City Chiefs and their fans that we’re looking forward to getting back to football.”

Interesting that Hunt did not mention two players from his own team that were part of the negotiations – now retired LB Mike Vrabel and LG Brian Waters.

They Aren’t Done Yet

The NFL owners moved the labor football off the spot where it had been stuck for several days by voting 31-0 to approve an agreement with the league’s players.

That vote went down Thursday evening in Atlanta with all teams that voted going for the agreement. The Oakland Raiders abstained from the vote, something that Al Davis normally does in these type of league matters.

But the vote did not end the lockout of the players. The 2011 season will not move forward until the players re-certify their union, the NFL Players Association. That would take a vote of the entire NFLPA membership, with a simple majority leading to the recreation of the association as representatives of the players. Without that, the league would be open to further anti-trust legal action from individual players.

Speaking afterwards, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said team facilities will open up to players on Saturday. The league has tentatively scheduled the start of the league season for Wednesday, July 27, but that’s only if there is a recertified NFLPA. They must do that by Tuesday, July 26th.

Here’s what we know about what the NFL owners agreed to on Thursday: …Read More!

Greed Ain’t Good … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Our theme this morning is greed, a word that keeps rearing its ugly head around the National Football League in general and the Kansas City Chiefs in particular.

Let’s start with the story on the home front. It comes from WDAF-TV, Channel 4 and it casts a spotlight on another attempt by the Chiefs front office to step on the little guy.

The ticket takers and parking attendants that work at Arrowhead Stadium on game day have been told by the Chiefs they will no longer be allowed to stay and watch the game after their work is completed.

The stadium workers say that the team has allowed them to stay and watch the games for free. They had no seats, but could stay and watch from standing-room areas. Obviously in recent seasons they had the opportunity to grab a seat because there were so many that were empty.

“We were told that when we work and we are done, we are to clock out and leave the premises,” said Steve Warner, a ticket taker for 13 years in an interview with Channel 4. “Everybody was very, very, very upset. When we go and work hard at the gates and knowing that it’s hot outside or freezing in January, even during the season, you get your benefit of going and watching the game.

“You work hard, and plain and simple. We don’t get paid a lot of money. Why take that privilege away from everybody?” …Read More!

Pioli & Personnel – Free Agents, Trades, Waivers

Over three days we are taking a comprehensive look at the player personnel decisions made by Chiefs GM Scott Pioli since he was appointed to the job in January 2009. We’ll look at the moves in three parts:

• FIRST PART – Inherited players, here’s the link.
• TODAY – Veteran players acquired as free agents, in trades and waiver claims.
• NEXT – Draft picks and rookie free agents.

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A sign of a good football organization, one that has all parts of the operation working together and complimenting each other, is a team that can take somebody else’s trash and turn it into precious football metals.

It’s about scouring the hinterlands, cities and suburbs for talent. At any given time there’s a world of 3,000-plus football players floating about the country. A team cannot build strictly through the NFL Draft – there are only seven rounds. They can add rookie free agents after the Draft, but there would remain large holes in the roster.

So teams must venture anywhere to find talent to help, whether it’s the waiver wire, the trade market, or signing free agents, not just the high-priced, well-known unrestricted free agents, but the street free agents. Those are players that have been found wanting by another team, and a currently “on the street” trying to find their next chance.

Since taking over the Chiefs in January of 2009, GM Scott Pioli has had a checkered record when it comes to finding diamonds in the rough. …Read More!

The Players Pioli Brought In

Here’s a complete list of the transactions that brought veteran players and free agents to the Chiefs. Rookie free agents will be included in segment No. 3 with the 2009-10 draft choices.

The individual moves are rated Excellent, Good, Average and Poor.

———- 2009 ———-

Trade – QB Matt Cassel & OLB Mike Vrabel were acquired on March 1 from the Patriots for a second round selection in the 2009 NFL Draft. It’s hard to see a bad side of this deal for the Chiefs. Cassel has been the starting QB for 30 regular season games, posting a 13-17 mark in the No. 1 position. Vrabel became one of the team’s most vocal leaders and while his abilities had eroded, he made an impact with the example he set and the skull sessions that helped the K.C. defense get better. RATING – GOOD, with further development by Cassel giving it a chance to improve its grade to excellent.

SFA signed – WR C.J. Jones was added to the roster on 3/5/09; released on 6/19/09. From 2003 through 2009, Jones kept getting chances in the NFL and he could not find the field. It started with Cleveland, Seattle and New England before the Chiefs and Denver afterwards. RATING – POOR, a waste of time. Had he not been with the Patriots in ’08 when Pioli was still there, it’s unlikely he would have seen the Chiefs locker room.

SFA signed – LB Darrell Robertson was added to the roster on 3/6/09; released on 6/19/09. Another player that spent time with the Patriots in ’08, Robertson did not get on the field. He was signed by the Cowboys, Patriots and Chiefs, but never played a regular-season game for any of those teams. RATING – POOR, another former member of the Patriots.

UFA signed – CB Travis Daniels was signed on 3/10/09, after playing the ’08 season with the Cleveland Browns and the previous three years with Miami; the Dolphins selected him in the 4th-round of the 2005 NFL Draft; released on 9/4/09; re-signed on 11/4/09 and Daniels remains with the team. RATING –AVERAGE, Daniels hasn’t been a big contributor over two years, playing in 25 games, with 24 total tackle, 1 INT and 10 special teams tackle.

SFA signed – LB Corey Mays was signed on 3/13/09, after he was not tendered a restricted free agent offer by Cincinnati. He broke into the league playing 9 games in 2006-07 with New England, where he began his NFL career as a college free agent out of Notre Dame. With the Chiefs, he’s played 30 games, including 13 starts in ’09, with 100 tackles and 15 special teams tackles. RATING – POOR, Mays became a starter in ’09 simply because there wasn’t much else on the roster.

UFA signed – LB Monty Beisel – was signed on 3/17/09, after playing the ’08 season with the Arizona Cardinals, his third NFL stop after playing for the Chiefs and Patriots (2005); Beisel was released on 9/29/09 after playing in 3 games, with 2 tackle and 1 stop on special teams; he re-signed with Arizona on 11/29/09 and played in six games; he was released on 9/13/10. RATING – POOR, Beisel’s homecoming was anything but as he did not fit with the new Chiefs, despite his familiarity with both Pioli and Haley.

UFA signed – WR Terrance Copper was signed on 3/17/09 after playing the ’08 season with New Orleans and Baltimore; the Chiefs were the fourth NFL team he played with, breaking into the league in 2004 with Dallas as a rookie free agent. He spent time in ’04-05 working with Haley, who was the Cowboys wide receivers coach. RATING – AVERAGE, as Copper has not been much of a contributor for the offense, with 22 catches in 31 games and no scores; he’s been better on special teams coverage with 35 tackles.

UFA signed – WR Bobby Engram was signed on 3/17/09 after playing the ’08 season with Seattle, where he spent 8 seasons; he broke into the league as 2nd-round choice in the 1996 NFL Draft by Chicago; that’s where he met and worked very briefly with Haley; released on 11/7/09; signed with Cleveland and went to training camp in 2010, but was released and he retired. RATING – POOR, as Engram showed his 36 years of age, catching 5 passes for 61 yards in 5 games before he was released.

UFA signed – G Mike Goff was signed on 3/26/09 after playing the ’08 season and the previous four seasons with San Diego; he started seven games and played in eight games before he was moved to the injured-reserve list on 11/11/09; he was released by the Chiefs on 2/24/10. RATING – POOR, Goff was finished as a productive player and once he left the starting lineup, the line stabilized as he was replaced by Andy Alleman and then Wade Smith.

SFA signed – LS Tanner Purdum was signed on 4/7/09, his first taste of life in the NFL, some three years after his college career at Baker ended; released on 8/13/09 in training camp. RATING – POOR, as Purdum was caught daydreaming at practice and was not on the field with the FG team. The same day he was released, Thomas Gafford was re-signed and has been the team’s deep snapper since.

SFA signed – WR Rodney Wright was signed on 4/7/09, after spending three seasons in the Arena Football League; he had previously spent time with the Buffalo Bills; he was supposedly known for his speed and his ability as a returner; he was released on 9/4/09, and the next day was added to the practice squad; he was released for good on 9/16/09. RATING – POOR, as Wright had five total returns in the ’09 pre-season for a total of 36 yards. The Chiefs badly needed a returner, but Wright was not the man.

SFA signed – LB Zach Thomas was signed on 4/13/09 after he was allowed to become a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys where he had spent the ’08 season; Thomas moved into the starting lineup, but suffered an unspecified neck or head injury and was released on 9/5/09, effectively ending his playing career, although he later filed a grievance against the Chiefs and his release. RATING – POOR, as Thomas could not contribute in a season when help was badly needed at inside linebacker.

SFA signed – TE Sean Ryan to a one-year contract on 4/21/09; he played in 10 games, starting the first eight as he replaced Tony Gonzalez in the opening lineup; he caught 14 passes for 135 yards and 2 TD catches; he was not offered a contract for the 2010 season, and he signed with Washington and later Tennessee. RATING – POOR, as Ryan was too slow to become a threat in the Chiefs offense.

SFA signed – TE Tony Curtis was signed on 4/24/09 and was released on 8/4/09; he hardly made a dent in the depth chart behind Sean Ryan; he signed with Baltimore and played three games in ’09 with the Ravens; he went to training camp with San Francisco in 2010, but did not make the roster. RATING – POOR.

UFA signed – C/G Eric Ghiaciuc was signed on 4/30/09, after playing with the Cincinnati Bengals; released on 9/4/09. RATING – POOR, he provided little in the way of consistent blocking in the pre-season.

SFA signed – S Mike Brown was signed on 6/25/09, as basically a last resort to help the situation at safety. He figured to provide depth, but at the start of the regular season, Brown became the starter at strong safety. He was busy, finishing third on the team with 99 total tackles, 2 sacks and 3 interceptions. Brown did an average job on run support, but was a liability in coverage because of his lack of speed and quickness. He was not re-signed for the ’20 season. RATING – AVERAGE, as he did provide some elements of leadership and was a good soldier.

Waiver claim – LB Vince Redd was claimed on 8/4/09, after he was released the day before by New England. Redd lasted 20 days with the Chiefs before he was sent back to the waiver wire; he’s never made it back to the NFL, spending a brief time in the CFL and then the Arena Football League. RATING – POOR, just another Patriots castoff who couldn’t play. Oh, and he was suspended at the time he was released by the NFL for four weeks due to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.

SFA signed – WR Amani Toomer was signed on 8/4/09 and released on 9/1/09; the veteran receiver from the New York Giants was soon to be 35 years old and had lost his speed and quickness. In the pre-season he caught just 2 passes for 29 yards. After he was released, he did not play football again. RATING – POOR.

Waiver claim – QB Matt Gutierrez on 8/6/09 after he was released by the – who else, the New England Patriots – he was claimed by Pioli; he was released nearly a year later, on 6/14/10, after the team’s off-season program was completed. RATING – POOR, as it was hard to believe that he would have been added if he was released by a team other than the Patriots.

SFA signed – WR Ashley Lelie on 8/17/09 and released on 9/5/09; in the pre-season, he caught 5 passes for 95 yards, including the longest pass play of the exhibition season; the well-traveled Lelie (5 teams in 8 years) looked like he had a chance to stick, but he ended up getting the ax. RATING – POOR, just another failed attempt to provide Cassel with a viable target.

TRADE – C/G Andy Alleman and G/T Ikechuku Ndukwe acquired from the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a sixth-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft (No. 173); Both players did not have contracts for the ’10 season and the Chiefs did not re-sign them; injury concerns along the O-Line had Pioli looking for help and he went shopping again at the Dolphins with his father-in-law Bill Parcells; these guys were dealt because Parcells knew they were not going to make the Miami roster for the ’09 season; with the Chiefs, Alleman played 9 games and started 3 times at guard, while Ndukwe played in 12 games with 3 starts at RT. RATING – POOR, as neither player was able to increase the talent level. In the 2010 season Alleman went to camp with Indianapolis, but was released early in the pre-season and did not play; Ndukwe became a UFA, but re-signed with the Chiefs on 3/25/10, and was released on the final pre-season cut on 9/3/10; He did not play in the ’10 season, but signed for the ’11 season with the New York Giants on 1/13/11

Waiver claim – OT Ryan O’Callaghan claimed on 9/6/09 after he was released by the Patriots; became the starter at RT in ’09 season after three games; was the starter because there was not another tackle on the roster that season – Ikechuku Ndukwe or Barry Richardson – that was a better player. That wasn’t the case in the ’10 pre-season, as Richardson claimed the starting job. RATING – AVERAGE.

SFA signed – WR Bobby Wade on 9/15/09, as Pioli made yet another attempt to provide the Chiefs offense with a playmaker; Wade caught 6 passes for 72 yards in his first game in the red and gold, but wasn’t able to equal those numbers in any game over the rest of the season; he was not re-signed after becoming a UFA early in 2010; he signed with Washington and played in 2 games, making 2 catches. RATING – POOR, as Wade was as likely to drop the ball thrown to him as making the catch.

SFA signed – TE Leonard Pope on 9/29/09, after he was released several weeks earlier by the Arizona Cardinals; over the last two years, Pope has been more effective as a blocker than receiver; in 29 games he’s caught 30 passes for 250 yards and 3 TDs; RATING – AVERAGE.

SFA signed – LB David Herron on 9/30/09, as they needed help in the kicking game; he appeared in 10 games, and contributed 11 special teams tackles; he was released on 9/4/10, and later signed with San Diego and played two games with the Chargers. RATING – AVERAGE, as Herron’s contributions on special teams deserves some credit.

SFA signed – CB Mike Richardson on 9/20/09; another former member of the Patriots, he played in 11 games, contributing a dozen tackles in the kicking game and 6 tackles on defense; released on 9/3/10, he was re-signed on 12/1/10 and then released on 12/25/10; he was claimed on waivers by Indianapolis. RATING – AVERAGE.

SFA signed – DT Kenny Smith on 10/21/09, after Tank Tyler was traded to Carolina; this one was tough to understand, given that Smith had not played in the NFL the three previous seasons (2006-08); he played in six games before he was released on 12/8/09; he’s not returned to the league. RATING – POOR.

PS promotion – WR Lance Long on 10/25/09, after several weeks on the practice squad, the former receiver for the Arizona Cardinals was added to the active roster; he played in seven games, catching 20 passes for 178 yards; he was released on 8/31/10. RATING – POOR.

Waiver claim – WR Chris Chambers on 11/3/09, after he was released by the San Diego Chargers; Chambers immediately became Matt Cassel’s favorite receiver and he finished the season with 36 catches for 608 yards and 4 TDs in 9 games; it was enough to have the Chiefs sign him after the season when Chambers became a UFA; he signed a 3-year deal worth $12 million, with $5.9 million in guaranteed money; but that money turned out to be the worst investment Pioli has made in two years, as Chambers couldn’t get open and ended up catching just 25 passes for 208 yards and 1 TD. RATING – AVERAGE on the waiver claim, POOR on the new contract.

SFA signed – LB Justin Rogers on 10/14/09; released 10/17/09; re-signed on 11/11/09; placed on injured-reserve list on 12/26/09; released on 2/8/10; a back-up LB and special teams player who played in one game. RATING – POOR.

SFA signed – FB Tim Castille on 11/17/09, after being released on 9/4/09 by the Cardinals after two seasons in Arizona; with the Chiefs he played in 7 games, producing 92 yards in total offense and 5 special teams tackles; Castille has been a solid, but not spectacular. RATING – AVERAGE.

PS promotion – G Darryl Harris on 12/19/09 after 13 weeks on the practice squad; he played in one game and remains with the Chiefs, after spending the ’10 season on the practice squad. RATING –AVERAGE.

SFA signed – S Reshard Langford on 12/25/09, as he came off the Eagles practice squad in Philadelphia; he remained with the team through the 2010 season, but was limited by injuries. RATING – AVERAGE.

———- 2010 ———-

SFA signed – QB Tyler Palko on 3/3/10; promoted from practice squad on 12/8/10; Palko spent the entire 2010 season on the active roster as the No. 3 QB; he played in 2 games, completing 4 of 6 passes for 35 yards. RATING – AVERAGE.

SFA signed – RB Thomas Jones on 3/9/10, four days after he was released by the New York Jets; Jones was coming off a career-best season where he carried 331 times for 1,402 yards and 14 TDs; in his 11^th season and at the age of 32, Jones showed the wear and tear of his long career, but he made contributions to the offense, running for 896 yards on 245 carries and 122 receiving yards on 14 catches. RATING – GOOD, even at his advanced age, Jones was an important factor in the team’s turnaround from 4-12 to 10-6.

SFA signed – DL Shaun Smith on 3/10/10, his seventh team since coming into the league in 2003; Smith proved to be a nice pickup for the Chiefs, and for the first time in his career he played in all 16 games, making 10 starts and working at both defensive end and nose tackle; Smith contributed 34 total tackles and 1 sack; he’s without a deal for the upcoming season. RATING – GOOD.

UFA signed
– WR Jerheme Urban on 3/11/10, after spending 3 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals; he suffered a torn ligament in a finger on his right hand during the pre-season; Urban was placed on the injured-reserve list on 9/4/10. RATING – INCOMPLETE.

SFA signed – C Casey Wiegmann on 3/12/10, after he spent 2 seasons with the Broncos; Denver released him on 2/23/10 and there was immediate interest from Washington; but he returned to K.C. and took every snap for the ’10 offense. RATING – GOOD.

SFA signed – G Ryan Lilja on 3/16/10, as he returned to Kansas City after spending 5 seasons with the Colts; Indianapolis released him on 3/8/10; Lilja started 15 games at RG for the Chiefs offense and helped them to a 10-6 season. RATING – EXCELLENT.

SFA signed – WR David Grimes on 5/5/10; released on 7/31/10; former Notre Dame receiver spent the first days of training camp with Chiefs before getting his walking papers. RATING – POOR.

SFA signed – LB John Russell on 8/3/10; released 9/3/10; he spent the rest of the ’10 season on the Buffalo Bills practice squad. RATING – POOR.

SFA signed – C Dan Santucci on 8/7/10; released 9/3/10; he spent the rest of the ’10 season on the Carolina Panthers practice squad. RATING – POOR.

Waiver claim – DT Anthony Toribio on 9/5/10 from the Green Bay Packers; he saw limited playing time with the Chiefs during the ’10 season. RATING – INCOMPLETE.

SFA signed – LB Charlie Anderson on 9/15/10; released on 11/13/10; re-signed on 11/17/10; Anderson saw very limited playing time during the ’10 season. RATING – POOR.

SFA signed – DE Atiyyah Ellison on 10/20/10; released on 10/27/10. NO RATING.

SFA signed – LB Mark Simoneau on 10/27/10; placed on injured-reserve list on 11/17/10. NO RATING.

SFA signed – WR Kevin Curtis on 1/5/11, after playing in just two games during the 2010 regular season with Miami, he was released on 12/298/10 by the Dolphins; Curtis was signed just before the Chiefs first-round game in the playoffs against Baltimore; he became a UFA after the close of the ’10 season. NO RATING.

Interior Defensive Line Free Agents

With the NFL owners’ lockout coming to an end, one of the first things that will get done on the agenda for the 2011 season is the free agent signing period.

Compressed into a week to 10 days rather than several months, the run to free agency will be fast and frantic. It will come after a two or three-day window where teams will have an exclusive shot at re-signing their own free agents.

As one of the NFL teams that must spend a lot of money in the 2011 season to reach the minimum level of spending under the salary cap, the Chiefs figure to be a buyer in this postponed free agency period. Knowing how the front office under GM Scott Pioli works, they will approach the free-agent market with very specific plans; the chance the Chiefs spend willy-nilly on free agents is very low.

Due to the lack of off-season preparation time, teams figure to be more likely to spend the money necessary to keep their own free agents. That’s especially true for the Chiefs as they speak often of the culture they are trying to create and the type of personalities that fit into that team picture.

One spot that will require their attention will be the defensive line, specifically interior players for the nose tackle and defensive tackle positions. …Read More!

A Scab From The Draft … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

An update on the labor situation is a few paragraphs away, but first let’s cover a juicy update on something that happened way back in April.

Remember the controversy near the end of the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft? The Baltimore Ravens were on the clock with pick No. 26, but they were talking trade with the Chicago Bears, who had pick No. 29. They would swap the first rounders and the Bears would throw in a fourth-round pick (No. 127). The deal never happened when the Bears did not consummate the trade by contacting the NFL office. But the Chiefs jumped ahead of the Ravens when their time on the clock ran out, selecting WR Jonathan Baldwin.

Afterwards, Chicago GM Jerry Angelo said it was a screw-up at the Bears headquarters and he apologized for the mistake.

On Tuesday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh had something far different to say. Harbaugh claimed on a Chicago sports talk show that the Bears knew exactly what they were doing and lied about it afterwards.

“I’m not buying a ‘mistake’ thing,” Harbaugh told WMVP. “They knew what they were doing.”

Chicago wanted to trade up to No. 26 because they were concerned that the Chiefs at No. 27 were interested in the player they wanted – Wisconsin OT Gabe Carimi. With the No. 29 choice in the round, the Ravens were the last chance they had to make sure they got their man. …Read More!

Best Career Rushers At Arrowhead

As we’ve waited for the start of the 2011 NFL season, we weren’t sitting around twiddling our thumbs. Always in the search for something different, we’ll bring you some special statistics from the unusual side of the game.

Today’s example is our list of the top 20 career rushers inside Arrowhead Stadium. Naturally, the running backs that dominate this list wore the red and gold of the Chiefs, since they had more opportunities to run with the ball inside the building. The top five Arrowhead rushers all had more than 32 games in the stadium.

The guy coming up on the outside is Jamaal Charles. He’s entering his fourth season and in just 24 games, he ranks No. 6 with his 1,557 yards. A healthy season should move him into the top four.

Here are the numbers: …Read More!

Casey, Lockout, UFL & More … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The agent for Casey Wiegmann said Monday that the Chiefs center wants to return for a 16th season of play in the NFL.

But he only wants to return to the Chiefs. Wiegmann will be 38 years old on Wednesday and with a growing family, he wants to play where he lives and that’s in Kansas City.

Joe Linta told ESPN.com that Wiegmann is in tip top shape and the lack of an off-season program has allowed all the bumps and bruises from the 2010 season to heal.

Todd Haley told me in February that whether Wiegmann returned was up to the center. If he wanted to come back, then the head coach would welcome him back. He’s without a contract for the 2011 season and a deal will have to be worked out but given all the elements of the situation that should not be hard to do.

The question then becomes this – does Wiegmann remain the full-time player? Remember that Wiegmann has taken every offensive snap of every game that he’s played for the Chiefs and Broncos since the memorable post-9/11 game against the New York Giants at Arrowhead Stadium in 2001. That’s 10,141 straight snaps – remarkable testimony to what makes Casey Wiegmann tick. …Read More!

Pioli & Personnel – Inherited Players

Over the next three days we are going to take a comprehensive look at the player personnel decisions made by Chiefs GM Scott Pioli since being appointed to the job in January 2009. We’ll look at the moves in three parts:

• TODAY – Inherited players.
• TUESDAY – Veteran players acquired as free agents, in trades, on waiver claims and all other manners.
• WEDNESDAY – Draft picks and rookie free agents.

——————–

Last season, Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in an interview with a Kansas City radio station that when GM Scott Pioli walked into Arrowhead Stadium he found “the cupboard bare.”

Nothing could have been further from the truth. Despite the complete revamping of the team’s operation, from locker room to front office, there’s one spot with the Chiefs that has retained far more employees than any other – the roster of players.

If the cupboard was bare, then 12 of the team’s 24 starters (including kicker and punter) would not be holdovers from the previous regime of Peterson/Edwards/Kuharich. If there was nothing to build on, then 23 of those players would still not be part of the Chiefs organization as the league gets ready to get back to work after the owners’ lockout.

By the time the 2011 season gets underway, that total of 23 holdover players will be smaller. It will be even smaller in 2012, then miniscule in 2013 and 2014. That has nothing to do with a bare cupboard. Rather, it’s the normal personnel rhythm of the league.

The roster that Pioli inherited wasn’t good enough to be a contending team. In 2008, the Chiefs went 2-14 and while they were not nearly that bad a team, they found no luck that season on the field or with injuries. The quarterback position was in turmoil with Damon Huard, Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen. A strong class from the ’08 NFL Draft provided hope, as DL Glenn Dorsey, OT Branden Albert, CB Brandon Flowers, CB Brandon Carr and RB Jamaal Charles became immediate starters or major contributors as rookies. It was a season of growing pains.

Intent on establishing his own personal mark on the franchise, Clark Hunt began the process of wiping clean the Chiefs that had been built in the final years of his father’s life. Every part of the franchise was touched and revamped.

But amazingly, it was the roster and the starting lineup that underwent the least amount of change. Pioli, head coach Todd Haley and his coaching staff began the process of establishing their foundation and they ended up relying on the bricks they found when they were hired. …Read More!

Most Special Teams Points in Chiefs History

As we’ve waited for the start of the 2011 NFL season, we didn’t spend the last four months twiddling our thumbs. Always in the search for something different, we’ll bring you some special statistics, some unusual stats.

Today our list is the top 10 scorers on special teams over the 51-season history of the franchise. These are the players that scored on touchdowns or safeties. Not included in the list are kickers with their field goals or PAT kicks. Also not included are 2-point conversions.

Naturally, topping the list are the three best returners in franchise history – Dante Hall, Tamarick Vanover and J.T. Smith. The guy with the most kicking game TDs in different categories was Kevin Ross. He returned a fumbled kickoff for a score, a blocked field goal for a touchdown and a blocked punt for six points.

Here’s the top ten special teams scoring list: …Read More!

The Players Pioli Found

These are the players that Chiefs GM Scott Pioli inherited when he was named the team’s leader on January 13, 2009. There were 67 players under contract or in a position where the Chiefs had the first shot at signing them.

Of that group 23 remain with the team, including 12 of the 24 starters (including punter and kicker.) The other 44 have left under various circumstances:

• 5 – UFAs of ’09 were not re-signed.
• 14 – released during the ’09 off-season.
• 1 – traded in the ‘ 09 off-season.
• 11 – released during the ’09 pre-season.
• 4 – released during the ’09 regular season.
• 2 – traded during the ’09 regular season.
• 1 – UFA of ’10 not re-signed.
• 3 – released during ’10 off-season.
• 2 – released during ’10 pre-season.
• 1 – traded during ’10 pre-season.

Here are the players on the roster in January 2009

LT Branden Albert – remains starter on the team at left tackle.

DE Jason Babin – not re-signed as a UFA 3/09; signed by the Philadelphia Eagles on 8/4/09; not re-signed as a RFA 3/10 when Eagles failed to match an offer sheet from the Tennessee Titans; joined the Titans on 3/17/10 and produced 12.5 sacks during the 2010 season; became a UFA on 3/4/11 and remains unsigned for the 2011 season.

K Connor Barth – released before the start of training camp, 7/28/09; signed by the Miami Dolphins on 8/10/09; released by the Dolphins on 8/29/09; signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on 11/3/09; remains with the Buccaneers; in 25 games over the last two seasons he’s made 37 of his 47 FG attempts, including 23 of 28 last season.

RB Jackie Battle – remains on team; currently without a contract for the 2011 season.

LB Rocky Boiman – not re-signed as a UFA 3/09; spent time with Titans, Steelers and Lions, but has not played a regular season game since 2008.

DE Alfonso Boone – released at the end of pre-season, 9/1/09; signed with San Diego in September 2009 and played 13 games that year and 3 games in the 2010 season before he was released.

WR Dwayne Bowe – remains on team as a starter at wide receiver.

WR Mark Bradley – released on 12/22/09; claimed on waivers by Tampa Bay but did not play in a game for the Buccaneers; released 6/16/10 by Bucs; signed with New Orleans 8/6/10; released by Saints on 8/24/10; since leaving the Chiefs he’s not caught a pass.

OT Andrew Carnahan – released on 4/21/09; claimed on waivers by the New York Giants on 4/22/09; waived injured by the Giants on 9/1/09; he’s not played in an NFL game since leaving the Chiefs.

CB Brandon Carr – remains on the team as the starter at right cornerback; he’s without a contract for the 2011 season.

S Oliver Celestin – not re-signed as a UFA 3/09; signed with the UFL New York Sentinels (now Hartford Colonials) for the ’09 season; did not play in the ’10 season.

RB Jamaal Charles – remains with the team as the primary running back; signed contract extension in 2010.

CB Ricardo Colclough – released 9/29/09; signed with Omaha of the UFL in ’10 and started at CB, finishing with 1 interception and 31 total tackles. He also led the UFL in kickoff returns with a 22.9-yard average; currently in training camp with the Nighthawks.

TE Jed Collins – released near the end of the pre-season, 9/1/09; he’s since been on the active roster or practice squad for Arizona, Cleveland, Tennessee and New Orleans; he remains on the Saints roster.

P Dustin Colquitt – remains on the team as the punter.

TE Brad Cottam – placed on injured-reserve list with a broken neck on 12/22/09; placed on injured-reserve list on 7/29/10; currently without a contract.

FB Mike Cox – remains on the team; currently without a contract.

QB Brodie Croyle – remains on the team; currently without a contract.

LB Weston Dacus – released on 8/7/09; he signed with the UFL’s Florida Tuskers in 2010 but did not play.

LS Jean-Philippe Darche – contract terminated 3/19/09; he retired that year and is now attending medical school at the University of Kansas.

WR Devard Darling – placed on the injured-reserve list 9/1/09; released 3/3/10; he signed with the UFL’s Omaha Nighthawks on 9/8/10; caught 22 passes for 227 yards and 3 TDs during the ’10 UFL season.

G Brian De La Puente – released on 8/24/09; claimed on waivers by Seattle on 8/25/09; released on 9/5/09 and added to the practice squad on 9/16/09; he was released by Seahawks on 9/30/09; signed to Carolina’s practice squad 11/17/09; signed with San Francisco 1/22/10; released by 49ers on 9/4/10; spent five days in September ’10 on Seattle practice squad; signed to New Orleans practice squad 10/15/10; signed futures contract with Saints on 1/13/11. He remains on the Saints roster.

DL Glenn Dorsey – remains on team as the starter at right defensive end.

LB Donnie Edwards – contract terminated on 2/24/09; Edwards has not returned to play in the NFL.

DT Ron Edwards – remains on the team as the starter at nose tackle; currently without a contract.

CB Brandon Flowers – remains on the team as the starter at left cornerback.

WR Will Franklin – released on 4/13/09; claimed on waivers by Detroit 4/14/09; released on 5/15/09; claimed on waivers by Oakland 5/19/09; released on 8/31/09; signed in the CFL with Winnipeg 3/15/10; released by Blue Bombers on 6/10/10; signed with Las Vegas in the UFL; released by Las Vegas 9/10/10.

LS Thomas Gafford – waived on 6/19/09; re-signed on 8/13/09; remains on the team as the special teams snapper.

LB Curtis Gatewood – released on 4/21/09; claimed off waivers by Detroit on 4//23/09; waived injured by the Lions on 8/9/09; signed by Philadelphia on 8/25/09 and released on 9/5/09; signed to Pittsburgh practice squad on 11/19/09; signed by Washington off the Steelers practice squad on 12/15/09; released by Redskins on 9/4/10; spent most of the ’10 season on the Arizona practice squad and then active roster where he played one game; he remains on the Cardinals practice squad.

DE Wallace Gilberry – remains on the team as a defensive end in the nickel defense; he’s without a contract for the ’11 season.

TE Tony Gonzalez – traded to Atlanta 4/23/09 for a 2nd-round draft choice in 2010 (CB Javier Arenas); Gonzalez remains the starting tight end for the Falcons. In two seasons, he has caught in 32 games 153 passes for 1,523 yards and 12 TDs. In the last two seasons, the Chiefs have had five different TEs that caught 105 passes, 1,099 yards and 8 TDs.

QB Quinn Gray – contract terminated 3/11/09; signed with the New York Sentinels of the UFL on 8/5/09; in the ’09 UFL season, Gray completed 63 of 119 passes for 639 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs; he named head coach at Andrew Jackson High School in Jacksonville, Florida on 3/18/10; led Jackson H.S. to a 5-6 record and a spot in the state playoffs; resigned as head coach on 3/14/11 when sports programs were eliminated because of a budget shortfall; joined the coaching staff at his alma mater Florida A&M on 3/15/11.

DE Tamba Hali – remains on the team as the right outside linebacker; he’s without a contract for the ’11 season and was named the club’s franchise player.

G Edwin Harrison – released 8/4/09; signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL on 4/15/10; started 15 games at right tackle in the ’10 CFL season and was nominated for the league’s rookie of the year award; as Calgary begins its 2011 season, Harrison is on a nine-game injured-reserve list because of a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered while weight lifting in May. He was expected to be the starter at left tackle.

QB Damon Huard – contract was terminated on 2/24/09; signed with the San Francisco 49ers on 3/4/09; released by the Niners on 9/1/09. He did not play in the 2009-10 seasons and remains unsigned for the 2011 season.

DT T.J. Jackson – was released on 6/19/09; he’s not played in the NFL or any other league since.

LB Derrick Johnson – remains on the team as the right inside linebacker, signing a contract extension during the 2010 season.

RB Larry Johnson – released on 11/9/09; signed on 11/16/09 with the Cincinnati Bengals, where he finished the 2009 season; signed as a UFA with the Washington Redskins on March 12, 2010; released by the Redskins on 9/21/10, after posting 2 rushing yards on five carries; he did not play the rest of the 2010 season and remains a free agent.

DE Brian Johnston – released on 5/27/09; claimed on waivers by the Detroit Lions on 5/28/09, but failed his physical; did not play in the 2009 NFL season; signed with the Miami Dolphins on 1/6/10; released by the Dolphins on 6/15/10; selected by Omaha of the UFL in the 2011 UFL Draft on 5/2/11; he remains unsigned.

G Adrian Jones – was a UFA after the 2008 season and the Chiefs made no attempt to re-sign him; signed with the Houston Texans on 5/18/09; released by Texans on 9/5/09; signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers on 7/21/10; released by Steelers on 8/31/10; signed by the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL on 10/12/10; he remains on the Nighthawks roster for ’11 training camp.

CB Maurice Leggett – remains on the team, spending the 2010 season on the injured-reserve list, placed there on 9/4/10; spent the second half of the 2009 season on IR list, starting on 11/25/09; he’s without a contract for the 2011 season.

DT Derek Lokey – released 9/5/09; signed to the practice squad on 12/1/09; added to the active roster on 12/26/09 and was active for two games; released on 9/4/10; he’s not signed with anyone since then.

CB David Macklin – he was released on 3/18/09, five days after he was arrested for DUI in Newport News, Virginia; he did not play in the 2009-10 seasons and remains unsigned for the 2011 season.

QB Ingle Martin – waived on 8/5/09; signed by the Denver Broncos on 8/26/09; released by the Broncos on 9/4/09; signed with New York Sentinels of the UFL and completed 39 of 81 passes for 380 yards, 1 TD and 5 INTs; did not play in the 2010 UFL season; he is currently the head coach at Christ Presbyterian Academy, a private school in Nashville.

DE Turk McBride – released 9/15/09; claimed on waivers by the Detroit Lions on 9/16/09; he spent the last two seasons with the Lions, playing in 26 games with 12 starts, 60 total tackles, 6.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles.

S Jon McGraw – remains on the team as a backup free safety; he’s without a contract for the 2011 season.

OT Damion McIntosh – released on 9/4/09; signed by the Seattle Seahawks on 10/13/09; he played in 10 games with the Seahawks, starting twice; he was not signed for the 2010 season and did not play; he currently does not have a contract for the 2011 season.

TE Michael Merritt – released on 2/24/09, 19 days after he was arrested on marijuana possession charges in Orlando, Florida; did not play in the 2009-10 NFL seasons; signed by the Arena Football League Tampa Bay Storm on 2/11/11; he was released by Storm on 3/6/11, then placed on PUP list and finally he was placed on the AFL suspended list on 3/31/11.

S DaJuan Morgan – released on 9/4/10; signed with the Indianapolis Colts on 9/15/10; released by Colts on 10/9/10; he remains unsigned for the 2011 season.

C Rudy Niswanger – remains on the team as a backup center/guard; he’s without a contract for the 2011 season.

S Jarrad Page – placed on the injured-reserve list on 11/2/09 with a calf injury, ending his ’09 season; assigned second-round tender offer to him as a restricted free agent on 3/4/10; signed restricted free-agent tender offer with the Chiefs on 9/3/10; traded to the New England Patriots on 9/5/10 in exchange for a seventh-round selection in the 2012 NFL Draft; he played in 9 games with the Patriots, contributing 13 total tackles and 2 INTs; New England tendered him at a second-round level as a restricted free agent.

S Bernard Pollard – released on 9/5/09 in the final roster cut before the start of the regular season; signed by the Houston Texans on 9/24/09; in two seasons with Houston, he played in 29 games, contributing 262 total tackles, 4 sacks, 4 INTs, 3 recovered fumbles; on 3/2/11 the Texans did not extend a tender offer to Pollard, telling him that he did not fit the team’s new 3-4 defense and they were not going to re-sign him.

OT Barry Richardson – released on 9/6/09; signed to practice squad on 9/7/09; promoted to the active roster on 10/17/09; he’s played in 26 games with 17 starts, including all 16 games in the 2010 season at right tackle; he’s without a contract for the 2011 season.

WR-KR Kevin Robinson – released on 4/21/09; signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL on 10/15/09; played in 1 game with the Ti-Cats, returning 4 punts for 21 yards and 1 kickoff for 8 yards; released by Hamilton on 11/6/09. He did not play in the 2010 season; he remains unsigned for 2011.

RB Dantrell Savage – played in 5 games during the 2009 season, with 96 yards in total offense and 196 yards in total punt and kickoff returns; placed on injured-reserve list (ankle) on 12/19/09; released by the Chiefs on 3/3/10; signed with the Carolina Panthers on 8/2/10; released by Panthers on 9/4/10.

RB Kolby Smith – spent the last half of the 2008 season on the injured reserve list with a major knee injury; placed on Reserve/PUP list on 9/1/09; activated from the PUP List on 11/7/09; placed on injured reserve list on 12/5/09; re-signed with the Chiefs on 2/24/10; released by the Chiefs on 6/14/10; claimed on waivers by the Denver Broncos on 6/15/10; released by the Broncos on 8/4/10; signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on 8/25/10; released by the Jaguars on 9/3/10; he did not play in the 2010 season and remains unsigned for the 2011 season.

G Wade Smith – became a UFA after the 2009 season; signed a 4-year, $12 million contract with the Houston Texans on 3/10/10 and started 16 games at left guard with the Texans during the 2010 season.

DE Andy Studebaker – remains on the team and will contest for starting job at left outside linebacker, replacing the retired Mike Vrabel; signed a contract extension during the 2010 season.

CB Patrick Surtain – released on 2/24/09; he’s not played or appeared on a roster since then.

OT Herb Taylor – released on 9/4/09; signed by the Denver Broncos on 12/9/09; released by the Broncos on 12/19/09; re-signed by Broncos on 12/29/09; released again by Denver on 1/2/10; claimed off waivers by the New York Giants on 1/3/10; released by the Giants on 9/4/10; signed by the Las Vegas Locomotives of the UFL on 11/1/10; signed a futures/reserve contract with the Broncos on 1/6/11.

QB Tyler Thigpen – traded to Miami on 9/29/09 in exchange for a fifth-round selection (LB Cameron Sheffield) in the 2010 NFL Draft ; in two seasons with the Dolphins, he’s played in 4 games, starting once and going 27 of 49 for 27 yards, 3 TDs and 4 INTs; he is currently without a contract for the 2011 season.

LB Pat Thomas – signed with the Buffalo Bills as a UFA on 3/19/09; released by the Bills on 9/2/09; he did not play in the 2009-10 seasons and is not signed to play in 2011.

DT Tank Tyler – traded to the Carolina Panthers on 10/20/09 in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft. That choice was then dealt during the draft to move up and select TE Tony Moeaki in the third-round; released by the Panthers on 9/4/10; signed a reserve/futures contract with the Chicago Bears on 1/10/11.

G Tavares Washington – released 9/4/09; igned by the Las Vegas Locos of the UFL on 9/10/09; appeared in 3 games, plus the UFL Championship Game for the Locos in the ’09 season; played in the 2010 Las Vegas season opener; released by the Locos on 9/25/10. He did not play in the rest of the UFL or NFL season in 2010; he remains unsigned for the 2011 season.

G Brian Waters – remains on the team as the starting left guard.

WR Jeff Webb – received RFA tender 2/26/09; signed tender on 4/20/09; waived 8/17/09; signed by the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL on 4/22/10; he played in 4 games, catching 13 passes for 137 yards; released by the Argos on 8/31/10; he did not play in the NFL during the 2010 season; he’s without a contract for the 2011 season.

LB Demorrio Williams – remains on the team as a backup linebacker and pass rusher in the nickel defense.

Weekend Potpourri … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From Austin, Texas

A last chance this past weekend to get out of town before the start of the 2011 NFL season. So I decided to spend a few days in Hades … I mean Austin.

This city’s slogan is “Keep Austin Weird.” But over the weekend it wasn’t so much weird as it was stinkin’ hot. “It’s a dry heat,” I was told. Yeah, so is putting your head into a hot oven. They’ve had 33 days over 100 degrees here this year already. Some overcast on Saturday broke a 14-day streak of 100-plus. It only got to 99 that day.

Huddled around the air-conditioner, there was time to think and mull what hopefully will be the start of the ’11 season this week.

So here’s a thought or two about thing or three.

CHIEFS STRUGGLE ON GOLF COURSE; THAT’S GOOD NEWS

Whether there is an owners’ lockout going on in the NFL or not, if I was in control of an NFL team and my head coach and starting quarterback were in the field for a big-time celebrity golf tournament, I would be very interested in how they played.

If they went out and struggled to score and finished well back in the final scoring, I’d be very happy. It would be an indication my HC & QB have spent more time working than honing their golf game. If they were among the tournament leaders, I wouldn’t be very happy as it would be an indication they were putting in a lot of time on the golf course.

Clark Hunt should be happy today. In the American Century Celebrity Championship in Lake Tahoe over the weekend, Todd Haley and Matt Cassel were no threats to first place. There were 83 players in the field and Cassel finished at No. 76 with a minus-49 score. They use the Stableford scoring format at Tahoe. Par equals one point, a birdie is worth three points and an eagle counts for six points. A bogie provides no pounds and a double-bogie or above is minus two points.

Haley did marginally better, finishing tied for 64th with a score of minus-9. The Chiefs head coach started strong, finishing Friday’s first round at plus-1 points. He followed that up with rounds of minus-8 and then minus-2 on Sunday.

Last year, Haley finished at plus-21 and tied for the 46th position, so his game went a bit backward. Obviously, the head coach hasn’t spent the lockout on the driving range. No NFL team wants a head coach with the lowest golf handicap. …Read More!

Most Defensive Points In Chiefs History

As we’ve waited for the start of the 2011 NFL season, we didn’t spend the last four months twiddling our thumbs. Always in the search for something different, we’ll bring you some special statistics, some unusual stats.

Today’s example is our list of the top 10 scorers on defense over the 51-year history of the franchise.

These numbers do not include any scores on special teams (returns, blocked punt TDs or safeties); just scores on defense. For instance, LB Bobby Bell had 9 TDs in his career, with 8 on defense. The other came when he returned an onside-kickoff attempt for a touchdown.

It’s interesting that the Chiefs OLB in the Pro Football Hall of Fame from two very different eras scored the most defensive points – Bell and Derrick Thomas.

Here are the numbers: …Read More!

Longest Runs By Non-RBs In Chiefs History

As we’ve waited for the start of the 2011 NFL season, we didn’t spend the last four months twiddling our thumbs. Always in the search for something different, we’ll bring you some special statistics, some unusual stats.

Today’s example is our list of the longest running plays in Chiefs history from players who were not running backs.

The most unusual long run came during the 1977 season. Against Denver, the Chiefs trailed by seven points late in the fourth quarter. A fake-punt play was called. Rather than snap to P Jerrel Wilson, the direct snap went to up-back Mark Bailey, who then handed off to LB Ray Burk who chugged 51 yards.

But as befitting the karma of the Chiefs in those days, Burk was tackled at the one-yard line. Needing a touchdown and PAT to tie up the Broncos, the Chiefs offense lost six yards on four offensive plays, turning the ball over on downs. Denver won 14-7. The Chiefs finished 2-12 that season.

Here’s the list: …Read More!

Best Rushing WRs In Chiefs History

As we’ve waited for the start of the 2011 NFL season, we didn’t spend the last four months twiddling our thumbs. Always in the search for something different, we’ll bring you some special statistics, some unusual stats.

Today’s example is our list of the top 10 best rushing wide receivers in team history. We are talking about the guys who ran the end-around play, the reverse, the double reverse.

In 51 seasons, they’ve never really had a WR who was a consistent option in the running game. The leader was WR Johnnie Morton, who in just a short 43 games put together 25 carries. Our ranking does not include Frank Jackson of the Texans/Chiefs who had 720 rushing yards in his career. Jackson played both running back and wide receiver.

The biggest running play with a receiver happened at Arrowhead Stadium on December 18, 1999 when Derrick Alexander weaved his way through the Pittsburgh Steelers defense for an 82-yard touchdown.

Here’s the list: …Read More!

Just Short Of A Billion … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Apparently, the world of the NFL is even closer to labor peace on Friday than it was 24 hours before.

Negotiating in New York, the owners and players have reportedly worked out the major points of a rookie wage scale that will supposedly go into effect immediately, as in the 2011 season. Both sides apparently gave a little, and it continues to look like a long weekend of legalese will culminate in a Tuesday meeting in Minneapolis that will bring a handshake and an agreement. The rookie wage scale was the last major item on the checklist.

So soon, the players will get back to earning their millions and the owners will get back to making sure their football investment retains its value. If it’s an NFL team, there’s a very good chance that value is $1 billion.

Forbes magazine has identified the 50 most valuable sports teams in the world – yes, the world – in its current edition. Of those 50 teams, all 32 NFL teams are listed, led by the Dallas Cowboys that are worth $1.816 billion. That ranks them as the No. 2 most valuable sports franchise in the world, behind only English soccer team Manchester United. That club is reportedly worth $1.866 billion.

The Hunt Family investment in the Chiefs ranks No. 27 at $965 million. Among the 32 NFL teams, the Chiefs are No. 20. That’s an impressive number that Forbes has thrown out there. But remember this – that would be more than $850 million behind Jerry Jones and the Cowboys.

In fact, the growing gap between the 32 NFL teams is visible in these ratings. The final NFL team that made the list was the Jacksonville Jaguars at $725 million. That means Jones has almost $1.1 billion in value more to work with than Wayne Weaver and his ownership group in Jacksonville. It even leaves them $240 million in value behind the Chiefs. …Read More!

Best QB Rushers In Chiefs History

As we’ve waited for the start of the 2011 NFL season, we didn’t spend the last four months twiddling our thumbs. Always in the search for something different, we’ll bring you some special statistics, some unusual stats.

Today’s example is our list of the top 10 best running quarterbacks in Chiefs history. The guys with the arrowheads have never really had a long-term runner at the position, someone like a Randall Cunningham (4,928 yards), Michael Vick (4,630 yards), or even an old school guy like Bobby Douglas (2,654 yards.)

Len Dawson earned top honors and is the only QB in team history that went over 1,000 yards in his career. Although he had 1,253 yards on the ground, he averaged just 6.8 yards per game.

The Chiefs have never had a QB run for 100 yards or more in a single game.

Here’s the list:

…Read More!

Hall of Fame Talk … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

As we hurry up-and-wait for the NFL owners and the current players to settle their labor dispute by ending the lockout and getting back to work, it seemed a good time to chat about several items involving the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

HALL OF FAME GAME IS UP IN THE AIR – Each day in this dispute that is ripped off the football calendar hurts the chances of playing the annual Hall of Fame Game on Sunday, August 7 in Canton, Ohio. The Rams and Bears are scheduled to play that night. But if the teams can’t get into camp at their scheduled times – July 22 (Bears) or 23 (Rams) – it’s going to bring into question player safety if they are asked to play a game without two weeks of preparation.

Pundits have been quick to dismiss the game as unimportant and that cancelling would not necessarily be a bad thing. Yes, it is a meaningless exhibition game, but it is an important evening for the Hall of Fame and Canton. The revenue that comes to the Hall from the fans that generally fill Fawcett Stadium for the game, to the money for television rights are two of the biggest sources of revenue for the Hall each year.

Losing that money would be a major financial hit for the Hall of Fame. …Read More!

Best Non-QB Passers In Chiefs History

As we head toward the start of the 2011 NFL season, we are going to throw in a few tidbits that we’ve uncovered in the months that we waited out the NFL owners’ lockout.

Always in the search for the unusual, we’ll bring you some stats that you won’t see anywhere else. When you see some of the numbers you’ll probably come to the conclusion that no one else would bother to research these things, but we promise to go the extra mile in our coverage of the Chiefs.

Our first installment is the top 10 list of non-quarterback passers in team history. That would be the running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, punters … every position player that threw a pass during a regular season game.

To qualify for our list, a non-quarterback had to have thrown more than a single pass. In team history there are 20 players other than a QB that have attempted one pass, but we are leaving them out of this equation. Among that group, there are seven that completed their pass: WR Carlos Carson, TE Tony Gonzalez, WR Mark Bradley, P Louie Aguiar, WR Sylvester Morris, RB-TE Bert Coan and RB Theotis Brown. The throws by Bradley, Carson and Coan went for touchdowns.

Here are the top 10 throwers at other positions. We’ve lined them up on the basis of their passer rating: …Read More!

Football Potpourri … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

On Wednesday, NFL owners and players are expected to sit down across the bargaining table from each other for the first time this week. It will go down in New York.

That’s where lawyers for both sides were meeting on Monday and Tuesday and trying to iron out language for the new labor agreement. The old deal was more than 300 pages of type and the new deal does not figure to be any smaller.

As always seems to be the case in this affair, the mood of the negotiations has been characterized from almost being over, to having major issues that must still be decided. The so-called “drop-dead” date has moved once again. Originally it was reported that this Friday, July 15 was the day when an agreement had to be finalized to keep the entire NFL calendar intact for August.

Now, the media is reporting Tuesday, July 19th could be the day – that’s when the owners and players will meet in Minneapolis for a session with mediator U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan. The league owners are set to meet on July 21st in Atlanta, where supposedly they could ratify the deal with a vote. Again, that’s 75 percent of the 32 teams must go for the agreement.

Right now, it seems that the annual Hall of Fame pre-season game will fall victim to the owners’ lockout. It’s scheduled for August 7 in Canton, Ohio with the Bears facing the Rams. If a deal doesn’t get done this week, expect the game to be cancelled. Since the Hall opened in 1962, it’s had a Hall of Fame Game every year except 1966. …Read More!

The Vrabel Effect … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Mike Vrabel did not want any part of Kansas City two years ago when his rights were dealt to the Chiefs.

Thanks to the NFL owners’ lockout, Vrabel left the Chiefs on Monday without getting anywhere near Kansas City. He was in Columbus, Ohio, where he ended his 14-year playing career, moving on to his next life’s work, as linebackers coach at Ohio State University.

In between his unhappy arrival and his invisible departure, Mike Vrabel played an important role in the two-year development of the Chiefs rise from last place to first place. Considered by those outside the organization as a throw away item in the trade that brought QB Matt Cassel to Kansas City, he became as important as the starting quarterback.

It wasn’t because of what he did on the field. By the time Vrabel pulled on the red No. 50 jersey, his physical talents were pretty much shot. Why do you think Patriots coach Bill Belichick was willing to part ways with Vrabel? Belichick doesn’t get rid of guys that are in their prime.

With the Chiefs, Vrabel played in 30 games, producing 113 tackles, 2 sacks, 14 quarterback pressures, 3 forced fumbles, 1 recovered fumble and a pair of touchdown catches on offense. Those numbers were pedestrian when compared to his production in the previous eight seasons with New England – an average of 80 tackles, 6 sacks and 3.6 takeaways per season.

 It was what Vrabel did with his mind, his heart, his gut and his voice that left a mark on the franchise. …Read More!

Former DL Lyle Alzado

“If me and King Kong went into an alley, only one of us would come out and it wouldn’t be the monkey.”

Former Notre Dame Coach Knute Rockne

“I’ve found prayers work best when you have big players.”

Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula

“Sure, luck means a lot in football. Not having a good quarterback is bad luck.”

Author Heywood Broun

“God is always on the side that has the best football coach.”

Hall Of Fame LB Dick Butkus

“When I played I never set out to hurt anyone deliberately – unless it was important, like a league game or something.”

Former NFL DT Bob Golic

“If you’re mad at your kid, you either raise him to be a nose tackle or send him out on the freeway to play. It’s about the same.”

Hall of Fame RB Frank Gifford

“Pro football is like nuclear warfare – there are no winners, only survivors.”

Writer/Poet Oscar Wilde

“Rugby is a game for barbarians played by gentlemen. Football is a game for gentlemen played by barbarians.”

Late Political Columnist Mary McGrory

“Baseball is what we were; football is what we have become.”

Hall Of Fame Coach Vince Lombardi

“If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score?”

Hall Of Fame Coach John Madden

“Fewer rules a coach has, the fewer rules there are for players to break.”

Former Bears S Doug Plank

“Most football players are tempermental. That’s 90 percent temper and 10 percent mental.”

Former Packers WR Max McGee

“When it’s third and 10, you can take the milk drinkers and I’ll take the whiskey drinkers every time.”

Former RB George Rogers

“I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards whichever comes first.”

Former Oilers coach Bill Peterson

“You guys line up alphabetically by height.”

Former Bears DT William Perry

“I’ve been big ever since I was little.”

Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice

“I feel like I’m the best, but you’re not going to get me to say that.”

Vrabel Retires As LB To Coach LBs

Photo from Columbus Dispatch

They met when Ohio State LB Luke Fickell was the on campus host for a high school recruit out of Akron named Mike Vrabel.

“Since the day I met him, he told me, ‘I’m going to be a coach’,” Fickell said. “He would always say, ‘I’ll be a coach someday’.”

That day came on Monday as the Chiefs LB retired as a player and was officially announced as the new linebackers coach on Fickell’s staff with the Buckeyes.

The move ends Vrabel’s 14-year NFL career, the last two seasons spent with the Chiefs.

“If it was another coach, I’d still want to be at Ohio State,” Vrabel said at a Columbus news conference on Monday. “But it makes it interesting and fun that a guy you played with is leading this team.”

The 35-year old Ohio native originally planned one more year in the NFL, but as the NFL owners’ lockout rolled on and the time for training camp ticked away, Vrabel had second thoughts.

“As Rocky Marciano said, age retires undefeated,” Vrabel said.

More on Vrabel’s time with the Chiefs, his retirement and how that will affect the 2011 Chiefs comes on Tuesday morning.

Post-Lockout Check List … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The NFL lockout should end this week or early next week with the final strokes put on a new labor agreement between owners and players.

When that moment comes, 32 NFL teams will shift into hyper-drive trying to make up for the lost time that has cost them the last four months. There will be no quiet and slow transition to the 2011 season – when the deal is done, the league will immediately hit the gas pedal and go to 70 MPH.

As with any situation, there must be a plan established that sets the priorities of what a franchise needs to get done, especially when the window is so short. I’m sure the Chiefs under the direction of Clark Hunt, Scott Pioli and Todd Haley have spent a lot of time creating their plan of attack for when the whistle blows.

Nobody around Arrowhead Stadium asked me, but here’s my post-lockout checklist for the Chiefs, ranked in order of importance and approach.

See if you agree. …Read More!

Marty Gets Ready For Camp

While the NFL crawls toward a labor agreement that will open its doors once again, the United Football League has gone to training camps.

They kicked off this past weekend, including in the Virginia Beach, Virginia area where the league’s newest franchise, the Virginia Destroyers began their life with physicals and meetings on Sunday.

Leading them is Marty Schottenheimer, lured back to the business of coaching at the age of 67 after spending the last four years out of the business after he was stupidly fired by the San Diego Chargers.

The Destroyers have given him his fifth head coaching job and certainly the most unusual, as the franchise is beginning from scratch in the Hampton Roads community.

But as he talked this weekend, there’s no question that the coaching bug has again gotten into his blood – as if it ever really left.

“When you first put the pads on, it takes a couple of days to get adapted to it, but the adrenaline is going in these guys,” Schottenheimer said of his training camp squad of 70 players. “So we’ve got to make sure we don’t get them all banged and beat up.” …Read More!

Answer Bob – 7/8

From America’s highways and byways

On the road for one of the last weekends before the start of training camp, it’s amazing how quiet the NFL situation is with the general public.

One of the things that lifted pro football into the position of America’s past-time was the passion around the game. The owners’ lockout for the last four months seems to have snuffed that flame. It’s probably only temporary, but if I’m the NFL there’s got to be concern about how quietly the labor situation has been greeted by those passionate fans. The general attitude I’ve heard in the last few days is “wake me when it’s over.”

It should be over next week. It will be interesting to see how quickly the flame is re-ignited.

On to the e-mail, comments and questions. …Read More!

Paying The Past … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Just how much is owed those that came before us?

That is a question that’s been asked on every level of our society as the major bubble of the American population – the so-called baby boomers – begin reaching retirement age. The futures of Social Security and Medicare are hot-button issues in the world of politics as shrinking funds must cover a pool of people that grows larger with each passing year.

So too is the past part of the discussion of the future in the world of the National Football League, where owners and players are trying to come together for a new labor agreement. Negotiations continued on Thursday in New York that will outline the distribution of the more than $9 billion a year in revenue that the game currently generates.

The main focus is on today’s players and those that will come in the future. But players from the past want to be part of the solution as well, and they established this week that they are not happy with how they have been represented in the negotiations.

That’s why they filed a class-action complaint on Monday with the Federal Court in Minneapolis that is overseeing the so-called Brady v. NFL lawsuit. The action basically states that the currently decertified NFL Players Association has improperly represented the retired players. It also asserts that the players are “conspiring” with ownership to “depress the amounts of pension and disability benefits to be paid to former NFL players.”

Sadly, just a few days later, one of their pioneers in the labor movement for NFL players passed away. Hall of Fame TE John Mackey died on Wednesday in Baltimore. He was 69 years old and put together a 10-season Hall of Fame career as one of the game’s greatest tight ends.

But sadly in his later years he was a bit of a poster boy for the effects of football on those that played the game. …Read More!

Is Vrabel Done, Coaching Next?

The website Collegefootballtalk.com reports on Thursday that Mike Vrabel will soon announce his retirement from the Chiefs and the NFL and become an assistant coach at his alma mater Ohio State.

Reportedly the announcement could come as early as Monday.

Two sources at Ohio State told the website that while it’s not a done deal, “there’s a very good chance” Vrabel will join the staff of new head coach Luke Fickell; he was the Buckeyes defensive coordinator and became the head coach when Jim Tressel resigned in May.

Vrabel and Fickell were teammates and roommates at Ohio State as undergraduates and have remained close friends. When Fickell was announced as the new head coach, Vrabel attended the press conference in Columbus.

At the time he said: “Luke hasn’t said he wants me on his staff. Luke knows I still have time to play, and I’m traveling to Chicago or New York for meetings with the owners. Luke knows I’ve got a bunch on my plate right now.

“I think it’s certainly something I’d be interested in under the right situation. I’d have to look and see when my playing career comes to an end and my involvement with the players association and being on the executive committee and being in that role.”

The 14-year veteran has spent two seasons with the Chiefs, playing in 30 games and contributing 113 total tackles, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and a pair of TD catches in goal line situations. Overall with Pittsburgh (1997-2000), New England (2001-08) and the Chiefs (2009-10), he played in 206 regular season games with 140 starts. He was credited with 794 total tackles, 57 sacks, 11 INT, 19 forced fumbles and 8 recovered fumbles. He also caught 10 passes in the regular season for a total of 14 yards and 10 touchdowns, none longer than two yards.

Over his career, he played in 20 post-season games, with 98 total tackles, 8 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and two TD catches, both in the Super Bowl.

The 100 Best Chiefs of All-Time: #1 – 50

The NFL Network has its 100 best players for the 2011 season, with the top 10 released over the July 4th holiday weekend.

So we decided to bring you the 100 best players in Chiefs history. Why? Because we can and we have no desire to write more stories about the NFL lockout as it hopefully crawls to a conclusion.

On Wednesday, it was No. 51 through No. 100, from FB Tony Richardson to LB Derrick Johnson. The list can be checked out right here if you missed the post.

On top of the 100 are three Hall of Fame defenders in LB Bobby Bell (left), LB Willie Lanier (center) and DT Buck Buchanan (right).

Again, remember this caveat – there are no correct answers when creating a list like this one. It’s personal opinion, nothing more. I expect to hear discussion, suggestions and corrections. Let me know what you think of the best in Chiefs history from the first to the 100th player. …Read More!

The 100 Best Chiefs Of All Time: #51-100

The NFL Network has its 100 best players for the 2011 season.

We decided to bring you the 100 best players in Chiefs history.

Let me assure you – there are no right answers when chasing together a list like this one. It’s all personal opinion and that’s one reason these lists appear – to create discussion and controversy among those passionate enough to give a hoot.

This is the first of two parts. What follows are the best Chiefs players from No. 51 through No. 100. On Thursday, we will bring you the top of the list, No 1 through No. 50. Criteria came from what we’ve seen, what we’ve heard and what we’ve read.

Like any of these lists some players will be shortchanged, others will be overrated. Let me know what you think.

Here’s No. 51 through No. 100 starting with a pair of offensive contributors in FB Tony Richardson (left) and WR Stephone Paige (right): …Read More!

A Flawed Top 100 – Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Over the holiday weekend, NFL Network, NFL Films and NFL.com released the final 10 names on the list of the 100 best players in the league for the upcoming 2011 season.

These best player lists provide the opportunity for discussion and debate. Otherwise, they don’t really mean anything. For the NFL Network, the release of the 100 names provided programming to feed the 24/7 television beast that never sleeps.

New England QB Tom Brady and Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning came in at No. 1 and 2 in the voting.

The sell-point on this top 100 list was that it came through a vote of current players; supposedly more than 400 took part in the vote.

After taking a look at the players’ top 100 one thing comes through – they aren’t any better at lining up players for a list like this one that the fans or media. Yes, players know the game, but that doesn’t necessarily transfer into knowing personnel. If it did, more than three of the league’s 32 men in charge of personnel would be former NFL players.

For those that haven’t seen the top 100, find it right here.

One of the most popular teams for the voters was the Chiefs, as they had five players on the team. Not bad for a club that’s had just one winning season in the last four years. Here are the five Chiefs listed by their spot in the rankings:   …Read More!

Player Profile – G Darryl Harris

As the lockout continues, we are taking a very personal look at some of the little known players on the roster that might be able to step up and provide help on the field during the 2011 season. We’ve featured WR Jerheme Urban, DT Anthony Toribio and OT Bobby Greenwood. This week its G Darryl Harris, one of the many SEC players that dot the Chiefs roster.

At the start of the Chiefs 2010 training camp, Brian Waters was hobbling and working with the first team offensive line at left guard was Darryl Harris, a first-year player who had spent just three games on the active roster in his 2009 rookie season. Harris looked good at the spot and while everyone knew Waters would return and reclaim the starting job he held for 10 seasons, it was exposure that gave Harris a chance that he might be able to provide depth at the guard spot.

But then the injury bug that Harris has battled his entire football life got in the way. A sprained knee in early August sent him to the sidelines and by the time the pre-season was over, Harris was set for another season on the practice squad. He will get another chance to establish his NFL future in the 2011 training camp and pre-season.

…Read More!

Summer Blockbuster – The Chiefs … The Movie

Every summer its blockbuster time in America’s theaters and Cineplex’s. It’s one of two times a year when the big budget Hollywood productions get a chance to hit the big screen.

Out at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs have been working on a blockbuster for the summer ’11. It’s a cautionary tale of a young man leading a football franchise back to the land of the contenders, and covers all those that he encounters along the way.

THE CHIEFS … THE MOVIE has all the elements of summer blockbusters that will fill venues around the country. There are villains and good guys, special video effects and sound tweaks that make the movie goers seat shake, rattle and roll. There are moments of emotion, but nothing that the entire family couldn’t sit and watch comfortably.

In many ways THE CHIEFS … THE MOVIE harkens back to films from the 1960-70s, with an all-star cast that provides star power in every scene. It’s the same genre of movies like The Dirty Dozen, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, How the West Was Won and even more recent pictures like the Ocean’s 11-12-13 and the Austin Powers trilogy.

Tentatively, the premiere of THE CHIEFS … THE MOVIE is scheduled for August 12 on national television in a pre-season game against Tampa Bay. We can’t provide a clip to view or a lot of details from the super-secret script, but we have gotten a look at the cast and it’s a powerful group. …Read More!

Labor Woes Expand … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

“We have a huge philosophical divide.”

Just who was the man behind those words that were spoken to describe a labor battle in the American sports world? NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell? Was it representative for the players, DeMaurice Smith?

Nope … those are the words of NBA Commissioner David Stern, as professional basketball began a lockout of its own at 12:01 Friday morning.

It was just about the same time that the NFL and its players finally ended a 16-hour negotiating marathon in Minneapolis, and they’ll be back at it on Friday.

Just as their brethren in pro football did, the NBA owners are shooting to come back from what they view as a bad labor deal with the NBA players that they signed in 2005. According to Stern and the owners, 22 of the 30 NBA teams would end up losing money in the just completed 2010-11 season with projected losses at $300 million league-wide.

The NBA owners and players have met, but they are miles and miles apart – “a huge philosophical divide” – and the financial future of the league will hang in the balance as they attempt to sort out the issues in coming weeks and months.

“The goal here has been to make the league profitable and to have a league where all 30 teams can compete,” said Stern.

Like the NFL, the $9 billion sporting behemoth that has become America’s past-time. There is not a single NFL team that lost money during the 2010 season. If they did, then it was a matter of accounting rather than reality. The team representing the smallest market in the league won the championship.

While the lead up to the NBA lockout was going on Thursday, the NFL and its players continued their conversations towards a new labor deal. This time they were meeting in the offices of a Minneapolis law firm. After three days where only the lawyers were haggling, on Thursday owners and players were back at the negotiating table. …Read More!