Answer Bob: Part #1

From St. Joseph, Missouri

As always you guys provided plenty of fodder for the opinion mill here. I’m always proud of the level of questions that come through the chute here. It’s a great testimony to the readers of this site.

Again, there were so many that I’ve had to divide the questions and the answers up into several segments. So if you don’t see your question and answer in this first part, stay tuned. There’s more to come.

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TruChief09 says: Dexter McCluster has been electric at training camp and was rather successful in the first pre-season game. McCluster ran the ball 5 times in the first game compared to only 3 catches. I know pre-season doesn’t mean too much but what is your prediction on the ratio of catches to runs by Dexter this season?

Bob says: That’s really hard to predict; too small a sample. But the Chiefs coaches went into the Atlanta game with a package of plays they wanted to see McCluster handle at running back. They wanted to see how he handled the contact, especially running between the tackles. The fact he had no problems dealing with the tackling and hitting is going to have Haley/Weis looking at more and more snaps from the backfield. Ultimately, once the regular season comes around and Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles are healthy, then I would expect his catches to outnumber his runs.

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charles says: I was wondering whether you could do something weekly comparing your ’81 thru 1′ thing you did after OTA’s, showing where you think they are now compared to then with arrows to represent how they’re doing. It helps to show where players are, where they’ve improved. Please. On that note, which position do you think has the most quality in depth? Who are the practice squad candidates?

Bob says: Look for another 1 thru 81 ranking after this second pre-season game. I need more of a sample size to make legitimate adjustments. Expect it coming up this Sunday or Monday after the game in Tampa. Right now I would say the spot with the most quality depth is running back, based on the performances seen in camp from Kestahn Moore and Javarris Williams. Combined with Jones and Charles, and maybe even McCluster and short-yardage/goal-line runner Jackie Battle, it’s a quality group of players. Practice squad candidates right now would be WR Jeremy Horne, TE Cody Slate, T/G Tyler Eastman, DT Garrett Brown, LB Justin Cole, CB Jackie Bates, S Ricky Price and WR Verran Tucker.

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Guy says: Two questions – We are obviously hurting at nose tackle. Am I pushing on a string to hope that Derek Lokey might conceivably be an ascending player? As much as I respect Brodie Croyle’s character, does his second half performance in Atlanta (against his 5 years in the league) validate those suggesting he can never be a quality starter?

Bob says: Lokey is an ascending player, but the question is how high is his ceiling? When it comes to Lokey he’s a work very hard, try very hard guy with some ability. Whether he can stand up as the primary nose tackle and take the pounding at 300 pounds remains to be seen. As for Croyle’s second-half against Atlanta, I would never look at a single quarter of a pre-season game as the evidence that anyone can or can’t be a contributing NFL player, especially at quarterback. There are so many unknowns there to the media and fans as to what he was asked to do, and what he was working with. No question his first two passes of the third quarter were atrocious and those are mistakes he should be beyond at this point in his career. But it remains just a snapshot in a long string of snapshots that put together a player’s career, certainly no more or less important than other moments.

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Chris says: If you could only use ex and present NFL coaches how would you define Todd Haley’s style and personality?

Bob says: Tough question. There’s a lot of Marty Schottenheimer in Haley, which really isn’t a surprise because of their shared western Pennsylvania roots. When Schottenheimer was hired by the Chiefs it was his second NFL head coaching job, so he was a bit more advanced in how to handle things than Haley. There are some visions of Bill Parcells that come out and that’s natural given that the Big Tuna is his coaching mentor. I think Haley made real strides last year when he stopped trying to do things as if he was Parcells and showed the team more of his personality. There’s a lot left to see with Haley and how he handles things like success, and then disappointment, so forth. He’s a grounded guy, has a very good idea of what he’s doing and what he wants to get done. There will be moments where he will struggle because of lack of experience, but he’s advanced so much in just a year. If he can survive, he could be a good one.

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Scott says: Bob, after ending on such a high note last year the 1st team O-Line looked horribly bad. Is there a chance that the team is sandbagging in order to confuse the upcoming opponents or am I wishfully thinking.

Bob says: There’s a little of both going on. There was no game plan for the Falcons and the players did not spend all week looking at tape of their opponents. Since the Falcons are not an AFC team, the Chiefs don’t see them very often. A full week of prep would have helped them. I would not make too many assumptions based on the first quarter and half the second quarter against the Falcons. But I will say this: maybe the reason they looked so good against Denver to finish up the season had more to do with problems the Broncos were having, just as maybe the way they looked against Atlanta might have more to do with the talent they can field. I think we have to accept this about the current offensive line – it is what it is. There’s not a lot of head room for any of those guys save LT Branden Albert. He can improve and get better. But Brian Waters, Rudy Niswanger, Casey Wiegmann, Ryan Lilja and Ryan O’Callaghan have and will play as we’ve seen. Individually, they are not suddenly going to get significantly better.

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Tenand6 says: The Ravens seem to have a few too many good LB’s and DL. Are they (or any team you can think of) a possible trade partner? I also have to assume it is possible we find a starter for our front seven on the waiver wire. Would it be too much to ask for a Gretz Depth Chart for the Chiefs?

Bob says: I’m not sure what the Chiefs would have that the Ravens would want, other than draft choices and that’s just not something that Clark Hunt and Scott Pioli are going to do. And they shouldn’t, although grabbing a defensive extra from the Baltimore roster is generally a ticket to a decent player. As for a depth chart … good idea, I’ll put one together after the game in Tampa on Saturday. Stay tuned.

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Dean says: I don’t recall any passes being thrown in the direction of Dwayne Bowe (in Atlanta.) Was that the team’s way of handling his off-season issues? Will Bowe, Dorsey or Jackson ever become stars or will they just be let go when their contracts run out.

Bob says: I don’t think the fact Bowe was shutout against the Falcons had anything to do with anything other than how the chips fell on Friday night. With Matt Cassel, he’s always going to look for Chris Chambers first. He trusts the guy. I can’t say he has the same depth of feeling about Bowe, but I don’t think anyone was shutting him out. I’m not sure you can expect Bowe, Dorsey or Jackson to ever be so-called stars. Right now, if they can simply be solid contributors that can be counted on, then they’ll provide something. I just don’t see them ranked among the league’s best players.

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Robert says: Atlanta is a superb running team. The Chiefs are hoping to show improvement through better coaching. Coaches are extremely bland in the preseason. That said, the middle of our defense is atrocious. From whichever defensive tackle to whichever duo at the inside, they are not getting it done. Also McGraw – and I like him- is not a starter. So what is it? Pre-season jitters/coaching excuses or the Chiefs defense is just as bad against the run as last year? The latter is scary and sad for Chiefs fans.

Bob says: I don’t think it’s quite time to say there will be no improvement in the Chiefs defense against the run. A one-game sample, especially against a good running team like the Falcons, is not enough to make any concrete assessments. But I’m not sure why anybody would expect there to be a huge change, given the fact the personnel hasn’t changed. Romeo Crennel is a very good coach, but he’s not good enough to design the defenses and play them too. Give the defense time.

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Lyle says: Sort of along the line of some other questions – in your opinion, who are surefire for the 53 roster, who’s on the bubble, who qualifies for the practice squad, etc.

Bob says: OK, I’ll give you part of an answer. I’ll give you the players I think are on the 53-man roster already, not taking into account injuries.

• Offense – Cassel, Croyle, Castille, Charles, Jones, Bowe, Chambers, Copper, McCluster, Urban, Moeaki, Pope, Albert, Asamoah, Lilja, Niswanger, O’Callaghan, Waters. (18)
• Defense – Dorsey, Edwards, Gilberry, Jackson, Lokey, Magee, Belcher, Hali, Johnson, Sheffield, Studebaker, Vrabel, Arenas, Berry, Carr, Flowers, Leggett, Lewis, McGraw. (19)
• Special teams – Colquitt, Succop, Gafford. (3)

That’s 40 spots out of the 53.

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Paul says: I know it’s only the first pre-season game, but oh my goodness. First off, the offensive passing game just looked terrible. Is that a product of a vanilla offensive game plan for the pre-season, or is that really a combination of bad pass protection, and poor accuracy by the quarterbacks? Secondly, the defensive front 7 were not consistent at any point in the game. They could not stop the run, which was very reminiscent of last year. I also noticed than when the Chiefs HAD to get penetration they could not get it done. Do you believe that the better coaching the Chiefs Defense is receiving is enough to make them better, or are the Chiefs going to have to seriously consider making a run for a no-kidding big earth moving defensive tackle? Thirdly, the talent level overall still seems severely lacking. I do believe that the bottom half of the roster is significantly better than it was last year, and the year before that. However, after watching this game it seems like we’ll be lucky to acquire 6 wins with this group of guys. What’s your take on the talent level compared to what we saw in the Falcons? Am I being overly pessimistic after one game, or does the Chiefs really have another couple years to go before this team actually becomes a threat to anyone?

Bob says: Yes, you are being overly pessimistic after one game, but you have every reason to feel that way. I know people get tired of me hitting this point over and over again, but it’s the most important fact that must be understood about the Chiefs – they do not have enough talent. Teams don’t go 10-38 because of bad luck, bad schedules, bad officiating, injuries, etc. They put up a record that bad because they were not good enough. They still aren’t good enough. The game is about talent and they don’t have enough. They certainly don’t compare to the Falcons. There is more talent on the roster, but not significantly so. For instance, Jerheme Urban as the No. 3 receiver is a huge improvement over Bobby Wade as the No. 3 receiver. But the problem is that the No. 1 and 2 receiver spots haven’t been improved and Urban doesn’t appear to be talented enough to challenge either one of those guys for playing time. Just remember, it’s only August. Not time to pull the rip cord on the 2010 season just yet.

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johnfromfairfax says: What positions do you see as the most likely to result in waiver wire acquisitions for upgrades this year? Do you see this offensive line gelling into a serviceable unit (providing a little luck with health issues) after more time together during training camp?

Bob says: I think the offensive line, defensive line and possibly tight end will be spots where the Chiefs sift carefully through the waiver wire. Also quarterback – I don’t think Tyler Palko is going to be good enough to be the No. 3. Maybe practice squad for him, and then pick up a veteran who is on the street in September. The offensive line can be a serviceable unit if they can stay together and develop some cohesiveness

A lot more of your questions and my answers to come soon.