Originally Posted by
texaschief
Spread offenses are based in shotgun formations and 2 to 3 second routes... how the hell can you expect a NT to get through an NCAA caliber Center and then run 8-10 yards to get to the QB in that amount of time? Expecting a 350lb NT to make that kind of disruption play in and play out isn't being fair to that position. The whole point of the spread is to take the DL and pass rush out of the equation while also not needing much of a rushing attack because the short passes are used instead.
I realize you needed a player "not to like" for your podcast, but this bombardment on Poe needs to be called out for the short-sighted, poor player evaluation that has been attached to Poe since the draft. Poe, like Jackson and Dorsey is going to do EXACTLY what Crennel's 3-4 expects of him. Just like Tyson Jackson isn't a pass-rushing DE, Poe isn't going to be N. Suh. He's going to do exactly what a NT is suppose to do... clog the run lanes, attack with an unrelenting motor, and keep the OL off his LBs, with the occasional QB pressure or sack. To expect anything more from a NT is not fair to the position.
It's not like the guy was taken in the top 5. There weren't a whole bunch of guys available for the Chiefs to take instead of Poe that would have benefitted this team more, you don't know what type of trade offers were available to the Chiefs to trade down, and being that they got GREAT OL value in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, you can't argue that they should've taken DeCastro who would've represented lesser value at #11 than Poe who fills a hole the Chiefs haven't addressed since implementing the 3-4 when Pioli was hired.
As I've said before, the difference between DeCastro (who was the only other player the Chiefs could have truly considered at #11) and Allen is MUCH less than the difference between Poe and the second best NT in that draft class. I'm tired of hearing how Poe was a "poor pick" without the author suggesting who they thought the Chiefs SHOULD have picked instead. You can't say a trade up or down would have been better because you don't know what the terms of those trades would have been. You can't say DeCastro because we know the Chiefs got GREAT value in Allen in the 2nd.
So, since you say Poe wasn't a good pick for the Chiefs, please, tell us ignorant Chiefs fans and front office personnel who would have impacted the franchise better than Poe at pick #11? A pass-rushing DE would've been a luxury pick with Houston and Hali on the team. Kuechly would've been nice but he wasn't available and Poe meant more than any other ILB at #11. WR would've been a luxury pick. No QB at #11 was worth the pick. They don't need RB. They don't need TE. No CBs or Safeties were available (which would've been luxury picks as well)... and despite what some people think, the Chiefs boast some really good DEs... so tell us... who SHOULD the Chiefs have picked?
They had a perennial hole at NT and got the best NT prospect this draft had to offer. If Poe had gone later to a Pittsburgh or Green Bay team, the "draft experts" would have LOVED this guy for them and would be singing the praises of their respective front offices for "landing a guy who was projected to go in the middle of round 1." Believe me... I'm not a Chiefs "homer." I've been on the fence about Pioli and this front office since the moment he hired Todd Haley. But he has done some GREAT things for this franchise since he fired Haley. Promoting Crennel, his 2012 FA class and this draft are all things Pioli has done to make me, personally feel better about him as the GM of this franchise. There's only so long you can ignore the cornerstone position of the 3-4 defense.
If anything, this franchise deserves accolades for FINALLY pulling the trigger on one of the most talented NTs to come out in the draft in quite a while. Poe is explosive and quick off the snap. He's incredibly strong and is about to get the benefit of being coached by one of the best DL coaches in the history of the NFL.