Giving Pioli the Benefit of the Doubt

[jap1]

Im going to give the front office the benefit of the doubt and say that they know what they are doing.

Consider this as a possibility, Pioli and Co. are planning for the future. In other words they were not expecting to fix all the holes and win the Superbowl this year through the Draft and Free Agency.

Maybe they went into this offseason with a list of needs. They looked at the players in the draft, and they looked at Free Agency, and they ALSO looked at next years FA and Draft.

After all of their research, they came to the conclusion that there is not anyone good enough to fill those positions at a HIGH LEVEL this offseason. In other words this year's draft and FA class for ILB, NT, and OLB were somewhat mediocre, compared to what next year's draft and FA class is expected to be (in their eyes).

I dont know if that is necessarily true because I do not follow the NCAA and I dont know off the top of my head what players will be available in FA next year. I have heard though that next year's NT class is expected to be very deep and will include a lot of NT that actually played NT in a 3-4. Unlike this year where there are a lot of players who are big enough to be NT but really played DT in a 4-3. I havent heard anything about OLB and ILB, but maybe that is the case as well.

So, maybe, Pioli and Co decided we will pick up some speed at some key positions (FS, CB on D and WR, TE on O).

This year our special teams will be much improved. Last year we had the 25th ranked Kick Return (based on avg. yards per return) (21.5 ypr) and the 27th ranked Punt Return (6.5 ypr). Most people dont think Special Teams means a whole lot unless you have a Devin Hester or Dante Hall, but I disagree.

Special teams has a huge effect on our starting field position. Both from punts and kickoffs. If we improve our average return yards, we improve our starting field position. That means we do not have to drive down nearly as far to get into field goal range or to score a touchdown. (here is the link to an article that discusses special teams and starting field position in painful statistical detail: Blogger: Page not found.

Anyways, I do not think that this draft was an A+ in terms of meeting all of our needs and making us superbowl contenders right away. But I do think it is a definite step in the right direction.

Lets give Pioli the benefit of the doubt, maybe they have a plan that lasts more than 1 year. Sorry for the extremely long post.

[honda522]

You can't argue with some of these angry people on here.

And if you do, you get fired up.

[bwilliams]

OK, why should I have faith in Pioli? What, exactly, has he done for this team yet? The guy was the director of player personnel for SB teams in 2001, 2003, and 2004. Hr wasn't the GM or the coach.

What has he done to build any good will? He's earned no more good will or respect than any other rookie GM. I'll give him more when he gives us more than 4 wins.

[chief31]

Lets give Pioli the benefit of the doubt, maybe they have a plan that lasts more than 1 year. Sorry for the extremely long post.

Not that we have any choice in the matter, but he has it. None of us is able to fire him. And I probably wouldn't if I could.

But, until we are able to slow down opponets' rushing, or generate a respectable pass-rush, then I will likely continue to question the decisions made.

At least until I stop caring what The Chiefs do, or they prove my doubts wrong with sustained success.

[matthewschiefs]

OK, why should I have faith in Pioli? What, exactly, has he done for this team yet? The guy was the director of player personnel for SB teams in 2001, 2003, and 2004. Hr wasn't the GM or the coach.

What has he done to build any good will? He's earned no more good will or respect than any other rookie GM. I'll give him more when he gives us more than 4 wins.

The way the pats are set up the director of player personnel is basicly there gm.

True Pioli has done nothing here in terms of superbowls as of yet. He came here saying that the turn around would not be overnight. In his first year and Haleys first year the wins doubled from the year before. Thats something. He needs time he has a proven track record it just takes time.

[70 chiefsfan70]

I will give him the benefit of the doubt, I believe with the skilled and talented coaches the chiefs will be a much improved team this year.


I was very discouraged after last years season, with the draft, trading TG, and the firing of our OC.......Now i see it as last year was very much a evaluation year for this team. This team was inexperienced and undercoached,we will see the same under acheving players step up and play much better, there will be a new level of energy. Albert and Dorsey will shine.Watch Hali become a stud! This young team just needs coaching and time, we have both now, expect a winning season!

[bwilliams]

The way the pats are set up the director of player personnel is basicly there gm.

True Pioli has done nothing here in terms of superbowls as of yet. He came here saying that the turn around would not be overnight. In his first year and Haleys first year the wins doubled from the year before. Thats something. He needs time he has a proven track record it just takes time.

OK, no it's not. Belichick is the closest thing to the GM. He has final say over every draft pick and every free agent acquisition. Pioli was in charge of scouting, in charge of contract, and was the closest talent advisor. But he never pulled the final trigger on any player.

And yes, going from 2 to 4 wins is technically doubling your wins. But I think there's an awful good chance that Herm Edwards could have gotten us from 2 to 4 wins in 2009.

Look, I know rebuilding a team takes time. But I also know it needs talented players at key positions. All the time in the world won't get you a winning record if you don't have above average players on your OL, DL, and QB positions.

[Chieffaninfl]

I feel that the Chiefs will be better this season. Will we win the SB? No. Will we make the playoffs? prob not!!! but I think we will be much improved. I believe we can win at least 8 games this year. That is a major improvement considering what our record has been in the past few seasons. We will be a better coached team, with some good players who can make a difference. As I recall we were within a touchdown of winning 4 or 5 games last season. We are headed in the right direction, it just takes time!!

[dad005]

The NFL is a "win now" league. It's been proven that teams can go from the bottom of the league to a playoff team in an offseason, so I don't think that using the building for the future cop-out is a very good reason.

We definitely have some pieces in place to have the making of a very dangerous team, but there are still a couple glaring holes that are holding us back from being the contender we have the potential to be. So far, I don't think we've done all we need to do to make that leap, but I keep trying to tell myself its still April. There's a long ways to go, and I'm willing to give Pioli the benefit of the doubt...

HOWEVER, now is the time to build our team to make a run, not for the future, just for the fact that the 3 other teams in the AFC West are self-destructing around us, the Chargers I think will be down, the trainwreck that McDaniels has made in Denver, and Oakland being...well...Oakland! This is about as good as a chance as we're gonna get, so why not now?