How to fix the Chiefs

[jmlamerson]

The Chiefs are one of more interesting teams in the league, and could be one of the easiest to rebuild. In my opinion, the following owould be the best way:

1. Be very, very active in free agency and fix your lines.

Sign free agents O-linemen Jordan Gross (LT) and Marc Colombo (RT) to long term deals. Both are under 30. Overpay both of them if you have to and you will). Make gross the highest paid o-lineman in the league if you have to (and you'll have to) - just get them signed. This will also allow you to move Albert back to his natural position at RG and shoudl give the Chiefs an above average o-line.

Then sign Julius Pepper, Terrell Suggs, and Albert Haynesworth to long term deals for your d-line. All are under 30. Overpay them if you have to. Keep Dorsey at DT. The Chiefs will have the cap room to do this, even if you ignore step 2.

2. Clear out the dead weight.

Cut Brodie Croyle, Tamba Hali, MacIntosh, Donnie Edwards, all WRs not named Bowe, Pollard, Tank, Turk, Surtain, and every other project player that hasn't worked out. Try to trade those tradable and cut the rest.

3. Fix the QB position

Sign JP Losman to a two-year deal for near the minimum. Draft Stafford out of Georgia with the overall number 1 pick (which KC probably will have). Sit Stafford for a year at least and don't get him killed.

4. Convince Gonzalez and Waters not to retire.

This will be difficult, but a new regime committed to winning might be able to do it.

5. Don't cut or trade LJ

It makes no sense to cut him and eat his cap hit. Try to get 2-3 good years out of him. Behind a revamped line and with a good QB, he may become rejuvinated.

6. Draft well

Everyone needs to stop pretending Herm Edwards has drafted well. He hasn't, and most of his draft picks will be out of the league when their rookie contracts are up.

Even if the free agency plan above goes to plan, the Chiefs are still deficient at most positions. Stafford in the 1st round, and some mixture of WR, OL, LB, and CB over the rest. Do NOT draft any more DTs, RBs, TEs, or Ss.

7. Clean out the coaches and management personnel

Even if they weren't terrible at their jobs (and they are), you need to do this to rebuild faith in the franchise.

Cowher probably won't coach here (quit dreaming, people). Get Lane Kiffin (at least he'll care about Raiders games). Let him rebuild his staff. Throw a dumptruck of money at Scott Pioli to GM here.

What do you think?

[Drunker Hillbilly]

I think the Chiefs have been rebuiding for the last 3 years. How many more do they need?

[Three7s]

I think the Chiefs have been rebuiding for the last 3 years. How many more do they need?

Every year is a rebuilding year until Carl and Herm are gone.

[jtandcrew]

The Chiefs are one of more interesting teams in the league, and could be one of the easiest to rebuild. In my opinion, the following owould be the best way:

1. Be very, very active in free agency and fix your lines.

Sign free agents O-linemen Jordan Gross (LT) and Marc Colombo (RT) to long term deals. Both are under 30. Overpay both of them if you have to and you will). Make gross the highest paid o-lineman in the league if you have to (and you'll have to) - just get them signed. This will also allow you to move Albert back to his natural position at RG and shoudl give the Chiefs an above average o-line.

Then sign Julius Pepper, Terrell Suggs, and Albert Haynesworth to long term deals for your d-line. All are under 30. Overpay them if you have to. Keep Dorsey at DT. The Chiefs will have the cap room to do this, even if you ignore step 2.

2. Clear out the dead weight.

Cut Brodie Croyle, Tamba Hali, MacIntosh, Donnie Edwards, all WRs not named Bowe, Pollard, Tank, Turk, Surtain, and every other project player that hasn't worked out. Try to trade those tradable and cut the rest.

3. Fix the QB position

Sign JP Losman to a two-year deal for near the minimum. Draft Stafford out of Georgia with the overall number 1 pick (which KC probably will have). Sit Stafford for a year at least and don't get him killed.

4. Convince Gonzalez and Waters not to retire.

This will be difficult, but a new regime committed to winning might be able to do it.

5. Don't cut or trade LJ

It makes no sense to cut him and eat his cap hit. Try to get 2-3 good years out of him. Behind a revamped line and with a good QB, he may become rejuvinated.

6. Draft well

Everyone needs to stop pretending Herm Edwards has drafted well. He hasn't, and most of his draft picks will be out of the league when their rookie contracts are up.

Even if the free agency plan above goes to plan, the Chiefs are still deficient at most positions. Stafford in the 1st round, and some mixture of WR, OL, LB, and CB over the rest. Do NOT draft any more DTs, RBs, TEs, or Ss.

7. Clean out the coaches and management personnel

Even if they weren't terrible at their jobs (and they are), you need to do this to rebuild faith in the franchise.

Cowher probably won't coach here (quit dreaming, people). Get Lane Kiffin (at least he'll care about Raiders games). Let him rebuild his staff. Throw a dumptruck of money at Scott Pioli to GM here.

What do you think?

Very nice thought out plan! Although I disagree with cutting or trading Pollard. The Chiefs tried to trade Surtain and got no takers as in they didnt get any takers for Johnson either. Mark my word, eventually Johnson will either sit out later in his contract, he WILL get cut or the next GM will take a very low draft pick for him just to get rid of him. With 2 cases out on him for assault atm? The Chiefs (we) very well could be looking at a year long suspension for LJ. I dont put nothing past Goodell since he dont take crap off any player. I think the Chiefs are going to go back into free agency but depending on who's running the front office and coaching will decide where we get our O-linemen. ATM the O-line and QB position is #1 priority. Cowher will make a decision to coach again if the time is right and with his past the Chiefs should be the the running. I think Pioli is prob VERY happy where hes at. Kiffin would not be a bad choice but his stay in Oakland isnt that far diffrent than Herm's stay here.

Every year is a rebuilding year until Carl and Herm are gone.

Seems they have been rebuilding sumthin on this team for years! With Dick it was the offense. With Herm it was defense first then tried to do the whole team again at once!

[jmlamerson]

Very nice thought out plan! Although I disagree with cutting or trading Pollard. The Chiefs tried to trade Surtain and got no takers as in they didnt get any takers for Johnson either. Mark my word, eventually Johnson will either sit out later in his contract, he WILL get cut or the next GM will take a very low draft pick for him just to get rid of him. With 2 cases out on him for assault atm? The Chiefs (we) very well could be looking at a year long suspension for LJ. I dont put nothing past Goodell since he dont take crap off any player. I think the Chiefs are going to go back into free agency but depending on who's running the front office and coaching will decide where we get our O-linemen. ATM the O-line and QB position is #1 priority. Cowher will make a decision to coach again if the time is right and with his past the Chiefs should be the the running. I think Pioli is prob VERY happy where hes at. Kiffin would not be a bad choice but his stay in Oakland isnt that far diffrent than Herm's stay here.



Seems they have been rebuilding sumthin on this team for years! With Dick it was the offense. With Herm it was defense first then tried to do the whole team again at once!

Pollard is a hard hitting, and is good against the run, but he is just too slow to be a coverage safety. He'd be fine coming off of the bench, but they need someone faster back there. I give him an A for effort, though.

Surtain and Johnson are both hard to trade because of salary, injury, and age concerns. They're hard to cut because of the salary cap hit.

It sucks to say "rebuilding," I know, but the below poster is exactly right - the Chiefs have been stagnating, not rebuilding. A rebuilding team selects a QB of the future, a coach of the future, and has good, young players. All the Chiefs have done is sign players too old, too young, or too bad to sign elsewhere.

[jmlamerson]

Very nice thought out plan! Although I disagree with cutting or trading Pollard.

Thank you for the kind words. I do not understand why everyone here likes Pollard so much as a S. He is an excellent special teams player, and he might to OK as a backup, but he doesn't have the speed to be a proper S in this league. He'll always be a liability in coverage. I guess I'm for keeping him as a backup/special teams guy, but we need a legitimate SS who can defend against the pass.

And despite Pollard's obvious heart and work ethic, you can't teach speed.

[Sn@keIze]

Thank you for the kind words. I do not understand why everyone here likes Pollard so much as a S. He is an excellent special teams player, and he might to OK as a backup, but he doesn't have the speed to be a proper S in this league. He'll always be a liability in coverage. I guess I'm for keeping him as a backup/special teams guy, but we need a legitimate SS who can defend against the pass.

And despite Pollard's obvious heart and work ethic, you can't teach speed.

Pollards a stud. Hes young and will only get better.

[Hayvern]

Thank you for the kind words. I do not understand why everyone here likes Pollard so much as a S. He is an excellent special teams player, and he might to OK as a backup, but he doesn't have the speed to be a proper S in this league. He'll always be a liability in coverage. I guess I'm for keeping him as a backup/special teams guy, but we need a legitimate SS who can defend against the pass.

And despite Pollard's obvious heart and work ethic, you can't teach speed.

Well, I am no coach, but what I do know is that a strong safety is really not meant to be keeping up with the speeder receivers, that is what you have speedy cornerbacks for. Strong safeties are primarily in coverage against the tight end, or plays that come over the middle of the field. They are also responsible for picking up those running plays that get through the linebackers.

That said, speed is not the main attribute for a strong safety. We need him to be strong and to be able to make the stop against those stronger running backs and tight ends.

Having said that, I have seen him seriously improve over the last couple of years. Up to even last year I would not have given you much for him, but this year he has really turned around and seems to be one of the shining members of this team. He has to stay right now.

In my opinion, right now he is the defensive MVP for this team.

[jtandcrew]

Thank you for the kind words. I do not understand why everyone here likes Pollard so much as a S. He is an excellent special teams player, and he might to OK as a backup, but he doesn't have the speed to be a proper S in this league. He'll always be a liability in coverage. I guess I'm for keeping him as a backup/special teams guy, but we need a legitimate SS who can defend against the pass.

And despite Pollard's obvious heart and work ethic, you can't teach speed.

At the safety position I dont think you need spped as much as you need vision. At safety you are alot of times the last line of D before someone scores. You need more vision to take the right angle rather than taking someone head on so you can get the big hit. Angle to tackle saves touchdowns. If a reciever gets far enough for the safety to tackle him he already prob got the 1st down so whats a couple more yards to grab and tackle rather than laying the helmet flying off hit.

[Seek]

I think the Chiefs have been rebuiding for the last 3 years. How many more do they need?

I think the Chiefs have been stagnant the last two years signing crap for Free Agents, (none of which who are even worth a minimum vet contract) and now three years later is appears Herms first draft with the Chiefs was crap as well.

The so called rebuilding, is now an excuse to cover up the mistakes the first two years trying to stall an inevitable firing of both Carl and Herm.