CHIEFS ADD SOME EXCITEMENT THRU THE DRAFT BUT HOW MUCH BETTER IS THE DEFENSE?
This might sound like sour grapes, that's because it is. Tonight the Chiefs added 4 new names to their roster beginning with Ole Miss RB/WR/KR Dexter McCluster. I really like McCluster, he could develop into a Wes Welker-like slot receiver & return man. That's a good thing right? With the second pick in the 2nd round, the Chiefs selected Alabama CB/KR/PR Javier Arenas. We cornered the market in 5' 8" return men. I like Arenas as well, tho I thought of him as a mid-3rd round to high 4th round prospect. He should be a fine nickel back, he excelled in the SEC, solid corner & a tough tackler. I liked the selection of Jon Asamoah from Illinois. He's a tough, tough guard with very good techniques & a real mean streak, which I like. He definitely will bolster the offensive line. It was when Scott Pioli traded back into the end of the 3rd round to select Iowa tight end Tony Moeaki that I really started squirming in my seat.
Moeaki is a pretty decent tight end, when he plays. In five seasons at Iowa, including a medical redshirt year, Moeaki caught only 72 passes. He missed 15 games, plus most of the 2007 season, to injuries. That's a lot of injuries right? Let's talk about these injuries. In 2007, he missed most of spring practice with a sprained shoulder. In the Big-10 opener vs. Wisconsin, he sustained a broken wrist & a dislocated elbow, both requiring surgery & was granted a medical redshirt. Missed spring practice in "08 with a broken foot. Missed two starts in the '08 season with a calf injury, came back only to suffer two concussions vs. Iowa State & Illinois. Then had a second surgery on his foot, missing the final 3 games of the season. In the '09 season opener, Moeaki sprained his ankle, missing the next three games. Since the Chiefs already have a tight end who couldn't stay healthy in college or as a pro in Brad Cottam, I was surprised to see them going down this road again. Especially since they had to surrender their only pick in the 4th round & one of their 5th round picks to draft him.
I'm going to throw a name out here, Dennis Pitta. Except for going on his Mormon mission while at BYU, Pitta never missed a game or even any practice time to injury. They're similar in size, Pitta's an inch taller, 7 lbs. heavier, a little faster(4.63 to 4.69) considerably stronger(27 bench press reps to 18) & then there's the production. Yes BYU throws the ball a lot more than Iowa & the Mountain West Conference certainly isn't the Big-10, no argument there. But Pitta has as good a pair of hands as anyone in this draft regardless of position. He has excellent body control & a very high football IQ. He & Moeaki are about even in the blocking comparison, neither are great, both are willing, serviceable in-line blockers. But the production is wildly in favor of Pitta, 221 receptions for 2,904 yards & 21 TD's. I'm sorry I don't get it. We gained an oft-injured tight end while passing on one with better hands & a clean bill of health. All it cost was two draft picks.
In 2009 the Chiefs' defense was 31st of 32 teams against the run. In 2008, the Chiefs defense set an all-time league record with 10 sacks, they pumped that total up to 22 last season, also 31st in the league. Could you tell me what changes in the front-7 have been made to reverse these pathetic rankings? What have they done in free agency or the draft to turn it around? Anybody?????? If you folks think Eric Berry's presence is going to vault this defense into something dramatically better, think again. He can't do it himself. He can't rush the passer & also defend against it simultaneously. Is his tackling going to shut down the run? Great safeties can make a lot of plays if the people in front of them are wreaking havoc. Where am I going wrong? I really want to be wrong, honest I do. Is 22 sacks & 154 yards rushing allowed per week the kind of havoc I'm talking about? Not exactly, Green Bay, Minnesota & New England combined gave up fewer rushing touchdowns than Kansas City. The Jets surrendered 8 touchdown passes, Kansas City 25. Buffalo only gave up 14, eleven less than the Chiefs. Two opponents, Dallas & Cleveland had performances that set all-time franchise records(Myles Austin & Jerome Harrison). They did it at Arrowhead, what used to be defensive hallowed ground.
So I'm still waiting, what have they done to address this awful defense? You say Romeo Crennell? I hear a couple of Eric Berry's. Sorry folks, this defense will continue to languish near the bottom, making improvement to .500 a pretty tall order despite the much easier schedule. But, like the Vermeil era, they might be more fun to watch, so we got that going for us.
Moeaki is a pretty decent tight end, when he plays. In five seasons at Iowa, including a medical redshirt year, Moeaki caught only 72 passes. He missed 15 games, plus most of the 2007 season, to injuries. That's a lot of injuries right? Let's talk about these injuries. In 2007, he missed most of spring practice with a sprained shoulder. In the Big-10 opener vs. Wisconsin, he sustained a broken wrist & a dislocated elbow, both requiring surgery & was granted a medical redshirt. Missed spring practice in "08 with a broken foot. Missed two starts in the '08 season with a calf injury, came back only to suffer two concussions vs. Iowa State & Illinois. Then had a second surgery on his foot, missing the final 3 games of the season. In the '09 season opener, Moeaki sprained his ankle, missing the next three games. Since the Chiefs already have a tight end who couldn't stay healthy in college or as a pro in Brad Cottam, I was surprised to see them going down this road again. Especially since they had to surrender their only pick in the 4th round & one of their 5th round picks to draft him.
I'm going to throw a name out here, Dennis Pitta. Except for going on his Mormon mission while at BYU, Pitta never missed a game or even any practice time to injury. They're similar in size, Pitta's an inch taller, 7 lbs. heavier, a little faster(4.63 to 4.69) considerably stronger(27 bench press reps to 18) & then there's the production. Yes BYU throws the ball a lot more than Iowa & the Mountain West Conference certainly isn't the Big-10, no argument there. But Pitta has as good a pair of hands as anyone in this draft regardless of position. He has excellent body control & a very high football IQ. He & Moeaki are about even in the blocking comparison, neither are great, both are willing, serviceable in-line blockers. But the production is wildly in favor of Pitta, 221 receptions for 2,904 yards & 21 TD's. I'm sorry I don't get it. We gained an oft-injured tight end while passing on one with better hands & a clean bill of health. All it cost was two draft picks.
In 2009 the Chiefs' defense was 31st of 32 teams against the run. In 2008, the Chiefs defense set an all-time league record with 10 sacks, they pumped that total up to 22 last season, also 31st in the league. Could you tell me what changes in the front-7 have been made to reverse these pathetic rankings? What have they done in free agency or the draft to turn it around? Anybody?????? If you folks think Eric Berry's presence is going to vault this defense into something dramatically better, think again. He can't do it himself. He can't rush the passer & also defend against it simultaneously. Is his tackling going to shut down the run? Great safeties can make a lot of plays if the people in front of them are wreaking havoc. Where am I going wrong? I really want to be wrong, honest I do. Is 22 sacks & 154 yards rushing allowed per week the kind of havoc I'm talking about? Not exactly, Green Bay, Minnesota & New England combined gave up fewer rushing touchdowns than Kansas City. The Jets surrendered 8 touchdown passes, Kansas City 25. Buffalo only gave up 14, eleven less than the Chiefs. Two opponents, Dallas & Cleveland had performances that set all-time franchise records(Myles Austin & Jerome Harrison). They did it at Arrowhead, what used to be defensive hallowed ground.
So I'm still waiting, what have they done to address this awful defense? You say Romeo Crennell? I hear a couple of Eric Berry's. Sorry folks, this defense will continue to languish near the bottom, making improvement to .500 a pretty tall order despite the much easier schedule. But, like the Vermeil era, they might be more fun to watch, so we got that going for us.
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