AS A CHIEFS' FAN, I'M SHAKING MY HEAD, HIGHS & LOWS OF ROUNDS 2 & 3 PLUS NFL GETS A STAY IN LOCKOUT CASE
As a Chiefs' fan since 1963, I've learned to withstand a helluva lot of pain, heartbreak & disappointment. Tonight as I tried to digest 4 delicious slices of Marco's Pizza & a nice salad, Scott Pioli's Chiefs made their third round selections. Get the Tums! The evening began with such promise with Willie Lanier announcing the 2nd round selection of Florida State center/guard Rodney Hudson. Long time readers know I've touted this guy the past 6 months. I really like this kid, he's a great addition to the Chiefs' offensive line. I had real hope, maybe this draft could equal the impact of last year's. Uh....I don't think that's going to happen. Folks I call 'em like I see 'em & the third round blew my mind.
With Cleveland's 3rd round selection, obtained in the trade last night, Pioli chose Georgia linebacker Justin Houston. Two months ago he was generally considered a first round draft prospect. Then it came out he had failed a drug test at the combine. This & his propensity to take a lot of plays off brought down his status with many teams. Houston was predicted to go in round one by a large number of so-called draft experts. He wasn't chosen till pick #70. I've said year after year that when a kid knows damn good & well he's going to have to pee in a bottle at the combine & he still can't keep from smoking enough dope to get him red flagged by the league, you wonder about his decision making. He was suspended in '09 two games for violating school drug policy. His decision to spark one before the combine probably cost Houston $3-4 million. I was not excited about this kid, he takes off too many plays in fact, he'll take off an entire series. I will admit when he wants to play, when he comes off the edge rushing the quarterback & has it in high gear, Houston has Pro Bowl potential. Unfortunately, he doesn't play at full speed a lot, he just flashes enough to keep him in the lineup. He isn't very physical against the run either. When I think of how people sent me emails bitching about Jonathan Baldwin, folks you ain't seen nothin' yet. Houston's effort sometimes makes Baldwin look like Jerry Rice. Getting this kid to play hard snap after snap will be a real challenge, but if Romeo Crennell & Todd Haley can keep this young man turned way up every down, they could have something special. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, he is a major bust possibility.
But there was hope for redemption, Pioli also had the Chiefs' original 3rd round pick at #86. "With the 86th pick in the 2011 draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Allen Bailey, defensive end, Miami." Hand me those Tums dammit! My shock was seconded by the guys on The NFL Network & ESPN, no one said "I like the pick" it was more "huh?" or "really?" Bailey looks like a football player, runs like a deer for a kid weighing 285-pounds, his combine was super. I'm sure he's a great kid, he never gives up, he's always moving. But when you watch this guy in games or on tape, you wonder what it is he's seeing out on the field. I've never watched so many ball carriers run right by a defender who has no clue who has the ball. The guy plays hard but his instincts really fail him. So now we have a rare talent in Houston who takes about a third of his snaps off, flaunts the rules if he wants to get high & a defensive end who can't find the ball. With Bailey's pick, I have to laugh at Pioli's contention this week in a pre-draft interview when he said Tyson Jackson will become a high quality player for the Chiefs. Really? Color me confused, at least Bailey can rush the passer, he knows right where that quarterback is.
People complain I'm too negative regarding our Chiefs, people I've got a lot of experience with this franchise, a franchise that hasn't won but two playoff games in 40 friggin' years. This franchise has never drafted & developed a quality NFL starting quarterback. Over the past ten years, the Chiefs have expended 10 premium picks(rounds 1-3) on defensive lineman & still have little to show for it. Only Tamba Hali is really a front line player in this league & he is no longer on the defensive line, he's a linebacker. Think I'm kidding? Ryan Sims, Eddie Freeman, Junior Siavii, Turk McBride, Tank Tyler, Glenn Dorsey, Tyson Jackson, Alex Magee, Allen Bailey & Hali, believe me now? They still don't have a real nose tackle & Dorsey & Jackson are the starters outside. In 5 combined seasons, this pair from LSU have a total of 5 sacks & less than 150 tackles. At least they looked good most of the time at LSU, Allen Bailey runs around like a chicken with his head cut off mumblin' "which way did they go, which way did they go?
The remainder of the quarterback class of 2011 was selected tonight, at least the QB's with real NFL skills. The Bengals wasted no time taking TCU's Andy Dalton with the third pick of round two. That was followed immediately by San Francisco, who traded up with Denver so they could grab Colin Kaepernick of Nevada. Then with the 74th pick in round three, the New England Patriots chose Arkansas' Ryan Mallett, who had dropped like a stone.
Personally I thought Belichick made a great move selecting Mallett. He exploits the draft process better than anyone currently in the game, with all the extra premium picks he accumulates every year, he can take a chance like this on a guy most everyone had lost interest in, regardless of his immense talent. Before the night was over, Belichick had used 2 second round choices on Ras-I Dowling, a very good corner from Virginia & Shane Vereen, a running back from Cal. He used 2 of his three third-round selection on LSU running back Stevan Ridley & Mallett. He traded his third pick in round 3 along with one of his 2 4th round picks to the Raiders for their 2012 second-round pick. Now the Pats have two firsts & two seconds already in the bank for next season.
The Washington Redskins have gone against everything owner Daniel Snyder believed in as they try mocking the Patriots by accumulating picks, not trading them for has-been veterans. Mike Shanahan traded down 4 times in 3 rounds, in the process gathering up
a 3rd round pick & two 4th rounders which prior to last night, the Skins didn't have. They drafted well too, DE Ryan Kerrigan last night, DE Jarvis Jenkins & WR Leonard Hankerson tonight.
Houston was desperate for defensive help & so far they've done well with DE J.J. Watt last night & OLB Brooks Reed tonight before trading back into the bottom of round two so they could grab Miami cornerback Brandon Harris. I like Watt, but I preferred Cam Jordan. The two defenders drafted this evening were as good as they could draft at the time. The Texans made themselves better. If they can add a free safety & some offensive line help, they will have had an excellent draft.
Detroit's Jim Schwartz did exactly what the Lions needed, he got speedster Titus Young to play opposite all-pro Calvin Johnson, picked Nick Fairley to play right between Ndamakong Suh & Kyle Vanden Bosch & needing depth at running back, he got one of the top-3 runners, Illinois' Mickel Leshoure. The Lions are no longer an easy out.
In the rich get richer category, Green Bay has done very well, picking last, they've shored up a number of offensive problems. Drafting Derek Sherrod, an offensive tackle, gives the Pack a pair of quality tackles for years after they chose Bryan Bulaga last year. Snagging Randall Cobb in round two was huge, he fits this offense to a T. I loved Cobb, he can do so many things & is so dangerous with the ball in his hands. The third needs Mike McCarthy & Ted Thompson wanted to solve was running back. After Ryan Grant went down last year, the Packer running game really suffered until rookie James Starks came off the PUP list & made a contribution down the stretch. The packer braintrust wanted more depth. They got it with Hawaii's Alex Green. I liked Green for the Chiefs but never saw him going this high. Green Bay has 6 more choices tomorrow, I love the way this team has been built. Their Super Bowl opponent, Pittsburgh, also bolstered the positions they need help with. Ohio State DE Cameron Heyward in round one, OT Marcus Gilbert in the 2nd & cornerback Curtis Brown in round three. All three will be starting by season two.
The Chiefs' divisional opponents did well to not so hot. Denver did well, LB Von Miller, safety Rahim Moore, OT/OG Orlando Franklin & OLB Nate Irving gives the Broncos a needed injection of talent. San Diego's draft hasn't impressed me much, I did like DT Corey Liuget & WR Vincent Brown but defensive backs Marcus Gilchrist & Shareece Wright didn't wow me. And then there was the Raiders. No first round pick, the only team in the league without one going into the draft. The Silver & Black chose Penn State center Stefan Wisniewski, nephew of the Raiders' offensive line coach Steve Wisniewski in round two. The Raiders chose corner Demarcus VanDyke, who might be closer to a 4th rounder & then they made another trade with Bill Belichick giving him their #2 next year for one of New England's many 3rds & 4ths this year. Al Davis made Joseph Barksdale, O-tackle from LSU, the 92nd player taken in this draft. Barksdale was selected about 3 rounds early IMO.
So what can we expect out of the Chiefs tomorrow? Who the hell knows, they still need an offensive tackle, a nose tackle, running back, quarterback, maybe an inside linebacker & another wide receiver. Pioli has five picks remaining. Here's few names to watch tomorrow.
G/T- Clint Boling - Georgia
OT - James Brewer - Indiana
G/T- David Arkin - Missouri State
OT - Marcus Cannon - TCU
OT - Jason Pinkston - Pitt
OT - David Nims - Virginia Union (6' 9" 349 makes him one of the largest prospects in this draft)
NT - Jerrelle Powe - Ole Miss
NT - Ian Williams - Notre Dame
NT - Sealver Siliga - Utah
NT - Blaine Sumner - Colorado School of Mines(nicknamed the "Vanilla Gorilla" Sumner blew away the combine record in the bench press by putting up 225-pounds 52 times on his pro day. He's 6' 2" & 338, is ungodly strong & very smart to boot. Can he play football at the next level?)
RB - Kendall Hunter - Oklahoma State
RB - Taiwan Jones - Eastern Washington(fastest back in this draft at 4.37)
RB - Vai Taua - Nevada
OLB - Chris Carter - Fresno State
OLB - Bruce Miller - UCF
ILB - Casey Mathews - Oregon
ILB - Mike Mohamed - Cal
ILB - Nick Bellore - Central Michigan
QB - Ricky Stanzi - Iowa
QB - Nathan Enderle - Idaho
WR - Tandon Doss - Indiana
WR - Greg Salas - Hawaii
WR - Cecil Shorts III - Mount Union
WR - Dwayne Harris - East Carolina
WF - Kris Durham - Georgia
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis granted the league a stay in it's effort to reverse Judge Susan Nelson's decision. So after just 36-hours, we're going back to the lockout. Swell, right back to square one, allowing more lawyers to drag the inevitable out as their $1,000 per-hour meter runs unfettered. The Court is expected to hear ownerships appeal & render a verdict late next week. These combatants couldn't even let the fans have one stinkin' weekend without more acrimonious bullsh*t. Thanks.
With Cleveland's 3rd round selection, obtained in the trade last night, Pioli chose Georgia linebacker Justin Houston. Two months ago he was generally considered a first round draft prospect. Then it came out he had failed a drug test at the combine. This & his propensity to take a lot of plays off brought down his status with many teams. Houston was predicted to go in round one by a large number of so-called draft experts. He wasn't chosen till pick #70. I've said year after year that when a kid knows damn good & well he's going to have to pee in a bottle at the combine & he still can't keep from smoking enough dope to get him red flagged by the league, you wonder about his decision making. He was suspended in '09 two games for violating school drug policy. His decision to spark one before the combine probably cost Houston $3-4 million. I was not excited about this kid, he takes off too many plays in fact, he'll take off an entire series. I will admit when he wants to play, when he comes off the edge rushing the quarterback & has it in high gear, Houston has Pro Bowl potential. Unfortunately, he doesn't play at full speed a lot, he just flashes enough to keep him in the lineup. He isn't very physical against the run either. When I think of how people sent me emails bitching about Jonathan Baldwin, folks you ain't seen nothin' yet. Houston's effort sometimes makes Baldwin look like Jerry Rice. Getting this kid to play hard snap after snap will be a real challenge, but if Romeo Crennell & Todd Haley can keep this young man turned way up every down, they could have something special. I'm not going to sugarcoat it, he is a major bust possibility.
But there was hope for redemption, Pioli also had the Chiefs' original 3rd round pick at #86. "With the 86th pick in the 2011 draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Allen Bailey, defensive end, Miami." Hand me those Tums dammit! My shock was seconded by the guys on The NFL Network & ESPN, no one said "I like the pick" it was more "huh?" or "really?" Bailey looks like a football player, runs like a deer for a kid weighing 285-pounds, his combine was super. I'm sure he's a great kid, he never gives up, he's always moving. But when you watch this guy in games or on tape, you wonder what it is he's seeing out on the field. I've never watched so many ball carriers run right by a defender who has no clue who has the ball. The guy plays hard but his instincts really fail him. So now we have a rare talent in Houston who takes about a third of his snaps off, flaunts the rules if he wants to get high & a defensive end who can't find the ball. With Bailey's pick, I have to laugh at Pioli's contention this week in a pre-draft interview when he said Tyson Jackson will become a high quality player for the Chiefs. Really? Color me confused, at least Bailey can rush the passer, he knows right where that quarterback is.
People complain I'm too negative regarding our Chiefs, people I've got a lot of experience with this franchise, a franchise that hasn't won but two playoff games in 40 friggin' years. This franchise has never drafted & developed a quality NFL starting quarterback. Over the past ten years, the Chiefs have expended 10 premium picks(rounds 1-3) on defensive lineman & still have little to show for it. Only Tamba Hali is really a front line player in this league & he is no longer on the defensive line, he's a linebacker. Think I'm kidding? Ryan Sims, Eddie Freeman, Junior Siavii, Turk McBride, Tank Tyler, Glenn Dorsey, Tyson Jackson, Alex Magee, Allen Bailey & Hali, believe me now? They still don't have a real nose tackle & Dorsey & Jackson are the starters outside. In 5 combined seasons, this pair from LSU have a total of 5 sacks & less than 150 tackles. At least they looked good most of the time at LSU, Allen Bailey runs around like a chicken with his head cut off mumblin' "which way did they go, which way did they go?
The remainder of the quarterback class of 2011 was selected tonight, at least the QB's with real NFL skills. The Bengals wasted no time taking TCU's Andy Dalton with the third pick of round two. That was followed immediately by San Francisco, who traded up with Denver so they could grab Colin Kaepernick of Nevada. Then with the 74th pick in round three, the New England Patriots chose Arkansas' Ryan Mallett, who had dropped like a stone.
Personally I thought Belichick made a great move selecting Mallett. He exploits the draft process better than anyone currently in the game, with all the extra premium picks he accumulates every year, he can take a chance like this on a guy most everyone had lost interest in, regardless of his immense talent. Before the night was over, Belichick had used 2 second round choices on Ras-I Dowling, a very good corner from Virginia & Shane Vereen, a running back from Cal. He used 2 of his three third-round selection on LSU running back Stevan Ridley & Mallett. He traded his third pick in round 3 along with one of his 2 4th round picks to the Raiders for their 2012 second-round pick. Now the Pats have two firsts & two seconds already in the bank for next season.
The Washington Redskins have gone against everything owner Daniel Snyder believed in as they try mocking the Patriots by accumulating picks, not trading them for has-been veterans. Mike Shanahan traded down 4 times in 3 rounds, in the process gathering up
a 3rd round pick & two 4th rounders which prior to last night, the Skins didn't have. They drafted well too, DE Ryan Kerrigan last night, DE Jarvis Jenkins & WR Leonard Hankerson tonight.
Houston was desperate for defensive help & so far they've done well with DE J.J. Watt last night & OLB Brooks Reed tonight before trading back into the bottom of round two so they could grab Miami cornerback Brandon Harris. I like Watt, but I preferred Cam Jordan. The two defenders drafted this evening were as good as they could draft at the time. The Texans made themselves better. If they can add a free safety & some offensive line help, they will have had an excellent draft.
Detroit's Jim Schwartz did exactly what the Lions needed, he got speedster Titus Young to play opposite all-pro Calvin Johnson, picked Nick Fairley to play right between Ndamakong Suh & Kyle Vanden Bosch & needing depth at running back, he got one of the top-3 runners, Illinois' Mickel Leshoure. The Lions are no longer an easy out.
In the rich get richer category, Green Bay has done very well, picking last, they've shored up a number of offensive problems. Drafting Derek Sherrod, an offensive tackle, gives the Pack a pair of quality tackles for years after they chose Bryan Bulaga last year. Snagging Randall Cobb in round two was huge, he fits this offense to a T. I loved Cobb, he can do so many things & is so dangerous with the ball in his hands. The third needs Mike McCarthy & Ted Thompson wanted to solve was running back. After Ryan Grant went down last year, the Packer running game really suffered until rookie James Starks came off the PUP list & made a contribution down the stretch. The packer braintrust wanted more depth. They got it with Hawaii's Alex Green. I liked Green for the Chiefs but never saw him going this high. Green Bay has 6 more choices tomorrow, I love the way this team has been built. Their Super Bowl opponent, Pittsburgh, also bolstered the positions they need help with. Ohio State DE Cameron Heyward in round one, OT Marcus Gilbert in the 2nd & cornerback Curtis Brown in round three. All three will be starting by season two.
The Chiefs' divisional opponents did well to not so hot. Denver did well, LB Von Miller, safety Rahim Moore, OT/OG Orlando Franklin & OLB Nate Irving gives the Broncos a needed injection of talent. San Diego's draft hasn't impressed me much, I did like DT Corey Liuget & WR Vincent Brown but defensive backs Marcus Gilchrist & Shareece Wright didn't wow me. And then there was the Raiders. No first round pick, the only team in the league without one going into the draft. The Silver & Black chose Penn State center Stefan Wisniewski, nephew of the Raiders' offensive line coach Steve Wisniewski in round two. The Raiders chose corner Demarcus VanDyke, who might be closer to a 4th rounder & then they made another trade with Bill Belichick giving him their #2 next year for one of New England's many 3rds & 4ths this year. Al Davis made Joseph Barksdale, O-tackle from LSU, the 92nd player taken in this draft. Barksdale was selected about 3 rounds early IMO.
So what can we expect out of the Chiefs tomorrow? Who the hell knows, they still need an offensive tackle, a nose tackle, running back, quarterback, maybe an inside linebacker & another wide receiver. Pioli has five picks remaining. Here's few names to watch tomorrow.
G/T- Clint Boling - Georgia
OT - James Brewer - Indiana
G/T- David Arkin - Missouri State
OT - Marcus Cannon - TCU
OT - Jason Pinkston - Pitt
OT - David Nims - Virginia Union (6' 9" 349 makes him one of the largest prospects in this draft)
NT - Jerrelle Powe - Ole Miss
NT - Ian Williams - Notre Dame
NT - Sealver Siliga - Utah
NT - Blaine Sumner - Colorado School of Mines(nicknamed the "Vanilla Gorilla" Sumner blew away the combine record in the bench press by putting up 225-pounds 52 times on his pro day. He's 6' 2" & 338, is ungodly strong & very smart to boot. Can he play football at the next level?)
RB - Kendall Hunter - Oklahoma State
RB - Taiwan Jones - Eastern Washington(fastest back in this draft at 4.37)
RB - Vai Taua - Nevada
OLB - Chris Carter - Fresno State
OLB - Bruce Miller - UCF
ILB - Casey Mathews - Oregon
ILB - Mike Mohamed - Cal
ILB - Nick Bellore - Central Michigan
QB - Ricky Stanzi - Iowa
QB - Nathan Enderle - Idaho
WR - Tandon Doss - Indiana
WR - Greg Salas - Hawaii
WR - Cecil Shorts III - Mount Union
WR - Dwayne Harris - East Carolina
WF - Kris Durham - Georgia
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis granted the league a stay in it's effort to reverse Judge Susan Nelson's decision. So after just 36-hours, we're going back to the lockout. Swell, right back to square one, allowing more lawyers to drag the inevitable out as their $1,000 per-hour meter runs unfettered. The Court is expected to hear ownerships appeal & render a verdict late next week. These combatants couldn't even let the fans have one stinkin' weekend without more acrimonious bullsh*t. Thanks.
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