Kaspers Korner

Kansas City Chiefs president and general manager Carl Peterson has stepped down after nearly 20 years with the Chiefs.  It was the noble thing, since he is the person that has ultimate say on the players that come into town.

Peterson did have many successfull teams throughout the 1990’s.  Like the saying goes all good things come to an end, and that came very quickly.

The demise of the Chiefs was simply the retirement of guard Will Shields, and left tackle Willie Roaf.  Since the two retired Peterson only filled one of the voids in the drafting of tackle Branden Albert.

However, the only person to blame for his demise is his self.  He was too hard of a negotiator, which resulted in defensive end Jared Allen being traded to the Minnesota Vikings.

The biggest indictment of Peterson is not having talent in house to replace Shields and Roaf when they retire.  What teams will do is select a tackle start him at right tackle, and then switch him to left upone the incumbent’s retiring.

Peterson should not be the end of the people leaving the Chiefs.  What the Chiefs need to do is clean house of their scouting department.

The first round for the Chiefs has been fine for the last seveal years.  After the first round the picks that they have hit on is far and in between.

Teams that are at the top of the league find gems in the late rounds that immediately come in, or develop after a year or two.  When you do not find them, then the only place you are going to find yourself in is the basement.

This is a new beginning for Chiefs fans, and hopefully for the sake of the Chief fans owner Clark Hunt does not blow it.  For if he does, then it is going to be a long decade.

The Kansas City Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson is known for asking more than the markey rate when making trades.  That was obviously the case when the Chiefs were trying to deal tight end Tony Gonzalez.

It is being rumored that Peterson was asking for a first round pick for Gonzalez.  The Associated Press stated in an article that Gonzalez could be attained cheaply.

Obviously, that is a load of bull.  When the teams started calling the price immediatley went up.  How else can you explain a future Hall of Fame tight end not being traded at the dead line.

Most likely what happened is that Peterson probably took a couple of calls from teams stating what the price would be.  Probably low at the start, but when several teams called Peterson probably started asking for escalation clauses.

The problem is that nobody in their right mind would give up higher than a second rounder for Gonzalez.  For he is in the twighlight of his career, and giving up a first round pick is just crazy.

Now, the Chiefs will get what they deserved, and that is an outright circus.

Kansas City Cheif quarterback Brodie Croyle is the teams quarterback of the future.  Soon Croyle career is going to be over before it really gets started.

Football is a brutal game, and if you cannot stay healthy then you are no good to anyone in the National Football League.  That is the case with Croyle as he suffered his third injury in seven starts with the  Cheifs.

Croyle suffered a separated shoulder in a loss to the New England Patriots.  In his first home start he hurt his back last year, and then later in the season hurt his hand.

Many Buffalo Bills fans learned that lesson earlier this decade as quarterback Rob Johnson was never able stay healthy enough to play a full 16 game season. 

However, this is the NFL and as former Atlanta Falcon head coach Jerry Glanville put it, “You know what NFL stands for not for long.”  As is the case for any player at any position.

Hopefully, Croyle will realize that before he allows his body to get battered to much, and become disabled due to injuries like many other former NFL players.

The Kansas City Cheifs are in the beginning of a rebuilding process.  How long they are in that process depends on how third year quarterback Brodie Croyle turns out.

Croyle was dubbed as franchise quarterback of the future.  However, that can change very quickly this year if he plays horrible.

Every quarterback in their first couple of years have games where they stink it up, and throw for under 100 yards total.  What you want to see that over time those type of games start to fade away.

However, things have gotten off to a rough start.  Croyle has completed 13 of 23 passes for 120 passing yards and no touchdowns in the preseason so far.

On the positive side the Cheifs running game has been explosive, as there are huge holes for running back Larry Johnson to run  through, according to the Kansas City Star.

So, that means that the Cheifs will have its chances.  It is up to Croyle to make the best of it.

Kansas City Cheif running back Larry Johnson suffered a foot injury that ended his season after only half of the season.  Now, it looks like that Johnson’s days as the Cheifs main running back are numbered.

Johnson turns 29 in November, and that means Johnson is one year away from the point that most National Football League insiders consider is the starting point of the diminishment of running back skills.

Head coach Herm Edwards realizes this as he has announced that Johnson according to CBS Sportsline, “Johnson will be lucky to get 30(carries).”

That means that second year running back Kolby Smith will get about ten carries a game. Also, rookie Jamal Charles could see time as a third down back.

According to Kansas City Star’s Adam Teicher if Johnson gets hurt again Charles would be the starter, as they like Charles over Smith right now.

Also, Teicher states that first round pick offensive lineman Branden Alberts will most likely be the starter at left tackle this upcoming season. 

Still the Cheifs are a very young team that is in the midst of rebuilding.  In the end that means it is going to be a very painful season for the Cheifs.

Last year an unprobable thing happened, and that be a Kansas City Cheifs wide receiver Dwanye Bowe had an outstanding season.  It looks that could happen again with another rookie wide receiver.

Bowe last year caught 70 passes for 995 yards total, and with five touchdowns.  That even for a veteran wide receiver is a decent year.  However, Bowe was a rookie last year, and that makes it spectacular.

Most rookies catch about 50-60 passes on the year for about 500 yards receiving on the year.

Will Franklin is a fourth round pick from this past draft, and already he is turning heads. That being both teammates, and his coaches.

According to the Kansas City Star Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard said this, “He’s dropped a couple of passes, but everyone’s dropped a couple. As a rookie receiver, it’s always tough for those guys coming into a situation like this. But he’s got the skills to be a special player. If he works hard at it, he will.”

Right now the second wide receiver spot is wide open going into training camp. Jeff Webb and Devard Darling are the two wide receivers thought of to compete for the starting job.

However, if Frankling keeps working hard, and also impressing, he could be the one starting on opening day.

The Minnesota Vikings have tried hard this offseason to get a defensive end.  With wiffing on free agency the Vikings could land the best defensive end available on the market in Kansas City Cheifs defensive end Jared Allen.

There is no doubt that there is no love between Cheifs president and genral manager Carl Peterson and Jared Allen.  With that being said the Cheifs made the right move in allowing Jared Allen to seek a deal and trade for the defensive end.

According to Pro Football Talk.com Peterson said this in a realeased statement, “We will confirm that we have been in conversation with a few teams regarding the possibility of acquiring Jared Allen’s contractual rights.  Any potential agreement would be contingent on the Chiefs receiving appropriate compensation and Jared’s representative reaching a contract agreement.”

This is a smart move for the Cheifs as Allen could of been a distraction in the locker room, and could of just walked at the end of the season.  Thus leaving the Cheifs just holding their pud in their hands, with a look on their face like Festus from the WWE, and that is before they ring the bell.

In the end it is the right thing to do as the Cheifs will get something to build on, and salary cap space to spend on players that deserve it, and free agents next offseason.

Kansas City Cheifs defensvie line coach Tim Krumrie is a person that Buffalo Bills fans are familiar with, since he was the defensive line coach for the Bills earlier this decade.  Krumrie is known as the defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII who broke his leg, and soon he will be able to add the National Football League coach that had a specific drill outlawed at Pro Days thanks to him.

Krumrie puts through defensive lineman through a hand to hand drill that even former Bills defensive tackle Tim Anderson descibed as a wrestling match.   Now, Krumrie has finally ticked somebody, and this person is not just anybody, since the person he ticked off is USC head coach Pete Carroll.

According to Pro Football Talk.com Krumrie put defensive linemand Sedrick Ellis, Lawrence Jackson, and then Alex Morrow.  Carroll was apparently set off when Jackson just lied down on the ground from exhaustion from the drill.  Carroll said something to Krumrie after Morrow went through it, and then went on to talk to other NFL personnell about the workout.

It would be a non issue if Krumrie took forty second breaks in between each ten second hand to hand session.  After all that is the flow of the game.  A play happens for about ten seconds, then the play clock clicks in for anywheres from 25-40 seconds, which is a rest period for players.

Being a former nose tackle in highschool I understand the emphasis of the drill.  Offensive lineman are taught to grab the shoulder pads of defensive lineman at the arm pits to immobilize their targets during run blocking.

However, Krumrie’s drill is way too intense, and is going to get someone hurt.  The problem with the drill is that Krumrie performs it way too long, and without any breaks.  On top of all that he pushes each player to the point of exhaustion.  When an athlete is exhausted he is susceptible to injury.

In the end Krumrie is going to get a prospect hurt, and he will then be out of the league for good.  On top of that if the prospect is smart then he would sue his school the Cheifs, and the league for allowing such a drill take place. 

After seeing NFL commisioner Roger Goodell in action for over a year it would not surprise me to see him nip this in the bud, and take some kind of action.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards is a person that is not shy to give his opinion.  One of them on Monday just threw a whole gas can onto the fire.

It is not a well kept secret that teams do not follow the rules when it comes to pending free agents.  However, the employees of National Football League teams have had a mutual understanding, untill now, not to tell on each other.  Some how Herm Edwards seemed to not get that memo.

The following passage appeared in the Kansas City Star, and the article was written by Adam Teicher, “There were probably some deals done before (the start of the league year),” Edwards said when asked why the Chiefs didn’t get in the game with either player. “We didn’t cheat. We abided by the rules. That’s how you’re supposed to do it, and that’s what we did.”  Edwards was commenting on why they did not sign kick Josh Brown and center Jeff Faine.  Faine signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Brown sign with the Saint Louis Rams.

Edwards comments could be the last straw that broke the camels back, and confirm the obvious that teams talk to players agents.  That is usually at the combine when all the scouts, and general  managers get together to hold testing on potential NFL draft picks. 

The funny thing is that the Chiefs are probably not going to be the ones that get compensation for the loss.  Faine was with the New Orleans Saints, and Brown was with the Seattle Seahawks, and those are the teams that actually will receive compensation for the tampering.  Afterall, they are still the property of their teams until the new year starts.

Unfortunately, Edwards will come off as a cry baby, after everything is said and done, but the real winners could be the fans.  If Commisioner Roger Goodell does really follow thru on this, then teams will have a better chance of retaining their own players. 

This is the time of year where most fans look to the front office of their favorite team to go out in free agency to improve it.  However, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards does not believe in the system.

According to the Kansas City Star Edwards said this about free agency, “What I don’t want to do is go out and get a guy, any guy, just so people think, ‘Well, they got somebody, so they must be doing a good job in free agency.”

The fact of the matter is he is right.  Eventhough it is a time of year where you can go out, and improve yourself.  You have to do your homework, and make sure that guy fits your system, and help you win.

Free agency is a crap shoot.  Everyone wants to get paid, and big name players are enticing to sign, but usually in the end free agency does not help improve your team significantly.

“I believe in the draft. Free agency is great, but for what we’re trying to do, we’ve got to draft our football team,” Edwards went on to say.

That is where you are going to get the players that will significantly help your team.  The reason is that they are like a blank slates.  A lot of them seem to have the same talent, but a lot of them lack the mental capacity to handle the pressures of the NFL.

In the end it may take Edwards a few years to right the ship for Kansas City, but with the way he is thinking he will eventually get the job done.