R44 breaks down this weeks opponent, the K.C. Chiefs.
QB: Trent Green–Vastly underrated in my opinion, but is he healthy? That’s the key–I don’t think either of his backups are very good and I’m suprised the Chiefs haven’t drafted a quality, young QB in the last 2 drafts.
RB: Larry Johnson–Former #1 pick had a monster pre-season–averged over 8 yards per attempt (had a 97 yard run) and Priest Holmes seems to be back, but not sure how far back…..RB’s should be fine for the Chiefs, especially if they run inside.
FB–Tony Richardson–Great blocker in his prime and still has something left.
WR: Sammy Parker–Did little in the pre-season; did almost nothing as rookie in 2004…Great speed, but has a lot to prove–may or may not be starting caliber yet.
WR Eddie Kennison–Steady, veteran WR with excellent speed, to this day. Keeps racking up huge #’s, despite the fact that most think he’s a 2nd WR, at best.
WR Marc Boerigter— Former CFL superstar, has been K.C’s top WR the last 2 pre-seasons….Had he not missed 2004 due to an ACL injury, he’d be an unquestioned starter. Tall, fast and physically gifted. Can this skinny WR stay healthy?
WR: Chris Horn–Wayne Chrebet clone, can be factor at times….Good on special teams coverage.
WR: Dante Hall–Speedy WR, who’s biggest impact is on returns, but can hurt teams in the slot.
TE-Tony Gonzalez–Despite coming off a poor pre-season, he’s a future Hall of Famer, still in his prime. what else can we add? He needs to be accounted for.
OLine–3 inside players (Will Shields, Casey Weigmann and Brian Waters) are as good as any 3 inside players in the NFL….But how good are the tackles?….Will Roaf had a good season at OT in 2004, but how much remains there? Young Jordan Black will have pressure on him at the other OT spot.
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DE–Jared Allen….I pumped the heck out of this cat at DD.com, coming out of college….Because he’s white, announcers tag him as an “overachiever”, but that’s not true….Great athlete, who’s work ethic was openly questioned this pre-season….Had his 10th sack of his rookie season negated by a penalty in 2004 (still had 9–excellent)…Watch out for him. If he’s focused, he can create problems.
DE: Eric Hicks…Better early in his career than recently (14 sacks in 200)…Solid, but unspectacular type. Undrafted.
DT’s: Ryan Sims leads a less than stellar DT unit to battle. So far he’s been a flop, 5 sacks in 3 seasons….Chiefs need more help from their DT’s to help keep LB’s free from blockers.
LB’s: Kawika Mitchell–In my opinion, beyond awful the last 2 seasons….He was drafted high due to his 40 time, but game ability is questionable…Unless he improves a lot, Chiefs should consider playing either Rich Scanlon or rookie Boomer Grigsby ahead of him.
LB: Kenryon Fox: Replaces Scott Fujita, who may start for Dallas soon…He’s a good athlete, with solid potential, but still wondering why KC dumped Fujita?…NOTE: Fox may be bumped by #1 pick Derrick Johnson by Sunday.
LB: Kendrell Bell: Formerly a standout ILB in the 3-4 defense for Pitt (when healthy)….Must learn to play OLB for the Chiefs…Player worth watching, as he attempts to re-jump start his career in a vastly different formation and setting.
CB’s: Patrick Surtain and Dexter McLeon should be an improvement over what they had in 2004, but they need help from the defensive line, which has to get better pressure on the QB……..Losing young Julian Battle due to injuries hurts their depth a lot, as does Eric Warfield’s current four-game NFL suspension.
S: Sammy Knight: Slowest starting safety in the NFL since 1997…Has a nose for the ball and defends the run well, but can be beat in coverage….He should do a decent job against the Jets less than proven TE’s.
S: Greg Wesley: Good size, decent speed…Very productive. A very good player.
K: Lawrence Tynes: Very poor from beyond 30 yards in the pre-season. Not a great kicker.
P: Dustin Colqiutt: Chiefs had the worst punting in the NFL in 2004, so they hope this highly regarded rookie can help them.