The Chiefs are headed in the right direction

[poptart]

So says Adam Schein, for what that's worth.


http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/1039 ... ?GT1=39002

The Chiefs are headed in the right direction.

I cannot stress enough how much this is a big time boom.

We are not talking about the Rams, Raiders, Browns, Bucs, Redskins or Lions here. This team has the pieces in place for success.

Scott Pioli is one of the elite executives in professional sports. He's done a masterful job accumulating picks for the upcoming 2010 draft. He has found help at receiver, plucking Chris Chambers and Bobby Wade off of the scrap heap.

The team Pioli inherited was awful. Carl Peterson left the well bone-dry. And Herm Edwards as a coach? Let's just say he's much better on television. Kansas City played to win the game under Herm, but they just couldn't do it.

Pioli and Todd Haley have changed the culture and accountability. I loved the move cutting the clueless Larry Johnson, who continued to embarrass himself and the organization.

They have a quarterback in Matt Cassel. Chiefs fans will truly see it when Pioli beefs up the offensive line and weapons around him. But you can see the leadership qualities every Sunday.

I like Haley. And so does Pioli. In talking to Pioli on Sirius NFL Radio on Wednesday, the general manager stressed how well Haley has handled the various challenges of this season in Kansas City, ranging from the dismissal of Chan Gailey before the season, to the Johnson situation to Dwayne Bowe's suspension. Pioli loves Haley's drive and passion. And the overmatched Chiefs play hard for four quarters.

Take a deep breath Kansas City. If you actually pay attention to progress, accountability and the individuals in place running the team, there's a lot to look forward to.




Things look verrah ugly right now for Chef fan, but there might be light at the end of the tunnel.

Sadly, it's more than I can say for the 'duds.

React?

[KC Scott]

There's a couple different spins on that - In KC the columnists have been ripping Pioli and Haley for a multitude of things:

1. Giviing Cassell the the 60M contract extension before he ever played a down
1a. Getting no real O-line helpfor the 60M QB
2. Trading Away HOF Gonzalez (although Tony wanted to go to a winner)
3. Not cutting Lj in camp - His skills were erroding and they knew he'd probably disrupt somewhere
4.Wasting first round pick Derrick Johnson - Why he wasn't put up for trade if he didn't fit is stunning
5. alienating players who are "team first" guys like Pro-bowler Brian waters
6. Haley's firing of Chan Gailey the week before season opener
7. Haley's poor game management skills

Some of this I agree with - but One year is too soon to be giving any final grades on thei Regime

[Paul]

I agree with everything in Schein's article, but I'd like to go "point/counterpoint" with Scott's list:

1. Giving Cassel the the 60M contract extension before he ever played a down
The contract is below market value for a good starting QB, and he proved in '08 that he can play.
1a. Getting no real O-line helpfor the 60M QB
Looking back at the free agent class of '09 there wasn't any good FA O-linemen that would've been worth tthrowing a lot of money at. Having said that I really think they should've drafted an offensive tackle in the 1st round instead of Tyson Jackson.
2. Trading Away HOF Gonzalez (although Tony wanted to go to a winner)
While initially I didn't agree with the trade, they DID get a 2nd for him and he would've NEVER been on board with the way Haley coaches this team.
3. Not cutting Lj in camp - His skills were erroding and they knew he'd probably disrupt somewhere
They really wanted to give LJ a clean slate and see if he'd fall in line with their plans. When the losses began to pile up we saw LJ's true colors and Haley had to cut the malcontent. Simple as that.
4.Wasting first round pick Derrick Johnson - Why he wasn't put up for trade if he didn't fit is stunning
Agree- DJ's just biding his time to get out of KC at this point. While he has underacheived so far in his career here he's still the most athletically gifted LB we have here and the way he's been handled has been strange at best.
5. alienating players who are "team first" guys like Pro-bowler Brian waters
Waters' best playing days are behind him- he'll be gone at the end of the season.
6. Haley's firing of Chan Gailey the week before season opener
I probably wouldn't have fired Gailey if I was Haley....but the guy wants to do things his way, so he felt he had to do it. So far it doesn't look like it was a very good call.
7. Haley's poor game management skills
Rookie head coach- enough said.

[KC Scott]

1. Giving Cassel the the 60M contract extension before he ever played a down
The contract is below market value for a good starting QB, and he proved in '08 that he can play.

He proved he could play for the best team in the league, not that he was a franchise QB. The thing is he was signed thru this season and the Chiefs could have played him this year, then Franchised him for 2011 if a long term deal couldn't have been worked out. This would have given a far better look that just one training camp. The jury is still out if he will be the right fit here.

1a. Getting no real O-line helpfor the 60M QB
Looking back at the free agent class of '09 there wasn't any good FA O-linemen that would've been worth tthrowing a lot of money at. Having said that I really think they should've drafted an offensive tackle in the 1st round instead of Tyson Jackson.

Matt Birk was available - right off the top without digging. and Yea, with Tackles like Eugene Monroe and Micheal Oher available it would have made more sense grabbing some protection for Cassell

2. Trading Away HOF Gonzalez (although Tony wanted to go to a winner)
While initially I didn't agree with the trade, they DID get a 2nd for him and he would've NEVER been on board with the way Haley coaches this team.

I get why they made the deal and I don't really have a disagreement with it. The local media does though

3. Not cutting Lj in camp - His skills were erroding and they knew he'd probably disrupt somewhere
They really wanted to give LJ a clean slate and see if he'd fall in line with their plans. When the losses began to pile up we saw LJ's true colors and Haley had to cut the malcontent. Simple as that.

Why? All they had to do was look at his game film from last season and his rap sheet since he's been here to know what they were getting. A huge waste of money and reps that could have gone to Charles or Savage

4.Wasting first round pick Derrick Johnson - Why he wasn't put up for trade if he didn't fit is stunning
Agree- DJ's just biding his time to get out of KC at this point. While he has underacheived so far in his career here he's still the most athletically gifted LB we have here and the way he's been handled has been strange at best.

The guy has physical gifts and can make plays. He's gone with no compensation.

5. alienating players who are "team first" guys like Pro-bowler Brian waters
Waters' best playing days are behind him- he'll be gone at the end of the season.

Waters is 32 - He has a couple productive seasons left. More important he's is/was a positive influence on a team with way too few good charachter guys. Why treat a guy like that like dirt? Just doesn't make sense.

6. Haley's firing of Chan Gailey the week before season opener
I probably wouldn't have fired Gailey if I was Haley....but the guy wants to do things his way, so he felt he had to do it. So far it doesn't look like it was a very good call.

Totally stupid ego move.

7. Haley's poor game management skills
Rookie head coach- enough said.

[/quote]

See Gailey, Chan