From the FanPosts. Nice work UC. -Chris

Jeff Flanagan at the Star identified the players he'd say comprised the core of the Kansas City Chiefs and gave an assessment of their abilities or whether they were solid choices.  I agree with him about who most of the core players are, but I'd disagree about his projections on a few:

OT Branden Albert: Yes, solid pick.

Agreed...I think that Albert's a big building block for this team and he's shown enough in his first season for us to be extremely optimistic about his potential in another year or two...assuming he gets to play in a real offense, of course.

K Connor Barth: Yes, should have made the team over Novak anyway. (Knowing kickers, I can see this one coming back to haunt me.)

It's no secret I think Barth is going to be good, but I hesitate to include a kicker among a team's "core" players.  Kickers are probably the most replaceable members of any team and the difference between a good one or a bad one is pretty small.  Part of the reason I think anyone would put this much value on a kicker for our team is mainly because Carl Peterson seems to have trouble figuring out good kickers from bad kickers...which is odd because with field goal kickers (unlike other positions) their contribution is defined almost entirely by their stats.  Most of the ones Peterson whiffed on had bad stats before we got them.

WR Dwayne Bowe: Yes, has had his drops but he has talent. He can be a weapon. Just needs an adequate QB.

Agreed, he's got his rough spots in his game, but receivers are generally a three year project and he's well ahead of the developmental curve.  He's a very solid building block for us.

CB: Brandon Carr: Yes, making a big leap and holding his own. Good size.

CB Brandon Flowers: Maybe. Size (5-9, 187) a concern.

S Jarrad Page: Yes. Plays hurt and plays hard and has a nose for the ball.

S Bernard Pollard: Yes. Cares about winning and losing.

I tend to be a bit skeptical of the high praise about our rookie cornerbacks...mainly because our rushing defense is so bad that there haven't been many times where other teams have needed to test our cornerbacks.  In the one game where the other team had to rely on the pass (Denver), Jay Cutler threw for well over 300 yards and a lot of his mistakes were unforced.  In the Tennessee game Kerry Collins only threw 18 times.  And Carr and Flowers have one INT between them...so it's not like other teams are avoiding the pass because they're afraid of the picks.  Jury's definitely out.

Our safeties, to my mind, have been good but I think a few other commenters have correctly noted that they still miss too many tackles and they still have problems in pass coverage.  But I think Pollard and Page have shown consistent improvement since getting here and I question how much of the problems they've had are the failure of the defensive gameplan rather than individual failure on their part.  I also agree that Pollard seems to be doing what he can to take a leadership role on this team and he's one of the few people employed by the Chiefs who publicly steps up and takes responsibility for what's happening out there.  So I tend to think we're going in the right direction with our safeties.  Good core players.

S DaJuan Morgan: No idea.

Except for this safety.  He's made a couple of plays on special teams, but honestly I've got no clue why we drafted him over an offensive lineman because he's not better than Pollard or Page this year and he hasn't done anything to make me think he's going to become better than them in the future...or at least not better enough to take their starting jobs or to justify letting the o-line be neglected another year.  Chalk it up to Herm's d-back fetish, I suppose.

RB: Jamaal Charles: Yes, we haven't even seen what he can do because of the team's poor offensive approach.

RB Dantrell Savage: Yes. Has tons to learn about the return game but he can be a weapon. Great kid.

RB Kolby Smith. Maybe. Not much vision and has trouble getting to the open holes.

FB Mike Cox: Yes. Tough kid

Meh...Charles might be good or might not.  He hasn't done much to impress, although part of that is the terrible playcalling.  And it doesn't help that McIntosh's crappy pass-blocking has left him one on one trying to block defensive ends on several occasions.  Smith's non-descript, but he hasn't done anything to make me question having him out there.  Savage is an improvement in the return game and I'm curious what he could do as a running back, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards this year.  Mike Cox is probably the best addition to the backfield and he seems to find a way to make the most out of the plays that involve him...definitely a diamond in the rough.  Too bad that he's not utilized more.

DE Tamba Hali: Questionable. Just not a factor without Jared Allen on the other side. Right now, just a guy.

DE Turk McBride: Questionable. Good motor but not a weapon. Might be better with 25 more pounds and at DT.

DT Tank Tyler: Maybe. Has made some improvement but like the rest of the defensive line, can get pushed around too easily.

DT Glenn Dorey: Yes. Not many flashes yet but DTs take time to develop. That's just a fact.

I think Turk's improved a bit...he hasn't gotten sacks this year, but he seems to be holding his own against the right tackles and he's made a few plays.  He's started showing a mean streak that I'm taking a liking to as well...which is a welcome sight on a team getting stomped as badly as the Chiefs are.  Tamba Hali has got me wondering how much of his problems come down to his knee or how much of his problems are that he's just not any good without Jared Allen taking pressure off of him.  Maybe it's both.

Tank's starting, but he's starting on the worst rushing defense in the NFL.  Take that for what it's worth.  He's also getting pushed around and he's over 330, which makes me wonder just how much potential he's actually got.  Maybe he'll get better maybe not...until then he's iffy as a building block.  Some people are already throwing around the b-word about Dorsey and I think it's way too soon.  Rookie linemen often struggle.  If he's this bad in his third year I'll worry, but until then I think he's a good core player.  Although I question just how much quality tutelage he's getting from our defensive line coach...considering he's in charge a line that has yet to register a single sack after six games and most of these guys have been playing for him for over a year.

LB Derrick Johnson. Yes. When they turn him loose, he produces.

A promising linebacker who seems to have regressed under Gunther's tutelage.  I don't think he's as non-descript as this, which makes me think that maybe he's not the problem as much as Gunther is.  I doubt he's going to develop into a perennial Pro Bowler, but I think he's a solid player who needs better coaching.  And solid players are core players too.

LB Pat Thomas: Doubtful. Won job by default and hasn't made much of an impact.

If he's anything other than a reserve on this team next year, I'll be disappointed.  Not a core player.

TE Brad Cottam: Maybe. Hasn't been involved much in offense.

WR Will Franklin: No idea.

Tough to gauge rookie receivers' abilities when the QB position is a vortex of suck.  Jury's out on these two.  Cottam seems to have more promise because he's at least staying healthy.

QB: Ingle Martin: Maybe. Hell, we may see him on Sunday and get a better opinion.

QB Tyler Thigpen: No idea. Has the athletic skills but must improve dramatically with decision-making and accuracy. A rough, rough project at best.

If these two are on our roster next season I'll be extremely upset.  Thigpen's a guy with some athleticism who's unlikely to ever develop the accuracy necessary to be a legitimate NFL QB (either as starter or backup).  Ingle Martin might have some ability but so far all we know is that Herm thinks he's worse than Thigpen (which isn't necessarily a disqualifier) and Tennessee was desperate for QB help and chose to go with Chris Simms instead.  That doesn't give me any hope that he's someone to keep around as a project.

All in all, I'd say that we're not in the worst shape possible for next year if we can get a better coaching staff and front office to take over the youth movement.  We've got talented players at left tackle, defensive tackle, outside linebacker, free and strong safety, wide receiver, and fullback.  We've got promising prospects at wide receiver, running back, tight end and cornerback.  So we're not devoid of talent...we just need a front office that can build on that talent with another good draft and a coaching staff that has a clue of how to get all that talent to play together.  Unfortunately it appears that for now ownership's not ready to make the changes it really needs to get this team going in the right direction.