About that Kansas City Chiefs' Offensive Line

by Chris on Apr 28, 2008 3:58 PM CDT in 2008 Draft

Most Kansas City Chiefs fans expected the team to come out of draft weekend stocked with offensive line prospects, likely with at least two upper-tier prospects coming to Kansas City. Last year's line was so atrocious that only Damion McIntosh, Brian Waters and possibly Rudy Niswanger could say for sure that they had jobs in 2008.

Surprising many, the Chiefs dipped into the offensive line talent pool only twice and only drafted one upper-tier prospect - Virginia OG Brandon Albert at #15. Barry Richardson, a tackle from Clemson, was taken early in the 6th round and has already been considered a "steal" by many. Normally, and Richardson may be an exception, 6th round tackles don't jump in and start.

So where does that leave the Chiefs' offensive line, which was by far the weakest link in an already weak team chain?

Currently, this is how I see the line stacking up (Qualifier: This will change) -

LT - Brandon Albert, Anthony Alabi/Wade Smith

LG - Brian Waters, Herb Taylor, Tre Stallings

C - Rudy Niswanger, Wade Smith

RG - Will Svitek, Herb Taylor

RT - Damion McIntosh, Barry Richardson

It's been noted that if Albert does indeed win the left tackle job, that McIntosh will move to the right side either as a guard or a tackle.

I left out few practice squad guys and it should be obvious that this is a very preliminary depth chart. Also, if you've heard read or heard any tidbits about who will be playing what position, chime in and let us know.

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Screw the offensive line

we need more WRs and TEs STAT!

Blame my wife!

by sir eccles on Apr 28, 2008 4:01 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Looks About Right

I figure this is probably going to be Waters’ last year as our starter, unless his attitude and work habits change. So we’ll be looking for a guard in next year’s draft unless one of the other three really steps up and establishes themselves. Center looks pretty talentless, but I guess it’s only fair to see what Niswanger has to offer. If we’re very lucky, McIntosh will be moving to guard by the end of the year and Richardson can start at RT.

I anticipate that Brodie will not be working from a particularly stable pocket this year, unless somebody good shakes loose in the second round of free agency. And I think we’ll be seeing a lot more success with Charles running to the outside than we will with LJ running up the middle. This reminds me a lot of those really crappy Lions o-lines back when Barry Sanders played for them…I don’t see a lot of holes opening between the tackles.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Apr 28, 2008 4:13 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Throw in

another blocking tight end and FB Mike Cox and we’re markedly improved from last year. Hell, this line could even be serviceable from day 1.

by Chris on Apr 28, 2008 4:18 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

At The Tackles...

...I think we’ll be better than we were last year as long as McIntosh can stay healthy (and if Richardson responds really well to coaching). Albert’s probably going to have his growing pains, but I think he’ll be better than McIntosh was at LT last year (he’s got more tools to work with), and that he’ll definitely be better than Turley and Terry were. With all due respect to Turley’s accomplishments early in his career (and he was very good at New Orleans) he was a garbage player last year. Terry was worse than garbage, as far as I’m concerned…at least Turley put out an effort, even if his body wasn’t willing. Worst tackles in the NFL by far last season.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Apr 28, 2008 4:23 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

As For Branden Albert...

...I think he takes the LT job from day one, assuming he’s signed early. You hate to throw a player to the wolves right away, but honestly, who else do you see on that roster who’s anywhere close to his talent level (raw or not)? If Peterson wants to keep Brodie alive, he cannot afford a holdout with Albert before this season…that kid needs to be signed early in training camp as soon as humanly possible so he can start learning his new position.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Apr 28, 2008 4:27 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Only thing to keep in mind is

Herm said at the press conference that Albert, and granted you had to read into the comment, would be a Guard. Hence they could sign him to a Guards kind of money. Now if that happens he could be moved over later in camp to tackle. I am not sold myself on him as a tackle and think is best asset is as a pulling guard, see all the video. I just hope we can get someone to video the Chiefs-Vikes practices at River Falls when somone smashes Allen!

by Lanier63 on Apr 28, 2008 4:34 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

That's Why Carl Peterson Will Screw Things Up

First of all, Albert’s agent is probably not an idiot. He knows that the Chiefs are looking at this guy as the left tackle of the future and that his client will end up there sooner rather than later. He also knows that the Chiefs traded up for this guy and that they’re desperate because nobody drafts a guard that high and he’s the closest thing to guaranteed talent on that line. If Peterson is stupid enough to think that the agent will take less money simply because Albert is listed as a guard (when everyone except Herm and Carl have been calling him a LT), then we can look forward to a holdout that lasts well into training camp (or longer). The Chiefs need this guy to sign more than Albert needs to sign…the line is just that bad. And if Albert isn’t in camp because Peterson decided to play Mr. Nickels and Dimes, the goodwill generated from the draft will be gone and the fans will be in revolt. And I don’t think Clark Hunt will tolerate that…I think that if a holdout lasts into training camp, Clark Hunt will put his foot down and tell Peterson to get a f*ing deal done now, or Peterson will be removed because he’ll be setting back the player’s development possibly irreparably (because he’s going to have a huge learning curve and you don’t want that to start during games that matter going up against the top players).

I can see Carl Peterson being stupid enough to do this, however. He’s a cheap, rotten control freak…he’s been a cheap, rotten control freak for a long, long time and I don’t see it changing just because everyone’s calling Peterson a cheap, rotten control freak. Cheap, rotten control freaks are usually resistant to change and generally don’t give up power unless they’re forced to. So I’ll be watching the contract negotiations with a lot of interest because I think they’ll determine whether Peterson returns for the 2009 season.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Apr 28, 2008 4:58 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

anyone know

what our salary cap status is right now, w/ Allen off the books? I guess he technically was never “on” the books since he didn’t sign his franchise tender, but do we know how much money we have to work with for all these rookies?

Speaking of cheapness, (or smarts, depending on how you look at it), one awesome thing for the team from a business standpoint is that when they sign a bunch of un-drafter rookies, they all come in for peanuts, so we should have plenty of money to sign our top draftees.

by thehulk on Apr 28, 2008 5:25 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

RE

The amount of money we’ll be able to spend on rookies is limited interestingly enough. Theoretically at least.Link.

The Rookie Pool provides for a league-wide cap on the first-year salaries of all drafted player contracts. Originally set as a percentage of football-related revenue, the Rookie Pool amount increases each year based on a projected increase in NFL revenue over the prior year’s actual NFL revenue, up to a maximum of five percent per year.

In 2007, the league-wide Rookie Pool was nearly $137 million and will likely increase the maximum of five percent in 2008. An individual club’s Rookie Pool allotment varies depending on the number of picks a club has and where those picks fall within the draft. Thus, drafted players will not know their club’s Rookie Pool allotment until after the Draft this weekend.

"The first-year Salary Cap amount attributable to all draftee contracts can not exceed the league-wide overall Rookie Pool," said NFLPA Director Salary Cap and Agent Administration Mark Levin. "Yet despite this apparent overall limit on spending for draftee contracts, agents and clubs have devised various ways to get players more money while remaining under the club’s Rookie Pool limit."

by Chris on Apr 28, 2008 5:31 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Whoops

All of that should be in quotes.

by Chris on Apr 28, 2008 5:32 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

It might work out... cross your fingers

This morning on ESPN First Take, Herm said that Albert would probably start at tackle. So at least Herm is acknowledging that he’s a tackle.

Albert worked out at the combine as a tackle. For all intents and purposes… he’s a tackle.

But by all means… Carl is a bonehead. He could easily take a big steamer on this whole situation.

by Ochophosphate on Apr 28, 2008 11:23 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

So did Clark Hunt

In an interview I read from him, he was also acknowledging Albert as being a OT.

have you seen my baseball?

by IISaiNtII on Apr 29, 2008 12:49 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Growing Trend

Hopefully the contracts in the first round continue to decrease like Jake Long’s did.

And by “decrease” I mean let’s cut off a year at the end of the contract.

by primetime 07 on Apr 29, 2008 6:37 AM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Just a question

What did you mean by “unless his attitude and work habits change”?

I wasn’t aware of any problems with him, can you expand?

by primetime 07 on Apr 28, 2008 6:52 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

I wasn't either.

I know he became more outspoken last season, but all the veterans did as the offense grew anemic.

have you seen my baseball?

by IISaiNtII on Apr 29, 2008 12:49 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Honestly, Barry Richardson is a guy with incredibly measurables. He’s got 1st round ability, and he completed both high school and college in six years total. The guy’s sharp. What knocked Richardson down is that most every team thought he didn’t have the “fire in the belly” of a good NFL OL.

So match this guy up with Herm’s strength - motivation - and you have yourself a steal. A potential stud RT out of the 6th. I’d pencil him in at the starting position.

As for RG, I’d say Herb Taylor has shown considerable ability in the little time he’s been on the field, and I would not be surprised to see him break into the starting lineup. McIntosh is not the punishing runblocker that we need, he will simply battle it out with Albert for LT.

My projection:

LT: Albert, McIntosh
LG: Waters, McDuffie
C: Niswanger, Smith
RG: Taylor, McDuffie
RT: Richardson, McIntosh

by Direckshun on Apr 28, 2008 4:28 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

I'm already can't wait

for training camp to get here to even just see a bit of these guys.

by Chris on Apr 28, 2008 5:19 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

If the line can stay healthy

through training camp and the first part of the season, it will be awesome to see these youngsters “gel” over time, and hopefully turn into something that makes last year’s line fade into something that was just a bad dream…

by thehulk on Apr 28, 2008 5:22 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

As Ive said for some time

The line last year was so horrendous that even if the guys we put on it this year are simply average (which is what it looks like) it will be an enormous improvment.

We aren’t going to see holes 3 men wide for the RBs to run through like we did in the Roaf/Shields days, but if they can just make a hole 1 man wide it will get the job done.

Im hearing the Chiefs have signed around 20 Undrafted free agents so far as well, so there will be a plenty big enough pool of players to draw guys from.

by ChiefDJ on Apr 28, 2008 4:45 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Holes everywhere

Although I like the quality of the players we got in this draft, unless there are significant additions on the offensive line, defensive end, and receivers this is going to be like putting a great looking bandaid on a ruptured artery.

Because we don’t have a decent O-line:
1. Croyle will be running for his life.
2. LJ will get the snot kicked out of him and quit on the team.
3. Bowe will be snuffed because he doesn’t have the quicks to get immediate seperation and his only choice will be going over the middle. Ouch.
4. Tony G. will demand a trade after seeing his last optimal years being squandered in a rebuild.

I don’t want to sound pessimistic because I’m actually really excited about Dorsey, Albert, and Flowers, but there wasn’t enough overall roster improvement to expect anything more than another season getting the crap kicked out of us. Sure, we got a couple great guys, but we lost a pro-bowl DE. Regardless of whether he would have been here or not, his absence leaves us in need. Overall, I expect a modest improvement in player development, significant contributions from this crop of rookies, and another 4-5 win season becasue we can’t score points.

by Steve The Hedge on Apr 28, 2008 4:51 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

i disagree on bowe

unless the line is WORSE this year than last, his production shouldn’t really fall. Kennison and Parker didn’t exactly scare defenses, so I don’t think Bowe’s stats should suffer from them no longer being on the team either.
Along the same vein, Croyle won’t be running for his life any more than last season, and LJ won’t be any more whiny/frustrated that he acted for the first part of the season.
So, really, the only thing that worries me is #4 coming true, but honestly, if we could trade Tony to a contender, and he ended up winning a ring, I would be incredibly happy for him.

by thehulk on Apr 28, 2008 5:21 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Tony Gonzalez said last week

that he will not demand a trade and that he thinks he has three to four years left.

by Chris on Apr 28, 2008 5:23 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

how sweet would that be

if, in 2 or 3 years we really start contending, and he pulls a strahan and is able to win a ring right at the end of his career? that would be awesome, to reward him for spending his whole career w/ the chiefs by the team actually pulling off some post-season success before he has to hang em up…

by thehulk on Apr 28, 2008 5:27 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

That's the kind of story

they’ll make a Disney movie of :)

by PVChiefsfan on Apr 28, 2008 5:46 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Rome wasn't built in a day

And neither will the Chiefs be. We had more holes than could possibly be filled in one draft. They took the best players that were available instead of taking lesser players at positions of need.

Next year, the number of holes will be smaller and it will be easier to concentrate on the needs and STILL get quality players.

Which would you rather have on your team in 3 years? A 5th round DE that was the best we could get at the time or a 1st round DE that we picked up the next year?

by ChiefDJ on Apr 28, 2008 7:10 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

We are all pissed at JA but

He was a fourth rounder, who became a pro bowler. That could easily happen again.

by Eric Allen on Apr 28, 2008 8:12 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

I wouldn't say easily at all

It’s possible I suppose but not likely.

by Chris on Apr 28, 2008 8:20 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

I am pretty confident

that Turk McBride will improve by leaps and bounds this year and will live up to his draft position

by PVChiefsfan on Apr 28, 2008 8:22 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Will Shields, Dave Szott, Tim Grunhard

I know it is offense, but late round guys.

by Eric Allen on Apr 28, 2008 8:24 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

I see what you're saying now

by Chris on Apr 28, 2008 8:26 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Whats up with Austin

We cannot have our leader stray!

by Eric Allen on Apr 28, 2008 8:27 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

Not sure at all

Don’t jinx me!

by Chris on Apr 28, 2008 8:35 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

My bad!

by Eric Allen on Apr 28, 2008 8:35 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs

This is what our line should look like:

LT-Albert
LG-Waters
C-Niswanger
RG-Macintosh
RT-Richardson

When Waters regains his pre 2007 form, we will have a very strong left side of the line. I think with one of the new FB’s leading LJ left we should be able to run the ball alot better. I wish that we could have picked up another center in the draft, but Niswanger should do well enough this season.

by JasonM on Apr 28, 2008 8:35 PM CDT reply reply 0 recs

Hopefully Carl

Does not pull his hardball bullshit, so this guy can get in camp on time! If this is going to be our starting line they need to gel quickly. They all say Albert runs like Roaf, looking for some one to hit. Richardson is huge and smart, maybe he is this years Jared Allen!

by Eric Allen on Apr 28, 2008 8:39 PM CDT up reply reply 0 recs