Ranking the Kansas City Chiefs by Position
by Joel Thorman on May 19, 2009 10:09 AM CDT
in 2009 Kansas City Chiefs Offseason
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PrintThe Sporting News recently ranked the top 20 quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, centers, guards and tackles. A few Chiefs popped up in the top 20 of these position rankings. H/T to Bleeding Green Nation for the link.
Quarterback - #20 Matt Cassel (#1 - Peyton Manning, Colts - Full list here)
Cassel wildly exceeded expectations in New England last year, but a good portion of his success can be attributed to the Patriots' system. New coach Todd Haley certainly will play to Cassel's strengths, inserting him in a pass-first, shotgun-heavy attack. Smart coaching and a favorable system are enough to keep him on this list, but he will not be lining up behind Patriots' line or have Randy Moss and Wes Welker outside. And it remains to be seen whether RB Larry Johnson has anything left to offer.
I'm wiling to cede the argument that Chad Pennington (#19) is better than Cassel, but I will not agree that Jason Campbell (#18) and Matt Schaub (#17) are better options.
Wide Receiver - No Chiefs (#1 - Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals - Full list here)
No real arguments here. While Bowe is an excellent receiver whose put up over 2,000 yards in his first two years, numbers that don't come around very often, he's not in the elite category yet. Maybe that's because of the oft-cited dropped balls issue or that he hasn't had a great quarterback throwing to him, but he's not a top 20 receiver...yet.
Tight End - #2 Tony Gonzalez No Chiefs (#1 - Jason Witten, Cowboys - Full list here)
Of course Brad Cottam, who has never started a game for the Chiefs, isn't on the list. Tony Gonzalez should be #1, but that's a different argument for a different day.
Center - No Chiefs (#1 - Nick Mangold, Jets - Full list here)
Rudy Niswanger is a converted guard playing center. The Chiefs signed Eric Ghiaciuc, who wasn't re-signed by the Bengals.
Guard - #3 Brian Waters (#1 - Steve Hutchinson, Vikings - Full list here)
Despite getting off to a shaky start with the new boss, Waters is a former Pro Bowler and the Chiefs' best lineman. Scott Pioli and Todd Haley know it, which is why Waters didn't go anywhere during draft weekend despite numerous rumors indicating he might be dealt. He is 32 years old, but his combination of strength and agility is hard to find in a man his size.
No surprise here. Even at 34 years old Waters is one of the best in the game.
Tackle - No Chiefs (#1 - Ryan Clady, Broncos - Full list here)
I won't argue that Clady should be #1 since he gave up 1/2 a sack last season but no Brandon Albert is a bit surprising. He gave up 4 sacks in his rookie year.
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Albert got screwed
He scored as the #13 LT on the list posted the other day, which is about right. Still, even if they had listed Albert, that give us a total of 3 players in the top 20 at their positions, and one of those is assumed based on his play for one of the best teams in the league. That stinks. Although, the list doesn’t include RBs and LJ would likely break the top 20 for RBs.
Clady is not the best LT in the game.
They played the Chiefs twice, of course he didn’t give up many sacks. Let’s see him do it for more than 1 year.
Agreed.
I think it’s a little too soon to be crowning him #1 overall, even with 1/2 a sack given up. Doing something similar again would justify it, but it is just one season. A new coach/scheme could change things all around for the kid.
"I don't know if I want to go to New York. They'll have to pay me a lot more money because I like it here in Kansas City." -- Roger Maris
by KaloPhoenix on May 19, 2009 11:11 AM CDT up reply actions
I'm sorry but yes he is
giving up only 1/2 a sack at the most difficult position on the offensive line as a rookie?
You kidding me?
Paddy
by Patrick Allen on May 19, 2009 11:12 AM CDT up reply actions
What's a half a sack anyways?
How do you only half way sack a quarterback? Also, he’s a Bronco so screw him.
Herm loved him
from what I remember. They planned on drafting him if they could.
Albert is pretty damn good himself though.
Paddy
by Patrick Allen on May 19, 2009 11:32 AM CDT up reply actions
It's just one year
1/2 a sack at LT as a rookie is damn impressive, yes. However, it’s one year. 3 or less this year, and I’ll give him his due as the top LT. As it is, he’s in my top 5-7. He did handle Peppers last year when many couldn’t.
"I don't know if I want to go to New York. They'll have to pay me a lot more money because I like it here in Kansas City." -- Roger Maris
by KaloPhoenix on May 19, 2009 11:45 AM CDT up reply actions
I look at it like this
He played better than any LT last year…so right now, he is the best.
Paddy
by Patrick Allen on May 19, 2009 11:51 AM CDT up reply actions
I'll agree he was the best last year
But I’m not much for the “what have you done for me lately” nature of most rankings. I like to see some consistency before I crown him the Top LT.
If we were just looking at last year, how are the Top 5 Clady, Walter Jones, and Jason Peters, Joe Thomas, and Michael Roos on this list? Based on last year, Top 5 should be Clady, Roos, Tra Thomas, Orlando Pace, and Jake Long. Jason Peters as the 3rd best LT having given up 11.5 sacks last year completely invalidates this list for me.
"I don't know if I want to go to New York. They'll have to pay me a lot more money because I like it here in Kansas City." -- Roger Maris
by KaloPhoenix on May 19, 2009 12:01 PM CDT up reply actions
I agree
You cant judge a LT by how many sacks he gave up alone. Stats like this arent subjective enough.
by GenericBrand on May 19, 2009 1:21 PM CDT up reply actions
Waters is no way #3 anymore. His play has deteriorated the last 2 years, and he’s outside the top 10. Albert should be about #10 on the tackle list, and Bowe should be in the top 20.
Bowe should not
he dropped the second most passes last year. He has shown enough ability to keep us happy, but he is not better than 20 other teams starting wide-receiver (or even some of their 2nd WRs). And Albert should be rated between 13 and 16 based on hid play last year, though he shows the ability to move into the top ten early in his career.
or, in some cases
their 3rd WR (breaston, AZ). bowe should have a great year this year tho, provided they work on his focus some.
It's hard.............
to say where he belongs right now! Bowe pretty much cost us 2 games by dropping the game winning TD, and the on side kick nightmare!
I really think that D.Bowe is going to be a great WR, just needed to have the right coaching, and gameplanning to help him out! Bowe will be a top 10 WR this year, if can just catch the ball the same way everytime! The dude can really make some crazy grabs!!!
+100
I really agree about the coaching. If Bowe dropped a pass last season Herm probably held his hand and told him not to be upset.
Haley will make Bowe sleep with his hands glued to the ball if that we he needs.
"...Said he couldn't go on the American way"
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