Gretz is right about Waters. I’m sympathetic to him if the confrontation with Haley went down the way we heard it did, but half-assing your job is rarely a good approach to dealing with it. It makes Waters look like the problem. And if he really wants to get traded, the market for aging out-of-shape guards really isn’t that good so he’s stuck here unless he can play his way out of here.

And Gretz is also right that if Waters is the leader he seems to think he is, he needs to get past his problems with Haley and actually show that he can push others to get results. If a leader doesn’t have anyone following him and isn’t getting results, he’s not really a leader.

I’m pretty tired of listening to speculation about Waters and Vrabel.

Yes, Waters had one reported “incident”… But, he’s been here for the mandatory camp, he didn’t speak out or act out, and he’s under contract. In my opinion, it’s a non issue. The media is desperate for a story, so they are creating one.

Exact same with Vrabel, only it’s more BS. Vrabel has never said anything about being unhappy, and according to the coaches has been keeping in touch and learning the defense, even when he’s not there. Again, he’s been here for the mandatory camp, he didn’t speak out or act out, and he’s under contract.

YES, it’d be nice to have their “leadership” for the OTAs… but they will both be there for training camp and the season, and have plenty of time to assert themselves as leaders on and off the field.

Pioli has enough an ego and belief in his ability that he and Haley are almost purposely not bringing in household names because this 1st year on their own they’re looking to prove they can win and win with nobody’s. When I saw the Broncos signed Brandon Lloyd it still shows talent is out there, it just may not be Pioli’s type of talent. I just don’t see how possibly we can go into the season though with receivers we do now. I remember us all thinking about how weak our QB depth was last season and we all saw that one blow up in front of our face. Hopefully this won’t be the case for us this season with the receivers. If they bring someone in I wish they would just do it now so they can go thru training camp, learn the playbook, and buy into the program. Mark Bradley made a hell of a splash last year though and that was midway through so, hey, what do I know? All I know is names like Keary Colbert that were undesirable at the beginning of the off-season are starting to sound a whole lot better than Jeff Webb & Rodney Wright

the lack of new pass-rushers argument is getting old too.

OBVIOUSLY, Pioli and Haley DO believe they have the talent on this team to create pressure on the QB, given some coaching and a new scheme.

See the fanshot about Robertson and Studebaker… maybe there are some guys already on the roster that have tremendous ability, and just need the opportunity.

Would it be nice to have Peppers and Taylor lined up on the outside, with Hanesworth in the middle? Sure.

Is it entirely possible to have a good defense that pressures the quarterback without bringing in higher priced, big name free agents? ABSOLUTELY

#1. Our offense was ok last year, with sparks of brilliance. We lost a big weapon when #88 went to the falcons, but Herm’s mandate to put the ball into Tony’s hands even when he was double and triple covered DID NOT help us. Look for a more balanced passing attack, which will improve the running game, which will help the passing attack. I love Tony G, but our offensive numbers won’t suffer with him gone.

#2. Our pass rush suffered largely due to inept coaching. It’s time to stop crying about the loss of Jared Allen and work with what we have. Last season, no one on D was playing to his full ability—many were taking plays off, some of them entire quarters. When our D decided to make an effort, they were confused and prone to over-pursuing. So they key isn’t acquiring new pass rushers, but rather coaching the ones we have to achieve their potential. Better coaching is the key here, and it’s being addressed.

#3. A better defense gives your offense more opportunities. This can’t be stressed often enough. When you stop the other team, you increase your number of scoring opportunities. Improving the D is the same thing as adding firepower to your offense… it’s the same thing!

As for Waters or Vrabel, I’m not concerned. They are professionals, on and off the field, and I expect both of them to contribute.

It seems like two to three times a week we have to endure what Pioli and Haley havent done and how we have all these holes and how the team hasnt improved and it’s kind of getting annoying to read over and over. Yes, I know its June and we’ve now hit the most boring part of the offseason but get some new material or try something new already.

No one wants to hear about Waters or Vrabel anymore because there hasnt been and won’t be any new information. Anything written about them is 90% speculation analyzning their supposed “behaviors” really thats far from being a “reporter”. Waters was pissed, he showed up in camp(I highly doubt it was over $8000 for a guy who makes millons), him and Haley had a decent chat on the last day of Mini-camp and we’ll see you at Training camp. Vrabel is away exercising his rights under the CBA and maybe because he’s a rep he’s been pressure to do so especially with CBA negotiations heating up over the next year or two. Other then that we have to take what he says at face value.

As far as “what didn’t get done”, who’s to say it didnt get done? Who’s to say that the players to fill all the roles weren’t already on the team and they just needed to be used correctly or have the right balance of veterans to bring out the best in their play? Pioli is a good GM, one of the best, and he had nearly 40 million dollars and couldve had virtually any player he wanted this offseason. Do you really think that a guy isn’t going to improve his team over ego? Trying to prove that he can do better with the same group of hacks that lost 14 games last year? Call me crazy but I’m going to go with Pioli maybe knowing a bit better what needed to be done this offseason then Gretz and all the other
“reporters” reaching for a story.

I’ve said it a hundred times, management and the coaching staff know something that we dont and that’s why theres been no movement. The guys to fill the holes may already be on this team already. Its possible that they still need to develop and that the team may be a season and a few players away but I say lets wait until they play a game before we start commenting on what they didn’t do this offseason.

There’s much that will not be revealed until they put on the pads and run full-contract drills. You Tsun Tzu fans know how dumb it is to commit to action without full knowledge of the facts. And we can say all we want about seeing holes here or there, but if the Chiefs themselves are waiting for more information, I think we prob’ly should, too.

Make no mistake. There will be some short strokes coming. The 85 (83?) guys they’ve had in all the OTAs have built a real sense of team and loyalty to one another. How Haley handles the axe and whom they bring in during training camp is going to be a test of the team psychology. How will they respond to the axe falling on their buddies?

You can almost BET that KC is far from putting the finishing touches on this ‘09 squad. They’ve done their best, imo, to get the most from the guys in OTAs, and certainly hope the final 53 are already in-house, but neither they nor we should expect that to be the case.

The one tired saw I’m sick of hearing is “They didn’t bring in a pass-rusher.” Soren Petro had some choice remarks about that. Sack totals are misleading. The biggest sack total for a SB winner came from the St. Louis Rams, whose defense enjoyed double-digit leads as often as not, and spent 2 or 3 quarters just blitzing the passer. Played run defense to start games, because everybody wanted to control the clock, and everybody feared getting into a high-scoring circus with the Lambs.

Anyway, the pass-rusher rant is very superficial. And Gretz needs to address that widely-held concern, on general principles. I think he also brought up the fact that NE won a SB without ANYone having double digit sack total. I think Vrabel was #1 that particular season, with 9-and-a-half. And a lot of great defenses don’t post top-notch sack totals as a team.

Chiefs WILL get pressure with the blitz. I don’t believe the “live by the blitz, die by the blitz” rant. I’m a “live by the blitz, win with the blitz” guy. My biggest concern for this D is whether the safety can control himself on the blitz and control his level of violence. Don’t want roughing the passer calls to negate their efforts!

Hello all. This is my first post here, but I have been reading them long enough that I almost feel I know some of you (but not 65tosspowertrap…..what’s up with that dillhole?).

Anyway, I just thought I would throw in my 1.5 cents on Bob Gretz, as I see support for him here. I used to really enjoy reading his articles. That is until he started backing all things Herm Edwards. When the team is halfway decent, Gretz’s articles are informative and well written. But when the team sucks, it quickly becomes apparent who signs his paycheck (at least when he is writing for www.kcchiefs.com).

It would have been nice if he had written an article stating that he was incorrect about Herm, where so many fans were correct. Especially considering that he argued with fans (in “from the mailbag” stuff) in defense of Herm’s brilliant plan. If this article does, in fact exist, please point me to it. (As you may have guessed, I was one of those who argued with him.)