BEEF; the big boys, they are the towering 6 foot 4, 300 pound plus Giants of a Football lore. The Run stop, Gap stop, massive roadblocks to any 5 foot 10 180 - 200 lb speedsters that try to squirm, slither and sneak through an opponent’s defensive line.  We needed Beef. We all wanted Beef. We argued, put out polls and sat patiently as the NFL Draft came through. Post Draft we sat around awaiting for the CBA to be fixed hoping that the Football Gods would be kind to give us our game, Americas Game; Football.

     News broke; Deal reached. Free Agency broke. The excitement of Free Agency period, the possibility of a blockbuster deal being cut and whom of you can forget the NFL Network coverage of " The Nnamdi Watch"..

     The Kansas City Chiefs have a way of conducting operations. Those that have followed the beloved boys in red and gold know of the history of team and how its managed. We suffered through the King Patterson era, the missed field goal, 6 (now 7) straight playoff losses, and who could forget the cancer formerly known as #27.

     Scott Pioli  known by some as the "Don" has given us a lot to be hopeful for. We saw our boys turn it around last year, Monday night Football in the rain hearing the War Chants from the Sea of Red and watching P Rivers throw a hissy fit on national TV.

         We are known not to go after the "big slash" Free Agents. We have had a record of being cheap with our players and not shelling out big money. I’m here to tell ya the times are changing.

                                                                    FOLLOW ME THROUGH THE JUMP!

     Now that Free agency has slowed down and we are mere days from our first Pre-Season Game I wanted to contribute my 2 cents and revisit what we did in regards to Beef:

  I wrote an article on what we should do as far as Beef; you can read it HERE

To RECAP: 

beef  (b f)

n. pl. beeves (b vz) or beef

1. a. A full-grown steer, bull, ox, or cow, especially one intended for use as meat. b. The flesh of a slaughtered full-grown steer, bull, ox, or cow.

2. Informal Human muscle; brawn.

3. pl. beefs Slang A complaint. intr.v. beefed, beef·ing, beefs Slang To complain.

Phrasal Verb:

beef up Informal To make or become greater or stronger: beef up the defensive line. ( I editied this part)

..

I said we need 2 types of Beef;

(The 1st type of Beef)

The Black Angus Beef = C, NT, OT

Center - Thus guy is the anchor of the O-line and we need a Quality guy here to help us on this side of the Business. Having a Quality type player, ready to start, will improve our rushing/passing game overall. Wiegmann is aged, and though I love what he's done, we have to replace him now.

Possible Drafts:

Tim Barnes , C, Missouri

Stefen Wisniewski, C, Penn State

Jake Kirkpatrick, C, TCU

Kris O'Dowd, C, USC

 0/4 ; I feel very Royals-esque at this point- I did not  see us selecting Hudson.

PER ESPN DRAFT ANALYSIS 3rd  RD 22 (86)

What he brings: Hudson is instinctive and does a good job with angles and technique. He can be counted on to handle his assignment in the running game, but he shows stiffness in the lower half and does not have a strong power base. He does a good job sliding and sustaining as a pass blocker and does a good job sinking his hips against the bull rush.
How he fits: The Chiefs really have some concerns inside on their OL, primarily because they have so much age at OG and C and they need a good, young player to develop. Hudson is an excellent technician who can play C or OG and he is a smart guy who should be able to step right in and play.

Nose Tackle - This guy is the Anchor of our 3-4 Scheme Defense we run. He is there at the Point of Attack, the very tip of the spear of our D.

Possible Drafts:

Phil Taylor, NT, Baylor

Jerrell Powe, NT, Ole Miss - Drafted 6th Round ( A Steal )

                                                                         Hells Yeas! batting .500!!!

Per ESPN :

  Powe doesn't have great stamina and his ability to control his weight is a concern but he has rare upside as a nose tackle for the Chiefs.

Offensive Tackle - We have to have a guy here that is going to be Quality from day one. Whomever we draft has to be the guy to watch the QB's backdoor.

Possible Drafts:

Anthony Castonzo, OT, Boston College

Derek Sherrod, OT, Mississippi State

Marcus Gilbert, OT, Florida - Drafted 2nd Round

I got the honorary Golden Sombrero with this one gents, but we signed UDFA Mimms who is a beast IMHO.

The Texas Longhorn = OLB & ILB

Now we have Tamba Hali who has grown into a pretty darn good pass rusher but we have to have his complimentary guy. Though I may get some backlash for the comparison, drafting a OLB for Tamba is like having Neil Smith and Derrick Thomas. Though Tamba is not on the same caliber as our fallen hero DT, he needs his Neil Smith to take our Defensive pass rush back to its former version.

                                                                           Possible Drafts

                                  Justin Houston, DE/OLB, Georgia  - 3rd Round Pick 1st Round quality

Martez Wilson, ILB, Illinois

Sam Acho, DE/OLB, Texas

Brooks Reed, DE/OLB, Arizona

Jeremy Beal, OLB, Oklahoma

1/5 Close to that Mendoza Line but hey I was spittballin' here with the pick up of Houston.

Then there were the unpredictable draft picks:

                                                                   Allen Bailey DE, Miami

 What he brings: Bailey could line up at left end in a four-man front or 5-technique in a three-man front. He rarely gives ground one-on-one and has the strength to be an effective two-gap player. He will never be an elite edge rusher but can get to the quarterback more often than most 5-techniques. He is a power rusher with an effective swim move and can get to the quarterback with second effort.
How he fits: He is a perfect fit as a DE in the Chiefs' 3-4 defense and they already have a couple of players in Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey who are decent players. While this doesn't look like a position of great need, he gives them depth and a nice rotation.                  

                                                             GABE MILLER OLB  - OREGON STATE

 

PER ESPN DRAFT ANALYSIS 5TH  RD 9 (140)

from Detroit as a result of tampering charges (FREE PICK)

Miller is a reach here because he doesn't have any elite tools, but he does have solid intangibles and was a team captain.. Flashes ability to get to the QB with effort.

                                                                          SHANE BANNON FB, YALE 

PER ESPN DRAFT ANALYSIS  7TH RD 10 (223)

He is a developmental H-back type player who can contribute as a lead blocker and pass-catcher.

Going further into recap mode I addressed our FA agency needs/pure draft needs. I hit on points of our current veterans and gave possible solutions. You can read that article here.

Center - Casey Wiegmann came back for another season and beat out his incumbent. He’s a good player and fan favorite but he’s 37 and not the future of the Anchor Spot on the offensive line. My money is on him retiring.

We drafted his replacement in the 2nd round with Husdon; Graciously he decided to return for 1 more year to teach the young buck how to anchor the offensive line. Thanks to you Mr. Wiegmann, thank you. (Please bring your flat screen panel TV to share with the rookie to training camp) 

Outside Linebacker - Mike Vrable is a great leader and a great linebacker (in his prime). This Season he had 48 tackles and ZERO Sacks. He is 35 years old. He is done and I hope the Chiefs hire him as a LB coach. I hope he retires, I love him but it’s time to fill the void and Studebaker is not the solution.

 Mr. Vrable retired; he is off to Iowa   Ohio State (thanks ELMO) to pursue the coaching side of the ball. He taught many of our Linebackers many life lessons and was invaluable to our young defense. Hopefully Studebaker can excell while Justin Houston does a thousand wind sprints to get in shape ( and sweat out his 4:20 - subtle joke)

Free Safety – Jon McGraw, he had 39 tackles and 2 INT’s but he’s 31 years old and his play did show. The back field is for the fast youngsters and now is the time to get a replacement.  We need a stud to replace him. Doing so will damn near complete the Secondary for a considerable amount of time.

Crime dog is back 1 more year. We didn’t get a draft pick here nor did we get a UDFA. We picked up a FA (Sabby Plscitelli) but I think the safety position was on the bottom of the totem pole of positions needed to be addressed. We have Kendrick Lewis back there as well.

Guard – Brian Waters another legacy player whom I believe has been around since the last time we were in the playoffs and lost. He is a great guy and a positive influence on the Locker room and community BUT he is 11 seasons deep and is now 34 years old. As a core piece of the offensive line he needs to have a replacement – immediately.  

 Out of the deepest respect between his service to the Kansas City Chiefs and the front office Mr. Waters was released. I was for one shocked but truly respect how they approached this matter. its time the young wipper snappers have a go at filling this KC Icon's shoes. If they can't we draft for needs next year. *SIDE NOTE* I think that Mimms kid is a beast - that is all.

Defensive Tackle - Ron Edwards had 26 tackles and 2 sacks this year, that’s great for his consistent play as a mediocre NT. The man has 10 seasons and at 31 years of age there isn’t enough WD-40 to grease another great mediocre year out of him. His spot is the Anchor on the Defensive Line.

 Ron Edwards left us for another team- an unfortunately was injured. I feel bad for him because he has been with us for a long time. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors and rehab. We picked up Powe, singed FA Gregg and also UDFA out of Oregon. I believe we will be more than capable of matching last year’s production and lord willing excelling. And there is always Toribo the terrible..

Quarterback -    Brodie " Brokie" Croyle.... what can I say 0-10 as a starter. The once hailed future of the franchise crumbled and fell on 10 separate occasions as the Prime Man under center. He's 28 years old and without a contract. He won’t be optioned for another contract. A buddy of mine told me about the philosophy of Alabama and Quarterback's...

"We produce NFL Defensive players and nice Running backs and Wideouts, our quarterbacks are just what they are Collegiate Quarterbacks not Pro’s"...

FYI: The Last great QB to come from Alabama : Joe " Broadway Joe" Namath…

WE picked up Mr. Captain America himself.

 

Ricki Stanzi; I am not sure if he is the incumbent or a career back up but he’s here, he’s American and dammit he’s proud of it. Period. Here is proof:

  Even though Mr. Piolli did not make such a great big cannon ball splash in FA as we had hoped; I think he did alright. This year might be hard for us to watch at times and we very well may end up 8-8 or worse. But I truly beloved that the Chiefs front office did it right this offseason and before I leave you to leave the pre season hate comments and always appreciative remarks/comments/suggestions for future posts i give you unexpected BEEF!

                                                                                 David Mimms: OT

                                                                                Kelly Gregg NT

                                                                           Le Ron McClain - FB

                                                                                           We kept Wallace Gilberry

                                                                         And we extended Tamba Hali

Now I ask ya: Whos ready for some KC BBQ on Sundays? Because the one thing we serve up on Sundays is BEEF Baby!

(The 2nd type of Beef)