With all of the attention on so many of our rookies, we on Arrowhead Pride, as well as most fans and the major media, have primarily been focused on the offensive line, the defensive line, wide receivers and the secondary. The linebacking unit is the only unit on this team for which Herm hasn't Drafted. Shall we call it the Bill Belichek strategy? Or shall we call it a low part of the totem pole on a team full of needs?

Whichever way you take it, Gretz has a fantastic insider interview with Gunther Cunningham about the state of the thus-far struggling, shallow linebacking corps. This is an absolute must-read if you're concerned about the middle of the defense.

Two of the bigger revelations in the interview:

(1.) Demorrio Williams (who is playing the strong side with DJ on the weak, depth chart fans!) has been given better chances to rush the passer.  He's even been lined up at DE in the two-minute defense, and apparently has devastated McIntosh in the process. Gretz has done nothing but rave.

(2.) Newly re-converted LB Oliver Hoyte has just made the 53-man roster. Of course, Gunther did not say as much, but Gunther has gushed about Hoyte's performance on special teams, which is the harbinger of who makes the roster if you're on the bubble. Scribble it onto your depth charts right now: Hoyte makes the team. Probably as a reserve special-teamer, but who knows? Apparently he's a camp favorite.

It's really hard to determine who's going to be on the final 53-man roster at this position when the smoke clears. Every single year during the Herm era, the Chiefs have taken a couple UDFAs at this position due to their special teams performance -- I expect this year's version to be the same.

So let's sort out the LB depth chart together, after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Smells like...training camp!

The Kansas City Chiefs currently have 86 players on their roster, meaning they'll have to cut six by the time training camp starts on Thursday. Until this season, the minimum used to be higher than 80 players but with the folding of NFL Europe, teams now have on average eight players less to take to camp. Before, teams could take those extra eight players and ship them off to NFL Europe before the regular season roster deadlines would hit.

By August 26th, teams will have to trim their roster to 75 players and by August 30th the roster has to be down to the regular season maximum of 53 players.

So, six need to go. Who are they? Who knows, really. Here's a rundown by position, using a blogger's best friend - a list! I've also put the number of cuts next to each position. Predicting cuts is a terribly inexact science, so I'm hoping for a lively debate. In fact, you can make solid arguments against some of my choices below.

Quarterback (0) - The Chiefs only have three quarterbacks on the roster now, which means they're almost assuredly taking all three currently on the roster to camp with them. You'd even like to have four QBs but it doesn't appear that's going to happen before camp. No cuts from this group.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Fullback (0) - I think the Chiefs will take all four fullbacks to camp but only one will be on the regular season starting roster. They're all safe for now.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Offensive line (1) - Of the fourteen offensive linemen on the roster, five of them will be starters and we know who they are - McIntosh, Albert, Jones, Niswanger and Waters. That leaves nine and we'll need at least one backup in each spot for the regular season. That leaves four guys out and here's a guess on who they are - Tre Stallings, Ken Shackleford, Travis Leffew and LJ Anderson. Stallings has been on a couple of practice squads before so maybe he has a chance to make it but I don't think so. The Chiefs probably take almost all of these guys to camp but four will likely have to go for the regular season. One possible cut here but I doubt it.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: Travis Leffew, Ken Shackleford, Tre Stallings, Edwin Harrison, L.J. Anderson or Rob Smith.

Tight End (0) - Of the five tight ends on the roster, Tony Gonzalez is a definite yes, followed by Brad Cottam and maybe Michael Allan to make the final roster. The Chiefs will have at least two tight ends on the active roster and may keep another one on the practice squad. In fact, we'll likely end up with three on the final roster, with the last spot going to a big time blocking tight end. For now, I think all of them make it to training camp because of the uncertainty surrounding who will be our blocking tight end.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Wide Receiver (2) - We have a glut of wide receivers now (nine total) and I think two of these guys are definitely gone. This is an expendable position because of the preference of defensive players over offensive ones to play on special teams. A couple of these guys won't be able to hang on as a special teamer. I think Kevin McMahan and Jabari Arthur bite it from this group because of their "Who the hell am I?" status. You can also throw Bobby Sippio in there as well. The guy didn't catch a pass last year and sat on the practice squad for a little over a week with no interest from other NFL teams who were allowed to sign him at any point during that time.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: Jabari Arthur, Kevin McMahan or Bobby Sippio.

Running back (0) - Johnson, Battle, Smith, Charles, Savage and McCrae all make the training camp squad but only three make it to the regular season. Savage, Battle and McCrae will be the odd men out come September. The Chiefs have solid #1 and #2 backs with Charles and Johnson but I think they're unsure beyond that. That explains the glut of solid backups.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None but leaning toward one of these guys being let go this week. That's a lot of running backs.

Corner back (1) - There are nine CBs on the squad now and a lot of uncertainty after Surtain, Flowers and Carr on the depth chart. Herm and co. will probably take all but one of these guys to River Falls, with a few others being cut by September. Expect some to stick around strictly as special teamers.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: Will Poole, Jason Horton or Maurice Legget.

Linebacker (1) - There are ten linebackers on the roster and two tiers have clearly developed. The top tier is Derrick Johnson, Donnie Edwards, Demorrio Williams and Nap Harris. Below that are a half dozen special teams/backup types, almost all of whom will be on the practice squad or strictly special teams. The numbers don't require the Chiefs to cut many here, so just one probably goes from this group.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: Steve Octavien, E.J. Kuale, Nate Harris, Weston Dacus or LeRue Rumph.

Defensive Ends (1) - The Chiefs haven't settled on their Jared Allen replacement because they have seven defensive ends currently on the roster. Because of the large number of players at this position, I think one of these guys doesn't make it to River Falls. Turk McBride, Tamba Hali and Alfonso Boone are locks to make the team, with UDFAs rounding out the rest of the crop.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: Trevor Johnson, Johnny Dingle or Jason Parker.

Defensive Tackles (0) - All six d-tackles will be going to River Falls, considering that six isn't really that many to have on the roster at this point. The rotational nature of the position means you'll always have a few extra around, making it easier to slip into camp as an UDFA. Dorsey, Edwards and Tank likely make up the starting three.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Kicker (0) - Do you think Herm Edwards will ever go into camp with less than two kickers after the disappointment Justin Medlock was last year? Novak and Barth both go and I'm not sure which one makes it out as the starter.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Safety (0) - Safety is another good position for filling special teams. Page and Pollard are the starters and Herm's boy John McGraw is also a lock to make the team. DaJuan Morgan is another lock and a future starting contender.

Potential pre-training camp cuts: None

Those are my general positions that I think the cuts will come from. They're based on a mixture of number at that position, stability of the starters and historical precedent.

Your thoughts on who stays and who goes this week before camp starts?

By my count, the Kansas City Chiefs have 89 players currently on their roster, which will have to be trimmed to 80 players by the time they arrive in River Falls, WI, for training camp.

We have approximately fifteen positions on the team that have competition going into camp, so we'll be reviewing each position every day or every other day or so until the start of camp. Just like last summer.

First up today, the linebacking corp.

The Chiefs currently have ten linebackers on their squad, they'll start three and probably keep six total for back up and special teams. So, out of the ten, which six stay and which four go? Or, why would the Chiefs keep less/more than six?

Weston Dacus
Donnie Edwards
Nap Harris
Nate Harris
Derrick Johnson
EJ Kuale
Steve Octavien
LeRue Rumph
Pat Thomas
Demorrio Williams

Our three starters are going to come from these four guys - Edwards, Johnson, Williams and Nap Harris. So I'll include those four in my six. And for the other two, I'm going to give Nate Harris and Pat Thomas the nod simply because of their slight seniority.

I know we don't have much to go on as far as on the field experience and you know I don't get too excited over the fresh UDFA blood coming in.

Your thoughts on the Chiefs linebackers this summer?

Note: To you newbies, the community projections are a great place to jump in for the first time. Remember, be respectful and make sound arguments and you'll be rewarded with an intelligent and lively discussion.

CB Jason Horton	DE Jason Parker	S Khayyam Burns	LB E.J. Kuale	K Conner Barth
CB Maurice Leggett	DE Johnny Dingle	S Ron Girault	LB Lerue Rumph
CB Will Poole	DE Jonal Saint-Dic		LB Steve Octavien
	DT Derek Lokey		LB Weston Dacus
	DT Maurice Murray
***	***	***	***	***
G Chris McDuffie	RB Dantrell Savage	FB Mike Cox	T Ken Shackleford	WR Jabari Arthur
G Edwin Harrison	RB Kalvin McRae	FB Steven Jackson		WR Kevin McMahan
G Ian-Yates Cunningham
G L.J. Anderson

 

Above are the current undrafted free agents on the Kansas City Chiefs roster. There may be one or two guys in the waiver wire flux but we can manage for now.

I'm only going to say two of these players make it - FB Mike Cox and K Connor Barth. Cox because he's a former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket and played under Chan Gailey. Barth, because, well, we don't have many other options at this point. We need to invest in a kicker and that investment will be mainly one of time. Barth seems to have that mental stability that Justin Medlock did not.

So, in my opinion, only two of these guys make it on to the roster. History says that number is about average when it comes to undrafted free agents.

2008 will mark the third NFL season since Kansas City Chiefs linebacker E.J. Kuale left LSU for the NFL. He's found little success in the big leagues, spending the entire 2006 season on the New Orleans Saints practice squad.

Before coming to the NFL, Kuale spent one year at Georgia Tech and one year at Dodge City Community College (we've discussed DCCC before) before making his way to Baton Rouge, LA.

I enjoyed this quote by Kuale in September 2004 before LSU played Auburn - "We do have to stop Cadillac and Ronnie Brown, but I don't think it's gonna be a problem." The previous week, the running back pair gained 122 and 147 yards respectively. Against LSU, Williams and Brown would combine for 142 yards in a one point Auburn win. Kuale registered one tackle.

Kuale was suspended for an early October 2004 game against Florida after his reported role in an off-campus fight.

For his career, Kuale played sparingly, only starting in three games and playing in eighteen. He finished his time at LSU with thirty-six tackles, six tackles for loss and four sacks.

Year	G-GS	UT	AT	TT	TFL	Sacks	Int
2004 Jr.	11-2	9	13	22	4-20	2-17	0
2005 Sr.	7-1	6	9	14	2-10	2-10	0
TOTALS	18-3	15	22	36	6-30	4-27	0

After a rather forgettable college career and a season on the practice squad in New Orleans, what does E.J. Kuale do?

Gets arrested in March of 2007 for possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm with drugs. Needless to say, the Saints didn't waste much time releasing Kuale, who ended up sitting out the 2007 NFL season.

So, what does Herm Edwards want with a underwhelming linebacker who missed an entire season because he was arrested and the negatives that came with that outweighed his value as a player?

I'm not sure. The coaching staff certainly does not have long term plans for Kuale. They've seen little of him in the NFL and he hasn't played a game in three seasons. The answer is probably that Herm is just piling these players in this year. Kuale is one of eleven linebackers currently on the roster. And don't forget that the Chiefs just recently added two more cornerbacks. Herm is bringing anyone and everyone to training camp and they'll probably be there until late August when the roster deadlines come around.

One point that makes E.J Kuale's presence on this team interesting is that by today's NFL standards, Kuale's past actions earn him the label "at risk". Herm Edwards doesn't typically take chances on players like that, especially undrafted free agents who have been out of football. Jared Allen was the last "at risk" player the Chiefs had and by all accounts, Herm and Allen got along well. Herm does have a soft spot in there for younger players.

Alright all of you Western Kansas readers. My site statistics tells me you're out there. Tell us about the most famous DCCC player I've ever heard of. Okay, I just looked up DCCC. Former Buffalo Bill Steve Tasker went there and 1972 NFL MVP running back Larry Brown did as well. Not too shabby actually.

Output from the rookie camp two weekends ago. From the mothership:

Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced on Monday that the club has agreed to terms of a two-year contracts FB Steven Jackson, LB E.J. Kuale, WR Kevin McMahan and T Ken Shackleford. As per Chiefs policy, no other terms of the agreements were made available.

Jackson (6-2, 246) originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Minnesota in 2006. He attended training camp with the Vikings, but was released prior to the start of the regular season. Jackson joined Carolina’s practice squad after his release and was promoted to the Panthers active roster for the final two contests of the 2006 campaign. He attended training camp with Carolina in 2007, but was released prior to the start of the regular season.

The Columbia, South Carolina native appeared in 36 games (six starts) during a three-year career at Clemson. Jackson began his collegiate career at East Tennessee State and prepped at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina.

Jackson will be the fourth fullback currently on the Kansas City Chiefs, making it by far the most competitive position on the roster.

Kuale (6-1, 229) originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with New Orleans in 2006. He traveled to training camp with the Saints in 2006, but was released prior to the start of the regular season. He joined that Saints practice squad after his release and remained on the developmental squad for the entire 2006 campaign. The LSU product saw duty in 18 games (three starts) after transferring from Dodge City Community College. He concluded his career with 36 tackles (15 solo), six tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks (-27.0 yards). He prepped at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Dodge City Community College to LSU? $100 of fake money to anyone who can tell me without looking what conference DCCC is in.

McMahan (6-2, 192) spent a portion of the 2007 campaign on Kansas City’s practice squad. He originally entered the NFL as Oakland’s seventh-round pick (255th overall) in the 2006 NFL Draft. He attended training camp with the N.Y. Giants in 2007, but was released prior to the start of the regular season. He also spent time on that club’s practice squad.

The University of Maine product saw action in 44 games for the Black Bears, catching 130 passes for 1,995 yards (15.3 avg.) and 25 TDs. He earned All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors as a senior in 2005 after setting single-season school records for receptions (59), receiving yards (893) and TDs (13). He prepped at Aquinas Institute in Rochester, New York.

McMahan is a journeyman, practice squad type. He's been a part of the Raiders, Colts, Giants and Chiefs in his short career.

 

Shackleford (6-5, 365) originally entered the NFL as St. Louis’ sixth-round pick (190th overall) in the 2007 NFL Draft. He attended training camp with the Rams a year ago, but was released prior to the start of the regular season. The University of Georgia product appeared in 46 games (14 starts) for the Bulldogs, allowing just one QB sack. He was a first-team all-state selection at Villa Rica High School in Villa Rica, Georgia.

 

Shackleford's claim to fame is being cut from the St. Louis Rams the same day as Denzel Washington's son. This isn't a claim to fame so much as the first page that showed up when I Googled his name.