Today kcchiefs.com posted Bob Gretz's review of the second week of OTAs. So many interesting ideas, so many nuggets of information, and so many opinions offered up in this grab-bag makes it impossible to block-quote.

So let's jump in. Keep in mind, no opinion is too premature at this point!

OMG:

Receivers had trouble lining up in the right spots and defensive linemen were jumping before the snap. There were several false starts and two little skirmishes between offensive and defensive linemen. The two officials working the practices threw more penalty flags on Thursday afternoon than they did in the previous six practices.

We are totally going to have 9,000 penalties this year. We are screwed!

OMG OMG:

The other place that increased athletic ability can be seen is at running back. Larry Johnson is running well, with no visible problems from last year’s broken foot. Jackie Battle, signed at the end of last year, has been very impressive, showing both speed and power. Draft choice Jamaal Charles has shown his burst and a wiggle in his running style that leaves potential tacklers grasping for air. Even college free agent Dantrell Savage out of Oklahoma State has shown some nice moves.

We are totally going to run for a million yards this year. We are saved!

OMGZ!!!!:

The Chiefs linebackers are a step slow. There is a lot of thinking going on, as they adjust to Cunningham and what he’s demanding of them. A strong base of fundamentals is what Gunther is trying to build here and he’s not going to let up or move on until these guys are reacting with the right stances and steps.

We won't be able to tackle anybody this year. We are screwed.

OOOOO MMMMMM GGGGG...

Rookie kicker Connor Barth proved he was human on Thursday. He was wide right by inches on a 48-yard attempt. It was the first missed field goal he’s had during the team practices over the last two weeks. That makes him the preliminary favorite to be the team’s kicker.

Barth saves the day! We are saved!

There's a bunch of other juicy nuggets in there as well to get your blood pumping this afternoon. Post your thoughts here and we can cry/despair together.

work·horse  [wurk-hawrs] 

1. a horse used for plowing, hauling, and other heavy labor, as distinguished from a riding horse, racehorse, etc.

2. a person who works tirelessly at a task, assumes extra duties, etc.

3. Larry Johnson.

 

Few people exemplify "carrying the load" like Larry Johnson has for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs' dependence on LJ has been borne out in statistics (he carried the rock more times in 2006 than any running back in single-season NFL history), and in record (2007: 4-3 with Larry Johnson, 0-9 without him). It's sensible to rely on a player as talented and targeted as LJ.

 

But like all vices in life, moderation is key. But as the Chiefs' offense rotated around their run game during LJ's relatively short time as the feature back, and with virtually no talented running backs backing him up, the Chiefs threw caution to the wind and ran LJ approximately 900 times between Priest Holmes' injury in 2005 and LJ's own injury last year. As a result, they violated the well-known Curse of 370 -- give a running back more than 370 carries in a season, and watch him wilt before your very eyes.

It's casually known as the Eric Dickerson rule, implying that Dickerson's the only RB that's allowed to cross this plateau and remain a stud afterwards. LJ would love to redefine that rule himself, but in order for that to happen, the Chiefs must use him properly.

  

It's not enough to cut his numbers of carries down. You have to create an atmosphere that allows him to succeed. More on this after the jump.

 

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That’s why the Chiefs intend to go easy on Johnson when offseason practice begins today. The Chiefs have 15 practice sessions planned over the next four weeks, including their June 6-8 minicamp.

"We’ll bring him along slowly," coach Herm Edwards said. "We’re not going to beat him up. We’re not going to rush him a whole lot. We want to see where he’s at.

"He’s been running straight and he’s been doing all of that for a long time, but as far as cutting and football things like that, we want to limit him some."

The Kansas City Chiefs may not have planned to put a full load on Larry Johnson during these off-season activities (OTAs), even if he had not injured his foot last year. Herm Edwards has to be getting weary of working his team's running backs as much as he has.

Here's a prediction of mine - You'll hear less and less of Kolby Smith's name this training camp. Jamaal Charles will step into that #2/3rd down role for the Chiefs, pushing Kolby Smith into relative obscurity over the next couple of years.

While you can make the argument that Smith was the Chiefs' best runner last year (He was the most effective runner, certainly not better than LJ as he faced lesser defense), I think we're still over-enamored with that first drive against the Oakland Raiders last November. Smith gained sixty yards on seven rushes, punctuating a bruising of the Raiders' defense with a ten-yard touchdown run. Smith ended the game with 150-yards rushing on thirty-one attempts. Impressive but the Raiders did end 2007 with the 31st ranked rush defense and Smith never approached that number of attempts or even 100-yards rushing the rest of the season (He actually had a couple of 80+ yards games, which is close).

Kolby appears to be a good scat back runner but I'm betting you Charles blows him away. Jamaal Charles' speed, coming right on the heels of a LJ power running game, could be a back-breaker for opposing defenses. The Charles-LJ duo will be much, much more powerful than Smith-LJ.

H/T to Direckshun in the FanShots section

For a good portion of this fan's life, the Kansas City Chiefs were known first as a defensive team. My football memories of the 1990s are filled with Derrick Thomas' hands clasped above his hand in a safety signal, Neil Smith home run swings and Dale Carter running back interceptions.

Even though this isn't defense related, I'm going to throw in Steve Bono's record breaking run. You know, just because.

The winds shifted to the offensive side of the ball in the early part of the 21st century. In fact, the Chiefs did an about face. During the 1990s, the Chiefs defensive averaged about a top ten finish in points allowed and yards allowed. Since 2000, those defensive ranks have fallen into the lower third of the NFL.

Currently, the Kansas City Chiefs don't have much of an offensive or defensive identity.

The defense is solid but not great. Not yet anyway.

The offense has a few bright spots but also a lot of unknowns.

So, my question to you is, what are the strongest positions on the Kansas City Chiefs? And, will those strengths become pillars? Or will they crumble within a few years?

I'll resort to the blogger's best friend - lists - to get this conversation started. Here are my top three positions of strength on the Kansas City Chiefs:

1. Running back - The addition of Jamaal Charles suddenly catapults the Chiefs' personnel of the running game into the team's biggest strength. Larry Johnson is the #1 bruising back a Herm Edwards' team needs and Kolby Smith and Jamaal Charles are excellent compliments to LJ's style.

2. Linebackers - I don't really like putting linebacker as a major position of strength for the Chiefs but with so many unknowns on the team, this corp slides in. Derrick Johnson is slowly coming into his own since being drafted in 2005; Donnie Edwards is still an excellent player but won't be for much longer; and DeMorrio Williams and Nap Harris at least have experience, which is more than you can say for a lot of Chiefs positions.

The linebacker position appears to be stable, which is enough to make it on this list. I need to see much more from Derrick Johnson and just a glimmer of hope from Williams to be comfortable with this crew. Harris was unimpressive last year and left much to be desired.

3. Punter - You knew this was coming, right? Go through the roster and tell me what other positions for the Chiefs are stronger than punter. Dustin Colquitt falls into here sort of by default, but also because he's been one of the top performers at his position.

This was a pretty interesting exercise to go though if you do it objectively. We have a tenuous, at best, hold on our strengths.