The Kansas City Chiefs Add Fullback Chris Manderino

by Chris Thorman on Apr 14, 2008 2:59 PM CDT in 2008 Kansas City Chiefs Off Season

Kansas City Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced on Monday that the club has agreed to terms of a two-year contract with FB Chris Manderino. As per Chiefs policy, no other terms of the agreement were made available.

Manderino (6-0, 231) spent the entire 2007 campaign on Cincinnati’s practice squad. He also spent a portion of the 2006 season on the Bengals developmental squad. Manderino attended training camp with Cincinnati the past two seasons, but was released prior to the start of the regular season on both occasions. He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Bengals in 2006.

The Anaheim, California native earned honorable mention All-Pac 10 honors as a senior at California in 2005. A former walk-on, Manderino earned a scholarship following his redshirt freshman campaign and went on to become a four-year starter for the Golden Bears. Manderino was a prep running back at Newport Harbor High School in Newport Beach, California.

Under the radar indeed. Manderino is completely fresh to the NFL regular season. I like the signing, even knowing nothing about the guy. FB Oliver Hoyte certainly wasn't going into training camp alone.

A quick scan of articles on Manderino cite his pass catching ability as a major plus.

Update: Manderino has his own blogspot blog!

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Agreed to terms

of a two year contract...which means what. Does this mean that Manderino will be on the team no matter what (i.e. special teamer). Please help to dissipate my confusion.

by PVChiefsfan on Apr 14, 2008 3:29 PM CDT reply actions

I agree

How many FBs does a team carry? 2 seems like a lot.

by Joel Thorman on Apr 14, 2008 3:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Nope

We signed a kicker this time last year to a two year contract -- Aaron Barret -- and he never made the team.

by Chris Thorman on Apr 14, 2008 3:34 PM CDT up reply actions

Manderino

Does this mean that Manderino will be on the team no matter what

Depends on if there was a bonus or any guaranteed money involved. If it's a non-guaranteed contract (which it probably was, considering he was a practice squad guy for the Bungles) then the years don't matter and the Chiefs can just cut him if he's not good enough.

Seems like he might be a sleeper, though...he was a four-year starter for a decent football program and the Bengals weren't really looking to unseat Jeremi Johnson, so it's possible he was just overlooked.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Apr 14, 2008 6:55 PM CDT reply actions

I bet

that's what Crafty Herm is thinking, the guy may make ridiculous in-game decisions, but I am sure impressed with his gut-feeling when it comes to players.

by PVChiefsfan on Apr 14, 2008 8:55 PM CDT up reply actions

Herm As GM...

...would actually sit a hell of a lot better with me than Herm as coach. I hate his game plans (if you can call them that) but the guy seems to have a knack for picking out talent and an ability to sell. By those two measures alone he's one up on Carl Peterson. And I don't get the idea that he's as much of an asshole as CP has consistently shown himself to be. Whether he'd be financially responsible enough to be an effective GM (and not plunge the team into salary cap hell) is another matter, though.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Apr 14, 2008 11:24 PM CDT reply actions

GM/DB Coach Combo?

Could Herm also be the defensive backs coach if he were the GM? I love Herm's nose for talent and his values. I dislike the fact that he believes winning by 3 points is a good thing to the point that it becomes a mantra.

The offense should try to score points! As many as possible in 60 minutes! The defense should attempt to not allow any points. Getting turnovers is a great defensive goal. If they get lucky and return something for points, so much the better.

If one team on the field is trying to win by 3 (Chiefs) and the other is trying to win by 30 (Patriots), who is going to win the majority of the time? I don't believe that the talent for the Patriots the past few years has been THAT much better than the Chiefs. (Well QB, WR then OL last year.) The bigger difference is attitude and confidence. And goals to excel. I'm not usually big on semi-synical comments, but whoever it is that has "You play to punt the ball" as a tagline makes a point. =] My apologies for not remembering who...

I hope 90% of Gailey's focus is on how to score points and less than 10% is on how to do it while taking a long time; and not "how do we hang on to the ball a long time" as 50% of the focus with scoring as an afterthought.

Ultimately, I like Herm as a coach. Just hoping he quits trying to impress people that he knows what he's doing by over thinking things sometimes. Offense=points. Defense=shutouts. And do both in ways that surprise the opponent.

by sunny D on Apr 15, 2008 2:00 AM CDT up reply actions

GM Duties...

...would preclude Herm from also taking a subordinate position to his head coach. There's no way that would work unless Herm could find a coach that enjoys being micromanaged (and those kind of guys usually aren't good).

Also, the Patriots have consistently fielded good talent on both sides of the ball, with few major holes. The Chiefs have never really done that during Peterson's tenure.

Supporting the lesser of two evils is still supporting something evil.

by UCrawford on Apr 15, 2008 8:06 AM CDT reply actions