[editor's note, by Chris] Thanks to kcisbetterthanstlateverything for this write up.
i'm a new user to this blogging stuff, but i've been reading royalsreview all year and arrowheadpride for awhile. i read the post asking someone to do grades, and this is my kind of thing, so i'll give it a shot.
QBs
Trent Green=B-, injury/underachievement/bad timing/bad transition from old offense to new
Damon Huard=A-, i never saw him coming, the denver, pittsburgh, and miami games were terrible...so no A
Brodie Croyle=C-, the only showing came in the final minutes of the pittsburgh game...he looked like a 3rd qb
RBs
Larry Johnson=B, expectations were too high and offense was too predictable for him to accomplish what we thought he could
Michael Bennett=C+, he looked good when he played, but it seemed as if he was always out or a gametime decision...injuries
Dee Brown=C, blocked for larry on obvious passing downs but still leaves a lot to be desired as a runner
Ronnie Cruz=D, Kris Wilson played better at FB and he doesn't have the tools for the blocking
TEs
Tony Gonzalez=B-, his numbers look average this year compared to the rest of his career, and he seemed to disappear way too much for the best TE in league history
Jason Dunn=C-, injury problems and age caught up to the blocking TE
Kris Wilson=B+ as pass catching fullback/TE, C as a blocking fullback, he seemed to stop shy of holes or linemen, stuttering where T-Rich would just plow ahead and open holes, needs expanded role in offense
WRs
Eddie Kennison= C+, drop in yardage and receptions coming with age/offensive struggles, hands still inconsistent, would be a good nfl number 2 WR
Samie Parker= D+, possibly league's worst hands for a starting wide receiver, unbelieveable speed, talks too much on the field for his lack of production, probably will be replaced or demoted
Dante Hall= C, still Dante Hall, drops passes, good distraction, mismatch only for linebackers
Rod Gardner= D-, former first round picks are not supposed to be special teamers
OL
Jordan Black=C-, Did well against average or below average ends, but speed and tenacity always beat him to the QB...he seemed to constantly be in the backfield on running plays to the left, needs to be replaced
Brian Waters=B+, emerged as the team's vocal leader and is an emerging star in the league, probably the best LG in the game, the injury and the problems with whoever filled in to his left made him look bad
Casey Wiegmann= C, least productive year as chiefs center, revealed to be not strong enough for good DTs
Will Shields= C-, age is finally showing on the iron man, needs to seriously consider retirement, however much we love him...best lineman in franchise history
Kyle Turley= D-, looked nothing like his most productive years and had the injury problems we were told he would not have
Kevin Sampson= Incomplete, for our future right tackle he never plays
John Welbourne= C-, played best of our right tackles, but that doesn't say a whole lot
Chris Terry= D+, like turley, it shows he's been out of the game awhile, despite the raw talent
Chris Bober= A-, filled in very nicely, probably overachieved, for waters and shields, would be a good short term fix for a shields retirement if that comes.
DL(here we go...)
Jared Allen= A, should have gone to his first pro bowl, constantly fought double-teams and holding, always near the passer, knocked down a lot of passes...needs to work on playing against premier tackles if he wants to take the next step
Tamba Hali= B+, we got more out of him than most people think, a good tackler, run defender, and more than adequate pass rusher for a rookie...potential to be a very good player
Eric Hicks= F, sorry old bud...but herm not playing you really shows what kind of player you are these days
Jimmy Wilkerson= B+, really developing into a nice end/tackle player ideally suited for a 3/4 system outside slot...probably could have benefited from more college
James Reed= D+, very average run stopper, no push whatsoever...needs replacement
Ron Edwards= C-, only thing keeping him better than reed is his college ball at northwest
Ryan Sims= F, get off our team now, you're ruining young guys w/ your attitude and terrible play when you're out there
LBs
Derrick Johnson= B, tackling could use improvement as could blitzing skills, speed and attitude/general talent greatly improve defense, could be bigtime player in the derrick brooks mold someday
Kendrell Bell= C, missed tackling early in the season cost the chiefs, still not playing his natural position as an ILB in 3/4 schemes and it shows, but strong second half was impressive, speed is lacking as well
Keyaron Fox= C, just good enough to challenge Bell for the starting spot, not sure he's an upgrade though, injury problems persist
Kawika Mitchell= B-, has turned himself from a detrimental part of the defense to a very average nfl middle linebacker, still misses tackles he shouldn't and could use help getting free of blocks
DBs
Ty Law= B+, proved his worth in clutch situations(arizona, jacksonville, indianapolis), though slippage cost the chiefs 3 td's this season and the whiff in cleveland hurt as well
Pat Surtain= C, clearly the weaker of the two starting corners and still is playing below the advertised talent level, adequate
Lenny Walls= C+, does not seem to be any worse than Surtain, may challenge for a starting spot, blew coverage in arizona and pittsburgh
Benny Sapp= B+, you know what you get w/ him, blitzing corner and great special teams play
Greg Wesley= C-, despite play reminiscent of his previous seasons, he will lose the starting job to Jarrad Page, still blows coverages and is consistently late to receivers deep and over the middle, tackling is not good enough either
Sammy Knight= C, showing some age in speed but not mentally or in his tackling, will be challenged for a starting spot by Pollard
Jarrad Page= A, i would give him an A+ if it weren't for the game of tag he played w/ jacksonville Qbs on new years eve, probably the best 7th round pick in the draft, future star
Bernard Pollard= B- defense/A+ special teams, great tackling and ferocious hitting define him, a couple blown coverages that could go away w/ experience, best special teams player on the team that's not a punter
Special Teams
Lawrence Tynes= B-, extremely reliable during the season and very average on kickoffs(although they are probably low and hurting our coverage), 23 yd miss in postseason play too lin elliot-ish
Dustin Colquitt= A+, led NFL in net punting, the only important stat for punters, constantly threatens return men w/ drops
Dante Hall= C-, regressed big-time, spent most of the season either standing still or in reverse, may not be given a roster spot in training camp
Boomer Grigsby= C, kickoff coverage units suffered and for a special teams specialist, he doesn't make a lot of plays or get noticed
Kendall Gammon= B+, still no bad snaps, although replaceable as a roster spot
Jeff Webb= B, in several returns replacing hall, looked very very capable.
Coaching Staff
Herm Edwards= B-, created mediocre defense, imposed(should have let it run itself) mediocre offense, game management is alright, motivation got the most out of this team for the most part...pittsburgh/miami/cleveland/indy are exceptions
Mike Solari= C-, we will never know how much of the predictability is Solari and how much of it was Herm this year
Gunther Cunningham= B, defense showed discipline and playmaking ability, just imagine what he could do if he had capable blitzing linebackers
that's what i got...let me know what you think
pat