Let us know your own grades through seven games in the comment section. Also, Arrowhead Addict has a similar bye week post up. Check it out.
Quarterback
Damon Huard is who we thought he was- a back up quarterback and not much more. The idea of Damon Huard starting for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2007 was swallowed by the fans under the assumption that the aging quarterback was a "game manager", a "care-taker". In other words, a quarterback who wasn't going to wow us but wasn't going to lose us the game either. Well, it ain't 2006 anymore. Huard already has seven interceptions in seven games this season, which is six more than he had last year in only one more game.
The care-taker description of Damon Huard has been debunked. He rarely looks to make a great play and makes great plays even less than that. With the pass protection as poor as its been and with Huard panicking in the pocket, I'm surprised the Chiefs don't have more fumbles lost by the quarterback. One interesting stat is that Damon Huard had five lost fumbles last year and only one this year. He also fumbled it nine times last year and has only fumbled it twice in 2007.
But, despite our criticisms, Damon Huard is winning football games. A 4-3 record at the bye week is nothing to snicker at with these Chiefs. With the running game as horrible as its been, with the special teams never giving the offense good field position, the Chiefs should not have four wins. That's why, despite what empirical observations may bring, Damon Huard should remain the starting quarterback for the Chiefs. If the team starts losing, bring in the kid. That's how deep my loyalty to Damon Huard lies.
Grade: C+
Running Game
Larry, Larry, Larry. You hold out during the preseason for the biggest contract in Kansas City Chiefs history. You say you want to be a leader and that you understand that with a huge contract comes responsibility. But you bitch when the Chiefs are losing. You bitch when the Chiefs are winning. Your emotions harm the team during games. You are not a leader. You stew by yourself and refuse to talk to the media.
Okay, lets back it up for a second. I can understand why Larry Johnson doesn't want to talk to the media. The Kansas City media has routinely written negative things about Larry Johnson and, in my opinion, never really gave him a chance to change from the 2003 "diaper" impression Dick Vermeil helped create. The traditional media has their story each week on Larry. They include the diaper comment, something about the east coast, have to mention Jay-Z and probably something about how Larry's gotten paid and is now content to half-ass his way through the rest of his NFL career. They don't care to delve deeper. They just needs words on a page.
I don't buy all that talk about Larry. He doesn't have to talk to the media. But, if he wants to claim to be a leader of this team and bear the brunt of the responsibility when the Chiefs win and lose like he said he would, he does need to talk to the media. He does need to play some sort of leadership role on this team. But he's not. And he probably never will. Fool me once....
No fullback. A swiss cheese offensive line. A running back who looks to place blame on others before himself. No wonder the Chiefs running game is ranked 29th in the league. It appears Priest Holmes will provide a boost but he's not blocking on the line of scrimmage every down. The running game issues will get worse before they get better.
Grade: D
Tight Ends
This is an easy one. Tony Gonzalez is the greatest tight end ever and is having one of the greatest seasons of his career. Not even the poor pass protection of the old man Jason Dunn is enough to lose a letter in this grade.
Grade: A
Wide Receivers
Like many of you, I gasped a little when Eddie Kennison came up lame on the first play of the season with a pulled hamstring. I was never very big on Kennison but, at the time, he was our no. 1 receiver. Now, most fans probably don't even care if Eddie comes back to play this season.
It's the D. Bowe show in Kansas City now. For the season, Bowe has 29 catches for 499 yards and three touchdowns. Chiefs fans have never, never been this excited about a rookie wide reciever seven games into the season. Bowe is a legitimate threat to break the game open before and after he catches the ball. Besides Adrian Peterson and LB Patrick Willis, you could argue that Dwayne Bowe is having the best season of any of the 2007 first rounders.
Jeff Webb and Samie Parker combine to form one Dwayne Bowe in the box score. A combined 25 catches for 292 yards through seven games solidify their spots behind Bowe on the depth chart. Each one has had a couple of great catches, Webb especially. After catching four balls for 48 yards in the first game of the season, Parker has disappeared. Regardless, these guys are now supplemental to Dwayne Bowe and Tony Gonzalez.
Grade: B+
Offensive Line
According to Football Outsiders, the Chiefs run blocking ranks dead last in the league. The bright spot about our o-line? They only rank 22nd in terms of pass protection.
Blow it all up. Replace everyone except for Brian Waters and possibly Damion McIntosh. This line needs a fullback and an overhaul. They are unable to produce first downs in the run game and are giving up nearly three sacks a game to opposing defenses.
I won't bore you with more stuff we've already gone over with the offensive line. They're just horrible.
Grade: F