When the talk of Jared Allen being traded really heated up in the ten days or so leading up to the draft, my reactions went from "Oh hell no!" to "Let's maximize the value of a guy who obviously wants out of KC" to "Maybe Herm is right, you don't need superstar players".
That last statement is gaining credence in my head. Well-paid star players often eat up a disproportionate amount of salary cap space, often don't pan out because of injury and I would assume invoke jealously/contempt in lesser paid players. I can't qualify that last statement but I don't think its a stretch to consider it to be true.
The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that the trading of Jared Allen painted a much, much bigger picture.
Herm Edwards, not unlike the New England Patriots and their rather brilliant GM and head coach, is willing to let superstar talent leave Kansas City in exchange for guys that fit his system.
In exchange for a team. Teams win playoff games. Teams win championships. Solid players at as many positions as possible will win you football games.
Herm doesn't want the contract drama, the diva attitudes and insane expectations. No head coach wants those but the difference between Herm and others - he'll let those problems walk right out of town.
He wants, as the man himself would say, "football" players. Players that are hard workers, know their role and do their job. He doesn't want a player to expect a starting spot. He wants them to earn it.
Herm doesn't believe in a team that has dips and valleys in the talent level. He wants guys that play to the best of their ability and if that ability is at a superstar level, so be it. But he won't think twice about letting an ego, a contract or an agent negatively affect his football team. He has little tolerance for bullshit in a sport filled with it.
Don't take this lightly. After this off-season and this past weekend's draft, this is no longer Carl Peterson's team.
It's officially Herm Edwards' team.
Carl Peterson may still be the GM but don't mistake 2008 and the future for the franchise of the past. We're different now. Clark Hunt knows it, Herm knows it and Carl Peterson knows it. The Chiefs are focused on the draft as the building strategy of this team.
We'll look back at this year not because of the historical draft but for the shift in the attitude and values of the franchise.
It's an exciting and proud time to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan.
Get on board. It's going to be a fun ride.