The Kansas City Chiefs have no Blue Chip players. That's the story at least according to Mike Lombardi, the primary force and writer behind the National Football Post. In a recent three part series on Blue Chip Players in the NFL where most teams had upwards of three, four or even five Blue Chip level players, the best the Chiefs could muster on the scale was Branden Albert and Larry Johnson in the "Almost Blue" category. Even Oakland had two.
Of course, this is all subjective. Lists are popular and they're easy to put together. They get people talking and traffic flowing, which is the primary reason for even printing such articles. But Lombardi is a savvy football front office veteran who generally knows his stuff. And if the Chiefs truly have no real Blue Chip players in a league where the game is changed by those types (witness Adrian Peterson putting the Vikes on his shoulders or Albert Haynesworth manhandling every offensive line in the league), then that spells real trouble.
We're all fans. So we're all biased. But at the same time, we also know the team better than anyone. And I have a hard time believing that with recent high draft picks and various solid to great performers, that there's not a single Blue Chip player on this list. Here's Lombardi's criteria:
"Player has abilities that can create mismatches vs. most opponents in the league. Is a featured player on the team and has impact on the outcome of the game. Not one player can take him out of the game. Each week he has a consistent level of performance. Plays at a championship level performance. He rates in the top 10 at his position in the league."
So what are your thoughts? Are the Chiefs simply that devoid of real high-level talent? Or does Lombardi not have a clue what he's talking about when it comes to the level of play in Kansas City?
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