"So you're sayin' there's a chance."
Earlier, Joel posted the idea that the Chiefs probably already know the five players they're going to cut before the Seahawks game and that some of those guys might not even play. After all, with weeks of practice in full pads, two-a-days, film studies, coaches meetings, and all eyes on every single player for the sole purpose of evaluation, how much more is there to see? And that makes sense.
In fact, it's a reasonable deduction. But it's not one that I'm so certain about and I wanted to offer a counter-point of sorts to that idea. In fact, I'd argue that the bottom layer, if you will, of the current roster as is has a great chance to make the team based mainly on their performance tonight.
We've argued earlier at AP that a major mistake you don't want to make is to see former players bloom on other teams. For many players, the opportunity to get a real chance to thrive is all they need in the first place. It's hard with so many guys in camp, but there's another obstacle: repetition.
You see this a lot in the NFL - young players who really don't find their stride until the second half of the season. Of course, some get winded quickly from their unfamiliarity with the long rigors of the NFL season. At the same, it takes weeks or even months to learn all new schemes, new terms, new relationships and, for some, new positions than what they had in college. Important aspects like identity, chemistry and rhythm only come with time and those are things you can't completely figure out in training camp. Most of all, it's game-time where these things exponentially take root versus the day to day practices and study sessions.
Tonight's game versus the Seahawks give the fringe players a real chance to show their stuff. Scott Pioli has proven himself decisive if there are players he truly doesn't like or need to see anything out of anymore. So my guess would be the players present are those who still have something to show. Or at least we hope.