Okay, so in hindsight, the grading wasn't perfect. One bad score can really drag down the grades. So rather than cling to much to the overall grade, which was done in fun, let me sum up some of my thoughts.
I thought the Chiefs did really well this offseason to upgrade their offense. I do realize there's a major difference between what they should have done and what they could have done. They should have made massive upgrades to their offense. In reality, with an uncapped season and limited draft picks, there were only so many big moves they could have made.
I'll start off with a brief grading of the Tight Ends and then wrap up my thoughts on the Chiefs' improvements on offense.
Grading of the Tight Ends: I gave the Chiefs an A on offseason moves and a C+ in overall depth. To understand why the grades were so different, you have to really understand what Charlie Weis wants and expects from his tight ends. He expects them to be good blockers who also happen to catch some passes. Christian Fauria and Daniel Graham are the prototypes. So when I look at the roster, I see a lot of tight ends who are decent receivers, but below average blockers. Leonard Pope and Jake O'Connell are perfect examples of that (and O'Connell hasn't proven he can be a receiving tight end yet). On the flip side, that's what makes Tony Moeaki such a great find, even if the Chiefs had to trade an extra pick to draft him. I know we all want to find Tony Gonzalez, but this isn't about what we want. This is about what Charlie Weis wants. And if he stays healthy, Moeaki has potential to be one of the more talented Tight Ends that Charlie Weis has coached. Probably won't be the kind of blocker Graham and Fauria were, but a good blocker. But I think he has potential to also be a threat in the passing game.
Overall Assessment - Chiefs' Offense: The Chiefs did what they could to improve on offense, but there's also a lot of cracks in the armor. Namely, they got a little bit deeper, but they didn't get a whole lot younger. Thomas Jones, Ryan Lilja, Chris Chambers, and Casey Wiegmann are great solutions, but all of them probably have 2 years at the absolute most of productivity left.
I'm also not sure that I agree with the approach of being 100% behind Matt Cassel, which is why I gave the Chiefs such a poor grade for their moves at the Quarterback position. Cassel has potential to be a very good Quarterback for the Chiefs; however, there are some areas of his game that might make you a little nervous. Whether you're optimistic or pessimistic about him, it's the most important position in the game and one that can make or break a Super Bowl and the Chiefs are basically putting all their eggs into one basket. They better be right.
All-in-all, the Chiefs have everything they need to be a solid team on offense. That starts with very good coaching. The offense is going to be relatively simple, but that's the beauty of a Charlie Weis offense. What the Chiefs really did a good job of was arming Weis with versatile players. Weis really likes to do the exact opposite of what the defense is expecting and he's very good at it. If the defense blitzes, expect a screen. If they play pass, expect a run. The way he does that is by having players who are very good at doing multiple things so that he can run different plays out of the same personnel group. Dexter McCluster is a classic example of that. When he's on the field, is he going to be asked to run the ball? Is he going to motion into the slot and become a receiver? Is he going to stay in to pass protect or is he going to motion out to leave a multi-receiver set in an empty backfield?
Offseason moves:
Quarterback - D
Running Game - A
Wide Receivers - A-
Offensive Line - B+
Offensive Coaching Staff - A/A-
Tight Ends - A
OVERALL GRADE: B
Offensive Depth:
Quarterback - B
Running Game - A
Wide Receivers - B
Offensive Line - C+
Tight Ends - C+
OVERALL GRADE: C+/B-