I'm beginning to look forward to listening to Bill Muir's weekly press conferences on the Chiefs website (of course, right as the season ends). He gives a very honest and candid look at the players on the team and sometimes, like in the case of Jared Gaither, players not on the team. He comes across as an old-school guy and I enjoy listening to what he has to say.
Muir talked with the media on Friday and there was a good part in there about Brandon Albert's transition into the NFL and how he's played lately.
"I thought he played the best football that he's played since I've been here," Muir said of Albert's 2011 season. "I know what the expectations are and, you know, he probably hasn't lived up to those expectations. But as I look at the left tackles around the league at who's playing and who he's had to play against I have no reservations in saying this is the best year he's had."
As for where he stands among other left tackles in the league, Muir says he thinks Albert could start for most teams in the league.
"I think he's competitive," Muir said. "I think he could start for most teams in the league. Are there some limitations or areas he can improve on? I don't know...Yes, I shouldn't say I don't know. Yes, there are.
"I believe, and again I speak for nobody, once a player has been in the league and has been playing regularly for three years, at the end of three years you know what you have. I give him the benefit of the doubt because of his situation coming out of Virginia. He hadn't been a tackle except for a couple snaps in practice. It was fundamentally learning a new position. So I think for him this is his fourth year and I kind of think you know what you got right now."
And what do the Chiefs have in Albert?
"In my opinion a good enough tackle to win with but you probably won't see his bust in Canton," Muir said.