Good morning Chiefs fans and welcome back to the lockout. Yeah that kinda sucks, but at least we have a ton of Kansas City Chiefs news from the draft. Read and enjoy!
Houston seemed to realize what he signed up for. His mistake two months ago likely cost him millions, and perhaps more than that, he lost the trust of one of his most enduring allies.
"It’s about to make me cry right now," said Scott Pennington, who was Houston’s coach at Statesboro High in Georgia. "I love the guy to death, but that — I mean, that’s about as disappointed as I’ve been in a long time."
The Chiefs are gambling that the memory, fallout and burned bridges from Houston’s failed drug test will remain with him for years — and that he will learn from it.
Pennington said he’d like to believe that’s true for a player who never found trouble in high school or even visited Pennington’s office for a tough-love discussion. Pennington used to use Houston as a model for younger players; he is the type of player, Pennington told them, that you want to be like.
Chiefs Take Some Chances in This Year's Draft from KC Star
So Chiefs fans are left with those nine names on a piece of paper right now. Once the draft ended, the teams are not allowed to talk to the players they drafted, or any others for that matter. They just disappear into the lockout fog with 1,700 veterans.Always at this time of the year we are subjected to each team's draft class receiving a grade. Thirty plus years I've been doing this and I'll be damned if I can figure out how that's done. I don't know if a year, three years, five years or 10 years is needed to evaluate a group of draft choices. I do know there's nothing but silliness to do the evaluation in the hours after the class has been formed.
The Morning After... Sunday Cup O'Chiefs from Bob Gretz
Stanzi has more going for him than the fact that Pioli is good friends with Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz and Stanzi is good friends with Chiefs tight end Tony Moeaki, who also played at Iowa and was drafted by Pioli last year.
Stanzi will eventually have to earn his place with the Chiefs, but he has some qualities that make it seem reasonable that he can do even more than that.
"He's a smart, game-managing quarterback you can count on," said draft analyst Shawn Zobel, who runs draftheadquarters.com.
"He's a great leader, too. He's the prototypical developmental quarterback who gives the Chiefs a good long-term backup or eventual successor to Matt Cassel down the road. He has the arm to make all of the throws and he's accurate, but he doesn't have elite arm strength."
Chiefs Add QB by Picking Stanzi in Fifth Round from KC Star
Q: Tell me a little bit about this Iron Buffalo Award you won for the DBs last season?
BROWN: "That's actually an award given to different positions on the team, a few on defense and a few on offense. It's kind of the guy who puts the most dedication and hard work inside of the weight room, and working hard on and off the field you know, developing as a player, and I was the player on defense who was selected to have that award given."
Draft Exclusive: One-on-One With Jalil Brown from The Mothership
Q: How much did you follow the Chiefs?
STANZI: "I think you have a lot going on during your own time, but the Chiefs have a great tradition, Arrowhead, great fans and it is a great place to play. Just to be a part of it now is really an honor."
Q: Have you ever seen a game at Arrowhead?
STANZI: "No, I have not."
Draft: Ricky Stanzi Q&A from The Mothership
Q: What do you know about the Chiefs? What do you think they have in store for you?
MILLER: "I've been following the Chiefs for a long time. I love the tradition they have going on there and I love the fan base there. They have the loudest stadium in the whole league. Whatever the coaches have in store for me is what I'm going to do. I'm going to come in there and work my butt off every day and make myself better and try to make the team better."
Draft: Gabe Miller Q&A from The Mothership
Q: Have you kept up with the Chiefs at all?
BANNON: "I know that the Hunt family, it's a storied program, and Arrowhead Stadium, everyone talks about how it's an unbelievable place to play, greatest fans, and how loud it is, I can't wait to come in and work hard and just do what I have to do, just couldn't be more excited about the opportunity."
Draft: Shane Bannon Q&A from The Mothership
Q: Have you watched much of the Chiefs the past couple of years?
POWE: "Yes I have. That's the best young team I've ever seen, take the field and play well, got a lot of young guys, lot of guys from the SEC so that's one of the reasons why I watched them . They have a pretty good team right there, I think we have the chance to do some things really special."
Draft: Jerrell Powe Q&A from The Mothership
Q: Can you go over the rules of what you're able to do with your draft picks with the lockout?
PIOLI: "We're done talking to them. We're done."
Q: You can't bring them in?
PIOLI: "When the draft ended the situation is back to being what it was last week and that is regardless of what they are, just like there is no rookie free agency right now."
Q: You can't send them video?
PIOLI: "It's done. Yep."
Draft: Scott Pioli Thrid Day Q&A from The Mothership
The Kansas City Chiefs drafted someone from Hog Hammock and someone from Yale.
They took a guy who used to make his living frying chicken and a guy who worked in a jail.
Most of all, says Scott Pioli, they went a long way in the 2011 draft toward improving their team, both near-term and long.
"We believe we accomplished something that we've talked about consistently when we first started here," said the Chiefs' third-year general manager. "We became a bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, tougher football team through this draft."
Chiefs Take Colorado Cornerback in Fourth Round from Fox News
The way former Colorado cornerback Jalil Brown sees it, the Kansas City Chiefs are getting a hungry football player eager to prove the skeptics wrong.
"I've got a chip on my shoulder," Brown said.
Brown was projected as a possible second-day selection by some NFL draft analysts. That didn't happen. Brown remained on the board until well into the fourth round Saturday, finally going No. 118 overall to the Chiefs.
Chiefs Draft Brown; Jets Get McKnight from The Denver Post
"They just told me that they're excited to have me come there, I told them I was excited to come there and I'm excited to play in Arrowhead Stadium," Brown said in an interview posted on the Chiefs Web site. "I know they have a ton of great fans and this is terrific for me."
Brown joins one of the most exciting and up-and-coming teams in the league. The Chiefs have made major improvements in recent years through the draft, particularly on offense, but haven't won a playoff game since 1993.
Kansas City Chiefs Select CU Buffs Defensive Back Jalil Brown from The Brush News-Tribune
"I plan on coming back and supporting my school and my team for the rest of my life," Powe said at the time. "I am in my prime right now and I feel it is in my best interest to start using my ability to earn a living for me and my family. I am very thankful to the Ole Miss family, the coaching staff and my teammates for the support I have been shown these past few years."
His agent, Bus Cook, said in April that "somebody's gonna get a steal" in Powe.
Powe Chosen in Sixth Round by Chiefs from The Jackson Clarion Ledger
Hudson, the B.C. Rain High graduate and Florida State All-American guard, was taken by the Chiefs in the second round of the NFL draft Friday with the No. 55 overall pick.
"I'm excited to be getting the opportunity," said Hudson, who watched the draft with his family in Mobile. "I met with (the Chiefs) at the combine. They have a great tradition, and I'm just looking forward to the opportunity."
2011 NFL Draft's Second Round Includes B.C. Rain's Rodney Hudson from AL.com
The Chiefs did a little risky business in this draft. They took a talented receiver who has been accused of being a diva in the first round (Pitt's Jonathan Baldwin), and gambled a bit on an play-making outside linebacker who reportedly failed a combine drug test in the third round (Georgia's Justin Houston).
That's either a sign of the Chiefs doing their homework and feeling as if both players haven't been fairly characterized, or Kansas City is willing to take a few more chances now that it has established a baseline of success in the Scott Pioli/Todd Haley era.
NFL Have-Nots Improved, Chiefs Roll the Dice, More Saturday Snaps from Sports Illustrated
Hundreds of children from Southwest Georgia were on hand for Americus native and former UGA standout Leonard Pope's Annual Kids Day.
Pope, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, was joined by NFL friends Edgerrin James (Colts, Cardinals), Marcus McNeill (Chargers), Thomas Davis (Panthers), Charles Grant (Saints, Dolphins), Dexter McCluster and Jake O'Connel (Chiefs) and a number of local semi-pro and high school players as they led the kids through a intense workout that begin with a walk through downtown Americus to Alton Shell Stadium.
Kids Day Another Success from The Americus Times-Recorder
Earlier this month, Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli joined PFT Live to explain in further detail the intersection, in his view, between NFL scouting and The Breakfast Club. Pioli pointed to one of the minor characters in the film - Carl the Janitor - who was in reality the eyes and ears of the institution."Carl the Janitor" Was Working Overtime in Kansas City from Pro Football Talk
"I thought it was great that Von is wearing No. 58," said Elway. "I know he really likes Derrick."
Still, the idea of the outside linebacker walking around the building wearing No. 58 gave Elway unwanted flashbacks.
"I told him not to walk behind me," Elway joked.John Elway Suddenly Likes No. 58 from ESPN
Allen Bailey/DL/Round 3/Kansas City/No. 86: Character concerns and a senior year that did not meet expectations knocked Bailey out of the first round, but his drop into the third round is without justification. He'll be a terrific fit as a two-gap end in the Chiefs' defense and could eventually move in with the first team.
Jerrell Powe/DT/Kansas City/Round 6/No. 199: Powe had a litany off the field issues as well as character questions which pushed him deep into the draft yet the big-bodied lineman has starting potential. The Chiefs may have found their future nose tackle.
2011 Draft: Steals and Reaches from Sports Illustrated
Gabe Miller became the latest under-the-radar NFL draft pick produced by the Oregon State football team.
On Saturday, Miller was the second former OSU player taken in the 2011 draft when the Kansas City Chiefs used the 140th overall pick in the fifth round on him...
...Miller played defensive end for the Beavers, but is listed as an outside linebacker for the Chiefs.
"I like that position a lot, and see that as a good fit for me," Miller said. "I think it fits my skill set. I'm athletic enough to drop into coverage and cover a tight end, but still able to rush the quarterback."
Former Beavers Miller, Rodgers Drafted in Fifth Round from The Corvallis Gazette-Times
It took a Raiders opponent to summarize this team's draft most aptly.
Firing a tweet to wide receiver Denarius Moore, his former University of Tennessee teammate, Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry wrote: "we used to go at it at practice everyday ... now it's gonna b twice a yr. Oak got a good one. N their track team might b complete lol."
NFL Draft: Raider Again "Run to Speed" from PressDemocrat.com
In recent seasons it was difficult for even the most loyal Colorado football fans to watch the team play.
Fortunately, Bill Belichick was paying close attention. So were Ozzie Newsome and Scott Pioli.
Some of the smartest men in the NFL get it: CU still produces great players.
And quality young men.
Thorburn: NFL Draft Highlights Buffs' Bright Spots from ColoradoDaily.com
Record books are reminders that No. 1 draft picks from Aliquippa before Jonathan Baldwin enjoyed long and successful NFL careers...
...Now, it's Baldwin's turn. The 21-year-old was selected by Kansas City with the 26th pick of this year's draft.
"I pack in the football," said Baldwin, a huge wide receiver (6-foot-4, 228 pounds) who runs extremely well for a man his size. "I bring big-play activity to the Chiefs."
Baldwin is New Haley's Comet from The Beaver County Times
6. Failing a drug test at the scouting combine is a very, very bad idea
If you don't believe us, just ask Georgia outside linebacker Justin Houston and Iowa defensive lineman Christian Ballard. The news came out this week that each player had reportedly failed tests for marijuana at the combine, which is about the dumbest drug test failure you can manage - it's not exactly random and surprising. As a result, Houston dropped from where most people had him projected (late first or early second round) to the seventh pick in the third round, where the Kansas City Chiefs picked him up. Things were worse for Ballard, who was taken by the Minnesota Vikings early in the fourth round after most people thought he'd be gone by the mid-second.
10 Things We Learned from the 2011 NFL Draft from Yahoo! Sports