Kansas City Chiefs mailbag time

We're sitting on the precipice of the offseason doldrums. Sure, right now there's some voluntary camp stuff going on (which is awesome), and the draft is right around the corner (less awesome since I assume I know what's going to happen... darn you Luke Joeckel for not being a pass rusher).

But after that we've got a looooooonnnnnnggggg offseason ahead of us. And I don't know about you, but sometimes I need a break from all this serious talk about Alex Smith and Dexter McCluster and Jon Baldwin and Jeff Allen and on and on and on...

So in the interest of that, I'm trying something new. And by new, I mean borrowed from every single blog of the nineties and every single newspaper since the dawn of time.... Mailbag!

Here's the way I'd like this to work...

1) I get your emails at MNchiefsfan@hotmail.com,

2) I throw some into a column with my unique (or something) perspective.

3) Profit

4) Chiefs win the Super Bowl (I can neither confirm nor deny that you sending me mailbag questions will in fact facilitate a Chiefs' Super Bowl victory. But what if it does? Are you willing to risk NOT helping?)

This has been (and will be) an open mailbag. As in, any question/comment on any subject is welcome. If that means Chiefs, great. If that means television, awesome. Life in general? Sounds good. Questions for my wife? I'll talk her into it. Michael J. Fox movies? Well, that'll probably mostly be craig in calgary, but if that's what it takes to drag him in, perfect.

I got a great response from people prior to this first one, and the more I get the better these will be! For AP users I'll use their handles, for e-mailers who aren't "APers" (of which I had a surprising amount) I'll just write their first name. Let's get started with what I hope is the first of many weekly mailbags...

(By the way, if you emailed me and don't see it, don't fret. I'm saving many for the future and could always use more!)

I was wondering what you would consider the best football based movies. I don't care how old or how new, a comedy or drama. Whether it be Varsity Blues, Any Given Sunday, The Program, Friday Night Lights or any other one that I can't think of right now. Throw them at us MN and be prepared for ridicule if you choose unwisely. :)

Corey (AP user, but handle unknown. Who are you???)

Now this is what I'm talking about! I'm going to go with top 3, starting with 3. I feel obligated to tell you that I have never seen the original "The Longest Yard" or "Brian's Song." So all of you old-timers who foam at the mouth when I don't include those two, take it easy :). I'm sure they're great and stuff. Better yet, explain to me why exactly I need to see those movies. Anyway, about that list...

3) Remember the Titans

Now you can complain all you want about the football scenes being mediocre at best (and yes, they were). And I'm almost certain that my fondness for this movie is at least in part related to me being the exact right age when I saw it for the first time (early in high school) so I wasn't too concerned with overly cheesy moments. At the end of the day, this movie has a great story, solid acting, and Denzel doing Denzel stuff like saying "who's your daddy, Gary?" Can you REALLY go against a movie that has that moment? The expression on Gary's face in that moment is priceless.

Also, you can't throw aside the fact that this movie has "Turk." No, I have no idea what his real name is. And yes, I know not everyone watched "Scrubs" (because people are crazy). And no, I don't even remember the CHARACTER'S name. He's Turk. He's transported from Sacred Heart right onto a football team in the 60's! Turk helped kill racism! Turk is shoving a hippie blonde guy for making him feel bad! It's awesome.

2) Rudy

I don't even know how to argue about this one. It's just a great flick. Of course, it lead to a nation's obsession with guys like Nate Eachus. I mean really, without Rudy does Nate Eachus ever even make an NFL roster? Without Rudy do fans drool over under-athletic white guys? Without Rudy would we get to hear all about "heart" and "guts" and "hustle" year after year as fans try to explain why smaller, slower players will somehow make it in the NFL?

And yet, despite that, I still love this movie. Corny does it for me.

1) Invincible

That's right, I'm going controversial. I'm almost certain it's going to get me yelled at, but I don't care. This movie just resonates with me on a million different levels. It's basically Rudy all over again, but with adults, better acting and less corny throughout (but still just enough to make me believe in America, thank you very much). Also, Mark Wahlberg is an actor I can't seem to dislike, even if I can't say for certain that he's not terrible. I can't explain that feeling. I just like the guy. When he gets a letter from his (now moved out wife) telling him what a loser he is, I believe it. He nails it as the "guy who is a loser but you can tell he's really not a loser."

Also, doesn't everyone who has been in a serious flag football league know at least that one guy who makes you stop and think (even if for just a second), "man, I wonder if that guy could at least hang at training camp on a sucky team." Well HERE'S your story! It actually happened! Will it ever happen again? Absolutely not. But that doesn't make it any less incredible that a guy got SIGNED OFF THE STREET AND PLAYED IN THE NFL FOR SEVERAL SEASONS. That "holy crap" factor is enough to push it to number one on my list.

Make a sincere argument that Jamaal Charles is the best RB in the league. Tell me why you'd rather have him than the reigning MVP please.

Colin

Gee, I wonder if this is a Vikings fan. All right, fine, I'll make the argument, with the caveat that Adrian Peterson is likely the best. But how about this...

The NFL has changed. The "cowbell" back who carries the ball 25 times a game is pretty much over. The new wave of the NFL is the passing offense. And with that comes the new wave of RBs: guys who can help out in the passing game. And Adrian Peterson, while having done so at times, is not a consistent receiver. I'm not saying the dude's got stone hands (though they aren't great), but he's not a guy you can send out on a variety of routes. He's a "desperation checkdown" RB, nothing more.

JC is different. He can line up in the slot. He can line up outside. He's faster than most WRs. He's got great hands. He's a guy you can throw to 100 times in a season. Now, have we seen all of that? Nope (thanks a lot Chiefs OCs of previous years). But it's there, and I believe we'll see it this season. If you're using an offense that emphasizes the pass (and the VAST majority of NFL offenses do) you want a guy you can put all over the field and create mismatches with, not a guy who is stuck in the backfield.

And Colin, before you try and argue that All Day makes up for it by being a better runner, let me point something out... Of the two running backs we're talking about, one has never had a YPC under 5.3 yards for a season. The other has finished above that mark twice. Yeah, All Day had a great year. And guess what... he STILL fell well short of JC's 6.4 YPC of 2010.

Also, go ahead and feel free to go over and check out who currently leads the All-Time list of Yards Per Carry in the NFL. It ain't Adrian Peterson. Just saying.

Bruce Kluckhohn USA TODAY Sports

My wife got a summer internship at K State, so I will be taking her there in May to get her settled in. We are longtime chiefs fans, but have never been anywhere near Kansas. What good bbq place would be open after 10 on a Friday night for when we first get to KC (within 15 minutes of downtown)? What to order (including sides)? What is the best BBQ in KC for our main meal on Saturday? What to order (including sides)?What is the best non-BBQ restaurant in KC? (preferably ethnic and affordable)

Are there any good bars (preferably of the dive variety) within walking distance of the Best Western on Southwest near downtown? Is that even a safe neighborhood to walk around in late at night? If not, we can always cab it, so any good bars in metro KC would be appreciated.

GettinThiggyWithIt

Wow, I'm way, way, way under-qualified to answer all those. I'll leave it to our fine folks here on AP to answer, as my sole trip to KC consisted of one Saturday night dinner at Oklahoma Joe's and Arrowhead the next day.

I will say this... I don't care what a couple of contrary-type-folks say, Oklahoma Joe's and the Z-man were as good as advertised. I'd recommend it highly. Beyond that, hopefully some people can help you out. I'm guessing they will, considering the fact that your screen name is one of the best I've ever seen.

Samwise Gamjee v. Tyrion Lannister in a fist fight...who wins?

Sarvesh

I think Sarvesh just won the internet with that question. Lord of the Rings vs. Game of Thrones? On a blog? It just doesn't get nerdier than this. I love it. Let's break it down.

Samwise Side- Dude's a hobbit, not a dwarf/midget. They're a tough species. And remember Tyrion's not a "Middle Earth" dwarf. He's just a small, weak dude. Also, Sam's got a lot more direct combat experience. Do you really think he's gonna be scared of Tyrion after fighting a giant freaking spider? C'mon, man. He killed three orcs on his own while going UP a flight of stairs! He's worn the One Ring! He fought (on multiple occasions) one of the creepiest characters in cinema history (if you didn't find Gollum creepy, you're inhuman). No contest.

Tyrion Side- He's much, much, much, much, much, MUCH smarter than Sam. To use my way-too-often-repeated catchphrase, it's not even close. I can see him convincing Sam to walk off a cliff or fall on his own sword. Plus, you HAVE to take into account the possibility that Tyrion has someone protecting him. You can't automatically discount it, even if the fight is supposed to be one-on-one. Tyrion would find a way to cheat to win.

Winner- Gotta go with Sam. Just too much grit. I love grit. He's like the "Rudy" of this fight. Wait a minute...

Would you give Jamarcus Russell a tryout?

Steven

Uh... a tryout to do what, exactly? If it's to represent America in an eating contest, yes. If it's to make excuses for me if I fail miserably at life, sure. If it's to play quarterback for an NFL team? Well, no.

Maybe for the AFL or a flag football team though. I mean, what's the downside there?

Given my luck with this kind of thing, Russell will now somehow get that tryout with the AFL, turn it into an NFL gig with the, win 4 Super Bowls in a row with the Raiders [beating the Chiefs in the AFC Championship each year], then show up at my house and punch me in the face.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Who do you think is the one unsung player on the Chiefs roster who could step up and make a Pro Bowl next year?

BroncosFanForLife

Let me narrow it down to four guys right now. Jon Asamoah, Tyson Jackson, Brandon Flowers, Dontari Poe.

I have to eliminate Flowers from consideration because even though he's never made the Pro Bowl, most football fans seem to know who he is. So to call him "unsung" is a bit of a stretch. And as much as I'd love to say Poe or TJax (I love the fact they're lining up in the interior of the nickel packages to start things off. Interior push for the win!), I think by far the most likely candidate is Big Jon.

I've been an Asamoah fan since we drafted the guy. He's improved dramatically every year, from

1) Subbing in a couple games his rookie year and not completely sucking, to

2) Playing decently his first year starting with great pass pro but a weakness in run blocking, to

3) Playing at a very solid overall level last year.

If he improves even half as much this year as he has each of the previous 3, he's going to be a stud. Memo to Dorsey: get this man a contract extension. Like now.

Also, wow, we've already done 2200 words? Time flies when you're having fun. I hope to get an even greater choice of emails for (hopefully) next week, and that this was as fun to read as it was to write.