Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 6/6

Phase Three OTAs Day Six Recap from The Mothership

Q: Do the position battles start right now?

REID: "Oh yeah, every snap they get. That's what you want to do. John Dorsey has done a great job of bringing personnel that generate competition. Good personnel. There are some spots. Really, everybody should feel that, every spot should feel that."

Q: What about the tight end battle?

REID: "It looks like it. It looks like there is some good competition there for sure."

The Price Of It All from The Mothership

Early in the spring of 1964, the AFL could take pride it was still in existence after three very difficult seasons...

...Still, the AFL was looking to save money.  It wasn't out of the woods yet, so to speak.

In an early memorandum of March of that year the league office took a look at the expenses of its teams.  Everything was covered from tickets to the cost of meals on the road down to the miniscule fees paid to the fellows who held the yard-markers on the sidelines.

For a reader born in the mid to late ‘40s (like, ahem, the humble author of this column), the numbers will bring a smile to your face of a time gone-by.  For those born much later, there will no doubt be the occasional expression of disbelief, sort of "how could you get anybody to do this?"  Like I said, you should have lived then.

In any case, take a look and draw your own conclusions:

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: OTAs Day Six Photo Gallery

KCChiefs.com Video: Phase Three OTAs: Andy Reid

KCChiefs.com Video: Top 100 Players Of 2014: Justin Houston

Andy Reid Can't Stop Talking About Food At Chiefs' OTAs from FS Kansas City

A few minutes later, the questions switched from Reid's desert -- or is it appetizer? -- of choice to a comment Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith made on NFL Network recently that the Chiefs coach is "always treating us (players) to cheeseburgers. That's the one thing that's always coming out."

Which, in turn, led to this little exchange:

REPORTER: How often do you get cheeseburgers for the players?

REID: "We had cheeseburgers Saturday night. I mean, I use that term all over. It's hard to beat a good cheeseburger. I mean, it's hard."

REPORTER: How else would you use that term?

REID: "I don't know. 'This press conference is getting old. I need to go grab a cheeseburger.'"

Reid Pleased With Progress During OTAs from Chiefs Spin

OTA observations

Quarterback Alex Smith has consistently looked sharp throughout OTAs throwing the deep ball during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11. Smith located wide receiver Donnie Avery streaking behind free safety Sanders Commings, put the ball on Avery's hands in stride, but Avery dropped it.

Smith also found wide receiver Dwayne Bowe deep down the field against cornerback Marcus Cooper. Bowe pulled in the catch as free safety Husain Abdullah was late getting over to help.

Chiefs Might Just Be The Most 'Average' Good Team In The AFC from FS Kansas City

Quarterback Alex Smith was a Pro Bowler last winter, and at least very good (23 touchdown passes, seven picks), by any objective measure; here, he was categorized as "Average" at his position by PFF -- something Mrs. Smith and Smith's agent, Tom Condon, might want to have a word with the stat boys about, given the reported sensitivity of Big No. 11's contract talks.

On the flip side, PFF crushed slot cornerback (and the depth chart projects him as such) Brandon Flowers last fall (-5.9 rating, the worst of any Chiefs defensive starter), but classified him as "Good" for this week's depth chart. It also considers kicker Ryan Succop as "Poor" and punter Dustin Colquitt as "Average," so maybe it's best to take these ratings with more than a few grains of salt. If not the whole shaker.

NFL Nation: 4 Downs -- AFC West from ESPN

Did the Chiefs make a mistake by not drafting a wide receiver?

Gutierrez: It would appear as such, especially with the consensus feeling out there before the draft that the Chiefs' biggest need was a receiver...

Legwold: Having seen what Andy Reid has done in the past in the passing game with running backs like Duce Staley and LeSean McCoy, it's likely fourth-round pick De'Anthony Thomas is going to see plenty of time lined up like a wide receiver...

Teicher: They didn't make a mistake if they didn't like any of the available receivers when they made their picks in the first and third rounds. But it's difficult to see how the passing game will continue to flourish as it did late last season without the Chiefs getting at least some help from one of their draft picks...

Williams: Consistent production at receiver appears to be the Achilles' heel of Kansas City's offense heading into the 2014 season...

Confidence Grows At Chiefs Tight End Position from Chiefs Spin

The Chiefs' aerial attack experienced first-year woes in a new system last year, sputtering through the first half of the regular season averaging 208.8 yards passing per game.

While the passing game improved during the second half, an important piece of coach Andy Reid's version of the West Coast offense never left the starting line.

But look for that to change as the tight ends enter a second season in the scheme.

Eight Takeaways From Thursday's OTAs from NFL.com

The Chiefs and Bengals are at a loggerheads in negotiations because there is no second-tier quarterback market. Smith and Dalton are simply not tasked to do as much as the high-end signal-callers. Coaches can't run an intricate pass-heavy attack if their quarterbacks have game-manager skill sets.

Kansas City is prepared to wield the franchise tag next offseason if Smith doesn't lower his asking price. Cincinnati appears to be in a similar quagmire with Dalton.

The guess here is that both players will come in below the $40 million mark for the first three years of their next contract. If they hold out for more, they might find that the Chiefs and Bengals are willing to let them test their value on the open market in the 2016 offseason.

Absences By Other Defensive Tackles Could Keep Brandon Deaderick Busy With New Orleans Saints from NOLA.com

The wait to find a new team this time was a bit longer after the Jaguars chose not to re-sign him and he became an unrestricted free agent. He recently worked out for the Kansas City Chiefs before the Saints signed him this week, he said.

Trophy Envy: Why The Cardinals Have Become The Team Kansas City Has Learned To Hate from FS Kansas City

Hate, the good kind, the old-fashioned kind, the powerful kind, is a layered beast. Over the last 20 years, a generation, the city of St. Louis has seen its pro sports franchises play in four World Series as well as -- even more galling to western Missouri's largest city, where football is king, queen and executioner -- twoSuper Bowls, winning one.

The Rams luck into Kurt Warner.

The Chiefs luck into Elvis Grbac.

Since December 1994, St. Louis NFL teams have collected six postseason victories. Kansas City's pro footballing charges have appeared in seven playoff tilts over that same span -- all of them losses, four of those defeats by seven points or less.

East side: Ricky Proehl.

West side: [Kicker's Name Redacted]

Med Student Gets Drafted To The NFL from The Almost Doctor's Channel

Duvernay-Tardif has accepted his draft pick and now intends to complete medical school while simultaneously playing major league football (oookay). He hopes to complete his clinical training in 2 month increments during the off-season and to finish his 4th year of training over a 3 or 4 year span. He also is committed to using his medical knowledge to help improve safety in the game. Duvernay-Tardif says he will wear a sensor in his helmet to track the frequency and force of collisions that are common on the offensive line. He hopes to help his coaches understand when his teammates are at risk for repeated concussions and when to prevent these players from returning to the field.

OTA Roundup: Rams Ease QB Bradford Back Into Action from FOX Sports

Bowe, who signed a five-year deal with Kansas City last March, has taken a new approach to the offseason by hiring a staff to make sure he's peaking at the right time.

"I have a personal trainer that travels with me and a nutritionist," Bowe said, via KCChiefs.com. "The older you get, your numbers decline and you're not as fast, so I took it upon myself to hire people to help me.