It is Bush who is the next player that is being spotlighted in the "Under the Raider" series. Outside of the Raider Nation, Bush is mostly a forgotten man, but inside the Raider Nation he is well known.

Back in 2003, Scott Pioli signed safety Rodney Harrison, who was a salary cap casualty of the San Diego Chargers.  Harrison was 31 at the time, and was considered by many to have lost a step.  All he did after that was be named defensive captain of the Patriots, win two Super Bowls (including one where he had 7 tackels, 2 INT's, and a sack) and create the 30-30 Club - the only person in the history of the NFL to record 30 sacks andn 30 INTs in a career.

A quick disclaimer here - I hate Rodney Harrison.  I mean it - I think he's a dirty, thuggish cheap-shot artist.  That said - I wish he had played on the Chiefs during the first part of this decade - and that's one of the ulitimate compliments you can pay anyone, right?  "I hate the guy - but man, I wish he played for us."

Harrison reinvented himself with the Patriots, but more importantly, he brought an expectation of success and provided some much needed leadership to a young New England secondary that became a productive unit.

Enter Mike Brown - a former All-Pro safety who was a salary-cap casualty with Chicago, and someone who is thought to have lost a step.  He joins a team that is young, especially in the secondary, and needs someone to bring a winning attitude to the team.  Brown may not be the most athletic person on the team, but he may possess enough intangibles to contribute to the Chiefs' success.  The only question I would have about him is his ability to stay on the field, having missed 44 games the past five years.

Brown may not be Harrison, but there's a reason that Pioli signed him - again, this is Scott Pioli's team.  We just get to cheer for it.

Since I was indisposed this year during the draft, I was unable to conduct what I was hoping would be an annual tradition - drinking beer and saying "WTF?" every time the Chiefs made a draft pick.  It worked well last year, but unfortunately I wasn't able to follow up in 2009.  That's sad, actually, because this was the first year of Scott Pioli's reign of terror...er...general management.  I think it would have been interesting to berate him on the spot rather than two months later.

However, we'll berate him (or praise him) as we see fit now.  Seeing how this is the absolute Bermuda Triangle for NFL news, we have to takes what we's can gets right now.  Without further ado...

1st Round - #3 overall - Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU - I guess if at first you don't succeed, take another LSU defensive lineman in the top five and hope he has a greater impact as a rookie, right?

(In fairness, I think Glen Dorsey did okay in his first year and was cursed with unreasonable expecatations.  While DT is a tough position to make an immediate impact at, I think Dorsey steadily improved as 2008 went on.  Consider this, Chiefs fans - he could be Ryan Sims.  I'll wait until everyone has stopped punching their monitors.)

The Chiefs were in a tough spot at #3 overall - somewhere that Pioli absolutely did not want to be.  From all accounts (and from who I've talked to), he offered everything short of his bodily organs to get out of the spot, but there were no serious offers.  Once Stafford went to the Lions (and he wasn't someone the team was considering anyway) and Jason Smith went to St. Louis, the Chiefs were left with basically two options - Jackson or LB Aaron Curry.  Michael Crabtree was also a possibility, especially after the departure of Tony Gonzalez.

While I think Curry would've been an excellent addition to the team, that's not how Pioli rolls.  The Patriots were built around the defensive line - Vinnie Wolfork, Richard Seymour and Ty Warren), and then had the rest filled in.  The Chiefs are being molded in similar fashion - think about it.

Two of the last three years, the Chiefs have spent their first round picks on defensive linemen (Dorsey and Tamba Hali), and now Jackson.  That's a LOT of investment in the front seven, especially when you consider that LB Derrick Johnson was another first-round pick the year before Hali.

So with Dorsey, Hali, Jackson and Johnson on the front lines, Pioli has a young nucleus that needs to start playing up to expectations.  Jackson should bring a fierceness that was missing from the Chiefs last season - as I used a vulgar slang word usually reserved for felines or female reproductive parts to describe how our defense played for most of the year more times than was probably appropriate. 

Grade - B+

2nd Round - #34 overall - no pick, traded to New England for QB Matt Cassel and LB Mike Vrabel - honestly, this trade alone would warrant the Chiefs an B+ or A- for me in the draft, and I think this move gets overlooked more times than not by the Chiefs' fan base.  Trust me - it's easy to do. I'm just as guilty as the next guy.

While it's easy to question how successful Cassel will be (I know he had Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to), the added bonus of Vrabel in this trade makes it a terric trade - in terms of value to the team, and one bonus feature that I'm hoping happens.

Vrabel brings experience - which is a polite way of saying "he's old".  But he also brings some leadership with him, and I'm hoping that he passes that onto Derrick Johnson and helps transform him into the All-Pro LB we've all been waiting to see for the past four years.  Toss in the addition of LB Zack Thomas via free agency, and DJ has a wealth of knowledge to tap into.  Now I just hope he takes advantage of it.

Back to the draft pick - the Chiefs picked up their starting QB (for a hefty $14.5 million pricetag) and a starting LB that is basically another coach on the field.  Not bad at all, especially considering the Pats took SS Eugene Chung from Oregon with the pick we gave them.  Following Chung, linebackers James Laurinaitis and Rey Maualuga were picked, along with wide receiver Brian Robiskie.  Here's how the team shapes up with and without the trade:

Without the trade:

QB - Tyler Thigpen

LB - Derrick Johnson

LB - Laurinaitis/Maualuga (thank God I don't have to type those names very often)

With the trade:

QB - Matt Cassel (with Thigpen as a very capable backup)

LB - Derrick Johnson

LB - Mike Vrabel

Are we better off?  I'm not 100% sure, but I will say yes.  I think Johnson is physically talented, but lacks the makeup of a good leader - so that gives trading for Vrabel the nod.

Grade - B+

3rd Round - #67 overall - Alex Magee, DT, Purdue - A big dude (6'2, 300 pounds) who has some versatility to play almost anywhere on the line.  With the Chiefs going to a 3-4 defense (or whatever scheme they're calling it - I'm not sure why the team is so adverse to say they are a strict 3-4 defense), the Chiefs will need space-eaters in the middle.  With the rumored move of Dorsey to DE for some downs, this will free up Magee to play the middle along with Ron Edwards and Tank Tyler.  There has been some talk about Magee moving to the outside on some downs, too. 

There's only one reason I don't like this pick - and it's the guy who was taken immediately after Magee, DE Jarron Gilbert out of San Jose State.  I think he could have made a HUGE difference for the team, someone who could register 6-7 sacks his rookie year.  So for that reason, I say...

Grade - B-

4th Round - #102 overall - Donald Washington, CB, Ohio State - I'm not sure what to think of this pick, honestly.  While you can never have enough depth at cornerback, I didn't think it was necessarily a need at this point.  Washington was someone the team wanted in the third round and was (by their standards) lucky to get him in the fourth.

A lot of scouting reports thought that Washington needed more polish on his game, but certainly possessed the physical tools to compete in the NFL.  There were also some off-the-field red flags that are a little scary, too.  As a fourth CB who will most likely be covering the slot, I think he can be a solid contributer right away.  The only minor gripe I have is that the Chiefs could've had Jonathan Luigs, a mountain of a center (6'2, 305 pounds) instead, but that's pulling at straws, especially in the fourth round.

Grade - C+

Rounds 5-7 - #139 overall - Colin Brown, OT, University of Missouri, #175 overall - Quinten Lawrence, WR, McNeese State, #212 overall - Javarris Williams, RB, Tennessee State - #139 overall - Jake O'Connell, WR, Miami (OH) University, #256 overall - Ryan Succop, K, South Carolina - With five picks in the final two rounds, the Chiefs have to find a diamond in the rough - and they may have done so with Brown.

Now, I'm biased in Brown's favor for two reasons:

1.) He's from Mizzou - so that makes him cool by default.

2.) He finally gives me a chance to buy a jersey with my last name on it - which, when you think about it, is amazing.  Colin and I have the fourth-most common last name in the United States - and the best we can get is Dee Brown?  Sigh.

Brown is a monster (6'7, 335) and is an automatic upgrade to our tackle rotation because his name is not Damion McIntosh.  Provided he plays slightly better than a corpse, he should provide more protection than D-Mac.

Lawrence, Williams and O'Connell provide depth and tackling dummies for the team in July and August.  Lawrence has some wheels and may be tried out in the return game (why not?  I think everyone else has had a shot at it), and O'Connell has some size, so they may stick around on the practice squad. 

Finally, Mr. Irrelevant  (Succop - pronounced "Suck up") may finally be the guy that the Chiefs need to stabilize the kicking game.  While I might have chosen Missouri kicker Jeff Woffert (you know - the best kicker in the country last year), I will take ANYONE who can trot out for a 43-yarder in November and not make it a circus act half the time.  If we can get that from the absolute last pick in the draft - well, then that gives this draft a B+ all by itself

Rounds 5-7 Grade - C, with the potential to be a high B if Brown and Succop pan out.

It wasn't a sexy draft by any means - and it had Pioli's fingerprints ALL over it.  Instead of the flashy Crabtree or the high-profile USC linebackers, Pioli picked guys HE wanted.  Make no mistake about it, fans - this is HIS team.  We just get to watch.

Overall grade - B-, with a good chance to make it an A if Cassel, Jackson, Magee and one of the late round picks play like they should.

A 2-14 record.  Larry Johson trying to fight half the female population in Westport.  A half-empty Arrowhead.  An NFL record for lowest sack total by a team with 10.  Marques Hagans taking snaps at quarterback.  Yeah, there was a lot to be ashamed of if you support the Kansas City good guys.

However, was was most embarrasing for me was that instead of 2-14, this team could've been a lot better.  They had a chance in New England (where the diabolical plan to steal the Patriots' GM, backup QB and starting LB was put into fruition with Bernard Pollard's CLEAN hit on Tom Brady).  The Jets game when the team folded down the stretch.  Tampa Bay.  San Diego.  That damn Miami game.  Yeah - the team could've been 6-10, maybe 7-9 last year.  Still not great, but better to be improving than a laughinstock.  That's what we have the Oakland Raiders for.

But what was the common theme during last year's meltdowns?  We had a lead, lost it, and couldn't come back.  That comes down to one thing - conditioning.  It's been said that Herm Edwards was a player's coach (read: he's a pushover when it comes to practicing).  That showed on the field when the team couldn't stop anyone in the second half, or couldn't get the push they needed to get one yard to convert a 4th-and-1 to kill the clock.

Now word comes that new coach Todd Haley is pushing the team to be in better shape.  I'm not sure if it's a sure-fire reason to believe this team will be better in 2009, but at least Haley and company are trying something different.  I would rather take that than the same old status quo of "just make the playoffs so we can raise ticket prices" schtick we've been getting the last 20+ years.

Personally, I'm hoping that Branden Albert starts sneaking food into the locker room after practice - maybe we can have a Chiefs' version of this exchange, with Haley playing the part of Gunnery Seargent Hartman, and Albert as Private Gomer Pyle:

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Holy Jesus! What is that? What the f&#@ is that? WHAT IS THAT, PRIVATE PYLE?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, a jelly doughnut, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: A jelly doughnut?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, yes, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: How did it get here?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, I took it from the mess hall, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Is chow allowed in the barracks, Private Pyle?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, no, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Are you allowed to eat jelly doughnuts, Private Pyle?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, no, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: And why not, Private Pyle?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, because I'm too heavy, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Because you are a disgusting fat body, Private Pyle!
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, yes, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Then why did you try to sneak a jelly doughnut in your foot locker, Private Pyle?
Private Gomer Pyle: Sir, because I was hungry, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Because you were hungry...
[turns and addresses rest of platoon]
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Private Pyle has dishonored himself and dishonored the platoon. I have tried to help him. But I have failed. I have failed because YOU have not helped me. YOU people, have not given Private Pyle the proper motivation! So, from now on, whenever Private Pyle fu#*#@ up, I will not punish him! I will punish all of YOU! And the way I see it ladies, you owe me for ONE JELLY DOUGHNUT! NOW, GET DOWN ON YOUR FACES!
[rest of recruits get in front-leaning-rest position, Hartman turns to Pyle]
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Open your mouth!
[shoves jelly doughnut into PYLE's mouth]
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: They're payin' for it; YOU eat it! Ready! Exercise!

(Can you see Brian Waters doing pushups because Albert snuck in a Chalupa from Taco Bell?  Albert would be beaten with bars of soap wrapped in towels before the sun went down that day.)

So - kudos to Haley and his staff for finally holding the Chiefs accountable for their pathetic performance last year.  It's like they're in high school again - if you mess up, you run laps as punishment.  Maybe getting back to basics is precisely what this team needs.

As a side note, I'm very sorry for the extended delay in posting on Home of the Chiefs. We will get back to a regular posting schedule soon as more action heats up with minicamps, but I've been swamped with my actual job and other obligations at home. Without making too much a fuss about it, let's get on with today's post.

Chiefs fans always seem to have perpetually high expectations, which is ironic, since our traditionally bad baseball team has a championship more recently than our football team, despite this being a "football town."

Given the renovations at Arrowhead and the new regime in town, what kind of expectations are reasonable?

I'm gonna lay it down now and say this Chiefs team wins no more than seven games this year. Then again, we have no idea given the relative media blackout with this team, so they could surprise. They could also be duds. Let's look on both sides of the ball.

Last year, the Chiefs ranked 20^th in the league in passing yards with 195.6 per game, and 16^th in the league with 113.1 yards per game. Yet the scoring offense was 26^th in the league, averaging 18.2 points per game. Tony Gonzalez accounted for about 20% of their scoring (seriously, that's even counting the kicker... so of offensive players, his number is assuredly much higher, but this writer is too busy to dig that hard), and was arguably their best threat to score touchdowns. He's gone now.

On the flip side, Larry Johnson (off-field aside) had a productive season of 4.5 yards / carry. It's obvious that LJ still "has it," and Jamaal Charles is definitely an acceptable alternative (5.3 yards / carry). The ground game, which frustrated fans so much last year, is essential to any winning ballclub. Matt Cassell will surely be a better passer, but I worry about his targets. I don't think this club's problem is productivity when it comes to gaining yardage, but meaningful productivity. This team was awful at converting 3^rd downs (82/214 = 38.3%, almost 10% less than opponents averaged against the Chiefs. Considering teams will typically see more than 10 3^rd downs in a game, that's a significant swing every game).They never seemed to have "big plays" or score touchdowns in key situations.

Not only that, but the defense wasn't good at all last year. 234 yards passing, 159 yards rushing... 393 yards and 27.5 points per game. That's bad. That's real bad. 10 sacks was bad. We're not going to live in the past, but there are two schools of thought to what caused the Chiefs' problems - coaching and talent. Did the Chiefs have significant talent last year? Not really. The Chiefs do not have a marquee defensive player or a bona fide defensive leader who stands out for performance on top of ability. Adding the aging Zach Thomas and obtaining Mike Vrabel (he doesn't even seem like he wants to be here) doesn't seem to be a fix.

A team is the sum of its parts. The Chiefs now have to hope for a superior freshman effort from Todd Haley (who was an offensive specialist, not a defensive whiz), because the talent level on this team isn't there. The media loves to cover words like "leadership" and veteran presence. To an extent, I can buy a need for that. But the Chiefs are going to be under the cap and need to add one more legitimate deep threat and a couple marquee defenders. After all, in recent times, the only "offensive" team that has made a championship was the Indianapolis Colts. Defense wins championships. Switching to a 3-4 may afford some change, but until the talent falls into place, it's not enough to make up for an abysmal defense.

The best thing I hope for this year is an average team. A 7 win season would be a strong sign that these Chiefs might be ready to compete in Haley's second and third years, but I'm not gonna hold my breath for this (we'll take a look at the schedule in a future post). I think it's more reasonable to expect a little less, since this is Todd Haley and Scott Pioli's first years, but last year's team was capable of winning 5-6 more games, so I think this year's team should be moderately better, if not only because the Chiefs have a relatively young roster which now has some vital NFL experience.

But are there any fans left to care? More on that in my next post.

"The Japanese camp guards of World War II always chose one man to kill whenever a batch of new prisoners arrived. I always wondered how they chose the man who was to die. I think I would have been good at choosing the person." - Dwight Schrute, "The Office"

You know who else would be perfect for that position?  Chiefs' general manager Scott Pioli.

We are roughly six months into the Scott Pioli era - and his first round of free agency signings and drafting is complete.  He still has to sign those picks, but I don't want to get into that right now.  What I want to figure out is how we, as Chiefs fans, should feel about this team.

Since Pioli took over, he hired Todd Haley as a head coach, traded the best tight end in the history of football, acquired a starting quarterback and linebacker with one draft pick, pissed off some of the best players on the team and has offered little to no information to the public about his plans for the team other than "we may run the 3-4 defense, kind of...maybe.".

Overall, I'm happys with most of the moves.  Losing Tony Gonzalez was a real ball-buster, but in retrospect, the move had to be made.  Similar to when Jared Allen left town, the end result would leave the Chiefs in a lurch, either financially or roster-wise...or both.  Both players wanted out of town, and the Chiefs got as much for them as possible.  Could the price tag for Gonzalez been higher?  Maybe - but we view the NFL through Chiefs-colored glasses.  Gonzalez is still performing at a high level, and probably will for another 3-4 years - but Pioli has made a living on trading players who wanted out and were not willing to play for "his" team.

Since alienating team and town favorite Brian Waters and trading Gonzalez to Atlanta, Pioli has been perceived by some as either egomaniacal, pompous, arrogant, or just a plain old jerk.  You know what? He doesn't care.

There's a scene in the movie "Goodfellas" when Henry Hill (Ray Liotta's character) is describing how they did business with the local business owners:

"Business bad? F-you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? F-you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning huh? F-you, pay me."

That's basically Pioli's philosophy:  You don't like what I'm doing?  F-you, I'm trying to win a Super Bowl.  And you know what?  I'll take that right now.  This team needed a good high colonic from the top down - and that's exactly what Pioli's doing.

It's going to hurt, Chiefs fans - but I trust that the man has a plan and it will pay dividends in the very near future.