MANUFACTURED JOY - KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

by Zac, Throwing Into Traffic


1. More draft picks are better than fewer!

Fortunately for Chiefs fans, Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards discovered one important truth this past draft: It’s easier to just cast more hooks than it is to become a better fisherman. Considering they managed to turn various deals, including the blockbuster trade of their Pro Bowl DE Jared Allen, into twelve picks, the odds are good that at least one will stick. The haul this year isn’t half bad. In addition to the apparent steal of the first round, who we’ll get to in a bit, the Chiefs managed to pick up an offensive line project with the potential to start at either tackle or guard, a corner that many people see as a first round caliber player, an enormous pass catching tight end teach behind Tony Gonzalez, and a handful of other picks with the potential to stick around (keep an eye on WR Will Franklin, who has the size to turn the Kansas City receiving corps into Arizona-lite).


2. Dwayne Bowe was the surprise of last year’s draft!

Sneaking past receivers who were drafted higher, who were bigger, who were faster, and who were generally considered to be more geared for immediate success, WR Dwayne Bowe put together a 995 yard season and led all rookie receivers in both receptions and yardage. Oh, and he was catching passes from the likes of Brody Croyle and Tyler Thigpen, once Damon Huard started to slow down a bit. For whatever reason (and for the record, I think Calvin Johnson will be much better), Bowe’s used his size better than any other receiver in his class and showed a penchant for attacking the ball that earned him comparisons to Larry Fitzgerald. With Tony Gonzalez returning, Larry Johnson healthy, and stiffer competition for the number two spot across the field, this season could finally find Bowe with a little more room to create the kind of mismatches that he exploited at every opportunity last season.

3. Larry Johnson might not have to carry the ball 500 times this year!

The bad news is that Herm Edwards may very well have broken RB Larry Johnson when he allowed him to set the record for carries in a single season in 2006. That was stupid. REALLY stupid (Johnson himself complained about the offensive gameplan, which you would do too if you were told to run into a wall 416 times). The good news, however, is that when Johnson has been healthy, he’s been amazing. Like, 1750 yards on 336 carries in a season amazing (5.2 per carry!!!) Built to handle between the tackles contact, yet fast enough to lose people around the edges, Johnson is one of the league’s most dangerous backs. The real shame of last season, of course, was that Johnson went down just as Bowe was beginning to emerge as a deep threat. With both Bowe and TE Tony Gonzalez keeping defenses honest vertically, it will be interesting to see what Johnson does, and certainly telling as to how much gas he has left in the tank.

4. Brody Croyle can’t get worse (right?)!

Is there a less exciting quarterback in the league than Brody Croyle? He put up a league worst 5.48 YPA, split his INTs and TDs exactly 6/6, he’s already playing on two torn ACLs, and the vast majority of youtube footage on the kid is negative (the clip below is entitled “Brodie’s Greatest Hits,” and makes me sad to watch). I thought KC fans were supposed to be all rabid and crazy for this guy. I mean, ordinarily this is where I make the obligatory “at least his wife is hot” comment, but, I mean, what was ANYBODY thinking here?



5. Glenn Dorsey…GLENN DORSEY!!!

It’s saying something when the “steal of the draft” went with the 5th pick. That is exactly how good I think Glenn Dorsey will be. 6’2”, 303 lbs, Dorsey spent pretty much his entire college career in opponents’ backfields, disrupting plays and crushing quarterbacks. The base that he shows from the DT position, pushing linemen back as though they were high schoolers, is absolutely incredible, unlike anything I’ve seen outside of Albert Haynesworth, who could have been MVP last year considering what he meant to the Titans. Add him to a defense that was on the positive side of the league average and was surprisingly stiff against the pass (5th in the league) and stingy with points (14th, but considering their record that's surprising), and opponents who think that losing Jared Allen made the Kansas City defensive front four significantly weaker are going to be in for a surprise when Dorsey starts repeatedly landing on top of their quarterbacks. Carnage alone should keep Chiefs fans glued to the team this year.