Thursday, April 27, 2006
DRAFT 2006: Chiefs looking at defense
Despite all the changes for the Kansas City Chiefs in the last four months, plenty has stayed the same.
Herman Edwards took over for retired coach Dick Vermeil, and inherited an offense that returns nearly everyone on offense.
And once again, the Chiefs will probably use their first draft pick Saturday to help a defense that ended up near the bottom of the league for the fourth straight year.
Kansas City picks 20th, and will probably go for a cornerback or a pass-rushing defensive end.
"Hopefully, the guys we're going to pick come in and help us right now," Edwards said. "I'm a firm believer when you draft players, you don't wait to let them play."
But few recent draft choices have helped shore up the Chiefs' perennially leaky defense, which has been a big reason why they have been out of the playoffs since 2003.
Linebacker Derrick Johnson, last year's top pick out of Texas, became a starter but lacked the big-play pop president and general manager Carl Peterson was seeking. Defensive lineman Ryan Sims, the No. 4 overall pick in 2002, has struggled to become a starter.
Hulking defensive lineman Junior Siavii, their first pick in 2004, has made more news for his part in a training camp fracas in Minneapolis last summer than for his play.
But Kansas City has no choice but to look again toward defense.
Peterson finally cut loose cornerback Eric Warfield and backup Dexter McCleon, when it looked as though the Chiefs would be several million dollars over the salary cap, and now has nobody to play opposite Patrick Surtain.
Peterson and Bill Kuharich, vice president of player personnel, have all but conceded that cornerback and defensive end will be priorities, despite signing Lenny Walls, Chris Johnson and Carlos Hall in free agency.
"We'd like to think that's a position that has some depth and quality," Peterson said of the defensive backs available. "There are going to be some in the first or second round which you would hope could come in and help immediately."
That should suit Edwards, a former defensive back, just fine.
Edwards helped draft Brian Kelly, and Donnie Abraham and Ronde Barber became Pro Bowl players in Tampa Bay under his watch. He also picked nine cornerbacks in five years with the New York Jets.
But if the Chiefs wait until the second round to draft a cornerback, they most certainly will look to defensive end first - another position that has a decent amount of depth and talent in the draft.
North Carolina State's Manny Lawson and Boston College's Mathias Kiwanuka are both possibilities, as is Florida State defensive end Kamerion Wimbley, whom Kuharich showered with praise but whose stock would have to slip.
"When you're evaluating, you go through the breakdown of a player of his ability to get off the ball, use his hands to get off the blocker. Wimbley has a lot of those things," Kuharich said. "He's a good prospect."
If the Chiefs look to offense, it could be at wide receiver, where reserves Marc Boerigter and Chris Horn both left in free agency. Peterson also mentioned the need for offensive line and quarterback projects in the later rounds, who could be developed to help replace aging stars Willie Roaf, Will Shields and Trent Green.
"I like to think, if you look at our roster, there are some good, young, talented players at every position," Peterson said. "You try to look ahead there, but sometimes you just have to make decisions."
And making the right decisions in the draft could be the difference between another year spent squandering a high-powered offense, and Kansas City winning its first playoff game since 1993.
"We've won a lot of games here and we've been very successful, but we want to take the next step," Edwards said. "Our guys are well aware of that. This is a winning team. Now we have to get to the next level."
Despite all the changes for the Kansas City Chiefs in the last four months, plenty has stayed the same.
Herman Edwards took over for retired coach Dick Vermeil, and inherited an offense that returns nearly everyone on offense.
And once again, the Chiefs will probably use their first draft pick Saturday to help a defense that ended up near the bottom of the league for the fourth straight year.
Kansas City picks 20th, and will probably go for a cornerback or a pass-rushing defensive end.
"Hopefully, the guys we're going to pick come in and help us right now," Edwards said. "I'm a firm believer when you draft players, you don't wait to let them play."
But few recent draft choices have helped shore up the Chiefs' perennially leaky defense, which has been a big reason why they have been out of the playoffs since 2003.
Linebacker Derrick Johnson, last year's top pick out of Texas, became a starter but lacked the big-play pop president and general manager Carl Peterson was seeking. Defensive lineman Ryan Sims, the No. 4 overall pick in 2002, has struggled to become a starter.
Hulking defensive lineman Junior Siavii, their first pick in 2004, has made more news for his part in a training camp fracas in Minneapolis last summer than for his play.
But Kansas City has no choice but to look again toward defense.
Peterson finally cut loose cornerback Eric Warfield and backup Dexter McCleon, when it looked as though the Chiefs would be several million dollars over the salary cap, and now has nobody to play opposite Patrick Surtain.
Peterson and Bill Kuharich, vice president of player personnel, have all but conceded that cornerback and defensive end will be priorities, despite signing Lenny Walls, Chris Johnson and Carlos Hall in free agency.
"We'd like to think that's a position that has some depth and quality," Peterson said of the defensive backs available. "There are going to be some in the first or second round which you would hope could come in and help immediately."
That should suit Edwards, a former defensive back, just fine.
Edwards helped draft Brian Kelly, and Donnie Abraham and Ronde Barber became Pro Bowl players in Tampa Bay under his watch. He also picked nine cornerbacks in five years with the New York Jets.
But if the Chiefs wait until the second round to draft a cornerback, they most certainly will look to defensive end first - another position that has a decent amount of depth and talent in the draft.
North Carolina State's Manny Lawson and Boston College's Mathias Kiwanuka are both possibilities, as is Florida State defensive end Kamerion Wimbley, whom Kuharich showered with praise but whose stock would have to slip.
"When you're evaluating, you go through the breakdown of a player of his ability to get off the ball, use his hands to get off the blocker. Wimbley has a lot of those things," Kuharich said. "He's a good prospect."
If the Chiefs look to offense, it could be at wide receiver, where reserves Marc Boerigter and Chris Horn both left in free agency. Peterson also mentioned the need for offensive line and quarterback projects in the later rounds, who could be developed to help replace aging stars Willie Roaf, Will Shields and Trent Green.
"I like to think, if you look at our roster, there are some good, young, talented players at every position," Peterson said. "You try to look ahead there, but sometimes you just have to make decisions."
And making the right decisions in the draft could be the difference between another year spent squandering a high-powered offense, and Kansas City winning its first playoff game since 1993.
"We've won a lot of games here and we've been very successful, but we want to take the next step," Edwards said. "Our guys are well aware of that. This is a winning team. Now we have to get to the next level."
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Royals, Chiefs await tax vote
Sports fans awaited the results of a vote on two stadium-improvement tax increases Tuesday that some warn could determine whether Kansas City remains a major league town.
The measures on the ballot in Jackson County were designed to raise more than $500 million to renovate Kauffman Stadium, where baseball's Kansas City Royals play, and Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.
A three-eighth-cent sales tax would raise $425 million over 25 years to renovate the stadiums and add such things as a pavilion behind the baseball stadium. A separate user tax would generate about $200 million for a rolling roof that would make both facilities climate-controlled.
The teams' owners have pledged, together, more than $125 million toward the renovations. But arguments have raged for weeks over whether the Royals' David Glass and the Chiefs' Lamar Hunt were putting up enough of their own money.
During the run-up to the vote, the owners did not threaten to leave town if the measures failed, but they refused to promise they would stay.
A no vote would mean the Jackson County Sports Authority, the body that governs operations of the stadiums, would be in violation of a requirement in its lease that it maintain the facilities in "state of the art" condition. After Jan. 1, 2007, the Royals and Chiefs would both be free to leave.
Supporters of the tax increases pointed to other cities that have lost franchises beloved by their communities - Cleveland's Browns and Baltimore's Colts, for example - over basically the same issue, inadequate stadiums.
The NFL pledged to award Kansas City a Super Bowl in 2015 if the measures passed, and Major League Baseball said it would give the city an All-Star Game sometime after 2010.
Sports fans awaited the results of a vote on two stadium-improvement tax increases Tuesday that some warn could determine whether Kansas City remains a major league town.
The measures on the ballot in Jackson County were designed to raise more than $500 million to renovate Kauffman Stadium, where baseball's Kansas City Royals play, and Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.
A three-eighth-cent sales tax would raise $425 million over 25 years to renovate the stadiums and add such things as a pavilion behind the baseball stadium. A separate user tax would generate about $200 million for a rolling roof that would make both facilities climate-controlled.
The teams' owners have pledged, together, more than $125 million toward the renovations. But arguments have raged for weeks over whether the Royals' David Glass and the Chiefs' Lamar Hunt were putting up enough of their own money.
During the run-up to the vote, the owners did not threaten to leave town if the measures failed, but they refused to promise they would stay.
A no vote would mean the Jackson County Sports Authority, the body that governs operations of the stadiums, would be in violation of a requirement in its lease that it maintain the facilities in "state of the art" condition. After Jan. 1, 2007, the Royals and Chiefs would both be free to leave.
Supporters of the tax increases pointed to other cities that have lost franchises beloved by their communities - Cleveland's Browns and Baltimore's Colts, for example - over basically the same issue, inadequate stadiums.
The NFL pledged to award Kansas City a Super Bowl in 2015 if the measures passed, and Major League Baseball said it would give the city an All-Star Game sometime after 2010.
Chiefs add veteran cornerback Walls
The Kansas City Chiefs signed free-agent cornerback Lenny Walls on Tuesday, giving the club an experienced cornerback to play opposite Patrick Surtain.
Terms of the one-year deal were not announced.
The team was looking for help in the defensive backfield after releasing Eric Warfield last month, when it looked like the Chiefs were going to be several million dollars over the salary cap if the NFL and its players' union did not reach a labor deal.
The 26-year-old Walls started for the Denver Broncos in 2003, but injuries limited his playing time the past two years. The 6-foot-4 cornerback started three times in 2005 before a groin injury put him on the injured-reserve list. He was later released.
Walls is expected to compete with Julian Battle, Benny Sapp and Alphonso Hodge for a spot in the starting lineup. The Chiefs may also add another cornerback through free agency or the draft.
Warfield, an eight-year veteran, started 10 games at right cornerback last season after sitting out the first four games for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. He signed with the New England Patriots on Monday.
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The Kansas City Chiefs signed free-agent cornerback Lenny Walls on Tuesday, giving the club an experienced cornerback to play opposite Patrick Surtain.
Terms of the one-year deal were not announced.
The team was looking for help in the defensive backfield after releasing Eric Warfield last month, when it looked like the Chiefs were going to be several million dollars over the salary cap if the NFL and its players' union did not reach a labor deal.
The 26-year-old Walls started for the Denver Broncos in 2003, but injuries limited his playing time the past two years. The 6-foot-4 cornerback started three times in 2005 before a groin injury put him on the injured-reserve list. He was later released.
Walls is expected to compete with Julian Battle, Benny Sapp and Alphonso Hodge for a spot in the starting lineup. The Chiefs may also add another cornerback through free agency or the draft.
Warfield, an eight-year veteran, started 10 games at right cornerback last season after sitting out the first four games for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. He signed with the New England Patriots on Monday.
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