Locked and Loaded

It was a dark dreary day on turf in mid September that we watched our All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles go down out of bounds with a torn ACL. The pain; The hurt; The uncertainty we all shared as he was carted off with "that look". The question of if he could return for Week 1 or if he could simply recover from this injury was 80 percent answered two weeks ago. Via the Chiefs organization; Jamaal had this to say:

"I'm hungry. I want it this year. I've got the passion for it. I can be patient. I just can't wait to play football, I can't wait to bring stuff back to this community and show how much we can win. And I feel like this is a year for us, that we can go all the way because I can feel it. And me, I feel I can bring a lot to the team this year being bigger and stronger, and I don't know, maybe even faster. I can wait awhile. In my mind, I want to get back out there because I want to see where I'm at, but I feel like I'm already there, so I can just wait. Just like when I had my shoulder surgery, I waited the whole training camp to go back. I didn't do anything really during OTAs or minicamp."

Make ya feel good don't it?!

When asked about how he felt watching the games on the bench from the sideline after his injury; He replied:

"It was sick. It made me stronger. It made me the person that I am today, I can't wait and I know how to take care of my body, how to eat right and do the right things and it's made me not want to wait to touch that field again. When I touch that field going out there, you're going to feel my pain; you're going to go through what I went through. That right there is going to be there for the rest of my career because I don't want to be out a whole year ever again. That point, at my stage, I'm 25 years old, I'm at the point in my life that I've got to win games, I want to go to the playoffs, I wonder why we can't go to the Super Bowl. That had me thinking a lot and made me a better player."

Over-excited would be an understatement! I can't wait to see Charles back to 100%. With all the pieces coming back and the additions from the draft; I'm thinking about what design will Nike come up with this year for the division champs shirts.

Kansas City Chiefs Full Draft Results

Here is a more in-depth look of all of the Kansas City Chiefs' 2012 draft picks.

Rd 1: DT Dontari Poe (Memphis)
In case you missed the write up; here's the scoop on Poe.
http://thaboothreview.blogspot.com/Dontari Poe

Rd 2: OT Jeff Allen (Illinois)

A very versatile lineman that can play on the left or right side of the line. Served as a team captain his senior year and was rated the #12 rated prospect at his position. 

Strengths: He has a lot of experience playing the right and left side of the line.  Good hands and feet.

Weaknesses: Lack the physicality most good lineman possesses.

Rd 3: OT Donald Stephenson (Oklahoma)

One of the steals of the draft. He has the ability to be molded into one of the best but it may take some years.

Strengths: Great vision with his 6'5" frame. Naturally quick and an athlete. He ran a 4.94 in the 40 and jumped 35.5 inches in the vertical leap at the combine.

Weaknesses: Inconsistency. He is a very raw prospect but he must commit himself to the game in order to get the most out of it.

Rd 4: WR Devon Wylie (Fresno State)

An undersized receiver that may be used solely as a kick returner and slot receiver. Wylie ran a 4.37 the 40 yd dash and impressed scouts with his strength; benching 225 17 times at the combine. ( He weighed in at 186 pounds).

Strengths: Quickness, speed, and strength. He has the ability to be a very effective as a kick returner and a deep threat from the slot position. Look for quick screens going his way as well.

Weakness: Injury prone. His durability will definitely come into question throughout the season.

Rd 5: CB DeQuan Menzie (Alabama)

Somewhat the forgotten DB for the Crimson Tide but remembered by opposing teams. Menzie was around the ball a lot and is a great tackler.

Strengths: Good cover corner and great at blitzing.  Has enough speed to stick with his man. Very good foot quickness.

Weaknesses: Extremely risky player. Would rather go for the pick 6 than the pass deflection and punt.

 As a result, he gets burned.

Rd 6: RB Cyrus Gray (Texas A&M)

Work horse. Gray carried the ball 632 times racking up 3,298 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Strengths: All around back. Can run, catch, and block.

Weaknesses: Tends to dance in the hole a lot and lacks that "burner" speed.

Rd 7: DT Jerome Long (San Diego State)

Was All Mountain West two consecutive years. Smaller name prospect big the 285 pounder begs to differ.

Strengths: Has a nose for the ball. Long was second on the team in tackles, sacks, and tackles for loss.

Weaknesses:Will need a lot of coaching to make the team. Has more potential than most will give him.

Rd 8: WR Junior Hemingway (Michigan)

The draft ended for the Chiefs' with a sleeper pick. Hemingway led Michigan in receptions last year and was named the Sugar Bowl's MVP (y'all saw the catches!).

Strengths: He's an all around good possession receiver. Pretty decent blocker and reliable hands.

Weaknesses: Doesn't have blazing speed or great route running ability.

All in all I think we did pretty good in draft. We filled some troubled areas from last year and added some other potential play-makers into the fold. As long as we stay healthy; we should destroy the AFC West.

Go Chiefs!

And with the 11th pick; the Kansas City Chiefs select...

...Dontari Poe? The kid from Memphis who couldn't dominate Conference USA???( for those who don't know C-USA; Tulane is a member).

I think I speak for about 91% of Chiefs fans that damn near threw their phone,remote control, or pet last night. Looking at the board I was certain that we would have taken Cox or DeCastro at that pick; that seemed like the right pick at that time. It took me awhile but I'm feeling a little bit better about the pick especially after listening to Coach Crennel's post-draft comments but I don't 100% agree with the pick. Coach said the following:

"Because he played every down at 350 pounds and he played position on the line in every game. He's playing a nine technique; he's playing a seven technique, a five technique, a three technique, a one technique, a two technique and head up on the nose sometimes. He's the jack-of-all trades. It's hard to be good at any one thing when you're doing all of those things."

The fact that he feels strongly about it and he has a way of really getting the best out of DT's makes this pick  more tolerable. I still do not believe he was the best player available at pick 11 but he could turn into first round talent. So instead of 100%; I'll give him 90.2% until I start seeing what Poe is really capable of.

Kansas City's Draft Preview

Top Needs: NT, OL, DE

This off-season has been a successful one for the 7-9 Chiefs from a year ago. Three key players were added to help their stagnate offense; Peyton Hillis, Kevin Boss, and Eric Winston. Offense was clearly the priority this off-season and the front office did a terrific job in addressing those issues. So with the 11th pick of the upcoming draft, what direction should they go?

The safe pick here will be to take top guard prospect Stanford's David DeCastro.Winston and Albert will hold down the right and left tackle positions respectively. Some have Rodney Hudson moving to center this year due to some impromptu starts at center last year. Jon Asamoah had a decent season at the right guard position which leaves Ryan Lilja - who struggled last year- the odd man out out. Making a pick like this one could solidify the left side of the line for years to come.

Thinking on the nasty side of the ball; there are a number of picks that would make sense here. Even though the defense was the strongest unit last year, some obvious weaknesses could be addressed this draft. Kelly Gregg performed below average last year so picking up a NT would work in their favor. Brockers, Cox, and the one of this year's draft surprises, Dontari Poe, will more than likely still be on the board at the 11th pick. On the other hand, picking the top LB prospect in Luke Kuechly from Boston College would add an instant improvement to a 3-4 LB core that could use it. Where ever the pick is on the defensive side of the ball it has to be within that front 7.

The Stretch - Tannehill, Tannehill, Tannehill! Almost like saying Bettlejuice three times and expecting some sort of horror act to follow. The Chiefs are making it known that they are interested in the Aggie by holding a private workout for him for the team. Bringing in Brady Quinn and taking a look at one of this year's top QBs should raise red flags for Cassell. With 8 picks, the Chiefs have plenty of ammo to pull of a trade up scenario come draft day.

My Spill - Even though I would LOVE for my Chiefs to select Kuechly, I believe grabbing big DeCastro at the 11th pick is a franchise builder. Having that solid line will carry the team a long ways.Sitting at pick #44 could also provide a number of other LBs that could fit the bill. A few that could be left on the board are Keenan Robinson - Texas, Bobby Wagner - Utah State, and Dont'a Hightower - 'Bama. Either way we should make more than a splash this year. We have the ammo, let's just make sure he hit a couple of bull-eyes.

Magic 8 ball

The Chiefs 8 picks for the 2012 draft are as followed:

1st rd. -  11

2nd rd. - 44

3rd rd. - 74

4th rd. - 107 

5th rd. - 146

6th rd. - 182

7th rd. - 218

7th rd. - 238

The first round will be taking place Thursday, April 26 @8:00 (ET), followed by the second and third rounds on Friday, April 27 @6:00 (ET). Rounds 4-7 will be on Saturday, April 28 @Noon (ET).

"I've never met a Chiefs fan from New Orleans..."

Well Here I am!

A lot of people always wondered what's up with my "other" team so before you see a post about the Chiefs and start pondering that title statement; I'll let you know. The three reasons are listed below:

1. The Arrowhead

As a kid, I loved the arrowhead logo on the helmet.  I have no idea why but it always stood out on camera. #KanyeShrug

2. My Brother

After running around the house saying that I was a Chiefs fan my brother sat me down and gave me the "loyalty" talk. In short, I was told to NEVER turn your back on the hometown team and keep them numero uno no matter what. He also explained to NEVER become a bandwagon fan; if I liked the Chiefs, remain a Chiefs fan for the rest of my life. I'm still on track.

3. Tecmo Bowl

Every real football fan has stories of Tecmo Bowl and the unstoppable up down up down method. Well mine started with the Chiefs and the "Nigerian Nightmare" Christian Okoye. He was the one of the only players (besides Bo of course) who would run over EVERYBODY. I got a Chiefs Riddell mini football set because of him, I wanted to play HB because of him and I little piece of me died when Steve Atwater met him in the hole that night. He instantly became my favorite player from K.C. and still holds that title to day.

It's not a riddle or I was born in K.C. or my dad is from K.C. etc etc. It's three simple reasons that I never outgrew or forgot about. Make sense???