There is no greater question mark on this team than our current offensive line, which according to OL coach Bob Bicknell himself, Waters is the only certainty -- even though we're not even sure what position he'll be at. As of now there is nothing close to a consensus as to who will play where. Not with Albert, not with Richardson, not with Niswanger or Adrian Jones or McIntosh or Svitek or anybody.

The closest we've got is the Star's Adam Teicher, who guesses in a recent article as to what the line might look like in September:

Edwards wouldn’t talk about his plans, but the Chiefs will probably line up with rookie Branden Albert at left tackle, Waters at left guard, Rudy Niswanger at center, Adrian Jones at right guard and Damion McIntosh at right tackle.

Now, Teicher has more connections than me inside the Chiefs organization (to this date, I've compiled approximately zero inside sources). Nevertheless, this particular lineup sounds fishy to me.

First off, the love for Adrian Jones comes from leftfield, considering that Jones doesn't have the look of a smashmouth lineman (at 6'4", he's listed at a fairly light 296 lbs). Jones' resume isn't that stellar either, having struggled for playing time under Herm himself in New York, and in 2005, the one year he was a starting tackle all 16 games for the Jets (13 games LT, three RT), he allowed eight sacks, was busted for false starting thrice, and was flagged for holding four times. Granted, the entire Jets team was patchwork at that point, and those aren't horrendous statistics, but they don't instill in me a lot of confidence in Jones. Did I mention the team's yards per rushing attempt were 3.5 in 2005? I'm not sold on Jones.

Second, there's a popular myth going around that McIntosh somehow might make an adequate RT. I'm not sold on this scenario, particularly because McIntosh is a finesse tackle rather than a smashmouth tackle. He's not a mauler. If McIntosh belongs anywhere on this team, it's at LT, or backup LT.

Now, the best philosophy possible regarding building an offensive line is that you take your five best players, and you fit them on a line in any way you can. Are Albert, Waters, Niswanger, Jones, and McIntosh our five best? I'm not sure... Allow me to float a few ideas out there of what our OL could look like.

After the jump, of course.

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Nearly a year removed from what was probably the greatest programming experience in my lifetime, we personally celebrate last year's month of HBO documentary bliss with a post mortem.

C'mon, you need a post like this to remember it fondly, because we're getting the Dallas Cowboys this year. Ugh.

First, my personal favorite moments:

•   A slow-motion shot of Greg Wesley and Boomer Grigsby laying into each other behind the line of scrimmage. G-Wes is throwing a vicious forearm into Boomer, who's laying into Wesley with every ounce of strength he's got. You could practically feel the contact.
• The enjoyable and logical friendships formed throughout the team. Bowe & Sippio. Brackenridge & Patterson. Gonzalez & Dunn. Allen & Boomer. Tank & Turk. People matched not only in personality, but in their stations in life and on this team.
• Gunther Cunningham: "F--- Family Night."
• A majestic fast-motion still-cam shot from the top of the Brown's stadium during the preseason game in Cleveland. Recapping the entire evening from coin toss to the final whistle, it was played in super-fast forward over a timespan of about five seconds. You watched both teams move the ball all over the field with the fans filing in and out of their seats, the surrounding sky slowly dimming into night.
• The short & sweet recap of Krumrie's NFL career. I was not an NFL fan during the years of Krumrie's dominance at NT on the Super Bowl Bengals, but watching those few moments made me wish I had. On the field, Krumrie was a block of granite with 10,000 volts shot through it. Watching his coach, moments before the Super Bowl, approach Krumrie to demanding that he keep his teammates grinding all game was inspiring; Krumrie The Player was larger than life, and I could sense that.
• Larry Johnson, returning to the practice field before the ink on his new contract even dried, receives a ball in the flat and rushes down the field, away from the camera. Slow motion, fade to black.
• As the music builds to a climax, Saints RB Deuce McAlister runs into a wall of red, spearheaded right through the heart of the OL by Tank Tyler, and soon Hali, Edwards, Harris, and Page are pile driving him into the five-yeard line. A cymbal clash signifies Tank landing the first hit on McAlister, a hit which completely negated his forward momentum and killed the Saints' drive at the 1.
• Delivering an impassioned speech to the defense the night before the first preseason game in Cleveland, Herm demands that any player with a one-on-one win his matchup. He concludes by saying: "Tomorrow night, when we go to Cleveland? That's exactly what we're going to do. Win." And without another breath, he immediately walks out of the room.
• "Do NOT be afraid to be great."
• Herm rides Dwayne Bowe, instructing him to get him donuts at Krispy Kreme -- and the sign outside of the Krispy Kreme's "gotta say 'hot,' it's gotta say 'hot'!"
• Herm doing sprints at River Falls at god knows how early in the morning.
• Dick Vermeil talking to Herm Edwards about Priest Holmes, as the two talk in the privacy of Edwards' office. The whole monologue is just priceless. "I asked him where he was, and he told me 82%. Now, not 75, not 80, not 85, 90 -- 82%. And you know what? I walked away saying 'he's at 82%,' because he's never been wrong about his physical condition. He knows himself better than any player I've ever coached."
• Carl Peterson and Trent Green meet briefly before the Dolphins game. The camera focuses on the two of them standing isolated in the middle of the field. Trent tells Carl he hasn't sold his home in Kansas City, and Carl reassures him that when Trent's done playing, "in another five years," that there'd be a place for him with the Chiefs.
• Mike Pinkard coming to a teary-eyed realization with Ray Farmer that he's done chasing the dream.
• Priest Holmes, unable to even interact on the field with the rest of the team, is forced to merely shadow RB movement 20 yards removed from the action.
• Casey Printers' debate with Ray Farmer, and the realization that he did literally everything he was asked and performed at the best of his ability, and yet he continues to spin his wheels with the Chiefs.
• Croyle's complete and utter despondency as his wife does everything she can to remain positive in an on-camera interview about Brodie losing the QB job to Damon.
• Patterson and Brackenridge, likely competing for the exact same roster spot, dine together and sit across the table from one another, telling the camera that focusing on who you're competing against is counterproductive -- that you have to worry about yourself and getting your job done in order to improve and be successful.
• The "KC Helmet Drawer."

Add any that I may have forgotten, if you wish.

The elimination of NFL Europe resulted in a rule change limiting the amount of players that can be invited to training camp.

NFL Europe provided roster exemptions for teams during training camp.  These exemptions would allow teams to carry rosters with 90+ players to training camp.  This extra roster space allowed teams to carry multiple kickers, punters and even long snappers. 

For a team like the Kansas City Chiefs with a lot of holes to fill, this training camp roster reduction will hurt.

The talent pool that will be affected the most by this is undrafted free agents.  Teams sign anywhere from 5 to 25 UDFAs in hopes that they'll find a diamond in the rough.  Players like Priest Holmes of Tyron Brackenridge may have never been given the opportunity to compete for a spot if the team were to have to cut certain positions on the training camp roster.

The NFL's new numbers game limits the talent pool available to teams, thus downgrading the level of overall talent in the league.  Why doesn't the NFL want to give teams a better chance at putting the best possible product on the field?

These UDFAs generally go from team to team, providing depth but also providing fresh bodies during practice.  If a team now has to carry one less wide receiver, then that's valuable rest time taken away from a veteran during camp.  And withdrawing down time for veterans during camp can only increase injuries.

And the cycle continues.  A few more bumps and bruises to the veterans will necessitate more depth as the season goes on.  But, in certain situations, (because of this rule) that depth simply isn't there. 

This is causing certain coaches to change the way they conduct practices.  Limiting the talent pool doesn't make sense from any stand point.

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