Sitting here reading the posts and thinking back on last years camp when the players arrived, we could have made an impact on the team this year.

We should have all help to create a new poster for Herm to WELCOME the guys to camp again the same way he did last year when the buses pulled up.  One of you guys in KC town could have delivered it over to the Stadium, courtesy of Arrowhead Pride!

I knew I shouldn't have done so many shots when I was in college...

Kansas City Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced on Wednesday that the club has agreed to terms of a four-year contract with CB Brandon Flowers. As per Chiefs policy, no other terms of the agreement were made available.

The Chiefs have now agreed to terms with nine of their 12 draft picks from the 2008 draft class. Flowers joins third-round selections RB Jamaal Charles (73rd overall), TE Brad Cottam (76th overall) and S DaJuan Morgan (82nd overall), fourth-round pick WR Will Franklin (105th overall), fifth-round selection CB Brandon Carr (140th overall), sixth-round picks T Barry Richardson (170th overall) and WR Kevin Robinson (182nd overall) and seventh-round pick DE Brian Johnston (210th overall).

Flowers (5-9, 187) joined the Chiefs as the club’s second-round pick (35th overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft. He played in 41 games with 28 starts, opening his final 27 contests at Virginia Tech. He recorded 158 tackles (99 solo) with 17.0 stops for loss (-71.0 yards), 3.5 sacks (-28.0 yards) and 10 interceptions for 172 yards with two TDs. He also produced 32 passes defensed, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

Flowers started all 14 contests for the Hokies in 2007, tallying a career-high 86 tackles (56 solo), including 8.0 stops for loss (-24.0 yards). He added five interceptions for 93 yards with a TD, nine passes defensed and a fumble recovery. He was a first-team All-America selection by the American Coaches Association and earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors.

The Delray Beach, Florida native led Atlantic High School to the Class 5A regional title as a senior, earning first-team all-area and all-conference honors. He also played one season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia.

-www.kcchiefs.com

Most of the predictions I see about the Chiefs this year say that they not only won't make the playoffs, but they won't even be a .500 team. What makes people think that?

Yeah, last year was pretty bad... but we also had our star running back injured, an offensive line in shambles, and a competition at the quarterback position. This year, the offensive line is in place (with limited "projects" too) which is already a huge upgrade, a healthy running back with a 3rd round pick to back him up, and a quarterback that can scramble (at least compared to Huard and Green). So why aren't the Chiefs playoff contenders? Because we are "young"?

Not to mention that the defense has improved every year dramatically, with more signs of improving. And with targets like Gonzales, Johnson, and Bowe, how bad do they think Croyle is gonna be?

Anyone else have opinions on this?

I really like Jamaal charles, The kid is fast as can be..Plus i think hes a great change of pace back to compliment LJ. He average just about 6.3 hards per carry at Texas and ran a 4.3 something at the combine.

 But my question here is does anyone think he will be out kolby smith for the #2 back...nothing against Smith, he did a good job while LJ was out but i think charles has got a lot of talent.

 And if he does beat out Smith for the #2 back how much do you think he will get to contribute on offense?

The website is up and running for the 2008 University of Rover Falls Chiefs Training Camp.  They have already posted two daily updates, one of which comments on the training staff moving all of the equipment up there.

I regret to inform those who may have heard earlier, that I will not be able to go to the camp this year.  I had planned on attending the 28th through the 31st sending back twice daily updates with pics.

Here is the link for those who may not have it.

http://www.uwrf.edu/chiefs/

There is another name missing from the roster this morning.  Running Back Kalvin MacRae is no longer listed.  I know some of us thought all of the Running Backs would make camp, but I guess Herm hasn't been reading our blog.

I have a file built that goes out and checks the roster for changes.  I don't know whether it's better to just add a comment to an existing post or create a new one.  I'm not sure people notice a new comment on a post that is a few days old.

From the FanPosts. -Chris

Great article by Jon Yoon over at MVN about Brodie Croyle and his unpopularity with the national media.  Kind of got me thinking.

I don't know what the grudge the media (and some Chiefs fans) have against Croyle is.  Its nearing an unreasoned hatred, as though he was the worst QB prospect to come into the NFL in years, which is clearly ridiculous.

Whenever defending him, we always have to say things like "Well he did better than Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman in their first years starting.... NOT THAT CROYLE IS AT THAT GOOD!"  We are always quick to add that last part in so as to try to prove how open minded and unbiased we are, just like people who espouse a religious belief and then quickly try to explain away recorded miracles in scientific or mythological terms so that they don't look ridiculous to non-believers.

Why do we do this?  How do we know Croyle can't be a Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman?  Well those guys had great stats in college and were high draft picks.  Lets ask 'How do we know that Croyle isn't a Joe Montana or Brett Favre or Tom Brady?' 

The truth is, NOBODY knew Joe Montana was going to turn into Joe Montana in the NFL, otherwise he would never have fallen to the 3rd round.  Nobody knew Tom Brady was going to become possibly the most successful QB in NFL history, otherwise 32 teams wouldn't have passed on him 5 or 6 times.  The Atlanta Falcons certainly didn't know Brett Favre was going to be a future Hall of Famer when then head coach Jerry Glanville said it would take a plane crash for him to put Favre into the game and traded him away.

Nobody knows how a college player is going to translate to the NFL.  Ryan Leaf was considered by many to be a better QB prospect than Peyton Manning.  The Chiefs picked Todd Blackledge over Jim Kelly and the Jets took Ken O'Brien over Dan Marino.  Sometimes it takes these young guys to develop and blossom into what they are going to become. 

I think Ben Roethlisberger is one of the very few  young QBs in recent memory that grabbed the reigns of his team and took off with it never missing a beat.  But he was in an unusual situation.  The Steelers are probably the most stable and consistently talented teams in the NFL.   There was no question of what the teams offensive identity was going to be, it had been the same for 30 years.  They had an established offensive line with established running backs and lets face it, Roethlesburger was a quicker study than most.

But the Mannings, Aikmans, Elways and yes, Croyles; found themselves on teams largely devoid of a talented core.  It took time for Aikman to develop a relationship with Irvine and have an Emmitt Smith to depend on with a reliable offensive line.  It took time for Manning and Harrison and Edgerrin James to all gel together with a reliable offensive line.  And it is going to take some time for Croyle, Bowe and LJ (or an unknown future RB) to gel together with a reliable offensive line.

The QB is the most important position on the offensive side of the ball.  But one guy can't do it all.  Croyle will not be able to block for himself or catch his own passes or plough through the line.  The pieces must be around him and they all have to learn to work together.

It seems that the national media has forgotten this.  They (and many Chiefs fans) are so easily distracted by shiny things (the overhyped college prospect of the day) that they take for granted that some of the greatest QBs in the NFL were overlooked until they got the chance to prove themselves.  Maybe Croyle didn't have the shining college stats playing for the conservative Alabama Crimson Tide that a Matt Leinart playing for a national championship college team had. 

But that doesn't matter.  What matters is what he does now.  I for one am done making excuses for the hope I have in Croyle.  I will not be cynical and view him as a failure until he proves me wrong.  I will view him as a potential Joe Montana or Brett Favre until he proves he's not.

Player to watch:  DE Brian Johnston, Chiefs 7th round pick
College: Gardner-Webb
Height: 6-5   Weight: 274
Projected Round: 4

Some senior year stats:

• 24 stops for loss
• 6 sacks and 22 QB pressures
• 8 tackles on goal line plays
• 4 fourth down stops
• played left end

Coming from Gardner-Webb (like Idaho State), can he play at the NFL level?  If so, how fast can he get into the line-up?  And can we remember that Jared Allen didn't play at last year's level in his rookie year? (only 39 tackles, but a respectable 9 sacks)  Some people projected Brian to play DT in the NFL.  Don't think that's the plan in KC, but it tells me he's got some beef.

So is it Turks time to shine?  Can Boone find a new gear and play DE?  Or will a possible Johnston, Johnson, Flowers trio on the defensive left side have opposing RBs looking for the sideline in a hurry to avoid the hurt?

Does DE Johnston start at any point this year?

Just a couple of questions i had, and was wondering what the chiefs world out there thought. How much respect do you think Glenn "SwampThing" Dorsey will get from the start of the season? double teams? i really dont know who else they would. It would be nice to see dorsey and boone taking up the middle  Is Dorsey going to be to camp on time? Last one what kind of sack numbers he'll put up?

 First post let me know what im doing wrong..

I have thought about this awhile this morning and would like to open it up for discussion.  Although Dorsey is our #1 overall pick and will help make this defense what Gun has been licking his lips for, who is more pressing to get into camp on time. 

Glen Dorsey or Brandon Albert?

Both have their pros and cons, so what are your thoughts?

Personally I believe it is imperative to get Albert into camp the first day, only from the standpoint of having a chance for the Offensive line to have more time to become "one" unit together.  In no way am I suggesting a slight on Dorsey and his importance however. Since we were so poor with line play last year and have up to 4 new starters (position wise) I think it is most important to get this group their courting time.