Chiefs Need to Upgrade at OLB

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Uncertainty runs amuck within the Kansas City Chiefs defense at the OLB position.

The most important position in the 3-4 defense.

The number one mission of a defense is to disrupt the play of the opposing team's quarterback. That's the easiest way to obtain victory. In a 3-4 defense, that responsibility falls mostly on the backs of two players - the 2 OLB's (with a splash of Wallace Gilberry). A good goal for any NFL defense is 40 sacks in a season (Chiefs finished 2010 with 39, good for 10th in the NFL). In an ideal world, you want your two starting OLB's racking up 20-25 of those sacks (Tamba tallied 14.5 last year, while Vrabel put up a goose egg - that's right, 0 sacks). This amounts to anywhere from 50-62% of the pass rush's production. That's a lot of...PRESSURE on two individuals (see what I did there?).

Lets first take a look at what the Chiefs have at OLB, and see why the position is in such disarray right now...

Projected Starters:

*Tamba Hali - Currently franchised and we're really not sure how happy he is about it (hasn't signed his tender yet). Hopefully, there isn't any kind of holdout in his future plans. There's no reason to fret until August 4th, which is the first day he could actually practice with the team. However, if we haven't heard from him come August 5th, it's time to panic.

*Andy Studebaker - Could be THE key to the Chiefs defense this season. Along with Tyson Jackson, Studebaker is 1 of 2 relatively unknowns projected as starters right now. We've seen flashes from 'Bakes before (3 sacks last season), but nothing that would significantly indicate how he'll perform as a starter this season.

Projected Backups:

*Justin Houston - Despite rumors that the Chiefs have placed Houston on the Mentally Unable to Perform (MUP) List, nobody knows for sure what's going on with the Chiefs 3rd round draft choice. He's MIA. My best guess is that he's serving some sort of disciplinary action right now due to his failed drug test from the NFL Combine. Whatever the story is, I'm writing off Houston for the season as of now, because the practices he's missing right now are crucial for a rookie.

*Cameron Sheffield - A 2010 5th round pick that we know absolutely nothing about. He missed all of last season after sustaining a neck injury in a preseason game. While the team hopes he can provide something this year, he certainly cannot be counted on.

That's it, that's the list. There are question marks up and down the Chiefs current depth chart of Outside Linebackers. This isn't a position you can take for granted and/or go into the regular season shorthanded. I think it's absolutely necessary for the Chiefs to add somebody off the Free Agent market. There are 3 names that jump out, and outside of these names, I'm not sure where else help could come from.

Survey says...

*Tully Banta-Cain - Seems the most likely choice because of his history with Scott Pioli in New England. After 2 horrible seasons in San Francisco, he's put up 14.5 sacks over the last 2 seasons with the Patriots. Seems like a perfect fit, however the word on the street is that injuries played a role in his release from New England this offseason (despite playing in 31 of 32 games the last 2 years).

*Matt Roth - Discussed him before in my 10 Free Agents for the Chiefs to Pursue article. Despite never putting up more than 5 sacks in any season, Roth has good QB pressure numbers and is stout against the run. While that doesn't necessarily sell me on him either, the good people at ProFootballFocus.com have him rated highly.

*Manny Lawson - Stay on that same link, and you'll see this name appear 2 spots lower than Roth's. Lawson isn't a premier pass rusher (6.5 sacks in 2009, 3 in both 2008 & 2010), but is considered a good run defender. It should be noted that he was oftentimes taken off the field on 3rd downs in 2010, leading to his dip in sacks (but a sign of his pass rushing shortcomings).

I've been chirping the importance of the 3-4 outside linebacker for the past 2 years now, and am a big proponent of adding 1 of these 3 names to the long list of question marks the Chiefs currently have at the position. If I had to put money on it, I'm betting that Tully Banta-Cain ends up a Chief in 2011.

His dirkness

Kansas City Chiefs-Buccaneers: 5 Players to Watch

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The Buccaneer Bruces provide a challenge more to the Chiefs level than the Falcons did. The Chiefs should be able to get some things done tonight, and would find myself quite disappointed if we lose the first half battle (bonus points if we hurt Josh Freeman). We should be further along than the Bucs right now. Without much else to preview, here are 5 players that I'll be keeping a close eye on tonight...

1. Jovan Belcher, MLB, #59- Along with everybody else, I've been ranting and raving about Derrick Johnson, who, along with Belcher, has been thrust into the starting lineup for tonight's game. We already know what DJ can and can't do for the most part (will make plays, inconsistent focus and concentration, should be starting), but I'm more curious about Belcher. With emphasis on strong-side and weak-side linebacker, Belcher is competing with Mays for a starting spot, someone he is both younger and quicker than and could easily beat out this season.

2. Thomas Jones, RB, #20- Very unimpressed by him in our first game (I know, only 2 carries). But, it still reminded me of Larry slamming into no holes for 2 yard gains. Is it possible our offensive line has good chemistry with JamaAL Charles, but struggles with slower, more prototypical backs? There's no way Jones should be starting over Charles, but I'll be watching to gauge just how much of the share he deserves.

3. Barry Richardson, OT, #67- With Ryan O'Callaghan's major o'struggles last week, the competition may be on if Richardson can show any promise. I took zero notice of him last week, which is usually a good thing as an offensive lineman. It would definitely be a chance to get younger, and if O'Cally shows anything like he did last week, he's in a gotsta go situation.

4. Mike Vrabel, OLB, #50- Was impressive in his last outing putting pressure on Matt Ryan. I was very critical of Vrabel this offseason, so of course I want to see more. Nothing would make me happier than the realization that he took off last year after the first 4 or 5 games. Our defense has a chance to be something if he is as effective as he looked in short work last week. If he's not, he will continue to be pushed by Andy Studebaker for playing time.

5. Jeremy Horne, WR, #8- A little somethin, somethin for all you diehards sticking around til the 4th quarter. Horne popped open on two deep routes last week (one was way overthrown, the other was near him and Horne didn't play it too well- hard to say if he could've caught it or not). He made a splash this week with a one-handed catch and drew raves from The Daily Haley reports. Receivers have a tendency to pop up out of nowhere, and he'll get noticed more if he gets behind the defense again tonight (lets just hope he can catch one).

His Dirkness

Chiefs Preseason Game #1 Analysis

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~There are two backups that need to be starting right now, and I will quickly sour on Haley if they are not promoted. I am speaking of Jamaal Charles and Derrick Johnson. Thomas Jones could be a good addition and all, but this is Charles' team. Our offense doesn't move without him, as proven last night. With Johnson, I believe Haley continues to play mind games with him, aiming to right his mind into that of a fierce, determined Linebacker. I suspect both of these players to be starting by week 1, and will be vocal in my displeasure with Haley if they are not.

~Dexter McCluster was unreal, literally. Clearly, he's a Madden creation. His two plays consisted of the best working plays on Madden (at least a few years back, anyway) with the sweep around the end and the quick out from the slot position. He was unstoppable, just faster than anybody else on the field. I was a step slow to hop on the McDexter bandwagon, but now I'm sitting shotgun. Our offense has some serious weapons right now, led by Charles and Dex.

~My biggest concerns with the team after one game is stopping the run on defense. We were pushed off the line in the first drive, giving up at least five yards a pop. We will constantly need an 8th player in the box, making us vulnerable to playaction passes over the top.

~My biggest concern with the offense is teams stacking the box due to a lack of a downfield threat. The blame for this goes all the way around the offense. The line struggles to hold blocks to give Cassel enough time to look down field, neither Bowe or Chambers are speedsters, and Cassel tends to overthrow deep balls. This will allow teams to bring 8 or 9 players up, forcing us to find ways to throw over the top.

~My biggest surprise of the game was the effectiveness of Mike Vrabel. My main mane, LBR, made the astute statement that Vrabel will be good as long as we are good, which got me to thinking. I remember being very confident in him at the beginning of last season (and preseason), but was semi-embarrassed by his performance the latter half of the season. This makes sense. He just shut it down, with no real reason to continue pushing. Save it for next year, which is now this year. Our defense has a shot to be mediocre at the least if Vrabel plays like he did last night.

Impressive List:
~Kendrick Lewis- QB pressure, helped blow up a sweep, and blanketed Tony G.
~Javier Arenas- Delivered a stiff arm that would make the Viagra CEO proud.
~Maurice Leggett- A few big hits, including a throw down of Rowdy Roddy White.
~Andy Studebaker- Solid across the board, could provide much needed depth.
~Derek Lokey- Should make this team after a few unsuccessful tries.

Disappointment List:
~Ryan O'Callaghan- Got beat a few times around the edge, we seemingly have nobody better to replace him though.
~Jon Asamoah- Got absolutely roasted on back-to-back plays in the 3rd quarter.
~Leonard Pope- Missed a block on 3rd and short, dropped a pass, and dove for a catch that a normal sized man could've caught and ran with.
~Ryan Succop- Missed two field goals, albeit they were long.
~Tyson Jackson- Have yet to see him fight off a block or do anything.
~Corey Mays- Too slow in the middle. A one-on-one matchup with a Tight End is a guaranteed catch.
~DaJuan Morgan- Was actually afraid of the ball when John Parker Croyle floated a pass right to him.
~Zebras- Nice call on the offensive penalty converting a 3rd and Goal into a 1st and 10. I wish Haley would have just sat on the field in protest and drawn multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

His Dirkness