Join Chiefs365 | Insider Forum with Josh Looney - Talk it up! | Looney Bin Archive| Follow Josh on Twitter

Three Returning Award Winners and Three New Honorees Selected as Recipients of NFL 101 Awards for 2009 Season - For individual tickets and sponsor packages, call 913/681-6224

KNOW YOUR DIVISION: UFAs
February 17th – 3:08 PM

By now, we all know which Chiefs are heading out to the sea of free agency this March. But what about the rest of the AFC West?

Here you go: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/02/17/afc-west-free-agents-1/

Thanks for doing the homework, PFT.

If you’re too lazy to click the above link, there are plenty unrestricted free agents that pop out on the initial scan: G Ben Hamilton (Denver); DE Richard Seymour (Oakland); T Cornell Green (Oakland); WR Kassim Osgood (San Diego); TE Brandon Manumaleuna (San Diego); T Jon Runyan (San Diego).

Whether or not any of those players catch the eye of the Chiefs personnel department is another story.

And there are plenty of former Chiefs becoming UFAs as well: DE Vonnie Holliday (Denver); CB Ty Law (Denver); DT Alfonso Boone (San Diego); FB/TE Kris Wilson (San Diego).

FREE AGENCY CERTAINTY
February 17th – 2:17 PM

Though there is a high degree of uncertainty regarding both free agency in the NFL as a whole and free agency in Kansas City, there is still one concrete certainty. In Kansas City, that certainty can be broken down in two words.

NO EXCUSES

There won’t be any “small-market” excuses coming out of Kansas City when it comes to the Chiefs ability/inability to sign available unrestricted free agents.

“I don’t think the small-market team, so to speak, is anything that’s really relevant,” Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli said last week. “By NFL standards, we’re a big-market team. We have a big brand, we’re a big team and I’m not sure how that really impacts what we do in free agency, what we’re going to do or not going to do.“

That’s an interesting way to look at things and it certainly isn’t something that Kansas City sports fans are accustomed to hearing. The Chiefs brass from top to bottom are all on the same page when it comes to this philosophy.

“One of the things I really like and respect about Todd (Haley) is that we share the philosophy that we don’t believe in excuses,” Pioli confirmed.

Finding solutions is much better than searching for excuses.

STALLWORTH TO RAVENS
February 17th – 11:00 AM

We rarely post signings by other teams on kcchiefs.com, but when it’s relevant to the fan base we’ll take exception. One of those exceptions is recently re-instated/released/free agent WR Dante Stallworth.

Stallworth has been a conversation topic of many Chiefs fans since his re-in-statement by NFL Commissioner Roger Gooddell over Super Bowl weekend. Chiefs fans seemed to have been connecting the dots between the Chiefs need for a deeper wide receiving cast and Stallworth’s previous relationship with GM Scott Pioli in New England (2007). “What if’s” naturally ensued.

Short and sweet, cross Stallworth off the free agent list. Chiefs fans can move on because reports have it that Stallworth has signed a one-year, $900,000 deal in Balitmore.

Stallworth’s arrival in Baltimore likely makes plenty of sense to those that follow Kansas City. We all heard the media-generated rumors earlier in the 2009 season regarding Baltimore’s supposed interest in acquiring the Chiefs Dwayne Bowe.

CAPTAIN OBVIOUS, PRIEST AND VRABES
February 17th – 6:01 AM

Captain Obvious just checked in and delivered the following message: NFL teams boasting the most talented rosters have the best chance at victory in 2010.

Thanks for stopping by sir, but your cape appears stuck in the door.

As we enter the age of an uncapped year and a free agent pool depleted of (perceived) top-notch talent like never before, some teams will feel the natural inclination to scramble from the start. Others will sit back and enjoy the cards dealt for 2010. There isn’t much grey area as to which team fits into each category.

Apparently the Captain has yet to visit Kansas City.

The mad dash for the very few is scheduled to begin at 11:01 PM on March 4th. Who will be part of that race, even if it’s a bit modified from what we’re accustomed to?

Where to start?

One team whose reputation precedes itself regarding early entry is the Washington Redskins. Washington boasts the NFL’s most recent (and arguably the most consistent) example of a team aiming for the one-shot, fix-all, roster-remake signing of the offseason. DT Albert Haynesworth and his lofty contract on the first day of unrestricted free agency in 2009 is the reference point.

Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is a team that rests on the other side of the spectrum. The Steelers seem to actually embrace a thin free agent market. Why? It’s because they rarely participate in the festivities, even when the talent pool is at its deepest.

We’ve all heard of “building through the draft,” and Pittsburgh is the epitome of executing that tactic. When it comes to building a roster full of free agents, the Steelers aren’t buying; at least not until their hands are forced to fill an immediate need. A year of free agency such as 2010 actually plays as an advantage to teams like the Steelers.

Bob Labriola of Steelers.com had the following to say about the concept last week:

“The Steelers don’t believe in free agency as a primary method of roster-building, and the franchise never has made a significant signing at the start of any period since free agency became a part of the NFL in 1993. In fact, the Steelers traditionally view free agency as a defensive weapon, in that they use it to replace what they have lost.

“Starting in 1993 when they turned to Kevin Greene only after Jerrol Williams had signed an offer sheet with San Diego, the Steelers have been reactionary participants in free agency. And in the 16 seasons since it began, this philosophy often has worked out wonderfully for them.

“Will Wolford arrived after Leon Searcy went to Jacksonville; Jeff Hartings was signed because Dermontti Dawson retired; James Farrior was pursued only after Earl Holmes became unsignable and chose Detroit; and Ryan Clark wears a Steelers uniform today because Chris Hope signed with Tennessee after Super Bowl XL. Even Duce Staley was signed in 2004 only after the Steelers cut their incumbent starting running back – Amos Zereoue.”

Kansas City saw the Steelers’ organizational plan first-hand last November 22nd.

When the Chiefs hosted the Steelers, Pittsburgh’s roster was made up of just seven unrestricted free agent signees in total. Thirty of Pittsburgh’s 53 active players entered that organization via draft choice, with a third of that total pre-dating the Chiefs most tenured draft picks (P Dustin Colquitt and LB Derrick Johnson in 2005).

Instead of diving head-first into free agency, the Steelers choose develop to re-sign their own draft picks. Many selections of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s have constructed new deals at one point or another and Pittsburgh secured their services for the long-haul – WR Hines Ward (#3b – 1998); CB Deshea Townsend (#4a – 1998); DT Casey Hampton (#1 – 2001) and S Troy Polamalu (#1 – 2003) are notable examples.

The Chiefs came out and trumped that strategy in one of the more memorable performances of 2009, but there is no question as to which franchise has enjoyed the most success overall success.

So, on one side of the pendulum we have teams like Washington (let’s ignore the possible new effect Mike Shanahan may have on that organization for arguments sake) and on the other side we have Pittsburgh. Which way does Kansas City swing?

First, let’s take a look at factors impacting the current Chiefs roster.
1) Kansas City is in need of talent upgrades throughout the roster

2) Kansas City boasts no draft picks prior to 2005 on the current roster

It’s fair to say that the Chiefs need immediate help to bolster the roster’s overall talent level, all while setting a veteran example for a young roster to follow in the process.

Based off the above two factors alone, the Chiefs currently swing much closer to Washington’s corner than they do to Pittsburgh’s. Does that mean that the Chiefs be one of the NFL teams entering the UFA race at the stroke of midnight (Eastern Standard Time, of course)?

Since the Daytona 500 just completed, let’s use a NASCAR metaphor. The Chiefs past the qualifying rounds, but not in the pole position when it comes to 2010 free agency aggression.

Kansas City will be active in free agency this offseason, the state of the roster offers relatively little in alternatives. The Chiefs seem to be prepared to go on the offensive for 2010, but that aggression looks like it will be balanced with an intelligent caution.

“I would think numerically we’ll be very active,” Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt told The Kansas City Star during Super Bowl week. “I can’t say specifically we’d sign what’s regarded as a high-priced or high-demand free agent. We’ll certainly look at every one of those players. (General manager Scott Pioli) has my blessing to pursue them if he thinks they’re the right fit for the football team.”

The owner has given the blessing and the ball is currently in the general manager’s court.

“Here’s the bottom line in free agency, we need to get better and we need to find a way to get better,” Pioli said.

“Any way that we feel that we can improve the football team - I’ve never been someone who’s big on flashy names or going after the sizzle or making the appearance that you’re going to go out and get a big-hype player,” Pioli continued. “Just because a player has a big name doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re a good player. What we want to do is go out and find good players that fit our system and can help us become a better football team.”

It sounds like the Chiefs will be looking for a few good men rather than one large gamble. Pioli’s free agency strategy has worked in Kansas City before. He just needs to replicate another year like 2001.

Does the name Priest Holmes ring a bell?

Ironically, the Patriots found their own version of Holmes that same free agency season (2001) on the other side of the football. The year that Holmes landed in Kansas City as a former backup running back was the same year that Mike Vrabel re-invented himself as a defensive play-maker in New England. Both did it coming out of free agency.

Each of the former reserves took over starting roles in their new cities and responded with career years. They would go on to top their 2001 totals over the next decade and ignite a chain of positive memories for each fan base.

Holmes. Vrabel. 2010?

More Irony? Vrabel is a free agent once again in 2010.