Langford has been a solid starting caliber player at 3-4 defensive end over the past few years for Miami. St. Louis runs a 4-3, which is a change, but Langford projects as a good fit for a wide 9 scheme. Langford didn’t manage a sack last season, but with 25 quarterback pressures, he graded out as the 9^th best pass rusher among 3-4 defensive ends on ProFootballFocus, though he was below average as a run stopper. 4 years, 24 million with 12 million guaranteed seems like a bit of an overpay, especially the guaranteed money, but the Rams really needed help at the position.

Grade: B

 

 

I was really surprised when the Ravens cut Gregg, who was only owed 3.5 million next year and can still be a competent nose tackle in this league. He’s 35 this season so it’s important this was only a one year deal, but they got him very cheap and he can be a competent one or two year stopgap to rookie Jerrell Powe.

Grade: A

 

 

Quarterback

Boise State

6-0 197

Draft board overall prospect rank: #191

Draft board overall quarterback rank: #9

Overall rating: 54 (6^th round)

40 time: 4.94

Games watched: Boise State/Toledo, Boise State/Fresno State, Boise State/Arizona State

Positives

·         Incredibly smart

·         High football IQ

·         Excellent decision maker

·         Great short to intermediate accuracy

·         Excellent timing

·         Quick release

·         Winner (50-3 career record with 3 losses by 5 points)

·         4 year starter

·         4 years of great production (completion percentages between 64.3%-74.3%, YPAs between 8.2-10.0, TDs between 25-43, INTs between 3-10)

·         Has always been mature beyond his years

·         Good pocket presence

·         Gets ball out quick and avoids sacks

·         High character leader

·         Great field vision

·         Always keeps his eyes downfield

·         Hard worker who loves the game

·         All the intangibles

Negatives

·         Short (barely 6 foot)

·         Small frame 6-0 197

·         Minimal arm strength

·         Struggles with throws outside the numbers

·         Deep throws tend to hang

·         Poor deep accuracy

·         Low release point

·         Combination of low release point and lack of height lead to a lot of passes deflected at the line, only will get worse in NFL

·         Level of competition wasn’t great

·         Not mobile

·         Doesn’t throw particularly well on the run

·         Poor athlete

·         Not a lot of under center experience

·         No Pro Style experience

·         System quarterback?

·         Doesn’t pass the eyeball test

NFL Comparison: Shorter Colt McCoy

Kellen Moore is the winningest quarterback in college football history with a 50-3 career. That record could stand for a long time and may never be broken. However, this is not a definite precursor for NFL success. The top 4 winningest quarterbacks in college football history: Kellen Moore, Colt McCoy, David Greene, Andy Dalton. Only Dalton has 40+ wins in college and went on to become a legitimate NFL starter. This isn’t to say that quarterbacks with a lot of wins are automatically going to fail in the NFL. This would be ridiculous. However, it’s not a definite predictor of NFL success.

Moore has got a lot of things working against him. First of all, he’s barely 6 foot tall. There are only 2 NFL starting quarterbacks who have had any sort of success at shorter than 6-2: Michael Vick and Drew Brees. Moore doesn’t have Vick’s speed and athleticism and Brees has a much stronger arm. Neither of those two quarterbacks have Moore’s weird delivery point. It’s Philip Rivers esque. That works fine if you’re Rivers and 6 foot 5, but Moore isn’t. A lot of his passes are going to be knocked down at the line of scrimmage. That happened quite a bit in college, but it’ll happen more in the NFL, especially with all of the tall long armed defensive ends like Jason Pierre Paul and the like.

Moore has a lot of trouble driving the ball deep. His deep balls don’t have a lot of zip or velocity and float too much. He has trouble throwing into windows farther than 10-15 yards out and he doesn’t have the ability to consistent drive the ball outside the numbers. NFL teams will just stack the middle against him and dare him to beat them deep. His arm will get stronger in the NFL as he gets into a strength training program, but because of his small frame, I question how much muscle he can add and how much stronger his arm can get.

It’s a shame because he’s one of the smartest most accurate college quarterbacks I can remember. He’s an excellent leader with all the intangibles. He’s got an infectious demeanor and work ethic and love for the game. He’s a winner (albeit in a weak conference) with incredibly short accuracy and football intelligence. He’s a poised leader with a quick delivery and great pocket presence.

However, all of the same things can be said about Colt McCoy, who Moore surpassed in career wins this season. McCoy won 44 games in a tougher conference in the Big 12. He was just as smart and accurate and poised as Moore and even taller (6-2). However, he fell to the late 3^rd round and in 2 years as a starter, he has failed to impress. The Browns are once again searching for a quarterback 2 years later. Moore will probably be a 5^th or 6^th round pick, but will have a similar career. He’s not going to be a good starter in the NFL, but you can do a lot worse in your backup quarterback.

 

 

Kellen Davis spent the first 2 years of his career as purely a blocker and then was moved into a more featured role last year, but because Mike Martz has no idea how to use a tight end, he managed just 18 catches. The Bears believe he can be a featured type tight end and he certainly has intriguing athleticism, but he only has 28 career catches. This deal is reasonable (2 years, 6 million with 2.7 million guaranteed), but the Bears should still bring in another tight end to compete.

Grade: B

 

 

Trade for Cincinnati: Rivers is an above average linebacker when healthy, but the Bengals have a good depth of linebackers already (Maualuga, Manny Lawson, Thomas Howard, and 2011 3^rd rounder Dontay Moch) and they had one of the best defenses in the league last season without Rivers playing a snap. Rivers is an injury risk going forward and would likely not be resigned as a free agent next offseason so it does make sense that the Bengals would get something for him (5^th round pick).

Grade: B

Trade for NY Giants: The Giants will be moving Michael Boley inside to middle linebacker so Rivers will fill their need at outside linebacker. He’s an injury risk, but the Giants are only giving up a 5^th round pick for a player who was ranked 9^th by ProFootballFocus at a major position of need for the Giants. If he can’t stay healthy, 2^nd year players Mark Herzlich and Greg Jones would probably split time there.

The Giants don’t have a ton of needs so they may have been better off using an early pick on more of a sure thing at outside linebacker and someone with more of a future (Rivers is a free agent after the season) than using a 5^th rounder to trade for Rivers. If Rivers gets hurt, they could be in big trouble at the position, though they were in pretty big trouble at the position last season and they still won the Super Bowl.

Grade: B

 

Bill Parcells loves his linebackers and Dansby fills a huge hole in the middle of Miami’s defense. They gave him a fair rate, 5 years 43 million, especially when you consider that Dansby was the youngest of the top free agents. I have no major complaints here, but I’m not in love with the deal either.

Grade: A-

 

Debate the Chiefs offseason and more in the Football Fan Forum

Last season: 4-12

2010 Preview:

This team added some decent players through the draft, but this team is still going to struggle to pressure the opposing quarterback, protect their quarterback, and, thanks to a mediocre supporting cast on offensive, their quarterback play should once again be mediocre, as it was last year. That’s not how you win football games. They will once again be one of the worst teams in the NFL until they can do those things well, even if Eric Berry makes the Pro Bowl this year.

A full season of Jamaal Charles also helps, but they were only 3-6 in games he started last year. That just goes to show you that a good running game doesn’t mean much if you can’t get big gains and first downs through the air and they really struggled with that last year, as they should this year.

Projection: 4-12 3^rd in AFC West

Power Ranking: 28 

Draft: 

#5 S Eric Berry (Tennessee)

I would have gone with Russell Okung, but I can see why they’d take Berry. There was a reason I gave him a near perfect rating this year. This guy is legit. He may be the best safety prospect of the last 20 years. My only issues with him are that he plays safety, which means he’s going to command huge top 5 pick money, making him by far the highest paid safety in the league, and that he won’t have a ton of positions value. He’ll make their defense better, but he won’t help them at the quarterback position, he won’t help them protect the quarterback, and he won’t help them get to the other quarterback. Plus, safeties are often very injury prone because they have to hit like linebackers at cornerback size (see Bob Sanders, Ed Reed, and Troy Polamalu). We’ll see how this goes.

Grade: B+

#36 WR Dexter McCluster (Mississippi)

In the words of a Chiefs fan I know, “we just got McClusterfucked.” McCluster is a fine player and a great weapon, but he’s a luxury pick. The Chiefs already took one luxury pick in the first. They can’t afford to take another. McCluster cannot be the Wes Welker slot receiver they need him to be. He could help in the backfield if it wasn’t already filled with Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones. He can play a little wildcat, but no one cares about that. He helps as a kick returner, but they don’t need a kick returner. This is not a good use of a pick for a team like the Chiefs.

Grade: C-

#50 CB Javier Arenas (Alabama)

I can see it now, the Chiefs will be the first team to run a 3 kick returner offense. It’ll be really cool, but they’ll lose every game. The Chiefs have taken 3 luxury picks in 3 picks, a safety, a slot receiver/3^rd down back/kick returner, and a nickelback/kick returner. They are all talented players, but how good of a team is this going to be without a true franchise quarterback, a true franchise left tackle, and a poor pass rush. They also need a true NT badly.

Grade: C-

#68 G Jon Asamoah (Illinois)

Not quite as much of a luxury pick as their first three because he will help their line, but he’s not a left tackle so I don’t know how much help he gets Matt Cassel, who has the slowest delivery in the NFL.

Grade: C-

#93 TE Tony Moeaki (Iowa)

Moeaki is also a luxury pick as a tight end, but considering Matt Cassell won’t have a ton of time in the pocket next year, they might as well get his a tight end who can catch short passes over the middle. If Moeaki stays healthy, he could be one of the best tight ends in this draft class, but that’s a very big IF.

Grade: B-

#136 S Kendrick Lewis (Mississippi)

Oh, another safety, that’s cool. Whatever happened to Mr. Positional Value Scott Pioli? He hasn’t done anything to help their pass rush, anything to help their defensive line, and he’s barely gotten them any offensive line help. Lewis shouldn’t have been drafted anyway. He lacks speed majorly.

Grade: F

#142 RLB Cameron Sheffield (Troy)

Oh yes, Chiefs fans can rejoice, they’ve finally taken a pass rusher. This is a great pick, right in the draft range, all that good stuff, but it’s probably too little too late. The Chiefs are doomed to another bad year next year and for the next few years if they keep it up.

Grade: A

Overall:

The Chiefs took good players, but I really don’t think they made themselves much better by taking 2 safeties, 2 kick returners, a guard, and a tight end. McCluster can do somethings offensively for them and Moeaki has upside and Asamoah is a good guard who can start sometime next year and Berry is an amazing player, but at the end of the day, this team really isn’t much better where it matters and if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.

Grade: C-

Key undrafted free agents:

QB Bill Stull (Pittsburgh)

3-4 DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald (Kansas State)

C Andrew Lewis (Oklahoma State)

NT Garrett Brown (Minnesota)

Positions of need:

Rush Linebacker:

The Chiefs more than doubled their sacks totals from 2008 to 2009! That would be amazing if it weren’t for the fact that the Chiefs managed a mere 10 sacks in 2008. 22 sacks isn’t exactly good either and without Tamba Hali’s 8.5, they would have only 13.5. Mike Vrabel is done as a big time rush linebacker opposite him so they need to secure a replacement for him early in the draft, though not too early because teams are taking big risks when they draft rush linebacker since it’s a position that college teams simply don’t use in their schemes. Anytime you are trying to convert someone from one position to another, it’s a risk, so using the 5^th pick on a rush linebacker would be a stupid move by the Chiefs.

Drafted Cameron Sheffield (#142) 

Offensive Tackle:

Brandan Albert was one of the worst left tackles in the league last year. I guess the trade where they send Jared Allen to the Vikings for the 15^th pick, which they used on Brandan Albert, was not a smart move. Albert, luckily, is versatile enough to move to either left guard or right tackle, so they can still use him, but a true franchise left tackle is needed. Matt Cassel holds on to the ball longer than pretty much every other quarterback in the NFL, so getting him good blockers is especially important. Part of the reason that Cassel struggled so much in 2009 in Kansas City as opposed to 2008 in New England is that Kansas City’s o-line is nowhere near as good as the Patriots.

Nose Tackle:

It’s amazing that they could use 2 first round picks and a 3^rd round pick on the defensive line in the last 2 years and still not be able to stop the run. This is a 3-4 team without a true 3-4 nose tackle. They might have interest in Vince Wilfork since he’s a former Patriot and in Scott Pioli’s mind that makes him great, but I’d say, barring a trade, like say Wilfork for the 5^th pick, they have very little chance of getting him. After they get an elite pass rusher and an elite pass blocker, getting a big guy in the middle of their 3-4 defense should be their #1 target in the draft. Unfortunately for them, this is a very weak nose tackle class and we could see them reach for Terrence Cody at 5 if Russell Okung is off the board.

Wide Receiver:

Chris Chambers was a nice midseason pickup, but their chances of resigning him this offseason aren’t very good. That would leave them with little to nothing across from Dwayne Bowe. Matt Cassel can have all the time in the world in the pocket, but if guys can’t get open downfield, he’ll still struggle this year. You never know, maybe they’ll try to trade for Randy Moss.

Drafted Dexter McCluster (#36) 

Safety:

The Chiefs had a very talented safety named Bernard Pollard. Then they decided to cut him because he was too talented and then they watched him blossom into one of the best young safeties in the league down in Houston. Oops. They should probably replace him.

Drafted Eric Berry (#5), Drafted Kendrick Lewis (#136) 

Middle Linebacker:

Derrick Johnson is a good middle linebacker, but Todd Haley doesn’t like talent so he benched him midway through last season. It’s a wonder why they couldn’t stop anyone on defense. Some young blood is needed at the position, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to wake Junior Seau or Tedy Bruschi from the dead and start them at middle linebacker given Pioli’s fascination with former Patriots.  

Cornerback:

Of all the promising young players they drafted in the first 3 rounds in 2008, Brandon Flowers is the only one who has panned out. Still, despite his emergence as a shutdown corner this year, they still struggled mightily against the pass. Flowers’ shutdown abilities will be next to useless if the opposing quarterback can just pick on the opposite cornerback to move the ball down field. They do have other needs though so, unfortunately, this one could go another season before it gets fixed. They might try to sign Ty Law though.

Drafted Javier Arenas (#50) 

Running Back:

Jamaal Charles turned out to be one of the best running backs in the league. Good thing Todd Haley started him all year, oh wait, it took Larry Johnson, and his 2.7 YPC, getting suspended before, Todd Haley decided to start Jamaal Charles. Then it took another week before Haley realized that throwing 40 times with Matt Cassel would not be an effective game strategy. Back to the point, Charles is a great running back, but I have some concerns about his ability to hold up as a 300+ carry back because he’s never gotten a shot to do that in the past and right now the Chiefs have absolutely nothing at the position behind him. They might want to draft a running back late to compliment him and take the pressure off of him.

Signed Thomas Jones 

Tight End:

They never replaced Tony Gonzalez. I’m sure Matt Cassel would like having a good pass catching tight end to throw to, but since tight ends have such little positional value, this need could get ignored this offseason. Or, again sticking with the theme of signing washed up former Patriots, they could sign Ben Watson.

Drafted Tony Moeaki (#93) 

 

Free agents:

QB Brodie Croyle (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million

QB Matt Gutierrez

RB Kolby Smith- signed with Broncos

RB Mike Cox (exclusive rights)- resigned 1 year

RB Jackie Battle (exclusive rights)- tendered

WR Chris Chambers- resigned 3 years 15 million

WR Bobby Wade

WR Bobby Engram- signed with Browns 

OT Ryan O’Callaghan (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million

OT Barry Richardson (exclusive rights)- resigned 

G Mike Goff 

G Wade Smith- signed with Texans 4 years 12 million

G Andy Alleman (exclusive rights)

C Rudy Niswanger (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million

RLB Mike Vrabel- resigned with Chiefs

RLB Andy Studebaker (restricted)- resigned

MLB Derrick Johnson (restricted)- resigned 1 year 2.6 million

MLB Corey Mays (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million

CB Maurice Leggett (exclusive rights)- resigned

S Jarrad Page (restricted)- tendered (2nd)

Offseason moves: 

Chiefs waive RB Kolby Smith

Chiefs waive QB Matt Gutierrez

Chiefs re-sign MLB Corey Mays

Chiefs re-sign QB Brodie Croyle

Chiefs re-sign OT Ryan O’Callaghan

Chiefs re-sign C Rudy Niswanger

Chiefs re-sign RLB Andy Studebaker

Chiefs re-sign OT Barry Richardson

Chiefs re-sign CB Maurice Leggett

Chiefs re-sign MLB Derrick Johnson

Chiefs re-sign RB Mike Cox

Chiefs announce retirement of QB Quinn Gray

Chiefs sign G Ryan Lilja

Chiefs sign C Casey Wiegmann

Chiefs sign WR Jerheme Urban

Chiefs sign 3-4 DE Shaun Smith

Chiefs sign RB Thomas Jones 

Chiefs re-sign WR Chris Chambers

Colts sign G Andy Alleman

Chiefs tender RB Jackie Battle

Chiefs tender MLB Corey Mays

Chiefs tender QB Brodie Croyle

Chiefs tender ILB Derrick Johnson

Chiefs tender OT Ryan O’Callaghan

Chiefs tender S Jarrad Page

Chiefs tender C Rudy Niswanger

Chiefs re-sign RLB Mike Vrabel

Chiefs cut G Mike Goff

Chiefs re-sign QB Matt Gutierrez

Chiefs re-sign RB Kolby Smith 

 

 

My only question with Wimbley is how he’ll fit in Tennessee. He’s played rush linebacker in a 3-4 and the joker (4-3 defensive end/outside linebacker) position in Oakland. He’ll be an every down stand up defensive end in Tennessee it seems and I just wonder how he’ll handle that. As a pass rusher, he’ll probably be fine.

As an outside linebacker, he was ProFootballFocus’ 2^nd rated pass rushing 4-3 outside linebacker with a +16.4, which would have ranked 9^th among defensive ends, as he had 6 sacks and 40 pressures last season. He could struggle against the run with a position change and position changes are always a risk and a projection. Given that, 35 million over 5 years with 13.5 million guaranteed seems a bit rich, though they need really need a pass rusher.

Grade: B

 

 

This is a classic Raider move. The Raiders will give up one of their 2 3^rd rounders, though it has not yet been announced which, either theirs or the one they obtained from the Patriots for Derrick Burgess. Kamerion Wimbley has 15.5 sacks in the last three years combined. He’s undersized at 255 pounds and has never played with his hands on the ground in a 4-3 like the Raiders run. He’s also a free agent after this season so, if he does have a good year, he’ll either just leave or force the Raiders to overpay him (the latter sounds more likely). The Browns continue with their youth movement, Mike Holmgren getting rid of everyone either he or coach Eric Mangini doesn’t like. The difference between this move and the move where they sent Brady Quinn to the Broncos is that they got a fair value here for someone in his contract year.

Grade for Raiders: C

Grade for Browns: A-

 

Deal for Jacksonville: Smiley fills a need up front for the Jaguars and when he’s healthy, he’s a good guard, especially in pass protection. Getting a starting caliber guard for a 7^th round pick is a pretty good deal. The Jaguars ranked 27^th in the league in attempts per sack last year, which is interesting because they spend their first two draft picks on offensive lineman in 2009. It’s actually interesting in general how, when the Jags use back to back picks on a position, they play badly at that position. After all, this team only had 14 sacks last year despite drafting two ends with their first two picks in 2008. Are they going to stink against the run this year because they spend their first 2 picks on defensive tackles?

Grade: A

Deal for Miami: A bit of a cheap sale, might as well release him. Smiley is still an average, if not above average starter in this league, though he has battled injuries, which have caused him to miss 16 games in the last 3 games, and his contract is still pretty big. That being said, I think they sold him too cheap and gave up on him too fast, even with 2010 3^rd round pick John Jerry coming in. Jerry is a bit raw in pass protection and looks like a guy who should not start until 2011. I would have liked to have seen them use him as much needed depth for this year and keep Smiley around. However, I am glad they didn’t just outright cut him as they were rumored to want to do.

Grade: C