By Matt Conner

– Editor

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Jun 29, 2011 – The Kansas City Chiefs boast the top two linebackers in the AFC West according to a recent column by ESPN’s Bill Williamson, a major reason why the Chiefs defense played a major part in the team’s resurgence. Whether it’s the presence of Romeo Crennel organizing the schemes and calling the plays or just the talent that would have eventually broke out anyway, both Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson are exciting athletic playmakers who have as much skill at the position as anyone in the division.

Hali is listed as No. 1 and Johnson right behind him at No. 2. For the year, Hali was second in the NFL in sacks with 14.5 while also forcing four fumbles and making 51 tackles. Hali was a force in every single game for the Chiefs, whether or not he could notch an official sack, as defensive coaches quickly learned they had to scheme specifically for his presence on the field.

Johnson, meanwhile, enjoyed a tremendous breakout year after a disappointing 2009. With 121 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 1 interception, 16 passes defended and 1 sack, Johnson was a complete playmaker. He can drop back in coverage or come up for the run, but Johnson is always in on every play. In the end, he finally silenced any critics who wondered whether he deserved the first round grade he was given coming out of Texas and became the impact player in the defensive mid-section the Chiefs needed so desperately.

Other notables on the list include No. 6 Von Miller, who has yet to play a single down in the NFL, Rolando McClain at No. 5, the Raiders first round choice last year, and fellow Chiefs at No. 13-15 with Jovan Belcher, Justin Houston and Mike Vrabel clocking in at that order.

Read More: Mike Vrabel (LB – KAN), Tamba Hali (LB – KAN), Jovan Belcher (LB – KAN), Rolando McClain (LB – OAK), Justin Houston (LB – KAN), Von Miller (LB – DEN), Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs

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By Matt Conner

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Jun 28, 2011 – While the NFL Lockout continues, ESPN and Football Outsiders are running a series of columns of various Top 10 lists designed to stir up discussion and interest in the down time for NFL fans. Their latest round includes the Top 10 Most Disappointing Oversights — think personnel moves/mistakes — of the last 25 years. Their list includes some very interesting entries, including the Falcons letting go of Brett Favre and the Bucs doing the same with Steve Young. Even the Raiders join in with their release of Mike Shanahan as head coach.

The Chiefs come into the picture at No. 5 with their eventual find of Priest Holmes, the former 1,000 yard running back who somehow fell out of favor despite his success so the Ravens could feature Errict Rhett instead. Brian McIntyre tells the story:

After the Baltimore Ravens signed Holmes as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Texas in 1997, he provided a glimpse of what he was capable of in a feature role during the 1998 season, when he ran for 1,008 yards and seven touchdowns, ranking 18th among NFL running backs with 53 rushing DYAR, one spot behind 1997 Pro Bowler Warrick Dunn. Despite that impressive season, Holmes sat behind Errict Rhett in 1999, and in 2000 the Ravens used their first-round pick on Tennessee running back Jamal Lewis.

After the Chiefs signed Holmes during the next offseason, he led the NFL in rushing yards in 2001, yards from scrimmage in 2001 and 2002 and rushing and total touchdowns in 2002 and 2003. In addition to three straight Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams, Holmes ranked first among NFL running backs in DYAR and DVOA in 2001 and 2002 and was first in DYAR and third in DVOA in 2003. Holmes was well on his way toward another Pro Bowl/All-Pro season in 2004 before suffering a serious hip injury in Week 9. A head and neck injury in 2005 caused Holmes to miss the entire 2006 season. He returned in October 2007 but retired a month later.

The Chiefs also inherited from the Dallas Cowboys’ mistake as well with their release of current left guard Brian Waters. For over a decade, the Pro Bowl lineman has been a staple for KC’s vaunted rushing attacks — something Dallas could have used this entire time.

Undrafted out of North Texas, Waters went to training camp with the Cowboys as a rookie in 1999 but was waived in September and spent his first professional season at home. The Chiefs signed him in January 2000, and he entered the starting lineup on a permanent basis in Week 11 of the 2001 season. In the past 10 seasons, the five-time Pro Bowler has started 149 (of a possible 151) games he’s been active, blocking for 1,000-yard rushers seven times (Priest Holmes, three times; Larry Johnson, twice; and Jamaal Charles, twice) and earning five trips to the Pro Bowl and two first-team All-Pro selections. Waters was also the first offensive lineman to earn AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors (Week 7, 2004) and was named the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2009.

Finally, it’s interesting to note that the Chiefs have also had on their roster the player at No. 7 on the list in Mike Vrabel, who you might be surprised to know was originally drafted to be the next great Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker in the third round of the 1997 draft. The Patriots received the bulk of Vrabel’s promise, of course, but it’s another nice personnel find by Scott Pioli move to bring him over to the Chiefs to help establish the positive, winning culture that permeates the locker room today.

Read More: Mike Vrabel (LB – KAN), Brett Favre (QB – MIN), Priest Holmes (RB – KAN), Larry Johnson (RB – WAS), Brian Waters (G – KAN), Jamaal Charles (RB – KAN), Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys

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JOPLIN, Mo. – Allene Wallace was on the phone with a friend when dozens of people dressed in red suddenly swarmed her property Thursday in tornado-stricken Joplin.

“Guess what?” Wallace told her friend. “The Kansas City Chiefs are at my house cleaning up my backyard.”

Wallace laughed as she recounted the episode, but many of the more than 130 players, coaches and staff who travelled to the city in four buses Thursday had trouble finding the words to describe their awe at seeing the devastation for the first time.

“It’s overwhelming,” Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli said. “I was on the bus with all the coaches and players, and it went from a talkative bus to dead silence.”

“The reality really sits in when you come over that hill,” said quarterback Matt Cassel. “You see a two- by-six-mile radius of pure destruction. It’s like a nuclear bomb went off.”

After arriving at the heavily damaged Joplin High School, the players and personnel fanned out to neighbourhoods still strewn with the wreckage of homes and lives. Wearing dust masks and work gloves, they hauled hunks of debris to the street for later pickup.

Sights like a bed frame embedded in a tree stripped of its bark moved many to fresh realization of the tornado’s toll.

“All the guys are walking along and all of a sudden you hear a little squeaky toy or see a doll,” Pioli said, choking up as he tried to finish the sentence.

Players and staff spoke of the team’s determination to remain committed to the city’s recovery.

“Until you actually get here and see the devastation and the amount of loss the people here experienced … it’s devastating,” linebacker Andy Studebaker said. “We just want to be a part of the restoration.

“One day isn’t going to fix it. One group isn’t going to fix it. Collectively, we need a lot of people locking arms and saying we’re going to own this community. We’re going to lock arms with Joplin and we’re going to try to make a difference down here. It’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of people, but we can make this place better again.”

In the afternoon, players and coaches signed autographs and posed for pictures with hundreds of area Chiefs fans in the parking lot of a church less than three kilometres from where they worked in the morning but untouched by the storm’s devastation.

Pioli indicated the Chiefs would return again. He noted that the Hunt family, which owns the Chiefs, has made clear that the organization will remain involved with the recovery effort.

“We’re not even close to being done,” Pioli said. “When there’s a disaster like this, it’s not just about now. We’re a month later and it’s not even being close to being fixed. They’re still clearing the rubble. It’s just important that we can’t forget Joplin.”