SB Nation Kansas City: All Posts by Joel Thorman

Husain Abdullah returns to football

2013-05-19T15:08:02Z

A safety who worked his way from an undrafted rookie to a starter in Minnesota, Abdullah surprised many in NFL when he hit the pause button on his football career at the age of 27 to fulfill a spiritual and family commitment last year. He is back in the NFL after signing with the Kansas City Chiefs in February.

"It was totally worth it," Abdullah said in a phone interview this week. "It was life-changing, energizing and spiritual ... Now I am back and I feel great about everything moving forward."

Husain Abdullah returning to football - AFC West Blog - ESPN

Interesting article on Knile Davis (from March)

2013-05-19T15:05:04Z

I think there’s another potential test case in the draft this year, but on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to the dilemma of prototypical skills vs. prototypical measurements. The lead actor in this draft-day drama could be Knile Davis. If an NFL team selects Davis in the first three rounds of this draft, it will be a telling indication that they relied more on Davis’ Combine performance –- and to some degree sabermetrics –- than the opinions of scouts and draft analysts who lean hard on the game tape.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Futures: Arkansas RB Knile Davis

Linked in ChiefZed's post.

Knile Davis this weekend

2013-05-19T14:54:29Z

Knile Davis this weekend

On Chris Ault and the Kansas City Chiefs, remember play-action

2013-05-19T13:26:01Z

When the Kansas City Chiefs hired Chris Ault, the former Nevada head coach and father of the pistol offense, I kept thinking there had to be more to the story. The Chiefs aren't moving to a full-time pistol offense. Maybe they feature it now and again, but not full-time. So, why then, did the Chiefs feel compelled to hire the game's best mind on the pistol?

Complete coverage: Chris Ault to KC

I figured it had to do with something besides running the pistol on offense. Maybe it was to help the defense defend the pistol, even though the Chiefs play just three teams who could feature the pistol. Maybe it was to scout the quarterbacks in the 2014 draft for pistol purposes. Or maybe the Chiefs wanted to take some features of the pistol offense, not all of them, and incorporate that into their offense. Like running the play-action out of that formation.

Dan Hinxman of the Reno Gazzette Journal, the reporter who broke the Ault hiring and has quoted Ault about the job in Kansas City, wrote an article that has some hints at what to expect with Ault.

"The Pistol began as a north-south, run-first offense that Ault used to set national rushing records at Nevada in the late 2000s," Hinxman wrote. "He added the read option, and then more recently began to increase the role of the play-action in the Pistol. That's what could make the formation even more intriguing to the NFL, and particularly Reid."

"...[Ault] recently began to increase the role of the play-action in the Pistol. That's what could make the formation even more intriguing to ... Reid."

The key words here are that the pistol is a formation. Anything can be run out of that formation, including Andy Reid's West Coast Offense. You look at the Chiefs offense. Where is the strength? The running game. When your strength is the running game, the play-action can be very dangerous. And that is where I see this pistol business going. That's where Ault's impact will be.

"We do a little bit of everything," Reid said when asked about running the pistol, "so that's what we've always done. We're not featuring that. But we mess around with a little bit of everything."

"It's a wealth of knowledge," Smith said about the pistol this week. "For me, being exposed to it, playing with Colin (Kaepernick) and the little bit we were doing back there in San Fran, I got a little bit exposed to it, and then a few days with him got me excited."

Ault may not cause KC's offense to look dramatically different, but he does allow them to show different looks. Play-action in the pistol seems to be a logical next step.

More from AP:

Chiefs position battles forming

Knile Davis at the rookie premiere

Special report: Ricky Stanzi's mix tape is out

Best Chiefs truck ever?

Home of the Chiefs

2013-05-19T00:53:11Z

Home of the Chiefs

Garage sale find

2013-05-18T17:58:31Z

Garage sale find

We had a neighborhood garage sale this weekend in KC and I found this Chiefs box. See another picture of the box here. On top of it were these Chiefs-Broncos tickets. It says Municipal Stadium, which means it's pre-Arrowhead (1972). Any guesses on the year?

Chefs Watch 2013

2013-05-18T17:45:30Z

Our 49ers blog, Niners Nation, is keeping an eye on the Chiefs this season. Not only is it Alex Smith, but what draft pick the 49ers will get due to the trade. If the Chiefs finish 8-8 or above, the 49ers receive a second round pick. Under that and it's a third round pick.

Kansas City Chiefs position battles shaping up

2013-05-18T17:28:50Z

First tier battles

Inside linebacker, Akeem Jordan vs. Nico Johnson: Both acquired by the new regime. Jordan is the veteran. "The thing you get with Akeem is he's a smart football player," Andy Reid said this week. "He hasn't played in a 3-4 but he gives you the trust that he can do that. He's a good solid football player is what he is and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes." Can't complain. Nico is the rookie, he's the future, which means it's only a matter of time until he wins the job. Assuming he's competent, which judging by first impressions he is. Nico comes off as a smart dude, and very well spoken. He's already attaching himself to DJ. That doesn't necessarily mean anything but I think it's a good sign.

The Chiefs can win without Baldwin, but a legit 6'5 threat never hurt.

No. 2 receiver, Donnie Avery vs. Jon Baldwin: Avery was signed to a multi-year deal in the offseason. Translation: he's gonna play. Whether that's a lot as the No. 2 receiver or just a little as the No. 3, we don't know yet. But he will be a factor. The new regime did not acquire Baldwin, which is always a factor to consider. This will be a straight competition based on production. I'll be honest: I'm rooting for Baldwin. If he can realize his potential the Chiefs offense can be intimidating.

No. 2 cornerback, Dunta Robinson vs. Sean Smith: The Chiefs appear to be invested in actual competition. Robinson is getting a real look at cornerback. Many of us thought that No. 2 job was going straight to Sean Smith. I continue to believe Sean Smith will win this job but Robinson may play a larger role than we realized.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Second tier battles

Left guard, Geoff Schwartz vs. Jeff Allen: The good news is that a.) whoever doesn't win this will be a reserve and b.) they can both fill in at tackle and guard. There are no losers here. The KC Star's Adam Teicher recently said in a chat he was somewhat surprised Allen is starting off with the ones at OTAs and not Schwartz. Allen is the previous regime's draft pick who was thrust into action last season; Schwartz is the veteran brought in this offseason. Curious to see how this goes. I'm usually rooting for the long-term health of the team and Allen was a second round pick just last year. On paper, the team would be better off if he came out on top.

Safety, Kendrick Lewis vs. Dunta Robinson vs. Sanders Commings vs. Tysyn Hartman vs. Husain Abdullah: My guess is that this is Lewis' job to lose but I really don't know. Robinson is going to play somewhere at some point but he appears to be a cornerback for now. We'll see if Commings pushes for playing time early (as Lewis did, also as a fifth round pick, just three years ago). I don't have a good feel yet for what will happen here.

No. 2 running back: Cyrus Gray vs. Shaun Draughn vs. Knile Davis: Gotta think this is Davis' job to lose -- either this year or next. You don't spend a third round pick on a player who has no clear path to get on the field. That said, Gray and Draughn can push for playing time this year. Neither of them have a lot of NFL tape -- seven career carries for Gray and 59 for Draughn -- so I'd be guessing if I put one ahead of the other at this point. In the long term, though, the focus is on Davis.

Fullback, Anthony Sherman vs. Braden Wilson: The Chiefs paid a price for both players but not a big one in either case. Sherman was traded for Javier Arenas while Wilson was a sixth round pick. Neither of those will guarantee them a roster spot. My gut tells me the vet, Sherman, wins this one and Wilson lands on the practice squad.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Obligatory QB battle mention

No. 3 quarterback, Ricky Stanzi vs. Tyler Bray: The offseason has barely started and I'm already (not that) surprised at how much attention this has gotten and will get. But what can we say? This is KC and a good QB battle energizes us. Bray was picked by Andy Reid after this year's draft; Stanzi has been bypassed for playing time by multiple coaching staffs. That tells me Bray is the likely winner here.

Don't be surprised if...

Tight end, Anthony Fasano vs. Tony Moeaki vs. Travis Kelce: Sometimes the money means nothing. And sometimes the money says it all. The Chiefs aren't giving Fasano a four-year, $16 million deal to sit on the bench so he is your starter. In that sense, there is no battle. However, it sure sounds like the tight ends are going to be an important piece of the puzzle, and that multiple tight ends will be used. The real battle comes between who the second tight end -- Moeaki or Kelce. I'm a big Moeaki fan but I know what drafting a third round pick at that position means for his future.

Slot receiver, Dexter McCluster vs. Mardy Gilyard vs. ...Jon Baldwin: Andy Reid was a big DMC fan coming out because you could do so many different things with him. DMC is the best player for this position in this group. He should win the job. However ... Gilyard has some slot experience and Reid has now signed him in both Philly and KC, which says something. What? I don't know. Then there's Jon Baldwin. I bring up his name here because of what John Dorsey said recently: "He's one of those guys who could possibly be an inside matchup as a slot receiver, a larger target." Just throwin' that out there.

***

I can assure you this list is not completely accurate. Some of these positions have (probably) already been (mostly) decided by the coaching staff. And there are other positions that I think are decided on but the coaching staff feels differently. And then there are injuries.

All that said ... where do you agree? Disagree?

SB Nation Kansas City: All Posts by Joel Thorman

Husain Abdullah returns to football

Interesting article on Knile Davis (from March)

Knile Davis this weekend

Knile Davis this weekend

On Chris Ault and the Kansas City Chiefs, remember play-action

Ault once said Smith would be a great pistol QB

More from AP:

Home of the Chiefs

Home of the Chiefs

Garage sale find

Garage sale find

Chefs Watch 2013

Kansas City Chiefs position battles shaping up

First tier battles

Second tier battles

The Dunta breakdown

Obligatory QB battle mention

Don't be surprised if...

Where does Dex fit? A breakdown for Andy Reid

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