Chiefs Chiefs right to pass on DeSean Jackson - Page 7

Stryker · 03-31-2014, 07:10 AM

From a purely football standpoint, the Kansas City Chiefs couldn't have found a better wide receiver for their balky passing game than DeSean Jackson. He definitely would have provided life to a group of wide receivers that was last in the NFL in 2013 in targets, catches and yardage.

Since 2008 Jackson has 21 touchdowns of 30 or more yards and was third in average yards per catch at 17.2 for the Philadelphia Eagles, who released him last week. Add in the fact Jackson thrived for the first five seasons of his NFL career playing for Andy Reid, now coaching the Chiefs, and Jackson coming to Kansas City seemed to make a lot of sense. But the Chiefs will look elsewhere, probably to the draft, for that receiving help. After making some initial inquiries into Jackson's availability, the Chiefs backed off, reportedly because of cost concerns.

The Chiefs, who have about $4.5 million of remaining cap space, could have found a way to squeeze Jackson's salary under their limit. But at what cost? The Chiefs would like to re-sign quarterback Alex Smith and linebacker Justin Houston before they can become free agents next year. Neither will come at a favorable price. Safety Eric Berry is among the players who could become an unrestricted free agent in 2016 and he too will be expensive.

Signing Jackson at top dollar would have cost them one of those players and perhaps more. But there's something else at work here. Adding Jackson would have smelled of panic. It would have been a sign the Chiefs were veering away from their plan, making it up on the fly. You can argue the merits of their plan, but Reid and general manager John Dorsey prefer to find their stars, the players they build the foundation around, through the draft and not as free agents.

Listen closely to what Reid said recently about free agency.

"Listen, I'm not a huge free-agency guy," Reid said last week at the NFL meetings in Orlando, Fla. "I don't think you build a team that way. I think you build it through a draft. There are so many elements that go into a player actually fitting into your program and being successful, that if you get them right when they're peaking in that system and then you disrupt that and move them on to another system, that can be tough. So, the percentage has dropped, the success rate has dropped. I think you spot a guy here or there.

"Then you have the other element that it has the chance to disrupt your locker room. This guy has been with me for 10 years and is making X amount and then all of the sudden you bring in a free agent who might be as good, but maybe not as good, and you're paying him way up here and all of the sudden you have this rift that goes on in the locker room. I think you have to be real, real careful on who you bring in and how you do it.”

Adding Jackson at something less than a premium price might have made sense. The Chiefs wouldn't need to guess about projecting how Jackson might do in Reid's system. They could look at his production from those five seasons they were together with the Eagles.

But the Chiefs made their decision, for better or for worse, about a high-priced wide receiver last year when they re-signed Dwayne Bowe for five years and $56 million. That's about all a team can reasonably afford without gutting another part of the roster.

That's not to say a move of this nature would always be a bad move for the Chiefs. When their salary cap is in better shape and the signing of a big-money player like Jackson might reasonably put the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, they should go for it, by all means.

And there will be a time and place. But this wasn't it.

http://espn.go.com/blog/kansas-city-...ass-on-jackson

O.city · 03-31-2014, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Absolutely. After what we just went through with Pioli, treating the fans like mindless sheep is inexcusable.

Don't tell us to be patient and wait for the draft and then give away 2 high draft picks for Alex Smith.

Don't win 11 games and come within an inch of winning a playoff game in 20 years and then tell us to be patient and wait for the draft.

I would imagine they'd say smith was an aberration.

chiefzilla1501 · 03-31-2014, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

How would Jackson have cost us a top player and maybe more? Flowers and Hali are more than likely gone next season....whether we sign Jackson or not. If signing Jackson causes us to not sign Smith, Houston or Berry....it's because they don't feel that either of the three are worth the money that they want. Don't try and force feed us a bunch of bullshit.

We won't lost Hali or flowers. They will become much more affordable next year through a restructure.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 03-31-2014, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yep, they set the expectations from Day 1.

2013: Watch us win 11 games!

2014-???: Enjoy watching (praying) all these young players develop!

Suckers.

htismaqe · 03-31-2014, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

We won't lost Hali or flowers. They will become much more affordable next year through a restructure.

One or both of them could be done this year or the next. Flowers hasn't exactly been the epitome of health...

O.city · 03-31-2014, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Home field advantage?

Stop trolling.

The fact is the team had —and still has— to be rebuilt. The only way to rebuild is to endure a few losing seasons to stock up on picks and make common sense FA acquisitions.

Not true

**MahiMike** · 03-31-2014, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

The only thing this organization has proved thus far is that they are willing to follow up a 11-5 season by letting players walk and replacing them with complete unknown quantities.

They're playing for 2015, 2016 and 2017 - and that's if they draft ridiculously well - meanwhile their best players are nearing the end of their prime.

Correct. This isn't the final years of Marty and Carl. Dwayne Bowe has set this team back 3 years.

htismaqe · 03-31-2014, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

I would imagine they'd say smith was an aberration.

Aberrations enjoy the benefit of hindsight.

Without any hindsight, it looks like a deviation from the plan.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 03-31-2014, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

And they're going to undo it all in year 2.

What do you think is going to happen if they win 6 games this season after doing literally NOTHING in free agency?

Because you know who gauges free agency activity the most? TRUE FANS.

This.

Winning 6 games in Year One is infinitely more acceptable to the fans than winning 6 games in Year Two, after winning 11 the year before.

But hey, they have a plan.

**MahiMike** · 03-31-2014, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WakkaWakka

I feel terrible for Jamaal. Arguably the best RB in the league and what is he gonna have to show for it?

MJD just smiles at that one.

**MahiMike** · 03-31-2014, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonedstooge

Cheaps waiting until the end of August to pick off players from the last cut. Nice and cheap

In our situation, this is the prudent move.

chiefzilla1501 · 03-31-2014, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

And they're going to undo it all in year 2.

What do you think is going to happen if they win 6 games this season after doing literally NOTHING in free agency?

Because you know who gauges free agency activity the most? TRUE FANS.

I am sure it's a hell of a lot better than if they chose to rebuild last year. You are going to create some anger. They aren't going to undo fan loyalty. The true fan base loves Reid and Alex Smith. That bought them plenty of time.

O.city · 03-31-2014, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Aberrations enjoy the benefit of hindsight.

Without any hindsight, it looks like a deviation from the plan.

I don't think that's necessarily true.

They say they want to build thru the draft, there are always going to be opportunities present themselves when you can bring in pieces other that that( maybe not overpay that much but that's a different subject).

This Desean Jackson thing seems to be another example of that. But who knows what we're doing there

keg in kc · 03-31-2014, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

There were other free agents available that might have been able to scrap together a 9 or 10-win season with the guys we have...

I've had trouble quantifying my thinking on this, but I don't believe they ever saw him as a band-aid. To them I think he's a core piece with at least a 5-year shelf life. What they saw as a sure thing, and "the guy," rather than "a guy" to hold the fort until they get "the guy".

I have never agreed with that view on the guy, I think he's a JAG but I also have a hard time faulting them in that they identified what they wanted and are building around him. I wouldn't have done it that way. I certainly wouldn't have paid the draft picks, but it's not a short term line of thought.

htismaqe · 03-31-2014, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

I don't think that's necessarily true.

They say they want to build thru the draft, there are always going to be opportunities present themselves when you can bring in pieces other that that( maybe not overpay that much but that's a different subject).

This Desean Jackson thing seems to be another example of that. But who knows what we're doing there

Giving up two 2nd-round picks for a player is the antithesis of "opportunistic".

It's a calculated and deliberate move.

O.city · 03-31-2014, 10:07 AM

It's also tough to say today, in March, what next years schedule will look like. We've been thru this before.

You just never know what will happen this soon.

03-31-2014, 07:10 AM
Stryker In Mahomes I trust! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Casino cash: $2144636	Chiefs right to pass on DeSean Jackson From a purely football standpoint, the Kansas City Chiefs couldn't have found a better wide receiver for their balky passing game than DeSean Jackson. He definitely would have provided life to a group of wide receivers that was last in the NFL in 2013 in targets, catches and yardage. Since 2008 Jackson has 21 touchdowns of 30 or more yards and was third in average yards per catch at 17.2 for the Philadelphia Eagles, who released him last week. Add in the fact Jackson thrived for the first five seasons of his NFL career playing for Andy Reid, now coaching the Chiefs, and Jackson coming to Kansas City seemed to make a lot of sense. But the Chiefs will look elsewhere, probably to the draft, for that receiving help. After making some initial inquiries into Jackson's availability, the Chiefs backed off, reportedly because of cost concerns. The Chiefs, who have about $4.5 million of remaining cap space, could have found a way to squeeze Jackson's salary under their limit. But at what cost? The Chiefs would like to re-sign quarterback Alex Smith and linebacker Justin Houston before they can become free agents next year. Neither will come at a favorable price. Safety Eric Berry is among the players who could become an unrestricted free agent in 2016 and he too will be expensive. Signing Jackson at top dollar would have cost them one of those players and perhaps more. But there's something else at work here. Adding Jackson would have smelled of panic. It would have been a sign the Chiefs were veering away from their plan, making it up on the fly. You can argue the merits of their plan, but Reid and general manager John Dorsey prefer to find their stars, the players they build the foundation around, through the draft and not as free agents. Listen closely to what Reid said recently about free agency. "Listen, I'm not a huge free-agency guy," Reid said last week at the NFL meetings in Orlando, Fla. "I don't think you build a team that way. I think you build it through a draft. There are so many elements that go into a player actually fitting into your program and being successful, that if you get them right when they're peaking in that system and then you disrupt that and move them on to another system, that can be tough. So, the percentage has dropped, the success rate has dropped. I think you spot a guy here or there. "Then you have the other element that it has the chance to disrupt your locker room. This guy has been with me for 10 years and is making X amount and then all of the sudden you bring in a free agent who might be as good, but maybe not as good, and you're paying him way up here and all of the sudden you have this rift that goes on in the locker room. I think you have to be real, real careful on who you bring in and how you do it.” Adding Jackson at something less than a premium price might have made sense. The Chiefs wouldn't need to guess about projecting how Jackson might do in Reid's system. They could look at his production from those five seasons they were together with the Eagles. But the Chiefs made their decision, for better or for worse, about a high-priced wide receiver last year when they re-signed Dwayne Bowe for five years and $56 million. That's about all a team can reasonably afford without gutting another part of the roster. That's not to say a move of this nature would always be a bad move for the Chiefs. When their salary cap is in better shape and the signing of a big-money player like Jackson might reasonably put the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, they should go for it, by all means. And there will be a time and place. But this wasn't it. http://espn.go.com/blog/kansas-city-...ass-on-jackson
Posts: 6,051

03-31-2014, 10:07 AM	#105
O.city In Search of a Life Join Date: Jul 2009 Casino cash: $2354064	It's also tough to say today, in March, what next years schedule will look like. We've been thru this before. You just never know what will happen this soon.
Posts: 81,573