Chiefs Chiefs right to pass on DeSean Jackson - Page 5

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

el borracho · 03-31-2014, 09:28 AM

I know you are joking but, sadly, we've already seen that attitude in this thread.

Molitoth · 03-31-2014, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcellus

I am not vehemently defending anything and am in fact am much less emotional and matter of fact in my post than you are.

Laugh away, the proof is all over CP in every Chiefs related thread.

lol.

Positivity is not a bad thing, but you are the Bob Gretz, Rex Hudler, and Jesus of Chiefsplanet.

Anytime anyone questions anything, you come into Chiefsplanet to throw some positive PR the chiefs way. They may as well start sending you a small paycheck.

chiefzilla1501 · 03-31-2014, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCChiefsFan88

This.

The Chiefs have basically cornered themselves into a situation where they have to have a historically great draft to avoid going 7-9 or worse.

And historically great means that the Chiefs will need to hit on virtually every draft pick and pick guys who can come in and immediately contribute.

That is the consequence of deciding to sit out free agency.

The chiefs right now have to replace a guard, a likely downgrade at left tackle, and a possession slot receiver. Assuming they don't have the answer already on the roster. Let's not overreact to how much worse this team is than last year

Discuss Thrower · 03-31-2014, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

The chiefs right now have to replace a guard, a likely downgrade at left tackle, and a possession slot receiver. Assuming they don't have the answer already on the roster. Let's not overreact to how much worse this team is than last year

If you're not getting better you're getting worse.

O.city · 03-31-2014, 09:35 AM

People want to point to te draft as where well get that much better, but they seem to forget every other team gets to draft too.

We better draft well and our staff better be as advertised in terms Of player development

**The Franchise** · 03-31-2014, 09:37 AM

They not only have to draft well this year but they have to hope that the players they drafted last year are going to perform as well.

O.city · 03-31-2014, 09:42 AM

People are so confident this draft is gonna bring in great pieces, when last eara draft with the first pick in each round, our gm don't brim in a single player that made much of an impact.

chiefzilla1501 · 03-31-2014, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by el borracho

"Build through the draft"??

Who's that guy under center and what happened to all the 2nd round picks?

And the question you have to continue to ask is if this franchise could have afforded another 2 - 12 season. I get that we don't want to constantly be 8 - 8 but the fans would have shit all over Reid and Dorsey if they were terrible last year.

So no, I don't see the problem with using year 1 to gain respectability for the franchise again and then year two and beyond, building the team their way. And Alex Smith was the surest way to do that.

htismaqe · 03-31-2014, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

People want to point to te draft as where well get that much better, but they seem to forget every other team gets to draft too.

We better draft well and our staff better be as advertised in terms Of player development

They have to be better than advertised after giving up 2 potentially foundational players for Alex Smith.

chiefzilla1501 · 03-31-2014, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

People are so confident this draft is gonna bring in great pieces, when last eara draft with the first pick in each round, our gm don't brim in a single player that made much of an impact.

I'm not at all confident about the draft. In fact, last year's class scares the shit out of me.

But don't you think that people are equally overconfident that two or three pieces suddenly turns us into big time contenders?

keg in kc · 03-31-2014, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

They not only have to draft well this year but they have to hope that the players they drafted last year are going to perform as well.

One thing though: that should be the default setting. They should always draft well. That's the target. The whole reason that we've been in this mess since the late-nineties is that they haven't, and no amount of free agent sprees (which they have had on a couple of occasions) can make up for that fact.

I'm not saying they shouldn't sign free agents. More saying that we shouldn't be talking about good drafts like it would be a fluke. It should be an expectation. This team most likely won't ever be a contender until quality drafts are the norm.

htismaqe · 03-31-2014, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

And the question you have to continue to ask is if this franchise could have afforded another 2 - 12 season. I get that we don't want to constantly be 8 - 8 but the fans would have shit all over Reid and Dorsey if they were terrible last year.

Well by all means, at least the true fans are happy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

So no, I don't see the problem with using year 1 to gain respectability for the franchise again and then year two and beyond, building the team their way.

Giving up 2 picks for Smith runs completely counter to building through the draft. That's just simple math. They gave up two 2nd rounders for him, making building through the draft that much harder. That's not a criticism, it's just a fact.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

And Alex Smith was the surest way to do that.

That's highly debatable.

**MahiMike** · 03-31-2014, 09:47 AM

It's all Bowes fault.

O.city · 03-31-2014, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

They have to be better than advertised after giving up 2 potentially foundational players for Alex Smith.

I think they view him as one of the biggest foundational pieces they have now.

Actually I'm pretty sure they do, or at least the players do. They're pretty high on th guy

htismaqe · 03-31-2014, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

I'm not at all confident about the draft. In fact, last year's class scares the shit out of me.

But don't you think that people are equally overconfident that two or three pieces suddenly turns us into big time contenders?

We were one competent FS away from winning our first playoff game in 20 years.

For as much as people want to justify last year's moves because they were "necessary to appease the masses" what do you think THAT means?

03-31-2014, 07:10 AM
Stryker In Mahomes I trust! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Casino cash: $2464636	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: 5,974

03-31-2014, 09:28 AM	#61
el borracho In Pat We Trust Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Albuquerque, NM Casino cash: $6319148	I know you are joking but, sadly, we've already seen that attitude in this thread.
Posts: 11,834

03-31-2014, 09:35 AM	#65
O.city In Search of a Life Join Date: Jul 2009 Casino cash: $2684064	People want to point to te draft as where well get that much better, but they seem to forget every other team gets to draft too. We better draft well and our staff better be as advertised in terms Of player development
Posts: 81,299

03-31-2014, 09:37 AM	#66
The Franchise Most Valuable Villain Join Date: Dec 2006 Casino cash: $3045047	They not only have to draft well this year but they have to hope that the players they drafted last year are going to perform as well.
Posts: 92,195

03-31-2014, 09:42 AM	#67
O.city In Search of a Life Join Date: Jul 2009 Casino cash: $2684064	People are so confident this draft is gonna bring in great pieces, when last eara draft with the first pick in each round, our gm don't brim in a single player that made much of an impact.
Posts: 81,299

03-31-2014, 09:47 AM	#73
MahiMike He's Mahomie! Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Jax, FL Casino cash: $10023443	It's all Bowes fault. __________________ 99.9%
Posts: 17,387