Four-Month Warning

May 07, 2008, 8:35:13 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

It’s May 7th, 2008.

The 2008 NFL regular season begins on September 7th.

That leaves four months for Herm Edwards and his coaching staff to find answers to the questions that surround the football team. There are just about 120 days to get ready for the Patriots and what comes afterwards.

Right now, the tools available for them to work with are in the team’s toolbox. Oh, there’s always a chance some new bodies may pop up after the June 1st salary cap accounting date, but those are likely to be older players, the type the Chiefs have not shown much interest in during this off-season.

The Chiefs will soon begin their on-field work and that will begin the process of answering the questions on offense, defense and special teams.

Today, we’ll look at the offense.

Question #1: Offensive Line
Everyone from Carl Peterson through the ordinary fan knows the Chiefs biggest problem last year was the offensive line. As a group, the guys upfront struggled all season, leaving the offense hamstrung in the running game and in pass protection. The Chiefs looked old, slow and overmatched along the line of scrimmage.

Thus, there were changes. Players were deleted, others were added. Some fans and pundits think there weren’t enough bodies added to the offensive line, as the team did not sign a significant blocker in free agency and selected just two in the 2008 Draft.

Obviously, the Chiefs personnel and coaching staffs believe there is more talent already on board along the offensive line than was visible last year. Other than returning starters Brian Waters and Damion McIntosh, the only other blocker currently on the roster that got the chance to play in 2007 was Rudy Niswanger. He worked at right guard in five games before suffering the right knee injury that ended his season in early December.

Niswanger becomes a factor at center.

That leaves the coaching staff needing to find two other starters. Depending on where McIntosh plays (either tackle or guard) the Chiefs are looking for two tackles or a guard and tackle. First-round draft pick Branden Albert will get one of those spots no matter the combination; the Chiefs didn’t select him in the 15th spot to sit on the bench. He will start somewhere.

Among the other 11 bodies fighting for the other starting job there are a combined 22 NFL starts, with 18 of those belonging to C-T Wade Smith.

Question #2: The Wide Receiver Group After Bowe
After his successful rookie season, the pressure will be on Dwayne Bowe to improve in all facets of the receiver game. That will be tougher to get done without help on the other side of the offense.

Right now the Chiefs have Bowe and nine other wide receivers on the roster. Only three of those nine have played in an NFL game: Devard Darling, Bobby Sippio and Jeff Webb. They have a combined 48 catches for 639 yards and four touchdowns.

Opportunity abounds for whatever receiver steps forward and grabs the position, even among the rookies.

Question #3: Who Will Replace Jason Dunn As Blocking Tight End
The Chiefs are going to run the ball. To help make that happen, they need a big nasty to replace Dunn. Up until last season, Dunn was one of the best blocking tight ends in the league. Like the rest of the blockers, his play and production dropped last season.

After Tony Gonzalez, there are five other tight ends listed on the roster. Second-year man Michael Allan is more receiver than blocker. The other four are more blocker than receiver: draft choices Brad Cottam and Michael Merritt and John Paul Foschi and Joe Lobdell.

As a third-round choice, Cottam will get the first chance to be the next Dunn.

Question #4: Will There Be A Fullback, And If So, Who?
The Chiefs really haven’t had a true fullback since October 16, 2006. That’s the day Ronnie Cruz went down with a career ending knee injury in Pittsburgh. They’ve been patching and filling the spot since.

Why? Well, a fullback who can handle blocking, catching the ball and working on the special teams is tough to find in the league these days. Every team would like to have one, if they can find one.

The Chiefs currently have three fullbacks on the roster: Oliver Hoyte, Chris Manderino and rookie Mike Cox. Only Hoyte has played a regular season game, stepping on the field in 22 games with Dallas. Also, Foschi played a fullback/H-back position with the Raiders.

Pull it all together and Herm Edwards and his offensive staff have a lot more questions right now than they do answers.

They’ve got four months to change that.

On Friday, a look at the questions in the kicking game.

The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.

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A former beat reporter who covered the Pittsburgh Steelers during their glory years, Gretz covered the Chiefs for the Kansas City Star for nine years. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors. He has been the senior columnist for the Chiefs web site since its inception.