Worried About the Offensive Line

Jul 30, 2008, 5:57:08 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

RIVER FALLS, WI – It has been the biggest concern, worry and headache in the Chiefs Nation for the better part of the last year.

The team’s offensive line fell apart in the 2007 season. Year after year it had been one of the franchise’s greatest strengths, producing 22 Pro Bowl nominations over a 16-year period. But the biggest reason for the team’s 4-12 record last year was the poor offense. The biggest reason for the poor offense was poor play along the offensive line.

Coming into the 2008 season, the Chiefs did not stand pat. Changes were made as three starters and two backups were dispatched. New faces were added.

But with the possible exception of first-round draft pick Branden Albert, those additions didn’t impress anyone. Adrian Jones (claimed off waivers), Wade Smith (unrestricted free agent) and Anthony Alabi (waivers) are now Chiefs blockers who own past NFL experience. That’s done nothing to stifle the worries not only outside Arrowhead Stadium, but inside the building as well.

As the team goes through Camp Herm here in the northwoods, the offensive line is the No. 1 position under the football microscope.

With five days of camp work under the belts, how is the offensive line looking?

“They are doing OK,” said Herm Edwards. “We’ve added some talent there. They are getting better. Right now the group is better than what we had last year and there is a lot of growth to come from these guys.

“There’s a long road to travel with that group, but we are going in the right direction.”

There’s been plenty of second-guessing on the direction that the Chiefs have taken since the end of last season with their offensive line. Here’s a quick chronology of how it all went down:

• 2007: the Chiefs decide to go with a veteran offensive line, with five starters who had each opened 80 or more games in the NFL. Carl Peterson has since said that was his decision and that it proved to be a mistake. Chris Terry, John Welbourn, Casey Wiegmann and Kyle Turley all showed signs of age and a loss of physical skills. Only Wiegmann remains in the NFL, as a backup center in Denver.
• January 2008: Edwards hired Chan Gailey as his new offensive coordinator. Gailey brought with him a significantly different offense, especially along the offensive line. Gailey likes his linemen big and aggressive, much like he had in two seasons as the head coach with the Dallas Cowboys and blockers like Nate Newton (6-2, 327), Flozell Adams (6-7, 340), Erik Williams (6-6, 317) and Larry Allen (6-3, 329). However, those guys were not just big; they were very talented given the fact that Allen (10), Newton (6), Adams (4) and Williams (4) were frequent participants in the Pro Bowl.
• February 2008: the Chiefs looked at the list of unrestricted free agents and found none to their liking. The young guys were not good fits for the offense and with the older guys, the Chiefs were not willing to invest in players that were 30 years and older at the end of their NFL careers.
• April 2008: with holes to fill on the offensive line and a dozen picks at their disposal, everyone figured the Chiefs would grab a handful of blockers. Instead, they selected Albert with the 15th pick of the first round and Barry Richardson with the 170th selection in the sixth round.

Those actions and inactions have not calmed the fears of those who wonder who will protect the young, inexperienced Brodie Croyle at quarterback and who will open holes for one of the NFL’s most productive backs in Larry Johnson.

“We saw what happened last year with an experienced offensive line,” countered Edwards. “Anybody that’s worried about that, just needs to remember the way things went down last year. Just because you’ve got a lot of games on your resume, doesn’t mean you can get the job done.”

Edwards was not averse to adding a blocker or two from the free agency pool for this ‘08 roster. There just wasn’t anybody that fit the picture he’s trying to paint.

“Some of the guys were in their third contracts and they were 32, 33, 34-year old guys and we didn’t want to do that,” said Edwards. “We had done that already and it didn’t work. We were willing to sign those guys, if they would take a one-year deal, but that’s not what those guys are looking for when it comes to their third contract.”

There were some younger free agents on that list as well, like guard Justin Smiley (26 years old), Jacob Bell (27) and Jake Scott (27). All three had extensive starting experience in the league and were unrestricted free agents. Smiley left San Francisco for Miami, Bell left Tennessee for St. Louis and Scott left Indianapolis for Tennessee.

“Those guys didn’t fit the mold of what we are trying to do with our offensive line,” said Edwards. “We could have signed them. We had the money under the cap. We could have done that, but it would have been putting square pegs into round holes.”

It would also have been another trip down a road the Chiefs have driven too many times in recent years. That’s also why the Chiefs did not go out and use half their draft choices on offensive linemen.

“There were too many places where we needed to add players to concentrate on one position,” Edwards said. “This team needed help at a lot of positions. We used one of our highest picks on a blocker (Albert). He’s going to be pretty good, you can see that already.”

Edwards also likes what he’s seen from Rudy Niswanger at center. “He’s taller than most centers (6-5) but he does a good job of keeping leverage on the lower to the ground defensive tackles that he has to face.”

Veteran LG Brian Waters has been very active in camp so far and the head coach has noticed. “I think he’s going to have a very good year,” said Edwards.

Adrian Jones at left guard and Damion McIntosh at right tackle round out the starting lineup right now, but there’s some push coming from guys like Alabi, Smith, Richardson and Tre Stallings

“When you say you are going young, you can’t all the sudden go over here and add a bunch of older guys because you are scared of the young players,” said Edwards. “We are trying to develop a football team. How do you develop a football team if you don’t let your young players play?

“If you do something different, then you aren’t really sticking to the plan.”

Edwards said the Chiefs are still looking for players. The personnel periscope is up and will continue to scan the football horizon.

“If we get through the pre-season and we aren’t getting it done, then we’ll bring in some other guys to fill the role,” Edwards said. “There are going to be guys available. There are always veterans at every position available.

“But that’s only going to happen if these young guys we have show us they can’t get it done. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

So everybody can quit worrying about the Chiefs offensive line?

“Everybody just needs to let this thing play out and see what these young guys can do,” Edwards said. “We’re going to be OK.”

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.