Where are all the other NFL fan/writers???
Anyway, I can't tell you how much things like this excite me:
From SI's Peter King:
I visited Chiefs camp last Wednesday, and one player stood out above the rest: Derrick Johnson. He's the rookie linebacker from Texas taken by Kansas City in the first round in April, and he's fast. Really fast. I got a chance to watch him on the practice field, unpadded, as offense played defense in a non-contact, play-installation drill. If he's this good when they put the pads on -- which, of course, nobody knows yet, and it's silly to pretend one workout can portend greatness -- the Chiefs might finally have the really good linebacker they've been lacking since the death of Derrick Thomas.
And from Warpaint Illustrated:
But one player has stood out more than any other.At the top of the list is the aforementioned Derrick Johnson. Without a doubt, he has the opportunity to be one of the games very best outside linebackers. High praise for a rookie who’s never stepped foot on the field but he’s already the teams best cover linebacker. He’s the only one in OTA’s that has been able to stop tight end Kris Wilson. He has such instinctive skills that he’s already ahead of every other linebacker on the roster including Bell.
Do you realize how one disruptive player can make everyone else better? If opposing teams have to game plan for Derrick Johnson, it limits their playbook. Limited playbooks make for predictable game-plans, and Gunther can tear that up. If you have to account for Derrick Johnson, it effectively removes one more offensive player (holding a TE/RB back to block) from your possible weapons. That frees up Jared Allen, or Eric Hicks, or Scott Fujita to make some big plays.
His speed should help prevent big gains by TEs down the middle. It should stop counter/cutback plays from going 30-40 yards. It should put the fear into Denver and their 'naked bootleg' plays.
No matter what he does in training camp, no one is going to game plan to stop Derrick Johnson until he proves they have to. From what we've been hearing, if DJ is as good as early indications seem, then he might be able to win the first 2-3 games for us single-handedly. Then when teams adjust, the supporting cast has been upgraded enough to win bunches of games the rest of the year.
If I were a gambling man (and I'm not), I'd put money down right now on him being the 2005 Rookie of the Year.
I'm a homer, yes. I want to look at how things could work out well for the Chiefs, rather than obsessing on how they might go wrong. But this is shaping up to be a Season for the Ages. I've been excited about what the offense could do in the past few years; I've been excited about what the defense could do back in the early 90s. I've never been this excited about the possibility about both sides of the ball being dominating.
Cross-posted here.
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Comments (3)
I share your enthusiasm so ... (Below threshold)1. Posted by KCmaniac | July 14, 2005 3:09 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I share your enthusiasm so that makes me Homer II. One thing, though, I'm not so high that an 0-2 start will surprise me to the point of depression. I do understand there are a lot of variables.
New defensive members not gelling early enough for the Chiefs to recover from a 0-2/1-3 start. The offense not being able to take up any excessive slack like last year. Vermiel's announced last year could make him a lame duck and players knowing their future won't depend on him could possibly not play as inspired as they might otherwise. Holmes going down again... etc, etc.
I hope Gunther can ralley these guys and the offense puts together its final push and playoffs hopes are visable throughout the year.
1. Posted by KCmaniac | July 14, 2005 3:09 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 14, 2005 15:09
2. Posted by J-E-T-S jets, jets, jets | August 9, 2005 3:32 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
I think you Cheif fans aren't actually football fans...
First of all a rookie is not going to dominate anything his rookie year...and certainly not in the first few weeks,,,enough to "single handidly" win the first few games.
Do you actually watch football?
Secondly, the cheifs are opening against a very, very good Jet team this year.
A team that is likely going to be contending for a superbowl this year..missed the AFC championship game last year by two badly missed FG's.
While the chiefs offense might be good. (not nearly as good as it was two years ago) it's defense didn't do much but pick up some fill-in guys....
and please....please...don't count on rookies to carry your team. No matter what Peter King says.
2. Posted by J-E-T-S jets, jets, jets | August 9, 2005 3:32 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 9, 2005 15:32
3. Posted by Chief Muser | August 10, 2005 9:18 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Dude, it's things like this that make me say he could single-handedly win the first 2-3 games of the season:
Now, it's not like the rest of the team is going to be standing around doing nothing. But if he forces two turnovers in one game...or if the Jets are driving and he keeps up with Chrebet and intercepts a pass to kill a drive and save the win...or if he gets a few sacks and teams have to keep blockers in and/or run away from him to limit his effect, then, yeah: I'd credit that to him "single-handedly" winning a game for us. Sure, it's an exaggeration to say "single-handedly", but I figured readers would know what I meant. The reason I said the first 2-3 games, rather than later in the season, is that I don't expect anyone to game-plan to stop him until he proves you have to. Well, if he's as good as he seems, he could start off proving that from the first game. If so, we could win the first few before anyone catches on
I hope you have the guts to come back and admit it if he does do that sort of thing. I'll certainly have the guts to admit it if he doesn't.
3. Posted by Chief Muser | August 10, 2005 9:18 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 10, 2005 21:18