Trade-bait

[sigma7]

Via Yahoo, top ten NFL players who should be traded this season. The headline is that four of them are Detroit Lions. The real news is that three of them are Chiefs: Larry Johnson (at #1), Patrick Surtain, and Tony Gonzales. I have to wholeheartedly concur on the first two, especially since Herm's got that "wait until next year" tenor in his voice and Larry's petulance kicks in from time to time.

Tony Gonzales I'm not so sure about. I have to think that he's closer to the end of his career than a glance at his playmaking ability would lend one to believe, and that if given the choice I don't see him bolting for another team for more money or even a championship run, really. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't think I or any more-fervent fans of the red would begrudge him a trade to a championship-caliber team -- there's some hard feelings this season, but you can't direct them at Tony Gonzales, who seems to be one of the few Chiefs showing up this season. (Your current MVP is still Dustin Colquitt, who, you have to admit, punts well.) And he's a vegetarian, which improves team chemistry immensely when you're eating out in the BBQ capital of Earth with a handful of the city's biggest appetites.

Thing of it is, even if/when these players do move off the roster and the seeds are planted for 2010 and beyond (no, this team isn't contending in 2009, even if the Chefs walked into the draft with more picks than Kurt Warner on muscle relaxant), I doubt it's going to be Herm Edwards reaping the benefits (and with the skillset he's shown, I think "reaping" might be apropos in the worst possible context). It shouldn't be Carl Peterson, either, who's helmed enough peaks and valleys to have been considered having a fair shot at the brass ring. The new Chiefs are going to need a new vision. Of course, if you ask me, I know who I'd pick....

Comments

[daethkow.livejournal.com]

If somehow Herm and Carl survive the season and they go forward with the seat licenses, I'll probably just drop the Chiefs as my team. Enough is enough.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Oh, God, the seat licenses. Yes, that is a perfectly acceptable deal-breaker right there. That, coupled with Herm and Carl guiding the team into 2009, is more moral duty than excuse to burn that bridge.

[bedsitter23.livejournal.com]

I was actually having a similiar conversation to this a week or so ago.

It seems football is the one sport where you don't see this. In any other sport, the Chiefs would be shipping off Gonzalez or LJ in trade for younger talent.

I suppose it's the salary cap that makes football diffrent (that's my guess), but not sure why they don't go all out Fire sale.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking it's also the complexity of systems -- it's very difficult to find yourself suddenly in, let's say Indianapolis from KC, and you have a new 300-page playbook and formations and audibles, not to mention the idiosyncrasies of your teammates (and a quarterback who audibles nine times out of ten). Defense might be easier, but there's still a lot more learning and adjustment there.

It's probably harder to make that transition than it would be in the other three major sports combined, in fact -- baseball's pretty universal (aside from the pitcher/catcher dynamic), hockey has nuances and lines but seems to be more skill than strategy, basketball is as close as we can get with its drawn-up plays and situational adjustments.

The sad thing is the Chefs on the (theoretical) block all have knocks against them -- LJ's a dick, Surtain's hurt and Gonzo's almost as old as Al Davis, so I'm not sure any of them should pack just yet.

[bedsitter23.livejournal.com]

I didn't even consider that. That would add to it as well.