FanHouse DonnieEdwards

Commence housecleaning in Kansas City. The Chiefs won two games last season, hired Scott Pioli in January to fix the mess, and not long after, Herm Edwards was out of a job (although not for long).

And then, earlier this month, Kansas City hired former Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley to replace Edwards, and today, the organization's new faces got down to the business of running off the old faces.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: Oh, holy God. Do we have to start here? Can't we start at defensive line? Or even offensive line? No? Okay. So last season, Damon Huard was such the pinnacle of mediocrity, he may have redefined the word for decades. It wasn't so much that Huard was spectacularly terrible, throwing constant interceptions as he heaved them down the field, Rex-Grossman-style, it was that he looked singularly incapable of actually getting the ball downfield to begin with. So, after far too many games watching the offense set new franchise lows, Brodie Croyle who had been waiting in the wings, finally took the reins. The results were less than spectacular. Chiefs fans support Croyle because the kid has shown flashes of leadership and a pretty solid arm. The trouble is, the protection was so bad last year, no one knows whether to pin the offense's disastrous play on an inability by Brodie to produce, or a result of the fact that Croyle spent so much time on the run it's a wonder he's not dead in the cold, cold ground. So with a retooled and slightly upgraded offensive line, he should be better? Right? Right? Oh, Jesus, where's the bottle? Wait, what? Huard's still on the team? Must get bigger bottle. Heat Index: 2

Herm Edwards isn't much of a clock manager. This we know. But despite his obliviousness when it comes to in-game coaching decisions, he apparently has a very keen sense of when he's being watched. Weird.

Anyway, the New York Daily News' Gary Myers writes that four years ago, Edwards, then the Jets head coach, and defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson were well aware of Bill Belichick's predilection for filming opponents from the sidelines.

[During a 2004 game] Edwards ... and Henderson ... noticed a Patriots camera from the opposite sideline aimed at them to tape the defensive signals.

Edwards had made the proper adjustments before the game to avoid Belichick stealing the defensive signals. They went into the game knowing this was a practice Belichick employed and when they saw the camera, they put on a show. ... And to show Belichick they were aware of his shenanigans, Edwards and Henderson looked right into the camera across the sideline and waved hello.

Edwards offered the ol' "no comment," but Myers writes that this was one of the six tapes the Patriots turned over to the commissioner's office. Yes, good thing Roger Goodell destroyed the evidence; we can't have coaches making a mockery of other coaches trying to cheat. It's just unseemly.

After a run on new evidence that had become predictable in recent weeks (former player/coach says the Patriots illegally videotaped them, offers no proof, Senator Specter vows to investigate with the help of Comcast lawyers), I welcome any information that shows other coaches clowning Belichick. It's funny, and if there's anything Patriotgate could use more of, it's humor. So thanks, Herm.

The free agent news around the Giants went from silent to booming last night. In fact, there is so much going on I don't have time to write separate posts about it. So sit back, relax and enjoy the overflowing Giants free agent news.

Dre Bly: According to ESPN's Michael Smith, the Giants have expressed interest in acquiring Bly from the Broncos. Apparently they held preliminary talks with Detroit before he was moved to Denver and with him now demanding a re-trade, the Giants are back in the picture. Bly wants to play closer to his Virginia home but the Broncos may not bite on a trade unless it's something "they can not refuse."

Donnie Edwards: The Giants are interested in the services of former Charger Donnie Edwards. Edwards appears to be looking for a ton of cash while the Giants appear hesitant to dish it out. No meeting between the two sides has yet to be scheduled.

Roderick Hood: Hood's name will just not disappear from the Giants radar and that's a good thing. No deal seems imminent because the Giants are not offering him what he's looking for. Even though he's stated a few times that he'd like to play for the Giants, money talks and right now Arizona, New Orleans and Cleveland all have bigger offers on the table. However, Hood is likely to take less to play in New York.

And that's not idle speculation on my part ... Edwards says he isn't going to come back, and the Chargers say they wouldn't have him back. This comes as a surprise to absolutely no one ... the Chargers were shopping him before the season started, because Edwards kept asking for a contract renegotiation, and Chargers GM A.J. Smith got sick of it.

It's a shame things didn't work out a little better ... Donnie Edwards was a truly outstanding player for the Chargers, and will be an outstanding player for whatever team he ends up on next. But the Chargers are prepared for this ... young inside linebackers Stephen Cooper and Matt Wilhelm are both signed to long-term deals and both pretty well-regarded in the organization. They knew this day was coming.

As for potential landing spots for Donnie Edwards ... New Orleans seems pretty likely. They were after Donnie Edwards pretty hard before last season, but couldn't agree to trade terms with the Chargers.

The next two issues I'll explore in the Chiefs' offseason gameplan is what they will do with their kicker and linebacker situation.

Kicker:
This time last year, I was excited about Lawrence Tynes returning to the Chiefs. He overcame major adversity in 2005 and finished with a very strong season. In 2006, he wasn't bad, but he was wildly inconsistent. Still, the Chiefs have to be absolutely fed up with this inconsistency. Arguably, his lax approach to kicking a chip shot field goal in the playoffs against Indianapolis is believed by many to have been the turning point of the game.

Quite simply, there is no excuse for missing a chip shot field goal in a dome, especially in the playoffs. Tynes is known to have constant lapses in concentration, which is why he has struggled very often at times at making extra points. It also doesn't help that Tynes has a weak leg for kicking off.

What will the Chiefs do?
Expect the Chiefs to bring in some competition this offseason. I think the Chiefs will have to find a huge steal for them to consider cutting Tynes, but don't think that Tynes' job is even remotely safe.

Linebacker:
Okay, so I have also heard from many that linebacker is a high priority position for the Chiefs. I don't buy it. The Chiefs are just fine at linebacker. Sure, Kendrell Bell is a little overpaid, but I also don't believe he's nearly as bad as people think he is.