Charlie Batch's season is officially over, as reported by Gerry Dulac at the Post-Gazette. The Steelers today made the much anticipated move of placing the veteran on Injured Reserve, and making Byron Leftwich the No. 2 quarterback behind Ben Roethlisberger. This could very well be the end of Batch's career in Pittsburgh.
Batch broke his collarbone in the teams first preseason game while attempting to salvage a busted play in the backfield.
Also, from the same Post-Gazette article, the Steelers will be releasing former third-round pick Willie Reid, as well as veteran return-man Eddie Drummond. Both players were competing for return duties on this years squad.
Reid, the teams second third-round pick during the 2006 draft, never panned out after having his rookie year completely wiped out by injuries.
Until I saw this, I had actually forgotten B.J. Sams was still in the league. He kind of came out of nowhere to win the return-man job with the Ravens four years ago, but he suffered a broken ankle late in the 2006 season, and Baltimore later used a third-round pick on wideout/returner Yamon Figurs.
Figurs handled most of punt and kick returns as a rookie and the Ravens decided to let Sams' contract expire. Which, it turns out, is good news for the Chiefs, a team in dire need of some special teams upgradin' (I mean, they're thinking about signing this guy).
According to Football Outsiders, the Chiefs were one of the league's worst special teams units in 2007, and the kick-return team was dead last. And while Sams can't do anything for the offensive line or quarterback situations, if he helps improve "teams", it would be a good start. And, no doubt, all part of Herm Edwards' master plan.
Color me excited after last year. Sams, however many steps he's lost, is an upgrade over Eddie Drummond. Sams is only 27 years old and has shown flashes of being a potent return man. Yes, more flashes than Drummond showed us (Note: That's actually pretty arguable and I'll leave it at that).
When Kansas City acquired Eddie Drummond, it was done with the thought that Donte Hall had lost his magic and become fearful of the big hit. And while that may be true, the substitution has not proved fruitful for the Chiefs.
Drummond is currently struggling through the worst slump of his entire career, and much of it has nothing to do with him. Due to some key injuries and under-performance, Kansas City ranks near the bottom of the NFL in kick return average -- something that shows no signs of changing any time soon.
"It's a gradual thing right now," Drummond said. "I'm not getting on the guys hard, not getting frustrated or anything. I'm being patient with them. I've got to be. Blocking for kick returns is a difficult job, especially if you're not used to doing it. Sooner or later, everything will come together."
Whether or not things turn around for Kansas City remain to be seen. But one thing is for sure; that attitude is a breath of fresh air.
When the Jaguars have the ball: Somehow, some way, the Jaguars have to find a way to get Maurice Jones-Drew going. Although they've been able to get by with the arm of David Garrard and the legs of Fred Taylor, Jones-Drew is crucial to Jacksonville's long-term success, and this might be the exact match-up he was waiting for. While the Chiefs pass defense is among the league's best, their rush defense is ranked 19th overall, allowing 4.2 yards per carry.
Defensively, Kansas City just needs to do what they've been doing. They had a little hiccup last week against LaDainian Tomlinson, but have been incredibly solid other than that. They currently rank third overall in the NFL, and have proven their ability to stop anyone as long as they stick to the gameplan.
It's taken Herm Edwards a few games to figure things out, but maybe just playing the cellar-dwelling Chargers has that effect on every team, and we shouldn't make too much of Kansas City's win last Sunday.
Or maybe not. Despite all the head-scratching decisions (or non-decisions, as it were), the Chiefs are in a three-way tie for first place in the division, and Edwards thinks he knows why:
In all four games they've played this year, his Kansas City Chiefs have fallen immediately behind. The last two -- against Minnesota and San Diego -- they faced double-digit deficits at halftime only to rally in the third and fourth quarters and pull out a win.
"We're minus-27 in points scored in the first half," Edwards said Tuesday. "And in the second half we're plus-27. So obviously, my pregame speech going out is not very good. My halftime speech is probably a little bit better."
The solution: quit giving pregame speeches. Or, maybe improve the special teams, which has been abysmal during the first month of the season.
Kansas City traded Dante Hall to the Rams, and hoped Eddie Drummond could pick up the slack. So far, no go, but Edwards isn't going to make a change. The problem is the 10 guys in front of Drummond -- they're not really blocking anybody. "Every time I turned around, it seemed like San Diego was hitting us on the 15-yard line. You've got to get more than that," Edwards told the AP.
I've given Edwards the business for some of his questionable coaching decisions, but you have to give the guy credit: Kansas City is 2-2 and has yet to really get things going on offense and special teams. Just imagine how good this team would be if they were average in two of the three phases of the game.
To get you ready for the season, FanHouse is previewing all 32 NFL teams. Here's the outlook for the Chiefs.
2006 record: 9-7
2006 Offense: The Chiefs lost quarterback Trent Green for the first half of the season, but were 5-3 behind Damon Huard. Running back Larry Johnson was the bigger story, rushing for 1,789 yards on 416 carries. Everybody -- including head coach Herm Edwards -- seems a little worried about the long-term effects of such a heavy workload, and the prospects aren't good. Tight end Tony Gonzalez turned in another Pro Bowl effort -- he had 73 receptions for 900 yards and five touchdowns -- but the club lacked another legit pass-catching threat after him.
2006 Defense: The Chiefs' defense was decidedly mediocre, ranking 20th against the pass and 18th against the run, according to Football Outsiders. Interestingly, Kansas City was 4th in the league against opposing teams' No. 1 wide receiver, but 25th against Nos. 2, and dead last against all other wideouts. The defensive line was solid in short-yardage situations, but the unit ranked 28th in Adjusted Sack Rate, just behind the Browns.
2006 Special teams:Dante Hall is now in St. Louis and the Kansas City spent much of the preseason trying to find his replacement. Rookie free agent Ean Randolph didn't do enough to win the job, so the club signed Eddie Drummond. Dustin Colquitt averaged 44 yards a pop and is a good directional punter, but kicker Lawrence Tynes did just enough to get sent packing in the off-season.
As Tom Mantzouranis noted when the Lions released Drummond, he has been, when healthy, the Lions' primary returner since 2002, but in the last couple years he hasn't been the same returner he was in 2004, when he was selected to the Pro Bowl after scoring two punt return touchdowns and two kickoff return touchdowns in the Lions' first 11 games. He was hurt in the 11th game and missed the rest of the year.
Pro Football Talk notes that Drummond is a very similar player to Dante Hall, the kick returner who a few years ago was the most exciting player in Kansas City but, like Drummond, has lost some of his speed in recent years. Still, Drummond is 27 years old and may be able to get that speed back if he ever stays healthy for a full year, and considering the Chiefs likely paid him something close to the league minimum, this is a good signing.
"I expected something to happen just because I wasn't getting an opportunity to compete with the rest of the receivers, and I know some of the coaches didn't like just special teams players," Drummond said. "It was kind of obvious that something was going to end up happening."
What wound up happening was the release of the Lions' primary returner since 2002, a player who became expendable once the Lions found guys who could play beyond special teams. Drummond also hasn't been the same returner he was in 2004, when he made the Pro Bowl after scoring four return touchdowns in just 11 games.
It's late in the offseason, but Drummond will definitely find a home. He will, however, never ditch the albatross that is his customized Bermanism. That's a stinky cologne that you wear to your grave.
2006 record: 3-13 2006 Offense: People tend to hold the misconception that Detroit's offense last year was good despite their poor record, based on the presence of Mike Martz and Jon Kitna's 4,208-yard, 21-touchdown year. What those people are overlooking are Kitna's 22 interceptions and the Lions' dead-last run game, which averaged only 70.6 yards per contest. For some perspective, 21 individual backs averaged more. Including Edgerrin James. Who ran for the Arizona Cardinals. Embarassing? You bet.
2006 Defense: This is a unit that ranked near the bottom five in just about every major defensive category last year. Linebacker Ernie Sims and safety Daniel Bullocks both showed promise, but the star of the defense, Shaun Rogers, was underwhelming. The Lions have some new blood that, on paper, should improve the unit, but that's not exactly a task, either.
2006 Special Teams:Eddie Drummond (no, you're not getting the Bermanism) had a solid, unspectacular season as the Lions' main returner, and kicker Jason Hanson is a keeper (the Lions relied on a lot of field goals, and Hanson had the third-most in the league). Still, the Lions special teams was middle of the road, at best. Noticing a theme? I should have just heeded that old "If you can't say anything nice ... " saying and saved myself the last 20 minutes.
Second year Lions WR Mike Williams has been one of the most disappointing draft selections in Lions team history. His well-documented maturity issues (missing practice, sleeping in meetings, weight control issues) and poor work ethic have severely hampered a 2-9 team that has been sorely lacking a compliment to WR's Roy Williams and Mike Furrey in Mike Martz's multi-receiver offense. In Thursday's game against the Dolphins, Williams was activated for the first time in weeks and apparently he is being given another opportunity to hopefully emerge as a contributor for the 2006 team.
Williams was activated due to injuries to WR's DeVale Ellis and Eddie Drummond. Williams also has begun to contribute to the special teams, a role which he had previously been unable or unwilling to offer to the organization. In order to justify Williams' activation, he had to be able provide some other contribution besides sulking along the sidelines with his helmet off, waiting for his chance to run a few pass patterns. It recently had been rumored that Williams had missed another opportunity to play by not being fully aware of how to run his pass routes for a 7-on-7 passing drill in practice.
In response, the Lions have softened a little on Williams. Reportedly they have been fining him less heavily for being overweight. They have established a running program for him in hopes that he may yet meet his 220 lb. playing weight which the organization has set for him. Williams could still provide match up problems for opposing defenses from the slot, against smaller defensive backs, and also inside of the "red zone". The ball is in Williams' court for now. Williams needs to prove to himself and the organization that he still possesses the qualities that made him a desirable draft pick. It is time for him to step up for a team that desperately needs something positive to emerge during an increasingly disappointing end to their season.
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