FanHouse Eric Hicks

According to their official site, The New York Jets have signed veteran defensive end Eric Hick (Kansas City).

Hicks, a nine-year NFL veteran, suffered the worst year of his professional career last season. He was reduced to a reserve role and managed to collect only seven tackles in 15 games. He also suffered through a few minor injuries.

Although no financial details have been given, this is a high risk, high reward type signing. Despite entering his 10th NFL season, Hicks is still relatively young at 30. If nothing else, he offers the Jets a proven player that can serve as a reserve and start if called upon.

The next position that I'll evaluate is the defensive line.

Defensive End:
The Chiefs were pleasantly surprised by the production of their defensive ends. Jared Allen was terrific as usual and Tamba Hali, in my estimation, had every right to be Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The issue is what the Chiefs will do in Jared Allen's 4-game absence, as he finally serves time for his DUI. Right now, the Chiefs have Jimmy Wilkerson and Eric Hicks as his backup, but both of those options are a pretty big step down.

The Chiefs might...
Use a higher pick than expected on a defensive end. The Chiefs will almost certainly re-sign Jared Allen. You almost wonder if Carl Peterson will use his first round pick as leverage for contract negotiations with Allen (just as, in many peoples' minds, Peterson did when he drafted Larry Johnson with Priest Holmes in contract negotiations.) More than likely, the Chiefs will bite the bullet, sign Allen to a long-term deal, and settle for Wilkerson to start, unless some new blood comes in. I would venture to guess that Hicks will be cut (regardless of cap consequence) and the Chiefs will either bring in some new blood, or use an early second day pick to compete for the starting role in Allen's absence. Nothing earth-shattering.

Chiefs fans can't be terribly excited about watching their team go to Mile High Stadium this coming Sunday. The first game against the Bengals exercised Murphy's Law to the fullest: everything that could have went wrong, went very wrong, including their worst fear realized: losing Trent Green for a few games.

So the Chiefs will look to reverse a miserable stretch of poor games at Mile High with... cough cough... Damon Huard leading the way. Here is what the Chiefs will need to do to win the game:

• Oh man, please stop the bootleg! Ever hit yourself repeatedly with a hammer on purpose? That's what it's like watching the Chiefs' defense continually get swallowed up by the bootleg. The Chiefs must contain the bootleg but they can't sell out against it either. Herm Edwards had better have a solution, because the Chiefs have been foiled by this play for years. The last time the Chiefs played against the Broncos, the Chiefs kept Jared Allen as more of a coverage end than a rushing end. They can only hope that Tamba Hali either provides the pass rush for the Chiefs while not getting destroyed by the bootleg, or he has the capability of playing contain, giving Allen more opportunities to go after Plummer. Either way, the Chiefs looked atrocious against the Texans' bootleg. Herm claims he has a solution to the bootleg. The time for talk is over. If the Chiefs don't stop the bootleg this game, you wonder if they ever will or can.
• Stop the run. It doesn't help to stop the bootleg if the Chiefs let the Denver running backs run all over them instead. When the Chiefs have stopped the run against Denver, they can stay in games; when they don't, they get blown out.
• Get immediate pressure on Jake Plummer. The Chiefs have had some standout performances against the Broncos, and it has usually revolved around putting pressure on Jake Plummer. The new Jake Plummer seems a little less prone to mistakes; however, as long as you put pressure on him, he'll find less ways to beat you.
• Don't forget to run the ball! I believe I've elaborated on this enough. It doesn't matter if the Chiefs are down by 3 points, 7 points, 14 points. The Chiefs are a running team and everyone gets worse when they forget that. Huard is your jockey. LJ is your horse. Don't get discouraged if LJ has one or two consecutive runs for a loss. Keep feeding the horse. The jockey, Huard, will only be as good as the horse he rides on.

Kansas City appears to be a little less enthusiastic about this classic matchup than they have been in years past. Maybe it's due to the Chiefs' terrible losing streak in Denver. Maybe it's due to losing their starting quarterback. Maybe it's based on their disgusting performance against Cincinnati. Some Chiefs' fans are trying hard to find water in an empty glass. Some have reached for any positive spin to this weekend's matchup: "maybe Huard is a poor man's Kurt Warner or Jeff Hostetler that rises out of nowhere." "Maybe the Chiefs have become the new Cinderella team." "Maybe, this was just a lesson to the coaching staff to trust the defense and remember to run the ball." You hear all those kinds of hopeful wishes, but the fact is, most Chiefs' fans are expecting the Chiefs to go 0-2 and they all hope they won't be completely humiliated with the way they got there.

Then again, if you can't win in Denver, perhaps in a twisted way, all it takes is a complete reversal of fortune for the Chiefs' team to pull it off for the first time in years.

You can smell it in the air: football season is fast approaching. Great for football fans; heart-wrenching for some football players.

Here are some surprise moves the Chiefs may make in the coming week:

Cuts
I thought that cutting Craphonso Thorpe so early among such a lackluster receiving corps was one of the more surprising moves for the Chiefs this offseason. Here are a few more surprise cuts that may or may not be forthcoming:

• Casey Printers: this guy seemed like a surefire bet; a guy the Chiefs would depend on to be the "QB of the future." Printers had a lackluster preseason and has fallen to #4 on the Chiefs' QB depth chart. The Chiefs will need to be absolutely convinced that Printers has very good long-term potential to justify holding a 4th QB on their roster.
• Junior Siavii: not that it's a surprise, but your draft value can only take you so far.
  
• Eric Hicks: Sure, Hicks was hampered by a shoulder injury much of the preseason. I think it would take a lot to cut a veteran like this, especially given his status in the locker room. However, Jimmy Wilkerson has come on very strong in the preseason and it's possible that Hicks might be sweating his job more than he ever has. However, more than likely, the Chiefs will bid adieu to Carlos Hall instead--it's hard to sack the quarterback when you can't even get on the field.

Keepers
There are a few underdogs that may have risen from the bottom of the pit and just might find themselves as one of the few, the proud, the select 53-man roster for the Kansas City Chiefs.

• Jarrad Page: Don't worry, it's no longer a surprise. He will be on the roster. Still, you have to applaud a 7th round pick who was good enough to earn a roster spot in his first season.
• Chris Hannon/Jeris McIntyre/Nate Curry: The Chiefs may lean towards keeping 5 WRs. Eddie Kennison, Samie Parker, and Dante Hall are locks. Jeff Webb, by all indications, is a lock for the #4 WR spot. The duel will be between Jeris McIntyre, Chris Hannon, and Nate Curry. It doesn't really matter who wins this battle: it's like asking yourself to choose which poison you'd prefer to drink. McIntyre, despite knowing the offense backwards and forwards was extremely ineffective. Hannon and Curry appear to have the edge. You might as well flip a coin to see which one of those two will win the roster spot.
• Rudy Niswanger: Johnathan Ingram is a swinging gate. Niswanger isn't much better, but he could move into Ingram's roster spot because of his versatility.

Preseason is boring. This is, if you walk around like a blind man without a cane.

Not this writer. To me, the preseason is ultra-exciting because it gives average fans the chance to tinker with possible rosters, debate to the death whether upside should prevail over experience, etc.... Preseason shall be boring no longer! Keep an eye out for some of these preseason battles, and you may just find yourself being the only Chief fan to watch the back-end of the final preseason game with more interest than the front end. Here are some things to look out for on defense:

• Young safeties: Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard. You won't need to look long--they're all over the field.
  
• Defensive tackles: Ron Edwards and James Reed have replaced Lionel Dalton and Ryan Sims in the starting rotation. Given the way Reed played against the Rams, it's hard to imagine his job is in jeopardy. Edwards, on the other hand, has been good but not great so far in the offseason. Dalton is not going to be a stud defensive tackle anytime soon, especially at this point in his career, but he is fairly solid at plugging holes and engaging blockers. It's hard to imagine the Chiefs' defense not involving Dalton in some major role. It's sad to say, but it may be time to close the book on Ryan Sims, the first round draft pick. I would be shocked if Sims was cut, but it does not seem like he will ever be the star defensive tackle most scouts envisioned he would be after he was drafted in the top 10. Sims will have a very long uphill battle to replace Edwards at the tackle position. The extent of Sims' role in this year's defense has yet to be seen. Other players could include Shane Burton, who has been quietly having a pretty solid preseason after his return to football, and Junior Siavii, who looks to be one step away from being cut from this team.
• Linebackers: Kendrell Bell is a lousy fit for the cover 2. Keyaran Fox is hot on his trail and he should be: he's a much better fit for this brand of defense. Don't be surprised if Bell is slowly phased out of the defense.
• Cornerbacks: Anybody think that Lenny Walls was a wasted investment? Interestingly, when the Chiefs went into nickel situations, they were using Ty Law and Lenny Walls as corners and Patrick Surtain as a nickel back.
  
• Defensive end: The Chiefs probably won't give away too much of their hand, but one thing we know for sure is that Tamba Hali is going to have a major role in their formations. Two guys to keep a close eye on are Eric Hicks and Jimmy Wilkerson. Hicks has pretty much lost his starting job, and the way he's playing this preseason, could have his role significantly cut down. Jimmy Wilkerson has done the exact opposite: his improved play has skyrocketed him up the depth chart and he could be the man who takes those snaps away from Hicks.