FanHouse Ryan Sims

Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.

Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.

Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.

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Sometimes, you just hate to see a player leave the team with whom he started his professional career. In New York, Yankees' fans are languishing over the fact that Bernie Williams is unlikely to return. In Detroit, Steve Yzerman leaves as one of the biggest legends in a city full of legends.

And then there is Ryan Sims.

Longtime Chief, yes. Bigtime bust, definitely.

Sims' whopping statistics as a Chief:
2002 thru 2006: 59 games, 64 tackles, 10 assisted tackles, 5 sacks, 1 interception.


Yup, these are the numbers of a 6th overall pick. Barely a tackle per game, one sack per season. Granted, defensive tackles rarely have sexy stats, but it's hard to put a good spin on these numbers. Especially when that player signed a $25 million contract before his rookie year. Especially when the Chiefs traded up to get him.

The Kansas City Chiefs are rumored to be in negotiations for a deal that would send Ryan Sims to the Denver Broncos for a box of Cheez-its.

Sources close to the deal reported that the Chiefs were looking to replace Sims for something worth the same value. The Chiefs would eat up (literally) about $4 in cap space for the box of Cheez-its, though they are in current talks with the league to have that cap hit drop to $2 because the box was purchased during a 2 for $4 sale.

Not all Kansas City natives are happy about the deal. Al Johnstone, a frequent shopper of the local Price Chopper, commented that the Chiefs have been raiding the local grocery stores of late. "All I wanted was a box of Cheez-its," Johnston said. "I saw Trent Green take the last box on the shelf. Trent tossed the box to a guy that looked like Samie Parker, but Samie dropped the box. I should have picked it up off the ground while I had the chance."

A player on the team reported that Cheez-its have created a positive atmosphere in the clubhouse. The team even had a few laughs at the expense of their notoriously predictable playcalling. Reportedly, Will Shields asked Herm Edwards to pass the box over to him, to which Herm cluelessly responded: "Pass the box? Shouldn't we run the ball two times first?"

Sources were unable to confirm the flavor of the Cheez-its.

I've given up on playoff scenarios. The Chiefs need to rely on the Bengals, Titans, and Denver to lose to make the playoffs. Miracles have happened before, but I think we all need to face reality: the Chiefs are not going to make the playoffs and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we can finally enjoy 2007 as "a new year."

Not that it really matters. Let's face it: this Chiefs' team is not as good as we thought they were. I'm sick of talking about this season. Each time I talk about this season, I want to vomit all over myself. Let's start talking about next season, shall we?

The Chiefs MUST re-sign:

• Tony Gonzalez - without Gonzalez, the Chiefs go from average to really bad on offense. Pay him whatever it takes. He may be old, but he's not a player that relies on speed.
  
• Jared Allen - The Chiefs have a terrific defensive foundation and Jared Allen is one of the most important pieces.
  
• Randy from accounting - you keep crunching those numbers, Randy. I've got your back.

The Chiefs MUST pick up:

• Jessica Alba - Seeing her on the sidelines might keep me from crying after every disappointing loss.

I thought I'd take a cue from the political world and use this time of year as a chance to listen to the voice of the voting fan.
I'm going to try something different and give you, the reader, a chance to vote on this forum. Write-in votes are welcome, of course. Simply leave a comment at the bottom with your vote. I will post results next Wednesday. I look very forward to hearing your responses.

The Chiefs have had their share of disappointments this season: losing Willie Roaf to sudden retirement, losing Trent Green for the first half of the season, losing embarassingly to the Pittsburgh Steelers just a few short weeks ago. However, there have also been players that have been huge disappointments to the Arrowhead faithful.

In an effort to try to limit the amount of variation in choices, I will present to you my top 5 candidates: Samie Parker, Ryan Sims, Dante Hall, Lenny Walls, and Kyle Turley.

Samie Parker:
The Chiefs have not made a huge play for a receiver via free agency or the draft because they were convinced that Samie Parker would develop into a quality starting receiver.

This is my second edition of Chief Ponderings, where I get to stand on my soapbox and talk about the ridiculous:

• Kendrell Bell would probably make a lousy fisherman. He'll never catch a single fish because he doesn't know how to get to a tackle
• Was that Martin Grammatica playing quarterback late in the game for the Chiefs? I think Croyle might become the only quarterback in the league to fall to a wind-aided sack.
• The Chiefs lost yet another blocker this week in Ronnie Cruz. Mr. Whitlock still remains on the waiver wire.
• Tamba Hali has 27 tackles. Jared Allen isn't doing so bad himself with 25. Kendrell Bell has 45 tackles over 2 seasons. Pretty sad when your defensive ends combine for more tackles in one season than your highly paid linebacker has with a full season headstart.

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.