Brett Veach: a Riverboat Gambler
in a High Stakes Game
by David Bell | March 26, 2019
I like the Riverboat Gambler type — in film and as GM and maybe even head coach. You know, the Bret Maverick type, serious and quiet when things need to be and you can tell in the facial expressions that Brett Veach is that type of guy. In the TV Program played by James Garner, or, maybe even one up on that would be the 2nd coming of Garner in the role in the early 80s, or, even one better than that with Mel Gibson and Jody Foster in the more modern era example: Maverick. I am sure we don’t see it but there must be a jovial side to our GM… it’s hidden from us like a rainbow trailing its purples into the ripples of rain clouds and mist.
This is how Peter Schrager of Good Morning Football (GMFB) described Brett Veach, “A Riverboat Gambler”… in other words, a Bret Maverick type. In article this morning at Arrowhead Pride, Sweeney covered Schrager & Veach. I can see it in my minds eye: Veach quiet and determined strolling up the gang plank of a river boat in 1870 at the River Quay… now River Market.
You can imagine the criminal influences on the Missouri River in 1870 as equally to the 1970’s Mafioso’s skimming-business… and it just so happens that I spent time working downtown in KC, in that era. It is after all, how I was written up on the front page of the KC Star, in a confrontation with Tony “Ripe” Civella about 1972 or so. Little did I know, but I did learn how dumb I could be–after the fact. Probably still don’t know… and that is my biggest dilemma of all time, but that’s enough of that old tune and tome. The gist from Schrager’s remarks extracted from Sweeney’s article:
Schrager: “… I will say this—Brett Veach, their general manager—and I talked to him for a long time in the lobby [Sunday], they might not be done. This guy is a riverboat gambler in every sense of the word, and you mentioned the (Patrick) Mahomes deal. Everybody was raising their eyebrows two years ago … I can’t see the Kansas City Chiefs just sitting on their hands from now until training camp…I’m going to go with the thought that they are still a work in progress on defense, and they’ll go from there.”
Here is the link of GMF with Peter and his comments related to the Chiefs Defense and Brett Veach!
Don’t sleep on the #Chiefs and Brett Veach, per @PSchrags and @gmfb: pic.twitter.com/Ob1uREVSoi
— Arrowhead Pride (@ArrowheadPride) March 25, 2019
Peter Schrager of GMFB caught the personality of Brett Veach perfectly and in an article on Monday — he not only called him a “Riverboat Gambler” on the program discussing the Chiefs defense — he said that, “They are not done.”
Sweeney, of ArrowheadPride, interviewed Peter Schrager and he described him as, GMFB’s Chiefs Lobbyist. Schrager has, in the past, spoken highly of the Chiefs, their game staff and opportunity to be at the top of things in the NFL.
I’ve been writing about the changes going on in KC for several articles, in sequence and have not characterized the changes as a descent into the inferno nor even being lost as is the case of the protagonist in the first Canto of Alighieri’s work. Some pundits and observers do have this view but I do not. Nor does Peter Schrager!
Bret veach is not done.
Brett Veach is not done… I have written about this, and now you have BJ Kissel, Pete Sweeney, and Peter Schrager all intimating that this is their observations as well. I firmly believe that Veach will make one or two more moves in free agency or in a trade before we get close to the draft (which begins at 8 PM, 25 April 2019 with Round One). These moves would be the prelim of setting up the draft… and following the draft, right up to the final cut before week one, he will be fine tuning the depth of the Roster to get to 53 players (plus 10 for the Practice Squad… er, Taxi Squad).
It had to get to the point that the Chiefs divested themselves of more big-contract-personnel and Veach has begun to add players who are youthful and haven’t had the experience of losing big games with the Chiefs. Veach will have $32M to spend when Eric Berry is formally released on June 2nd and that’s a good chunk of change to get things done. You figure $4M ($480K x 8 drafted players) to manage rookie salaries and if the Chiefs trade backwards, it would be a little more than the $4M figure if the Chiefs are adding another player to their draft collection. I think this allows Veach to secure a long term agreement with both Jones and Hill (which may now be a reduced deal or delayed), but certainly enough to secure Jones and sign a couple of high profile Free Agents (Tier Two) — to pare down exposures so that the draft can be cogent, focused and granular.
Brett Veach did that dealing from the top of the deck since the departure of DJ, Houston, Berry, Ford and Bailey has shifted the view of how the defense will function. Andy Reid commented on losing such players who were beloved by fans and staff alike and he also noted that it was something that had to happen. It represents a lot of change: the defense goes from a 3-4 to a 4-3, adding a new DC in Steve Spagnuolo and shifting out 4 major players from the defense… but it ranked at the bottom of the NFL in 2017 and 2018. It may be a lot of change but, I like the coaching staff that was brought aboard with the new DC.
Brett Veach: Peter Schrager’s “River Boat Gambler”… he is silent, firm in his approach and yes, I can indeed see him strolling up the gangplank of a Missouri Riverboat at the River Quay in 1870. You can probably tell that I find Veach, thus far, to be the guy I trust with the team’s growth and development.
Plus, I enjoy watching Bret Maverick.. er… Brett Veach, play in a high stakes game.
David Bell – ArrowheadOne
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