Brett Veach and the Chiefs: Beyond Schemes and Theories

One year ago… it was third month and the ninth day of 2017… when the new league year began for the NFL, that fine March day. Four days later the Kansas City Chiefs signed DL Bennie Logan, to seemingly replace NT Dontari Poe, and the Chiefs defense hasn’t been the same every since. While it might be unfair to lay the blame for that on Bennie Logan, asking him to fill in for the once dominant Poe, while his line mate Allen Bailey was returning from a torn pectoral muscle and the linebacking corp in back of, and beside him, were minimized by age and injury, made Logan look all the worse… and he has perhaps taken too much of the finger wagging for a defense that couldn’t stop a functional faucet from running.

That may be about perception but, it’s also about people.

Let’s not forget that this was all set in motion by the man we used to call general manager of the Chiefs: John Dorsey. He’s gone now.

The Time and Space Continuum of Fandom

Allow me to share a story before moving on: it was the early 1970s and for those of you who were’t around then, I can assure you that the fan experience was much, much different.

It really began in the early 60s when an ABC Sports producer named Roone Arledge was trying to bring the drama of what was happening down on the field into the camera and into the homes of America and one of the byproducts of his efforts was “instant replay.” No, not the “officiating-instant-replay” that NFL fans have come to rely on since the 1980s… but just allowing fans to see the previous play from the snap onward, while the teams were huddling up for the next play. The actual first “instant-replay” was produced by Tony Verna, a director at CBS who successfully replayed a slow-motion 1-yard TD of a play in a 1963 Army-Navy game (which my father watched religiously, although he was in the Air Corp in WWII). Funny side-story: that first instant-replay tape no longer exists because it was taped over with an episode of “I Love Lucy.” 

I can recall going to a game LIVE in a stadium and feeling sad that the stadiums didn’t have “instant-replay.” Of course, this was long before the stadiums had built huge screens with instant replay capabilities for their patrons. Of course I never could have imagined that one of the outcomes of these modern day “jumbo-trons” — as they used to be called — was that a player running for a long TD could look up and see if a defender was about to tackle him. These days, you’ll find such screens at college games and high schools.

What I was hoping to get to here was that in the 1970s, just a year or two into the Monday Night Football craze (first started on September 21, 1970) which had taken the nation by storm — and believe me, it was an F-5 tornado impact storm — us common football fans would be waiting patiently, and watching every Monday evening during half-time, for all the replays of the games the previous day.

That’s right, we waited a day and a half to hear and see “highlights” of our favorite teams, long before the ESPNtities of the monopolized our mindsets. I bring that up now because the climate and atmosphere these days is: give it to me now, I have to see the results now, everything in immediacy. I’m not talking about YOU of course… as none of our readers are like that at all, I’m sure. A good example of this “give-me-my-news-now” virus that many of us fans who have bonded with the media is: when  Andy Reid says it… and Terez Paylor posts it… then I repost it here to ArrowheadOne… M A Y B E… a whole minute has gone by. If it’s taken any more time than that, then I officially apologize (but only on Twitter, which I will then re-post here on AO… that way you’ll know I’m really serious).  

I was just about to say that when I began this piece… but was so rudely interrupted by me… that the news from one week ago, now has the feeling of… another time and place. Ask yourself this question: how long ago was it that the Chiefs traded Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins? Seems like forever. Right? In reality it was just 8 weeks ago… or just last  week for those of you who have the NFL-Rules-Denial Infection.

Back to the Future of Free Agency

The point is, in 2017… the new league year began on Thursday, March 9th and Bennie Logan was signed 4 days later on Monday, March 13… and if the Chiefs sign Bennie Logan (or someone like him) today (or this week) it will essentially be the same amount of time between, the beginning of the new NFL year and a DL signing, as last year. 

This year however… it has seemed like an eternity that the team has gone without a solid starter in the middle of the defensive line… and everyone, including me, is writhing, then writing about it. So, let’s take a look at an update of the Chiefs defense since we know a little bit more than we did the last time I posted this graphic 3 whole weeks ago:

You may not be happy to see Dee Ford’s face on this graphic but Brett Veach has said he’s healthy and he’ll be with the team so I’d have to start him before I’d go with Tanoh Kpassagnon. The point here is that the team not only needs a starter in the middle of the DL but also is in need of a solid starting Safety next to Eric Berry.

What Kind of Team Are Veach & Reid Building?

Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, especially if Brett Veach is able to sign a Nose Tackle this week. A new and different team seems to be releasing a quality Defensive Tackle every day right now — for cap reasons — so I don’t think there will be any lack of choices ahead for Mr. Veach. Also, I think AO fans need to re-consider what Ransom Hawthorne presented last week in his piece called, “Dynamic Shift: Why the Chiefs Suddenly Care About Run Defense” when he said,

“Kansas City’s defense will want to force 3-and outs and cause turnovers. They’ll do this by playing press coverage, single high safety, and using a lot of blitzes.

With a dynamic offense, and a gambler’s defense, these Chiefs will look to put their opponents in the rear-view mirror from the first snap to the last.”

Does that change who they are looking for to play in the middle of their defensive line? Absolutely. Does that change who they are looking to play next to Eric Berry? Oh my yes! While HC Andy Reid and GM Brett Veach were constructing a new team plan at the beginning of this offseason — which included the steps of dumping Marcus Peters and all the turnovers that go along with having him on the roster — and they are focusing on creating a high-octane offense and a blitzkrieg defense then the players they must be hyper-focused on must have a Degree in INT… or his nickname must be Vincent Van Gogetthequarterback.

Admittedly, there don’t appear to be that many guys like that out there right now either as Free Agents or Draft Prospects available at pick #54. Although, I’m glad you brought up the draft because I had a very interesting late night experience at First-pick.com.

The Trade Back, Back, Back, Draft Approach

I decided to create a draft in which I used my first pick and traded backwards a couple, maybe three, times to pick up extra picks as long as those picks came before pick #120. Here are the results:

While the idea may seem absurd at first glance… the number of trades that have taken place thus far in the new league year — when there are supposedly very few quality players available — has struck me as absurd. So, the idea that Brett Veach could trade backwards a couple of times and pick up more picks with the express intent on piking up more players to fill the roles and holes on the roster, seem somewhat feasible.

6 picks in the 3rd round and 4 picks in the 4th round was the most appealing feature of this “Trade-back Scheme” to me. When I do mocks I always feel lucky if I can land either BJ Hill or Tim Settle.. but here, I got both of them (and I wouldn’t bet against Nathan Shepard either). Being able to draft CBs Isaac Yiadom and Quenton Meeks in the 3rd round was huge too. That’s not all on the Cornerback front because I also landed Brandon Facyson and JC Jackson by drafting with 13 total picks. Seeing Orlando Brown show up in the 4th round of several mock drafts now was disturbing because I think he’s represented himself much better on his pro day than at the Combine. BTW… I got the highest score I’ve ever gotten on First-Pick.com with a score of 23,356 which put me in second place for the day on that site. I mention this because it gives credence (a little) to the idea of trading back to gain more picks.

What’s Brett Veach — the Person — Really All About?

Now, what’s the reality? Brett Veach isn’t likely to follow the wild rantings of a Chiefs site junkie like me but do I trust in whatever direction he’ll decide to take the team? Did you know that Brett Veach was once referred to as the “Golden Child of Mount Carmel,” the town he grew up in… and a moniker his high school coach gave him? Veach has always impressed the people he’s been around. THAT is how he got to where he is at now and THAT is also who is he is all about: people.

Veach not only won the “Small School Player of the Year Award” by the Associated Press as a running back and won a state title, but went onto Delaware where he changed to WR and starred there too (that’s where he caught passes from Matt Nagy). His college coach thought he had the brains and football know-how and personality to become a college athletic director. Instead, after meeting Andy Reid while doing an internship with the Eagles in the summer of 2004 it was a couple of years later that Reid remembered the impression Veach had made on him and called him to offer him a job as a coaches assistant. From there… it was straight up the ladder for Veach.

Looking back… I can’t really say why fans ever said, “Trust in Pioli” or “Trust in Dorsey” because it’s the “values” that I trust in, that makes a GM special. Or, the values that they see in other people, players… that I am beginning to trust. So, far, I think Brett Veach deserves that trust.

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