Kansas City Chiefs Offensive Thoughts: Rude and Otherwise

While it’s no easy task deciphering the current state of affairs at One Arrowhead Drive, we’ve got five weeks or so until training camp…so here’s my take on the current state of affairs with the Kansas City Chiefs offense.

Biggest surprise so far this offseason? Easily it has to be the silence and work ethic of Larry Johnson. I thought he’d be traded shortly after he lost his grievance over his guaranteed money.

I don’t care how or why he’s suddenly come to Jesus. All I care about is can he haul the rock and refrain from abusing women. If he can also be a good teammate and quit whining to the media—so much the better. Right now it looks like he can.

If Pioli has somehow been the catalyst for the change in Larry, more power to him. If he has, and is not taking credit for it in the media—maybe some of you pundits out there can quit yer b*tchin’ and let the man do his job.

There’s been a lot of complaining about the Chiefs offensive line this offseason, particularly with regard to the draft and free agent market. So let’s review.

Currently, the starting depth chart probably looks like this:

LT-Albert, LG-Waters, C-Niswanger, RG-Goff, RT-MacIntosh

Both guards are former or current Pro Bowl players. Albert is acknowledged league wide as a stud LT. As first year starters, both Niswanger and Albert played better than expected. The real problem last year was the right side was pitiful.

While I’m no big fan of MacIntosh, I can’t really blame him for not being able to compensate for the disability of Adrian Jones and crew at right guard last year. Certainly, the right side should be a heck of a lot better with Goff regardless of who is playing right tackle.

My personal favorite to start at RT this year is Herb Taylor, at least until Colin Brown is ready to step in. As Goff may only be here one year, I would really like to see Colin get a chance to play at least eight games with Goff before we try to upgrade the line in next years draft.

Also, it would be a huge benefit for Taylor to get those starts with Goff as well. After the way Taylor filled in for Albert last year, he is clearly our future utility lineman who can fill a short term slot on either side of the line.

As to Waters little tiff with the new brain trust, fahgettiaboutit. Brian has ALWAYS been about the benjamins, and that’s fine–he deserves every penny he gets. But he’s also not stupid. He can see the writing on the wall. KC is not going to trade him—at least not this year.

And he knows you never get the money they would take in fines back. He’s too much of a pro to pay fines simply for pride. He will be there, and he’ll play as well as ever.

Lots of folks think KC is going to really miss Tony Gonzalez, and we will. That said, neither Haley’s or the Patriots offenses have made as much use of the TE as KC has for the last 10 years. Ingram will be able to replace TonyG’s production from the slot without too much trouble.

What we’re really going to need from our tight ends this year is blocking, both in passing and running situations. Fortunately, it’s a job the top three TE’s on the roster are well suited to do.

What can we expect from this year’s offense? Uh…does Woody Hayes ring a bell?

Many of the less informed around the league have been saying Larry Johnson is past his prime.

Hogwash.

Last year’s stats, particularly at home (five-plus yards a carry) show clearly LJ has a lot left. When you factor in how bad the line really was last year, how defenses KNEW when we were going to run the ball, and how low the morale was…you have to acknowledge LJ was one of the few bright spots in spite of his whining and the plays he quit on.

With the line upgrades, and the lack of top talent at the receiver positions, it’s reasonable to assume Haley is going to play ball control conservative offense, run it as much as possible, and when we do pass, it will go either to Bowe, Ingram or Charles out of the backfield.

If we can put up 21-24 points a game without turning the ball over, and the offense can keep the defense off the field even eight to 10 plays less per game than last year…the Chiefs could easily contend in the AFC West this year.

Now before you horse-laugh at that last statement, bear in mind it says as much about the division as it does the Chiefs.

Denver? A total quagmire of question marks right now—though I suspect they will find ways to answer those questions early, particularly on defense.

San Diego? Merriman’s return is a worry, though it generally takes top NFL players two full years to get back to 100 percent of what they were before a major ACL injury. If that holds true for Shawne, he’s still got another year to go.

Also, Norv Turner has destroyed the chemistry of every team where he’s been the head coach. It’s just a matter of time before he finds some new way to sabotage the Chargers.

Oakland? Please.

What really encourages me in all of this is how well Haley’s offense in Arizona played late last season when he decided to feature Edgerrin James. They were absolutely smokin’ hot down the stretch. And LJ is younger and more powerful than Edge.

With even average line play, and a QB tall enough to see over the line…we could really surprise on this side of the ball.

It’s going to be a lot of fun watching these guys jell. And I, for one, think they’re a lot better than they even know yet.

As to the picture with this article…this one was SO much more appealing than the QB’s view of the o-line…

The Razors Edge: Will The NFLPA and the NFL Cook the Golden Goose?

The NFL is perched at the edge of the void; both the league and players association are posturing and snorting and raking their cloven hooves on the ground in a testosterone-fueled display of ill-advised risk taking.

Both the players and the league need to be very careful about letting the CBA expire without a new deal. Players negotiating on their own will never end up with 60 percent of gross league revenue in total team salaries they’re currently getting from the owners. And the league will never make up the revenues lost to a work stoppage.

The real issue is will the fans ever forgive either party for a strike/lockout?

Doubtful.

Some folks to this day have not forgiven Major League Baseball for a cancelled World Series—lost to the greed of 800-900 guys who couldn’t figure out how to share a pie worth billions. I still don’t watch MLB or go to the games anymore.

The NFLPA is going to demand greater access to the individual accounting records of all teams on an individual basis as well as the league at large. While the league is looking to roll back some of the concessions made in the last round of negotiations.

On one hand, the accounting demand seems reasonable. Except the NFLPA is not giving up any kind of equal concession in return for the access to those records.

Also, there’s a legitimate question as to whether or not the players are entitled to access to any records beyond those of the league at large. After all, they are not negotiating an agreement with each team. They are negotiating with the league as a whole.

On the other hand, the individual teams are all closed cultures with regard to their finances, and while they are required to release some information to the league about their ticket sales and local broadcast and advertising revenues, it’s hard to see how those numbers are not being manipulated by the teams because there is no GAAP requirement (Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures) being placed on the teams by the NFL.

One solution to these issues would be for the NFL to establish GAAP rules with regard to revenues/costs the teams are required to report to the league so the numbers will provide third parties an ‘apples to apples’ statement of accounts.

In return for access to those limited team financial statements, the league needs to require the players union to fully fund medical programs and retirement pay to the older retired players who helped build the league into the juggernaut it is today.

Current players are not going to like this, but it doesn’t matter whether they like it or not. The NFLPA owes a debt to those older retirees who gave their health and the best years of their lives to the NFL, and in the process paved the way for the kind of money players are making today. It’s just a matter of doing the right thing.

So do it.

In the meantime, the looming uncapped year has both players and teams scrambling to create situations whereby they can whether the coming storm with some semblance of stability while they wait for things to shake out and give themselves some time to learn how to function in the pending new world order.

With the June 1st exception going by the wayside because there’s no CBA in place for next year, teams now have to absorb the whole cap hit in one year when they release a player.

As older players—even superstars (in the current salary situation) generally have smaller cap hits if they’re cut, it’s easier for teams to let go of guys they might have otherwise retained. Particularly if they’re scrambling for cash under the cap.

Those same vets are finding there isn’t as much money out there for them now as they would have made in prior years, so guys like Fred Taylor are forgoing the big money to play for winners if they can get an offer like Taylor did from NE. And others, like Marvin Harrison are being cautious and moving slower than they might have.

The uncertainty of what will happen in an uncapped league has most teams doing all they can to sign their younger and proven talent to long term deals and extensions before the CBA goes south.

This stockpiling of players with long term deals gives them the benefit of roster stability for several years after the cap goes away while they learn how to function in a new un-capped league.

It’s going to be interesting to watch, but it might also be painful if either party is so insulated in thier own narrow-minded concerns they lose track of the biggest issue:

Will the fans forgive either party for a work stoppage that includes regular season or playoff games. Or the cancelling of a Super Bowl.

The answer? Not a snowball’s chance in hell.

Has Pat Bowlen Gone Around the Bend?

With the news Brandon Marshall may be leaving the mile high city for greener pastures, Bronco fans have got to be asking themselves if their team owner has misplaced a few of his marbles. So the question is: Is Pat Bowlen NUTS?

In a word … No.

If he’s not crazy, what is going on behind the pate of that nordic receding hairline? I think the answer is pretty easy: Jan. 1, 2007 and Feb. 26, 2007.

There’s no doubt the murder of Darrent Williams changed the Bronco’s, and particularly Mr. Bowlen forever. And while the circumstances and reasons for Damien Nash’s death were completely different from the events of New Years Eve, they could not help but re-inforce Mr. Bowlen’s feelings about the way Mike Shanahan ran his shop off the field.

Life is too fragile and too fleeting not to safeguard with every effort possible.

If you compile all of the changes over the past two years and look at the bottom line of what they’ve wrought, you can see one thread runs through all of those events.

The Bronco’s and Mike Shanahan have long been known as a player-friendly place to play. As long as a player did his job on the field, the Bronco’s have been one of the teams more likely to overlook a players off the field piccadillos. And I’m not condemning them for it either.

As a life-long Chiefs fan, I have long hated the Broncos – but with one exception, I’ve never hated a Bronco player… there was this one linebacker… I forget his name now… a ‘roid raging’ freak of a man… but I digress…

In fact, I have a lot of respect for the Bronco’s. No matter when or where KC beat those guys, it was a victory to savor and be proud of. And the credit for that has to ultimately land at Mr. Bowlen’s feet. He’s got three super bowl trophies in his closet. One must respect him for that.

So, here’s the deal. Why is Mr. Bowlen making the changes he is making to his team?

I think the answer lies in how his players are conducting their lives off the field. Is it possible he decided that he never again wanted to go thru what happened during the first 8 weeks of 2007 ever again? I can see how he would feel that way.

If that IS the case, where would he look to make fundamental changes in the culture of his team? I think the answer to that is the Head Coach.

If so, did he go to Shanahan and tell him he wanted him to assert more control of the team off the field than he had in the past? I would have.

As Shanahan had never been that kind of guy, and because the team needed to focus more on healing and playing than culture in the immediate aftermath of those events in 2007, I imagine little or nothing more than planning was done that season with regard to culture.

When 2008 rolled around, whatever changes in team culture (if any) Shanahan attempted to put in place evidently did not meet with Mr. Bowlen’s standards.

Let’s not ignore the fact Shanahan would most likely be chaffing under such ‘babysitter’ requirements being added to his job description. He treated his players like men and expected them to be men.

Unfortunately, whenever they got into scrapes off the field, Shanahan was mostly concerned with how quickly they could return to the field.

And that sent the wrong message to the younger guys on the team.

After 2008, Mr. Bowlen realized the team, if not on the decline, was at the very least underperforming for the talent on hand. Couple that with Shanahan’s reluctance to babysit, and the decision to make a coaching change begins to clarify.

If Mr. Bowlen really wanted a new team culture, it was becoming glaringly obvious he was going to have to replace Shanahan.

If you look around the league, there are several teams you never see having off the field issues. Of those, the most successful are the Patriots. Josh McDaniels was the most attractive choice for Bowlen’s offensive mindset. It was a no-brainer.

I think Mr. Bowlen had long talks with McDaniels about team culture and off the field issues. I think they KNEW before McDaniels ever took the job they were going to have to run off a couple of team leaders who would not conform to the new culture.

I think they specifically knew Cutler was probably going to be one of their biggest headaches before the trade stuff ever started.

The way Shanahan protected and coddled Cutler, and Cutler’s off the field drinking issues, along with his lack of maturity made it inevitable. And I think both Mr. Bowlen and McDaniels knew it going in.

At the end of the day, I think creating a new culture that forced the team to put football, professionalism and winning ahead of money, fame, notoriety and nightlife in stripper bars was more important to Mr. Bowlen than allowing his team to become a refuge for thugs and buttheads with a horrible reputation in their community for show-boating and excessive behaviour.

Let’s not forget Brandon Marshall was allegedly party to the events of Jan. 1, 2007. Supposedly he helped instigate or inflame the encounter in the strip bar that led some gang bangers to machinegun the Hummer Darrent Williams died in.

Marshall’s repeated issues of domestic abuse since January 2007 only make this possibility more believeable.

If the Bronco’s let Marshall or any other player go in the name of creating a new culture in that locker room and after hours for those players. I think Bronco fans should stand behind your owner no matter what.

Denver is a great city, and the Bronco’s are a noble team with a history worthy of protecting. If Mr. Bowlen has to run off a couple of punks to get his team back to where they become a jewel of the city rather than a focal point of tradgety and disgrace… I say he’s to be admired for the effort.

Too many owners in the NFL lack the courage or character to stand up for something purely on the basis of principle. For most owners, only winning matters.

Mr. Bowlen is larger than that, and Denver is lucky to have him.

I have always considered Lamar Hunt to be the greatest owner in the NFL, and I felt that way because his teams valued character. So much so they would run off the likes of Dale Carter when he was still in his prime.

Today, I consider Pat Bowlen to be Lamar’s peer. And there are damn few men on that list.

Changing of the Kansas City Cheifs’ Guard

For those of you who haven’t been paying too much attention to the offseason over at One Arrowhead Way, there’s a new sheriff in town. And a new mayor, city manager, police chief, and dog catcher.

And if you’re currently an employee of the Chiefs with more than six months on the job, I hope you have your resume all dusted off and out looking for something new.

Clark Hunt is on the prowl, and he’s hired gunslingers of renown to win his range war over the mediocrity of his once proud NFL franchise. And nobody—NOBODY is going to prevent him from getting the job done.

I wouldn’t be surprised to learn they’ve even moved all the gear around in the weight room and training room—just so it doesn’t look or feel anything like last year.

Lots of things are different this year for the team and the staff of the KC Chiefs.

For instance, media access to the players is greatly reduced. The team wants Coach Haley to be the face and voice of the team—and he seems to be growing into the job regardless of his obvious initial reluctance for the job.

At the same time, Haley understands if he wants the players to be all football all the time, he has to deflect the things that take their minds off what he wants them doing.

Another good example of change for the sake of change is the teams relocation of training camp from River Falls, WI to St. Joseph, MO. I imagine dollars and state tax incentives also played a role in this decision, but the idea of creating a new team culture via the use of geographic changes simply made the decision a no-brainer.

The most obvious change to date has been the atmosphere around the entire team. In the past, King Carl and his head coaches were pretty transparent about what they were thinking and trying to accomplish with the team at any given point in time.

That transparency gave other teams too much information and made it possible for our foes to throw a monkey wrench into our plans if they wanted to—and you know they sometimes succeeded. It gave away part of our competitive edge. Needlessly.

The new regime is not transparent. In fact, even after they make a move to help the team… they’re pretty close-mouthed about exactly what they were thinking when they pulled the trigger on the decision. So, we see what they did, but are left to speculate on what the move actually means in the grander scheme of things.

A good example of this is the grievance Larry Johnson filed with the league over guaranteed money. The commonly held train of thought was KC would release LJ out-right shortly after winning their case. That was several weeks ago now, and if anything—exactly the opposite is true.

I personally thought LJ would have to renegotiate his contract and convert some of his guaranteed money into performance incentives, and they may still look to him for that. But right now I’d say it’s 60-40 they keep him and pay his guarantee as long as he keeps working hard and stays on the straight and narrow off the field.

A HUGE change is the self confidence radiated by the GM and the Coach. They’re not making big promises, they’re not predicting wins and losses, and they’re not talking very much—about philosophy, mindset, individual players, nada.

What they are doing is the work. They evaluated the draft and they did what their draft board dictated they do for the team. And they don’t give a tinkers damn what anyone else thinks of their decisions.

These guys are confident without being arrogant. You want to talk about change, well brother there it is in a nutshell. THESE GUYS ARE CONFIDENT.

I think as we move forward from here, you’re going to see this team begin to progress in unexpected ways.

Like maybe Glenn Dorsey turns out to be a hell of a DE in the 3-4 in spite of the talking heads nay-saying his role right now.

Like maybe Dennis Johnson finally gets put into a scheme designed to maximize his gifts rather than force him to play a role he is less comfortable with.

Of all the guys currently on the team, I respect DJ and Tamba Hali the most—simply because they were selfless and loyal and did what was asked of them because their coaches told them it was good for the team.

They put the team first, unlike Jared Allen who only cared about himself, his stats, his money, and his happiness. I can tell you this: if King Carl had not traded Allen last year, I do not doubt Pioli would have got rid of him this year if Jared was still singing the me-first mantra he singing last year.

I have to say I like the direction this team is going, and I will continue to like it regardless of wins and losses.

The Kansas City Chiefs have always been a team which placed a higher value on character, and the example their players make for the kids in our community than they placed on talent or winning. That’s how it should be, and it’s one of the reasons I love this team in good times and bad.

We lost our way in this regard in the twilight of the Peterson years and in the drama of big offense from Dick Vermeils teams. I’m glad to see us fixing this problem now.

This doesn’t mean we’re automatically running off folks of dubious character. It means the new regime is setting a higher standard for them and making them accountable for that standard. Guys like LJ will get another chance to make good and get paid what they’re worth if they can become accountable members of the team and the community.

Welcome to Kansas City all the newcomers. Most of all, we welcome the new attitude.

I believe you’re going to give us a team we can be proud of very, very soon, and Arrowhead will once again be the toughest place in the league to win a road game.

The Desert Wasteland of the NFL

Chaco Canyon is an ancient and deeply spiritual place located in northwestern New Mexico.

It contains the most impressive collection of ancient ruins north of the Rio Grande and is the ancestral home of the Pueblo Indians.

It is said nothing grows there.

While that’s a bit extreme, it is easy to see why folks say such a thing. It is a desert without a major source of water, so the only time it blooms is after a rain.

For those poor souls thirsting for news about their favorite team, one could say the same thing about the period of time between the NFL draft and the opening of training camps.

We have entered that twilight zone of time, where every crumb is eagerly pounced upon by the talking heads tasked to provide us with something, anything, even the most mundane thing…like Brett Favre is not going to unretire. Gads! What nonsense.

The dearth of information available is so bad we are reduced to the inane prattling or worse, ill-advised and under-informed speculation presented as “analysis.”

Gimme a break!

The truth of Chaco Canyon is visible in the photo above. Some things actually do grow there, and often they are beautiful when they bloom.

The same is true of the NFL…even during these doldrum days of the off-season. Soon my friends…hopes will rise and hearts will swell with the opening of training camps and the nattering of coach-speak.

Wide-eyed rookies will arrive driving their `84 Sentra with a hatchback full of clothes, boom box, video games and CD’s, having no idea how little time they will have over the next five weeks for Madden `09.

In the meantime, you fans will have to make do with the video games and the occaisional wire report of a trade or player release to soothe the festering sore in your soul we all know as the off-season.

Kansas City Chiefs Draft: First Impressions

In the immediate aftermath of the grueling two-day sojourn the NFL’s Draft has become, it’s difficult not to feel a bit like a kid on Christmas morning with a slew of shiny new playthings under the tree.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to open all these gifts in one fell swoop. There’s no orgy of excess here to experience because these gifts have to reveal themselves by the way they walk and talk and work and most importantly, by their performances on the field of play.

At the end of the first day of the draft I wrote Scott Pioli had morphed from a guru into an enigma…and it felt that way after waiting for some fireworks all day only to see KC make a single solitary pick. No blockbuster trade…no adding a pick in the second round, nada…zippo…yawn!!

What I forgot about Pioli is his reputation for being a guru is based on two things; great trades, and an astute eye for football talent, particularly in the later rounds.

Today, he looks to be more guru than enigma. Though a man who seldom reveals the actual content of his mind to us except through his actual decisions/actions is likely to remain an enigma to some degree no matter what. And I personally think he likes it that way.

It’s too soon for a really serious analysis of the Chiefs draft, but my first impressions are as follows:

Tyson Jackson: I love this pick, and I suspect all of you will eventually if not today.

Alex Magee: See comment above.

Donald Washington: This could end up being the steal of the entire 2009 draft. He has remarkable first round talent. If KC can put him in a situation that nurtures him and provides him with the support he needs, and I think they can, he could become a 10 year Pro-Bowl Cornerback for us. Absolutely the quintessential Pioli pick.

Colin Brown: Whodathunk Cinderella was a 6’8″ 325 lb offensive tackle from Mizzou? This is a guy from the area who grew up going to games at Arrowhead and dreaming of running out of that tunnel.

A guy who wants to be a Chief. On the whole I really love this pick too; he’s a huge man, not a sloppy fat guy. Pioli says they see him as a right tackle. Again, very much a Pioli kind of pick.

I haven’t had much of a chance to look at the rest of the guys, but I agree with the basic selections of a WR, RB, TE and a Kicker.

I don’t think you can read too much into the LJ situation with this RB, but it still sends a message to LJ and it hedges their bets with him.

Later in the week, after some more thought and research I’ll have a more in-depth analysis of this draft and what it means.

This will also give the team a chance to sign some undrafted free agents,  and I do believe they’re going to find some keepers out there. Because this year’s draft was so deep I don’t think teams up to now have had as much time to spend in that area as they do most years.

Stay tuned, Chiefs fans…same bat time, same bat channel.

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli: The Guru Morphs Into the Enigma

For several weeks, we Kansas City Chiefs fans have been on the edge of our seats, bristling with anticipation over what kind of draft magic our new GM Scott Pioli will conjure for us. He’s got quite the reputation of being a draft-day wheeler-and-dealer, and has seemed to have a knack for getting the most out of his teams.

I thought it was a well-deserved and accurate reputation, but at the end of the first day, he’s made one pick and no trades (that we know of).

To say he’s left all of us nonplussed and still holding our breath would be a bit of an understatement. 

Before you fly off the handle and start throwing cow-pies at Arrowhead HQ, remember one of the things Pioli has said since he came to KC:

“Sometimes the best trade is the one you don’t make.”

I believe he’s been working the phones every bit as hard today as he ever has. Just because we didn’t see a trade go down doesn’t mean there were none to be had; it could be that nobody wanted the third overall pick, or it could be none of the offers were right for the Chiefs.

As we have no real idea what was on his mind going into the draft, it’s not possible to criticize him at this point. Plus, there is still Day Two, which I suspect will be a bit more entertaining for K.C. fans than today was.

In the end, though, I have to say I was surprised it was such a quiet day overall for us, but I trust our new GM to do what he thinks is in the best interest of the team. I admire his willingness to stick to his philosophy of building from the lines out getting Tyson Jackson with the third selection.

I didn’t think he’d take Jackson with that pick; I thought if he couldn’t trade down, he’d take one of the offensive tackles available there.

But I’m not going to slam him about it now. If Tyson doesn’t become the player KC needs at end in the 3-4 set, then I’ll drag out the invective and surly adjectives. For now, I’m giving Pioli’s actions a chance to bear fruit for Kansas City.

I hope the rest of you do the same.

K.C. Chiefs: Pre-Draft Predictions AKA “A Shot in The Dark”

OK, cue the Pink Panther theme music while I fumble and stumble through an entrance doing my best Inspector Clouseau impersonation.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say for sure K.C. will trade Tony Gonzalez. As they already have, I’m safe on that one.

The rest of these are a bit more perilous.

1) Pioli will trade Brian Waters — probably to a team who’s prospects of winning resemble the odds of flowers blooming in Chaco Canyon — where nothing grows.

NOTE: Parcells nee Belichek clones have a long history of running off existing pro-bowl players when they take a team over. Eliminating existing team leaders is one absolutely effective way to establish control over everyone else.

NOTE 2: Review Denver’s handling of Jay Cutler and Miami’s of Jason Taylor.

2) Mr. Wizard will make a deal to acquire a second-round pick in this year’s draft.

3) If they cannot trade out of the third pick in the draft, K.C. will select one of the top two offensive tackles on the board over Aaron Curry or Tyson Jackson.

NOTE: Pioli believes in building from the lines out. He will not overpay a linebacker or a defensive end just to select a position of higher need. By the third pick, only the quarterbacks and the top two offensive tackles are worthy of No. 3 money. Pioli will get value for value.

4) If K.C. manages to trade out of the third pick, they will become players to acquire Anquan Boldin in a trade.

5) One way or another, Pioli will find a way to fix the offensive line in this draft.

6) K.C. will trade No. 3 for both Denver’s first-round picks and a mid-round pick — if Denver wants Sanchez that badly.

7) K.C. will trade Dorsey to Atlanta — mostly for future picks if Atlanta will split the cost of Dorsey’s guaranteed contract money. K.C. will not pay all of it as rumored.

 

 

Say It A’int So! Farewell Tony Gonzalez

It’s a hard day in Kansas City, both for the Chiefs and the fans.

Tony Gonzalez—our unrelenting Tiger, our ‘old reliable’—is leaving to play for the Atlanta Falcons.

I’m going to miss him.

It feels like somebody died in my family. I never met Tony G, but he’s been as much a presence in our lives the past 13 years as almost anyone I know.

He is the consummate professional athlete. He conducts his business—every aspect of his business—with an eye to how it reflects on the team and the city it represents.

After 13 years in the league, you won’t find a harsh word or a bad review of Gonzalez anywhere.

Even his recent expressions of desiring a trade were done as respectfully as possible. No demands, no angry exhortations in the media, just a huge desire to win and the frustration of not being a part of a championship here in Kansas City.

Gonzalez’s departure is not about him wanting to leave. It’s about him wanting a chance in an all-too-short NFL career to play for a championship.

Whether we like it or not, KC owes him that chance. If we have to let him go someplace else to have that chance, we should be graceful about it.

Some of the comments I’ve seen around the Internet referring to him as a whiner and such are way out of line.

Gonzo gave us his best on every play for the best years of his life. I truly hate to see him go, but I can promise you this: I’m an Atlanta Falcons fan as long as he wears their black and red.

I will take a great deal of pride in Gonzalez if they can carry him to the championship he pursued with such ardor in KC for the last 13 years.

As to the value of the trade? Clearly Atlanta got the better of this deal.

I’m not sure Kansas City could have gotten more than they did for Gonzalez, but this trade is more about paying him proper respect than it is about matching value.

It was about doing the right thing. And the Chiefs always try to do the right thing.

If nothing else, we can depend on the Hunt family to be fair, to work hard, and to set an example for our kids.

Be sure the kids in your life who are fans understand the Chiefs did this for the right reasons.

Be sure they remember Tony Gonzalez for the great human being and terrific NFL player he is.

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