Tradition Tuesday: Brodie Bangs, Again

The rough focus of this blog is the rivalry between the Kansas City Chiefs (heralded by Bankmeister) and the Denver Broncos (championed by Cecil and Old No. 7). It may seem unfair that it's two versus one, but once KC gets that second Super Bowl win we'll even out the delegation.

Eight years ago we started The Tradition, in which Bronco fans travel out to the Truman Sports Complex with their team, and Chief lovers return to the Rocky Mountains with theirs. We tailgate, we talk massive amounts of shit, our wives are occasionally assaulted by rival fans, and we almost always watch the visiting team lose. It's a grand old time.

Here at the HoG, we're going to keep The Tradition going with Tradition Tuesday--a weekly state-of-the-rivalry address.

As much as we've dissected the NFL Draft around here, and as absurd as it is to evaluate these additions prior to even minicamp, it seems dumb to go there again. So what are we going to do? Go there again, of course.

The conventional wisdom is that the Chiefs aced the draft process, and I was prepared to go along with that--until they failed to address their most glaring weaknesses. As for the Broncos, I have some major issues with a few selections, but on the whole they did a fair job restocking the cupboard. More, much more, after the jump...

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

Normally I would never, ever, begin with the hated divisional rival in this space, but they really had a historic week. The 4-12 campaign they assembled in 2007 gave them a high pick in each round, of course, and a few old trades netted them a few more selections. What really sent their draft from promising to absurdly beefy was the trade of Jared Allen to Minnesota. This netted an extra first, two thirds (including, in a painful irony, the Broncos' original pick in that round) and a new spot in the sixth.

While this created a surplus of potential players, it also created a big hole in terms of pass rush. Many expected that to be addressed with the No. 5 pick, but Glenn Dorsey was simply too good to pass up at that spot. Barring injury he'll be a force on the D-line for years, squashing running backs, harassing quarterbacks, and requiring constant double-teams. Great pick.

After Jacksonville reached for Derrick Harvey, there were no elite pass-rushers available with the 17th pick. Virginia guard Branden Albert, however, had dropped out of the top 10. Albert has the ability to play tackle, another position KC desperately needed to fill. They swapped up two spots to nab him and added another potential Pro Bowler and ten-year starter.

So at this point King Carl must have felt like the smartest guy in the world. I was stunned, angry, speechless, pantsless...well, it was Saturday afternoon, there's no way I would have been wearing pants anyway. And the Chiefs still had at least ten picks to make.

Luckily, the mistakes started soon thereafter. With the fifth pick in the second round, No. 35 overall, KC could have devastated the league, or at least this Bronco fan in his underwear. Brian Brohm and Chad Henne were still on the board, either a more viable long-term option at QB than Brodie Bangs. Even if they stood pat with Croyle (which they did), there were still defensive ends available later in the round in Auburn's Quentin Groves and Miami's Calais Campbell. Groves in particular would have been intriguing. He fell out of the first due to his size, but playing next to Dorsey and facing man blocking he could have been a beast.

Instead, Carl went with Virginia Tech corner Brandon Flowers--solid, and almost assuredly the third consecutive starter drafted. And there's nothing wrong with going best-available when you have so many needs and your coach has publicly said you're looking for half a dozen starters. But blowing the chance to get a QB or DE makes this an iffy pick to me.

The first two third-round picks were luxury backups, Texas RB Jamaal Charles and Tennessee TE Brad Cottam. Nothing wrong with depth, particularly when your superstar first-stringers at these positions are old or coming off injuries, even if it does run counter to your stated strategy of drafting for immediate need. With their third (!) third-round pick, however, KC knocked it out of the park. DaJuan Morgan will be at least as good as Pollard and Page at the safety position, and will help the two out on special teams to boot.

Had I been King Carl for a day, I'd have used a third-rounder on either a linebacker (Dan Connor and Shawn Crable went in that round) or a receiver (D-Bowe's college teammate Early Doucet and Mario Manningham were available). But I'm not here to second-guess. Actually, that's exactly why I'm here.

The rest of the Chiefs' picks are incredibly boring for a moderate draft nerd like myself. I hear that 6th-round tackle Barry Richardson from Clemson is fat and lazy but may find his way onto the field in '08, and that KC may have a steal in 7th-round DE Brian Johnston. There are a couple of late-round receivers that I expect will get Banky's hopes up and eventually disappoint him, because that's what late-round Chief receivers do. Overall it was an outstanding effort, but I hesitate to ejaculate all over it like Mel Kiper and Peter King did due to the lack of a QB and a pass-rusher.

QBs occasionally fall out of trees. At some point Cleveland will part ways with either Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn (who'd be perfect in Kansas City). The teams that took Brohm and Henne, Green Bay and Miami, might eventually cut loose current starters Aaron Rodgers and John Beck. Donovan McNabb may soon be available. And you can do worse than picking up a Jeff Garcia or Gus Frerotte type. And by "do worse" I mean "start Brodie Croyle."

As for defensive end, good luck. Feel free, Carl, to follow the example of the 2007 Denver Broncos, who signed big-name D-line free agents Sam Adams and Simeon Rice. Banky sees a two-win improvement in this team, which I think is accurate.

DENVER BRONCOS

I won't spend nearly the same amount of time on my own team's draft, because I feel it was exceedingly ordinary. This club desperately needed an infusion of football skill, and I'm not blown away by what came in through the door. There are some highlights, though, including:

First-round pick Ryan Clady. Sure, he can barely spell his own name, but at least he won't have a hard time remembering he plays for the Broncos. You see, he went to Boise State, whose mascot is...never mind. I expect Clady to fuck people up all day long. I expect him to lay down his life to protect Jay Cutler. In fact, if I ever decide to criticize Cutler in a post on this blog, I fully expect my stubby fingers to be broken by Ryan Clady. Even if he can't read what I wrote.

Fifth rounder Ryan Torain, a tailback from Arizona State, is apparently a perfect fit for the Bronco offense. I really don't worry about who's carrying the ball for these guys any more. If the line is rebuilt the rushing yards will be there.

Cecil tells me that fellow Sun Devil Josh Barrett and fellow Copper State defender Spencer Larsen, a U of A linebacker, are the cat's jams. I believe him.

If it were 1995, and the H-back were still en vogue, I'd also love the selection of versatile Arkansas back Peyton Hillis. He's a skilled receiver, and he capitalized on his many TD opportunities while sharing the Wild Hawg backfield with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. Perhaps he can transfer those skills to the pros and give Denver a true fullback instead of just another converted tailback.

I know nothing about CB Jack Williams or DT Carlton Powell, I simply hope they can walk upright during training camp. As for center Kory Lichtensteiger out of Bowling Green, he'd best be a foul-mouthed helmet-cracking asshole. That's because the Broncos passed on Steve Justice, who was basically reared from birth to apprentice under and then take over for Tom Nalen.

My least favorite pick is second-round Smurf receiver Eddie Royal. I know he's a return guy, and Cecil instructed me to find him on the YouTubes. I apologize for the horrible video quality and large number of unimpressive six-yard slants in this clip, but here you go. He can indeed take back a kick:

In my mind, though, Royal had best be a Pro Bowl-caliber kick returner to justify this pick. DeSean Jackson was still on the board, and he will almost surely be a better receiver than Royal at the same time functioning as a dangerous return man. Royal needs to be a Devin Hester/Dante Hall-in-his-prime type to make me change my mind--I'm tremendously disappointed in this selection.

If he can do this, however, I'll reconsider: