Bye-Week Rant II: Talking Chiefs, Broncos, Baseball, and Media with Old No. 7

Technically, we're past the bye week, but regardless of how your favorite NFL team is playing, I imagine most pro-football fans would agree that the bye week is the toughest stretch of the gridiron season. To help kill these 14 days, Old No. 7 and I sat down to talk, among other things, AFC West. And if this chatter interests you, check out our conversation from two years ago, or my Chiefs free-agent post.

bankmeister: This past spring you said you were certain the NFL would miss some games thanks to the lockout. Share with me what your thought process was regarding such conviction. What was your foundation for it beyond the dolla’-dolla’ bill?

Old No. 7: At that time, it seemed to me that the owners were steadfast in their resolve to break the union. To be more precise, there was a faction of hard-line asshole owners who appeared ready to sacrifice the season in order to absolutely crush the players with the new collective-bargaining agreement. They wanted to radically alter the previous arrangement and swing hundreds of millions of dollars their way. The union, to their credit, was unwilling to agree to such a horrendously shitty deal. Thus, I thought we’d miss games.

Fortunately for people who like watching football, those hard-line owners were overruled by more reasonable dudes. Make no mistake: the owners still “won” this negotiation. They got shithauls of concessions, and all they had to give up was some mandatory practice time. Owners don’t care about practice time, and coaches weren’t represented at the bargaining table. It was a moderately bad deal for the players, but they’re still rich, and so are the owners, and we got a season. Hoo-ray.

bankmeister: If you feel that the work stoppage hurt teams, how do you quantify it? It seems that this year has seen all-time highs in terms of season-ending injuries, specifically with ACL and Achilles’ heel blowouts. Explore the theory that a lot of these guys simply can’t be trusted to keep in top shape on their own during the off-season.

Old No. 7: The lockout hurt everyone the same, from the standpoint that no one could work out or sign players while it was going on. Sure, this affected some teams more than others. Veteran teams that brought most everyone back were most likely affected the least due to their continuity, whereas younger teams/players and clubs that fundamentally altered their foundations might have seen more disruption. But what’s done is done, and that’s the cost of doing business in the NFL. They needed a new CBA, it’s clear that both sides needed a doomsday deadline to take negotiations seriously, and we got a deal. Do you feel that the lockout’s impact was not distributed evenly among all 32 teams?

bankmeister: No. I think it seems pretty clear that everyone was hurt on an equal level.

Old No. 7: Right. I would absolutely dispute that we’ve seen more injuries than normal this year, specifically more ACLs or Achilles’es. I recall speculation from almost every season in recent memory about this phenomenon, yet when someone actually digs through the data we find out that it’s not true. It’s football, and guys get hurt. Plus, what little I know about physiology tells me that what’s at risk if players are not in top condition are muscle and tendon (like hamstring) pulls, not ligament tears. ACLs are neither in shape nor not in shape; they just are. They get torn from violent, unnatural movements, not a lack of conditioning. My observation is that the vast majority of NFL players keep themselves in premium condition year round, lockout or no, and I haven’t seen any evidence to the contrary that’s anything more than anecdotal.

bankmeister: Interesting. Obviously, it’s too new still, but tell me about your initial thoughts on being a Denver Broncos season-ticket holder.

Old No. 7: Other than the fact that it sucked up a buttload of money I didn’t have, I love it. I’ve attended one game, which was happily the only game Denver won this year. The weather was beautiful, my kids were well-behaved, and going to a game live is nearly always a blast.

And luckily, I was able to recoup most of my costs for the season package. Friends and family purchased some games, and I sold the rest online. In fact, I parted ways with my final tickets just last week. For this I must thank Our Lord and Savior Tim Tebow. His legions of slack-jawed, inbred disciples have created far more demand for Bronco seats.

bankmeister: Slack-jawed and inbred? You have Chiefs fans in the Tebow fan club?

Old No. 7: Zing! I look at these tickets as an investment for my family. Going to a few games a year will become our traditional ritual, and when my kids are spoiled teenagers this will be one more tedious, embarrassing exercise to be tolerated with their loser dad. I can’t wait! Also, it’s possible that in 15 years the Broncos won’t be terrible.

bankmeister: Speaking of losers, when Josh McDaniels was handed a pink slip, you talked about the lack of importance in finding “the right guy” to replace him, that the team’s problems were huge in terms of personnel, that it was more important to get some quality talent in the building, develop the roster, and reassess the coaching situation after a few seasons. Has that philosophy changed at all or remained the same? How?

Old No. 7: I feel exactly the same.

bankmeister: Tell me about John Fox five weeks in, and what’s the deal with Knowshon Moreno? Is he struggling to stay healthy? Does he really only have 10 carries on the season? What’s your confidence level that he’ll bounce back and be a contributor?

Old No. 7: Fox first: He’s coached five games, and the talent level on his team is atrocious. I’m trying to be patient before passing judgment. Allow me to reveal at this time that right now I’m following the Denver Broncos in a much different way than I ever have. I watch the games, and I consume national football media like Pro Football Talk and ESPN, and I text Cecil and a few other friends, and that’s it. I don’t catch any local Denver media outside an occasional random bit on the evening news. I quit reading Bronco blogs. When it became clear that the only theme anyone covering the Broncos this year wanted to pursue was Tim Tebow, I checked out.

So I have a very limited frame of reference when it comes to assessing Fox and this team other than the results. And I have to tell you, it’s pretty nice. You know me, I normally love all the chatter and speculation and talk-radio soap opera, but I simply can’t do the Tebow thing. It’s an affront to logic. I will say that Fox seems competent, and I’m willing to buy into his commitment to rebuild the team via defense and the running game. The roster does not allow this yet, but I’ll give it some time. I’ve heard sporadic complaints about his conservative play-calling, and I’ve heard yahoos call for his job. But I prefer to ignore the ignorant mob.

As for Knowshon, he’s been hurt a lot. He doesn’t get massive, catastrophic injuries, but he’s suffered an endless string of nagging little boo-boos that cause him to miss parts of games and a couple weeks here and there. This makes it impossible to say with any certainty whether he’s good or not, but I’m just going to speculate that he’s fucking terrible. I think he’s a miserable bitch, a horrible football player, and a bad person.

Look, running backs are the most disposable, replaceable commodity in professional football. There are a few that are special, and everyone else is reliant on scheme, health and luck. Knowshon is not special. He’s fast and athletic, and if he found himself in the right situation someday he might be able to put up some fine numbers. But there is absolutely nothing separating him from about a hundred backup RBs in the NFL right now. I mean, he’s been benched in favor of Willis McGahee, who I’m pretty sure played high school football with Bill Cosby.

bankmeister: Wait. What? Miserable bitch? Horrible football player? Bad person? I thought he was (initially) regarded as one of the best selections y’all’ve made in the last six or seven years.

I’m no draftnik (at least not on the level of Cecil), so I have no idea what the conventional wisdom is or was on Knowshon’s pick. I loved his skills, and when he was drafted I loved the idea of what he might do for the Broncos. I do remember McDaniels justifying the selection by talking about how polished of a receiver Knowshon was for a college RB, but McDaniels’ offense rarely throws the ball to running backs. And again, he can’t stay healthy.

Adrian Peterson was a top-10 pick who was worth it. Darren McFadden overcame injuries to get to that point as well. But by and large, NFL teams have abandoned the idea of burning high picks on RBs. They’re also starting to sour on giving elite RBs big extensions. Given the volatility at the position, I think I’m on board with both trends. Knowshon has not been worth the resources spent to acquire him, although I don’t actually think he’s a bad person. He might truly be a swell dude.

Last year, you said something to the effect of, “Kyle Orton is a beacon of light in a steaming cesspool of suck.” We revisited that topic not long ago, and you seemed to still support the notion. In my estimation, his play seemed solid enough through two, maybe two and-a-half weeks. Did his performance fall off enough to warrant the benching, or is it the ol’ gotta-see-what-the-young-kid’s-got kind of thing?

Old No. 7: Because of my rabid distaste for Tebow, I’ve been accused of being an Orton apologist or even a full-fledged Orton fan. I’m neither. I think he got a raw deal from the fans and the media, but he absolutely played himself out of his job. Orton quarterbacked the Broncos at a reasonably high level for two and a half months last year before sucking and giving way to Tebow. This year, he’s been insanely bad. I still think he could help some team out there in a situation where he is not mercilessly booed by his home fans after every incompletion.

bankmeister: Switching gears, you and I seem to have gone in opposite-baseball directions in the past 18 months. I know you’ve always been a superfan, but you seem to have gone to even another level. Is this accurate, or am I misreading?

Old No. 7: I don’t think the intensity of my baseball fandom has increased at all. If anything, the time demands of my rapidly multiplying offspring have made me follow baseball a lot less. What I’ve done is transformed myself into a much more efficient baseball fan through technology and acquired knowledge.

Sabermetrics is part of this because it allows me to cut through 90 per cent of the romanticized garbage in which traditional baseball coverage traffics. Either this team/player/manager/strategic decision works, or he/it doesn’t. And if he/it works, then the data will prove it. This saves time and eliminates a lot of BS.
I’ve also selected a small group of incredibly talented baseball writers to read and follow on Twitter. And thus I can stay on top of the game, even if I don’t have time to watch a ton of actual games. I’d imagine that this is the same approach you apply to your beloved hockey, no?

bankmeister: Yes and no. I mean, the television is almost never on in our house anymore. Our evenings –- thanks, as you mentioned, to the offspring -– are absolutely slammed, and by the time the dishes are done, it’s pillow-thirty. I do follow the NHL’s feed, a few Blues handles, and good old Buccigross, but Blues games haven’t been televised by my cable provider for a couple of seasons now, so I’m pretty much out of the loop, save the occasional rarity.

What did you make of the Boston Globe article regarding your Red Sox?

Old No. 7: The particular article you reference was horrible. It encapsulates everything I dislike about being a Red Sox fan, namely other Red Sox fans, the Boston media, and the suffocating narcissism of the entire enterprise.
The 2011 Red Sox choked, pure and simple. They choked as a team, and every single element of the team contributed to their demise. Every player, every manager and coach, every member of the front office. I get that when things go this wrong after expectations have been raised so high, heads roll. Terry Francona and Theo Epstein are gone, which is insane to me. You know how I feel about managers and how their impact is completely overvalued. That being said, making Francona the scapegoat for this mess is beyond stupid. He’s eminently competent in that position, as is Theo in his. I don’t know how much of their departures were quitting, or getting fired, but it doesn’t matter. They’re scapegoats for the failures of others.

This is why that Globe article was such an abortion of the dying art of journalism. It threw every tired, disproved stereotype of a losing team into a giant shitpile with no attempt to perform a rational autopsy of the season. It was pure gossip and spite, which is fine from the standpoint that millions of people take the Red Sox way too seriously and they’re angry. But to stick that load of crap under the banner of a reputable American publication was embarrassing. Call me a naïve sap, but I still believe a little bit in the integrity of certain media entities. I know you do, too. I hope you would hold your hometown Star to a higher standard than what appears in that story.

Now, I have one burning question for you, and it’s this:

The way you follow the Chiefs is much, much different from how I follow the Broncos. You live in Kansas City, whereas I no longer live in Denver. You’re immersed in discussion of your team, which of course has its benefits and drawbacks. Prior to Tebow’s arrival in Denver, I loved the constant hubbub of Bronco Nation. I love the year-round speculation about the roster, management, the blind homerism, the definitive ignorance of all of us fools. Because we were all in it together.

As I said, I’ve checked out for a while. I think I’ll be back, but I kind of like stepping away from the nutbag echo chamber that is obsessively following my team 24/7/365. I may consider staying.

How much enjoyment do you derive from following the Chiefs? I’m not talking about enjoying the wins or hating the losses, I’m talking about The Process. What you read in the Star, what you listen to on the radio, what you inhale on the blogs, what you ingest from the dude at the grocery store or the bar. Does all of this make your Chief fandom more or less pleasant?

bankmeister: Bear with me while I draw a long, non-parallel answer up for you: I’m always behind the times. When the world went CD and DVD, I clutched my cassette and VHS tapes as if they were my last possession. I still own zero high-definition televisions, I don’t D.V. the Rs, and my phone, while perfectly functional, is not of the smart variety. There are always setbacks –- some more significant than others –- that go with this stubbornness, but I always seem to hold out for some reason. I tell you that to tell you this: Tweets come to my phone in SMS form when I select this option from particular followers.

By and large, this methodology might be the biggest love/hate relationship I’ve ever experienced. It’s a constant juggle to unselect the phone option on followers that tweet a lot, but not a lot of their tweets are of significant, immediate interest. My latest example would be the almighty Joe Posnanski. Since he moved, he’s no longer talking Royals or Chiefs, or anything of real interest to me. In short, he’s tweeting MLB playoffs, Penn State football, Apple products, and commercials, and it’s driving me insane. In fact, I may, once we wrap this up, unclick that icon on his page.

As I’m sure yours does, too, my phone buzzes a lot. I get texts from friends and family, radio stations, and the SMS tweets. Therefore, many many times since joining Twitter, I’ve wanted to smash the thing on the ground. For example, at that Broncos @ Chiefs game a couple years ago where Denver scored like 17 touchdowns to our two field goals and our wives drank eight liters of Schnapps, I was following your boy Whitlock at the time, and I think he tweeted 20-plus times during that contest.

The point is that I love Twitter, but I have purposely refrained from purchasing a smart phone because I make unhealthy commitments to things that jazz me up, i.e. this blog when we started it, Sports-Talk Radio, Twitter, etc., and then I struggle to adjust. Right now, I don’t really read the Chiefs blogs anymore, but I’ll follow a link if it sounds appealing on Twitter, and I definitely take in every word from the guys at the Star. Also, the Sports Talk stuff has sort of spun out of control for me. These days they announce what times they’ll be doing certain segments and I make significant commitments to try and catch them.

The worst part is that they usually drive me bananas. Translation: I almost always disagree and find myself needing to drive to the nearest playground so’s I can punch a few kids in the neck. The Sports-Talk relationship is just like the Twitter-SMS thing: I might like it a little better if I could find the right balance.

To finally get to an answer, I freaking hate it. Everyone’s an expert. Everyone’s “leaking” stuff. Everyone knows that if the Chiefs would only do things their way, they’d already have a Lombardi being wheeled out to them on a pedestal. It’s absurd, and frankly, nothing sounds better than what you’ve described as your current regimen for Bronco consumption.

Old No. 7: And what is your current take on Todd Haley and Scott Pioli? I’m not asking what the consensus in KC is and how you agree or disagree with that consensus. I’m asking if you think these guys are the right guys for the job and if you think they’ll stick long-term.

bankmeister: It’s really hard to parse through that thought process while avoiding the consensus, but here goes: I like Scott Pioli’s approach, and more importantly, I really liked it when he got here. Right now it’s tough because a lot of his draft picks haven’t panned out, and as I let that thought out, I wonder whether or not that’s simply the case with front offices across the league. I mean, I guess it’d be cool if you had a formula like quarterback rating or one of your sabermetric deal-y-bobs that could translate successful-pick ratios into quantitative form. In the end, much more time is needed. I really can’t see Clark Hunt firing Pioli anytime soon unless things get wicked ugly. And more importantly in my book, I don’t think Pioli should fire Haley anytime soon.

I’ve really come to appreciate his style of coaching. The number of key players that have really thrived under him in two seasons and change is admirable, and he’s got a great sense of humor, too. Also, I can relate to a guy who fails triumphantly to keep his emotions in check. Lord knows I’ve done that a few hundred times only to recognize later how stupid I looked.

Back to you for the wrap: Everyone’s hoping that they’ll win “The Price is Right” showcase that comes with Andrew Luck. Is it too early for you to be thinking 2012? Do you want your team to nab this kid? The good old Stanford Redux? Or are there other guys in the NCAA that would equally suit you? Do you have faith in Fox, etc. to have a solid draft in April?

Old No. 7: Yes, I want Luck. I have very little doubt that he’ll be at least a high-quality NFL QB, and there’s a strong chance he’ll be a franchise player.
There are simply too many moving parts, however, to actually plan or wish for that to become reality. The Broncos would need to lose an awful lot of football games, which, of course, they’re doing anyway. Other teams would have to lose even more. Luck could get hurt. A meteor could strike the earth’s surface. There’s a lot that can happen between now and April. But assuming the current status quo stays in place, yeah, I’m all like Suck For Luck.
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Bye-Week Rant: 2011 Free Agency and Chiefs Criticism

If you’ve ever spent any time with the Tao Te Ching, you know that the world is referred to as the 10,000 things. As a kid, these 10,000 things -– when focused on Kansas City Chiefs football –- resembled an easy-to-read bar graph; absorption as a fan was either relatively high or relatively low. This, of course changed as my mind matured, and access to the National Football League and its teams developed.

Of course none of us lay fans are behind the closed doors of upper-management offices, but things like sports-talk radio and the Internet have spawned incredible growth regarding thought and conversation about our teams. We then all become, in varying degrees, armchair general managers. I have no problem with this. I do it. You do it. We all dabble.

It was easy for Chiefs fans to recognize that Carl Peterson, while among the best GMs in his initial five years in Kansas City, was in charge of the franchise way too long, and by being so his glaring deficiencies at handling coaches and personnel became more and more exposed. The 10,000 things rose and fell with patterns recognizable. Although different, the same was true with Scott Pioli when he came in. It seemed unanimous that this was the hire to make, and Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt pulled the trigger.

Herman Edwards was not retained, and as the 2008 season’s playoffs wore on and the Arizona Cardinals continued to stay alive, it became clear that Todd Haley would be Pioli’s coach of choice. I didn’t get that at first, but I quickly warmed up to the idea that coaches that appear to be jerks are the ones that have the most success. Pioli’s acquisition of quarterback Matt Cassel was astonishing in terms of both the actual choice itself and the dollars spent on him, but it made some sense because Pioli had spent time with Cassel in New England.

What followed was a foreign sense of secrecy and the small organizational changes that slowly shaped the identity of this new regime. This was a touch confusing in that, in this time of access, things around the league just seem to get out, the Chiefs quick to become an exception.

It seemed, though, that the organization was on the right track. They double the win total of the previous season in their first campaign, and in the second, they win 10 games, the division, and the right to go to the playoffs. Clearer than ever was the obvious rise of the 10,000 things.

Then the lockout happened, and when it was over, things immediately grayed.

Web sites began to publish and identify the fact that Kansas City had developed a trend of spending fewer salary-cap dollars than most teams over a stretch that nearly paralleled Hunt’s inheriting his father’s role as head white guy in charge. As the 2011 free-agency period came and went, fans, spurred by frequent and emphatic media-personality reports, felt their frustrations grow with regard to the notion that, for at least this season, the Chiefs spent $30 million less than the cap ceiling. Speculation supposes that the franchise will continue this trend until 2013 when the NFL will impose a cap floor.

As we’re all aware, criticisms run high and frequent when a team is losing, and the horrible pair of games to start Kansas City’s season magnified the media’s lack-of-spending finger pointing. Negative energy toward the regime multiplied with reports that Haley’s training-camp plan was foolish and flawed, that Haley is disliked by his boss and vice versa. Even worse: the sub-story to that last gripe that continues to imply that Pioli leaks, with consistency, notions to national writers that support such boss-to-subordinate disproval. All of this has left the 10,000 things at One Arrowhead Drive resembling a rookie meteorologist with bunk equipment. At least in the fans’ eyes.

In many ways this is all too familiar and the comparison stretches the non-existent tracks of the never-built rolling roof at the Truman Sports Complex. All you have to do is look across the parking lot at the Royals franchise and examine Dayton Moore’s five-year tenure. It’s a bit fruitless to go over every move he’s made, but basically it began with -– and is still grounded in –- Moore’s token phrase: “Trust the process.”

Fans didn’t want to, though. I mean, at first they did: Moore’s first summer yielded something insane like 14 transactions, and naturally with them came the first batch of criticism toward the most-regarded (prior to his hiring) general-manager prospect in baseball. The problem was that fans were already terribly jaded. They suffered through the Allard Baird regime, watched key players develop in the system and leave for big free-agency money.

As though a seamless transition of gripe wove Baird and Moore into the same brass suit, it wasn’t long before the pitchforks came out of the barns. Moore has made mistakes, and I think he announced that he would make some before he erred, and has since acknowledged the same. I’m sure it’s not a list he likes to pore over each day –- Jose Guillen’s contract, Mike Jacobs, Yuniesky Betancourt, and still worst of all in my mind, Jason Kendall. It was plain to see, though, that Moore was filling holes, biding time, putting Band-Aids on the big-league roster, while we were asked to trust his process of building a successful farm system, developing scouting in Latin America, and putting the “right baseball people” in place in the organization.

Headed into the 2010 off-season, baseball personalities across the country almost unanimously labeled Moore’s farm the best in baseball. But still, there were doubters.

“Great,” one (of many) skeptic said. “He can load the minors with talent, but can he do it at the big-league level?”

This was far from an uncommon sentiment.

This year, the first batch of prospects arrived, and for the first time in many, many seasons, genuine excitement began to simmer within the fan base. The club played as close to .500 baseball (in stretches) as they have in eight years, and did a lot of things statistically well in the second half of the season. Moore’s big show will begin this April and he will be judged harsher than ever over the course of the next two campaigns.

Back over at Arrowhead, Pioli is suffering similar situationally. He’s conducted himself in fashions different (read: less appealing) than Moore, but only a few. He and his head coach have in fact used the phrase “it’s a process” on several occasions, but their tagline comes back to finding “the right 53 guys,” and acquiring and developing personnel "through the draft."

And this is where the 10,000 things get real fuzzy.

At the root of it all, is this question: Why is this so difficult for fans to accept? What is so wrong with allowing this new regime to examine, and then choose to pursue or pass on free agents? Why the obsession with spending all (or more) of the Hunt family money? What if Pioli, et al pored over the list of free agents and acquired (or at least attempted to obtain) the players they felt fit the right-53 mold? What is it that’s so blinding about looking across the TSC parking lot and at very least offering an acceptance nod that Moore’s plan appears on the verge of success?

This $30 million issue has flirted with obsession. At times it’s been sickening. And at the end of it, I’m drawn back to the argument I used to have with fellow Chiefs fans about the last leg of the Carl Peterson era. In sum, my sentiment mirrored everyone else’s in wanting him replaced. The lone difference, however, was that I was not qualified to name even one candidate to fill that role. I’m simply uneducated in that regard. I don’t know names of top-tier guys in franchises across the league. Heck, I couldn’t even name but two or three general managers when Peterson was still in office. Conversations were frustrating, but similar, in that they all went like this:

“Carl Peterson needs to be fired,” Guy A said.

“I know,” I said. “But who do you hire?”

Guy A: “I don’t care. Just fire him.”

There’s only one word for this response, and believe me, I heard it dozens of times: preposterous. It’s a simple philosophy that really scatters the 10,000 things of fandom and that is that you can’t steadfastly identify the problem if you have no solution.

I stand by this now as firmly as I did then: Firing Carl Peterson was not the solution. Finding his replacement was. My buddy Old No. 7 and I have discussed this a bit and his opinion was this: As a fan I’m entitled to believe and proclaim that a G.M. should be fired, even if I have no idea who his successor should be. Playing armchair G.M. is just the same as playing armchair quarterback. I support this team, and it’s my right to suggest organizational and positional changes.

I saw his point then, and I still see it now, but that’s not going to make anything happen. I suspect, though, that many Chiefs fans view this lack of free-agency-dollar spending in ways similar to my buddy and Guy A: Dudes are out there; spend the money. Otherwise, you simply look cheap.

The primary flaw in my stance is that when it comes to my teams, I tend to be Stevie Wonder with optimism. I wanna give guys a chance. I wanted to give Trey Hillman a chance. I felt that he was Moore’s first hire; we should give Moore the benefit of the doubt, his success in Japan could translate. I was pretty far off the mark on that one, but I wanted to give him a chance to the point of criticizing Moore for binding Hillman’s hands to some of the aforementioned Band-Aids. Turns out it was a much larger problem than that, and I see that now.

With the trio of Hunt (money), Pioli (say so), and Haley (front lines), my optimism hasn’t wavered, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

That said, here’s a look at some of the key areas of the Kansas City Chiefs roster heading into the 2011 season, and keep in mind the right-guy/draft-based mantra:

Quarterback

What they did:

The Chiefs drafted Ricky Stanzi in the fifth round of the draft, did not renew the contract of Brodie Croyle, and later signed Stanzi (July 28) to a contract. Tyler Palko was already under contract. With starting QB Matt Cassel in year three of his allegedly front-loaded five year, $63 million deal, the position’s needs were -- like it or not -- addressed.

Who else was out there:

We’re not going to look at who else was available on the free-agent market (19 signings of all sizes and dollars), but if you want to make a realistic argument that the Chiefs could cut ties with Cassel and his contract money after two years, I’m all ears.

Running Back/Fullback

The Chiefs drafted fullback Shane Bannon in the seventh round of the draft and signed him to a deal on July 28. They also signed Le’Ron McClain on August 3. They waived RB Tervaris Johnson in late August, Bannon in early September, then added him to the practice squad before releasing him from it, too. Most recently, RB Shaun Draughn joined the PS.

Who else was out there:

We’re not going to look at who else was available on the free-agent market (27 signings) because with the addition of McClain to a ball-carrying committee that included Jackie Battle (nice for the occasional spell), Thomas Jones (despite the lackluster performance we’ve seen through five 2011 games, Jones was dependable in ’10), and arguably the best back in the league in Jamaal Charles, the position’s needs were addressed. If you want to fault the Chiefs for not spending salary-cap dollars on a fourth running back -– and let’s not forget Dexter McCluster -- in case one, i.e. Charles, were to get hurt for the season, then frankly I’m interested in seeing your 53-man roster.

Wide Receiver

What they did:

After a career/Pro Bowl year from Dwayne Bowe, the Chiefs went big in the draft and gambled on Jonathan Baldwin in the first round of the draft. They signed a dude named Josue Paul on July 27, released Chris Chambers the following day, and on the 28th, they acquired Todd Haley-guy Steve Breaston (five-year deal). That same day, Terrance Copper signed a contract, and on the 30th, Zeke Markshausen agreed to a deal. On August 10th it was Keary Colbert joining the team, and in late August, Chris Manno, Paul, and Chandler Williams departed. Markshausen, Jeremy Horne, and Verran Tucker were waived, and ultimately, Horne made it back to the practice squad before joining the team once more.

Who else was out there:

Twenty-three wide receivers signed deals during free agency, but again, none of them seemed like worthy pursuits if you head into the season anticipating a repeat performance from Bowe, immediate impact from your first-round pick, and you’ve added Breaston to the mix. What’s more: You’ve made two cuts and tried out five other guys for the position before inking a deal with Colbert. In sum, you have what you anticipate to be your one, two, and three, plus Colbert, Horne, and Jerheme Urban (already under contract) for when you want to go four and five deep. Just like the Charles injury, you can’t anticipate the Baldwin setback. You took a risk on the personality of Baldwin, and it perhaps cost you some early-season offensive production, but even if you’re willing to roll those dice, you don’t sign another middle-to-top tier wide out as a safety net.

Tight End:

Critics of the Chiefs' spending tendencies are quick to mention that this team lacks depth. In the positions we’ve addressed so far, they do not. If you’re required to build a 53-man roster, then dress only 46 on game day, you’ve got 22 starters on offense and defense combined, a punter, a kicker, and a long snapper bring you to 25. That leaves 21 spots for special teams, substitutions and sub packages. In my estimation, those slots have to be reserved for backup quarterbacks, running backs, a fullback, tight ends, two or three backup offensive linemen, and then the rest are defensive guys; your nickel and dime packages, your linebackers and linemen that spell your starters.

What they did:

Kansas City’s plan was to have Tony Moeaki as the primary pass-catching tight end with Leonard Pope and Anthony Becht as their blocking TEs. Becht, however, was hurt, so they bring in Jake O’Connell after having waived him. In late July, they signed Charlie Gantt to a contract and cut Brad Cottam. Gantt and Cody Slate (who they signed last winter) were later waived. Like the situations with Charles and Baldwin, the Moeaki injury was unforeseen, so I don’t have a problem with these three TEs qualifying the position’s needs as addressed. Pope and O’Connell are primarily going to provide pass protection and run-blocking schemes with either of them being targeted for the occasional pass. Moeaki had a pretty huge rookie season, so he’s your go-to guy.

Maybe this was short-sighted of the Chiefs, though. There were 13 tight-end signings in free agency, but the big names were spoken for, which leaves the Chiefs with the option of basically finding themselves another Pope or O’Connell on the market when they’ve already got those guys in house. Nevertheless...

Who else was out there:

1) Jeff King signed with Arizona before the Moeaki injury.
2) Ben Hartsock signed with Carolina before the Moeaki injury.
3) Todd Heap signed with Arizona before the Moeaki injury.
4) Daniel Fells signed with Denver before the Moeaki injury.
5) Zach Miller signed with Seattle before the Moeaki injury.
6) Marcedes Lewis was franchised by Jacksonville pre-lockout.
7) Kevin Boss signed with Oakland before the Moeaki injury.
8) Lee Smith was cut by the Patriots after the Moeaki injury and then 30 other teams passed on him before he was claimed by the Bills. He has yet to see the field.
9) Chris Gronkowski had seven catches and a touchdown through 14 career games for Dallas, who cut him this off-season. Indianapolis claimed him off of waivers.
10) Dante Rosario saw action in six Carolina Panther games last year, but was waived with the addition of Jeremy Shockey. Miami signed him post-Moeaki injury, then cut him. Denver signed him, but have yet to award him any live action.
11) Dan Gronkowski was cut by Denver (after they traded for him a year prior), and picked up by the Patriots who cut him after two games.
12) Jason Witten signed a five-year $37 million extension with Dallas.

But what about this year?

The Chiefs did all that was necessary and available in making the position better. They have three things left to do: 1) hope for a healthy Moeaki for all of 2010, 2) anticipate that he won’t be, and address the position through the draft, and 3) focus on stopping the tight end on the other end of the ball.

Offensive Line

What they did:

Now we get into the meat and potatoes of Kansas City free-agency action (or lack thereof if that's your perspective), which is a good time to remember the gripe: The Chiefs have $30 million in salary-cap space lying around in the Hunt family bank account. KC decided to get rid of veteran Brian Waters, a move I suspect leaves a 50/50 split with fans. Waters was a foundation for this club, and I imagine many fans wanted him retained for sentimental reasons.

The team, however, selected Jon Asamoah in the third round of last year’s draft, and has theoretically been grooming him as the club’s right guard ever since. At left guard is Ryan Lilja, and at center Casey Wiegmann. Two thousand eleven second-round pick Rodney Hudson is the backup to these three linemen. At left tackle is Branden Albert, whose backup is Jared Gaither. At right tackle is Barry Richardson; Steve Maneri is second on the depth chart. Gaither was acquired in free agency, and Maneri was a waiver claim.

Offensive line is a special unit, one that requires talent, repetition, and unity first in order to succeed. It’s possible that through weeks one and two, the Chiefs’ big men were still gaining that. It’s possible that they showed improvement in protection and scheme in week three, and even more in week four, and if that’s the case, then the backups -– the free agent, the waiver claim, and the rookie -– have yet to even be judged.

Who else was out there:

1) T Doug Free signed a four-year $32 million ($17 guaranteed) extension with Dallas.
2) The Giants added C David Baas.
3) Former Raider G Robert Gallery signed a three-year deal with Seattle.
4) T Jermon Bushrod agreed to stay with New Orleans for two more years.
5) T Tyson Clabo remained a Falcon.
6) Arizona resigned C Lyle Sendlein with a multi-year deal.
7) G Davin Joseph agreed to stay with Tampa on seven-year terms.
8) Tampa also inked T Jeremy Trueblood for two more seasons.
9) St. Louis and G Harvey Dahl signed a four-year deal (his third team in six years).
10) Philadelphia signed G Evan Mathis (his fourth team in six years).
11) Washington added two-time Pro Bowler T Jammal Brown for five years.
12) Arizona resigned G Deuce Litui.
13) New England resigned T Matt Light.
14) John Greco (four career starts) became a Brown via a draft-pick trade with St. Louis.
15) T Ryan Harris signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia and was cut last month.
16) C Jonathan Goodwin (one Pro Bowl) signed a three-year $10.9 million ($4 million guaranteed) deal with San Francisco.
17) New Orleans and C Olin Kreutz (six Pro Bowls in 13 seasons) signed a one-year deal.
18) Washington added T Sean Locklear (does not appear to have seen action this year).
19) The Redskins also added C Donovan Raiola (does not appear to have played).
20) Carolina signed C Ryan Kalil to a six-year $49 million ($28 million guaranteed) extension.
21) T Joe Thomas and Cleveland agreed to a seven-year $84 million ($44 million guaranteed) extension.
22) Baltimore acquired T Bryant McKinnie for two years, $7.5 million.
23) Cincinnati and T Andrew Whitworth extended their deal four more years.
24) The Bengals also inked a four-year extension with C Kyle Cook.
25) G Caleb Schlauderaff became a Jet via trade with Green Bay, who took the guard in the sixth round of this year’s draft..
26) The aforementioned Brian Waters got $5.5 million for two years in New England.
27) G Kyle DeVan (logged nine games with Indianapolis two years ago) was added to the Eagles via waiver claim.
28) Baltimore signed C Andre Gurode (five Pro Bowls in nine seasons with Dallas) to a one-year deal.
29) Seattle claimed T Jarriel King (zero pro snaps) off of waivers.
30) Dallas signed G Derrick Dockery (third team in eight seasons, but 16 starts in his first seven).
31) Miami added G/C Ryan Cook (zero snaps this year).
32) Denver signed Tony Hills to a two-year deal (three games last year in Pittsburgh; no snaps this year).
33) Sam Young became a Bill via waiver claim (two games for Dallas last year; no snaps this year).

As you can see, there was a fair amount of offensive-line action in free agency, but as I mentioned, this unit in Kansas City is still showing its potential to gel, and in the event of injury, there are viable options at backup, even if they include someone who’s not yet healthy, an unproven rookie, and a waiver claim. Until the moment that one of their services is needed, though, it’s unfair to judge.

It should also be noted that the Chiefs signed Chris Harr, Mike Ingersoll, Butch Lewis, and David Mims to deals in late July. All four were later waived. They also resigned Ryan O’Callaghan (currently on Injured Reserve), agreed to new deals with Wiegmann and Richardson, and have played musical-practice-squad spots with Butch Lewis and Lucas Patterson. This is not to say that other teams don’t follow similar suit, but Kansas City has, at least, given significant attention to their offensive line needs, and if you think any of those 33 free agents would have been a better deal for this team, then bear in mind the following: 12 were extensions or new deals with whom they already played; two are journeymen; 10 have little-to-no experience or were cut shortly after being acquired by a team. Nine remained.

Of those, one was Waters, one was a known locker-room cancer, and most of the rest signed big-money deals, a move you don’t want to make when you’re relatively certain who your starting five will be. You could argue, though, that getting a free-agent offensive lineman might have benefited the Chiefs, but the different part of that lineup would’ve needed just as much time to get into rhythm as the line that’s already in place has needed.

But what about this year?

The only thing you need to know is that nine of those 35 players are playing for teams with a better record than the Chiefs, and most of them have more wins for reasons that are not limited to the play of the offensive line.

Defensive Line

What they did:

It’s possible that the Chiefs did more to shore up their defensive line than any other area of the roster this off-season. With their second third-round pick in the draft they took defensive lineman Alvin Bailey, and in the sixth round they selected another in Jerrell Powe. Contracts for other defensive linemen included deals with the following: DL Brandon Bair, DL Harold Ayodele (later waived, along with DL Dion Gales), and DT Anthony Toribio (who was waived and put on the practice squad). In late July they signed veteran DT Kelly Gregg, and in early August, KC acquired DL Amon Gordon.

The defensive-line portion of the depth chart, then, is full of guys who’ve become Chiefs as recent as this summer and as long ago as three seasons (Glenn Dorsey). Wallace Gilberry became a Chief in the summer of 2008 (and signed a new deal this July) as well, and currently holds the second spot behind Dorsey at right defensive end. For my money, that’s a unit that’s getting significant time to work together, and all in all, you have a nice average age.

If you’re thinking about the departure of Shaun Smith, he’s played in four games with Tennessee, logging seven tackles and an assist. Through three with KC, Gregg has five tackles, four assists, and a pass deflection. Ron Edwards was a Herman Edwards Band-Aid. He didn’t play terribly in the Haley regime, but I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did.

Who else was out there:

1) Washington signed a six-year deal with DT Barry Cofield (FR, 2 T, 2 A on the season).
2) Carolina nabbed the aforementioned Edwards (put on Injured Reserve in August) in a three-year $8.25 million deal.
3) San Francisco and DE Ray McDonald (2.5 S, 7 T, A on the season) agreed to five-year, $20 million ($7 million guaranteed) terms.
4) New England acquired Albert Hanynesworth (2 T) via draft-pick-trade with Washington.
5) Philadelphia signed DE Jason Babin (7 S, PD, FF, 10 T, 2 A so far) to a five-year deal.
6) Washington gave DE Stephen Bowen (2.5 S, 8 T, 2 A on the year) a five-year contract worth $27.5 million ($12.5 million guaranteed).
7) DT Alan Branch (6 T, 5 A) agreed to two-year terms with Seattle in a deal valued at $8 million (half guaranteed).
8) Marcus Spears (3 T) and Dallas shook hands over five years and $19.2 million extension.
9) Chicago gave Vernon Gholston (5 T, 5 A) a contract.
10) DT Justin Bannan (2 PD, 6 T, A) became a Ram.
11) Philadelphia coughed up $25 million for DT Cullen Jenkins (4 S, FR, 8 T, 2 A).
12) Cleveland acquired DT Brodrick Bunkley via a trade with Philadelphia. The tackle did not report, however, and the trade was voided. A new deal sent him to Denver, where he’s recorded 5 T, 2 A.
13) Washington got DE Vonnie Holiday (Editor’s Note: As Chiefs fans, we already know Holliday is a terrible football player, so we won’t bother with his stats.) as part of a trade for Tim Hightower.
14) Denver offered DE Ty Warren (Note: If he’s played, he hasn’t recorded any stats.) a two-year $10 million ($2.5 million guaranteed) deal.
15) Philly gave DT Anthony Hargrove a one-year deal.
16) The Eagles also signed DT Derek Landri (released him last month, then signed him again) for one season.
17) New England acquired DE Shaun Ellis (3 T) for one year.
18) The Patriots also signed DE Andre Carter (.5 S, 7 T, 3 A).
19) Jacksonville signed Matt Roth (2 S, 4T) to a one-year, $3 million deal.
20) Indianapolis signed DE Tyler Brayton (2 A).
21) Minnesota landed DE Styles G. White (waived last month).
22) DT Kyle Williams (PD, 4 T, 5 A) signed a six-year $39 million ($17 million guaranteed) deal with Buffalo.
23) DT Clinton McDonald (6 T, 5 A) became a Seahawk via trade with Cleveland.
24) DE George Selvie (T) was claimed by Carolina off of the waiver wire.
25) Cleveland selected DL Emmanuel Stephens (2 T, A) via waiver claim.
26) Seattle signed DT Anthony Hargrove (4 T, 2 A) after Philadelphia cut him.


As you can see, there are roughly three DEs and one DT that were signed for big money, and have made an impact through five games. Here’s the problem with the Chiefs going after any of those guys: Signing either of the DEs would essentially mean giving up on Dorsey, Jackson, or both, and it’s too early to do that. With the DT, I simply don’t see Pioli bringing in a free agent and signing him to a $25 million deal. Besides, Philly’s playing a 4-3, and in the Chiefs’ 3-4, LB Tamba Hali is playing better football then that FA DT, and he’s a guy KC gave a new deal to in the off-season. My question, then, is where would you have had the Chiefs spend salary-cap dollars in the defensive front? To me it appears they spent wisely in-house, brought in a couple of free agents to plug in while they continue to develop their draft picks, and have gotten decent production out of nearly the entire unit.

And the Chiefs D-line this year?

We know Gregg’s stats. Tyson Jackson has 2 PD, 6 T, 8 A, while Glenn Dorsey has 7 T, 12 A. Aside from the reminder that the jury’s still out on Jackson and Dorsey, Gregg was obviously an improvement, simply based on Edwards’ unavailability and non-noteworthy play prior. If the numbers on Jackson and Dorsey seem small, remember that the 3-4 is meant for DL guys to gum up the works, which frees LBs to make plays. With that in mind, their stats are pretty good/could be better.


Linebackers

What they did:

The Chiefs knew they’d stay pat with Hali and Derrick Johnson at linebacker, but were interested in adding to the corps that consisted of Jovan Belcher, Andy Studebaker, and Demorrio Williams. In the third round, they nabbed Justin Houston, and in the fifth took Gabe Miller. The also signed Amara Kamara, Brandon Siler, waived Eric Bakhtiari, Michael Johnson, Kamara, Pierre Walters, and Justin Cole –- Miller went on IR, while Cole made the practice squad. This left their depth chart with Houston, Belcher, Johnson, and Hali as starters. Studebaker and Williams back up, while Cory Greenwood and Cameron Sheffield fill third- and second-string spots, respectively. Johnson was given a new deal last year, while Hali’s new off-season contract cemented this duo as the leaders.

Who else was out there:

1) Takeo Spikes became a Charger.
2) Detroit signed a two-year deal with Justin Durant (2 S, INT, 11 PD, FF, 246 T in four years).
3) Clint Session inked a five-year, $29 million ($11.5 million guaranteed) with Jacksonville.
4) Cincinnati acquired Thomas Howard (4 S, 7 INT, 25 PD, 335 T in five seasons) for two years, $6.5 million.
5) Carolina extended Jon Beason’s deal -– five years, $50 million ($25 million guaranteed).
6) Arizona negotiated terms for Stewart Bradley (3 S, 3 INT, 14 PD, FF, 156 T in three seasons).
7) Philadelphia resigned Akeem Jordan (S, 2 INT, 7 PD, 113 T) to a one-year deal first, then renegotiated to two.
8) Detroit locked up Stephen Tulloch (5.5 S, 2 INT, 12 PD, 325 T in five seasons) for the year with a $3.25 million deal.
9) Buffalo gave Nick Barnett (15.5 S, 9 INT, 37 PD, 3 FF, 596 T in eight seasons) three years, $12 million (half guaranteed).
10) Manny Lawson (14.5 S, 2 INT, 16 PD, 6 FF, 185 T in five seasons) signed a one-year, $3 million deal with Cincinnati.
11) Indianapolis signed Ernie Sims (4.5 S, INT, 10PD, 5 FF, 331 T in five seasons).
12) The Jets added David Harris for four years, $36 million ($ 29.5 guaranteed).
13) St. Louis signed Brady Poppinga (5 S, 2 INT, 8 PD, 2 FF, 187 T in six seasons).
14) Pittsburgh resigned LaMarr Woodley for six years, $61.5 million ($ 45 million guaranteed).
15) The Jets signed Aaron Maybin (S, FF, 15 T in two seasons).
16) Pittsburgh extended Lawrence Timmons with a five-year, $50 million deal.
17) San Diego signed Na’il Diggs (11.5 S, 5 INT, 30 PD, 4 FF, 496 T in 10 seasons) for one year.
18) Cleveland claimed Quinton Spears (zero NFL snaps) off of waivers.
19) Minnesota did the same with Xavier Adibi (42 T in three seasons).
20) Oakland signed Ricky Brown (4 PD, 3 FF, 74 T in five seasons).
21) Minnesota and Chad Greenway (6.5 S, 5 INT, 17 PD, 7 FF, 367 T in five seasons) agreed to a new five-year, $40 million deal.
22) New England claimed A.J. Edds off of waivers.
23) Pittsburgh signed Troy Polamalu to a new four-year deal.

So we see a few free-agency similarities when comparing the transactions of linebackers with those of both the offensive and defensive linemen. Obvious talent with Spikes, but he’s entering his 14th season, and there are several guys with good career numbers on the list that are younger.

What about this year then?

Six of the 23 names were extensions or new deals for guys previously with a team that had become a free agent. Roughly eight of those were guys of low-caliber talent/production, and two were perhaps too old, leaving about seven potential candidates for the Kansas City Chiefs to pursue, but let’s look at all of the linebackers that were free agents, and compare their performances with those of the Chiefs.

Free Agents:

Spikes: S, 2 PD, 17 T, 20 A
Durant: 18 T, 3 A
Session: 9 T, 7 A
Howard: 19 T, 13 A
Beason: 4 T
Bradley: PD, 8 T, 5 A
Tulloch: S, 2 PD, FR, 28 T, 4 A
Barnett: 2 INT, TD, 3 PD, FF, 24 T, 18 A
Lawson: 3 PD, 5 T, 4 A
Sims: T, 2 A
Harris: 2 S, INT, TD, 2 PD, 22 T, 9 A
Poppinga: PD, 16 T, A
Woodley: 3 S, INT, 2 PD, 12 T, 7 A
Maybin: S, FF, T, A
Timmons: 3 PD, 21 T, 9 A
Diggs: T, 4 A
Spears: n/a
Adibi: n/a
Brown: n/a
Greenway: PD, 27 T, 6 A
Edds: T, A
Polamalu: S, 6 PD, FR, TD, 23 T, 12 A

Chiefs:

Justin Houston: PD, 10 T, 2 A
Jovan Belcher: PD, 19 T, 11 A
Derrick Johnson: 4 PD, 23 T, 8 A
Tamba Hali: 4 S, 18 T, 11 A

It’s evident that there are a few playmakers on those lists. Of note: KC’s Derrick Johnson is tied with Polamalu, ahead of Spikes, and one behind Barnett in tackles. He’s also right in the mix in terms of assists. Hali, as you can see, leads all linebackers with sacks, and is right in the thick of things with tackles and assists. You of course recall that the Chiefs resigned both of these guys to new deals in the last year and-a-half. Houston is a rookie, and is producing better in a couple categories than many on the list, and he’s yet to start a game. Belcher tied or better than Houston in all of the categories, perhaps thanks to five starts. Also, a mere five of the 23 listed play for teams that currently have a better record than Kansas City.

Secondary:

We’re not going to examine the secondary, for the simple reason that you have Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr continuing to play mostly solid football at the cornerback position. They have occasional coverage breakdowns, but are still borderline top-tier. You enter the season with Eric Berry and Kendrick Lewis at safety, and of course no one counted on Berry being lost for the season in the first quarter of play of the 2011 campaign. If you want to argue for depth, though, they selected Jalil Brown in the fourth round, signed Travis Daniels, Javes Lewis, waived Javes Lewis, Mario Russell, Demond Washington, Quinten Lawrence (later added to practice squad), released Jackie Bates, resigned Jon McGraw, signed Sabby Pisictelli, signed and waived Reshard Langford and Ricky Price as well.

So like every other position, and much like every other team in the league, they gave the secondary noteworthy consideration in terms of bringing in guys, signing the decent ones, waiving those deemed inferior.

The point, though, is that the whole thing’s a process. This is year three of the Scott Pioli regime, and the secondary is a microcosm of what the Chiefs are doing at every position: retaining the best talent while continuing to develop depth. So even though the defensive-back portion of the depth chart looks solid, you draft a cornerback to continue to develop. Therefore, I fault the Chiefs for nothing in this area.

Special Teams:

There’s not much need to focus on this portion of the team, because for the most part, you’re set at place kicker and punter, and the Chiefs special-teams unit has performed fairly well.

Where that leaves us, then, is the assumption that the quarterback, running back, wide receiver, secondary, and special-teams portions of the team were set, and that if there was supposed to be more movement in free agency, then the traffic should have happened on either line or in the linebacking corps.

Your challenge, then, is to select players from those areas, the dollars that come with them, and puzzle-piece them into the Chiefs salary cap. The tricks will be to know which guaranteed dollars go into this season, which go into upcoming seasons, and how the future-seasons dollars will impact contracts that are already on the Kansas City payroll for the next couple of years. Oh, and don't gorget signing-bonus money. You wanted your chance to play G.M., to have the checkbook for the season. Now do it.

In addition to meeting salary-cap restrictions, your argument has to include evidence that those you sign will mesh with the talent in place, and system fundamentals. I’ll wait for you to assemble your roster, to make some sense of these jumbled 10,000 things. Hit me up on Twitter when you’re done.
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Bye-Week Boredom

I hate bye week. I recognize the immense need for it, but boy does it suck. Speaking of suck, the Kansas City Chiefs have a bye this week, and while one could argue that they need it to heal and to work out a little something called "how to play American football," I'd almost rather see them take the field and get some more of that good old learning curve out of the way.

Over on KCChiefs.com, Bob Gretz has written a small number about what getting Brodie Croyle means for this team. Click here if you have a spare six seconds to read it, or just know that the headline "It's Brodie Now, or Start Over" and this line:

It all leads back to that saying of Marty Schottenheimer’s: a player’s greatest ability is his availability.

say it all.

Thank you, Bob Gretz, for your infinite spells of genius.

You know what I think about bye week? I think a team should have to earn it. That's right. These fucks get truckloads of money in salary and incentive, and they only work for four months out of the year. Sure, training camp, OTAs, meetings, whatever. You play for Jeff Fisher? You're 5-0? Take the day off. You lost 13 of your last 15 games? Bitch better be on time tomorrow, 'cause you ain't gettin' shit.

I'm sure Roger Goodell and his cronies could figure out a way to "flex" the schedules and make teams play when they thought they'd be off. Make it happen, dude. Make it happen.
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