NFL Kansas City

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez has impressive career stats: 820 catches, 9,882 yards, 66 touchdowns. And now, one saved life.

Gonzalez was having dinner in a restaurant in Huntington Beach, California, last week when a man named Ken Hunter started choking. Hunter tells the Associated Press what happened from there:

"Tony saved my life. There's no doubt,"...

"I tried to take a drink of water, but I couldn't swallow. Then I couldn't breathe. That's a terrible feeling. I couldn't breathe. Then I guess I started to panic."

Gonzalez jumped up, grabbed Hunter and performed the Heimlich maneuver. "After just a few seconds, the piece of meat popped out," Hunter said.

Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman and Fox TV announcer Bill Maas gave two lengthy interviews to the Kansas City Star in which he discussed the drug and legal problems that ended his broadcasting career, and the most interesting revelation is that concussions suffered playing football have left him permanently brain damaged:

The frontal lobe of his brain is damaged. Doctors say it's a direct result of his NFL career and has caused him depression, minor speech problems and extreme loss of short-term memory.

It's one of the conditions that drove him online, buying hydrocodone and other painkillers from pharmacies he knew probably weren't legitimate. He says his drug use began when his broadcasting career went downhill; a source says it was the other way around.

Maas doesn't come across like a guy who wants to blame the NFL for his personal problems, but he does sound like a guy who wants to get back into the game he loves.

Every time the Kansas City Chiefs announce that they're retiring a jersey number -- as they did recently with former cornerback Emmitt Thomas -- it raises the same question: Why haven't they retired the number of Joe Delaney?

Twenty-five years ago, Delaney was a 24-year-old running back who had led the team in rushing in both of his pro seasons. But on June 29, 1983, he drowned while trying to rescue three boys who were stuck in a pond. His No. 37 jersey has not been worn since, but it also hasn't been retired.

Why not? The Kansas City Star explains:

"The criteria for retiring jerseys was established by Lamar Hunt," said Chiefs associate director of media relations Pete Moris. "And that's the criteria we use.

"Basically, if a Chiefs player gets into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the basis of that election was based on his career with the Chiefs, his number will be retired."

OK, but why not make an exception to Lamar Hunt's rule, just this once? The Chiefs have already taken No. 37 out of circulation. Why not make it official, and create a lasting tribute to Delaney's greatness, on and off the field?

Recently, a number of websites criticized a newly written Kansas Chief policy that would make "standing" a form of prohibited conduct at a football game. The Chiefs have amended their policy by changing it three times since more fans learned of the policy on the internet.

On Tuesday as illustrated in the NFL Experts Blog, the policy prohibited:

"Standing and/or obstructing the view of other fans."

Yesterday, the Chiefs clarified the rule stating that the policy prevented:

"Excessive standing and/or obstructing the view of other fans"

Today, as I prepared to write this story, I noticed that the Chiefs policy now prevents:

"Continuous standing and/or obstructing the view of other fans."

Congratulations fans and interwebs for making your voices heard. This morning, I spoke with someone from the Chiefs to ask about the clarification of their policy.

Kansas City Chiefs 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 1 (5): Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
Round 1 (15): Branden Albert, OG, Virginia
Round 2 (35): Brandon Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech
Round 3 (73): Jamaal Charles, RB, Texas
Round 3 (76): Brad Cottam, TE, Tennessee
Round 3 (82): DaJuan Morgan, S, North Carolina State
Round 4 (105): Will Franklin, WR, Missouri
Round 5 (140): Brandon Carr, CB, Grand Valley State
Round 6 (170): Barry Richardson, OT, Clemson
Round 6 (182): Kevin Robinson, WR, Utah State
Round 7 (210): Brian Johnston, DE, Gardner-Webb
Round 7 (239): Mike Merritt, TE, Central Florida

The Good: See all 12 picks above -- that's the good. Kansas City added value with every single selection they made, and addressed nearly every need they had. Glenn Dorsey was considered by some to be the number one player available, while Albert, Flowers, Cottam and Robinson (special teams) all add significant talent to positions in need. And what about the other nine players selected? They all have tremendous upside as well and each represented solid value at the position they were taken.

The Bad: Is there any? The Chiefs made 12 picks this past weekend and on paper, it looks like they made every single one of them count. If there's one knock on anyone, it's that Braden Albert will be a "work in progress." Still, that's hardly a negative for someone who figures to be a quality NFL starter for a very long time. Beyond that, the only other negative that presents itself was the failure to draft another quarterback.

The Grade: A. In comparison to the other 31 teams, Kansas City left Radio City Music Hall on top. They had a fantastic draft and appear to have secured a bright future. Although they may not make it to the playoffs this coming season, they've certainly given their fans something to be excited about.

Click here to read other draft grades.

Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers was generally recognized as the best of the second-tier cornerbacks. There were the big four of Mike Jenkins, Leodis McKelvin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Aqib Talib, and then Flowers was supposed to be at the top of the next tier.

So it's a little surprising that Flowers fell behind not only the big four, but also behind Antoine Cason, who went to the Chargers with the 27th pick. In any event, the Chiefs took Flowers with the 35th pick, and he's the third potential 2008 starter the Chiefs have added today. With Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert in the first round and now Flowers in the second, you have to like what you saw today if you're a Kansas City fan.

Previously on FanHouse:
Herm Edwards Wants the Chiefs to Have Every Pick in This Weekend's NFL Draft

The only question about Virginia's Branden Albert is whether he's a guard or a tackle in the NFL. At Virginia he played guard, where he was dominant, but NFL teams usually don't take guards this high in the draft, and that the Chiefs would trade up for him strongly indicates that he'll be a tackle in the NFL.

The above video was made by a fan hoping the Cowboys would take Albert, but that didn't happen, and it's actually surprising that he lasted until the 15th pick, which the Chiefs acquired in a trade with the Lions.

Previously on FanHouse:
FanHouse Mock Draft: Kansas City Chiefs Select OT Ryan Clady No. 5
Herm Edwards Wants the Chiefs to Have Every Pick in This Weekend's NFL Draft
Top-5 Picks Don't Go as Far as They Once Did
NFL Draft: Brian Brohm in the First Round?

Louisiana State defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey entered the 2007 college football season as the top pro prospect on most draft boards. Then he suffered a knee injury when an Auburn offensive lineman cheap-shotted him, and then questions surfaced about a stress fracture dating to 2006, and all of a sudden there was talk that Dorsey would drop.

But the fact is, the Kansas City Chiefs, who chose Dorsey fifth overall, just got a good football player, and a football player who will be healthy enough to go at full-speed right away. Last year there were all sorts of whispers about Adrian Peterson not being healthy enough to play. How did that work out for the Vikings?

Dorsey is mostly known as a run-stuffer, but he had seven sacks in 2007 and is a better pass rusher than he gets credit for. He's a complete player.

Previously on FanHouse:
FanHouse Mock Draft: Kansas City Chiefs Select OT Ryan Clady No. 5
Herm Edwards Wants the Chiefs to Have Every Pick in This Weekend's NFL Draft
Top-5 Picks Don't Go as Far as They Once Did
NFL Draft: Brian Brohm in the First Round?

Somewhere between the initial reports and the actual deal, the price for Jared Allen went up. Allen ended up costing the Vikings their first-round pick and both of their third-round picks. As Michael David Smith pointed out, that's a pretty pricey haul of picks, and that's before the Vikings also spent six years and $74 million on Allen's new contract.

MDS' opinion was that the Vikings would have been better off keeping the picks and building through the draft. But what exactly could the Vikings get with those picks they gave up? From what I found, the chance to acquire a Pro Bowl veteran, if you have the cap room, may be a safer bet than taking the shot with those picks in the draft.

To get an idea of what the Vikings could have drafted, I looked back at who were taken with the No. 17, No. 73 and No. 82 picks in each of the past eight drafts. What jumps out is that there are a whole lot more misses than hits, even with the first-round picks.

The Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs made it official Tuesday night, agreeing that defensive end Jared Allen will go to the Vikings in exchange for Minnesota's first-round pick (No. 17) and two third-round picks (73rd and 82nd).

But they did more than just that. The Vikings also signed Allen to one of the largest contracts in NFL history, a six-year, $74 million deal with $31 million in guarantees. And that's just too much salary cap space to tie up in one player.

Allen is a very good defensive end, and he's only 26 years old, and he'll make the Vikings' defense better for years to come. But he won't make the Vikings' defense so much better that he can justify taking up more than 5% of the salary cap every year.

These are the contracts that hurt teams' depth. The Vikings would be better off adding the 17th, 73rd and 82nd best players in this year's draft, and getting them for a combined cost of less than what they're paying Allen.