Keeler: Let's not give Pioli TOO much credit for the Chiefs' stunning turnaround
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Before we get all mushy, before we race over en masse and give Scott Pioli a bear hug, before we beg for forgiveness, before we roll out the revisionist history, some facts:
Of the 32 players the Kansas City Chiefs drafted from 2009-12, Pioli's picks, only 14 -- 43.8 percent -- are still on the active roster. And only five of the 17 guys selected in 2009 and 2011 -- less than a third -- remain with the club.
Of the 53 players on the roster that went positively medieval on the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, 29 of them -- 54.7 percent, more than half -- are imports of the Andy Reid-John Dorsey power bloc.
Pore over the position groups with the largest turnover from September 2012 to now, and the previous regime's roster gaffes, the cause of that 2-14 dumpster fire, become even clearer. Half the wideouts are new. Six of the nine linebackers. Seven of the 10 defensive backs. And, most notably, all three quarterbacks.
The Chiefs as you knew and dreaded them had a comically inept passing game; tended to get shredded by the better opposition signal-callers (and Ryan Fitzpatrick, for reasons that confound logic); and didn't get much from the punt-return or kick-return units. Checks out, doesn't it?
It's been said a thousand times by a thousand talking heads, but it still bears repeating: The roster of 2012 was nowhere near as wretched as its record. Six Pro Bowlers were testament to that.
Of course, a half-dozen Pro Bowlers doesn't mean diddly poo if you're rolling with the wrong quarterback, the wrong head coach, the wrong staff, the wrong philosophy, the wrong mojo, and picking fights with the wrong enemies.
That bears repeating, too.
Still, let's give credit where it's due: While Pioli, the much-reviled Chiefs general manager of old, whiffed on his favorite mantra of finding the "Right 53," the man did find the Right 5.
OK, maybe the Right 6.
Reid, Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles stole the headlines Sunday, but the shining lights of the 2011 and 2012 draft classes were the ones that stole the show at EverBank Field.
Outside linebacker Justin Houston, a third-rounder from 2011, recorded three sacks and evoked the happy ghosts of MartyBall, when the Kansas City defense was badder than Leroy Brown. Defensive tackle Dontari Poe, last year's first-round selection, was a holy terror up the middle, racking up five solo stops, a pass breakup and 1.5 sacks.
On Charles' 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that pushed the lead to 20-2, big tackle Donald Stephenson -- a third-rounder from the Class of 2012 -- appeared to seal off not just one, but two Jaguars defenders while clearing a path to paydirt for the Pro Bowl running back.
And wideout Junior Hemingway, a seventh-rounder in 2012, got the rout started with a sweet leaping grab in the back of the end zone with 1:35 left in the first quarter.
Junior Hemingway, kids. That. Just. Happened.
"I think the more guys you can utilize, the more pressure it puts on a defense," Reid said Monday afternoon. "If you have to cover everybody, you can't favor one guy.
"And that's always been part of this offense: Move it around and give everybody an opportunity. You want to make sure, and John has done a nice job making sure, that the players have that flexibility within the offense to make plays."
When youth can freaking ball, youth must be served. And when the No. 1 argument at the water cooler on Monday is no longer who most deserves a pink slip but who most deserves the game ball, brother, it's a beautiful problem to have.
You can follow Sean Keeler on Twitter @seankeeler or email him at seanmkeeler@gmail.com
