Kansas City Chiefs Make a Statement by Signing Ashley Lelie

 This year's Kansas City Chiefs are a complex puzzle full of surprises.

Ever since the new Pioli/Haley Era, fans have been trying to get a grasp on the new identity of this team. Yes, we know that "winning" is always the ultimate goal, but with each change made in either the team's management or coaching staff, there is always anticipation and wonder that put fans in the position of not only being supportive, but speculative as well.

Case in Point, the Kansas City's wide receivers.

One year ago, we were thrust into the Herman Edwards' famous "youth movement". Signing a player over 28 was considered a sin, after all when there is youth, there is always hope, and it was this "hope" which kept fans optimistic (at least until the latter games of the season when Arrowhead was filled for the first time with empty seats).

Now a new era is here in Kansas City and very slowly we are starting to get a better feel for what this team's new identity thrives upon. 

The Chiefs are going after experience over youth.

When the Chiefs initially signed a few veterans such as Mike Vrabel and Bobby Engram, it seemed like a brilliant move to add leadership to a team in dire need of it. What we have found now is that "leadership" is not the only reason these signings were made.

Last year Herman Edwards had young wide receivers who, like most other positions, had no idea what they were doing on the field. The message from Edwards seemed to be "put them on the field, let them gain experience, and whatever happens happens."

What happened was a 2-14 record.

Will Franklin, Jeff Webb, and Devard Darling all had long rap sheets of guys who all came out of college with one interesting note on their collective resumes: "Lacks awareness on the field and may have problems learning the playbook." 

Add this "Sandlot Football" mentality of Edwards and you have a recipe for disaster.

Of course it wasn't truly "disaster" because after all, you have Tony Gonzalez, a quarterback's best friend. Combine the production of Gonzalez with the emergence of Dwayne Bowe and they didn't need the other guys. These two players and their starting running backs out of the backfield became options one, two, and three. Forget about option four because without a good offensive line, the opposing team's pass rush took care of that option themselves.

Well, now there is no more Gonzalez as option No. 1 and we know that our present No. 1 receiver has been a great wide receiver simply based on raw athletic ability alone.

So where does that lead us? A young quarterback signs a huge contract with a lot of pressure to live up to? A team of fans that are sick of seeing their team lose ?

Here is an answer, go after veterans.

Chief fans, we have truly come full circle.

Our new receivers: we have Bobby Engram, Amani Toomer, Mark Bradley, Terrance Copper, and the latest addition Ashley Lelie.

Lelie came out of college as the No. 1 wide receiver in the 2002 NFL Draft and boy were the evaluators wrong.

Yes, it's true this guy can run like the wind, a true "bomb threat" that excites all fans, but he has problems, many of which will not endear him to KC's coaching staff.

First of all, he believes football is not a contact sport. This guy not only doesn't want to be hit, he doesn't want to be touched. Every time there is contact he seems to come up injured. He won't go over the middle and he brings absolutely no special teams value. He also has very shaky hands.

I might also point out that Haley expects alot of his recievers. You need to block. You need to be physical. You need to run a full route tree and come back to help the QB when plays break down. Lelie is not known to have those qualities and thats a major issue

But he does have that speed and he does have experience. And let's not forget the most important element of all, he's a veteran of the league.

For the current Kansas City Chiefs, that might be all that matters.