The Scott Pioli Plan: Five Steps to Success

Hindsight is truly 20/20. Hindsight is what Scott Pioli has. He knows what he is doing. Inside the Chiefs War Room, there is a dry erase board that has five simple rules that will guide Pioli this offseason. Five rules that hindsight has taught Pioli.

1. Give up picks if player value is more than the value of the pick. The first deal that comes down this offseason is just that. Cassel and Vrabel for a second-round pick. There is no player that you could have drafted in this year's draft, or any draft, that could even come close to that value.

The quarterback of the future and an instant leader on defense and in the locker room. My gut tells me this deal went down because of Pioli's connections to the Patriots. Thank you very much.

There could be more deals like this coming. If the value is greater than the value of the pick. I believe that he would give up the third pick if the deal was right.

2. Fill holes with veteran free agents. The Chiefs will not sign any big names in free agency in the near future. Instead, they will get veterans that are on the downhill side of their career to help now and to groom the young players at their position.

This will work better once the team establish themselves as a consistent winner. Veterans will want to come to Kansas City

3. Lose any baggage. Trade disgruntled veterans for draft picks. This is one he might not use alot. Once you establish your team, there are not many players who will want to leave.

However, in this case, Pioli knew that he would have to deal with some of this. He will use the same philosophy. Does the value of the pick outweigh the player? I love Tony Gonzalez and Brian Waters, but if the value that another team offers is higher than what Pioli believes that player is worth, then he will make the trade.

Any of the players that have spoken out could be traded. I don't know that any will be traded.

4.Never sign a running back to an extension. Use them, abuse them, replace them. Two teams have showed us the blue print on this. The Patriots and the Broncos. I could run for 1000 yards in Denver. Maybe. 

They do not spend much money on running backs. They replace them with youth. So that means they are focusing on O-line rather than running back. If you have a strong O-line, it makes your RB and your QB studs.

5. Always draft the best available player. Again it is perspective. Pioli and Todd Haley will have possibly the best draft team in the league. They can evaluate talent. It is proven. If Crabtree is available and he is on the top of their board, then they take him.

If it is someone else, than they take them. When you see this most will be in the fifth round and later. The analysts said, "They drafted Tom Brady, who is Tom Brady?" We all know how that worked out.

This is a tried and true method of becoming a contender. Hindsight is the best way to look at a situation. Scott Pioli has that hindsight and I believe this is the start of a beautiful relationship.