The Chiefs: What Would Have Been If Carl and Herman Had Stayed?

Ever wonder what the Chiefs would be like right now if Carl Peterson and Herman Edwards stayed on another year? Well, you are not alone. The obvious answer is that none of us have any way of knowing.

But we can always speculate. Speculation and attempted rationalization makes up the core substance and fabric in all fans.

Now where do we start? I guess the best way to proceed is by questions, the proverbial "what ifs".

#1- Free Agency

Well, lets eliminate almost all moves made in this new Scott Pioli era. No Matt Cassel, Mike Vrabel, Zach Thomas, Bobby Engram, Mike Brown, or any other "old timers". The lone exception may have been Terrance Copper. Peterson would have never thought to offer a trade for Cassel unless New England made it known he was available. What would have been interesting would be if Peterson traded Gonzalez to New England for Cassel.

Gonzalez goes to a true contender in the Patriots where he might get that ring he desires and KC gets their quarterback of the future. This makes even more sense when you consider that the Chiefs would have have to wait until 2010 to get that second-rounder and Peterson frankly was not a patient man.

Since I already let the cat out of the bag, yes, Gonzalez would be gone. Herm would beg him to stay. Carl may have too. Todd Haley didn't which is surprising. Forget what you read about a Tight End not being part of this Offense. Gonzalez is not your everyday Tight End. In fact he averaged more yards per catch last year than Anquan Boldin did. Bowe and Gonzalez would have been Haley's Boldin and Fitzgerald. Thanks to Pioli, it just didn't quite work out that way.

So how active would they have been? A lot more active than they were in 2008. Obviously Herm Edwards would set his sights on players under 28-years-old. Copper could have been one. There would have been others. Both Peterson and Edwards took a lot of heat from the fans for not being active in free agency. They would not have been big spenders, but I guess they would have solidified at least two positions on the team. Just enough to make the fans happy.

As for the quarterback position, if not Cassel they would have signed a veteran better than Damon Huard, but not to start. Tyler Thigpen would be their starter backed up by Croyle. I think Herm would have believed that it would be only fair for Thigpen to have another year to build on last year and Chan Gailey would be instrumental in being the conductor. Obviously, they would keep the spread and thus would look for different type recievers, ones in the Deon Branch mold, Wideouts that can get open quick underneath.

On Defense, Guenther is gone. He's replaced by whoever (Donald Duck) but they remain with that same 4-3. That leads us to the draft. Are you still with me?

#2- The Draft

Well start out with Aaron Curry who comes in and plays at middle linebacker, replacing the pathetic Pat Thomas. They come back in Round Two and draft Everitte Brown, who becomes their Right Defensive End and primary Pass Rusher.

Of course most didn't expect Brown to be there in Round Two so my guess is KC would have traded up late into the first round to get him and probably sacrificing a fourth-rounder in the process. Not much to pick from after that. They would have avoided drafting any Cornerbacks and instead concentrated on the Offensive Line. Wide Receiver position would probably come from Free Agency as well as getting another Tight End.

#3- Larry Johnson

Yes, they would have taken him to court and Peterson would have tried harder to trade him, but with no interest from any other teams, do you think King Carl would let him go free without compensation. Well for those who know his propensity towards getting quality in return, I doubt that.

Other points? Well fans would expect better results on the field. They would expect to see Herm's youth movement start to pay dividends and if improvement led to victories the fans would have even buyed into the concept

If Herm had failed, he would take a public whipping like no coach has ever seen (At least not in Kansas City).

But as I have already stated, we'll never really know.