Where do you all get that he showed up “out of shape”? He passed the conditioning test.

I’ve never seen such an overblown offseason story in my life. Speaks has always had the body of an interior DL.

Also, sounds like you’re insinuating that his injury was due to him being out of shape, which is fucking retarded.
[Reply]

Speaks better lay off the twinkies.
[Reply]

To the Watchtower
[Reply]

It will be interesting to see who gets the preseason game reps, too many good players is not a bad thing especially if it ends up flipping them for a 5-7 round pick
[Reply]

He tore ligaments in his knee. That type of season-ender happens all the time. It’s a dumb reason to be down on a player unless it has happened repeatedly.

The overweight thing is silly, too. 1) players show up carrying extra weight frequently and it is worked off during training camp 2) we don’t know what the Chiefs asked him to do in that offseason. 3) Speaks has never been a guy who looks like a Greek statue

Writing off a guy who was a top 100 prospect after one season (in which he did flash while playing terribly out of position) is just weird.

Especially when he’s being written off so they can hang on to a guy who is pretty JAG-y.
[Reply]

3rd and long and the Chiefs line up Clark (1.58 sec 10 yard split, 7.08 sec 3 cone), Saunders (1.73 split, 7.57 cone), Jones (1.69 split, 7.44 cone), and Charlton (1.63 split, 7.17 cone) to rush the passer. That's some serious get off and lateral agility bringing the heat.
[Reply]

See, I don't think of this signing that way. It's a smart signing for multiple reasons, but one of them is that it's a cheap one-year deal. Taco is a bet hedger for our DE depth. He's part potential, part veteran, and also part expendable. We can easily cut him if any of the other guys on this team become desirable players to keep around. Again, last year Reid and Veach had no problems letting go of Carlos Hyde even though he was making a bit more than minimum and was probably a better guy to have in the backfield than either Darrell Williams or Darwin Thompson.

Taco might very well be a better player than the young guys currently, but if Spags doesn't see an actual use and a fit in the DL rotation, he'll tell Reid to go with Danna and Harris.

Also, this is a sidenote, but provided Speaks isn't a total piece of shit, I don't think he's any more at risk of being cut as a result of this signing. Veach talked about playing him all over the place when we drafted him, and his brief stint at 3-4 OLB in which he got restricted to one position by Bob Sutton shouldn't hold him to being a DE only. I really think they're going to try to use Speaks as an inside/outside guy, and with the roster size expansion, they now have an available slot to use him as their gadget DL.

People might call Speaks a DE since he'll probably play the majority of his time there, but if that's how you categorize him when predicting the Week 1 roster, don't be surprised to see us keeping 6 DEs (Clark, Okafor, Tanoh, Danna, Taco/Harris, Speaks)

EDIT: Or you can just read what duncan had posted like 5 posts earlier instead of reading my drivel
[Reply]

Honestly I’d bet on both of those things happening.
[Reply]

You know what, I completely spaced on the roster expansion. That helps Harris and Speaks, for sure. Not sure if it saves them.

Danna’s passrush tape I’ve seen is just not great. Harris’ isn’t either, but he’s young, coachable, and the right size. His upside is real.

Danna is undersized — and he seems to be maxed out. There’s just absolutely no chance he flexes in to DT for the NASCAR package. (Honestly I’m not even sure if he makes the field, but I’m bearish on him.)

I hope he shows out in camp and proves me wrong.
[Reply]

First of all, Harris played meaningful snaps and helped us win a Super Bowl. The other three were barely making an impact at Michigan, being benched by the Dolphins, or on IR. Respect where it’s due.

Harris played pretty much right away after we acquired him and was our 2nd best run defending DE immediately. Dude is tough at the point of attack.

Needs to develop a passrush, but he has started upside if he does.
[Reply]

Agreed.

For this team to become a dynasty, however, it’s going to need cheap young dudes to emerge. I just feel like the Danna pick backbenches a guy who’s been doing that.
[Reply]

I'd agree insofar as I'm not expecting Danna to play inside. They had him beefed up 20 pounds over what's probably his optimal weight at Michigan, and all it really did was slow him down. He needs to be closer to 260 than 280, as he purportedly was at the Shrine Game, when the Chiefs may have really focused in on him.
[Reply]

Seriously: WHY DID BOB SUTTON PLAY HIM AT OLB.

WHY.

I am not a Speaks fan, but that is ABSURD misuse.
[Reply]

This is all fair.
[Reply]

And why did a 3-4 team draft him? And the theory we knew we were going to the 4-3 is absurd.
[Reply]