Q and A with Chiefs correspondent Ryan Jones

Ryan Jones, who is the Chiefs correspondent for the Fanball network, has answered some of your questions regarding the Kansas City Chiefs team and the direction they are going.

1. How is the loss of Tony Gonzalez affecting the offense?
Any offense is better off having a Hall of Fame tight end, but I don’t know that things would be all that much better with TG around.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved having him on the Chiefs but with the current state of the offensive line I don’t know that any one person outside of a dominant left tackle would elevate this Kansas City offense right now.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
2. Will the team release Larry Johnson or use him after the suspension? If I were calling the shots he wouldn’t have ever been suspended.  I would have cut him the day he used a slur towards the Kansas City media.  But right now your guess is as mine in regards to LJ.  There has been talk of everything from letting him rejoin the team as a starter to keeping him on the roster but deactivating him for every game. Todd Haley and Scott Pioli don’t want to cut LJ and send a message to the rest of the team that you can receive your “Get Out Of KC” card simply by acting up.  A lot will be determined by the way he reacts when he rejoins the team after this week’s game with the Jaguars.

3. What’s the biggest offseason need for the team, either by trade or draft? Offensive line, offensive line and then offensive line.  Seriously though, besides the obvious needs on the line, it’s clear that safety is position they are going to have to address.  Jarrad Page has probably played his last game with Kansas City now that he’s been put on IR, Mike Brown is on his last legs and Jon McGraw is best served as a backup/special teamer.  If they stay on track and end up with another top 5 pick, look for the Chiefs to take either Eric Berry or Taylor Mays.

4. Do you think Todd Haley will finish out the year as coach?Short of him body slamming Larry Johnson or challenging Jason Whitlock to a steel cage match, Todd Haley is not going anywhere no matter how many games they end up winning this year.  Haley is Pioli’s guy and is going to wait until he provides his young coach with talent before even thinking about making a switch.  No one knows if Haley can coach, but he’s going to get at least three years to prove it one way or another.

5. Was it a good choice in picking up Cassel or was it not worth the cost? I was happy — and surprised — when the Chiefs made the play for Cassel in the offseason, especially considering how hard it is to find a franchise quarterback.  Now right now we don’t know if he’ll be that for Kansas City yet, but I look at the people that tried to and succeeded in trading for Cassel.  The two people hottest for Cassel were Pioli and Denver’s Josh McDaniels, both guys that know him best.  It might sound silly but I would be more worried about the exact same trade and contract if it were Carl Peterson calling the shots. Just like with Haley, we’re not going to know for sure what Cassel is until the Chiefs have better talent on the roster.  It’s just too hard to get a read on a quarterback when he spends most of his time running for his life.

Game Prediction and who is the MVP of the game? Both teams are struggling right now and it’s never a good sign when a coach starts taking away decision making from the starting quarterback, but I just can’t in good faith take the Chiefs this week.  I hope Kansas City used the bye week to get their offense together, but they looked so bad two weeks ago against San Diego that they could probably use 5 or 6 straight byes to fix all of their problems.  With no true free safety and an over the hill strong safety in the defensive backfield for the Chiefs, look for MJD to break long runs anytime he gets near the second level.

Jaguars – 28
Chiefs – 17

Jones-Drew is easily the player of the game with a chance at 250 yards on the ground if Jacksonville gives him more than the 8 carries he got last year against the Titans.

Tags: Chiefs, Football, Jacksonville, Jaguars, Kansas, MoJo, NFL