The transformation of the Kansas City Chiefs by Andy Reid is now complete

On Sunday, the Chiefs released linebacker Justin Houston. Wednesday – a few minutes after the start of the new league year at 3 pm Arrowhead Time – The Chiefs Released Security Eric Berry.

And just like that, head coach Andy Reid has completed his transformation of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Houston and Berry were the last players of the 2012 Chiefs team to finish the season 2-14, tied with the worst record in franchise history and arguably the worst team ever staged. by the Chiefs.

To say that, we make exceptions for the ageless bettor Dustin Colquitt – simply because he is a kicker and that kickers always get exceptions – as well as defensive tackle Allen Bailey, who is a free agent and is unlikely to come back in 2019. (Bailey is visiting the Patriots of New England Thursday).

And we make another exception for offensive lineman Jeff Allen, who left for the Houston Texans on the loose in 2016, and then came back last season when injuries swept through the Chiefs offensive line. It is also unlikely that Allen plays for the Chiefs in 2019.

When I went back to the 2012 starting lineup, I thought I would see a lot of bad players there. But what I noticed was that there was a lot of well the players on it.

It also seems to be what Andy Reid and John Dorsey have noticed.

However, when they were taken over in 2013, the changes made were brutal. Only 24 of the 63 players in the 2012 lineup returned the following season – the lowest percentage of any season since the beginning of the Carl Peterson era in 1989 – including only 14 out of 22 players, which also represents the lowest percentage since 1989.

In itself, this was not particularly surprising. It's not really interesting when a new diet cleans the house, right? However, two changes concerning the 2013 list have been highlighted.

One was what happened on the return end of the list. Only 10 of the 41 reserve players from 2012 came back the following year, which was by far the lowest since 1989.

The other was the surgical precision with which these cuts were made, which played an important role in one of the most remarkable turnarounds in the history of the NFL. While training (and placing a strong player at the most important position on the field) made a lot of difference when the Chiefs went from 2-14 to 11-5 in a single season, it is unlikely that it happened if the Chiefs kept the false players.

Scott Pioli and Todd Haley promised, when they took over the Chiefs' team that finished 2-14 in 2008, the right 53 on the list of leaders. But it turned out that only Dorsey and Reid actually knew How to do this.

Dorsey and Reid recruited 28 veterans in 2013 – six of which started this season – which was unquestionably the highest number since 1989. But there was one important difference: they keep I do it.

Seventeen veteran players joined the squad in 2014 and only seven entered in 2015. Since then, the Chiefs have returned to the average, bringing 11, 12 and 13 veterans to the team from 2016 to 2018. In the 30 years since 1989, the average is 12.3.

In 2013, 47% of the composition of the leaders consisted of players who had started their careers elsewhere. This percentage increased to 51% in 2014, but by 2018 it had dropped to 35%. To give you a frame of reference, it's a lower percentage than every 20 seasons except Carl Peterson led the team; Peterson actually had seven consecutive seasons – 1993 to 1999 – with a percentage of 45% or more.

None of this should surprise you. Enter a sports bar in Kansas City on an NFL Sunday and ask a random person to watch the Chiefs game. They will probably tell you that Peterson was too dependent on veteran players.

And as I said last Friday, the leaders under Andy Reid have built a list that looks a lot like the New England Patriots – a mainly built on local talent.

But there is one aspect in the way chefs built their list that went unnoticed by most fans. In 2018, the Chiefs' initial training had an average of 3.3 years of experience in the NFL. In the past 30 years, only two leaders have been close to this experience: in 2008, they averaged 3.1 years. In 2012, they averaged 3.5.

Both teams finished 2-14. The Chiefs of 2018 ended up being at a Super Bowl play.

When Brett Veach became chief executive of the Chiefs in 2018, he had an advantage that few new CEOs have: already talented – and Veach himself has played an important role in this evolution, as Dorey's subordinate since 2013. Thus, in his first year of operation, he did not need to make in-depth changes to the list to improve a team lacking talent – something that the three general leaders who preceded it had to do.

But now, the Chiefs' fans – and the entire NFL – are talking about the "complete defensive reconstruction" that will take place in Kansas City. Even though, just a week ago, I was advocating exactly what the leaders had been doing since Sunday, saying that releasing Houston, negotiating deals with Ford, and getting rid of Berry was exactly the kind of thing Bill Belichick could take it – when Veach really took it. I was shocked to wonder if the young GM had lost his mind.

I will understand if you do not believe that I – the eternal optimist of the PA staff – was in shock. But ask Pete Sweeney. I was depressed when we finished our work for the day very late Thursday night and I was irascible when I arrived on Wednesday morning.

(Editor's note: It was.)

But now I calmed down, recognizing that Veach had a very different problem to solve than any previous general manager. He must find the right balance of talent between offensive and defense, while also fix a longstanding problem that existed before the arrival of Dorsey and that only makes matters worse: properly manage the salary cap.

So, although this week's changes were painful, they were necessary. Sooner or later, he was going to have to tear off the Band-Aid – and now, Veach did it. Such a move is not free.

Given that three of the players who took the road since Sunday started in 2018, the changes could result in a decline in defensive production in the coming season. Chiefs' supporters who regularly declare the Chiefs had the second-worst NFL defense last season will make fun of it, saying the defense could not perhaps s & # 39; worse.

But they are wrong. They base their conviction on the total number of authorized yards, which is far from being the most reasonable measure of defensive performance.

So make no mistake: the Chiefs' defense could to get worse in 2019. But there is definitely good news: even if it is, there is every reason to believe that the whole team is now – finally – on the right track.