Signing a Derrick Johnson would put us right back into a Cushing-DeMeco type situation after this year when Cushing is back with the team and on the field.

No it doesn't. The other ILB for the Texans is Bradie James. Cushing-Johnson would not be a problem. The problem with Cushing-DeMeco was that DeMeco was a pure MLB and didn't adjust to being a 3-4 ILB.

I agree 100%. You can have 2 great 34 ILBs and maybe even pay two (the 49ers do). But when one of those guys is simply not a 34 LB (inside or outside), you are in a Demeco/Cushing situation.

I would have no problem with a deal for Derrick Johnson. I know he is a 3 down LB and an upgrade I'd pay for at this point.

But we saw Rudd in the preseason and I like Dobbins more (I actually like Dobbins more than James). Rudd as the 3rd ILB is fine, but I am not even convinced he is a real step up from Alexander.

And maybe Sharpton can't be counted on in a regular situation because of health, but this is not a regular situation. I'd rather have a few games of Sharpton if he is temporarily healthy, than someone off the scrap heap.

So basically, unless a guy like Johnson falls in our lap I think we are going forward with what we have, and probably more of Nolan/Demps/Keo/McCain/Harris?, or even Reed as a standing LB in Dime situations.

The biggest problem with Demeco was his contract. Same with Winston. Both were solid starters, good teammates and even team leaders (more Demeco here than Winston). If they had been on the books at $1 mill each, I have no doubt both would still be here. While Demeco is a better fit in a 4-3 than a 3-4, he was not such a liability that this was why he was shipped off. I don't think anybody thinks we upgraded with Brady James. It's just that Brady James cost about 1/8 of what Demeco was going to cost.

Good point, Joshua. Ryans wasn't giving us the production that matched his salary. Not sure that James is either but he's not costing as much.

Yeah, DeMeco signed the big contract after the 2009 season when he was a Pro Bowler and an every-down player. Last season, though, he was no longer part of the nickel defense and Sharpton had cut in on his snaps early in the year. With his cap number he just wasn't the same value, especially for a team squeezing to get under the cap, so they opted to try to get by with the significantly cheaper James/Sharpton combination.

Any word on whether this son of a bitch dirty punk thug Matt Slauson will be punished for his transgressions by the NFL?

The NFL wasn't going to do anything since he plays defense, and Cushing is the only tough guy we have who might have done something on the field. So Slauson gets to take a cheap shot and face no repercussions of any kind.

If after a few games we can't fill the hole that Cushing left, I like the idea of trading a pick for LB help before the Week 8 deadline. How much cap room do we have?

He was hit with a staggering $10,000 fine. That'll teach him.

I think the $10K fine was the NFL's way of saying "it was a blatant cheap shot that deserved to be fined but it was technically legal because it was done near the line of scrimmage and Cushing was not engaged with another player". You can argue (as some on boards have) whether that was technically a hit from behind but it's obvious that Cushing could not have seen it coming.

FWIW, Steve McKinney was on 1560 the other morning and was asked about the hit and he basically said that he didn't see anything wrong with it and it was something he has done countless times. While it sucks for Cushing, it's legal, most OL are coached to do it, and that's just football.

Probably doesn't help that we're about the last team that can complain about cut blocking either.

Ya, I think the worst thing was that Cushings foot was planted right when the hit began..... just really bad timing...

Only one non-OLB in Wade's defense remains on the field in nickel situations and therefor only one of them is an "every-down" player which means having a lot invested/big contract in both DJ & Cushing wouldn't be feasible (cap wise) just as it wasn't with both DeMeco & Cushing on the roster. If it was "money was no object", we would certainly still have DeMeco along with Cushing, but as a part-time player, Demeco was a luxury we just couldn't afford while James isn't that expensive as a part-timer.

But DJ's salary averages $3M/yr over the remaining years which isn't that bad plus we might want to let Cushing's knee heal next year by not demanding he be on the field so much. Anyway, I don't think the Chiefs do this deal unless they are really ready to pull the plug on this year and start trading away assets. They're starting Brady Quinn for Matt Cassel this week but I don't think that's a sign they are giving up yet.

Plus I've seen nothing that says Wade's system prevents a 2nd ILB from being on the field in passing downs. It is just a matter of who is the best guy to defend the pass in obvious passing situations. Logically it is your 4 best pass rushers, your best 6 DBs, and a MLB who can cover/zone a bit. But not always. This year Cushing has been less in coverage and actually blitzes a fair amount or spies and then rushes when he determines the spy is not needed.

That is why on passing downs I actually think we could actually get away with mixing in a standing Brooks Reed in the middle the rest of the year. He is definitely not a MLB, but if 5 are coming, why not. To avoid tendencies he can still occasionally drop into zone blitz coverage (as can Barwin a tiny bit), so you could still bring a DB for confusion's sake. But if it comes down to Brady James/Dobbins/Ruud not covering a RB/TE or Brooks Reed being an obvious 5th pass rusher, I'd go with Reed.

I think that's an especially interesting idea re: Reed with the pass-happy Packers in town this weekend. They're miserable at running the ball, and teams are having a field day getting to Aaron Rodgers this season.

I got to see a couple of the Chiefs games last year and Johnson was outstanding, actually I thought he was the best ILB in the AFC last year (yes, that includes Cushing). But if we could get him at a discount, for modest money that wouldn't be DeMeco ballpark money then perhaps a deal would be feasible if the Chiefs were interested ? BTW, DJ very soon will be 30 so he's 2 years older than DeMeco - another reason not to invest too much in him.

We don't have enough cap room to absorb $3m do we?

After the restructuring was done on Schaub, who knows? There probably isn't cap room but there always seems to be a way to make this stuff work. The Patriots never seem to have trouble bringing in a veteran when they need one.