When Scott Pioli became general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009, he noticed something missing right away: Speed.
"We were the slowest team I'd been part of," Pioli said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "Not just on offense, not just on defense, but even on special teams. There's always a trickle-down effect with that: If you're constantly moving slower than the other team, there's going to be a problem."
Pioli made former NCAA track star Jamaal Charles his top running back and drafted burner Dexter McCluster as a kickoff returner/wide receiver and the Chiefs improved from 2-14 to 10-6 in two years.
Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland seems to have come around to Pioli's way of thinking.
"Speed, in general, on both sides of the football, is very important to me," Ireland said in Indianapolis. "We have to get better team speed overall, so that's something we're going to be looking for."
Size and strength are priorities in the Bill Parcells draft model Ireland and his scouts have followed for the past three years; speed seems to have been somewhere down the list. As a result, the three drafts Ireland has overseen have been geared to overpower opponents but not outrun them.
Toss into that equation the fact speedy returner Kory Sheets tore his Achilles in training camp last year, seven of the eight 2010 draft picks were on the defensive side of the ball, running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams have lost a step and receiver Ted Ginn Jr. was traded away for a fifth-round pick and you're left with a team with a serious need for speed.
But before anyone labels the Ginn deal a mistake, listen to NFL Network analyst Michael Lombardi.
"Ted Ginn is a returner, not a receiver," Lombardi said. "Brandon Marshall is a yards-after-the-catch receiver, and they need someone to help him separate the defense."
