I was always thankful in high school that our first semester report cards came out after the holidays. No kid wants to be confined to their room over Christmas break, and well I had more than a few report cards that got me in trouble. The flip side of that was returning back to school the second week of January and attempting to remember what had been taught to me well enough to get through final exams. The problem was that I had the capacity to be a straight A student, but none of the requisite drive. Like Matt Leinart, I was too busy chasing girls.

I’m going to do something a little different this year. Rather than just a flat out evaluation, I want to reevaluate my grades from last season to see how the team has progressed. I’ve done no prep work for this article (again with the chasing girls thing), so this is all straight from the hip. Here goes:

SPECIAL TEAMS
LONG SNAPPER (2009 Grade: D, Need for Upgrade: Minimal): I really felt this job should have been Derek Lokey’s, and after watching Anthony Toribio struggle through his limited playing time in place of the beleaguered Ron Edwards (more on that in a minute), I have to think Lokey’s versatility (remember, he’s also a halfway decent goal line fullback) would have made him more valuable on gameday than Thomas Gafford. Having said that, Gafford did an okay job. He still doesn’t tackle worth a damn, but he didn’t make any critical errors.

2010 Grade: C.
Need for Upgrade: Minimal.

PUNTER (2009 Grade: B, Need for Upgrade: Nonexistent): My feelings on Charlie Weis are pretty well known at this point, but I will credit him with this: Dustin Colquitt is no longer the second busiest punter in the NFL. This year he climbed all the way down to number six. He still gets more distance on his kicks than most punters, but his net yardage suffered considerably, down to an average of just 37.6 yards. Blame it on special teams coach Steve Hoffman, if you like, for not having taught his guys to cover a little better. Blame it on Jon McGraw for having slipped so much so quickly. Blame it on Herm Edwards for having run Dustin into the ground. Regardless of where you place the blame, however, realize that Colquitt’s leg may be slipping a bit. But hell, I still like the guy, even more than I liked Louie Aguiar. And I liked Louie Aguiar.

2010 Grade: B.
Need for Upgrade: Nonexistent.

KICKER (2009 Grade: A, Need for Upgrade: Nonexistent): Ryan Succop doesn’t quite have the leg I hoped he had. His fieldgoal accuracy is down. His kickoffs were pretty pedestrian this year too. Hopefully it’s a temporary setback.

2010 Grade: C.
Need for Upgrade: Minimal.

RETURNER (2009 Grade: D, Need for Upgrade: Moderate): Javier Arenas and Dexter McCluster opened the season with equally brilliant performances against the Chargers. I, like everyone else, thought it was a sign of great things to come. I, like everyone else, was wrong. The potential is still there, but as of yet it’s nothing more than potential. I think both are capable players, and potentially even game changers. They’re not there yet.

2010 Grade: C.
Need for Upgrade: Nonexistent.

DEFENSE
SAFETY (2009 Grade: D, Need for Upgrade: Critical): What a difference a year makes. Does anybody even remember Mike Brown? Kendrick Lewis and Eric Berry posted veteran-esque performances, one of which was worthy of a Pro Bowl nod. In any other season, Berry would have received serious consideration for Rookie Of The Year too, but he bore the misfortune of coming into the league along with Ndamukong Suh. My only gripe is that Jon McGraw is getting long in the tooth. His better days are behind him, and sometimes he’s a liability. Still, he always bears the advantage of being one of the smartest guys on the field, and I applaud any 31-year old safety willing to take reps at cornerback.

2010 Grade: A.
Need for Upgrade: Minimal.

CORNERBACK (2009 Grade: C, Need for Upgrade: Moderate): I still haven’t figured out Brandon Lite, but as the season progressed Carr looked more and more like Flowers’s twin, not his antithesis. Given from where he’s coming, that speaks volumes. Travis Daniels, on the other hand – I won’t mind if he’s not around next season. As with the return game, I think Javier Arenas has raw potential at corner, but depth is clearly minimal here, and Maurice Leggett will no longer be under contract.

2010 Grade: B.
Need for Upgrade: Moderate.

INSIDE LINEBACKER (2009 Grade: F, Need for Upgrade: Critical): Jovan Belcher is scrappy. Scrappy, in football terms, is slang for not big enough. Last season’s starters, Corey Mays and Demorrio Williams, saw little time on the field, and while Williams made an impact on coverage units, neither is really suited to contribute elsewhere. That leaves Derrick Johnson, who finally cashed in on that cache of potential. I still don’t trust that it wasn’t contract year elevated play we were seeing. Maybe next season he’ll make me a believer. In the meantime, Scott Pioli, find the guy some help. What this team desperately lacks is a Ray Lewis/Brian Urlacher-type dominant run defender.

2010 Grade: C.
Need for Upgrade: Critical.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (2009 Grade: C, Need for Upgrade: Critical): Last year I stated that the team needed another pass rushing threat opposite Tamba Hali. They still do. I would have liked to have had more opportunities to see Andy Studebaker try to fill the role, but maybe there’s a reason (other than the presence of Mike Vrabel) he’s not getting that chance. More critical than upgrading the position, however, is simply keeping the talent that’s already there. Hali should have been signed months ago. I can think of little worse for this defense than the prospect of losing the AFC’s top pass rusher. We’ve seen the results of that once. Please, not again.

2010 Grade: B.
Need for Upgrade: Critical.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE (2009 Grade: C, Need for Upgrade: Moderate): What’s the equivalent of a 400-carry season for a nose tackle? I don’t know, but Ron Edwards might. He has no support. Anthony Toribio is no better than the series of misses and has-beens Kansas City trotted out behind him last season. To Romeo Crennel’s credit, he at least had the decency to take Edwards off the field occasionally and run a two-lineman package, a courtesy never paid the big guy by Clancy Pendergast. Edwards is no longer under contract, and if I were him, I don’t think I’d come back to a team that won’t give me help. Besides, he belongs on the bench. Great backup or spot starter, but not an every down type of guy.

2010 Grade: D.
Need for Upgrade: Critical.

DEFENSIVE END (2009 Grade: C, Need for Upgrade: Critical): Glenn Dorsey delivered. Tyson Jackson did not. This is the way of the world for teams that insist on drafting LSU players season after season. Jackson was benched for big boy Shaun Smith, a failed nose tackle who spent the better part of his twenties bouncing around the lower half of the AFC North. Smith doubled on offense as a short yardage/goal line fullback and even garnered himself a single carry for a touchdown. Sadly, it is Jackson, not Smith or capable pass rusher Wallace Gilberry, who is more or less assured a roster spot next season.

2010 Grade: B.
Need for Upgrade: Moderate, provided Smith and Gilberry are back.

OFFENSE
OFFENSIVE LINE (2009 Grade: F, Need for Upgrade: Critical): Save one ugly game against Oakland, the line was one of the team’s better aspects. Casey Wiegmann and Ryan Lilja revitalized the interior, and Brian Waters had yet another solid season. Branden Albert and Barry Richardson, on the other hand, were inconsistent. Richardson at times was outright bad. His brief foray into the world of playing left tackle was unfortunate, to say the least. Waters’s even briefer foray into the world of playing left tackle, by contrast, was brilliant on many levels. I feel confident that even in Wiegmann’s and Waters’s eventual absence (I doubt we’ll see both next season, and it’s not out of the question that we’ll see neither), the interior will continue to thrive with replacements like Jon Asamoah and Daryl Harris. The tackle positions, on the other hand, need to be addressed. Somebody other than Ryan O’Callaghan needs to be around to push Richardson, and perhaps just to take his place altogether. I’d still re-sign Richardson (he too will be a free agent), but unlike Asamoah, I don’t think it’s wise to plan on him long term.

2010 Grade: B.
Need for Upgrade: Moderate.

TIGHT END (2009 Grade: C, Need for Upgrade: Minimal): Tony Moeaki had a better rookie season than the last Tony we saw around these parts. His one-handed touchdown catch against San Francisco was as good as anything I ever saw from the elder Tony. The elder Tony is a guaranteed first ballot Hall of Famer and probably the greatest tight end to ever play the game, but fans aren’t missing him too much anymore. Leonard Pope, on the other hand, had statistically his worst season to date. Here’s the dirty little secret about Pope though: he’s really good. He’s better than most teams’ number two. He’s also better than some teams’ number one. Jake O’Connell isn’t anything special, but I can’t foresee a world wherein he’d beat out a healthy Brad Cottam.

2010 Grade: A.
Need for Upgrade: Minimal, provided Leonard Pope is re-inked.

FULLBACK (2009 Grade: A, Need for Upgrade: Minimal): Does it seem like a lot of the team’s key players are all becoming free agents at the same time? Here’s two more to add to the list: Tim Castille and Mike Cox. Both are pretty damn good. I’d aim to re-sign at least one, preferably both.

2010 Grade: A.
Need for Upgrade: Minimal, again provided that the right guys are retained.

WIDE RECEIVER (2009 Grade: D, Need for Upgrade: Critical): Dwayne Bowe finally made a Pro Bowl. He finally bought in, developed some discipline, and made good on some of that God-given ability. One is not enough. Chris Chambers, Terrance Copper, and Quentin Lawrence are awful, and Verran Tucker and Dexter McCluster are unproven. My wish list is two players long: Larry Fitzgerald and/or Sidney Rice. No lesser a caliber player will suffice.

2010 Grade: D.
Need for Upgrade: Critical.

TAILBACK (2009 Grade: A, Need for Upgrade: Moderate): Last year’s A was awarded on a technicality: Larry Johnson was no longer an employee of the Kansas City Chiefs, which in and of itself warranted high marks. This season, we witnessed the odd couple. Jamaal Charles was brilliant. Thomas Jones was not. He was effective at times and worthless at others. Between the two of them, Jackie Battle didn’t see much field time, but when he did, he played his ass off. Thankfully Scott Pioli had the foresight to wrap up Charles for another five years, but Charles needs a better reinforcement than Jones.

2010 Grade: B.
Need for Upgrade: Moderate.

QUARTERBACK (2009 Grade: F, Need for Upgrade: Mandatory): I think my radar on Matt Cassel is broken. I want desperately to believe the guy that showed up to play St. Louis and Tennessee is the real Matt Cassel, but the law of averages dictate otherwise. He’s played more bad games than good. The choice at hand is whether to stick with a proven, yet proven unspectacular, commodity, or make a risky bet in free agency with someone like Seneca Wallace or Kerry Collins. With so many needs elsewhere, I just don’t see the team addressing the problem in the draft. In essence, there are no good options.

2010 Grade: D.
Need for Upgrade: Critical, but not likely to come to fruition.

Auf wiedersehen. I’m off to do what I do best. Or at least most.