Hey Kansas City, Don't Put the Wagon Before the Horse

The Chiefs acquired a young, yet experienced and skilled quarterback and a veteran
linebacker; that's really great news. There are talks of having an AFC West champion and playoff-caliber team all over Kansas City, between the media and fans.

I really hate to be the one to snap Kansas City Chiefs' fans back into reality, after the big Matt Cassel trade, but there are still a lot of issues that the team needs to address.

First of all, the Chiefs' need to address an atrocious defense that only accumulated 10 sacks last season, gave up 54 points to the Bills, and allowed over 400 total yards in offense to the Panthers.

If there are any positives to Kansas City's defense, it would be in their secondary.

They had two rookies, Brandon Carr and Brandon Flowers, who proved themselves after making the difficult move from college to the pros by becoming reliable corner backs.

Both Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page held their own as well, staying consistent throughout the season.

Moving past the secondary, there's not much more to feel good about.

Glenn Dorsey was not terrible, but you could tell that he was having a hard time adjusting to the NFL. He may have gotten all of the kinks worked out, in order to be successful in the new 3-4 defense.

Last year, the linebacking core lacked the most of any of the team components throughout the season. Adding Vrabel will help improve that somewhat, but it's hard to say, if his on-field performance will match the leadership that he provides to younger players.

Drafting Biletnikoff winner Aaron Curry will be important in improving the linebackers, but it's not guaranteed that the Chiefs will go in that direction.

On the other side of the ball, the most vital position—quarterback—has finally been resolved; it's now known who will fill that position, after going through the rotation last season.

However, I want Cassel to prove that he is really a skilled quarterback and not just a product of his environment.

He will not have the offensive line that he had in New England—Wes Welker and Randy Moss will not coming with him to Kansas City.

The offensive line is pretty shaky, other than Pro Bowler Brian Waters, who is even having a problem with the new management and head coach. We have to make sure Waters is happy.

I'm sure Brandon Albert will become a good lineman in this league, but we will still need more strength in the line, if we want any production from the offense.

I also believe that the Chiefs need another talented wide receiver in the lineup, to free up Dwayne Bowe. I know Haley can't expect to find a wide receiver squad like he had in Arizona, but adding another big-time wide out will do wonders for the entire offense.

Until this happens, don't expect huge numbers out of Tony Gonzalez, Bowe, and Cassel.

Since Larry Johnson began his decline, there has been a big hole at running back—one that Kansas City has not had to worry about for several years.

Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith are not that bad, but we will, in no way, have the performances that we saw out of Priest Holmes and Johnson in the past.

Maybe, one of these running backs may step up and become a great starting back, but I'm not sold on either, so far.

Among personnel problems with the players, there are things that may be difficult for the team adjust to. The Chiefs have a new GM, Scott Pioli who does things a lot different than Carl Peterson has done in the past that may throw players off. 

Todd Haley was brought in, and any time that you have a new head coach is rough; let alone a guy with a stern, strict, and aggressive personality like Haley.

The defense is also making the move from a 4-3 to a 3-4, which the addition of Vrabel could help, but players may still have issues getting used to the new system.

I do not know how these issues may be resolved, but they definitely need to be taken care of, before we can even flirt with the idea of the playoffs.

There is still a lot of cap room to work with to get free agents, a draft to acquire some needs, and who knows, maybe Pioli has some more good trades up his sleeves.

As a Chiefs' fan though, I will stay optimistic and hope that this team will be highly successful next season.

There has been a lot of improvement, so far in this offseason. Hopefully, we will not be as bad as we were during the past two seasons, although that's not saying much.

Time will be the true judge with the team, and we should not jump the gun on saying how bad or good the Chiefs will be in 2009.