The Kansas City Chiefs Are The "New" Thing

The offseason is winding down and training camps will be starting in early August, so now is a good time to start asking yourself “Who is the best?” and “Who has a the best chance to play in the ultimate game, the Super Bowl?”  Over the next couple weeks, I will be writing articles that break down each and every team in the NFL.  What’s the good? What’s the bad? What’s the ugly? The breakdowns will also include record at the end of the season, place in the division, and who you should take from this team in your fantasy draft.

This first set of articles will focus on teams in the AFC West starting with the chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a disastrous 2-14 season which resulted in the firing of Head Coach Herm Edwards.  The team had problems before the season started with Larry Johnson and contract issues and problems continued through the season, especially with defense.

The Good: The Chiefs hired Todd Haley to be Head Coach and Scott Pioli to be General Manager.  Haley is coming from last year’s success story in the Arizona Cardinals and its high octane offense. Many believe Kurt Warner’s career was resurrected because of last season.  Then, Pioli comes from the New England Patriots franchise which he built with players like Tom Brady and most of the New England offensive line.

From a player stand point, the Chiefs were able to acquire Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel for only a 2nd round draft pick. Cassel will hopefully turn into a franchise quarterback and Vrabel will bring some experience and leadership to young defense. Also, the Chiefs brought in Zach Thomas and Monty Beisel for leadership and depth at the linebacker position. These additions plus the Chiefs’ 3rd overall pick in Tyson Jackson will improve a defense that couldn’t stop the run or pass last season. Offensively, Dwayne Bowe could post huge numbers now that he is the number one target for Matt Cassel and Jamaal Charles could emerge as the speed back the Chiefs have been missing.

The Bad: The Chiefs have a new Head Coach, a new quarterback, a new defense (switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4) and the team lost its number target in future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez who was traded to Atlanta for a 2nd rounder in 2010. This is a huge void that cannot be filled easily and it will hurt Cassel’s production by not having a 6’5 body to throw to.

The Ugly: the Chiefs play the NFC East which many consider to be the toughest division in football, and they play the AFC North which holds two top 5 defenses in Pittsburgh and Baltimore and holds two teams in Cincinnati and Cleveland that could surprise people with their offenses.

Fantasy: Dwayne Bowe is a solid wide receiver worthy of a third or fourth round pick, especially since he will be Cassel’s only good target. Matt Cassel is a #2 quarterback at best with only Bowe as a good target and a running back core that will see a lot of 8 in the box. A sleeper is wide receiver Mark Bradley who will be the #2 option for Cassel and will see a lot of one-on-one with Bowe and the running game drawing most of the attention.

2009 Record: 4-12

4^th place