Kansas City Chiefs: Discovering The Hidden Gems

Kansas City comes back, ready for a fight. It's overtime and Pittsburgh is driving the ball downfield to put the knife into the Chiefs chances of pulling off a huge upset.

It's third and two on the Chiefs 35-yard line. The Steelers call a "toss right" to speedster Mewelde Moore. Moore takes the pitch and flashes towards the sideline to reach the first down marker and extend this drive, yet little does Pittsburgh know, Kansas City has it's own speedster at linebacker.

Rookie Inside linebacker Jovan Belcher finds a gap, hits it hard, and crashes down on Moore, stuffing him for a three yard loss and breathing a sigh of relief back into Arrowhead Stadium.

Pittsburgh is forced to punt, and the Chiefs move the ball downfield to set up a Ryan Succop field goal and win 27-24.

This weekend is take two of the Chiefs 2010 preseason. After a so-so performance against Atlanta in the Georgia Dome, Kansas City heads back down south for a visit to a young, feisty Tampa Bay team.

As usual with preseason games, registering a win is not as important as finding young, intriguing talent to build upon and make an impact as the season progresses.

One of those players, once again is Jovan Belcher. An undrafted standout Inside linebacker from Maine, has plenty to prove. He's been shoved face first into a tag team competition with himself and Derrick Johnson going up against last year's starters Demorrio Williams and Corey Mays.

Belcher proved last year in part time duty that he can be a force to reckon with. He managed to rack up 48 tackles on both defense and special teams, and didn't leave a single tackle on the field. One of the few players in the league that didn't whiff on any tackles at all.

Belcher isn't the only young, key player to watch for as Kansas City looks to pick up their first win of the season against the Buccaneers.

Andy Studebaker, Tony Moeaki, Derek Lokey and Wallace Gilberry are all in need of a breakout game to prove that they have a purpose with this team.

Studebaker also showed up well in 2010 as he replaced Mike Vrabel in the Pittsburgh game and came up with two Interceptions, taking one nearly 100 yards back across the field in the same fashion as Pittsburgh's James Harrison did in the 2008 Superbowl against Todd Haley's Cardinals.

Rookie TE Tony Moeaki has been a playmaker throughout OTA's this off-season, and continued to show off his receiving skills during training camp. After missing last week's game against the Falcons due to a mild ankle injury, Moeaki will be looking to show off his skillset against an average Tampa Bay linebacker group.

Nose Tackle Derek Lokey from Texas has "showed up" well during training camp, making a few plays during the process. Lokey is in a somewhat open competition for the starting spot, only having 10-year veteran Ron Edwards to beat for the job.

If Lokey comes up with a few big run stops we could be looking at the new Nose of the Chiefs 3-4 defense, especially considering how badly Edwards' was gashed by Michael Turner last week.

Last but not least, 25-year-old defensive end Wallace Gilberry has proven time after time that he deserves playing time with the starters, including finishing second on the team in sacks last year with 4.5.

His only problem will be over coming the odds that he will have to take over 2008's No. 5 overall pick Glenn Dorsey, and that likely won't happen.

Gilberry will still be extremely important on third down situations, finding ways to disrupt the Quarterback with his pass rush ability.

Although, as I stated, winning this game isn't particularly important, head coach Todd Haley has said many times that winning is contagious. Just as much as losing is.

This is a team that needs to get on a role early in order to have success this season. Their first true test, against San Diego Week One will either be a wake-up call to Kansas City, or a major accomplishment.

The Chiefs haven't won a preseason game since 2008, and if any team needs motivation going into the season, it's this one.

Which Chiefs team will we see on Saturday night?

The one that drove an arrowhead spear through the hearts of Denver fans in Week 17 of last year, or the one that plays conservatively, runs on third and long, and finds ways to lose the game.

Either way, guys like Belcher, Studebaker and Moeaki are going to be important pieces moving forward. Terrific performances from these guys could call for a depth chart change, and a starting spot that will last the entire season.