Kansas City Chiefs Report: Where Does KC Stand After 5 Games?

Well, the Chiefs have made it past their two toughest games of the year, having back-to-back contests with Indianapolis and Houston on the road.

It would have been nice if they could have gotten a win from one of them, but then again, nobody figured they would at the start of the season.

I guess we have seen the best of Matt Cassel. We know by now he's no "franchise" quarterback, but I believe he is a guy you can win with. It was nice to see him step into his throws a bit more because he is really having problems firing into tight spaces. Ironically, Brodie Croyle has no problem in that area.

Do you remember when the season started that Thomas Jones was signed to be KC's "short yardage" RB? I guess someone changed their minds. Jamaal Charles should be starting considering he has the highest league YPC average over the last two years. All in all, they are averaging almost 5.0 per carry which is amazing, considering teams they play are trying to stop their running game

So what's the deal? Are they afraid of wearing Charles down? C'mon, there is no reason he can't have 20 rushing attempts per game. If we were discussing Dexter McCluster, that would be a whole different story

Does Kansas City really need to carry two fullbacks this year? I like them both, but put one on IR and go out and sign a veteran wide receiver. Please!

Speaking of wide receivers, where are they? I consider McCluster a half WR. By year's end he'll have as many runs from scrimmage as he will catches. That leaves the Chiefs with 3.5 WRs this year. With Chris' Chambers injury, even Terrance Copper started last week. Considering that both Todd Haley and Charlie Weis have histories of throwing the football, it's a bit perplexing.

Tony Moeaki? Can you say Tony Gonzalez? Okay, not quite. Haley has gotten the most out of him after having a reputation of not playing in college unless he's 100 percent.

Why is it that Dwayne Bowe makes great catches and drops easy ones? Why is it that Chambers made big plays last year when he was fighting for a new contract and has been invisible ever since? Injuries? Maybe. For now I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Well, the offensive line is really playing well which is the big story this year. Barry Richardson still has some problems with smaller edge rushers but rarely sees them playing what is usually the strong side. Casey Wiegmann and Ryan Lilja have been outstanding and have been great pickups.

God, I hope Branden Albert holds up. No one else can play the left side. Still, holding Dwight Freeney sackless says a lot, and with a bad arm it speaks volumes.

So Alex Magee was traded yesterday? No great loss, but you really have to wonder what Scott Pioli was thinking taking both Tyson Jackson and Magee as the first two picks in 2009. Was he thinking at all? Maybe that's why the Chiefs fired their entire scouting department two days later.

If they could have only passed on Jackson and grabbed Brian Orakpo—could you imagine having Tamba Hali and Orakpo as your primary pass rushers? Now that would be a pass rush. Veteran Sean Smith has outplayed Jackson already. He may not get his job back

The secondary has been playing a lot of "bend don't break" football and seems scared of giving up the big play. It worked well against the Colts but didn't last week. If anyone from that group even had one big play in that second half, they would have won.What great timing that would have been if it was a guy named Berry.

Brandon Flowers is playing at a Pro Bowl level, and Brandon Carr has proven he actually is capable of moving laterally as well as in a straight line. Javier Arenas has held his own in the nickel, but he needs to make more of an impact on his returns to justify his second-round status.Thank god for McGraw.The last thing any team would want is 2 rookies starting at safety. Any Quarterback would be licking their chops. You need those safeties to be assignment sound

What a revelation Jovan Belcher has been this year. Belcher played over 300 snaps at linebacker last year and did not miss even one tackle. He is undersized and at times can be run over but unlike Corey Mays he doesn't let go. Corey Mays missed 16 last year which was the most in the entire NFL. What this organization saw in Mays I'll never know.

Derrick Johnson is also tackling much better, but too many are still after gains. This is the best Johnson has looked since his rookie season and his ability to drop into coverage really helps the secondary. He is also playing for a contract.

Romeo Crennel has done a hell of a job with this defense considering they have the same guys they had last year. The conversion of Belcher, only two years removed from playing defensive end on a Division I-AA team, makes him their biggest steal.

So what do I expect? If they beat Denver twice, they win the division. If they don't, who knows? It's hard to believe that San Diego is that bad, but teams that look great on paper don't necessarily win divisions. Let's keep our fingers crossed.