Kansas City Chiefs: Todd Haley Is Ready to Prove the Doubters Wrong, Again

Remember the lack of confidence in the Kansas City Chiefs going into the 2010 season? It would have been considered a miracle if the Chiefs went on to pick up the same amount of wins they collected in the three years prior to the 2010 campaign.

The Chiefs did exactly that last year. They proved everyone wrong and went 10-6 and made a shocking postseason appearance.

However, the national media and fans outside of Kansas City were not impressed, even though they still felt the Chiefs would finish in the basement of the AFC West.

There is no hiding from the fact that the Chiefs succeeded because of their easy schedule in 2010. It showed when they faced a team with a winning record in the postseason and were blown out by Baltimore.

Although the Chiefs had an easy schedule, they were expected to lose many of the games that they won. No one expected the Chiefs to lead the league in rushing or see Matt Cassel have one of the best touchdown-to-interception ratios in the league.

The Chiefs still come off as an unproven team to many people, but if you think about it, the Chiefs did prove a lot last season, even with the schedule they had. A majority of the national media believed that even with Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel added to the coaching staff, this team will manage to come out victorious in only four or five games.

Going into Week 3 of the regular season, the 2-0 Kansas City Chiefs were set to host the 0-2 San Francisco 49ers. Apparently, the 49ers were set to disappoint the Chiefs. In the end, it was the Chiefs came out on top, 31-10 as San Francisco put up a garbage touchdown on the final play.

Kansas City went on to lose their next two games against more credible teams, however, they still exceeded expectations throughout the season and Todd Haley coached a Chiefs team that posted the biggest turnaround in franchise history.

As division champions, there is no question the Chiefs have more to prove. Everyone is entitled to have their own opinions and make predictions, but it seems like people have forgotten that even with a paltry schedule, the Chiefs won 10 games when they were projected to win half of that.

This season, the schedule gets tougher, as the Chiefs will play all four conference finalists. With a more demanding schedule, it will force the Chiefs to earn the AFC West, but that’s okay, because Haley welcomes the challenge.

The Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West with a record below .500 and were expected to lose to the New Orleans Saints in the wild card round of the playoffs. In the end, the Seahawks shocked Drew Brees and the defending Super Bowl champions. Anything can happen on any given day.

Who is to say that the Chiefs have no shot at repeating as division champions just because they have a more challenging schedule? Scott Pioli has done some work this offseason and has recruited some talented football players to Kansas City.

The Chiefs were underdogs in 2010 and are entering the 2011 preseason as underdogs once again. The national media, as well as some of the local press, feel they will be one of the playoff teams that will not return to the postseason.

I’m not promising the Chiefs will prove the doubters wrong for the second consecutive season, but I do feel they’ll be a more competitive team than many think.

We’ll find out how things unfold within the next next six months. That’s why they play the games.