Todd Haley's Unorthodox Approach Could Work for the Kansas City Chiefs

Rhythm is one of the most under-appreciated abilities of winning football teams, yet every year we see a team "come out of nowhere" in the playoffs.

In 2008, it was the Arizona Cardinals nearly winning the Super Bowl after barely squeaking into the tournament at 9-7. In 2009, the fifth seeded Jets reached the AFC title game with a rookie quarterback in Mark Sanchez. The reigning Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers were a sixth seed wild card team with nearly 20 players on injured reserve, yet all it took was getting hot at the right time.

When asked about the state of the Kansas City Chiefs through two weeks of preseason practice, third-year head coach Todd Haley spoke frankly:

"I don't think we're out of the woods as far as where we are physically," said Haley. "The goal is to be ready for Sept. 11 - that’s all really that I’m focused on, and these other things will take care of themselves."

Considering how strange the 2011 offseason was, perhaps Haley is on to something. While most NFL teams are sticking with their familiar schedule, the Kansas City Chiefs are doing something entirely different. It wasn't until after their first preseason contest—a 25-0 blowout at the hands of Tampa Bay—that Haley actually had his players in full pads for an entire practice session.

Not long ago, Todd Haley focused an entire offseason on getting his players in peak physical shape. In his rookie season as head coach, the Chiefs lost a reported 340 pounds as a team. It has been that uncompromising approach to strength and conditioning that's not only kept injuries at a minimum, it's transformed a franchise in the gutter to one of the most promising young rosters in the NFL.

However, the momentum in Kansas City is now being used in a puzzling fashion.

Rather than dedicating the majority of the first three preseason matches to prepare their first and second team units—saving the final contest to round out the bottom of the roster—the Chiefs seem to be working on a steady graduation of intensity.

Haley sat a large number of key starters against Tampa and by the second half, anyone still watching had trouble recognizing the names and numbers on the field. By sticking with this formula, the starting group should see about three full quarters of work in the final preseason game instead of the customary three series.

This unorthodox approach seems to be aimed at weathering a late season five-game stretch against New England, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Chicago and the New York Jets that will almost assuredly make or break the Chiefs' 2011 campaign. If it pays off, Kansas City should be one of the most dangerous, battle tested teams in the playoffs.

Regardless of outcome, Haley is confident that his Chiefs are headed down the right path—albeit the less traveled one.

“I feel good about what we’re doing," Coach Haley said. "We have a plan for this week. We’re going to have another game Friday at Baltimore. But the plan is again going to revolve more about us than anything else right now.”