Kansas City Chiefs and Todd Haley Appear Headed for a Long 2011 Season

If you were left wondering what just happened following the Chiefs crushing 41-7 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, then you were not alone.

Many people around the country have been predicting the Chiefs would have problems this season, but not like this, not like this. 

The defending AFC West champs appeared to be anything but in Week 1 as the sea of red quickly turned into a half-empty Arrowhead Stadium by halftime. 

The preseason left Kansas City fans with an uneasy feeling after the team looked unimpressive while losing all four contests.

But that was just the preseason, right?

Apparently not, the concern is now real.

The Chiefs decided to do next-to-nothing during the offseason, and it showed on Sunday. We knew there was limited depth in the trenches, and that showed against the Bills.

Kansas City just isn't talented or deep enough on their offensive and defensive lines to compete on a consistent basis this year. And then there is the secondary, a perceived strength on this team.

Once Eric Berry went down, the Chiefs were in serious trouble; Sabby Piscitelli has no business on an NFL field, and that was particularly noticeable against the Bills passing attack.  

Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com ranked Piscitelli as the second-worst free agent on the market before the offseason spending began with some pretty strong words about the Chiefs safety, "His unique mix of blown tackles, dreadful instincts, and inflated ego really make him the worst player to see regular time in the NFL over the past several years."

Once the Chiefs signed Piscitelli, Barnwell then listed Kansas City amongst his offseason losers and said, "Kansas City, for whatever reason, then added safety Sabby Piscitelli, who might be the worst player in football. If Piscitelli just ends up as a special teamer, it's a bad move. If he sees even a single defensive snap, well, the Chiefs should reconsider this whole Haley/Pioli thing."

Now we know why he said those things and why the Chiefs are staring a very long season dead in the face after just one game.

Yes, it was just one game, and one game does not make or break a season. But this was about as must-win as Week 1 gets with an extremely difficult schedule ahead for the Chiefs.

Plenty of people criticized the Chiefs for playing a soft schedule last season; well they beat the Bills last season. There is no excuse for losing to the Bills, and there is certainly no excuse for losing by 34 points at home to start the season against them.

The Chiefs failed to upgrade at positions that needed upgrading this offseason like right tackle, nose tackle, middle linebacker and backup safety, and all of those positions suffered on Sunday.

Kansas City had the most cap room remaining in the league for much of the previous few weeks, only recently being surpassed by the Bucs (who also lost on Sunday), and instead of spending that money wisely, they decided to keep it in their wallet.

This is still a young and talented team that had no business losing to the Bills by 34 points at home, but there are now plenty of questions that need to be answered.

New offensive coordinator Bill Muir had a brutal debut calling plays for the Chiefs offense, nine of the Chiefs 18 rushing attempts were draws out of Shotgun.

The majority of those draws went absolutely nowhere, but the Chiefs were just setting the Bills up right?

It wasn't until the third quarter that Cassel actually faked the draw and went back to pass, only to be intercepted on a nice play by Bills corner Drayton Florence.

Dwayne Bowe was a non-factor in the game, and it appeared as though he wasn't even a part of the Chiefs game plan on offense despite having 5'10" Leodis McKelvin on him for much of the game.

The Chiefs failed to exploit any mismatches they may have had and instead decided to showcase, wait for it, tight end Leonard Pope.

The Chiefs tried numerous times to get the ball to Pope, yet another player who should not see more than a backup role on an NFL field. The Chiefs lack of a quality tight end now that Tony Moeaki is out for the season is yet another example of Scott Pioli and Co. failing to field a competitive football team this season.

Jamaal Charles can't carry the offense by himself (but he does need more than eight carries) this season, and the same goes for Tamba Hali on defense. Guys like Brandon Flowers and Derrick Johnson had poor 2011 debuts when they were supposed to make a potential leap towards the Pro Bowl this year.

Todd Haley has been scrutinized plenty for his handling of the preseason and deservedly so, but he now needs to right his wrong and turn this team around, or he could find himself out of a job. Pioli is supposed to be a genius when it comes to finding the "right 53," but so far, he has done little to show that he is capable of doing so in KC.

The Chiefs lucked into Eric Berry last season, and Dexter McCluster has shown flashes of promise, but Javier Arenas is too small and slow to be an effective corner in this league, and Tyson Jackson continues to be unimpressive.

If Kansas City can't turn things around on the road in Detroit next week, then they will be well on their way to a potentially difficult decision come draft day in 2012.

It's only been one game, and typically, it would be unwise to panic, but this is not your typical NFL season.

The Chiefs schedule is going to get remarkably tougher as the season wears on, and they may now be without Eric Berry for an extended period of time.

It's officially time to worry in Kansas City.

By this time next season, we could be hearing, "your new starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, Andrew Luck."