Brandon Flowers: New Contract Makes Chiefs AFC West Force for Years to Come

Andrew Siciliano is reporting on his Twitter page that the Kansas City Chiefs and corner back Brandon Flowers have agreed to a five-year, $50 million contract.

This is a good sign for the Chiefs, as is the August contract extension that they reached with linebacker Tamba Hali. Those two players alone won't make the Chiefs Super Bowl winners, but when you think about the two of them on the same field as safety Eric Berry long-term, it makes the Chiefs defense look pretty impressive.

Now, Berry is out for the remainder of the 2011 season, but he can come back strong. When he does, the Chiefs defense will be one of the stronger units in the league.

Offensively, Kansas City should be fine. I don't want to be too bold after what we saw last week against Buffalo, but they have the pieces in place for a strong offense. Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston are a formidable receiver duo. Jamaal Charles is a genuine home-run threat out of the backfield, and Matt Cassel is a fine option at quarterback. No, he's not on the elite level, but he's proven over time that he's not a liability.

But the defense is what makes the Chiefs a force.

Sharing a division with Philip Rivers means that you had better be able to defend the pass. Without Flowers, that would be tough for Kansas City to do. Don't get me wrong, they're not going to shut Rivers down with Flowers, but the chances are far greater that he will at least be contained.

This was a necessary signing for the Chiefs. Forget about what happened last week. Actually, with Berry's injury, this may be a rough year in Kansas City.

But the Chiefs have the right pieces in place to fill the holes that need to be filled this offseason. While they did win the division in 2010, the Chiefs haven't been a consistently good team for a while.

Right now, the pieces are in place to make that happen. The Chiefs and Flowers made a smart move in locking him up long-term. I am not saying that the Chiefs will win a Super Bowl with Flowers locked up. But if they are going to win the franchise's second Super Bowl, they just made a nice step towards letting that happen.