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Last Year
After a 13-3 record with a playoff appearance in 2003, the Kansas City Chiefs tanked faster than a FOX pilot in 2004. Their 3-8 start was as surprising as the original cancellation of Family Guy and a large part of their failures stemmed from a porous defense that not even the Tick or the Dark Angel could have saved. A witty retort from Titus or Greg the Bunny would just pour salt on the wounds of a team that knows it fell way short of expectations. Now it's time to find out if 2003 was just a one-hit wonder.
What We Learned From Last Year
Chris Griffin is not the sharpest knife in the Family Guy drawer, but even he could tell you that permitting 27 points a game on defense will not result in success.
It all started with a distraught pass defense that ranked dead last in the NFL. Allowing 262.7 passing yards per game was as ludicrous as Peter Griffin swallowing nickels to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.
Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham employed his aggressive style of defense and his philosophy of constant pressure manufactured the eighth-highest sack total (41).
That alone was an impressive feat without any projected bosses in the front seven. Rookie Jared Allen ascended through the ranks very quickly and led the team with nine sacks. While he was a force off the end, tackle Ryan Sims also ripened somewhat in his third season and at times, attracted double-teams in the center.
The problem was that all the blitzing emptied out the secondary and the defensive backs were not capable of man-to-man coverage. They lacked talent almost as badly as Glenn Quagmire lacks etiquette around females.
Interceptions were few and far between and the defensive backs only accounted for 11 picked passes.
The run defense improved 18 rankings last year, but that was more of a microcosm of opponents crafting game plans to attack through the air instead of the ground.
On offense, the Chiefs were still the familiar juggernaut most fans recognized. For starters, they led the league in offensive plays (1,089), yards-per-game (418.4), first downs-per-game (24.9), and rushing touchdowns (31). These statistics are very good, but with a 7-9 record, it also demonstrates how appalling the defense was.
The running game was once again fluent whether it was Priest Holmes, Derrick Blaylock, or Larry Johnson carrying the ball. That can be attested to an offensive line that works with better chemistry than Quahog News 5 anchors Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons.
As far as running attacks, offensive lines and tight ends go, it doesn't get any better than the personnel of the Chiefs.
The real upside-down face on the offense was the wide receiver position. Eddie Kennison broke the 1,000-yard benchmark last season, but he was only valuable as a deep threat. Aside from him, the Chiefs banked on veteran Johnnie Morton to play commensurate to his lofty contract, but he never materialized. Injuries to Marc Boerigter and Chris Horn also curved the depth.
The Chiefs are one of the best in the business when it comes to running the ball, but they find trouble when they fall behind and are forced to rely on the passing game. Tony Gonzalez required a lot of defensive attention, but aside from him, the other wideouts were easily blanketed with man-to-man coverage.
We've seen unbalanced teams with high-octane offenses achieve success in the past such as the Indianapolis Colts and the St. Louis Rams, but can the Chiefs follow their blueprint?
This Year
What separates the Chiefs from the latter two potent offenses is the passing game. The Colts and Rams can throw as well as the Chiefs can run, but if you were weighed down by an ineffective defense, it would be better to have an efficient air attack than a powerful running game.
After a busy offseason of addressing several deficiencies on the defensive side of the ball, the Chiefs are hoping not to be plagued by a horrible defense this coming season.
Quarterback pressure was not much of an issue last year, so the Chiefs concentrated on the second and third levels in free agency and the draft.
The linebacking corps will get a huge boost with the additions of Kendrell Bell and rookie Derrick Johnson. Bell will fit in perfectly in Kansas City with his explosive speed, especially since Cunningham loves to blitz linebackers. Johnson is also a tremendous athlete and similar to Bell, can cover a lot of ground. The Chiefs have not had linebackers of this caliber since Donnie Edwards departed after the 2001 seasons.
At cornerback, the Chiefs finally picked up a legitimate player who is capable of covering top-tier receivers and given Patrick Surtain's track record, he is clearly one of the NFL's best cornerbacks.
At safety, the signing of Sammy Knight adds yet another playmaker to what used to be a listless defense.
The benefit of all of these additions is that the Chiefs will have quality starters instead of B-squad players feigning that role. Dexter McCleon can be a very good nickel cornerback, but he is overmatched as a starter. Jerome Woods and Mike Maslowski will be a good special teams player and should be solid situational players (in case of injury to starters), but are not viable starters.
Eric Warfield will also benefit from Surtain's presence — when he returns from his four-game suspension — as he, too, will slide down the depth chart. Pitting Warfield against the other team's best receiver isn't ideal, but he is qualified to face most number twos.
The secondary and linebacking corps are vastly improved from last year and if the front four can maintain its pressure, the pass defense will deflate some of those gaudy statistics from a year ago.
If that's the case, look for more teams to test the Chiefs run defense.
Ryan Sims has slowly improved in his three seasons in the NFL and has flashed the potential that caught the franchise's eye at number six overall, but he needs to be more consistent. His starting partner at tackle, Lional Dalton, scratched the itch the Chiefs were looking for at defensive tackle, but he doesn't attract double-teams like Sims can. Jared Allen was a good pass-rusher on the end, but was vulnerable in run defense.
The other starting end, Eric Hicks, is the exact opposite. He's not a prolific pass-rusher, but he's good at jamming a running game. There is depth all-around on the line as John Browning, Junior Siavii, and Carlos Hall are all solid, but a dominant player needs to surface — the Chiefs are still hoping for that player to be Sims.
Cunningham is a smart defensive coach and will get the most of this squad.
On offense, virtually the same cast returns with some new faces at wide receiver.
Starting with the line, Willie Roaf, Will Shields, Casey Wiegmann, and Brian Waters are pretty much as good as it gets, but only Waters is under the age of 30.
Trent Green is an above average quarterback, but at times, gets that Jake Plummer fever where he'll throw an interception late in the game. His receivers haven't been very reliable outside of Tony Gonzalez, so for now, he can use that as an excuse.
Larry Johnson did take the diapers off last year, but this is still Priest Holmes' team as long as he remains healthy. He doesn't have the wear and tear that most running back do at his age (31) and he should be fresh this year since he played only half a season last year. Head coach Dick Vermeil prefers to use one feature back opposed to sharing the wealth.
The wide receivers have a new look this year Samie Parker expected to start alongside Kennison. The depth behind them contains a few projects, such as rookie Craphonso Thorpe, ex-CFL star Marc Boerigter, and Eagles loudmouth Freddie Mitchell. This group offers a lot of potential, but very little experience. If healthy, Boerigter has the tools to come off the map and be primetime a la Antonio Gates/Drew Bennett.
The side effect of having enough depth at wide receiver means that Dante Hall won't be on the field as much and will be back to his x-factor role. He was overused last year.
With an improved defense, the Chiefs won't fall behind their opponents right after the coin toss, but they still need to establish a reliable passing game for critical situations. If they can do that, they are definitely a Super Bowl contender. If not, they'll find themselves within arm's reach of the playoffs.
Over/Under: 8.5
Even though the San Diego Chargers will probably come down to earth a little bit this season, the AFC West is still stocked with playoff contenders. The Chiefs get a break in the schedule as they will play virtually all of their challenging games at home and all of their easy games are on the road. The play: NYJ, PHI, WAS, @MIA, OAK, @BUF, @HOU, NE, @DAL, @NYG, and CIN.
Fantasy Sleeper
Am I crazy for telling you that Priest Holmes is a sleeper? We both know that he is not a sleeper, but most cheat sheets have him ranked below LaDainian Tomlinson, Shaun Alexander, and Deuce McAllister, but there is no running back with greater upside than Holmes. L.T. and S.A. finished with 17 and 16 touchdowns, respectively, but Holmes had 14 in only eight games played. He also had the highest per-game rushing average (111.5). You might be scared off because of durability question marks, but as of right now, his health is fully restored, so don't hesitate to take him with your top pick.
Stay tuned as Dave Golokhov brings you previews for all 32 NFL teams! Sponsored by CyberSportsbook.com, a great casino for horse racing and sportsbook action.
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