The Sports Guru

Projected Record

11-5, 2nd Place AFC West

Projected Schedule W/L
Cincinnati (W)
@Denver (L)
San Francisco (W)
@Arizona (W)
@Pittsburgh (L)
San Diego (W)
Seattle (W)
@St. Louis (W)
@Miami (L)
Oakland (W)
Denver (W)
@Cleveland (W)
Baltimore (W)
@San Diego (L)
@Oakland (L)
Jacksonville (W)
The crying is over. After 5 years of trying to get the Kansas City Chiefs over the hump and back to the Super Bowl for the first time in forever, Dick Vermeil finally called it quits. Thus began a curious chain of events that lead to a trade with the New York Jets, a 4th round pick for Head Coach Herm Edwards. Edwards started his coaching career in the Chiefs organization and his relationship with Chiefs GM Carl Peterson goes back to college. Rumors of Edwards arrival in K.C. started even before the 2005 season finished. Edwards denied the rumors doazens of times, the last 2 days before he was standing on a podium at Arrowhead Stadium. Edwards left a team in shambles, and comes to a team that is trying to win with a core group of players on the wrong side of 30. If the Chiefs are going to win, Edwards needs to bring defense back to K.C. How quickly they pick up the scheme will determine if the Chiefs get back to the playoffs.

Team Strengths – Even without Vermeil or former Offensive Coordinator Al Saunders(Washington) the Chiefs are going to put up numbers. They have a Pro Bowl quarterback in Trent Green. Tony Gonzalez is still one of the best Tight Ends in the game. Oh, and 2005 was a coming out party for Larry Johnson, who finally got his chance when Priest Holmes was lost for the season in Week 8. Johnson went on to rush for 1750 yards, including two 200 yard games and seven 100 yard games the final 9 weeks of the season. The Offensive line, anchored by Pro Bowlers Willie Roaf and Will Shields, has been one of the best in the league for years. That took a hit right before training camp when Roaf announced his retirement. The Chiefs are holding out hope that he will change his mind, but if he doesn’t there are some question marks there. The defense still needs to improve, but with Ty Law joining Patrick Surtain in the backfield the pass defense should be vastly improved.

Team Weaknesses - The defense is still a weakness and how they improve under Herm Edwards will be the key to their season. DT Ryan Sims has been a bust and will need to play to his ability. Jared Allen was a pleasant surprise on the outside and the Chiefs think they have a stud in LB Derrick Johnson. The Chiefs further added to the front seven, drafting Tamba Hali a DE from Penn State, in the 1st Round to add to the pass rush. There are still holes and depth is a concern. With Law and Surtain the defense should be improved.

Best Case Scenario – Willie Roaf decides he wants to come back and the O-Line is as dominate as ever. Larry johnson is a Fantasy Football dream and should put up huge numbers in this offense. The Chiefs are aging a little bit and the window is starting to close on Green, Gonzalez and the DB’s. If the Chiefs can put it all together one more time they have the explosive talent to catch lightning in a bottle and make a run. The Chiefs need to get up on teams early and let their talented DB’s take over games.

Worst Case Scenario - If Roaf stays retired the Chiefs offense may struggle just a little bit. Kyle Turley was brought in after missing most of the past two seasons with back issues. He is playing at 280 pounds, about 20 pounds less than his playing weight, and his durability is a question. Sure Law and Surtain were dominate defenders in their prime, but both are well past that and are going to need the D-Line to get pressure on opposing QB’s to shorten the time they have to chase receivers. Ty Law led the league with 10 picks last season, but also led the league is pass interference penalties.

My Opinion - The Chiefs needed a change in leadership and got it in Edwards. He is a players coach who gets the respect of his team and gets them to play hard for him. The Chiefs are aging, but seem to be aging gracefully. larry Johnson is going to put up great numbers and Edwards is going to find ways to get the ball to Tony Gonzalez, who only had 2 TDs last season. The O-Line is going to be an issue, but LJ is too good to let it slow him down. I think they have one more double-digit win season in them, and with the schedule they have, this will be it. In a rough and tough AFC the Chiefs will be the 6 seed with an 11-5 record, before losing to the Patriots in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.