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Another year of 32 in 31. Sports News on Tap takes the month of August to preview the National Football League. We spend every day of the month looking at a new team and how they will fare in 2013.
Kansas City Chiefs are a fascinating team to look at in the last decade. They have four season where they were over .500 including three playoff appearances plus one 13-3 season. But they also have three seasons where they did not win more than four games then another three seasons where they were just a below average team. Basically, the Chiefs are all over the place when it comes to their team
Given their unpredictable nature, I do not think it is fair to assume the Chiefs will be bad this season. Andy Reid is the new sheriff in town and he will implement a new system for the team to get behind. They have a new quarterback in Alex Smith as well. Both of these men are looking for redemption this season and could get it.
OFFENSE
With Reid, there is sometimes a worry about how he will handle running backs. People refer to how he mishandled LeSean McCoy at certain points of his young career yet they forget about how well he handle Brian Westbrook making him a threat all over the field. Jamaal Charles is already getting the Westbrook comparison and even if he is a little less bulky, it is an accurate take. Charles could have his best season of the year becoming a go-to player for Smith as a safety value and someone whom can put the team directly on his back.Dwayne Bowe is another player happy to see the new regime as his numbers took a nosedive as he only had 800 yards after having back-to-back years of over 1,100 yards. Bowe did not really have anyone throwing him the ball in 2012 so maybe it is impressive he still had 800 yards. Smith is not Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers, but he is more than competent to get Bowe the damn ball as Keyshawn would say and make him a playmaker again. He is definitely a player to watch.
People do not believe Smith can be the quarterback of this team. They think he was a pawn in Jim Harbaugh's elaborate system but let me drop sort of a #HotTake here....Donovan McNabb had some elements of a system quarterback under Reid. I am not saying McNabb was a system quarterback rather he excelled only under Reid in certain situations. Without question, McNabb was the most comfortable in Reid's system. Smith will probably need to pass more, but I feel he will be fine this year. He is a quarterback coach and has been able to fix other quarterbacks before although I think Smith needs less fixing than people think he does.
DEFENSE
Even though the Chiefs lost 14 games, they did not have a porous defense. They definitely have some true talent with Tamba Hali, Eric Berry, Justin Houston and Derrick Johnson were all Pro Bowlers last season. The rushing defense was a bit of concern being in the bottom half of the league, but they excelled at stopping the pass being the 12th best in the National Football League. Additionally, their numbers are a little skewed given this defensive unit was on the field more so than other squads in the league.
The Chiefs made themselves better in stopping the pass this offseason by bringing Sean Smith and Dunta Robinson into the fold given them an even more loaded secondary featuring Berry and Brandon Flowers. Look for Kansas City to not allow many big 300+ yard games this season. For now, it looks like Smith will be the starter over Robinson, but putting Dunta in the nickel with the way he hits, might not be the worst idea.
Kansas City hopes Dontari Poe swearing off barbecue foods will help him be successful this season. Poe lost 20 pounds on the no BBQ diet and he will be anchoring a heavily criticized defensive line. It is put up or shut up time for former third overall pick Tyson Jackson and the addition of Mike DeVito from the New York Jets should help in a big way.
SPECIAL TEAMS
They have a pretty solid unit with Ryan Succop and Dustin Colquitt. Both have been with the team for some time now, and provide consistency for the team. Dexter McCluster returning kicks and punts is always a good thing.
KEY ADDITIONS
QB Alex Smith, WR Donnie Avery, DE Mike DeVito, TE Anthony Fassano, LB Akeem Jordon, CB Dunta Robinson, OG/OT Geoff Schwartz, CB Sean Smith, LB Frank Zombo - The Chiefs added a great deal this offseason. Maybe just maybe, Fasano can the completely homeless man's version of Tony Gonzalez. Okay I'm kidding, no way that happens.
KEY SUBTRACTIONS
OT Eric Winston, OG Ryan Lilja, DE Ropati Pitoitua, QB Brady Quinn, WR Steve Breaston, DE Glenn Dorsey, S Abram Elam
CHIEFS DRAFT PICKS
OT Eric Fisher, TE Travis Kelche, RB Knile Davis, LB Nico Johnson, CB Sanders Cummings, C Eric Kush, FB Braden Wilson, LB Mike Catapano - Loved this draft in April and I think there is a lot of talent here. Nico Johnson is the one to keep an eye on.
GAME TO WATCH
Thursday September 19th, at Philadelphia 7:25 pm: Andy Reid returns to Philadelphia and I am sure many people will make a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be. Another couple games to watch are home games against Denver and Indianapolis come December, could have playoff implications.
WIN TOTAL
9-11 - The Chiefs are making the playoffs this season. I am a big fan in redemption stories and I think the Chiefs and Charlie Tritschler are getting it this year. Why did I include myself? Well I picked the Chiefs to the playoffs last season so I need to redeem myself as well.
Charlie.
