I had a dream in January 2009 that the Kansas City Chiefs won the 2010-11 Super Bowl. It wasn’t clear who we beat, but the fact of the matter is we won a Championship. I won’t be foolish enough to say that we are ready to win the big one, however I do believe that we will make the playoffs as a Wild Card in 2010. Aside from my dream, let me tell you why we will make the playoffs next season.
First, we have a weak schedule. We play the Buffalo Bills, the Oakland Raiders twice, the St. Louis Rams, the Seattle Seahawks, the Cleveland Browns, the Tennessee Titans, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. We only play three playoff teams from the 2009 season, which are the Indianapolis Colts, the San Diego Chargers, and the Arizona Cardinals. With this schedule we have all the opportunity in the world to make the playoffs in 2010.
Second, we have all the right personnel in the front office, and coaching staff. Scott Pioli can get some free agents to come and play for us, which is something that we have not been able to do with Carl Peterson. Maybe, we could acquire Terrell Owens without wasting a draft pick on a wide receiver. In addition to this, we have Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel who bring that championship attitude that our young ball club desperately needs. More importantly, Charlie Weis brings his collegiate background to help us scout all of the new talent coming out of college this year and the next.
Over the past few years our scouting has “sucked” bad. Most of our draft picks have been busts, at least so far. Players like Glenn Dorsey, who had a mere 54 tackles and one sack, or Tyson Jackson, who had a measly 38 tackles, or Derrick Johnson who only had 37 tackles this year. Brandon Carr got burnt all season, while Jared Page was M-I-A.
We need players to step up like “Mr. Irrelevant” Ryan Succop, and Wallace Gilberry who had 4.5 sacks (who knew), or Jamaal Charles who became the first player in NFL history to record a 1,000 yard season with under 200 carries, or Tamba Hali who had 62 tackles and 8.5 sacks, and I can’t forget Chris Chambers who played half a season and still had an average of 16.9 yards per catch with his 36 receptions that ranked 3rd in team annals.
Moving forward, over the last eight games of the season the Chiefs were 3-5 and three of those losses were by seven points or less, which means we could have been 6-2 during the second half of the season. Our offense improved during this span, and so did our defense. These are promising efforts on behalf of the lowly Chiefs.
Although, we should pursue NFL free agents that have a proven record in this league, I also look forward to the 2010 draft.
I believe that we should draft Rolando McClain from Alabama, who is the first linebacker from the University of Alabama since Derrick Thomas to win the Butkus Award. With him we can start a playoff run just like we did when we drafted “The Great One.” We are a very young team with plenty of talent, and now we have the brand named coaches to expound on the talent that we have in Kansas City. Playoffs here we come!
I hope this linebacker you’re talking about is a 2nd or 3rd round pick. No way should we use our first round on a linebacker. I’m thinking more along the lines of Okung from Oklahoma State or Suh from Nebraska if they’re still there.
Comment by Gonzo is my daddy! — January 17, 2010 @ 10:51 am
i dont know if our draft choices were busts or just not working with our scheme of things look at pollard,benny sapp fox biesell wilson just to state a few that are being used successfully with in other systems but im really glad to see someone else has seen that carr is horrable as a starting corner i feel he should be a nicole cb we need beeter scouting and better staff to
Comment by rick — January 18, 2010 @ 8:25 am
I wouldnt say Dorsey or Jackson are busts, atleast not yet.They play the Dline..Anyone will tell you it takes a couple years to figure things out..Derrick Johnson wasnt used that much this year..Mays and Williams were used. I bet after his performance against the Broncos hes used a hell of alot more in 2010.
Kansas City is moving in the right direction. Even though KC should get Okung (if hes available) i think if Suh is there we get him. That will solidify our Defensive line. There are really good Olineman the Chiefs can get in the 2nd round if they dont use their 1st pick on one.
As for FA I think all of us Chiefs fan should pray for getting Brandon Marshall. I know people think hes a bad seed but I thinkk he will actually grow up just so he can burn the Broncos. Marshall/Bowe/Chambers and Charles will give Cassel all the weapons he needs.
Should be a interesting offseason but with Crennel and Weis here I expect a nice FA and Draft.
Comment by Dan B from Ohio — January 19, 2010 @ 8:46 am
If the chiefs are going to get into the playoffs they have to upgrade their talent. Benching Johnson for most of the season was a mistake and I fully expect him to do fairly well for some other team when his contract is up (which i think is this year). D. Williamms is super fast but makes up for that by his incredibly slow play recognition skills. C. Mays is awsome at blitzing the A-Gap and can occasionally break up a pass, but thats about it. Ron Edwards might be the worst nose tackle I’ve ever seen; either that or he was coached to run like a 10 year old fat kid. Strong saftey this year was essentially filled with whoever could make the least mistakes, as was FS when Page went out. Our problem is thus the middle of the football field. On film, Dorsey actually looked like a good player on a bad team. I’d say his problem was not so much lack of skills, but lack of a nose tackle pushing the pocket. Take notice of how well Hali progressed playing side by side with Dorsey. Jackson will be better in his 2nd & 3rd season. He’s big & strong – don’t measure a 3-4 DE by sacks. Lastly, I think Brandon Flowers played at a Pro Bowl level. He had a decent share of picks, and was one of the top in the league at breaking up passes. Factor in that with one of the worst past rushes and you got a guy whose breaking up several of the longest lasting plays all year long. I’m not saying Flowers is elite, but even Revis would strugle w/o his great pash rush. The raiders cb, Nhadi (spelling?) might be the only guy in the league who can cover at an elite level all day long.
Comment by Skyler — February 10, 2010 @ 8:27 pm