Kansas City Chiefs
Head Coach: Andy Reid (11-5 all-time in Kansas City, 141-98-1 all-time)
Last Year's Results: 11-5, eliminated in the Wildcard Round by the Indianapolis Colts
Projected Starters:
(My Player Rankings Guide:
E - Elite Starter: Franchise changing player at his position
HQ - High Quality Starter: One of the best in the game at his position
GS - Good Starter: If this guy's on your team, he's likely starting and you should be perfectly fine with it
AS - Average Starter: This guy is OK, but if possible, I'd be looking for an upgrade
BAS - Below Average Starer: This guy should not be starting, but he will because he's the best option
??? - Not enough information regarding this guy and the jury is still out on him
R - Rookie: Pretty self-explanatory
PS - Poor Starter: This guy shouldn't be starting for your football team. NO EXCUSES!)
OFFENSE:
QB: Alex Smith (GS)
RB: Jamaal Charles (E)
FB: Anthony Sherman (GS)
WR: Dwayne Bowe (GS)
WR: Donnie Avery (PS)
TE: Anthony Fasano (AS)
C: Rodney Hudson (AS)
RG: Zach Fulton (R)
LG: Jeff Allen (BAS)
RT: Donald Stephenson (BAS)
LT: Eric Fisher (BAS)
DEFENSE:
DE: Mike DeVito (GS)
DE: Allen Bailey (BAS)
DT: Dontari Poe (E)
LOLB: Justin Houston (HQ)
ROLB: Tamba Hali (HQ)
ILB: Joe Mays (AS)
ILB: Derrick Johnson (HQ)
CB: Marcus Cooper (BAS)
CB: Sean Smith (AS)
SS: Eric Berry (HQ)
FS: Husain Abdullah (AS)
SPECIAL TEAMS:
K: Ryan Succop
P: Dustin Colquitt
Schedule:
vs. Tennessee
vs. @ Denver
vs. @ Miami
vs. New England
vs. @ San Francisco
BYE WEEK
vs. @ San Diego
vs. St. Louis
vs. New York Jets
vs. @ Buffalo
vs. Seattle
vs. @ Oakland
vs. Denver
vs. @ Arizona
vs. Oakland
vs. @ Pittsburgh
vs. San Diego
Predicted Results: 8-8 (3-3 in division)
Team Analysis: The Kansas City Chiefs were the surprise team of the NFL last season. After only winning two games in the 2012-13 season, the Chiefs rebounded to win 11 games last season and that was mainly in part due to the addition of Andy Reid and Alex Smith. While Alex Smith is never going to be the "Peyton Manning-type" of player who's winning games with his arm, he's a good enough quarterback to win you games in the NFL and he once again showed that last season. After Jamaal Charles went down in the playoff game against the Colts, Smith played some of the best football I've ever seen him play (unfortunately for him, Andrew Luck was god-like in that game). If he could play like that on a regular basis, the Chiefs would be a scary team. Outside of Charles though, the Chiefs are lacking play-makers on paper. Dwayne Bowe is a good WR who used to be near the "elite" class, but his production has dropped off in recent seasons and you just never know what you're going to get from the guy. Kansas City does have some nice young pieces in guys like Travis Kelce (who I'm extremely high on as a surprise fantasy guy this year), De'Anthony Thomas, and Kniles Davis and if they can get some regular production out of any of those guys, it could help this Chiefs offense tremendously considering the people in the office did nothing in free agency to help Alex Smith's supporting cast.
Where Kansas City really shines though is on the defensive side of the ball. They have some of the best pass rusher's in the game with Donatri Poe, Justin Houston, Tamba Hali, and Derrick Johnson ready to eat a quarterback alive at any moment. KC drafted Dee Ford in the first-round of the NFL draft this year and they also expect him to be a significant piece of the pass rush this year as well. Good luck to the guys who have to stop this unit. The one big weakness on this Kansas City team is the secondary. Outside of Eric Berry, there isn't a guy in the Chiefs secondary who pops out. Marcus Cooper played well in spots last season for an undrafted rookie, but elite quarterbacks like Peyton Manning were able to embarrass the kid on numerous occasions. KC ended up letting Pro Bowl corner Brandon Flowers walk because he doesn't fit in well with their new defense and in today's NFL, short CB's are becoming an anomaly thanks to the success of Seattle's "Legion of Boom". Don't be surprised to see the Chiefs give up big-time passing plays on defense once again, much like they did last year.
Overall, I expect KC to take a step back this season. If you know how NFL schedules work, you know that when you finish in last place, your schedule is usually easier the next season and that's one of the reasons we have so many quick turnarounds in this sport. The Chiefs schedule this year is much more difficult and while I wouldn't be shocked at all to see them slip into the playoffs (the AFC isn't as stacked as one would think), I have them on the outside looking in. I still think Andy Reid is one of the best coaches in the NFL and Alex Smith is a good enough QB to win a Super Bowl as long as he has an elite defense and a good running game. The Chiefs just need another player on offense to become consistently productive (Travis Kelce? De'Anthony Thomas?) and the defense to play like they did at the beginning of last season and this team could end up being the team that pushes Peyton Manning and the Donkey's out of the Iron Throne of the AFC West.
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