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It’s amazing how one game can change the perception going into the offseason.
The Kansas City Chiefs could have mailed in their final game of the season when they went on the road to Denver’s Invesco Field, where they never had won before.
The Chiefs had nothing to play for and Denver had everything to gain, as it was still in the fight for a playoff spot. Maybe the Broncos knew deep down that Cincinnati would lay down against the New York Jets, as they themselves appeared to take a knee against the Chiefs.
But this was too much of a feel-good day to take anything away from the Chiefs. They competed hard from the opening series, scoring a touchdown in less than four minutes -- something they had not done in the previous 15 games.
Denver never stopped the Chiefs on the day, as Kansas City piled up a startling 524 yards, including 259 yards rushing by emerging star Jamaal Charles. Quarterback Matt Cassel was efficient with 207 yards passing.
Who cares that the Chiefs gave up more than 500 yards themselves, with 428 of that coming from the non-descript Kyle Orton through the air? The fact is, the Chiefs gave their long-suffering fans a glimmer of hope going into the offseason and at this point, they’ll take anything they can wrap their victory-starved hands around.
It was kind of a weird-and-goofy season for the Chiefs. The new regime of coach Todd Haley and general manager Scott Pioli came under fire from the Kansas City fans and media alike. An 0-5 start and 1-7 first half to the schedule had the impatient fans calling for their jobs.
Haley fired his offensive coordinator Chan Gailey before the first game and appeared to take on too much responsibility. He made some head-scratching and quirky decisions, and at times appeared to alienate some of his players with his sideline demeanor.
But a 3-5 second half to the season shows the Chiefs were slowly but surely headed in the right direction. A lot of that had to do with Charles, who was the NFL’s second-most productive back the second half of the season, trailing only the 2,000-yard man, Chris Johnson of Tennessee. And Haley appeared to mellow, as his caught-on-camera rants became few and far between.
Haley himself said he learned a lot during the season about being an NFL head coach and hopefully won’t make some of the same mistakes next year.
Pioli came over from the uber-successful New England Patriots, hailed as one of the architects of the NFL’s most successful franchise in the 2000s. Kansas City fans unfairly expected him to wave a magic wand and make everything right with one swoop.
But the previous regime basically left rubble and a 4-12 record was probably about as good as it was going to get.
Now the true rebuilding begins.
First, Haley must get an offensive coordinator. It’s simply too big of a job for the head coach to do and the name getting thrown around is Charlie Weis, the OC of the Patriots in their glory days whose star burned out at Notre Dame.
There’s also talk of dumping defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and hiring another ex-Pat, Romeo Crennel, the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
After getting the coaching staff firmly in place, the Chiefs have to address many issues:
• The offensive line. This was a sad-sack unit until the final game. That Charles could rush for 1,000 yards in basically half a season speaks volumes of his ability. It wouldn’t surprise us if Branden Albert is the only starter to return and he’s yet to live up to being a No. 1 draft pick.
• Wide receiver. Dwayne Bowe is such an enigma. He has all the tools, but a two-cent head. Chris Chambers is capable, but aging. After that, there’s not much.
• Safety. Jon McGraw and Mike Brown are long in the tooth and backups at the very best -- and that’s being kind.
• Linebacker. Maybe Derrick Johnson and Haley will finally get on the same page. From watching the Chiefs, it’s hard to believe there were four linebackers better than Johnson during the season, as he was only a spot player.
• Running back. We know Charles is a star in the making, but he needs some help. If you look at the really good teams now, most of them have two quality backs. Charles was it, as all the other backs the Chiefs trotted out were waiver fodder.
• Tight end. A problem spot all year. The Chiefs were spoiled by having Tony Gonzalez for so many years.
When you look at the Chiefs’ schedule for next year, it lends itself to a few more wins. Of course they have the six games within the division, and then they are matched against the NFC West (maybe the weakest division in football) and the AFC South (one of the toughest). They also have games with Seattle and St. Louis, two of the weaker teams in the NFL this year.
It’s generally a long process, but there have been NFL teams that have turned it around in a short time with some shrewd moves. Let’s hope Pioli and Haley can make those right moves.
It’s amazing how one game can change the perception going into the offseason.
The Kansas City Chiefs could have mailed in their final game of the season when they went on the road to Denver’s Invesco Field, where they never had won before.
The Chiefs had nothing to play for and Denver had everything to gain, as it was still in the fight for a playoff spot. Maybe the Broncos knew deep down that Cincinnati would lay down against the New York Jets, as they themselves appeared to take a knee against the Chiefs.
But this was too much of a feel-good day to take anything away from the Chiefs. They competed hard from the opening series, scoring a touchdown in less than four minutes -- something they had not done in the previous 15 games.
Denver never stopped the Chiefs on the day, as Kansas City piled up a startling 524 yards, including 259 yards rushing by emerging star Jamaal Charles. Quarterback Matt Cassel was efficient with 207 yards passing.
Who cares that the Chiefs gave up more than 500 yards themselves, with 428 of that coming from the non-descript Kyle Orton through the air? The fact is, the Chiefs gave their long-suffering fans a glimmer of hope going into the offseason and at this point, they’ll take anything they can wrap their victory-starved hands around.
It was kind of a weird-and-goofy season for the Chiefs. The new regime of coach Todd Haley and general manager Scott Pioli came under fire from the Kansas City fans and media alike. An 0-5 start and 1-7 first half to the schedule had the impatient fans calling for their jobs.
Haley fired his offensive coordinator Chan Gailey before the first game and appeared to take on too much responsibility. He made some head-scratching and quirky decisions, and at times appeared to alienate some of his players with his sideline demeanor.
But a 3-5 second half to the season shows the Chiefs were slowly but surely headed in the right direction. A lot of that had to do with Charles, who was the NFL’s second-most productive back the second half of the season, trailing only the 2,000-yard man, Chris Johnson of Tennessee. And Haley appeared to mellow, as his caught-on-camera rants became few and far between.
Haley himself said he learned a lot during the season about being an NFL head coach and hopefully won’t make some of the same mistakes next year.
Pioli came over from the uber-successful New England Patriots, hailed as one of the architects of the NFL’s most successful franchise in the 2000s. Kansas City fans unfairly expected him to wave a magic wand and make everything right with one swoop.
But the previous regime basically left rubble and a 4-12 record was probably about as good as it was going to get.
Now the true rebuilding begins.
First, Haley must get an offensive coordinator. It’s simply too big of a job for the head coach to do and the name getting thrown around is Charlie Weis, the OC of the Patriots in their glory days whose star burned out at Notre Dame.
There’s also talk of dumping defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast and hiring another ex-Pat, Romeo Crennel, the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
After getting the coaching staff firmly in place, the Chiefs have to address many issues:
• The offensive line. This was a sad-sack unit until the final game. That Charles could rush for 1,000 yards in basically half a season speaks volumes of his ability. It wouldn’t surprise us if Branden Albert is the only starter to return and he’s yet to live up to being a No. 1 draft pick.
• Wide receiver. Dwayne Bowe is such an enigma. He has all the tools, but a two-cent head. Chris Chambers is capable, but aging. After that, there’s not much.
• Safety. Jon McGraw and Mike Brown are long in the tooth and backups at the very best -- and that’s being kind.
• Linebacker. Maybe Derrick Johnson and Haley will finally get on the same page. From watching the Chiefs, it’s hard to believe there were four linebackers better than Johnson during the season, as he was only a spot player.
• Running back. We know Charles is a star in the making, but he needs some help. If you look at the really good teams now, most of them have two quality backs. Charles was it, as all the other backs the Chiefs trotted out were waiver fodder.
• Tight end. A problem spot all year. The Chiefs were spoiled by having Tony Gonzalez for so many years.
When you look at the Chiefs’ schedule for next year, it lends itself to a few more wins. Of course they have the six games within the division, and then they are matched against the NFC West (maybe the weakest division in football) and the AFC South (one of the toughest). They also have games with Seattle and St. Louis, two of the weaker teams in the NFL this year.
It’s generally a long process, but there have been NFL teams that have turned it around in a short time with some shrewd moves. Let’s hope Pioli and Haley can make those right moves.
