Hope springs eternal. We’ll be back. There’s always next year. That’s what optimists say right? Too bad I’m generally not much of an optimist but I do have to say my Chiefs have me excited for September. Yes, I said my Kansas City Chiefs.
How did I become a KCC fan? The San Francisco 49ers. You see, I used to be a huge Joe Montana fan and when he was supplanted by Steve Young because of injury and jettisoned to Kansas City, I moved with him. Seemed logical to me. That’s about as good a thought pattern as one could hope for from a 13 year-old sports fan. Well, history is about to repeat itself. Kinda.
Fast forward to 2013, on the heels of two bad seasons the Chiefs look poised for a major turnaround. Nevermind that the Chiefs won the AFC east two seasons ago (10-6) with perhaps an inferior team; this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. Hence, the pre-season hype will be tepid especially when the new coach’s last two “dream teams” turned into relative nightmares. No one thinks the Broncos won’t win the division for, say the next 2 years but don’t be surprised if the Chiefs post a winning record in 2013.
Let’s talk logistics…despite posting only 2 wins last season, the Chiefs actually had 5 Pro Bowlers. Of course, football is an 11-on-11 sport so it is quite possible to have many good players and still have a poor team. Still, that’s a solid foundation. With Matt Cassel gone, the obvious move was made…bring in Alex Smith. With Alex Smith Brady’d out of town (remember Drew Bledsoe’s ouster in 2001) it made sense to bring in a solid, system QB to manage Andy Reid’s pseudo-west coast offensive scheme. Alex Smith is coming off of his best (half) season statistically but given that he isn’t what sports nerds consider a Plus (substantially better than average) QB, are we upgrading the position appreciably? Smith isn’t a cannon-armed slinger and not a runner/improviser which is exactly why Colin Kaepernick took his spot even after recovery from concussion. Sounds like I’m a bit confounded with regard to KC’s potential improvement right? Well, yes and no.
Andy Reid’s system allows for easy completions in the “flat” (10 yards or closer) thus pulling in the defense tight to allow for one-on-one opportunities downfield. With Dwayne Bowe as our top receiver, I have some reservations, but who knows maybe the previous QB’s weaknesses restricted him. Further, Reid’s short passing system substitutes for the ground game in many instances. Though with a running back the caliber of Jamal Charles, they had better run the ball. Alot. So, really, it would appear that while the Chiefs are somewhat better on paper, I don’t know that it’s enough for say, an 8 game improvement. The vagaries of football often produce better (and worse) teams than the roster would indicate (just look at the 2011 and 2012 Philadelphia Eagles). Odd that it’s the same coach captaining both ships. Maybe he can avoid the glacier this time.