Behind Enemy Lines: Them On Us
(Sorry for my disappearing act the past 24 hours or so. Came down with one of my patented migraines some of you have heard about. No, I’m not talking about a hangover, as, like, Jared Allen, I’ve been dry for a while now. Anyway, had to unplug for a day, but I’m back…)
The other AFC West bloggers were kind enough to drop their assessments of the Chiefs recently. Here they are:
Johnny of Bolt Beat (Chargers):
Dwayne Bowe is promising… but who is going to get him the ball? What’s his name? (I refuse to remember the name of a Chiefs quarterback. It’s kind of like getting to know a new bartender at a really, really bad bar. They might be nice and all, but the joint is so bad, it will break their spirit soon enough and send them crying out the door.) Chiefs have nothing to look forward too. You hear me, Larry Johnson, nothing.
The front office had a dynamite draft. Plenty of picks to fill a lot of holes. I don’t see these moves coming to fruition this season. Look to next year, Kansas City.
Chris of Just Blog Baby (Raiders):
A lot like the talent in San Diego, there are few player’s that I think are a joke in K.C. They have a nice combination of young and old talent, and although it will be a weakness at times I think they will do far better than they did last year. I know Brodie Croyle hasn’t become a steady starter, but I loved this kid at Bama, and have no doubt that he can play at this level. It took the overlooked Jeff Garcia and the first round blue chip Rich Gannon to totally different paths to the Bay Area where they finally lived up to their abilities. I hope for Croyle’s sake he finds his place sooner than later, but I can’t believe he’ll never make it in this league. Larry Johnson might not last forever and Kolby Smith isn’t the best second choice, but after Smith’s performance against the Raiders last season in Arrowhead he gives me no place to say the Chiefs are in trouble at running back. Dwayne Bowe reminds me of the Texans Andre Johnson, and he should start putting up similar numbers as the Pro-Bowl wideout.
7 of the 11 presumed defensive starters were drafted in the first and second round (Napolean Harris, Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali, Glenn Dorsey, Patrick Surtain, Bernard Pollard, Brandon Flowers). The lack of effort in free agency, especially since an upcoming un-caped season approaches, shows how stingy Carl Peterson is. He knew he was going to have to give into the absurd rookie contracts ($51 million makes Dorsey one of the top paid DT’s in the league), but refused to shell out any money for veterans that were on the market. The Chiefs are still in bad shape, and need a lot to go right and a couple of guys to come out of nowhere for them to come close to .500.
Kim of Predominantly Orange (Broncos):
Last year’s 4-12 season sent Chiefs fans longing for the days of Priest Holmes and a healthy Trent Green. The ups and downs continued for the team in the offseason as they lost Jared Allen to the Vikes, and nabbed Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert in the first round of the draft.
To Broncos fans: Don’t worry too much about this team. While playing at Arrowhead isn’t a dream come true, we had some success against this team even during last year’s abysmal season. As Jay Cutler was dropping pounds, we put a beating on the Chiefs both times we played them. The life-saving efforts of Tony Gonzalez may just be the highlight of the Chiefs’ year for fans.
Chiefs outlook - Overall Record: 7-9; AFC Record: 2-4 (They can beat the Raiders twice)
Did I say nice–whoops! I’ll have my breakdown of our AFC West rivals soon…
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Ok, not suprised by the San Diego Chargers and Denver Donkeys blogs, the WOW! What is up with this Raiders fan? Not a bad post by one of our least liked teams. Starting the think the Denver Donkey’s might be a bigger rival than the Raiders……NOT!!! For a Chargers fan to criticize our QB, well that’s just funny. What are they going to do when Phillip re-injures himself talking to himself in the freaking mirror? I am going to be on the 50 yard line here in San Diego on November 9th and I am anticipating the same result as last years trip to San Diego….A CHIEF’s WIN!!!!!! (Ok, maybe that is wishful thinking, but hey I am an optimist!)
July 30th, 2008 at 9:06 am1. Chargers have the best opportunity to get into the playoffs but will choke as always in the playoffs and never win a Superbowl.
2. Raiders spent too much money on too poor of talent. There only good pick up was DeAngelo Hall and even then they spent way too much for him with trade compensation and contract extensions. McFadden was a Raider since he announced he was leaving early. DeAngelo and McFadden are going to be eaten up by Bowe and Derrick Johnson.
3.Broncos are going to be the worst team in our conference. Cutler will struggle with his throws. He won’t have a target in Marshall for half the season. There Defense is old with Bailey, Lynch, and Bly all getting up in years, and will have trouble with our young and quick offense. I can’t wait to see Branden Albert maul Jarvis Moss all day long. Finally, Selvin Young will only get 800 yards this season not 2000 as he so “rightly” predicted.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:21 amIf LT does not stay healthy, SD will struggle. As a matter of fact, if LT goes down early in the season, I’d have to say the whole division would be up for grabs at that point. Certainly Rivers is further along than Croyle, but the fact remains that Rivers has issues and still has much to prove. Also, the jury is still out on Norv Turner - he was handed a Ferrari for sure, we’ll just have to wait and see if he’s done everything required by the maintenance schedule. Last season’s slow start suggests to me that it took him a while to find the gas cap. As long our D can keep LT under a 100 and we can get Rivers to feeling a little panicky, we have an even odds shot at beating them.
Denver got a number of promising draft picks but I don’t think they did enough in the offseason to address glaring holes - particularly that suspect run defense. Considering the backfields they’ll face in just the AFC West alone, I think Denver has even more of an uphill battle this season. I would not be a bit surprised to see them land in the cellar. If that happens, say buh bye to Shanny.
I do think Lane Kiffin has the potential to be a pretty good coach and I’d love to have the player talent he has but, come on, it’s Al Davis’ Raiders and that makes it a no-win dysfunctional deal for Kiffin.
The Chiefs are a team on the rebound, Oakland will suffer because of the coaching/mgmt disconnect, and Shanahan’s performance has flagged ever since Elway retired. I’ve got to think that Oakland and Denver will be the ones slugging it out for last place and if the Chiefs can a lucky break or two, then who knows?
Off topic interesting stat I heard on the radio yesterday - the Chiefs were 9-5-2 at halftime last year. Food for thought.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:18 amDouble D:
Great comment, man. Couldn’t agree more.
The Chargers will still be good, but that IS assuming LT doesn’t get injured. Losing Michael Turner (who, in my opinion, was the best backup RB in the league before he went to ATL) could really hurt them is Tomlinson goes down. Losing Lorenzo Neal doesn’t help, either. On the other hand, Antonio Cromartie is a fucking beast, and taking a quick look at their defense is scary to say the least.
Everyone is predicting the Broncos to be horrid this year, and I can’t say I disagree with that assessment. I like Jay Cutler, but simply having a promising young QB may not be enough for this team, especially considering the aging defense.
I’m surprised the Raiders fan would even touch on what it will take for the Chiefs to get to .500. When was the last time Oakland even had a winning season?
July 30th, 2008 at 4:10 pm