The Chiefs Don’t Deserve Respect
With training camp so close yet so far away, we are beginning to turn our attention to the upcoming season. Sites are starting to come out with early predictions for the year, especially win total predictions. Fantasy season is also upon us and we are under a constant bombardment of experts telling us which of our Chiefs are good and which guys stink.
Welcome to mid-July in the NFL.
As I try to dream up things to write about I have been feeling the urge to do my game by game predictions. It is hard to resist given the lack of things to talk about but as I promised, I will hold off until I see our Chiefs do something on the field. AA will hold off on official staff predictions until well in to the preseason.
Just because we are waiting doesn’t mean anyone else is going to. The early reviews and predictions for the 2010 Chiefs are mixed. There seems to be a general consensus out there that the team is improving. Some folks are predicting the Chiefs to be dark horse contenders for a playoff spot and others, as Merlin pointed out in his column today, think the Chiefs will be worse in 2010 than they were in 2009!
Addict Nation was rightfully appalled at the Walter Football article Merlin mentioned. Could the Chiefs really finish 3-12? With an easier schedule? With better players and coaches?
Yes.
The fact is, that there is no Lombardi Trophy for having the best offseason. On paper the Chiefs are better and on paper their schedule is easier but all that goes out the window come Sunday.
More after the jump.
Going in to the 2010 season, the Kansas City Chiefs deserve little to no respect. They have won 10 games in 3 years. When you have a stretch where you go 10-38, you aren’t going to get the benefit of the doubt from anyone.
A large key to success for the 2010 Chiefs is going to be rookies and young players. If you remember Herm Edwards and his 2008 Rookie Extravaganza Squad that went 2-14, then you know that youth does not always equal wins. As excited as we are about Eric Berry, Javier Arenas, Jon Asamoah and Dexter McCluster, chances are not all of them are going to meet our expectations right away.
In the end, the Chiefs are going to have to earn their respect on the field. It will likely be a long road. Even if they win a few games early, pundits will still pick them to lose. There will be doubters and haters all alone the way.
Hopefully the team will be able to use the doubts as ammunition on their assault back to the top of the AFC West.
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