Shards Of Reflection

In having reached the midway point of the Kansas City Chiefs’ regular season I have found a bit of freedom.  Let me explain.

I’m a guy who doesn’t like jumping to conclusions. I like to have a healthy amount of information on a subject before making a decision. For example, it took me months to figure out which television to buy. Having seen the Chiefs play eight whole football games has now given me enough game film so that I feel my opinions are now informed and I feel comfortable enough to share them. However, instead of reflecting upon the entire Chiefs team (which the AA staff  has done an excellent job of doing this week) I want to offer up merely shards of reflection.  Questions that I have concerning the Chiefs looking forward.

Why don’t the Chiefs have a better pass defense?

This one has been bothering me a little bit because I look at the Chiefs personnel in the secondary and I don’t understand why we don’t have a top ten pass defense. We have a shutdown corner in Brandon Flowers. We just drafted a blue chip safety in Eric Berry. Brandon Carr has been playing average or better. I know there are weak spots in our secondary still, but I look at the twenty teams that have a better pass defense than us and there are plenty whose secondary personnel is not as good as ours. Are our players not as good as I think they are? Is it the schemes we are running? Is our pass defense taking a hit so that our run defense is improved? Are we allowing opposing quarterbacks to have too much time?

How happy am I with quarterback Matt Cassel’s play?

As a bit of a NFL draft junkie, this question weighs on my mind. Half the regular season is done and now is the time I start to sort out the needs of the Chiefs in the upcoming offseason. While I think that quarterback is a need, I haven’t yet decided how much of one. I understand now that Matt Cassel was brought in to stabilize the QB position for the Chiefs. (If you wonder what happens when that position isn’t stabilized just look at the Chicago Bears quarterback history.) While Cassel started the season off looking terrible, his play has been better as of late and it seems to have leveled off at about average for an NFL quarterback. So the question becomes, how high should we look to draft a QB? How much does Cassel have to improve before we don’t feel like we need to draft a QB? Is QB really a need or do the Chiefs have bigger problems?

When is it time for outside linebacker Andy Studebaker to get his shot?

Right now Mike Vrabel is starting ahead of Studebaker. The reason for that is obviously because of the experience that Vrabel brings to the young Chiefs defense. The problem is that he has started to show his age. Also, when Studebaker is rotated in he seems to bring a great amount of energy and effort. When trying to figure out what the Chiefs needs are going into the offseason I’m stuck because I see Vrabel as needing to be replaced, but I don’t know if Studebaker is the man for the job. Should Studebaker replace Vrabel? If so, when? After this season? Starting the next game? Maybe they should split the playing time?

Is the change in wide receiver Dwayne Bowe more like Saul on the road to Damascus or more like Lindsay Lohan’s first trip to rehab?

The Chiefs fan in me certainly hopes that the change we’ve seen in Bowe is of a permanent nature, but as a guy who has seen him play these past four years I worry. I worry that Bowe is playing so well because the loss to the Indianapolis Colts, where he dropped a touchdown pass and killed a drive, is so fresh in his mind. Is that game the reason for his change? Will he revert to his ball-dropping ways? Or will this season be known as the season where he turned it all around? How long do we wait on him to be the player we want him to be?

I think I have the answers to some these questions, but other ones I’m unsure about. Sometimes I think I have an answer, but when I wake up the next morning that answer has changed. So what do you think Addicts? Have you got the answers to any of these questions? What are your theories? Let me know in the comments. And if you feel so moved, don’t forget you can post in the forums.