Kansas City Chiefs: Four predictions for 2015
It’s officially NFL prediction season. The draft and free agency have come and gone. Teams have all had their first round of OTAs where the media got a first look at 2015 rosters. Unfortunately, there is only so much you can get from guys running around in shorts.
That is why you typically see everyone from national reporters to local bloggers like yours truly passing the slow days of summer by making predictions about the upcoming season. I’ve resisted the urge as long as I could, but today its time to go on record with four predictions I feel strongly about when it comes to the 2015 Kansas City Chiefs.
I thought about several possible predictions for this post. I eliminated a couple that I still strongly believe but were probably too obvious, like “Jamaal Charles will rush for at least 1,200 yards” or “Alex Smith will play well enough to keep his starting job for 2016 but not well enough to silence all his critics.”
I even considered “This will be the year we see Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson’s play start to slip” but in the end those two are so hard working that I just couldn’t bring myself to go on the record as predicting their downfall. Instead I ended up with four predictions that I stand by going forward.
I’ll start with the one that will probably surprise regular readers the least……
Dec 7, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Kansas City Chiefs guard Zach Fulton (73) blocks against Arizona Cardinals defensive end Frostee Rucker (98) at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Chiefs 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The offensive line will continue to be the team’s weakest link
I’m not going to go into a lot of depth on this first prediction because I’ve already written a lot about my offensive line concerns. If you want my in depth specifics you can find them HERE in a lengthy piece I did about the line after the draft was over. If you don’t want to read that entire piece here are some summary points:
The Kansas City offensive line was one of, if not THE biggest problem for the 2014 Chiefs.
The Chiefs lost their only good lineman (Rodney Hudson) from that BAD offensive line.
The Chiefs only added one proven NFL player on the line this offseason (Ben Grubbs).
With the exception of Ben Grubbs at left guard, every other spot on the line is either up for grabs or manned by a player with a lot to prove.
The rest of the KC roster can stack up with any other team in the AFC. The offensive line is the one spot where I’m genuinely worried. I keep reading articles and comments about how the line will be better this season and how the Chiefs invested in fixing the line this offseason and I just shake my head. They let their best lineman leave, added one good player in Grubbs, and drafted Mitch Morse in the 2nd round (and he may not even play).
I am still completely dumbfounded by the absolute faith that so many Chiefs fans seem to have in Jeff Allen and Donald Stephenson. People talk about them as if they are proven quality NFL starters. They are young enough to still turn into good players but their production on the field to date has been sub par. I just don’t see how anyone can say with confidence that the line will be better. Could they? Sure, anything is possible, but my prediction is that after the 2015 season comes to a close we will all have the offensive line as the team’s top need going into 2016.
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