Ranking the Kansas City Chiefs’ Offensive Line

What a great ceremony on Saturday night, where Pro Football’s latest class of immortal figures joined the Hall. Willie Roaf’s induction specifically has me thinking not only about who the greatest Chiefs offensive linemen of all time are, but also ranking our 2012 O-Line as we prepare for week one of the preseason this Friday night.

I recall having a party in my mind the moment I heard Eric Winston was in town to feast on some BBQ and visit with Pioli, but it turned into a party like it was 1999 when I saw the news that he had signed. Right tackle has been a problem for us for at least the last six or seven years. We now have our bookends on this line, and would should ensue is Cassel enjoying what he hasn’t had since his days in New England; ample time to fire the ball down the field. This article ranks our red brothers from the trenches as the fourth best offensive line heading into this season. At #1 is Green Bay, who returns their entire starting o-line from 2011 except for center, which will be occupied by Jeff Saturday this year. (Yeah, he’s pretty good.) #2 is New England, and they, like the Chiefs, are starting a new RT in 2012. At #3 is Cincinnati, with whom for some reason I have a tough time, but I can’t tell you why. (I guess it’s because they’re the Bengals.) What’s even better than the Chiefs ranking of #4 is the rest of the AFC West: Denver is ranked #21, San Diego #24 and Oakland #27.  Pair this with our defensive front seven and my breakdown of the Chiefs going 4-2 against the division this year may be off by two games. We might just sweep the West.

The game of football is obviously won and lost in the trenches alone both lines.  So if these rankings turn out to be fairly accurate, and we can apply consistent pressure to Peyton and Philip (I’m not too worried about Carson), I look forward to the result.

So what do you think Addicts?  Can we more or less expect a division crown to be won or lost on the play of our 2012 offensive line?