Kansas City Chiefs Offense: 2014 vs. 2015
By Laddie Morse
The 2014 Backfield vs. the 2015 Backfield
Quarterback
Alex Smith
Quarterback Alex Smith’s year appears to be mostly dependent upon the progress of those who are 1) blocking for him, or 2) catching passes from him. With Smith beginning his 10th year as a starting quarterback in the National Football League it’s safe to say he’s put in enough time in the league, as well as enough time with the Chiefs, to evaluate his career and project his future.
First of all, you need to know, I’m an Alex Smith supporter. I believe he’s a good, to very good, quarterback. Can he take games over? On rare occasions yes, but he’s never set a precedence as as come-back-kid. Is he capable of strong leadership and more importantly, leading a team to a championship? Absolutely.
So, why hasn’t he done that yet? Two and a half years ago he appeared to be on track to take his team, the San Francisco 49ers, to the Super Bowl. However, a concussion and the ascension of a second year upstart, Colin Kaepernick, kept him from playing even one minute in the Super Bowl that some believed he was responsible for getting his team to in the first place. Interestingly, since he came to K.C. he’s outplayed his replacement in Frisco.
Beginning his third year in Andy Reid’s system, and surrounding him with the best offensive roster he’s been with since 2012, Alex Smith has what looks like a 2-3 year window to get the Chiefs to a championship game. In 2012 some critics have claimed Smith was too dependent upon his tight end Vernon Davis. The reality is, Davis only caught 41 passes that year and second tier wideout Michael Crabtree had 85 receptions. Jeremy Maclin is superior to Crabtree and the Chiefs current wide receiving corps, including TE Travis Kelce has the 49ers 2012 receivers beat by a healthy margin.
Admittedly, no one knows for sure what the fate of the Chiefs 2015 offensive line will be but it’s a fairly sure bet that they won’t be as good as the 49ers 2012 offensive line. So, this year’s offensive line will be… better than their own 2014 offensive line… but not as good as the line Smith played behind in 2012, the year they went to the Super Bowl.
It’s safe to say, this should be quarterback Alex Smith best season as a Kansas City Chief.
Alex Smith buys Pacific Avenue thinking it was Park Place.
Running back El Numero Uno
Jamaal Charles
Improvement along the offensive line, may spell out success for Jamaal Charles in 2015 as much as it does for Alex Smith. After all, Alex Smith is not the only one who played when he was banged up last year. More Chiefs than ever appear to be ready for the season to begin today and Charles recently said on twitter,
"“They say 28 is old in the NFL but I still feel like I’m 21! Line me up against anybody on any team & let’s see”"
Charles played a lot of 2014 banged up but is healed and raring to go in 2015. You can expect him to be his normal incredible self.
Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles should both improve over 2014 but much of that improvement will go as the offensive line in front of them goes. More so for Alex than Jamaal. However, I do expect improvement.
Jamaal Charles lands on Electric Company. He buys it. Fast.
For Knile Davis, the question is a different one. I want to see if Davis can have enough success to determine if he could ever serve as the successor to Jamaal Charles when Charles retires… years from now. Otherwise, next year’s draft will likely see the Chiefs targeting a running back.
Knile Davis lands on the Kansas City Southern Railroad and keeps on rolling.
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While the Kansas City Chiefs defense needs to improve against the run in 2015, most are expecting them to do just that with the returns of Derrick Johnson and Mike DeVito. The return of a healthy defensive end Mike Catapano and the addition of Rakeem Nunez-Roches, who will not only serve as a defensive end but give Dontari Poe an occasional break, should help improve the Chiefs run defense.
For the Kansas City Chiefs to take the next big step forward — winning playoff games, competing for division and conference crowns as well as Super Bowl trophies — they will need to improve mainly on offense. Will the improvement projected above be enough in 2015? I’m predicting that it will.
What do you say, Addict fans? Have the Chiefs done enough this offseason to host some playoff victories… and compete for an NFL championship… and make that a regular Kansas City style barbeque feast? I’m ready to see them monopolize the trophy for awhile. How about you?