What the last 5 preseasons told us about those Chiefs teams
By Tarek Mavani
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
2012
Preseason record: 1 – 3
Regular Season Record: 2 – 14
Biggest question heading into the season: Can Romeo Crennel get this team to live up to it’s potential?
After back-to-back years with the offense in the spotlight, 2012 was shaping up to be the year of the defense. When Romeo Crennel temporarily took over as head coach for the final three games, the defense was elite: they only allowed three touchdowns, and managed to average less than 300 yards given up per game over that stretch. With Crennel now the head coach on a full-time basis, this was surely a sign of things to come. Throw in the fact that Jon Baldwin was reportedly down-right dominant in training camp (after a forgettable rookie season), and you have all the makings of a contender! Even the media was buying into the hype, with Bucky Brooks calling the Chiefs a sleeper pick to win the AFC. Yeahhhhh not so much, Bucky.
The first signs of trouble came during the preseason, of course. The Chiefs finished the preseason losing their last three games by 14, 30, and 24 points respectively. What was supposed to be an elite defense finished the preseason 30th in points given up per game. Oh, and Jon Baldwin didn’t fare much better; registering 0 catches in the first game, and finishing the preseason with eight catches for 62 yards.
The regular season was pretty much the same story: the defense finished ranked 24th in PPG, Jon Baldwin ended up recording the same number of tackles as touchdowns (which basically sums up his career), and the team finished with the worst record in the league. Good times, gooood times.
So while Bucky Brooks missed on his sleeper prediction, he did accurately predict one thing which wasn’t made evident in the preseason: the rise of Justin Houston. Houston finished the preseason recording just a single sack, but managed to rack-up 10 in the regular season and earn himself a trip to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement. Good call, Bucky!
Next: 2013