The sky isn’t falling for the Kansas City Chiefs

Despite what a lot of Chicken Littles around the NFL have to say, the sky is not falling in Kansas City.

The Kansas City Chiefs have had a poor offseason in the eyes of analysts, and a lot of those experts are predicting them to finish with an 8-8 or 9-7 record. As the resident Captain of Pessimism here at Arrowhead Addict, I thought it was important to say that even I think the season will be better than what is being reported. Here’s why.

The Chiefs are starting the season healthier than they’ve been for two seasons. For the last two seasons, there have been major concerns with multiple Chiefs players that held the team back. This year, everyone will be at camp from day one except for Chris Jones. Justin Houston, Derek Johnson and Travis Kelce are all reporting to camp ready to go. Houston hasn’t been 100% since his record setting 2014 season; if he can be even 75% of that he will be up for defensive player of the year honors.

The only injury concerns going into day one of camp is the fact that Parker Ehinger and Chris Jones are on the PUP list. Neither are serious concerns as much as they are just playing it safe for them and giving them a few extra weeks to get going. I fully expect every starter to be 100% healthy and ready go when the Chiefs go to New England in 6 weeks.

Dave Toub is still the special team coordinator of the Chiefs which means they have an advantage over every team in the league. There is no debate that Toub is head and shoulders above every other special team coach in the league. The Chiefs have given the best coach in the league the best talent in the league when you see returners like Tyreek Hill and DeAnthony Thomas waiting for the kick. Even with Hill most likely taking few snaps on the special teams, DAT is considered one of the top punt returners in the league ready to come in.

On the kicking side, the Chiefs have the best punter in the league in Dustin Colquitt. His ability to flip the field and pin the opposing team deep are underrated even in K.C. With an offense that isn’t high powered, it’s important to keep them away from having to go on 80 or 90 yard drives. When you have a shutdown defense combined with a punter who forces the opponents deep, the offense has a good chance of getting multiple drives that start around mid-field.

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Young kicker Cairo Santos has proven to be a top ten kicker in the league. Santos made 88% of his field goal attempts last season including multiple 50 yarders he made with ease. High- pressure situations that will come with a defensive team with high expectations won’t hurt his legs at all. Santos kicked multiple game-winning kicks last season including the doink heard round the league in Denver. There is no doubt the Chiefs have the best special teams in the league and will win multiple games this year on the backs of that unit.

While the front office and offense took some hits with people leaving, the defense got better this offseason. Houston and Johnson will be back to 100% healthy and ready to dominate like we know they can. I expect Jones to be a monster on the inside starting from day one this season after a fantastic rookie season and full offseason under his belt. The team signed defensive tackle Bennie Logan from the Philadelphia Eagles as an upgrade over Dontari Poe. Logan is a run-stuffing machine who will be able to hold his spot on the field better than Poe could do. Add to the mix the wild card of second round physical freak Tanoh Kpassagnon, the defensive line will be a strength of the team.

In the secondary Terrance Mitchell should be starting from day one next to Marcus Peters giving the Chiefs a solid one-two punch at corner. Eric Berry is looking to repeat his career year after signing the largest contract ever for a safety in the offseason. He’s not alone though as Ron Parker and Daniel Sorenson are strong sidekicks who dare quarterbacks to pick on them. Throw in nickel guys Phillip Gaines, Steven Nelson and Eric Murray; the Chiefs could have the best secondary in the league.

The defense is the major reason why the Chiefs won’t lose as many games as some so called experts say they will. It’s going to be hard to lose when you only have to score 14 or 17 points to win.

Of course you can’t talk about being successful in the regular season without mentioning Andy Reid. I am as critical of Andy as anyone, and I still question his ability to win in the playoffs, but when it comes to the regular season, he is the man. In 19 years as a head coach, he’s finished 8-8 or worse only five times. As long as he is the head coach of the Chiefs it’s hard to understand why anyone would pick the Chiefs to finish worse than 10-6.

Next: Why the Chiefs will win the AFC in 2017

Once they get into the playoffs, it’s anybody’s guess how the Chiefs will do this season. But the regular season should be predictable. They will lose one or two games they shouldn’t, win a game or two they shouldn’t and dominate the division. In the end you don’t have to be that optimistic to see the facts that this team shouldn’t finish any worse than 10-6 with the possibility of a 12-4 or 13-3 type of year if they get all the breaks. We shouldn’t be really surprised with the lack of confidence in Kansas City sports teams though; we all know how well the Royals predictions have ended up!