Chris Simms has filled out his latest NFL power rankings at Bleacher Report and he has the Kansas City Chiefs falling a few spots.
The Kansas City Chiefs stock is falling if you look at the latest NFL Power Rankings from Chris Simms over at Bleacher Report. The Chiefs were, at one point, as high as No. 4 given their deep roster, strong special teams and potentially elite defense. Then came the team’s overall poor showing against the Seattle Seahawks in their last preseason game—a meaningless contest on the stat sheet, but a shaky performance nevertheless. Simms writes:
"This is what scares me with the Kansas City Chiefs: When they go up against elite defenses, I always wonder if Alex Smith and the offense can consistently move the ball down the field. Their game against the Seattle Seahawks didn’t raise my confidence level there."
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Coming at No. 6 overall is still a nice look for the Chiefs, who are clearly expected to b
e among the teams vying for deep playoff positioning in January. To lower the Chiefs two spots and still have them among the top 6 in the entire NFL means that Simms has a deep respect for the Pro Bowl caliber talent at several levels for the Chiefs—that’s a much better perspective than several such NFL analysts who often just look at Alex Smith and move on, ignoring the Chiefs depth and talent all over the roster.
For the Chiefs, their ability to hang with the best in the NFL will hinge on their improvement in two related areas, the running game and their run defense. Several moves have been made to solidify both areas, even in recent days and weeks, so the Chiefs now hope that the transactions pay off and that paper turns into production, especially when it comes to the signing of players like Bennie Logan and the trade for Reggie Ragland.
The Oakland Raiders leapfrogged the Chiefs in this week’s rankings to No. 5. Interestingly enough, the Seahawks themselves come in at No. 3 overall. As to be expected, the New England Patriots are atop the list.