NFL 2010 Camp Preview: Kansas City Chiefs
The first year of the Todd Haley did not go as well as people had hoped in Kansas City, but they did improve from two wins in 2008 to four wins in 2009.
The team did not make a ton of changes this off season hoping that with another year in the system the core personnel will be that much better. The biggest changes this off season came with the coaching staff where the team hired former Patriots coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel to run the offense and defense respectively. Weis and Crennel were both coordinators under Bill Belichick in New England when they were making their Super Bowl runs.
Given that quarterback Matt Cassel played, and succeeded, under Weis’ protege Josh McDaniels in New England the hope is that Weis will be able to get Cassel back to playing the way he did in 2008 when he threw for a shade under 3,700 yards and 21 touchdowns. Cassel did not play as well as the team hoped he would but a lot of that can be attributed to the lack of talent around him and a lack of consistent pass protection up front.
The biggest player acquisition this off season was the addition of former Jets running back Thomas Jones. The addition of Jones is an interesting one given how well Jamaal Charles played over the second half of the season last year.
If the offensive line holds up this summer the Chiefs have the makings of a pretty solid offense with Charles, Jones, Cassel, Dwayne Bowe, and Chris Chambers at the skill positions.
Defensively the Chiefs are still a bit of a mess, specifically in the front seven. They need to figure out who is going to compliment Tamba Hali, whose move to being an edge rusher in the 3-4 front has revitalized his career, in the pass rush and someone to stop the bleeding against the run up front.
Top pick Eric Berry should help settle the secondary down, but they still have some holes to fill there as well.
Top Veteran Additions – Thomas Jones (RB), Ryan Lilja (OG), Shaun Smith (DT), Casey Wiegmann (C)
Jones is expected to come in and compliment the speedy Charles in the backfield. Charles is more of a speed guy who likes to get outside and out run defenses whereas Jones is more of a between the tackles type of guy who just plugs away until he has 100 yards.
Lilja is expected to be plugged in at right guard and Wiegmann is being brought in to push incumbent center Rudy Niswanger who seemed to fall apart down the stretch last season.
Shaun Smith is expected to provide some depth at the NT position and should see time in the regular defensive line rotation.
Top Rookie Additions – Eric Berry (S), Dexter McCluster (RB/WR/KR), Javier Arenas (CB), Tony Moeaki (TE)
Eric Berry was considered by many to be the top prospect and top athlete in this year’s draft and only fell to the Chiefs at five because teams simply do not like taking safeties at the top of the draft. Berry is a great all around athlete who even lined up some as a receiver during his college career at Tennessee. He is expected to step right in and play from day one and many are comparing him to Baltimore’s Ed Reed in terms of his potential to be a dynamic play-making game changer in the secondary.
The jury is out a bit on Dexter McCluster. Some of his workouts leading up to the draft left a bit to be desired as his 40 times were shockingly pedestrian. He redeemed himself a bit at his Pro Day with a couple of sub 4.5 40 times but they were still slower than the sub 4.3 times everyone was expecting from him. The Chiefs envision him being one of those guys who has the potential to take it to the house any time he gets the ball in space. He excels at making people miss in open space it will simply be a matter of whether he has the speed to outrun NFL defenders.
The consensus on Javier Arenas is that he is good enough to come in and play nickle back right away. However, given the Chiefs lack of star power at the corner positions do not be surprised if he gets a chance to win a starting job.
Given the Chiefs lack of production at the tight end position last season Tony Moeaki should get a chance to earn regular playing time this summer.
Key Position Battles
Casey Wiegmann was brought back to the team because of the overall dissatisfaction with the way Rudy Niswanger played last season. Wiegmann is still a solid veteran and could bring some stability back to the line.
Players to Watch
Dwayne Bowe seemingly spent the majority of last year in Todd Haley’s doghouse and his production took a step back because of it. Will Bowe continue to dog it next year or return to being the receiver who looked like a potential Pro Bowler his first two seasons in the league?
Dexter McCluster has the potential to be a game breaker for the Chiefs on offense.
Will Cassel flourish under the direction of offensive guru Charlie Weis or will he continue to struggle?
Will Jamaal Charles be another in a long line of flashes in the pan at running back in the NFL or is he the real deal?
