Kansas City Chiefs: Finding Wins May Be Difficult
By Joel Wagler
The Kansas City Chiefs start their 2014 season this week. They are coming off a playoff appearance last season, and expectations are high again this year. The question is if they can make the playoffs again and be contenders for the Super Bowl.
You shouldn’t count on it.
I’m not trying to be a pessimist – just a realist.
Schedule strength is always a fluid thing. Opponents that look tough now could be cake walks by the time the games comes around. Opponents that most would have counted as easy victories when the schedules came out, suddenly looking less sure.
Take the Tennessee Titans, for instance. The Titans went 7-9 last year, and looked like a nice team to start the season against at home. Now, with the suspensions of Dwayne Bowe and Donald Stephenson, plus the injury to Joe Mays, this will be a much tougher win than it seemed at first.
The difference between 11-5 and 5-11 is often times slim. A bad bounce of the ball here, and lucky bounce there, a bad call here, a good call there – and it is the difference between a terrible season and a playoff appearance.
I have always considered the NFL to be an 8-8 league. Each year, there will be a handful of really good teams, and an equal amount of really bad teams. The other 20 or so teams are relatively even.
The difference between 11-5 and 5-11 is often times slim. A bad bounce of the ball here, and lucky bounce there, a bad call here, a good call there – and it is the difference between a terrible season and a playoff appearance.
The Chiefs weren’t as bad as their 2-14 record in 2-12, and probably not as good as their 11-5 record a year ago.
Last season, in their first 9 games, in which the Chiefs were undefeated, they faced just two quarterbacks that could be considered good NFL signal callers – Tony Romo and Eli Manning – and Manning had his worst year as a pro.
When the Chiefs faced good quarterbacks in the second half, they lost. They were 0-6 against Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, and Andrew Luck.
The Chiefs’ schedule includes the defending Super Bowl champs, the Seattle Seahawks. They will also see the San Francisco 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The New York Jets and a visit north to play the Buffalo Bills, a team the Chiefs seem to struggle against, are also on the slate.
When you figure in the the six AFC West games, wins just may be very hard to come by for a team with several holes, or at least, several positions with numerous question marks.
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When you look at the schedule as a whole, there are few games in which the Kansas City Chiefs should feel even remotely comfortable.
Suspensions and injuries may make the Titans a tougher opponent than originally thought. Kansas City gets the Miami Dolphins, by no means a power house team, in week three, but on the road.
The Kansas City Chiefs will host in-state rival, the St. Louis Rams, in October, who lost quarterback Sam Bradford during the preseason. This is the one game you can feel at ease with at this point, and only because the contest will be played in Arrowhead.
The Oakland Raiders may not be the greatest team in the world, but beating the Raiders is never a sure thing, no matter what the records are.
While every game is winnable, it is hard to see this roster beating the likes of the Broncos, Patriots, 49ers and Seahawks. The Steelers and Chargers are never easy games. Just these teams make up half the games. How many of these do you think the Chiefs will win?
Last week, Leigh Oleszczak wrote she thought Chiefs fans should be prepared for a rough season.
"…Chiefs fans should be worried. This year is not going to be pretty."
She is right! Between the seemingly thin depth throughout the roster, and this incredible brutal schedule, we shouldn’t be surprised if this is rough season for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Maybe we should lower our expectations. That way, if Leigh and I are wrong, everyone can be pleasantly surprised. As it stands now, though, don’t be shocked with a 5-11 season. A lot of balls will need to bounce the Chiefs’ way for a better mark.