Kansas City Chiefs: Are They The Best In The AFC West

The Kansas City Chiefs head into the 2015 season with a lot of optimism. The defense should be even better than it was in 2014, and the offense made the necessary improvements to succeed. This very well could be the year that the Chiefs round the corner and take that next step.

Looking at the other teams in the division, it won’t be an easy task for the Chiefs to come out on top this season. Peter King recently ranked the Chiefs as the fourth best team in the league, and the other AFC West teams came in at ninth (Denver), 15th (San Diego), and 31st (Oakland). Still though, the Chiefs have their work cut out for them against these other division rivals.

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Kansas City did improve in the areas that they needed to during the off season. For starters, they signed Jeremy Maclin to help the receiving game. While the second wide receiver spot is still up in the air, Maclin will provide a presence that the team didn’t quite have last year.

Maclin, along with tight end Travis Kelce, will help Alex Smith out immensely in the passing game. Oh and don’t forget Jamaal Charles, who is one of the league’s best running backs.

The offensive line was easily the worst aspect of the team last year, and was improved during free agency with the additions of Ben Grubbs and Paul Fanaika. Grubbs will make an immediate impact along the line, and Fanaika will be able to come in when needed.

Adding Maclin and boosting the offensive line will give Smith the time and weapons he needs to be a great quarterback in the NFL. People are harsh when it comes to Smith, especially Chiefs fans, but the excuses have been legitimate. He didn’t have a line or targets to throw to.

Now with those two spots improved, there are no more excuses. Smith has to play like one of the best quarterbacks in the league, which I fully believe he is capable of doing.

Sure, Smith isn’t as good of a quarterback as Peyton Manning or Philip Rivers, but the Chiefs defense makes up for that.

Speaking of the defense, hopefully they pick up where they left off in 2014. Right now, however, the main concern is Justin Houston signing onto some sort of deal that will satisfy him and the organization. Even without Houston, the team still has Tamba Hali and Dontari Poe, and Derrick Johnson and Mike DeVito will be returning after missing all of the 2014 season.

The secondary should be pretty good in 2015 too, with Sean Smith expected to have another great season. The Chiefs also drafted Marcus Peters and Steven Nelson to help out downfield too (Source of link: Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star).

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So where am I going with all of this? Well, basically just to toot the team’s horn in saying that they improved and I really like how the Kansas City Chiefs are looking heading into the 2015 season. They have a real shot at finally dethroning the Denver Broncos, who have owned the division since Peyton Manning joined in 2012.

Speaking of Manning, the Chiefs are 0-6 against him since he joined the AFC West. It’s time to buck that trend this year. Oh yeah, and winning the AFC West itself would be nice.

Again though, that’ll be tough against the other teams in the division. The Broncos, despite Manning being on the “decline” so to speak, are still the Broncos and have the best quarterback in the NFL under center. The Chargers are always a formidable opponent and made the playoffs two years ago.

As for the Raiders, well… They’re the Raiders, but hey there’s potential for them this season! It’s year two for Derek Carr in Oakland, and he has a new weapon named Amari Cooper to throw to.

All in all though, I expect the Chiefs to make us all proud this year. Sure there will be bumps in the road, but all teams experience that throughout the season.

2015 should be a good year to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan.

Next: Top 5 Regular Season Games in Chiefs History

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