4 Kansas City CHIEFS
WHEN general manager Scott Pioli and coach Todd Haley arrived in early 2009 and got a feel for their team, they quickly realized the Chiefs needed a few good men. Pioli and Haley found the locker room almost devoid of veteran leaders who knew how to set an example for younger teammates. So in came the likes of Mike Vrabel, Zach Thomas and Mike Brown on defense, and Bobby Engram, Amani Toomer and Mike Goff on offense. The payoff was disappointing, however—with the exception of Vrabel, the former Patriots linebacker who owns three Super Bowl rings, those veteran additions had little left in the tank, and proud old pros like Thomas and Toomer didn't even make it out of the preseason.
Nevertheless, Pioli and Haley had identified a glaring deficiency. So they once again addressed the issue this off-season, taking a slightly different tack. Kansas City added a few still-productive veterans, particularly running back Thomas Jones and guard Ryan Lilja, and made it a priority to re-sign Vrabel. But the Chiefs' brain trust focused primarily on drafting building-block players who've exhibited strong leadership skills at every level they've played.
Six of Kansas City's seven selections in April were team captains last season, including first-round safety Eric Berry (Tennessee), second-round receiver and return man Dexter McCluster (Mississippi), second-round cornerback Javier Arenas (Alabama), third-round tight end Tony Moeaki (Iowa) and fifth-round safety Kendrick Lewis (Mississippi). Not only did the Chiefs reap a mature crop of rookies, but most of those players also appear ready to grow quickly into contributors. If they do, the 2010 draft could go down as a franchise turning point, representing the first step back toward playoff contention for a club that has won just 10 games in the past three years and last made the postseason in 2006.
"That work of rebuilding a program is not always a fun and pleasant experience early on," said Haley, who was 4--12 as a rookie coach in 2009. "You have to stay the course while you're trying to change the mind-set of grown men who think they're already doing things the way they should be done. But at least we got that painful part over with. I don't know if we can be any good, but we're going to be better, and things are going in the right direction."
Kansas City also acquired new coordinators in Charlie Weis (offense) and Romeo Crennel (defense), two old pros who won't suit up but will make an impact all the same. Both are coming off less-than-stellar stints as head coaches—Weis for five seasons at Notre Dame and Crennel for four with the Browns—and the conventional wisdom is that they're both back in the roles they know and are best suited to perform.
Weis's time in New England didn't overlap with that of Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel, but the two know each through their mutual friendship with Tom Brady, and so far the fit has been everything Cassel, whom Kansas City acquired from the Pats last year, hoped it would be. "When I got [to New England in 2005], it was all Charlie Weis stories, and it was all great stuff," says Cassel. "Tom said Coach Weis made him a better quarterback and that he'll push us and make us accountable."
And Crennel will similarly raise the bar on defense. That means it's put-up time for a couple of top five draft picks who have underwhelmed thus far: defensive ends Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson. As a former D-line coach who knows the 3--4 scheme inside out, Crennel will make the two ex--LSU stars his personal projects.
Haley, Crennel, Weis and Pioli all learned coaching and personnel management from Bill Parcells, and one of the key instructions in the Tuna's turnaround manual is that teams won't start to win until they fully develop the second- and third-year players on their rosters. That means that in Kansas City the rebuilding is probably a season or two from being done. But like the newly renovated Arrowhead Stadium, the appearance of real improvement on the Chiefs is evident almost everywhere you look.
PROJECTED STARTERS
WITH 2009 STATS
COACH TODD HALEY
OFFENSE
2009 Rank: 25
QB MATT CASSEL
G 15
ATT 493
COMP 271
PCT 55.0
YARDS 2,924
TD 16
INT 16
RATING 69.9
RB THOMAS JONES
G 16
ATT 331
YARDS 1,402
AVG 4.2
REC 10
YARDS 58
AVG 5.8
TTD 14
FB TIM CASTILLE
G 7
ATT 14
YARDS 55
AVG 3.9
REC 4
YARDS 37
AVG 9.3
TTD 1
WR DWAYNE BOWE
G 11
REC 47
YARDS 589
TTD 4
WR CHRIS CHAMBERS
G 16
REC 45
YARDS 730
TTD 5
TE LEONARD POPE
G 13
REC 20
YARDS 174
TTD 1
LT BRANDEN ALBERT
G 14
HT 6'5"
WT 316
LG BRIAN WATERS
G 15
HT 6'3"
WT 320
C RUDY NISWANGER
G 16
HT 6'5"
WT 301
RG RYAN LILJA
G 16
HT 6'2"
WT 290
RT RYAN O'CALLAGHAN
G 14
HT 6'7"
WT 330
DEFENSE
2009 Rank: 30
DE TYSON JACKSON
G 16
TACKLES 38
SACKS 0
INT 0
NT RON EDWARDS
G 16
TACKLES 29
SACKS 0
INT 0
DE GLENN DORSEY
G 15
TACKLES 54
SACKS 1
INT 0
LB MIKE VRABEL
G 14
TACKLES 52
SACKS 2
INT 0
LB DERRICK JOHNSON
G 15
TACKLES 37
SACKS 1
INT 3
LB JOVAN BELCHER
G 16
TACKLES 48
SACKS 0
INT 0
LB TAMBA HALI
G 16
TACKLES 62
SACKS 8½
INT 0
CB BRANDON FLOWERS
G 15
TACKLES 65
SACKS 0
INT 5
FS JON MCGRAW
G 14
TACKLES 46
SACKS 1
INT 1
SS ERIC BERRY (R)
G 13
TACKLES 87
SACKS 0
INT 2
CB BRANDON CARR
G 16
TACKLES 62
SACKS 0
INT 1
SPECIAL TEAMS
P DUSTIN COLQUITT
PUNTS 96
AVG 45.4
NET 40.8
K RYAN SUCCOP
FG 25--29
XP 29--29
POINTS 104
PR JAVIER ARENAS (R)
RET 32
AVG 15.4
TD 1
KR JAVIER ARENAS (R)
RET 19
AVG 29.0
TD 0
New acquisition
(R) Rookie: College stats
TTD: Total touchdowns
2010 SCHEDULE
2009 Record: 4--12
September
13 San Diego (M)
19 at Cleveland
26 San Francisco
October
3 BYE
10 at Indianapolis
17 at Houston
24 Jacksonville
31 Buffalo
November
7 at Oakland
14 at Denver
21 Arizona
28 at Seattle
December
5 Denver
12 at San Diego
19 at St. Louis
26 Tennessee
January
2 Oakland
(M) Monday
SCHEDULE STRENGTH
NFL Rank: T22
Opponents' 2009 winning percentage: .488
Games against 2009 playoff teams: 4
ANALYSIS
Here's a case where a soft schedule can help a struggling club. Even with a difficult trip to Indianapolis in Week 5, Kansas City has the easiest out-of-division slate—including Buffalo and Jacksonville at home—of any AFC West team. If the Chiefs emerge from the early part of their schedule in decent shape, a stretch of winnable midseason games could set them up for a surprise playoff run.
SPOTLIGHT
Thomas Jones, Running back
IT'S NOT every year that a 1,400-yard rusher winds up on the open market, but when Jones wasn't asked back by the Jets, despite finishing third in the league with a career-best 1,402 rushing yards and scoring 14 touchdowns, the Chiefs quickly signed the 10-year veteran to a two-year, $5 million deal.
Jones turned 32 last month, which to some extent explains his availability, but only the Titans' Chris Johnson had more 100-yard games (12) than Jones's seven last season. The tandem of Jones and third-year back Jamaal Charles gives Kansas City a pairing that produced two of the five best rushing days of 2009. Charles, who gained 1,120 yards while starting just 10 games, rolled for 259 yards in a Week 17 win at Denver, and Jones plowed for 210 yards against the Bills in mid-October.
But Jones's robust production is only part of his appeal to the Chiefs. His businesslike approach to the game is contagious. Just ask his former New York teammates, many of whom bemoaned the Jets' willingness to let him walk. "Thomas Jones, he's off the charts," says K.C. coach Todd Haley. "I've never been around somebody who's the complete package like him. The guy is a beast."
With Jones and Charles moving the chains and shifty rookie Dexter McCluster adding some wiggle to the Kansas City ground game, there's no AFC West backfield that goes deeper. The combination could carry the Chiefs' offense further than it has been since the high-scoring Dick Vermeil era.
PHOTO
DAVID E. KLUTHO
NEW VISION Berry is one of six Chiefs draft picks who captained their college teams in '09.
PHOTO
AL MESSERSCHMIDT/GETTY IMAGES