2015 Season Win Total - 8.5
Year In Review: The Kansas City Chiefs fell short of a playoff bid in 2014. The Chiefs did finish with a decent record of 9-7. Kansas City played well at home, but the road games gave them issues last year. Alex Smith started every game in 2014 and will be the teams QB this year again. RB Jamaal Charles had a productive year and this year he should be high on the fantasy draft list once again. Do the Chiefs have enough talent on this roster to make the playoffs or beyond is the big question.
-- 2015 Key Additions:
WR - Jeremy Maclin
CB - Marcus Peters
S - Tyvon Branch
RG - Paul Fanaika
LG - Ben Grubbs
WR - Jason Avant
(Overview) --- Some of the additions i like. Some i don't think will help this team much. Jeremy Maclin will be perfect for a guy like Alex Smith. Maclin has no fear doing what his QB needs or wants him to do..Smith will get very comfortable looking for Maclin on a regular basis...Peters was a big need with the CB position, KC was hurting for young talent after a few key injuries to the KC backend. The O-Line got a updrage with Ben Grubbs, the Pro-Bowl LG should be a big help and the line will see some improvement in that area.
-- 2015 Key Departures:
TE - Anthony Fasano
WR - Donnie Avery
WR - Dwayne Bowe
LB - Joe Mays
DT - Vance Walker
(Overview) --- Losing 3 starters from the offense who produced for this team may hurt. Bowe is a great player, but he had plenty of issues in past years. Avery will be missed for sure. Same goes for Fasano. Not top tear talent by any regards with that trio, but i wonder how much of an upgrade the Chiefs actually made in the passing area with additions Vs. departures.
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OFFENSE:
--- Alex Smith will be under center for another year. We all know and love Alex Smith and what he brings to the table. Smith is that guy who won't give you a ton of offense production, but you can always count on Smith to never hurt the team with turnovers or bone headed plays. Smith only threw a total of 6 Int's last year. That's very good. The downside to Smith is the yards he can gain with his arm. Only throwing for 3,265 yards in this league isn't going to cut in in 2015. Smith had a total of 6 games under 200 yards. Only once did Smith throw for over 300 yards. This area needs to be improved. I think Smith can, but i also think he may struggle with a whole new cast of characters on the outside. Smith is the key to how far the Chiefs go.
--- With these two running backs on the roster the Chiefs are a legit threat with the run game. Jamaal Charles (pictured left) has been one of the better talents at the running back positon in recent years. The big question is what Jamaal Charles shows up in 2015. Charles had a much better year last year as he rushed for 1,033 yards and 9td's...His recieving was a big help as well, and that might carry over as an added threat once again this year. Charles has the talent to have that big year again. Knile Davis (pictured right) is another quick hitter. He filled in nice with the Chiefs backfield. Chiefs also have some depth here at this spot with Cyrus Grey and D'Anthony Thomas. I do expect Thomas to be used in both the RB and WR position this year. This is by far the strength of this Chiefs offense.
--- This can be a problem area for the Chiefs in 2015. It very well may not be a problem area if this offense can find some type of offseason cohesion. Out with the old and in with the new. Concerns here for this tandom of players who will be catching the ball overall..Jeremy Maclin (pictured left) comes into a rather comfortable situation. Maclin played for Andy Reid and was a well liked guy by Reid. Maclin will get the bulk of the catches this year for sure. I'm not 100% sure of the rest of the guys production wise. Albert Wilson (pictured middle) will fill in another empty spot as well. Wilson coming into his second year will need to step up in a big way. he was very limited last year. He picked up the slack when needed as the Chiefs season was coming to an end. Travis Kelce (pictured right) is a nice fit i think overall..He stepped up bigtime last year and should give that security blanket Alex Smith needs..Kelce had 67 catches for 862 yards last year. One of the better years for all of the TE in the league. Can these guys mesh is the big question with Smith and everything being new to this entire offense?
(Area of Concern) --- I guess i can sum it up by saying the entire offense. Charles hasn't been 100% steady. I do think he is in for a big year however. The RB position is the least of my worries. The O-Line needed some attention and it got it. How will it work is another question. The only real spot that has been untouched is the center postion. Everyone else is mixing and matching spots. With this type of offense with all the new players the Chiefs will need to get this group solid up front and knowing what is going to take place this year. I have concerns with the O-line depth. QB spot is a concern. Smith is "ok" overall, but how will he react to seeing new faces this year. WR core is scary IMO. I'm not sold on the overall talent base. They don't have a true home run hitter in this group. A decent group, but Maclin will have to carry them a long way.
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DEFENSE:
Dontari Poe will anchor the middle of this defense. I like Poe overall and i can see hime having another productive year. Poe is a big body and running on this KC defense at times can be tough if Poe has the motor running...Along side Poe will be Allen Bailey and Mike Devito...Between Poe and Bailey they had 11 sacks last year. Now with DeVito coming back from being out last year, this group should be on point for 2015.
Tamba Hali should have a much better year. The Chiefs had a few big injuries and Hali struggled to get into his groove all year. His numbers in 2014 fell short of season expectations. Hali will be causing havoc with a fresh season here. The LB core is rather solid with Justin Houston and Derrick Johnson...The real grinder in the LB core is Josh Mauga. I really think he will have a big year once again. He had a total of 103 tackles last year and will keep this group going all year in the middle. Teams that choose to run on this defense may have trouble having succesful run game yardage.
Sean Smith (pictured left) and Ron Parker (pictured right) will have to step up this year. They have a new rookie CB taking a spot on this defense and this is my one area of concern for the Chiefs on defense. I don't think they are a top 10 defense with this backend. Parker is high on my radar and i think another big year for the Chiefs FS is on tap. Kansas City really needs to step up creating turnovers and getting to the ball. They finished tied for worst in the league in 2014 in the interception department with a total of only 6 picks. That won't cut it this year. They have all the talent to get after the QB and create issues with the D-Line. They need to get better in this spot without a doubt and get themselves some interceptions this year.
(Area Of Concern) --- Well i guess saying the entire defense would be unfair. So i will say 80% of the defense draws concerns. They can quickly shut me up with some solid efforts this year though. As i stated the backend is my big worry spot. Once that becomes a issue, so does the rest of the defense. Injuries can really hurt this defense. Depth "was" an issue last year. It still may be as the young talent they have may not be NFL ready to just step into huge roll on this defense. Only time will tell how good this group will be. If the backend really steps up, this defense can become tough to move the ball on. That's a big "if" in my eyes. Still, i think they have talent, just not superstar talent. They really need that IMO.
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The 2015 Schedule:
REGULAR
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1 SEP 13 12:00PMCDT * AT
TEXANS
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2 SEP 17 7:25PMCDT * ,
BRONCOS
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3 SEP 28 7:30PMCDT + AT
PACKERS
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4 OCT 4 12:00PMCDT * AT
BENGALS
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5 OCT 11 12:00PMCDT )
BEARS
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6 OCT 18 12:00PMCDT * AT
VIKINGS
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7 OCT 25 12:00PMCDT *
STEELERS
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8 NOV 1 08:30AMCST )
LIONS
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10 NOV 15 3:25PMCST * AT
BRONCOS
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11 NOV 22 7:30PMCST ' AT
CHARGERS
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12 NOV 29 12:00PMCST *
BILLS
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13 DEC 6 3:05PMCST * AT
RAIDERS
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14 DEC 13 12:00PMCST *
CHARGERS
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15 DEC 20 12:00PMCST * AT
RAVENS
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16 DEC 27 12:00PMCST *
BROWNS
16 JAN 3 12:00PMCST * RAIDERS
(Overview)
I'm worried about the Chiefs before the bye week. They will get a bye week in week 9..A little late for my liking. They split 4 home and road games. Problem for the Chiefs is the road games are rather tough when you look at the home games in between. Back to back trips to GB then to Cincy after a week 2 showdown Vs. Denver looks to be a tough stretch. Chiefs will get the NFC North and every team in that division will be tough to beat. I think the Chiefs will need to get the job done at home early in the season. Going anything less then 3-1 at home before the bye may be a concern as the year moves ahead. After the bye they head back out on the road for back to back road games Vs. Denver then SD. Play a tough Bills team at home after that. Week 15 won't be a picnic either with travels to Baltimore. Pushover games on this schedule are rather ok. Oak (2), Clev, Bears, Texans, Bills...They get 3 of those at home and 3 on the road. I really think the Chiefs at best go 4-4 on the road. The Chiefs at home are a tough bunch. The place is loud and that crowd always provides a boost. They will need to do so again this year. Home look right now is a best 6-3..Will they get that done?..Maybe...
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Andy Reid isn't the flashy kinda guy coach. He is rather dull and with the roaster he has on deck, i don't expect anything exciting from this team. Maybe we get Charles home with our fantasy drafts, but that's about it. Maclin is a nice piece and the defense should be rather stout. My overall concern is the lack of superstar players on either side of the ball. The Chiefs lack in this spot..How will the O-Line and Defensive backend be this year. We have a ton of questions with this team. Being rather confident is rather tough. It starts with Reid and trickles down from the QB and so on and so on.....The schedule is "fair". Most teams who have talent can do damage to a schedule of this type. I'm just not sold the Chiefs are that type of team. Alex Smith will need to find some type of passing game he hasn't had in years past. Charles will have to be the Charles of old and build on last year. This team needs to stay healthy and they need to do that for the entire season. Any little hiccup on either side can be a disaster. The depth they have is young right now. The Chiefs at home are always a tough out, but taking them on the road has been a real challenge with Reid and Smith. Something needs to change for this team to make a big leap. Again in my eyes it's the same old KC Chiefs. You might get 10 wins or ya might get 4...I think 10 wins is the max for this bunch. I do believe the basement has a realistic chance as well. Total is set at 8.5. If i had to put my hard earned cash on the line i would place it on the under. I very well can lose this wager. I very well can be counting my money with this ticket as early as week 9. The jury is out, but for right now i like the under play.
Season Prediction : Under 8.5