If it was already posted, I couldn't find it.
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn...c.php?t=432562
Chiefs' burning question: Smart to rebuild now?
The problem with many teams in the NFL is they get caught between contending and pretending to the extent that they are consistently average, making an occasional trip to the playoffs. The pressure to turn things around quickly mounts, so there's no time to be patient in developing a young team into one that can consistently play with the NFL's elite.
The Kansas City Chiefs fit that category in coach Herman Edwards' first season in 2006. They made the playoffs as a wild card, but it was merely a cameo appearance, as they lost to eventual the eventual Super Bowl champion, Indianapolis.
Last season, the Chiefs' record plummeted from 9-7 to 4-12, tied for the second-worst record in the AFC. So their collective true identity over the past two years has been one of mediocrity.
Going into the '08 season, the Chiefs are still looking for stability at quarterback and trying to reconstruct a solid line in front of their QB. They also traded their best player, defensive end Jared Allen, to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Chiefs didn't have the look of an AFC playoff contender with Allen, so by moving Allen, it's clear they are committed to looking beyond this year. Considering the San Diego Chargers are entrenched as the division's best team, the powers who be in Kansas City are smart to set up the Chiefs for something big for the time when the Bolts' window is bolted shut.
Although there will be reduced heat on Edwards to make the playoffs with what he's got this season, there are a couple menu items that need to get slow-cooked in K.C. in preparation for the Chiefs' steady rise out of the pit:
The passing game needs to show chemistry -- and promise. On a rebuilding team, it makes sense to go with 25-year-old Brodie Croyle, 25, over Damon Huard, who just turned 35. Croyle hasn't dazzled through 11 games in his first two seasons, so he has plenty to prove in Year 3.
One key for Croyle is getting into a rhythm with the most important players around him. Second-year man Dwayne Bowe looks like the league's next elite receiver, and Croyle needs to develop a great downfield rapport with him.
Then Croyle must find a No. 2 possession-type receiver he trusts, whether it's third-year man Jeff Webb, rookie Will Franklin or newcomer Devard Darling, signed from the Baltimore Ravens. Croyle needs to get out of situations where he's always forcing the ball to Bowe.
He also needs to trust his pass protection and help his linemen by making quicker decisions with the ball. He's getting a big, new blind-side blocker in left tackle Branden Albert, and needs to take advantage of the rookie's presence.
Of course, this all means venerable tight end Tony Gonzalez, 32, will be busier than ever as the elder statesman of the passing game. It's a good thing Gonzalez hasn't lost much over the years, because he can still bring plenty of playmaking energy along with his savvy.
If the Chiefs discover they can rely on Croyle to be their starter beyond this season, it will be the biggest step toward consistently contending.
The younger defensive players need to get help from their elders -- and respect them. The Allen trade leaves second-year man Tamba Hali as the team's primary edge pass rusher. He'll be joined by two rookies, tackle Glenn Dorsey and cornerback Brandon Flowers, in the starting lineup. The Chiefs also have third-year man Derrick Johnson, who still hasn't quite hit on his immense potential at outside linebacker.
That quartet needs to emerge as the foundation for what the Chiefs want to accomplish down the line. In the process, they need four older players - Donnie Edwards, Patrick Surtain, Alfonso Boone and Ron Edwards -- to help create some cohesion.
Edwards, the team's 35-year-old middle linebacker, will be especially important. Ideally, Edwards' wisdom will rub off on Johnson and help him to grab the torch as the primary playmaking linebacker.
Flowers, who was drafted to replace Ty Law, must draw on the experience of Surtain, a 10-year veteran, at the other cornerback spot. Hali and Dorsey should lean on the other half of the line's starting four, Boone and Edwards (both entering their eighth NFL seasons) to make the unit as a whole more disruptive.
Good rebuilding in the NFL starts with being totally committed to the cause, which the Chiefs are. There still is plenty of teaching and learning to be done to get them where they want to be. Herman Edwards is the right coach with the right demeanor to pull it off sooner than later, and the Chiefs are off to a great start with the very young talent they've started to assemble.