Reasons for optimism about the 2015 Chiefs

[Rain Man]

1. The team beat some of the best teams in the league in 2014, and really missed going 12-4 by laying eggs against the Titans and Raiders (and getting jobbed in the Arizona game).

2. The team is very young. Their oldest player at 32 is Colquitt, and many strong contributors are still under 28.

3. Top ten defense in 2014 that will likely only lose one key player, whose replacement is already on the team. Plus, they may get DJ and Devito back, though I think Jaye Howard and Allen Bailey played themselves into starting jobs.

4. Offensive playmakers in Charles, DAT, and Kelce.

5. The team had a winning record with almost no turnovers all year. Many turnovers are the result of a lucky bounce, so if they regress to the mean next year they'll be much better.

6. Manning will be another year older, and we're seeing that he can't stand up over a full season any more. He's Manning for 13 weeks and Palko for 3. Next year it'll be Palko for four.

7. Rivers will be another year older, and the Raiders will continue to be the Raiders.

8. Justin Houston. Yeah, Justin Houston. And we're seeing the Dee Ford is really, really fast. Plus, they have a nose tackle who's good for half a dozen sacks per year.

9. Dustin Colquitt. He just keeps getting better.

10. We have a good core of depth in place at many positions. The defensive backfield impressed me in sheer numbers this year, as did the running backs and linebackers. This is not a thin team. They just have a few holes to fill.

[Dave Lane]

Originally Posted by MAG

i think we're going to win it all, friends.

Will any of us still be alive?

[xztop123]

Not sure if Chris Owens or McGlynn would start in the canadian football league

[RJ]

Chiefs were a few wins better than I expected this year and should have had a couple more. I think they're very close with a couple of receiver additions. Looks like Torrey Smith won't be back with the Ravens. A guy like that would make Alex Smith a better QB. He doesn't do much in the short game but can really spread the field.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

1. The team beat some of the best teams in the league in 2014, and really missed going 12-4 by laying eggs against the Titans and Raiders (and getting jobbed in the Arizona game).

2. The team is very young. Their oldest player at 32 is Colquitt, and many strong contributors are still under 28.

3. Top ten defense in 2014 that will likely only lose one key player, whose replacement is already on the team. Plus, they may get DJ and Devito back, though I think Jaye Howard and Allen Bailey played themselves into starting jobs.

4. Offensive playmakers in Charles, DAT, and Kelce.

5. The team had a winning record with almost no turnovers all year. Many turnovers are the result of a lucky bounce, so if they regress to the mean next year they'll be much better.

6. Manning will be another year older, and we're seeing that he can't stand up over a full season any more. He's Manning for 13 weeks and Palko for 3. Next year it'll be Palko for four.

7. Rivers will be another year older, and the Raiders will continue to be the Raiders.

8. Justin Houston. Yeah, Justin Houston. And we're seeing the Dee Ford is really, really fast. Plus, they have a nose tackle who's good for half a dozen sacks per year.

9. Dustin Colquitt. He just keeps getting better.

10. We have a good core of depth in place at many positions. The defensive backfield impressed me in sheer numbers this year, as did the running backs and linebackers. This is not a thin team. They just have a few holes to fill.

Well done my friend.

We get WR and OL starters, we are ready to compete and maybe, just maybe win a playoff game.

[jonzie04]

I honestly think the Chiefs could have a defense that rivals Seattles next year with only a few more guys. If we could bring in a guy like Antonio Cromartie, and A Stud LB like Brandon Spikes with a healthy DJ, our Defense would be downright insane. With Cromartie, A healthy DJ, and Spikes on the field yesterday I don't think SD can even crack 200 yards of total offense. Or Pittsburg the previous week either.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by jonzie04

I honestly think the Chiefs could have a defense that rivals Seattles next year with only a few more guys. If we could bring in a guy like Antonio Cromartie, and A Stud LB like Brandon Spikes with a healthy DJ, our Defense would be downright insane. With Cromartie, A healthy DJ, and Spikes on the field yesterday I don't think SD can even crack 200 yards of total offense. Or Pittsburg the previous week either.

Bring in Walter Thurmond and draft Ramik Wilson in rd 3. Profit.

[smith11]

Originally Posted by Count Alex's Losses

Sac: the Chiefs took a giant step backwards on offense this year.

It was for two reasons:

1. Alex is easy to defend.

2. We lost our Pro Bowl left tackle.

You lose, old bean.

though you usually aren't I have seen that you have the capacity to be fair..."we lost our pro bowl left tackle" understates things--chiefs lost 3 starting caliber olineman in albert, asamoah and schwarts (4 if you count jeff allen, 5 if you count stephenson) and
replaced them with journeymen like mcglynn, harris and likenbach (did you see him get lifted off the ground and thrown back into smith in the steelers game)..granted smith's mindset holds him back from just cutting it loose downfield, but if you want downfield passing your qb has to have time to make a 5 or 7 step drop

"alex is easy to defend"---his won loss record since 2011 belies this---until the late season emergence of Jason avant and albert Wilson he was playing with 1 quality receiver in bowe..think about it--game 1 bowe is out, so avery is the #1 guy and Frankie Hammond is #2 ..avery is hurt in game 2 vs broncos so the receivers are bowe and Hammond or AJ Jenkins...Hammond and Jenkins are not nfl starting caliber receivers...hemingway was not very productive and hurt as the #3 guy..when avant is signed and albert Wilson actually offers production from the #2 receiver spot in the last 4 games, Smith throws for 294, 297 and 311 (they were also throwing more because the oline was not generating any consistent holes for Charles in most of those late season games)

[jonzie04]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Bring in Walter Thurmond and draft Ramik Wilson in rd 3. Profit.

Thurmonds played in a zone defense most of his career. I'm sure he could play man but how well? I like Wilson though. I'd give Thurmond a shot at the right price as well. They'd both be massive upgrades over the guys they're replacing.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by RJ

Chiefs were a few wins better than I expected this year and should have had a couple more. I think they're very close with a couple of receiver additions. Looks like Torrey Smith won't be back with the Ravens. A guy like that would make Alex Smith a better QB. He doesn't do much in the short game but can really spread the field.

With Jamaal Charles and DAT and Kelce, I actually think that you could get two fast receivers and send them deep on every single play with no intention of ever throwing to them. As long as you pull a couple of corners back and maybe a safety, those other three guys will get you yards by the bushel.

So Torrey Smith? Sure. We could almost go full Al Davis and just find the two fastest guys out there who are labeled as wide receivers and put them on the field. Catching ability and route running would just be a bonus.

[smith11]

I wonder how many here ran to their computers after the chiefs touchdown today, ready to gloat over Daniel throwing a td pass to a receiver, only to see that bowe didn't get it in

[John Dope]

Phillip Gaines is a reason to be optimistic. He's a baller for sure. He made a huge leap going from Rice to NFL starter. He made a huge leap from training camp. He is going to be a really good one imo. He looked better than Flowers and Carr as rookies imo.

[JENKINSWINS]

Originally Posted by Tuckdaddy

I can't believe it. I have getting beat up for weeks saying this exact same thing. I will go further. When we lost Avery and Jenkins it killed our offense more than anyone thinks. Wilson? Bowe? Avant? This is who Alex is suppose to go down field to? On top of that our OL is horrible at run and pass blocking so how the hell can Alex do anything but what he has done. The OL and recievers really are that bad and were again today.

I've been saying this all season and anyone who doesn't believe that if you constantly lose in the trenches the game plan becomes what you see the Chiefs doing. Which is getting the ball out quickly so your QB doesn't get killed.

[FringeNC]

The disconnect between the reality of the job Reid and Dorsey are doing to the common perception on here is staggering. Let's take a look at objective measures of the quality of team, such as Sagarin's Pure Points rank, which takes into account strength of schedule and margin of victory as well as record:

2012: 32nd
2013: 7th
2014: 5th

This team had the fifth toughest schedule, and had tons of bad luck. Chiefs weren't a great team this year, but were still one of the best in the league. All teams have disappointing losses.

We had something like 4 INTS until the last game, and with our pass rush that's almost impossible. Incredibly bad luck on dropped INTs cost us a few games.

I think it's a testament to Reid's coaching ability that we were as good as we were given the O-line. We need a WR and O-line help. Finding a #1 WR is easier said than done, but improving LG and RT should be low hanging fruit in the off-season.

ASDS (Alex Smith Derangement Syndrome) prevents a lot of you from realizing that Reid and Dorsey have done a pretty damn good job thus far, and I'll be really surprised if we don't win, say 11 games or more next year.

One interesting player going into next year is Laurent Tardiff. The team knew he wouldn't play at all and wasted a roster spot on him. Didn't event attempt the practice squad route.