Walter Football: 2015 Chiefs outlook and prediction

[Bufkin]

TL : DR losing record

2015 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
WR Jeremy Maclin, G Ben Grubbs, G Jeff Linkenbach, G Paul Fanaika, DT Vance Walker, ILB Joe Mays, CB Chris Owens, S Tyvon Branch.
Early Draft Picks:
CB Marcus Peters, C/G Mitch Morse, WR Chris Conley, CB Steve Nelson, ILB Ramik Wilson. Chiefs Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
WR Dwayne Bowe, TE Anthony Fasano, C Rodney Hudson, DE/DT Vance Walker, DE/DT Kevin Vickerson, ILB Joe Mays, CB Chris Owens.

2015 Kansas City Chiefs Offense:
Everyone has heard the ridiculous stat by now: Alex Smith failed to throw a single touchdown pass to a receiver throughout the entire 2014 season. The Chiefs' scoring attack sputtered at times as a consequence, and the team scored 19 or fewer points in five of its final eight games. A promising 7-3 record quickly turned into 9-7 finish that left the franchise out of the playoffs.

Kansas City's front office had to do everything in its power to make sure this side of the football was much more productive. Of course, that could prove to be difficult considering how limited Alex Smith is. Smith does a great job of avoiding turnovers, but he's able to do that because he throws shorter, checkdown-type passes and seldom challenges opposing defenses downfield. Smith consequently won't ever be able to lead a team to a Super Bowl victory. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they don't have a promising alternative.

Smith can, however, take a team to the playoffs if he has enough talent around him and a strong defense to keep the overall scoring down. Kansas City had a poor receiving corps last season, but was able to improve this area by signing Jeremy Maclin to a big contract. Maclin is a capable No. 1 receiver when he's on the field, but his health has been a big issue over the years. He wasn't banged up at all this past season, but he had played a full slate of games just once in his career prior to 2014. It's safe to say that Maclin will either miss time or play injured at some point in the near future.

If Maclin goes down, Kansas City will be in big trouble because Smith's only viable option, if the backfield is excluded, will be Travis Kelce. The third-year tight end caught 67 balls for 862 yards and five touchdowns in 2014 and should continue to improve. There's not much elsewhere, however, as Albert Wilson and third-round rookie Chris Conley will fight for the starting receiver job across from Maclin. Neither is expected to contribute much.

The most important player in the Chiefs' offense is Jamaal Charles. The dynamic running back had just 1,033 rushing yards in 2014, but still averaged five yards per carry and also caught 40 passes. He was hampered by multiple leg injuries this past season, and that was another reason why Kansas City struggled to score down the stretch. Knile Davis is a quality backup, but if Charles is limited again, the Chiefs won't be able to put up points consistently.

Speaking of Charles, he made the news this offseason by telling the media that he wanted the front office to upgrade the offensive line. The complete opposite occurred, however, as the team lost its best blocker when Rodney Hudson signed with the Raiders. Kansas City spent a second-round pick on Mitch Morse to take his place, but it's unclear how the Missouri product will perform. He'll be flanked by Ben Grubbs and Jeff Allen. The former was once considered a terrific guard, but he just turned 31 following a mediocre season. Allen, meanwhile, missed most of the 2014 campaign with an elbow injury.

It doesn't get any better on the outside. Left tackle Eric Fisher has not lived up to the expectations of a No. 1 overall choice. In fact, he has struggled, and there are now questions within the organization about whether he's tough enough to play in the NFL. Donald Stephenson, who was suspended last year for PEDs, is expected to start at right tackle. There aren't any other promising options, so it's easy to see why Charles was so desperate for his team to upgrade the front line.

2015 Kansas City Chiefs Defense:
The Chiefs had three major problems this past season. Two of them - the receiving corps and offensive line - were discussed already. The poor run defense was the third. Kansas City struggled mightily to stop the rush, surrendering more than 2,000 yards on the ground.

Injuries were the key culprit. Two prominent members of the stop unit barely played, as inside linebacker Derrick Johnson tore his Achilles in Week 1, while Eric Berry had to leave football because he was diagnosed with cancer. Berry obviously won't be available in 2015, while Johnson is unlikely to be at 100 percent, given that he turns 33 in November. Starting defensive end Mike DeVito also missed time with a torn Achilles of his own, and as a 31-year-old, he'll have trouble recovering as well.

Kansas City curiously failed to find sure-fire upgrades at all three positions. A fourth-round selection was used on inside linebacker Ramik Wilson, but he may not be able to start for a while. Then again, he may not have much difficulty leapfrogging either Josh Mauga or James-Michael Johnson, both of whom were major liabilities in run support this past season. Even if he's on one leg, Johnson can't possibly be worse than either player. Meanwhile, no one was added to the defensive line to help outstanding nose tackle Dontari Poe. He'll be starting next to the hobbled DeVito and pedestrian Allen Bailey.

Tyvon Branch was added to potentially help at safety, but like many of the other Kansas City defenders, he can't be relied upon to stay healthy; he has played in just five games the past two seasons, after all. If he can somehow manage to stay healthy, he would be an upgrade over either starting safety. Both Husain Abdullah and Ron Parker are just marginal players who also struggled to contain the rush (notice a theme here?)

While the Chiefs were absolutely atrocious in terms of defending ground attacks, and look like they'll continue to be so, they should at least excel in terms of getting after the quarterback and stopping the pass. There are a couple of reasons for this, and the primary one is the duo of Justin Houston and Tamba Hali. Both players are among the top rush linebackers in the NFL; in fact, Houston came just one sack short of breaking Michael Strahan's single-season record in 2014. Hali had a bit of a down year, but he still played very well.

Houston and Hali make things easier for a Kansas City secondary that figures to have a new starting cornerback in 2015. The front office spent its first-round selection on Marcus Peters, who slipped to No. 18 overall despite being a top-10 prospect because of character issues. However, Andy Reid investigated Peters thoroughly and determined that there wasn't much risk. Peters will likely start across from Sean Smith, a corner who was inconsistent in the past but just had an outstanding 2014 campaign.

2015 Kansas City Chiefs Schedule and Intangibles:
The Chiefs need to bring back the Arrowhead magic that existed prior to 2007. Since that year, Kansas City is a dreadful 26-39 as a host, though it was 5-3 in 2013 and 6-2 last year.

Andy Reid had poor special-teams units in Philadelphia after John Harbaugh left for Baltimore. That was not the case the past two years for the Chiefs, as they've combined for six return touchdowns. De'Anthony Thomas and Knile Davis both found the end zone in 2014, and the Chiefs outgained the opposition in both punt and kickoff returns.

Kicker Cairo Santos struggled early last year, going 2-of-4 during the first two weeks, but he finished 25-of-30 overall. He converted just one of two tries from beyond 50.

Pro Bowler Dustin Colquitt was 11th in net punting average in 2013 and moved up to eighth last season. He's a master at pinning the opposition inside the 20.

"The Chiefs had an easy schedule last year, but that's not the case in 2015. Three of the team's first four opponents made the playoffs last year (Broncos, Packers, Bengals), and the lone exception is Houston, which is pretty solid. After that, Kansas City has to battle the Steelers, Lions, Broncos (twice) and Ravens.


2015 Kansas City Chiefs Rookies:
Go here for the Chiefs Rookie Forecast, a page with predictions like which rookie will bust and which rookie will become a solid starter.

2015 Kansas City Chiefs Analysis: The Chiefs have a shot at the playoffs again, but a taxing, early-season schedule could doom them. They open with three road games against the Texans, Packers and Bengals, and the lone home contest is against Denver. If Kansas City survives that stretch with a 1-3 record or better, the team might be able to recover. However, an 0-4 start is definitely possible, and if that happens, the Chiefs once again won't be playing into January.

Projected record: 7-9, 3rd in division.
Read more at http://walterfootball.com/offseason2...pfPkTl3Qz8q.99