Chiefs Camp: Besties in the Westies… AGAIN!

Following the 2019 Super Bowl LIV winning season, the offseason theme for the Kansas City Chiefs was to: “Keep the Band Together.” Why wouldn’t they do that? You may also recall that when K.C. won the Lombardi Trophy, following that fantabulous Feb 2nd evening, it also marked the beginning of the pandemic. If you don’t know what I mean by “pandemic”… you must be part Ostrich, and I’m not going to spell it out for you. That offseason theme of “Don’t change a thing about the team” is light years away from the theme K.C. has implemented this offseason. David Bell said it best last week when he noted that there are only 15 players left on this team from the 2019 squad.

While GM Brett Veach and HC Andy Reid have spread much of that roster revision over the past three offseasons, this years crop of rookies and UDFA players, as well as players traded for, have by far outnumbered any other offseasons changes in recent memory. The reason that so much change is a possibility in K.C. is… the stability at specifically critical positions. Meaning, the Chiefs boast the best HC in the league, the best Tight End in the league, the best Quarterback in the league and the best Offensive Line.

If you’re a die-hard Chiefs fanatic like I am, you might want to include other positions on that list: like the best General Manager or the best Owner.

Some have argued, recently, that Andy Reid should be inducted into the Hall of Fame… while he’s still coaching.

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That was said in September of 2020 just 7 months after he led K.C. to a SB victory. Of course, Seth Keysor is prone to hyperbole but if it was a possibility, Reid should be the one to help make that change in the Hall of Fame rules, happen.

With “the best” head coach in town… and the best QB in Patrick Mahomes… and the best Tight End in Travis Kelce… plus, ESPN now says the Chiefs have the best Offensive Line… you might see why Chiefs Kingdom is calling for another AFC Championship game in Arrowhead at the end of this season.

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If we’re considering the AFC West alone, @elitetakes has the Chiefs as “the best” at 6 out of 10 positions:

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Let’s take a closer look:

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While I’m in agreement that the Chiefs Special Teams and Linebacking corps are the best in the AFC West, placing last in four categories is problematic, and a take I’m in disagreement with Although the RB group for K.C. might start out as the fourth best, they may surprise. Yes, the Chiefs lost a terrific WR in Tyreek Hill, but the depth of their aerial team is better than 4th best in the West. If this chart was compiled prior to the Chiefs signing Carlos Dunlap, I can understand their take on DEs, but with Dunlap in the house, we should fair much better than last place. With 1st round pick Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed leading the way, although the Chiefs may begin the year with a very inexperienced group at Corner, this group has top shelf potential and could finish in the top ten in the league, especially if the DL comes through with improved pressures and sacks on opposing QBs.

We talk a lot about Eric Bieniemy and why he hasn’t been offered a head coaching position in the NFL, but we spend little to no time having the same conversation about Dave Toub. Even though, Toub has been the best at what he does for years now. In 2018, the Chiefs Special Teams Ranked 10th in the league. In 2019, the Chiefs Special Teams unit ranked 3rd overall. In 2020, they were also 3rd. Last season, in 2021, the Chiefs were ranked 4th. You get the idea. He came to K.C. in 2013 from the Chicago Bears (where he helped fashion the career of return man extraordinaire, Devin Hester), and for the past four seasons, he’s been an Assistant Head Coach on top of his Special Teams coaching duties in K.C.. It’s hard to not think of Dave Toub being the Chiefs Special Teams coach as he begins his tenth season in Kansas City.

The Denver Broncos

Some evaluators, along with some Chiefs Kingdom fans, have been overly taken with the Broncos addition of QB Russell Wilson. I agree with Nick Wright here much more than I do with Eric Mangini:

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Also, in a piece for CBS Sports.com called: “Russell Wilson will have to defy NFL history if he wants to get Broncos to a Super Bowl following mega trade,” author John Breech reveals that:

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“NFL history says that Denver likely won’t end up making it to the big game [Super Bowl] with their new quarterback. Of the previous seven Super Bowl winning quarterbacks who were traded by the team they won the Super Bowl with, none of them ever made it back to the big game and only one of them — Joe Montana — even reached a conference title game with their new team.”

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While Russell Wilson may make the Broncos a better team in 2022, he has never received one vote for MVP of the league. Wilson may have to admit that the reason(s) he won a Super Bowl doesn’t have so much to do with him, but was dependent on his head coach, Pete Carroll. Aside from Bill Belichick, seven coaches who have won a Super Bowl and who are still active include:  Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh, Pete Carroll, Mike McCarthy, Doug Pederson, Andy Reid, and Sean McVay. The Broncos current Head Coach, Nathaniel Hackett, is not on that list. Hackett also has no history of winning a Super Bowl or a championship in college.

Another reason Russell Wilson may have won a championship while in Seattle… was his defense. The Legion of Boom is still Legendary. Last I checked, Wilson never played defense, and the year the Seahawks won the Super Bowl (following the 2013 season), their offense ranked 18th overall while their defense was el numero uno.

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The Las Vegas Raiders

I’ve often said, an organization is successful, or not successful, starting at the top. After Jon Gruden was let go of last season because of highly inappropriate statements, this past offseason has revealed that big problems still exist:

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“The Las Vegas Raiders have been rocked by a mass exodus of front office leaders amid financial irregularities and dire management blunder… Dan Ventrelle (acting  interim president for the Raiders last year), responded by accusing the owner, Mark Davis, whose family has run the team for more than 50 years, of creating a hostile work environment.”

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While chaos has been the overriding motif for the Raiders organization, as long as I can recall, they made one of the most intriguing moves this offseason by signing the best WR in the league, Davante Adams, away from the Green Bay Packers. It wasn’t that difficult to understand, as Adams and Raiders QB, Derek Carr, played together in college and have been carrying on a personal relationship since they both attended Fresno State in 2013. Adams turns 30 later this year, on December 24th. I’m not sure why Adams would want to leave on of the best QBs in football (Aaron Rodgers) as he’s already won a Super Bowl (XLV), and was the Super Bowl MVP, plus he’s been voted the NFL Most Valuable Player in 2011, 2014, 2020, 2021. That’s four times if you’re counting. Derek Carr? He hasn’t won anything. Good luck — not — Davante.

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The Los Angeles Chargers

Referring back to the chart above, the Chargers have the best DL with Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack off the edge with Jerry Tillery Austin Johnson and Sebastian Joseph Day clogging up the middle. Their corners are notable with Asante Samuel Jr. J.C. Jackson however they are weak at Linebacker since starters Kenneth Murray is Out and Drue Tranquill is Questionable. The way that matches up vs the Chiefs is: strength on strength… which means, the Chiefs should have some success vs their DL and CBs eventually, but in the meantime they will be able to get JuJu Smith-Schuster and Travis Kelce open over the middle, which in turn will open up the deep ball vs their Safeties and DBs.

Also, when the Bolts take the field on offense, the Chiefs will be facing one of the weakest TE groups in the division which should give our taller rookies time to develop. Also, if the chart above holds true, the Chiefs and Dave Toub, should have a field day, since K.C. has the best Special Teams in the AFC West, while L.A. has the weakest.

The Chiefs Offensive Line

Matt McMullen at chiefs.com wrote a piece called, “ESPN Projects the Chiefs OL to be the Best in the NFL” in which he states:

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“… Humphrey – who joined Kansas City as the No. 63 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft – earned the best overall Pro Football Focus’ grade last season of any center since 2017. Thuney, meanwhile, earned the top PFF pass-blocking grade of any guard while Smith – the No. 226 overall pick last year – tallied the No. 11 overall PFF grade among all guards with 1,000+ snaps. On the outside, Orlando Brown Jr. remains one of the top young left tackles in the game and veteran Andrew Wylie continues to prove his worth as a versatile and reliable contributor at right tackle.”

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With Orlando Brown coming back in shape and the Chiefs still trying out players at the RT position, even if it ends up being Andrew Wylie again (which the ESPN ranking is based upon), the Chiefs OL could not be ranked higher. Over ten years ago, I began writing about the Chiefs online and even back then I was calling for them to develop a “Juggernaut” offensive Line unit. Well, guess what, they’ve done it. Whether it ends up being Andrew Wylie at right tackle, some of the players they’re auditioning include: Roderick Johnson, Geron Christian, Darian Kinnard, and/or Lucas Niang (once he comes off of the PUP), and so, the OL will be even better than it was last season.

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Best, Best, Best, Best

When you have the best Head coach — Andy Reid — the best quarterback — Patrick Mahomes — the best Tight end — Travis Kelce — and the best Offensive Line — Brown, Thuney, Humphrey, Smith and Wylie (or other)… there’s no reason you should not win your own division and end up hosting the AFC Championship game, for the fifth time in a row. Let’s hope it all works out the way it should.

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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