For Crennel to matter, Pioli must adjust

Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli is assuring fans they should feel excited about this day, but in reality, how can they be?

"Let us go through the process," stresses new head coach Romeo Crennel.

Oh boy.

Chiefs could make huge statement in Oakland

There aren't a handful of minds in Kansas City who would have sanely stated this just two weeks ago, and even I've been second-guessing the rationale here.

But you know what? The Chiefs could make a huge statement with a win in Oakland Sunday.

Cassel is in the gray

In the past eight days, Chiefs' quarterback Matt Cassel has given us a perfect summation as to why he's generally viewed as a strength within the organization and a weakness outside of it.

Problem is, you can usually find him in the gray area between those two points. So making any type of permanent conclusion on just what the Chiefs have in Cassel becomes extremely difficult.

With Cassel, Haley is wasting our time

"I'm excited about our team."

Had this been the third preseason game, those words, spoken by Chiefs' head coach Todd Haley after the team's 20-17 loss in San Diego, may have felt slightly more fitting.

Instead, the Chiefs are 0-3 in the regular season, and proved nothing more Sunday than the disturbing fact that the team can't depend on its starting quarterback when they need him most.

Cheap shot on Moeaki may have caused Haley's handshake snub

Could this, possibly, be what Chiefs' head coach Todd Haley was so upset about after the absolute whipping his team accepted in Denver last Sunday?



I can't argue the hit, applied by Denver linebacker Joe Mays on Chiefs' rookie-tight end Tony Moeaki, violated the NFL's new and improved helmet-to-helmet policy. The updated rule now includes unnecessary hits on any defenseless players — not just exposed wide-receivers — and could result in immediate fines and suspension. It was obvious Moeaki was not defenseless, though the necessity of the hit could surely be questioned. I was shocked, though, that the play received virtually no media coverage outside of Kansas City.

One would hope the Chiefs were smart enough to send a heads-up to the league for review. Moeaki looked pretty bad trying to get back on his feet after the hit, and is likely to miss this Sunday's Chiefs-Cardinals game at Arrowhead because of it.

* * *

After the game, Haley refused to shake Broncos' head coach Josh McDaniel's hand, instead opting to share a few choice words with him while pointing his finger in disgust before walking away.

Haley has since apologized through the media to the fans, the Broncos organization, and McDaniels, though he said he would not reach out to the coach personally. There was speculation Haley's outrage had nothing to do with the Moeaki hit, and had more to do with Denver's unrelenting offensive and defensive attack late in the second-half after the game had long been decided.

Sports Illustrated's Jim Trotter even tweeted about it.

Regardless, it is worth noting that in the Chiefs' 44-24 blowout of the Broncos in last season's finale at Invesco, Haley pulled running back Jamaal Charles in the second-half when he was just 38 yards shy of breaking Adrian Peterson's single-game rushing record.

No matter what side of the fence you're on, this all makes for one hell of a storyline leading into these two teams' rematch at Arrowhead in three weeks.

The Second Guess: Chiefs vs. Raiders

Kickoff

As exciting and intense as the revival of the Chiefs/Raiders rivalry would become Sunday, I almost forgot how completely boring and uneventful the first quarter was. Aside from a flurry of flags, a couple of failed fake punts, and just two carries by the Chiefs' best offensive weapon, Jamaal Charles, there wasn't much to speak of.

The Second Guess: Chiefs vs. Bills

Kickoff

The first quarter could easily be defined by missed opportunities for the Chiefs. On the opening drive, Kansas City looked to be moving the ball with ease until it stalled at the Buffalo 31-yard line after a first-down pass to the endzone was dropped by Dwayne Bowe, who only had one hand free by the time the ball arrived. Still, if Bowe wants to eventually become the receiver head coach Todd Haley and others feel he can become, catches like those need to be made more often than not.

Moss makes perfect sense for Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs must seriously consider claiming wide-receiver Randy Moss, who was placed on waivers Monday by the Minnesota Vikings after being acquired by the team just a month prior.

Loss to Texans reminds Chiefs fans of familiar feeling

Let's not forget, now. This is what we signed on for.

We bitched and moaned for the better part of the past decade, while our beloved Kansas City Chiefs more often than not fielded a team not quite worth cheering for. We then cheered and applauded, seemingly from the draft in April all the way through September, as our Chiefs looked as if they'd finally turned the corner and were ready to be a force again.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, likely during the last three seasons in which the team mustered just ten total victories, we may have forgotten exactly how stressful it can be to be fans of a competitive pro-football team.

We were reminded with an absolute kick to the gut Sunday, after the Chiefs blew a 10-point lead in Houston in the game's final four minutes en route to a 35-31 heartbreaking defeat to the Texans.

Chief disaster is imminent unless Haley, Weis get creative

The Kansas City Chiefs are 2-0 and have somewhat repositioned themselves back on the NFL map, yet it's possible we should feel less optimistic about their playoff hopes now than we did at any point last week or during the preseason.

The team stumbled through an ugly and forgettable sixty minutes of football in Cleveland en route to a 16-14 victory over the lowly Browns Sunday.

Chiefs Show Signs of Life In Loss to Bucs

For what it's worth, the Kansas City Chiefs gave us some reason for optimism Saturday in their 20-15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The offensive attack looked much more determined. Quarterback Matt Cassel bounced back from a dismal effort in Atlanta with a solid performance in Tampa. He completed 14 of 19 pass attempts for 125 yards and a touchdown against the first-team Buccaneers defense. Cassel, preparing for his sixth season in the NFL, avoided throwing an interception for the second straight week and finished the game with a 108.4 QB rating. He exited after the first half.

Chiefs 2010 Training Camp Wish List

Between the NFL Draft and the regular season getting under way, the most anticipated date on the professional football calendar is the day training camps begin. Late Thursday evening, the Kansas City Chiefs reported to their first training camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Most sports fans in Kansas City would agree that, regardless of the Royals performance (maybe), the football season could not come any sooner. So as we welcome the Chiefs' training camp with open - wide open - arms, let's take a look at some of things that need to happen in order for the team to have an opportunity for success this season.



Get Berry in camp

As of Thursday night, all of the Chiefs' draft picks have been signed except for their first-rounder, safety Eric Berry. Of the many flaws the 2009 Chiefs possessed, it's possible none was bigger than the overall play of the defense. If new defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel is to reverse the defense's fortunes, it will be with Berry leading the way. The Tennessee standout has been tagged as a natural-born leader and compared to the likes of Ed Reed. GM Scott Pioli needs to get a deal done. The sooner he gets on the field, the better.



D-Line must improve

Crennel was hired, more or less, to help maximize the capabilities of defensive linemen Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson. It's certainly his main objective.

Dorsey and Jackson are both former first-round picks out of LSU who have so far failed to meet the expectations that come along with being top draft choices. While Dorsey showed some signs of improvement in his second season in 2009, Jackson was virtually non-existent throughout his whole rookie campaign. It's time to put up or shut up. The defensive line's level of success this season could mean the difference between last place or playoffs for the Chiefs in 2010.



Find the right fit for the O-Line and commit to it

This one is key. The Chiefs had success in the running game late last year mostly due to the fact that the offensive line was able to stay healthy and in turn develop some chemistry with eachother. Still, Pioli addressed the issue in free agency by signing guard Ryan Lilja and center Casey Weigmann, two former Chiefs.

It's essential the running game picks up where it left off last year. The Chiefs saw a star emerge in 2009 in Jamaal Charles and have newly acquired rusher Thomas Jones to help keep him fresh. With so many questions on defense, this team will surely have to score some points if it wants to win consistently this season. A consistent rushing attack will help keep some of the pressure off quarterback Matt Cassel. A comfortable Cassel should equate to an overall improved offensive attack.

All of this traces back to the offensive line. Whoever it may be, the Chiefs must commit to a starting five early in camp and allow them to grow together. If this happens and they can somehow stay healthy, the offense should look drastically different this year.



Solve the Page issue

A once promising young player, it seems obvious safety Jarrad Page's days as a Chief are numbered. It's clear that Page, who is one of the few current Chiefs who was acquired during the Herm Edwards regime, just doesn't fit Pioli's "right 53". He has yet to sign his free-agent tender offer and the Chiefs don't seem to mind. They drafted two players who play Page's position, Berry and fifth-rounder Kendrick Lewis from Ole Miss.

Either way, both sides would benefit if a solution could be found quickly. Page is doing nothing positive for his football career by sitting at home in August, and the last thing the Chiefs need is an off-the-field distraction during camp. (They have Dwayne Bowe under contract for that sort of thing.)



Re-establish the return game

One of the many aspects of the game that has been neglected since the Dick Vermeil days is the return game. It seems so long ago that the Chiefs were the most feared team in the league on kickoff and punt returns because of speedster Dante Hall. Since then, the team has consistently finished in the bottom third of the league in average starting field position for the offense. Naturally, this didn't help an already struggling offense score points last season.

Pioli definitely addressed this in the draft in April. In the second round, the Chiefs selected two college players known for their speed, running back (the plan is for him to be a slot receiver) from Ole Miss, Dexter McCluster, and Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas. While the main goals of these two players will surely be to help improve the offense and defense, respectively, there's no doubt what else the team had in mind when selecting these two. Both project as good returners; my thought is that one will return kicks and the other will return punts.

The team did use Charles on kickoffs from time to time last year, but in turn saw his effectiveness on offense drop dramatically because of overuse. It's obvious McCluster and Arenas were selected, along with the Jones signing, to help keep Charles fresh to where he can be a game-changer. If both rookies can live up their potential, the Chiefs could be a threat to score at any time during the course of a game.

. . .

This has easily been the most anticipated football season in Kansas City in recent memory. Along with that comes even more pressure for the Chiefs to have a successful training camp.

Plenty of other things certainly need to happen for the team to come out of camp and into the season feeling good about themselves. You'd like to see the team stay fairly healthy throughout the pre-season. You'd like to hope Head Coach Todd Haley can keep his cool and not let his ego get in the way when dealing with players (and coaches) during camp. One could only hope that most-to-all of the team will pass Haley's dreaded conditioning test Friday, which is a prerequisite to being able to participate in practice during camp.

And hey, we'd all like to think it's possible that at some point during camp Bowe will come to realize that the family who owns the team is the Hunts, not the Clarks.

But that's probably asking too much.