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.

Grading the Chiefs by position

The Chiefs released their first regular-season depth chart Tuesday. I took the liberty of grading the team by position and giving something of an expectation for each as, finally, the games are upon us (I don't know about you, but Thursday is going to be something of a holiday for yours truly).

So... here we go.

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.

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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. 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.

Chiefs' current receiving group just won't cut it

The problem is the quarterback.

Fair or not, most of the talk after the Chiefs' tough 19-9 loss to the Colts in Indianapolis Sunday was and will be dominated by the above theme.

It isn't fair, at least not entirely.

The Chiefs and Arrowhead return to relevance on Monday Night Football

More important than a last-second victory, a 1-0 start, or being alone in first place in the division was the resonating feeling every Chiefs fan at Arrowhead Stadium or watching at home surely felt in the moments after the team's triumphant 21-14 victory over the San Diego Chargers Monday night.

It was in the hugs and the high-fives. It was in the fist pumps and the cheers. It was in the war chant being belted out by fans on the walk in and out of the stadium.

Everyone felt it and everyone knew. On Monday, professional football in Kansas City became relevant again.

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.

Pressure Is On Cassel Now

Now that the NFL Draft is complete, football fans across the country finally have a chance to take a step back and see what their favorite teams did and didn't do over the off-season. Not that the off-season is over, there's still about three full months until training camp starts, but any big improvements a team needed to make should have been made by now.*

*It's worth noting Jacksonville Jaguar DT John Henderson and New England Patriot LB Adalius Thomas, both former Pro Bowlers, were both released by their respective teams today. Expect one (probably Henderson) or both of these players to be in Chiefs' red by the end of the week.

And if you're like me and you're already ready for football because of the way the Royals have been playing, you'll eat up anything and everything NFL, especially with regards to the Chiefs. The problem is, I don't have a strong opinion about the Chiefs' draft. Well, maybe it'd be better put this way: I have an opinion about the draft, but it's probably no more relevant than my 11-year old niece's opinion about the draft. Any real fan knows the history. It's a crapshoot. Some players will end up being busts, few will be stars, and most will be average NFL players. That's all we really know. We don't know who will do what, and that's really the beauty of the whole thing.

So in looking at the Chiefs' off-season as a whole, it seems blatantly obvious to me as to what will determine the Chiefs fate this upcoming season: Matt Cassel. Sure, there are other factors and storylines. How much impact will first-round pick Eric Berry have on the defense? Can the defensive front seven improve, specifically Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey? Can Branden Albert prove himself to be a real NFL left tackle? Is cornerback Brandon Flowers ready to emerge as a superstar? And so on.

Really, to be fair, without most-to-all of those questions being answered positively for the Chiefs, Matt Cassel's play probably won't matter too much. It does, though, seem obvious that GM Scott Pioli is determined to find out wheter Cassel is the real deal by the end of this season. There were plenty of scapegoats last year, including the offensive line's struggles and Head Coach Todd Haley scrapping the playbook two weeks before the season started. It's also easy to forget WR Dwayne Bowe's four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy, handicapping an already depleted receiving corps.

Cassel's time to shine starts now. He must show substancial improvement this season to justify the contract Pioli gave him after trading for him last off-season.

The excuses, most of them at least, are gone, and the improvements on the Chiefs' offense are everywhere. It started with the addition of new offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. Weis was the Patriots' offensive coordinator for their three Super Bowl victories in the 2000s and some credit him for Tom Brady's emergence into superstardom.

In free agency, the Chiefs improved their offense with a flurry of moves. They re-signed two former Chiefs on the offensive line, guard Ryan Lilja and center Casey Weigmann. On top of that, they used one of their third-round draft choices on Illinois guard Jon Asamoah, who some think could be a starter as early as next season. Along with standout guard Brian Waters, the Chiefs, at least on the interior line, finally have some stability.

The Chiefs also added my personal favorite off-season addition, RB Thomas Jones. Jones ran for over 1,400 yards last season for the Jets, and should help keep the smaller, yet more explosive Jamaal Charles fresh. All of this equates to the Chiefs all the sudden having one of the better rushing attacks in the league, at least on paper.

If it seemed like Cassel couldn't develop any chemistry with his receiving options last year, he certainly will have the opportunity to this year. Along with Asamoah, the Chiefs also drafted potential slot receiver Dexter McCluster from Ole Miss, and TE Tony Moeaki from Iowa. Both are expected to come in and have an immediate impact. While McCluster grades out to be a Dante Hall-type who will create matchup problems for defenses, Moeaki should emerge as Cassel's best friend on third down. I really like this pick for the Chiefs, as long as he can stay healthy (he had injury problems every season he was at Iowa). He won't be Tony Gonzalez. I'm reminded more of a Chris Cooley-type.

With last year's surprise addition of WR Chris Chambers and a (hopefully) more mature Bowe, the receiving corps, and all of Cassel's receiving options as a whole seem to be more solidified. More importantly, though, they seem to be BETTER.

The Chiefs' confidence in Cassel may not have been anymore apparent than when they passed on QB Jimmy Clausen in the second round of the draft on Friday. Clausen was expected to go much earlier in the draft, and Weis recruited and coached Clausen during their time together at Notre Dame. That may have been the Chiefs' best chance at improving the quarterback position on their roster, at least in the next few years. Theoretically speaking, passing on Clausen means the Chiefs feel Cassel is and has the potential to be better than Clausen. This is a great sign for Chiefs fans.

I think the Chiefs can win with Matt Cassel. I don't know if it will be this season, but we should certainly expect an improved Cassel, and with that, an improved team. I like Cassel. I think I like him more than the average Chiefs fan. This season is a chance for Cassel to prove (most of) Kansas City wrong. It's a chance for him to prove Mel Kiper wrong.* It's really an exciting time for Chiefs fans, and I, as much as any of us, cannot wait for what's to come.

*Before the Chiefs passed on Clausen in round two, Kiper noted that he thought Clausen was a very competitive and fiery quarterback, and he didn't feel Cassel was fiery enough to be a winner in the NFL. I hate Mel Kiper.