Kansas City Chiefs 2009 Season Preview: We're Still the Chefs

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.



In 2006, the Kansas City Chiefs finished with a 9-7 record and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Indianapolis. Since then, the Chiefs have won just six games -- four in 2007 and two last season -- causing a major overhaul of the front office and coaching staff prior to the 2009 season.

Scott Pioli was hired as the new general manager and he brought in Todd Haley as the new head coach. Pioli also began retooling the Chiefs roster. He sent a 2009 second-round pick to New England for quarterback Matt Cassel and shipped future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez to Atlanta for a 2010 second-round pick. The benefits of these coaching and roster moves won't materialize overnight, so get ready for a tumultuous ride. You can bet that nobody will misspell the team name in the end zone, but it's going to be a while before this team can regain the winning ways of the old Chiefs' teams from not-so-recent memory.

Offense: Bringing in Cassel was a step in the right direction for the Chiefs, but he's still got a lot to prove after his breakout campaign for the Patriots last season. He's had trouble gelling with receivers in training camp and preseason games, and his MCL injury on August 29th won't help speed up the learning curve between the new quarterback and his receiving corps. As the passing game develops, the Chiefs must be able to run the ball, which won't raise hopes for fans -- the Chiefs running backs gained only 1,382 yards combined last season. Larry Johnson is aging and is always an injury question mark, while Jamaal Charles is a nice change of pace back but hasn't accrued enough carries for anyone to know how he'll fare long-term. Dwayne Bowe, who had 1,022 yards receiving last season, will turn into the featured target as the Chiefs will sorely miss Gonzalez. Heat Index: 4


Defense: After five seasons as the defensive coordinator in Kansas City, Gunther Cunningham is out and Clancy Pendergast is in. Pendergast's first order of business will be to change the existing 4-3 system into a 3-4 front. This transition won't be easy as the personnel to flourish in the new scheme isn't in place for the Chiefs. The team brought in Mike Vrabel, who should help ease the transition, but this new defense will spend a lot of time floundering (and maybe even use a hybrid scheme featuring multiple fronts) before the 3-4 solidifies and strengthens. Another area the Chiefs must improve in is rushing the quarterback. The Chiefs amassed a mere 10 sacks in 2008. To put that into perspective, 11 players had more sacks last season individually. It was the lowest sack total by a team since 1982 when the league began counting that statistic. Tamba Hali, the team leader with three sacks last season, could very well step up in 2009 while first-round draft choice Tyson Jackson should immediately pay dividends in the pass rush. Even though the secondary returns all four starters from last year, Jon McGraw and Mike Brown look to become the new safeties, and Brandon Carr will rejoin Brandon Flowers at cornerback. The secondary picked off just 12 passes last season, so the lack of a true play-making defensive back and a few injuries could spell trouble as the team looks to improve on their 28th-place pass defense. Heat Index: 4

Special Teams: Even though the Chiefs were fifth in the NFL last season in field goal accuracy (91.7 percent, 33 for 36), they decided to waive Connor Barth (who joined the team in week 8) in favor of Ryan Succop, whom the team drafted this season with their final pick. For Succop to supplant Barth, who missed two of his 12 field goal attempts, he must have impressed coaches with his foot in practices. He'll join Dustin Colquitt, who finished No. 11 in the league last season with a punt average of 44.4 yards. The return team, as a whole, was a "middle of the road" type group as they finished 11th in kick returns and 17th in punt returns in 2008. Charles takes over main kick return duties as he returned only 15 kicks last season for a 21.4 yard average. Dantrelle Savage will be the new punt return specialist. Savage did not return any kicks in 2008. Heat Index: 5

Coaching: Pioli was named Personnel Man of the Decade this summer for his work in building and maintaining the New England Patriots dynasty. He's known to scout his team better than anyone else in the business. He'll find that turning around the Chiefs might not be as that easy. Pioli's choice for head coach, Haley, is an offensive juggernaut who was responsible for the Arizona Cardinals high-powered passing attack. He'll soon realize that Bowe, Mark Bradley and Bobby Engram are not Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. But, who is? With the track records of both Pioli and Haley, a turnaround should happen, it just won't occur overnight. Heat Index: 7

Intangibles: Not only did the Chiefs have the youngest roster in the NFL last year, they also banged out the worst record in franchise history at 2-14 --- and were extremely thankful that the Detroit Lions were in the league so they weren't the most futile team playing. That said, the Chiefs play in a division that is top-heavy with San Diego, followed by a lot of question marks after. Seven of the 14 losses by the Chiefs last year were by a touchdown or fewer. So, it may seem that hope springs eternal. Just don't head to Vegas to bet on it. Heat Index: 2

Total Heat Index: 22/50 -- The Chiefs and the city of Kansas City are still looking for their first playoff win since the 1993 season. Pioli brings a pedigree with him to the front office that should raise spirits among the Arrowhead faithful. Remember, though, that Rome wasn't built in a day. Unless everything comes together and a few pleasant surprises are unboxed, this Chiefs team will fail in 2009. But, strides can be made. And for this Kansas City Chiefs team, that should be the goal.