As this franchise looks to close out the first decade of the 2000's and enters its fiftieth season in 2009 it might be something like it was way back when. The Chiefs after going 6-26 the previous two seasons are starting over. Owner Clark Hunt has stepped forward from the giant shadow cast by his father and hired a new GM in Scott Pioli who in turn hired a new head coach in Todd Haley. The 2000's have not been a complete bust for the Chiefs but in today's NFL just 3 winning seasons and 2 playoff seasons per decade are not enough to keep most fans content and happy. Since the bottom fell out the last 2 years many have been screaming for change.
The new regime has come in with a take no prisoners, our way or the highway attitude and many fans and members of the media seem to be fine with that for now. Of course going 4-12 in 2007 followed by 2-14 last year makes people desperate for change and a new attitude. The 2009 roster will look quite different from the previous couple of years and obviously this is a good thing. Coaching and front office changes only go so far however, you still have to have talent to turn it around. I have heard a few fans and media members suggest that in today's NFL rapid turnarounds are quite possible and that this new regime may be able to pull that off. Miami and Atlanta the most recent examples given by those with this view.
At this point in time the AFC West is pretty weak and that will help this years team. None of the Chiefs long time divisional rivals finished above .500 last season. Only San Diego looks to be a threat to have a real good year. Denver and Oakland both have numerous holes to fill as do the Chiefs. Based on last years records the Chiefs schedule this season projects to be middle of the road as to difficulty.
Some are celebrating the arrival of Matt Cassel as the long awaited franchise QB the team has lacked. I am hopeful, but am reserving judgement as there just is not any history of him being that yet. His only experience to this point college or pro is stepping in for an injured Tom Brady and going 11-5 last year. As I have stated before, he was handed the keys to a recent NFL dynasty, and to his credit did well. Honestly though I don't have trouble seeing most NFL backups succeeding with that quality of talent around them. Obviously he will not enjoy that same amount of talent this year. He tended to hang on to the ball too long last season and was sacked 47 times behind the same line that gave up just 21 the previous year. The Chiefs line while showing signs of getting better still is a big weakness and is far inferior to what the Patriots have. He needs to change that or he will not last any where close to a full season in KC. It has been pointed out that 12 years ago the Chiefs gave a big contract to Elvis Grbac hoping he would duplicate the type of performance he had in limited time with another NFL powerhouse that being the 49ers of the mid 90's. Lets all hope that KC enjoys better success with Matt Cassel.
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