BY MIKE ABELL
In the first two games, the Kansas City Chiefs were already off to a rough start. They lost Eric Berry, Derrick Johnson and Mike Devito just to name a few. However, the performance the team gave against Miami was awe-inspiring.
I wasn’t the only person who was worried about the Chiefs’ secondary this season. A lot of people were, especially after that play-off game against the Colts; but, I have to commend them based on their small sample size of games this year.
The Chiefs’ worst opponent at this point has been the injury bug. Somehow they managed to hold the infamous Denver Broncos to only 24 points, which is impressive since they have the best quarterback in the NFL.
If the Chiefs want to make a second consecutive appearance in the play-offs then their defensive players all need to step up consistently. The Chiefs’ defense can’t afford to lose steam like they did last year.
Additionally, Alex Smith seems to be significantly more comfortable with his receivers. I hope he proves that he is worth the large sum of money that he is getting payed in the coming weeks. However, he needs a good offensive line and, right now he doesn’t have one.
It seemed that a lot of teams weren’t where they needed to be last year, whether it was lack of a healthy roster or just not enough synergy. The Chiefs were healthy and playing well at the right time. The play-off victory just came out from underneath their feet.
Out of all the players that the Chiefs lost to free agency in the off-season, I wish they would’ve re-signed Ryan Succop. A good kicker can win games in the NFL. Santos is already off to a rocky start. He has missed two field goals which is one too many, given how close they both were to the goal.
The Chiefs definitely have problems on both offense and defense that they will need to address and fix in the coming weeks. I have faith that they can go 2-3, but they need players to step up on defense and somehow compensate a bit. Alex Smith didn’t play a good game against the Titans. Simple as that. If he wants to be payed like a franchise quarterback, he needs to act like one, which he is more than capable of.
I’m not slamming the Chiefs, but if they want to be taken seriously again, then they need to keep playing like they did against the Dolphins. I met Alex Smith this past week. He is a cordial guy. He seemed like he really cared about his fans, this city and producing good numbers. He clearly has faith in his team. Now let’s reciprocate.
Contact Mike Abell, editor-in-chief, mabell@jccc.edu