2009 NFL season in review: Kansas City Chiefs
Kind of a weird season for Kansas City Chiefs. The offensive coordinator was fired before the season got going, the Head Coach and the star running back got into an argument over Twitter, and ultimately the team was torn down to be rebuilt as the New England Patriots of the west. There are so many ex-Patriots on the staff here now that one could not throw a rock around their practice facility without hitting one. However, if these men can somehow reform this team; they have every chance of being great. The 2009 season was not great, more of a struggle but hopefully better things are on the horizon.
The offense, led my QB Matt Cassel, scored 294 points, or 18.4 points per game good enough for 23rd among the 32 NFL teams. Since Cassel and other Chiefs QB’s were sacked 45 times it seems the main problem on the offense lies with the O-line. While the team gained almost 2,000 yards on the ground, it seems that the ineffective play of the O-line hampered their run production. In effect with the quality of backs they had on their roster they should have gained a whole lot more. Facing a steady pas rush, with minimal pass blocking Cassel threw 16 interceptions, to accompany his 16 TD passes.
The Chiefs defense gave up 424 point, or 26.5 points per game. This means on average they were out scored by 8.1 points per game. While they were a plus one in turnover differential, there are a few clear needs here that must be addressed. Given the fact that they were just the 27th best defense in the league last season seems to reinforce the idea that there is, work to be done on the defense.
In the end the 2009 Chiefs suffered from having a rookie head coach, no offensive coordinator, and from being in the middle of a major rebuild effort. Going forward they have an all star team of coaches, good personnel guys, and a chance to really improve themselves in the 2010 NFL Draft.
