2010 Kansas City Chiefs Season Preview

When GM, Scott Pioli, and coach, Todd Haley, joined the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009, they quickly realized that one of the biggest problems with the team was the players' poor work habits and lack of leadership in the locker room. As a result, the Chiefs changed everything imagine last year, and have continued their renovation process into 2010, making for a brighter future according to most 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Team Preview articles.

The Chiefs went ahead and hired two new coordinators, and are counting on growth from their quarterback, Matt Cassel, and young running back, Jamaal Charles. That, combined with a lot of new faces courtesy of the 2010 NFL Draft and free agency, is a formula that the Chiefs hope will take them further than last season's 4-12 record.

In all likelihood, though, the the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs will still finish near the bottom of the AFC West, and will still need a few more years before they can move up the ranks of their division.

2010 Kansas City Chiefs Coaching Staff & ChangesIf Todd Haley can't find a way to improve upon the 4-12 mark his team put up last season, he may soon find himself looking for another job. With that said, the Chiefs do show some promise for the 2010 NFL Season and now have a host of talented coordinators from the New England Patriots franchise when it was at it's best.

Charlie Weis is returning to the pro ranks after an unsuccessful attempt as a head coach. If Weis had coached almost anywhere else than Notre Dame, his leash wouldn't have been as short and the results he produced would have been acceptable. Unfortunately, that's not the way it goes under the golden dome and so now Weis finds himself back as the offensive coordinator in professional football.

Coming with Weis is ex-Patriots counterpart Romeo Crennel. Crennel ran the defense while Weis concentrated on the offense. Those two are now re-united after leaving the Patriots during the same offseason for head coaching positions. Crennel left the Patriots for the Cleveland Browns head coaching position.2010 Kansas City Chiefs Key Free Agency Acquisitions & LossesAcquistions
RB - Thomas Jones from New York Jets
G - Ryan Lilja from Indianapolis Colts
WR - Jerheme Urban from Arizona Cardinals
C - Casey Wiegmann from Denver Broncos

Losses
C - Wade Smith to Houston Texans
G - Mike Goff to Free Agency
WR - Devard Darling to Free Agency
WR - Bobby Wade to Washington Redskins
G - Andy Alleman to Indianapolis Colts
2010 Kansas City Chiefs NFL DraftRound 1: Pick 5 - SS, Eric Berry (Tennessee)
Round 2: Pick 36 - WR, Dexter McCluster (Mississippi)
Round 2: Pick 50 - CB, Javier Arenas (Alabama)
Round 3: Pick 68 - OG, Jon Asamoah (Illinois)
Round 3: Pick 93 - TE, Tony Moeaki (Iowa)
Round 5: Pick 136 - S, Kendrick Lewis (Mississippi)
Round 5: Pick 142 - DE, Cameron Sheffield (Troy)
2010 Kansas City Chiefs QuarterbacksThe starting quarterback role for the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs has been gift wrapped, and handed to former New England Patriots backup, Matt Cassell. The Chiefs will count on stability in their offense and the addition of coordinator, Charlie Weis, to help Cassel become one of the league's upper tier passers. Last year, he was 16-16 on touches to interceptions, and completed just 55 percent of his passes. A lot of this was due to his poor receiving unit who led the league in dropped passes.

This is going to be Brodie Croyle's fifth season in the NFL, and he has still not earned a victory as a starting quarterback (0-9). Tyler Palko has never played in a regular season game, and barring a horrendous injury, likely will continue that pattern into next season.

2010 Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Depth Chart
QB - Matt Cassel
QB - Brodie Croyle
QB - Tyler Palko
2010 Kansas City Chiefs Running BacksJamaal Charles ran for a very impressive 1,120 yards and had 1,417 total offensive yards in almost half of the schedule in 2009. He put the ribbon on the season with 259 yards on 25 carries in the team's regular season finale against the Bronocs. He has the speed to beat defenses on the edge, but he also has the power for tough inside yardage.

Thomas Jones is coming in this year with five consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons, and at 32 years old, has not shown any drop in his production. With Charles around, Jones may be able to deflect some of the punishment he's been getting over the past few years, and perhaps even extend his career a bit.

Projected 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Running Back Depth Chart
RB - Jamaal Charles
RB - Thomas Jones
RB - Kolby Smith
2010 Kansas City Chiefs Wide ReceiversThe one looming problem for the Chiefs is their receiving unit. Despite an entire summer to fix the problem, Kansas City has yet to add a true big-time NFL playmaker to help Cassell succeed. Both Chris Chambers and Dwayne Bowe are good players, but neither has the total package to be successful as a team's No.1

The team's second round pick, Dexter McCluster, will get his fair share of chances to prove himself in the offense. He will likely be moved all over the field from wide receiver, to the shlot, to wing back, to running back. Jerheme Urban was brought in from the Arizona Cardinals this past offseason, and will be an upgrade over the talentless receivers still on the roster from last year, but really is nothing more than a No. 3 option at best.

Leonard Pope came in last year to provide stability at the tight end position for the Chiefs. Pope is a big target and a good route runner, but doesn't have the type of speed that can stretch the middle of the pass coverage.

Tony Moeaki is a quick, large rookie with good hands, so fans can expect to see him get a solid amount of playing time. He is a very good blocker, and athletic enough to work down the field as a member of the receiving team. He has had a very promising offseason, thus far, and Chiefs are expecting big things from him when the year starts. Brad Cottam still hasn't been cleared to play by doctors, and will likely be limited in his role with the team this year.

Projected 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receiver Depth Chart
WR - Chris Chambers
WR - Dwayne Bowe
WR - Jerheme Urban
WR - Dexter McCluster

Projected 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Depth Chart
TE - Tony Moeaki
TE - Leonard Pope 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Offensive LineThe offensive line will be key to watch during the Kansas City preseason games. The team feels that it greatly improved the bposition by bringing back veteran, Casey Wiegmann, and adding free agent, Ryan Lilja, who will play at the right guard spot. Aside from a few rookie free agents, those are really the only roster additions that made the team. Branden Albert had a very productive second half of the season last year, and despite missing a lot of time, Brian Waters never really missed any significant time on the field. Rudy Niswanger played through last season with a knee injury, but will have a battle ahead of him to win the starting job for this year.

Projected 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Starting Offensive Line
LT - Branden Albert
LG - Brian Waters
C - Casey Wiegmann
RG - Ryan Lilja
RT - Ryan O'Callaghan2010 Kansas City Chiefs Defensive LineDespite spending money and draft picks on the defensive line over the last five years, this still remains the Chiefs' biggest question mark. Last year, former first round pick Glenn Dorsey offered an improve performance at DE after a position change. Nose tackle, Ron Edwards, was less than impressive last year, much like former No. 1 draft choice, Tyson Jackson. Wallace Gilberry continues to get more and more playing time at the DE position, and will hopefully see his role expand beyond nickel packages this year. At the end of the offseason, Derek Lokey was a starter on defense at nose tackle, and may reprise that role this year.

Projected 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Starting Defensive Line
DE - Tyson Jackson
NT - Ron Edwards
DE - Glenn Dorsey
2010 Kansas City Chiefs LinebackersOne of the bright spots on the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Season Preview is the linebacking core. Tamba Hali had a strong year on the outside in 2009, particularly considering he was still making the transition from hand on the ground defensive end. The former first-round pick led the team in sacks, and continued to play with the ferocity he showed fans he had at Penn State. On the other side, Mike Vrabel utilized his veteran experience to make up for his loss of speed and quickness. While he has pretty much run out of big-play ability at this point, he is still a useful presence to the team because of his experience.

The inside linebacking group of Demorrio Williams and Corey Mays led the team in tackles, but also happened to be the inside run pluggers on and defense and got beat quite a few times last year. Ultimately, they finished 31st in 2009 when it came to stopping the run.

Projected 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Starting Linebackers
OLB - Mike Vrabel
ILB - Derrick Johnson
ILB - Demorrio Williams
OLB - Tamba Hali
2010 Kansas City Chiefs SecondaryThe second is probably the strongest position group on the Kansas City roster. Brandon Flowers was the team's best defensive player last year, and he did what he did while playing with a bad shoulder that required offseason surgery. Eric Berry will move into the starting lineup as a safety, and will likely be joined by fellow rookie Kendrick Lewis.

On the other side, Brandon Carr has the best package of athletic ability and football IQ of all the corners on the team, and despite an underwhelming 2009 campaign, should have a productive season for the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs. The nickel role will likely fall to Javier Arenas, who was known to get after the passer on the blitz during his Crimson Tide days.

Projected 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Starting Seconday
CB - Brandon Flowers
CB - Brandon Carr
SS - Jarrad Page
FS - Eric Berry

2010 Kansas City Chiefs Preview