2009 Kansas City Chiefs Season Preview by Vernon Croy

The 2008 season was a forgettable one for the Kansas City Chiefs. A plethora of injuries coupled with the youngest team in the NFL did not translate into many victories. However, a whirlwind off-season has brought with it reason for optimism in K.C. this year. As far as NFL preseason football picks go, this might come as a bit of a shocker. The Kansas City Chiefs will battle for the AFC West this year. We're not talking three years down the road, but this year. They might not win it, but they'll be in the top two teams at seasons end. Why would anyone be this optimistic about a 2-14 team from a year ago? Let's look at the details.

The Good News: They managed to keep all of the important young players and shipped out everyone who didn't want to be there. They brought in universal change across the top hiring Scott Pioli as General Manager and Todd Haley as Head Coach. Pioli was the most sought after GM candidate in the league and the Chiefs landed a great personnel man by getting him. His work in building the Patriots into a dynasty was second to none. Haley brings with him a fiery coaching style that is the exact opposite of what Herm Edwards brought to the table. Already this season, the Chiefs have been in better shape than they ever were under the old regime. They also brought in several veteran additions in Mike Vrabel, Zach Thomas, Bobby Engram, Mike Goff, and Mike Brown. However, the biggest news of the off-season was bringing in their franchise quarterback in Matt Cassell. Some see it as a gamble considering he's only played one full season. Although who would know better if he has the goods or not than the man who drafted him in Scott Pioli?

The defense should be vastly improved as well. They brought in Clancy Pendergast as the new defensive coordinator from Arizona. He brings with him an attacking style that should lend itself nicely to the personnel on defense. They drafted a potential Richard Seymour-type player in Tyson Jackson that will combine with Glen Dorsey to give them a talented defensive line. The upgrades at linebacker will also allow Derrick Johnson to be the special player that he was drafted to be at outside linebacker.

The Bad News: The team still has a lot of unknowns. They traded the best tight end to ever play the game in Tony Gonzalez and got nothing in return for this season. While the second round pick for next year will help then, it doesn't do much good for this season. Many people are wondering where the nearly 90 catches and 10 touchdowns that Tony G. took with him to Atlanta will come from.

Outlook: If you want shocking free NFL picks, this one will be a good one. Kansas City is going to battle with San Diego for the division this year. Denver has had a horrendous off-season trading away a franchise QB and angering their Pro Bowl wide receiver. The Raiders are still the Raiders and made a laughingstock of themselves at the draft this year.