About a week ago, I put together a lost of concerns I had going into week 1 of the season. The Chiefs out together an impressive win against the broncos on MNF. I can’t stress enough that it is only one game. These can change quickly. That said, let’s see how many of my concerns were assuaged , at least temporarily.<\/p>\n
Kelce’s age catching up to him<\/p>\n
I was afraid that Father Time was coming after Travis Kelce. He’s 38 (or soon to be) and not many players can stay healthy, let alone still be effective at that age.<\/p>\n
Verdict – Less concerned<\/p>\n
Trav’s legs looked pretty spry on that 60 yard catch and run. He looked at least as fast as he did last year. Not a bad outing for Old Man River<\/p>\n
The Secondary<\/p>\n
I felt the depth was solid, however, I had questions about Snead and Fulton and their injury history. We also had several young players that were unproven. How would they stack up against the better passing offenses in the NFL?<\/p>\n
Verdict – less concerned<\/p>\n
Delaine made a big play out of the gate. I thought Snead and Fulton played well and Williams looked great. They didn’t even need Canaday out there despite the injury to Delaine. This unit suffocated Denver’s passing game. If these guys can stay healthy and Spags can manage the load of Fulton and Snead, this could be a nasty group.<\/p>\n
The Run game<\/p>\n
I was skeptical that Andy would stay committed to running the ball in spite of paying Ken Walker all that money. P was also worried we were going to get a steady dose of RPO’s<\/p>\n
Verdict – less concerned<\/p>\n
KC ran the ball all over Denver. I think even Vance Joseph was god smacked that Andy ran the ball that many times. There also were more runs under center and more creative run designs. Walker was a major force in that game<\/p>\n
Special Teams<\/p>\n
I feared more out of Dave Toub’s units that we saw last year. Penalties, no return game, Butker struggling. That was a major sore spot on the team last year.<\/p>\n
Verdict – Still concerned<\/p>\n
Same old, same old. special teams had 4 penalties on the day including one that led to and INT by Mahomes. The return game got nothin and Butker almost missed a P.A.T. Special teams continues to be an issue on this team.<\/p>\n
The WR room<\/p>\n
I thought this group lacked elite talent. I questioned if they could be a major factor in the offense. I just didn’t see it with this group.<\/p>\n
Verdict – Still concerned<\/p>\n
The Chiefs wr’s combined for 5 catches for 39 yards and a TD on 10 targets. Not exactly domination. I am hopeful that with mahomes getting healthier and Rice and Worthy knocking the rust off that they can do better than that.. That said, that was a pretty uninspiring performance.<\/p>\n
The pass rush.<\/p>\n
The Chiefs really struggled to get to the QB in 25. They added several pieces to the DL in the off season. Would it be enough to elevate the team past mediocrity?<\/p>\n
Verdict – less concerned<\/p>\n
The DL got consistent pressure on one of the best OL’s in the league. More importantly, they did it (in large part) with 4 guys. If they can continue to pressure like that with 4 guys , that is a game changer. Hard not to like what we saw from that unit.<\/p>\n
Offensive Line<\/p>\n