A tough road lies ahead

The Chiefs are going nowhere fast this season, but last Sunday was a step in the right direction.  Let me clarify, because the Chiefs lost yesterday to the Oakland Raiders, and the game wasn't as close as the scoreboard suggested.  With the loss the Chiefs took a step towards Geno Smith, Matt Barkley, or whoever the top player will be coming out of college. The Chiefs managed to lose to an Oakland Raider team with only two wins coming in, but the real victory came when the one-win Cleveland Browns embarrassed the Chargers, upsetting them seven to six.

The Chiefs now have a game on the Browns, or rather the Chiefs are now a game behind Cleveland, so as long as the Chiefs can lose to the Browns later this season they should be able to get the number one overall pick in the draft, except for one team that could pose a potential challenge.  The Jacksonville Jaguars have now emerged, or rather, faded to a team that could take the first overall pick from Kansas City, and they would be looking to draft a quarterback as well, so now more than ever, the Chiefs need to take care of business, and by that I mean lose out.

 

Jacksonville Starting Quarterback Blaine Gabbert

(Image from www.BleacherReport.com)

As strange as it may sound, the normal mediocrity of the Chiefs may be good enough to steal another win, so the Chiefs really need to hope that Jacksonville, who plays in one of the two weakest divisions in the NFL, can gain another win somewhere down the road.  Until then, all the fans in Kansas City can do is root for their beloved Chiefs to lose.

 

Geno Smith, who has struggled in recent weeks

(Image from www.USAToday.com)

The real problem facing Kansas City though is much deeper than one season.  The coach is incompetent, and he is also the defensive coordinator.  The offensive coordinator is simply not qualified for his job and the teams general manager is out of his mind.  The owner is unwilling to make a change, and with the demise of star prospect Geno Smith in recent weeks, there seems to be no lock for the first pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

Jamaal Charles (25) and Dwayne Bowe (82)

(Image from www.810ChiefsZone.com)

The fans are starting to realize how helpless the situation is, and that is why they have formed the "Save Our Chiefs" movement, but that may not be enough.  The team is going to waste its playmakers such as Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe before they are in a position to go on a run for a title. The saddest part is that now players are beginning to want to leave, such as Bowe, who wants to leave Kansas City by the end of this season.

Former Superbowl Champion and Pittsburgh Head Coach Bill Cowher

(Image from www.BleacherReport.com)

With no quarterback, no coaching, no management, and no answers, the Chiefs look like a franchise headed for years of despair.  However, there is a path to hope.  First they must replace Crennel with a more capable person such as Bill Cowher or Andy Reid (should Philadelphia let him go).  Then they must find a new general manager, and third, they must draft a quarterback such as Geno Smith or Matt Barkley and hope he develops into a franchise quarterback.  Should all of these things fall in to place the Chiefs might recover, but otherwise they will continue to drift into obscurity.