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Chicago Bears safety Harold Jones-Quartey (29) and linebacker Shea McClellin, rear, tackle Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, front right, during the first half of an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday. Oct. 11, 2015.
How should the Chiefs play out the rest of the year?
CHRIS SITEK
@Creative_Canon2
“Keep trying”
After a 1-4 start, Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles was announced out for the season with a torn ACL. Now, in their darkest hour, the Chiefs should look hard into the importance of this season.
Taking into account Kansas City has lost three undefeated teams in its five games, the division is still up for grabs. The AFC West division is just 10-10 through five weeks, leaving the door wide open for the Chiefs to win, or at least get close enough to sneak into the playoffs. After all, even the Denver Broncos at 5-0 are struggling offensively, ranking 26 in total offense.
Offensively, Kansas City has the weapons in wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and tight end Travis Kelce and to remain prevalent in the AFC West division. Maclin is currently sixth in the NFL with 483 receiving yards; Kelce is third among tight ends in receiving yards with 328.
However, there are problems,
and there are quite a few.
and there are quite a few. Defensively, the Chiefs have been one of the worst in the NFL, ranking at 21 in total defense. Granted the Chiefs have faced some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL this season, like Cincinnati Bengals Andy Dalton, as well as future Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers, but that mark is still not good enough.
Suspensions have also played a part in the Chiefs defense. Cornerback Sean Smith recently returned from his three-game suspension, but the secondary, as a whole, has all struggled at one point or another. Specifically, the pass defense has been lackluster, giving up 285 passing yards per game. Rookie cornerback Marcus Peters has been the lone bright spot for the Chiefs; his two interceptions and eight passes defended lead the team.
The Chiefs biggest obstacle may be the offensive and defensive lines. According to Pro Football Focus, the Chiefs ranked 27 in pass blocking last season. This season, quarterback Alex Smith has been sacked 21 times.
The weakest of this group may
be left tackle Eric Fisher. Last season Fisher gave up seven sacks and has struggled at both tackle spots this season. Meanwhile, the defensive line has struggled to sack the quarterback. Kansas City ranks just 13, which is a little above average, in quarterback sacks. Overall, the Chiefs have to improve on both sides of the ball to start winning, but they can.
To give the team the best chance to win, the Chiefs need to make the necessary changes both on offense and defense. The AFC West is tied for fourth in total wins-per-division in the NFL, which leaves the door open for the team that should be facing an easier schedule. Given all of those things, the Chiefs should not tank this season.
Charles is injured, but the freeagent field has a lot of potential starting backs, Running backs, such as Pierre Thomas, Ray Rice, Ben Tate, Isaiah Pead and Ahmad Bradshaw, could make sizeable contributions to the Chiefs offense. They could also look within their own roster in Charcandrick West or Knile Davis to fill the void of Charles
MATT HOFFMANN @MattHoffmannUDK
Staring down the barrel of another losing season, already sitting at an abysmal 1-4 record, it's not too early for the Kansas City Chiefs to consider the age old tactic of tanking for a better draft selection.
“Tank”
In short, the practice involves intentionally losing games in order to get a better selection in next year's draft. Because the draft order is determined by the opposite order of finish — the Super Bowl champion picks last if teams lose on purpose, then they will have a higher draft selection.
Theoretically, a better draft selection leads to better players drafted, which, in the long run, leads to a better team. Of course, intentionally losing games is ethically murky at best and often costs teams lots of money, specifically the loss in ticket sales, merchandise and shrinking fanbase with
bandwagon fans jumping ship.
The aforementioned 1-4 record does not bode well for the Chiefs playoff chances. According to Sports Club Stats, Kansas City has just a 4 percent chance of making the playoffs. In fact, since 1990, when the 12-team playoff format was introduced, only one 1-3 team makes the playoffs on average. Entering Week 5 of the season, the Chiefs were 1-3, along with the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. Four of those teams picked up victories, improving their records to 2-3. The Chiefs, however, did not, which makes it unlikely for them to be the one team that started 1-3 to advance to the playoffs.
While draft talk in October seems premature, ESPN analyst Todd McShay has already released his top 32 players for the 2016 draft. Among the heavy hitters likely to be
drafted in the top 10 are defensive end Joey Bosa out of Ohio State, cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III from Florida and Robert Nkemdiche, a defensive tackle from Ole Miss. All of these prospects could help a beleaguered Kansas City Chiefs defense, which ranks 27th worst in the league in net yards allowed and 29th worst in average points per game allowed.
Tanking doesn't necessarily mean a lost season. Allowing backups on the depth chart to get meaningful reps can improve the team in the long run. Many game situations simply can't be replicated in practice, and game reps are a good way to improve the team without winning games.
Losing games intentionally doesn't sit well with many fans, but, in the long run, a better draft position can drastically improve a team from season to season. After a 1-4 start and only a 4 percent chance at making the playoffs, it's time for the Chiefs to make the tough decision and look to the 2016 draft for relief.
Soccer faces West Virginia in Big 12 matchup
Kansas soccer travels to Morgantown, W.Va., on Friday for a Big 12 clash against conference leader, West Virginia. The Mountaineers rank third in the national rankings.
SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@SkyRolSports
"Every game in the conference is big," said Kansas coach
Mark Francis. "You have eight conference games and every one is as important as the other. Obviously, it's a good opponent and we're looking forward to play[ing] them."
all or nothing for us," said senior midfielder Liana Salazar. "We need to win if we want to be the Big 12 champions in the regular season."
The Jayhawks, however, have won six of their last seven games and are third in the Big 12 with a 3-1 record.
Last season, the Jayhawks faced a similar situation. Back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and West Virginia on Oct. 17 and 19 in 2014 ended the Jayhawks' chance at finishing top
"Going into Friday's game, it's
of the conference. Those losses were two of the Jayhawks' three conference losses in 2014.
Having already avenged a 1-0 loss to Oklahoma from last season with a 1-0 win last Sunday, Kansas has a chance to claim Big 12 supremacy. This time, both pivotal games are not on the same weekend.
Francis said the timing of the
game helped with his team's preparation since the Jayhawks only have one game this weekend and will face Texas Tech the following Friday. However, the opportunity to face one of the top-ranked teams in the nation did not change Kansas' preparation. The Jayhawks worked on defensive shape in practice on Thursday.
"The biggest thing for us is going to be when we win the ball playing our game and doing the things we're good at," Francis said of the matchup. "Defensively, we're organized. When we win the ball, we've got to keep our key attacking players in the game."
Edited by Leah Sitz
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