Three Questions 1. Can Reid take the Chiefs to the heights where Eagles soared? Reid’s Eagles made the playoffs seven of his 14 years there. In fact, there was an 11-year stretch where Philly made the playoffs nine times, reaching the Super Bowl once, making the NFC Championship game three times and advancing past the first round seven times. So, after the Chiefs made the playoffs in Reid’s KC coaching debut, if the question is, Can the 56-year-old head coach do it again? Our answer is Yes. 2. Now that Smith, Reid and Pederson have a year under their belt, do you expect the Chiefs offense to be more freewheeling in 2014? Nope. Expect the Chiefs to play to Smith’s strengths, which are quick, crisp passes to his receivers and running backs. In actuality, 53 percent of his passes were made in the 1-thru-10 yard range, which were eighth-best in the NFL. Smith seldom attacks downfield (he only threw 26 percent of his passes in the 11-20 and 21-plus ranges). So, yeah, don’t expect the Chiefs offense to change much. Smith will fall in love with screens and lobs to his running backs, just as he did last season. 3. On a team of unsung specialists, who is the most underrated? Fullback Sherman is undoubtedly the Chieftain’s favorite, creating holes and goodness for Jamaal Charles, play after play after play, sealing deals with leverage-churning blocks. Sherman is a perfect fit in Kansas City’s version of the West Coast Offense match as a fine pass-catcher too. The 5-10, 242-pound Sherman measures out at Pro Football Focus with a +16.6 highest grade, the highest mark given to a fullback since 2008 and the second-highest ever. Gains leverage, seals lead blocks. Pass catcher too. KC D had seven touchdown returns in 2013, along with 47 sacks and 21 interceptions. Who says the Chiefs can’t do it again? Defensive Player to Watch The 6-3, 346-pound Poe emerged as an elite player in 2013 in revamped Chiefs’ 3-4 attack defense that saw Poe lay out foe, time and time again, at an unbelievable rate. It’s not often you see a big nose tackle possess the stamina to dominate play after play the way Poe did in Kansas City’s 9-0 start of the 2013, but that’s what the NFL got from the interior defensive lineman who played 90 percent of the snaps in 2013 (not even including his special teams snaps). The 24 year old was recognized for his second-year play with a selection to the 2013 Pro Bowl, his first such honor. Chiefs Special Teams Nobody is more special at special teams than the Kansas City Chiefs, who reminded fans of that very fact in preseason game No. 1 of the 2014 season when rookie returner De’Anthony Thomas made his NFL debut with an 80- yard punt return for a touchdown. He later followed that up with a 35-yard kickoff return, not too long after Kansas City teammate Albert Wilson took a kickoff back 68 yards. Such is life in K.C. special teams, where parts are as interchangeable and successful as the previous year. Remember, it was in 2013 when Football Outsiders analytics rated the Chiefs as the No. 1 special teams, with the No. 1 punt return squad (led by departed Dexter McCluster, TEAM ROSTER CHIEFS DEPTH CHART OFFENSE QB Alex Smith Curtis Painter RB Jamaal Charles Knile Davis FB Anthony Sherman WR Dwayne Bowe, Donnie Avery Junior Hemingway, A.J. Jenkins TE Anthony Fasano Travis Kelce T Eric Fisher, Donald Stephenson Jeffrey Linkenbach, J’Marcus Webb G Jeff Allen, Zach Fulton Rokevious Watkins, Rishaw Johnson C Rodney Hudson Eric Kush DEFENSE DE Mike DeVito, Allen Bailey Mike Catapano, Vance Walker DT Dontari Poe Kyle Love OLB Justin Houston, Tamba Hali Dee Ford, Frank Zombo ILB Joe Mays, Derrick Johnson Nico Johnson, James-Michael Johnson CB Marcus Cooper, Sean Smith Chris Ownes, Phillip Gaines S Eric Berry, Husain Abdullah Jerron McMillian, Sanders Commings SPECIAL TEAMS K Ryan Succop P Dustin Colquitt KR De’Anthony Thomas
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