Taking a Look at the Kansas City Chiefs Offseason

Two of the biggest acquisitions that the Kansas City Chiefs made this offseason were Jamaal Charles and Eric Berry, both of whom return after missing most of the 2011 season. This is going to be huge for a franchise that is looking to get back to the postseason after a one year hiatus.
Other than that, Kansas City did a damn fine job adding talent in both free agency and the draft. They’re going to be right in the mix of things when it comes to the ultra-competitive AFC West this season.
Let’s take a look at what the Chiefs did to improve their roster.
One of the biggest acquisitions this team could have made was the signing of Eric Winston from the Houston Texans. Winston, a five-year starter in Houston, is the best run-blocking offensive tackle in the National Football League. He has the ability to both pull to the outside and maul between the hashes. The Texans were forced to release the former third-round pick due to salary cap issues, but I am pretty sure Kansas City isn’t going to complain about it.
You can bet that Winston will help Charles on sweeps to the outside and give the young running back more lanes and angles to run through. Winston will also help recently signed Peyton Hillis between the hashes. The former Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos running back can be one of the best between the hashes runners in the league as long as he is motivated. A wide array of different issues in Cleveland last season caused Hillis to quite literally fall off the map.
You have to remember that the former Arkansas standout is just one year removed from compiling 1,600 total yards and 13 touchdowns for the Browns. He will act as a great change of pace guy for Charles.
It was nearly impossible for the Chiefs to retain Brandon Carr in free agency. No NFL team, no matter their salary cap dynamics, can afford to pay two conerbacks top of the line money. With Brandon Flowers already in the mix on a long-term deal the Chiefs had to sit back and watch Carr leave for the Dallas Cowboys. Rather than trying to replace him with an in-house candidate or unproven rookie, Kansas City immediately signed Stanford Routt after he was released by the Oakland Raiders.
Routt may not be the dynamic cover guy that Carr was, but he did contribute 30 starts, 28 passes defended and six interceptions for the Raiders over the course of the last two seasons.
The draft was also pretty friendly to Kansas City. Many scouts had Dontari Poe pegged as nothing more than a “workout warrior” leading up to the draft. After watching ample tame of Poe at Memphis I refused to fall in line with those observations. The massive defensive tackle was forced to take on three and sometimes four blockers at Memphis and was still able to provide a legitimate pass-rush. What Poe will be asked to do in Kansas City is a bit different. They’re going to ask him to clog the middle for pass-rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali from the outside. They’re also going to ask him to stop the run and act as a gap-filler. These are two things that I believe Poe can contribute immediately.
There wasn’t a great deal of talk about former Illinois offensive tackle Jeff Allen in the months leading up to the draft. All he did in college was quietly become one of the best offensive lineman in the entire country. Allen is strong against the pass-rush, but makes his money mauling opposing defenders at the line of scrimmage. This is one of the reasons that Kansas City selected Allen solely to play guard in the NFL. Moreover, he should provide stiff competition for Ryan Lilja, who struggled a great deal in 2011. In fact, you might see Allen starting directly out of the gate.
Overall, the Chiefs did a tremendous job in free agency. You have to remember that they were missing two of their best players, Charles and Berry, for all but a couple of games last year. Imagine how the Baltimore Ravens would have fared without Ray Rice and Ed Reed. It was kinda the same dynamic with this Chiefs in 2011.
Couple those two returning stars with a nice offseason and there is on reason to believe that Kansas City cannot win the AFC West after a one year hiatus.
As is the case with most teams, it is all going to come down to quarterback play. Matt Cassel needs to revert back to 2010 form if the Chiefs are going to take the division.