The Kansas City Chiefs finally won a playoff game for the first time in 22 years. Now, Andy Reid and his team will look to take the next step and contend for a Super Bowl.
After beating the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, the Chiefs were eliminated by the New England Patriots in the divisional round.
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If the Chiefs are going to take the next step and contend for a Super Bowl, they must find a way to beat teams like the Patriots.
Some will point to Reid’s failures regarding time management as a contributing factor for why his team’s can’t get over the hump. That might be the case, but injuries and players underachieving also factor into why Reid’s teams have perennially fallen short.
If the Chiefs are finally going to take the next step and contend for a Super Bowl, they are going to need to do these five things well schematically in 2016.
1. Lessen Jamaal Charles Workload: Charles is entering his age-29 season. He’s coming off of his second major knee injury in five years. He can’t, nor should he, carry the load on his own anymore. With the emergence of Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware, the Chiefs lessen Charles’ workload and take the pressure off of him. They don’t have a choice. Charles is no longer the same running back he once was.
2. Get More Out of the Other Receivers: The Chiefs got their money’s worth out of Jeremy Maclin last season after signing him to a five-year, $55 million deal. Maclin solved some of the Chiefs receiver woes, but they still don’t have another WR that can complement Maclin. Albert Wilson and Chris Conley have potential, but both need to take the next step in their development. Ideally, the Chiefs want to line up in 11 personnel ( 1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR’s) as much as possible, but if Wilson and Conley don’t develop, they can’t.
3. Play More 40 Front Sub Packages: With Justin Houston probably out for the first half of the season, the Chiefs need to find a way to replace his production. Most of that responsibility will fall on veterans Tamba Hali and Dee Ford, especially when the Chiefs are in their 30 fronts. Another way the Chiefs can make up for Houston’s loss is to use more sub 40 fronts and get Dontari Poe, Allen Bailey, Jaye Howard and rookie Chris Jones more involved in the pass rush. All four are effective interior pass rushers, so why not line them up in a 3 technique (outside shade of the guard) and a 2i technique (inside shade of the guard) and let them loose?
4. Find a Starting Corner: The Chiefs allowed veteran Sean Smith to walk in free agency after the emergence of rookie Marcus Peters. Now the Chiefs need to find a corner who can replace Smith. Veterans Ron Parker and Phillip Gaines will get the first crack. They know Bob Sutton’s scheme well and are better equipped to start than rookies Eric Murray, DJ White and KeiVarae Russell.
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5. Clock Management: Clock management is the elephant in the room when it comes to the Chiefs. Until Andy Reid proves that he can manage a big game before the half or at the end of the game, people will continue to question his ability to manage the clock.