Kansas City Chiefs Betting – Chiefs Continue To Improve, But No Super Bowl In 2011-12

Kansas City may have been the online betting surprise of last season, as they came away with the AFC West title probably a year or two ahead of schedule, and now they’ll have to prove that last year was no fluke. The Chiefs have a good foundation in place and should continue to get better while winning another division title, but the AFC crown is still way out of their reach.

Head Coach: Todd Haley
Offensive Coordinator: Bill Muir
Defensive Coordinator: Romeo Crennel
Owner: Clark Hunt
Stadium: Arrowhead Stadium
Capacity: 81,425
Super Bowl Wins: 1

Offense

The Chiefs played to their strengths in 2010, and that was to follow the best running game in the league. The duo of Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones powered Kansas City, who finished 12th in total offense, and that put quarterback Matt Cassel in a lot of positions to make plays. He finished eighth in the league in passer rating, and he was picked off just seven times, while receiver Dwayne Bowe had a career year, leading the NFL in touchdowns. Tight end Leonard Pope has probably been made expendable as Tony Moeaki had an excellent rookie season, but you can never have enough tight ends, especially with the ground game that Kansas City runs.  Pro Bowl guard Brian Waters anchors one of the best offensive lines in the league, and they’re not just a power-blocking team; Kansas City quarterbacks were sacked 32 times, tied for 12th overall.

However, the Chiefs are now without coordinator Charlie Weis, who left for the same job with the Florida Gators, so it’ll be interesting to see how Bill Muir runs the offense. He likely won’t change much, and being a former offensive line coach, he knows how much the hogs up front love to run-block. The Chiefs also need a second receiver to take some of the pressure off Bowe, as they were fortunate that Moeaki blossomed as quickly as he did. Rookie Jonathan Baldwin will be counted on to be that No.2 guy opposite Bowe. Multi-threat Dexter McCluster could also play a big role if he stays healthy.

Grade: C

Defense

Kansas City was 14th in total defense, coming in 16th against the pass and 19th against the run, and coordinator Romero Crennel did a nice job in his first year with the Chiefs. He has a nice combination of youth and experience on this side of the ball, and the unit should take the next step if end Glenn Dorsey continues to progress. Former LSU teammate Tyson Jackson is improving on the other side, and the Chiefs should be set up front for a few years. Linebacker Derrick Johnson led the team in tackles, but it was Tamba Hali who made the Pro Bowl, while Jovan Belcher quietly had a solid season and Mike Vrabel provided veteran leadership. In the secondary, rookie safety Eric Berry made the Pro Bowl, but cornerback Brandon Flowers could have made it as well.

Vrabel is a free agent and the Chiefs should look to bring him back, while they slapped the franchise tag on Hali, so he isn’t going anywhere. Safety Jon McGraw is also a free agent, and the Chiefs have to work on their secondary anyway to keep their NFL betting odds at a decent level. All of the pieces are in place for the Chiefs to have a really good defense in 2011, they just have to go out and execute.

Grade: B-

Special Teams

Gone are the days of Dante Hall, as the Chiefs are simply a mid-conference team in terms of returns, as they were eighth in the AFC in punt returns and 14th in kickoff returns. That is going to get better this year if McCluster can stay healthy, and Javier Arenas is in his second year as well. Kansas City is also fourth in covering kicks and eighth in punts, so they’re a decent field-position team.

Kicker Ryan Succop hit 76.9% of his field-goal attempts, but that was tied for 13th in the AFC, and he was 7-of-11 from 40 yards or longer. Punter Dustin Colquitt was fifth in the AFC in average punting, and sixth in net punting, so his job is safe, but the Chiefs could look around for another kicker.

Grade: C

Prediction

Kansas City won the AFC West for the first time since 2003, and they’re rated at +300 to do it again, while coming in as a +3500 NFL betting underdog to win the Super Bowl. The West is much improved in recent years as San Diego will be out to bounce back, while Oakland and Denver are getting better as well. General Manager Scott Pioli and coach Todd Haley have done a fantastic job of building this team through the draft with a slew of young players, and then augmenting them with veteran players like Vrabel, Jones and others to help the kids come along.

The future is bright in Kansas City, and they should have enough to hold off the Chargers for another division title, even though they have a really tough schedule. But unless Baldwin emerges as the receiver to take pressure off Bowe, which opens up the passing game and makes the rushing attack even more dangerous, they won’t be able to compete with the Steelers, Patriots, Colts, and probably the Ravens, who demolished the Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs. Take Kansas City to win the AFC West, but they’re not a smart sports betting play for the Super Bowl.

2011 Schedule

Week 1 – vs. Buffalo (1:00 PM ET)
Week 2 – at Detroit (1:00 PM ET)
Week 3 – at San Diego (4:05 PM ET)
Week 4 – vs. Minnesota (1:00 PM ET)
Week 5 – at Indianapolis (1:00 PM ET)
Week 7 – at Oakland (4:05 PM ET)
Week 8 – vs. San Diego (Monday, 8:30 PM ET)
Week 9 – vs. Miami (1:00 PM ET)
Week 10 – vs. Denver (1:00 PM ET)
Week 11 – at New England (Monday, 8:30 PM ET)
Week 12 – vs. Pittsburgh (Sunday, 8:20 PM ET)
Week 13 – at Chicago (1:00 PM ET)
Week 14 – at New York Jets (1:00 PM ET)
Week 15 – vs. Green Bay (1:00 PM ET)
Week 16 – vs. Oakland (Saturday, 1:00 PM ET)
Week 17 – at Denver (4:15 PM ET)