Looking back at the season

The final Chiefs game of the 2009 season came in the calendar year of 2010, and the Chiefs are hoping that the form they showed in January can be carried to September.

That may be hoping for a lot, but from a perception standpoint, the Chiefs 44-24 dismantling of the Broncos was vital. Perhaps from a more tangible standpoint as well.

I said it, you said it, most everybody was saying it in the final couple of weeks of the season. The Chiefs 2009 season was a complete and utter waste of time. A team that won just two games in 2008, was going to win three in 2009. Big deal, and they were going to increase that win by total by just one, while showing virtually no signs of progress from a personnel or leadership standpoint.

While one win can't change all that, and the Broncos game was EAAAAAAAAASILY!!!!! their best game of the season, it certainly lends at least a shred of credibility to the continued mantra from the podium of Todd Haley that the team was showing improvement.

Sundays game with Denver was highlighted by two standout performances by two Texas Longhorns that provided hope, and raised questions. Are we to trust the player evaluation of a group that continued to start Larry Johnson and his 2.7 yards per carry while blaming the offensive line, while keeping on the bench a back in Jamaal Charles who would more than double that???? Remember, Charles was even INACTIVE for a game. Same question for a group that kept Derrick Johnson generally riding pine, insisting that it was purely performance related, that Johnson was worse than the totally overmatched linebackers they were running out to get run over.

And if Johnson was one of those guys that didn't "get it", why was he not playing, when the poster boy for not "getting it", Dwayne (my grandma sent me the wrong pills) Bowe was welcomed into the lineup to continue to drop passes and run the wrong routes. But right, wrong, or indifferent, those players appear now to be a potential big pair of pieces to the puzzle. If no collective bargaining agreement comes, Johnson moves from unrestricted, to restricted, free agent, and now appears like at least having a chance to be on the team, when before that looked almost impossible. Maybe that realization was why Johnson saw the field more as the season wore on.

Still one solid win, and the Denver game was really the only one that falls into that category, cannot erase the reality of what the Chiefs still are. I mean, Detroit won two more games than last year. Is two to four really progress??? I guess a little, but no more than that. Two wins means you stink, four wins means you stink.

The Chiefs didn't win a game against a playoff team this year. They still are a boatload of fine aquisitions away from being truly competitive.

But the difference between winning yesterday and getting punked like they were supposed to is pretty large.

With a solid game at Cincinnatti and the win at Denver, the Chiefs can sell progress. Haley can claim that all the hard work, and cursing, and silly rules, and player merry-go-round, is starting to pay dividends. They can make a case that the year wasn't wasted, although it probably wouldn't hold up even in a kangaroo court.

So where are we?

The Chiefs have what looks to be a star back. Their offensive line probably made more progress in season than any other position group, but still needs alot of help. There are no tight ends. The receivers group needs a star to drop everyone down at least one slot of importance. And how about the quarterback????

His second straight shaky performance to end the season left Matt Cassell with a 69.9 QB rating. When your rating starts with a six, that's not good. But Cassell was 16-16 interceptions to TD's, not horrible for a bad team, and he showed toughness. But his accuracy, arm strength, and decision making are still a question. There is not reason to panic, but also no reason to think that the QB position is solid.

Defense......uhhhh....ummmm....errrr, well Brandon Flowers is quite good, Tamba Hali plays with fire, and paired with another good pass rusher might be quite good...maybe Derrick Johnson is out of the doghouse, and perhaps he either wants to, or has to, sign here. That's really just about it. I assume you saw Brandon Carr Sunday, the safeties are crafty but old and at best are solid backups at this point in their careers, the linebackers are dreadful, and the defensive line is expensive and unproductive. Let's hope Romeo Crennel is next years Mike Nolan, but they need gobs of talent acquisition there.

A nice dose of optimism was thrown into a giant punch bowl of problems with the season finale.

Now the work really begins...