2009 Kansas City Chiefs Team Preview/Predictions
With NFL football just a short time away, Cappers Picks Football handicappers have been hard at work putting out the team by team NFL previews for those of us who can’t wait. Bet on the Super Bowl winner, plus Conference and Divisional winners. What are you waiting for use our insider knowledge today to gamble on all the NFL Football Futures in our top online sportsbooks today.
2008 Record: 2-14
ATS: 8-8
It was a big summer for the Kansas City Chiefs franchise, which changed its foundation from head to toe. The Chiefs plucked General Manager Scott Pioli away from the New England Patriots, who in turned traded for quarterback Matt Cassel, who is now the face of the franchise.
Cassel hasn’t even played a down for the Chiefs yet but he now has the richest contract ever given out to a Chief in the 50-season history of the franchise.
He’s a hard worker, there’s no doubt about that, but a lot of people wonder how good of a football player he really is. He played well in the Patriots system, but so have a lot of players.
Cassel won’t have much help in Kansas City right off the bat. Dwayne Bowe is a competent wideout but Mark Bradley, Bobby Engram and Devard Darling are as weak a supporting cast as it gets. Compounding the issues will be the loss of Tony Gonzalez, a Hall of Fame tight end.
The offensive line is still a makeshift unit, which is another discouraging sign.
Larry Johnson will have to have a huge year in the backfield to take some pressure off of Cassel because there will surely be plenty in the early going.
On defense, it could be a long year for Kansas City as they are switching to the 3-4 defense.
The Chiefs don’t have a competent nose tackle and their last two first-round Tyson Jackson (’09) and Glenn Dorsey (’08) have never played as 3-4 linemen. Neither is projected nose tackle, Ron Edwards.
Two former ends, Tamba Hali and Turk McBride, will move to linebacker and they have struggled in the early going. Zach Thomas and Derrick Johnson will plug up the middle but overall, this isn’t exactly an A-list linebacking corps.
The secondary has some good up-and-comers like Brandon Flowers and both safeties, Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard, but they won’t get a lot of help from the front seven. The Chiefs will have to work some miracles to keep opposing teams from scoring while they go through their growing pains.
The Chiefs are clearly a team in transition. If Cassel is truly their guy, they can build a good foundation in 2009 for the 2010 season. If not, the Chiefs could be – and will be in the coming years – as bad as their 2-14 record last year.
Super Bowl Odds: +8050
Conference Odds: +2850
AFC West Odds: +260
2009 Chiefs Predictions
Place they’ll finish in AFC West: 2nd
Place they’ll finish in AFC Conference: 13th
Over/Under Season Wins Prediction: Under 6
JOIN BET PHOENIX SPORTSBOOK TODAY – GRAB A 35% FREE PLAY BONUS WHEN YOU CLICK HERE NOW AND TELL THEM CAPPERSPICKS.COM SENT YOU!!!
(Min. Deposit $1,ooo.) (Max $600 Free Play)
Dave Golokhov has written for BETUS Sportsbook, Sportsfanmagazine.com, FOX, Askmen.com, Sports-central.org, and the FOXSports.com Funhouse.
5 replies on “2009 KC Chiefs Odds | Preview | Picks”
They may surprise a few teams this season, but I think the Chiefs are still a year or two away from being a contender in their division.
Cassell will be tested this year, as he does not have the supporting cast he had in New England
Thanks for your comment Dave. Come on NFL football fans, keep your predictions coming, we’ll post em all on here!!!
With the addition of new head coach Todd Haley and QB Matt Cassel could this be a new era in Kansas City? Cassel is coming off an excellent season last year, steeping in for and injured Tom Brady. However, Randy Moss and Wes Welker are not a part of this Chiefs receiving core. Cassel will struggle without the playmakers he had with the Pats. Haley will most likely go with a pass-loaded offense relying on wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. The Chiefs are likely to struggle scoring points with the loss of Pro Bowl TE Tony Gonzalez. Running back Larry Johnson is coming off and injury-plagued season that contributed to the Chiefs low numbers on the ground in 2008. The defense will be improved with some solid off-season acquisitions such as linebackers Mike Vrabel and Zach Thomas. The Chiefs will finish the season in last place in the division at 6-10.
Something tells me that Larry Johnson will have a bounce back season and will be a beast again this year. That said, the fact that just about everything else is new tells me it will be a tough season for the chiefs. The pieces seem to be in place, but they are still a ways off from being a contender for a playoff spot. 2nd in their division is NO victory by any means, although they are primed to finish there.
Cassel is the worst move of the off season and he hasn’t even started losing games that count for the Chiefs yet. LJ is the offense but Haley is likely to tempt fate and pass the season away. The defense is improving but got considerably older and not much better. Another long year for Chiefs fans but they may stay ahead of the Broncos in the division. 3rd in the AFC West.