Kansas City Chiefs - Green Bay Packers Preview

The Chiefs will wrap up their preseason tonight, as they visit Green Bay to take on the Packers. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

Kansas City is looking to turn things around after an embarrassing performance against the Seattle Seahawks in its last preseason game. After opening the preseason with a rare victory, Kansas City has reverted back to struggling in its exhibition games. In fact, since 2004, the team is 7-28 in the preseason, however these exhibition games have often given little indication on how the team will perform during the regular season.

It is unknown how long the Chiefs starters will play. Head coach Romeo Crennel indicated that he will go by feel. The Chiefs played most of their starters for quite a while in last year’s final preseason game, although Crennel may elect to play his reserves more to prevent any more injuries from occurring. Cornerback Brandon Flowers and safety Kendrick Lewis continue to be held out, and the team will also likely be without CB Jalil Brown, DT Toribio, WR Terrence Copper and DL Allen Bailey for tonight’s game. Toribio has been used as the starting nose tackle, so his absence means first-round pick Dontari Poe will have an opportunity to play with the starters and prove himself to the coaching staff. Another player who has something to prove is the recently-signed Dwayne Bowe, who may see a lot of action as the coaches try to get him up to speed before the regular season starts.

The Packers may have revenge on their minds entering this game, as the Chiefs were the only team to defeat them in the regular season last year. If Green Bay wants to avenge last year’s loss, they will have to do so with their backups – head coach Mike McCarthy indicated that the starters will play only one series, and many starters will not see the field at all. Graham Harrell, the Packers second-string quarterback, has struggled mightily this preseason, and the coaching staff will likely try to give him as much game time as they can.

Since Kansas City will be facing Green Bay’s backups for almost the entire game, this will be a good opportunity for the team to gain some confidence and erase the memory of the Seahawks game. However, the Chiefs simply cannot afford to lose any more key players to injury, so Crennel may have to pull his starters early as well. We may see an ugly battle-of-the-backups tonight at Lambeau field.

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Breaking Down the Chiefs' WR Position

The Kansas City Chiefs have made an effort to surround QB Matt Cassel with more weapons to work with, including an upgraded receiving corps. The Chiefs already boast one of the top rushing attacks in the league, and if the team can find some consistency and explosiveness with its wideouts, Kansas City will likely have one of the best offenses in the NFL.

Dwayne Bowe finally delivered the type of performance Kansas City fans thought he was capable of last year, earning a pro bowl bid after a monster regular season. While Bowe produced like a bona fide top WR, Kansas City struggled to find other receivers to take some of the heat off him and spread the field. The Chiefs upgraded their receiver corps this offseason by signing Steve Breaston, who has been productive in his first few seasons in the league. If Breaston can stay healthy, he should have a strong first season in Kansas City.

Since Breaston will likely be used more as a slot receiver, the attention now turns to who will start on the outside opposite of Bowe. The Chiefs selected Jonathan Baldwin in the first round of the draft, and by all accounts, the rookie has been impressive so far in camp. However, Kansas City currently has Jerheme Urban listed as the starter opposite of Bowe. Urban showed a lot of promise in Arizona before missing last season with a broken hand, and his experience could help him get the nod over Baldwin early in the season. No matter who starts, expect both to be mixed into the passing game with Bowe, Breaston and tight end Tony Moeaki.

Kansas City will likely keep Terrance Copper as the team's fifth receiver due to his ability on special teams and may keep Jeremy Horne as a sixth receiver. Horne, who signed with the Chiefs as an rookie free agent in 2010, spent last season on the team's practice squad.

Chiefs Sign Tamba Hali To Five Year Deal

The Chiefs have signed OLB Tamba Hali to a new five year deal worth 60 million, making the Chiefs star one of the highest paid pass rushers in the league. According to sources, 35 million of the contract will be guaranteed.

This has been a long time coming for Hali, who has quietly developed into one of the best pass rushers in the league. Hali led the AFC with 14.5 sacks last season, and has been extremely consistent since being drafted 20th overall from Penn State in 2006.

The deal was absolutely necessary for Kansas City, and the Chiefs were smart to lock up Hali for the rest of his prime. The team doesn't have much of a pass rush without Hali - Wallace Gilberry placed second on the team in sacks last season with seven. As we learned last season, teams cannot reach the Superbowl without a strong pass rush, and a player like Hali makes the entire defense better.

Hali could join the team's practice today, as could Gilberry, who also recently signed. Kansas City has signed all of its top defensive players but two - CB Brandon Carr and rookie LB Justin Houston.

Breaking Down the Chiefs' Schedule

Kansas City surprised the NFL last season with a remarkable turnaround, transforming from one of the league's worst teams into the AFC West champions. Kansas City has made a lot of good moves this offseason, and its younger players will be more experienced when the 2011 season starts. Despite all the signs that this could be a special year for Kansas City, many NFL pundits think the Chiefs won't even be back in the postseason, and for good reason: the Chiefs face a brutal schedule.

Many NFL coaches like to break down their teams' schedule into four segments, so that is what we will do here. In the first segment, Kansas City has two winnable home games against the Bills and the Vikings, and two tough road games against the Chargers and Lions. If the Chiefs want another shot at a playoff run, the team likely needs to win three of these games (since the later portion of the schedule is chalked full of playoff teams). Kansas City should take care of Minnesota and Buffalo at Arrowhead, and a split of San Diego and Detroit doesn't seem that far-fetched.

In Kansas City's second schedule segment, the team faces three AFC opponents it hasn't had very much luck against recently. Apart from a bye week, the Chiefs play the Colts and Raiders on the road, and San Diego at home. Kansas City will likely need to win two of these games to sniff the postseason, which could be asking a lot. The team finishes this portion with a home game against Miami, who will have one of the best defenses in the league. A winnable game, but the Dolphins will be a tough out next season.

Kansas City opens its third schedule segment hosting Denver, a game the Chiefs should win. However, things get a lot tougher, as the team then travels to New England to face the Patriots and hosts last season's AFC champion, Pittsburgh. Next, Kansas City travels to Chicago to take on the NFC runner-up Bears. The Bears have had a poor offseason and were a lucky team last year, and the game in Chicago should be one Kansas City can steal. If it can split between New England and Pittsburgh, the Chiefs could be in great shape. That is a gigantic"if" though.

The final portion of the Chiefs schedule could be even tougher than the third segment, as Kansas City opens with a trip to New York to face the Jets. You may not like all the talking New York does, but the team will have one of the best defenses in the league, and there is a reason why they have made the last two AFC championship games despite starting one of the worst QBs in the league. After the Jets, Kansas City hosts last year's Super Bowl champion. Being in Kansas City gives the Chiefs a better shot at knocking off Green Bay, but the Packers could very well be even better next season. The Chiefs final two games are both winnable, which is good because Kansas City could very likely need to win both to qualify for the playoffs. The team hosts Oakland before wrapping up the regular season on the road in Denver.

The Chiefs will likely be a better team next season, however the team's win-loss record may not reflect that. On paper, Kansas City's schedule looks like one of the toughest in the league, and the team will likely need to pull a few upsets for another shot at a postseason run.