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| Christopher Reina. 23rd January, 2009 - 5:27 pm
 Record: 2-14
Trench Counter: -4.7 (26th)
Point differential per game: -9.3 (29th)
Payroll: $83.6M (32nd)
Cost Per Win: $41.8M (30th)
Passing offense: 195.6 (20th)
Rushing offense: 133.1 (16th)
Passing defense: 234.3 (28th)
Rushing defense: 158.9 (30th)
Turnover differential: +0.3 (8th)
Strength of schedule: 26th
If their season were a song: Does This Mean You're Moving On - The Airborne Toxic Event
Game-by-Game (Score, Trench Counter)
Week 1: at NE, 10-17 Loss, -2.2
Week 2: OAK, 8-23 Loss, -5.2
Week 3: at ATL, 14-38 Loss, -17.6
Week 4: DEN, 33-19 Win, 3.9
Week 5: at CAR, 0-34 Loss, -26.2
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: TEN, 10-34 Loss, -15.8
Week 8: at NYJ, 24-28 Loss, -0.3
Week 9: TB, 27-30 Loss, 8.3
Week 10: at SD, 19-20 Loss, 2.1
Week 11: NO, 20-30 Loss, -4.7
Week 12: BUF, 31-54 Loss, -4.5
Week 13: at OAK, 20-13 Win, 5.2
Week 14: at DEN, 17-24 Loss, -7.3
Week 15: SD, 21-22 Loss, 5.6
Week 16: MIA, 31-38 Loss, -2.2
Week 17: at CIN, 6-16 Loss, -14.0
Chiefs Season Review
Via various means, seven different Chiefs threw a completed pass in 2008, but it was Tyler Thigpen who was the primary guy. His passer rating of 76.0 isn't going to call off the dogs searching for a quarterback, but it did keep them as competitive as a 2-14 team can be. If they weren't playing from behind so frequently they then could have taken better advantage of their running game, which was second in yards per rush with 4.8. The Chiefs also had enough weapons in their receiving game with Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe each recording over 1,000 yards while rookie first round tackle Branden Alpert had a nice debut season.
Even though they were just 26th in points scored, Chan Gailey did the best of what he had to work with and was a respectable 16th in yards per play with 5.2, and it was their defense that made them amongst the NFL's worst. Gunther Cunningham's unit gave up 6.0 yards per play, which was 29th in the game, and opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 90.6.
All of this, plus Carl Peterson fatigue, led to Kansas City hiring Scott Pioli and making him the highest paid GM in the NFL.
Reina Value and FIC Rank
Quarterbacks
- Tyler Thigpen (15th, 691, +1,498%)
Thigpen finished the season ranked ahead of quarterbacks like Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger in FIC, but that was largely due to how well he used his legs, rushing 62 times for 386 yards (6.2 average) and three touchdowns. As a passer, Thigpen was decidedly more ordinary, finishing 27th in passer rating (76.0), behind JaMarcus Russell and Kyle Orton. He completed 54.8% of his passes, but considering how frequently he threw in just his second season, I believe there is some promise at QB with him, even though Pioli will not consider the position filled.
- Damon Huard (43rd, 91, -33%)
Huard was the quarterback in question when the Chiefs knocked off Denver in Week 4 when he was 21-for-28 and had a 100.3 passer rating, but the wheels came off quickly the next two weeks against Carolina and Tennessee.
Running Backs
- Larry Johnson (39th, 340 [288 rushing, 52 receiving], -73%)
Johnson had a better yards per carry average in 2008 than he did when he rushed for 1,789 back in 2006. He hasn't been as effective out of the backfield, but I believe he still has one more healthy, dominant season in him if the Chiefs make just a couple of small tweaks.
- Jamaal Charles (47th, 296 [124 rushing, 172 receiving], +191%)
Charles came up from Austin and had an excellent rookie season, rushing for 5.3 yards per carry (67 for 357) while catching 27 balls for 272 yards (10.1 yards per reception). The sample size is clearly small, but he has given Kansas City enough reason to believe that they have the making of an excellent back from the 2008 draft class to join Forte, Johnson, Slaton, and McFadden.
Wide Receivers
- Dwayne Bowe (14th, 681, +371%)
Bowe came up just short of 1,000 yards as a rookie when he caught 70 balls for 995 yards, and he got over that mountain in 2008 with 86 receptions for 1,022 yards and seven touchdowns. Bowe dropped 13 balls even though at least some of that was due to how frequently he was targeted (157 times).
- Mark Bradley (77th, 249, +232%)
Bradley was released by Chicago and quickly picked up by Kansas City and I don't know how the Bears could afford to give up any receiver with a pulse. In Weeks 8 through 12, Bradley had at least 42 yards in each game and three total touchdowns. He finished the season with 30 catches for 380 yards.
- Devard Darling (93rd, 154, -30%)
The Washington State product was a free agent disappointment and did the majority of his damage with one deep ball for 68 yards in Week 1 against New England. The only other performance that you can take something away from was Week 16 against Miami when he caught three balls for 69 yards.
Tight End
- Tony Gonzalez (1st, 742, +0%)
Gonzalez led all tight ends again in 2008 in FIC, receptions, yards, first downs and touchdowns. He has had over 1,000 yards receiving in four seasons and over 900 in an additional five. It has truly been a historical career for Gonzalez, who was nearly traded to the Packers before the deadline.
Defensive Summary
The Chiefs' defense was dead last in sacks with just 10, with Tamba Haili recording three of them. Losing Jared Allen clearly made a difference there.
Rookie Glenn Dorsey didn't really make the kind of impact at defensive tackle as many were expecting.
They were horrible against the run and gave up 20 or more points in 12 of their 16 games and fewer than 300 yards in just one game (Week 13 at Oakland). They gave up 400 or more yards nine games, which of course doesn't include the 394 they gave up to San Diego in Week 15 in the 21-22 loss at home. They may have outplayed the Chargers in both games, as well as the Tampa Bay loss, but not too many teams can win games when they give up that kind of yardage.
Bernard Pollard played better down the stretch and is a building block, along with Derrick Johnson (who had a down 2008), plus rookies Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr and Maurice Leggett. I also like safety Jarrad Page, who would greatly benefit if the Chiefs were better up front against the run.
Biggest draft needs:
As evidenced in this recap, the Chiefs are much further away on the defensive side of the ball than on offense and with Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez no lock to being more than marginally better than Thigpen, drafting linebacker Aaron Curry makes a lot of sense.
Brian Orakpo would help the pass rush and they are fortunate they are picking third because after those two the only defensive difference makers are corners.
Previous Team Audits
32. Detroit Lions
31. St. Louis Rams
30. Oakland Raiders
29. Cleveland Browns
28. Seattle Seahawks
27. Cincinnati Bengals
- Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM |
