Skip to main content
Advertising

Kansas City Chiefs Official Team Website | Chiefs.com

Chiefs Mailbag 8/27: Where do the Chiefs Rank Among the NFL's best teams?

Chiefs Kingdom submits questions, BJ Kissel answers

You ask, I answer.

Brad from Nebraska:

With all of the moves the Chiefs made this offseason and how they've looked throughout the preseason, where would you rank them among the best teams in the NFL?

It's not my job to cover every NFL team and I haven't watched them all, so I'll defer to our parent site, NFL.com, and they've ranked the Chiefs at No. 8 in their latest power rankings.

"Kansas City has a legit shot to win the AFC West this season, but the **Chiefs** must make good on the outside. That means someone opposite [Jeremy Maclininternal-link-placeholder-1] is going to have to step up. **No more trying to rely on** the Donnie Averys and A.J. Jenkinses of the world. Maybe [De'Anthony Thomasinternal-link-placeholder-1] will be the man. Either way, Maclin and tight end [Travis Kelceinternal-link-placeholder-1] merely need someone who can stretch the field and catch 40 balls."

082715-Mailbag-Image.jpg

Jesse from West Plains:

How close is safety Eric Berry to being able to play with the starters?

He's been with the starters in certain sub-packages. So he's been on the field with the "starters," which is a hard thing to define at this point with as often as teams are actually playing in nickel and dime formations. From a statistical perspective, "nickel" packages should almost be considered the "base" defense at this point.

Berry played eight snaps in his first game back against Arizona, then 21 snaps last Friday night against the Seahawks. From what I've been told, he's handled everything thrown in his direction. He should see significant time on Friday against the Titans.

Sarah from Topeka:

How worried should we be about the offense after these preseason games?

It's hard for people to judge much from these preseason games because the focus is much different than it'd be for a regular season game. They aren't necessarily trying to put the guys in positions to make plays as much as they are trying to evaluate the guys on the field as a whole.

From a play-calling standpoint, coach Reid isn't trying to attack certain weaknesses he sees on a defense. He wants to see certain things executed from the offense in a game situation. Everything is also pretty basic. So while you want the guys to execute, there are a lot of things happening on the field on both sides that won't once the games begin to count.

For example, Jamaal Charles has yet to rush the ball once this preseason. We know that's going to happen when the games start to matter from a win-loss perspective.

I think it's good that they found a little rhythm against the Seahawks, and we'll hopefully find out more over the next week on the possibility of getting Jeff Allen or Eric Fisher back along the offensive line for Week 1 against the Houston Texans.

Practice on Tuesday at the University of Kansas Hospital Training Complex

Jeff from Portland:

When is De'Anthony Thomas going to play?

He hasn't practiced this week and therefore I don't think he'll play on Friday. When you're dealing with a calf injury to a player whose game is built around their speed and quickness, I'd believe it's best to make sure they're 100 percent before returning to the field.

Thomas has a skillset the Chiefs will want to utilize when the regular season begins. There's no need to put him out there before he's ready to go. He was walking around at practice, but did not participate in any of the drills or team periods.

Jared from Independence:

Does it mean anything if the Chiefs go 4-0 in the preseason?

It seems like a loaded question, because on one hand it's the preseason and wins don't mean anything towards achieving the goals the team has set for themselves. On the other hand, it's never a bad thing for the team to put together enough successful plays that result in winning a football game.

I think it's a credit to the depth of the talent on the roster because it means the twos and threes are finding success against other team's backup units.

So to answer the question, yes, I think it means something. But I don't think it means that success will be any less hard to come by when the guys take the field when it counts.

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.
Advertising
;