The Chiefs will again use TE Tony Gonzalez as a huge part of their offense.  He has been their best receiver since the day he was drafted.  Gonzalez played in 15 games (all starts) last season for the Chiefs and he caught 73 passes for 900 yards (12.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Look for Gonzalez to pad his Hall of Fame career stats in 2007.  He has now played in 158 games (142 starts) and he has caught 721 passes for 8,710 yards (12.1 avg) with 61 TD grabs.

Jason Dunn is a good run blocker and red zone threat for the Chiefs.  He played in 15 games last season (5 starts) and he only caught 4 passes for 40 yards (10.0 avg).  Look for Dunn to lose some playing time to rookie Michael Allan this season.  He has now played in 144 games (48 starts) and he has caught 79 passes for 901 yards (11.4 avg) with 11 TD grabs.

Rookie 7th round pick Michael Allan won’t get much playing time as a rookie.  But he looked good in his first pre-season game against the Browns.

The Kansas City Chiefs would love to have first round pick Dwayne Bowe of LSU live up to advanced billing of being the next Hines Ward.  The Chiefs need a bona-fide downfield threat and Bowe can definately be the guy that Brodie Croyle or Damon Huard could be looking for.  Bowe also has the reputation of being a nasty run blocker down the field which should spring Larry Johnson for even more big runs. 

The Chiefs would like to slide Eddie Kennison into their #2 WR role because he’s starting to get up there in age.  But he’s still a productive wideout who somehow has maintained his speed despite his advancing age.  He played in 16 games (all starts) last season with the Chiefs and he caught 53 passes for 860 yards (16.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs and he also carried the football 4 times for 16 yards (4.0 ypc).  Kennison would likely benefit greatly from playing against lesser cornerbacks as long as rookie Dwayne Bowe earns enough respect on Sundays.   Kennison has now played in 168 games (145 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 535 passes for 8,244 yards (15.4 avg) with 42 TD grabs and he also has carried the football 38 times for 277 yards (7.3 ypc).

Samie Parker will likely slide into the #3 WR role which suits him much more than starting does.  He played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he caught 41 passes for 561 yards (13.7 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also carried the ball 3 times for 7 yards (2.3 ypc).  Hopefully Parker will have a speed advantage over nickel and dime backs so that he can get down the field this year.  He has now played in 32 games (24 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 86 passes for 1,231 yards (14.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs and he also has carried the ball 3 times for 7 yards (2.3 ypc).

Second year man Jeff Webb will likely replace Dante Hall as both the Chiefs #4 WR and the kickoff returner.  Webb played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Chiefs as a rookie last season and he caught 3 passes for 23 yards (7.7 avg) and he also returned 7 kickoffs for 169 yards (24.1 avg).  Look for him to contribute more on special teams than in the Chiefs’ offense.

Rod Gardner will likely have to battle Chris Hannon for a roster spot.  The edge going into Training Camp will probably be Gardner’s due to his experience.  He played in 14 games (0 starts) last season for the Chiefs and he only caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  He has been a productive player in the past.  He has played in 91 games (62 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 242 passes for 3,165 yards (13.1 avg) with 23 TD grabs.

Chris Hannon did not play last season as a rookie out of Tennessee.  The Chiefs like him so he will be given a fair shot in Training Camp and the Pre-Season to show what he can do.

The Kansas City Chiefs played awful last night and the only reason they had a chance to win was because of their opportunistic defense that made the Browns pay for almost every mistake they made.  Cornerback Benny Sapp scored the only TD of the game for the Chiefs when he picked up a backwards pass from Browns’ QB Charlie Frye and ran it back 56 yards.  The Chiefs also scored late in the 4th quarter on defense when undrafted defensive tackle from Akron University Kiki Gonzalez fell on Rob Smith in the end zone for a safety.  The Chiefs 12-9 lead was short lived when the Browns’ Chris Barclay returned the football 88 yards for a TD on the ensuing kickoff.  The Chiefs defense gave up a lot of yards but that was the offenses fault for leaving them on the field for 36:28 of the game.  The Browns ran the football 29 times for 99 yards (3.4 ypc) and they completed 25 of 40 passes for 247 yards.

The Chiefs offense was horrible last night.  Brodie Croyle got the start and he looked lost as he completed 5 of 9 passes for 49 yards with an awful interception in which no Chiefs player was near the intercepting Browns’ defensive back.  Damon Huard followed Croyle in the game and he was even worse completing only 2 of 4 passes for 19 yards with an interception.  Casey Printers was the only QB that could move the offense at all and he didn’t play all that great either.  Printers completed 8 of 17 passes for 64 yards and he carried the ball 4 times for 27 yards (6.8 ypc).  Running back Michael Bennett looked sharp in his limited time on the football field as he carried the football 3 times for 28 yards (9.3 ypc).  Derrick Ross also turned in a decent performance running the football with 7 carries for 26 yards (3.7 ypc).  The Chiefs wound up running the ball decent toting the rock 22 times for 90 yards (4.1 ypc) but they only completed 15 of 29 passes for 110 yards.  The Chiefs must get Larry Johnson signed or they will probably have a hard time scoring points this season based on what I saw last night.  It was only a pre-season game though so it’s no reason for panic.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/live/NFL_20070811_KC@CLE

Kris Wilson, a converted tight end, will be the starting fullback for the Kansas City Chiefs this season.  Wilson played in all 16 games last season (10 starts) for the Chiefs and he caught 15 passes for 132 yards (8.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Don’t expect Wilson to run the ball much if at all, but he will catch passes and he is a decent blocker in the running game.  Wilson has now played in 33 games (11 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1 time for 6 yards and he has caught 18 passes for 165 yards (9.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Greg Hanoian did not play as a rookie but he’s likely Wilson’s backup.  Converted linebacker Boomer Grigsby has converted to fullback from linebacker.  He has played in 31 career games and he has 27 tackles.  It will be interesting to see how he progresses.

The Kansas City Chiefs have lost starting left offensive tackle Damion McIntosh for the next 4-6 weeks with a knee sprain.  6′6″, 300 pound Will Svitek will likely replace McIntosh in the starting lineup and that is a big dropoff.  He has only played in 1 NFL game at tackle in his two year career and he has only played in 3 career games in 2 seasons.  Brodie Croyle better watch his back when he drops into the pocket this season.