Another month closer to opening night against the Super Chokers!  I’m excited as I’ll ever be for any season.  I can feel something happening everywhere I turn.  We are going to start a new Chiefs dynasty.  To get there we have to win our division.  Is it possible to win 4, 5, or 6 games against our division?  I honestly think so this year guys.  The Chargers are still the main threat but are one dimensional.  We have the secondary to shut them down.  The Raiders are a lot stronger this year but that really isn’t saying much.  We just have to win in the trenches against an aggressive Oakland team.  The Broncos I think are moving forward in morality but backward in talent.  Will it help in the long run?  It might help later on but not this year.  Here is to winning our division and making the playoffs!  I have a lot to run down this month such as Eric Berry and poll results about our schedule.  I will also go over fatherhood and what it means to have a little Chief.  Finally, to end things I have an interview with the enemy.  Go Chiefs!

All About Berry

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Ever since we heard his name being called that we drafted him.  Better yet, ever since we saw him on the phone before we heard his name.  Almost all of us at Arrowhead Pride were jumping up for joy.  We actually drafted a huge need for us.  We actually drafted an outstanding person.  He won’t need steroids to have a Rookie of the Year season.  If we start out doing well then I expect nothing less.  If we start out kind of bad then Eric Berry will still have a good season but a young mind needs confidence.  He will be a natural leader on this team for years to come.  Now, if only the Chiefs could hurry up and get him signed.  Here are some comments made about Eric Berry by some of the Arrowhead regulars.

Eric Berry – defensive ROY

-I_Bleed_Red

Javier Arenas is a better rookie than Eric Berry

-Joel Thorman

Eric Berry

Is going to be a BEAST.

-bamachief5558

Eric Berry…Enough said.

-SDChief

Breaking Down Our Schedule:  Results

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These last couple of months I had a series that broke down each division we went against this year on our schedule.  I also had a poll on how many games you guys think we would win.  Against our division the majority voted that we would win 4 games.  Against the NFC West the majority voted that we would win 3 games.  Against the AFC South the majority voted that we would win 2 games.  The majority also voted that we would win both games against the Bills and Browns.  So according to my math you guys expect that we win 11 games out of 16.  Although, that number seems a little high is it really out of the question?  I don’t think any games are give me’s especially to a team that has a lot to prove this season.  We have an upgraded team, coaching staff, and easier schedule.  I think 11 wins would be the max wins in a very good and lucky year.  I would say the lowest win amount that I would be happy with is 7 games.  Go Chiefs!

Like Father, Like Daughter

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I think that every father’s dream is to have a child that will succeed in life and to be happy.  I always thought that 24 years old was way too young to start a family.  Now, that I’ve been married for just about 2 years and have an 11 month old daughter I couldn’t be any happier.  It seemed as an early age my daughter has been interested in football.  Every time I was watching football and the Chiefs she would watch intensely.  She would also clap.  I think that at this age it is more about lots of movement and colors rather than genuine like of the sport.  I just can’t explain to all you non-father’s out there how proud it makes me even at her young age.  I get to share something I love and teach her.  I get to keep another generation interested in my Chiefs.  I’m so proud of my daughter!

Interview With The Enemy

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Usually, I have an interview with an Arrowhead Pride member but this month I thought I would get a rival perspective about their season and ours.  I gave these questions for one of the better members over at Mile High Report.  Everyone please thank kentuckybronco for taking some time to answer these.

1.)  Do you think the Broncos will sweep the Chiefs this year?  Explain.

I'm very hesitant to say yes, here. I'm optimistic that the Broncos are still going to have a better season than the Chiefs, but we have had a better record for a number of years but have only swept the Chiefs twice in the last 8 seasons (2002 and 2007). History doesn't indicate that we will sweep the Chiefs. In fact, if you just look at recent history, the Broncos should beat all the AFC West teams in the first game and then lose the second game. That seems to be our MO over the last couple of seasons.

In my opinion, the Broncos vs Chiefs rivalry is one of the best in the NFL. So to jump out on a limb and say that one team will win both rivalry games is quite ambitious from either side. I fully expect that the AFC West, as a whole, is much improved and will provide for some really good football games next season. I do think that we will win one of the games against the Chiefs. The second one... maybe.

2.)  What are your expectations for the Broncos this year?

I expect that the Broncos will surprise some people again this year. Of course, the expectations from the MSM are always quite low for the Broncos and the Broncos always seem to prove them wrong. I don't expect that to change this year, either. I have seen predictions as low as 2 wins for next season and I don't see that happening, at all. We have added some depth all across the board. Our only "losses" this offseason were Marshall and Nolan going to Miami. Personally, I think those losses can be overcome. 

Brandon Marshall had a bunch of catches, but we certainly won't miss his drive killing drops. I don't have the stat right in front of me, but he was targeted about 180 times last season and had just over 100 catches. And Brandon Marshall receptions didn't equal wins last season, either. In his 21 reception game against the Colts, we lost. Certainly that loss had a lot to do with our defense and our poor offensive line play in the first half, but Marshall still didn't win us the game. If Demaryius Thomas or Eric Decker can come back from injury (which Thomas already has), then I think we should be fine at the receiver position.

Thomas seems to be overlooked this offseason because of the Tim Tebow pick, but don't sleep on this guy. He was the first pick for the Broncos and he is a freak of an athlete. He has Brandon Marshall's size, but he is quite a bit faster and his specialty is going for the long ball (completely different than Brandon Marshall. The knock on Thomas is his low production in college, but what isn't taken into account is that Georgia Tech is a run heavy offense. I don't even think the phrase "run heavy" does it justice, honestly. We are talking about a team that rushed the ball 792 times last season, while the receivers had 78 total receptions. They rushed it ten times more than they threw it. 

Anyways, it may take some time for Thomas to get in the swing of things, but from his athletic ability alone, he may be a first team player through training camp. I'm interested to see how things work out in training camp.

With Nolan, I think it's a bit of a reach to say losing him will hurt our defense. Sure, he was responsible for making our defense look awesome in the first 6 games, but he should also be held responsible for putting a defense on the field that gave up 317 rushing yards against the chiefs and 122 points over the final four games. McDaniels has said that we will run the same scheme and do most of the same things as we did under Mike Nolan, but we will probably blitz more sparingly and pick our spots to surprise the offense.

So, my expectations for the 2010 season is somewhere between 7 and 9 wins. It is average, again, but I think it will be a more consistent result than last year. We won't win 6 and then go 2-8 in this upcoming season. I think that the depth we have acquired this off-season along the defensive line should help the defense be more consistent, while the youth we integrated into the offensive line should help make our offense more consistent, as well.

 3.)  In one game last year you guys destroyed us.  The next game we destroyed you guys.  Did you at all expect those results to happen?  Why or why not?

I didn't foresee it playing out exactly that way, but I didn't figure that we would play exactly the same as the first game, either. I mentioned in my previous answer how we faded down the stretch and I think that the final game against the Chiefs is a prime example of that. Not to take anything away from the Chiefs (a win is a win and you guys deserved it), but the Broncos were a totally different team in Week 17 of the 2009 season. 

I am firm in my belief that games are won up front. The offensive and defensive lines are the most important unit on the field. If you look at the 2009 Broncos, you'll see that the offensive line wore down quite a bit. With the injury to Ryan Harris and the apparent ineptitude of Ben Hamilton and Casey Weigmann down the stretch, the Broncos just got worse and worse. 

A lot of the media love to complain about the Broncos "not stretching the field". I'm sure that many of you have heard that said about the Broncos and it is certainly a valid concern. However, they are highlighting the symptom, not the disease. The problem with "stretching the field" is that you cannot do it if your offensive line can't keep your QB upright. The Broncos didn't stretch the field at the beginning of the season because they were still gelling under the new system. It started to improve near the middle of the season, especially against Washington. However, once Baltimore and Pittsburgh showed the NFL our weakness right up the middle of the offensive line, teams started to pick on Hamilton and Weigmann and we started to lose a bunch of games. That was what ailed the Broncos last season, so hopefully we addressed that by bringing in some new guys on the offensive line. 

On the defensive line, it's hard to point to one game and say, "this is exactly when we started to suck". It was progressive, similar to the offensive line, but you could certainly look at week 4 or 5 and see a considerable difference in play along that front. You could even look at the Raiders series for proof that our defensive line became progressively worse. We gave up 95 rushing yards in week 3 and 241 rushing yards in week 15. That kind of decline doesn't just happen, all of a sudden, to a consistent defense.

A lot of the problem, I believe, was that we didn't have a lot of depth along the defensive line. We had just a few guys rotating into the defensive line and they just couldn't anchor as the season progressed. Hopefully we have addressed that by adding Justin Bannan, Jarvis Green and Jamal Williams, while keeping some of our better linemen, as well.

So, to go back to the question, yes I expected to lose. No, I did not expect to get OWNED. Kudos on the win.

4.)  How do you feel about the first year under McDaniels?

I feel pretty good. I think that Broncos Country, as a whole, is starting to warm up to him. He had a rocky start (no pun intended) with the jettison of Jay Cutler and all the bad publicity that came with it, but I'm glad that hasn't phased his vision for the team. McDaniels is not going to deal with selfish players and I really admire that. He is confident in his system and he is really popular with the players. There's no doubt that people at AP will have a difference of opinion and say McDaniels is arrogant and the players hate him. This debate has been had on MHR and AP many times, already, so I don't expect to change anyone's mind. 

Anyways, the McDaniels' direction for the Broncos is what I am most pleased about. With Shanahan, it seemed that we were just throwing players at it and hoping that the pieces came together. McDaniels, however, has made it quite clear that we are looking for smart, tough, versatile, physical team-first football players.

5.)  If you could have any player from the Chiefs roster who would it be and why?

This is a great question. The obvious choice would be Jamaal Charles after he torched us in week 17, but I'm going to go a different route, here. I'll take Brandon Flowers. 

Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman are both getting long in the tooth and, as of today, I would be extremely concerned if one of them went out with an injury. The Broncos have some young guys that I'm fairly comfortable with our depth at the safety position if Brian Dawkins or Renaldo Hill had some issues (Darcel McBath and David Bruton), but the cornerback position might need to be addressed in the near future if Alphonso Smith doesn't step up and Perrish Cox doesn't turn out to be as good as advertised. 

I'll be honest, here. I'm pretty scared of what the Chiefs secondary has become with Flowers and Carr at corner and now Eric Berry at safety. It is going to be quite a battle in the future, I'm sure.

Best of luck to you guys at Arrowhead Pride. You know, except in weeks 10 and 13. If we can't win the west, I honestly hope you guys do. Anybody but the Chargers or Raiders, please.

In Case You Missed It

May

http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2010/5/16/1474071/arrowhead-pride-monthly-may-2010

June

http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2010/6/1/1495606/arrowhead-pride-monthly-june-2010