Because of injuries, the Kansas City Chiefs are only dressing three wide receivers.
Larry Johnson has not played in a regular season football game since November 4th, 2007. The Chiefs' fullback is a brand-new rookie.
The offensive line is still very much in flux and unstable as a unit.
What kind of production can we possibly expect from this offense?
Let me make an unpopular prediction - Our offense is going to be extremely unproductive this weekend against the Patriots and for at least a few weeks after that. Let me tell you why. And this is more about the direction of the team over the next few weeks than specifically about this Sunday's match up.
I am in no way a believer in this offensive line until I see actual production on the field. I need to see it with my eyes for me to believe it. I need to see Larry Johnson running through big gaps in the line, defensive players flattened and most importantly in the rushing game stats.
I still feel stung from last season when I thought, not especially strongly mind you, but I thought that the Chiefs line would be adequate going into the regular season. And frankly, I have not seen really anything in the preseason to make me think that the line has improved much over last year's squad.
That mistake and the misjudgement by the Chiefs coaching staff has really jaded me to being a homer. It can make you look ridiculous and make you really question your judgement.
Next, behind Dwayne Bowe, the Chiefs have nearly zero depth at wide receiver. I know Maurice Price and Will Franklin are solid prospects and me saying zero depth is in no way criticizing their talents or the talents of Darling, Webb or Robinson.
My point is about our reveiver draft picks - they are unknown wide receiver talents in the NFL. Unknown. We really have no clue how much they will help this team. They should help this team. Wide receivers are notoriously hard to judge coming into the NFL draft. Past drafts are riddled with sickeningly high draft pick choices spent on wide receivers who never lived up to a tenth of their hype.
If the pressure is that high on a top WR draft pick and the odds that poor, then certainly those odds worsen as you drop into the fourth round (Franklin) and down to the undrafted college free agents (Price).
Again, we just don't know with these guys. Even Bowe is still proving himself after a huge rookie year. Expectations are heavy on him as well.
To top it all off, the Chiefs are starting the regular season tomorrow against what was last year one of the greatest regular season football teams of all time. At the very least, this game will be a major, major test for a young team. I like that we are playing the Patriots right off the bat. Baptism by fire. Let's throw them in and see what they can do.
What about your thoughts about this Chiefs offense?