It's no surprise Kansas City lost to Pittsburgh tonight. If I was surprised at all, it was the Chiefs having any chance late in the game.
However I think it's foolish to look at this game and only take away the final score.
The defense was spectacular tonight. The cornerbacks were all over their men and the linebackers did an excellent job of fitting gaps and flowing to the football. I thought Tyson Jackson played quite possibly the best game of his career. Speaking of all-time games, Justin Houston was relentless this evening and showed true potential for the future.One thing has become painfully obvious in the negative sense however; Kansas City needs a quarterback. Some of you will say I'm late to this party and some will say I'm wrong. Tyler Palko and Kyle Orton clearly aren't players who should be taking the reins next year and neither should Matt Cassel.
While I love and respect Cassel's heart, the talent simply doesn't match his desire. With a well-oiled machine around him he could take a team to the Super Bowl, but who wants to deal with that?
The Chiefs need to draft a QB. Enough already with stop-gaps and late round picks. Ante up and draft Matt Barkley if he's available. Barkley can flat out throw the football. They need a player at that crucial position who when all else fails can win the game for the team.
Kansas City would have crushed the Steelers tonight if they had a really good QB. Outside of Green Bay, who has a better crop of receivers? Think about it for a moment. Next year if the team is healthy the Chiefs have the weapons to be a dominant offense.
With Cassel behind center though that isn't going to happen. In the old days it wouldn't be a good idea putting a rookie in at quarterback, but those days are long gone.
The other obvious flaw on the team is the offensive line. It has to be changed. I don't know whether Rodney Hudson will be a good player for us, but Richardson, Weigmann and Lilja have to go. Weigmann will retire which helps, but Richardson needs to be a swing tackle and Lilja can be kept for depth. While the line isn't terrible it's definitely not up to par.
I would say we need another pass rusher off the edge but I believe Justin Houston could be that guy. The biggest needs we have on defense is a long-term nose tackle and an inside linebacker to replace Jovan Belcher.
We can all sit here and bury our faces in our hands saying this team stinks. It doesn't. This isn't a team full of Devard Darling, Lance Long, Corey Mays, Mike Brown and Damion McIntosh. The talent is abundant.
I watched a team tonight that is ready to compete for big things when its stars come back. We're only missing a few pieces up front.
Of course, we do need that pesky QB.