It's that time of year again. The NFL season is over for Kansas City and the fans are looking towards the future. Free agency, the draft, and coaching changes all loom over Arrowhead Stadium and it's faithful. It's a great mystery what will happen, but everyone will give their best guesses. First things first however.
The Chiefs need to worry about their own players. Dwayne Bowe and Brandon Carr are two of the most important pieces on the team. Bowe is far and away the top receiving threat and one could make an argument that Carr is the top corner.In this day and age of footballs darkening the sky, Kansas City has a huge advantage with the top corner tandem in the NFL. In his two seasons under Emmitt Thomas, Carr has made incredible strides to be the player he is today. He provides an exceptional and rare contrast from Brandon Flowers which gives the opposition fits. Carr is very imposing for a corner, listed at six feet and 207 pounds. The 25-year-old can play the bigger receiver while Flowers (listed at 5'9'' and 187) can use his speed and quickness to blanket smaller opponents.
I don't understand the logic of letting Carr go because you would be sinking too much money into one position group. Many teams throw the ball more than ever so why wouldn't you use cap space on your secondary and pass rushers?
If Carr is replaced by someone who isn't good, the pass rush suffers and in turn so do Flowers and the rest of the secondary. They become less important because that side is getting picked on. Now Eric Berry and Kendrick Lewis have to roll coverage and that hurts their ability to roam freely.
With Berry and Lewis as safeties the Chiefs are the hardest team to find open receivers against, bar none. Only three times all season did Kansas City give up more than 100 receiving yards to one player (Garcon, Floyd, Marshall).
Now onto Mr. Bowe.
Bowe ended the season with 81 receptions and 1,159 yards. That's a great season with any quarterback throwing the ball. Then factor in he had Tyler Palko "throwing" it for four games. Bowe can be a dominating player and has developed into one of the best blocking receivers in the league as well. Losing him would be a crippling blow to the offense.
Even if Jonathan Baldwin turns out to be an excellent player that still leaves the Chiefs with a gaping hole on the other side. Breaston is much more effective in the slot when he can work over the middle. Defenses will just pack eight-in-the-box and force Cassel/Orton/other random QB to throw, making Jamaal Charles much less of a weapon.
Bowe is an elite talent who's just entering the prime of his career. Don't tell me about dropped passes either. While he'll drop the occasional ball Bowe has become a force and easily the best wide receiver this team has had since Otis Taylor. Think about that for a minute.
It's not easy to just draft or sign replacements for players of this caliber. Football is the ultimate team game. It requires 11 players to work in unison at all times. One big mistake or below-average player could drastically alter the game.
Before Scott Pioli worries about another house, he should worry about his own.