USA Today's 2014 Chiefs record prediction is crazy, perhaps the craziest

Rodney Dangerfield made a living out of getting no respect. The Kansas City Chiefs are apparently in the same boat.

Nate Davis of USA Today Sports released his NFL predictions on Monday, and has the Chiefs finishing third in the AFC West with a 4-12 record. His reasoning for a seven-game slide?

Tight salary cap meant crippling free agent defections, and they didn't sufficiently reload in draft.

Apparently, losing Geoff Schwartz and Branden Albert are going to cause massive freefall. Maybe it was the defection of Tyson Jackson or Jon Asamoah which will spell doom. Forget the notion that Kansas City is returning a litany of All-Pro caliber players and a coaching staff with a track record of winning. None of that matters because they lost some free agents.

I'm not usually one to skewer a fellow writer or get defensive when one of my teams gets crap from the national media, but this piece earns it. Davis either doesn't pay attention or does not understand the idea of replacing departed veterans with younger players who understand their roles and the system. Or maybe he knows something we don't.

The Chiefs aren't the only team with a laughable prediction. The entire NFC West is going to finish with double-digit wins? If that happens, it would take a miracle considering each team will play the three others six times all together. Those four teams would basically need to go 7-3, or 8-2, or even 9-1 outside the division to fulfill Davis' predictions.

Also, the Oakland Raiders are going 3-13? I'm no Raiders fan, but after adding Matt Schaub, a solid draft class and a bushel of veterans, they got worse? The Dallas Cowboys are only winning three games? The Houston Texans, with no quarterback, are going 9-7?

I am apologetically picking the Chiefs to go 10-6 this season. Injuries could derail that prediction, but the same can be said for any team. The NFL has shown us time and again that a good coach and quarterback combination will lead you further than expected. Alex Smith and Andy Reid will get the job done offensively despite a dearth of top talent offensively (save the Great Jamaal Charles).

Defensively, Bob Sutton has a glut of talent, now infused by Dee Ford. Kansas City could have a top 10 defense with players such as Derrick Johnson, Dontari Poe, Tamba Hali, Justin Houston, Brandon Flowers and Eric Berry.

Factor in Dave Toub and the special teams talent, and you have a 4-12 team?

Come on, September!