Dream Big

It is a valuable lesson to learn to dream big. I think part of growing up is getting back to childhood. It seems like the 1st stage of most lives is a childhood of dreams and play; one of my favorite authors calls this the Beloved Son stage (he writes to a male audience). Part of the second stage is a tempering of these dreams, and we're bombarded with phrases like "yeah, but..." and "but you have to...". Realism is a very necessary thing in life, but I think that we also have to regain a little of that ambition from our childhood in order to find our place in the world, and especially our vocation. All that said, I think it is important to have great hope. And so, I want to share a little of my hope for the Chiefs' season approaching.

I was watching an AFC West preview video that I think was from a previous edition of NFL Live on ESPN. Anyway, Trey Wingo asked Cris Carter and Mark Schlereth who they thought might be able to contend with the San Diego Chargers for the AFC West title. While both agreed that the title is all but in name going to the Chargers, they pointed out why the Raiders and Broncos will do poorly this year. Specifically because JaMarcus Russell has not shown the necessary maturity and the already terrible Broncos defense is switching to a 3-4 scheme that fits their personnel even less. It brought to mind a glimmer of hope. The Chiefs are the only team that has shown marked improvement this year! Despite losing All-Pro Tony Gonzalez, the Chiefs have added a new quarterback, offensive line help, and a new defensive end projecting to be successful in a 3-4 scheme. Not to mention that the 3-4 scheme was put in place so that the Chiefs could improve on their biggest weakness of last season: defensive pressure on the quarterback.

I think that Scott Pioli and Todd Haley understand this opportunity very well. I was impressed when I went on ESPN this afternoon and found out that the Chiefs had signed veteran wide-receiver Amani Toomer. I will confess that I have always liked Toomer probably a little more than he deserves, but I still find this to be an important signing because it gives Matt Cassel another threat, and because defenses might not be able to stack the box on Larry Johnson quite as much on 1st and 2nd down. I think an improved offense could make a significant improvement in defensive performance as well. Several times last year the defense seemed to just get worn down and not be able to stop opposing teams in the 2nd half. I'm not saying that this might not happen again this year, but it would certainly help if the offense were out there giving the defensive guys a tad more rest.

I am very happy with the new regime in Kansas City, and I'm sure they understand that this year may provide a unique opportunity to rebuild the image of this franchise, and could play an instrumental role in building for the future.