Chiefs well-rounded now
ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
If the Chiefs are looking for positive omens going into Sunday's showdown with Denver at Arrowhead Stadium, they won't get any from history.
The only other Chiefs team to start a season 4-0 promptly came unglued. The 1996 Chiefs lost their next two games, eventually finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.
A repeat could happen, but it's unlikely. The 2003 Chiefs are built much differently than their predecessors from seven years ago.
These Chiefs, who beat their four opponents by an average of 17.3 points, appear to be a more complete team.
“There's been some pretty good teams through the years,” said Denver coach Mike Shanahan, who coaches one of the league's three other 4-0 teams. “That one defense (in 1997), they had some great teams then. But, they're No. 1 in point production (this year).
“Maybe a combination of everything — offense, defense and special teams — this probably is their most complete team.”
The Chiefs are indeed much more balanced than the '96 Chiefs, or any Chiefs team at least since the start of the Marty Schottenheimer era.
The defense almost always was forced to carry the weight for Schottenheimer's Chiefs. The offense was generally along for the ride.
“That was our offensive philosophy: Don't make any mistakes, don't turn the ball over, make positive yards when you run, throw when you have to,” said fullback Tony Richardson, who joined the Chiefs in 1995. “You knew the defense was going to keep you in the game. Our job was just to not mess that up.”
That approach often allowed the Chiefs to beat inferior teams but not teams with equal or better talent. The '96 Chiefs faced opponents geared to stop their running game.
When they did, quarterback Steve Bono wasn't skilled enough as a passer to make them pay. The defense collapsed, unable to carry the weight.
The Chiefs now appear strong enough in all areas that they have some margin for error.
“We know this is a game where one phase of our team is going to have to outshine the others,” Richardson said. “There's no way everything is going to be clicking against a team like Denver. We still have a chance to win because we do so many things well.”
The 2003 Chiefs offense is much more versatile. Coordinator Al Saunders believes the Chiefs will always have something in their bag of tricks to allow them to attack the weaknesses of a defense, no matter what it is.
That proved true the first three games of the seasonbefore they struggled offensively in last week's 17-10 win in Baltimore. Circumstances can explain at least some of that.
The Chiefs were saddled with poor starting field position most of the day. They started inside their 20 on their first four possessions and scored their only touchdown and field goal when starting with its best field position of the game.
“One of the goals of our offense is to be balanced, to be able to run and pass with equal effectiveness,” Saunders said. “Then, you're playing the game on your terms. You're not playing on the terms of the defense. You're putting the defense at a disadvantage because you're keeping them off-balance. If you know what somebody is going to do, it's a lot easier to stop it.
“You can't just be a one-dimensional team. If you're a one-dimensional football team, you won't win very many games when it counts. If your dimension is as a passing offense, you won't be able to close out games very well. If your dimension is purely run, you've got to play field position football like Baltimore did last week. They came out on the short end because we ended up getting the big play at the end.”
It's too soon to get a read on how good the Chiefs are defensively. They played well against the run early in the season before breaking down in Baltimore.
But the Chiefs also have cut down on the number of big plays allowed and lead the NFL in takeaways.
“They've made an adjustment,” Denver quarterback Jake Plummer said. “They've got some free agents in the off-season, and the defense is playing with confidence.
“They're getting other teams' offenses off the field and giving their offense a chance to go out and score some points. It will be a challenge for us. ”
