Here is this week’s edition of the Kansas City Chiefs mailbag. To ask a question for a future edition, send them to me via Twitter (@adamteicher) and tag it #ChiefsMail.
@adamteicher With the schedule, Oline and secondary - is 8-8 realistic?
— Mike Murphy (@bumurph) August 19, 2014@adamteicher: It is. The Chiefs have their share (and perhaps more than their share) of issues that need to be resolved. But they also have a lot going for them. I don't see the Chiefs heading back to the bad old days of 2-14 or 4-12. That said, however big an achievement it was for the Chiefs to win 11 games and make the playoffs last season after going 2-14 in 2012, it would be an even bigger feat for them to win 11 games and make the postseason this season.
@adamteicher What do you think will be the bigger weakness throughout the season, the O-line gellin' or the secondary play? #ChiefsMail
— DJ Thundercutz (@DJThundercutz) August 19, 2014@adamteicher: Good question. My thought is that the offensive line has too much talent to be bad for long. Eric Fisher was the first pick in the draft the year he came out. Rodney Hudson and Jeff Allen were second-round picks and Donald Stephenson was a third-rounder. So I think it's a matter of time there, though in Fisher's case it looks like it might be a long time. At cornerback, two of the three guys competing for playing time were waiver claims by the Chiefs last year. That, combined with Eric Berry's injury, makes the secondary a bigger weakness to me.
@adamteicher Do you think the defense will be improved over what we saw on Sunday night? #ChiefsMail
— J Loshman Promotions (@JLoshman) August 21, 2014@adamteicher: To me, there has been a disconnect between the talent the Chiefs have on defense and how poorly they have played over the past several games going back to last season. To me, the answer should be an obvious "yes" but everybody knows how ragged the Chiefs were on defense over the last part of last season. These concerns about the secondary are very real. So the best answer I can give right now is "maybe."
@adamteicher any chance chris owens get a look as one of the starting corners rather than nickel? hes been great and smith/parker havent
— Brian Geraghty (@b_Geraghty1) August 20, 2014@adamteicher: No. Chris Owens has been a nickel back for most of his career and that is where the Chiefs are comfortable using him. Remember that the Chiefs like their cornerbacks big and physical. Though Owens plays big for a little guy, he is still only 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds. That is Brandon Flowers size.
@adamteicher ..Do you view Hemmingway as a roster lock? Not their guy and hasn't been able to stay on the field
— jmccarty1982 (@McCarty1982) August 18, 2014@adamteicher: Though it's true that wide receiver Junior Hemingway was drafted by the Chiefs a year before the arrival of coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey, I wouldn't say he is not their guy. Reid and the offensive coaches like him. He gives the Chiefs something they don't otherwise have, and that is a big body as their slot receiver. It's also true that he has had two different injuries this summer. I would still be surprised if the Chiefs moved on from him. I wouldn't call him a lock, but I think he makes the team.
@adamteicher #ChiefsMail Do you think Chiefs cut ties with Tamba after this year or do they restructure his contract?
— Joshua Forrest (@ManyLaughNTrees) August 16, 2014@adamteicher: Too early to make this call. Let's see what Tamba Hali does this season, how the contract negotiations with Justin Houston go and how Dee Ford progresses. If Hali is still playing well, I don't see the sense in dumping him. That is particularly true if the Chiefs are going to lose Houston or if Ford doesn't make a lot of progress.
@adamteicher What player currently on the roster under 30 would you say has the best chance of retiring as a Chief?
— MJ Masterson (@Jaymaul4) August 21, 2014@adamteicher: Jamaal Charles. I think his recent contract extension will allow him to play with the Chiefs for his entire career.
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