The Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl window is still open

It’s been a week since the Kansas City Chiefs broke the collective heart of their fan base with a two point loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you’re anything like me, you’re still not over it yet. In fact, I found no joy in watching the conference championship games this weekend at all (and not just because they were blow outs). I didn’t care who won. It wasn’t the Chiefs and that’s all that really matters. Wether its a fan base like New England that has already enjoyed multiple Super Bowl wins or a fan base like Atlanta’s that hasn’t, I’m still too bitter and jealous to feel happy for them. While another disappointing end to the season has me jaded, I still believe that the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl window is open going into next season.

Let’s address the anger and frustration that most of us are feeling before we get into the actual reasoning as to why we should still believe in this team. The Chiefs didn’t live up to our expectations this season. They won twelve games and the highly competitive AFC West, but couldn’t advance past the divisional round despite playing at home and having a first round bye. That’s a let down. Period. It’s natural to be upset when the team that you live and die by let’s you down. The Chiefs have consistently been good enough to get our hopes up but not good enough to win it all for decades. I wish I had a more poetic way to put this, but that sucks. While I enjoyed this season infinitely more than the 2-14 season before John Dorsey and Andy Reid arrived, the sudden end of that enjoyment definitely leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

That is why it is 100% understandable that Chiefs fans are fed up and looking for a drastic change. None of us want to go through this again. None of us will be happy with another good regular season next year if it is followed by another quick exit from the playoffs. You often hear that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results so since the Chiefs aren’t getting the results we all want then it only makes sense that they need to make a change.

Except, maybe…..just maybe, they shouldn’t.

I know some of you aren’t ready to hear this (and may never be), but I feel like the best thing for the Chiefs to do going into next season is to stay the course. Here’s why……

The number one reason that the Kansas City Chiefs should stay the course in 2017 is because they were undeniably one of the best teams in the NFL in 2016. Yes, we all want our team to be the #1 team in the league, that’s the goal, but only one team gets that honor every season. Any respectable end of the season NFL power rankings should have the Chiefs in the top eight teams. They don’t deserve to be in the top four, but there’s no way you rank them below eight and I would have them as high as sixth behind the four teams in the conference finals and Dallas.

For the sake of the pessimists out there let’s say they were the eighth best team in the NFL in 2016. That still puts them in the top 25% of NFL teams. That means that 75% of the teams in the NFL are still trying to get to where the Chiefs were this season. The odds say that a drastic change is more likely to cause the Chiefs to fall back than it is to push them up much higher.

When John Dorsey, Andy Reid, and Alex Smith arrived in Kansas City they were taking over a team that was coming off the worst season in the history of the franchise. Fans were wearing black to games and the product on the field was atrocious in every since of the word. Since then they have made the playoffs in three of the past four seasons, ended the playoff victory draught, and won the AFC West. They haven’t brought a Super Bowl win to Kansas City yet but considering the dumpster fire that they inherited the fact that they have been a consistent winning franchise from day one should earn them some respect.

The two biggest demands that I’ve heard from fans since the season ended is that Andy Reid should give up the play calling duties and that the Chiefs need to move on from Alex Smith.

Let’s address those one at a time starting with the head coach.

Andy Reid is one of the best head coaches in the NFL. Period. I understand that he’s never won a Super Bowl and that until he does nobody will ever consider him THE best coach in the NFL, but if you look at both his career wins and career winning percentage there is simply no denying just how good of a coach he is. Let’s put it this way, the Chiefs could go 0-16 next season and if they fired Andy Reid every team with a coaching vacancy would still be lined up to try and hire him to be their head coach.

Now, even the most extreme of the extreme likely aren’t calling for Reid to be fired. What is being called for by many fans is that the play calling duties be stripped from Reid. I get that sentiment, I do. Sometimes Reid’s play calling leaves even the most loyal of fans scratching their heads and struggling for any sort of reasonable justification for what he was thinking. His clock management has been ridiculed for years. I’m not even here to argue that someone else couldn’t do a better job of calling plays. What I am trying to say is that I think we have to be willing to take the good with the bad when it comes to Andy Reid.

Reid is a hands on coach with a great relationship with his players. I think its evident that he genuinely loves his job. Some head coaches, even the incredibly successful ones, seem almost miserable. That’s not Reid, he exudes a positive vibe that I believe has been contagious in the KC locker room. A big part of what he loves about his job is running the offense. He’s an offensive mastermind that is an expert at figuring out how to attack other teams. I just don’t see him spending all week coming up with that plan of attack and then stepping aside and letting someone else call the shots on game day. He tried it in Philly for a while and he didn’t like it. It’s the reason he was willing to give up his GM duties when he came to KC because he wanted to get back to being more involved on the coaching end and specifically calling plays on offense.

I get that Reid’s play calls can be frustrating at times, but Andy Reid is still a HUGE net positive for the Kansas City Chiefs. I believe that if Clark Hunt mandated that Reid give up the play calling as I’ve heard several fans suggest you take away some of that hands on enthusiasm that Reid has that has caused him to bond with this team and created a winning attitude in Kansas City. I don’t think you risk losing that or risk him wanting to go elsewhere just because you think he throws a few too many screen passes and wastes a time out here and there.

Now let’s talk public enemy number one in Kansas City, Alex Smith.

It takes all of two seconds on social media to figure out what the number one complaint of Chiefs fans is when it comes to their favorite team. It’s the play of starting quarterback Alex Smith. I’m going to start this section off with two statements that may seem like contradictions.

1. Alex Smith’s play this season was often incredibly frustrating and if they had an elite quarterback in his place they may have been playing in the Super Bowl this year instead of watching it at home once again.

2. Alex Smith should be the starting quarterback again in 2017.

I think most if not all Chiefs fans will agree with statement number one, its statement number two where I probably lost most of you. Here’s the deal. I’m not happy with Smith’s play either but that doesn’t mean you just cut the guy and go with someone else just for the sake of change. If their was an elite quarterback available that was a safe bet to be an upgrade over Smith that would be different, but I don’t see that happening.

I’m going to take a moment here and shoot down this absurd Tony Romo suggestion that I keep hearing from people. The Chiefs are NOT going to trade away valuable draft picks to get an old quarterback that has been injured for the past two seasons. Period. Why would you mortgage your future for a guy that is much more likely to end the season on IR than he is to be leading the Chiefs to a Super Bowl? Romo couldn’t stay healthy behind the best offensive line in the NFL, what is going to happen to him behind our line? Plus, the Chiefs would still have millions of dollars in dead money from Smith’s contract to account for even if they cut or traded him, PLUS pay Romo’s huge salary, PLUS likely have to keep Nick Foles and his 10 million dollar salary as insurance because of Romo’s injury issues. With that much money wrapped up in quarterbacks you can kiss both Eric Berry and Dontari Poe goodbye. I just don’t get it. It’s not happening people. I don’t care if some ESPN talking head tweets that it should. It’s a stupid idea.

The only other veteran suggestion that I’ve heard in terms of replacing Smith is Tyrod Taylor. While I would choose Taylor in KC over Romo hands down, I still don’t think its enough of an upgrade (if at all) that it makes sense. Here are the combined passing numbers of both Taylor and Smith over the past two seasons.

Alex Smith: 66.2% completions, 225.4 yards/game, 7.3 yards/attempt, 35 TDs, 15 INTs

Tyrod Taylor: 62.6% completions, 208.9 yards/game, 7.4 yards/attempt, 37 TDs, 12 INTs

So what you’re telling me is that we should get rid of the guy with the top stat line and then pay the guy with the bottom stat line in addition to the dead money we’re on the line for with the first guy? It just doesn’t make sense to me. I guess you can hope that Andy Reid can get better out of the 27 year old Taylor, but this feels like change just for the sake of change to me. I mean if Taylor is such an upgrade why does Buffalo seem willing to just let him walk despite the fact that they have no serviceable replacement for him on their roster? Plus, Alex Smith now knows Reid’s offense inside and out. Even if Taylor is slightly better talent wise his inexperience in Reid’s system likely negates that physical edge, at least in 2017.

The bottom line is I just don’t see a clear veteran upgrade that makes sense for this Chiefs team.

So what should KC do?

So I’ve now stated my case that the Chiefs are currently one of the better teams in all the NFL. I’ve also stated my case for the lack of realistic veteran options for KC to upgrade their QB position with. That’s why I believe that KC’s best option for a run again in 2017 is to stay with Alex Smith for one more season. I’m not saying I love the idea. I’m not saying I think he’ll be significantly better in 2017, I just believe that finding great quarterbacks in the NFL is really hard to do. So if you have an average quarterback you hang on to him until you find something better. That takes us to the NFL draft.

I don’t believe the Chiefs will be able to draft a quarterback in April that can walk in and start on day one next season and make the Chiefs a serious contender. I do believe there are a few options that may be available in the late first round that an offensive guru like Andy Reid could groom to replace Alex Smith. So my plan moving forward would be to draft Smith’s replacement in the first (or possibly second) round and then spend the rest of the draft and free agency to continue to strengthen the roster to give Smith the best chance to get the Chiefs to the Super Bowl in 2017. That way you are both competing now and planning for the future.

I think if you beef up the rushing attack on offense to ease some of the pressure on Smith the offense could have more consistent success in 2017. If they can re-sign both Berry and Poe, get Howard and Bailey back and add another starting inside linebacker through the draft this team will be ready to compete again in 2017. There’s no need to blow things up or make drastic changes. The Chiefs were a good team in 2016 and are in a position to compete again next year. I know Reid and Smith may drive you crazy at times but unless you have a clear better option you stay with what you have. Making a change because you’re frustrated and you just want something different isn’t good business. In fact, I think you’ll find the most successful NFL teams are the ones that don’t act on emotion and value consistency. Of course they also draft good talent, which is why the upcoming draft is so important, especially when it comes to finding a future quarterback to groom.

So what do you think Addicts? Am I crazy for wanting more of the same in 2017? Do you agree that KC’s Super Bowl window is still open? Are you done with Reid calling plays and Smith at quarterback or do you agree that the Chiefs need to give them another shot next season? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

As always, thanks for reading and GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!