The Herm Edwards era started with a playoff appearance for the Chiefs and now it has a change at quarterback that will be occurring this season. Out is Trent Green, who has been the starter since 2002, and in is Brodie Croyle, the former starter at Alabama who has 2 bad knees. All I gotta say is….Run Larry Run!

2006 Season: 9-7, 2nd AFC West
Lost at Indianapolis in AFC Wild Card Round

Quarterback: Brodie Croyle
Brodie is about to be thrown into the fire in the AFC West, the best division in football. It worked for San Diego last season and now the Broncos and Chiefs will be starting 2nd year quarterbacks this season with Croyle and Jay Cutler. Watching Brodie while he played in college was fun because he was a fighter. He was the quarterback in Alabama’s 9-3 season in 2005 that ended with a Cotton Bowl berth. I have no doubts that he can succeed in this offense. Grade: 2.5 out of 5

Running Back: Larry Johnson
LJ is the second best running back in the NFL behind LT and he now wants the Chiefs to pay him. Larry is a great mix between a power back and a scat back and now is his time to shine. I’m guessing that Johnson will make a run at the TD title since the Chiefs won’t be throwing that much, but he’ll come up short. Look for a 20 TD season for Larry. Hopefully the Chiefs will pay him after that. Grade: 5 out of 5

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: Key Player-Tony Gonzalez
Once the premier tight end in the league, Gonzalez is still the best receiver in KC and he’s still one of the best in football. He’s huge and can block and catch. It’s not a good thing when the TE is the key to your passing game, but it is in KC. Grade: 2.5 out of 5

Offensive Line: Key Player-LG Brian Waters
The line took a big hit when the league announced that RG John Welbourn would be suspended for 6 games at the beginning of the season. This puts more pressure on the left side of the line with Waters flanked by Damion McIntosh at LT. Larry’s going to have to run to the left a lot this year because the right side won’t be strong until Welbourn returns. Grade: 3 out of 5

Defense: 4-3

Defensive Line: Key Player-LE Tamba Hali
The defensive line for the Chiefs have 2 very aggressive ends with Tamba Hali, who had 8 sacks last season, and Jared Allen, who had 7.5 sacks. The interior of the line needs to apply pressure so the ends can get even more pressure. Grade: 4 out of 5

Linebackers: Key Player-OLB Donnie Edwards
Edwards is back with the Chiefs after a long hiatus with the Chargers. I’m not sure how he will do adjusting back to a 4-3 where he’ll be in coverage more than he was when he was a blitzing linebacker in the 3-4. Napolean Harris is the MLB with Derrick Johnson playing at the other OLB position. Grade: 4 out of 5

Cornerbacks: Key Player-Ty Law
Ty Law and Patrick Surtain were both great lockdown corners, now Law is the trusting lock down one. Surtain needs to step up because he is on the downturn in his career. Grade: 3.5 out of 5

Safety: Key Player-Glen Wesley
Wesley had 70 tackles last season and he is key with the run stopping defense that the Chiefs run most of the time. Other than Wesley, they really do not have great playmakers at safety. Grade: 3 out of 5

Special Teams
K: Justin Medwick
P: Dustin Colquitt
The Chiefs hold Medwick in such high regards that they traded their good kicker Lawrence Tynes for a draft pick. Colquitt is a great punter who was on the front of the University of Tennessee media guide that I bought in 2004(that either says he’s really good or UT was really bad that year) Grade: 3 out of 5

Overall
The Chiefs need a few things to be successful, 1. A healthy Larry Johnson. 2. Someone who can hand the ball to Larry Johnson. 3. Someone who can catch the play action passes that either Croyle or Damon Huard will be throwing. If all of these things would out, then the Chiefs will play a lot better than I think they will. But I don’t think they are a playoff team. If they finish 8-8, it will be a miracle.