Mike Mayock says Kansas City Chiefs are a ‘team you don’t want to play’
By Josh Sanchez
The Kansas City Chiefs were the worst team in football just a year ago, but that hasn’t stopped one of the most well-respected analysts in the game from sharing some incredible praise for the team as they prepare to take on the 2013-14 NFL season and improve under their new regime. Mike Mayock of the NFL Network spoke with the Kansas City Star and gave the fans plenty of comments to be excited about.
While the team is coming off of a rough 2-14 season, Mayock said that the Chiefs are the kind of team that do not want to run in to during the season.
“This is the kind of team you don’t want to play. They’re young, they’re fairly talented for a team coming off a 2-14,” he said, via the Kansas City Star.
He actually has a point. Sometimes when you are a young team, being naive and going out to play without expecting much of anything can be one of the greatest weapons.
Mayock started off by complimenting quarterback Alex Smith, who gives the team a major boost at the position.
“The quarterback situation with Alex Smith, all of a sudden, that’s solid. When you go minus-24 in turnover differential, you can’t win games in this league. Alex Smith takes care of that. (Rookie running back) Knile Davis is a really interesting guy. I thought he was before the draft, and you really won’t know if he can hold the ball and stay healthy until the real thing but, boy is he fun to watch.”
While Smith is a great addition to the team, he can be even better than expected thanks to the team’s star running back Jamaal Charles and the weapons he has on the outside. Add left tackle Branden Albert and the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, Eric Fisher, and the team has a great offensive core of players that Mayock has taken a special liking to.
“I love Jamaal Charles. … The wide receiver position needs to develop. … (Jon) Baldwin’s got to step up and make some plays. Andy is going to take advantage of what (Dexter) McCluster does well. Their offensive line can be solid. The two tackles (Eric Fisher and Branden Albert) could be special.”
Mayock wasn’t done gushing about the team just yet.
The new staff also will mean a revamping for the defense, which is yet another area of the team that excites Mayock.
“Defensively under Bob Sutton, it’s a whole different look for Chiefs fans … a lot of overload blitzes,” he said. “They believe in pressure. What you see is a defense that is going to try to dictate to an offense as opposed to sitting back complacent in a zone.”
So Mayock likes the team’s quarterback, running back, receivers, offensive line and defense? That sounds like a pretty incredible endorsement from one of the best analysts in the game.
If the team can put it all together and play like the Super Bowl contenders that some thought they could be just a year ago before they were a complete letdown, the NFL world could be surprised and the fan base will be more than thrilled with how things turned out.