Paige: Chiefs could cause Broncos some trouble this season
The angst among Broncomaniacs is unwarranted. The appropriate suspensions of two Broncos executives as a result of their irrational and reckless actions will have no effect on the team's chances of winning the AFC West or the Super Bowl.
The Kansas City Chiefs will, though.
The Chiefs aren't red-naped sapsuckers any more.
In a casual offseason conversation, I asked John Fox about the unique challenge of confronting his former offensive and defensive coordinators in four of the Broncos' 16 games.
His response: "Andy Reid is a great coach, and the Chiefs have a lot more talent than people might realize, and they added (quarterback Alex) Smith."
Fox is quite familiar with Reid and the Chiefs' players.
He coached six of the Chiefs at the Pro Bowl. Fox was matched against Reid in an NFC championship game; they share the same agent; the two have traveled to Afghanistan and Germany to visit American troops; and they discussed working together with the Eagles before the Broncos hired Fox.
Reid and Fox were fired after 4-12 and 2-14 seasons, but returned, and will face off twice in 2013 ... and probably in years beyond.
The two crusty football lifers (Fox is 58, Reid 55) approach training camp openings in Colorado and Missouri this week with a combined 25 seasons — 430 games — of NFL head coaching experience.
Based on their opponents' winning percentage in 2012 (43 percent), the Broncos supposedly have the league's easiest schedule. However, five teams were in the playoffs. And the Broncos' schedule wouldn't look so unproblematic if the Chiefs' 2-14 season wasn't included — twice.
"That wasn't a 2-14 team when we scouted them, then coached them in Hawaii," Fox told me.
And the coach always chortles about the "easy schedule" idea. "Teams change so much every year." The Broncos have won six straight AFC West road games and were 6-0 against the Chiefs, the Chargers and the Raiders last
season. "That hasn't happened here since the last Super Bowl year (1998)," Fox said. "You certainly can't expect that."
The Broncos have at least nine extremely difficult games (Fox would claim 16). One is a hat foreboding ice-storm kind of December Sunday in K.C.
But, you mock, the Broncos went all Orange squash on the Chiefs in the last regular-season game. Yes, but the score was 17-9 in Kansas City in Week 12.
Look at what the Chiefs got now:
Reid brought nine of his Eagles coaches to the Chiefs, so there won't be coaching disorganization. The new coach also hired Chris Ault and Brad Childress as consultants. Ault conceived the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride-type offense — "The Pistol" — at the University of Nevada. And Childress, a former Vikings coach, has the title of "spread offense analyst."
Reid has informed his players that the new offense "will light up the scoreboard."
It was a dark and stormy scoreboard in 2013. The Chiefs averaged a league-low 13.2 points.
Eric Bieniemy, who landed in Kansas City as the running backs coach, has 1,500-yard rusher Jamaal Charles, not three redshirt CU tailbacks.
Smith's addition isn't comparable to the Chiefs' one-time acquisition of another 49ers quarterback — Joe Montana. But he's an improvement over Matt Cassel and the two former Broncos who masquerade as quarterbacks — Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn.
Smith led the 49ers to the NFC title game two years ago and had a 104.1 QB rating in 2012 when he was injured, and lost his starting job.
The Chiefs also possessed the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and bypassed the glamour positions for right tackle Eric Fisher, who will pair with Branden Albert. The left tackle was franchise-tagged. (Sound familiar?)
The Chiefs cleaned out Arrowhead Stadium and lured in John Dorsey from the Packers as general manager and Reid. They also signed a half-dozen veteran free agents and re-signed wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Their free-agent grade was considered an A, and the consensus on the team's draft was a B. Four Pro Bowlers are back on defense.
Contemplate the Chiefs' schedule (rated the league's fifth-easiest). They do have the Broncos twice — and Dennis Allen's Raiders and the Chargers of Mike McCoy.
The schedules of the Broncos and the Chiefs offer two major differences. Each plays Philly (Reid's old Eagles), Jacksonville, Washington, Indy, Houston, Dallas, the Giants and Tennessee.
The Broncos also play the 10-6 Ravens (remember them?) and the 12-4 Patriots and starting tight end Tim Tebow (remember him?).
The Chiefs play the 5-11 Browns and the 6-10 Bills.
The Broncos could win 11 games this season.
So could the Chiefs.
Fox and Reid might meet again in the postseason.
The angst among Bronco- noids is warranted.
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