Titans 2010 Schedule Preview - Week 16 - Kansas City Chiefs

This will be part of an ongoing series where we take a look at each individual team we will face this season.

Chiefs fans will look to Todd Haley to right the ship in his second season as head coach in Kansas City.  After cleaning house in the front office in 2009, Haley and the Chiefs struggled through the season and ended up with one of the worst records in football.  But, there is hope.  Running back Jamaal Charles has CJ-like playmaking abilities, and we've seen what Matt Cassel can do with the right personnel around him.  Those two reasons alone give Chiefs fans hope, something that has been missing in recent seasons.

Follow me through the jump for a look at the Kansas City Chiefs 2009 Season, the offseason, and three keys to winning this matchup.

2009 Season (4-12)

* stats from NFL.com and Footballoutsiders.com

There aren't many good things to take away from 2009.  This team was bad all year, going 4-12.  Really, the only thing good that came of this season was Jamaal Charles who was considered by many as the second best back in the NFL in the second half of last season.  Beyond that, this team struggled in all aspects defensively, and failed to establish a consistent passing game.

The Offseason:  Free Agency and The Draft

Scott Pioli and the front office weren't very active this offseason.  The only notable pickup was veteran running back Thomas Jones, who will provide a good change of pace to the speedy Charles.  You can view the rest of the free agent pick ups here.

The Chiefs had a few excellent draft selections.  Their first pick was used to select Tennessee standout Eric Berry (S).  His playmaking capabilities should create an immediate impact on this defense.  The team also had two second round selections which were used on Dexter McCluster (RB/WR) and Javier Arenas (CB).  Both of these picks seemed to be good value, as some boards had them as high as first round picks.  You can view the rest of the teams selections here.

Three keys to winning

2.  Run some more.  Vince could pass the ball 10 times this game and we'd still win.  Let CJ inflate his numbers in this matchup.

3. Load the box.  The KC running backs scare me a lot more than Matt Cassel.  Put 8 guys in the box and let KC try to beat us through the air.

I think Scott Pioli will have this team moving in the right direction within the next few years.  That said, they still have too many holes.  Titans roll here 35-17 and CJ gets 200+ yards.

Looking ahead:  In week 17, the Titans will play the Colts in Indy to close out the season.  You can check out that preview here. Titans lose that one 31-27.  That leaves this team at 10-6 at the end of the year and in the mix for a wildcard spot.