State of the Franchise - Kansas City Chiefs - Feelin' that Breeze Edition

How Close are the Chiefs to Opening that Window to a Dominant Dynasty?

Often times people talk about “the window” in sports.  “This team will have a short window,” “their window is closing,” etc, etc.  But windows always seem to be closing, what about opening windows?  Nobody talks about that.  How does one open the window, how long do you want your window to be there and most importantly are the Chiefs coming close to opening up their window?  I’m going to delve into this with a little depth to see if the Chiefs are about to open a window or if they are staring at a locked door.

What comes to mind in this whole equation is what would represent the best example of a team opening a window and riding it to many years of prominence.  For me there are roughly 4 “dynasty’s” that fit the qualification of having a solid window.  It was clear that the window was opened, how long it stayed open, and it was clear the window closed at some point.  All these teams fell upon hard times right before the window, and have fallen into hard times after that window closed (while some have recovered).

Here are the four dynasty’s (in no particular order) and the key players that played a large role in developing and sustaining that dynasty:

1)      San Francisco 49ers (dynasty 1980-1998; won 5 Super Bowls, made playoffs 16 of 19 years) – (Player - year drafted) Joe Montana - 1979; Ronnie Lott – 1981; Charles Haley – 1986; Jerry Rice – 1985; Roger Craig – 1983.

2)      Pittsburgh Steelers (dynasty 1970-1984; won 4 Super Bowls, made playoffs 11 of 15 years) -  Terry Bradshaw 1970, Lynn Swan – 1974; John Stallworth – 1974; Franco Harris – 1972; Joe Greene – 1969; Mel Blount - 1970, Jack Ham –1971,  Jack Lambert -1974.

3)      New England Patriots (Dynasty 2000-Present; Won 3 Super Bowls, made playoffs 7 of 10 years) -  Tom Brady – 2000; Richard Seymour – 2001; Tedy Bruschi – 1996; Lawyer Milloy – 1996; Ty Warren – 2003; Vince Wilfork – 2004; Deion Branch – 2002; Asante Samuel – 2003; Randall Gay – 2004.

4)      Dallas Cowboys (Dyansty 1988-1999; Won 3 Super Bowls, made playoffs 8 of 12 years) - Troy Aikman – 1989; Emmitt Smith – 1990; Michael Irvin – 1988; Jay Novacheck – 1985; Darryl Johnston – 1989; Russell Maryland – 1991; Leon Lett – 1991; Ken Norton - 1988; Larry Brown -1991 ; Darren Woodson – 1992; 1988-1999 – Won 3 Super Bowls made playoffs 8 out of 12 years).

Now, here is the current Chiefs team and what I imagine to be their key players for the future: Kansas City Chiefs (Dynasty (?) 2010-???) -  Jamaal Charles – 2008, Brandon Flowers – 2008, Brandon Carr – 2008, Tyson Jackson – 2009, Derrick Johnson – 2005, Tamba Hali – 2006, Eric Berry – 2010, Dexter McCluster – 2010, Branden Albert – 2008, Tony Moeaki – 2010, Dwayne Bowe – 2007.

I threw the Chiefs in there just to compare, I’m not saying the Chiefs have opened up a window yet, but I know after a 3-0 start they are REAL close, and with a few more victories this season, I would say the window will be open.  I also put them there to compare where they are with all the other teams.  Let’s take a look at the common denominators among these four dynasty’s:

The most glaring common denominator is the obvious, all 4 have Hall of Fame QB’s (Brady hasn’t made it yet, but come on, nothing on this Earth could stop him from getting in).  Furthermore, all of these teams drafted these standout QB’s, as opposed to acquiring them by other means.  Now, the end of the 49ers dynasty was manned by Steve Young who won a Super Bowl as was acquired (not drafted); however, he only helmed 5 years of the dynasty and everything was well entrenched when he arrived.

Next, you will notice that all of them had a solid or hall of fame safety.  These safeties were all drafted by their respective teams and became leaders of their defenses coming up with big plays time and time again.  This furthers my thesis that safeties are more important than people have ever realized.  In my eyes, safeties are just as important as middle linebackers and always have been, they are just now getting their due.

Next, you see that each dynasty had either a legit running back, wide receiver, or both.  The Steelers had HOF-ers Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and John Stallworth.  The Cowboys had the HOF due of Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.  Don’t underestimate how important Roger Craig was to those 49er teams and of course they had Jerry Rice.  The Patriots were the exception but they got the most out of what they had with Deion Branch. 

Finally, something that nobody really talks about, all these teams had ridiculously legit D-Lines.  Just look at the names above: Charles Haley, Leon Lett, Russell Maryland, Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren, it really is quite the list.  Winning in the trenches is paramount to winning in football and you need studs up front that can get the job done. 

So how do the Chiefs stack up?  Do they have the legit safety?  I would say if Eric Berry continues on the path he’s on, the answer would be yes.  Do they have the running back and/or wide receiver?  Jamaal Charles would qualify and Dwayne Bowe has the talent if he can overcome himself.  Do they have the defensive line?  If Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson continue to improve as they have then their line will be formidable for the foreseeable future.  So what’s missing from this equation?  You guessed it, the QB.  

Arguably the most important parts of these dynasty's was their QB's.  The face of their teams, the unquestioned leaders, the integral piece that makes it all go and it's the only thing the Chiefs are lacking at the moment. If this situation changes, they could be looking at a 10+ year windo.

The Chiefs have proved so far this season that they are on the right track, the question at this point is, how far along are they and can they finally push that window open?  That remains to be seen, but these next two weeks will go a long way to telling whether the breeze if flowing through that open window to Kansas City or not.