NFL NEWS

Key to Chiefs’ QB Smith: Be available

The Sports Xchange

January 20, 2016 at 2:03 pm.

Oct 20, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) drops back to pass against the Houston Texans in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 20, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) drops back to pass against the Houston Texans in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Quarterback Alex Smith turned in his best overall season for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015 as a passer, runner, leader and game manager.

But his greatest ability was availability — he started all 18 games, and did it in a season where starting quarterbacks were weekly casualties on the NFL injury report.

“Say whatever with Alex; I think you say he’s a game changer,” Head coach Andy Reid said of his 31-year old quarterback. “I would think everybody can feel pretty good about saying that”

Still, offensive personnel will be a big subject for the Chiefs leading into the 2016 season. They played without their most explosive offensive player when running back Jamaal Charles went down with a knee injury in the season’s fifth game.

They were still able to run the ball with virtual unknowns Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware, but big plays on the ground were few.

Smith’s most frequent targets were wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and tight end Travis Kelce. After a 2014 season in which wide receivers did not have a touchdown catch, the Chiefs had 12 scores from their wideouts in 2015.

Improvement was made, but more must come; they were too reliant on Maclin and his 87 catches, 1,088 yards and eight touchdowns.

Although the offense finished with inconsistent production, some veterans are excited about the club’s potential with the ball.

“I think the sky’s the limit,” wide receiver Jason Avant said. “The experience that you get from these types of games (playoffs) for a lot of the young players is huge, and this team is full of young players. It sets up for (success) in the next couple years.”

–The offensive line will be under the spotlight. Like so many other teams in the league, including clubs that made the playoffs like New England and Green Bay, the Chiefs were in a constant juggle with their blockers.

They gave up far too many sacks (46) and Smith had to constantly scramble away from pressure. Losing left guard Ben Grubbs for half the season due to a neck injury took away their best blocker. His status for 2016 remains unknown.

–Defensively, the Chiefs also have major questions that must be answered. Six starters are without contracts for 2016, including cornerstone players Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali and Eric Berry.

On the line, tackle Jaye Howard and end Mike DeVito will become free agents. At linebacker it’s Johnson and Hali. In the secondary they face decisions on Berry and cornerback Sean Smith.

Howard had a career year and will be 28 next season. Berry will also be 28 and coming off a remarkable season after fighting cancer. Smith is just the type of cornerback the Chiefs desire, at 6-3 and 218 pounds, and he’ll be 29 during the 2016 season.

Johnson (33), Hali (32) and DeVito (31) have some age on them.

–There has been a thorough rebuilding of the roster that Reid and general manager John Dorsey inherited from the failed Scott Pioli regime. There are 61 players on the active roster and various injury/illness lists and 52 of them arrived in the last three seasons.

Depth was very important to the 11-5 season, as the Chiefs used 58 players, 41 making at least one start with 32 of those joining the roster since 2013. Only one team among those that made the playoffs had more bodies as starters: New England with 45 players.

Since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in the 1978 season, there have been 38 teams that finished a season with none, one or two victories. The Chiefs were 2-14 in 2012 and in three seasons since they have 31 regular season victories. That matched the three-year turnaround of the Dallas Cowboys in 1990-92 under Jimmy Johnson, after a 1-15 season in 1989. Both teams were right behind the improvement of the Indianapolis Colts from 2-14 in 2011 to 33 victories in the 2012-14 seasons when Andrew Luck became the starting quarterback.

The NFL’s only constant is change and the Chiefs face plenty of alterations if they expect to be a better team in 2016. There are issues the Chiefs must understand are vital to improving chances of postseason success. They cannot start with a 1-5 record; it’s a hole too deep and requires too much energy to climb back into contention.

They need to have home games in the playoffs and a bye week. New England was came back from an off-week providing healing time for injured players. All four teams that had a bye week this year in the NFL playoffs won last weekend in the divisional round.

“You want to shoot for that, you want to keep yourself in position right from the beginning of the year,” head coach Andy Reid. “It’s got to drive you. … There’s some toughness, resiliency there. They know they can overcome when their back is to the wall.

“There’s a foundation being built and good things lie ahead.”