So we are now 2 pseudo-games into the NFL pre-season and I’ll be honest…I’m largely (yet unsurprisingly) unimpressed with the Chiefs chances to make any noise at all in the AFC West. If we weren’t fortunate enough to be in the same division as the always-inept Oakland Raiders (if you knew you were going to draft Russell, why not figure out a deal BEFOREHAND?), even I would be predicting them to finish last in the AFC West.

Last night’s game (and much of last season) is all I need to know that Herm Edwards is not nearly the coach that everyone thinks he is. I want to like the guy – I like his positive attitude and approach – but I just cannot seem to get onboard with his theories about what wins football games.

Look, it’s true that in the late 1970′s and early 1980′s that the Steelers stifling defenses won them several championships (and even one in Super Bowl XL two years ago), but the game is different these days…even the worst defenses in the league know that we are going to run the ball on downs 1 and 2, then pass on down 3. The element of surprise that Al Saunders managed to perfect during the Vermeil years is long gone with the advent of a former offensive-line coach as the “offensive coordinator”. Mike Solari was blessed with, not only Saunders’ offensive mind, but also a group of All-Pro offensive linemen that included future Hall-of-Famers Will Shields and Willie Roaf. Solari parlayed that into a sweet job as the Chiefs offensive coordinator once Saunders skipped town to a city (and coach) that would appreciate his offensive mind (knowing that with Edwards as coach, offense would be considered by the head coach about as much as Tony Kornheiser considers hair products). The truth is that Solari is one of the luckiest guys in the league. His play-calling stinks (and before you throw a hissy and say ‘it’s only pre-season’, you need only think back to the playoff loss to the Colts) and he is about as imaginative as the guys who wrote Rush Hour 3. Roaf and Shields have retired, leaving us with John “Barry Bonds” Welborn and Kyle “I’m a Tackle, No I’m a Tight End, No I’m a Tackle” Turley to fill their spots.

And with the absence of a true offensive leader on the field (besides maybe Tony Gonzalez, but Tight Ends can’t really be “offensive leaders”), the Chiefs offense is in dire straights. Edwards has brought us the second-coming of Martyball, only with more mediocrity and a crappier offensive line. At least Marty’s teams had great linemen like Dave Szott and John Alt. We don’t have that and that’s where our biggest flaws lie and is another example of why Carl Peterson needs to allow Denny Thum to take the reins as General Manager and sit back as the CEO of the Chiefs. Their drafting of the talented (although rumored lazy) Dwayne Bowe will likely prove to be another first-round Snoop-Minnis-Sylvester-Morris-esque bust. Drafted just after Bowe was the Central Michigan standout tackle Joe Staley, who would have been perhaps the “left tackle of the future” if this, in fact, a rebuilding year.

As a massive fan, it’s tough to come to these types of conclusions, but after watching last night’s game and discovering that I was yelling at the TV in a PRE-SEASON game, it’s time to face facts. It doesn’t matter whether Damon Huard or Brodie Croyle (or Casey Printers, natch) is the quarterback this year – as long as we have a sub-par offensive line, an absolutely useless offensive coordinator, and a head coach who couldn’t give a crap if the score is 6-3, we could be in for a LONG season.