The Kansas City Chiefs have seemingly completed the transition to “New England Patriots West” in the offseason with the addition of offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, both of whom did not enjoy the same type of success on their own as they did under Bill Belichick.  Kansas City GM Scott Pioli has worked hard on re-assembling the same components that played such a vital role in helping the Patriots win three Super Bowl titles in his first two years with the team after coming over from New England and believes his actions will eventually translate to a return to the playoffs.  Pioli’s moves started a year ago with the acquisition of QB Matt Cassel and LB Mike Vrabel along with the hiring of another Belichick disciple in head coach Todd Haley, who served as offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals during their run to the Super Bowl.  The Chiefs are coming off an outstanding draft that included the selection of All-American S Eric Berry from Tennessee and multi-purpose RB Dexter McCluster from Mississippi and also added veteran RB Thomas Jones, who led the New York Jets with a career-best 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns last year.

Odds to win AFC West Division: +750

Odds to win the AFC Conference: 45/1

Kansas City Chiefs Odds to win Super Bowl XLV: 90/1

Regular Season Wins Total Line: 6.5

*all odds quoted from Bodog*

Following is a breakdown of this season’s schedule for the Chiefs:

 

Week 1             Monday, September 13, 2010    vs. San Diego Chargers

Analysis: The regular season does not start easily for the Chiefs, who surrendered 80 points in losing both meetings to San Diego badly a year ago.

Week 2             Sunday, September 19, 2010    @ Cleveland Browns

Analysis: Crennel will get an opportunity to beat his former team here, although none of the quarterbacks that were there with him remain.

Week 3             Sunday, September 26, 2010    vs. San Francisco 49ers

Analysis: The 49ers will be coming off a tough home game against the defending Super Bowl champion Saints after opening the season at NFC West rival Seattle.

Week 4             — BYE WEEK —

Week 5             Sunday, October 10, 2010         @ Indianapolis Colts

Analysis: The schedule gets tougher for Kansas City with back-to-back road games against AFC South foes while the Colts will be playing their only home game during a four-week stretch.  Expect the NFL point spread on this game to be close to 13.

 

Week 6             Sunday, October 17, 2010         @ Houston Texans

Analysis: The Texans wrap up a two-game homestand against the Chiefs after hosting the Giants and before heading into their bye week.

Week 7             Sunday, October 24, 2010         vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Analysis: Jacksonville plays the second of three road games in four weeks at Kansas City.

Week 8             Sunday, October 31, 2010         vs. Buffalo Bills

Analysis: The Bills will be coming off a difficult road game at Baltimore before hosting NFC North opponents Chicago and Detroit.

Week 9             Sunday, November 7, 2010       @ Oakland Raiders

Analysis: The Chiefs split two meetings with Oakland last season with each team winning on the road.

Week 10           Sunday, November 14, 2010     @ Denver Broncos

Analysis: Like the Raiders series, the Broncos and Chiefs both won on each other’s turf last year, but both meetings were decided by 20 points or more.

Week 11           Sunday, November 21, 2010     vs. Arizona Cardinals

Analysis: Haley will face his former team for the first time since leaving the Cardinals for the head coaching job in Kansas City.

Week 12           Sunday, November 28, 2010     @ Seattle Seahawks

Analysis: The Chiefs play the first of three road games in four weeks while the Seahawks will be coming off consecutive road games at Arizona and New Orleans.

Week 13           Sunday, December 5, 2010       vs. Denver Broncos

Analysis: The Broncos will be in the midst of the hardest part of their schedule, playing the second of four road games in five weeks at Kansas City.  Could be a great spot for an NFL pick on KC against the Denver Broncos.

Week 14           Sunday, December 12, 2010     @ San Diego Chargers

Analysis: The Chargers will be playing the second of three straight home games against the Chiefs before finishing up the regular season with road games at Cincinnati and Denver.

Week 15           Sunday, December 19, 2010     @ St. Louis Rams

Analysis: Kansas City plays its last road game against the Rams, who will be coming off three straight away from home, capped by a visit to the Saints.

Week 16           Sunday, December 26, 2010     vs. Tennessee Titans

Analysis: The Titans play the first of two straight on the road against the Chiefs to end their season following three home games in a row.

Week 17           Sunday, January 2, 2011          vs. Oakland Raiders

Analysis: Second place in the AFC West could be on the line here in Kansas City when these teams meet in the regular-season finale.