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Dick Vermeil wants to open things up, but has he got the players to do it?

By Jeffri Chadiha

Already the best tight end in the game, Gonzalez should see even more balls in K.C.'s new attack. John Biever Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Chiefs "They've had a complete change, so it's hard to know how good they'll be.... They controlled the ball last year, but now they're going to be more wide open. That will be hard because in St. Louis that offense revolved around the wide receivers, and the Chiefs have already lost Sylvester Morris to injury.... If they do play a lot of three-wide receiver packages, that leaves Tony Richardson on the bench. I think he's their third-best offensive player.... Tony Gonzalez will still put up big numbers. He'll be the most reliable target, and this system has been good for tight ends.... People talk a lot about Trent Green , but remember, he's only started 19 games. With his experience level and that knee, I don't know if he'll hold up behind their line. Can Marcus Spears pass-protect? How good is Casey Wiegmann ? Those are big questions.... The strength of the defense is probably in the line, but the Chiefs weren't that good against the run last year. I do like their defensive ends. Eric Hicks is relentless and he'll play hurt, and Duane Clemons is a capable pass rusher. But they also need a healthy Dan Williams.... They have issues in the secondary. Ray Crockett can't get hurt. He's lost a step, too, and that's a problem for a guy who tries to make a lot of big plays. Whoever they put at the other cornerback -- Eric Warfield or William Bartee -- has to improve. [Defensive coordinator] Greg Robinson likes to play a lot of eight-man fronts, so we'll see if those corners can play on an island." In the Year 2000 Record: 7-9 (third in AFC West) NFL rank (rush/pass/total) Offense: 25/5/8 Defense: 17/20/18 2001 Strength of Schedule NFL Rank: 12 Opponents' 2000 winning percentage: .504 Games against playoff teams: 7

Whether he was dropping back to pass or simply sauntering around the Chiefs' Wisconsin-River Falls campus during training camp, quarterback Trent Green wore an elastic sleeve on his delicate left knee. The black piece of elastic served as a reminder that while Kansas City has high expectations for Green's right arm, the Chiefs' chances for success this season depend as much on how his knee holds up.

Green, acquired in an April trade with the Rams, is supposed to be the charismatic leader that his predecessor, Elvis Grbac, wasn't during his four seasons in Kansas City. However, Green's health -- he has undergone four operations on the knee since tearing his ACL and MCL in August 1999 -- remains a question mark. During two-a-days he usually practiced in the morning and split his afternoon sessions between rehabbing and work on the field. "Dealing with the knee gets real old," Green says, "but I knew it would be a struggle to overcome the injury because I did a lot of damage. The thing that helped was being able to play in St. Louis last year. I saw that I could still perform at a high level."

While filling in for an injured Kurt Warner for eight games, Green rang up a passer rating of 101.8, good enough to lead the NFC for the season, but his two-year stay in St. Louis was bittersweet. Green, not Warner, was supposed to be the star there. Now new Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil, who brought Green to the Rams as a free agent before the 1999 season only to see him go down in a preseason game against the Chargers, is giving him another chance.

Green's knowledge of the offense -- he spent six years in similar systems with the Redskins and the Rams -- enabled him to miss practice without hurting his development. "Right now he's more like the player he was before he got hurt," says Vermeil, who sat out last year before taking the K.C. job in the wake of the firing of Gunther Cunningham following a 7-9 season. "I can see he has his confidence back, and the players see that it's his team. They expect him to make plays."

Green's best weapons are Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had 93 receptions in 2000, and running back Priest Holmes, a free-agent pickup from the Ravens whose running and receiving abilities fit the wide-open system the Chiefs will employ. Beyond those two, however, weaknesses abound. The most worrisome position is wide receiver. Second-year man Sylvester Morris, who caught 48 passes for 678 yards and three touchdowns last season, is out for the year after tearing the ACL in his right knee during a June minicamp. Derrick Alexander had a career-high 78 receptions last year, but the coaching staff is concerned he may lack the burst to separate from defensive backs. The most promising receiver is rookie Marvin (Snoop) Minnis, a third-round draft pick out of Florida State who showed in camp that he can create space. He'll battle for time in the multiple-receiver sets with Derrick Mayes, Chris Thomas and Larry Parker. Mayes caught a career-high 62 passes with the Seahawks in '99. Thomas has only 32 grabs in five seasons, and Parker, a fourth-round draft selection in 1999, has three career receptions.

"What we have to do is get the five best-skilled guys on the field who can score points," says offensive coordinator Al Saunders, who spent the past two seasons as the Rams' wideouts coach. "In St. Louis four of those guys were wide receivers. But it really doesn't matter what position they play as long as they can get the ball in the end zone."

While Vermeil tries to straighten out the offense, he has to hope new defensive coordinator Greg Robinson can improve things on the other side of the ball. That won't be easy. Defensively, the Chiefs led the league in a dubious category: highest completion percentage allowed (65.2). Robinson loves to blitz, but he inherits a secondary long on suspect cornerbacks.

If the offense comes together, Robinson's job will be easier. His defense was adequate during his six seasons with the Broncos, who won the Super Bowl twice during that span; of course, Denver could outscore anybody. That's where Green comes in. He's not concerned that his limited practice time will affect his leadership role, either. Among other things he rented a luxury box at a Royals game and hosted 25 teammates. Given that Grbac, who was waived in March and signed a lucrative free-agent deal with the Ravens, threw a party last year that drew only a couple of Chiefs, Green is off to a good start.

"The guys see I'm committed and that I want us to be together," he says. "I want guys to like each other. Because when that happens, I know we'll want to win for each other."

Issue date: September 3, 2001