It would be a bit disingenuous to say the fate of the Kansas City Chiefs this season rests on the strong right arm of Patrick Mahomes II
considering the second-year pro has started all of one NFL game.
Still
Artemi Panarin Jersey , that's how most people view the Chiefs as they report to training camp.
Yet the reality is there are a number of question marks as the club packs its trucks and makes the hour-long drive north to Missouri Western State
University.
Mahomes may be the biggest, but the way these questions sort out will ultimately determine whether a franchise that went to the playoffs four times in
five years under quarterback Alex Smith can win a third straight AFC West
title.
There are holes everywhere on defense. There is a new offensive coordinator and a few new assistant coaches. There is a leadership and experience void after
the departure of longtime linebackers Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson. And some
crucial players are coming off major injuries.
In short, the Chiefs could be very good this season. Or they could be very bad.
Good luck trying to peg where they end up.
"We have a lot of new faces and we welcome new faces," Chiefs coach Andy Reid conceded, "but they're learning and they've got great energy."
As the Chiefs' rookies, quarterbacks and selected veterans report to camp on Sunday, here are some of the crucial story lines to watch throughout August and
into September:
MAHOMES THE MAN: The team turns to the former Texas Tech star after Smith was traded to Washington this past offseason. The Chiefs traded up to select him
10th overall then gave him a redshirt season to learn the ropes, only to watch
him dazzle in a Week 17 win at Denver when Smith and most of the starters got
the weekend off.
The Chiefs have tried to help him out. They signed Sammy Watkins to pair with speedster Tyreek Hill in a potentially lethal wide receiver combo, and tight end
Travis Kelce and running back Kareem Hunt give Kansas City perhaps the most
talented skill position group in the league.
"Me and Patrick have a great bond. I feel like he is going to do great," said Hunt, the NFL rushing champion as a rookie last season. "He definitely already
has a leader role and he is just able to go out there and make big plays. I am
excited to see him get out there."
CORNERBACK COMPETITION: The Chiefs traded talented malcontent Marcus Peters to the Rams, hoping the improved locker-room atmosphere would offset the loss of
a skilled playmaker. Now, the Chiefs will have to find two new starting
cornerbacks after also releasing veteran Terrance Mitchell.
Kendall Fuller came over in the Smith trade and is the front-runner for one job, and Steven Nelson is the leading candidate at the other
Womens Victor Rask Jersey , provided he can stay healthy. But keep an eye on Raiders castoff David Amerson, former third-round pick Will Redmond and
rookies Tremon Smith and Arrion Springs.
Smith was the Chiefs' sixth-round pick out of Central Arkansas while Springs impressed during the team's voluntary summer workouts as an undrafted free agent
out of Oregon.
INJURY ISLAND: The Chiefs will rely heavily on Eric Berry to lead this season, but they also need him to perform at a Pro Bowl level again after
tearing his Achilles tendon in last season's opener.
Wide receiver Chris Conley will likewise be counted upon after a season-ending injury in Week 5.
NEW VOICES: Eric Bieniemy was promoted to offensive coordinator after Matt Nagy took the top job in Chicago, which means Mahomes will have a new voice in
his ear. And a loud one, too. There are few coaches that have the ability to
bark quite like the former NFL running back.
The Chiefs also have a new quarterbacks coach in Mike Kafka and decided to split the linebackers job between outside coach Mike Smith and inside coach Mark
DeLeone.
OTHER JOBS: Backup jobs on offense are wide open: Jace Amaro and Tim Wright will compete for tight end time, Spencer Ware and Damien Williams are fighting
for time behind Hunt, and DeMarcus Robinson, Jehu Chesson, De'Anthony Thomas and
undrafted rookie Byron Pringle are in the mix at wide receiver.
On defense, Derrick Nnandi and Xavier Williams are trying to replace Bennie Logan at nose tackle, and rookie Breeland Speaks should push Allen Bailey for
the starting defensive end job.
In the defensive backfield, keep an eye on rookies Armani Watts and Dorian O'Daniel as they compete for the starting free safety job. Roster holdover Leon
McQuay could also be in the mix.
"This organization is full of winners," defensive end Chris Jones said. "Everybody is eager to win and they are going to take the necessary steps to put
the pieces together."
Paul Fenton was hired as general manager of the Minnesota Wild on Monday, after 20 seasons in the front office with the division rival Nashville
Predators.
The 58-year-old Fenton spent the last 12 seasons as assistant GM for the Predators. He helped David Poile
Roman Josi Jersey , the winningest general manager in NHL history, shape the roster that reached the Stanley Cup Final last year and won the Presidents’
Trophy with the best regular-season record for 2017-18. Wild owner Craig
Leipold, who once owned the Predators, filled the vacancy created last month
when he declined to renew Chuck Fletcher’s contract.
”Paul is uniquely suited for this job having played 10 years of professional hockey and holding 25 years of management experience in the NHL,” Leipold said
in a statement distributed by the Wild. ”His gift of evaluating talent is
obvious in Nashville’s roster and recent success. My relationship with Paul goes
back to my early days in Nashville, and I know that Wild hockey fans are going
to love Paul’s infectious passion for the game and unsurpassed work ethic. He’s
the right person to deliver a Stanley Cup to the State of Hockey.”
Fenton, who will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center, becomes only the third general manager in the franchise’s 18-year
history with a multiyear contract. Leipold considered Fenton for the position
nine years ago before hiring Fletcher.
The Predators used 17 players they had drafted to win the Western Conference in 2016-17 for the first time in franchise history. Fenton was director of
player personnel for the Predators during the expansion club’s first eight
seasons, until a promotion in 2006 to replace Ray Shero as second in command
under Poile. Shero, now the general manager of the New Jersey Devils, left to
become GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won the Stanley Cup in 2009.
Fenton is a native of Springfield, Massachusetts, who played at Boston University and scored 100 goals in 411 career NHL games over eight seasons with
seven teams. He scored 32 goals for the Winnipeg Jets in 1989-90 and began
working in the league as a scout for the Anaheim Ducks in 1993.
Leipold
Braydon Coburn Jersey , who has seen just two playoff series wins by the Wild over 10 full seasons under his control, said last month he needed a ”fresh
set of eyes” on a roster anchored by center Mikko Koivu, left wing Zach Parise
and defenseman Ryan Suter.
The Wild have made the playoffs six straight years, matching the Ducks for the longest current streak in the Western Conference, since signing Parise and
Suter to identical, franchise-altering 13-year, $98 million contracts on July 4,
2012. Their overall postseason record is 15-29, though, with four one-and-done
appearances and two trips to the second round. This year, they were pushed aside
in five games by the Jets.
The organizational assets are far from bare for Fenton, with recent high draft picks Joel Eriksson Ek, Luke Kunin and Jordan Greenway carrying the
potential to form a franchise-leading young core and top-six forwards Mikael
Granlund and Nino Niederreiter still in their prime. The Central Division is
stacked, though
http://www.officialpredators.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-hartman-jersey , so progress won’t come easy, whether immediate or in the future. The Predators
and Jets had the top two records in the NHL during the regular season.
The biggest challenge Fenton inherits is the salary cap situation, with about 20 percent of the space taken by Parise and Suter, who are both 33, on deals
that run six more years. Koivu will begin at age 35 a two-year, $11 million
extension he signed before the 2017-18 season.
An aggressive approach to trades could be the best avenue for improvement this summer, with right wing Charlie Coyle coming off a regression season. Left
wing Jason Zucker and defenseman Matt Dumba will be restricted free agents whose
rights could be dealt for greater return. Center Eric Staal, the team’s leading
scorer with 42 goals, has one year left on a cap-friendly contract and could
fetch a significant haul.
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