Chiefs Most Balanced Team in the NFL

This is a good read from Football Outsiders, who do all sorts of interesting things with statistics. We all know they run the ball well, but I found it interesting that the Chiefs are one of the most effective teams when it comes to passing the ball.

Is it time to take the Kansas City Chiefs seriously? It sounds crazy, since they just barely beat the only winless team in the league, but the Chiefs actually move up after that win and stand first in the Football Outsiders DVOA ratings. When we predicted before the season that Kansas City would win the AFC West, that prediction was based on the idea of an average team with an easy schedule taking advantage of the declining Chargers. That prediction seemed pretty spot on after a couple weeks, but as more time goes on, it seems pretty clear that the Chiefs are not an average team.

Right now, shocking as it is to say, the Kansas City Chiefs may be the most balanced team in the league. The Chiefs rank sixth on offense, fifth on defense, and 12th on special teams. With all the success they are having on the ground, you probably expect their offensive DVOA to be tipped in favor of the run. That's not the case. The Chiefs rank fourth in rushing DVOA, but only one spot lower -- fifth -- in passing DVOA. Yes, they rank fifth with Matt Cassel at quarterback and with Chris Chambers and his horrid 41 percent catch rate in the starting lineup (well, until they got wise and pulled him out after Week 5). Actually, because of Chambers' struggles, Dwayne Bowe is the only Chiefs wide receiver with enough targets to be listed in our main wide receiver stats. The Chiefs are 31st in the NFL with 187 net pass attempts, but when they do pass, they've been effective.

Actually the unit behind the success of the offense is probably the offensive line. Cassel has taken only eight sacks and the Chiefs are fifth in Adjusted Sack Rate after ranking 25th a year ago. They are third in Adjusted Line Yards and lead the league with runners only getting stuffed at the line on 11 percent of carries.

Read the entire article here:
FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Week 8 DVOA Ratings

Balanced isn't the word I'd use. I know they try defending it, but when you're last in the league in pass yards and the bottom third in pass yards given up, you aren't balanced.

Luckily, we're good in the most important areas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Three7s

Balanced isn't the word I'd use. I know they try defending it, but when you're last in the league in pass yards and the bottom third in pass yards given up, you aren't balanced.

Luckily, we're good in the most important areas.

I agree, and do not consider our Chiefs balanced without more of a passing game on offense, nor effective on stopping the passing game of an opponent defensively. We must improve on both if we're to make it through the playoffs, assuming the opposing teams will have defenses able to stop or hinder our rushing game, and offenses with a good passing game. When we solve the two issues you point out...then I'll consider us "balanced". That is assuming all other aspects of our team remain the same, or improve further.