Chiefs need to address these gaps this offseason to become AFC champions

One of Eric Fisher’s finest professional moments came after one of his lowest. A crowd of reporters big enough that a few stood back to snap photos gathered around his locker. They wanted to ask about the penalty, of course.

“Let’s get this over with,” Fisher said.

The Chiefs left tackle had been flagged for holding at a key moment in what turned out to be an 18-16 playoff loss to the Steelers on Sunday. This was the best team most of the men in that locker room had ever been part of, and they expected to be playing the Patriots this weekend. Instead, their season was over.

Fisher told the world he felt terrible for letting the team down. He said he wanted to apologize to his teammates, but knew they would not want that, because they always won and lost together. He does not like attention. Does not enjoy talking publicly. But in that moment, he handled himself with grace, strength, smarts, and maturity.

As time moves on and details are forgotten, Fisher’s penalty will almost certainly be the lasting memory. That is brutally unfair, and not just because the Chiefs likely would’ve lost even without it (the Steelers would’ve had 2:43 plus three timeouts and the two-minute warning to get a game-winning field goal, or go to overtime).

It is brutally unfair because there are more important reasons the Chiefs lost. Dropped passes. Missed throws. Turnovers. No answers for Le’Veon Bell. Mismatches in coverage. Seven consecutive possessions without a point. A general lack of composure illustrated most obviously by Travis Kelce’s brain-dead personal foul penalty and childish (if funny) postgame rant.

It is also brutally unfair because Fisher is a good and much improved player who is known primarily as a disappointing No. 1 overall pick and now the guy with the penalty at the end of the playoff game. Fisher, like everyone else on the offensive line, was not at his best against the Steelers. But he’s part of the future, and deservedly so.

It’s not his fault he went first overall in that draft, and if he’s judged as a football player instead of an artificial standard of other No. 1 overall picks, he’s seen as a solid and winning piece.

But, there is a usable and bigger metaphor here. The Chiefs did not lose to Pittsburgh because of Fisher. And they did not fail in their stated goal of a Super Bowl because of one game, or one shortcoming. It’s bigger than that.

Here, then, are the five biggest needs for the Chiefs to close the considerable gap between finishing 12-4 as a division champion and playing in the Super Bowl.

Improved quarterback play

Alex Smith is fine, and in the likely event he is the Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2017, they could do (and have done) a lot worse. But his limitations mean everything else has to be perfect, or close to it, for the Chiefs to move from good to great.

Smith was set up for the best season of his career in 2016. His offensive line was better, his command of the system as complete as it will ever be, and the best skill position teammates of his career. He was not as bad as some believe, and his receivers dropped too many passes. But Smith threw fewer touchdowns, ran less often and less effectively, broke too many clean pockets, and threw two end-zone interceptions that helped decide losses.

The Chiefs are in perfect position to seek an upgrade. They could gain salary cap space by cutting Smith, but more realistically, his presence means a search comes without desperation. The dream scenario would be to invest a first-round pick in Deshaun Watson — a beautiful fit for what Andy Reid likes to do — and let him learn for a year with Smith. Patrick Mahomes is also intriguing.

The easiest way to win is to find a quarterback who can cover the shortcomings of teammates. If the Chiefs could find that in the draft, it would come with the added financial benefit of a cost-suppressed rookie contract. Watson appears to be the best candidate for them in years, and he will be available at a moment when the Chiefs can afford to look.

Stop the run

The Chiefs were terrible against the run, exposed most obviously by Bell’s 170 yards in the playoff game. Some of this was a conscious decision to better defend the pass — both through coverage and pressure — but too much of it was missed tackles, open gaps, and simply being beat.

Derrick Johnson’s injury made things worse, but teams were running effectively against the Chiefs when he was healthy, too. Ramik Wilson had encouraging moments, but the Chiefs are light here. They don’t like to invest major capital into this position, but they may not have a choice.

Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton will need to make some adjustments, too, to be more willing to present so-called “even boxes” to discourage offenses from running.

Offensive line strength

The Chiefs upgraded their line with right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, drafted Parker Ehinger — who showed much promise before being injured — and watched Laurent Duvernay-Tardif greatly improve. Mitch Morse looks like a mainstay, Zach Fulton is useful, and Fisher is an athletic and committed piece who fits perfectly with what the Chiefs do.

The overall result was an improvement from one of the league’s worst lines in 2015, to a more average unit in 2016.

But they still need to be better, particularly in run blocking. The Chiefs were problematically ineffective running between the tackles, part of why they relied so heavily on gimmicks, which is largely a comment on their overall strength.

The good news is this is fixable. Schwartz is 27, and the oldest in the group. The other starters are 25 or younger. You’d expect them to continue to gain strength.

This is a subtle but important development. Success with more traditional run plays that rely on strength up front would give the Chiefs more options on every play, and more certainty on the ones that matter most — remember all those failed short-yardage plays against the Titans?

A game-busting running back

The biggest problem with the Chiefs this year was the offense, and the biggest problem with the offense was a lack of margin for error. Other than a top-shelf quarterback, the best way to build margin for error is with big plays.

The Chiefs ranked 21st in so-called big plays (runs of 10 or more yards, passes of 25 or more) with the fastest man in the sport and a strutting, dancing, ranting mismatch at tight end.

Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware each played through injuries last season. When healthy, they present an effective and complementary partnership, but neither is the type of game-busting talent that defensive coordinators have to worry about breaking a 50-yard run.

Unless the Chiefs plan on risking Tyreek Hill with more exposure to linebackers, the backfield lacks that home-run threat. And if this sounds like Jamaal Charles, well, yeah. They need someone like Jamaal Charles — a healthy Jamaal Charles.

Nail the draft

This is true every year, for every team, but there are some factors that amplify the importance for the Chiefs this year. If they do decide to invest in a quarterback — and Reid typically adds a quarterback each year — this remains by far the best opportunity to draft a difference maker.

Beyond that, Chiefs general manager John Dorsey and Reid have been quite effective in the draft. Their first pick in each of their four drafts is a major contributor, and that doesn’t include Kelce, Morse, Hill, and others. The Chiefs do not prioritize free agency, and it’s interesting that they’ve tended to target positions of need more in recent drafts. That means if they’re going to address certain holes — a quarterback of the future, inside linebacker, dynamic running back — this is likely how they’ll do it.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Chiefs need to address these gaps this offseason to become AFC champions."