Read More: Steve Breaston (WR – KAN), Dwayne Bowe (WR – KAN), Kansas City Chiefs

The high-octane offense of Bobby Petrino could reap benefits on the pro level for the Kansas City Chiefs if the latest mock draft at Draftek is remotely correct with Arkansas Razorbacks receiver Jarius Wright going to the Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Wright would join a formidable wide receiver team that already includes last year’s first round choice Jon Baldwin and Steve Breaston. The Chiefs have a major decision to re-sign Dwayne Bowe or not, but if they lose him, then a wide receiver must be selected at some point in the draft. Wright could be that player.

The National Football Post’s Wes Bunting writes that Wright is “a coordinated athlete who is sharp as a route runner, tough over the middle and knows how to get open vs. man and zone. Will get re-routed vs. press at times and looks more like an inside player at the next level, but has the skill set to make a roster and carve out a big niche early.”

If the Chiefs do re-sign Bowe, then it will be vital for Wright to also excel at special teams to make an impact on the roster.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs’ first three trips inside Green Bay’s 20 two weeks ago netted them a pair of field goals. So did their first three trips against Oakland last Sunday.

Suffice to say, Kansas City’s red-zone offense has interim coach Romeo Crennel seeing red.

There is little rhyme or reason to the Chiefs’ ability to move the ball downfield, then have everything come undone when they’re on the doorstep of scoring touchdowns. But their inability to come away with seven points instead of just three might be the biggest reason they’re playing for pride, rather than the AFC West title, when they visit Denver on Sunday.

“It’s never one guy in this business. It’s always part of a team effort,” Crennel said. “We’ve been able to get down to the red zone, we just haven’t been able to produce.”

It proved especially costly in an overtime loss to the Raiders.

Kansas City marched to the Oakland 12 late in the first quarter before a short pass completion and a pair of runs by Jackie Battle and Thomas Jones gained just 7 yards. Ryan Succop came on for what amounted to an extra-point try, though the Chiefs would have preferred that to be the case.

At least they got three points out of that trip.

Their next one was even uglier.

Kansas City had second-and-1 at the 8 when Jones was called for a false start. Now with a more substantial distance for a first down, Kyle Orton was forced to throw. His first pass was dropped by Dwayne Bowe in the end zone, and the next was intercepted by Matt Giordano, the second time in two weeks the Chiefs’ didn’t score any points on a drive inside the red zone.

Late in the third quarter, the Chiefs faced first-and-goal at the 6 and managed another field goal, leaving them in a 10-6 hole rather than a tie game.

“If we were able to get that touchdown, just a score sometimes changes the mentality on your team for that particular game. Instead of guys saying, ‘Here

we go again,’ guys say, ‘OK, we made it happen,’” Crennel said. “Getting down there is encouraging, so now what we have to do is refine some things so we can get points on the board rather than coming away with nothing.”

It’s unlikely the Chiefs will solve their red-zone woes before facing Denver on Sunday. After all, it’s hard to figure out exactly who or what is to blame.

Besides, the problems have existed all season.

Kansas City has scored a touchdown on red-zone trips just 33 percent of the time; the league-leading Jets have doubled that rate. By comparison, the Chiefs scored touchdowns on 59.62 percent of their trips last year, when they went 10-6 and won the division.

Inexplicably, the Chiefs are even worse at home, where they don’t have to deal with hostile crowd noise. They’ve scored TDs on only 23.81 percent of their red-zone trips at Arrowhead Stadium.

Going deeper inside the numbers, Kansas City ranks 25th in the league in red-zone attempts at 2.4 per game. That’s roughly half the number of trips of the league-leading Saints.

No wonder the Chiefs’ are 31st in the league in scoring.

“We’ve done a lot of good things,” Orton said, “but we have a lot to improve on.”

It’s easy to blame the play-calling of new offensive coordinator Bill Muir, or the direction of former head coach Todd Haley, who was fired a few weeks ago. It’s also easy to blame general manager Scott Pioli for not building enough depth to deal with season-ending injuries to Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Cassel, All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles and starting tight end Tony Moeaki.

But there’s still enough blame left over for the guys actually on the field.

The Chiefs’ running game, which led the league last season, has produced only four TDs rushing all year, and one of them was by defensive back Javier Arenas out of the wildcat formation. There are 37 players in the NFL with at least four touchdowns rushing, four of them quarterbacks.

Kansas City’s ground game averages 4.02 yards per carry outside the red zone, but that mark dips to 3.0 yards once the Chiefs cross the opponents’ 20. Jones is averaging just 2.3 yards on a team-high 19 carries inside the red zone, well below his career mark of 4.0.

The struggles aren’t limited to the running game.

Orton is completing 47.2 percent of his passes inside the red zone. Bowe has only seven catches for 49 yards and three scores after piling up an NFL-best 15 touchdown catches last season, and free-agent acquisition Steve Breaston has four catches for 30 yards in prime scoring territory.

“Guys have to look in the mirror and know they’re giving their best effort,” Crennel said. “Like I said, it’s never one guy. It’s not always players. Coaches have to do some things better, put guys in better position, better technique. All those things come into play.”

Read More: Thomas Jones (RB – KAN), Steve Breaston (WR – KAN), Dwayne Bowe (WR – KAN), Tyler Palko (QB – KAN), Dexter McCluster (WR – KAN), New York Jets

Let’s take a look at exactly what the New York Jets will be facing Sunday when they meet the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium. The Jets are 7-5, trying to stay in the AFC playoff race. The Chiefs (5-7) are having a down year, but are coming off a 10-3 victory over the Chicago Bears.

OFFENSE

The Chiefs have struggled offensively since losing quarterback Matt Cassel to injury, scoring just 22 points total in the three games in which Tyler Palko has been the quarterback. Kansas City has just one touchdown during that time. Palko, a second-year-player who had only two games of experience and no starts prior to this, has completed 64-of-102 passes (62.7 percent) for one touchdown, six interceptions and a passer rating of only 57.7.

Running back Thomas Jones spent three seasons with the Jets from 2007-09 and totaled 3,833 rushing yards with 28 touchdowns on the ground. Dexter McCluster has 425 yards rushing and 203 receiving for Kansas City. The Chiefs also have a potent pair of receivers in Dwayne Bowe (59 receptions) and Steve Breaston (48) if Palko can get the ball to them.

DEFENSE

Kansas City’s defense is led by linebacker Derrick Johnson, who has 100 tackles and two sacks so far this season. Linebacker Tamba Hali has eight sacks for the Chiefs. Cornerback Brandon Flowers has four interceptions for Kansas City.

Kansas City has been susceptible to the run, giving up 130.3 yards per game, which is 25th in the league.

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The Chiefs offense is in dire need of a boost, but KC fans won’t be seeing the main weapon brought in to help it for yet another week. Jonathan Baldwin was the first round choice of the Chiefs in April’s NFL Draft, but he’s been out with a broken thumb since the preseason. Rumors that he may play this Sunday have now proved false as Baldwin has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Chiefs opened the offensive playbook a bit more during the second half of the San Diego Chargers game and the team came to life when it did so. The Vikings should expect more of the same, but Baldwin would become the deep physical receiver the Chiefs currently lack.

Certainly Steve Breaston and Dwayne Bowe are solid options already but the Chiefs passing game needs that third receiver, especially with Tony Moeaki out for the season. Perhaps Baldwin will come out for the Colts game in week five. Whenever the timetable allows, Chiefs fans are sure to look forward to his arrival.

By Matt Conner

– Editor

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Jul 26, 2011 – Scott Pioli just had to laugh. It was the only thing he could do when answering a question about what to expect during the team’s upcoming practice sessions.

“Fans will be seeing a lot of conditioning. A lot of conditioning,” said Pioli. It’s been the hallmark of Todd Haley run practices since day one, when guys like Dwayne Bowe and Branden Albert were read the riot act for not being in top physical condition. By now, KC veterans realize that there’s no reason, or excuse, to not be completely physically prepared for the long season ahead. And even though they’re new, you should expect Chiefs rookies to get the point very quickly.

The conditioning this year is tantamount to each team’s success. For the last few months, every player had zero accountability to work out. While many came together for team-organized practices, it was hardly the same thing as the OTAs held in the spring and early summer. Instead of being in touch with strength and conditioning coaches all year round, players had to work out on their own — using their own trainers and own methods. It’s better than nothing, but it’s definitely not what coaching staffs envisioned when thinking of prep work for this upcoming NFL season.

Thus, you’d better believe that the Chiefs camp will be all about close observation early on. Haley and his staff will have to figure out who let themselves go a bit and who maintained the right dedication and desire to come into camp in top form. Camp has been grueling in the past for those players who weren’t up to par, so those players should stand out to media personnel and fans quickly if there are players stuck putting in extra time.

For rookies like Shane O’Bannon or Jerrelle Powe, it’s the conditioning (or lack of it) that might put them over the top against undrafted free agents and lingering veteran role players for the final roster spots. If two guys are fairly equal in terms of talent or potential, Haley is certain to choose the one with the stronger work ethic.

It’s been Haley’s way since the beginning and it’s gotten the team to this point. Conditioning is the most obvious and clear-cut answer that Pioli will give about any question during camp, and that’s because the Chiefs have been built for long-term success. Here’s hoping the players coming into camp got the memo far, far in advance.

Read More: Dwayne Bowe (WR – KAN), Branden Albert (OT – KAN), Kansas City Chiefs