Alex Smith is not shy about his confidence in the Kansas City Chiefs. The team entered their first day of offseason workouts with a brand new look. Andy Reid is now in charge. Free agents like Dunta Robinson and Anthony Fasano are now wearing Chiefs uniforms. Smith believes all of these changes will make Kansas City one of the teams to beat in the 2013 season. Despite being in a rebuilding year, Smith says the Chiefs can go from worst to first easily.
Reid has made it clear that his expectations are for the team to be extremely competitive this year. The Chiefs are taking on a "win-now" attitude. Smith is now a veteran quarterback with championship experience and with that comes high expectations for the team.
"We're trying to win right now. I think that's the great thing about the NFL. You're out there and there are very few perennials. It's a battle every single year. You can go first to worst, worst to first. There is so much parity across the league. That's the mindset here, that's for sure. It it's not win now, then that's a problem," Smith said.
Maybe Smith is crazy, but maybe he is not. When Smith took over as the starting quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, the team was coming off a 6-10 year in 2010. He led them to a 13-3 finish in 2011. Can he repeat the same success with the Chiefs? Kansas City went 2-14 last season, so a 13-3 record would be welcomed.
With that terrible record, comes the first pick in the NFL draft. The Chiefs have spent a significant amount of time looking at West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith. It is unknown how interested the Chiefs are in acquiring a quarterback with their first pick or if it is just a smokescreen to drive up the interest in getting the No. 1 overall pick. The Chiefs would like to gain a second round draft pick that they traded away to get Smith and are said to be leaving all draft options open.
Smith is not the only one that believes the Chiefs are going to make a strong run in the upcoming season. Robinson believes Kansas City now has all of the pieces in place to be contenders. With six Pro Bowlers now on the roster, they have a lot of live up to.