No matter what the Kansas City Chiefs do, their offense will always be the center of attention.
Despite revamping their defense, the Chiefs have problems at quarterback and a running back controversy heading into their season opener against the New York Jets.
In their busiest offseason in years, the Chiefs focused their attention on shoring up the defense. They brought in players such as safety Sammy Knight and cornerback Patrick Surtain after the defense finished no higher than 29th in the NFL the last three years.
The offense, though, has ranked first or second in scoring over those seasons.
Kansas City's best player in training camp and the preseason was third-year running back Larry Johnson, who should see more action this year behind three-time Pro Bowler Priest Holmes, who is 31 and coming off a season-ending knee injury.
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If quarterback Trent Green's leg injury doesn't become a serious concern, the Chiefs' success could hinge on how well they exploit their running backs' talents while trying to keep them both happy.
``I don't know if there's a scientific way to do it,'' Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil said.
The entire offense, slowed by injuries, is way behind schedule for the opener. Green recently had vascular surgery to repair a torn artery and is on blood thinners. He took only about 60 percent of his normal preseason snaps.
Green played only one full series in the third exhibition game. Because doctors did not want him to fly, he didn't make the trip to St. Louis for last Friday night's game against the Rams.
``Trent only ended up playing 56 snaps this (preseason). We would have liked to have him play 75 to 85 snaps with the work he missed only practicing once a day,'' Vermeil said. ``I'm confident we can catch up, but I'm not sure how long it takes. We haven't been as efficient.''
If the defense improves enough and the offense gets back to being the cohesive unit it has been for several years, the Chiefs have a shot to make the playoffs for just the second time since 1997.
``Based on practice, I predict a top 10 defense easy,'' wide receiver Dante Hall said. ``But it's yet to be seen if they can take it to the field and do it.''
And with a roster of aging stars at the skill positions, the Chiefs know time is running out.
``I think there is an air of championship urgency,'' Vermeil said.
The same can be said for the Jets, who are coming off their third postseason appearance in four years. While that is something to feel positive about, New York knows last season's playoffs could have had a much happier ending.
The Jets came up just short of playing for the AFC championship, when Doug Brien missed two field goals that would have beaten Pittsburgh in the second round.
Brien is gone, and rookie Mike Nugent is in for New York, hoping to build off the momentum it had at the end of last season.
``We were 6 inches away from making it to the AFC championship game,'' veteran receiver Wayne Chrebet said. ``The bad thing is we start back at 0-0 and we don't get a chance to pick it back up in the playoffs. It is something great to build off of and it was a learning experience for us.''
Already with one of the league's best defenses, the Jets upgraded their offense in the offseason by trading for wide receiver Laveraneus Coles and hiring offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger away from Tennessee to replace embattled Paul Hackett.
After the Jets lost LaMont Jordan to free agency, they signed free-agent Derrick Blaylock from the Chiefs to spell league rushing-champion Curtis Martin. New York also added a pass-catching tight end in Doug Jolley.
All of those pieces should help quarterback Chad Pennington better adapt to Heimerdinger's version of the offense. Pennington missed three games last year due to a damaged rotator cuff, but returned in time to lead the Jets to a playoff win in San Diego.
Pennington had surgery to correct the problem in the offseason and physically is very close to where he wants to be. But he's admitted he does not feel comfortable yet with the new offensive scheme from Heimerdinger, who wants to see more plays and more scoring this season.
``The mentality has changed, no doubt,'' Pennington said. ``I like the mentality, it's just getting more consistent. That's where I am. Old school versus new school. Sometimes I have that new school mentality and things work out right and sometimes I fall back to my old habits. I'm just determined to be more decisive and make crisper decisions.''
As good as the Jets hope to be offensively, they have little doubt that second-year defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson will have his unit among the league's best.
Sparked by defensive rookie of the year Jonathan Vilma at linebacker, tackle Dewayne Robertson, ends John Abraham and Shaun Ellis and, coming off a foot injury, veteran cornerback Ty Law, the Jets may be ready to challenge New England in the AFC.
``You look at what you accomplished last year and you always try to set a higher standard for your team, as well as for your organization,'' coach Herman Edwards said. ``We've been fortunate enough here to do some things that we wanted to get done. It's not all we want to get done yet, but I think we're heading on the right path.''
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