Mykle VanHausen

The Cheifs will need all of their darft picks to pay off, but which duo is more crucial to KCs immediate success.

Or faliure.

Offensively and Defensively the Kansas City Chiefs have made several moves key to their ability to compete in the AFC West and against the rest of the league.

But which side of the ball will be more crucial this coming season?

Many think LSU stand out receiver and number one draft pick Dwayne Bowe will be ready to go when the season opens for them Sept. 9th against Matt Schaub and the lowly Texans in Houston.

And theirs every indication they're right. But the more pertinent question would be be "Who's going to be throwing it to him?"

The media has Herm Edwards purposely "de-valuing" Green for leverage in the pre-draft but as far as the media goes, Green's all but moved on to *ahem* Greener pastures with Miami.

Apparently Edwards likes what he sees in 2006 3rd rounder Brodie Croyle out of Alabama to seriously consider him for the job.

The more likely scenario will have decade long signal caller and reliable back upDamon Huard lead the charge until the situation no longer calls for it. But its not beyond the realm of possibility for the combination of Brodie to Bowe becomes a potent factor.

Or will the twin T's become a titanic terror?

Addressing the defensive side of the ball, the Chiefs selected two Defensive Tackles in the 2007 draft.

With the 54th overall selection KC took Tennessee's versatile Defensive Tackle / End Turk McBride.

McBride has suffered minor, nagging dings during his college career but was invaluable and versatile, filling in all over the field for the injury prone Volunteers.

He is quick, strong, takes good angles, diagnoses well and uses his hands well to fight off blocks in the running game.

He's equally good at rushing the QB from the middle and has good burst and finish to the ball.

His motors always running and he should be an excellent option to give teammates a breahter in rotational duties.

Taken with their 3rd round selection, the Chiefs grabbed another Defensive Tackle in the form of NC State Wolfpack stand out DeMarcus "Tank" Tyler.

Tyler helped the Wolfpack dominate opponents and along side #1 draft picks Mario Wiliams (Houston) and John McCargo (Buffalo)were second in the Nation in tackles behind the line of scrimage.

He has been criticised for short arming and getting chopped down in traffic. He has some percieved maturity issues (off field red flags and an ejection ofr spitting toward an official in the Soutern Mississippi game)and his weight has been a concern as has his stamina in later quarters but his upside is tremendous and necessary if KC is to consistently stop the run.

Tank has the ability to tie up multiple blockers and can stack and hold the line. He's also capable of an effective bull rush and takes good angles.

Tyler will take resources to bring on line and his stamina, health and ability to grasp an NFL defense are all question marks Kansas City will have to answer, but again, a good rotational choice that will see field time before hes ready and may pay off in the long term.

Kansas City's hoping his size and strength will be enough to clog run lanes and hold the line in the mean time.

Both of these players bring big question marks and bigger potential to a resurging defense slowly building and improving from its horrible 31st overall performance in 2004, to a respectable 16th overall in 06'.

In recent times the Chiefs have shown marked improvement against the pass, jumping from 30th to 19th and should continue to improve, but this stat may be affected by the fact the Chiefs were 23rd against the run in the red zone and dropped from 05's stat down to 19th over all.

So, in my opinion, Croyle and Bowe will certainly be the "sexier" (gawd I hate that.) of the combos to take the field this year, but in my opinion, in the run heavy AFC West, featuring the always competetive Bronco stretch and cut, the Chargers LT and a revamped refocused run scheme forming in Oakland, Kansas City's hopes for sucess will lie with the defensive side of their recent drafts rather than through the air in 07', especially if Preist returns and Johnson reaches an amicable deal.

Even in rotational duties, Turk and Tank are going to be the crucila cog to KC's ultimate success or failure in 07'.