For the entire month of August, the Sportable Staff will look at one National Football League team a day. We?ll look at their offense, defense and in the end, assess their playoff chances. Previews will be done by division, starting with the NFC East. Each new division will also feature a new podcast devoted entirely to that division.

Chiefs Looking to LJ to Keep the Arrowhead Sharp in 2007. The Kansas City Chiefs have experienced a tremendous amount of turnover through the past few years. Herm Edwards is in swing for his second year at the helm of Big Red and the Trent Green era is officially over. With Larry Johnson finally in camp, the Chiefs will be looking to continue their offensive dominance of years past and make a serious run in the West.

Offense. A journeyman back-up quarterback or a guy who has seven career passing attempts. Those are the options that the Chiefs have at quarterback for this year. I’ll be honest about my lack of enthusiasm for either Damon Huard or Brodie Croyle as a starting quarterback. The Chiefs, who have dubbed Huard the opening day starter, seem to still think high of their young project Croyle. I, on the other hand, don’t. Croyle hasn’t done much to help his cause in the pre-season and it’s a little bit over the edge to put high expectations on a third round pick. This argument over who is the better quarterback will be mute as long as they can both hand the ball off to Larry Johnson 30 times a game. LJ Is an absolute monster. Don’t read too much into the whole “400 carries one year, career dive thereafter” theory because LJ is still young and he’s got all-world talent. He also benefits from running behind one of the league’s finest offensive lines. Even if Johnson goes down, the Chiefs have a nice insurance policy in Michael Bennett and Priest Holmes. Holmes is attempting to make a return to football after getting blasted by Shawne Merriman two years ago and suffering a concussion.

At tight end, Tony Gonzalez returns for his 25th 11th NFL season. Gonzalez has been the target in Kansas City for Trent Green over the past few years and he’ll be the only reliable target for either Huard or Croyle this season as well. The Chiefs spent their first round pick on LSU wide receiver Dwayne Bowe. Bowe, who ended his hold out and showed up to camp a little overweight, should provide a major boost for this receiving corps if he can live up to his talent. Bowe was the man at LSU; big, physical, and fast. He needs to translate his college game to the pro level.

Defense. The Chiefs defense is a unit that has improved greatly from the soft unit that existed just a few years ago. It starts up front with fast-rising defensive end Tamba Hali. Hali, the Chiefs first round pick in 2006, had 8 sacks and an interception last year in his rookie season. Opposite him is the alcoholic, Jared Allen. Allen has picked up more DUI’s than Leonard Little yet he continues to find a way onto the field. Allen had 7.5 sacks last year, down from his 11 in 2005. The best part of this defense, however, is the linebackers. Donnie Edwards returns to Kansas City after five years in San Diego. Edwards is one of the most underrated linebackers in the league and is a guy who always finds himself around the ball. He should bring veteran leadership to a unit that needs guidance. Edwards is also allergic to grass. Is that weird to anyone else? The Chiefs will be counting on Derrick Johnson to take the next step as a dominant linebacker. Johnson, who only played 13 games last season due to injury, has all the potential to become a dominant all-around linebacker.

The secondary is like a 1976 Monte Carlo, nice to look at but old as dirt. Patrick Surtain has been on the decline since he got to Miami and Ty Law is freakishly old. Yet somehow this unit gets it done. Despite a combined five interceptions between the two, they’ll remain one of the best units in the AFC because of their experience and ability. Greg Wesley is about as streaky as it gets at safety. Wesley will have a few games where it seems like he is everywhere on the field. Then he’ll have a few games where he gets beat deep two or three times and you wonder how he still has a job.

Outlook. While they will remain competitive in a very tough AFC West, I don’t think the Chiefs have the tools to win it all. There are question marks on this team at quarterback and wide receiver, two fairly critical positions. The saving grace is that this team is still good enough to beat the snot out of the Raiders twice a year. As for right now, it seems like third place is the likely spot for the Chiefs in 2007.