Chiefs' Bright Spots Moving Forward Include Very Friendly 2010 Schedule

It seems that everything is falling into place for the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are 4-2 and in command of the AFC West followed by the Oakland Raiders (3-4), San Diego Chargers (2-5) and Denver Broncos (2-5). So you can see the Chiefs fans' optimism in winning the division when your competition is the Raiders at this point.

There are a lot of reasons things are looking up in Kansas City for the rest of the season. Yeah, it's early to be saying words like playoffs but if you've lived in Kansas City the last three years you know the pain of being a Chiefs fan and know some wild optimism is needed at times.

That said, here are a few things the Chiefs have going for them moving forward.

Schedule lines up nicely

The Chiefs meanwhile host Buffalo at home, travel to Oakland and Denver, host Arizona, head to Seattle and then welcome Denver back home over the next six weeks. That's not exactly murderers' row on the schedule. The Chiefs next six games are very, very winnable. They'll even be favored to win a couple of those on the road.

The schedule is working out to the point that the Chiefs, if they can continue to win, can begin focusing on the playoffs and not worrying about closing out the division. Okay, that sentence sounds crazy on Oct. 25 with 10 games to play but the Chiefs schedule is clearly going to be a significant factor late in the season.

Running game is dynamic and built for the long haul

How confident should you feel with the league's top-ranked rushing attack? Pretty good, in my opinion. The Chiefs are really rolling now on the ground. I gotta give it to Todd Haley: He's using Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles purposely. It makes our early season debates on who was the starter look silly.

Brian Waters told us after the game on Sunday that this might be the most dynamic group of running backs the Chiefs have had, including LJ and Priest.

The Chiefs at this point can run over anyone. It's going to be the No. 1 thing they do well down the stretch. Everyone knows they'll run it. And they'll do it anyway. The unit is good enough to overcome the defense's target all game long and continue to move the ball very well.

Passing game perfect complement to running game

Do I dare say the Chiefs passing game is coming along? After a miserable three of the first four games to start the season, Matt Cassel has put up two very solid games in the last two weeks. Against Houston he had three TD passes and added two more against the Jaguars.

The Chiefs aren't turning it over, playing conservative and being very efficient with the passing game. I think this is exactly what the Chiefs wanted out of their QB.

If you give the Chiefs this passing game we've seen over the last two weeks and match it up with the running game we've seen over the last two weeks...this is going to be a tough, tough, team to beat.

Defense still holding strong

The Chiefs defense against the Jaguars gave up just seven second-half points. It's just a guess but I'll say the Chiefs will win most games in which they only give up seven points in the second half. The defense as a whole, these last six games, has been solid. The last two weeks we've seen the Chiefs give up more points and yards than they normally do but they're still a solid unit that doesn't make a ton of mistakes.

I've said it before and I think it applies after the Jags game: The Chiefs should be able to shut down all one-dimensional offenses they face. They didn't completely do that against the Jags as Todd Bouman began to look like a legit QB but they took away their biggest weapon and that's Maurice Jones-Drew running the ball.