Meet the Gang, Part 4- Keeping the Ends Tight (I Know, Eww)

As everyone looks forward to watching the year's biggest game, Chiefs fans will inevitably look back with bitterness at their own team's miserable season. The past is the past though, guys. Change is happening- good change. Let's not forget that amidst all the confetti this Sunday. Don't let all the Kaepernicking and squirrel-dancing make you fail to realize that we've got a good thing going, right here in KC. Allow me to do my part by introducing another (hopefully) integral part of the new Chiefs coaching staff.

Tom Melvin has a long history of coaching offensive lines that dates back to 1984, when he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at San Francisco State University. The previous year, Melvin played on the O-Line under, guess who, offensive line coach Andy Reid. Tom also coached for North Arizona U., UC Santa Barbara and Occidental College before Reid hired him in '99 as an offensive assistant and quality control coach for the Eagles.

Tom's greatest claim to fame is the overall awesomeness of Brent Celek. Under Melvin's supervision, Celek led the league in YAC (yards after the catch.) In the last four years, Brent averaged 59.25 catches per season. That time frame marks the period in which KC went without their former hero, Tony Gonzales. No Chiefs tight end has recorded a single season with more than 47 receptions since Tony G. last wore the red and gold.

If Melvin can groom a 5^th round draft pick into one of the league's best offensive weapons, Chiefs fans have good reason to be excited. For the record, Kevin Boss was drafted earlier in the 5^th round of the same draft as Brent Celek. And he's freaking 6'6. Who's to say Melvin won't turn Boss into another major weapon? Even if Boss is a bust, Tom would still be hard-pressed to garner less productivity from the other TE's on the roster. In Celek's 2009 campaign, he gained 971 receiving yards. I've added up the yards from Kansas City's most productive tight end from 2012, 2011 and 2009, and the sum is still less than Brent's total for that single season.

Melvin can immediately have a big impact on a terrible offense. The talent has been there; Moeaki and Boss are both capable of being impact guys on this offense, and the roster lists three other untested tight ends in Maneri, O'Connell and Martin Rucker. The problem was the quarterback and the coaching scheme. Now that both of these concerns are being remedied, Chiefs fans can expect some vastly increased productivity from a promising group of tight ends. Just stay healthy this year, damn it.

BONUS NOTE- In his last full season at QB, Alex Smith was second only to Eli Manning for the most comeback wins and game-winning drives. I'll try to get through this weekend without having an aneurysm while I think about the possibilities. Keep your fingers crossed, Chiefs fans.