The Chiefs have finally tried to address the defense

Considering what he's been up to this spring, I'd have to say Chiefs' General Manager Carl Peterson has finally gotten serious about improving his team's porous defense.

I know there are a lot of fans out there who are disappointed because Peterson failed to go out and sign all the available super stars. From my point of view, though, I don't think the Chiefs really needed to go out and corral that much major talent.

Figure it this way. The Chiefs need defensive backs and Peterson could have gone out and shook the bushes in search of a stellar cornerback. Instead, he waited until the last day prior to the draft and came up with Patrick Surtain. This guy had better be as good as his reviews considering how much he is going to cost. One thing for certain, though: If you worried as much as I did every time they threw in the direction of Eric Warfield just think how much they will toss in his direction now. It's likely to be bombs away, but hopefully with more pressure on opposing quarterbacks than we've seen in some while.

Granted, it took Peterson too long to finally realize the Chiefs were not going to any Super Bowl with their current defense, which is less than mediocre on its best days.

Peterson also came to the realization that Hunt isn't getting any younger and would like nothing more than to get another banner to fly alongside the 1970 World Championship pennant that flies above Arrowhead. Oh, those glory days were so long ago.

What Peterson did was fill his pen with ink and began to collect autographs. He got cornerbacks, safeties, tackles, you name it. Instead of going after the one big name and gloating over it, they waited until last to sign Surtain and it appears as though the Chiefs have upgraded themselves in several critical positions. What we have to remember is that they didn't have to improve themselves a great deal in order to simply reach average. They got some pretty good players who come in with two-fold purposes. It could be that some of Kansas City's defensive holdovers might see their work improve with some competition. They had to be decent enough players to have gotten contracts in the first place. The time has arrived that will determine whether some of these fellows will be around long enough to fulfill their contractual obligations. Let's hope people like linebacker Kendrell Bell and safety Sammy Knight live up to their press clippings.

They drafted a linebacker and went after a definite need in going after a punter.

All my optimism has been tempered since the NFL released Kansas City's schedule, which is just as big a killer as it was a year ago. Dick Vermeil was even hot about it because two tough games were scheduled as national night telecasts on the road. "They're sending us on the road to play two big games at night where the biggest advantage goes to the opponent," Vermeil said.

At least they catch New England and Philadelphia at home. Considering the season the Chiefs are coming off of, I can't understand why they are playing them at all.

But, I suppose Vermeil summed it up best when he commented, "If we do what's required, it doesn't matter who we play or when or where."