CHIEFS AT A GLANCE
	Elvis Grbac
	Last year: 7-9, fourth place in AFC West Key returnees:: QB Elvis Grbac (98-for-188, 1,142 yards, 5 TDs, 12 INTs); RB Bam Morris (129 carries, 481 yards); LB Derrick Thomas (12 sacks); TE Tony Gonzalez (59 catches, 621 yards) New faces: QB Warren Moon (Seahawks), LB Marvcus Patton (Redskins); CB Carlton Gray (Giants), CB Cris Dishman (Redskins) New places: CB Dale Carter (Broncos), QB Rich Gannon (Raiders) Watch out: New coach Gunther Cunningham won't tolerate another meltdown like that of '98. Better than '98: Chiefs bolstered LB corps and should get help from second-year pro Greg Favors. Worse than '98: Grbac has been injury-prone and could feel pressure from veteran Moon. -- Scripps Howard News Service

New Kansas City coach Gunther Cunningham, who says a good team took a wrong turn in the forest last year, is trying to lead the Chiefs out of the woods, calling them home in a voice loud enough to be heard throughout the NFL landscape.

But while the exacting, demanding, take-no-prisoners Cunningham is changing the way the Chiefs do things -- using ideas compiled from three decades of apprenticeship under Frank Kush, Frank Broyles, Don Coryell, George Seifert, Marty Schottenheimer and others -- his plan for leading Kansas City out of the 7-9 morass it fell into last year involves concepts that made the Chiefs one of the NFL's elite teams as recently as 1997, their second 13-3 season in a three-year period.

"To me, the pride of the Kansas City Chiefs was toughness, and that's why they were the second-most-winning team of the last 10 years," said Cunningham, who battled the Chiefs twice annually during his years as a coach for the Chargers and Raiders.

"We're not going to have what we had around here last year," added Cunningham, the defensive coordinator of a self-destructive team that set an NFL record for penalties. "We're going to play disciplined football, and that will be the structure of the whole organization. That's why I'm such a hard guy."

Look for Cunningham to manifest his toughness through the return of a running game that was a staple of Martyball during 10 largely successful seasons but slipped badly (only 1,548 yards) last season. Cunningham wants a powerful running game not only because it can break an opponent's will, but it's the best way to keep injury-ridden QB Elvis Grbac fully healthy for the first time in his three seasons in Kansas City.

"The bread and butter of the Chiefs has always been the running game," Grbac noted. "(Offensive coordinator) Jimmy (Raye) put up a great stat at one of our first camp meetings. It showed that the last teams in the (playoffs) were among the best running teams in the NFL. The Jets, Atlanta and Denver all ran the ball well.

"It's something we need to get back to, and I think we can be good at it."

Here's a position-by-position look at Kansas City's roster:

Quarterbacks
Grbac's goal for 1999 is easily stated. "I've got to stay healthy and compete," said the 29-year-old QB, who has started only 16 of 32 regular-season games in two seasons in K.C. "The only way I can really change my image is to win."

Grbac is bigger, stronger and hopefully smarter this year, and he's determined not to hold the ball and give defenders free shots at him. Veteran Warren Moon should be OK in spot relief, but his 21 pro seasons are starting to show. Grade: C+

		The Chiefs have a lot of issues, but the biggest remains their running game. Who will run the football for them? Not to take anything away from Bam Morris or rookie Mike Cloud, but the Chiefs still haven't answered that question yet. They will try to solve the problem with three or four players, and you can't do that in this league. They need a workhorse back, and they don't have one. They also have a question at quarterback. Does Elvis Grbac have enough confidence to fend off Warren Moon? Moon will be looming all year long. And with the loss of Dale Carter, I don't think the Chiefs' defense is as young and nasty as it once was. The Chiefs should at least count on winning six or seven games. I don't think they'll get to .500. As much as I like Gunther Cunningham, I think they will be the cellar-dwellers in the AFC West.

Running backs
Cunningham went into camp with a "bigger is better" approach and named mega-RB Bam Morris (255 pounds and expanding) as his designated banger. But coming out of camp, a laboring Morris was in danger of losing his RB spot to Kimble Anders, a retooled Pro Bowl fullback who has always made the most of limited running opportunities.

Tony Richardson and Donnell Bennett are solid blocking fullbacks. Grade: C+

Receivers
Derrick Alexander became the go-to guy late in his first season in K.C., catching 42 of his 54 passes in the second half of the season. He must have a faster start this year. Andre Rison had an off year (40 catches) after a team-MVP campaign in '97. He has to make a comeback in '99.

TE Tony Gonzalez set a team record for catches by a tight end (59) but had only two touchdowns in '98. He could be ready for the regular-season opener despite a knee injury. Backups are thin at wide receiver as Kevin Lockett and Joe Horn have yet to establish track records in the NFL. Grade: B-

Offensive linemen
Guard Dave Szott's season-ending biceps injury in Week 1 last year caused a chain reaction along the line that set back much of what Raye wanted to do offensively. Szott, a Pro Football Weekly All-Pro in '97, returns to make K.C. rock solid from guard to guard with center Tim Grunhard and perennial Pro Bowl pick Will Shields.

Victor Riley did nicely last year as a rookie forced into the ORT role. Team MVP Glenn Parker played three positions last year and now takes on his biggest challenge at left tackle. But if he can't do it, who can? Rookie John Tait's first-year contributions will be minimal after missing all of camp -- he didn't end his holdout until Aug. 30 -- and top reserve Marcus Spears doesn't have a lot of experience. Grade: B+

Defensive linemen
A season-ending injury to DLE John Browning sets back this group. Dan Williams returns from a '98 contract holdout to play inside next to erratic Chester McGlockton, who missed almost half of the '98 season himself following back surgery.

Luckily for the Chiefs, steady but unspectacular Tom Barndt is in the DT rotation. Veteran DE Leslie O'Neal will have to be spelled by Ty Parten (six starts last year) and unproven second-year man Eric Hicks in a three-man DE rotation. Veteran Artie Smith is available for depth. Grade: C+

Linebackers
Derrick Thomas is off the defensive line and back at strong-side linebacker. He hasn't played there much but had one of his best overall seasons when he played over the tight end in '94. Marvcus Patton is a nice pickup at middle 'backer, even though he was written off in Washington. Cunningham's attacking style could revitalize Patton's career.

Donnie Edwards moves from the middle to the weak side, where Cunningham hopes he can still make sideline-to-sideline plays as Edwards did in accumulating the team's highest tackle count (151) since 1988. Backup Greg Favors is a second-year attacker with a lot of promise. Grade: B

Defensive backs
The loss of LCB Dale Carter to Denver via free agency really hurts here. Replacement Cris Dishman was a Pro Bowl player as recently as two seasons ago, but he's also 34. So is dependable James Hasty, a nasty bump-and-run right corner who struggled with downfield contact last season.

Newcomer Carlton Gray is an upgrade at the nickel position, and second-year man Eric Warfield is a player for the future. Safeties Reggie Tongue and Jerome Woods begin their fourth year together as a solid pair that keeps getting better. Grade: B

Special teams
Return specialist Tamarick Vanover must be a factor after virtually disappearing in '98. Kicker Pete Stoyanovich was merely solid last year, connecting on 84.4 percent of his field-goal attempts after a memorable '97 campaign in which he hit on 96.3 percent of his tries.

Stoyanovich hit only seven of 12 kicks from 40 yards or farther in '98. Punter Louie Aguiar struggled last year after fighting testicular cancer, but he remains a fine holder and adequate kickoff man. Grade: C+

Material from Pro Football Weekly.
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