Coach Todd Haley will begin practice a few hours later in the team’s new facility in St. Joseph. It will be the first time in 20 years the Chiefs have not camped in River Falls, Wis., and mark the beginning of what Kansas City fans hope will be a sharp upward turn following three dreary losing seasons. An air of optimism still surrounds the Chiefs, who have won only 10 games the past three years but made significant additions during the offseason. “I believe we’re getting better,” said Haley, who was 4-12 in his first season after replacing the fired Herm Edwards.

If Asamoah doesn’t move into the starting lineup late in the 2010 season, he will definitely be expected to push for a starting job in 2011. Asamoah would be the fourth of the Chiefs’ seven picks in the 2010 NFL to sign or agree to terms on a contract. First-round safety Eric Berry remains unsigned, as do second-round picks Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas.

Receiver Dexter McCluster and nickel back Javier Arenas signed their contracts, ensuring they will be able to participate when the Chiefs begin training camp Friday at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.

Six of the Chiefs’ seven draft picks are under contract. Still unsigned is safety Eric Berry of Tennessee, the first-round pick. The Chiefs have yet to announce that third-round guard Jon Asamoah has agreed to terms, but the NFL’s transactions report shows he has signed his contract.

McCluster will be used as the slot receiver when the Chiefs use their three- and four-receiver formations. Arenas is first in line to be the regular nickel back. Both players will be at or near the front of the line of candidates to become the kickoff and punt return specialists.

The Chiefs also signed tight end Leroy Banks. Banks spent some time practicing with the Chiefs during the off-season before being released. He is a rookie from Southern Mississippi.

(Can you tell I’m excited?)

While I’m very happy that the Kansas City good guys are going to be holding training camp closer to home, I am a little bummed I never got to to travel to River Falls for a few days to see the team practice up in Wisconsin. Oh well – live in the now, and all that.

With the opening of training camp come the questions, both legitimate and made up by writers, talking heads and bloggers who need something write about. This is why you read headline stories about the Cowboys (one of ESPN’s Mount Rushmore teams) not carrying each other’s pads or some other invented crap. Trust me, if this was happening at the Rams or Browns camp, you wouldn’t be hearing about it.

But there are some questions that every Chiefs fan should have on their mind as the team prepares for the infamous conditioning test (just hearing those words make Glenn Dorsey involuntarily shudder) on Friday. Over the next few days (mostly so I can draw it out), I will list the most important Chiefs of 2010 – and not just easy ones like Matt Cassel – but other players and coaches who need to bring their best for this team to succeed in 2010. Batting leadoff…

Matt Cassel – quarterback

Ha!  You don’t think I would let a softball like Cassel go by this easy, did you?

Cassel is the man, for better or worse.  For all you Brodie Croyle backers out there (and my God, there are a TON of you), Cassel is going to take the snaps until he gets hurt or the game is out of reach.  Croyle is a perfect backup – he knows the playbook, he can make some throws, he looks good wearing a ballcap and holding a clipboard, and his wife is steamy.  The ideal recipe for a backup QB.

So – Cassel comes into year two of his Kansas City experience -and he’s going to be better.  I promise you, he will be better (barring injury, of course).  Let me tell you why.

More weapons - quick – name the Chiefs’ #2 wide receiver going into the 2009 season.  Name two tight ends. And name our starting offensive line on opening day.  Ready?

 #2 wide receiver – it’s a tie between Bobby Engram and Terrance Copper.  Kill me.

Two tight ends – Sean Ryan and Brad Cottam. 

Starting offensive line (left to right) – Branden Albert, Brian Waters, Rudy Niswanger, Mike Goff (!) and Damion McIntosh. 

That’s not an offensive line.  That’s a crime scene.  PETA was monitoring the right side of the line to make sure those dogs on the weak side were not harmed in any way.  Matt Cassel should have sued for non-support. 

Don’t forget that Larry Johnson was still prominently involved in the offense, too.  Take his 2.1 yards per carry, his matador blocking style (Ole!), and the general lack of male genetalia, and you had a $8 million chair moistener who bitched and moan and slapped any bit@#eswho got in his way at Westport.

In 2010, the Chiefs have upgraded.  Well, that’s a minor understatement.  They have gone from McDonald’s to Five Guys Burgers and Fries.   Chris Chambers is here for the entire year.  Rookies Tony Moeaki and Dexter McCluster will provide some catches and play-making ability across the middle and on the edge.  Ryan Lilja and Ryan O’Callaghan are manning the right side of the line.  Mike Goff has been bound and gagged and tossed into Charlie Weis’ basement.  Damion McIntosh is begging for change on the sidewalk in Miami somewhere.  These are all massive improvements.

Charlie Weis - Having someone call the plays will be a huge asset to Matt Cassel.  Having someone like Charlie Weis – someone that knows Cassel, and can design a playbook to match his strengths and hide his deficiencies - will be an enormous upgrade.  Don’t discount this new addition to the team.

Familiarity -Here’s another underrated aspect of Cassel’s performance last year: he was new to Kansas City.  Now, this isn’t like moving to a huge coast city or anything, but it’s still a big deal.  Cassel moved his wife and came to a strange part of the country.  He had to find a house, a doctor, new insurance agents, all that stuff.  This may sound trivial, especially for a professional athlete, but it’s a huge deal. 

I lived in Oregon for about three years, and moved from Kansas City to Portland.  I was nearly comatose with culture shock at first – and my job performance suffered.  I was slightly overwhelmed with trying to find a good apartment, a decent grocery store, the quickest way to the office , and a million other things to consider.  It was a burden. It was pressure.  It also took time to get used to a new location – and once I settled in, my routine became more normalized, and my job performance took off.  I think this affected Cassel more than he’s letting on last year.  Let’s hope being a new daddy doesn’t throw him off this season.

So now the pressure is on Cassel – not once (publicly, at least) did he bitch about the lack of playmakers around him.  Not once did he say something like “Don’t blame me for all the sacks – it’s McIntosh who’s acting like the other team’s players have contagious STD’s”.  Never did he stare down LJ like LJ stared down his linemen for lack of production.  Cassel made delicious chicken salad out of the foulest chicken @#$% imaginable.  The results may not have been pretty, but they probably should have been atrocious.

Now – Jamaal Charles is cemented as the starter in the backfield.  Thomas Jones and Thomas Jones’s biceps are there to complement him and rest him.  Charlie Weis is calling the plays (kudos to Haley for eliminating a huge hole in the offensive game plan by taking himself out of the equation – much like Roger Dorn retiring in “Major League II).  The offense will be a ton better – and so will Cassel.  Just watch.

The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to a four-year contract with rookie second-round cornerback Javier Arenas, according to a league source with knowledge of the situation. An All-American selection last year for the national champion Alabama Crimson Tide, Arenas is expected to compete for immediate playing time on defense and contribute on special teams. Arenas is a 5-foot-9, 195-pounder who played in the Senior Bowl all-star game. Last season, Arenas recorded 70 tackles, five sacks and five interceptions for the undefeated Crimson Tide. A first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection last season at cornerback, Arenas doubled as a dangerous return specialist with one punt return for a touchdown.

The new Chiefs front office and coaching staff didn’t like the way wide receiver Dwyane Bowe carried himself all of last year and they’re still not sure he gets the message. So which Bowe shows up this year? We’ll probably know the answer in training camp because the question revolves around work ethic. His first two seasons showed plenty of promise when he averaged more than 1,000 yards and six touchdowns those two years. If Bowe gets it together, the Chiefs have two legit receivers (Chris Chambers is on the other side) and could make some noise in the weak AFC West.

The site that was chosen (RTSports.com) doesn’t do snake drafts – so I’m stuck at #23 for the entirety of the draft. This should be interesting.

First pick – #23 overall – I pick up Jamaal Charles. Yes, homer pick – but due to some technical difficulties, and the fact I thought I would have a chance at Larry Fitzgerald coming back to me due to the snake fashion…but that’s not going to happen. Charles is a good pick this late – a guaranteed starter, but I’m worried that Thomas Jones will snake his goal-line carries. Stay tuned for the second pick – which at the rate we’re going, will be around Tuesday.

Second pick – #46 overall – the pickins’ are slim (and it’s only the SECOND ROUND!) - so I take TE Jason Witten with the second round pick.  Matt Ryan and Brandon Jacobs were there, but I went through a nasty breakup with both of them last year, so it’s time for new blood.  By the way, kill me – I just took a tight end in the second round.

(Update: To top things off, Charles and Witten both have week 4 as their bye week.  Good scouting, Ryan…)

Third pick – #69 overall (hahahahaha…) – Brandon Jacobs – apparently everyone else has had a ride on the village bicycle, because it everyone else passed on him.  It was either him or Dwayne Bowe – which would give me two Chiefs, three players with week 4 as a bye, and the most annoying Chief since Mark ”Mighty Mouse” McMillan on my team.  Pass.  Welcome aboard, Jacobs – we will enjoy your 3.1 YPC.

Fourth pick – #92 overall – Someone either needs to throw the ball or catch it on this team, so it’s down to either Matt Stafford, Mark Sanchez or Mike Wallace.  The team in front of me takes Stafford, and I can’t bear the thought of having Jason Campbell as a potential starter on my team…so I take the “Sanchize”.  At the very least, I can cheer for the “Dirty Sanchez” all season – so that’s something…right?

Fifth pick – #115 overall – Damn it all – someone took Santonio Holmes (or, in the words of John Madden – “San Antonio Holmes”) two picks before me.  I was trying to maximize my quarterback and wide receiver effectiveness – but now we’re scrambling.  There are some dogs (Berrian, Mason) and some unknowns (Walter, and that Benn kid from Tampa Bay) – but I needed some semblance of a known quantity – so I took Austin Collie from Indianapolis – which may be the first and only time he was considered a #1 wideout on ANY team.  Shoot me.  Did I mention that I love the non-snake format?

On that note – since this draft is slower than a refund check, I’m putting my team on cruise control.  Really, is there any potential for the computer doing worse than I am right now?  I’ll fill in the blanks on the rest of my “dynasty” once the draft is complete.

Okay…forget that last part. Apparently, most of the other teams went to auto-picks, too – so I’ll stick with this for a few more picks. Who knows – I may even finish this thing.

Sixth pick – #138 overall – I realize something – there are 26 teams in the league, and only 32 starting quarterbacks.  So…that means only six of us will get two legitimate starters.  The bad news to my discovery – the only starters left are Jake Delhomme and Ryan Fitzpatrick…and there are 11 teams in front of me.  There’s no way that either will get to me…right?

Wrong – Delhomme falls to me, and I snatch him in the sixth round – and that’s about 300 rounds too early, but you do what you gotta do in some cases.

Shhhh…we’re hunting Cotcheries…

Seventh pick – #161 overall – Welcome aboard, Jerrico Cotchery.  Can you tell things have derailed when I’m excited about Cotchery in the seventh round?  This draft needs to end…soon.

Eighth pick – #184 overll – how the mighty have fallen.  I just picked up former #5 overall pick Marshawn Lynch in the eighth round.  Wow.  Even Tiger Woods’s stock didn’t fall this far.

Somehow, I just ended up with Lance Moore.  Dexter McCluster was taken immediately in front of me, so apparently I panicked and took the Saints’ 9th-stringer.  That will about wrap it up for me – I’m going to auto-picks.  I’ll fill in the blanks later tomorrow.

The Kansas City Chiefs unveiled the renovated Arrowhead Stadium on Friday and Clark Hunt, the team’s chairman, says the hope is that the changes one day lure a Super Bowl to town.

The Chiefs renovated the club level and upgraded bars, restaurants and concession areas while also creating a horizon viewing level and Founders Plaza where team founder and football visionary Lamar Hunt will be honored, according to Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star.

The stadium will be opened for a soccer game with Manchester United on Sunday and host a preseason game Aug. 27. The Chiefs open the season at home against San Diego on Sept. 13

“The first step on that is to see how the cold-weather Super Bowl goes in an outdoor stadium,” Clark Hunt said. “If the league has a good experience in New York, then there will undoubtedly be many communities to come back and ask for a cold-weather Super Bowl, and we would certainly be on that list.

“Our vision for the finished product was ‘New body, same soul.’ We wanted to give our fans all the amenities of a first-class stadium while preserving the iconic elements of Arrowhead. I’m delighted to say we’ve exceeded my loftiest expectations and we’re extremely proud to be able to show our fans the results.”

The renovation wound up taking about 2,500 seats out of the stadium, lowering capacity to 76,000. Arrowhead is considered one of the loudest stadiums in the league and because of that the Chiefs did not do anything to alter the seating bowl. Per Teicher, $250 million for renovations came from Jackson County, Mo., voters and the club chipped in $125 million.