Missouri teams making changes for new coaches

~ St. Louis plays its first exhibition road game for Linehan.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sure, it's only the preseason, and sure, preseason wins and losses are as meaningless in the NFL as last month's weather report.

That doesn't mean the Kansas City Chiefs do not need very much to play well Saturday night against St. Louis. In fact, the Chiefs all agree that this could be an especially important night in many ways.

In a summer of transition, they've looked awful in preseason losses at Houston and the New York Giants. Kansas City is breaking in a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator and several defensive assistants, while attempting to implement a fresh approach to both offense and defense.

It's time to play well and gain some confidence.

"The players understand that; the coaches understand that," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "And I think they're going to go do it."

It will be the first preseason home game for the Chiefs (0-2), and Edwards' first appearance in Arrowhead Stadium as their head coach. For the Rams (1-1), it will be their first preseason game on the road under new coach Scott Linehan.

Missouri's two NFL teams have much in common. Both are operating under new head coaches and both are attempting to tone down explosive offenses while giving new emphasis to defense.

Edwards replaced Dick Vermeil, whose offense the past five years passed for more yards (20,117) and touchdowns (111) than anybody but Peyton Manning.

Gone from the Rams is Mike Martz, architect of the "greatest show on turf" that carried St. Louis to a pair of Super Bowls. Now Linehan is busily putting in two-tight end sets, insisting on quick, shorter pass routes and placing more emphasis on a ball-control ground game.

And that is almost exactly what Edwards and new offensive coordinator Mike Solari are trying to do with Kansas City.

"We need to get some rhythm obviously, but the only way you can open it up is to stay on the field," Edwards said. "The last two games, we haven't done a good enough job of that."