Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports says that the freshness date may be expiring soon on the Kansas City Chiefs:

Even the tools of greatness fade. Chisels dull, paint brushes fray and hands become arthritic. The trick of the creator is to grasp the last moment – to not wake up on a Monday morning with the realization that he slept through Sunday's last hurrah.

It's a cruel lesson in the NFL, where franchises, coaches and players are notoriously absent-minded about the expiration date on dominance. So maybe it's a surprise to see the Kansas City Chiefs so self-aware, with a head coach unafraid to make his own retirement seem imminent and an offensive roster that doesn't kid itself about a bottom-heavy hour glass.

The window is closing on one of the league's most prolific scoring creations, and the Chiefs are determined to enjoy every waking moment.

"There is an air that if they don't win it soon that it might be too late," coach Dick Vermeil said, reflecting on the urgency felt in the Chiefs' training camp. "Will Shields may not be not here, Willie Roaf may not be here, Eddie Kennison, too. … We talk about it. There's nothing that generates effort in training camp better than a sense of urgency, a sense of purpose and a focus to win."

Not that Kansas City didn't have all those things last season – or back in 2001, when Vermeil brought together quarterback Trent Green and running back Priest Holmes and laid the foundation to an offensive line that would become the team's central nervous system. The Chiefs felt the need to be great then, too.

Yet, here they are, entering the 15th anniversary of training camp in River Falls and seeming like parts of the roster have been around exactly that long. Shields and Roaf, the anchors of an offensive line more stifling than the Great Wall of China, have pondered retirement and likely won't be back in 2006. Kennison will be 33 in January, and even relatively low-mileage stars like Green and Holmes enter the season at 35 and 31, respectively.

Without a doubt, time has crept up on an offense that has packed the league's most impressive scoring punch over the last three seasons.

"We like to say we're not one of the older offensive teams, but we're one of the vintage teams," Vermeil said. "If you study the history of the National Football League, some of the finest offensive teams in the league were very experienced."

Likewise, many were also remarkably close to falling off a ledge. One need only look at AFC West rival Oakland, which had its own impressive "vintage" offense earlier this decade.

Much like Vermeil, former Raiders coach Jon Gruden hitched his wagon to stars late in their prime, lifting the team to prominence on a mixture of talent and experience. But the same Raiders team that rode a geriatric wave to a Super Bowl in 2002 saw a dropoff soon after, as Pro Bowlers like offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy, quarterback Rich Gannon and wide receivers Jerry Rice and Tim Brown began to retire or decline.

The Chiefs aren't to that point just yet. Watching practice for five minutes is enough to see the hallmarks of greatness are still there.