history the following day. The heart and soul of the Chiefs once-vaunted defense departed when Willie Lanier and Jim Lynch retired following the season. Signs of improvement, 1978–1982 For 1978, Marv Levy's systematic restocking of a relatively barren defensive roster began with a 1978 draft class that included defensive end Art Still and linebacker Gary Spani. Running back Ed Podolak, who was the club's all-time leading rusher at the time, retired in the offseason on June 15. Perhaps Levy's most unconventional tactic in rebuilding the Chiefs was installing the "Wing-T offense". "It was a situation where we took over a team that had the worst defensive record in the history of the National Football League", Levy explained. "We wanted to keep that defense off the field, so we ran the ball 60 times a game." The 1978 Chiefs team ran and ran often, posting franchise records with 663 rushing attempts and 2,986 ground yards. Levy's squad ran the ball a staggering 69 times in a 24–23 Opening Day win at Cincinnati on September 3, the most rushing attempts in an NFL contest since 1948. Five different players had 100-yard rushing games during the year, including running back Tony Reed, who finished the season with 1,053 yards to become the team's first 1,000-yard back since 1967. Despite the squad's Opening Day success, the club lost 10 of its next 11 games, including a pair of overtime decisions. However, the team showed signs of improvement with the defense recording a 23–0 shutout against San Diego on November 26 as the club concluded its first 16-game schedule with a 4–12 mark. In 1979, Kansas City owned a pair of picks in the first round of the Draft, selecting defensive end Mike Bell and quarterback Steve Fuller. By the season's third game, Fuller had supplanted Mike Livingston as the club's starter. With Fuller at the helm, the Chiefs owned a 4–2 record after six games, but a five-game mid-season losing stretch sullied that effort. Despite finishing fifth in the AFC West for a second straight season, Kansas City's 7–9 record was a notable accomplishment considering the fact that the division's other four clubs all posted winning records for a second consecutive season. The Chiefs lost a 3–0 decision at Tampa Bay on December 16 in one of the most water-logged contests in franchise annals. As both clubs struggled to move the ball under monsoon-like