What’s Up With Zach?

On Tuesday, Zach Thomas will celebrate his 36th birthday.

Will he still be a member of the Chiefs when he cuts his cake?

Adam Schefter of ESPN says no, he’s gone. Thomas’ agent Drew Rosenhaus says that’s wrong, that he plans to play this year with the Chiefs.

Unknown in this story are the words and thoughts of Pioli/Haley, because they do not talk about injured players. And Thomas has been injured. He has not practiced with the team since August 6th. That as the Chiefs ninth practice of training camp, and Thomas had missed two earlier workouts.

His injury appears to be either a hamstring or a quad muscle; the Chiefs will not confirm anything. Thomas disappeared last week from the rehab team, but he was back during Monday’s practice. He was running and taking part in exercises and drills with the strength and conditioning staff and seemed to have no problems moving about. …Read More!

What Happened With Chan Gailey?

From the Truman Sports Complex

There are two ways to look at what went down Monday morning with the dismissal of Chan Gailey as the Chiefs offensive coordinator:

1. The Chiefs are in total disarray and the firing of the offensive coordinator just 13 days before the regular season opener is the tip of the iceberg to the Chiefs troubles.
2. Todd Haley went ahead and pulled off the band-aid, unwilling to soldier on with a situation that he knew wasn’t going to work.

No matter whether Gailey’s firing comes from one of those reasons or possibly another, it sure seems like we now have a better understanding of why the Chiefs offense has struggled so much. In fact, there has not been a time the Chiefs have been on the field in 2009, whether OTAs, mini-camps, training camp or three pre-season games, where the offense has been efficient and productive.

How much of the blame for that should fall on Gailey and how much should fall on the talent level of the offensive players is a point that can be debated. Last year, Gailey did a remarkable job of making something out of nothing with the Chiefs offense when both Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard went down. The new personnel folks led by GM Scott Pioli did not add a single playmaker to the roster at wide receiver, running back or tight end. In fact, Pioli traded away the team’s leading receiver in TE Tony Gonzalez. It’s essentially the same cast of characters that the now former offensive coordinator had to deal with last year. …Read More!

“Can’t Have Two Roosters In The Hen House”

From the Truman Sports Complex

Leave it to Larry Johnson to put into perspective what  happened with Chan Gailey’s dismissal as the Chiefs offensive coordinator by head coach Todd Haley.

“You can’t have two roosters in the hen house,” Johnson said. “It’s common sense that two guys who have been successful in this league would eventually have a disagreement … they are two successful guys who want things to go there way and sooner or later, somebody was going to have to bow out of the race.

“There are not too many offensive coordinators who are willing to change what they do. It’s understandable why he (Haley) would make that decision.”

So the move did not come as a surprise to Johnson? Less so than the decision by Haley to keep Gailey in the first place.

“When Todd came, I thought Chan was going to have to find somewhere else,” said Johnson. “What I heard was that Todd liked to take control and do things his way.”

Although last year was not a good one for Johnson, he thinks Gailey did a good  job in 2008 of making the offense go given the circumstances.

“It was tough last year; we went through three different quarterbacks and we had the change almost the whole offense to fit the quarterback’s strengths and gifts, ” said Johnson. “He (Gailey) did well, considering he had to mix and match and change so many things. “

Practice Update 8/31 A.M.

From the Truman Sports Complex

It was another day, another adventure around the Chiefs during their Monday morning practice session.

Generally, we show up for these workouts and do a roll call of the players. Monday, it was the coaching staff where the roll call was needed, as Chan Gailey was not on the field when the media arrived. A few minutes later the team made the announcement that Gailey had been relieved of his duties as offensive coordinator.

But practice went on, with head coach Todd Haley handling the play calling and working with the quarterbacks. He got help from offensive quality control assistant Nick Sirianni.

Then came the roll call of the players. Missing from the field were QB Matt Cassel and WR Devard Darling. Both suffered injuries to their left legs during Saturday night’s game against Seattle. Both are thought to be knee injuries, with Cassel spraining his MCL and Darling tearing his ACL.

Haley refused to discuss any injured players after the practice.

He also said that a starting quarterback for Thursday night’s pre-season finale in St. Louis against the Rams had not been determined, although Tyler Thigpen took almost all of the snaps with the first team offense in the practice.

Here’s some other tidbits and news from the practice: …Read More!

Gailey relieved of his duties!

History has repeated itself with the Chiefs as offensive coordinator Chan Gailey was fired Monday morning by head coach Todd Haley. It was 25 years ago that then head coach John Mackovic fired defensive coordinator Bud Carson in the 1984 pre-season. We will have more on this surprising development with Gailey later this afternoon. Chiefs are currently on the practice field.

A Quarterback Curse? … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

Just when this curse began, we don’t know.

But there seems little doubt that being the Chiefs starting quarterback is a dangerous proposition these days.

For awhile, it seemed the QB injury curse was something that followed Herm Edwards around, leading to speculation that it was some sort of cosmic football karma for all the torment he put passers through during his career as an NFL cornerback.

But after Saturday night, we know that the origin is not Herm; he can’t be blamed for Matt Cassel going down and out this summer (right).

As of late Sunday night there was no definitive word on the seriousness of the left leg injury suffered by Cassel against the Seattle Seahawks. But there’s little doubt that this is more than a tweak. On internet site reported the injury is a MCL sprain in his right knee and that Cassel will be out two to four weeks. …Read More!

Sunday Night Injury Update

Sometime Monday afternoon we should get a clearer picture on the status of injuries suffered by QB Matt Cassel, CB Brandon Flowers and WR Devard Darling.

Coaches and players were unavailable to the media on Sunday as they begin a very short week in preparation of Thursdsay’s pre-season finale in St. Louis. The team will practice Monday morning; afterwards Todd Haley will speak to the media. Details will  more than likely remain scarce.

Yahoo.com reported Sunday evening that Cassell could miss two to four weeks with a strained medial collateral ligament. However, the web report said it was Cassel’s right knee, when the injury was to his left leg. The information came supposedly from “a source within the Chiefs organization.” The injury is not expected to require surgery.

Various media outlets reported other details about Cassel and Darling’s injuries without providing attribution. If you want that information then we’ll let you do the search. Both players suffered injuries to their left legs in Saturday night’s game against Seattle. There’s been no speculation on Flowers’ left shoulder that he injured in the first quarter.

Special Teams Struggles & Other Notes

From Arrowhead Stadium

The bloom fell off the Ryan Succop rose Saturday night.

Of the Chiefs 2009 Draft class, it was the last man taken who was performing. Succop, the final pick in the entire NFL Draft, had been solid all through training camp and the pre-season.

That ended against Seattle, and was just part of what was a poor special teams evening for the Chiefs.

Succop missed his first FGs as a pro against the Seahawks. He was wide left on a 28-yard attempt and then his 53-yard try was directionally perfect. Problem was it traveled only 52 ½ yards, hitting the cross bar and bouncing into the end zone.

He did come back and hit a 35-yard FG in the fourth quarter.

“Ryan has been a positive throughout camp and the preseason,” Haley said. “Tonight, he lined drive a kickoff which is something we don’t want, and he missed a FG that he should have made. He did bounce back and hit one. The one that hit the crossbar was not a negative at all.

“I’m not going to beat him up too bad.” …Read More!

Thigpen Takes A Step Backwards

From Arrowhead Stadium

If Tyler Thigpen is truly on the trading block, what happened Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium is not going to convince any team to up its offer for him.

With Matt Cassel bounced from the game with a left leg injury just one minute, 59 seconds into the action, Thigpen was thrust into the game far earlier than he or anyone on the Chiefs sideline expected. And much as he has during practice sessions in this pre-season, Thigpen struggled to get anything going. Thus, the Chiefs offense struggled as well.

By the time he was lifted near the end of the third quarter, Thigpen had directed the Chiefs for eight possessions that produced no points. Three times the Kansas City offense reached Seattle territory, just once inside the 20-yard line. Half of those possessions saw the Chiefs go three plays and punt.

“I don’t think I played up to my ability,” Thigpen said. “I feel like I did some good things and some bad things and those bad things I have to correct.” …Read More!

Banged Up Chiefs Fall Again, 14-10

From Arrowhead Stadium

The Chiefs needed a victory Saturday night against the Seattle Seahawks. It didn’t happen.

They needed to at least see their first units perform with efficiency and productivity. It didn’t happen.

What they didn’t need was to have any players suffer injuries. That didn’t happen either.

QB Matt Cassel, CB Brandon Flowers and WR Devard Darling limped off, the Chiefs defense scored the team’s only touchdown and Todd Haley is now 0-3 as the head coach after Seattle grabbed a 14-10 victory. The Chiefs announced paid attendance as 66, 553.

The Chiefs faithful did not have much to see other than more disappointing and frustrating play from their favorite team. Thankfully, it will go down as one of the shortest games of the year, needing just two hours and 44 minutes.

“Disappointing across the board tonight as a team,” said Haley. “After making some progress in game No. 2, I thought we went backwards tonight. Offensively it was a real struggle out there. Defensively there were some good things and too many breakdowns that cost us. Really disappointing.”

It doesn’t get much worse for fans or the team than seeing the franchise quarterback limp off the field less than two minutes into the game. Cassel was trying to get away from Seattle pass rush pressure on the Chiefs third offensive play when he was grabbed around the legs and pulled down by DT Brandon Mebane.

The injury was to Cassel’s left leg, but Haley would not talk about details involving any of his injured players afterwards.

“All injured guys are being evaluated and I don’t have any real information on those guys I know you want to talk about,” said Haley. “We’ll talk about them at a later date.” …Read More!

AFL 50-Year Memories: The NFL Strikes Back

It was National Football League Commissioner Bert Bell who first let the sports world know that another league was forming on the American football landscape.

At the time, Bell told a Senate sub-committee that the established NFL welcomed the new league, which later became known as the American Football League.

That proved to be wishful thinking on Bell’s part, because it didn’t take long for the NFL to answer back against the new league and kickoff a football war that was probably inevitable.

The date was August 29, 1959 and the cannon shot came in Houston, Texas. That’s where the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers were playing a pre-season game. Speaking with reporters, Bears owner and the most powerful man in the NFL at the time George Halas and Steelers owners Art Rooney announced that the league would expand to Dallas and Houston in 1961.

Halas was the head of the NFL’s expansion committee, and just a few months before he’d told Lamar Hunt that the NFL was not going to expand at any time soon. NFL types had told Bud Adams the same thing when the Houston oilman was interested in having an NFL team.

(That’s Halas on the left, Rooney on the right, with Dick Gallagher, of the Hall of Fame between them.)

Then, less than a month after the official announcement of the AFL and its first six teams, the NFL was announcing an expansion.

Hunt was less than pleased, telling the Dallas Morning News that the move was “sabotage.” …Read More!

Playing The Numbers Game … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs

The number right now is 80.

On Tuesday that number falls to 75.

Next Saturday the number will be 53.

That’s the math for about half the players who will wear the red jersey of the Chiefs on Saturday night against the Seattle Seahawks in pre-season game No. 3 at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

As a generalization, every team has 40 roster spots that baring injury are pretty much claimed. The Chiefs are no different. It’s those last dozen to 15 spots that still must be decided.

“You spend a lot of down time looking at the depth chart and just sorting through those numbers,” said Todd Haley. “That will be a big job for all of us here in the next couple of weeks. It’s tough but it’s tough for everyone; every team has the same problems. I don’t think there’s any team that wishes they had less spots, who wishes the number were 48 or 45.

“You generally have to let go of a few guys you don’t want to.” …Read More!

Opponent: Seattle Seahawks

Last year: 4-12, third in the NFC West.

Head coach: Jim Mora Jr., in his first season as Seahawks head coach. He spent two years on Mike Holmgren’s staff as a defensive assistant. Previously was head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for three seasons (2004-06), with a 26-22 regular season record.

Last appearance in playoffs: in 2007, when they won the NFC West. They won a first-round game against Washington and lost in the divisional playoffs to Green Bay.

Starting quarterback: Matt Hasselbeck, who has battled back problems for the last several years. He saw limited time last year, throwing for just 1,216 yards with five TDs and 10 INTs. Hasselbeck has hit 19 of 28 passes for 198 yards and two TDs in the pre-season. …Read More!

Hear The Boss On Saturday

Not that Boss! It’s just me. That’s right, the boss of me.

I will be on the Kansas City Sports & Fitness Radio Hour on Saturday morning, beginning at 8 o’clock on 1510 KCTE-AM.

My appearance has more to do with “sports” than with “fitness” as my friends would attest. I will join the show’s hosts Steve Fisch and Jim Potoski for one hour and I would expect the Chiefs to dominate the discussion.

So if you are up and about Saturday morning, tune in at 8 a.m. on 1510 AM.

Defense Needs A Nose … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

If a team is going to play the 3-4 defensive scheme, one position must be solid: nose tackle.

Without a guy playing heads up on the center and disturbing the offensive line blocking assignments, the rest of the defense just doesn’t work right. It’s like lining up the dominos; if the nose tackle can hold his ground inside and force two blockers to work him over, he starts a chain reaction that rolls like a wave all the way out to the secondary.

With pre-season game No. 3 just a day away, the Chiefs are still searching for the right combination at nose tackle in their new 3-4 defense. Ron Edwards (left), Tank Tyler and Derek Lokey have played the position and so far; their consistency and their production has been found wanting.

And that comes from the head coach.

“We are still searching,” said Todd Haley. “That’s why we were rotating last game and we’ll probably be in a similar mode this week in trying to get one or a couple of those guys to step up and show they want the job.”

Good nose tackles tend to be nasty sorts. The position was basically created for guys like Curley Culp when he was with the Chiefs. His teammates used to call him Surly Culp, but never to his face. The position requires a big and strong man, with a mean disposition

“That’s a man’s position, especially as much of the 3-4 that we’re playing,” said Haley. “When you’re the nose and you’re in there a lot of that is just want-to. You’re fighting, scratching, clawing and it’s not for everyone.

“I think all three of the guys have the ability to do it, it’s just a matter of getting it done on a consistent basis.” …Read More!