Haley Says Weis Hasn’t Been Contacted

From the Truman Sports Complex

Charlie Weis is out as head coach at Notre Dame and the rumor grapevine has bubbled for days that his next job may be as offensive coordinator of the Chiefs.

If there has been contact with Weis by the Chiefs organization, that’s news to head coach Todd Haley.

“I can say with a clear conscious that there has been no contact,” Haley said Monday afternoon. “I’ve had no contact. Unless it’s something I don’t know about, the focus in this building is putting this team in the best possible position to succeed each week. As far as staff goes, that would be something I would have to make the decision about.”

There’s no question that Haley knows Weis.

“I shared an 8′ x 8′ office in New York (Jets) with Charlie,” Haley said. “I know Charlie about as up close and personal as you can know him.” …Read More!

Up & Down Chiefs Take Big Fall In San Diego

Todd Haley has said it dozens of times since he was named the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. He does not want yo-yo players. He does not want a yo-yo team.

Whether he likes it or not – and he does not – Haley has a yo-yo team on a roller coaster right now. They showed that again on Sunday in San Diego where they were drubbed by the Chargers 43-14.

Coming off last week’s victory against Pittsburgh in overtime, a performance like the one the Chiefs gave at Qualcomm Stadium appeared to be behind them. But if a two-game winning streak was a step forward, turning the ball over four times was two steps backwards.

“They beat us in every phase; you’ve got to give them credit,” FS Jon McGraw said of the Chargers. “It’s frustrating not being able to build on what we did last week.”

At this point, forget about building on what happened last week against the Steelers. The now 3-8 Chiefs showed just how far behind the AFC West’s best team they are right now. It’s not a distance measured in yards; more like miles and miles to go.

But as they always do, there was plenty of write and talk about. Here’s the package for this week:

• GAME STORY: Chargers batter Chiefs in all phases.
• COLUMN: Going in the wrong direction.
• OFFENSE: Ups & Down for Jamaal.
• CHARGERS & NOTES: Chambers return to SD.
• GAMEBOOK

Pre-Game 11/29 Inactives Update

The game-day inactive players for the Chiefs on Sunday afternoon against the Chargers in San Diego are: OLB Mike Vrabel, G Andy Alleman, RB Dantrell Savage, LB Justin Rogers, TE Sean Ryan, TE Jake O’Connell and LB David Herron. The inactive third quarterback is Matt Gutierrez.

The game-day inactive players for the Chargers are: CB Dante Hughes, RB Michael Bennett, S C.J. Spillman, C Nick Hardwick, OT Jon Runyan, WR Buster Davis and DE Luis Castillo. The inactive third quarterback is Charlie Whitehurst.

Only surprise among the decisions by the Chiefs would be activating rookie CB Donald Washington. It must be a concern that they are light one safety among the 45 active players.

As with last week, Andy Studebaker steps in for Vrabel and Wade Smith will open at right guard for Alleman.

Finally A Team? … Game-Day Cup O’Chiefs

It was a little thing, but it was an indication of the bigger problem the 2009 Chiefs faced.

A month ago, when QB Matt Cassel was sacked – and he was taken down a lot – he generally picked himself off the ground. There wasn’t a lot of help from his offensive teammates. They were worried about their own problems.

Fast forward to last Sunday when the Chiefs beat the Steelers in overtime. As usual, Cassel hit the ground under the Pittsburgh pass rush five times – he’s the second most sacked passer in the league – and was knocked down as many times.

But as the play ended, there were teammates offering a hand up. His offensive linemen were peeling back and knocking off late arriving Steelers who were looking to provide an extra hit. They may still have been worried about their problems, but the rest of the offensive Chiefs showed they were also concerned about their quarterback.

Again, it’s a little thing, but it’s a sign that progress has been made in turning the 2009 Chiefs into a team, rather than a group of players. As the Chiefs play the Chargers on Sunday in San Diego, they will have to take another step in its maturation as a unit, not 53 parts. Kickoff is just after 3 o’clock, with TV coverage on CBS.

“I think (it’s) getting a lot closer,” Todd Haley said about the process of his players becoming a team. “This week will be a great opportunity for us to see where we’re at in that area. But last week was an encouraging sign, as long as we build on it, as long as we continue to use that as a little bit of a stepping stone as a team.

“As long as we understand, it might be an 11-play drive but everybody knows or believes somebody is going to make a play. I’m referring to the defensive play that Andy Studebaker made (his interception in the end zone and 94-yard return.) I think we made a step, but now again it’ll be up to us to see what we do with that.” …Read More!

A Replay Worth Watching

Maybe by the time Sunday night rolls around you will have decided you’ve had enough football. Starting Thursday morning and rolling through Sunday evening was a full schedule of games, from late morning to late at night. The pros and colleges were all over the place. But there’s one more game you need to watch.

REPLAY can be seen on the Fox Sports Network on Sunday. In most areas around the country, the FSN affiliate will carry the program at 9 p.m., but check local listings just to be sure.

What is REPLAY? It’s a little slice of fantasy that became very real for two high school football teams. For over 100 years, the high schools of Easton, Pennsylvania and Philipsburg, New Jersey have finished their seasons with a Thanksgiving Day game. The towns are separated by the Delaware River and it’s only a short drive over the Northampton Street Bridge to get from one town to the other. We are talking tradition. We are talking rivalry.

Back in 1993, these teams played to a 7-all tie. This was before most states instituted overtime periods for high school ball.

The folks at Gatorade decided to offer the teams a chance to play again. Not the current squads, but the original players from that game in ’93. Sixteen years later, the Red Rovers of Easton and the Stateliners of Philipsburg met again. The game was played back in April, and I won’t spoil the ending. …Read More!

The Next Episode

I’ll gladly repeat it: for Kansas City, the game versus Pittsburgh was the highlight of the last two-and-a-half years. It featured everything that a fan would want to see, and it represented exactly what a head coach would desire from his squad. There was an electric crowd; there were adrenaline, intensity and excitement; there were outstanding performances in all three facets of the sport; and of top of everything, there was a victory.

But it’s all in the past.

This Sunday, the Chiefs are going to butt heads against the San Diego Chargers in Qualcomm Stadium. For all the comments about that venue being called “The armpit of the NFL”, well, the Bolts have really made up for that with their accomplishments as of late. The team from California is the reigning AFC West master by winning four of the last five division titles, including the last three in a row. This season, after a shaky start, they have continued to validate their successful program with seven victories in their first 10 games and if you take into account that they trounced Denver in their last encounter, get ready for the understatement: Yes, they’re good.

The Chiefs are on a roll of their own, kind of. They have built momentum on the strength of a two-game winning streak – their first since ’07 – and they seem to have turned the corner of their ’09 campaign. The offense has shown signs of life, the defense has become somewhat respectable, the special teams have made their presence felt, and of course, everything has started with the head coach. In facing the Chargers, they will all have a golden opportunity to see exactly where they’re standing while they try to execute the always-appealing task of tripping a division foe. San Diego is the head of the class and Kansas City — even with its improvement — is not near the honor-roll. Indeed, this upcoming matchup has all the makings of a trap game.

Not so much for the Powder-Blued Types…but for the Arrowhead Ones. Believe it or not. …Read More!

Hall Of Fame List Pared To 25

First-ballot locks Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith lead the list of 25 men who are semi-finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010.

The Hall of Fame announced these names on Saturday. They were selected by the HOF Selection Committee from a preliminary ballot of 131 names.

No members of the Chiefs are part of this year’s semi-finalists.

There’s little doubt that first-time eligible Rice and Smith will be part of the Class of ’10. They are the leading receiver and leading rusher in NFL history.

Other first-time eligible players are former Raiders WR Tim Brown and former Cardinals CB Aeneas Williams.

The rest of the 25 have been semi-finalists before. Here’s the complete list: …Read More!

Offensive Improvement? … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs

The last time the Chiefs and Chargers played each other was not a good day for the Kansas City offense.

In fact, October 25 was the worst day of the season so far for Todd Haley’s offensive group. They had just 10 first downs, fewest of any game on the schedule. They gained 203 yards, the third weakest game of the season for the offense and 82 passing yards, its fewest of the season. QB Matt Cassel threw three interceptions, more than in any other game and he was sacked five times, which is tied for one of the worst pass protection afternoons in the 2009 season.

That’s why the Chiefs were hammered 37-7, their worst loss of the season and their worst loss at Arrowhead Stadium since 1976, when they were beaten 45-0 by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Subsequent events have shown us that ugly offensive performance may have been the bottom of the barrel. As the Chiefs head to San Diego for game No. 2 of their ’09 set against the Chargers they are not exactly an offensive juggernaut. But they have become more consistent, especially in throwing the ball. They have come up with big plays and they had two games over 300 yards in total offense.

Most of all they have two consecutive victories. …Read More!

Magic Number: Chiefs at Chargers

Our man Enrique has broken down all the numbers for Sunday’s game between the Chiefs and Chargers. He’s boiled them all down to one magic number. See if you agree.

Back in 2004, K.C. was seriously considering taking K Nate Kaeding in the 3rd round of the ’04 NFL Draft. But the Chargers beat them to the punch and selected him with the 65th pick. Later in that year, Kaeding made his first career game-winning FG at the Chiefs’ expenses in a game played in Arrowhead Stadium.

But after that, Kaeding has been somewhat silent against the Chiefs, especially in games played in San Diego. Largely that’s been due to the fact that the Bolts have consistently finished their business of taking the ball into the end zone and haven’t had to settle for three-pointers. In 5 home games vs. K.C., the Chargers have scored 12 TD’s at their house, averaging 2.4 per contest with the lowest output of one achieved in ’07, the only K.C. win in that span.

In those games, Kaeding notched 8 FG’s, averaging 1.6 per game, with the highest number of 3 coming in that same ’07 meeting. So, in conclusion, the Chiefs’ Magic Number to escape with a victory is 3, which would be the number of FG’s Nate Kaeding needs to be induced to connect. That would mean that the Chiefs defense held its own.

Practice Report 11/27 Update

From the Truman Sports Complex

Three players have been declared out of the Chiefs game against the Chargers on Sunday, and one more is very unlikely to play.

G Andy Alleman (knee), RB Dantrell Savage (ankle) and LB Justin Rogers (thigh) were declared out of action on Friday by head coach Todd Haley.  The fourth is OLB Mike Vrabel (knee) who is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game in San Diego but is unlikely to be dressed or on the playing field.

Also on the team’s injury report to the league are LB David Herron (knee), who is listed as questionable and RB Kolby Smith (ankle) who is probable.

The Chiefs are still at 52 on the 53-man active roster and the coaches and personnel people were meeting Friday afternoon to decide how to handle the open spot. The team will either promote somebody from the practice squad, or leave the spot open. If they do the latter, they will then have to declare only seven inactive players on Sunday, not the normal eight when a team has a full roster.

Candidates to move up from the practice squad would appear to be S Ricky Price and WR Quinten Lawrence.

On the nicest weather day of the week so far, Haley decided to take his team inside to practice on Friday morning. Something about being able to turn up the crowd noise and create louder conditions to work in as the Chiefs finished up their practice week.

Haley was pleased with the focus and intensity of his players coming back after having Thanksgiving Day off, but allowed that the true test on whether the holiday off was a good move would come Sunday in San Diego.

Thanksgiving Leftovers … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

There was enough of the turkey and stuffing leftover to feed an entire section of Arrowhead Stadium. Nourished and happy, there was plenty of time spent watching football on Thanksgiving Day, or at least until we fell into a tryptophan coma.

There were no surprises in the early Turkey Day games; they went as everyone predicted. Not so in the nightcap of the tripleheader with the Broncos 26-6 pasting of the Giants. As always in the NFL, there were plenty of story lines and performances to talk about beyond the games.

So here’s a column full of football leftovers for the day after Thanksgiving.

TRADITION TRUMPS BAD FOOTBALL

The Detroit Lions weren’t always one of the worst teams in pro football. It just seems that way. In this decade they will have just one winning season; that was back in 2000, when they finished 9-7. Overall, they are 42-113 in the 2000s; one of the worst decades in the NFL.

There has been a lot of grumbling around the league about removing from the Lions schedule a home game on Thanksgiving Day. Detroit has hosted a holiday NFL game since 1934, save for a few years were the game was not held during World War II.

This year’s Packers-Lions game was the 70th in the series. It was also one of the most lop-sided, as the Packers took a 34-12 victory. Detroit QB Matthew Stafford (right) threw four interceptions and showed he was in great pain from his left shoulder injury.

The Lions have lost six in a row on Thanksgiving, by an average margin of just under 24 points. …Read More!

Chargers Continue Hot Streak & Notes

It’s usually about right now, just after Thanksgiving that the San Diego Chargers start to get serious. They’ve won a lot of games in the five or six years in December.

The 2009 Chargers have taken a different route. They decided to get hot in November and they showed it again on Sunday when they hammered the Chiefs 43-14 at Qualcomm Stadium.

“This was our most complete performance,” said Chargers head coach Norv Turner.

It was pretty impressive. On offense, they gained 426 yards and scored four touchdowns. The defense allowed less than 300 offensive yards to the Chiefs, and scored a touchdown themselves while getting four turnovers. The special teams allowed nothing.

“You want to be playing your best ball at this time of the year,” said QB Philip Rivers, who had a big afternoon, completing 21 of 28 for 317 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “Hopefully we can continue this in December like we have. We didn’t feel like we would be in this position in this division. We are going to worry about ourselves and not worry about anybody else. We’ve got to keep growing strong. We can get a lot better.

“No reason Denver can’t get as hot as they were earlier in the year. We have to stay on our streak.”

That winning streak is now six games and the Chargers are 8-3, a game ahead of the Broncos. Not bad for a team that was 2-3 back in October when they arrived at Arrowhead and started their run with a 30-point victory.

Since 2004, the Chargers are 19-4 in December games, and they’ve won 14 straight. The last time they lost a game in December was on December 31, 2005 when they lost in Denver.

Ahead of them on the ’09 schedule are four December games: at Cleveland, at Dallas, Cincinnati and at Tennessee. There are some tough games in that stretch, but if they keep playing the kind of football they showed against the Chiefs, they should win their fifth AFC West title in the last six seasons.

“I thought we had a lot of guys go out and play at a real high level,” Turner said. “I like the intensity we had. I believe we’re getting better.”

SOUR RETURN FOR CHAMBERS TO QUALCOMM

One of the few highlight of the Chiefs loss in San Diego was the continued productive play of WR Chris Chambers.

Returning to San Diego where he began his ’09 season, Chambers was the Chiefs leading receiver, grabbing seven passes for 70 yards. His second-quarter touchdown was a great play on his part, as he caught a third down pass, got enough for a first down and then went backwards into the end zone.

“That’s my goal every game, to score,” Chambers said. “And I’ve been having opportunities, more opportunities to make plays since I’ve been here. Definitely, it was a great start for me. I love getting my hands on the ball early in the game and built some momentum for myself.”

After three seasons with the Chargers, there wasn’t as much emotion for Chambers in returning for this game.

“It wasn’t all that strange,” Chambers said. “I mean, it’s just another game for the most part. A little bit of emotion. I really did enjoy playing with my teammates in San Diego and definitely have a lot of respect for them; they have a lot of respect for me. It was just fun going against the guys.

“There was no jawing or anything. We were just having fun.”

Chambers wishes his old buddies well over the next five weeks and beyond.

“Hats off to them,” Chambers said. “They looked like a poised team, like they are really going full-steam ahead right now. Hopefully they can win a championship this year.”

ALMOST EVERY RUN’S A RECORD FOR L.T.

As big rushing days go, it will not go down as one of the best in the storied career of LaDainian Tomlinson.

But Sunday’s victory against the Chiefs was still a special day for Tomlinson.

His 39 yards on 13 carries included a pair of touchdown runs. The yardage total moved him into tenth position in career rushing yardage in NFL history. He now has 12,257 rushing yards, moving past Marcus Allen (12,243) and Edgerrin James (12,246).

Just ahead of him now in ninth place are Marshall Faulk (12,279) and Jim Brown (12,312).

In 17 games against the Chiefs over his nine-year career, Tomlinson has carried 324 times for 1,488 yards and 13 TD runs. He’s also caught 77 passes for 477 yards with one TD catch.

SPECIAL TEAMS STUFF

The Chiefs kicking game was solid, but average against the Chargers.

Extraordinary returner Darren Sproles was able to return one punt, for no yards. He had a fair catch and the other two punts were downed. WR Terrance Copper made a great play on Colquitt’s fi rst punt when he was able to flip the ball backwards as he was falling backwards towards the end zone.

Sproles averaged 22 yards on four kick returns, below his season average of 24.9 yards. His longest was 32 yards.

K Ryan Succop’s three kickoffs went to the minus-three, three and four-yard line.

P Dustin Colquitt kicked four times for a 40.3-yard gross and net average. He had two punts inside the 20-yard line which set a Chiefs record for punts inside the 20 in one season. Colquitt has 31 and that’s two more than Louie Aguiar had in 1995.

Colquitt had a 64-yard free kick after the Chargers picked up a safety when QB Matt Cassel was tackled in the end zone.

In the return game, Bobby Wade had one punt return for two yards. RB Jamaal Charles had two kickoff returns for 61 yards, including a 45-yarder. Rookie Quinten Lawrence returned five kickoffs, averaging 18.8 yards. His best return was for 24 yards.

ZEBRA REPORT

Referee Don Carey and his crew were pretty much a non-factor in this game. They walked off 13 penalties for 80 yards.

They nailed the Chiefs for five penalties walking off 25 yards. There were two penalties against the offense, as LT Branden Albert was hit for a false start and QB Matt Cassel was penalized for intentionally grounding the ball. His throw came in the end zone, so the play ended up in a safety for San Diego.

Defensively, DE Tyson Jackson was offsides, CB Brandon Carr was hit with a pass interference call and no name was given for a defensive holding call.

There was one coach’s challenge, as Turner threw the red flag on Tomlinson’s fumble near the goal line that the Chiefs recovered. The call on the field was affirmed.

PERSONNEL MATTERS

The game-day inactive players for the Chiefs were OLB Mike Vrabel, LB Justin Rogers and ILB David Herron, RB Dantrell Savage, G Andy Alleman and healthy scratches in TEs Sean Ryan and Jake O’Connell. The inactive third quarterback was Matt Gutierrez.

For the Chargers their game-day inactive players were: CB Dante Hughes, RB Michael Bennett, S C.J.Spiller, C Nick Hardwick, OT Jon Runyan, WR Buster Davis and DE Luis Castillo. The inactive third quarterback was Charlie Whitehurst.

Former Chiefs DL Alfonso Boone started at DE for the injured Castillo.

As expected and as happened last week, Andy Studebaker started for Vrabel and Wade Smith opened at right guard for Alleman. Haley went into the game with six receivers and nine defensive backs on the active roster.

Dressed for the Chiefs was Lawrence, who was promoted from the practice squad on Saturday to fill the roster slot created when DB Maurice Leggett went to the injured-reserve list last week with a shoulder injury.

ASSORTED OTHER STUFF

The Chargers safety in the fourth quarter was the first against the chiefs since October 26, 2003, when Buffalo blocked a punt out of the end zone … the Chargers lost S Eric Weddle (knee) and OLB Shawne Merriman (foot) from their starting defense in the first half. Neither player returned after they left the game … ILB Demorrio Williams led the Chiefs with nine tackles, with ILB Corey Mays and DE Glenn Dorsey contributing seven each … CB Brandon Flowers would have to be the Chiefs defensive player of the game, with five tackles, two passes defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Offense: Ups & Down For Jamaal

When the Chiefs personnel department evaluated Jamaal Charles before the 2008 NFL Draft there were a few facts that jumped out about the young man from Port Arthur, Texas.

He was fast. He had moves. He was tough. He fumbled too much.

On Sunday in San Diego against the Chargers, Charles was all of those things. He was fast, he showed his moves and he did some tough running. It was the type of performance that has him on the cusp of becoming a star in the league.

But, then there’s his problem with fumbling. He had a big one in the second quarter that stopped the Chiefs in San Diego territory and was turned into a Chargers touchdown. It was one of four giveaways that killed any chance the Chiefs had of winning the game, as the Bolts took decisive 43-14 victory.

“We turned the ball over four times and we can’t do that right now,” Charles said. “We were moving the ball. We got into a groove and we scored and we were heading for another one when I turned the ball over.”

The play came after the Chargers had scored their second touchdown to lead the game 14-7. San Diego’s first score was setup by a Matt Cassel interception, also on the San Diego side of the field.

The Chiefs started their possession at their 16-yard line and picked up two first downs and moved into Chargers territory. On a second-and-seven play, the Chiefs ran a draw and Charles burst through the right side, bounced off a tackler and then was stopped by CB Quentin Jammer and FS Steve Gregory.

But Charles kept moving his feet, trying to get an extra yard. That’s when the ball was knocked out of his hands, landed on the field and was recovered by LB Brandon Silar.

“I should have had two hands on the ball,” Charles said. “It was my fault. It led to another touchdown and it got bad real soon after that. Coach always tells me to cover the ball with two hands, but I thought I was still about to break and I only had one hand on it.”

Seven plays and 61 yards later, the Chargers scored again to make the score 21-7 and the game was all but over.

“The fumble really hurt us because we were trying to answer a score by them and we were moving down field pretty well,” said head coach Todd Haley. “If we can get points there, something positive there, we might have been able to hang in the game.

“Minus that, I think Jamaal is showing that he could potentially be a pretty good back.”

Charles was productive, running for 93 yards on 14 carries, including a 31-yard run. He caught three passes for 54 yards, including one for 49 yards. He returned two kickoffs for 61 yards, including a 45-yard return. Those were the three longest plays on the day for the Chiefs.

In total, Charles’ day was 19 touches for 208 yards.

“The situation we are in right now, every time I touch the ball I try to make something happen,” said Charles. “It’s real frustrating. We just have to come together as a team. We were fighting as a team at the start. After I fumbled the ball, everything just went downhill.

“I believe we can still win the rest of our games. I’m not giving up.”

COLUMN: One step forward, two steps back

There were some who saw the Chiefs victory last Sunday over Pittsburgh as a watershed moment for the franchise.

Well … not so much.

There’s no question the Chiefs ability to hang with the Steelers and eventually end up with a victory was a high in what has been three seasons of football disaster. But if the ’09 team took a step forward with that outcome, it got knocked back three steps on this Sunday by the San Diego Chargers.

It’s nice to beat the defending Super Bowl champions, but the Steelers are old news and do not look like they have much of a chance to repeat. In light of the Chiefs performance at Qualcomm Stadium, last week’s victory may have said more about the ’09 Steelers than it did about the ’09 Chiefs. …Read More!

Chargers Blast Drowning Chiefs 43-14

On Saturday the first storm in five months blew through San Diego, dropping heavy rain and churning the Pacific Ocean so much so that huge waves crashed the southern California shore. Several fishing boats were capsized in the channel from the ocean to Mission Bay.

On Sunday, the Pacific was quiet, winds were calm and the skies were blue. But the Chiefs were hit by a football tsunami wearing pale blue and lightning bolts on their helmets. The Chargers blasted the Chiefs 43-14 and drowning any momentum or confidence that Todd Haley’s team might have developed in their two-game winning streak.

“I looked at this game as an opportunity to see where we were,” said Haley. “It was an opportunity to see if we could take another little baby step. Clearly, we didn’t today.”

In two games between these teams, San Diego has won by 30 and 29 points, outscoring Kansas City 80-21 and showing everyone from the Hunt family, to GM Scott Pioli, Haley and their staffs how far away the Chiefs are away from being able to play with the AFC West’s best team.

“In this process of trying to become a better team, this clearly was an opportunity for us to grow as a team,” said Haley. “I just don’t think we handled this very well.” …Read More!