Sitting On The NFL Roster Bubble, Final Pre-Season Game-Day Cup O’Chiefs

Brandon Bair (#88 with Oregon), Amon Gordon (#99 with the Titans) and Cody Slate (#85 with Marshall) sit on the NFL bubble, waiting to see if there’s room on the 2011 Chiefs roster.

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From Green Bay, Wisconsin

The Chiefs spent Wednesday evening in Appleton, Wisconsin, about 30 miles away from this iconic NFL city that they call “Titletown.”

For some of the 80 players remaining on the Chiefs roster, it was just another night in a road-trip hotel, part of the business of finishing out the 2011 pre-season with a game Thursday evening against the Packers at Lambeau Field.

However, nearly half of those players may have spent their last moments as NFL players in that Appleton hotel. That made for fitful sleep and long stares at the ceiling as they pondered football futures that may end in less than 48 hours.

“It’s always there, but you have to try to shut it off or it will drive you nuts,” said DL Amon Gordon. “When you are a football player, you are a man of action. But after we play the game, the action is no longer in our hands. There isn’t anything we can do.”

It could be interesting to see what sports psychology programs and psychologists have to say about this. It is surely a stressful experience for these guys.   On Saturday, all 32 league teams must slice their rosters to their regular season limit of 53 players. One does not need to be a math major to see that by Saturday afternoon there will be 32 x 27 = 864 players that will be in some form of football unemployment. A number of those spots will be players shuttled to the injured-reserve list. A healthy number of those players will be unemployed for 24 hours before they get a chance to land one of the eight-man practice squads. Again, the math is 32 x 8 = 256.

That still leaves approximately 600 players that must face the reality that football may not be their life’s work.

As the Chiefs got ready to play the Packers, we spent some time talking with three players on the roster facing uncertain times in the next 48 hours. …Read More!

NFL MOVING NEWS – 8/31

Call it the quiet before the storm, but Wednesday did not produce much in the way of roster movement around the league. Some people may feel that they could have made better management decisions that these. Some Chiefs fans may look into sports management colleges when they want to get in on the action behind the scenes.

Teams were taking a break before jumping in and slicing 27 players per club off the active roster in less than 48 hours.

Here’s what went down on Wednesday:

• BENGALS – signed OT Andrew Whitworth to a 2-year contract extension; signed DT Cornell Banks.
• FALCONS – signed CB Kelvin Hayden, S James Sanders.
• 49ERS – RB Frank Gore signed a 3-year contract extension.
• PATRIOTS – claimed CB Antwaun Molden off waivers from the Texans; placed OT Marcus Cannon on the non-football injury list.
• RAIDERS – claimed LB J Leman off waivers; released S Zac Etheridge.
• RAMS – signed WR Mark Clayton, DT Marlon Favorite; placed CB Jerome Murphy on the IR list.
• SEAHAWKS – re-signed WR Patrick Williams, WR Chris Carter; released P John Gold, CB Ron Parker.

Goodbye Training Camp … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

The Chiefs locker room was a collection of tired bodies on Tuesday.

It wasn’t so much because their practice that morning had been so wearing. Actually, it was designed to feel like a Friday regular season practice, which is the shortest workout of each week.

It’s just that it was practice No. 20, on top of about the same number of walkthrough practices, countless meetings, 39 major conditioning workouts and three pre-season games.

All that activity was crammed into 33 days, starting from the team’s first full-day in St. Joseph on July 29, and rolling through Wednesday, when they will have another walkthrough session before jumping on the plane and heading north. They’ll wrap up the pre-season with Game No. 4 against the Packers at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field.

More accurately, they will wrap up training camp, because the mentality of the first weeks in St. Joseph have never left, even though the team has been in Kansas City for the past two weeks. There has been no let up in the intensity, no change in the goal of every day’s work.

Essentially, through the scheduling and plan of Todd Haley, the Chiefs did the best they could at squeezing in the off-season that was missed because of the NFL owners’ lockout. They did that on top of the pre-season that was supposed to get them ready for the 2011 NFL season.

“We’re never going to make up lost time, we’re just dealing with the variables and the situation that we have and every other team in the NFL has,” Haley said on Tuesday. “But that makes me feel good as the head coach that we’ve got 39 workouts in less days than that and we’ve had some really productive practices.” …Read More!

MOVING NFL PERSONNEL – 8/30

When it came to durability and longevity, David Binn may have been the best long snapper in the history of the NFL.

“May have been” because on Tuesday, the San Diego Chargers released Binn, after 17 seasons with the team. He played in 256 regular season games. The last one was at Arrowhead Stadium last September, when he was snapping for the Chargers against the Chiefs. That night, he suffered a pulled hamstring that ended his season.

“He’s like the Michael Jordan of long snapping,” Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “I don’t know if there has ever been anyone better than him in the league.”

Binn suffered a pulled calf muscle last week and that had the Chargers concerned about his durability. They went with Mike WIndt, who helped replace Binn last year.

He was part of the Chargers 1994 Super Bowl team and the last player remaining from the tenure of former GM Bobby Beathard. Binn also at one point dated buxom actress Pamela Anderson of Baywatch fame. The picture above right features Binn with Anderson, of course who would have noticed Binn.

Here are the league roster moves reported on Tuesday as the teams got down to the league’s 80-man limit: …Read More!

Pre-Season Practice Report – 8/30

From the Truman Sports Complex

Throughout this Chiefs pre-season, fans and media have wondered about the team’s quarterback situation and whether a veteran should be added to the mix at the position behind starter Matt Cassel.

Turns out a veteran … very veteran QB was already on the team.

Yes, Jim Zorn is 59 years old. And yes, he hasn’t played in an NFL game since 1987. But he’s still got it.

The Chiefs wrapped up their final practice of the pre-season on Tuesday morning and one of the stars was the team’s QB coach.

Here’s the scene: during a special teams period, the quarterbacks adjourned to a nearby field, where they usually work on mechanics, footwork, fundamentals and the like. On Tuesday, Zorn stacked two big garbage cans in the back right corner of the end zone. The quarterbacks were in the middle of the field, between the 10 and 20-yard lines. The idea was to put the football into the can.

It’s not a simple throw. A successful pass is based on accuracy and touch. Most quarterbacks can hit the cans, but it’s quite another to get enough air under the ball to drop it into the can.

Only one quarterback was able to do that on Tuesday – Zorn. Not just once, not just twice, but three times. In fact, three out of four throws at the end of the session, Zorn was right on the money. Cassel, Tyler Palko and Ricky Stanzi combined for zero throws into the can.

“Coach Zorn, he’s still got it, he’s still got a great skill set,” Cassel said after practice about his QB coach. “He made some great throws and he was accurate. But I’ve got to call him out on his footwork. He was drifting in the pocket.”

Tuesday practice was designed much like a Friday practice in the regular season. The Chiefs will have a walkthrough on Wednesday morning and then fly to Appleton, Wisconsin where they will spend Wednesday evening before heading over to Green Bay for Thursday night’s pre-season finale.

A few other practice details: …Read More!

O’Callaghan Cleared From Roster

The Chiefs got down to the NFL roster limit of 80 players on Tuesday morning. With two moves to make, they:

• Placed OT Ryan O’Callaghan on the injured-reserve list, ending his season with the team.
• Released K Todd Carter.

As is the Chiefs custom, there’s no information on what malady O’Callaghan suffers from that was serious enough to wipe out his participation for the 2011 season. The veteran tackle has not practiced in several weeks, although he’s been in the rehab area and moving about with little apparent problems.

The move does leave the Chiefs with a situation at tackle where they do not have a lot of experienced NFL depth. Behind starters Branden Albert and Barry Richardson now is Jared Gaither, who has only been able to play in one game and work a few practices as he tries to come back from missing the 2010 NFL season. There is no other player on the roster with NFL game experience at the tackle position.

Head coach Todd Haley said he was comfortable with that trio.

“I’ve been comfortable with Barry and Branden, and I’m getting more comfortable with Jared as he’s come along physically,” Haley said. “He’s getting up to speed now. He made big progress this week. We are liking some things we are seeing out of him.”

O’Callaghan was claimed off waivers from the Patriots in September 2009 and eventually became the team’s starting right tackle during that ’09 regular season. He lost that starting job to Richardson last season, and saw minimal playing time. His skill set was that of a right tackle, rather than the more athletic left tackle.

Carter was claimed on waivers from the Rams back on August 10. The Chiefs brought him in for a “lookie Lou” as Carter had been impressive in workouts for special teams coach Steve Hoffman with his ability to hang kickoffs and for the strength of his leg. The Chiefs were never going to take a kickoff man into the regular season; that’s a luxury that Haley knows he can’t afford.

With 80 players on the roster, the Chiefs must reach the regular-season limit of 53 players by 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The Other Brandon … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

It went out on Twitter early on Sunday night. It was a cry for help.

The tweet was from Chiefs CB Brandon Flowers, working with the handle BFlowers24:

“Just one time in my life … just one time is all I’m asking for … is @BCarr39 to be on time when I’m riding wit him just somewhere just once.”

Two of the most competitive people on the Chiefs roster happen to share first names and play the same positions. From the time their names were matched up in the moments after the conclusion of the 2008 NFL Draft, Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr have been connected.

In three seasons together with the Chiefs, under two different head coaches and three different defensive coordinators, the Brandons became not only top-notch NFL defensive backs, but friends for life. They’ve spent hours upon hours together watching tape, hanging out and if we are to believe Brandon Flowers, he’s spent hours upon hours waiting or Brandon Carr to show up.

“When I’m not working, when we are just going out and doing things, my time is usually about 30 minutes behind what I said,” a sheepish Carr admitted on Monday, after the Chiefs completed their practice session.

Said Flowers: “There aren’t too many people I’d wait for, but he’s one of them. He’s not always on time, but he always gets there eventually.” …Read More!

Moving NFL Personnel – 8/29

This week, there will be a lot of movement in personnel around the NFL and we are going to try to keep track of all the comings and goings. Guide to Online Schools has info on sports management program for those of you who want to potentially get in on management decisions like this. These were certainly some tough decisions.

On Monday, former Chiefs DT Tank Tyler (right) found himself on the waiver wire, released by the Chicago Bears.

At 3 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, NFL teams must have their rosters down to a maximum of 80 players.

BEARS – waived DE Vernon Gholston, DT Tank Tyler, LB Tanner Antle, C J.C. Brignone, QB Trevor Vittatoe.

BENGALS – acquired WR Kelly Jennings from the Seahawks for DT Clinton McDonald; placed S Gibril Wilson on the IR- list; waived DT Lolmana Mikaele.

BRONCOS – waived CB Nathan Jones, RB C.J. Gable, LB David Veikune, OL Shawn Murphy, OL Curt Porter, LB Braxton Kelley, LB Deron Mayo.

BROWNS – claimed G Oriel Cousins off waivers from the Ravens.

BUCCANEERS – waived CB Ashton Youboty, WR Aundrae Allison, WR Jock Sanders, TE Collin Franklin, S Vince Anderson, DL Brandon Gibeaux, WR Detron Lewis, P Robert Malone, FB Rendrick Taylor.

…Read More!

Pre-Season Practice Report – 8/29

From the Truman Sports Complex

While the intensity of the play has not gone up in Chiefs practices, certainly the tone of the conversation has become much more intense and that’s courtesy of the head coach.

Todd Haley was all over the field late Monday morning as the Chiefs went through their second practice of the week. They have just one more full practice before heading to Green Bay for the pre-season finale against the Packers. Haley’s voice carried across the practice fields, as he was in the ear of any number of people, from QB Matt Cassel, to WR Verran Tucker, to TE coach Bernie Parmalee, to WR coach Richie Anderson, to special teams coach Steve Hoffman, to the offense as a group, to the defense as a group and sometimes to no one in particular.

The elevated chatter was not so much due to the 0-3 pre-season record, but because the Chiefs are screaming towards the start of the regular season. Haley was making sure his guys remembered what’s ahead and he was making the point that performance, consistency and intensity need to be pushed forward another level. Essentially, the Chiefs have just six practices before facing Buffalo in the opener.

Haley not only turned up the heat, but changed the schedule to bring it back towards what the team will face come the start of the regular season. That means early morning workouts, meetings, a late morning practice, and then more meetings.

“It was a good day today,” Haley said after practice. “I thought it was a good lively day. We were able to create a number of situations out there throughout practice and I felt positive about the way things went.”

Here are some details and observations from the session: …Read More!

Chiefs cut seven

The Chiefs removed seven players from their roster on Monday morning, dropping their roster to 82 players. They will have to release two more by 3 p.m. CDT on Tuesday to reach the NFL’s 80-man limit.

There were no surprises among the seven early cuts:

LB Eric Bakhtiari most likely was waived injured, which means he may show back up on the roster with a spot on the injured-reserve list. He suffered a concussion in practices after the Tampa Bay game and has not played or practiced since then. Until that injury, he’d been making a push to stay on the roster, showing some good skills as a pass rusher off the edge.

FB Tervaris Johnson started training camp on the PUP list as he continued to rehab a knee injury he suffered in last year’s training camp. He never really got a chance to take part in the offense after he was finally cleared to practice.

DBs Mario Russell and DB Javes Lewis were rookie free agents that signed late in the start up to training camp and saw minimal playing time.

WRs Chris Manno, Chandler Williams and Josue Paul were not able to crack the competition at receiver. Williams spent last year on the Chiefs injured-reserve list, while Manno had previous chances in the NFL and Paul was a rookie free agent.

Just What Is Dex? … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

Is he a running back, or a wide receiver?

Fans of the Chiefs have been asking those questions about Dexter McCluster since he joined the team out of the second round of last year’s NFL Draft.

Todd Haley and his coaching staff have been asking the same questions. At this point in the 2011 pre-season, they’ve decided that the 5-8, 180-pound McCluster is a running back.

That was not the case last season. Within minutes after he was drafted, the Chiefs were letting the media know that McCluster was a wide receiver, even though he was essentially a running back at the University of Mississippi. That’s where he was listed all during his rookie season with the Chiefs, when he had 18 carries and 21 catches.

The Chiefs still list him on the roster among the wide receivers, although he’s spent the entire 2011 pre-season working with the running backs exclusively. So far, he has eight catches and 7 runs, producing 118 yards. In what has been an anemic offensive performance in three games, only RB Jackie Battle has gained more yards (141) and touched the ball more (39) than McCluster.

So why the pogo stick on positioning for him? It’s a product of two factors: 

1. McCluster’s athletic ability, speed and quickness.
2. McCluster’s size.

…Read More!

Pre-Season Update – 8/31

From the Truman Sports Complex

A fast and furious week started Sunday for the Chiefs as the 2011 pre-season roars to a conclusion.

Coming up on Tuesday at 3 p.m. CDT the Chiefs will have to trim their roster to the league limit of 80 players. Right now, they have 89 players on the roster.

And the final game of the exhibition season comes up on Thursday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay against the Packers.

That gives Todd Haley and his coaching staff just three days to get ready for how they are going to handle Game No. 4. In the past, guys like QB Matt Cassel, RB Jamaal Charles, C Casey Wiegmann and the like would be wearing baseball caps on the sidelines for that fourth game, protecting against injury.

But with the Chiefs offense having so many problems sustaining any sort of production and performance in three games, might Haley consider altering that normal fourth game approach? …Read More!

Reasons To Worry? … Sunday Cup O’Chiefs

Last week, Todd Haley indicated he wasn’t overly concerned about the state of his offense. The reason he gave for the lack of production was the fact that his coaching staff had spent no time “scheming” for opponents.

Fundamentals – that was the name of the game, and that’s what the Chiefs were working on when they had the ball said Haley.

After watching the Chiefs No. 1 offense put one field goal and less than 100 yards in rushing and passing yardage on the board, their fundamentals aren’t in very good shape either.

And that has turned the tenor of the conversation around the Chiefs from “hey, no problems on offense” to “we have another game and another week to get this fixed before we play Buffalo.”

It’s easy to understand the passing game having difficulties, given the lack of an off-season program. The Chiefs are handling things in the aerial attack that normally would have been worked on back in May and June. But concern arises with the team’s running game. They led the NFL last year in rushing yardage, but the three pre-season games have brought very poor production on the ground: …Read More!

Leftovers From Friday: Chiefs Need Points

The Chiefs are 0-3 in the pre-season. The St. Louis Rams are 3-0.

There’s a simple explanation – points make all the difference in the world. The Chiefs have scored 23 points, with just two touchdowns, an average of 7.7 points per game. The Rams have put 64 points on the board, with seven TDs.

Points on the board will always be the most important stat in any sport. Right now, the Chiefs are minus-47 on the point differential. The Rams are plus-28 points.

The Chiefs are the lowest scoring team among those clubs that have played three games so far. They also have the worst point differential of the 32 teams.

Thus the 0-3 Chiefs’ record against that 3-0 mark of the Rams.

But does any of this matter in 14 days when the regular season begins. With some teams it does; with others it does not. Established teams with solid offensive performers can overcome pre-season difficulties in scoring points very quickly. Teams with young players, trying to establish themselves can often carry over the lack of production in to the regular season. …Read More!

Notes & Stuff – Arrowhead Almost Dark

From Arrowhead Stadium

At one point Friday evening in the first half of the Rams-Chiefs game, there were ongoing discussions involving NFL officials of playing the game on half of the Arrowhead Stadium field.

Two of the four giant banks of lights at the top of the stadium went down sometime in the first hour of the game. It was the bank of lights on the west side of the north and south stands.

Meaning the western half of the field was lit only by Mother Nature’s fading light after sunset. The on-field lead official, referee Jerome Boger was in conversations with the NFL’s press box observer Gary Slaughter, who was on the horn with league officials in New York’s game center.

The plan was this – if it became too dark on that end of the field, Boger was going to speak with the head coaches and give them a choice. They could suspend the game, or they could play the game on half of the field. Say a running play pushed the Chiefs offense to the 35-yard line on the west half of the field. Officials would stop play and have the team change sides and move the ball to the 35-yard line on the east half of the field.

First time in the NFL? No, league officials said it happened many years ago at old Municipal Stadium in Cleveland.

Ultimately, though repairs were made and the lights went back on, first on the south stands, and then on the north stands.

Now, if somebody could just turn on the power to the Chiefs when their on the field.

PERSONNEL MATTERS GALORE

Despite tweaking his left knee on Wednesday evening, RB Jamaal Charles played on Friday night against the Rams. The Chiefs wanted to make sure he wasn’t overworked, and he carried twice for four yards, but had a 7-yard TD run wiped out by a holding call.

CB Brandon Flowers was bothered all week by an unknown leg injury. He warmed up before the game, but then did not play in the game. Javier Arenas started at LCB.

It’s unknown why starting LG Ryan Lilja was in shorts on the sideline and did not play in the game. There was no obvious indication of an injury. His absence pushed second-round draft choice Rodney Hudson into the starting lineup at LG. Hudson then played the entire second half at center.

OT Jared Gaither played early in the second half at left tackle. It was his first game appearance for the Chiefs. He gave up a sack to rookie DE Robert Quinn, but otherwise protected the left side.

Rookie CB Jalil Brown suffered what appeared to be a right hand injury during the game. He did not return after he was taken for x-rays.

Not playing Friday night for the Chiefs were: WR Chandler Williams, DB Mario Russell, FB Tervaris Johnson, OLB Gabe Miller, OLB Eric Bakhtiari, C/G Darryl Harris, TE Jake O’Connell, WR Jonathan Baldwin, OLB Pierre Walters and NT Anthony Toribio.

NICE NIGHT FOR D.J.

ILB Derrick Johnson had a nice first half, with an interception of QB Sam Bradford and then a sack of Bradford that went for minus-8 yards. He finished with 8 total tackles.

“We didn’t get going like we wanted too tonight,” Johnson said. “I like being in a position to make big plays and on defense that’s what we pride ourselves on and we made a few in the first half.”

On the K.C. defense, ILB Justin Cole, CB Javier Arenas, FS Jon McGraw, SS Eric Berry and CB Jalil Brown all had four tackles.

Johnson had the only Chiefs sack and Johnson and CB Travis Daniels had interceptions.

PENALTY REPORT

Boger’s crew lit up the Chiefs in this game, especially for offensive holding. Here’s the list of K.C. penalties:

MORE ON KICKOFFS

There were six kickoffs in Friday night’s game, with five landing in the end zone and two going for touchbacks.

Four kickoffs were returned for a total of 100 yards.

MISC. STUFF OF ALL SORTS

The Chiefs announced a paid attendance of 67,837, with an actual count somewhere in the 40,000s … a fumble by RB Jackie Battle was overturned on a replay challenge by Haley. He was down by contact … P Dustin Colquitt had another busy night, with seven punts with a 41.3 gross average and a 40-yard net average.

Cassel Deals With Frustrations

From Arrowhead Stadium

Matt Cassel was frustrated.

There were 71 seconds to play in the first half and the Chiefs were trying to make something happen in a two-minute offensive drill before they went to the locker room.

A timeout was called with 1 minute, 11 seconds to play. After conferring on the sidelines with the coaches, Cassel called the play in the huddle and when the offense broke for the line of scrimmage somebody was in a spot they were not supposed to be. We don’t know who, because Cassel and head coach Todd Haley wouldn’t identify the player.

But Cassel signaled for another timeout. Only one problem: the offense is not allowed to call back-to-back timeouts. Instead, the Chiefs got slapped with a five-yard delay of game penalty. Two incompletions later, the ball was punted back to the Rams.

Frustration overwhelmed his common sense and knowledge of the rules.

“We had a formation problem, I was trying to get them set up and the clock was running down and little did I think about the fact we were coming off a timeout,” said Cassel. “I just have to do a better job in that situation.”

It was that kind of unusual day for the Chiefs quarterbacks. Cassel started, but then in the second quarter he gave way to Tyler Palko for one series. Then, Cassel went back in and finished up the half. Ricky Stanzi started the second half and played until late in the fourth quarter when Palko returned.

The changes went as they were scripted by head coach Todd Haley in the name of evaluating his players with roster moves looking in the next week.

“Tyler had not been in there with our core players,” said Haley. “We decided to give him a series with our core guys to get a good evaluation. It had nothing to do with Matt; of course he wants to play all the time and we got to get him ready too.”

Cassel is more than willing to live with the changes because he knows how important having those two backup QBs ready to go if needed.

“Coach Haley wants to do it a certain way and I think we are all on board with that,” Cassel said of the Chiefs approach. “We have to be more disciplined. We can’t have these penalties. That puts us in a tough spot, a lot of third and long situations. It’s hard to convert on third and long. We need to do a better job and stay out of those situations and be disciplined.

“I think it’s something that’s a great tool for these young guys that at any point they could be in the game. I think that was something he utilized today and Tyler went in there and got a series out of the blue. It was good and for me it’s about making sure those young guys get work and I’m ready to go back in.”

So unusual has this pre-season been that Cassel is now the only Chiefs quarterback that has not thrown a touchdown pass. Palko got his last week in Baltimore, and Stanzi connected on a pretty 32-yard scoring pass with TE Cody Slate.

What’s the take on Cassel’s play overall?

“I thought there were signs of progress,” said Haley. “In pressure he got out of a couple of sacks and made a play. That’s something we’ve been emphasizing and that was a good sign.”

But what wasn’t a good sign was Haley’s starting quarterback calling for an illegal timeout.

“That was disappointing,” said Haley. “We have to make sure everybody is aware of the rule and make sure something like that doesn’t happen.”

Column: St. Louis Rams Chiefs Defense

From Arrowhead Stadium

It started on the very first offensive play of the game.

The Chiefs won the opening coin toss and deferred their choice to the second half. Within five minutes that proved to be a bad move.

The Rams had 1st-and-10 at their 27-yard line. QB Sam Bradford took the snap and put the football deep into the stomach of RB Steven Jackson. Jackson went at the right side of his offensive line, where his blockers C Jason Brown, RG Harvey Dahl and RT Jason Smith caved in the Chiefs defensive front, latching on to NT Kelly Gregg, RDE Glenn Dorsey and LDE Tyson Jackson. The left side of the St. Louis line with LG Jacob Bell and LT Rodger Saffold walled off ILB Derrick Johnson and OLB Tamba Hali. Only ILB Jovan Belcher was able to penetrate the Rams front, but he went to the wrong gap and over ran the play.

It was 25 yards later before the Chiefs were able to wrestle him out of bounds.

And thus wrote the story of the first quarter for the Chiefs No. 1 defense. In the simple terms of football, they got their butt kicked. Not on that single play to start the game, but the next one, the one after that, and on and on.

Quite simply, the Rams were more physical, more powerful, more prepared to kick ass. Thus, they went back home with a 14-10 pre-season victory.

They came out with the plan of running the football. To succeed, that type of plan requires domination of the line of scrimmage. Good defenses do not get dominated at the point of attack.

On Friday night, the Chiefs were not a good defense. Not even close. They were pushed all over the place by the Rams in the first quarter. The only thing that slowed down the St. Louis offense was a pair of penalties on their first possession. That cost them 20 yards of field position.

But so dominant where they at the start of this game, they were able to convert a 3rd-and-19 play set up by those penalties. Bradford hit WR Brandon Gibson for 20 yards and moved the chains.

It was like that through the entire first quarter. Utter physical domination.

“We definitely wanted to come out and set the tone for the game, get in a rhythm as an offense, especially in the running game,” said Jackson, who finished with 15 carries for 72 yards. “We really just wanted to come out and initially set a tone.”

They set a tone of domination, one that’s hard to believe the Chiefs defense allowed to happen.

“The start was really just a killer,” head coach Todd Haley said. “We couldn’t get settled in the first two drives.”

Through the first two games of the pre-season, the Chiefs No. 1 defense had actually played pretty well. They were giving up an average of 4.4 yards per carry. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad defense. It needed improvement.

But that wasn’t visible against the Rams. The Chiefs defense got slapped around, just like they did by the Raiders (112 and 209 yards), Chargers (109 and 207) and Broncos (153 and 161) last year.

“When we look at the tape and we’ll see some things and know that we could have avoided some of that,” OLB Andy Studebaker said. “I don’t think it will be because we were tired from camp or practice. I think we’ll see that we made some mistakes.”

Oh yes, there were mistakes. But that wasn’t why the Chiefs got down 14-0 and had the ball run down their throat. It was simple physical domination of the line of scrimmage

It was happening on the other side of the ball too, where the Chiefs were unable to sustain any offensive thrust against the Rams defense in the air or on the ground. On five offensive plays in that first quarter, the K.C. offense went 0, minus-11, 4, 3 and 20 yards. The only time they got a score was when the defense presented them with a gift, on an interception by ILB Derrick Johnson at the St. Louis 7-yard line.

The defense allowed 210 yards in the first half. Over the final two quarters, the Rams added just 111 yards, but that was the No. 2 and 3s, not the big boys who are going to be the biggest factors in winning games for the Chiefs.

“First and foremost we have to look at this tape and get better from it,” said Studebaker. “We need to take advantage of the time we have left and really get after it and get better.”

There’s a lot of getting that needs to be done.

August Struggles Continue Against Rams

From Arrowhead Stadium

The struggles of August continued for the Chiefs on Friday night. They were not as bad as their first pre-season performance, but certainly not improved over their second pre-season performance.

There is no upward tick on what the Chiefs are getting done in this 2011 exhibition season, now that they are 0-3 after losing 14-10 to the St. Louis Rams, sending the Governor’s Cup back down I-70 to the Loo.

What matters most in these pre-season games is what the first units do when given their opportunity to play. It wasn’t pretty for the No. 1 offense and defense for Todd Haley. Not pretty at all. …Read More!

Chiefs Struggle Again In 14-10 Loss

From Arrowhead Stadium

For awhile in the first half Friday evening, half of the lights went out at Arrowhead Stadium. Only because there was enough natural light did the game go on without a problem.

Likewise the Chiefs were not on full power in the first half against the visiting St. Louis Rams. The No. 1 defense got trampled by QB Sam Bradford, RB Steven Jackson and the rest of the Birds offense. On the flip side, the Chiefs offense was unable to get anything moving and thus they fell for the third time in the 2011 pre-season, 14-10.

The Chiefs are now 1-10 with Todd Haley as head coach in the pre-season. In none of those 11 games did they score more than 17 points and they couldn’t reach that figure against St. Louis, picking up only a Ryan Succop FG and a 32-yard TD pass from QB Ricky Stanzi to TE Cody Slate.

Bradford had a pair of first quarter touchdowns and Jackson ran 15 times for 72 yards, including a pretty 25-yard run.

More to come on the Rams-Chiefs.

Pre-Game: Rams vs. Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

It’s a beautiful night for football as the Chiefs host the Rams in the Governor’s Cup Game.

Either this is a very late arriving crowd or this game will be sparsely attended. There are still plenty of parking spots open in the complex and some 15 minutes before kickoff we can count the fans in each section.

For the Chiefs, one surprise among the players not dressed is LG Ryan Lilja. He was on the sidelines during the warm-up period. Looks like rookie Rodney Hudson will get the start for Lilja. No word or idea on what may be bothering the veteran blocker from K-State.

Also not taking part in warm-ups were: LB Gabe Miller (hamstring), LB Eric Bakhtiari (concussion), C/G Darryl Harris (knee), OT Ryan O”Callaghan (unknown), TE Jake O’Connell (ankle), WR Jonathan Baldwin (wrist/thumb), OLB Pierre Walters (unknown) and NT Anthony Toribio (knee).

We’ll keep an eye on how much time RB Jamaal Charles, CB Brandon Flowers and OT Jared Gaither get in the game. All three were bothered by injuries during the week, but are fully dressed and took part in the warm-up period.

Chiefs coaches are wearing red t-shirts tonight honoring the continued relief efforts in Joplin.

Weather report for the game – partly cloudy skies … with a low around 69 degrees … a south wind blowing around 5 mph … kickoff temperatures 82 degrees.

Five Things Chiefs Need Done Tonight – Update

From Arrowhead Stadium

There are a lot of agendas on the line Friday night when the Chiefs host the Rams in pre-season game No. 3. Here’s my list of the five most important things they need to get done with their No. 1 units and key contributors:

5. The K.C. defense has given up 4.4 yards per carry in the preseason and an average of 126.5 per game going into Friday’s game vs. the Rams. Improved defense against the run is one of the team’s highest goals for the 2011 season. Last year, they allowed 4.3 yards per carry. So far this pre-season, the Rams have averaged 106.5 yards per game and 3.4 yards per carry.  RESULT – The Rams ran 40 times for 170 yards, a 4.3-yard per carry average. Chiefs failed.

 4. On special teams, the Chiefs have hoped to find returner alternatives to Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas. Going into Friday’s game, they have averaged 2.3 yards on punt returns and 20 yards on kickoff returns and a long return of 26 yards. The player with the most opportunities has been CB Quinten Lawrence, but one kickoff return and three punt returns has produced 30 yards. RESULT -  A total of 3 returns for one, nine and 22 yards. Chiefs failed.

3. TE Tony Moeaki has not been a factor in two preseason games and that must change if the Chiefs offense is going to be consistent and productive. Moeaki has not caught a pass. There are six TEs on the roster now and they’ve caught one pass in two games, that by the now-injured Jake O’Connell and it went for 5 yards.  RESULT – Moeaki did not have a catch, while Leonard Pope-Cody Slate-Charlie Gantt had 4 catches for 78 yards. Slate got a 32-yard TD. Chiefs were successful.

2. In the remaining two preseason games the defense needs to make some big plays. So far, they have no interceptions, no fumble recoveries and five sacks in 73 passing plays, none by a starter. It’s time for OLB Tamba Hali, ILB Derrick Johnson and SS Eric Berry to make something happen. RESULT – they picked up two INTs and a sack. Chiefs were successful.

1. Possibly the most important thing the Chiefs can do Friday night against St. Louis is score points. In 10 preseason games under head coach Todd Haley, they’ve scored nine offensive TDs and no more than 17 points in any single game. That’s why they were 1-9 in the outcome of those games. Pre-season or not, one TD in two games isn’t good at any time.  RESULT – another game with one TD and only 10 points. Chiefs failed.

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A Game-Day Grab Bag Of Sorts

A look at a few of the many news items that are floating around the NFL in the third week of the full pre-season schedule. We’ll revisit with a couple of former Chiefs in very different situations and we’ll look at the latest example of how different the Green Bay Packers are compared to other NFL franchises.

PAGE IS TURNED IN PHILADELPHIA

There has been a lot of attention on the free agents signed by the Philadelphia Eagles in the last month, plus the trades the Birds made. But it turns out one of the biggest additions was barely noticed – the signing of free agent safety Jarrad Page.

After his pre-season battle with the Chiefs last year, where he showed up a week before the first game and was then traded to New England, Page was looking for a more stable situation in 2011 – a team that he wanted and a team that wanted him. He found that with the Eagles and now it looks like Page is going to be the starter at strong safety for head coach Andy Reid. Thursday, Page was in the starting lineup for the Eagles against Cleveland and played the first half. (That’s Page wearing #25 on the right against the Ravens.)

“I didn’t see anything that jumped out at me that he didn’t do well, as far as a critical error,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said of Page.

Said Page: “It felt good to get some action and fly around and do some things; I thought I played pretty well. But I’m very critical of myself. I know there are some things I could’ve done better. But overall, I thought things went well.

“I’ve been able to pick things up fairly quickly. Defensive systems are somewhat similar. The things that are different are the terminology and the little tweaks as far as the way you play certain things. My experience in the league has helped me a lot to be able to grasp what’s going on and how we’re doing it.” …Read More!

There Must Be Progress … Game-Day Cup O’Chiefs

During his time as head coach of the Chiefs, Todd Haley sports a 1-9 record in the pre-season.

There was a time and place in Chiefs history where the head coach was paid bonus money based on how many games the team won in the exhibition season. Stram, Wiggin, Levy, Mackovic, they all got extra money because management thought winning efforts in the games that don’t count would lead to more tickets sold for the games that did count.

The Chiefs host the St. Louis Rams on Friday night at Arrowhead Stadium in another chapter in the battle for the Governor’s Cup. Kickoff is 7 p.m. with the television broadcast set for Channel 5, KCTV.

And the Chiefs have a lot of tickets to sell. While there was not any talk of a blackout for this game, the matter of selling enough seats for local television will be a subject for discussion in more than half of the eight regular season home games.

So what kind of responsibility does Haley have of putting a winning effort on the field for these types of games?

“Do you want the honest answer?” Haley joked while talking to the media the other day.

The honest answer is this – yes the coach hears about every defeat, whether it comes in the pre-season or the regular schedule. But coaches go in to the games that don’t count with agendas that don’t always have victory listed at the top of the page. …Read More!

Pre-Season Rankings – Week #3

We promised you weekly rankings during the pre-season on the Chiefs unwieldy roster of nearly 90 players. After the game in Baltimore, we got sidetracked by several important items.

But before they hit the field for pre-season game No. 3, it was time to break the club down position-by-position. With the cut next week moving the roster to 85 players, and then a few days later falling all the way to 53, there are a lot of decisions that must be made in a very short time.

Here’s this man’s opinions on where these 89 players rank at their spot and who has reasons to be looking over their shoulder for the fabled “Turk” the mythical figure who brings news of football unemployment. Every player is ranked either going up, down or hanging steady.

Also those shaded in gray are very much on the roster bubble or their chances are someplace worse.

Feel free to agree, disagree or argue. But there’s no doubt the clock is ticking down on the 2011 NFL pre-season. …Read More!

Pre-Season Roster Update – 8/25

The Chiefs reached into the “whatever happened to” bag of veteran players and pulled out TE Anthony Becht, who they signed on Wednesday to a one-year contract.

They also announced that ILB Brandon Siler was placed on the injured-reserve list, ending his season due to the torn Achilles tendon he suffered in practice on Monday.

The 34-year old Becht did not play in the NFL during the 2010 regular season, after he was released by the Arizona Cardinals on September 3, 2010. That makes him the third veteran free agent signed by the Chiefs in the last three weeks that did not play in the NFL during the 2010 season. The others were OT Jared Gaither and WR Keary Colbert.

Becht was beginning his post-football career in broadcasting, and working out of Tampa, Florida, before he was signed by the Chiefs. A journeyman over his 10-year NFL career, he has played in 158 games with four different teams: Jets, Buccaneers, Rams and Cardinals. A product of the University of West Virginia has caught 185 passes for 1,511 yards with 21 TD catches in his NFL career. …Read More!

A Couple of Trojans Reunited … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

For the longest time in southern California, the USC Trojans have gotten the pick of the litter when it comes to top high school football players.

Once in awhile, UCLA will siphon a few off the top, and sometimes guys sneak out the back door and end up at places like Cal-Berkley or Stanford, even up to Washington and Oregon or over to Arizona. The best of the best almost always ended up wearing the maroon and gold and play their home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

In the winter of 1999/2000 Southern Cal head coach Paul Hackett was putting together a recruiting class that he hoped would solidify his position with the Trojans. Hackett had left as offensive coordinator of the Chiefs after the 1997 NFL playoffs and took over the program at USD. In his first two seasons his record was 14-11, with an 8-8 mark in the Pac-10 Conference. That’s considered a disaster as far as fans of the Trojans were concerned.

Two members of that recruiting class went to high schools 50 miles apart in the northwest reaches of the sprawl that is Los Angeles. They were two of the best players in the state, and they had both received national recognition for their talents. One was an athletic quarterback from Chatsworth High School by the name of Matt Cassel. The other was a speedy wide receiver out of Hueneme High School in Oxnard by the name of Keary Colbert.   …Read More!

Pre-Season Practice Update – 8/24

From Arrowhead Stadium

The Chiefs opened the doors Wednesday evening, giving their fans a chance to watch practice. It was free. So was the parking.

Apparently Chiefs fans were less than impressed. The picture above is the west end zone seats about 45 minutes into the 2-plus hour practice. Actually, there were more folks there for a 15-minute autograph session at the start of the night. But once the chance for signatures was over, a lot of fans hit the road.

Too bad, because it was a good session for the Chiefs. Todd Haley had his players in full pads and there were several competitive sessions where there was some nice action.

Haley makes it plain he’s not worried about his offense and its development in the pre-season. If that’s true, then he won’t be concerned about what went down Wednesday evening.

Matt Cassel and the No. 1 unit had the ball at the 10-yard line, and they had four downs to score a touchdown. Play No. 1 had Cassel and WR Dwayne Bowe connecting on a pass that almost went for a TD. But Bowe was ruled out of bounds at the two-yard line.

The offense couldn’t dent the end zone on the next three plays. A Thomas Jones run came up short, Cassel threw away a pass when he could find nobody open and his throw to WR Jerheme Urban was incomplete on fourth down. There were a lot of those kinds of plays for the Chiefs offense during the practice.

One note on the injury front, and that was very limited participation by RB Jamaal Charles. It appeared he tweaked something in his left leg, because he did not take part in the second half of the workout. …Read More!

No Chiefs Named Senior Hall Nominees

There were a number of former Chiefs players under consideration by the seniors committee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s board of selectors. Otis Taylor and Johnny Robinson has been part of the discussion for a number of years, including the 2011 process.

But on Wednesday, the Hall of Fame announced that CB Jack Butler and G Dick Stanfel were selected by the seniors committee as finalists for Hall of Fame election with the Class of 2012.

Both members of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1950s, Butler and Stanfel will join 15 modern-era candidates on the list of finalists from which the Class of 2012 will be selected. That will happen on February 4, 2012, the day before Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.

A senior nominee is an individual whose career ended at least 25 years ago. Butler, a 6’1″, 200 pounds out of St. Bonaventure, played nine seasons (1951-59) in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He earned Pro Bowl honors four straight seasons (1956-59) and was named first-team All-NFL in the final three years of his career. Butler recorded 52 career interceptions for 827 yards and 4 touchdowns that included a league-high 10 INTs during the 1957 season. When he retired, he was tied for second all-time in interceptions.

Stanfel was regarded as a premier guard during his era joining the Lions as a second-round choice out of the University of San Francisco in 1951. He was an integral part of back-to-back Detroit championship teams in 1952-53. In 1954, the Western Conference champion Lions voted Stanfel as their team most valuable player. He was traded to the Washington Redskins in 1956 and played his final three years with the Redskins. In all, Stanfel was named to five Pro Bowls and selected first-team All-NFL four times over a five-season span. He earned all-league accolades twice with Detroit and twice with Washington.

Pre-Season Chiefs Update – 8/24

From the Truman Sports Complex

“Tonight’s a big night for us.”

No, Todd Haley isn’t taking his team to a concert at Sprint Center. The Chiefs will work out under the lights inside Arrowhead Stadium in a practice that is open to the public. More details on the event coming up.

The reason it’s a big night for the Chiefs is part of Haley’s approach to this pre-season where everything is taken on a day-by-day basis, and since it’s the next practice, it’s a big thing for his team and his coaches, who continue to evaluate the 88 players with the idea of getting to 53 players in 10 days.

That’s 88 players because the Chiefs have lost ILB Brandon Siler (left) for the season due to an Achilles tendon tear suffered on Tuesday. His agent David Cantwell said on Tuesday that Siler’s injury came on the final play of practice, and that surgery is part of the rehab. Siler was signed as a UFA from the Chargers and his loss will not have much of an effect on the Chiefs defense; he was running with the third team unit there.

Where it will hurt is on special teams, as Siler was considered one of the better cover men in the league. Also taking him off the depth chart now has the Chiefs lacking experienced backups at inside linebacker behind starters Derrick Johnson and Jovan Belcher. Eighth-year pro Demorrio Williams is there but among the four other ILBs there’s only one that’s played in an NFL Game: Cory Greenwood. The others are Justin Cole, Micah Johnson and rookie Amara Kamara. …Read More!

The Coach & Lil Wayne … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, something new and unusual comes out of the world of the Chiefs that entertains me to no end.

That would be the reaction to the news that Todd Haley took time out of a busy schedule getting ready for the 2011 NFL season to attend a Monday night concert at the Sprint Center that featured rapper Lil Wayne.

Serious questions were immediately asked about Haley’s work ethic and common sense. Blogger Jack Dickey from Deadspin claimed: “when Haley attends a Lil Wayne concert and reps Weezy … the whole thing looks silly and transparent … the reason to laugh at Haley is that he actually thinks this will help him coach his team, or that this makes him look hip, somehow.”

Another blogger, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk wrote: “It’s hard to imagine any other NFL head coach going to a concert less than three weeks before the start of the season … Haley is one of those guys who loves to mention his ties to Bill Parcells. And maybe that’s the best barometer for this one:  Would Parcells have left camp to attend a Lil Wayne concert? Do I even need to answer that?”

Good gravy, lighten up guys. Sometimes I feel like an old foggy in this modern day world of journalism in 140 characters or less, but these two bloggers make me feel like a youngster and I’m off the hizzy fo shizzy. …Read More!

Pre-Season Practice Report – 8/23

From the Truman Sports Complex

Maybe it was the change in practice time. Maybe it was something sprinkled into his Cheerios. But Todd Haley was all fired up Tuesday morning as he put the Chiefs through their only practice of the day.

Haley’s voice could be heard from two football fields away and most of the time the head coach was directing his comments to his offense. That unit had another tough day against the Chiefs defense.

“Come on offense, show a little fight,” Haley said at one point.

But fight was not evident during most of the 100-minute session from the offense. In a goal line period, the No. 1 offense had five snaps to get the ball in the end zone and scored only one the last one, when RB Jackie Battle leaped over the right side of the offensive line. The other four plays produced minimal yardage.

One update of not on the injury front, starting CB Brandon Flowers was in the rehab area and not practicing. Flowers limped off the field on Monday, but indicated in the locker room after practice it was nothing serious. On Tuesday, he spent his time walking up and down the rehab field and not much else.

More observations from Tuesday morning’s session: …Read More!

A Pre-Season Grab Bag … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

So much in the news, so much to cover around pro football these days, so let’s take a day and look at other things going on around the league.

KICKOFFS REVISITED-WEEK NO. 2

The much talked about new kickoff rule that moved the ball to the 35-yard line got its second week of action, wrapping up Monday night with the New York Giants victory over Chicago.

Here are the numbers for week No. 2:

• 138 total kickoffs.
• 59 touchbacks, 42.8 percent.
• 124 kicks into the end zone, 89.9 percent.
• 65 kicks brought out of the end zone, 47.1 percent.
• 75 kicks returned, 54.4 percent.
• Average kickoff return went for 26.2 yards

Here are the two week totals: …Read More!

Pre-Season Practice Report – 8/22

From the Truman Sports Complex

It was another hot steamy day for a football practice on Monday afternoon at the Chiefs facility and head coach Todd Haley had his team working long and hard in another session of trying to make up ground from the owners’ lockout.

And it was another afternoon where the defense controlled the show. In the team’s competitive period at the end of practice, the No. 1 offense got to run 10 plays against the No. 1 defense. The Matt Cassel-led offense managed just one first down and overall was only five of 10, with one pass knocked down at the line of scrimmage. The final incompletion came on a fourth down with the game clock running out when he rifled a short pass to TE Tony Moeaki and it went right through his hands.

That’s the way it’s been now for the better part of 10 days on the practice field, as the Chiefs defense is performing at a pace ahead of their offensive mates. It must be remembered that the Chiefs offense isn’t doing much in the way of adjusting their scheme. The plays are pretty plain Jane, but Haley has been pushing his offensive players and coaches to pick up the pace of getting plays called and getting the snap off.

Actually, the best offensive play of the afternoon came from QB Tyler Palko. He got flushed from the pocket and started scrambling away from pass rush pressure. Eventually, he stopped and jumped up and threw the ball to his right, where it floated over the head of LB Demorrio Williams and over the head of TE Cody Slate, who got his hands up and made the catch and ran into the end zone. It would have to go down as one of those “Oh no Palko don’t throw that … hey Tyler great play.”

Other observations from the day at Arrowhead where the Chiefs were in full pads: …Read More!

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There were many questions posted in the last week, along with quite a few testimonies to the value of the site. That’s the greatest advertising anyone could ask for or expect, when your customers have good things to say. Thank you.

Here are some answers to a few of the questions posted, and I appreciate all the feedback. …Read More!

Pryor Heads Supplemental Possibilities

At noon CDT, the NFL will drop the starter’s flag on the league’s 2011 Supplemental Draft.

It figures to draw more attention than any Supplemental Draft in sometime because of the presence of former Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor. (That’s Pryor to the left, throwing at his workout.)

MONDAY UPDATE – Pryor was selected in the third round of the Supplemental Draft by the Oakland Raiders. It’s the first time in franchise history that the Raiders have used a choice in a supplemental draft. By making the pick, the Raiders give up their third rounder in 2012.

Over the weekend, Pryor held a workout at a high school near Greensburg, Pennsylvania and his hometown of Jeannette. Reports out of the event say there were 17 NFL teams represented there, including the Chiefs. Indianapolis Colts owner Jimmy Irsay was there, along with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and a host of personnel types and scouts from around the league.

Pryor was timed in 4.38 seconds on the artificial turf at Hempfield High School. He also did 31 inches in the vertical jump. He was measured at just a sliver under 6-5 and weighed 231 pounds.

There seems little doubt at this point that Pryor will be drafted, even with the five-game suspension handed him from Commissioner Roger Goodell. He made it plain to reporters on Saturday after his workout that he planned to play quarterback.

“I’m not open to other positions, at all,” he said. “When I get on a team going in, I want to be a quarterback. But if there were to be a change, because there’s another quarterback on the team that’s been there and I need to go somewhere to win, just for me sacrificing myself to help the team win, I’ll do that.

“I’m a quarterback at heart. Like I told the guys when they were interviewing me, give me a chance and I don’t think I’ll let you down, and I don’ t think you’ll be disappointed in me at quarterback, at all. That’s exactly what I told them.”

There are six players eligible for the Supplemental Draft. They are: …Read More!

Nonsense Begets Nonsense … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

I hesitated to write yet again on the subject of the altercation between Jonathan Baldwin and Thomas Jones.

Understand, that despite the big old cast Baldwin is now wearing on his right wrist/thumb, teammates fighting in the locker room is not an unusual occurrence in the National Football League. It’s not unusual in Major League Baseball or the National Basketball Association and especially not in the National Hockey League. Put any number of testorine fueled men in close quarters and there will be disagreements. Often, those issues will be settled in a physical manner. And, seldom does the news escape the walls of the locker room.

When it does, there really isn’t anything that the players and team can do about it. In today’s Twitter-fed world, with cell phones that take pictures and savvy operators that know how to make the internet sing, it’s silliness to attempt a cover-up or worse, pretend like it didn’t happen at all.

That’s what the Chiefs have done with the Baldwin-Jones case. The nonsense of the altercation beget the nonsense of how the organization has handled the situation, creating a big pile of steaming, smelly nonsense. …Read More!

New Site Subscriber

We here at bobgretz.com want to welcome our newest reader to the site.

Caroline Avery Fritts arrived on Saturday, August 20 at 2:46 a.m. CDT at the Prentice Women’s Hospital/Northwestern Medical Center in Chicago.

She enters the world as a 50 percent Bears fan, 50 percent Chiefs fan and somewhere in the blood stream there are corpuscles in the shape of hypocycloids. That’s the three-star symbol of a well known team from the Steel City. She will have to have someone teach her about that; I think I know just the person.

Without any prejudice at all, this grandpa says she’s the most beautiful things these tired old eyes have seen in sometime.

Pre-Season Practice Report – 8/21

From the Truman Sports Complex

While the details remain sketchy, there’s no doubt that whatever happened between Jonathan Baldwin and Thomas Jones left the rookie wide receiver with a problem. A big problem.

As the Chiefs went through their first training camp practice back at their facility, Baldwin was in the rehab area sporting a big cast on his right arm, from about mid-forearm down to his wrist and including his thumb. While his teammates were working in practice, Baldwin was on the stationary bike and he was high stepping up and down the field at one point wearing a harness connected to a small sled-like apparatus that had some weight on it.

The Chiefs did not have anything more to say about the incident than they did after the game on Friday in Baltimore when it became known that last Tuesday, Jones and Baldwin tangled at Missouri Western State University.

“As I’ve conveyed over the last three years everything that happens within these walls is family business,” head coach Todd Haley said before practice. “That’s the best thing for our team. To become a real good team, you need to have those areas that are off-limits. Certain things and areas are going to continue to stay family business. I appreciate everyone’s curiosity … but there are certain things and areas that are going to continue to stay family business.”

When the Chiefs locker room was open to the media after practice, Baldwin was nowhere to be found. The media ran into Jones as they were entering and he was leaving the locker room; he did not return. …Read More!

Training Camp Update – 8/21

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs are on the practice field Sunday afternoon, bringing their training camp back to their facility from St. Joseph. According to head coach Todd Haley, the approach will be the same as activity at Missouri Western State University.

Haley spoke to the media before practice and had a few comments on the game Friday night against Baltimore. He mentioned positives:

– FUNDAMENTALS – “Fundamentally I thought we did things better, specifically through the first three quarters of the game. A lot of good things were happening.”

– RB DEXTER MCCLUSTER – “He made a number of plays that I thought were exciting for us as a team and good things for him.

– OLB JUSTIN HOUSTON – “I thought he made a couple real good plays. On top of playing good as a defensive player, he made a big play on special teams beating everybody down the field and causing a fumble. He showed real progress through the week and into the game.”

– OLB CAMERON SHEFFIELD – “I’ve been really excited watching how he responds getting into some of these bigger situations. I thought he showed up.”

Haley also made positive mention of QB Tyler Palko, P Dustin Colquitt and WR Verran Tucker.

He was not so positive about the team’s fourth quarter play, especially some of the penalties that hurt the team and helped set up several touchdown drives by the Ravens.

The head coach said again he had no problems with Ravens head man John Harbaugh and how Baltimore handled the last few minutes of the game with timeouts and long pass plays.

Plain Jane Offense Struggles … Sunday Cup O’Chiefs

At what point in the scheme of things should the Chiefs start worrying about their offense?

That’s a legitimate question at this point of the 2011 pre-season, because the Chiefs offense has been less than scintillating. The numbers are actually pretty ugly after two pre-season games:

• One touchdown scored.
• 212.5 yards per game.
• No play longer than 28 yards.
• No run longer than 17 yards.
• An average of 3.5 yards per carry.
• An average yards per attempt of 5.3 yards.
• 11 sacks allowed in 66 passing plays.
• 50.9 percent completion percentage
• 6 conversions on 27 third-down plays, a 22.2 percent average.

Each one of those numbers would be a singular cause for concern. Roll them into one brief two-game period over eight days and even in the pre-season, it begs the question: what’s wrong with Todd Haley’s offense.

The answer from the head coach would be nothing. He doesn’t feel like punching the panic button, because the Chiefs have not been real active in establishing their offense. …Read More!

Pre-Season Crab Cake Leftovers

From Baltimore, Maryland

Take a look at the picture above and you’ll understand why the media scum love to go to Baltimore to cover games.

Before its renovation, Arrowhead Stadium had the best press box in the NFL. It was right at the 50-yard line, at the club level of the stadium. The line of sight for the ink-stained wretches, tin throats and hairdos was the finest in the NFL.

The Arrowhead rehab created a new press box, one at the top of the stadium. Views of the field come only with very powerful binoculars, and while nobody has tried a telescope yet, it’s only a matter of time. The New Arrowhead is not unusual in that way, as the press seating has gone higher and farther away from the 50-yard line in about 90 percent of the new NFL stadiums.

M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore is different. It has the best press box set up in the NFL right now. It sits directly behind the lowest level in the seating bowl of the structure. Player uniform numbers are easy to see, and so is the game. So here’s a big thank you for Ravens ownership, led by Steve Bisciotti and former majority owner Art Modell.

Listen, the media horde gets in free, and that doesn’t provide us with a lot of say-so when it comes to matters like seating. But it’s not like the media doesn’t provide services to the league in publicizing their teams, coaches and players. Working with the media, not against it, is how the late Pete Rozelle led the NFL to the top of the American sports pyramid after the merger with Lamar Hunt’s AFL.

Those days, like good press box sight lines are a thing of the past. …Read More!

Chiefs Improved But Still Lose, 31-13

From M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

The day started poorly for the Chiefs here on the upper channel of Chesapeake Bay. The story of the altercation between RB Thomas Jones and first-round draft choice WR Jonathan Baldwin finally escaped into the mainstream news cycle.

If only the team had played defense as well against the Baltimore Ravens as the Chiefs organization did on the St. Joe rumble between their veteran running back and young stud receiver. There’s a silly approach within the upper ranks of the franchise that if they ignore a story, it didn’t happen, or it will go away.

But that was the sideshow around pre-season game No. 2, as the Chiefs played much better than they did in the opener last week, and in fact led this game 13-10 midway through the third quarter. The Ravens threw three late touchdowns on the board and walked away with a 31-13 victory.

There was plenty to talk about afterwards:

• GAME STORY – A better performance but not good enough.
• COLUMN – Offense continues to trail defense.
• SIDEBAR1 – The Quiet around Baldwin-Jones bout.
• SIDEBAR2 – The QB finally gets to play.
• NOTES & QUOTES – Homecoming cool for former Ravens
• PRE-GAME COVERAGE
• GAMEBOOK

Were Ravens Rubbing It In & Other Notes

From M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

With two minutes left in Friday night’s game between the Chiefs and Ravens, a touchdown by Baltimore gave John Harbaugh’s team a 24-13 lead.

About a minute later, the Ravens got the ball back on an interception. They immediately went to the air for a big play, as QB Hunter Caldwell went deep to WR LaQuan Williams for 38 yards as he beat Chiefs CB Quinten Lawrence.

With the ball at the Chiefs 3-yard line and approximately 30 seconds to play, NFL decorum would suggest taking a knee and letting the clock run out.

But the Ravens ended up calling a pair of timeouts, so they could save enough time and RB Anthony Allen scored on a 1-yard run.

Harbaugh knew he was walking a fine line in NFL etiquette, because he made sure he talked to Todd Haley about the situation after the game. And, it was the first thing he addressed in his post-game meeting with the media.

“I want to apologize to the Chiefs if they feel like we were not doing the right thing at the end of the game,” Harbaugh said. “The mindset was ‘this is pre-season.’ If this had been the regular season, we would have been on a knee.

“I just felt like it was the right thing to do for our players.”

Did Haley buy what Harbaugh was selling in their post-game conversation?

“I just said pre-season is for the young guys and he said ‘OK’,” Harbaugh said. “I have a lot of respect for Todd Haley and a lot of respect for the Chiefs organization and what they do. That’s a really good football team, a very physical football team. I think they’re doing a great job with their football team.”

A BALTIMORE RETURN

FB Le’Ron McClain and NT Kelly Gregg were both in the starting lineup against their old teammates Friday night. OT Jared Gaither was on the field as well, but he was not dressed to play as he deals with a knee injury.

“At first I didn’t think nothing of it,” Gregg said of his return to Baltimore. “But I told my wife, as I was thinking about it, I got a little nervous. I haven’t been nervous in a long time.”

Gregg went out of his way to thank the Baltimore fans. “They were great my whole time here and I appreciate them,” Gregg said. “Everybody always made my stay here enjoyable.”

Gregg finished with four tackles, including one for minus yardage. McClain touched the ball twice, running once for two yards and catching a pass and picking up 15 yards.

WHO PLAYED; WHO DID NOT

The Chiefs had six players who were not dressed for Friday night’s game: WR Jonathan Baldwin (wrist), C/G Darryl Harris (knee), OT Jared Gaither (knee), NT Anthony Toribio (knee), LB Erick Bakhtiari (head) and OT Ryan O’Callaghan (unknown).

Dressed but not taking part in the game for the Chiefs according to the statistical mavens were WR Chris Manno, DB Mario Russell and TE Charlie Gantt.

For the Ravens, they were without 3 starters: C Matt Birk, RG Marshal Yanda and MLB Ray Lewis. They had 8 other players that did not play.

KICKOFF REPORT

It was game No. 2 for both of these teams with the new rules on kickoffs being moved to the 35-yard line. Here’s what went down for each side:

Chiefs – Ryan Succop kicked off four times, and put three in the end zone, but none went for touchbacks. He averaged four yards deep.

Ravens – Both Billy Cundiff and Jake Hartman kicked off. Cundiff hit all four of his kicks into the end zone, on average to seven yards deep.

In all there were 10 kickoffs, nine landed in the end zone and 4 went for touchbacks. The teams combined for six kickoff returns for an average of 25.1 yards per return.

ZEBRA REPORT

After not having any penalties walked off against them last week in the game vs. Tampa Bay, the Chiefs were hit with seven penalties Friday night by Gene Steratore and his crew. Here were the guilty parties in KC uniforms:

MISC. STUFF OF ALL SORTS

Serving as captains for the Chiefs were NT Kelly Gregg, DE Glenn Dorsey, FB Le’Ron McClain and WR Terrance Copper. All but Dorsey were once members of the Ravens … the game was the first time the Chiefs and Ravens have played each other in the pre-season. It was the seventh meeting overall, including regular season and the playoffs. Baltimore now leads the overall series with four victories … the Chiefs are now 1-9 in pre-season games under Todd Haley. They are 0-5 on the road.

Cassel Happy For The Throws

From M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Friday evening was not one of those performances that Matt Cassel will remember many years from now.

When he’s sitting on the porch at the Old Quarterbacks Home and telling stories to his great-grandchildren about his career he won’t remember facing the Baltimore Ravens and throwing for 73 yards on a six of 14 attempts night for a decidedly mediocre 59.5 passer rating.

But Cassel was thrilled.

“It was nice to get out there and get hit again,” Cassel said. “It allowed me to get into the flow of the game.”

That included getting smacked around a few times by the Ravens pass rush; he was sacked once.

“It just gets your body acclimated for playing football; that’s football is all about,” Cassel said of dealing with the contact. “You don’t really feel like you’re out there until you get hit, and especially because at practice we were those cute yellow jerseys.

“They take care of us so much, so you know that you’re out there playing football again and it’s football season when you take those shots.”

Last week in the pre-season opener, Cassel was in for eight snaps and did not throw a pass. Against the Ravens, he only had to wait through two running plays to get his first attempt of the season, a 3rd-down throw to WR Dwayne Bowe that went for 14 yards and a first down.

Cassel didn’t hit the next three throws, but TE Tony Moeaki didn’t help matters by dropping a throw to him. Eventually, Cassel hooked up again with Bowe on a pretty 26-yard gain down the right sideline with a perfect throw and a great catch.

After that, he connected on throws to FB Le’Ron McClain and RB Dexter McCluster, plus one to WR Steve Breaston and a final completion to Bowe.

It wasn’t a memorable night, but Cassel felt like it was a start.

“Everybody has a job to do,” Cassel said. “Fundamentals can be something as simple as me working on my drop back. It’s something that we have to continue to work on. If we can get better at the basic fundamentals, then we’re going to be better.”

Effort Was Better; Outcome Was Not

From M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

A loss is always a loss in the National Football League.

But the 31-13 defeat suffered by the Chiefs on Friday night in the Crab Cake City felt almost like a victory compared to last week’s debacle against Tampa Bay.

They actually scored a touchdown this week, and played with more passion; a level of intensity worthy of an NFL game, whether pre-season or regular season.

Friday night, the Chiefs were able to gain a measure of rehab on their football standing, playing with thoughts of execution and production and not protection of bodies.

“We talked coming into the game about doing fundamental things a lot better, on offense, defense and special teams,” said head coach Todd Haley. “For the most part, we were able to do that a little better in more areas and that’s a positive sign to me. We obviously have a long way to go.

“We got to come on the road in a hostile environment, a good road game atmosphere, the crowd was loud and there were a lot of things that we had to deal with that will help our team … we’ll take a lot from this.”

Yes, there was plenty to take from the night, but not enough to satisfy the Chiefs and their goals. …Read More!

All Is Quiet On Baldwin vs. Jones Bout

From M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

The trip to Baltimore did not start with good news when it became known that first-round draft choice Jonathan Baldwin suffered a wrist injury during a locker room fight with teammate Thomas Jones in the finals days of the team’s training camp stay in St. Joseph.

That’s not the type of news that any coach wants to hear, but especially not when Todd Haley has put so much time and effort into what he calls team building.

Acknowledgement of the altercation did not come from Haley or the organization. As has been their pattern in the previous two years, they publicly pretend that nothing happened. So there was no explanation of what may have caused the tussle.

“Jonathan Baldwin did not play tonight due to injury,” Haley said when asked about the situation. “As I say in here a bunch, that’s the extent of what I’m going to talk about.”

Haley was asked if there was an altercation involving Baldwin and Jones.

“As with many things on our team, we fall into the family business category,” Haley said. “I’ll talk about the guys that were out there tonight and playing and trying to get better.”

Jones was not willing to talk about the incident either.

“At this point, I’m just focused on this game and how we played,” Jones said. “If it’s not a football question, there’s nothing to answer. If it’s not a football question, I’m not interested in answering.”

Other Chiefs waved away questions about what happened between Baldwin and Jones.

“It’s family business,” said SS Eric Berry. “It’s not something that anybody is going to talk about outside the family.”

But there’s no doubt that the Chiefs and Baldwin face a long road of rehabilitation for his wrist and his reputation, whether the organization wants to acknowledge the situation or not.

Column: Some Things Got Done This Time

From M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Now that was a little more like it. The Chiefs had a game Friday night and they actually played football, instead of playing at not getting hurt.

Professional football is not a game where you tiptoe, unless you happen to be a wide receiver trying to get your feet down in the end zone for a touchdown. That’s how the Chiefs approached that game last week against Tampa Bay, at least with their starters and key players. They tiptoed around the whole idea of doing something with the opportunity given them. That produce results one would expect in that type of situation – a gross waste of time.

In the big picture, the results of that game were aggravating, but meaningless. Just as the final score Friday night at M&T Bank Stadium meant nothing for the Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens. The purple birds look like they have the parts to make another run to the post-season, something they’ve done for three years in a row now. Whether they have enough to overcome the hold the Pittsburgh Steelers have on them and the AFC North remains to be seen.

The Chiefs? Well at least they did enough with their starters and key players that there can actually be evaluations made of where this team is headed and trailing with 22 days before the regular-season opener. …Read More!

Pre-Game – Chiefs vs. Ravens In Baltimore

From M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Storm clouds have followed the Chiefs from Kansas City to Maryland as they face the Ravens on Friday night under cloudy skies, the threat of thunderstorms and very humid temperatures.

(Baltimore honors the legendary Hall of Fame QB Johnny Unitas by naming the north side of M&T Bank stadium the Unitas Plaza, with a statue and banners.)

Much like the storm that drenched the Kansas City area late Thursday evening, Baltimore and environs saw the same type of storm and more is expected this evening. At 4:40 p.m. CDT it was 84 degrees.

There are 83 of  89 players dressed and going through warm ups for the Chiefs. Topping the list of missing is WR Jonathan Baldwin, who injured a wrist in a locker room altercation this week with teammate RB Thomas Jones. Also missing are OLB Erc Bakhtiari (head), C/G Darryl Harris (knee), OT Jared Gaither (knee), OT Ryan O’Callaghan (unknown) and NT Anthony Toribio.

Keep an eye on the No. 2 offensive line with three blockers out. In the warm-up period they lined up like this: LT David Mims, LG Butch Lewis, C Rodney Hudson, RG Bobby Greenwood and RT Chris Harr. …Read More!

Baldwin Loses Fight, Pre-Season

From Baltimore, Maryland

His rookie pre-season was an important opportunity for first-round draft choice WR Jonathan Baldwin. The Chiefs offense needs his big-play ability to help take the offense to the next level.

Apparently, he wasn’t willing to do the work necessary to get that done. That’s the only explanation for what apparently is Baldwin’s wrist injury, suffered in a locker room fight with veteran RB Thomas Jones on Tuesday. Reportedly, Baldwin is done for the rest of the pre-season.

Sadly, he might actually be done for the 2011 season and blame can fall only on Baldwin and the Chiefs front office.

Baldwin obviously isn’t very smart or he wouldn’t get himself into a situation with a guy like Jones, not with the biceps that the running back has worked so hard to maintain through his NFL career.

Possible scenario – Jones says, “Hey rookie, you aren’t working very hard.” Baldwin replies – “He old man, mind your own business.” BAM!!!!

There’s no way Jones picked this fight; there’s also no way that it was going to end well for Baldwin. If all he suffered was a wrist injury that will keep him out for several weeks, then he should consider himself quite lucky. …Read More!

Ready For Football This Time … Game-Day Cup O’Chiefs

From Baltimore, Maryland

The fine line that Todd Haley has walked throughout the Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph left the head coach with one arm tied behind his back last week against Tampa Bay in pre-season game No. 1.

In the days after the NFL owners’ lockout ended, the Chiefs head coach quickly came to understand that approaching training camp in his usual manner was not going to get done what he wanted done for his team. Football was going to take a back seat to getting his players in shape, or closer to the type of shape they would have been had there been an off-season strength and conditioning program.

It was aerobic work, not attack work. Call him crazy, call him stupid, call him innovative, but Haley was convinced things had to be different in Camp Haley ’11. That made for an ugly performance against the Buccaneers, losing 25-0 while sitting and seriously limiting the play of his starters.

Whether due that game, or because he felt his team’s conditioning had reached a level he liked, there was a new element introduced to practices in the past week – contact. There was hitting, blocking, pushing and shoving and even a few near fights broke out as the Chiefs went football physical on Sunday-Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday.

And that should make for a different performance for Haley’s team tonight when the Chiefs play the Baltimore Ravens in pre-season game No. 2 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT and can be seen on KCTV and the Chiefs TV Network.

There’s no question the Chiefs are better prepared football-wise to play a game. They better be, given their opponent. The Ravens whacked them out of the playoffs in January and they are the type of team that never seems to have a problem being physical. …Read More!

And The Winner Is …

Training camp at Missouri Western State University is over for the Chiefs. As head coach Todd Haley made plain to his players this week, St. Joseph might be gone, but camp is not.

“We’ll stay in camp mode for another week-and-a half or so,” Haley said. “That’s what we’re stressing to the guys – even though we’re breaking from St. Joe – we’re still in training camp.”

But the day-to-day of the remaining two weeks will have a much different feel than three weeks together at Scanlon Hall, the Griffon Indoor Center and the practice fields at Missouri Western.

To honor those 21 days, we present the 2011 Joe Awards for pre-season performances. …Read More!

Quiet Time in St. Joe … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

By about 7 o’clock Wednesday evening, Missouri Western State University was in the rear view mirrors of all the players on the Chiefs roster except the rookies.

The first-year guys had to spend another night in Scanlon Hall before heading to KCI on Thursday for the team’s charter flight to Baltimore and Friday’s game against the Ravens.

Another Chiefs training camp is in the books. It was a most unusual three weeks in football immersion given the circumstances of the NFL owners’ lockout and the new rules that govern practices that became part of the labor agreement.

In year two of the Chiefs in the Joe, the glamour and glitter were gone. Attendance at practices was way down. The annual Family Fun Day went from over 10,000 fans in 2010 to just over 3,000 this year. Changes in the rules and the schedules did not make it easy to plan a trip for the folks traveling north out of Kansas City.

Wednesday morning’s walkthrough practice had less than 100 people watching the session on the Missouri Western practice fields. The close proximity of the training camp to the Kansas City metro area created more yawns than screams of anticipation and support for the Chiefs practices.

“Every day, every practice you see the real Chiefs fans out here,” said head coach Todd Haley. “I think it’s the way training camp should be and wish more and more people would realize how easy it is to get up here and they can see these guys up close.

“I know it helps us out a bunch.” …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/17

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Under partly sunny skies and humid conditions, the Chiefs went through their final practice of training camp at Missouri Western State University on Wednesday afternoon.

It was another high intensity practice, although it did not reach the same intensity level of practices from Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. It was also a day when injuries at offensive tackle may have undrafted rookie free agent Butch Lewis in the starting lineup on Friday against Baltimore.

More on that subject coming up.

At the end of practice, the offense worked against the defense and it was live, full-contact football.

On the first play RB Jamaal Charles went at left guard and was snowed under by the first team defense. QB Matt Cassel stood there, sticking his arms out and if to say “WTF.” Apparently coordinator Bill Muir and QB coach Jim Zorn said something as well, because before the next snap, Haley blew his whistle to stop the play. While specifically looking at his offensive coaches, he reminded the whole team that he called for a live, full tackle session.

So that’s how things came to a conclusion for the Chiefs 2011 stay at Missouri Western State University. In a training camp that had very little hitting, the last segment had enough hitting that it ticked off some of the offensive guys. …Read More!

Standing Tall At Tackle? … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

It has been quite a trip watching how Chiefs fans and the K.C. media have reacted to the addition of Jared Gaither to the club’s roster late last week.

From the things I heard and the questions I’ve been asked, it seems the assumption is that Gaither has already written been written into the starting lineup for the 2011 Chiefs. Whether it was at right tackle for Barry Richardson or left tackle for Branden Albert didn’t really matter – although most opinion leaned towards Gaither taking over on the right side.

The Chiefs wouldn’t have signed him if he wasn’t going to start, right?

Wrong.

Let’s look at the facts in this little football melodrama as they are very visible and provide insight as to why Scott Pioli and Todd Haley signed a player that does not fit the stereotype of the “right 53″ that they’ve laid out over the last three years. …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/16

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Tuesday afternoon’s practice ended with a scene that showed itself for the first time in this unusual training camp:

Todd Haley was foaming mad.

It was a session where the Chiefs defense simply dominated the offense, and with each snap that went the way of the defenders, their enthusiasm and banter grew bigger and louder. When OLB Andy Studebaker broke the unwritten rule of hitting the quarterback as he came off the edge on a screaming blitz in the two minute period, the defense celebrated. And, the head coach erupted.

Much of what Haley said could not be heard all the way on the other end of the field. However, there was one word that was loud and clear and was used several times – stupid. In this practices, Haley wants his team to go fast and hard, but to take care of their teammates. The constant refrain from him is for his players to stay off the ground, because a prone body tends to cause injuries to the player on the ground, and other players who trip over him.

There’s no question it was the most intense practice of camp, and there were actual two shoving matches, the closet times in three weeks at Missouri Western State University that teammates came close to exchanging blows. The first incident involved several offensive and defensive linemen. The second had DE Wallace Gilberry and OTs Barry Richardson and Branden Albert going at each other and having to be separated by teammates.

“It’s hot, it’s physical, we’re tired and those type of things happen,” said ILB Derrick Johnson who had another impressive practice session in the middle of the Chiefs defense. “It’s not something that leaves the field. It’s not a problem in the locker room. It’s just guys blowing off steam.”

One noteworthy absence at Tuesday afternoon’s session was newly signed OT Jared Gaither. He was on the field but did not take part in the practice, instead spending his time in the rehab area. When practice was over, he hoped a ride on the golf cart of offensive coordinator Bill Muir. As he was walking on the field, there was a hitch in Gaither’s get along, as it looked like he was favoring leg. As usual in the pre-season, the Chiefs provide no information on injuries of any type.

Training Camp Update – 8/16

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Todd Haley took his team to the movies Tuesday morning, repeating a scene that he used last year in the team’s first season at Missouri Western State University.

His timing was good considering the morning weather here was poor, with rain showers. More than likely, they’ll be forced back onto the artificial turf field inside Spratt Stadium for their afternoon practice.

They also added their 89th player on the roster, signing undrafted rookie free agent Harold Ayodele, a defensive lineman out of Division II Emporia State. That’s him in the picture above making a tackle last season.

The 6-1, 339 pound Ayodele played 22 games for the Hornets, contributing 107 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He originally signed with the University of Florida coming out of high school. But when he couldn’t meet NCAA academic requirements, he ended up at Coffeyville Community College and the Jayhawk Conference. He then moved on to Tennessee State where he spent a year, before transferring to Emporia.

Poor academics, poor attitude and weight were the biggest problems that held Ayodele back over his college career. At one point, he weighed over 370 pounds.

Ayodele grew up in Grand Prairie, Texas, but went to high school In Jacksonville, Florida. He moved there when his oldest brother Akin was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars. LB Akin Ayodele is currently with the Buffalo Bills after previous playing with Jacksonville, Dallas, Miami and Denver. Middle brother Remi Ayodele signed in late July with Minnesota, after previously playing with New England, Baltimore, Dallas, Atlanta and New Orleans. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Saints in 2009.

A Story From AFL’s First Days Passes Away

More than likely you’d have to be a superfan of the Oklahoma Sooners to have any idea about Jimmy Harris

In a long ago era he was one of the winningest quarterbacks to play college football. His record as the starting QB at Oklahoma under head coach Bud Wilkinson was 25-0, with a pair of national championships (1955-56) and it was a huge part of the still unmatched 47-game Sooners winning streak.

Harris passed away last Tuesday in Louisiana at the age of 76 from lung cancer. He was buried over the weekend in Shreveport and was eulogized as one of the biggest and most important names in college football history.

But Harris also played a part in pro football history, specifically with the American Football League and the Dallas Texans. It’s a story worth telling, because it helps illustrate the nature of those early AFL days when Lamar Hunt was not only fighting to build a league and his own team, but had to withstand attacks from an NFL determined to crush him and his idea. If you thought lawyers were too involved with professional sports these days – especially in light of the recent lawyer loaded labor negotiations between the NFL owners and players – it’s not the first time. Part of the millions of dollars that Hunt lost in the early days of the AFL was to pay the lawyers for anti-trust suits, disputes with stadium governing bodies and a dozen or so court cases involving player contracts.

That’s where Harris comes into the picture. …Read More!

Are Kickoff Returns Obsolete? … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

It is not often that a rules change in the NFL gets the attention that’s come to the decision to move the kickoff point from the 30 to the 35-yard line.

After one week of the pre-season, in games that do not count in the season standings, many are decrying the change, complaining about too many touchbacks and the death of one of the NFL’s most exciting plays, the kickoff return for a touchdown.

“Honestly, I really don’t like it,” said Chiefs returner Dexter McCluster. “I know a lot of returners around the league don’t like it because it stops us from using what we use best, our dynamic ability and versatility. For us not to be able to catch the ball and run is going to be pretty hard to adjust to.”

I have to admit I was part of the naysayers on Friday in the Chiefs pre-season opener against Tampa Bay. There were seven kickoffs from the 35-yard and only one was returned. The other six went for touchbacks. Why even bother with the kick? Just give the offenses the ball at the 20-yard line and start the possession from there, without exposing players to any possible injury with the kickoff play.

But as week one of the pre-season wrapped up on Monday night with Houston and the New York Jets, the evidence provides a rehabilitated view of the situation. …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/15

From St. Joseph, Missouri

A group of 14 military men and women from Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster joined the Chiefs for their Monday afternoon practice under dark and stormy skies at Missouri Western State University.

They didn’t just watch the session, they became part of it. Head coach Todd Haley brought them onto the field at the beginning of practice and introduced them to the team. Then, a number of them rode the seven-man blocking sled that the offense uses to start their drills every practice. A couple of the others were holding tackling shields and helped form a gauntlet for the offensive skill position players to run through. There were some interesting collisions in that one as smaller players like RB Dexter McCluster and WR Zeke Markshausen took some pretty good shots from the soldiers.

At the end of practice, they joined the Chiefs for their final huddle and then collected autographs and pictures from players and coaches. It’s all part of a USO promotion in association with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, who was at Missouri Western on Monday. A group of military personnel will be at the St. Louis Rams practice on Tuesday in Earth City with King.

As for the players, it was another active practice for the Chiefs, as they wore pads and kept them on through the entire workout. On Sunday, Haley called for one play of full-contact football in a goal line situation. On Monday, he ended up with three, including a touchdown leap by RB Thomas Jones where it looked like he got 10-feet off the ground going over the right side of the offensive line behind RG Jon Asamoah and RT Barry Richardson. …Read More!

Training Camp Update – 8/15

From St. Joseph, Missouri

A rainy Monday morning forced the Chiefs inside for their walkthrough and the location of their afternoon practice remains in doubt.

Todd Haley said if there’s no threat of lightning with the Monday afternoon rain then his team would likely head inside Spratt Stadium and practice on the artificial turf. Any hint of the electrical stuff would push indoors. Fans can watch if the team works in the stadium, but not if the practice goes under the roof at the Missouri Western indoor facility. A scheduled event for Chiefs season ticket holders with Monday afternoon’s practice has been cancelled.

The head coach called Sunday afternoon’s practice “the most spirited” of training camp with an increased level of intensity evident on both sides of the football. Three players left that workout with injuries, but DL Amon Gordon was back on the field Monday morning, although he was more spectator than participant.

NT Anthony Toribio (left knee) and OLB Eric Bakhtiari (head) were not seen on the field for the walkthrough. DE Glenn Dorsey (left knee) was there but did not take part in the work.

A Change Of View Helps ‘Q’ … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

For two seasons, it was hard to know that Quinten Lawrence was part of the Chiefs.

Last Friday night in the team’s pre-season opener against Tampa Bay, it was hard to miss him.

Flying around the field from his cornerback position, Lawrence ended up leading the Chiefs defense with seven tackles against the Buccaneers. He showed athletic ability, quickness and speed as he battled with the Bucs receivers. He looked like a grizzled veteran corner.

He’s hardly that. As the Chiefs went through practice on Sunday afternoon at Missouri Western State University, Lawrence was in his 17th day of being an NFL defensive back. In less than three weeks he accomplished more as a cornerback than he did in two years as a wide receiver.

On the edge of not making it another season on the offense, Lawrence now has to be in the conversation when the Chiefs talk about filling out their secondary behind cornerbacks Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr and Javier Arenas.

“I thought he was one of the brighter spots the other night,” head coach Todd Haley said of Lawrence. “You’re talking about a guy, his first real game action out there at the corner and they have some pretty good receivers that played a good bit it appeared to me. That was a good sign. That was encouraging. We’re not going to pull up the Canton truck yet, but that’s encouraging and I think he’s excited and that’s a good thing.” …Read More!

Premium Coverage Begins September 1

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At bobgretz.com we have moved beyond our NFL lockout hangover and sit in anticipation of the 2011 season.

Because of four months of momentum killing nothing the owners and players handed us, we decided to push back the start of our premium subscription service. Starting on September 1, you will need a subscription to access all the information on bobgretz.com.

Aware of the tough economic times – we live them everyday – we’ve kept the price at $25 for full coverage of the rest of the 2011 Chiefs season, no matter how long that might be. Subscriptions purchased on or after September 1 will be $35, just as last year.

There’s a bonus for subscribers – for every subscription referral you bring to bobgretz.com, it’s $5 off your subscription, up to the full price at $25. Convince a friend, family member or co-worker to sign up, let us know about the connection, and we’ll credit your account. If five of your referrals sign up, then your subscription would be free.

Plus, if you signed up for our special during draft coverage, then you are already a subscriber for the season and you need to do nothing.

For all the information, click here.

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/14

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The football season has officially started here at Missouri Western State University. Todd Haley saw to that with Sunday afternoon’s practice.

On a warm, sunny day it wasn’t Mother Nature who turned up the heat. It was the Chiefs head coach who tinkered with the thermostat, as the team went through its first practice of training camp wearing pads for the entire session.

It was active, it was physical and Haley even called for a single play of full contact football. The offense had the ball 4th-and-Goal at the 1-yard line and had to put it in the end zone. The pads were cracking as RB Thomas Jones took the handoff from QB Matt Cassel and appeared to be stopped short of the goal line. Jones’ second effort seemed to push him across but special teams coach Steve Hoffman was the official and he ruled no touchdown.

“That was fun out there,” said NT Kelly Gregg after practice. “Hey, it’s Sunday, what else would you rather be doing that cracking the pads and playing tackle football.”

Especially physical were the offensive linemen. As part of the hangover for a dreadful performance in the pre-season opener, the line was hitting everything Sunday – blocking sleds, bags, dummies, each other and guys on the defense. There was no question the intensity level was up for the big guys.

At the start of practice, all 88 players were dressed in full pads and taking part. After about 60 minutes, that number fell by three as the increased intensity led to several injuries. NT Anthony Toribio went down in the individual position segment with what appeared to be a left knee injury. DL Amon Gordon walked away from the practice and to the rehab area with an unknown injury. OLB Eric Bakhtiari appeared to suffer a head injury in the 9-on-7 running drill when he stood his ground and took on a big block from TE Jake O’Connell. Bakhtiari left the field with trainer Dave Price and was taken by cart to the locker room.

Here are some other observations from Sunday’s practice: …Read More!

Training Camp-Preseason Rankings No. 2

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Pre-season game No. 1 is in the books and obviously it wasn’t a pretty sight at Arrowhead Stadium Friday night in the 25-0 loss to Tampa Bay.

But always, there is the tape and there are grades for the players. In retrospect there were players who saw their spot in line go up and some went down. The majority held their ground.

What follows is a look at who is trending up (), who is trending down () and who held their ground (). We did not bother to include those that did not play and the handful of players that saw limited playing time.

CLASS A – Roster Locks

…Read More!

It’s A Work Zone … Sunday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

When the players found their way back to STJ on Saturday evening, they were not met by a head coach holding tackling drills in the players’ dorm parking lot.

In fact, it’s doubtful that Todd Haley even raised his voice in speaking with his team. That may not be the case on Sunday, when the Chiefs return to the practice field almost 48 hours after their dreadful performance against Tampa Bay.

An upset it would be if Haley doesn’t have his team in full pads for this practice. It would also be a shock if there was not a tackling drill or three during the afternoon session.

Haley has been concerned about the physical condition of his team, and with good reason. The 88 players on the roster are all over the board when it comes to what kind of shape they are in. That concern remains, but now it’s time for the Chiefs to get to work on football, and that’s going to require Haley and his staff to step on the accelerator.

“What’s important is that our guys recognize they have a lot of work ahead of them and a short time to do it,” Haley said. “Our goal is to be ready to go on September 11th (regular season opener) and we have a lot of things to work on and a short time to do it.” …Read More!

Jones Ready To Go & Other Notes

From Arrowhead Stadium

Click here for the Bucs-Chiefs GAMEBOOK

Generally when a soon to be 33-year old NFL running back is still in the league, there’s very little chance that he’ll touch the ball in the first pre-season game of the summer.

But there’s nothing normal about Thomas Jones. Never has been over his 12-year career. His playing time Friday night was very limited, but he was on the field and he had the ball in his hands.

Although he had only two carries, he produced the longest offensive play of the game for the Chiefs offense when he broke off a 17-yard run in the first quarter. Throw in another eight-yard run and Jones had a 12.5-yard per carry average.

“I feel the same as I always have,” Jones said after the Chiefs 25-0 loss to the Buccaneers. “Once you stop loving the game and playing with intensity, then it’s time to stop playing the game.

“I don’t feel that way. I’ve had a great training camp playing with these guys. They are great teammates. I’m having a great time in camp; I’m just trying to get better every day like everybody else.”

Todd Haley’s depth chart continues to list Jones as the starting running back, but Jones and everyone else with any common sense understands that’s a show of respect for the veteran. It’s Jamaal Charles that leads the KC running game

“We’re trying to win game every week, that’s all that matters,” Jones said. “The other stuff doesn’t matter.” …Read More!

QBs Over Easy & Scrambled

From Arrowhead Stadium

When it was all done, Todd Haley was asked to evaluate the play off his young quarterback in Friday night’s pre-season opener.

“I saw that they can run for their lives,” the Chiefs head coach said.

His tongue was not firmly planted in his cheek when he said that. Starting QB Matt Cassel did not have to worry about running for his life, because he wasn’t allowed to throw a pass against Tampa Bay.

That wasn’t the case with Tyler Palko and Ricky Stanzi, who went back to pass 26 times. They were sacked a half-dozen times, ran away on four other plays and threw 16 passes. None of those throws went for more than 14 yards.

Haley hoped to use the game as an evaluation of his quarterback depth. Yet all he got to see is what he already knew: his No. 2 and 3 passers are mobile.

“They both have scrambling ability and that’s an area I think we’ve been deficient in, making plays on the scramble,” Haley said. “Those guys need to get some time to throw. I don’t think they were holding the ball so much as it was pretty much a jailbreak every time they dropped back. …Read More!

Commentary: Now That Was Ugly

From Arrowhead Stadium

Remember back in the days before the NFL owners’ lockout when Commissioner Roger Goodell was campaigning for only two pre-season games each year. His reasoning was the fans don’t like the games that don’t count.

The perfect piece of evidence to back the Commish’s thought went down Friday at a deserted Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs said they sold 67,537 tickets for the game against Tampa Bay. If that’s true, very few of those seat holders bothered to even make the drive to the Truman Sports Complex. Think more along the lines of 30,000 to 35,000 butts in the seats. If they stayed home to watch on TV, I guarantee they found something else to entertain them at about 7:30, or 20 minutes after it all got started.

The fans didn’t care and the Chiefs didn’t care. It seemed only the Buccaneers found anything redeeming in taking part in the evening. Maybe that was due to Josh Freeman’s homecoming to Kansas City. Maybe it was because the Bucs won 10 games last year and did not make the playoffs. Whatever the reason, Tampa Bay won easily 25-0, even though the tape of the game will not be on the way to Canton, Ohio anytime soon.

The way things went down, it probably would have been better for the Chiefs if they had just stayed up at Missouri Western in the Joe and had a walkthrough and a padded practice among themselves. I’m sure as Todd Haley and his staff grinds its way through the tape of this Walk of the Living Dead remake on Saturday, they will find something of value. It just wasn’t evident on Friday night. …Read More!

Chiefs Get Whitewashed By Bucs 25-0

From Arrowhead Stadium

More than a few fans, players and maybe even at least one owner have to be wondering one thing after Friday night’s 25-0 Tampa Bay pre-season victory over the Chiefs:

Is this what we waited four months for? Is this what surviving the lockout was all about?

It was certainly a fruitful night for the Buccaneers and their young QB Josh Freeman. Enjoying a homecoming to the place of his birth and the city where he grew up, Freeman had a nice evening. He led hi tem to 15 points in the first half, scoring the game’s first touchdown on a five-yard scramble.

The same cannot be said for the Chiefs. Todd Haley’s decision to allow his team time to get into shape, rather than immediately put them through a lot of contact and padded practices came back to bite him against the Bucs.

“Every time we come out here especially in our own stadium we like to come out on the winning end,” the head coach said. “That did not occur tonight. There were a number of different reasons for that.”

Haley listed turnovers, poor pass protection and poor tackling as the major culprits in the loss. There’s no question that all three could be traced to the lack of physical practices the team has gone through in St. Joseph. There are legitimate reasons for how Haley has approached this training camp, looking t the bigger picture of being ready for the regular-season opener against Buffalo than a game against Tampa Bay.

But there was a price to pay for that approach and the bill came due Friday night. …Read More!

Pre-Game #1 – Bucs v. Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

It look like it’s going to be a pretty scarce crowd tonight for pre-season game No. 1 on the Chiefs schedule, as they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

At 15 minutes before kickoff there were only a few thousand fans in the stands and the parking lots that are normally full at this point in pre-game, have plenty of open spaces.

For the pre-game warm-ups, the Chiefs had all 88 players on the field and in uniform. That included K Todd Carter, WR Keary Colbert and OT Jared Gaither. Carter is wearing No. 14, Colbert No. 84 and Gaither No. 71.

answer Bob ON ROSTER EVALUATION – 8/12

Poster chiefmike wrote on Thursday:

“is this the most comments ever on a Bob post or what?”

To answer the question, no chiefmike it’s not the most comments ever. But the reaction to ROSTER EVALUTION TIME certainly ranks as the most comments on a single post in the 2011 Chiefs season.

Quite obviously I struck a nerve with some of you, and some readers seem to have misunderstood my premise, or maybe I didn’t explain it correctly. Here’s what I wrote in setting up the evaluations:

But a stroll through the roster on a position-by position basis and there does not appear to be an overall increase in talent at the majority of positions. We speak here of additional talent, not the growth of players already on the roster. …Read More!

QBs On Camp Rosters

These are the quarterbacks listed on NFL roster this week. The numbers indicate the total number of games those quarterbacks have played and started in their careers.

AFC

NFC

Back-up Bonanza … Game-Day Cup O’Chiefs

Todd Haley’s answer to the question – “Are you comfortable with your quarterback situation?” – has never varied over the two weeks the Chiefs have been in training camp in St. joseph.

“I’m very comfortable with those guys,” Haley has said of his three QBs – Matt Cassel, Tyler Palko and Ricky Stanzi. “If there is somebody out there that we feel like improves the competition or helps make us better, I’ll keep that open at all positions … I wouldn’t say it worries me. ”

The question keeps being asked because of the dearth of NFL experience behind Cassel, who is the unquestioned starter. Palko has played in two games while banging around the league for the last five years. Stanzi is a rookie.

Starting Thursday night at Arrowhead Stadium will come four quarters of football action that will test the comfort level of the head coach with his quarterback roster. Cassel is expected to play, but if he takes more than ten snaps it will be a shock; he’ll have a baseball hat on his head before most of the crowd is settled into their seats after the opening kickoff.

————————————————–

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

7 p.m. kickoff @ Arrowhead Stadium

Telecast on FOX network, Channel 4 in K.C.

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That’s going to leave almost the entire game in the hands of Palko and Stanzi, and they will be out there without the starters. They’ll try to get things done with some players who are just a few weeks away from leaving football behind and going on with their lives.

But this will be their opportunity to keep their head coach comfortable, or have him screaming into the night in search of the personnel department to find quarterback help.

“They’re going to get significant action in these games and we have to see how they’re progressing,” Haley said. “I’m encouraged by their development; both of them. Tyler’s now been around a little bit, but he’s going to get to see, hopefully, more action than he’s seen to this point in his career, and I’m excited to see how he’s coming along. Obviously, Ricky, a first year player, he needs to be developing and developing at a good rate, which he is to this point. I’m encouraged.” …Read More!

Chiefs Add OT Jared Gaither

The Chiefs pushed their roster to 88 players Thursday morning signing big OT Jared Gaither.

The 6-9, 340 pound Gaither did not play in the 2010 season because of a back injury. Two weeks ago he was reportedly set to sign with the Raiders, but apparently he could not pass the physical exam in Oakland.

At the time, Raiders head coach Hue Jackson said:

“When he’s healthy, he’s one of the better left tackles in the league. He has extremely long arms, very tall, very long. He’s a good football player. Again, there’s a question of health, and we’re going to do everything that we need to do to make sure that we know exactly where he is.”

The 25-year old Gaither was an unrestricted free agent who has played 38 games with the Baltimore Ravens, including 33 starts at left tackle. He joined the Ravens as a fifth-round choice in the 2007 NFL Supplemental Draft.

While with Baltimore there were questions about his work ethic and commitment. Gaither frequently misses practices with injuries, the severity of which has been debatable within the Ravens organization. He was not a participant in the team’s off-season conditioning program before the 2010 season. He then missed the entire ’10 season because of the back injury.

He played two seasons at the University of Maryland before being declared academically ineligible for the 2007 season. He then petitioned for inclusion in the supplemental draft.

Roster Evaluation Time … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The Chiefs hit the two-week mark in their 2011 pre-season on Wednesday evening with a practice under the lights here at Missouri Western State University.

It was only the third practice that had the tempo of a normal training camp, the type that were held in the pre-lockout days and before changes in the labor agreement placed limits on practice. The lack of an off-season and a fast and furious training camp were emphasis has been on conditioning more so than football, has not provided many opportunities for the Chiefs to evaluate the 85 players on the roster.

“We need them to play to the best of their ability so that we as a group can evaluate them,” head coach Todd Haley said. “That’s really what it comes down to is trying to be right on these evaluations because at some point we’re going to have to lower the roster number and we’d like to do a real good job in evaluation so we can make sure the right guys are here contributing to what we’re trying to do.”

As the Chiefs get ready to kick off the pre-season, are they a better team than the one that went 10-6 last season and won the AFC West? Has their talent level improved?

Two weeks into a pre-season, without a lot of football to evaluate, the answer here is no. There are positions that appear stronger, in some cases much stronger. The level of talent at wide receiver is much improved over the last two years. It’s the same thing with the linebacker position. …Read More!

Roster At 87 With Strange Additions

New Chiefs WR Keary Colbert was coaching at Southern Cal last year.

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From St. Joseph, Missouri

Ryan Succop was healthy enough to kick a 51-yard field goal Wednesday night in practice and heaven knows the Chiefs do not need another wide receiver when there are already 11 on the roster and an even dozen if you include Dexter McCluster.

But on Wednesday, the team announced the addition of another kicker and another receiver, pushing their pre-season roster to 87 players.

Claimed on waivers was K Todd Carter, released earlier in the week by the St. Louis Rams.

Signed as a street free agent was WR Keary Colbert, a former second-round draft choice, Colbert has not played in the NFL since the 2008 season.

Why? Good damn question. …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/10

From St. Joseph, Missouri

It was a balmy Wednesday evening at Spratt Stadium as the Chiefs closed out their second week of training camp here at Missouri Western State University. Todd Haley put his team through a 2¼-hour practice on the artificial turf with a nice crowd in excess of 1,000 folks looking on.

They got quite a show as this one qualified as a real practice. The Chiefs were in pads and there was contact throughout the night, especially between the offensive and defensive lines. The intensity level was higher than in any practice this summer in the Joe.

Some observations and information from practice:

– The pass protection/pass rush segment was the best of camp so far, as the matchups featured the battles everyone wanted to see. LT Branden Albert and OLB Tamba Hali probably had 10 snaps against each other and it was great viewing. Albert actually may have had a slight edge in the face-to-face meeting. He certainly did a good job with Hali’s never stopped motor. Over on the other side, a couple of rookies in Allen Bailey and Justin Houston spent a lot of time battling against Barry Richardson and Ryan O’Callaghan. The edge went to the rookie, as both OTs had trouble dealing with Houston’s speed. Rookie LB Gabe Miller was again impressive and made some of the young tackles look bad.

– But the pass rush of the night belonged to DE Wallace Gilberry. He came flying out of his three-point stance and ran right through rookie OT Butch Lewis. I swear Gilberry went between the 7 and the 9 on the front of Lewis’ jersey and out the back. What power?

…Read More!

Training Camp Update – 8/10

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The Chiefs went through a walkthrough practice on Wednesday morning. Actually, they ran through the walkthrough; Todd Haley doesn’t waste any chances when it comes to conditioning.

They’ll practice under the lights Wednesday evening at Spratt Stadium at Missouri Western State University. The session will wrap up week two of camp. Haley will take the team back to Kansas City on Thursday for a session at Arrowhead Stadium before Friday night’s game against Tampa Bay to kickoff the pre-season schedule.

Haley has begun to call his walkthrough time assignment periods.    

“It’s been a very productive time from a mental standpoint,” Haley said. “It’s a time when we can evaluate this group. How are they doing things? Do they know what to do? Do they know the way we’re coaching them to do it? And, how well are they doing it? That’s basically the bottom line for us right now.”

Decisions on who won’t play against Tampa Bay and how long those that do play will stay on the field are issues that remain undecided according to the head coach.

“We’ve been doing things one day at a time,” Haley said. “I’d like to get through tonight and see how guys are responding.”

There have been no players ruled out of action Friday night, whether they are veterans, or part of that free agent group that could not practice until last Thursday.

Smiling Sacker …Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The smile creases Wallace Gilberry’s face all the time. It’s big and wide and full of life.

When he’s showing those pearly whites, it’s hard to believe that this same man has turned into one of the NFL’s most productive No. 2 pass rushers. When he’s got his hand on the ground and lining up to take off after the quarterback there’s not a lot of smiling. That comes when he gets the passer on the ground, something he did seven times last year.

Just check out the photo to the right, with Gilberry sitting on top a St. Louis QB sam Bradford. He’s not smiling at that instant but that’s only because the camera shutter clicked a few milliseconds too quickly. It appears like he’s trying to shove Bradford’s head through the turf.

But pictures can’t tell the whole story; he could have just been trying to get the guy’s attention, something he did seven times, with 15 pressures and two forced fumbles.

While that was half of teammate Tamba Hali’s AFC leading total of 14.5 sacks, Gilberry’s season was enough to have led eight teams in sacks last year (Arizona, Buffalo, Denver, Jacksonville, New England, New Orleans, the New York Jets and Tampa Bay.)

And it was the type of season that put his name among some of the better known pass rushers in the league, names like Julius Pepper, Osi Umenyiora and Dwight Freeney. (See chart below.) …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/9

From St. joseph, Missouri

The mind of Todd Haley is constantly churning. Even in these days of juggling many factors because of the lost off-season, Haley likes to keep people guessing. That wasn’t why Haley flipped his practice schedule on Tuesday, moving the padded practice to the morning and then a walkthrough in the afternoon.

But if making changes on the fly helps his team learn to handle the always changing world of the NFL, then it’s a good by-product.

“Normally we work out early in the morning, so we thought we’d give them a chance to go out refreshed in the morning for practice,” Haley said. “We practiced at a different tempo and different length (2 hour, 40 minutes). As you get closer to the games, we’ve got to lengthen things out and get guys handling many more reps.”

The morning practice featured pads, although Haley pulled the shoulder pads off in the second half of his schedule.

Here are observations from a sunny, hot and humid day at Missouri Western State University: …Read More!

Tamba Speaks – He’s A Happy Guy

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Although he does not recoil from the idea of speaking to the media horde, neither has Tamba Hali been the type of player that blabbers away and seeks headlines.

But when you’ve recently signed one of the richest contracts in the history of the franchise, it’s time to chat for a few minutes. That’s what Hali did after Tuesday morning’s practice at Missouri Western State University.

“I wanted to be here, of course I wanted to be here,” Hali said of the 5-year, $60 million deal that he signed last week. “These are my teammates, this is my team.”

Hali was especially pleased that he did not have to play this season wearing the Chiefs’ franchise player designation, and receiving just north of $10 million. Every player that’s ever worn the franchise sticker wanted a long-term contract, one that would protect them financially should they suffer a major injury. …Read More!

Never A Doubt … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

It was a typically hot summer night at Arrowhead Stadium. The date was August 27, 2010, and under the Friday night lights the Chiefs were hosting the Philadelphia Eagles.

The third quarter was winding down, and the Eagles had the ball. On a first-down play, Philly QB Kevin Kolb dumped off a short pass to RB Mike Bell on his left.

Chiefs then rookie OLB Cameron Sheffield saw the play develop. He stuck his back foot in the ground and shot forward as fast as he could. Bell had gained about three yards when he and Sheffield met, helmet-to-helmet, a thudding sound that could be heard in the stands.

Sheffield did not get up. For awhile he could not move his arms and legs. There was a period as he lay on the Arrowhead grass where he blacked out, although he does remember the hit on Bell. He passed in and out of consciousness. He can’t remember being strapped on the back board by paramedics. He has a hazy recollection of teammates coming over the touch him. “I know that happened because I’ve got a picture of it,” Sheffield said.

The point where the fog cleared for him was in the ambulance, on the way to a Kansas City hospital, where he spent the next two nights before he was released.

His rookie season was over. He went on the injured-reserve list with either a neck injury, head trauma, or both. The Chiefs don’t provide details like that about injuries and they tell their players not to reveal anything. But there’s no doubt about the seriousness of what happened to Sheffield.

That’s part of his past now, and the prevailing attitude around the Pioli/Haley Chiefs is to leave the past behind and ponder the now and the future. All that will intersect for Sheffield this Friday, when the Chiefs open the pre-season by hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It comes just 50 weeks to the night when he suffered his injury.

So yes, there is some trepidation for Sheffield. But he says there’s nothing out of the ordinary in what he’s feeling this week as the game draws closer and he ponders his first collision since the injury. …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/8

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Monday proved to be the best weather day of the Chiefs 2011 training camp so far. With temperatures in the low 80s and a nice breeze from the northwest blowing across the Missouri Western State University campus, it was a wonderful afternoon for a football practice.

Maybe that’s why Todd Haley turned up the verbal heat during Monday’s practice. His assistant coaches heard from him. So did his player. On the beautiful summer day, the Chiefs head coach wanted a faster practice pace from his team. Because of the unusual factors surrounding this training camp, Haley has been riding the brake when it comes to the intensity of his practices here in the STJ.

On Monday, he stepped on the gas a little bit. And it appeared that his team responded. Although they spent about the first one hour, 45 minutes in their shoulder pads, the Chiefs were going after each other pretty physically all during the two-hour plus practice.

The play of camp to date certainly went down on Monday afternoon. QB Matt Cassel threw a pass in the direction of WR Steve Breaston who was running down the hash marks about 10 yards from the end zone. CB Javier Arenas had great coverage on Breaston; he put his body between the ball and the receiver and went up and tipped it away. FS Kendrick Lewis was coming over the help in coverage and he got his hand on the Arenas tip and tipped the ball into the air again.

That’s when Breaston dove and caught the ball before it hit the playing surface. He then jumped up and ran into the end zone. It was quite a completion.

Other observations from Monday’s practice: …Read More!

The Unofficial Chiefs Depth Chart

From St. Joseph, Missouri

There’s nothing so anticipated, yet so useless as a football team’s first depth chart of the season.

The Chiefs will likely release one in the next 24 to 48 hours or just ahead of their pre-season opener against Tampa Bay on Friday.

I know you don’t want to wait that long, so here’s one man’s depth chart through Monday morning’s walkthrough practice. It is very much subject to change. And again, please no wagering. …Read More!

Camp Rankings Week #1 … Monday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. joseph, Missouri

I’ve watched every snap of Chiefs training camp and I can assure you at this point there is not a lot of evidence available to start talking about taking 85 players down to 53 over the next four weeks. And heaven knows, the way last week finished up there’s a chance those last five roster spots might be filled this week as well.

With a game coming up at the end of the week I would expect the last 35 guys on the roster to get the bulk of the playing time. While I’m sure Todd Haley and his coaching staff would love to get the starters out there for a couple of possessions that will depend on the condition of the individual players.

We plan to provide rankings each week of the NFL pre-season on the Chiefs roster and our thoughts on what we’ve seen from the practices and game. With the first 10 days of camp being so unusual because of the post-lockout conditions and new NFL rules about camp and practice, there is not a lot of perspective available on the collection of talent assembled by Pioli/Haley.

Under those conditions, here are the 85 players listed in four categories:

• A.) Locks – they are going to be there for the Buffalo game.
• B.) Core Group – ascending and descending players that have a place.
• C.) Border Line – fighting for the last five to eight roster spots.
• D.) Flat Line – it’s hard to see their ’11 future wearing in red and gold.

These rankings are for your amusement only. Feel free to disagree at any point. And please, no wagering. …Read More!

Chiefs & Family Fun Day

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Dad and son enjoyed the Family Fun Day practice on Saturday at Spratt Stadium on the Missouri Western State University campus. While the crowd was not close to as large as last year’s Fun Day workout, the number of kids enjoying the time with football and Dad seemed just as big. What could be better than time with Pops, an NFL practice and stadium nachos!

Changing On The Fly … Sunday Cup O’Chiefs

Football is the same. There’s a certain comfort for the soul of those involved in the game that comes with its continuing pattern of preparation. The coaches change, the players change, but the rituals of the game carry on.

At least that was the case until the summer of 2011. What’s happening now in places like Latrobe, Pennsylvania and Georgetown, Kentucky and Napa, California, and at Missouri Western State University are moments that coaches and players have never seen before when it comes to training camp.

The aftermath of the NFL owners’ lockout that went four months and pushed into the last days of July, along with new regulations that are part of the labor agreement, the training camp landscape has dramatically changed.

Plans? There are no plans; they’ve all gone out the window. Assumptions? It’s best to remember what happens when one assumes anything. Traditions? Forget those; that’s not old school, its dead school.

Coaches are preparing on the fly. Players are reacting to that preparation on the fly. The entire military mindset of strict scheduling and orders is part of the past this year.

“It’s a little old school in that every night, I put up on the overhead the schedule for the next day, where they have to be for meetings, conditioning, practice, treatment,” Haley said. “The players are out there scribbling furiously to get the whole schedule written down so they know where they’re supposed to be.” …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/6

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Finally, in the eighth practice of the Chiefs 2011 training camp we had football.

There was the sound of pads crunching together, the thud of linemen wrestling at the snap of the ball. For the first time, the Chiefs were in full pads, or at least they were for enough of their Family Fun Day practice in Spratt Stadium at Missouri Western State University, to give the fans a taste of pre-lockout training camp.

Too bad there was not a big crowd to watch the session. Whether it was the hot, muggy weather, the steep $12 price for a ticket or a hangover from the lockout, but the stadium was nowhere close to being at capacity, and the crowd was much smaller than last year’s Family Fun practice.

Todd Haley had said beforehand that the practice would more closely resemble the type of training camp practices that we’ve seen in the past. He was on the mark, as the linemen battled in several portions of the 2½-hour session on the artificial surface.

There was an extra body on the field for practice as the Chiefs signed DL Amon Gordon, making him the fourth nose tackle now on the roster.

Here are some observations: …Read More!

Morning Camp Update – 8/6

From St. Joseph, Missouri

OLBs Tamba Hali and Justin Houston and RT Barry Richardson were back on the field Saturday morning as the Chiefs went through a walkthrough session. Hali, Houston and Richardson were the most obvious of players who had trouble dealing with the heat and humidity of practice on Friday. Hali and Richardson left the practice field on a cart.

But all four were taking part in the walkthrough and seemed none the worse for wear. On the field but not taking part was FB Le’Ron McClain. He made it through one-hour of Friday’s practice before something forced him to stop participating. It was the second day in a row that McClain was knocked out of the practice. But unlike Thursday when he returned to finish his work, McClain did not return on Friday.

The Chiefs have an afternoon practice on Saturday, beginning at 1:30 p.m. inside Spratt Stadium on the Missouri Western State University campus. Admission is $12, with children three and under free. There will be no charge for parking. Gates open at 11:30, and an autograph session with the team is set for 1:10 p.m.

Stories everywhere … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The television series was called The Naked City and it ran in the late 1940s-early 1950s in the infancy of TV in this country. It was a police-crime series based in New York, a very early version of Law and Order. It ended each week with the line:

There are eight million stories in the naked city; this has been one of them.

Well there are more than 80 stories in the naked training camp that the Chiefs are holding here at Missouri Western State University. What follows are four of them.

One of the things that has made football so much fun over the years is the large number of players that will pass through a franchise’s roster in a given season. Every one of those players and their stories are different than the next. It’s a hodge-podge, a melting pot of backgrounds and personalities.

For instance, as the Chiefs get ready to hit the practice field on Saturday for Family Fun Day at Missouri Western, they have over 80 players on campus. They are from all four corners of the country. There’s Jovan Belcher who played college ball at Maine, and Allen Bailey, who was part of the Miami Hurricanes. Matt Cassel grew up in southern California and rookie Gabe Miller is from Oregon.

Their geographical difference produce different cultures and bring together in the same locker room white farm boys, black city kids, white city kids, rural black players and every sort of suburban race and religion. Their back stories on how they got to the Chiefs training camp are all different. So are their futures.

As the Chiefs are now within reach of their first pre-season game of the summer, it seemed a good time to check in on four stories from the naked training camp. We have the grizzled veteran and the up and coming talent that wants to take his game to another level. We have a player seeking redemption and another that’s only wishing for the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a professional athlete.

Casey Wiegmann, Wallace Gilberry, Sabby Piscitelli and David Mims are from Iowa, Alabama, Florida and Virginia respectively. The station they currently occupy in their careers could not be more different. Yet, they all seek the same thing – a job with the Chiefs and the chance to make a contribution.

Here are their stories. …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/5

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The weather, the lack of an off-season conditioning program and the clocking ticking towards the start of the 2011 NFL season all met in a perfect storm Friday afternoon at Missouri Western State University. It was a storm of cramps, pulled muscles, heat exhaustion and a bunch of Kansas City Chiefs players that were not prepared for an August afternoon in northwest Missouri.

By the time the practice was over several players had been taken to the locker room while others were still on the field, but struggling to finish the 2½-hour session. All of the players that were struggling shared a common denominator – they’ve just begun to practice. For most, Friday was their second day.

Tamba Hali, Barry Richardson, Le’Ron McClain and Justin Houston – all were in various stages of pain. As is their want, the Chiefs do not provide any injury information during training camp. But there’s no question that Hali was cramping – that’s what he yelled at one point to the trainers. Richardson walked off the field to the medical tent holding his stomach like he was going to be sick. Richardson left the field on a cart, that also included another player, who was laying in the back, covered with towels and held down by a trainer. Given the fact that Hali disappeared from the field around the same time, he just may have been the undercover player.

On Thursday, McClain returned his lunch during the first half-hour off practice, because he said he was so excited about finally being on the field. Turns out, he may just not be in shape. About halfway through Friday’s practice his participation came to an end. Again no word if it was heat related or something else developed, but it wasn’t a good sign. …Read More!

Afternoon Camp Update – 8/5

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Early morning rain and wet practice fields sent the Chiefs walkthrough session indoors on Friday morning. They still plan to be outside for the Friday afternoon practice beginning at 3 p.m.

But Todd Haley was enjoying the football sunshine from Thursday afternoon as almost his entire roster was on the field together for the first time since early January.

“We’ve got everybody on board, ready to go and each day we have to move forward,” Haley said. “We are going to continue to take it one day at a time. We have no pre-planned practices. We are preparing the next practice once we are done with the previous practice. That’s frustrating at times for the coaches, because it makes for some late nights.

“But it’s the best way for us to go right now … I feel good about where we are right now.”

For the first time in days, the shuttle service to KCI did not need to run as there were no additions to the roster after the team officially announced the signing of third-round draft choice OLB Justin Houston. He’s on campus and is expected to take part in the afternoon practice. …Read More!

What McClain Brings to KC … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The Chiefs were the best team in the NfL last year when it came to running the football.

They averaged 164.2 yards per game.

The Chiefs were one of the worst teams in the league last year in successfully running in short yardage situations.

On 3rd-down and 2 yards or less, they finished No. 29 out of 32 teams, converting a first down on only half of 22 running plays. They averaged just 1.4 yards per carry.

Hello Le’Ron McClain. The Chiefs agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the UFA fullback from the Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday afternoon. He was on campus at Missouri Western State University on Thursday and was part of the afternoon practice.

At least he was part of practice until the excitement got to him. McClain has to be the first Chiefs player in the last 31 years who left his lunch on the practice field because he was so excited about being in training camp. He was forced to spend about 30 minutes out of practice in the medical tent as the trainers got some Gatorade in him and sent him back to practice, where he finished up the afternoon.

The Chiefs are getting a 6-0, 260-pound Alabama slammer, who in his best season with the Ravens (2008) was nearly unstoppable in short yardage and goal line situations. …Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/4

That’s No. 77 NT Kelly Gregg getting his first taste of the Kansas City media horde after practice on Thursday.

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From St. Joseph, Missouri

Sorry this is going up so late, but it’s been quite a day. When you’re a one-man band, the music slows down at times, but it never stops.

And, then Scott Pioli and his minions go crazy and get about a dozen contracts done in 24 hours.

Let’s get to the news.

Restricted free agent CB Brandon Carr signed his tender offer and was on the practice field Thursday afternoon. Also signed on Thursday was veteran NFL S Sabby Piscitelli, a 5-year veteran who previously played with Tampa Bay and Cleveland. Plus, the team’s last remaining draft choice agreed to terms, as OLB Justin Houston agreed to a 4-year deal for $2.786 million, with a $671,248 signing bonus.

And, let’s address the three key players that had physical problems during Thursday afternoon’s practice.

DE Glenn Dorsey left the field on a cart, after it looked like he injured his left knee in a defensive line-offensive line drill. Essentially what happens is three offensive linemen come off the ball and try to move the defensive lineman out of his spot. The defensive guy has to read the blockers and react to them, or hold his ground if they are coming right off the ball. Dorsey and rookie OT avid Mims tangled. Dorsey was off balance and Mims wheeled him to the ground and it appeared Dorsey’s left foot stayed in the turf as his body was twisted. He walked away from the drill to the medical tent, stripping of his knee brace as he walked. Hopefully for Dorsey that brace saved him from a very serious injury.

First-round draft choice WR Jonathan Baldwin was in the rehab area during the afternoon practice with some sort of upper right leg injury. The leg was wrapped from his thigh to his knee. He rode the stationary bike but actually he was pedaling with his arms, not his legs. There was a hitch to his get along as he walked off the field.

And, then there was FB Le’Ron McClain, on the field for his first practice as a member of the Chiefs. About a half-hour into practice, McClain returned his lunch and appeared to be dazed as he was walked to the medical tent. About 20 minutes later, he walked back onto the field and got back into the drills with no apparent problem.

After practice McClain said it was the excitement of the moment starting with a new team (he really said that!), a bit of the heat and humidity and too much lunch that caused his problem.

Facts, observations and numbers from Thursday: …Read More!

Tamba Hits Big! … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

As a young boy, living in the wilderness of his native Liberia, hiding with his family from marauding gangs of soldiers and surviving on cassava root and cabbage, Tamba Hali could never have conceived of where life would lead him.

Now, 17 years after leaving his homeland as a 10-year boy, Hali will sign today the richest contract in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs. Cassava root and cabbage are faint memories.

Hali and the Chiefs agreed on a 5-year, $60 million contract on Wednesday and he’ll be on the Missouri Western State University campus Thursday to sign the paper work. The deal is the richest in Chiefs history because it includes $35 million in guaranteed money. That’s more than recent first round draft picks S Eric Berry and DE Tyson Jackson received and more than QB Matt Cassel has in his contract.

Here’s a look at the richest contracts in Chiefs history:

…Read More!

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/3

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The Chiefs were under the lights in front of a nice crowd Wednesday night at Missouri Western’s Spratt Stadium.

And, it was probably the first practice that resembled the way these sessions went in the past. The players were in shoulder pads for more than half the practice and there was a lot of nice one-on-one competition between the lines and the receivers and defensive backs. It felt more like football.

Here are some observations:

– RB Tervaris Johnson was off the PUP list and practicing with the team. He had been rehabbing the right knee he injured in last year’s camp. TE Tony Moeaki with his own sore right knee remains on the rehab team.

– Working in the practice were recently signed DBs Javes Lewis and Mario Russell, along with WR Chris Manno. The DBs were wearing No. 38 and 41, while Manno wore No. 17.

– QB Matt Cassel struggled in the seven-on-seven drill, as he completed just four of 12 passes in the red zone. Cassel threw some away, and he was also high and wide with a couple other passes. Two balls were dropped. It was pretty ugly until he found TE Cody Slate for a pair of TD passes near the end of the drill. …Read More!

Chiefs Agree With McClain; Add More UDFAs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The Chiefs and UFA RB Le’Ron McClain agreed on a multi-year contract Wednesday afternoon.

The club added two more undrafted rookie free agents to their roster as well.

McClain is a 26-year old, fifth-year NFL veteran who played 63 games with Baltimore over the previous four seasons. He is 6-0, 260 pounds and out of Alabama, where he grew up and where he played for the Crimson Tide.

He started 54 games with the Ravens, running for 1,185 yards on 314 carries with 12 touchdowns. He’s proven to be a good receiver as well, catching 70 passes for 453 yards and 2 TDs.

Also signed were a pair of defensive backs: Javes Lewis and Mario Russell.

Afternoon Notes From Camp

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The Chiefs worked indoors Wednesday morning, holding a one-hour-plus walkthrough practice that was built around assignment recognition. They’ll be on the field at Spratt Stadium on the Missouri Western State University campus for an evening practice. Todd Haley said the plan called for shoulder pads for the first hour of Wednesday evening’s work.

NOT SO FAST FREE AGENTS

Everyone has been pointing toward Thursday as the moment that all the free agents that have signed contracts in the last week will be able to get on the field and participate in practice.

But that was based on one important element – that the labor agreement between owner and player be finalized by August 4th.

As of lunch-time on Wednesday, there was still a lot of business that needed to get done before both sides were willing to sign off. Issues such as drug testing, player benefits, Commissioner’s disciplinary powers and the league’s appeal process for fines and suspensions all had to be finalized. Those items couldn’t be negotiated until the players association became re-certified as a union. That happened last Saturday.

Head coach Todd Haley indicated the Chiefs had been told to prepare for the players to be available at 12 noon on Thursday, or in time to participate in the afternoon practice. …Read More!

Answer Bob, Take Two

Dave says: Bob, what are your thoughts on Pioli’s approach to free agency? We all know that every year there’s a great deal of fan angst if the team doesn’t make 5 blockbuster deals on the first day. But with a much tougher schedule this year, and with tons of available money to spend, I kind of thought Pioli would be a little more aggressive. Breaston is a nice pick-up, to be sure. But Gregg is just a stop-gap and Siler may not even be a starter. So do you agree with the approach, and what do you think the reasoning is behind it? Do you think Pioli is so confident in the current roster that he didn’t need to be much of a player in free agency, or is there something else behind it? And if Pioli is that confident, from what you’ve seen so far, does he have reason to be?

Bob says: Dave, all good, perceptive questions. Let me start by telling you what I believe in when it comes to building a roster. I believe in the way the Packers and Steelers do it – through the draft. They have outstanding personnel departments and scouts, and they work well with the coaching staffs. They fill in the roster holes time-to-time with free agents, but seldom are those imported players given expensive, long term contracts.

We know this – it work. It always has, but you’ve got to have a well-oiled personnel department, with a leader who has great confidence in the plan. A team should never shut itself off from any avenue in acquiring talent. But getting them young and training them in your fashion is the way to go.

What we never really know are how many free agents the Chiefs go after. Because Pioli holds his cards so close, and convinces agents to do the same thing, they operate off the radar screen. It’s another one of those occasions where Pioli doesn’t want to pull the curtain back and reveal what he’s doing.

I sense that Pioli sets the price he’s willing to pay for individual players. He’s involved until his number gets topped and most of the time the Chiefs apparently retire to their corner to await another free agent. Here’s a fact of life with free agency – teams are going to overpay for players. If that’s something ownership or the front office does not want to get involved in, then it’s better for them to stay out of the market. …Read More!

Answer Bob – Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

Back in STJ as the Chiefs hit the field Wednesday morning and again in the evening, under the lights when it should be a lot cooler here at Missouri Western state University.

A lot of questions and comments came in, so here goes. These replies will likely be broken up into several different posts, but I will answer them all. Thank for visiting and sending in your posts.

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Blake says: What do you think of the rookies so far? What about the UDFAs? Do you think the Chiefs will try and be a more explosive offense with the addition of Breaston and Baldwin? What do you think the biggest need on the roster is? Who looks out of shape and who looks great? Who has surprised you? Do you see any free agents that could really help us? How has Cassel looked?

Bob says: You guys aren’t going to like this answer but it’s been very hard to get any kind of feeling on the players because there has been so little contact and so little practice time at full speed. I’ll do my best – Jonathan Baldwin looks huge on the field. When he runs, he reminds me of Tamarick Vanover. He starts slow and looking gangly, but once he gets up to speed he’s moving and moving fast. Rodney Hudson and Allen Bailey have not had enough contact work to make any judgments; same goes with Jerrell Powe. Jalil Brown shows good athletic skills and I’d say he’ll eventually be a safety. Ricky Stanzi looks like all rookie QBs in the first week of camp – confused and struggling. Gabe Miller has rushed the passer before and uses his hands well on the rush off the edge. Shane Bannon is tired – he’s been the only fullback in camp, learning a new offense and not sure where to go most of the time. Justin Houston has been invisible.

Among the UDFAs, DE Brandon Bair, OT Butch Lewis and look like they have something to play with in the fight for a roster spot. I think that Todd Haley will try to put the most explosive offense possible on the field, but I’m not sure Breaston and Baldwin will bring immediate explosion. That will take some time. The biggest need on the roster is some veteran offensive linemen and a veteran quarterback. …Read More!

Chiefs Potpourri for a Day Off

With no practice and no availability to players and coaches, Tuesday seemed a good time to clean out the notebook of non-training camp related items involving the Chiefs. Enjoy.

SHANNON SHARPE’S MOTIVATION

This weekend, former Denver-Baltimore TE Shannon Sharpe will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ceremonies will be held on Saturday evening and can be seen on ESPN and the NFL Network.

Speaking this week, Sharpe talked about the people who helped make him one of the top tight ends in the history of the game. He mentioned his late Grandmother who raised him, his older brother Sterling who he emulated, his quarterback John Elway and the man who drafted him in the seventh round out of Savannah State in 1990, then Broncos coach Dan Reeves.

And there was one more person – former Chiefs CB Albert Lewis. Yes, Sharpe thanked a member of the Chiefs.

“Probably the guy that had one of the biggest impacts on me being the player that I am was an opponent of mine, Albert Lewis,” Sharpe said.

“He forced me to be good. When he was in Kansas City, my whole thing was if I could beat Albert Lewis, I could beat anybody. I said if I win against him, I can play in this league; I belong in this league.”

Against the Chiefs in his career, he caught 112 passes for 1,419 yards and a dozen TDs. …Read More!

Now Is Time For Tyson … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The game of football has always had players who were gentle giants. The game attracts the biggest of sporting bodies, but sometimes that intimidating size and strength comes with a personality far smaller and less powerful.

Since joining the Chiefs as their first-round selection in the 2009 NFL Draft, there has never been any doubt about Tyson Jackson‘s size and strength. He’s 6-4 and most days he’s right near 300 pounds. He is strong and he can move well for a man his size.

But that powerful physical package did not come with a matching personality. Jackson has had folks around the Chiefs wondering at times how much football really meant to him. Oh, he put in the work, like he did during the 2010 off-season program where he was a constant presence in the Chiefs facility. It’s just that the flame burning inside of him was seldom visible.

That’s why the Chiefs were so happy after the lockout came to an end to see Jackson walk back into the building in what appeared to be the best shape of his life. As he’s gone through the first days of camp in the oven that is Missouri Western State University, Jackson has shown no signs of physical duress. Heaven knows how much weight he may lose from practice to practice, but there’s no questioning his conditioning.

“Tyson is really coming around,” said defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. “Now that we are putting the pads on, he’s knocking some of the rust off … I expect him to get back to where he was last year and take a step forward from there.” …Read More!

As Hot As It Gets!

From St. Joseph, Missouri

There are no records around the Chiefs for temperatures during training camp. If there were, what the team practiced in on Monday at Missouri Western State University might win the gold medal.

The high temperature in St. Joe was 103 degrees. At one point, the scoreboard at Spratt Stadium on the MWSU campus showed 108 degrees.

It was easily the hottest training camp day since 1981 … that’s when I started going to Chiefs camp. The summer of 1980 was legendary around the Midwest for its heat, so maybe there was a hotter day that year. Back in the day, I’m sure there were moments when camp at William Jewell College in Liberty felt like it was on the surface of the sun.

Here’s the most remarkable fact from Monday – every player walked off the practice field. Nobody was carried off because of reacting to the heat. As extreme as the weather was, and the fact the players spent half of practice wearing shoulder pads, that’s testimony to the overall physical condition of the team.

Tuesday is supposed to be even hotter, but the Chiefs are off. The new labor agreement gives them a day off after five days in camp.

Training Camp Practice Report – 8/1

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The off-season work was wiped out by the NFL owners’ lockout, so now is the time coaching staffs try to make up ground both mentally and physically.

And Mother Nature granted the secret wish of Chiefs head coach Todd Haley for the type of weather that builds conditioning and toughness. On Monday at Missouri Western State University it was hot. It was oh so hot! Temperatures hovered above the 100 degree mark. The sun was unrelenting and the humidity was off the charts.

In other words, perfect weather for training camp as the Chiefs went through a morning walkthrough that lasted 45 minutes and an afternoon practice session that went for 2½ hours. It was the same routine as Sunday with one exception – the entire team wore shoulder pads. Everyone was wearing them through the individual drills, or the first 75 minutes of practice. Then, they got to take them off. But practice wasn’t done, as they went for another 75 minutes.

There are a host of new rules and regulations as part of the league’s labor agreement that limit the length of practice, how much contact can go one and how often that contact can take place.

Is the formula for creating a soft football team? …Read More!

Chiefs Personnel Update – 8/1

From St. Joseph, Missouri

The personnel wheel never stops spinning in the unusual start to the 2011 NFL season.

Monday afternoon the Chiefs announced that RT Barry Richardson had signed his restricted free agent tender offer from the Chiefs. He joins DE Wallace Gilberry and FB Mike Cox as the restricted free agents that signed their tenders.

Richardson is also the third player to sign with the Chiefs in the last 16 hours, joining Gilberry and unrestricted free agent LB Brandon Siler.

Every day new bodies are arriving at Missouri Western State University. The only problem is they are not getting on the field. Under the transition rules of the new agreement, free agents can’t return to practicing until Thursday.

By then, there figures to be more bodies in town.

The Denver Post reported on Monday that former New England DE Ty Warren who was recently released by the Patriots was visiting with the Chiefs. Warren had been in Denver on Sunday talking to the Broncos.

Both GM Scott Pioli and head coach Todd Haley refused to discuss at all the absence of third-round draft choice OLB Justin Houston. He’s the only one of the team’s draft picks that remains unsigned. …Read More!