Practice Report/Update – 11/30

From the Truman Sports Complex

Head coach Todd Haley loves to break the season up into quarters, four games per quarter, a total of four quarters, 16 games in all.

But the current Chiefs situation has led Haley to make a change in his math and his season template. Forget the third quarter that has one game remaining, and the fourth quarter with four games to play.

Right now the Chiefs are facing a five-game season says Haley. Its five games that need to produce five victories and then dreams of the playoffs might still be possible. Those dreams are pretty flimsy. Oddsmakers like TopBet Sportsbook can’t even fathom the possible odds on a five-game winning streak.

“We are in it, we are not one of those teams that are out of it,” Haley said Wednesday. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. It’s basically a five-game season for us, where we have to make sure we are doing whatever we have to win this season. It starts with a difficult Chicago team. It will be a great challenge.” …Read More!

Numbers – Chiefs vs. Steelers

New number this week: points off turnovers.

The Steelers got 10 of them against the Chiefs Sunday night, and even if the Steelers hadn’t an additional field goal that would have been enough to win.

Coach Todd Haley praised the Chiefs defense for playing its “backside” off and keeping them in the game. And it did accomplish the absolute most important thing a defense must do – it limited the Steelers to 13 points. In the NFL, that needs to be good enough. Out of 180 games played so far this season, only five have been won by a team scoring 13 or fewer points.

Thanks to turnovers (more about that later), the Steelers not only outgained the Chiefs rushing (108-90) and passing (193-167), they obliterated the Chiefs in field position. The Steelers average field position was their 37. More damning is that on two of the scoring drives the Steelers started on the Chiefs 7 and 24-yard lines. In three scoring drives the average starting position was the Chiefs 37.

Compare that with the Chiefs average field position of their 21 and average field position of their own scoring drives was their 19. …Read More!

Chiefs Go “Thin” On O-Line … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

Ordinarily, the movements of a back-up offensive tackle from the active roster and the promotion of a rookie from the practice squad to take his place would pass with little fanfare during an average NFL season.

But then, this has been no ordinary season for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Coming off a division championship and a 10-7 record last year, the team has put together a disappointing 4-7 mark that now includes a four-game losing streak. As much as head coach Todd Haley wants to believe his team still has post-season opportunities, reality tells us there is little chance this team will reach the .500 mark, let alone win each of its remaining five games.

That makes every move past, present and even future eligible for plenty of second guessing, or in the case of the future moves, first guessing. That’s especially true when it comes to player personnel decisions, because the Chiefs problems this year are tied directly to a lack of talent, stemming from some key injuries and a poor job of roster building by GM Scott Pioli.

Thus, it makes us stop and wonder what’s up when the team’s lack of experience depth ends up being made even thinner by the release of OT Jared Gaither and the promotion of rookie David Mims (above right) from the practice squad. …Read More!

Gaither Released

Did a false start penalty cost Jared Gaither his spot on the Chiefs roster?

Doubtful, but that’s an easy conclusion after the Chiefs released Gaither on Monday in a move that they’ve not announced publicly, but has passed through on the NFL wire.

In the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s game against the Steelers, Gaither came into the offensive huddle to replace left tackle Branden Albert who was injured. At the line of scrimmage, Gaither jumped before the snap and was flagged for a false start. With 38 seconds to play, a 1st-and-10 play at the Chiefs 32-yard line became 1st-and-15 at the 37-yard line.

Albert came back into the game and Gaither ran off and that was his last play in a Chiefs uniform.

Signed in August after training camp had already started, Gaither saw the field almost exclusively on the PAT and FG teams. He stepped in for a play or two for both Albert and RT Barry Richardson, and for several games was the team’s third tight end in short yardage and goal line situations.

No word yet on a replacement for Gaither on the active roster, but the Chiefs have three offensive linemen on their practice squad – C/G Darryl Harris, G/T Lucas Patterson and OT David Mims.

An Offense In Disarray … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

It very well may have been the perfect play to symbolize the Chiefs offense in the month of November.

Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium, it was the fourth quarter and for one of the few times that evening where the Chiefs offense had moved the ball into Pittsburgh territory and faced a 3rd-and-2 play at the Steelers 22-yard line. They trailed by seven points and there was eight minutes left in the game.

The offense had moved down the field mixing the run and pass, as QB Tyler Palko went four for four throwing the ball and they picked up four first downs.

But in this situation, a running play was called. Veteran TE Anthony Becht lined up as an H-back and on the play went in motion to his left across the back of the offensive line. RB Jackie Battle took the handoff from Palko and went to his left. Becht was running to get in front of him like a pulling guard to lead a sweep around the left side. …Read More!

Sunday’s Best – 11/27

LONGEST PLAYS

104 – Minnesota WR Percy Harvin kick return vs. Atlanta (L).

88 – St. Louis WR Nick Miller punt return for TD vs. Arizona (L).

84 – Tennessee CB Tommie Campbell punt return for TD vs. Tampa Bay (W).

81 – Chicago WR Johnny Knox catch vs. Oakland (L).

80 – Arizona CB Patrick Peterson (pictured above) punt return for TD vs. St. Louis (W).

80 – Oakland P Shane Lechler punt vs. Chicago (W).

73 – Oakland LB Kamerion Wimbley interception return vs. Chicago (W).

71 – Arizona RB Beanie Wells run vs. St. Louis (W).

67 – Seattle P Jon Ryan punt vs. Washington (W).

63 – New England WR Deion Branch catch vs. Philadelphia (W). …Read More!

Chiefs Losing Streak Reaches 4 Games

From Arrowhead Stadium

The Kyle Orton Era as the Chiefs starting quarterback may have begun Sunday night, even with the new quarterback on the sidelines wearing sweats watching his new team lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-9.

It was Tyler Palko’s job to lose and he did not help himself or the Chiefs on a chilly Sunday night in front of a national television audience. Palko turned the ball over three times and could not get the offense into the end zone for the second consecutive week, as the Chiefs have now lost four in a row and stand 4-7 on the season.

The Chiefs defense had a good night and that was about it for the red and gold. They allowed Ben Roethlisberger just one touchdown and used a number of blitzes to put heat on the Steelers QB all day.

Here’s our coverage that will continue through the Monday morning.

• GAME STORY: Chiefs help Steelers to a victory.
• COLUMN: Chiefs do not have what it takes.
• SIDEBAR: Palko’s chances are slipping away.
• SIDEBAR: Orton is ready, willing and able.
• SIDEBAR: Defensive effort wasted.
• REPORT CARD: Good grades for defense.
• PLAY OF THE GAME: Palko’s third interception.
• NOTES: Big Ben thumbs Chiefs.
• 4 KEYS TO VICTORY/RECAP: Too many misses.
• GAMEBOOK
• PRE-GAME COVERAGE

Help Needed To Beat Steelers … Game-Day Cup O’Chiefs

Quite possibly it is the most vibrant, vicious and delicious rivalry in all the NFL right now.

No, I’m not talking about the Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who face off Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m. and NBC has the national telecast.

The Chiefs mean nothing to the Steelers. The best rivalry in the NFL today involves the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. This is a twice-a-year, sometimes three times get-together that is full of football hatred, the kind that creates riveting performances.

This past week the Chiefs got a taste of what that rivalry is about during their preparation for Sunday night’s game. This year they added two starters from the Ravens, nose tackle Kelly Gregg and FB Le’Ron McClain. Those guys went through the yearly holy wars against the black and gold, outcomes that until this year favored the Steelers.

It’s safe to say Gregg and McClain; they don’t like the ‘Burghers.

“Can’t stand them,” McClain admitted on Friday, a few moments after Gregg had said “in the football sense, I hate those guys, just hate them.” …Read More!

A Round of Shot & A Beer Appetizers

If Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert decides late one fall morning that he wants to do a little scouting, he doesn’t have to leave the building where his second-floor office is located in Pittsburgh’s Southside.

Colbert can just walk downstairs to the cafeteria and meet up with any number of college players from the University of Pittsburgh. Such is an advantage that no other NFL team has, because the Steelers and the Pitt football team share a building at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex.

Built on the south bank of the Monongahela River on a site that was once a steel mill, this complex features all the bells and whistles an NFL team needs, plus there’s a college team training right next door. Both teams have access to all sorts of medical professionals and testing right in the complex. Should a player need an MRI, he doesn’t even have to leave the complex.

“The left side of the building was there side and the right side of the building was ours; it was like a two-apartment complex,” said Chiefs WR Jonathan Baldwin, who spent three years in the Pitt program practicing on site. “It was unique. We would go out for practice and they would still be out there for their practice and we could watch them and see how the NFL practices.

“Just getting advice from those guys, being able to sit down and have lunch with a Hines Ward. The cafeteria was the only thing we shared in the building, so that’s where you were able to talk to Hines Ward, James Harrison, Troy Polamalu and guys like that. …Read More!

4 Keys For A Chiefs Victory vs. Steelers

HISTORY

• This will be the 28th meeting between these AFC teams since they first met with the merger of the AFL and NFL in 1970. The Steelers hold a 17-10 edge in the series, but the Chiefs won the last meeting between the teams in 2009, with a 27-24 overtime victory at Arrowhead Stadium.
• The Chiefs have had trouble beating the Steelers in Kansas City, where Pittsburgh is 9-7 overall and 9-6 in games played at Arrowhead Stadium since it opened in 1972. The home team has won the last two games, however, by 21 points in 2003 and then three points six years later.
• The Chiefs and Steelers have met once in the AFC playoffs, and that came after the 1993 season when the Chiefs grabbed a 27-24 victory in overtime thanks to the passing of QB Joe Montana. The Chiefs tied that game late in the fourth quarter on a scoring pass from Montana to WR Tim Barnett, and then won in the extra period on a Nick Lowery FG.
• When the Chiefs play the Steelers it’s almost always in Kansas City. Only once in the last 10 games between the teams has Kansas City traveled to Heinz Field, or before that Three Rivers Stadium. That was in 2006 when they were drubbed 45-7 in a game that’s memorable only for RB Larry Johnson tackling Pittsburgh S Troy Polamalu after an interception by grabbing the hair sticking out the back of his helmet.

4

Limit Pittsburgh’s big plays on offense

The Steelers have become very much a passing offense, although now that the weather is getting colder and weather in the northeast, they may start have QB Ben Roethlisberger handing off more often. But Big Ben and his offensive coordinator Big Bruce Arians love the big passing play. They have a 95-yard Roethlisberger to WR Mike Wallace touchdown pass, one of six scores for Wallace this season. On the ground, they find big yardage as well, as Rashard Mendenall has a 68-yard run and Jonathan Dwyer has a 76-yard run. The Chiefs defense has not allowed any breakout runs this year; the longest has been 35 yards. But they have given up some long pass plays, 67 and 56 and 52-yard TD plays in the last two games. …Read More!

Stealing The Steelers Way? … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs

If you are a Chiefs fan that pays attention to the words of team ownership then you’ve heard the fascination the Hunt Family has with the Pittsburgh Steelers and their operation.

Even more than the Patriots Way talk that comes due to the presence of GM Scott Pioli and his New England roots, Clark Hunt constantly refers to building the Chiefs in the manner of the Steelers. He speaks of their continuity in how they run the football side of their business.

(Dan Rooney foreground above and his oldest son Art Rooney II to the right have run the Steelers for the last 45 years.)

Unfortunately, the Hunts have no idea of how to run their team in the Steelers Way. Just as they really only have one man’s view of how the Patriots operate. It would be a much better idea if they simply created a Chiefs Way and molded the franchise in their own image and direction, rather than stealing (pun intended) from Pittsburgh’s methods or those of the Patriots.

They’ll get a chance to see the Steelers up close and personal Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium when head coach Mike Tomlin leads his 7-3 team on the field. Once again, the Steelers are one of the better teams in the AFC, just as they were in 2010 – when they lost in the Super Bowl to Green Bay – and in 2008, the year they beat Arizona and won the league championship.

Pittsburgh comes in to play the short-handed Chiefs after enjoying their bye week and resting their bodies for the stretch run in the highly competitive AFC North with Baltimore and a resurgent Cincinnati. Over the last five seasons, the Steelers have won three division titles, two conference titles and one NFL championship. They were 51-29 in the regular season; only New England won more often with a 63-17 record, four division titles and one conference title.

There have been moments in their recent history when the Steelers have struggled. But it doesn’t last long and they tend to bounce back big. In 2003 they were 6-10. In 2004 they were 15-1 and in 2005 they won the Super Bowl.

How do they do it? What are their secrets that the Hunts could steal for the Chiefs? …Read More!

Practice Report/Update – 11/25

From the Truman Sports Complex

We have a Kyle Orton sighting. He’s alive and wearing No. 8 for the Chiefs.

Under the lights at Arrowhead Stadium Friday night for the final practice of the preparation week for Sunday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Orton made his first public appearance with his teammates. During the open period of practice, he threw a few passes, but mostly watched as Tyler Palko led the offense through some final work on scoring zone plays.

Orton arrived in Kansas City around 2 o’clock Friday afternoon, and immediately hit the medical trail, taking exams and getting tested. Orton landed at the team’s facility late in the afternoon, got a quick tutorial and was with the offense as it went about practice on the Arrowhead turf. …Read More!

Cassel Deals With Disappointment

From the Truman Sports Complex

Wearing a brace on his right hand and wrist, Matt Cassel was in the locker room before Friday evening’s practice and he will get back into the day-to-day routine of the quarterback position even though he’s done for the season.

“Disappointed that I couldn’t continue on with the team,” was how Cassel described his thoughts when told his season was over and he was headed to the injured-reserve list.

Cassel still says he’s not sure when the injury occurred back on November 13th late in the game against Denver.

“To be completely honest, I don’t know when it happened,” Cassel said. “I knew something had happened on that third down play and you probably saw me grab it coming off. From there it was getting off the field, getting an x-ray and seeing what the problem was.”

“You try to get a role somehow, some way, help continue to contribute to the team, and help contribute to Tyler (Palko) and those guys,” Cassel said.

And what is his prognosis for recovery and when he’ll be able to throw the ball again? “It’s one of those day-to-day, week-to-week kinds of things,” Cassel said.

Tyler Will Decide Starting QB … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

The questions flew pretty fast at Todd Haley on Thursday afternoon. Practice was over and the turkey was in the oven back at Casa Haley, as he looked forward to a Thanksgiving afternoon with his family.

But first there was the daily feeding session with the media horde and despite the holiday, the press conference room at the Chiefs facility was crowded with people that all had questions about the newest member of the Chiefs, QB Kyle Orton.

For 13 minutes, there was a central theme to most of the queries – how soon will Orton be in the starting lineup? If not this Sunday night against Pittsburgh, then will it happen in the next game against Chicago? The ascension of Orton to the starting role appeared to be fait accompli in the minds of the assembled scribblers, yakkers and hairdos.

“You get an opportunity to add a guy to your roster that obviously has played a bunch at his position, as a staff and an organization it was a no brainer for us with the situation we were in, just from the depth standpoint,” Haley said of the reasons the club put in a claim for Orton on the NFL waiver wire when he was released by Denver on Tuesday. …Read More!

Epics & Fails – New England Edition

Best wishes to all of you at the start of the ’11 Holiday Season.

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EPIC: JAKE O’CONNELL’S CAREER DAY

Yes, Tyler Palko did more than alright in his first career start. But what about Jake, the third-year tight end who had his career-best game with three catches (two for first downs). It was not overlooked on Monday Night by yours truly … if only because I need some semblance of positive material to fill out this space.

Just kidding — as you’re about to see, the game against the Pats brought along plenty of positives … if you’re an optimist, and I’m a Chiefs fan, so you have to be optimistic, even when it’s hard.

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…Read More!

Practice Report/Update – Thanksgiving Day

From the Truman Sports Complex

There was no Kyle Orton at the Chiefs practice Thursday afternoon, but all the other 60 available players were on the practice field for a Thanksgiving workout.

Orton, claimed on waivers from the Broncos on Wednesday, but he was nowhere to be seen on the practice field or in the Chiefs facility.

Head coach Todd Haley spoke with Orton Wednesday evening after he was awarded to the Chiefs on waivers from the Broncos.

“He had a couple of personal things that he had to attend to,” Haley said of Orton. “We talked (Wednesday) night and had a real good conversation. We as an organization and team are excited about bringing him a board in an effort to continue to create competition, more importantly in this situation to give us depth at the same time.

“We’ve been working via the phone trying to get him caught up with the offense.”

Orton is expected to be with the Chiefs for practice on Friday. Whether he’ll be active and available for Sunday night against Pittsburgh remains to be determined. Haley said Tyler Palko will start the game for the Chiefs. …Read More!

A Sensible Move … Turkey Day Cup O’ Chiefs

To our readers, we are thankful for your support and wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!

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The Chiefs addition of QB Kyle Orton to their roster through the league’s waiver wire really comes down to mathematics:

• Kyle Orton’s starts in the NFL – 66.
• Combined starts for Chiefs QBs Tyler Palko and Ricky Stanzi – 1.

It was a move the Chiefs had to make after losing starting quarterback Matt Cassel for the rest of the season. If they don’t make the move it’s a sign they’ve thrown in the towel on the 2011 season and there’s no hint or evidence that’s the case or will be the case. Winning means too much to simply give up with six games to play.

There was no guarantee that by putting in a waiver claim they were going to be awarded Orton. But they had to put their card in the hat and when it got pulled out ahead of the Bears and Cowboys, it was a good thing for the 2011 Chiefs.

Orton is not a great or franchise-type quarterback. His record as a starting quarterback is 32-34. He was 20-13 with the Bears before they sent him to Denver in the trade for Jay Cutler. With the Broncos, Orton was 12-21 as a starter. …Read More!

Personnel File – Pittsburgh Steelers

Personnel leader – General manager Kevin Colbert just received that title in 2011 after operating for 11 years as the de facto general manager but with the title director of football operations. Colbert works closely with head coach Mike Tomlin, who has a say in what happens with the roster. Colbert has been with the Steelers for 12 seasons now and has been in an NFL personnel position since 1985; that’s 27 years of scouting and personnel experience. Tomlin is in his fifth season as head coach and he’s been in the NFL coaching for the last 12 seasons.

Key aides – College scouting coordinator Ron Hughes (26 years NFL experience), Pro Scouting Coordinator Brandon Hunt (5 years).

Personnel department – One of the smallest departments in the league in number of people, with 11 scouts including the top three leaders. That group of scouts includes Bill Nunn, a veteran of 44 years in scouting for the Steelers, Hall of Fame DT Joe Greene and Dan Rooney Jr., the second son of current Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney. The coaching staff is used a great deal in the evaluation process, particularly coordinators Bruce Arians (offense) and Dick LeBeau (defense).

Personnel philosophy – Draft, draft, draft, and then some more draft. …Read More!

The Numbers – Chiefs vs. Patriots

This isn’t going to be sexy, but one thing has become clear about the 2011 version of the Chiefs: they don’t have good enough offensive and defensive linemen.

Told you it wouldn’t be sexy because no one wants to hear about linemen. But the team’s inability to run efficiently, protect the passer, stop the run and rush the passer begins and ends with the lines. And this problem lies clearly at the feet of general manager Scott Pioli, the personnel guru running the show.

Whether it is an inability to accurately evaluate players or a reluctance to pay for them in free agency, he has populated the Chiefs lines with guys who aren’t physical enough to hold their own in the NFL.

And while there may be a point that the Chiefs offensive line might be better if Jamaal Charles were healthy and running behind it, don’t forget the final game against the Raiders in 2010 and the loss to the Ravens in the playoffs when both lines were dominated in disappointing losses.

Here are the numbers that illustrate that: …Read More!

Practice Report – 11/23

From the Truman Sports Complex

Starting LG Ryan Lilja has been declared out of Sunday night’s game against Pittsburgh because of the head injury he suffered Monday night in New England.

Although the Chiefs have not called the injury a concussion, the fact he’s been declared out so far in advance of the game is an indication that he’s having trouble passing the necessary tests that would allow him to return to the field.

More than likely, his spot in the starting lineup will be taken by rookie Rodney Hudson. In New England, Hudson played the entire fourth quarter in place of Lilja and drew good marks from head coach Todd Haley.

Also on the injury/practice report were DE Glenn Dorsey (knee), S Jon McGraw (neck/shoulder) and LB Demorrio Williams (groin). All were said to have been full participants in practice.

For the Steelers they listed three players as limited in Wednesday’s practice: QB Ben Roethlisberger (thumb), WR Arnaz Battle (hamstring) and LB LaMarr Woodley (hamstring).

Chiefs Awarded Orton On Waivers/Palko Reaction

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs were awarded QB Kyle Orton on waivers Wednesday.

Now the question is how long will it take Orton to make his way to Kansas City?

National reports on ESPN, fueled by Orton’s agent David Dunn, said the quarterback did not want to play for the Chiefs and his people were encouraging the team not to put in a waiver claim on him. Orton wanted to go back to Chicago, the team that traded him away three years ago for Jay Culter, who suffered a broken thumb and is out for the next month at a minimum.

Whether Orton wants to be in Kansas City or not, he has no recourse but to report to the team. It’s the only way he collects the $2.58 million still remaining to be paid over the next six games.

To make room for Orton on the 53-man roster, the Chiefs released WR Keary Colbert on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking after practice on Wednesday, Tyler Palko appeared unfazed by the addition of Orton, which was the first question he faced when he met with the Kansas City media.

“Todd (Haley) told me after practice that they claimed Kyle,” Palko said. “He just said we are full speed ahead for Pittsburgh. I was in the huddle today, calling the plays. We have a really good plan and I’m fired up about it. We are going to be OK. We are exciting about the challenge of facing this Steelers defense. It’s a good test for us.” 

There’s nothing about this situation that makes it harder for Palko.

“You’ve got to understand, I’ve been the practice squad quarterback, the No. 3, the No. 2 and started last week,” Palko said. “One thing that’s helped me prepare for this whole thing is whether I was a practice squad guy with no chance of playing on Sunday, or I was the 3, 2 or 1, I prepared the same way, with the same intensity. That’s not going to change. I’m as focused as I’ve ever been.

“This game is not for the faint of heart. You can’t be sensitive. You can’t worry about things you can’t control. This is a bottom line business and it’s about wins.” …Read More!

Will & Willie Advance In Hall of Fame Vote

It’s setting up for what may be a wonderful early February for Chiefs fans of Will and Willie.

Will Shields and Willie Roaf are two of the 26 semi-finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2012. The folks in Canton announced that news on Tuesday. The teammates survived the first voting cut from over 100 initial nominations.

Next is a vote to slice that group of 26 to the 15 finalists that will be discussed and voted on Saturday, February 4, the day before the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

Sadly, eliminated in this year’s vote from initial nominees were former Chiefs head coaches Marty Schottenheimer and Dick Vermeil, along with CB Albert Lewis.

Shields is eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time and appears to have a good chance to earning induction. Roaf was eligible for the first time last year and was highly considered and should be inducted soon.

Again, these 26 will be sliced to 15 and that group will be announced in early January. Here are the semi-finalists: …Read More!

Pre-Game Sunday Night – Steelers vs. Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

7:00 p.m. CST – Chiefs have advertised this game as starting at 7:20, but that appears unlikely given the timing on the field right now. More like a 7:30 or 7:35 kickoff. We are closing down the pre-game blog, but remember no matter if you stay up all night, or go to bed and pick up things in the morning, we’ll have complete coverage for you. Enjoy the game.

6:50 p.m. CST – As the entire Chiefs team goes through its warm-up period, OT Steve Maneri is not working with the offensive line. Rather, he’s catching passes as a tight end with the skill position players. Maneri played TE at Temple and only moved to the offensive line when he was signed as an undrafted free agent by New England. With Jake O’Connell inactive, Maneri obviously will come in on three tight end sets and he may be a target. 

6:40 p.m. CST – Some 40 minutes before kickoff, a group of Steelers and Chiefs met at the 50-yard line where words were exchanged and one or two shoves between the players were thrown in. It appeared to be the Steelers WRs and Chiefs DBs that were doing most of the talking. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin was caught in the middle of the scrum as he tried to push his players away. QB Ben Roethlisberger was on the edge and slowly moved away from the brief moment of mayhem. Security officers came on the field and pushed the players away from each other. The game officials led by referee Ed Hochuli were not yet on the field. 

6:35 p.m. CST – Based on the earliy arrivals inside Arrowhead Stadium, there’s a chance tonight will be a home game for the Steelers. There are fans wearing black and gold and twirling Terrible Towels in every level and seemingly every section of the building. Every time a Steelers player comes out of the tunnel, the fans erupt in cheers.

6:30 p.m. CST – Chiefs fans should not be surprised by the decision to place QB Kyle Orton on the inactive list for tonight’s game. Considering Orton did not walk in the door until Friday afternoon and took part in one limited practice made the chances of him contributing anything slim. Expect him to be on the active roster for the Chicago game, but he’ll start only if Tyler Palko blows up and plays poorly. …Read More!

Chiefs Update – 11/22

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs arrived back in Kansas City around 4:30 Tuesday morning from New England and their 34-3 loss to the Patriots.

Todd Haley gave the players Tuesday off and they’ll report later on Wednesday as they get ready for the start of preparation week for Sunday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium.

The coaching staff was hard at work dicing up the tape of the Monday night drubbing and starting game plan structure for the Steelers. Haley did speak with the media Tuesday afternoon and touched on several different subjects:

OFFENSIVE COACHING – Not only did coordinator Bill Muir move from the coaching box to the sideline for Monday night’s game, but Haley took over the duties of giving QB Tyler Palko the play calls over the coach-QB communication system. “I felt strongly that where we are r ight now, we have to do whatever possible to get better,” said Haley. “I thought having Bill on the field, he talks to the offense all week long. I just wanted to get a little closer connection within the game. …Read More!

Chiefs Start Strong, Finish Weak, Lose To Patriots

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

There was no storybook night for Tyler Palko and the Kansas City Chiefs.

On an evening where they made some plays – but not enough – and made some mistakes – too many – the Chiefs dropped their third straight, losing 34-3 to the New England Patriots Monday evening.

Making his first start after five years of banging around on the edges of the National Football League, Palko played with the air of someone who wasn’t overwhelmed by the night. But he threw three interceptions, the worst coming early in the fourth quarter when he chucked it into triple coverage in the end zone and it was picked off.

Defensively, the Chiefs had the Patriots uncomfortable in the first half, but couldn’t keep up the pressure on QB Tom Brady. The special teams needed to be spotless, and it was not, as they gave up a 72-yard punt return touchdown by Julian Edelman of the Patriots.

Now 4-6 on the season, the Chiefs have fallen two games behind the Oakland Raiders and they are now tied for last place in the AFC West.

We’ve got everything pulled together after a long morning getting out of New England. Here’s our coverage:

• GAME STORY: Chiefs can’t play with Patriots.
• COLUMN: Chiefs keep moving backwards.
• SIDEBAR: Tyler not happy with debut.
• SIDEBAR: Teammates back Palko.
• SIDEBAR: Haley, coaches tried everything.
• SIDEBAR: Ho-hum night for Brady.
• PLAY OF THE GAME: Brady to Gronkowski.
• REPORT CARD: Losing begats low grades.
• NOTES & QUOTES: Pats started slow.
• 4 KEYS TO WINNING/RECAP: Failure.
• GAMEBOOK
• PRE-GAME: Cassel goes to IR.
• PRE-GAME COVERAGE

Notes & Quotes – Big Ben Thumbs Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

His right thumb is broken, or more accurately fractured. It’s encased in a splint and then Ben Roethlisberger put on a glove and went out Sunday night and threw the ball 31 times.

For a quarterback who has dealt with a series of injuries over his career, this one was not quite as big a problem as it sounds when you say fractured thumb on his passing hand.

“It was a little chilly out there and it was our first real cold game of the year; it will probably be a little sore tomorrow, but right now I’m alright,” Roethlisberger said after the Steelers 13-9 victory over the Chiefs.

On the night, Roethlisberger completed 21 of 31 passes for 193 yards, with the game’s only touchdown and he threw an interception to Chiefs CB Travis Daniels. It wasn’t a classic Big Ben passing night, but it was more than good enough to win this game.

“I didn’t think it was a factor,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said. “In terms of his execution we didn’t have any discussions regarding it. It was a non-issue.”

Pittsburgh’s offense struggled against the Chiefs defense, as they were able to produce only one touchdown and couldn’t get their running game going.

“I’ve been saying that we’ve been steadily improving every week,” said Roethlisberger. “Tonight I think we had our first setback. I don’t think it’s anything to panic over. It’s one game against a good defense in a hostile environment.”

ATMOSPHERE REPORT

It was Heinz Field West on Sunday night at Arrowhead as the stadium was invaded by Steelers fans. There were black and gold clad fans waving their Terrible Towels in every section of the stadium on every level. They were loud even in the pre-game warm-up when they cheered wildly every time a Steelers player came running out of the tunnel.

“Our fans are great,” said Roethlisberger. “They follow us everywhere.”

The Chiefs announced 72,173 as paid attendance, but there is no word on whether that total included the free upper level tickets they provided their suite holders and club level ticket holders last week. Yes, the Chiefs were giving away tickets to this game.

As for the Steelers fans, I’d say the crowd was a 60-40 split in favor of the Chiefs.

ZEBRA REPORT

Mr. Muscles, referee Ed Hochuli and his crew worked the game and handled it in a fairly efficient manner. They ended up walking off 10 penalties for 70 yards with four of those going against the Chiefs.

Todd Haley used his red flag one time, challenging a scramble by Roethlisberger where the ball appeared to come out as he was tackled. Replay showed the ball had been jostled loose before the quarterback was done, but he never lost control of the ball until after his knee touched down.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

K Ryan Succop – He was 3-for-3 on his field goals, and now has a streak of 15 consecutive FGs. Distance on kickoffs dropped considerably due to the cold weather. His kicks went to the 9, minus-2, goal line and 3-yard line. They were returned for an average of 19.3 yards.

P Dustin Colquitt – Only three punts on the night for Colquitt, kicking for 46, 35 and 31 yards, an average of 37.3 yards per kick, with a matching net average.

Returner Javier Arenas – One punt return for 14 yards.

Returner Dexter McCluster – One punt return for seven yards and a fair catch.

Returner Jeremy Horne – One kickoff return for 20 yards.

Coverage – Not many opportunities as they did not face a punt return and gave up a 19.3-yard average return. Tackles were credited to Reshard Langford, Cameron Sheffield, Andy Studebaker and Sabby Piscitelli.

MEDICAL MATTERS FILE

All the injury problems during the game were on the Steelers side of the field. The Chiefs were without LG Ryan Lilja, who was inactive because of a concussion suffered on Monday night against New England. Late in the game, LT Branden Albert had to be helped from the field with a minor injury in the fourth quarter, but he ended up not missing a play.

PERSONNEL FILE

Rookie Rodney Hudson got his first NFL start, filling in for Lilja at left guard. OT Steve Maneri played in his first game with the Chiefs, coming in as a tight end and even catching a pass that went for just one yard. However, the play led to Troy Polamalu leaving the game with a concussion when he tackled Maneri and his head hit the receiver’s knee.

Inactive players for the Chiefs were QB Kyle Orton, DB Donald Washington, LB Demorrio Williams, TE Jake O’Connell, DL Brandon Bair and NT Jerrell Powe.

Inactive players for the Steelers were QB Dennis Dixon, LB Stevenson Sylvester, OLB LaMarr Woodley, DE Al Woods, OT Jamon Meredith, NT Chris Hoke and WR Arnaz Battle.

4 Keys To Beating Pittsburgh/Recap

From Arrowhead Stadium

4

Limit Pittsburgh’s big plays on offense

The Steelers have become very much a passing offense, although now that the weather is getting colder and weather in the northeast, they may start have QB Ben Roethlisberger handing off more often. But Big Ben and his offensive coordinator Big Bruce Arians love the big passing play. They have a 95-yard Roethlisberger to WR Mike Wallace touchdown pass, one of six scores for Wallace this season. On the ground, they find big yardage as well, as Rashard Mendenall has a 68-yard run and Jonathan Dwyer has a 76-yard run. The Chiefs defense has not allowed any breakout runs this year; the longest has been 35 yards. But they have given up some long pass plays, 67 and 56 and 52-yard TD plays in the last two games. SUCCESS – the Chiefs defense got this done, as they allowed only one play for more than 20 yards and that was a 34-yard pass play. This was just one of several areas on defense where the Chiefs got the job done.

3

How about a happy return

As second-round draft choices in 2010, RB Dexter McCluster and CB Javier Arenas were considered potential game-breaking punt and kickoff returners. Arenas came out of Alabama as one of the best punt returners in NCAA history with seven career touchdowns. McCluster never reached the end zone at Ole Miss, but he was a factor in the field position battle each week with returns. And it was McCluster that took back a punt for a score in his first game, the 2010 season opener against San Diego. Since then the Chiefs have played 26 games and the pair has returned 156 punts and kickoffs. None have reached the end zone. None have gone for more than 37 yards. Chiefs need to generate momentum in the kicking game, and it’s time for the return game to make a big contribution. FAILED – The opportunities were few for the Chiefs returners, but they produced returns of 20, 14 and 7 yards, so there was no help for the field position.

2

Don’t help the Steelers turnover ratio

Pittsburgh has one of the league’s best defenses and has had over the last 30 years. For some reason in 2011, they’ve been suffering a takeaway drought; Pittsburgh has generated just six takeaways, four interceptions and two recovered fumbles. That’s a pace to have 10 takeaways on the season. Since 1970, the fewest takeaways they had in a season were 22 (2009 and 1975). On the season, they are minus-10, lowest in the league. The Chiefs are minus-three with 19 giveaways. When they win, they have had six giveaways. Then they lose, they’ve had 13 interceptions and fumbles lost. They need to keep ball possession all buttoned up. FAILED – Coming into the game, the Steelers had just six takeaways, but they got another four against the Chiefs. The defense was able to take the ball away twice. In the end of the game, the Chiefs were minus-2 in the turnover ratio, one of those surefire ways to a destructive loss.

1

Find the end zone

The Chiefs have 13 offensive TDs, nine of those have come in their four victories. That leaves four TDs for their six defeats. In their last three games, the Chiefs scored just 16 points, with one touchdown. To win, they must find a way to turn their opportunities into six points against a defense that has allowed 19 offensive touchdowns. The Chiefs are 29th among 32 teams in scoring, averaging 14.4 points per game. The Steelers are 4th in scoring defense, allowing 17.9 points per game. You’ve got to score to win and the Chiefs need something more than 3, 10 and 3 points they’ve scored the last three weeks. FAILED – Another game without a touchdown for the Chiefs. That’s the fourth time in 11 games where they were unable to score a touchdown. They have just one offensive score in the last four games. Can’t win, if you can’t score.

Report Card – Steelers vs. Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

RUSHING OFFENSE: D – The Chiefs could not get anything going in the running game, as they averaged a paltry 2.6 yards per carry, with no running play that went for more than nine yards. The three running backs had 31 carries for 85 yards. Thomas Jones continued to struggle, and there was nowhere for Jackie Battle to run.

PASSING OFFENSE: F – The performance of Tyler Palko left much to be desired, but he didn’t get much help from his receivers. Palko completed 64 percent of his 28 throws, but they went for less than six yards per attempt. Palko’s three interceptions were killers, especially on a night when his pass protection was pretty good.

RUSHING DEFENSE: B – The Steelers did not get their running game going, as the running backs ran 22 times for 95 yards. Other than allowing a couple of breakout runs (14 and 16 yards), the Chiefs kept the clamps on Rashard Mendenhall, who averaged just 3.4 yards per carry.

PASSING DEFENSE: B – The pass rush got after Ben Roethlisberger, and the Chiefs were also able to pick off one of his passes, as it landed in the hands of CB Travis Daniels. The big weapons in the Pittsburgh aerial attack were kept under wraps as WR Mike Wallace caught just two passes for 17 yards and TE Heath Miller had one catch for 20 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D – The Chiefs gave up nothing on special teams, but they also gained nothing in the kicking game. This team needs as much help as they can find and the special teams remain an overall non-contributor.

COACHING: D – Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel deserves credit for the defense keeping the Steelers offense under wraps with a series of well-timed blitzes and schemes. Otherwise, the staff did not get the job done.

Play of the Game – Palko’s Third Interception

From Arrowhead Stadium

QUARTER – 4th Quarter, 38 seconds to play.

SCORE – Pittsburgh held a 13-9 lead.

DOWN & DISTANCE – 1st-and-15, from the Pittsburgh 37-yard line.

DEFENSIVE SET – a 2-3-6 set, with a zone blitz as a defensive back rushes and LB James Harrison dropped into coverage.

OFFENSIVE SET – Shotgun, with four wide receivers and one back on the field. The back and a receiver flank the quarterback.

When the game was over, QB Tyler Palko took the blame for all the turnovers that came down in Sunday night’s game. But on the final one of the game, his fourth quarter interception that ended the Chiefs comeback attempts, he had some help. Namely, in the person of WR Dwayne Bowe

Remarkably, the Chiefs had turned the ball over three times in the game, yet there they were in the fourth quarter, moving into Pittsburgh territory on the way to setting up the opportunity to throw some balls into the end zone for possibly the winning touchdown.

But first they needed another completion to get them into better position. Palko went back to pass in the shotgun and had plenty of time to throw the ball as the Chiefs pass protection formed a very nice pocket for him.

Palko was looking for Bowe from the start. So was the Steelers defense, as there were three men around Bowe and five in the area when the ball left the quarterback’s hands.

The pass was high and to Bowe’s left, but the Chiefs wide receiver did not even attempt to catch the ball, or to break up the interception by CB Keenan Lewis. He jumped but his arms remained at his side.

Palko reacted as he walked off the field, but he did not throw Bowe under the bus after the game. “Those are all on me,” Palko said. “Any time the ball leaves your hands you are responsible for it. I take full responsibility for all turnovers.”

Bowe, as usual, was not talking after the game. Todd Haley was.

“On first down with time on the clock, we have to protect the football at all costs and Tyler knows that,” Haley said. “There was a little communication issue obviously between the two of them and we just have to get that straight. We can’t have it happen in critical situations like that because that’s what ultimately beat us.

“Everything else aside, we were in a position to win the game.”

Good Defensive Effort Wasted in Loss

From Arrowhead Stadium

If you had told the Chiefs defense during Sunday’s pre-game meal that they would hold the Pittsburgh Steelers and QB Ben Roethlisberger to one touchdown, 3.9 yards per carry in the running game and only one pass play of more than 20 yards, they would have considered victory guaranteed.

“Yeah, I would have thought that would be a winning night for us,” said FS Kendrick Lewis, as the Chiefs defense did all that but ended up on the losing end of 13-9. “Any time you hold an offense of that caliber to one touchdown and three field goals, you know you did a great job. That was our main goal, to keep those guys out of the end zone.”

With the exception of a two-yard scoring pass from Roethlisberger to little used TE Wesley Saunders; the Steelers did not find the end zone. On 11 possessions, they were in Chiefs territory eight times. They got inside the Chiefs 10-yard line three times and came always with a field goal and a touchdown. The third time they fumbled.

Ultimately, the Chiefs bend-but-don’t-break defense did not break. Pittsburgh had 290 yards in offense, or 93 yards less than their average for the season coming into the game. With the exception of WR Antonio Brown, all the Steelers weapons were kept under wraps. Roethlisberger’s favorite targets are WR Mike Wallace, Brown, TE Heath Miller and WR Hines Ward. Against the Chiefs, here’s what they did:

• Wallace caught two passes for 17 yards.
• Brown had four receptions for 81 yards.
• Miller had one catch for 20 yards.
• Ward caught four passes for 21 yards.

“I give the Chiefs defense credit for being disruptive,” Roethlisberger said. “They’re a good football team with a good defense. It was loud out there. It’s tough. You’re happy to get the win.”

The pass rush got Roethlisberger on the ground just once that sack coming from DL Amon Gordon. But they hit him quite a few times and forced him out of his comfort zone several times along the way.

“We did a really good job of disrupting and keeping Ben moving a bit,” said head coach Todd Haley. “We were able to keep him under constant pressure.”

Miller had his catch in the first Pittsburgh possession and then disappeared, as Roethlisberger threw his way only one more time.

“Jon McGraw was on him for a little bit and Travis Daniels was on him for a little while,” said Lewis. “Those guys did a tremendous job. It was the guys up front, the front seven that did a great job. They were getting pressure and that made our job much easier.”

Out of their base defense, the Chiefs used three other schemes:

• Their normal sub-defense where DL Wallace Gilberry and Allen Bailey, along with CBs Javier Arenas and Travis Daniels come in and NT Kelly Gregg, DEs Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson and ILB Jovan Belcher leave the field.
• A new sub defense where Belcher stays and Daniels does not come in.
• A seven defensive back alignment that is essentially a 1-2-7, with Sabby Piscitelli joining the secondary and Bailey does not come in on the line.

In the running game, the Steelers managed only 108 yards, with Rashard Mendenhall leading the way with 57 yards, but on 17 carries for a 3.4-yard average.

“We did a good job of keeping their running game under wraps,” said LB Derrick Johnson. “They were not able to use it to run the clock. We did a good job on third downs (Pittsburgh was 3 of 11 for 27 percent) and we did a pretty good job of getting them under control when they got near the end zone (Steelers were one of three in red zone efficiency.)”

Orton Is Ready, Willing, Able

From Arrowhead Stadium

“I don’t expect anything. I just expect to work hard, learn the offense and fulfill any role that I can.”

So says Kyle Orton, who although he did not play Sunday night against Pittsburgh, spoke to the Kansas City media after the game for the first time since he was claimed on waivers last Wednesday from Denver and added to the active roster.

“I want to help the team make the playoffs,” Orton said. “I think everybody has the same goal. I’m excited to get to work.”

Like everyone else did, Orton found out he was claimed by the Chiefs on ESPN. Orton arrived in Kansas City on Friday afternoon and since then it’s been a whirlwind of meetings, skull sessions with the coaches and introducing himself to new teammates who only a few weeks ago were division rivals. But most of that time has been spent with his nose in the Chiefs playbook as he tries to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible.

“It’s different, all offenses are different,” Orton said. “It’s not only trying to learn the offense, but get the timing with everybody and getting familiar with everybody. It’s a matter of getting to know my teammates, to know the system and help any way that I can.”

Orton was one of the team’s seven inactive players Sunday night, so Orton did not dress for the game and could not play.

“We put a lot of thought into what we do and the decisions we make,” said head coach Todd Haley. “Any time you have a guy coming in on short notice, we try to make very sound decisions and the decision we made we felt gave us the best chance to win

There were rumors, also passed along on ESPN, that Orton did not want to come to Kansas City and that he wanted to land with the Chicago Bears, his other former team.

“None of that came from me,” Orton said. “Unless I say it, there’s not much merit to it. This is a great organization. I’ve had respect for this organization throughout my years of playing.”

Palko’s Chance Is Slipping Away

From Arrowhead Stadium

Tyler Palko’s official welcome to the National Football League came with just under 11 minutes to play in the second quarter of Sunday night’s game between the Chiefs and Steelers.

That’s when Palko ran on the field after a kickoff return and the Arrowhead crowd let him have it. The catcalls were loud and direct. There was no doubting their purpose. At that time, Palko had just thrown a pair of interceptions that led to 10 points for Pittsburgh, or enough for a victory as it turned out.

Not until the home crowd has blasted you can a quarterback truly qualify as an NFL starter.

The sad thing for Palko is that the booing was deserved. In the matter of six days on the November calendar all of Palko’s hopes and dreams have crashed to the ground. After banging around professional football for five years, his chance to be an NFL starting quarterback came with the hand injury suffered by his friend Matt Cassel. …Read More!

Column: Why Steelers Are Contenders, Chiefs Are Not

From Arrowhead Stadium

I don’t know if the Pittsburgh Steelers are a good team, one playing well enough to advance to the Super Bowl for a second consecutive year.

The team that wears black and gold rolled into Kansas City for Sunday night’s game against the Chiefs with a hitch in their get along. They were without Pro Bowl OLB LaMarr Woodley, the guy who lines up on the opposite side of the defense from All-World OLB James Harrison. His presence makes Harrison a better player. But Woodley has been out for the last three games with a hamstring problem.

In the first quarter, the Pro Bowl safety and the guy from those Head & Shoulders commercials Troy Polamalu went low for a tackle and his head banged off the knee of Chiefs OT/TE Steve Maneri. The Steelers wouldn’t call it a concussion, but said he was suffering from “concussion like symptom.” He was done for the day. Later in the first half, Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey became ill and had to leave the game. Doug Legursky, who actually started for the first time at left guard, had to move over to center. And when CB William Gay suffered a bit of head trauma, he had to leave the field and was replaced by third-year CB Keenan Lewis.

Even with bodies dropping left and right, there was never a doubt that the Steelers were going to win this game. They struggled at times, especially against a Chiefs defense that really played well and saw its effort wasted. But they did what winners do – they found ways to win. They reach for other bodies on the roster to step in and carry forward the cause. They don’t worry about what they are missing, but look instead to what new faces might provide them. …Read More!

Chiefs Help Steelers To A 13-9 Victory

From Arrowhead Stadium

There were things going in the right direction for the Chiefs Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

First they were at home, and although fans of the Steelers are everywhere, they knew the Arrowhead crowd would give them a boost. Even though they are playing with a roster that lacks some of the best players who have been lost to injury, they faced a Pittsburgh team that had similar problems. Pro Bowl names like OLB LaMarr Woodley, SS Troy Polamalu and C Maurkice Pouncey out of the lineup and off the field and their quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a broken right thumb.

None of it ended up working in the Chiefs favor, as the Steelers slogged their way to 13-9 victory.

A thing of beauty it was not, certainly not in any standard football sense. But for a team that was dealing with injuries and needing backup players to step forward and get things done, the Steelers showed they had what head coach Mike Tomlin called “starters and starters in waiting.”

The Chiefs showed their shallow talent pool, just as they have throughout the now four-game losing streak that threatens to bring a very early end to their 2011 season. On a night when Pittsburgh needed help, the Chiefs provided presents in the form of four turnovers – all off the hands of starting QB Tyler Palko. The three interceptions and one fumbled snap made it impossible for Todd Haley’s team to beat Pittsburgh, even with the Steelers in a depleted state.

“Our guys gave it everything they had,” Haley said. “They stuck together. They didn’t get down. We kept playing hard, sticking to the game plan and in the end we had a chance there moving the ball across the 50 to potentially win the game. We turned the ball over offensively, when you do it four times, you generally don’t have a chance in the end. ” …Read More!

Some New England Chowder For An Appetizer

From Foxborough, Massachusetts

There are two stadiums in the NFL that when you drive to them remind you that you are in a small town.

First and foremost is Lambeau Field in Green Bay, where the stadium suddenly pops up among the city’s neighborhoods.

The other is Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough. It’s not really in a neighborhood, it’s more like just on the edge of the town, but there are only two ways into the stadium site and while they’ve improved access in recent years, it remains one of the toughest traffic stadiums in professional sports.

What’s in Foxborough? I’m not sure because I’ve never met anyone from the Greater Boston-Providence area that called it home. The 2010 U.S. Census says the population is 16,865.

In simpler times, it was the home of the world’s largest straw hat factory. Union Straw Works burned down they say early in the 20th Century. Today, there is Gillette Stadium and the Patriot Place shopping and dining complex.

Quite possibly the most famous resident of Foxborough was Nguyen Van Thieu. He was the last President of South Vietnam who after he fled the country in the 1970s, lived in exile in Foxborough.

The things you learn. …Read More!

Sunday’s Best – 11/20

LONG PLAYS

• 101 – Carolina WR Kealoha Pilares kickoff return for TD vs. Detroit (L).
• 71 – Seattle P Jon Ryan punt vs. St. Louis (W).
• 67 – Denver CB Cassius Vaughn kickoff return vs. N.Y. Jets (W).
• 64 – San Diego CB Antoine Cason interceptions return vs. Chicago (L).
• 64 – Miami P Brandon Fields punt vs. Buffalo (W).
• 64 – Oakland P Shane Lechler punt vs. Minnesota (W).
• 63 – Green Bay P Tim Masthay punt vs. Tampa Bay (W).
• 63 – Washington P Sav Rocca punt vs. Dallas (L).
• 61 – Baltimore P Sam Koch punt vs. Cincinnati (W).
• 61 – N.Y. Giants P Steve Weatherford punt vs. Philadelphia (L).

RUSHING

• 140 – Detroit RB Kevin Smith on 16 carries, 2 TDs vs. Carolina (W).
• 115 – Cleveland RB Chris Ogbonnaya on 21 carries, 1 TD vs. Jacksonville (W).
• 113 – Philadelphia RB LeSean McCoy on 23 carries vs. N.Y. Giants (W).
• 109 – Oakland RB Michael Bush on 30 carries, 1 TD vs. Minnesota (W).
• 107 – Tampa Bay RB LaGarrette Blount on 18 carries, 1 TD vs. Green Bay (L).
• 104 – Baltimore RB Ray Rice on 20 carries, 2 TDs vs. Cincinnati (W).
• 100 – Atlanta RB Michael Turner on 21 carries, 1 TD vs. Tennessee (W). …Read More!

Why Is Romeo Smiling? … Game-Day Cup O’Chiefs

From Providence, Rhode Island

Romeo Crennel walked into the room with a smile on his face.

How that was possible after spending a week preparing the Chiefs defense to face the New England Patriots offense of Tom Brady and Wes Welker says quite a bit about the veteran coordinator. For the last 40 years, Crennel has been coaching defensive linemen and creating defensive game plans to stop the other guys. He’s seen and tried to devise ways to stop dozens of Hall of Famers and other great offensive threats for a long time.

He’s had another week of that in the past seven days as Crennel got a struggling Chiefs defense ready for the Patriots. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. with the telecast on ESPN and in the Kansas City area Channel 9.

Quite possibly, no opponent has been as vexing as the Patriots and their quarterback. He spent five years working in the same building when Brady broke into the league and they shared three Super Bowl championships. There is information Crennel knows about Brady that other defensive coordinators can’t dial up.

But does it matter?

“He has great command at the line of scrimmage and great command of that offense,” Crennel said just before putting his defense through its final practice of the weekend. “He will get them into the best play that gives them the best chance for success. That’s the difficult thing about defending him. He’s so sharp, he reads well, he recognizes fronts, he recognizes coverages and then he knows exactly where he needs to go with the ball. The combination of all those things makes him extremely difficult to defend.”

“You have to be in position to do your job when the ball is snapped. Tom does a good job of mixing the snap count, he goes with the quick count, he goes with the hard count, he goes with the double count. It’s going to be tough, especially with young guys. With a veteran secondary, you can disguise a little bit more. But we’ve got young guys that are playing, so I’m going to have to get my young guys in position to give themselves a chance to defend his passing game.”

…Read More!

4 KEYS TO VICTORY FOR CHIEFS VS. PATRIOTS

HISTORY

• This is the 32nd meeting between these original American Football League franchises. The Chiefs hold a 16-12-3 edge in the series, but the Patriots have won four of the last five games.
• The last time they played, New England grabbed a 17-10 opening day victory in 2008 in Foxboro. That was the game where Chiefs S Bernard Pollard hit QB Tom Brady in the left knee, ending his season.
• The last Kansas City winning effort came at Arrowhead Stadium in 2005 when the Chiefs won 26-16.
• The Chiefs have won only six of 17 games in New England since these franchises began play in 1960. The last time they won on the Patriots home field was December 2, 1990, when they took a 37-7 victory at the now gone Foxboro Stadium.
• There have been only two visits to Gillette Stadium by the Chiefs since that venue opened in 2002. They lost the most recent meeting between the teams in 2008 (17-10) and New England won the first game between the teams in the new stadium in September of 2002, 41-38 in overtime.
• The Chiefs have faced the Patriots on five different fields in the Boston area over the previous 51 seasons and at only one location did they have a winning record: Boston College’s Alumni Stadium, where they won in 1969 in the only game played between the teams there. Otherwise they were 1-2 at Boston University Field, 2-1-2 at Fenway Park, 2-4 at Foxboro Stadium and now 0-2 at Gillette Stadium.

4

Tackle the first time

When an offense is averaging 432 yards per game, and leading the league in passing yardage per game with 326 yards, it’s doubtful a struggling defense like the Chiefs is going to be able to shut the Patriots down. Rather, they need to limit their production and one of the surest ways to do that is to remove from the equation yards after the catch and yards after contact when the ball carrier is running with the ball. It’s not a surprise that WR Wes Welker leads the league with 1,006 receiving yards and also leads in YAC with 486 yards. New England gets 47 percent of its passing yardage from after the catch. Tackling is huge for the Chiefs defense this week.

3

Bend all day; don’t break

A defense can’t get involved in thinking they are going to limit the yardage racked up by Tom Brady and the New England offense. It’s much like it used to be for NBA teams trying to handle Michael Jordan – he’s going to get his 25 to 30 points, but the key is to make sure he doesn’t go crazy and throw in 40 to 50 points. If Brady throws for 300 yards, and Welker totals some 100 yards receiving, it’s a normal day at the office for the Patriots offense. What the Chiefs defense must do is turn TDs into field goals. Stephen Gostkowski is a good kicker, but he’s not a machine – he’s missed this year from 27 yards. Pats have 29 offensive TDs and that ranks third in the league. Romeo Crennel’s defense needs to keep Gostkowski busy with FGs not PATs.

2

Play extra smart

The Patriots are not the well-oiled machine they were in the mid 2000s with Super Bowl veterans on both sides of the ball. There are only six veterans left contributing from the team that won Super Bowl 39 – LT Matt Light, LG Logan Mankins, WR Deion Branch, QB Tom Brady, RB Kevin Faulk and NT Vince Wilfork. But a Bill Belichick team normally plays pretty smart football, and to beat them, an opponent has to play just as smart or even smarter. That’s especially a team that’s talent level is very shallow and has been hurt by injury like the Chiefs. Penalties must be kept at a minimum and can’t come at key times. The turnover ratio must be even or in the Chiefs favor. Mental mistakes … well, there just can’t be many errors in assignments. The Patriots need no help.

1

Protect Palko

A quarterback making his first NFL start is not likely to win a game for his team. He’s more likely to lose it. Palko’s evening is going to be a very important key to the outcome of the game and his teammates must give him every opportunity for success. That starts upfront with pass protection – it simply must be improved over what’s happened over the last two games when Matt Cassel was sacked nine times and beaten into a hand injury. Figure the Chiefs will use Palko’s fresh legs and move him around a little bit with some bootlegs and moving pockets. But his effectiveness will depend on having time to make the correct decisions. New England’s Andre Carter and Mark Anderson have nine and five of the Patriots 20 sacks. They are the rushers that must be handled.

Palko Handles Assignment … Sunday Cup O’Chiefs

From the Truman Sports Complex

Under the roof of their practice facility Saturday night, the Chiefs held their final practice of preparation week for Monday night’s game against New England.

And as the players walked off the field they knew two things: their starting quarterback Matt Cassel won’t play against the Patriots. But, Tyler Palko has responded to the challenge of replacing Cassel.

“The only difference was the voice calling the plays in the huddle,” said WR Steve Breaston. “I think Tyler handled the whole week just like you thought he would handle it. He was the first one here, the last one to leave and he’s got the game plan down.

“If we have problems it won’t be because Tyler wasn’t prepared.”

Ditto those feelings said offensive coordinator Bill Muir.

“He’s handled it surprisingly well,” Muir said. “There were the normal jitters, but this guy is a gym rat. He’s in here every day and even when he wasn’t starting, he prepared every day like he was starting.

“I know he’s very confident that he can handle it.”

Agreeing with all the above was head coach Todd Haley. …Read More!

Practice Report – 11/19

From the Truman Sports Complex

High winds chased the Chiefs out of Arrowhead Stadium and into their indoor practice facility Saturday evening for their final practice of preparation week for Monday’s game against New England.

During the open media window, all players looked like they were participating in the workout. On Thursday and Friday, DE Glenn Dorsey did nothing but work in the rehab area riding a stationary bike. He was not there Saturday, but was working with his fellow defensive linemen on his injured left knee. The team listed him as questionable on the league injury report submitted Saturday.

Also listed as questionable were CB Brandon Flowers (back), CB Brandon Carr (ankle) and SS Jon McGraw (neck/shoulder). Of the three, Flowers seemed to be the one still having difficult on Saturday evening.

Out of the game are QB Matt Cassel (hand) and LB Demorrio Williams, who will miss his second consecutive game with a groin injury.

On the Patriots injury report to the league, LBs Dane Fletcher (thumb) and Brandon Spikes (knee) were declared out of Monday night’s game. Listed as doubtful was CB Devin McCourty (shoulder). There were 13 players listed as questionable and two as probable.

QUESTIONABLE: CB Kyle Arrington (foot), S Patrick Chung (foot), C Dan Connolly (groin), DE Shaun Ellis (ribs), RB Kevin Faulk (knee), RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis (toe), LB Gary Guyton (shoulder), S James Ihedigbo (shoulder), WR Taylor Price (hamstring), WR Matthew Slater (shoulder), OT Nate Solder (concussion), OT Sebastian Vollmer (back) and LB Jeff Tarpinian (illness).

PROBABLE: RG Brian Waters (knee) and WR Wes Welker (knee).

The Tyler Palko File – Part Three

This is the last of three parts on the Tyler Palko story from his high school days to reaching his dream of becoming an NFL starting quarterback. The other parts were:

• Part One – Timeline and stats.
• Part Two – Personal, high school and college.

NFL SCOUTING COMBINE

Palko was part of the Combine in February 2007 in Indianapolis. He measured at 6-1½, 215 pounds. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.83 seconds, and was timed in 2.83 in 20 yards and 1.73 in 10 yards. His vertical leap was 31½ inches, with a 9-foot, 4-inch broad jump.

NFL

NEW ORLEANS (2007-08)

Despite being rated among the top 10 quarterbacks available in the NFL Draft, Palko was not selected largely because most teams considered him too small to be a draftable NFL player. There was interest in him as a free agent from Arizona and Carolina, but he ended up signing with New Orleans because of the salesmanship of head coach Sean Payton. He signed on April 30, 2007.

“He talked to me and said the things I wanted to hear as far as being honest,” Palko said at the time. “He didn’t care about how tall I was. He didn’t care about all those other things. He felt that I could play football and, I mean, that’s all I cared about. If you have someone that believes in you, that’s really what you’re looking for.”

Said Payton: “You see some intangibles with him. I think he’s a pretty good leader. He’s a coach’s kid and a guy with a pretty quick release. He enjoys football. He likes being around it. So those are all things that are positives. He’s a long ways away and he’d be the first one to tell you that, but we’re anxious to work with him and we’ll see what we have.” …Read More!

Youngsters Must Step Forward … Cup O’Chiefs

The question was asked of Todd Haley as a response to an answer he gave to what the Chiefs must do to slow down the New England offense.

The Chiefs head coach mentioned several things but really emphasized one factor – the pass rush. “It’s going to come down to us being able to keep the quarterback uncomfortable, as uncomfortable as we can,” Haley said of Patriots passer Tom Brady.

For a team that has just nine sacks in nine games, that seems a tall order. The Chiefs have now gone 128 minutes, 22 seconds of football since they had a sack; that came early in the overtime against San Diego on Halloween night. No other NFL teams have fewer than 13 sacks.

Todd Haley, where will that extra pressure that will keep Brady on his toes come from? …Read More!

The Tyler Palko File – Part Two

PERSONAL FILE

Tyler Robert Palko

Born – August 9, 1983 in McKee’s Rocks, Pennsylvania.

Parents – Son of Sally and Bob Palko. Sally works for the international healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline in their consumer healthcare headquarters in suburban Pittsburgh. She played two years of college basketball at Montana Tech University. Bob is the head football coach and physical education teacher at West Allegheny High School. He began his coaching career right out of graduation from Montana Tech, working as an assistant coach at Jeannette High School for eight years, Seton LaSalle High School for two years and Duquesne University for three years. He became head coach at West Allegheny in 1995 and is in his 17th season leading the Indians program.

Siblings – Tyler is the oldest of three children. Younger brother Luke played college football as a wide receiver and punter at St. Francis (Pa) College and now serves as a scout for the Arizona Cardinals, working the Midwest region out of his home in New York. Baby sister Amy played volleyball at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, graduating with a degree in marketing and is now working at Dick’s Sporting Goods corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh.

Hometown – Lived his earliest years in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, and then grew up in Imperial, located just a few miles due south of the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport and 15 miles southwest of downtown Pittsburgh. The 2010 Census placed the population of Imperial at 2,541 people living in a town that is 3.1 square miles.  …Read More!

Waters Speaks On Chiefs

For the first time, Brian Waters will line up opposite the team where he made his mark in the NFL, as the Chiefs visit his New England Patriots on Monday night.

Waters spent 11 years working against guys in red during practice, but this weekend is another chapter in the Waters’ journey. He’s traveled from undrafted rookie signed by Dallas as a tight end, to the Chiefs who made him a guard and he went on to achieve Pro Bowl status. Then, this summer he was released by the Chiefs and eventually signed with the Patriots.

Now, the Chiefs and Patriots face each other.

“It’s not one of those things where there is anger,” Waters told the New England media on Friday. “I have great respect for those guys. I love a lot of those guys personally. But I’m a Patriot now, and I’m here to try to win football games and be a productive part of this football team. That’s something I take pride in. I always try to take pride in the job I do, and this week is no different.”

…Read More!

Practice Report/Update – 11/18

From the Truman Sports Complex

A brisk November wind drove the Chiefs indoors for practice on Friday, although head coach Todd Haley had the building nice and chilly for his players as they went through their second on-field session for Monday night’s game against the Patriots.

“We wanted to make sure the passing game on both sides of the ball that we were able to work on timing and get a good look,” Haley said. “On top of that, we were able to work on the (artificial) turf a little bit.

“It was a good, spirited, energetic practice. I feel like we got better today.” …Read More!

Star Struck No Longer … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

The first start of Brandon Carr’s career in the National Football League came three years ago at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

“I was like a little kid,” Carr said remembering that September day that seemed more like Christmas. “When you see guys you grew up watching and trying to imitate, and playing video games – I had his team because they were good – just the opportunity to step on the same field and compete against that guy, it was like a dream come true.”

That Brandon Carr the wet-behind-the-ears rookie out of a Division II school who was 22 years old and trying to comprehend where his talents had taken him. He was 15 years old when Brady and the Patriots won their first Super Bowl after the 2001 season.

The feeling will be far different for Carr this coming Monday night when the Chiefs return to Gillette to face Brady and the Patriots for the first time in three years. He’s no longer a rookie, no longer playing against names and faces that he saw on television or in his video games.

“Now it’s the flip side, all that is gone, the shell shock and the famous thing, all that is gone,” Carr said. “Now it’s time for us and for me to go out there and show the world that we lost two games but that’s not what we are. We know that everything is against us, nobody believes we can win this game, but we are going to go out and give it our best shot this week.” …Read More!

Pre-Game – Chiefs vs. Patriots

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

6:40 p.m. CST – Whether it’s because of traffic problems, all the high rollers being in the clubs on both sides of Gillette Stadium, or everyone is in no hurry to see this game because an hour before kickoff, there are very few fans inside the stadium The primo seats on the club level between the goal lines are so empty heads can be counted. Traffic is still backed up coming into the stadium.

6:35 p.m. CST – Kicking to the north goal posts – the end zone that has the lighthouse tower – K Ryan Succop was good from 51 yards away in his pre-game warm-up. There appears to be little or no wind on the field right now.

6:30 p.m. CST – Referee Clete Blakeman’s crew will handle this game, the first time the Chiefs have seen them this year. On average, this crew walks off 13.8 penalties and 114 yards per game. In nine games this year, the home team is 6-3 with Blakeman’s crew, with the visitors winning the last three in a row.

6:20 p.m. CST – The Patriots got in their own roster move before tonight’s game, activating rookie OT Marcus Cannon from the reserve/non-football injury list. Cannon was selected in April’s NFL Draft out of TCU even though he had been diagnosed with cancer. He’s gone through treatment and New England had an open window until this game to activate him, or put him on the NFI list for the rest of the season. To make room for Cannon, the Patriots released OL Donald Thomas.

6:15 p.m. CST – The Patriots will be without three starters on their defense for this game, as LB Brandon Spikes, CB Devin McCourty and S Patrick Chung are all inactive because of injury. No word from the Patriots on who will step into the starting lineup in those spots tonight. Jermaine Cunningham should handle the LB spot, with Antwaun Molden at CB. 

6:10 p.m. CST – No word yet from Chiefs on who will start at strong safety with Jon McGraw out. Don’t be surprised if it’s Donald Washington. He’s started before this season, but has not been able to perform at a level to keep the job. …Read More!

Cassel Done For Season; Chiefs Promote Horne

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Matt Cassel’s 2011 season is over. The Chiefs starting quarterback was placed on the injured-reserve list on Monday due to the right hand injury and subsequent surgery that he suffered last week.

The move was not unexpected and had been forecast by various national media outlets.

Cassel cannot return during the 2011 season. He can be around the team and attend meetings and so forth, but he can’t practice or play.

Filling his open spot on the roster for Monday night’s game here against the Patriots is WR Jeremy Horne, who was promoted from the practice squad.

Horne’s stay figures to be short, since the Chiefs more than likely will add a quarterback to their active roster this week to join Tyler Palko and Ricky Stanzi.

Practice Report/Update – 11/17

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs had a new quarterback on the field when they practiced on Thursday.

Actually, it was a new number. Rookie Ricky Stanzi has been wearing No. 13 all season, but he’s wearing No. 12 right now. It’s all part of him portraying Patriots QB Tom Brady in practice.

“I’m still not sure how I got to be No.13 to begin with,” Stanzi said after practice on Thursday. “The No. 12 has always been my number. We just decided to go with it this week.”

The Chiefs were on the practice field for their first real session in preparing for this coming Monday night game against the New England Patriots. They got a lengthy walk-through session on Wednesday where the players got the game plan for the prime-time encounter and had a chance to digest it mentally, before putting it together physically.

“It’s a chance to work on some of the timing things that we have to get down with our offense and give our defense a legitimate look at what they are going to see Monday,” said head coach Todd Haley. “Our look teams are very critical on a week like this to help us understand how we have to go out and play to win this game.” …Read More!

Ho-Hum Night For Brady

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

When he’s at the Old Quarterbacks Home, telling stories about his Hall of Fame career, Tom Brady is not likely to conjure up many memories of a November night in 2011 when he beat the Chiefs.

More than likely, Brady was thinking about his next game the moment he drove out of the parking lot at Gillette Stadium, forgetting quickly the 34-3 drubbing of the Chiefs.

He might remember the first half, when the Chiefs defense had him a bit confused and moving his feet, as they sacked him three times and limited the production of the New England offense.

“We just sucked in the first half,” Brady said. “If you can’t complete a pass, you’re not going to move the ball. Can’t run it, can’t complete a pass, we just didn’t do anything. I don’t think it could have gotten much worse than what we did in the first half.

“But we came out strong in the second half and took control in the third quarter.”

That Brady and his offensive mates would eventually take control was really only a matter of time. Defensively, the Chiefs are not the Steelers or the Ravens or even the New York Giants who beat the Patriots in Foxborough just a few weeks ago. Although they came out strong, they could not keep the pressure on.

“You try to keep him uncomfortable and a little flustered,” said DL Amon Gordon. “I don’t know if we ever did that. I know in the first half there were times when he was getting rid of the ball before he wanted to. But that doesn’t last long. He eventually figures things out.”

When it was all said and done, Brady had completed 15 of 27 for 234 yards and a pair of TD passes to TE Rob Gronkowski. Those are nice numbers considering where he stood at the end of the first quarter (2 of 7 for 19 yards) and at half-time (8 of 16 for 133 yards, with 52 coming on one play, the first TD throw to Gronkowski.)

“We’re going to need to play better that we did tonight if we want to start making some serious improvements down the stretch,” Brady said. “We’re 7-3. I don’t think we’re really where we hoped to beat this point. Hopefully we can come out and have a good week of practice and move forward.”

There may be another reason Brady actually remembers beating the Chiefs – it gave him 118 regular season victories, allowing him to pass his boyhood idol Joe Montana, who had 117. Next ahead of him is Johnny Unitas with 119 victories.

Notes & Quotes – Slow Start Doesn’t Stop Pats

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Nobody had found a way to slow down New England WR Wes Welker until the Chiefs showed up. Determined to not let Walker go crazy, the Chiefs were able to hold him to two catches for 22 yards in the game.

Overall, Tom Brady threw to him only three times in the entire game.

“We just weren’t out there executing the way we need to execute and play the way we need to play,” Welker said after the game. “We just kind of got in a little bit of a funk at the start. They had a good game plan for us and did a good job.

“We just had to roll with it and other people had to step up.”

And the Patriots had other receivers. With Welker and fellow WR Deion Branch held to a combined four catches for 41 yards, Brady looked for his tight ends and running backs and they produced 11 catches, including the two TD throws to TE Rob Gronkowski.

It was more than enough to overcome Chiefs.

“Give them credit,” Bill Belichick said of the Chiefs. “Things they did, they did better than we did. You’ve got to give them credit for that.”

Not too much credit though, as Belichick wasn’t ready to credit Chiefs defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel all the attention for the early problems the Patriots offense had in protection Brady.

“I wouldn’t say it’s anything we haven’t seen before,” Belichick said. “They gave us a couple different looks and they gave us a couple strong-side blitzes with (Javier) Arenas and the linebacker on that side.”

The more he talked, Belichick grudgingly gave Crennel credit.

“Romeo does a good job of that; he does things that give you problems and he did that tonight,” he said.

SOME PATRIOTS NOTES OF IMPORTANCE

With the victory, Belichick moved past his mentor Bill Parcells on the NFL career coaching victory list. It was No. 184 for Belichick. Parcells finished his career winning 183 games. Next up for B.B. is Chuck Knox with 193 victories.

TE Rob Gronkowski’s two touchdown catches gives him 20 for his career, reaching that figure in just 26 games. No other tight end has reached 20 that quickly. The old record was held by Mike Ditka, who had 20 TD catches in his first 31 games.

Thanks to his 72-yard punt return for a touchdown, Julian Edelman is now the Patriots all-time career punt return leader with an average of 13.7 yards, better than the now No. 2 man, Matt Herron who averaged a dozen yards.

ATMOSPHERE REPORT

So-so crowd at Gillette Stadium Monday night, and it wasn’t hard to see why given the way the game played out. Patriots Fan has become very spoiled over the years and while they made some noise, it wasn’t anything close to something that would bother the Chiefs. While they had some of those dumb mental penalties that drives coaches crazy, they were not called for a false start.

ZEBRA REPORT

Referee Clete Blakeman’s crew handled the game, the first time the Chiefs have seen them this year. They ended up walking off only eight penalties for 54 yards against both teams. That was well below their average coming into the game of 13.8 penalties and 114 yards per game. In 10 games this year, the home team is now 7-3 with Blakeman’s crew.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

K Ryan Succop – It was a fairly good night for Succop, who hit his only FG attempt now giving him 12 straight. His onside kick was nearly perfect in execution and acting on his part. His only other kickoff was three yards deep in the end zone and returned to the 15-yard line.

P Dustin Colquitt – Not a very good day for Colquitt as his net punting average took a hit because of the 72-yard TD return by the Patriots. Colquitt kicked five times, for 46, 30, 30, 28 and 56 yards. It was the 56-yarder that was returned for the score. The middle three punts were all for field position and kept the Patriots inside their 20-yard line.

Returns – CB Javier Arenas had four punt returns of 12, 25, 12 and 26 yards. That’s a 17.8-yard average or better than his season average. He returned three kickoffs for just an 18-yard average, since they went 15, 14 and 25 yards. Jeremy Horne had a 24-yard kickoff return at the end of the game and Dexter McCluster had an 18-yard kickoff return to start the fourth quarter.

Coverage – Press box statistics gave kicking game tackles to LB Cameron Sheffield, WR Jeremy Horne and CB Jalil Brown.

MEDICAL MATTERS FILE

The only injury that will need updating from Monday night is LG Ryan Lilja. He left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return because of what the Chiefs aid was a head/heck injury. He was replaced by rookie Rod Hudson who played the entire last period, getting 20 plays of offensive action.

FS Kendrick Lewis left the game for two plays in the first half when he banged his already sore ankle while making a tackle. Reshard Langford took his place briefly, before Lewis got back in the action.

Earlier both DE Glenn Dorsey, LB Demorrio Williams and SS Jon McGraw were declared out and made inactive for the game because of their injuries. Dorsey came out more than three hours before the game and ran for trainer Dave Price. He had an obvious hitch in his get-along with his left knee. Williams is still reportedly dealing with a groin injury that cost him a second game and McGraw still has problems with neck/shoulder injury he suffered on October 31^st.

PERSONNEL FILE

Sixth-round draft choice Jerrell Powe got his first NFL action after spending all season as a game-day inactive. Powe did not see much playing time, entering the game as part of the short-yardage and goal-line defense several times.

Powe becomes the 54th player to get on the field for action this season. There are now just three players on the 53-man active roster who have yet to see action this year – rookie DE Brandon Bair, rookie QB Ricky Stanzi and first-year OT Steve Maneri.

WR Jerheme Urban was active for the first time since the Detroit game on September 18. Inactive for only the second time this year was WR Keary Colbert. Stanzi was a game-day active for the first time this season.

As far as starting lineups, Justin Houston was back at OLB opposite Tamba Hali and Donald Washington opened and played the whole game at strong safety.

Inactive players for the Chiefs were LB Demorrio Williams, SS Jon McGraw, DE Glenn Dorsey, DE Brandon Bair, WR Keary Colbert, OT Steve Maneri and TE Anthony Becht.

Inactive players for the Patriots were QB Ryan Mallett, S Patrick Chung, CB Devin McCourty, RB Kevin Faulk, LB Dane Fletcher, LB Jeff Tarpinian and LB Brandon Spikes.

Personnel File – New England Patriots

Personnel leader – Head coach Bill Belichick is the unquestioned leader of the football side of the Patriots and the final say on all things related to players. He’s got 37 years of NFL coaching experience and handling personnel.

Key aides – Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio (11 years); Senior Football Advisor Floyd Reese (35 years); Director of Pro Personnel Jason Licht (16 years); Director of College Scouting Jon Robinson (10 years).

Personnel department – There are 15 full-time people listed in the team’s media guide as working in the area of personnel. …Read More!

4 Keys To Victory For Chiefs/Recap

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

4

Tackle the first time

When an offense is averaging 432 yards per game, and leading the league in passing yardage per game with 326 yards, it’s doubtful a struggling defense like the Chiefs is going to be able to shut the Patriots down. Rather, they need to limit their production and one of the surest ways to do that is to remove from the equation yards after the catch and yards after contact when the ball carrier is running with the ball. It’s not a surprise that WR Wes Welker leads the league with 1,006 receiving yards and also leads in YAC with 486 yards. New England gets 47 percent of its passing yardage from after the catch. Tackling is huge for the Chiefs defense this week. FAILED – there were far too many missed tackles by the Chiefs defense, especially when trying to handle RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis and also TE Rob Gronkowski. It was one of the worst tackling days of the season so far.

3

Bend all day; don’t break

A defense can’t get involved in thinking they are going to limit the yardage racked up by Tom Brady and the New England offense. It’s much like it used to be for NBA teams trying to handle Michael Jordan – he’s going to get his 25 to 30 points, but the key is to make sure he doesn’t go crazy and throw in 40 to 50 points. If Brady throws for 300 yards, and Welker totals some 100 yards receiving, it’s a normal day at the office for the Patriots offense. What the Chiefs defense must do is turn TDs into field goals. Stephen Gostkowski is a good kicker, but he’s not a machine – he’s missed this year from 27 yards. Pats have 29 offensive TDs and that ranks third in the league. Romeo Crennel’s defense needs to keep Gostkowski busy with FGs not PATs. FAILED – they bent and they broke, although they gave up just two meaningful touchdowns to the Patriots offense. New England scored on a punt return and also tacked on a late touchdown in the game’s final moments.

2

Play extra smart

The Patriots are not the well-oiled machine they were in the mid 2000s with Super Bowl veterans on both sides of the ball. There are only six veterans left contributing from the team that won Super Bowl 39 – LT Matt Light, LG Logan Mankins, WR Deion Branch, QB Tom Brady, RB Kevin Faulk and NT Vince Wilfork. But a Bill Belichick team normally plays pretty smart football, and to beat them, an opponent has to play just as smart or even smarter. That’s especially a team that’s talent level is very shallow and has been hurt by injury like the Chiefs. Penalties must be kept at a minimum and can’t come at key times. The turnover ratio must be even or in the Chiefs favor. Mental mistakes … well, there just can’t be many errors in assignments. The Patriots need no help. FAILED – 3 sacks, 3 interceptions, 5 penalties, missed coverage assignments – it all added up to providing New England with more help than it really needed to win the game.

1

Protect Palko

A quarterback making his first NFL start is not likely to win a game for his team. He’s more likely to lose it. Palko’s evening is going to be a very important key to the outcome of the game and his teammates must give him every opportunity for success. That starts upfront with pass protection – it simply must be improved over what’s happened over the last two games when Matt Cassel was sacked nine times and beaten into a hand injury. Figure the Chiefs will use Palko’s fresh legs and move him around a little bit with some bootlegs and moving pockets. But his effectiveness will depend on having time to make the correct decisions. New England’s Andre Carter and Mark Anderson have nine and five of the Patriots 20 sacks. They are the rushers that must be handled. FAILED – Palko went down three times in the game, but he was hit nine other times as the Chiefs had all sorts of problems handling a couple of old pass rushing hands in Andre Carter and Mark Anderson. Palko needed help and he did not get much from his pass protection.

Report Card – Chiefs vs. Patriots

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

RUSHING OFFENSE: C – Obviously, the scoreboard did not allow much for the running game in the second half, as the Chiefs fell behind by 21 points before the third quarter was half over. The RBs did OK with 120 yards on 24 carries. Thomas Jones had what passes for a good day for him with 48 yards on 8 carries, including a nice 26-yard run.

PASSING OFFENSE: F – There were a lot of things that Tyler Palko did well in this game. But three interceptions and three sacks makes it a failed test for his first NFL start. Palko did not get enough help from his receivers, who tipped two balls that became interceptions. Protection was spotty as he was hit nine other times.

RUSHING DEFENSE: D – Allowing 157 yards on 35 carries was not good, but they didn’t get gashed for a lot of big runs and the Patriots ran the ball a lot in the second half with that big lead, getting 105 yards on 23 carries.

PASSING DEFENSE: D – They were able to put some early pressure on QB Tom Brady, but after three sacks in the first half, they couldn’t get him on the ground after that. They didn’t cover TE Rob Gronkowski very well, allowing a pair of TD plays. But they kept WRs Wes Welker and Deion Branch under wraps, as they combined for just four catches for 41 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS: F – There’s no passing grade when the kicking game gives up a touchdown. On his 72-yard TD punt return, New England’s Julian Edelman went untouched. That just can’t happen in coverage, especially with a punter that does a good job of hang time and field position punting like Dustin Colquitt.

COACHING: D – Todd Haley and staff tried all sorts of gambits to generate some fire and momentum against New England. They used offensive sets that haven’t been seen this year, including running the Wildcat. They tinkered with their defenses. They tried an onside kick. Give the staff credit for not standing pat, even though most of what they attempted failed to produce.

Play of the Game – Brady To Gronkowski For TD

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

QUARTER – 2nd Quarter, 4 minutes, 25 seconds in the half.

SCORE – Chiefs held a 3-0 lead.

DOWN & DISTANCE – 2nd-and-7, at the Patriots 48-yard line.

DEFENSIVE SET – The Chiefs base defense of a 3-4-4.

OFFENSIVE SET – 1 back, 2 wide receivers, 1 tight end and OT Nate Solder lined up on the right side as a TE. QB Tom Brady was in the shotgun.

On the snap, Brady faked a handoff to RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis who ran to the left. The Chiefs defense had snuck SS Donald Washington up to the line of scrimmage and on the snap, he went on a blitz going after Brady.

As Washington ran towards the quarterback, he ran right past TE Rob Gronkowski who went down field on his route. Either OLB Justin Houston or ILB Derrick Johnson had responsibility in zone coverage to handle Gronkowski.

Washington came within several inches of sacking Brady, but he got bumped off at the last instant by Green-Ellis. Feeling the pressure, Brady stepped up in the pocket and Gronkowski broke free down the middle of the field as Johnson did not get enough depth to provide coverage. …Read More!

Teammates Give Palko Passing Grade

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

One thing came through clearly in the Chiefs post-game locker room Monday night:

If there were any doubts about Tyler Palko’s ability to handle the starting quarterback job, they were dispatched by half-time. Even with the 34-3 defeat and his three interceptions, the first-time NFL starter impressed his teammates, just as he did all week during practice.

“He did fine,” said veteran C Casey Wiegmann, who generally throws around bon mots after a loss as if they were manhole covers. “He was making sure everything was going smooth in the huddle. I’m sure there were some jitters for him; if there weren’t then he’s not human. But he did a good job.

“He put in his time over the years, he’s done the work and now it’s his opportunity and I think he took advantage of that.”

WR Steve Breaston has known Palko since they were high school quarterbacks in Western Pennsylvania and they played together in the state all-star game.

“I think he did a great job,” Breaston said. “We’ve got to help him out more. That’s a tough situation to come into and I thought he handled himself well. We were the ones who let him down. As receivers, there are certain plays that we have to make when we are out there. But I thought he did a fairly good job in the huddle. He was prepared, he wasn’t flustered, he knew how to communicate, he was encouraging; he did all the things a quarterback needs to do in that huddle.” …Read More!

The Struggle To Protect The Passer … Cup O’Chiefs

Somewhere in the Kansas City area on Wednesday Matt Cassel tried to go on with the tasks of everyday life with his right hand heavily wrapped in a bandage.

At the Chiefs facility, Tyler Palko got his first practice as the team’s starting quarterback. It was a walkthrough session and since he was wearing the yellow jersey that goes to all quarterbacks, he was off-limits as far as defensive players were concerned.

Players get hurt in the NFL, sometimes even in practice. It’s not a contact sport; it’s a collision sport. Part of the fabric of the game is that sometimes when bodies collide, bones go snap, crackle and pop. It can happen at any time, any place and seldom needs the help of others.

Surgery on Cassel’s right hand and the bandage he wears and now protects it did not just happen by chance. In the last two games, the Chiefs quarterback was battered about by the pass rush of the Dolphins and Broncos. Finally, Cassel’s body went snap, crackle, pop. It could have been a leg, an arm, a shoulder, but in this case it was his right hand and fingers.

His body had enough and it’s easy to see why given the pass protection numbers are ugly for those last two games: …Read More!

Haley & Staff Threw Kitchen Sink At Pats

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Todd Haley and his coaching staff could not be accused of playing their cards close to the vest Monday night against the Patriots.

On offense, defense and special teams, the Chiefs coached reached deep into their playbooks to find something different to throw at Bill Belichick’s team.

“It was a game we prepared very hard for,” Haley said, talking about his coaches and players.

That sure was apparent by what happened on the field:

OFFENSE – For the first time this season, the Chiefs made significant use of offensive formations with four wide receivers. They even had several snaps where there were five wide receivers on the field. Haley has said he does not like to have five wide, preferring instead to have a tight end in the game. But because of injuries in the New England defense, the Chiefs coaches decided to go after their secondary and the backups that were forced to play. …Read More!

Tyler’s Not Happy With His Debut

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

As expectations from the average Chiefs fans were so low for the debut of Tyler Palko as the team’s starting quarterback, what happened Monday night probably came as a surprise.

For Palko, who was making his first NFL start after five years in the league, his expectations were far greater than what went down in the Chiefs 34-3 loss to the Patriots.

“You know obviously it gets easier with every start,” Palko said. ‘I felt comfortable out there. The offensive line did a great job. There were a couple of sacks (three in all) but I need to get rid of the ball.

“Obviously there are some things I would like to have back, but it’s a learning process. You try to minimize errors. Today, those three interceptions – you would like to have those back.”

On the day Palko was 25 of 38 for 236 yards. That’s a completion percentage of 65.8; average yards per attempt of 6.2 yards and average yards per completion of 9.4 yards. Plus the three interceptions, two of which were tipped by WRs Jonathan Baldwin and Steve Breaston. …Read More!

Column: Chiefs Keep Moving Backward

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

The Chiefs understood when they got on their charter flight to New England on Sunday that they could come to the home of the Patriots, play their best game of football in this 2011 season and still end up losing.

Well … the Chiefs lost their third straight game Monday evening, getting smacked 34-3 by a Patriots team that is a far cry from those Super Bowl squads of the previous decade.

The sad part for the Chiefs is they didn’t play their best game of the season. They didn’t even play their best game of November, a month where they’ve yet to win a game. Once they started making the kind of mistakes that have marked their play in recent weeks, there wasn’t even a flicker of hope they could compete in a game that was played out in front of a national television audience.

The Patriots didn’t need any help to win the game, but the Chiefs were the giving sort on this chilly New England evening. They were very giving.

“We just can’t do those kinds of things, we just can’t expect to win helping the other team, especially when it’s a team like the Patriots,” said WR Steve Breaston. “Man, that’s so frustrating.” …Read More!

Unable To Play with Patriots, Chiefs Lose 34-3

From Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

For a football team that has spent the month of November struggling to play consistent and productive football, it was a Monday night with more of the same – and another loss.

Too many mistakes on offense, defense and special teams took the wind out of the sails of any thoughts the Chiefs had of an upset as they fell 34-3 to the New England Patriots. They’ve now lost three games in a row and are tied for last place in the AFC West.

Tom Brady and friends led just 10-3 at half-time thanks to a strong effort from the Chiefs defense. But there was a reason the Chiefs came into the game a 16-point underdog – the most points the Vegas odds makers had them getting from bettors in a couple of decades.

The Patriots got the first possession of the third quarter and drove right down and scored a touchdown that essentially sealed the game. Just to make sure, they followed up just a few moments later with a punt return for a touchdown that made a Chiefs comeback the stuff of dreams.

Mistakes, most obvious and others no so much, were the items that destroyed what slim chance the Chiefs had of beating the Patriots on a cold New England night.

“We did too many of the things that get you beat in this league too many times,” said head coach Todd Haley. “Penalties in the red zone; the onside kick that was the illegal touch was just a killer for us. We allowed too many big plays on defense and we turned the ball over. Our guys fought it out but we just made too many mistakes.” …Read More!

Chiefs/Cassel Update – 11/16

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs went through a 90-minute walk-through practice Wednesday afternoon inside their training facility.

With an extra day of preparation for the upcoming Monday night trip to play the Patriots in New England, head coach Todd Haley decided to use the time for mental preparation more than physical.

There’s a lot to prepare for with the Patriots, who under head coach Bill Belichick are known for using multiple schemes and changing all the time. There is no way to prepare for everything New England might do, but it requires some extra time.

As for injured QB Matt Cassel, Haley told the media Wednesday that “everything went really well” with the surgery on Cassel’s right hand that was done on Monday, and he did not rule the QB out for the rest of the season. “If there’s a chance we could have him back we’d be all in on that,” Haley said. “We need to do what’s best for the team and for him.

“We are just giving it as much time as we can to see where he is as we make decisions. There’s potential (he can return) but that depends on this first week.”

Haley did say that while Cassel’s injury was “pretty severe” there should be no lasting consequences for the quarterback. “It’s not something that will affect his career in any way but it will definitely affect this year,” Haley said. “He’s out for this week … we haven’t made any moves yet as far as a decision on Matt this season.”

The tone of what Haley said about Cassel indicated that they team will probably wait until next week if they are going to make a roster move involving the quarterback.

Tom Brady Talks Chiefs

From the Truman Sports Complex

Patriots QB Tom Brady talked with Chiefs QB Matt Cassel on Monday via phone after finding out he suffered a right hand injury that’s going to take him out for Monday night’s game in New England.

“I wanted to give him some words of encouragement,” Brady said of the call. “We are pretty good friends. I just wanted to call and see how he was doing. No one ever wants to go through injuries. They are part of the game. You rehab and hopefully he’s back very soon.”

Brady was a surprise “get” for the weekly conference call with the Chiefs next opponent, so kudos to the Chiefs pr department for pulling that off. After 12 seasons in the league and 11 as the most successful starting quarterback in the NFL, Brady does not do many of these types of interviews, especially with folks off the beaten trail like Kansas City.

Considering the connection between Brady and GM Scott Pioli, defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and Cassel, there figured to be plenty of conversation with a Chiefs tilt. “I have a lot of respect for the Chiefs and their organization and the way they go about their business and the quality of person and character that they bring in,” Brady said. “They are a very tough team.”

Here’s more what he said:

ON MATT CASSEL – “One of my favorite teammates and friends and all-around great person that I’ve had a chance to be around … Matt has a ton of talent. He can throw the ball as well as anybody in the NFL. He’s big, strong, he moves very well and he has great pocket presence. He made great decisions. He’s a great leader, with a great work ethic and he’s mentally tough. He’s everything they are looking for … it was sad to see him go, but it was great that he got the opportunity in Kansas City. I’ve always been very impressed by the way Matt has taken advantage of his opportunities.”

ON PIOLI – “He was always involved in meetings. He was always on the field. When you have the success that we had together, there are always a lot of special memories that you have. He’s a great person, a great friend. I follow the Chiefs every week. I’m always rooting for them.”

Defense Fails Basic Test … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

Should a team desire to make the NFL post-season tournament, there is one way that will provide the biggest push and punch the ticket to one of the 12 available spots for the playoffs:

Run defense.

Yes, victories and points are the primary way they keep score in the NFL. But beyond those obvious decider of games, being able to stop the run is so, so key to playing in January.

Just take the league stats at this point of the season. The combined record of the 10 teams that allow the fewest rushing yards each week is 55-37. The combined record of the 10 teams that allow the most rushing yards each week is 35-56. …Read More!

Chiefs Make Practice Squad Move

The Chiefs lost and added a linebacker to their practice squad this week.

Gone is LB Justin Cole, who spent most of his two seasons with the Chiefs on the team’s practice squad. Cole was signed by the St. Louis Rams to their 53-man active roster.

Added to the practice squad on Tuesday was LB Caleb Campbell (right). A seventh-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft out of Army, Campbell served two years of active duty service in the U.S. Army after graduating from West Point. The 6-2, 237-pound Texas native played three games with the Lions at the end of the 2010 season. He went to training camp this year with the Lions but was released on September 3rd, before the start of the regular season.

Cole signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted rookie out of San Jose State in 2010. The California native made the final 53-man roster as a rookie, but was not active for any of the first 11 games. That’s when he was released and re-signed to the practice squad.

The Tyler Palko File – Part One

TYLER PALKO’S FOOTBALL TIME-LINE

• 1995 – played organized football for the first time as sixth grader.
  
• 1998 – freshman starting quarterback at West Allegheny High School/team finished 10-2.
  
• 1999 – starting quarterback/team finished 13-1 and lost in state championship game.
  
• 2000 – starting quarterback/team finished 13-2 and lost in state championship game.
  
• 2001 – starting quarterback/team finished 13-2 and won Pennsylvania Class AAA championship.
  
• 2002 – freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh/team finished 9-4 and beat Oregon in Insight Bowl. …Read More!

Long Wait Ending For Palko … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

It’s not that Tyler Palko has a bad memory.

Not at all. He can tell you that his West Allegheny High School team beat Montour 7-6 in his first high school start as a freshman.

But he can’t tell you anything about his first college start at the University of Pittsburgh, other than the opponent and stadium. He left that game with a concussion.

“It was at Heinz Field against Ohio U.,” Palko said Monday afternoon in the Chiefs locker room, surrounded by the Kansas City media horde. “I wish I could give you details, but I do not remember much about that game.” …Read More!

Cassel’s Season Maybe Over

QB Matt Cassel’s injured right hand will require surgery and his status for the rest of the Chiefs 2011 season is in serious jeopardy.

“Matt has a fairly significant injury to his throwing hand,” head coach Todd Haley told the media on Monday afternoon. “It’s being evaluated as we speak but it appears he’ll probably have to have surgery of some type to get it corrected.

“There is some optimism, but him being a quarterback and throwing the ball with that hand, that’s a difficult injury.”

Haley said it’s a possible that Cassel will be placed on the injured-reserve list, but said “I wouldn’t say it’s an absolute.”

The head coach would not say whether the Chiefs plan to bring in another quarterback this week. “It’s been a fluid situation and we are trying to get a full evaluation in what direction we are going,” Haley said. “We are not there yet.”

Cassel suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to Denver. Both the head coach and the quarterback have said they do not know what caused the injury and review of the tape did not show a moment when it occurred.

Whether he plays again or not this season, it’s obvious that Cassel will not be on the field next Monday night against the Patriots in New England. That pushes Tyler Palko into the starting lineup. It would be his first NFL start.

“We feel good about Tyler, or he wouldn’t be our No. 2,” Haley said. “I have belief in Tyler. In his case there is not a lot of regular season action to go on. But he’s done a great job since he’s been here of developing and getting better. He has a great understanding of how our offense works and his role in it.

“I’m optimistic.”

Numbers – Broncos vs. Chiefs

Normally the formula for a winning effort on defense is to make an opponent one-dimensional.

The Broncos do that to themselves, and it made little difference against a Chiefs defense that still couldn’t stop them. The numbers look somewhat impressive, holding the Broncos to runs of 3 yards or less on 32 of the 55 runs they made. That’s a success rate of 58.2 percent.

But there can be little doubt that the Broncos pushed the Chiefs front seven defenders around at will for most of the day.

The Broncos passing attack . . . what can you say. The Broncos completed no passes in the first half and led 10-0. They completed two of four in the second half for 69 yards. The touchdown came on a perfectly thrown ball by the so-called imperfect Tim Tebow.

But riddle me this: would you rather have a fantasy-league stat machine running your offense or an awkward looking “just-win-baby” leader who despite all the shortcomings is 3-1 and has his team on the verge of being relevant for the first time in years?

Enough of that talk. As ineffective as the defense might have been, holding an opponent to just 17 points should be enough to win most of the time. The Chiefs offense was even more inept. …Read More!

Sunday Best – 11/13

BIG PLAYS

• 82 – Chicago WR Devin Hester punt return TD vs. Detroit (W) (right).
• 80 – Houston WR Jacoby Jones TD pass vs. Tampa Bay (W).
• 79 – Tennessee WR Marc Mariani punt return for TD vs. Carolina.
• 78 – Houston RB Arian Foster TD pass vs. Tampa Bay (W).
• 71 – San Diego P Mike Scifres punt vs. Oakland (L).
• 70 – Chicago P Adam Podlesh punt vs. Detroit (W).
• 67 – Chiefs P Dustin Colquitt punt vs. Denver (L).
• 64 – St. Louis P Donnie Jones punt vs. Cleveland (W).
• 59 – Cincinnati P Kevin Huber punt vs. Pittsburgh (L).
• 59 – Buffalo P Brian Moorman punt vs. Dallas (L). …Read More!

Tebow Leads Broncos In Victory Over Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

It was the type of football only a caveman could love.

At a time in the league where the throwing quarterbacks are superstars and their receivers are divas, the Chiefs and Broncos went back to old-time football Sunday.

And Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos put a whipping on the Chiefs, taking a 17-10 victory that was based on running and defense. Only a 56-yard fourth quarter throw from Tebow to WR Eric Decker reached the end zone in the passing game. It was one of just two passes Tebow completed all day.

But the Denver running game was drilling the ball down the throats of a Chiefs defense that was dominated at the line of scrimmage. Tebow had the other Broncos TD on a seven-yard run in the first quarter.

The Chiefs offense was unable to sustain only one drive on the afternoon and that ended with their first touchdown since Halloween night courtesy of a one-yard scoring throw from QB Matt Cassel to FB Le’Ron McClain.

Here’s our coverage.

• GAME STORY: Broncos run over Chiefs
• COLUMN: Testing fans patience.
• SIDEBAR: Cassel suffers injury.
• SIDEBAR: Bowe struggles against Champ.
• SIDEBAR: The catch that wasn’t.
• SIDEBAR: Run defense gets blasted.
• SIDEBAR: Tebow’s victorious day.
• REPORT CARD: Chiefs don’t make the grade.
• PLAY OF THE GAME: Yes, Tebow can throw.
• NOTES & QUOTES: Lance Ball and Denver defense.
• 4 KEYS TO VICTORY/RECAP
• PRE-GAME COVERAGE
• GAMEBOOK

Staying In Personality … GAME-DAY CUP O’CHIEFS

As the Chiefs get ready to kickoff the second half of the 2011 season they have a better idea of what they have as a team than they did eight weeks ago.

Essentially, they are not nearly as bad as they looked going 0-3 to start the season. And, they are not nearly as good as the team that won four straight games to inject themselves back into the AFC picture for the playoffs.

They fall somewhere in between, in a big valley of mediocrity that includes a large majority of NFL teams at mid-season.

It shakes out in this manner – if the Chiefs play the last eight games in the manner they’ve shown to be their personality, they will win the AFC West and a spot in the post-season tournament. If they are not disciplined and if they do not limit their mistakes, they will stumble through November and December to a spot in the top half of the NFL Draft’s first-round.

That journey begins Sunday afternoon with another AFC West encounter, this time with the 3-5 Denver Broncos. Kickoff is noon with television coverage on CBS-TV. …Read More!

What’s The Deal With Tebow?

Over more than 30 years of hanging around the NFL I’ve seen a few things that I couldn’t quite figure out.

But nothing has stumped me like Tim Tebow and the legion of detractors that has for the last two years spent a lot of time ripping him, his ability and his performance. Tebow is the most polarizing figure that’s come into the NFL in decades. Let me amend that – Tim Tebow is the most polarizing figure in the league that has not been arrested or gone to prison.

Why do so many dislike this guy? It’s not just fans. It’s the media that covers the league. It’s even opponents; players like those on the Detroit Lions who openly mocked Tebow before, during and after those teams met earlier this season.

The complaints heard about Tebow are petty and on the level of junior-high playground gossip. He’s too nice. He’s overrated as a player. He gets too much attention for a guy who hasn’t done anything in the NFL. …Read More!

Mid-Season Player Ratings … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs

As Todd Haley said earlier in the week, it’s been a pretty wild first half of the 2011 season for the Chiefs. From the 0-3 ugly start, to the four-game winning streak, to the ugly fourth loss that put them at .500 for the season, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster for this team.

As they get ready to kickoff the second half of the season with Sunday’s game against Denver, it seemed a good time to update our player rankings on the active roster. Obviously, these rankings do not include Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry and Tony Moeaki, who would all rank in the top dozen players if they were not all nursing torn ACLs in their left knees.

Losing those three really put the Chiefs in a bind, and in all three cases they really haven’t been able to break out at those positions. Running back, safety and tight end have been three of the least productive positions on the team through eight games. Players at other positions have stepped up their games, but not enough to overcome that missing big three.

With that in mind, here are the ratings. This is based on what they showed over the first eight games, with about 10 percent of the grade going to what they may bring in the future. Right now we are more impressed by production and what we’ve seen with our own eyes, rather than potential and looking to the future.

1. ILB Derrick Johnson – Until the Miami game, Johnson was sailing along putting up top-grading performances game-after-game. Against the Dolphins, he was not on top of his game, especially in pass coverage when he got picked on that 35-yard TD pass to the Miami TE. But overall, he’s had the best half-season of anybody on the roster. …Read More!

4 THINGS CHIEFS MUST DO TO BEAT BRONCOS

HISTORY

• This is the 103rd meeting between these two original American Football League franchises. The Chiefs have won 55 of the previous games, equaling the number of victories they have against the Raiders.
• Last time they played was December 2010, with the Chiefs grabbing a 10-6 victory. Last Denver winning effort was earlier in the ’10 season, when the Broncos won 49-29 at Invesco Field.
• The Chiefs have won 15 of the last 21 games between the teams at Arrowhead.
• In the month of November, the Chiefs are 6-5 against the Broncos in Kansas City.
• The two teams have met once in the playoffs, in 1997 when Denver picked up a 14-10 victory at Arrowhead on the way to their first Super Bowl.

4

Create Turnovers

Over the last three seasons, the Chiefs have needed to create takeaways to help win games. It allows them to overcome deficiencies in their talent level. When they don’t force turnovers their chances of winning drop, like last week against Miami when they couldn’t force a fumble or interception against the Dolphins. Over 40 games in the Haley Era, the Chiefs are 2-5 when they don’t force an opponent’s turnover. When they forced just one, they are 5-9. With one takeaway or less, the Chiefs have been 7-14. With two takeaways or more, they have finished 11-8. Denver has given the ball away 16 in eight games, with eight fumbles and eight interceptions. …Read More!

Practice Report/Update – 11/11

From Arrowhead Stadium

It’s Todd Haley’s thought that being able to practice in the place they play helps the Chiefs.

So despite the 2-2 home record at Arrowhead Stadium this season, the Chiefs were back inside the stadium on Friday morning for their final practice of the week in preparation for Sunday’s game against Denver. They are 2-4 in their last six home games.

“I don’t know that it’s been reflected in how we’ve played, but overall from a comfort level, getting the lay of the land, the field and all those things,” Haley said. “As the year goes on with these outdoor stadiums and grass, it’s interesting each game. I think it gives us an advantage of understanding our field and what kind of shoes we want to wear and all of those things.”

All 61 players were on the field, but ILB Demorrio Williams was not participating in practice because of a groin injury. He hasn’t practiced all week. The Chiefs have declared that he won’t play on Sunday in their official injury report to the league office.

CB Javier Arenas appeared limited in what he was doing in the early part of practice because of continuing problems with an ankle injury. According to the team, he was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, but was limited on Thursday and on Friday was again a full participant. They list him as probable.

SS Jon McGraw took a full practice turn on Friday, but the Chiefs list him as questionable because of that neck/shoulder injury.

For the Broncos, they list two players as questionable: LB Wesley Woodyard (knee) and CB Cassius Vaughn (hamstring). Listed as probable were S Brian Dawkins (thigh), TE Virgil Green (neck), FB Spencer Larsen (FB), S Rahim Moore (concussion) and RB Willis McGahee (hand).

Denver arrived in Kansas City on Friday evening and will hold a walkthrough on Saturday in the Kansas City area.

First Down Improvement A Must … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

First down – the play that starts every possession in football.

At the midway point of the 2011 NFL season, the Chiefs offense isn’t so good on first down, and that’s playing a large part in why the team is struggling to score points and gain yards. After eight games, the Chiefs rank No. 24 in overall offensive yards. That’s 10th in the running game and 27th in passing yardage. They are No. 26 in points scored and 27th in first downs gained.

With all those numbers it should not come as a surprise to learn the Chiefs are not doing very well on first down. Through eight games, they have had 218 first down plays. Throwing out three QB kneel down plays at the end of the game, that’s 215 with 120 running plays and 95 passing plays.

On average, the Chiefs average 5.01 yards on first down. That’s ranked No. 27 in the league, or among the bottom 25 percent of offenses this season in the NFL. …Read More!

4 THINGS CHIEFS MUST DO TO WIN/RECAP

4

Create Turnovers

Over the last three seasons, the Chiefs have needed to create takeaways to help win games. It allows them to overcome deficiencies in their talent level. When they don’t force turnovers their chances of winning drop, like last week against Miami when they couldn’t force a fumble or interception against the Dolphins. Over 40 games in the Haley Era, the Chiefs are 2-5 when they don’t force an opponent’s turnover. When they forced just one, they are 5-9. With one takeaway or less, the Chiefs have been 7-14. With two takeaways or more, they have finished 11-8. Denver has given the ball away 16 in eight games, with eight fumbles and eight interceptions. FAILED – for the second week in a row, the Chiefs could not take the ball away from their opponent. Not since Philip Rivers dropped that snap late in the Halloween night game have the Chiefs gotten a turnover. It’s another week showing they can’t win without them.

3

Clamp down on Broncos punt returns

The Chiefs have been one of the NFL’s best punt cover teams this season, allowing 10.4 yards per return on 20 returns by their opponents. The longest return went for 31 yards. They are ranked No. 19 in the league. That unit must be razor sharp because Denver is the NFL’s No. 2 punt return team, averaging 17.1 yards on 23 returns. The Broncos have a pair of returners in WRs Eddie Royal and Eric Decker; each has taken a return for a TD. Decker went 90 yards and Royals had an 85-yard return last Sunday against Oakland. WR Quan Cosby gets most of the chances and he’s averaging 11.3 yards on 16 returns. SUCCESS – although they got help from the Broncos, who did not use either Royal or Decker on punt returns, Quan Cosby had just two returns for 16 yards. He had three fair catches and two of more Dustin Colquitt punts went for touchbacks.

2

Protect Cassel

Through the first six games the Chiefs did a good job of protecting QB Matt Cassel, giving up 10 sacks, or one sack every 30.2 passing plays. In their most decisive victory of the season, beating Oakland 28-0, they did not allow a sack. But in the last two weeks they’ve
allowed eight sacks or one sack every 9.9 passing plays. Cassel had to run for his life against the Dolphins when he went down five times. Not surprisingly, Cassel’s numbers (completion percentage, average yards per attempt) go down across the board when sacks go up. FAILED BADLY – Giving up four sacks and a dozen other hits on Cassel, the Chiefs QB left the stadium on Sunday with a right hand/wrist injury and heaven knows whether he’ll be able to bounce back and play against New England.

1

Stop the run

The run game has always been a big part of the competition between the Chiefs and Broncos. They’ve consistently been among the best rushing teams in the league over the last 20 years. Last year even though they won the division title, the Chiefs allowed Denver an average of 157 rushing yards in two games. This year, the Broncos are No. 5 in the league, averaging 147.5 yards per game. The addition of QB Tim Tebow has amped the Denver run game even more to go with Willis McGahee, Knowshon Moreno and Lance Ball. Along with Tebow, all four have more than 100 rushing yards this season, led by McGahee with 623 yards, at 5.1 yards per carry. Chiefs are No. 19 against the run allowing 120.3 yards per game. Against AFC West teams San Diego twice and Oakland, they gave up an average of 124.7 yards per game. Stop the run with the Broncos, and that forces the game into the hands and left arm of Tebow. FAILED AND FAILED BADLY. Giving up 244 rushing yards is never going to make it possible for a team to win. Denver was bigger, tougher, smarter and had better play execution than the Chiefs. It was a royal beating.

Report Card – Broncos vs. Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

RUSHING OFFENSE: D – with the exception of a 34-yard run by RB Jackie Battle, the Chiefs were unable to make anything go with their running game. The other runs produced 100 yards, or 4.4 yards per game. Take the quarterbacks three carries for 24 yards out of the equation and its 110 yards from the backs on 21 carries.

PASSING OFFENSE: F – It all starts with the big guys up front and for the second week in a row the pass protection for QB Matt Cassel was awful. He was sacked four times and according to press box stats was hit a dozen other plays. The longest pass play was just 17 yards and WR Dwayne Bowe was covered by Champ Bailey and taken out of the offense.

RUSHING DEFENSE: F – The inability to stop AFC West teams on the ground is a major hurdle the Chiefs must jump and they fell flat on their face against the Broncos. It was 244 yards on 55 carries. Everybody that had a turn running the ball got the job done.

PASSING DEFENSE: F – They only had to handle eight passes total. They allowed to be completed, but one of those was the deciding play of the game when Tim Tebow found Eric Decker for a long TD play. For the second week in a row they did not get a sack or an interception.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D – This was the game where they really had to have the kicking game come forward and tilt the scoreboard or field position. It didn’t happen. Punter Dustin Colquitt kicked well, but there was little produced on returns. No spark, no extra bit of fire at a time when the other parts of the team were in the tank.

COACHING: F – Facing an unusual offense in the read option that the Broncos use, they needed the coaching staff to come forward with some sort of plan to keep them in the game. That didn’t happen on this Sunday. The Chiefs were outclassed on the field and in the coaching box.

Play of the Game – Yes, Tebow Can Throw

From Arrowhead Stadium

QUARTER – 4th quarter, 6 minutes, 52 seconds to play.

SCORE – Broncos led 10-7.

DOWN & DISTANCE – 3rd-and-10 from the Broncos 44-yard line.

DEFENSIVE SET – base 3-4-4 defense.

OFFENSIVE SET – 2 TEs, 2 WRs, 1 RB.

He only did it eight times Sunday afternoon. He completed only two of those eight.

But the second one turned out to be the play of the game for the Broncos, the 56-yard touchdown pass from QB Tim Tebow to WR Eric Decker.

As it turned out, those were the winning points for Denver in its 17-10 victory.

Ironically, the play itself did not start out well.

“We got a penalty for delay of game,” Tebow said. “They were bringing a blitz and I was calling an audible on protection and we ran out of time. I’m glad we stuck with it after the penalty.”

It was a windy day on the floor of Arrowhead and that added an extra dimension for both quarterbacks. But it was especially noteworthy for a guy like Tebow with limited NFL playing and starting experience.

Yet, when the time came to throw it, the ball was in the air.

“It was just a go route and Tim threw it real well,” said Denver head coach John Fox. “There’s a little bit of a stutter move at the beginning of the route and Decker shook free and we dropped it on them pretty well. It was a well executed play.”

Decker got behind both CB Brandon Flowers and SS Reshard Langford on the play.

“It was zone coverage,” Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said. “It wasn’t just Brandon and it wasn’t just Reshard. It was everybody in that particular play. We needed to do a better job.”

Tebow and Decker almost hooked up on a long pass in the first half, but that pass was knocked away by FS Kendrick Lewis. This connection was bigger and more important for the Broncos.

“To make that play at that time was big,” said Decker. “Tim threw a perfect ball.”

He’s Unconventional, But He Wins

From Arrowhead Stadium

The question had to be asked: Tim Tebow, why does it seem like you are always part of winning teams?

“I’ve been very blessed to be on some good teams and I’m very blessed to be on another good team,” Tebow said after he led the Denver Broncos to a 17-10 division road victory over the Chiefs on Sunday.

“Those guys make me look a lot better than I really am.”

How can you not be excited about playing for a guy who says things like that? Since he became the Broncos starter, he’s been winning over teammates left and right. It happened first in Miami, then last Sunday in Oakland and again on this Sunday in Kansas City.

The quarterback that the experts say does not have the tools to be a starter in the NFL has now won three of his four starts. Victory No. 3 came against the Chiefs at Arrowhead.

If anybody’s expecting an apology from Tebow that he played the entire game and he threw only eight passes and completed just two, well there’s a better chance of h-e-double hockey sticks freezing over than that.

“I’m a football player first before a quarterback,” Tebow said. “Whatever we can do to win games that’s what we need to do. I play this game to win.”

And that he does. It certainly may be unconventional, what with Denver now running parts of a college offense with the read option running game with the rest of their normal NFL-type offense.

But it comes down to the Broncos using the things that Tebow does, and does well. One of those is run. The other is winning.

“I get frustrated just like anyone else,” Tebow said when asked if he’d like to throw the ball more often and with more success. “I get disappointed. I want to score every time I touch the ball. I want to have a great play every time I touch the ball. But I think something that helps me is I’ve known all along is it’s not life and death whatever happens. I’ve always prepared for it. My faith in Christ has helped me with that. But also, you can’t look behind. You have to look ahead.”

The Tebow stat sheet for the game is rather modest. He ran the ball nine times for 43 yards, including a 19-yard run and a 7-yard TD run. He threw the ball just eight times, completed two for 69 yards and a touchdown pass.

While only 112 of the team’s 313 yards had his name on it, there’s no question his influence on the game and the team.

“I think every game is different,” Tebow said. “Every game that I’ve started this year has been a lot different. When you have a team, you can handle whatever the game gives you. If you need to run it, you run it. If you need to throw it, you throw it. Hopefully we’ll be able to throw and do it consistently, but we have something good going right now and hopefully e can stick with it.”

There was nothing surprising about what the Broncos did on offense, even with the read option. In fact, to some of the Chiefs defenders, it all looked very familiar.

“They just took the playbook he had at Florida and put in those plays,” said FS Kendrick Lewis, who played against Tebow when he was with Ole Miss and the quarterback was playing for the Gators. “It was all the stuff he did there. Really, there weren’t any differences. He seemed very comfortable.”

He was. When the decision was made to start him, John Fox and the Denver coaching staff knew they couldn’t run the offense as they did with former starter Kyle Orton. That’s not where Tebow’s game is right now.

Thus the read option and more opportunities for Tebow to do some of the things he did while winning the Heisman Trophy and a national championship at Florida.

It was not something that the Broncos used on every play. In fact, they probably used it less than they thought they would. But they added some new wrinkles, including a few plays in what would be a triple option, where Tebow can run, he can pass, or he can dish it to another one of his teammates.

“They did some good things at the start of the second half in stopping us,” Tebow allowed.

One thing for sure, Tebow has learned all the clichés over the years.

“We have a very resilient team, resilient coaches, and a team with a lot of character. I think that’s all you can ask for, a team that goes out there and cares about each other and cares about what they do and is going to lay everything on the field.”

And win.

Run Defense Can’t Stop Broncos

From Arrowhead Stadium

Tyson Jackson pondered the question for a moment.

“Tyson, you guys knew they were going to run the ball, but 244 yards worth. You couldn’t have expected that. What happened?”

“It’s not your typical offense that you see every week in the NFL,” Jackson said of the Denver Broncos and their read option run game they used so effectively in a 17-10 victory over the Chiefs. “It’s our job to go out there and stop it, and we didn’t get that done.

“We did it in spurts, but we didn’t do it enough to keep their offense off the field.”

They certainly didn’t – the Broncos ran 55 times in the game with six different runners. They lost their two top running backs in the first quarter to injury, but that hardly slowed Denver down. They went out and won it with Lance Ball doing the dirty work, running 30 times for 96 yards.

The Chiefs were seemingly helpless to stop the Broncos run game. They knew what was coming, they had prepared for all aspects of the Denver offense. None of it mattered in the end.

“We knew that was going to be a great challenge,” head coach Todd Haley said. “We had a Plan A, B and C on how we were going to try to stop the run because it’s a numbers issue. No plans ended up working quite the way we needed them to.”

When things weren’t working well, changes were made on the defense. OLB Andy Studebaker was benched in favor of the quicker and faster rookie OLB Justin Houston. Starting SS Jon McGraw was benched, replaced by Reshard Langford.

As the game went on, the Chiefs did a better job as the game went on. Here’s how it broke down, quarter-by-quarter:

They got 43 yards rushing from their quarterback. They got 19 yards on 3 carries from WR Eddie Royal. FB Spencer Larsen gained 17 yards on 5 carries. Injured RBs Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno had 69 yards in the first quarter before leaving.

And Ball led them all with 30 carries for 96 yards. His career totals before this game were 79 carries for 372 yards.

Running was what the Broncos were going to do. On a 3rd-and-9 play, Denver ran the ball. Twice the Broncos faced 3rd-and-7 situations. Both times, they called running plays. They didn’t get either one. They ran on a 3rd-and-6 and 3rd-and-5.

“There’s only one thing you can do in that situation and that’s stop them from running,” ILB Derrick Johnson said. “We didn’t do that. We slowed them down a little bit, but we couldn’t stop them.

“In the second half we stepped up better against the run, but we didn’t get it done in the first half.”

The credit goes to the Broncos offensive line, where the starting group of LT Ryan Clady, LG Zane Beadles, C J.D. Walton, RG Chris Kuper and rookie RT Orlando Franklin kept pushing and pushing. Denver ran about 20 plays with another OT Chris Clark in the game as a tight end.

It’s not like the Broncos didn’t have any tight ends – there were four active on the game-day roster. But Clark’s size and blocking ability was what Denver was seeking.

“Give credit to those guys, they kept their feet pushing and pushing and they were more physical than we were,” Johnson said. “We knew everything that they were doing. They ran the ball and they didn’t turn it over. That’s them, that’s what they do.”

After nine games now, the Chiefs defense is allowing 134 rushing yards per game. Coming up on the schedule are games against teams like Pittsburgh, the New York Jets and Chicago that have had great success running the ball. If they stick with their plans like the Broncos did on Sunday, they will probably be quite successful.

“Give them credit,” said Johnson. “They had a plan and they stuck with it. They didn’t deviate from it. They were going to run the ball and they kept hammering away. They stayed true to it.”

And it was the Chiefs defense that got hammered.

The Catch That Wasn’t

From Arrowhead Stadium

In a season where it seemed impossible for any Chiefs receiver to top the juggling catch of WR Dwayne Bowe in the end zone against Indianapolis, rookie WR Jonathan Baldwin may have trumped it on Sunday against the Broncos.

Only one problem – an illegal formation penalty called against WR Steve Breaston wiped out the play, which had been a 49-yard pass play from QB Matt Cassel to Baldwin.

It all went down in the second quarter, with less than four minutes to play in the half. Down 10-0, Cassel decided to go deep on the first play of a possession starting at the Chiefs 29-yard line. He found Baldwin racing down the left side of the field and the only coverage in the area was Denver SS Brian Dawkins. …Read More!

No Shutout, But Champ Covers DBowe

From Arrowhead Stadium

This time he didn’t get shutout.

Dwayne Bowe caught two passes on Sunday against the Denver Broncos and CB Champ Bailey. When these teams played 11 months ago at Arrowhead, Bailey threw a shutout at Bowe, holding him without a catch.

Almost a year later, Bailey gave up a couple of bloop singles, with Bowe catching passes for 10 and seven yards.

Obviously from those numbers, Bowe was not a part of the Chiefs offense in the 17-10 loss to the Broncos.

“I think I did OK,” Bailey said of his afternoon. “It’s one thing to keep him limited on catches, but you’ve got to keep him out of the end zone.”

Bowe didn’t sniff pay dirt in this game. QB Matt Cassel threw in his direction seven times. Two of those were caught, two were dropped, one was overthrown and two were broken up by Bailey. …Read More!

Cassel Injured; Status Unclear

From Arrowhead Stadium

When Tyler Palko went on the field late in the loss to Denver it wasn’t just a case of the Chiefs making a late change in a game that was decided.

Palko went in because starter Matt Cassel suffered an injury to his right hand/wrist in the fourth quarter.

In the locker room after the game, Cassel’s right hand and wrist were heavily bandaged.

It was all a product of another afternoon here Cassel was battered by the pass rush. He was sacked four times and was hit as he threw or after the throw countless times. Press box statistics listed 12 other quarterback hits in the game. …Read More!

Column: Chiefs Continue To Test Fans Patience

From Arrowhead Stadium

It’s damn hard work being Chiefs Fan. Of that there is no question.

There’s the now 42-season wait for a Super Bowl to match the trophy from game number IV. There’s the 18-season drought of victories in the post-season that stretches back to January 1994. There are all those times in the previous 20 years where the Chiefs of Carl Peterson and Marty Schottenheimer, even Dick Vermeil’s teams teased the fans with outstanding seasons and big victories that would fizzle away in the hot breath of the NFL playoffs.

And there are now the 2011 Chiefs, just another cross for those wearing the red and gold to bear.

Winners of the AFC West last year and the spot in the playoffs that goes with that, the 2011 Chiefs started the season 0-3, including the worst back-to-back drubbings (89-10) in franchise history. But then they came alive and won four straight and found themselves on top of the division again. From disaster sprang hope.

Yet, in their two most recent outings, both games played on their home field, the Chiefs lost twice and did it thanks to an offense that can’t score points and a defense that can’t stop the other team. That’s a pretty brutal combination for any team. …Read More!

Broncos Believe In The Run, Roll Over Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

It was not the type of offensive game plan that the Pro Football Hall of Fame calls for and has a team send a copy FedEx first thing Monday morning to Canton.

There really wasn’t anything innovative or new to offensive football in what John Fox and his coaching staff came up with for their Sunday visit to Arrowhead to face the Chiefs.

It was good old-fashioned football, with an offense built almost entirely on the running game – that was the winning formula for the Broncos as they walked away with a 17-10 victory.

For the second consecutive Sunday, an opponent walked into Arrowhead and dicated the tone and flow of the game to the Chiefs. Football games are always decided by who controls the line of scrimmage and on this Sunday, it was the Broncos who pushed, pulled and ran through the Chiefs defensive front for 244 rushing yards.

“Give John Fox and his staff a bunch of credit, we were unable to stop the run,” said head coach Todd Haley. “They had a terrific plan and it took us too long to figure out how to get the run stopped, whoever was running it, whether it was the quarterback or the running backs.” …Read More!

Practice Report/Update – 11/10

From the Truman Sports Complex

Under sunny skies and with a cold wind out of the north-northwest blasting them, the Chiefs were outside for their Thursday practice, wearing full pads and getting ready for Sunday’s visit from the Denver Broncos.

“I thought today, with the pads on, it was a great practice,” said head coach Todd Haley. “In my opinion it was probably one of the best practices that we’ve had. Guys were into it. I feel like we made progress.”

ILB Demorrio Williams was again out of the action due to what the team said was a groin injury. He missed Wednesday’s practice as well.

SS Jon McGraw was in full pads, including a neck collar which was an addition to his personal armor. He wore a yellow jersey, indicating that teammates should not hit him. He suffered what the Chiefs said was a shoulder injury against San Diego on Monday night football. The team listed him as a full participant.

CB Javier Arenas was working in all the position drills and seemed to have no problems with his ankle injury. But after he was listed as a full participant on Wednesday, he was a limited participant on Thursday.

FS Kendrick Lewis was not on the injury report, but he continues to deal with a sore ankle that he injured in the game against the Raiders in Oakland.

With the Broncos, LB Wesley Woodyard (knee) did not practice for the second day. Listed as limited in practice were S Rahim Moore (concussion) and CB Cassius Vaughn (hamstring). Full participation was the designation for S Brian Dawkins (thigh), TE Virgil Green (neck), FB Spencer Larsen (shoulder) and RB Willis McGahee (hand).

Pre-Game Coverage – Broncos vs. Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

11:30 a.m. CST – The Chiefs are leaving the field after completing their warm-up session, while the Broncos are just wrapping up their work. We’ll be back after the game with complete coverage, so return often to catch up on our look at the Chiefs-Broncos.

11:25 a.m. CST – Wind will definitely be a factor in today’s game. Coaches standing on the field are having their legs on their pants ripple in the breeze, and that’s at field level. The National Weather Service calls for wind gusts of near 30 miles per hour during the game, with a constant blow between 8 and 18 mph.

11:20 a.m. CST – Denver head coach John Fox is 2-0 against the Chiefs during his previous coaching stop in Carolina, winning in 2004 and 2008. Chiefs head coach Todd Haley is 2-2 against the Broncos, winning in Denver in the 2009 season and then at Arrowhead last year.

11:15 a.m. CST – Visiting near the 50-yard line are the punting Colquitt Brothers – Dustin with the Chiefs and Britton with the Broncos. Ironic twist last week – the brothers each had a botched play that left them vulnerable to getting smashed. Dustin got a field goal snap he wasn’t expected (pooch punt was expected) and tried to run. Britton got a bad snap and couldn’t get a punt off, so he threw an underhanded pass that fell incomplete. Both were ugly plays.

11:10 a.m. CST – making his first appearance on the field in Kansas City as a team executive, John Elway is out and about on the Broncos sideline. There are very few players in history that have broken as many red and gold hearts as Elway did during his playing career with the Broncos.

11:05 a.m. CST – Weather report today calls for sunny skies, with no chance of rain and temperatures in the high 60s. There’s a wind coming out of the west-southwest running from 8 to 18 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 28 mph. As is typical on a windy day at Arrowhead, the ribbons on the top of the uprights are blowing in different directions. On the east side they are blowing east, and on the west side they are blowing to the west. …Read More!

Defending Tebow … Thursday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

It was a fall weekend in Tuscaloosa, Alabama six years ago and after the Crimson Tide had dispatched Tennessee, sophomore defensive end Wallace Gilberry had more duties.

This was a recruiting weekend and there were a lot of prospective players in town. Gillberry was given the assignment of hosting a quarterback out of St. Augustine, Florida.

It was a fellow by the name of Tim Tebow.

“It was 7 o’clock at night and all he wanted to do was workout,” Gillberry remembered on Wednesday, after the Chiefs wrapped up their first day of preparations for Tebow and the Denver Broncos. “That’s the kind of guy he is. That’s his DNA.”

Gillberry couldn’t seal the deal for the Tide with Tebow.

“He was a Florida guy,” Gilberry said with a laugh. “I’d heard he had a (University of) Florida mailbox outside his house. We didn’t stand a chance with him.”

So six years later, here comes Tebow back on the radar for Gilberry. The guy who just wanted to workout has become the starting quarterback of the Broncos and last week he helped engineer a 14-point victory on the road against division rival Oakland. His presence in the starting lineup and his personality have combined to make him one of the most talked about stories in the NFL at mid-season. …Read More!

Notes & Quotes – Broncos Defense & Lance Ball

From Arrowhead Stadium

“Our defense is a work in progress,” Denver head coach John Fox said about the Broncos defensive unit that allowed only 258 yards and 10 points on Sunday to the Chiefs.

As impressive as the 244-yard rushing effort of Denver, the defense was equally impressive as they chased Chiefs QB Matt Cassel out of the game with a hand injury after sacking him four times and hitting him on another dozen plays.

Other than a 34-yard run by Chiefs RB Jackie Battle, Denver gave up 224 yards on 61 other plays for an average of 3.7 yards per play.

“Our guys are just getting a little bit better each week and hopefully we can continue to do that and continue to grow,” Fox said of his defense. “That’s what is important in this league, improving every week.”

FOX HAS BEEN THERE BEFORE

In his post-game press conference, Fox was asked if he ever coached a game with 63 plays and only eight were passes.

Turns out he did. It was December 24, 2006 and his Carolina Panthers were facing the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome.

That day, Carolina QB Chris Weinke threw the ball just seven times, completing four passes for 32 yards and a touchdown pass.

“We were able to win that one too,” Fox said.

THE LANCE BALL REPORT

Who in the heck is Lance Ball and how did he become the Broncos leading rusher in this game with 30 carries for 96 yards?

“It didn’t even feel like 30 carries,” Ball said after the game. “It felt good. I just kept on plugging and trusting my guys. I trusted my o-line and we popped a couple when we needed them. That felt great.”

Although he’s not nearly as big, Ball is Denver’s version of Jackie Battle. He’s 5-9, 220 pounds in his third NFL season out of Teaneck, New Jersey and the University of Maryland.

Ball was not drafted in 2008 when he came out of school and since then has been part of the Rams, Colts, Titans and now the Broncos. His biggest day running the ball before Sunday against the Chiefs came in the final regular season game of the Colts when he carried 18 times for 83 yards against Tennessee.

Coming into Sunday’s game, his career totals in 19 games were 79 runs, 372 yards without a TD.

ATMOSPHERE REPORT

The crowd was somewhere in the 60,000 to 65,000 range, with empty seats in all sections but especially in the high-priced club level. The crowd created some noise early in the game, but it didn’t take long for the Chiefs poor play to silence the crowd or bring out the boo birds.

ZEBRA REPORT

Veteran referee Ron Winter and his crew worked the game and despite their reputation of not being afraid to throw the yellow hanky, they only walked off 12 flags for a total of 105 yards. They got the Chiefs with four penalties for 40 yards. That’s their best day with penalties since the season opener when they had only one flag against Buffalo.

Todd Haley threw his red flag once for a replay challenge and ended up getting an on-field call overturned. It came on a Dexter McCluster run in the third quarter. McCluster lost the ball at the end of his 10-yard gain and officials on the field ruled it a fumble. But the replay review showed that McCluster’s left knee hit the ground before he lost the ball. The call was overturned and five plays later the Chiefs scored their only TD of the game.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

K Ryan Succop – He was good on his 32-yard FG attempt and that gives him 11 in a row and makes him 12 of 15 for the season, for 80 percent. Succop kicked off three times, with two touchbacks and an onside kick that was recovered by Denver.

P Dustin Colquitt – Kicking against his brother Britton, it was a good day for Dustin as he had seven punts for a 48.4-yard gross average, and a 40.4 net average. He had a long punt of 67 yards and knocked three punts inside the 20-yard line. Only two punts were returned for a total of 16 yards.

Ret. Javier Arenas – Back handling all the returns after missing last Sunday’s game, Arenas wasn’t able to generate much of anything. On three kick returns he averaged 17.7 yards with a long return of 28 yards. He returned three punts for an average of 9.7 yards, with a long return of 13 yards.

Coverage – Tackle spotters gave credit to Justin Houston, Thomas Gafford and Andy Studebaker for stops in the kicking game.

MEDICAL MATTERS FILE

It was a tough game on the bodies in this one, as both teams had players leave the field with the help of trainers.

Of course the biggest news was the right hand/wrist injury suffered by QB Matt Cassel late in the fourth quarter that knocked him out of the game. The hand was heavily wrapped after the game and this could be a serious injury.

CB Brandon Carr left the game at the 14:54 mark of the second quarter with what the Chiefs termed a leg bruise. Doctors worked on his right knee on the sidelines. Carr did not return until the start of the third quarter, but he finished out the game.

RB Jackie Battle and LT Branden Albert both had to be helped off the field at one point, but they both returned without missing any time. Injuries were unknown.

Late in the game, DE Glenn Dorsey left the field on a cart with what appeared to be a lower left leg injury. He did not return.

Denver lost RBs Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno in the first quarter to leg injuries.

ILB Demorrio Williams missed the game due to a groin injury he suffered in the previous game. SS Jon McGraw (neck/shoulder) and CB Javier Arenas (ankle) were back on the active roster after not playing last Sunday against Miami.

PERSONNEL FILE

Inactive players for the Chiefs were QB Ricky Stanzi, ILB Demorrio Williams, OT Steve Maneri, WR Jerheme Urban, TE Anthony Becht, DE Brandon Bair and DT Jerrell Powe.

Williams was the only inactive player due to injury, as he did not practice all week with a groin problem.

Inactive players for the Broncos were S Rafael Bush, CB Cassius Vaughn, FB Quinn Johnson, LB Wesley Woodyard, G Manny Ramirez, OT Tony Hills and DE Derrick Harvey.

Joe Pa Forgot The Most Important Thing

Joe Paterno has won more games than any coach in the history of major college football.

Joe Paterno has been a long-time benefactor of Penn State University, where his and his family’s donations total in to the millions of dollars and have built libraries and created laboratories far beyond the athletics department during his 62 years on campus.

Joe Paterno for 46 years has been the head coach and leader each year of 100-plus players, assistant coaches and countless other staff members. He has coached fathers, and then their sons. He’s revered by nearly everyone that’s been part of the Nittany Lions program since he replaced his mentor Rip Engle for the 1966 season.

Joe Paterno is the father of five and grandfather of 17. He was a loving son and brother.

Joe Paterno is and has been a lot of things. But first and foremost, Joseph Vincent Paterno was a person, a human being raised in Brooklyn, a graduate of the Brooklyn Preparatory School, the U.S. Army and Brown University. He was brought up to know the difference between right and wrong.

And it is his failure as a person that has brought down the life he’s built over the last half-century. He has no one to blame but himself.

Meeting Wednesday evening, the Penn State University Board of Trustees voted to fire Paterno immediately.

…Read More!

Practice Report/Update – 11/9

From the Truman Sports Complex

QB Matt Cassel says the Chiefs returned to work on Wednesday and have bounced back from the disappointment of the Miami loss.

“It was a game that we learned a lot from and we have to turn the page quickly because we have a tough opponent coming up quickly in the Broncos,” Cassel said after practice. “I think everybody in that locker room is ready to get back to work and perform better than we did this last Sunday.

“The energy out at practice today was great. I think guys were eager to get better to make corrections and get ready for another division opponent.”

ILB Demorrio Williams was the only player not participating Wednesday when the Chiefs began their preparation week for Sunday’s visit from the Denver.

Williams did not take part even in the team’s stretching segment, leaving the field and apparently headed to the locker room with what the team called a groin injury. Through this season, the eight-year veteran has seen playing time almost exclusively on special teams, and he’s second on the club with five tackles in the kicking game. With a punt returner like Denver’s Eddie Royal coming to town, losing any part of that punt coverage unit will hurt. So far this year, the Chiefs are No. 19 in punt coverage, giving up an average of 10.4 yards a return.

It appeared that SS Jon McGraw and CB Javier Arenas were fully participating in the early drills. Both players missed last Sunday’s game because of injury; McGraw a shoulder and Arenas an ankle. The team listed McGraw as limited and Arenas as full participation.

For the Broncos, LB Wesley Woodyard (knee) did not practice. Listed as limited in participation were S Brian Dawkins (thigh), TE Virgil Green (neck), FB Spencer Larsen (shoulder), S Rahim Moore (concussion), CB Cassius Vaughn (hamstring). RB Willis McGahee was also on the list with a hand injury, but he was full participation.

Personnel File: Denver Broncos

Personnel leader – John Elway and head coach John Fox. Elway re-joined the organization earlier this year and his position is far more than ceremonial. He’s involved with personnel and evaluation and was a big force during the 2011 NFL Draft. Fox has a big say so in what goes down with the roster and Elway has differed to his head coach’s thoughts and recommendations more often than not.

Key aides – General manager Brian Xanders (18 seasons in NFL), director of college scouting Matt Russell (10), director of pro personnel Keith Kidd (17).

Personnel department – 15 people, with one person identified as a national scout and seven area scouts.

Personnel philosophy – Before the current setup, with Elway and Fox, the Broncos were all over the place in what they were trying to do in building their roster. Most recent head coach Josh McDaniels came in with Xanders and they spent a lot of money and time on unrestricted free agents, while struggling to produce contributing draft classes. In his final seasons, Mike Shanahan made a host of personnel mistakes, especially in the draft. …Read More!

The 1st Half Best/Worst … Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Half the season is in the books for the NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs.

They go into the second half schedule with a 4-4 record and they can still battle for first place in the AFC West since not a single team is ahead of them in the standings.

Todd Haley divides the 16-game into four quarters of four games each. They were 1-3 in the first quarter and then 3-1 in the second quarter. Ahead may be the two hardest quarters on the schedule, with teams like the Patriots, Steelers, Bears, Jets and Packers ahead, along with games against the Broncos twice and Raiders.

Haley called the first half “adventurous.” He was proven correct.

“I said in training camp that it would be a wild ride and it hasn’t disappointed,” Haley said. …Read More!

A Wild & Mediocre AFC West … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs

It’s the halfway point of the 2011 NFL season, and it’s already been filled with a lot of twists and turns with only half of the schedule has been completed.

There are some ups and downs to come, maybe a lot of ups and downs.

“It’s been an adventurous first half of the season,” Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said Monday when discussing his team’s smack down from the Miami Dolphins 31-3. “It was a different set of encyclopedias from the start. Everybody has had the same challenges with the lack of off-season and those things. I think it’s led to a unique year thus far. I said in training camp that it would be a wild ride and it hasn’t disappointed.

“We have a team that is still developing and still a work in progress. I think our guys have been through a lot together. They’ve shown great resolve, great resiliency. Those are characteristics I would like to have with my team. We’ve shown the ability to fight back and claw and scratch. I’m excited in the direction we are going now.”

Right now, that direction remains a bit unknown after a four-game winning streak was brought to a halt by the Dolphins. Despite a failure of every facet of the Chiefs operation against Miami, they came out of the game barely touched in the entire picture of the division and conference. They remain part of the chase to the playoffs due to the mediocrity/parity of the AFC West. Half the season down and the Chiefs are tied with the Chargers and Raiders for first place. Just a game behind is Denver, and the Broncos are coming to Arrowhead Stadium this coming weekend, just a week after they went to Oakland and beat the Raiders by 14 points. …Read More!

Numbers – Dolphins vs. Chiefs

The numbers look every bit as bad as you would expect in the loss to Miami Sunday at Arrowhead. But here’s a new one for you to crunch on:

Miami ran 47 plays (24 runs, 23 passes) and scored 31 points. The Chiefs ran 73 plays (34 runs and 39 passes) and scored 3 points. If you discount Miami’s three kneel-downs at the end of the game, the Dolphins scored seven-tenths of a point per play. The Chiefs scored three-one-hundredths of a point per play.

Here are just a few of the highlights – or lowlights if you prefer:

• The Chiefs allowed the Dolphins more than 10 yards every time they passed.
• The Chiefs had no sacks and did not force a turnover.
• While the overall rushing defense looks acceptable with holding the Dolphins to 3 yards or less on 12 of the 24 carries, three of quarterback Matt Moore’s runs were kneel-downs for minus-2 yards. That effectively means the Dolphins averaged more than 5 yards per rushing carry and that doesn’t even factor in the 38-yard run to the Chiefs 6 that was called back for offsetting penalties on the Dolphins first drive.
• From the start of the second quarter to early in the third, the Chiefs called 17 passing plays. Quarterback Matt Cassel had to scramble or was sacked on nine of them. This was at a time when the Chiefs trailed by no more than 14-3. …Read More!

Sunday’s Best – 11/6

LONGEST PLAYS

• 99 – Arizona CB Patrick Peterson (right) punt return TD vs. St. Louis (W).
• 85 – Denver WR Eddie Royal punt return TD vs. Oakland (W).
• 80 – Atlanta WR Julio Jones TD catch vs. Indianapolis (W).
• 76 – Green Bay S Charlie Peprah interception return vs. San Diego (W).
• 70 – Seattle P Jon Ryan punt vs. Dallas (L).
• 66 – Buffalo P Brian Moorman punt vs. N.Y. Jets (L).
• 64 – Green Bay WR Jordy Nelson TD catch vs. San Diego (W).
• 63 – Cleveland WR Joshua Cribbs kickoff return vs. Houston (L).
• 63 – Arizona P David Zastudil punt vs. St. Louis (W).
• 61 – San Francisco P Andy Lee punt vs. Washington (W).
• 61 – Oakland P Shane Lechler punt vs. Denver (L).

RUSHING

• 163 – Denver RB Willis McGahee on 20 carries, 2 TDs vs. Oakland (W).
• 139 – Dallas RB DeMarco Murray on 22 carries vs. Seattle (W).
• 135 – Seattle RB Marshawn Lynch on 23 carries, 1 TD vs. Dallas (L).
• 130 – St. Louis RB Steven Jackson on 29 carries vs. Arizona (L).
• 124 – Houston RB Arian Foster on 19 carries, 1 TD vs. Cleveland (W).
• 115 – Houston RB Ben Tate on 12 carries, 1 TD vs. Cleveland (W).
• 107 – San Francisco RB Frank Gore on 19 carries vs. Washington (W). …Read More!

Chiefs Crash To Earth Against Dolphins

From Arrowhead Stadium

After winning four straight games, the magic ran out for the Chiefs, and it ran out in a big way.

They were totally dominated by a winless Miami Dolphins team that controlled the line of scrimmage and made life miserable for both sides of the football for the Chiefs. The Dolphins 31-3 victory ended what was a 10-game Miami losing streak going back to last year.

And the loss left the Chiefs 4-4 on the season, in a performance that was more reminiscent to the way they played in the first two games of the season than the way they’ve performed in the last four.

No offensive touchdowns, poor pass protection and no running game killed the Chiefs when they had the ball. Miami QB Matt Moore threw three TD passes and RB Reggie Bush ran through the Chiefs defense.

There’s plenty to come from the locker rooms, so come back early and often.

• GAME STORY: Dolphins out play Chiefs.
• COLUMN: Chiefs run out of gas.
• PLAY OF THE GAME: Oh s#$*t screen.
• SIDEBAR: Was that a fake field goal?
• SIDEBAR: Cassel runs for his life.
• SIDEBAR: Coverage mistakes hurt secondary.
• SIDEBAR: Too many 3rd downs for Chiefs.
• REPORT CARD: Failing grades for red and gold.
• NOTES/QUOTES: Happy day for Dolphins.
• 4 Things Must Do/Recap: Chiefs don’t get it done.
• PREGAME coverage
• GAMEBOOK

From Hunter to Hunted … GAMEDAY Cup O’Chiefs

How the Chiefs handle themselves and their business Sunday afternoon will go a long way in revealing just what type of potential this 2011 squad may have over the second half of the season.

The winless Miami Dolphins are in town and the Chiefs are pre-game favorites with the oddsmakers in Las Vegas for only the second time this season as they put their 4-3 record and one-third share of the AFC West lead on the line. Kickoff is just after noon CST and the television coverage is on CBS-TV.

The Chiefs are no longer the hunter, but the hunted. They have created a lot of momentum for their season and this game is important to keep that flow going in a positive direction.

If the Dolphins were 3-4 and not 0-7 this would still be a tough match-up for the Chiefs. Miami has been built with size, strength and toughness in mind, especially across the line of scrimmage on both offense and defense. LT Jake Long is 6-7, 320 pounds of mean, the former No. 1 choice in the entire NFL Draft in 2008. At NT is Paul Soliai, at 6-4, 355 pounds tough to move mountain of a man. …Read More!

Dolphins Appetizers With Stone Crabs On The Side

I always like to pass along good opportunities for great food while traveling on the NFL trail. Usually that comes when the Chiefs hit the road, but they are not making a trip to Miami this year. But I wanted to pass along a couple must dos if you should get down to south Florida.

First, if you are looking for a local delicacy then its Joe’s Stone Crabs on Miami Beach. Should you be interested in dessert, specifically key lime pie, I’ve got another spot, a very Kansas City-like BBQ place named the Hitching Post out near the Miami Airport.

Stone crabs are found in the cool waters of the Atlantic Ocean generally between the months of October and May. Thus, Joe’s Stone Crab is only open during that time frame. Hit Miami Beach in July and Joe’s is closed. Also know this – Joe’s does not take reservations. I’ve seen some pretty well known people standing in line at Joe’s on a Saturday night, including one time during Super Bowl week in Miami, Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt and his wife Norma.

In its time, Joe’s Stone Crab has enjoyed frequent visits from the likes of Al Capone, J. Edgar Hoover, Amelia Earhart, all the Kennedys, Walter Winchell, and Damon Runyon and on and on. It is as legendary as its most famous customers. …Read More!

4 Things Chiefs Must Do To Beat Dolphins

HISTORY

• These teams have met 27 times before after they both came into pro football as members of the American Football League. The Dolphins have won 15 of those 27 games to date.
• The last time these teams played was in 2008, under brutally cold weather conditions at Arrowhead Stadium, Miami won 38-31 despite Chiefs QB Tyler Thigpen throwing for 320 yards and two TD passes.
• The last time the Chiefs beat the Dolphins was in October 2005, when they took a 30-20 victory in an unusual Friday night game. The NFL moved the game from Sunday to Friday because of the approaching Hurricane Wilma.
• The Chiefs and Dolphins have played three times in the playoffs, with Miami winning all three including the memorable Christmas Day game in 1971 at Kansas City’s now gone Municipal Stadium. The Dolphins won 27-24 in double-overtime in a game where there were 13 Pro Football Hall of Famers on the field.

4

Another victory needed in kicking game

One of the keys to the Chiefs winning streak has been their ability to get solid play out of their special teams. That must continue against the Dolphins, who have not done much in the return game (longest return/42 yards), but also have not given up much (longest return allowed/43 yards). Miami has a solid kicking duo in K Dan Carpenter (15 of 18 on FGs) and P Brandon Fields (49.2-yard gross/41.6-yard net). Overall the stats show the Chiefs with a slight edge in the kicking game and they must take advantage of that and affect field position. …Read More!

Ready For Game of Century … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs

We pause during this four-game Chiefs winning streak to acknowledge the biggest game in football this weekend.

It’s going down Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, as Alabama hosts Louisiana State in another edition of the “Game of the Century.”

What does that have to do with the Chiefs? If you’d been in the team’s locker room over the past few days it would be obvious. There are seven players on the roster with roots in the Crimson Tide and Tigers programs. They spent the better part of the week jawing back and forth at each other in the good natured chatter that a couple neighbors with ties to Kansas and Missouri might have over the backyard fence.

No other team in the National Football League has as many players on its roster with such a decided interest in the outcome of Saturday night’s game than the Chiefs.

“It’s all just a little slice of the SEC around here,” said FS Kendrick Lewis, an interested observer from Ole Miss. …Read More!

A Look At Alabama Defensive Prospects

The latest “Game of the Century” in college football goes down Saturday evening with No. 1 and No. 2 facing off in the Southeastern Conference, LSU at Alabama. There are all sorts of prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft. The Crimson Tide under Nick Saban have a large number of potential draft choices, so we’ve broken them down into several parts that will pop up in the coming days. We covered the Alabama offense and LUS previously. This time it’s the Alabama defense.

DEFENSE

#41 OLB Courtney Upshaw/Senior – 6-2, 265 pounds. Considered the best defensive player on the Tide’s roster, Upshaw has shown himself to be a real pass rushing force off the edge and he has real playmaking ability. He’s been a starter the last two seasons and over his 48-game career he’s had 12.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles and earlier this season, he had an interception that he returned 45 yards for a touchdown. Overall, he has 115 total tackles, 30 TFL, along with 6 forced fumbles. TOP-HALF OF FIRST ROUND PICK.

#37 FS Robert Lester/Junior – 6-2, 210 pounds. Two-year starter has show good ball-hawking skills on the back line, getting help playing next to Mark Barron. This season, he has 22 total tackles, 1 INT, plus one blocked kick. Over 29 career games with 21 starts, he’s had 82 total tackles, 1 sack and 9 interceptions. THIRD-FOURTH ROUND PROSPECT. …Read More!

Practice Report/Update – 11/4

From Arrowhead Stadium

WR Dwayne Bowe, CBs Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr were all fined by the NFL office this week for violations of the uniform code during Monday night’s game against San Diego.

The trio replaced the normal white socks with red and gold piping with solid red socks. But that wasn’t why they were fined according to Bowe. He said the fine came because of their shoes. They spray painted black shoes red and that drew the discipline because they did not display an appropriate NFL approved logo.

No word on the size of the fine, but uniform violations usually fall in the $5,000 to $10,000 range depending on the nature of the transgression and how often the player might be an offender.

As has become their custom on the Friday of home games, the Chiefs held their last practice of the week inside Arrowhead Stadium. Todd Haley was happy with what he saw from his team.

“I think the guys are over the hump from Monday night,” the head coach said. “There was a good pace throughout the practice. Things go quick when you have a short week.”

Things did not go quickly for veteran SS Jon McGraw, who did not practice this week because of a shoulder injury suffered Monday night against San Diego. On the Chiefs official injury report to the league office Friday afternoon McGraw is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins. If McGraw does not play, the Chiefs defense will be down to their third different starting strong safety this season, likely to be Donald Washington.

Also on that injured list as of Friday is CB Javier Arenas with an ankle injury. He was a limited participant in practice the past two days and is listed as questionable.

All 10 players on the Dolphins injury report have a chance of playing on Sunday. They break down this way:

Questionable – CB Vontae Davis (hamstring), WR Edmond Gates (groin) and RB Daniel Thomas (hamstring).

Probable – S Yeremiah Bell (toe), OT Marc Colombo (knee), C Mike Pouncey (neck), OLB Jason Taylor (hip), G Richie Incognito (ankle), DE Kendall Langford (hips) and QB Matt Moore (ribs).

A Look At LSU Prospects

The latest “Game of the Century” in college football goes down Saturday evening with No. 1 and No. 2 facing off in the Southeastern Conference, LSU at Alabama. There are all sorts of prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft. The Crimson Tide under Nick Saban have a large number of potential draft choices as does LSU. We’ve broken them down into several parts that will pop up in the coming days. Right now, it’s LSU.

OFFENSE

#2 WR Rueben Randle/Junior – 6-4, 208 pounds. Another in a long-line of LSU receivers who seldom vary much in their physical numbers and always proved to be productive college players. In 34 games with 20 starts, he’s caught 77 passes for 1,355 yards and 12 TD. This season, he has seven scoring catches.

#19 TE Deangelo Peterson/Senior – 6-4, 235 pounds. A converted wide receiver, Peterson is still getting the handle on this blocking thing, so he’s a prospect in progress there. But he can still catch the ball, with 33 career receptions for 417 yards and 3 TDs.

#72 RT Alex Hurst/Junior – 6-6, 340 pounds. Hurst has played 29 games with 17 career starts. He’s in his second year as starter at RT and this year has been the only offensive line starter who has opened all eight games for the Tigers. …Read More!

Bad QBs = Chiefs Victories … Friday Cup O’Chiefs

The bandwagon has been rolling all week. All those red and gold sweatshirts are being pulled out of the closets. The Chiefs have won four in a row and the Chiefs Nation is bubbling with anticipation.

A four-game winning streak in the NFL should always be celebrated, no matter the circumstances. It’s damn difficult to win in professional football. There is some much effort, blood, sweat and tears required to win a game. For a team to walk off the field of play with a victory is the only thing that makes the pain worthwhile.

So cheer for the Chiefs current string of victories. But also understand this – a lot of the right cards have been dealt to them in these last four games. That’s especially true when it comes to the game’s premier position – quarterback.

The NFL is a league that’s driven by the play of its quarterbacks. The rules have been set up to help the offense. The officials have been schooled to call the game to allow the quarterbacks the most protection and the most opportunities. The quarterbacks are the highest paid and receive the most attention.

In their four-game winning streak the Chiefs have faced only one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. That was Monday night with Philip Rivers of the Chargers. Ironically, it was the poor play of Rivers that ultimately allowed the Chiefs to win the game in overtime and continue their winning ways. …Read More!

A Look At Alabama Offensive Prospects

The latest “Game of the Century” in college football goes down Saturday evening with No. 1 and No. 2 facing off in the Southeastern Conference, LSU at Alabama. There are all sorts of prospects for the 2012 NFL Draft. The Crimson Tide under Nick Saban have a large number of potential draft choices, so we’ve broken them down into several parts that will pop up in the coming days. This time it’s the Alabama offense.

OFFENSE

#3 RB Trent Richardson/Junior, 5-11, 224 pounds – He’s the catalyst behind the Alabama offense, and should break the 1,000-yard mark for the season against LSU – he needs only 11 yards. Powerful and fast, he was a superb compliment to Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram before he left for the NFL. One of the strongest running backs to roll through Tuscaloosa, Richardson bench presses 475 pounds and can squat 600+ pounds. He comes into the game with 989 yards on 149 carries, a 6.6-yard per carry average with 17 TDs. On his 33-game career in red and white, Richardson has run for 2,438 yards and 31 TDs, along with 604 receiving yards and 5 TD catches. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown. FIRST-ROUND, TOP TEN PICK. …Read More!

Numbers: Monday Night vs. Chargers

On the surface, the Chiefs rush defense looks as if it put up some significant numbers against the Chargers. In four quarters, plus overtime, they allowed just 102 yards rushing. They held the Chargers to 3 yards or fewer on 15 of the carries.

But the importance of run defense is not in the sheer numbers. It is being able to get off the field late in the game to get the ball for your offense to attempt a game-winning drive or run off the clock.

In that regard, the defense failed abysmally. With the score tied 20-20, the Chargers got the ball at the Chiefs 48 with nearly 5 minutes remaining. With first down at the Chiefs 27 and just 3:27 remaining, the Chargers pounded out consecutive runs of 6, 6, 4 and 5 yards to put them in third-and-1 at the 16. Another successful run gained a first down and the Chargers were just a secure quarterback exchange from kicking the winning field goal.

As we know, Philip Rivers mishandled the snap, the Chiefs recovered, and overtime came. But the inability to stop the run in that situation might have cost the Chiefs dearly. …Read More!

Practice Report/Update – 11/3

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs secondary was down two players on Thursday when they hit the field for practice.

SS Jon McGraw and CB Javier Arenas were both on the sidelines riding stationary bikes as the team began the session outside in cool and windy weather conditions.

McGraw suffered a shoulder injury Monday night against San Diego and left the game. He did not participate in practice. Arenas’ injury was not reported by the Chiefs and he was not listed as a non-participant. Arenas said the move was just precautionary.

“I could have practiced, but they were just making sure,” he said.

The Dolphins still had 10 players listed on their injury/practice report and all of them took some part in the team’s Thursday practice. Limited participation – CB Vontae Davis (hamstring), WR Edmond Gates (groin) and RB Daniel Thomas (hamstring).

Full participation – S Yeremiah Bell (toe), OT Marc Colombo (knee), C Mike Pouncey (neck), OLB Jason Taylor (hip), G Richie Incognito (ankle), DE Kendall Langford (hip) and QB Matt Moore (ribs).

Working The RBs … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

The ball left Matt Cassel’s hand and was headed in his direction. Le’Ron McClain knew it was going to arrive in half-a-second and knew he needed to adjust his body to get in position to catch the ball.

As he turned, the ball arrived in his hands. At the same moment, the right shoulder of San Diego S Steve Gregory arrived in McClain’s chest.

“I turned, had the ball and he hit me,” McClain said of the play that went down during Monday night’s game at Arrowhead Stadium. “It all happened in a snap of the fingers. When I turned, I saw him out of the corner of my eye, so I knew I was going to get hit.

“Coach always says, if you know you are going to get hit, go ahead and hold on to the football so at least you can get something out of the play,” McClain added with a laugh. It was one of the bigger plays of the evening for the Chiefs offense.

The throw to McClain gained 14 yards and Gregory was penalized 15 yards for hitting a defenseless player. McClain disagreed with the penalty, saying the hit was neither wrong nor illegal. “No big deal,” he said. “I thought it was a good play.”

Those 29 yards moved the ball into San Diego territory. On the next play, Cassel connected with WR Jonathan Baldwin in the end zone for the Chiefs first touchdown of the evening. …Read More!

Personnel File: Miami Dolphins

Miami WR Brandon Marshall has good hands, but a shaky personality as the Dolphins have found out.

Personnel leader – General manager Jeff Ireland came to the Dolphins in 2008 when Bill Parcells moved over from the Cowboys. There were certainly questions in 2008-09 in how much control Ireland had over personnel with Parcells in building. But as the “Big Tuna” phased himself out in 2010, there was no question Ireland was the man in charge of personnel with head coach Tony Sparano. Ireland had spent seven seasons in Dallas eventually become the team’s Vice-President of College and Pro Scouting. Before he joined the Cowboys in 2001, Ireland spent four years with the Chiefs as an area scout and was instrumental in draft choices like Dante Hall and Greg Wesley. Since 2008, 44 of the 53 players have been added to the roster, including 28 in the last two years.

Key aides – Director of Player Personnel Brian Gaine (13 NFL seasons); Director of College Scouting Chris Grier (17).

Personnel department – 17 scouts and player-personnel designated people. …Read More!

Practice Report/Update – 11/2

From the Truman Sports Complex

The players had an extra day off from practice on Wednesday, as Todd Haley welcomed back his group from its day off with a shortened session.

Concerned because the Chiefs have played two physical, division opponents in the last two games, Haley had the squad report on Wednesday at lunch time for a film session and then they held a walkthrough session indoors. It was a mental start to preparations for this Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins at Arrowhead Stadium.

“This is going to be a big challenge for us as a group to get back physically and mentally to be where we need to be,” said Haley.

When it comes to actual injuries, the only player listed on the team’s report for Wednesday was SS Jon McGraw. He left the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder/neck injury and did not return. McGraw said after the game he did not think the injury as serious enough to keep him out of action this coming weekend.

But there are plenty of bumps, bruises, contusions, scrapes, cuts and aches within the 46 players who have saw action against the Chargers.

“Yeah, you feel like you’ve been run over by a truck and then you remember what happened in the game and it doesn’t feel so bad,” said ILB Derrick Johnson. “With a short week, you just have to take extra care of your body.”

The Chiefs official injury/practice report to the league had only McGraw listed, and he did not participate.

For the Dolphins, they had 10 players on their injury report. Did not practice: S Yeremiah Bell (toe), RT Marc Colombo (knee), C Mike Pouncey (neck) and OLB Jason Taylor (hip). Limited participation: CB Vontae Davis (hamstring), WR Edmond Gates (groin), G Richie Incognito (ankle) and RB Daniel Thomas (hamstring). Full participation: DE Kendall Langford (hip), QB Matt Moore (ribs).

Romeo Adjusts Defense … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

It happened in the first quarter of the first game of the 2011 season.

Buffalo WR Stevie Johnson threw a cheap cut block downfield at Eric Berry’s knee, blowing out his ACL and ending his season before it even began.

It also ended months of preparation, work and scheming by Chiefs defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. After Berry turned in such a good performance in his rookie season, one that earned him a ticket to the Pro Bowl, Crennel used the off-season to create a defensive plan that would take full advantage of Berry’s talents.

Then, not even five minutes into the season, Berry was done and so were a whole lot of defensive ideas. Crennel went back to the drawing board, save for one problem – the season did not stop to allow him time to revamp. Five games would be in the books before he had a chance during the bye week to really look at the changes he made.

And in the last two weeks, Crennel the defensive mastermind has fielded one of the most productive defenses in the league. While the Chiefs offense continues to be a work in progress, the defense is the side of the ball that has keyed the four-game winning streak. After giving up 89 points in the first two games, they’ve allowed 81 points in the last five games and just 20 points in the last two.

That improvement has been recognized not only in the standings and statistics, but by the selection of CB Brandon Flowers and LB Derrick Flowers as the last two AFC Defensive Players of the Week. …Read More!

Notes & Quotes: Happy Day For Dolphins

From Arrowhead Stadium

As he met with the media after his team’s 31-3 victory over the Chiefs on Sunday, Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano was a bit subdued.

Especially, for a coach that’s team had just ended a 10-game franchise losing streak and won its first game of the season after losing the first seven.

“I’m just happy for the guys in the locker room, I really am,” said Sparano. “All I’ve wanted to do for seven weeks is to see these guys smile. I’m happy for them.”

Believe it … they were happy to be happy after losing every time they’ve stepped on the field this season.

“Our coach’s message all week was to start fast, finish strong and we did it,” said WR Brandon Marshall. “We’re going to enjoy this one and then move on to the next one.”

Added RB Reggie Bush: “It’s been a tough little road these first few games and we’ve been waiting for this one. The difference today was that we executed. The effort has been there every game, but we’ve been lacking in the execution department. I think that’s the main reason we were successful today.”

PRESSURING CASSEL

After the game, the Dolphins made it plain that their defensive plan was built around keeping Chiefs QB Matt Cassel as uncomfortable as possible.

They certainly did that by getting five sacks and keeping Cassel running for his football life all day.

“He made some plays on the run, but no quarterback likes to get pressured too much and moved off the spot and made uncomfortable, and that’s our job to do that,” said OLB Jason Taylor. “He didn’t stop fighting because of it, but I’m sure he would have preferred to have a little more time in some situations.”

ILB Karlos Dansby could see that the constant pass rush was getting to Cassel.

“He was very erratic, throwing the ball all over the place,” Dansby said. “A couple guys dropped a couple of passes for them. That’s all we really needed in order to really shut those guys out.”

ATMOSPHERE REPORT

The Chiefs announced paid attendance of 72,263, but there certainly were not that many butts in the seats at Arrowhead for the game. More like somewhere between 60,000 to 65,000.

They started out making a lot of noise, but the tone of the game quickly changed as the Chiefs fell behind and the crowd became no bother for the Dolphins. Although they were penalized seven times in the game, the offense did not get hit with a false start penalty.

By the fourth quarter and the Chiefs down 28-3, the stadium cleared out.

ZEBRA REPORT

Walt Anderson and his crew handled the game. They came into the game as a pretty busy crew, averaging 13 penalties walked off per game for 108 yards. On this afternoon, there were 15 penalties accepted for 119 yards, so they were right about their average.

Here’s what the Chiefs were penalized for on the afternoon:

There were no replay challenges or reviews in the game. Don’t often see that in the NFL these days.

SPECIAL TEAMS REPORT

K Ryan Succop – He hit his only FG attempt of the game, from 43 yards. He’s now made 10 in a row. Succop kicked off twice and both went for touchbacks.

P Dustin Colquitt – He punted five times for 51, 32, 54, 35 and 57 yards. That’s an average of 45.8 yards per kick. His net total on each kick was 42, 32, 40, 20 and 44, for an average of 35.6 yards.

R Dexter McCluster – Handling both punt and kickoff returns with Javier Arenas out with an ankle injury, he had five total returns. His two punt returns went for an average of 15 yards, with a long of 22 yards. His three kickoff returns went for an average of 17.7 yards, with a long of 21. Terrance Copper also had a kickoff return for 12 yards.

Coverage – The Dolphins averaged 12.8 yards on four punt returns with a long return of 15 yards. LB Cory Greenwood was credited with three total tackles in the kicking game. OLB Justin Houston added two tackles.

PERSONNEL FILE

The inactive players for the Chiefs were QB Ricky Stanzi, S Jon McGraw, WR Jerheme Urban, DE Brandon Bair, NT Jerrell Powe, OT Steve Maneri and CB Javier Arenas.

Inactive players for the Dolphins were CB Vontae Davis, RB Steve Slaton, LB Ikaika Alama-Francis, OT Will Barker, G John Jerry, TE Will Yeatman and DE Philip Merling.

The Oh “Sh#t” Touchdown … Play of the Game

From Arrowhead Stadium

QUARTER – 2nd, 9:55 to play in the first half.

SCORE – Dolphins up 7-3.

DOWN & DISTANCE – 1st-and-10, @ Chiefs 35-yard line.

DEFENSIVE SET – Base defense, 3-4-4.

OFFENSIVE SET – 2 WRs left, 2 TEs right, 1 running back.

It’s a play that’s often called the “Oh s@#&t screen” although in this case, it was much more than a screen pass.

As he came to the line of scrimmage for the snap, Miami QB Matt Moore saw something he liked and recognized from his pre-game preparation.

“We had certain looks that would kind of trigger those plays,” Moore said after the game.

TE Anthony Fasano lined up on the right side of the play and when he heard Moore’s adjustment at the line of scrimmage, he knew it was going to be his play.

“It was actually an audible,” said Fasano about the play. “Matt alerted to it and did a great job of getting into it. That type of play needs everybody to sell it and it happened.”

Using what almost looked like a play-action fake to RB Reggie Bush, Moore sent everybody moving to the offense’s right side as he rolled that way.

But then he stopped and came back to his left, down the sideline where his veteran tight end was wide, wide open. Fasano had run across the face of the Chiefs defense without anyone laying a hand on him.

He caught the ball at the 10-yard line while he was backpedaling. He turned and eventually leaped for the end zone, as LB Derrick Johnson was tackling him. Fasano scored his second TD of the game.

It’s called an “Oh s@#&t screen” because generally defensive players react to the fake and then they are saying oh shoe as the ball is thrown over the heads.

“That was my fault,” said Johnson. “I reacted to the stuff going the opposite direction. Before I knew what happened the ball was in the air and I couldn’t get back there in time.”

Fasano said the Dolphins put that play in this past week, just for this game.

“I think they worked because we were running the ball and some play action stuff was working,” Fasano said. “Great calls, great scheme, great execution.”

Great play; it gave the Dolphins a 14-3 lead and changed the momentum of the game through the rest of the first half and into the third quarter.

Miami never looked back after that play.

Report Card – Dolphins vs. Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

RUSHING OFFENSE: D – The Chiefs are an offense that’s built around running the football; that did not get done in any manner against Miami. They ran for 116 yards on 34 carries, but let’s take the work by QB Matt Cassel out of the mix, since he wasn’t running as much as he was scrambling for his life. Plus, takeout the minus-3 yards from punter Dustin Colquitt on the botched pooch punt. The running backs had 81 yards on 24 carries, or 3.4 yards per carry. Jackie Battle averaged 2.9 yards on 14 carries. Thomas Jones a pitiful 5 yards on 3 carries. Only Dexter McCluster got anything going with 36 yards on seven carries.

PASSING OFFENSE: D – A lack of pass protection made throwing the ball dangerous for Chiefs QB Matt Cassel. He simply did not have enough time throughout the game to develop any sort of rhythm. Of the 20 completions, 13 went to Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston. No other receiver had more than one catch. The passing game really misses a catcher at tight end. Overall, it was a D performance, with the pass protection getting an F.

RUSHING DEFENSE: D – It’s bad, bad, bad when Reggie Bush can come in and average 7.1 yards per carry, including a 28-yard scoring run where he wasn’t touched by the Chiefs defense. Without the running of QB Matt Moore, it was 20 carries for 104 yards, or 5.2 yards per carry. It wasn’t a big rushing total, but it was very effective.

PASSING DEFENSE: F – This was not one of the NFL’s elite passers throwing against the Chiefs defense on Sunday. Matt Moore came into the game with a career total of 17 TD passes and 21 interceptions. He threw 3 TDs and no interceptions against the Chiefs. Brandon Marshall finished with 106 yards and TE Anthony Fasano had the two TD catches. Mistakes in coverage were visible everywhere.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D – The Chiefs weren’t able to produce any type of edge in the kicking game. Both punters had good days, but neither side got anything going on returns. The botched pooch punt drops the grade for this unit an entire letter grade, from C to D. That type of thing should never happen at this level of football.

COACHING: F – A coaching staff directing a team to a 28-point defeat will never get a passing grade. Todd Haley wanted to take the blame for the way he worked the team in the short week, but that’s just the head coach falling on his sword and trying to take the pressure off his players and coaching staff. The offense game plan left something to be desired, and then it went out the window when they fell behind. Romeo Crennel got nothing done on defense and Steve Hoffman apparently didn’t make sure everyone knew what was going on with a botched pooch punt.

Too Many 3rd Downs For Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

There were 30 third down plays in Sunday’s game between the Chiefs and Dolphins.

Both teams converted 11 of those situations into first downs, or 36.7 percent.

The Chiefs actually had a percentage better than that, as they faced 20 third-down plays, converting eight of them for 40 percent. That’s still way too many do or die situations for an offense,

“Offensively, we did things to set ourselves back, whether it was a penalty or minus play, a sack,” said head coach Todd Haley. “We aren’t a high-powered unit to so speak. We can’t afford to be going an extra 10, 15, 20 yards during drives.”

On average, the Chiefs faced a 3rd-and-6 on 21 third down plays. On the eight they converted themselves, on average it was 3rd-and-3.8 yards. They got a first down on 21st third down attempt due to a penalty against Miami.

Only two of those conversions came in the second half, and the Chiefs offense made things hard for itself several times with 3rd downs for 10, 11 and 19 yards.

“You aren’t going to be able to keep an offense moving the ball when you can’t convert on third downs,” said WR Steve Breaston. “We had the ball a lot, but we needed to move the sticks more often.”

The Chiefs held the advantage in time of possession with a 9-minute, 18-second advantage. That would seem to be great potential for third down conversions.

Here are the third down plays for the game, including those involving penalties:

Coverage Mistakes Hurt Secondary

From Arrowhead Stadium

It was one of the more familiar sights from the earliest part of the Chiefs 2011 season.

The other team is celebrating a touchdown pass in the end zone and Chiefs defensive backs and linebackers are looking at each other and trying to figure who made the mistake that allowed that wide open play for a score.

As the Chiefs were putting together their four-game winning streak, those types of scenes diminished and in the last two games all but disappeared.

But they were back Sunday in the loss to Miami, as Dolphins QB Matt Moore threw three touchdown passes, including a pair to TE Anthony Fasano where coverage was blown both times.

“We didn’t play nearly as well as we needed too,” said CB Brandon Flowers. “We have to make big plays for our team. We have to intercept the ball and force turnovers and all those things that help us win games.

“That didn’t get done today.”

The secondary was down two men on Sunday with both SS Jon McGraw (shoulder) and CB Javier Arenas (ankle) declared inactive for the game because of injuries. That put third-year man Donald Washington into the starting lineup at strong safety and Travis Daniels was the nickel back for Arenas.

The first sign of trouble came on Miami’s second offensive possession, when on a 3rd-and-8 play at the Chiefs 45-yard line, the pass from Matt Moore to WR Brandon Marshall went for 20 yards and a first down. Marshall was wide open on the play, with no coverage man without five yards of him.

Pointed words were thrown on the field in the direction of Washington after that play. They certainly were three plays later, when on a 1st-and-goal play at the Chiefs 3-yard line, TE Anthony Fasano came off the line and got behind Washington. He was wide open for the short throw from Moore for a touchdown.

“My fault, my call, I should have had him,” said Washington. “I didn’t realize he had gotten that much depth.”

In the second quarter, the Dolphins took over at their 22-yard line when Moore hit back-to-back throws to rookie FB/TE Charles Clay for 21 and 22 yards, moving the ball to the Chiefs 35-yard line. The man in coverage on the first of those plays was Flowers. “He got inside of me and they connected,” Flowers said. “I just missed the ball, but shouldn’t have allowed him to go there.”

On the next play, it was a similar formation and SS Donald Washington came up and tried to get a chuck on Clay, who got away and caught a pass down the middle of the field for 22 yards. Two plays 43 yards. Coming into the game, Clay had caught four passes for 79 yards on the season.

Then, Moore and Fasano hooked up on a 35-yard TD play where the tight end was wide open. That was the type of afternoon it was for the Chiefs defense, and especially the secondary. Mishaps, bad communication, lack of recognition, all the types of mistakes that allows a relatively inexperienced passer to throw for three TDs.

“They had some new wrinkles in, but every team has that every week,” said Flowers. “We have to react better to those things. This was not a performance we could be proud of.”

Cassel Spends Day Running For His Life

From Arrowhead Stadium

Among NFL quarterbacks, Matt Cassel is not known for his mobility.

By no means is he a statue that can’t move. But he’s far from one of those passers who can provide his offense with opportunity through his legs. Going into Sunday’s game against Miami, Cassel had run 14 times for 45 yards. That was an average of two runs per game for a little more than six yards.

Sometimes, a quarterback has to do what a quarterback has to do, and against the Dolphins, Cassel had to run, and run, and run. He had to do it if he wanted to stay in a vertical position. The Miami pass rush was intent on having him horizontal.

“We knew this was going to be a major test,” head coach Todd Haley said of the Miami defense. “They’ve got a bunch of guys that can bring it and they’re not afraid to bring additional players. (Defensive coordinator) Mike Nolan does a terrific job of disguising what they are doing.”

The Dolphins had five sacks of Cassel in 44 passing plays, or basically one every nine times Cassel went back to throw, he ended up on the ground.

But that doesn’t really cover the entire waterfront of how bad that pressure was. Cassel ran the ball nine times in the game. That’s nine times when he was supposed to be throwing, but instead was running away from trouble. That’s nine runs, and those five sacks. That’s 14 passing plays where the ball was not thrown.

“You go out there and play the game and sometimes that happens,” Cassel said of the pressure from the pass rush. “They have a good pass rush and we knew that coming in. It came up where I had to get outside of the pocket a little bit more than I had in the past.”

Since he became a starting quarterback, he’s on average run the ball 3.3 times in those 52 starts. Those nine rushing attempts equaled a career high; he did it previously in a 2008 game against Buffalo when he was still in New England.

“That’s on us,” said LT Branden Albert, speaking for the offensive line. “Our guy (Cassel) shouldn’t be running around out there like he was today. That’s no good. We have to be better.”

Invariably three things happen when a quarterback starts getting away from pass rush pressure and ends up running around. First, his completion percentage goes down. Second, interceptions go up. Three, he ends up being carted off the field due to injury.

Cassel fell victim to No. 1, as he completed just 51.3 percent of his passes, far below his season average that is now 60.7 percent after eight games. Luckily for him, he did not throw an interception and he was able to walk to the locker room under his own power.

“Today, I think offensively we just never got into a rhythm,” said Cassel. “Our whole team didn’t get into a rhythm. They beat us in all three phases. It’s one of those situations where we are going to have to go back in and review the film and get back to work.”

Was That a Fake Field Goal?

From Arrowhead Stadium

Down 14-3 early in the third quarter, the Chiefs offense had the ball, but stalled at the Miami 34-yard line. There were still 10 minutes to play in the quarter, so the Chiefs were in no way out of the game, yet.

Todd Haley sent the field goal team on to the field, and K Ryan Succop lined up for what would have been a 52-yard field goal. Now, in pre-game warm-ups, Succop hit from 53 yards towards the east goal posts and he had room to spare.

Facing those same east goal posts, Succop lined up for the FG.

But the Chiefs were not out there to kick a field goal. They were not out there to fake a field goal.

The play that was called was for Succop to pooch punt the ball for field position. The snap was supposed to go to the kicker.

Thomas Gafford did not know that. That’s why he snapped the ball to holder Dustin Colquitt and why Colquitt stood up and tried to run with the ball before he was snowed under by LB Karlos Dansby of the Dolphins.

Colquitt fumbled the ball, but RG Jon Asamoah recovered. No matter, because the Dolphins had the ball at their 39-yard line. Four players later they scored a third touchdown and effectively put the game out of reach.

“There was a play on and I didn’t know it,” Gafford said after the game. “I thought it was a field goal. I didn’t get the word.”

It would seem to be one of the primary duties in a situation like this one that the guy who starts the play should be clued into the action. Normally, that information is communicated on the sideline because the Chiefs don’t really huddle on FG attempts.

Maybe they should.

“I don’t know how I missed it, but I did,” said Gafford. “I snapped the ball and I was waiting to hear the thump of Ryan’s foot on the ball. But the next thing I know the ball is on the ground and everybody is diving for it. I didn’t know what happened.”

The most surprised person on the snap was Colquitt. Expecting the ball to sail past him to Succop, he was just trying to make sure he didn’t give anything away before his kicker got off the punt.

“It was just a miscommunication,” Colquitt said. “We weren’t all on the same page.”

With the ball in his hands, Colquitt figured he’d better do something, so he tried to run straight ahead.

“I was trying to make something from nothing,” Colquitt said.

In a game decided by 28 points, the botched pooch punt is not going to go down as the deciding moment. But it doesn’t help.

“We need to be cleaner in our execution next time,” Colquitt said. “We have to have better communication.”

D.J. Named Defensive Player Of The Week

ILB Derrick Johnson could have/should have won the AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after his performance against the Oakland Raiders. But, teammate CB Brandon Flowers was given the honor.

Not so with this week. After he racked up 13 tackles, a sack and an interception on Monday night against San Diego, Johnson was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.

It’s the fourth time in his career that D.J. has been so honored. In the AFC, the last time teammates won back-to-back Player of the Week designation was Houston RB Arian Foster and WR Andre Johnson in the first and second week of the 2010 season.

After seven games, the Chiefs say Johnson has 77 total tackles, 45 tackles for loss, 3 passes defensed, 5 quarterback pressures, 1 sack and 1 interception. Over his career, he has 648 tackles, ranking ninth in franchise history.

Column: Empty Gas Tank Sinks Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

From about the second quarter through midway through the fourth period, the Chiefs kept stepping on their gas pedal, trying to get their engine up and moving.

But every time they did, they just sputtered, coughed and sometimes came to a complete stop. That’s when the Miami Dolphins would roar past, their engines churning at full speed as they headed to the finish line of their first victory of the season.

In the end, the Chiefs were chocking on fumes and dust as their four-game winning streak and share of first place in the AFC West went out the window with a 31-3 drubbing from the previously winless Dolphins.

Let’s settle point No. 1 right here – although they came into the game as one of two teams in the league without a victory, the Dolphins were not the worst of the NFL’s 32 teams. They weren’t even on the medal stand. Miami struggled to win even though they had some talented players on both sides of the football. What they lacked was consistent play from their quarterback and big plays from their defense and special teams. …Read More!

Dolphins Outplay Chiefs, Grab 31-3 Victory

From Arrowhead Stadium

An 11-month wait for the Miami Dolphins ended on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium – they finally got a chance to drink from the cup of victory. And after five weeks of enjoying the winning nectar, the Chiefs had a fluid as disgusting as castor oil shoved down their throat.

Miami 31, Chiefs 3 read the Arrowhead scoreboard at the end of this game that was dominated by the previously winless Dolphins. Coming off a Monday night overtime victory, the Chiefs were unable to make a go of it again in such a short period of time and saw their four-game winning streak snapped and their record fall to 4-4 on the season.

“Their team, their coaches, they outplayed us, they outcoached us in all facets,” said head coach Todd Haley. “They just did a better job than us.” …Read More!

Burnt Leftovers From Victory Over Bolts

From Arrowhead Stadium

The Chiefs announced paid attendance of 72,733 for Monday night’s game against San Diego. How accurate that number was is a matter of conjecture as the organization has monkeyed with the crowd numbers in recent seasons.

What was not in doubt is the effect the red and gold fans had on the game. For the first time in years, certainly for the first time in the Pioli/Haley Era, the Arrowhead crowd was a factor in the game.

Before the night was over, there had been 10 false start penalties. Ironically, six of those were by the Chiefs. But San Diego LT Marcus McNeill had all sorts of problems on his side of the ball, with four false starts among the six penalties he picked up on the evening.

“Our fans were just phenomenal,” said head coach Todd Haley. “They played a big part of the game, causing problems for San Diego at the line. They were so loud they caused us a little problem offensively.” …Read More!

PRE-GAME – Dolphins vs. Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

11:35 a.m. CST – The teams have finished their pre-game warm-ups and have left the field. Enjoy the game and remember to check in post-game for all the coverage of the Chiefs-Dolphins with stats, analysis, information and comments from the locker rooms.

11:30 a.m. CST – Bad weather was not expected in early afternoon, with the forecast calling for possible thunderstorms in late afternoon. That timetable may have to be moved up, because the wind is howling out of the west-northwest right now and the sky is completely overcast.

11:15 a.m. CST – Very limited chatter between the two teams on the field, certainly the least of any Chiefs game this season. Normally assistant coaches and players will see out familiar faces, but there have only been a few of those types of meetings today.

11:05 a.m. CST – Out early to handle returns for the Chiefs are Dexter McCluster and Steve Breaston taking punts and Terrance Copper and Keary Colbert on kickoffs.

11:03 a.m. CST – Kicking from 55 yards away towards the west goal posts, Ryan Succop was one of two on FGs from 55 yards.

11 a.m. CST – A bank of dark clouds is now passing overe the stadium. It has not yet produced any rain, but the wind has picked up considerably, and now appears to be coming from the west, northwest. Stadium lights have been turned on.

10:55 a.m. CST – Chiefs K Ryan Succop was good from 53 yards kicking to the east goal posts in his pre-game warm-up. The ball had another two or three yards to spare going over the cross bar.

10:50 a.m. CST – Losing Javier Arenas is a big blow for Chiefs today because of his contributions not only on defense, but special teams and offense. Veteran Travis Daniels will likely fill his role as the nickel back, with Dexter McCluster handling some of the returns. Would not be a surprise to see WRs Steve Breaston and/or Terrance Copper handle a few kickoff returns as well. …Read More!

OT Victory Gives Chiefs A First Place Share

From Arrowhead Stadium

In what had already been in many ways an improbable season took another step Monday night into the history books.

For the first time in NFL history, a team that started the season 0-3, was in first place in its division four games later. The Chiefs put their name in the books with a 23-20 overtime victory against the San Diego Chargers.

It was Ryan Succop’s 30-yard field goal with 5 minutes, 16 seconds to play that gave the Chiefs their fourth straight victory. Now 4-3 on the season, Todd Haley’s team is tied with the Chargers and Oakland Raiders for first place in the division. They also have an edge because of the own victories over both teams in this still young 2011 season.

It was not well-played game, as there were eight turnovers, 21 penalties, seven negative runs and six sacks.

But in the end, the Chiefs made fewer mistakes and that got them the victory.

“You never know what can happen,” said QB Matt Cassel. “I’m excited we got another win under our belt.”

Here’s our coverage:

• GAME STORY: Chargers help Chiefs make history.
• COLUMN: Have the Chiefs caught the Chargers?
• SIDEBAR: Tamba overcomes frustrating start.
• SIDEBAR: Succop nails the winning FG.
• SIDEBAR: Baldwin finds the end zone.
• SIDEBAR: Lewis overcome injury.
• SIDEBAR: Defense closes the Gates.
• PLAY OF THE GAME: Studebaker recovers fumble.
• NOTES: Penalties for everybody.
• REPORT CARD: Passing grades for Chiefs.
• 4 THINGS TO WIN/RECAP
• GAMEBOOK
• PRE-GAME COVERAGE

4 Things Chiefs Must Do/Recap

From Arrowhead Stadium

4

Another victory needed in kicking game

One of the keys to the Chiefs winning streak has been their ability to get solid play out of their special teams. That must continue against the Dolphins, who have not done much in the return game (longest return/42 yards), but also have not given up much (longest return allowed/43 yards). Miami has a solid kicking duo in K Dan Carpenter (15 of 18 on FGs) and P Brandon Fields (49.2-yard gross/41.6-yard net). Overall the stats show the Chiefs with a slight edge in the kicking game and they must take advantage of that and affect field position. FAILED – At best, the Chiefs got a tie on special teams and that wasn’t good enough. Plus, they botched the pooch punt play because of lack of communication. That’s something that just can’t happen.

3

Play smart

The Dolphins come into Sunday as the least penalized team in the league, with just 31 flags walked off against them for 274 yards. The next closest team has 35 penalties. The Chiefs have been hit with 46 penalties on the season, right about the league average of 47.8. But in the last two games they’ve picked up 19 flags, far too high a number for a team that plays with such a slim margin of victory to begin with each game. It didn’t hurt them because their opponents had a total of 26 penalties. In their four-game winning streak, they are plus-6 in penalties. FAILED – They had 8 penalties, including two 15-yard calls for unnecessary roughness that were, well, unnecessary. There was nothing smart about the manner the Chiefs played this game.

2

Win the turnover battle

In the last two games, the Chiefs had 10 takeaways that all were key factors to their victories over Oakland and San Diego. Over seven games they are minus-1 in the turnover ratio. Defensively, they must continue to take the ball away, while they must do a far better job of protecting it than they did against the Chargers (four giveaways). The Dolphins stand at minus-8 on the season and the biggest reason is the fact they have just four takeaways on the season (2 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered). Finishing plus in turnovers is always huge for the Chiefs if they hope to win. FAILED – It was good that the Chiefs did not give the ball away. But right now they need to get turnovers to win. Other than an almost interception by FS Kendrick Lewis in the first quarter, the Chiefs didn’t come close to taking the ball away.

1

Keep throwing to setup the run

In their four-game win streak, the Chiefs have successfully thrown the ball in the first half, and saved the running game for the second half. They need to continue that trend against Miami’s No. 27 pass defense (giving up an average of 270.7 yards per game). Only Indianapolis with 15 has allowed more than the 14 TD passes given up by the Dolphins. Matt Cassel needs to strike early in the game. In the winning streak, the play calling is 54% pass/46% run. Overall, it’s 52% run/48% pass. Success in throwing will be the fastest way of opening things up and jump starting the run game. That will help close a big deficit in time of possession, where they are 3 minutes, 14 seconds in the hole. FAILED – In the first half, the Chiefs were balance on offense with 20 running and 19 passing plays. But they got nothing done with those 39 first half plays, or the 39 plays they had in the second half. Nothing went down to set up anything.