Notes: Rookies Honored As Captains

From Arrowhead Stadium

It was an unusual scene when the captains of the Chiefs and Packers met at midfield for the pre-game coin toss.

Representing the Chiefs was the team’s 2010 NFL Draft class of seven players. Eric Berry, Dexter McCluster (right), Javier Arenas, Jon Asamoah, Tony Moeaki, Kendrick Lewis and Cameron Sheffield (in street clothes) went out to represent their team.

It was the idea of head coach Todd Haley, who has raved about the intangibles of the group since the first day they walked into the building.

LITTLE GUY HAS ANOTHER NICE NIGHT

McCluster continues to make things happen, whether on offense or special teams. Now, if he can just keep his teammates from getting penalties and taking away some of his yardage.

Against Green Bay, McCluster carried the ball three times for 37 yards, two of those running plays coming out of the Wildcat formation. He did not catch a pass, but he returned two kickoffs for an average of 21.5 yards. All this was in limited work over the evening.

In the pre-season, where he essentially only played in three games, McCluster:

• Ran for 108 yards on 17 carries, a 6.4-yard average.
• Caught seven passes for 40 yards.
• Returned two punts for a 9.5-yard average.
• Brought back five kickoffs for a 30.8-yard average.

EVEN MORE WILDCAT FOR OPPONENTS TO SEE

When they got the ball to start the third quarter, the Chiefs pulled out the Wildcat formation with McCluster handling the ball. On first down, McCluster ripped off a big run down the left side, only to lose a large part of the yardage to a holding call on FB Tim Castille. On the repeat of first down, McCluster ran for nine yards and a first down.

On the next play, McCluster took the snap and handed off to WR Jeremy Horne on an end-around going from left to right. Horne had forward progress for four yards, but when he was walled off by the Packers defense, he reversed his field.

Horne ended up losing 12 yards on the run and the Wildcat went back in the box and was not seen again Thursday night.

NOW THAT’S A BIG FULLBACK!

When he lines up at nose tackle with his 300 pounds, Derek Lokey is actually considered a bit underweight for the position.

Not so when he lines up at fullback, something he did last week against Philadelphia and he was out there again against Green Bay on Thursday night.

“I’ve been campaigning for it,” Lokey said after the game. “I did some of that when I was in college (University of Texas) and I’ve been trying to get them to give me a chance.”

So far Lokey has done nothing but block; he’s not touched the ball either in a handoff, or as a receiver. Haley wants to see if he can catch the ball. Lokey says give him a chance.

“I can catch the ball,” he said. “Give me a shot.”

ZEBRA REPORT

Ed Hochuli, aka Mr. Muscles, and his crew worked the game. Despite the fact that only the Kansas City area and Milwaukee-Green Bay were getting the television broadcast, Hochuli made sure he got plenty of TV time. No referee/crew chief among the league’s officiating crews turns on his microphone and speaks more than Hochuli.

There were two replay challenges by the Packers, one in each half. Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy lost the first one, when an on-field ruling of an incomplete pass was upheld. But in the second half, McCarthy challenged the placement of the ball after a running play by Kregg Lumpkin. The officials ruled him down without crossing the goal line. But after McCarthy threw the red flag, the review showed that Lumpkin had the ball in his possession when he crossed the goal line, thus it was a touchdown.

In the second half, Haley threw his red flag on a possible Packers fumble that on the field was ruled down by contact. Hochuli went under the hood and came back with a decision not to change the call, costing the Chiefs a timeout.

Overall, the Chiefs were flagged for five penalties for 42 yards. There was an offensive pass interference call against WR Jeremy Horne that wiped out a seven-yard gain by McCluster. On the first offensive play of the second half, McCluster ripped off a 27-yard run out of the Wildcat formation. But C Rudy Niswanger was hit with a 10-yard holding call, wiping out 23 yards of that play.

There were three fourth quarter penalties on defense. CB Jackie Bates was called for an illegal contact penalty, giving the Packers a first down. DE Alex Magee was hit for five yards on an illegal use of the hands. Late in the period, CB Travis Daniels was hit for a 12-yard defensive pass interference call.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Punting – Dustin Colquitt punted five times for a 45.2-yard average. His net average was 39.8 yards and his long punt went for 61 yards.
• Kickoffs — Ryan Succop kicked off four times, sending his kicks to the goal line, goal line, five-yard line and then a surprise mortar kick that went to the 26-yard line. Only once after a kickoff did the Packers begin the possession outside the 20-yard line.
• FGs & PATs – Succop missed from 51 yards when he hit the left upright. He came back and kicked a 26-yarder and made all of his PAT kicks
• Returns – On punt returns, Arenas ripped off a 44-yarder to start the night and finished with two returns for an average of 23.5 yards. On kickoff returns, McCluster had two and Javarris Williams one and they averaged 21.3 yards between them.
• Coverage – Darn good night for coverage units, as they held returner Jason Chery to a 9-yard on three punt returns and then a 16-yard average on kickoff returns.

PERSONNEL AND PARTICIPATION

A dozen members of the Packers did not dress for the game, including starting QB Aaron Rodgers and starter RB Ryan Grant. Also out were starters LT Chad Clifton, DE Cullen Jenkins, OLBs Clay Matthews and Brad Jones and CB Charles Woodson.

For the Chiefs, they had five players who did not participate: CB Maurice Leggett, OLB Cameron Sheffield, G Darryl Harris, RT Ryan O’Callaghan and OLB Tamba Hali. Starting for O’Callaghan was Barry Richardson, with Andy Studebaker stepping into the starting lineup for Hali.

Also, WR Chris Chambers was dressed but did not play in the game. Chambers was a limited participant in practice last Tuesday and no obvious injury is apparent with the veteran. But his nightw as over before it even began.

EXTRAS

Honored in pre-game ceremonies was Kansas City’s “Mr. Music” Tony DiPardo. Along with his wife and family, DiPardo was taken to mid-field in a wheelchair where he was honored with a special trophy and tribute on the video boards.

SIDEBAR: Understanding The Defensive Performance

From Arrowhead Stadium

It was a good “yeah but” performance for the Chiefs defense on Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers.

The No. 1 defense dominated the Packers offense in the first half. In four possessions, Green Bay had 12 plays, gaining a total of 18 yards. It was 10 rushing yards and eight net passing yards.

“Yeah but.”

In this case, the “yeah but” is the fact that Green Bay’s offensive weapons were a non-factor. QB Aaron Rodgers, RB Ryan Grant and LT Chad Clifton did not dress. TE Jermichael Finley and WR Donald Driver dressed, were on the field, but were there for only a handful of plays. WR Greg Jennings must have done something wrong in the last week. It was like he was being punished, because he did play, catching two passes for nine yards before retiring for the evening.

That is the guts of the Packers offense right there, and they were not a factor as the Chiefs forced what few starters did play to four consecutive three-and-out possessions.

When they look at the tape on Friday, the Chiefs defense will deal with those factors. Thursday night after the game, they were enjoying the results of a good night’s work.

“We’re improving as a defense,” said LB Derrick Johnson. “To get four three-and-outs, that’s a great way to start a game and that’s what we wanted to do. We went to get in a good habit of making those three-and-outs so we can builds this team around defense.

“Championships are won around defense.”

Even though it was the Packers JV team offense on the field, the Chiefs starters were able to build on the defensive performance they put together last week against Philadelphia. In a full half of work against the Eagles, the first defense allowed 86 yards on 32 plays. Combine that with Thursday night’s first quarter numbers, that that was 104 yards on 44 plays in three quarters of play.

The sad part was the Chiefs got one sack and no turnovers against the Packers, after getting five sacks and an interception against the Eagles. Taking down the QB Matt Flynn was LB Demorrio Williams, picking up his third sack in a week. Not bad for a guy who in his first two years with the Chiefs did not have a single regular-season sack. In fact, you can probably count on both hands the number of times he rushed the passer in two seasons. There might even be a few fingers left over.

But he ran through the Eagles protection for two sacks and then Thursday night, he blew through the replacement for Clifton, second-year man T.J. Lang, a former fourth-round choice out of Eastern Michigan. Williams didn’t do it with a blitz. He was part of the team’s nickel defense and he came on the field and put his hand on the ground and lined up as what amounted to a defensive end.

“Whatever I have to do to get on the field and make plays, I will do,” said Williams. “It doesn’t matter. Standing up, putting my hand down, it’s whatever I’ve got to do to put myself on the field and help this defense.”

Because the Chiefs were without injured OLBs Tamba Hali and Cameron Sheffield did some juggling with their normal nickel defense personnel. Thursday night Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson stayed on the field, Johnson and Mike Vrabel played the inside linebacker spots, while Andy Studebaker played outside and Williams lined up as a defensive end.

“The more you can do,” said head coach Todd Haley. “We tell these guys all the time that they more they can provide us, the more valuable they are to the team.”

The overall defensive numbers against the Packers did not turn out so well because the Chiefs couldn’t get Green Bay off the field in the fourth quarter. They ran 27 plays and racked up 112 yards in just the final period, driving the ball to the Chiefs 11, 21 and 29-yard lines, but could only put a field goal on the scoreboard.

Riley County Celebrates at Arrowhead

Thursday night will be an early Homecoming celebration for the folks at Riley County High School.

Two former Falcons will be on the field at Arrowhead Stadium when the Chiefs and Packers play pre-season football. Wearing the red and gold of the Chiefs will be free safety Jon McGraw, Riley County class of ’97.

Wearing the green and gold of the Packers will be wide receiver Jordy Nelson, Riley County class of ’03. Both McGraw and Nelson went on to play college football just down the road at Kansas State and both were drafted into the NFL. McGraw was the second-round choice of the New York Jets in the 2002 NFL Draft; Nelson was selected by the Packers in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft.  Both were first team Class AAA players in their senior seasons at RCHS (McGraw in ’96 and Nelson in ’02). Both were named the Flint Hills Player of the Year by the Manhattan Mercury newspaper. Each of them played in the Kansas Shrine Bowl game.

Thanks to McGraw and Nelson, the current edition of the Riley County Falcons can dream of the future as well. The team will be at Arrowhead on Thursday night to cheer on their favorite sons. The NFL donated tickets and McGraw and Nelson are providing the transportation to Kansas City for approximately 112 students and staff members.

That crowd will be nearly half of the school that has approximately 225 students in grades nine through 12.

It’s Homecoming Thursday for the Riley County Falcons!

Enrique’s Video Vault: Chiefs vs. Chargers

Our countdown towards the start of the 2010 Red-and-Gold campaign, we present you memories of the last time that the Chiefs and the Chargers faced each other in the opening week, September 7, 2003.

This was a Sunday meeting between the RB hierarchy of Priest Holmes and LaDainian Tomlinson. And Priest reminded us that inspite of concerns regarding his injured hip from the year before, he was still the best ball-carrier in the division, the conference, and the league.

As always, enjoy it.

You can reach Enrique directly at Enrique.Siu.Sports@gmail.com

Week #3 Roundup – Texans Get A Rush

The Houston Texans have had a problem over the years, and it especially showed itself last year. They did not have a reliable running attack. It was the major item holding them back from making the playoffs for the first time in their short history.

But they may have found a running game Saturday night, in one of the highlights of week No. 3 of the 2010 NFL pre-season.

His name is Arian Foster (left) and he ran for 110 yards and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys, as the Texans dominated the Dallas Cowboys 23-7.

Since joining the NFL in 2002, the Texans have played eight seasons and only twice did a Houston running back finish the season with more than 1,000 yards. That was Domanick Davis, who ran for 1,031 yards in 2003 as a rookie and then 1,188 in his second season of 2004. The reign of Davis did not turn out well. He was on his way to another 1,000-yard season in 2005, but suffered a serious knee injury hat ended his season. The next year there was a dispute between Davis and the Texans on the stability of his knee, plus he changed his last name from Davis to Williams. He never played in the league again.

And the Texans have stumbled in the running game since. Foster was signed as an undrafted rookie last year out of Tennessee. He started on the practice squad, but ended up on the active roster and in the last two games of the ’09 season, he for 206 yards.   …Read More!

Chiefs Start Slicing

From the Truman Sports Complex

NFL rosters must reach 75 players by Tuesday, but like many other teams in the league, the Chiefs started pruning early. They announced the release of four players on Sunday afternoon:

– T/G Tyler Eastman – the undrafted free agent out of UCLA Maine figures to be a consideration for the practice squad when it gets put together next week. He can play either position and has good movement. I would bet he Chiefs want to work with him more.

– RB Kestahn Moore – the first-year man’s chances of making the roster were derailed by what appeared to be a left knee injury that he suffered against Atlanta on Aug. 13. He missed key practice time and with Jackie Battle stepping forward with good performances in the offense and on special teams, space in the backfield was limited.

– TE Cody Slate – another undrafted free agent out of Marshall, Slate showed some skills and good hands, catching four passes for 49 yards. Depending on how the final roster shakes out at tight end, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him on the practice squad.

– QB Bill Stull – the undrafted free agent from Pitt was signed when Brodie Croyle was hurt, but he did not get a chance to play in either of the two pre-season games where he was on the roster. His release is a good sign that Croyle is ready to play after missing two games with a right arm injury. Depending on what they decide to do with the quarterbacks on the 53-man roster (two or three?), Stull may find a spot on the practice squad.

That leaves the Chiefs at 76 players, so they’ll have to move one more player off the roster by Tuesday.

Pre-Game: Eagles-Chiefs

From Arrowhead Stadium

6:30 p.m. CDT — RT Ryan O’Callaghan was not visible on the field in pre-game warmups, so expect Barry Richardson to start.

6:05 p.m. CDT — Right now, the Chiefs say they expect only two players not to dress for tonight’s game: CB Maurice Leggett (neck) and G Darryl Harris (knee). We’ll wait and see what happens with RT Ryan O”Callaghan, who is not expected to play tonight because of a groin injury suffered in practice on Tuesday.

6:00 p.m. CDT — Eagles will not dress six players this evening because of various injuries: CB David Pender, LB Keenan Clayton, C Jamaal Jackson, DE Juqua Parker, TE Cornelius Ingram and DE Victor Abiamiri.

5:55 p.m. CDT — Kicking towards the east goal post, K Ryan Succop was successful on all his FG attempts, including one from 51 yards.

5:51 p.m. CDT — In the northwest corner of the playing field, working in the shadow of the end zone, defensive line coach Anthony Pleasant is working with DEs Glenn Dorsey, Wallace Gilberry and Tyson Jackson. They are working hard at coming out of their position at the snap and delivering a blow to the blocker.

5:49 p.m. CDT — Kicking towards the east goal posts, Philly K David Akers hit a 60-yard field goal with no problem. …Read More!

Important Night For These Veterans

From Arrowhead Stadium

It’s the time of year where players put to use their math skills. Like everyone else, they know the current number is 80 and the final number is 53; that’s players on the regular-season roster.

That’s 27 names on the roster that will be gone within the next eight days. Coaches always counsel the players to not spend any time working the numbers and trying to cut the roster themselves. It’s easy to say, almost impossible to do.

“We know the score,” said third-year FB Mike Cox (right). “It’s our lives. You try not to think about it, but you can’t help it.”

It’s especially tough for the group of players who are not rookies or first-year players. They’ve been in the NFL for two, three, four, maybe more seasons. They know what they will miss if they don’t get their ticket punched for the 2010 season.

There’s only so much a player can do, and more than anything, that’s the urge they must control.

“I don’t think you can make the team with one play, or one game,” said S Jon McGraw, a guy who has nothing to worry about when it comes to a spot on the 2010 Chiefs roster. “You cause yourself problems when you try to do more than you are capable of doing.”

The Chiefs are a relatively young team, and they are not filled with a bunch of veteran contributors who have been around for a long time. Of 80 players, 59 have joined the team in the last two years. Of the 21 inherited players, 12 are in the starting lineup. That doesn’t leave many veterans for bubble spots.

That didn’t keep us from running the roster and coming up with some veterans whose time in Kansas City may depend on what happens in two games over the next seven days. …Read More!

What To Watch For vs. Philadelphia

Whether they know it or not, the meeting tonight with the Philadelphia Eagles is a very important moment for the 2010 Chiefs.

Just how far away is the roster put together by Pioli/Haley from being a contender? We will find out a lot more during the first half of this game at Arrowhead Stadium. If the first-line Chiefs can go play-for-play against the first-line Eagles it will be a sign of the improvement of this team from a year ago. If at half-time the Chiefs find themselves losing the battle, then it shines a pretty bright light on the rebuilding process and how far away they are from reaching mediocrity, let alone contender status.

The Eagles are a team in transition, with the biggest change being at quarterback where Kevin Kolb (above) is the starter, replacing Donovan McNabb. Kolb had a big day against the Chiefs last year and he certainly has every reason to be looking forward to another chance to throw the ball against the Kansas City defense.

Offense, defense and the kicking game all must show improvement for the Chiefs. This is always the most important game of the pre-season, given the fact that the starters will likely play into the third quarter. No matter what side of the football, there has not been enough consistency and productivity.

In two games, they’ve lost by a combined 40-25, scoring just two touchdowns, while allowing four. They have no sacks; they’ve allowed four. They have no takeaways; they’ve given the ball away six times.

Here’s what the Chiefs need to get done against the Eagles: …Read More!

NFL Values Decline; Chiefs Drop As Well

On the day that Stan Kroenke spent hundreds of millions of dollars to buy 60 percent of the St. Louis Rams, Forbes Magazine came out with its annual valuations of the 32 NFL teams.

According to the magazine the average value of an NFL team dropped two percent last year, the first time in 12 years that there was a drop in value. Through the Forbes accounting 21 of the teams lost value, some by as much as 15 or 16 percent.

That group losing value includes the Chiefs, whose value dropped six percent to make the team worth $965 million. That ranks the Hunt Family operation at No. 20 in team values, between Seattle and New Orleans.

Forbes says the most valuable NFL franchise is the Dallas Cowboys, at $1.8 billion. That’s a jump of nine percent from last year. The Cowboys, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers all saw their value increase.

Among the 21 teams that lost value according to the magazine, the Jacksonville Jaguars and St. Louis Rams dropped 16 and 15 percent respectively. The Buffalo Bills value fell by 12 percent and the Minnesota Vikings went down 7 percent. That puts the Chiefs drop of six percent as the fifth highest in the league.

A general reminder on stories like this one – it’s all a guessing game. Only the Green Bay Packers financial information is made public. But Forbes has been doing this for 12 years and they have a pretty good track record on stories like this.

Plus, Kroenke’s purchase of the 60 percent of the Rams that he didn’t already own went down on a team valuation of $750 million. Forbes pegs the Rams worth at $779 million. At least they were in the ballpark.

Here’s the Forbes story on the team valuations.

And here’s the chart with all the details.

Stan The Man In Charge In St. Louis

The football playing boys down I-70 in the Loo have a new man in charge.

NFL owners meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday reportedly voted unanimous to approve Stan Kroenke as the owner of the St. Louis Rams. Already holding 40 percent of the team, Kroenke is buying the other 60 percent from the children of the team’s late owner Georgia Frontiere.

Purchase price was based on franchise value of $750 million, so Kroenke will write a check for 4450 million that will go to Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriquez, heirs to the Frontiere estate.

Of course, for Stan Kroenke, a check for less than a half-billion isn’t going to strain his bank account. Forbes magazine has estimated that Stan and Ann (Walton) Kroenke are worth more than $6 billion.

Still to be determined is what Kroenke will do with his ownership of the Denver Nuggets of the NBA and Colorado Avalanche of the NHL. NFL rules prohibit him from operating those teams in a market where there’s another NFL team. Supposedly, he will transfer ownership to his son Josh Kroenke.

Week #2 Pre-Season Roundup

For any fan of Mizzou football the performance Chase Daniel had for the New Orleans Saints in week No. 2 of the NFL pre-season was no surprise.

But it certainly caught the attention of the Saints and their fans, as Daniel took over for Drew Brees and threw three touchdown passes to three different receivers and took the Saints on scoring drives of 51, 83, 65 and 60 yards against the Houston Texans.

Overall he was 15 of 21 for 182 yards, three TDs, one INT, one sack, and a 117.5 passer rating.

“I was really proud of Chase,” Brees said after the Saints 38-20 victory. “He’s worked extremely hard this offseason. He’s had success despite the odds throughout his career. He wins games, and he makes plays. There’s something to be said for that.”

For his part, Daniel was just happy for the chance to get some playing time. He hasn’t seen much of that in the NFL since he left Mizzou after the ’08 season.

“I think I played pretty well,” Daniel said. “I was confident in the huddle, and our playmakers made some great plays. Obviously, there were some mistakes, but I was pretty happy with how I played.” …Read More!

Chiefs 81 thru 1 – Pre-Season Adjustment

OK, you guys really enjoyed the rankings that were posted before camp of the Chiefs in my view No. 81 through No. 1.

So those rankings are back after three weeks in training camp and two pre-season games.

Obviously there have been some changes. There is more information to deal with on these guys and what they’ve shown so far this season. And for some players, it’s what they’ve haven’t shown.

There’s been a big adjustment in the top 10, due to the draft class of 2010. It’s hard to put players in the rankings that haven’t played a game in the NFL before, let alone move them to the top of the franchise’s evaluation list.

But, when a team has put together three troubled seasons like the Chiefs have done, it’s a lot easier for those talented draft picks to soar up the charts. In my evaluations, that’s what has happened with Eric Berry (from No. 13 to No. 5), Javier Arenas (from No. 23 to No. 6) and Dexter McCluster (from No. 18 to No. 7.)

Players who have also moved up include Andy Studebaker, Cameron Sheffield, Jon Asamoah, Jackie Battle, Kendrick Lewis, Jeremy Horne and Cody Slate.

Others have gone the other way, including last year’s top two draft choices Tyson Jackson (No. 26 to No. 36) and Alex Magee (No. 39 to No. 58.)

OK, so here’s the list, No. 81 through No. 1. (Remember the Chiefs have 81 because I’m including the exiled FS Jarrad Page. The Chiefs front office may not think much about him, but we haven’t forgotten the man who wore No. 44.

  …Read More!

Enrique’s Video Vault/MNF 3 Weeks Away

A week ago, we brought up the fact that the Chiefs have not won a game on Monday Night Football since 2004. But to find the last time that the Red and Gold squad prevailed on a Monday night at home, well … we had to dig a little deeper.

A nostalgic trip down memory lane takes us back to the 2000 season, to the entertaining Week 5 contest between the Seahawks and the Chiefs. Outstanding performances by Derrick Alexander, Eric Hicks and Elvis Grbac (yes, even him) paled in comparison to the night’s biggest accomplishment: the 82,893 fans drawn to the Truman Sports Complex, thanks to an arranged simulcast in Kauffman Stadium that contributed 4,391 rowdy supporters. That (combined) attendance figure remains the highest in team history and fortunately, they all got their money’s worth.

Only three weeks away from writing a new prime-time chapter, once again, enjoy the memory.

Contact Enrique at Enrique.Siu.Sports@gmail.com

Pulling On The Net/August 19

Every once in awhile as we go through this 2010 NFL season we will bring to you a selection of items we’ve found on the Internet that are either of interest, or just something well written and worth passing along.

Enjoy.

From Vic Carucci on NFL.com:

In his first year with Kansas City, Cassel was far from impressive, which was consistent with the Chiefs’ 4-12 finish. He went 4-11 in 15 starts and threw for 2,924 yards, 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. His passer rating was 69.9. “I think this is a big year for Matt,” Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli said. He was quick to add that it’s a big year for “a lot of players,” but he knows the franchise is under pressure to show significant progress and that it won’t happen unless Cassel plays far better than he did last year.

Pioli also pointed out that Cassel didn’t have as strong a supporting cast in his first season with the Chiefs as he did in 2008 with the Patriots, after he replaced injured starter Tom Brady and became one of the most-coveted available quarterbacks in the league the following offseason. In New England, Cassel was throwing to Randy Moss and Wes Welker. In Kansas City, he had nobody close to that talent level. …Read More!