Comebacks, Injuries & Other Notes
From Arrowhead Stadium
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team. In fact, in that first season of play, the Bucs were actually part of the AFC West.
In the 33 seasons of play, Tampa Bay had never experienced a comeback like the one the Bucs had on Sunday against the Chiefs. That 21-point deficit topped a pair of previous 17-point opponent leads that the Bucs wiped out. One was in 1979 against Baltimore, the other was in 1983 against Chicago. In both of those games, the Bucs won by a field goal in overtime.
“It’s a hard league to win in, you know that,” said Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden. “To be 6-3 and alive and have a chance to re-group and get some guys back is exciting. We’ve got to play better than we did today and last week. But we do have character and we are in the race and that’s significant.”
Also, the victory was No. 57 with the Bucs for Gruden, allowing him to pass Tony Dungy and become the winningest coach in franchise history.
CHIEFS LOSE KOLBY SMITH AND OTHER INJURIES
The Chiefs will move another player to the injured reserve list this week, as RB Kolby Smith’s season is done because of ligament damage to his right knee.Â
The injury occurred with seven minutes, 43 seconds to play in the second quarter, as he took a handoff and ran to the right side of the Chiefs offensive line. He took a big hit from Tampa Bay safety Will Allen and Smith immediately signaled to the sideline that he needed help. He was taken off the field on a cart and after the game, Herm Edwards said his season was over.
“That’s tough, because Kolby has really worked hard,” said Edwards.Â
Going into the game, the Chiefs had activated RB Jackie Battle from the practice squad on Saturday. Battle was not part of the offense, but he played on all four special teams units. Larry Johnson was not around, deactivated by the Chiefs. His one-game NFL suspension begins on Monday.
So for this coming weekend’s trip to San Diego, the Chiefs will have Jamaal Charles, Dantrell Savage and Battle available in the backfield. More than likely, they will work out several running backs early in the coming week and possibly add one to the practice squad.
LB Derrick Johnson also left the game with a hamstring injury early in the third quarter. CB Brandon Flowers suffered a second half hamstring injury and he did not return as well. Rocky Boiman stepped in for Johnson in the base defense, while Maurice Leggett jumped into Flowers spot in the defense.
Going into the game, the Chiefs were without punter Dustin Colquitt for the second week becaues of a groin injury. CB Pat Surtain did not play because of a quadriceps injury and LB Wes Dacus was inactive due to a groin injury.
ACTIVE ZEBRAS
Known as one of the league’s officiating crew that enjoys the limelight, Ed Hochuli and his group did little to dispell that notion. There were 14 penalties walked off against the teams, seven on each side, and at least one of those left the Chiefs very unhappy.
That was a fourth quarter pass interference call against TE Tony Gonzalez. It came on a crucial third down play and Gonzalez made a remarkable catch of a Tyler Thigpen pass, but officials ruled he pushed off.
“We get fined if we talk about officiating, but I didn’t agree with the call,” Gonzalez said. “We were fighting the whole way down the field and he (Ronde Barber) fell down and they threw the flag.”
Other penalties against the Chiefs were an offensive holding call against G Brian Waters, a roughing the passer call and an offsides call against DE Turk McBride, holding call on a punt return against CB Tyron Brackenridge, a false start on FB Mike Cox and a delay of game on the field goal unit.
There were also two replay reviews and the Chiefs got the advantage of both. Herm Edwards challenged a fumble call against Gonzalez that was overturned. Tampa Bay’s Jon Gruden challenged a fumble ruling against his team, but that call was upheld.
ALL SORTS OF STUFF
When Kolby Smith scored on a one-yard TD run it was the first time in 215 rushing plays that the Bucs had given up a rushing TD. That ws hte longest such streak in the league … MLB Pat Thomas led the Chiefs in tackles with 10 … the Chiefs did not have a sack … former Chiefs RB Michael Bennett got just two carries for one yard on the day … DE Jimmy Wilkerson had two tackles and DT Ryan Sims had one for the Bucs … P Steve Weatherford had five punts for a gross average of 44.6 yards. But his net average was just 27.2 yards because he had three touchbacks. None of those kicks gave the coverage flyers a chance to down the ball.
Lots of roster moves in store this week. That’s a shame about Kolby Smith. He really ran hard today. Charles, Savage and Battle are a pretty good trio in my opinion. All three really played well in the preseason and I think with Charles’ speed, Battle’s power, and Savage’s heart, that these three could carry the ground game for the rest of the year with or without LJ.
So Smith gets IRed. LJ opens a roster spot for one week, and Weatherford should finally get cut. It reminds one how great Colquitt is when a really sucky punter comes to fill in. How do they fill those three spots? My guesses:
1. TJ Jackson gets resigned immediately.
2. Kevin Robinson gets activated. (If healthy)
3. Mike Merritt gets activated. (If healthy)
Once LJ is reinstated, I’d imagine that Foschi gets the boot in favor of Merritt. All just speculation, but that’s part of the fun of being a fan.
What a pulse-racing, heartbreaking game. I have many points to go over so here goes:
1. KMIZ in Columbia should be ashamed of themselves for not carrying this game today. I had to track down the radio broadcast online – it’s just nuts that I live in Central Missouri and can’t watch my Chiefs.
2. Kolby’s injury is just the newest in a long line of bad things happening to great people. He has worked really hard this season to bring himself back from last year’s injury and inhabit that number two spot. With LJ on the skids, it was looking like this was his time to shine, and just like Brodie, the poor guy has tons of talent, but just can’t stay on the field.
3. Charles was a beast today.
4. If Johnson and Flowers hadn’t gone out in the second half, the Chiefs would have held their lead, and I believe this without a doubt in my mind.
5. We miss Dustin Colquitt.
6. Tyler Thigpen just might be the real deal. Maybe we can use our high pick on another position instead of playing Russion Roulette with a first round QB…
7. Our new WR is a stud. How did the Bears ever let this guy get away? He’s proven himself against two great defenses two weeks in a row, and showed a lot of poise today making that deep throw to Thigpen.
8. All you Herm Edwards haters and Chan Gailey haters – can you please admit that they’re starting to produce results in all of these young players? This is a process that’s going to take time, and we’re only about 13 games into the rebuild… if we can stay healthy, in a year or so we’re going to be competing.
9. Great job Chiefs. Don’t hang your heads, and let’s KILL those heartless, gutless Chargers!
Bob,
Did the Chiefs make any roster moves with Merritt and Robinson last week? I thought the deadline was last week. If feasible, I’d make the moves that Colby suggested above.
I found it amusing that Hochuli made sure he was standing in bright sunshine when he announced the last replay verdict on Sunday.
Gotta make sure he looks good on TV I suppose…
Bob – One non-call that ticked me off was when Ryan Sims flopped on Thigpen well after he slid. Thigpen had given himself up, was unprotected, and downed well before Sims purposefully jumped on him; it is certainly unnecessary roughness for a 350+ pounder to make that contact. And yet the officials failed to enforce the rules.
We may have found a Off. Coor. after the last two weeks, how many times have we heard you cannot change the way you do things in the NFL after the season starts? I like Thigpen but wonder how much is his skills and how much credit goes to Chan (and herm for hiring him)?
Something is still wrong with the defense. The
D. Line is still not doing its job. We are out of LBs and CBs so that is part of it. But from the start of the season the D. Line just has flopped over and over again.
Finally Special Teams seems to need from of herms love for young players. The Kstate S is done and he is apparently a team leader. At least the K is preforming and Colquitt will be back. The replacement deep snapper is even contributing.
So there is improvement hopefully not enough to save herm but 5 or 6 more starter and look out.
We’re only 3 games out, with 7 to play. We still have the sparklers twice and we’ve already got the donkeys once. If we keep playing like this… we have a chance… every team in this division is horrible.
Eli,
Yeah, we could take a chance on drafting the next Ryan Leaf/ Peyton Manning or we could do the same thing we’ve been doing here in KC for the last what 10- 12 years or more and pick up free agents and settle for 3rd, 4th, and 5th round QB’s. Yeah, Joe Montana and Tom Brady were exceptions, but what are the percentages of drafting a functional qb there compared to in the first round?
Personally, I’m tired of always having a hand me down signal caller or long shot in three years from now qb. With 30 mill in the bank and a young team just starting to grow, I’m all for taking a shot at a Matt Stafford or Sam Bradford (please not Tebow or Josh Freeman).
Most importantly, Carl needs to step down or be removed from the GM position. We need a new direction in leadership during the draft. I think we’ve suffered long enough to deserve a fresh look at player personel choices.
RedandGoldRice,
You do realize that there is a very good chance that neithre Stafford, Bradford or McCoy are in this next draft. They are all underclassmen. Bradford is only a Sophomore (redshirt Soph) and will likely stay in school. There aren’t many Mack Brown players that go early. I’d look for McCoy to stay in as well. I don’t know Stafford well enough to say, but I think there is a really good chance he stays in.
Regardless, we should not be focused ONLY on this draft to find our QB.
I agree, we have several holes in our team right now. RDE and MLB are two glaring holes.
And sadly, Bradford probably will stay in school. I don’t care too much for UT, so I don’t really care about McCoy reguardless of whether or not he’s a good qb.
My point though is that we need to have some kind of back up plan in case Thigpen is injured or when the rest of the NFL catches up with him (I hope not).
We have a once in a decade chance unless we turn into the Lions, of getting a highly rated, top tier qb, and we should make every effort, including moving down in the draft in possible to get one.
We’ve tried several times with the rent-a-QB and hasn’t worked out too well for us. I’d just like a chace at a franchise QB.
And on a personal note, I’ll be offended greatly if Harm and Carl flaunt a 3rd round qb or later pick at us. I’m tired of having a game managing qb and not someone that can carry the team from time to time. But thats just me.
battle will do just fine. He has speed, power, and experience in the spread offense.
too bad about kolby
Redandgold rice, how do you know Tyler Thigpen isn’t our answer. How many first round busts has the NFL seen at the quarterback spot a lot. I’m willing to give the guy a chance and Quinn Gray seems like he is the kind of challenge Tyler needs to keep him performing. Don’t know much about Ingle Martin. To go lower in the draft to pickup a quarterback is moronic thats why the 80’s really stunk for this team. We would go up in the draft to get some worthless puke and look at Grbac they reached for him and he was totally worthless. You never know Thigpen might be the next big thing. You put Ryan Leaf in your qoute in the same scenario with Peyton Manning. I hope your kidding, Leaf was just as worthless as Grbac.
Nobody knows the answer at QB. Gailey is able to show something different each of the last two games which puts the defense on its heels. Those tricks will dry up shortly and Thigpen will be better known. We will see more of his potential as the season unfolds, although he is exciting!
At this point, I don’t think there is a 1st round QB in the draft, but there is still a lot left in the college season. I thought Colt McCoy showed the problem perfectly. How many times did he loft a rainbow to a wide open receiver? Sometimes they even caught it. Most college QB’s have that advantage to pad their numbers. If nothing changes, I would like to see us target another position in the 1st round (MLD/DE) and try to draft someone like the QB from Tulsa (or other smaller college). They don’t have WR’s running as free and have developed more accuracy (generally). They also don’t face top caliber competition, but that is changing.
Regardless, we have to draft a QB. Staying pat is how we have struggled at the position for so long.
I would like to draft a nasty MLB, one that bites and growls. Havent looked too much into it so cannot provide any names as this point. How bout that LB from USC? Bob had that great overview on the possible QB’s how about the same type of stuff but only on jr and sr defensive players where we need help. Anyone notice that page is not doing all that well. Seems like hes slow to get to the ball when a corner gets beat he just rarely gets there to help in time? Maybe its just me, i havent been able to watch many game action this season.
Chiefs are playing well. Why? Consistency at QB. If not for Brodie’s injuries, the Chiefs would likely be leading the division.
Chiefs are losing important players, even the punter. And, they are still very competetive. I am worried that they are getting it together, because I wanted to see them get Stafford from Georgia next year. But, I think they are going to have at least six wins by the end of the season, which will probably exclude them from that possibility.
6 wins would just about ruin the rebuild. The chiefs are still 4 or more starters away from getting up to speed. It is to early but if they get a top five draft pick, they need to trade down for an addition 1st day pick. We need another draft like this years with picks who will start.
IT AINT OVER TILL ALL TEAMS IN THIS DIV.PLAY ALL 16 GAMES , THEN ITS OVER . PLAY ALL 4 QUARTERS SAME AS THE FIRST. COULD BE THE SHOCK OF THE CENTURY, OR EVERONE WILL SAY THE LAST HALF THE SEASON WAS EASY ———–
If they turn it around and start winning the second half of the season, it won’t ruin the rebuild! Are you nuts? It will HELP the rebuild as these players will have learned what it takes to win and they will go into 2009 with more confidence in their abilites! Let’s not kid ourselves and hope for a top 5 pick. Let’s just hope that regardless of what pick we have in the 1st round we use properly. Example: right now, Albert (15) is outplaying Dorsey (5). Not a knock on Dorsey, but goes to show that an impact starter can be had even if we don’t pick in the top 5.
We’re still only three games out right now. What will this division look like if we win our remaining four division games? It’s a real possibility, especially if LJ returns to form after his suspension. If he does, he and Charles could carry this team and take alot of pressure off of Thigpen.
Finally, take a chance, sign KGB and help fix this dismal pass rush!
You guys are going to set yourselves up for more disappointment. I think we better take one game at a time. On the road at San Diego will be a tall order no matter how much the bolts are struggling right now. I think that a realistic goal is that the Chiefs can make these last eight games competitive (do not lay another egg) and win three of them. I will feel pretty good about our team going into the offseason if we can continue to improve and finish up the season without laying another egg. They will come back next year hungry.
All of the adversity that this team is facing will make it stronger. Sure hate to see all the injuries though.
I hope that Battle gets on the field this week.
It is good to see Tony G. having some fun out there. And to hear his positive comments.
Another very entertaining game. Hang in there guys, we are getting closer to the day when this team will finish the deal.
CarlM,
The reason I put Ryan Leaf in the same sentence with Peyton is because they were taken in the same draft and they were both rated very highly and one turned out to be a total bust while Peyton will very likely in Canton. My point is, we don’t know what we’re getting, but we have to at least try. Thats what the scouts are for, of course.
As for Grbac, we didn’t draft him, we aquired him from San Fran, a la Carl.
I’m willing to give Tyler a chance, but I think in the next couple of weeks the NFL will catch up with him a bit. I’d like to have some kind of security blanket there, especially considering Harms record of QB injuries, here and in NY.