SB Nation - Leonard Pope

Chiefs Trail Bills by Seven at the Half

Chris Thorman — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:26:28 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

5 days ago: Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Ron Edwards (95) gets to a fumbled ball before Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Kirk Chambers (73) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick fumbled the ball. Chiefs took over on the 26-yard line. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

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Besides two turnovers, which the Chiefs did not turn into points, the first half of this game has been uneventful. It's 10 to 3 in favor of the Bills.

Here are some notes on the second quarter. My notes on the first quarter are here.

Positives

The direct snap to Jamaal Charles with the Cassel fake fumble was a good play call, if only because Matt Cassel fumbles so much.
Jamaal Charles is turning into a really solid red zone threat. The extra 2-3 yards he can get on a burst/dive at the end of a run are huge.
Brandon Carr's strip of Bills WR Nelson was awesome and the second turnover of the day for the Bills. It gave the Chiefs the ball at mid-field.
Leonard Pope getting some action - he's had a couple of catches this game already.
Two 4th and 1 conversions for the Chiefs. They faced 4th and 1 three times in the first half.
Matt Cassel, besides a few over thrown passes, is playing very well - 18/24 for 145 yards.

Negatives

Matt Cassel had Mark Bradley open on a deep pass but he overthrew it - twice.
Brandon Albert's false start penalty negated a big first down pass and catch from Cassel to Charles.
Chiefs gave up a sack on 3rd and 3 to force a punt.
Mike Vrabel dropped a sure interception with about four minutes to go in the half.
Glenn Dorsey left the game with two minutes left because of a knee injury. His return is questionable.

I think this is the game a lot of people expected - not too exciting and both teams playing a bit sloppy on both sides of the ball.

Who Should the Kansas City Chiefs Cut, Re-sign, and Keep for 2010?

Jon Yoon — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:00:17 -0000

by Charlie Riedel - AP

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It's hard not to let my frustrations get the best of me when writing about this year's lowly Chiefs. Rather than vent and curse and scream, I'm going to instead focus my frustrations on a few specific players who I believe are bringing the team down. Some have played their way off the roster and probably out of the NFL; others have played their way out of a starting job; still others have been monumental disappointments.

Let's look at this position by position, starting with the offense.

Quarterback: I've been very patient with Matt Cassel. I understand the situation he's in--his supporting cast isn't great, his receivers are dropping easy passes, and his offensive line has been shaky and inconsistent in pass protection. I get all those things.

That being said, there are a few things that scare me about Cassel. Despite improved protection over the past few games, he is still inconsistent with his downfield throws. In many cases, he's not hitting his receivers in stride and he's making far too many goofy mistakes for a player of his experience level. The excuses are over. His pass protection has gotten better and he is now surrounded by a decent running game. Yet, we're not seeing much improvement from him. All that Cassel has done this season is prove that he's a lousy quarterback for three quarters, but a pretty decent one in the fourth quarter (assuming the Chiefs are still in the game).

I'm not saying Cassel has played his way out of the job, but he certainly hasn't done anything to justify keeping it or securing his place as the QB of the Future. It would be reckless for the Chiefs to enter this offseason without bringing in another strong option at QB. Worst case, Cassel ends up playing really well and the Chiefs can trade their backup away. If the Chiefs don't bring in a strong young option now, it could set the franchise back two or more years.

Because if there is any QB who can push Cassel for a starting job, he's not currently on the roster--Brodie Croyle is too injury prone and Matt Gutierrez is as big of a longshot as you'll find in the NFL. Cassel's poor performance this season has led me to question whether Pioli's loyalties might be clouding his judgment. I like Cassel. I like his work ethic and I want him to succeed, but if he becomes the indisputable starter going into 2010 with no competition, it will really compromise Pioli's no-nonsense, high accountability environment he's building toward. If Pioli is gung-ho about sticking with Cassel next season without bringing in a competitive option, he better be right, or else it could be a decision that haunts him for the rest of his career.

Stays: Matt Cassel (#1 QB), Brodie Croyle (#3 QB)
Bring in: Strong competing #2 QB Option
Dump: Matt Gutierrez

Running back: The good news is that Jamaal Charles is a legit primary back. He's done an incredible job of doing a lot with very little help up front. The play that sticks out in my mind was the toss sweep against the Broncos where he almost made it out to the edge, but couldn't make it there. From what I recall, the guy that got in his way was weakly blocked by Mike Cox. I remember thinking to myself: "Man, if that was Tony Richardson a few years ago, that guy would have been leveled!"

With better blocking up front, Charles has the potential to be a very good "lightning back" who can take on about 15-20 carries a game. He needs to be more careful with the football, but hopefully he can do that with some better awareness and maybe a little bit of strength training. The problem is, Charles is not a primary back in the way LJ was. He shouldn't be a workhorse back nor should he be an all-purpose back. We saw that on Sunday. The Chiefs seemed scared to pound the rock on the goal line. It's because they don't have a "thunder" back to bulldoze forward on short yardage situations. The Chiefs need one of those backs--a big bowling ball that wears out defenses and can muscle a few tough yards on short yardage situations. It would provide more balance to their running game and create a great change of pace for Charles' shifty running style.

Kolby Smith has had a nice little career for the Chiefs, but I wonder if he'll ever play a full season ever again. Outside of Charles and Smith, the options at halfback are not good. Almost everyone in this spot is expendable. However, it's possible the Chiefs keep one of them on the roster, simply because they just have too many needs to fill. At fullback, Mike Cox has effectively played himself off the roster. He doesn't block well, he doesn't run well, and he's been invisible in the passing game. What is it you'd say... he does here? There isn't a shred of a doubt that he will be out of a job in 2010. The Chiefs must bring in a legit Fullback. Must, must, must. And it's not like it's that hard. You can get a top-notch Fullback in the late rounds of the draft.

Keep: Jamaal Charles (#1 HB)
Dump: Mike Cox, Kolby Smith, Tim Castille, Javarris Williams
Possibly retain: Dantrell Savage
Bring in: "Thunder" back. Fullback. Both can be found late in the draft. A "thunder" back might be found on another team's scrap pile

Wide Receiver:

Boy oh boy. You would think that a team coached by a Wide Receivers coach would have receivers that were better at catching the football. You would think that players like Mark Bradley and Bobby Wade, who are hanging on to their roster spot by a very thin thread, would be trying just a little bit harder to compete for their jobs.

Dwayne Bowe is a given, though based on the way he's played this season, I'm not convinced he's a legitimate #1 receiver. Chris Chambers has probably earned his spot on the 2010 roster, although we should prepare for a potential sophomore slump as he had in San Diego. If the Chiefs can find a younger receiver with #1 playmaking capability, they need to break the bank and bring him in (which might mean cutting ties with Chambers). I don't think that will happen, so for now, Chambers is a solid stopgap option. Apart from that, no receiver has played well enough to justify keeping their job.

Bobby Wade, on the whole, has not been terrible. He played like he didn't care to be there against the Broncos, but in most games, he's been a relatively solid slot option. I can't see a situation where Mark Bradley is on this team next season. He has dropped way too many passes in key situations. Lance Long, as it turns out, is not Wes Welker. He's not Ricky Proehl. He's just a guy---pretty good at getting open, but wildly inconsistent at making the catch.

Keep: Dwayne Bowe
Likely keep: Chris Chambers
Bring in: Either a #1 receiver to replace Chambers, or a strong rookie prospect to be groomed to replace Chambers
Very on the bubble: Bobby Wade, Lance Long
Dump: Mark Bradley

Tight End:

Based on the way Haley likes to use Tight Ends, I tend to think he wants a multi-dimensional tight end moreso than a one-dimensional one. He may not want a Tight End who is only stellar at receiving. I don't think he'd mind having a Tight End who was primarily a blocker. Ideally, though, I think he would like a Tight End who was equally good at both.

Leonard Pope has been the sole bright spot at the position and that's not even saying much. Pope's role should really be more situational--a great backup, but not someone I'd like to see as an every-down starter. Sean Ryan does not belong on this roster. I have no idea why he's been here this long in the first place. He can't catch. He's a horrendous blocker. What exactly is his value to the offense? Brad Cottam isn't much better. You can't tell me there aren't better options on the street than these guys.

Keep: Leonard Pope (#2 TE)
Dump: Sean Ryan and Brad Cottam
Bring in: Anyone who isn't named Sean Ryan or Brad Cottam.

This is the Song That Never Ends

Chris Thorman — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:45:09 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

about 1 month ago: Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (82) reaches unsuccessfully for a pass as Oakland Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha (21) defends in the first quarter during an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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Did you guys hear that the Kansas City Chiefs are terrible on third down this season?

Yeah, I'm sick of this too. It's like talking about the Chiefs' offensive line each week in '07. That was the big cause of our issues then and the repetition of that story got old fast.

Now we're on to third downs and why the Chiefs are so terrible at converting them, especially this past weekend when the Chiefs went 1/15 on third down. What happened on Sunday? Did the Raiders' defense shut us down? Eh, not exactly but you could make an argument for that.

I've gone through each of our third downs from the Raider game to figure out what the main cause of our third down failures were. The reasons I came up with are the general Didn't execute, Poor play calling, penalties and other. Feel free to disagree with those categorizations.

One point I want to make when I label a third down failure as Didn't execute is that that lack of execution could also have happened on first or second down, causing a long third down.

Here are the conclusions I arrived at after looking at each third down:

8 were because the team didn't execute properly, either on first, second or third down;
2 were near the end of the first half and were time-influenced;
2 were obviously doomed by penalties;
2 were poor play calls; and,
1 we actually converted!

It's all there, after the jump. Have at it.

#1 3rd and 12

Q1, 11:59, KC 13-yard line

Leonard Pope's false start and a two-yard loss by Kolby Smith put the Chiefs at 3rd and 17. Then a Tommy Kelly neutral zone infraction put the Chiefs at 3rd and 12. You know the next play - Cassel picked by Raiders CB Chris Johnson.

Cause: Penalty

#2 3rd and 9

Q1, 7:30, KC 10-yard line

An exchange of five-yard penalties by the Chiefs and Raiders put the Chiefs at 3rd and 9. A 1-yard run by Kolby Smith and an incomplete by Matt Cassel didn't help on first and second down. An incomplete pass closed out third down.

Cause: Didn't execute

#3 3rd and 4

Q1, 4:58, OAK 32-yard line

This is a play you remember - Matt Cassel's short pass to Dantrell Savage was blatantly dropped. Todd Haley said on the sideline to Savage, "You don't want to play today, do you?"

Cause: Didn't execute

#4 3rd and 23

Q1, 1:02, KC 12-yard line

The Raiders defense dominated the Chiefs on this drive. Matt Cassel was sacked for an 8-yard loss on first down and Jamaal Charles was tackled 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage on second down.

Cause: Didn't execute

#5 3rd and 6

Q2, 12:37, OAK 49-yard line

The Chiefs actually gained positive yardage on this drive before they got to third down. Lance Long caught a short Cassel pass to the right side and dove out of bounds, one yard short of the first down.

Jamaal Charles' 44-yard TD run on 4th and 1 made up for this though.

Cause: Didn't execute

#6 3rd and 7

Q1, 7:02, OAK 7-yard line

This drive started with a 41-yard pass to Dwayne Bowe and a 24-yard pass to Chris Chambers. This is the drive where Cassel and Charles fumbled the exchange and then had that weird bump into each other hand off that didn't gain anything.

Cassel's pass to Bowe on 3rd down was off the mark, high and out of the end zone.

Cause: Didn't execute

#7 3rd and 8

Q2, 4:44, KC 35-yard line

An incomplete pass to Mark Bradley and a short run by Jamaal Charles set the Chiefs up for third and long. Cassel passed short right to Chris Chambers and he powered his way to a six yard gain before being brought down near the sideline.

Cause: Didn't execute

#8 3rd and 8

Q2, 1:34, KC 21-yard line

The Chiefs had the ball with under two minutes to go and Kolby Smith's 7-yard run on third down was an attempt to force a Raider time out and waste some time.

Cause: Nearing end of half, deep in our own territory

#9 3rd and 5

Q2, :10, KC 29-yard line

This third down was at the end of the first half. Jamaal Charles' rush for no gain was to run out the clock at KC's 29-yard line.

Cause: End of half

#10 3rd and 10

Q3, 13:41, KC 38-yard line

And we have our lone converted third down of the game! Cassel hit Dwayne Bowe on the left side of the field for an awesome first down.

Cause: We got it!

#11 3rd and 7

Q3, 10:53, OAK 34-yard line

The Chiefs again lost yards on first down (-2 by Jamaal Charles) and Matt Cassel had an incomplete pass to Leonard Pope on second down. Cassel's pass to Bowe on third down fell incomplete, which led to a missed Ryan Succop field goal.

Cause: Didn't execute

#12 3rd and 9

Q3, 2:38, OAK 14-yard line

The Chiefs again failed on first and second down which led to a third and long. Kolby Smith's run up the middle only gained one yard on first down; Cassel's pass across the middle to Lance Long fell to the ground on second down; and Jamaal Charles caught a pass for 8-yards on third down, which left the Chiefs one yard short.

The Chiefs did go for it on 4th and 1 and did not get it.

Cause: Didn't execute

#13 3rd and 1

Q4, 15:00, KC 22-yard line

On third and short, the Chiefs went deep to Chris Chambers and did not convert. While I actually like this play call - plenty of time left in the game, going for the kill - the reason for not converting the first down is clearly a play call issue.

Cause: Poor play call

#14 3rd and 7

Q4, 6:54, OAK 11-yard line

I'm sure you remember this play - Matt Cassel's draw up the middle near the Oakland goal line. Most people flipped out at this call but the announcers said, "This was a Bill Parcells' move." What they meant was Haley called a play to ensure the Chiefs would be lined up properly for the field goal and not lose the ball. Personally, I'd like to see more aggression down on the goal line but I understand where Haley was coming from with that call.

Cause: Poor play call

#15 3rd and 17

Q4, 2:13, KC 37-yard line

The Chiefs were plugging along with the running game as time wound down but a Leonard Pope holding penalty screwed them on this drive. Jamaal Charles managed 9-yards on third down but the Chiefs were forced to punt it away.

Cause: Penalty

***

Okay Chiefs fans. Chime in with your thoughts and make sure you vote in our poll.

Poll

Against the Raiders, the Chiefs failed on third down because of:

Mainly play calling

41 votes

Mainly poor execution

275 votes

Both were equally reponsible

184 votes

500 votes | Poll has closed

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 11/9

NJ Chiefs Fan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:56:42 -0000

via media.kansascity.com

Without knowing the facts of the game, someone would look at the final score and figure the Chiefs must have been in quite a struggle. Save for the last three minutes of the game, they would be wrong. When Jacksonville RB Maurice Jones-Drew scored with four minutes, 26 seconds to play in the game, the Jaguars led 24-6 and obviously began celebrating.

That’s when the Chiefs scored a pair of touchdowns and recovered an onside kick in the span of 91 seconds. A second onside kick was not successful and the Jags stumbled off the field with a three-point victory.

Comeback Falls Short, Chiefs Lose Again from Bob Gretz

KC Star Photo Gallery: Jaguars 24, Chiefs 21 | Sunday, Nov. 8

The Chiefs spent two weeks working on tweaking the offense, working on fine-tuning, working on improvement. The play calls and approach looked different. The result did not.

Kansas City lost again Sunday, and it did it the same old way: poor pass protection, questionable play calls, and the appearance of a disorganized unit that couldn’t adjust quickly enough. Coach Todd Haley took a magnifying glass and scalpel to his offense for two weeks. Time was supposed to help the Chiefs swerve back onto the road toward progress. But this didn’t look much like progress: a 24-21 loss to Jacksonville, a team with problems and a fan base that seems leery that improvement is taking place.

Chiefs get going too late in 24-21 loss to Jaguars from KC Star

"I expect him to make every one," said punter Dustin Colquitt, who is the holder on field goals. "But (56 yards), going into the wind? That’s a tall order."

The encouraging thing for the Chiefs is that such a task is reasonable enough for Succop to try it. In the past, when Kansas City cycled through a new kicker seemingly every few months, Colquitt said the decision would have been easy on what to do in a long-range situation.

"We would’ve had to have a short punt," Colquitt said. "You can depend on him (Succop) from just about anywhere."

That’s something the Chiefs just haven’t had. So, even in an impossible situation, Kansas City gave Succop a shot. Coach Todd Haley saw the snap and the kick. Haley thought it would be good, too.

"When it took off," Haley said, "it looked like it had a chance. But the wind caught it. That would’ve been a tremendous kick. It really got knocked down at the end. It looked like it was going to have a chance."

Succop gives Chiefs a chance on field goals from KC Star

Mike Brown did not lose this game himself; he had a lot of help from a lot of his teammates and coaches. If Brown plays this game at an All-Pro level there’s a good chance the Chiefs would have still found other ways to lose.

It’s just that right now, the margin of error for the Chiefs is so thin they can’t overcome a bad day from one of their safeties, especially when his poor play leads to a pair of scores.

Column: Mike Brown Takes The Blame from Bob Gretz

Offensively, the Chiefs continue to have their problems. The running game produced just 60 yards, they didn’t convert a third down until late in the fourth quarter and Cassel was sacked three times by what has been an anemic Jacksonville pass rush.

So anything Chambers can provide will be welcome, like what he did in the last minutes of the game.

First, was the 54-yard score, which is the longest pass play and scoring play of the season for the Chiefs. In fact, it’s the longest touchdown pass the Chiefs have thrown in five years, since RB Priest Holmes caught a 60-yard TD throw during the 2005 season from QB Trent Green.

OFFENSE: New Addition Clicks, But Too Late from Bob Gretz

It took eight games and countless wide-receiver combinations, but the Chiefs finally hit on one that worked in Sunday’s 24-21 loss to the Jaguars.

The most recent additions to the group, Chris Chambers and Lance Long, led the way. Chambers, who joined the Chiefs only last week, scored two touchdowns — both in the last 3 minutes of the game.

Chambers, Long catch on quickly for Chiefs from KC Star

That’s the story of the 2009 Kansas City defense: some good things, but too many bad.

For instance, they put at a lot of pressure on Jaguars QB David Garrard throughout the game. But they were able to sack him only once.

They had a large number of negative plays, as they spent a lot of time in the backfield and forced nine minus plays for the Jaguars, including a fumble that was recovered by the Chiefs.

Yet, they gave up another handful of big plays, as Jacksonville had 10 plays of 12 yards or more, including a 61-yard touchdown pass and a 28-yard TD run. There were also plays of 45 and 33 yards.

"It appeared we were out of position on a couple of those plays," said Todd Haley. "We’re not going to win games or have chances to win many games when we’re giving up big plays and that has been the big problem on defense."

DEFENSE: Same Old Story from Bob Gretz

The Chiefs were happy enough with their running game their first time without the suspended Larry Johnson.

His main replacements, Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith, combined to average more than 5 yards a carry.

The problem is that the Chiefs gave them the ball a total of only 10 times in a 24-21 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday. The game quickly became unbalanced for the Chiefs. They handed the ball to their running backs — including Dantrell Savage — 12 times while Matt Cassel threw 39 passes.

The Jaguars, who had been playing a 3-4 defense, surprised the Chiefs by playing mostly a 4-3.

Charles, Smith run well in limited opportunities from KC Star

Succop’s kick actually looked pretty good as it left his foot and started to rise. But right around the five-yard line, the wind knocked it down and it was short. The kick fell into the hands of Jaguars CB Rashean Mathis and that’s when the fun started.

Mathis brought the ball out of the end zone and headed right; he broke past several Chiefs, and was then in open field, chugging down the sidelines towards a possible touchdown. Finally, at the Chiefs 15-yard line, punter and holder Dustin Colquitt knocked him out of bounds. The return was 91 yards total, but ended up being just forgotten yardage.

Way downfield, the Jaguars were hit with an illegal block in the back penalty, so even had Mathis scored the TD would have been wiped out by the flag.

Colquitt would have liked to have had that information before he threw himself at Mathis.

"You’ve got to do what you have to do at the time," said Colquitt, who banged up his shoulder a bit on the play but returned in the second half.

Jaguars Change Defensive Spots & Other Notes from Bob Gretz

Consequently, what’s the point in analyzing the team? What’s there to look for that would offer any reason to have hope? You know you have severe problems when your best punter is your punter, your best tackler is your punter and your best player is your punter!
Chiefs - Jags Wrap from Upon Further Review

Jacksonville had four plays from scrimmage of more than 25 yards plus a 44-yard punt return.

"They did some things we really didn’t go over in practice," Brown said. "You prepare for things, but we hadn’t seen those things all week, so there was some miscommunication."

The plays ruined what otherwise could have been a big day for the Chiefs’ defense. Tamba Hali and Brandon Flowers were continually disruptive, and Wallace Gilberry had a third-down sack that pushed Jacksonville to the edge of field-goal position. Josh Scobee was then wide left on a 53-yard attempt.

Derrick Johnson also forced a fumble that put the Chiefs on the Jaguars’ 20, but the Chiefs settled for a field goal in that instance.

"It’s always the same thing," cornerback Brandon Carr said. "We play well and we play well but there’s always a few big plays and we let the game get away from us."

Chiefs’ defense gives up too many big plays from KC Star

Finally, some good economic news: The Kansas City Chiefs have lowered the price of their logo shot glasses to just $7.00 at the team store on their Web site. A gift that makes watching the Chiefs more tolerable - 2 ounces at a time. Chiefs garden gnomes are still $25, however.

Anyway, we think it was a sound business decision to lower the shot glass price as booze consumption is up 821% on Sundays in the greater Kansas City area this year. Or so we hear. Sunday, the Chiefs coughed up 426 yards of offense to Jacksonville, held the ball for just 23:00, didn't convert a third-down until the fourth quarter and, despite a frantic yet unfulfilled rally in the fourth, exited the game as the lone NFL team without a rushing touchdown this season. Just to update, that's 30 losses in their last 33 games and 14 of the last 16 on the road.

K.C. is at Oakland next week and with a loss to the Raiders, we just may get drunk enough with our new shot glasses to order the garden gnome. Maybe two.

Goin' Deep: Intrigue from around the National Football League from NY Daily News

The 3-4 is dead. Long live the 3-4, just not in Jacksonville.

Sunday’s it-wasn’t-as-close-as-the-final-score-would-indicate, 24-21 win over the Kansas City Chiefs saw the Jaguars return to their familiar 4-3 defense, and the results were stunning.

The Chiefs were held to 60 yards rushing, a week after the Jaguars allowed a franchise-record 305 yards rushing by the Titans.

Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel was sacked three times, by a team that had just five sacks through seven games.

Jaguars return to 4-3 roots from Jaguars.com

Player Tweets

almighty31 thanx to my supporters that came to duval. Valdosta state c u soon

MrKolbySmith @mrbigplay850 good luck tomorrow. Look forward to facing off with you on the 22nd. What up tho

Media and Fans

kb_kcstar Of all the reasons for the Chiefs' offense to be good, it seems that only desperation can motivate this group.

dussery: @goatboytim the chiefs tried the last three minutes of the game

BrentMichael06: @Adam_Schefter funny play Chiefs Leonard Pope gave a first down sign when he was 10yds short on 3rd down

midacoll: the chiefs stink, but you already knew that...

justd913: bummed the Eagles lost, but did the announcer HAVE to call the Chiefs bottom feeders?! Give us a damn break, we are in "rebuilding phase"

jhailos: Awesome day for the Chiefs. We play like garbage and are now tied for the worst record in football. Can we earn the #1 pick??

moneydesignz: #worldsthinnestbooks How to win a football game - by the Bucs, Raiders, Redskins, Lions, Rams, Bills, Chiefs

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 11/4

NJ Chiefs Fan — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:52:28 -0000

via media.kansascity.com

(Photo above: Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and tight end Leonard Pope helped load some of the 30,000 pounds of protein products donated by Tyson Foods. The players, and other volunteers, transferred the food to vehicles from approximately 60 area relief organizations.)

The Chiefs continued what has been a futile search for help at wide receiver when they claimed Chris Chambers off the NFL waiver wire on Tuesday.
Released by the Chargers on Monday, Chambers is just another attempt by Pioli/Haley to add some firepower to their passing game. To this point, they’ve failed miserably.

Bobby Engram, Quinten Lawrence, Rodney Wright, C.J. Jones, Terrance Copper, Amani Toomer, Ashley Lelie, Bobby Wade and now Chambers. That group combined has provided the Chiefs offense with 27 catches for 298 yards and two touchdowns. Almost all of that belongs to Wade, with his 20 catches for 226 yards and both scores.

More WR Juggling … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz

KC Star Photo Gallery: Kansas City Chiefs players join volunteers to distribute food at Arrowhead Stadium

The changes won’t be as glaring as the overhaul the Chiefs underwent in 2008, when Gailey reshaped the offense mid-season to customize the scheme to quarterback Tyler Thigpen’s strengths. Brodie Croyle and Damon Huard suffered season-ending injuries in the same game, and Thigpen was forced into a starting role. It was important to keep him healthy, and to do that meant shifting to the spread. That allowed Thigpen to expand the pocket and improvise, if necessary, and it worked. The Chiefs aren’t planning to reintroduce the spread or any kind of gimmick offense — just a more finely tuned scheme that allows Cassel to release the ball faster and get plays in quicker.

"We’re always going to play to our players’ strengths," Haley said.

Chiefs use bye week to fine-tune offense from KC Star

KMBC's Karen Kornacki reported that the district will gut Southeast high School stadium, which is about 50 years old, and build a new multi-sports complex.
It will cost $3.5 million but there is talk of increasing it to $10 million, Kornacki reported.

The stadium will be paid for with grants, sponsorships, private donations and fundraising.

Kansas City School District Athletic Director Kimble Anders said they have applied for an NFL grant and they have the support of the Chiefs team.

KC Schools Plan To Build New Stadium from KMBC.com

There's more. The NBA is exploring a fan's accusation that Dallas Mavericks player Drew Gooden mumbled a gay slur in his vicinity. Last week, Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson reportedly did the same, twice in two days.

Do any of these incidents require a congressional hearing? Nope. Do they indicate that we've become so supersensitive about what famous people say and do that nobody with more than 10 entries on Google should ever open his mouth or leave her house without first clearing it with a publicist? Probably.

But the controversies are also a sign of society's robust health. We debate these words and behaviors -- are they heinous and unforgivable or just dumb and obtuse? -- because we don't really know just how to feel about them. And sports is both mirror and lamp. The mirror shows us where we are; the lamp leads us up and out.
Chicago Blackhawks' blackface forces the issue from The Chicago Tribune

It’s gotten to the point where my favorite week of the football season is the Chiefs’ bye week. Why? Because I get a break from the constant reminder that my favorite team just isn’t that good.

During the bye week, I don’t have to worry whether GM Scott Pioli is the most overpaid, overhyped executive in the history of football. I don’t have to worry whether Matt Cassel will tear his rotator cuff after Branden Albert blows another blocking assignment. I don’t have to worry whether coach Todd Haley will pull a Tom Cable on Larry Johnson.

The Blessed Bye Week from National Football Post

There is no doubt that, particularly after 2003, there was a good amount of evidence pointing towards Chris Chambers’ becoming a star WR; since then, though, he has basically fallen off of a cliff...

...Simply put, regardless of how ugly a quarterback or how decrepit a team a WR is surrounded by, elite WRs simply catch a higher percentage of the balls thrown to them than Chris Chambers does.

Chris Chambers, the Worst WR in Football from Patriots Daily

Scouts from the Kansas City Chiefs were present at today’s Notre Dame practice in South Bend. Joining them were representatives from the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.

There are a handful of very interesting NFL prospects playing for the Irish and the Chiefs currently hold 8 draft picks (and counting!) so it’s never too early to keep tabs on the players of note at each school Kansas City is scouting.

Chiefs Scout Notre Dame Practice from KCChiefsBlog

Player Tweets

studie32 Had a great time with @douggieboomer today. . . . Back to the grind tomorrow.

Media and Fans

ArrowheadPride RT @robmikesh Year to date, I have as many #NFL rushing touchdowns as the entire Kansas City Chiefs running back corps.

ArrowheadPride As I sift through today's news, I realize LJ is soo last week.

Adam_Schefter Bengals terminated the contract of veteran G Scott Kooistra.

Tomahawkkid88: Just launched a brand new awesome ALL POSITIVE chiefs forum. Chech it out and sign up as a member at www.barryskoolaid.com GO KC!

BillKempin: Sportscasters bashing the Chiefs for signing guys released by other teams seem to be unaware it' illegal to sign dudes playing elsewhere.

QueenJerrica: Dude on Jimmy Fallon says he is a chiefs fan lol

Kansas City Chiefs Week Three Storylines

Chris Thorman — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:13:10 -0000

via www.kcchiefs.com

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We had quite a bit of news over the last week concerning the Kansas City Chiefs.

After the jump, here's what I'm talking about:

Dwayne Bowe's status
Starting right tackle
Where TE Leonard Pope may fit in today
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Roster moves this week

Click Continue Reading to check out the rest.

Will Dwayne Bowe play?

Bowe didn't play against the Eagles last week because of a hamstring injury. He didn't practice on Wednesday but Bowe did end up getting on the field with the second team WRs on Thursday and Friday. Here's the last we heard on Friday, from Bob Gretz:

Bob Gretz reports that Bowe was running routes and doing it with "speed and explosion" during today's practice. The report said he was certainly running with more power than Thursday's session which is excellent news for Bowe's availability on Sunday against the New York Giants.

Bowe is listed as questionable on the Chiefs injury report, which officially means he has a 50/50 shot of playing. LB Derrick Johnson is listed as probable, which means he'll play.

Who will start at right tackle?

Recently signed tackle Ryan O'Callaghan was moved ahead of previous RT starter Ikechuku Ndukwe on the depth chart this week. Here's what Todd Haley had to say about the move on Friday:

Haley also talked a little bit about the offensive line. Earlier in the week, there was a change made on the depth chart. Right tackle Ryan O'Callaghan was moved up to the No. 1 team ahead of Ikechuku Ndukwe. Both players were acquired this season so it's interesting to watch the development of each. As of this week, O'Callaghan has been running with the first team. Ndukwe started the first three games at right tackle.

Haley said he won't determine a starter for Sunday's game until he talks to his staff but did have some encouraging words for O'Callaghan.

"I think he knows who to block," Haley said of O'Callaghan. "That’s real important around here right now, as it always is, but probably most important now. He’s been in there and made very few mental errors. He’s a big guy who’s got some experience under his belt. He looks like he’s excited."

I think you can safely pencil in O'Callaghan in at starting RT today.

Will newly signed TE Leonard Pope see any action?

Nothing definitive has been said about Leonard Pope's role today against the Giants but it looks like Todd Haley wants the former Arizona Cardinal to get in the game as soon as he can:

"Leonard’s a big guy who’s real tough, fast, can really stretch the field," he said when asked about Pope. "I think he’s a great individual – one of my favorites there from Arizona who will give you a full day’s work and your money’s worth every single day. He likes to play and he likes to practice. He’s my kind of guy. When we got the opportunity to bring somebody in we were happy to get Leonard."

Haley indicated that Pope could indeed see time on Sunday. "He's practicing to play," he said.

Pope is listed as the team's fourth TE on the depth chart, which is typical placement for a new player. I doubt Pope gets in much today.

Wearing pink on the field

Since it's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a few of the Chiefs will be sporting pink to raise awareness.

The game itself will have a special pink feel. Pink ribbons will be painted on the field at Arrowhead and affixed on the back of the players’ helmets. Additionally, various Chiefs players will be using special pink items such as cleats, gloves, towels, etc.

WR Bobby Engram will be wearing pink cleats and LB Mike Vrabel will be wearing pink gloves.

Roster moves

The Chiefs had a handful of roster moves this week too. Here's what went down:

Cut - LB Monty Beisel, CB Ricardo Colclough
Traded - QB Tyler Thigpen (conditional draft pick)
Added to PS - T Chris Patrick
Released from PS - TE Tom Crabtree
Signed - TE Leonard Pope, CB Mike Richardson, LB David Herron

Chime in with any pre-game thoughts you may have.

New Chiefs TE Leonard Pope: 'Man I love Todd'

Joel Thorman — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:25:01 -0000

Video courtesy of Todd Feeback of the Kansas City Star can be seen here.

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One of the newest members of the Kansas City Chiefs was introduced to the media today in the locker room after practice. Leonard Pope sounded excited to be here and "blessed" to have the opportunity to play for his old coach Todd Haley.

"Man I love Todd," he began. "He's the type of guy that's going to push you and get every inch of everything out of you. A lot of guys have to learn that about him. Some may think he's someone else but you gotta have thick skin with him. That's the kind of coach he is."

"Like I said, when you have other options, sometimes those options don't go through, at the end of the day you want to be somewhere you know you'll be loved and you've got coaches that you know and have already played for."

He's happy to be playing for a coach he's familiar with and ready to get started with his new team.

"Man just happy to be here," he said when asked how he felt. "Just being embraced by the coaches and the players. We're just going to try to turn things around."

We talked earlier today about Pope being more of a receiving tight end. His size (6'8", 264 pounds) brought back memories of Jason Dunn for many of us. But according to many folks, including Haley, it's his speed that figures to be an attribute with the Chiefs.

"Hopefully I can get out and show my strengths with stretching the field and blocking," he said. "Basically anything I can do to help."

The Arizona Cardinals released him a few weeks ago. Since then he's been out of work but still working out for other teams, including the Chiefs.

"I just had to wait out my options," he told reporters. "And when I got the call a couple weeks ago all my worries went away. And when I got it a couple days ago I was happy so I'm just really blessed to be here."

It's over now for the fourth year tight end. He's found a home (for the time being) and is glad there's an aura of familiarity with it.

Chiefs Coach Talks About Incoming and Outgoing Players

Joel Thorman — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:00:41 -0000

More photos » by Seth Perlman - AP

Tyler Thigpen was traded on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, by the Chiefs to the Miami Dolphins an undisclosed draft pick. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

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Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley talked about some of the activity that took place at Arrowhead yesterday afternoon.

First things first. Here's what he said about Ryan O'Callaghan now being listed as the first team right tackle:

"We practiced O’Callaghan first today," Haley said. "You can’t hold me to what we’re going to do on Sunday. It’s going to be determined on how we practice and how the guys practice."

Onto the new Chief, Leonard Pope, previously with Haley and the Arizona Cardinals:

"Leonard’s a big guy who’s real tough, fast, can really stretch the field," he said when asked about Pope. "I think he’s a great individual – one of my favorites there from Arizona who will give you a full day’s work and your money’s worth every single day. He likes to play and he likes to practice. He’s my kind of guy. When we got the opportunity to bring somebody in we were happy to get Leonard."

Haley indicated that Pope could indeed see time on Sunday. "He's practicing to play," he said.

More reaction from the roster movement after the jump.

The coach wouldn't discuss how the trade for Tyler Thigpen went down but did say he thought he had a chance to be pretty good with the Miami Dolphins.

"I don’t want to speak for Tyler," he began. "Tyler’s a great kid that I was really excited about and was making progress here, especially the last week or so and I think he saw that progress. But for myself, I think this is a great opportunity for him also. I know a bunch of those guys down there and I know how they’re going to coach him."

And one of the Chiefs that Haley brought in over the offseason, who was released yesterday, Monty Beisel:

"Monty was a guy that I had familiarity with. It just didn’t work out. I love everything about Monty and how he works and prepares and what he brings to the team. It was a numbers thing, number one. Number two, a depth thing where he probably would have liked to have been playing a lot more and had kind of been relegated to special teams."

He also touched on a couple of the other new guys, LB David Herron and CB Mike Richardson. Both appear to be looking at a lot of special teams action. On Herron:

"I like for number one that he’s fast. He’s got very good speed, a run-and-hit guy and what I know of him he’s got a chance to be a good special teamer first. Any chance we’ve got to improve our team speed I think we need to do it."

And Richardson:

"Mike Richardson, the Notre Dame corner, he’s another fast guy. I think, again, if we can improve our team speed on either side we need to do it."

Digging a Little Deeper on the Chiefs New Tight End Leonard Pope

Joel Thorman — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:49:48 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

Chiefs signed former Cardinals TE Leonard Pope. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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I'll be the first to admit that I know very little about the Kansas City Chiefs new tight end Leonard Pope. He's coming from the Arizona Cardinals where his career highs hovered around 23 receptions, 238 yards and five touchdowns. But, he's been consistently inconsistent since he's come into the NFL according to our friend Charles Golden of Revenge of the Birds.

"Well first, I would caution Chiefs' fans that Leonard Pope will not remind you of Tony Gonzalez at any point this year or beyond, unless Gonzalez specialized in jumping off sides and staying on the injury list," Charles told me.

Yes, yes, Charles, I think we all know that. I think.

"In all seriousness," he continued, "Pope has some talent and potential but he's struggled to stay healthy or provide consistent results when he's been on the field. During his sophomore season, 2007, he flashed the potential to become a decent pass receiving option, especially in the red zone (23 receptions, 5 TDs), but a serious ankle injury ended his season after 13 games.

"Despite playing in 13 games again last year, Pope was never really 100% healthy and it showed on the field. Eventually the team signed a guy off the street (Stephen Spach) who became the starter until he got injured in the second round of the playoffs."

Charles also points out that these familiar problems were present during the team's recent training camp. Heading into year four, he doesn't expect him to change much.

Anyway, the most surprising thing that came out of my exchange with Charles was that Pope should not be expected to become a blocker. Because of his size (well, height, really) I saw some folks liken him to Jason Dunn. Not the case in the slightest.

I asked Charles to quickly lay out some strengths and weaknesses on Pope. This is what he had to say:

Strengths: As a pass catcher, Pope has shown some promise. He's tall enough to be a legitimate threat in the red zone and at least has some speed to run down the seem and stretch defenses. His hands can be spotty but his size will always create match ups problems for opposing defenses, if you can establish him as a weapon.

Weaknesses: Everything pertaining to the mental side of the game has caused him problems through his first three seasons. He was infamously known for false start penalties, holding calls and just making the biggest mistakes at the most critical points in a game. His height, while a strength in the red zone, virtually eliminates his effectiveness as a blocker. He simply can not get low enough to get under the pads of a defender and he's not strong enough to keep them at bay once they stand him up.

***

I then asked if Todd Haley's offense was a good fit for him since he's been in it for a little while in Arizona.

"Ideally I think Pope would play his best ball in a offense that didn't expect much, if any, from him as a blocker," Charles said. "While he certainly doesn't have the skills of Dallas Clark as a receiver, he might be best suited as a stand up tight end who's primary responsibility was catching the ball as opposed to having to block. Standing up might also eliminate his false start problems."

Many thanks to Charles at Revenge of the Birds for filling us in on Leonard Pope.

Bengals @ Packers Week in Review: Best part about losing opening weekend is that there's 15 more games to go

Kirkendall — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:01:56 -0000

This has been one of those weeks that we've experienced so many times. We lost last week with an unbelievable, unlikely play. Some of us (aka, me), just can't let it go. It was discouraging, disheartening and worthy of a scowl at any unfortunate victims that passed me at work with that look that said, "oh, haha, your team lost like that. Oh, haha." Browns fans I crossed this week were much more sympathetic, if anything. Maybe there's this brotherhood that I've ignored. Two Ohio teams that are, once again, not projected to be a major player in the race for the playoffs. Coworkers and friends that are Steelers fans (aka, needlessly betraying loyalty to Ohio football because they were also born in Ohio but picked a great team on a list at five years old on which team to cheer for for the rest of their lives), mostly stayed away. Not sure if they were giggling or snickering because of the way the Bengals lost, I didn't mind the space. I don't personally know any Ravens fans, so no worries there.

The best part about losing the opening season game that way, is that there's 15 more games to get that filthy taste out of your mouth. Chad Ochocinco, who won't have to appear for jury duty (don't you think it would have been bigger news? And we know that the legal system views NFL players much like politicians), is planning a Lambeau Leap on Sunday if he scores. Remember when Chad was greeted by the Dawg Pound when he scored in 2007?

+ We spoke to Brandon at Acme Packing Company this week and he wrote that starting right offensive tackle Allen Barbre allowed two sacks to defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. He also wrote that he's willing to give Barbre a mulligan (Bill Huber agrees) while co-author Mitchell_M, in a piece asking if the Packers should sign Mark Tauscher, wrote, "we can agree that Allen Barbre looked like absolute garbage against the Bears."

With that said, does this mean that starting left defensive end Robert Geathers has an opportunity to have a great day? I still believe that Geathers is the strongest overall defensive end on the squad; but not by much. However, he's a highly paid defensive end and highly paid defensive ends are paid to get to the quarterback. He made some impressive plays during the preseason, but now he needs results in the regular season. Since signing a six-year contract extension worth $33.75 million ($12.5 million guaranteed) after his 10.5-sack season in 2006, Geathers has recorded a combined six sacks in the 28 games played since.

Season	Games	Sacks	Tackles
2009	1	0	3
2008	11	2.5	56*
2007	16	3.5	47
2006	16	10.5	42
2005	16	3.0	33
2004	14	3.5	16
*Via Bengals.com

How is Barbre reacting after last week?

"They're probably saying some things about me, they can exploit me and whatnot," Barbre said Thursday. "But I feel like if I go out there and play with technique, I feel like I can beat anybody."

You almost get the feeling that both players are looking for some sort of redemption. While Geathers has actually played strong overall, he has to be feeling pressure of needing to consistently hit the quarterback with the contract he's under, while Packers offensive tackle Barbre is looking to redeem last week.

+ While I tried to find some encouraging thoughts for the week by saying the Bengals are historically better offensively in the second week, I was quickly beaten like Ohio State in big games recently. The argument against my delusional happy thought of the week, is that the Bengals have played worse teams during the second week and should have done better. Let's examine the teams that they played in the first and second week, and then their final records.

First Week

Season	Opponent	Final Record	Score	Yards (Total)
2009	Denver Broncos	N/A	L, 7-12	307
2008	Baltimore Ravens	11-5	L, 10-17	154
2007	Baltimore Ravens	5-11	W, 27-20	236
2006	Kansas City Chiefs	9-7	W, 23-10	236
2005	Cleveland Browns	6-10	W, 27-13	420
2004	New York Jets	10-6	L, 24-31	351
2003	Denver Broncos	10-6	L, 10-30	294
		51-45		285.4

Second Week

Season	Opponent	Final Record	Score	Yards (Total)
2009	Green Bay Packers	N/A	N/A	N/A
2008	Tennessee Titans	13-3	L, 7-24	215
2007	Cleveland Browns	10-6	L, 45-51	531
2006	Cleveland Browns	4-12	W, 34-17	481
2005	Minnesota Vikings	9-7	W, 37-8	504
2004	Miami Dolphins	4-12	W, 16-13	210
2003	Oakland Raiders	4-12	L, 20-23	416
		44-52		392.8

Fine. The week two opponents have been worse than the week one opponents dating back to 2003; so I agree that the opponents were weaker. I will point out, however, that we don't know about the 2009 Green Bay Packers, who are following up a 6-10 season last year. Even though Green Bay's defense picked off Jay Cutler four times, the Packers were still losing 15-13 with over a minute left in the game. So maybe, just maybe, the trend continues that we play a team that'll hover around a .458 winning percentage and the Bengals offense goes bonkers. See, delusional happy thoughts. They work!

+ The Bengals will be without their starting left guard against the Packers; offensive tackle Andre Smith and cornerback David Jones will be out for the second straight week. Green Bay will be without their starting strong safety, Atari Bigby and third string running back Brandon Jackson. Final practice and injury report.

+ Speaking of injury, last week Chris Henry has a bum quad that held him back (and mostly out) against the Denver Broncos. He hasn't appeared on this week's injury list and will likely be a bigger contributor than his one reception for 18 yards against the Broncos. Delusional happy thoughts? Speaking of injury, part II. Andre Smith is expected to be out at least another week, perhaps two, while he recovers from injury. We guessed that Smith might not make the field until the bye week in week eight (November 1). After recovering from his injury, he'll still have to go through his own version of Training Camp.

Bengals invited Tight End Leonard Pope and Cornerback Corey Ivy for a visit this week. Neither were signed when leaving the city.

Even though the Bengals were off on Tuesday, Robert Geathers told his defensive line-mates that they're coming in on Tuesday anyway.

Bengals punter Kevin Huber's first five career punts dropped inside the 20-yard line.

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