SB Nation - Derrick Johnson

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 12/6 DT's Day

NJ Chiefs Fan — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:38:49 -0000

Game Day!!!! Denver Broncos at Arrowhead today. Wear your 58 jerseys if you got 'em. That number finally gets retired today at halftime. I can't tell you how jealous I am of those of you who will be there today. Now your news.

Alleman plays on the Chiefs’ offensive line. He started a couple of games last month, and then the knee went out. One week, he kind of twisted it. The next, another player ran into it. The week after that, Alleman was out. It was a discouraging way to spend part of his third NFL season, particularly for a player who has gone to unusual lengths to learn about his body and its risks for injury.

Alleman is one of the first NFL players to undergo gene testing, and it had some surprising results. It revealed that Alleman possesses weak Achilles’ tendons, a problem he would’ve never suspected, and he now devotes extra workout time to strengthen them.

Science let him in on a secret — although it didn’t tell him everything.

Chiefs’ Alleman looks to science for an edge from KC Star

The Chiefs placed running back Kolby Smith on injured reserve Saturday and promoted running back Javarris Williams from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.
Williams, 5 feet 10 and 223 pounds, was the Chiefs’ seventh-round pick in this year’s draft. Williams, out of Tennessee State, has not played in an NFL game.

Chiefs put Kolby Smith on IR from KC Star

Almost a decade since the last time Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas stepped on the field for the Kansas City Chiefs, his spirit will undoubtedly be in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
Thomas, whose number 58 will be retired by the Chiefs on Sunday, sacked Broncos' quarterback John Elway more than any other quarterback during his 11-year career in Kansas City. Against no other opponent would it be more appropriate for the Chiefs to retire Thomas's number.

Chiefs Derrick Thomas Makes Final Appearance Against Broncos on Sunday from Bleacher Report

Bottom line

The Chiefs are overmatched against a team with a lot of offensive weapons, as they showed in last week’s blowout loss to the Chargers. The Broncos may not be as stocked as San Diego, but between Marshall, Moreno and Buckhalter, they still qualify as an offensive team far too deep for the Chiefs to handle. Unless the Chiefs can dominate on special teams or win the turnover battle by a large margin, look for the Broncos to pull away eventually. Prediction: Broncos 30, Chiefs 17

Chiefs-Broncos scouting report from KC Star

The Chiefs delighted a chilled Thanksgiving Day crowd at Municipal Stadium on Nov. 27, 1969, by scoring on offense, defense and on one of the most unusual special-teams plays imaginable.

Linebacker Bobby Bell fielded Denver kicker Bobby Howfield’s onside kick in the final minute and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown, putting the finishing touches on a 31-17 victory in front of a crowd of 48,773.

Chiefs flashback | Week 12 of the Super Bowl IV season from KC Star

The Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs, who meet Sunday, each have a player who has flourished despite joining the team in midseason.

Chris Chambers was cut by the San Diego Chargers on Nov. 2, claimed by the Chiefs and almost immediately became their No. 1 receiver. The Broncos needed a new third cornerback for their nickel defense in early November and signed veteran Ty Law, who had been out of football all year.

The NFL season was at full speed, and those players had to catch up quickly.

"They’ve done it in training camp; they’ve had the books," Law said. "If they see something they say, ‘This is familiar, we saw this in Week 3’ or whatever. For me, everything is new."

Midseason acquisitions have difficult challenges in NFL from The Colorado Springs Gazette

The socks have been an unexpected hit for the Broncos and the N.F.L., which is near the end of its season-long 50th-anniversary celebration of the American Football League. The original eight teams — the Buffalo Bills, the Denver Broncos, the Los Angeles Chargers (now the San Diego Chargers), the Boston Patriots (the New England Patriots), the Oakland Raiders, the Houston Oilers (the Tennessee Titans), the Dallas Texans (the Kansas City Chiefs) and the New York Titans (the Jets) — have been featured in legacy games that have included vintage uniforms.

The last of these 16 matchups will be Sunday when the Patriots play the Miami Dolphins, who joined the A.F.L. in 1966. The Cincinnati Bengals became the 10th team in 1968. The commemoration of the A.F.L. has provided a much-needed lift for the teams and the league, which were looking for ways to offset the effects of the recession on merchandise sales. More than two dozen licensees have been making about 100 A.F.L.-related products, which have produced tens of millions of dollars in sales, said Leo Kane, the N.F.L.’s vice president for consumer products.

For a League of the Past, the Uniforms Live On from The New York Times

NFL great Jan Stenerud, who has adopted Colorado Springs as his hometown, is hooked on what he calls "America’s game."

"I think American football is the greatest team sport ever invented," he said.

Which leads us to this question:

What about soccer?

Stenerud, 67, hails from Norway, where he played futbol, or soccer, every day in the summer. He knows the game. He once loved the game.

Ramsey: Stenerud embraces football, leaving soccer behind from Colorado Springs Gazette

Player Tweets

almighty31 all this time. i get a citation and she gets off. she dont even have brake lights.

MrKolbySmith what's good with you?@H0llyHawK

almighty31 how bout them tide. u mighty quiet @themswhite

studie32 i pray that it is

studie32 i rejoice that it is.

Media and Fans

ArrowheadPride Chiefs fans, send us your tailgating pictures tomorrow and we will post 'em. #chiefs

JoshLooney Chiefs Big 12 championship predictions: Demorrio Williams - NEB by 7; Derrick Johnson - Tex by 21; Jamaal Charles - remember Tex/CU? (70-3)

SI_PeterKing Imagine 33 days betw AFC+NFC title games and Super Bowl, as in college with nat'l title game. SB would be Feb. 26--in the middle of combine.

adamcbest: Chiefs need to come and get Suh! Hit on our last Husker D-lineman (Neil Smith). #Suh

webby37: Watching the #Chiefs / #Broncos 1994 MNF classic on the NFL Network... Remember hiding from the folks to stay up and watch the end—Eff Elway

bemonteer: Fired up for the Chiefs and Broncos. Go Chiefs!!!

jwgochiefs1: Hope the chiefs beat the broncos ass today!!!!

tslfan20: hopefully i don't turn into an icicle watching the chiefs lose to the broncos... that would be no bueno

bandfrag: Hey Chiefs fans, remember to wear your #58 DT jerseys tomorrow no matter where you are. The mojo will be needed. Go Chiefs!!!

mattmishler: Heading to KC for the Broncos and Chiefs game!

CreativePetrol: Up early prepping for the big tailgate. Let's get a win, #Chiefs!

Demorrio Williams Feeling Comfortable in the Chiefs 3-4 Defense

Joel Thorman — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:00:20 -0000

by Orlin Wagner - AP

Chiefs LB Demorrio Williams is feeling comfortable in the 3-4 defense. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

View full size photo »

A few weeks ago, Nick Wright of 610 Sports earned the nickname "Derrick Johnson question guy" when he asked Chiefs head coach Todd Haley, 'What is the deal with Derrick Johnson not starting?' Haley, in a somewhat spirited exchange, turned the focus to Demorrio Williams, the six year veteran who's currently perched directly above DJ on the depth chart.

Haley has, on numerous occasions, preferred to focus on the positives coming from Williams instead of explaining why No. 56 hasn't been on the field as often. In the offseason, Zach Thomas said this would be DJ's best position and he would flourish. Like Johnson, Williams was new to the 3-4 defense.

"At first I had a little doubt about it because i'd never played in a 3-4," Williams told Soren Petro on the Red Zone. "I was always a 4-3 guy but after getting in the system these last few games, I really like it a lot."

Williams says the 4-3 made him feel like "you have to be perfect all the time" but in the 3-4, he's given some freedoms.

"I know what's in front of me and what's coming at me," he said. "I really like it a lot because it gives you an opportunity to make a lot of plays."

He's relatively undersized at 6'1", 230 pounds but, because of the 3-4, he can use that to his advantage.

"When I'm dealing with the big guys," he explained, "I need to attack the big guys before they attack me. That's why I'm successful in a 3-4, is to attack guys."

Williams battled injuries during training camp and said he "was a little worried" about being cut in the first week of September.

Todd Haley: Brilliant Personnel Guy? Or Just a Guy?

Jon Yoon — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:00:13 -0000

In writing this column, I know exactly what I want to write. The problem is, I don't. On the one hand, some of Todd Haley's personnel decisions have been really confusing. There have been plenty of surprise cuts throughout the year and some players have started in the place of others who seemed more deserving. On the other hand, Haley's been right on several occasions. The good news is, as time passes by, more and more of his personnel decisions appear to be pretty good ones.

This may sound like a pretty small issue, but there are many that would argue that New England's success in the past was largely due to a partnership between Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick. It will be immensely helpful if Haley can help Pioli make good personnel decisions.

Let's start with the bad and then look into the good:

The Bad: Win Now? Or Build Through Youth:

I understand that there is a delicate balance between winning for now, and rebuilding for later. For as much as Herm Edwards has been mocked for his comment: "You play to win the game," the answer isn't always that obvious. Sometimes you have to play the lesser player that gives you less of a chance to win today, in the hopes that he will put your team in better shape to win tomorrow. Sometimes you don't play to win the game. Helloooo.

For the most part, Haley doesn't seem to mind playing young guys. That doesn't mean he's been perfect. Jamaal Charles is playing better and better and better every week. Let me ask the obvious question: why wasn't he playing all along? I understand that LJ was the Chiefs' primary back and that the Chiefs were committed to his contract and ultimately his playing time. But I think in looking at Charles' success right now, there are more than a few people who wonder why he wasn't seeing more carries earlier in the season, if only as a change-of-pace back. Charles was barely getting about five carries a game and his role was largely limited to return and receiving duties. Had LJ not made a few stupid comments on Twitter, we'd still be wondering today if Charles had anything to offer in this league. Judging by his recent success, that would have been an outrageous oversight.

How about another classic example: Andy Studebaker. I really liked what I saw out of this kid on Sunday. I'm not sure that he can be an every-down OLB and he still has a lot to prove as a pass rusher, but I was really impressed with his play on run defense. There were several plays where I saw him trail an outside runner and slip between two blockers to influence the play. Now, this isn't as clear-cut of a case because Vrabel didn't play that poorly and because Studebaker wasn't exactly a prospect that made people do cartwheels. But it goes back to the idea that Haley needs to let his young guys play. Studebaker should have gotten more reps earlier in the season.

I wonder if the same situation is developing with their Safeties. John McGraw and Mike Brown are not answers at Safety. I like the idea of McGraw as a depth guy, but as a long-term starter, he's not a guy you can continually depend on. And don't let Brown's recent Defensive Player of the Year accolades fool you---he's still not a very good player. Two games ago, he benefitted from a few tipped passes where he happened to be in the right place at the right time. Last game, he got credit for making a nice sack at the right time. That doesn't change the fact that he is not a playmaker. As I said in an earlier column, he lets plays come to him; playmakers like Polamalu anticipate plays and blow them up before they get to them.

Hopefully, you see where I'm going with this. Neither McGraw or Brown have anything to offer this team in the long-term. And it's not like they're offering anything much in the short-term. They're in there because they don't make a lot of mistakes. I want the Chiefs to win now, but I would much rather watch Morgan make mistakes and see if he improves over time than watch two Safeties with zero upside play mistakeless football at an average level. If this was a 5-4 team, I can understand what Haley's doing. But this is a 3-6 football team. You have to give the young player with upside some in-game reps. Even if you don't start him the whole game, you do not keep him inactive on the roster or let him rot on your bench. McGraw or Brown are not going to be starters two years from now. Morgan could be. I don't know if Morgan will shine as Charles has, but it's hopefully a lesson to Haley that his young guys might surprise him.

Haley got lucky on Charles and Studebaker. The problem is, he only found out what they're made out of because he had no other choice. When LJ mouthed his way off of the team and Vrabel fell to injury, Haley didn't have much choice but to go with youth. I want to see Haley become more proactive about evaluating young players during the rebuild. It's time to see what Morgan is made of. If he fails, he fails. At least you know he isn't the answer. If he succeeds, well, then suddenly you have one less need to fill in the upcoming offseason.

The Good: Haley's Smarter Than We Give Him Credit For

I've been critical about a lot of moves Haley has made so far this season. And you know what? In many cases, I've been flat-out wrong.

The most glaring example is Derrick Johnson. I couldn't understand why DJ was in Haley's doghouse. As he's gotten more and more playing time, I'm beginning to understand why. He's not really that good. I know some people will point to his "improved" play on Sunday against Pittsburgh as a validation that he's getting better and should have been getting more playing time in the first place. I would have to disagree. DJ made a lot of big, flashy plays. Some of them came at key moments. But if you actually watch him snap for snap, you'll find that he still makes way too many mistakes for a player of his experience level. I don't like the angles he takes to make tackles. In many cases he overruns his gap. In other cases he whiffs on his assignment. The commentators on Sunday very aptly pointed out that DJ's missed assignment led to a receiver waltzing into the end zone untouched. I sense that Haley doesn't like DJ because he freestyles too much. Like a Lavar Arrington, he'll make a few big plays, but he'll make some headscratchingly bad ones too. Haley wants consistency. DJ doesn't give him that. I get that.

The other glaring example is Dwayne Bowe. There were some who wondered if maybe his struggles were due to the fact that he's getting separation but Cassel isn't hitting him quick enough. I'm starting to understand now why Haley has been so tough on Bowe. Thusfar this season, he hasn't been very good. Maybe some of that is on the quarterback, but given Cassel's recent success with Chris Chambers in the lineup, you have to think it's not all on Cassel. I don't agree with Haley's decision to play musical chairs with his receiver corps in the offseason and strip Cassel/Bowe from quality reps. But I do agree more and more with his decision to be tough on Bowe.

Tough Decisions Ahead:

Haley's going to have some very tough decisions to make. His job will actually be much tougher next year than it was this year. In many instances, Haley had to choose between crap and crap. And in many of those instances, it seemed pretty clear that Haley chose to scrap certain players because they weren't "Haley guys." Yet in other instances, as with Charles and Studebaker, he lucked into the right decisions by players getting injured. Arguably, the only position where he's installed a ton of accountability is at the Wide Receiver position, a position that he knows very well from his assistant coaching days.

Next year, he'll need to make much tougher decisions. He'll have to decide whether to play a late-round rookie or to bench one of the veteran Haley guys. It was easy for Haley to bench a Derrick Johnson or a Tank Tyler or a Bernard Pollard who either didn't fit his system or didn't fit his player profile. I wonder if he'll find it nearly as easy to bench a guy like Lance Long or Mike Vrabel. The same applies to guys he likes a lot because they bought into the program---what if Branden Albert doesn't get much better? When do you pull the plug on him? What if Matt Cassel doesn't improve with a better supporting cast? What if Tyson Jackson doesn't improve over time? How do you justify starting a 7^th round rookie over a player who's playing average,

Remember, Dick Vermeil made a lot of sweeping changes after his first season as a head coach for Kansas City. Once he got his guys in the door, he was loyal probably to an extreme. It's easy to push a guy like Tyson Jackson onto the starting roster, given his draft credentials, but is it going to be nearly as easy to put in a raw 4^th round guy with upside to replace an average veteran who doesn't make mistakes? That's going to depend heavily on Haley's ability to see things in practice that he believes will translate onto the field. His inability to see potential in Charles or Studebaker make me pause at this question. They don't make me panic, but they do make me hesitate to answer that question with any kind of certainty.

If Haley can get the personnel side right, that is going to go a very long way to shaping the Chiefs into a team that has a chance to go places.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 11/24

NJ Chiefs Fan — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:29:56 -0000

via KansasCity.com

Your Tuesday morning Kansas City Chiefs news from across the internet. Enjoy.

When a team wins, the decisions are good, even if they are bad. If a team loses the game, the decisions are bad, even if they were good.

Todd Haley was a genius on Sunday, just a week after he was considered a dolt even in a winning effort against Oakland. Getting the unexpected victory over the Steelers was built on many decisions and a lot of them went the Chiefs way.

Here are four decisions that came down on Sunday that helped the Chiefs to victory.

Winning Decisions … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz

KC Star Video: Feeding 1000 families

The 3-7 Chiefs get another test this Sunday when they play the 7-3 Chargers in San Diego. The Chargers, who beat the Chiefs 37-7 at Arrowhead Stadium last month, have won five straight games and moved into first place in the AFC West with Sunday’s 32-3 win over Denver.

Regardless of how the Chiefs fare in San Diego, they could look back on the overtime victory against the Steelers as a defining moment in their effort to build one of the league’s premier programs.

"I hope it’s that," McGraw said. "It definitely has the potential to be that. Hopefully, we’ll use it as something we can really build on, a cornerstone of what we’re trying to do here.

Chiefs get shot of confidence from win over Steelers from KC Star

The media horde gathered for Todd Haley’s weekly press conference, the first one to come after two consecutive Chiefs victories.

Haley was not celebrating or ebullient as he stood behind the podium. It was 24 hours after the Chiefs overtime victory and the head coach had moved on. There were the San Diego Chargers to get ready for this weekend.

But he did have a few things to say about the game and how things played out in the victory over Pittsburgh. Here are the highlights.

From The Mouth of Todd 11/23 from Bob Gretz

KC Star Video: Succop, Chambers talk about win over Steelers

While the Pittsburgh Steelers were hampered as the heart of their defense, safety Troy Polomalu sat out due to injury, it was still clear that no one believed the Chiefs had a chance to win against the reigning Super Bowl Champions.

With a large number of Steeler fans in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium, it was those who dawn the red and gold and attend week-after-week who cheered on a Ryan Succop game-winning field goal in overtime.

Here’s how the grades shake out:

Kansas City Chiefs: Week Eleven Report Card from Bleacher Report

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Kansas City's victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers was not the end of the Chiefs' long battle to regain respectability.

It was not even the beginning of the end.

But maybe it was the end of the beginning.

Quality win boosts Kansas City's confidence from Philly.com

It may sound strange, given the Chargers have won five straight to climb atop the AFC West, but it appears we may have a perfect storm here, a confluence of circumstances that will keep Sunday's game in Qualcomm Stadium invisible to local TV.

And so the first blackout since San Diego hosted the Saints on Nov. 7, 2004 — 44 home games ago — not only looms, but appears almost certain. As of yesterday, nearly 6,000 of the 56,500 tickets that count toward lifting a blackout had not been sold.

"As of noon," Chargers Chief Operating Officer Jim Steeg was saying, "we had sold 180 tickets. My thinking is that, instead of moving 180 by noon, we need to move 180 an hour.

Blackout policy a turkey for S.D. from The San Diego Union-Tribune

That's before Sunday's game at Qualcomm Stadium against the Chiefs, who suddenly seem a little different than the team the Chargers routed 37-7 last month.

The Chiefs have won two straight after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-24 in overtime Sunday.

If anything, the Chargers saw the Chiefs' victory as a potent reminder that work remains.

"That was good for us," left tackle Marcus McNeill said. "It was an eye- opener. Pittsburgh is a great team."

That would be the Pittsburgh that beat the Chargers 38-28 last month.

"Obviously it says a lot about Kansas City's continued progress," Rivers said. "They beat a Pittsburgh team, and we know what Pittsburgh did to us."

Keeping that drive alive from The San Diego Union-Tribune

Winning on the road is tough in the NFL, but yesterday in Oakland and Kansas City, the Bengals and the Steelers showed us a blueprint of how to play football unprepared, unaccountable and at a level that is unacceptable for a playoff-contending football team.

One thing we have to understand about this league is that no matter what records are attached to a team’s name—such as the Raiders and the Chiefs—these guys still are professional football players. They are still being paid to play, and if you give them an open door or show them an opportunity, they will take advantage of it.

Losses by Bengals, Steelers not surprising from The National Football Post

We know, we know. "That’s why they play the games" and "any given Sunday" and all that. But mere football clichés, true though they may be, don’t quite capture the weird majesty of Week 11 in the NFL.
The ultra-moribund Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions — a match-up your Fixer described as "belief-system-challenging" on Friday — faced off in a wildly enjoyable 38-37 shootout that wound up being a record-breaking game for Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. The rookie threw the pass of the day, a game-winner with no time on the clock.

Ultra-mangy underdogs had their days elsewhere, too, as the Oakland Raiders pulled out a late 20-17 win over the AFC Central North-leading Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime, 27-24.

If there is a football self-help book called "When Bad Things Happen to Good Football Teams," it’s surely flying off the shelves today.

Underdogs Rule for One Sunday from The Wall Street Journal

That siren is still echoing around running back Larry Johnson. You think it’s a coincidence the once-soaring Bengals signed him last week and immediately coughed up a game in the final 33 seconds to the horrendous Raiders? On the same day, the team freed from Johnson’s grip, Kansas City, sprang a thrilling upset over the Steelers.

A Pox on the Bengals from The New York Times

Last year, South Carolina's outstanding kickerRyan Succop was given the honor of being selected dead last in the draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. He was one of just two kickers selected. Succop has a huge leg and is more than capable of handling kickoffs, field goals, and extra points. He arrived in Kansas City, beat out incumbent Connor Barth for the starting job, and has quietly had a great rookie season for a terrible team. He put a cherry on top today by kicking the overtime field goal that gave the Chiefs their huge overtime victory against the defending Superbowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

So, good for you Ryan Succop. You're no longer even a little bit irrelevant. In fact, there's going to be just one NFL rookie getting more TV time than you today: Matthew Stafford, who was picked 255 spots in front of you. Good work, fellow Gamecock.

Irrelevant no more- Succop shines in NFL from Examiner.com

STORY OF THE WEEK

On a Sunday when New Orleans and Indianapolis each went to 10-0, there also was reason for a few of the NFL's dregs to rejoice.

Kansas City returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, fell behind by 10 points and then rallied to stun defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh 27-24 in overtime. In improving to 3-7, the Chiefs won consecutive games for the first time since 2007.

NFL Rewind from The Washington Times

The prognosis on Jeromey Clary's injured left ankle is not good.

The Chargers right tackle sprained a ligament in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 32-3 victory at Denver, a costly setback that could have a lasting impact. It might even end Clary's season.

"I think that would be premature," Chargers coach Norv Turner said. "But that is a concern of mine, yes."

CHARGERS: Clary could be out for season with sprained ankle ligament from North County Times

Player Tweets

BFlowers24 shoutout to the whole kc squad and the fans.....great win....pick up the usa today we havn fun n kc on the cover....

superdj56 Chiefs 27:24 Steelers http://bit.ly/6TP1Fe

Media and Fans

kb_kcstar But both sides screwed it up. Pollard was a loud-mouthed rebel who probably needed this fire lit under him. KC misjudged his talent.

kb_kcstar Sometimes players just don't fit in a team's culture, for better or worse. Honestly, I don't think either side regrets how it happened.

seanelgar: @Ms_Liv if anyone had picked raiders and chiefs then I would have crapped my pants!

The_Katbot: @jason_wilson Yes, my fantasy victory this week was basically the equivalent of the Chiefs beating the Steelers. Only I won by 35 points

BarrysKOOLAID: Actually, I am the ONE person in the world who said the Chiefs would bea... (YouTube http://bit.ly/07a8MeY )

g1goodw: We went to the Chiefs/Steelers game on Sunday and my team shocked the world in OT!

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 11/22

NJ Chiefs Fan — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:25:30 -0000

via cdn1.sbnation.com

Game Day!!! Steelers are in town (probably with a lot of fans). If you can, head out to Arrowhead and raise some hell for those of us too far away to make it. The team's going to need all the help they can get.

How much the Chiefs might have grown as a team is debatable. They secured victory No. 2 last Sunday in Oakland and got a great deal of help from the Raiders, who like them are one of the league’s bad teams right now. This meeting is likely to show two things: the Chiefs have grown, and they are still very far, far behind the best teams in the league like Pittsburgh.

With his black and gold roots, Todd Haley does not try to hide his admiration of what the Steelers have done through the years, maintaining their place as a contender each year and winning two of the last four Super Bowl trophies to add to the four from days of yore.

"They’re consistent in all areas – personnel, how they draft, all areas," Haley said. "They don’t panic. If things don’t go real well early they don’t panic; they’ve proven that over the years. I think that this model would be a great one to follow as would some other teams obviously; New England being one of those teams and Indianapolis, Philadelphia.

Game-Day Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz

Bottom line

The Steelers didn’t become the franchise they are by losing to teams like the Chiefs. Still, it’s interesting to note that lesser Pittsburgh opponents like Cleveland and Detroit were able to hang in during their games against the Steelers. That’s probably the best the Chiefs can hope for. Despite last week’s win in Oakland, the Chiefs have too many issues to think they can realistically compete with Pittsburgh. They’ve been blown out by many of the stronger opponents they’ve played, and the game against the Steelers has a similar feel. If Pittsburgh comes to Arrowhead Stadium with its best game, there’s little the Chiefs can do to have any say in the outcome. Prediction: Steelers 30, Chiefs 10.

Chiefs-Steelers scouting report from KC Star

It was years ago when Todd Haley got the book, before the pages were creased and stained with highlighter marks. He still consults it a few times a month, searching for a lost proverb, hunting for validation.

Where would he find it this time? In "The Art of War," where was there an explanation or reason for this?

It is last Sunday. The Chiefs are in Oakland and, as they have often this season, are struggling. Are trying to escape this battle with a rare victory. Trying to earn some of that validation that Haley has turned back more than 2,500 years to find. There is a fourth down, the fringe of a momentum shift, and Haley calls timeout an instant before the ball is snapped. The Raiders fumble, but it doesn’t matter because the timeout nullifies the play. Assistant head coach Maurice Carthon chastises Haley, and Haley returns fire. While television cameras zoom in, the Chiefs’ head coach and his top lieutenant engage in a verbal, R-rated spat.

"He was getting after me," Haley will say a day later, after the Chiefs leave Oakland with a 16-10 win.

Chiefs' Haley coaches by the book from KC Star

Whitlock Alert

I understand personal accountability. And I realize Bowe should’ve never put himself in a situation in which he needed to cut weight quickly.

We want 20-something athletes to be leaders and role models. They’re famous and make a lot of money. You can say the same about the coaches. But we don’t want to hold them to the same high standards as athletes. Coaches and executives create the win-at-all-cost environment.

There are a number of people who view Mark Mangino as a victim. Mangino’s defenders believe his coaching approach prepares young people for a cruel world. It also prepares them to be cruel.

In their desperation to hold onto their money and fame, coaches are becoming more ruthless. The athletes take the majority of the heat. It’s very rare that a situation arises like what we’re witnessing at Kansas. The culture of football rarely gets challenged publicly.

Chiefs fans are so desperate for victories that it’s difficult to discuss the "winning" culture Scott Pioli and Todd Haley are putting in place at Arrowhead Stadium. Bowe’s suspension for PEDs is a reflection of that culture. It is.

Bowe a victim of the win-at-all-costs pressure from KC Star

Sunday’s contest will mark Todd Haley’s first-ever encounter with the Steelers as an NFL head coach. A graduate of Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh, Haley is the son of legendary Steelers personnel man Dick Haley, who played a pivotal role in the acquisition of 10 Pittsburgh players who are now enshrined in Canton.

Those 10 players were selected to a total of 67 Pro Bowls during their respective careers and are the owners of a combined 37 Super Bowl rings, including one earned by CB Rod Woodson with Baltimore in 2000.
Looking at the Steelers-Chiefs game from Examiner.com

The Chiefs (2-7) will be looking for the upset with a new-look offense. Last Sunday's 16-10 victory over the Raiders was their first since releasing starting running back Larry Johnson, who had originally earned a one-game suspension for off-the-field remarks about head coach Todd Haley on Twitter, as well as some anti-gay slurs on the website.

The offense took another hit on Tuesday, when the team confirmed that wide receiver Dwayne Bowe was suspended for four games for violating the NFL's policy on performance enhancing substances. Bowe had made six catches for 91 yards in the win over Oakland.

Jamaal Charles, starting in place of Johnson, added 103 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown against the Raiders.

Steelers hoping to find focus in Kansas City from The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Kansas City is a tough place to play. Their fans are going to be right there from the national anthem, right into it," said Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. "If we can jump on them early and take their fans out of it, then I think we'll be fine. But it's always hard to win on the road."

The Steelers are coming off their worst offensive performance of the season. They managed only 226 yards against the Bengals and failed to score a touchdown on four trips inside the red zone.

Steelers insist they won't be trapped from The Observer-Reporter

Former NFL receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who played under Haley when he was an assistant with the Jets and Dallas Cowboys, defended Haley's coaching credentials.

"Todd grew up around football. He coached me to two Pro Bowls. His father drafted me with the Jets,'' said Johnson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft who now works for ESPN. "Here's a guy that (supposedly) doesn't know anything about football, but I got two Pro Bowls out of him.

"I think he's pretty good. He helped the Arizona Cardinals get to the Super Bowl.''

Experience becomes issue for Chiefs' Haley from The Tribune-Review

In addition to the most recent episode with former Chiefs' running back Larry Johnson, Haley continues to harbor some sort of ill-will towards Kansas City linebacker Derrick Johnson.

So much ill-will apparently, that Haley can’t seem to find a situation or a position on his defense that justifies starting the former first-round selection out of Texas.

Johnson, unlike his former running back teammate of the same surname, hasn't been critical of his head coach. He hasn't gotten in trouble with the law. He's not making a habit of antagonizing Chiefs' fans when he's out in public. And he hasn't gotten into trouble with the league for failing a drug test.

Stated simply, Derrick Johnson has been a class act in his time in Kansas City, and one of the Chiefs most productive players. So why isn’t Haley giving Johnson consistent playing time on a team that is 2-7?

Still a Mystery: Chiefs Head Coach Won’t Start Linebacker Derrick Johnson from KC Sports Central

But, before there was Leon Lett of the Dallas Cowboys showboating and prematurely celebrating a fumble return for touchdown in the Super Bowl XXVII, or Steelers rookie Plaxico Burress spiking the ball after a 19-yard catch in a 2000 game against Jacksonville when he was not touched down and the ball was still live, or even Philadelphia rookie DeSean Jackson throwing the ball down in celebration a yard shy of the end zone last season, there was Smith and the embarrassing gaffe he committed in an Oct. 18, 1971, game on a Monday night in Kansas City.

Taking a pass from Terry Bradshaw, Smith was on his way to a 50-yard

touchdown against the Chiefs when he raised the ball over his head and triumphantly began to pump his left arm as he neared the end zone. However, before he could cross the goal line, Smith lost control of the ball -- he did not spike it, as some have suggested -- and, instead of a touchdown, the ball rolled through the end zone for a touchback.

To be sure, it was one of the most ignominious moments in Steelers history, a play that has forever dogged Smith's career and almost always is included in a list of embarrassing or boneheaded stunts committed over the years by NFL players.

Belichick's blunder hardly alone in NFL lore from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Suddenly, the big pass play has disappeared from the Steelers offense. After torturing opposing secondaries with long passes in the first six games, the Steelers are finding them harder to come by than swine flu shots.

And maybe the player affected most by the drought is Santonio Holmes, the Steelers' big-play receiver.

To be sure, Holmes has 13 catches for 132 yards in the past two games, including seven for 88 yards in the 18-12 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. But he has been unable to shake the shackles of two-deep coverage for big pass plays and hasn't caught a touchdown since the season opener against the Tennessee Titans.

Head to head: Steelers WR Santonio Holmes vs. Chiefs CB Brandon Flowers from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Player Tweets

almighty31 y ppl so fake these days. actin like they scared to keep it real

almighty31 nite tweeters

Media and Fans

ArrowheadPride Yikes! RT @cfromtheict Michigan is TERRIBLE. I think i'd rather watch the #chiefs

JPosnanski What's more amazing? That In 5 years, Weis turned Notre Dame into the Wash. Generals or that he got EVERYONE to despise him.

JBBauersfeld: KU and K-State both lose for the 2nd straight week. Maybe another Chiefs win? Ha

CRS81: Anyone still go to chiefs games other than steelers fans?

Tuggboat: Brodie can't sleep. He is too excited about his first Chiefs game. http://pic.gd/be3bca

MelisaKayla: @eofboutclassics yeah, I am! Go Chiefs!!!

jacjan85: On the way to c chiefs beat stealers go chiefs

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 11/5

NJ Chiefs Fan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:58:18 -0000

via www.kcchiefs.com

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, a petition aimed at stopping Johnson from breaking Holmes’ record had collected more than 5,300 "signatures," or users who submitted their names in favor of preventing Johnson from becoming the most prolific rusher in Chiefs history.

Two of the three men who started the petition told The Star on Wednesday that it started as a discussion among friends — before it became clear the three Olathe natives and longtime Chiefs fans weren’t alone.

"The fans are speaking in loud numbers. It doesn’t grow like this without fans really caring," said Dan Cataldi, who lives in Des Moines and posted the petition last Thursday.

Messages from team and fans directed at Larry Johnson from KC Star

Branden Albert celebrated his 25th birthday on Wednesday with a nice two-hour practice at the Chiefs facility with his teammates.
But there really wasn’t time to have any type of party. There was game preparation to handle, a game where Albert will finally get back on the field.

"Best present I could have is to get a chance to play again," Albert said after the team’s Wednesday practice. "That’s what I’ve been working on for three weeks."

Albert Celebrates Return … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz

"We’re trying to get him ready," Haley said after Wednesday’s practice. "He took some (snaps) today and made a couple of plays."

Chambers is the fifth wide receiver to join the Chiefs since the start of training camp. Wade, second among the Chiefs with 20 catches and two touchdowns, has helped.

Toomer and Lelie, who were cut before the start of the season, didn’t. It’s too early to tell about Lance Long, who has played in only one game since being promoted from the practice squad.

Their continuing efforts to upgrade at wide receiver speak to the Chiefs’ offseason inadequacy of stocking the position.

Chiefs believe Chambers can help them from KC Star

Roster overview: At one point, the Jaguars relied heavily on free agency, but this current team is home grown, with 30 of the 53 players being Jacksonville draft choices. Of that 30, there are 22 from the first, second and third rounds. Among the team’s 24 starters (offensive, defense, kickers), 21 are Jags draft picks, including five first rounders: LT Eugene Monroe, TE Marcedes Lewis, DT John Henderson, DE Derrick Harvey and FS Reggie Nelson. Jacksonville has only two UFAs on the roster, both in backup roles: OT Tra Thomas and S Sean Considine. Veteran Rams WR Torry Holt signed on before this season after he was released by St. Louis.
Opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars from Bob Gretz

Inside linebacker Derrick Johnson, who has undergone an inconsistent season in which he has lost his starting job and has yet to earn it back, at least has won back some good favor with Haley.

But favor isn’t yet enough to unseat Demorrio Williams, who Haley said was a bright spot for the 1-6 Chiefs.

"Demorrio Williams is not a reason why we’re where we’re at," Haley said. "He’s played as good of football as anybody on this team. I have no problem with how Derrick is preparing, practicing and playing. I have no problem at all with Derrick and what he’s doing. He’s continuing to get himself ready, so when an opportunity — a bigger opportunity presents itself, he’s ready for that."

Chiefs notebook: Page placed on injured reserve from KC Star

Lance Long is one of several new wide receivers for the Kansas City Chiefs. The second-year pro spent five weeks toiling on the Chiefs’ practice squad before being activated for the Chiefs game Oct. 25 against the San Diego Chargers. He played in one game for Arizona in 2009 after spending the entire 2008 campaign on the Cardinals’ practice squad. He had two catches for 12 yards in his first game, a loss to San Diego.

1. So how did it feel out there against San Diego trying to help the team win? It felt good, man. It felt real good just coming out here trying to make plays for the team and doing whatever it takes to help the team out. I’m just thankful and I look forward to (the next game).

Quick Five: Chiefs Wide Receiver Lance Long from The Examiner

Former Pro Bowl receiver Chris Chambers went from one AFC West Division team to another this week in part because of an ongoing off-the-field situation involving his ex-girlfriend and his wife.

The issue dates back at least seven months and includes an extramarital affair, a pending divorce, Chambers' request for a restraining order against his ex-girlfriend and several lurid text messages from the woman to his wife, court records show.

Ultimately, Chambers — who admitted the Chargers had told him they had concerns about his personal situation — was released Monday, during a season in which his production was significantly down. He was claimed by the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday.

Chambers, 31, said Monday that "I guess it created a distraction upstairs. ... They know a little too much of my life, and they used it against me."

Chambers sought legal help vs. ex-girlfriend from The San Diego Union-Tribune

South Park’s latest episode could have been written by Chiefs suspended running back Larry Johnson instead of the show’s normal writing team. "The F Word" pokes fun at the use of fag and faggot as common put downs and derogatory terms for homosexuals. The overall theme being that the words have had many meanings over time and don’t necessarily mean homosexual when used now. Harley riders also took a shot from the show as seen in the South Park’s new definition for fag: "An extremely annoying, inconsiderate person most commonly associated with Harley riders or a person who owns or frequently rides a Harley."

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are known for mixing sports into South Park episodes. The two best examples are the time they ripped Jay Cutler and when they destroyed Bill Belichick. In "The F Word" the duo relive a quarterback vs. talk show host moment.

South Park Uses Jim Rome to Tackle Fag from You Been Blinded

Player Tweets

80bobbywade Check out my latest blog on giving back to the community: http://bobbywade80.com/blog...

Media and Fans

kb_kcstar Sweet Lord, I hate the Yankees.

Adam_Schefter OK, now that baseball season is behind us, we can put all the focus back where it belongs - on football. Three days till Sunday.

claypatterson: Yeah, like the Chiefs really need a petition to prevent them from getting rushing yards http://bit.ly/rgEnL

tstout1: So Yankees win. Isn't that like saying "the Chiefs lost?" #notnews

Horse Tracks 10/22/09 - McDaniels gives players remainder of week off

Douglas A. Lee — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:55:49 -0000

DB - Bye Week: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Building Into the Bye Week - Patrick Smyth

DPP - Krieger: Broncos' brainpower key to McDaniels' early success
"It's beginning to look like my prediction of a 5-11 Broncos season will be slightly off the mark...I've made a lot of erroneous forecasts over the years - an occupational hazard - but seldom this erroneous. This is forecasting 30 and snow and getting 80 and sun. So I could always be a TV weatherman." It's actually a very interesting column, in addition to a large heaping of crow...

LTC - Broncos’ Williams on his way - Brian Howell

LTC - Surprise! Broncos are good - Brian Howell
"OK, I’ll admit I was wrong. Like 95 percent of the people who had an opinion about the Denver Broncos, I figured they wouldn’t be any good this year." Puzzling. Howell serves himself some humble pie despite probably being the most objective beat writer all year long. Perhaps he saw the crowfest his DP counterparts have been chowing on and thought it looked good?

FH - Thriving Denver D Brings Back the Sack - Nancy Gay

DB - Resting Before The Stretch Run - Chris Gentilviso

DPP - McDaniels gives Broncos big break - Lindsay Jones

DPP - Briefs: Broncos' McDaniels wants team to begin games more effectively - Mike Klis

SA - Elway is Walter Camp's Man of the Year

DPP - Analysis: Broncos deal with prosperity - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Broncos' Orton not concerned about Cutler's new deal - Mike Klis

DP - Broncos take a look at Berger - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Q&A: Why don't Broncos boot up the bootleg? - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Numbers: Broncos gaining point cushion - Jeff Legwold

CSG - Roster stability has been key for the Broncos - Frank Schwab

CSG - McDaniels give Broncos rest of week off - Frank Schwab

CBS4 - Royal Joins Elite List Of Special Teamers - Sadie Hughes

USAT - NFL Insider: McDaniels has turned doubters into believers - Jim Corbett

DH - Cutler, Orton backlash baffling - Barry Rozner
"He's not as good as Cutler in any facet of the game, except protecting the football and winning games, which some towns find admirable qualities."

CST - Nothing like forward progress - Neil Hayes
"But there's also no doubt that Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Tony Scheffler and a superior offensive line have made Kyle Orton a much more effective player in Denver than he ever was in Chicago." Wait a minute, now. I though Jay Cutler made those guys into good players?

PFW - Broncos' Bailey proving talk of decline premature - Dan Parr

ESPN - Broncos at the bye - Bill Williamson
"A throw-in of the Jay Cutler trade, Orton appears to be a perfect fit for McDaniels’ offense." This needs to stop. I read it on MHR last spring and everywhere else. Kyle Orton was never a throw-in on the Cutler trade. Josh McDaniels chose him over Jason Campbell and others...

DPP - Woody's Mailbag: 6-0 and 10 to go
"I find it funny that people are coming out of the woodwork now claiming they had the Broncos 12-4 all along. They told all their friends (both of them)." What a guy.

Ravens News

BS - Ravens' Rice takes NFL lead in total yards from scrimmage - Edward Lee

BS - A sore Flacco takes it easy during bye week - Jamison Hensley

NFL - In midst of losing streak, Ravens want to stay grounded - Pat Kirwan

AFC West News

SDUT - For Chargers, not many (good) numbers in safeties - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Special teamers take Bronco's kick returns personally - Tod Leonard

KCS - Chiefs’ Hunt isn’t discouraged - Adam Teicher

KCS - Sellouts could be problem for Chiefs’ late-season games - Adam Teicher

KCS - Chiefs notebook | Derrick Johnson expresses frustration to Haley - Kent Babb
This Haley guy can't catch a break; finally gets a win and guys are complaining...

SFC - Maybe Heyward-Bey is being too positive - Scott Ostler

SFG - Raiders Silver and Black Blog : Seymour: Playoff time - David White
WOW. "You can mark it down," said Richard Seymour. "The Raiders will be in the playoffs."

OT - Raiders go to backup plan - Steve Corkran

SJMN - Purdy: Hey, Napa, what's taking so long with Tom Cable/Randy Hanson case?

NFP - Waiting on decision day for Cable - Robert Boland

NFL News

PFW - Week Seven matchup tidbits

NFL - Largent backs former teammate Zorn, rips Redskins management

NFL - Jones passes on 'significant' trade offer; 'Boys promote WR Austin

NFL - Benson says Bears tried to blackball him before he became a Bengal

NFL - Cardinals WR Boldin's status uncertain after he misses practice

NFL - Why was Patriots LB Thomas inactive vs. Titans? 'Ask Bill,' he says

NFL - Niners WR Crabtree has Singletary's support, could start in debut

NFL - Fisher defends wearing Manning jersey after Titans fans object

NFL - Bears LB Tinoisamoa will have season-ending knee surgery

NFL - Desperate for running back help, Packers bring back Green

NFL - Fitzpatrick preparing to be Bills' starting QB with Edwards ailing

NFL - Browns cautious with 12 players, including five starters, hit by flu

NFL - Colts safety Sanders preparing to make season debut Sunday

NFL - Bengals welcome first-round draft pick Smith back to practice

NFL Opinion

NFP - Tavern talk: Bad idea trading a pass rusher - Mike Lombardi

NFP - Wednesday whys: Little action on trade front - Andrew Brandt

NFP - Signing Green is a low-risk move for Packers - Matt Bowen

NFP - Diner morning news: 49ers need a passing fix - Mike Lombardi

Y! - Fisher's attempt at humor could backfire - Charles Robinson
"If Dumervil breaks the season sack record, it’s karma"

SN - Is it pine time for Sanchez, Collins, Campbell? - Clifton Brown

SI - Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets need to learn how to be good - Ross Tucker

NFL - If Zorn, Jauron are on hot seat, these coaching chairs are warm - Steve Wyche

CBS - Faceoff: Looming playoff shutout? Best wideout? First fired? - Prisco & Judge

ESPN - John Clayton reviews the trade season that was

CBS - Glut of bad teams creating stench in standings - Clark Judge

FOX - NFL facing an international crisis - Alex Marvez

NYT - N.F.L. Win Probabilities for Week 7 (Don’t Write Off Chargers) - Brian Burke

FOX - Week 7 Cheat Sheet: NFL picks and predictions - Peter Schrager

SI - New Orleans Saints top NFL Power Rankings, Week 7 - Don Banks

PFW - Ten unsung talents who deserve more respect - Nolan Nawrocki

FH - Dirty Dozen: Ranking the NFL's Head Coaches, From Belichick to Zorn - Dave Goldberg

ESPN - Mike Sando's MVP Watch

NFP - The NFP Super 30 - Wes Bunting

SN - Mock draft: SN projects 2010's top NFL picks - War Room Scouts

SN - NFL Draft Dish: '10 draft shaping up to be one of best ever - Russ Lande

Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson Speaks

Joel Thorman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:28:37 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

3 months ago: Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson (56) tackles Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell (2) during the first half of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Browse more photos »

The name most often thrown around in the days leading up to the NFL trade deadline was Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson. Head coach Todd Haley didn't appear to be too high on DJ prior to last Sunday's victory against the Washington Redskins.

His playing time had diminished despite being what I think a lot of people would say is the most talented linebacker on the team. Of course, as we've learned over the past months, he may be talented but not part of the "right 53" yet. However, he's getting there as DJ actually started last week's game against the Redskins.

Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star chronicled some of DJ's conversation with reporters on his Twitter page.

DJ acknowledged that he should and wants to be out there playing. He says he has talked to Haley about his playing time, which he hadn't done as of just a few weeks ago.

"Coach knows I want to play," he said. "He knows I disagree with not playing. He knows that."

Babb also relays to us that DJ ignored much of the trade talk leading up to the deadline. He did not watch ESPN yesterday but acknowledged that there was a "possibility" that something could happen.

There were quite a few rumors with DJ's name attached to them the past few days (trading deadline ended yesterday at 3:00 PM CST). GM Scott Pioli said in a radio interview on October 13th that "he hadn't had any conversations like that" when asked about trading him.

The day prior to that interview, Haley had a spirited exchange with a reporter when asked why DJ wasn't playing. Haley chose to ask why they weren't asking Demorrio Williams, who is listed on the first team depth chart. This dates back to the first week of the season when Haley said DJ had to "get it going" a little bit.

DJ had a few minor injuries the in the first month of the season but has not appeared on the injury report for several weeks.

Check out Mr. Babb's Twitter page for the exchange.

NFL Trade Deadline Today, 3pm CST

Brandon — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:15:11 -0000

More photos » by Reinhold Matay - AP

2 months ago: FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2009, file photo Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Gaines Adams (90) pressured Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo during an NFL football game in Tampa, Fla. The former first-round pick is getting a fresh start in Chicago where the Bears hope the underachieving defensive end can provide some help up front after acquiring him Friday, Oct. 16, for a second-round draft pick next year. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay, File)

Browse more photos »

I haven't read of any trade rumors involving the Green Bay Packers, though Greg Bedard asked if LB Desmond Bishop might be traded. The only obvious move might have been a trade for a veteran offensive tackle, but signing RT Mark Tauscher has that covered.

GM Ted Thompson hasn't been shy about making a trade, especially if it involves a team based in New York, and there were plenty of TE Tony Gonzalez rumors last season.

The two big trades this month has been WR Braylon Edwards to the NY Jets, which seems like a win so far for the Jets. And the Bears traded for DE Gaines Adams, and that seems like an early win for the Buccaneers. The Bears might not be done either. With injuries to LB Hunter Hillenmeyer and LB Brian Urlacher, they might receive LB Derrick Johnson from the Chiefs.

Will see if anything happens today. And should the Packers be making a move?