SB Nation - Kevin Robinson

Who Wants to be a Chiefs WR? Anyone? Anyone?

Joel Thorman — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:00:26 -0000

With the addition of Bobby Wade reportedly happening today, I thought it would be a good time to do a quick review of how we ended up with the receivers that we did. Obviously, this position has been a revolving door the last nine months with the exception of Dwayne Bowe and Mark Bradley, the only two leftovers from the '08 squad.

There have been players entering their second season that were released (Franklin), veterans that were signed (Toomer) and released and even a few veterans that made it on the 53 man roster (Engram).

All in all, there have been 14 players that have been seen on the Chiefs roster at one point since Scott Pioli's January hiring.

Four were cut from last year, a few more came off the street and a bunch in between.

Still on the Roster from Last Year
Dwayne Bowe
Mark Bradley
On the Final Roster Last Year But Not Now
Will Franklin
Jeff Webb
Devard Darling (IR)
Kevin Robinson
Signed and Released Between January and Today
C.J. Jones
Rodney Wright (PS)
Amani Toomer
Ashley Lelie
Taurus Johnson
Jeff Webb (Re-signed)
Signed Over the Offseason, Still on the Team
Bobby Engram
Terrance Copper
Quinten Lawrence (Draft)

Chiefs 2008 Draft Class Dropping Like Flies

Joel Thorman — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:45:49 -0000

Over the last three months nearly to the day, the Kansas City Chiefs new regime has given the ax to 33% of former GM Carl Peterson's 2008 draft picks. The players were drafted to fit Herm Edwards' Cover 2 defensive scheme and his brand of offense.

Here's the rundown on whose been released from the 2008 draft class:

February 24th TE Michael Merritt: 'All this for a little bit of weed?'
April 13th WR Will Franklin: Rumored to be out of shape
April 21st KR Kevin Robinson: Injury/production concerns
May 27th OLB/DE Brian Johnston: Might not have fit the 3-4

Here's a quick glance at who was drafted, who is gone and who is still here.

Pick	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt	Status

Round 1 Pick 5 (5)	Glenn Dorsey	DT	6'1"	297	???

Round 1 Pick 15 (15) (From Lions)	Branden Albert	OG	6'6	309	Starter

Round 2 Pick 4 (35)	Brandon Flowers	CB	5'10	189	Starter

Round 3 Pick 10 (73) (From Broncos through Vikings)	Jamaal Charles	RB	5'11	200	#2 RB

Round 3 Pick 13 (76) (From Lions)	Brad Cottam	TE	6'8	270	1st year starter

Round 3 Pick 19 (82) (From Vikings)	DaJuan Morgan	S	6'0	205	???

Round 4 Pick 6 (105)	~~Will Franklin~~	WR	6'1	214	Waived 4/13

Round 5 Pick 5 (140)	Brandon Carr	CB	6'0	207	Starter

Round 6 Pick 4 (170)	Barry Richardson	OT	6'7	320	???

Round 6 Pick 16 (182) (From Vikings)	~~Kevin Robinson~~	WR	6'0	190	Waived 4/21

Round 7 Pick 3 (210)	~~Brian Johnston~~	DE	6'5	276	Waived 5/27

Round 7 Pick 32 (239) (From Giants)	~~Mike Merritt~~	TE	6'3	270	Waived 2/24

The Question Marks

DE Glenn Dorsey: How will he react to a position change?

My take: The position change is a tad overblown in my opinion but still needs to be answered. The move to defensive end likely won't highlight Dorsey's strengths but it's a key part of the 3-4 and could still be used in that capacity.

TE Brad Cottam: Can he be the starter after Tony Gonzalez's departure?

My take: We saw very little of Cottam in 2008 in the role he'll be asked to play in 2009. This is an unknown at this point.

S DaJuan Morgan: What can he offer?

My take: He appeared in 15 games for the Chiefs last season and totaled 14 tackles. He's also a complete unknown at this point. When he was selected, it was largely attributed as a "value" pick (as in he was rated much higher on the Chiefs board).

OL Barry Richardson: Can he contribute?

My take: He's got the size to contribute but the word on him coming out was he lacked the technique. He's still on the roster, which I guess is a good sign, but so is Damion McIntosh and he's got 10 times the salary as Richardson.

***

33% of the 2008 class is GONE.

By my count, only four players have definitive roles on the team (Albert, Flowers, Charles and Carr). That's not meant to say Dorsey won't be on this team in two years but he's yet to show he can play the position he's being asked to play. Same with Cottam. So it's only fair to label them as question marks right now.

The 2008 class was lauded as the best in 20 years for the Chiefs by a lot of folks. Though that title could still come to fruition, the new regime isn't hesitant about getting their guys in there.

Chiefs Release Three, Sign a Tight End

Joel Thorman — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:29:27 -0000

via bp3.blogger.com

The Kansas City Chiefs have waived offensive tackle Andrew Carnahan, linebacker Curtis Gatewood and wide receiver/kick returner Kevin Robinson. Because all three players have less than four years of NFL service, they will have to pass through waivers before they become unrestricted free agents.

The Chiefs also signed tight end Sean Ryan.

Ryan was in for a workout last weekend. He's a 6'5" tight end originally drafted in the 5th round by the Dallas Cowboys (Haley Connection) in 2004. He played two years with the Cowboys, then two more with the Jets.

Last season, Ryan appeared in games for San Francisco, New Orleans and Miami (Parcells Connection).

Releasing Carnahan, a tackle, and Gatewood, a linebacker, isn't all that surprising. Carnahan was brought on back on October 29th of last year and Gatewood added just a couple weeks later on November 19th.

The Chiefs continue to take swipes at Herm Edwards' last draft class with the Chiefs as Kevin Robinson is a former 6th round selection in 2008. He was inactive for half the season but came back to dress for eight games. He returned punts 11 times for a total of 94 yards and caught no passes.

UPDATE: Chiefs confirm the roster moves

H/T 810 Sports radio and RedNose in the comments.

Recent Draft History: Kansas City Chiefs

Jeremy Bolander — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:00:10 -0000

2008 Draft:

1 (5) Glenn Dorsey, DT STARTER

With the Chiefs' move to a 3-4 in the works, and not a lot to go on with Dorsey, the big question is whether he might be a bust waiting to happen...I'll save you the suspense: Dorsey will be just fine. He quietly led the rookie class of defensive linemen with the most tackles, and as a penetrating, one gap 3-4 DE he should be able to take advantage of mismatches and make his LBs better. He may not "break out" in 2009, but the Chiefs should get a boost in production from a palyer who is already on track.

1 (15) Branden Albert, OG STARTER

Albert played well and outside of a few hitches in his gitalong, managed to give the Chiefs a nice, complete season. He should be a solid guard they can build around for a long time.

2 (35) Brandon Flowers, CB STARTER

My favorite player on the Chiefs, and quite possibly their best rookie performer, Flowers was a bright spot on a team with ZERO pass rush. How he did it is beyond me, but if the new coaching staff focuses on using him correctly, he will be on his way to being one of the stars in this league.

3 (73) Jamaal Charles, RB Backup

The Chiefs were hoping for a reason to devalue the vitriolic LJ, but Charles wasn't quite up to the task. In Herm's predictable offense he was hamstrung, and despite decent numbers, he couldn't quite "take over" when LJ was missing games. The potential is still there, and he needs to take advantage of any opportunities he gets this year.

3 (76) Brad Cottam, TE Backup

A non-blocking TE who is heir apparent to Tony-G, Cottam surprisingly was a useful blocker, and stepped in when asked. He has the right attitude, and a great mentor, so his future looks promising.

3 (82) DaJuan Morgan, FS Backup

Despite the pre-draft hype, Morgan was fairly a know-show for the Chiefs, with no significant defensive time and an underwhelming effort on STs. Under a new regime he will need to prove he can step and step out onto the field, or his "upside" won't get him to hsi next Chiefs' contract.

4 (105) Will Franklin, WR Backup

Didn't really make an impact in limited time. The Chiefs' will definitley be looking for him to step up and help out whoever wins the starting QB job.

5 (140) Brandon Carr, CB STARTER

Not too many teams can start two rookies at CB and not be burned, but Carr held his own, and fed off of Flowers' success on the opposite side. Carr looks to have a spot tied up, but will need to show that he can do this consistently. A better overall tackler, he can suffer some letdown in his coverage game if the Chiefs can get even better safety play behind him in 2009.

6 (170) Barry Richardson, OT Backup

Not a lot to go on here, but they haven't cut him yet... Spent most of the season inactive and the Chiefs are expected to have competition for the Tackle spots in camp.

6 (181) Kevin Robinson, WR/KR STARTER

Robinson looks to be the #1 kick returner going into 2009, and though he didn't wow to many people at the position, he was alert, shifty, and didn't make mistakes, which should earn him the right to keep the job. He will have a terrific opportunity in 2009 to try and work his way into the starting offense if he can stay consistent in the return game.

7 (210) Brian Johnston,DE Backup

A late season calf injury sent him to IR, but the switch to a 3-4 could reinvigorate him for 2009. As a possible OLB candidate, he could defintiely make an impact.

7 (239) Mike Merritt, TE Out of NFL

Merritt is a free agent, after being waived by the Chiefs after the season ended, and not seeing any playing time.

2007 Draft:

1 (23) Dwayne Bowe, WR STARTER

Bowe continued his second solid season for the Chiefs, and is likely to be their #1 for the indefinite future. A big, physical WR, he gets himself into great matchups all over the field and mangaes to produce.

2 (54) Turk McBride, DE STARTER

McBride will likely benefit greatly from being moved to a 3-4 DE position, as long as it is a one-gap, and not 2-gap responsibility. He has been solid for the Chiefs, but not a star. His flashes of quickness and his relentless motor should help him bring penetration to the end of the ends of the chiefs' defense.

3 (83) Tank Tyler, DT STARTER

A rotational starter on the Dline, Tyler has been adequate, and will need to get back to being an explosive, powerful block-shedder in a 3-4. If he can do that, he might hold up at NT, otherwise, he gets entered into the DE sweepstakes.

5 (148) Kolby Smith, RB Backup

Another young player who got hurt before finishing the 2008 season, Colby has been a long work in progress. He'll need a solid 2009 season to maintain his grip on the roster.

5 (160) Justin Medlock, K Out of NFL

After flaming out in KC, Medlock went to the Rams, where he looked to be able to take advantage of his talents on turf, in a dome, but in the end he was waived from there as well, and remains unsigned.

6 (196) Herb taylor, G/T Backup

At this point Taylor is little more than a replaceable part. He never looks prepared, and plays the same as he did when he was a green rookie. The Chiefs will want to see progress, or they will find some upside to take his place on the roster.

7 (231) Michael Allen, TE Out of NFL

Allen failed to stick at either TE or on the oline, and was waived early in 08.

2006 Draft:

1 (20) Tamba Hali, DE STARTER

Despite his starter status, Hali is anything but safe during roster turnover time. He will probably get a chance to prove himself as a 34DE, but so far he hasn't been even close to the pre-draft hype. He will probably be looking at trying to ressurect his career elsewhere in the next year or two.

2 (53) Bernard Pollard, S STARTER

Pollard has been playing well and may have finally earned the right to call the SS spot his own. While he still needs to work on the tackling, his efforts as an intimidator across the middle are going to start getting noticed.

3 (85) Brodie Croyle, QB Backup

It is hard to tell if a QB is any good when they play for Herm Edwards, so Croyle seems to have bought himself a little time, but with Cassel and Thigpen set for a roomba deathbot match, chances are Croyle's future is holding a clipboard. At best.

5 (154) Marcus Maxey, CB Out of NFL

After being cut byt eh Chiefs, spending 2 games with the Bears before being cut again, and later resigned by the Chiefs, Maxey was later cut for good a the beginning of 2007.

6 (186) Tre Stallings, G backup/Baltimore

After being waived from KC, he spent a year out of football, and was recently signed to a practice squad futures contract with the Ravens.

6 (190) Jeff Webb, WR Backup

A favorite of Herm Edwards, Herm's departure spelled the end for Webb. He will probably be let go before the 53-man roster is set, after two season of lackluster production.

7 (228) Jarrad Page, S STARTER

Page has been working his way into this role for a while now, and with the RFA tender being given to him, the Chiefs no doubt wouldn't mind trying to keep him around. He was a playmaker in 2008, and should keep on improving.

Chiefs Special Teams Unit One of the Worst in the NFL

Joel Thorman — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:27:31 -0000

via cache.daylife.com

Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News compiled quite a bit of data based on the 2008-2009 season to measure the best and the worst specials teams units in the NFL.

He ranked teams based on 22 special teams statistical categories including punt/kickoff returns, average starting position, field goal accuracy, net punts and so on (click the link above for the full list). Just about any special teams statistic is included in his ranking.

Click through to see how the Chiefs fared (not well) in comparison to the rest of the league.

Buffalo Bills
Tennessee Titans
Cleveland Browns
New York Giants
Oakland Raiders
San Francisco 49ers
New England Patriots
Chicago Bears
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Atlanta Falcons
San Diego Chargers
Carolina Panthers
Philadelphia Eagles
New York Jets
Seattle Seahawks
Jacksonville Jaguars
St. Louis Rams
New Orleans Saints
Detroit Lions
Pittsburgh Steelers
Houston Texans
Baltimore Ravens
Washington Redskins
Cincinnati Bengals
Minnesota Vikings
Green Bay Packers
Dallas Cowboys
Arizona Cardinals
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
Denver Broncos
Indianapolis Colts

*A quick side note before we get to the Chiefs and why they're so low on the list. I bolded the playoff teams because I was somewhat surprised that special teams as a whole isn't any kind of indicator as to how successful a team will be. 6 playoff teams ranked in the top 13 of league and 6 ranked in the bottom 20. Maybe there's nothing to it but I thought it was interesting to note.

The Chiefs were the fourth worst team in the NFL. Much of that can be contributed to the return game that featured four players at one point or another throughout the season (Dantrell Savage, Kevin Robinson, Jamaal Charles and B.J. Sams).

Since B.J. Sams is not on the team anymore (!!!), let's take a look at our two primary punt returners last season, Dantrell Savage and Kevin Robinson, both of whom appeared in 8 games.

Player	Returns	Yards	Long	Average
Dantrell Savage	8	17	11	2.1
Kevin Robinson	11	94	32	8.5

League average: 9.3 yards per return

Not too impressive. The lack of actual returns makes me suspicious of the coverage team. With punt returns, it's definitely a joint effort. The return man usually has to make at least one man miss to gain anything of substance. Collaboratively, the coverage team has to give him something after he makes the first guy miss. Judging by these stats, someone wasn't doing their job.

Now to the kick return game. Again, since B.J. Sams is off the team now (!!!), we'll focus on Dantrell Savage, Kevin Robinson and Jamaal Charles.

Player	Returns	Yards	Long	Average
Dantrell Savage	26	633	59	24.3
Kevin Robinson	19	420	36	22.1
Jamaal Charles	15	321	40	21.4

League average: 22.8 yards per return

Things don't look so bad here. Kickoff returns don't vary much around the league. Last year Tennessee led the league with 25.4 yards per return while Green Bay was the worst with 20.1 yards per return. 5 yards may not seem like much, but it does make a difference, especially with an offense like the Chiefs that had trouble scoring at times. Not to sound too much like Herm here, but those 5 yards could be the difference between a 40 yard field goal and a 35 yard field goal (which, once you look at the stats below, could actually mean something for the Chiefs).

The Chiefs definitely improved in the kicking game once Connor Barth replaced Nick Novak. Though Barth's future with the Chiefs is still a question mark, his performance clearly beat Novak's.

Player	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+
Connor Barth	6/6	3/4	1/1	0/1
NIck Novak	3/3	1/3	2/3	0/1

League average: 84.5%

Overall, Barth completed 10/12 kicks for an 83.3% success rate. Novak, on the other hand, only completed 60% of his 10 kicks.

I say Barth's future on the team is definitely in question because he's still got plenty of tests to pass. With only 2 attempts beyond 40 yards, consider him an incomplete at this point. Besides, the difference between the highest rated kicker in the league and the lowest rated kicker isn't much so the turnover rate is high.

Our punter, Dustin Colquitt, is the only real positive to come out of this statistical ranking. He netted 44.4 yards on his punts in 2008. I won't spend much time discussing him because he's not going anywhere and I can assume we're all pretty happy with his performance.

The Chiefs finished last in the NFL in two of Gosselin's categories that helped comprise this list:

Opponent's starting point - 31.9 yard line. Compare this with Jacksonville who help opponents just 24.5 yards from the end zone. The Chiefs defense, on average, spotted the other team 7.4 yards before they even took the field in comparison to the Jaguars. It's the little things on special teams that can go a long way to helping an already battered unit like the Chiefs defense.
Field Goal - 16. Compare this to the New England Patriots and New York Giants, both of whom ended the season with 36 3 pointers. Is it the punt/kick return starting position? Is it the running game? Is it the kicking game? For a coach that admittedly enjoyed a defensive game comprised of field goals, Herm sure was bad at fielding a squad who could kick the ball through the uprights with some regularity.

Who is responsible for the Chiefs special teams woes?

Mike Priefer. Luckily for us Priefer has been plucked (plucked?) by the Denver Broncos to man their special teams unit. Click here to see what AP had to say about Priefer when Styg50 from Mile High Report asked about him.

Priefer came on board in 2006 with Herm Edwards so it's no surprise that he's gone when that and the Chiefs special teams ranking is taken into account.

With Priefer gone, the Chiefs can start fresh. Kevin Robinson appears to be promising in the kicking game, which he should be considering he was drafted as a return specialist (even if it was in the 6th round). Connor Barth is a big maybe at this point in the kicking game.

I'll say Dustin Colquitt is the only player who is guaranteed to make it through the regime change unscathed. Barth and Robinson were primarily special teams players (unlike Savage and Charles who I won't count here) and they've got no guarantees they'll be around next season considering they helped comprise a special teams unit that ranked 29th in the NFL.

An example of "getting it right"

Keeping with Scott Pioli and Todd Haley's theme of "Getting it Right", I wanted to include a quick example of one team that has gotten it right when it comes to special teams. Bobby April is assisted by DeMontie Cross in the Bills special teams department.

The Buffalo Bills have topped Gosselin's special teams rankings 3 of the last 5 years. Their kicker (Rian Lindell) and punter (Brian Moorman) are two of the best in the league.

Where the Bills have shined as well is the return game. Rookie Leodis McKelvin had an excellent season scoring one touchdown and averaging 28.2 yards per return. The punt return game is equally as impressive with Roscoe Parrish adding another touchdown on 15.3 yards per return. Both of those numbers are near the top of the NFL.

How long has special teams been a problem?

The Chiefs special teams unit has gone from one of the best (2003) to one of the worst (2008) in just 6 short years. Let's take a look at how the Chiefs have fared in comparison to the rest of the league in 3 major special teams categories over the last 6 years.

Year	Punt Return Average	Kick Return Average	Field Goals Made
2003	1st	1st	15th
2004	9th	3rd	27th
2005	24th	10th	14th
2006	23rd	24th	20th
2007	25th	30th	20th
2008	29th	27th	31st

***

I'm not going to lie to you all and act like I know much about special teams coaches around the NFL. There are excellent special teams coaches out there however. John Harbaugh was the special teams coach in Philadelphia for 9 years before stepping into the secondary coach role for 1 year before getting tabbed as the Baltimore Ravens newest head coach.

So, while special teams coaches won't get much publicity or credit, they do have influence and many of them aren't just fillers. They can be good coaches who can add a lot to a team.

The special teams coach is a position that will be filled by Todd Haley hopefully within the next week to two weeks.

Poll

Who is primarily to blame for the Chiefs special teams woes?

The players

175 votes

[Former] Special teams coach Mike Priefer

315 votes

Other

47 votes

537 votes | Poll has closed

Grading the 2008 Chiefs' Rookies

Chris Thorman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:57:52 -0000

The post-mortem on an ugly body continues with my grades for various Chiefs' rookies. This grade is tempered with preseason expectations and other circumstances that may have affected a player's production this year beyond what the box score indicates.

This grading is far from any exact science, or even a serious intellectual exercise. Still, there is nothing simpler and more direct than slapping a big fat "F" next to a player who has continued to disappoint you all year long (Which I didn't do this year).

Grades are after the jump. Make sure to leave your own in the comments.

DT Glenn Dorsey

Glenn Dorsey got a bit of a bad rap this year from Chiefs' fan because he didn't come out in Week 1 destroying veteran NFL linemen. Well, that's the life of a rookie, even if you're the #5 overall pick. Dorsey led all rookie defensive linemen in tackles and I'm sure you didn't notice it.

His name was hardly called by the play-by-play commentators this season, which I personally think has a big unconscious effect on fans' mentality about a player. I know it affects mine. Dorsey's "low" production is more a result of how he's being used IMO. Grade: B

OT Branden Albert

Do you remember last season when the Chiefs' offensive line was literally the worst in franchise history? Branden Albert helped take the offensive line issues completely out of the conversation. He was briefly injured a couple of times this year but for the most part he was an every down tackle as a rookie. His numbers are better than most of the other Chief offensive linemen, which isn't saying too much. Albert had a fantastic rookie season. Grade: A

CB Brandon Flowers

This may be the easiest grade to give out of all of the rookies. Flowers played exceptionally well this past season. He had zero lag in the transition from college to the NFL. An all around fantastic draft pick.

Grade: A

RB Jamaal Charles

Despite a few nagging injuries, Jamaal Charles had a pretty decent rookie year. He accumulated over 700 total yards in over 90 touches. He had a few fumbles and had the occasional memorable play as a running back but not much more than that. I expected a bit more out of Charles this year, especially with Larry Johnson being used as sparingly as he was. Grade: C+

CB Brandon Carr

Carr and Flowers had almost equal statistical years, with Carr actually edging out Flowers in tackles. Both CBs had two interceptions.

For a Div. II player to start 13 games and do it well is a testament to Carr's potential in Kansas City. Another home run for the Chiefs.

Grade: A

K Connor Barth

Barth ended up 2008 making 10 of his 12 attempted field goals. He at least appears to be the consistent kicker the Chiefs need. He could easily flame out in training camp or next season. Nothing is set in stone.

Grade: B

FB Mike Cox

Cox played well enough this year. It's tough to judge a fullback. He didn't screw up, which I guess is a big positive in his evaluation.

Grade: B

KR Kevin Robinson

In the eight games he was able to play in this year, Kevin Robinson was far and away our best kick returner. He didn't have the statistical numbers to make that statement but you could tell he was much more agile and quick than any of the Chiefs' other kick returners this season.

Grade: C+

CB Maurice Leggett

Best undrafted free agent pick of the season for the Chiefs. Leggett played far beyond expectations and ended up winning the Chiefs' Mack Lee Hill award.

Grade: A

Incompletes: Will Franklin, DaJuan Morgan, Brad Cottam and others.

Cut & paste this player list into the comments and give us your own grades.

Glenn Dorsey
Branden Albert
Jamaal Charles
Brandon Flowers
Brandon Carr
Connor Barth
Mike Cox
Kevin Robinson
Maurice Leggett

Chiefs Subtract Dantrell Savage and Add Three More

Chris Thorman — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:45:22 -0000

H/T bas in the FanPosts.

Today, the Kansas City Chiefs officially added DE Andy Studebaker and LB Curtis Gatewood to the 53 man roster.

The Chiefs also promoted Jackie Battle from the practice squad to the 53 man roster and added DT Antwon Burton to the practice squad.

Gatewood (6-2, 248) signed with Washington as a rookie free agent out of Vanderbilt in 2008. He appeared in three preseason contests with the Redskins before being released. He has spent nine weeks on Washington’s practice squad this season. The Memphis, Tennessee native played in 47 games (24 starts) and tallied 110 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks in his four-year career at Vanderbilt. Gatewood was a Class 5A first team all-region selection and defensive MVP as a prep at White Station High School in Memphis, Tennessee.

Studebaker (6-3, 248) was the third of Philadelphia’s three sixth-round draft choices (203rd overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft. The Wheaton College (IL) product spent the last 11 weeks on Philadelphia’s practice squad. He appeared in all four of the Eagles preseason tilts and, but was released prior to the start of the regular season.

Burton (6-2, 308) has seen duty in seven NFL contests over the last two seasons with Denver, tallying nine tackles (five solo). He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Denver in 2006, spending time on the Broncos practice squad before joining the 53-man roster for the final eight games of the 2006 season. Burton saw his most extensive NFL action a season ago, appearing in six contests and registering eight tackles (five solo) before spending the final seven weeks of 2007 on Denver’s developmental squad. He attended training camp with Cincinnati in 2008, but was released prior to the start of the regular season.

To make room for these additions, the Chiefs released RB Dantrell Savage and LB Erik Walden. They also put DE Turk McBride on the injured reserve list.

We'll take Savage's release as a sign that the Chiefs are satisfied with rookie KR Kevin Robinson. As for Savage, he wasn't no better than anyone else the Chiefs had at returner this year.

Saints 30 @ Chiefs 20: Who Dat Say!?

Saintsational — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:00:07 -0000

Time to check out what everyone has been saying about yesterday's win over the KC Chiefs. See you after the jump.

Making a stand

“Those two (goal-line stands) were huge,” Saints cornerback Jason David said. “Any time you keep a team from getting a touchdown you feel good because three points versus seven is always better. We just went in there and played hard and tried to help the team as much as we could.”

-Jason David

“We knew we had to stand up and make a couple of plays down there,” said Harper, who teamed with weakside linebacker Scott Shanle to hold tight end Tony Gonzalez to five catches for 39 yards. “They have two great receivers, and you tip your hat to them because they made some nice catches. They won some, but at the end of the day we made more plays today.”

-Roman Harper

“The Chiefs have a great offense and they have two great receivers,” David said. “The game plan was to go in there and know where 82 (Bowe) and 88 (Gonzalez) were at all times. We just had to execute the game plan to the best of out ability, and it showed up today.”

-Jason David

“If those were touchdowns, that’s 14 points for them — and we’re fighting from behind,” he said. “We just had to keep fighting and hold them to just three. We were fortunate to keep them out of end zone there. Three points, we’ll work with that all day.”

-Bobby McCray

“We just wanted to go out and finish, try and play a complete game,” said Harper. “We had to come out with a win, so it was a good team win today.”

-Roman Harper

Moore, Thomas lead Saints offense in win

“It was just a great call with the defense they were playing,” said Moore, who topped his old career-highs of seven catches for 101 yards against San Francisco in Week 4. “The defense gave us the look we wanted pre-snap.

“The offensive line did a great job of holding up, and Drew was Drew. He did the thing he’s done so well in this league for many years. He threw a perfect pass, and I caught it right in stride and I was able to score.”

-Lance Moore

Lance did a nice job of selling the slant. The corner bit and the safety stayed low, so there went Lance up the sideline,” said Brees. “It was the second play of the second half and it obviously set the tempo for what we were going to do in the second half of the game.”

-Drew Brees

“The offense was moving the ball,” he said. “At the end of the day, if I have career highs then so be it. But we want wins and we were able to do that today. And I’m happy with that.”

-Lance Moore

“We’re all out there to do our job,” Thomas said when asked about him and Moore making some of the bigger plays in the game. “We have great players and we have playmakers on the team. We just have to stay focused and play our game and make plays.”

-Pierre Thomas

“This just shows that we have plenty of guys that can make plays,” said Moore. “If somebody does go down, we have backups or other guys that can go in and make plays as well. The coaching staff does a great job of putting us in position to make those plays, and we did a good job of that today.”

-Lance Moore

McAllister ties team TD mark

“It’s pretty special,” said McAllister. “Probably once it’s all said and done, you’ll really appreciate it more. But it’s definitely an accomplishment, something you think about when you start playing the game.”

-Deuce McAllister

“The last celebration I had cost me a little bit of money, so I decided to just stare at the crowd, give a couple of high-fives and walk off the field,” said Moore, who was fined $10,000 for sliding into the back corner of the end zone after a touchdown grab against San Diego in London on Oct. 26. “There was nothing crazy out there today.”

-Lance Moore

Saints Tomahawk Chiefs, 30-20

“It’s good to get back to .500,” said QB Drew Brees. “This is a tough stadium to come and play in and the Chiefs were fighting and showed a lot of pride. It was a good win for us and we were able to put a drive together there at the end of the game that maybe earlier in the season we struggled to do in key situations.

The goal now is to get ready to play a good Green Bay team in the dome next Monday,” Brees said. “It’s going to be good to finally get back home in front of our fans.”

-Drew Brees

“I thought the story of the game was when we had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns when we got the ball into the red zone,” said Chiefs Head Coach Herm Edwards. “I give them credit. They’re a tough team to play against and you know they are going to score points. We tried to limit the things they could do and had some success, but they are tough to play.

We knew we were going to score to score more points than we did to win this game,” Edwards said. “We just had the one takeaway and I thought we were going to have to get more than that.”

-Herm Edwards

Herm Edwards Postgame Comments

On the game: "The first half was a pretty good game back and forth. I think what killed us was when we got in the Red Zone we didn't score. We got down there twice and had to settle for field goals. When you play a team like this you know they've got a pretty good offense and very accurate quarterback and they can move the ball (and they did); you've got to score.

"I thought early in the game we had some rhythm offensively, but again we stalled two times down there and had to settle for field goals. I thought some penalties got us in the third quarter and set us back. They had some field position early in the game and took advantage of it. You don't want to give these guys too much field position.

"We had some dropped balls that could have maybe kept the drive going, too."

On the decision not to go for it on fourth-and-two with about 10 minutes to go: "At that point it's a one-score game and you still feel like if you can hold them...we had stopped them the series before. If you can hold them and make them punt it's a one-score game. If you miss it you just give them a short field again and they're pretty good on a short field. You go for some of them, but you've got to know what the situation in the game is and, at that point, with 10 minutes and all your timeouts, you just figure to hold them here and make them punt. If you miss it and they get the ball on the 40 all of a sudden it gives them momentum."

On the special teams troubles: "Coverage teams you're always switching guys when you've got a lot of injuries. That doesn't help you - lot of new guys over there. The muffed kicks, we've got to catch those but [KR Dantrell] Savage has been doing a pretty good job. [WR Kevin] Robinson had the one good punt return. But the coverage is what got us and gave them field position, especially after we scored. You can't give these guys a short field. They're too good of an offense."

On what went wrong with the running game down near the goal line: "We didn't get any push at all. They pushed us back and we didn't get any yards. I thought the one was in but I guess the way it looked on camera they couldn't see it. They couldn't get the sideline angle on that side of the field."

On intentionally kicking the ball short on kickoffs: "Yeah, on a couple of them and five more yards deeper would have been better, would have been perfect. The one (return) guy is a pretty good return guy and had made some yards prior to that."

On the offense having to play next to perfect to make up for deficiencies on defense: "Yeah, we knew we had to score more points than we did. We figured it was going to have to be 30 points unless we got some turnovers. We got the one and got to score. We just bogged down in the Red Zone and if those are scores it's an entirely different game.

"It's a little bit of a disadvantage (on defense) in that you've got a lot of different guys playing different positions. What hurt us too is we really didn't get a rush on the quarterback. He had a lot of time to throw, to his third and fourth receivers. We didn't pressure him. We blitzed him some but he's very good."

On adjusting the offense to Larry Johnson's return: "We found a way to run the ball out of shotgun (formation) a little bit better but that's still a work in progress. I thought a couple of times it looked pretty good. We're going to continue to play that way because that's the way we move the ball over the last month. That's our offense and that's not going to change. I think short yardage we're going to have to do a little bit better job there. You can't pass the ball all the time. You've got to be able run in short yardage situations and we've got a big back who can do that. We've got to get some push up front."

QB Tyler Thigpen's Postgame Comments

On how the team played: "We’ve got to do better. We’ve got to win a game. That’s the bottom line. It’s not about me. It’s not about what I do or what I put up stat-wise. It’s about this team and we want to win a game."

On the decision to punt on fourth-and-two: "That’s the coach’s decision. I think there was 10 minutes left on the clock. We wanted to send them back deep and let our defense go in there and get a stop and maybe we get good field position again. We’re going to live with that."

On having Larry Johnson back: "He’s another threat to have back. I thought he did a good job today. We’ve just got to win, that’s what it all comes down to. It doesn’t matter what anybody does."

On being inside the five and not scoring a TD, twice: "It’s one thing we’re going to have to work on offensively: our Red Zone offense. When we get down there that close we’ve got to be able to put points on the board. We can’t settle for three points. We’ve got to have seven points. Kicking field goals is going to get you beat in the long run."

On your comfort out of the short shotgun as opposed to the longer gun: "Either or. It doesn’t really matter. It’s only a yard difference. It really doesn’t matter. Maybe the snap comes back a little quicker when it’s only four yards."

On preference to be in the shotgun when you get inside the five yard line: "It doesn’t really matter. It’s whatever I feel comfortable with in the play call. If it’s a play call where I’m going to get the ball out quick, then maybe under center. If it’s where I have to read (the play) a little bit longer, maybe gun. But that’s the coach’s decision. It just depends."

On the long run: "It was fourth and two, if I’m not mistaken, they tried to double Tony [Gonzalez] and just let me free right up the middle. The receivers on the left side did a good job of blocking and the offensive line did a good job of running them up field and letting me run (the ball)."

On the number of weapons you have now: "I think we’ve got more weapons now and offensively we’re jelling together. That’s the biggest thing when it comes down to it. When we were in Atlanta we were more of a huddle offense and now we’re no-huddle and going to Red Ball (a hurry up offense), so that’s the biggest thing. But we definitely have more weapons."

On struggles running inside the five: "They have some big guys up front but that has nothing to do with it. The coaches will break down film and see where they were getting penetration. I think Larry really and truly scored on that one. That’s just a tough call by the ref."

Chiefs-Saints Postgame Comments

WR DWAYNE BOWE
On his TD catches: "They were great throws by the quarterback and the linemen protected very, very well, so I want to give the linemen credit for that and the quarterback. It was a simple fade route. Tyler looked at me, gave me the wink, so I knew to take it over the top and he made some perfect throws. I had to do what D-Bowe does, make big plays."

On the offensive play in the 3rd quarter: "Coming out, we had penalties that set us back and right now, we don't need [that]. When we come out in the 3rd quarter, we have to come out all pistons firing; throwing the ball, catching the ball, running the ball. Those penalties set us back and the momentum shifted a bit. That's the one thing we have to get better at is coming out at the half."

How do you keep your spirits up after all these losses? "We just watch film and see that we really are getting better. But it's little things like penalties and dropped balls and mis-reads that really cost us the game. If we eliminate one each game then, in the long run, we'll know we are a good team, we can get better."

LB ROCKY BOIMAN
On the game: "It's disappointing because we thought we were making strides in the last couple weeks. Right now, I know, everybody is sick of talking about the strides we're making, we need to win a game. We missed some opportunities and didn't get up the field on third down and didn't hold them to field goals in the Red Zone. Defense takes responsibility for a lot of that."

On his comfort level on both special teams and defense: "I'm starting to feel more comfortable out there with the schemes and everything. Every day is just going to get better and better. We've got the pieces to be good here. If everyone can keep working we can get there. This one's tough."

On the difference maker today: "A few plays here and there and a few penalties here and there. . . . Like Herm said, we aren't a good enough team right now to overcome some of those things. We have to be right on point with everything. All I can say is that we have to work hard to get better and better and come out next week and try against Buffalo."

T DAMION MCINTOSH
On what kept the Chiefs from winning the game today: "As a team we aren't going out there and imposing our will on these other teams and playing well all the way through. Once we do that we'll be able to start winning some games. Until then we are going to have games like this that are close and lose it at the end. These are things that we've got to learn."

On the call to punt on fourth-and-two in the 4th quarter: "Last week he wanted to go for two so that's what (we did). He's the leader of this team and he has confidence for us to go. If he decided ‘Let's not,' then that's what he decided and that's what we're going to do as a team."

TE BRAD COTTAM
After appearing to make some progress, was this a step back today? "I don't think it was a step back because we did good things. I really don't think we can step backwards. New Orleans is a great team, did a great job on offense, put up a lot of points. We just need to score a lot more."

G BRIAN WATERS
On the return of RB Larry Johnson: "I think he ran tough today: I think he ran physical and I think that the little offensive wrinkle that we showed today gives us the ability to do both things (power run and spread) we want to do. We just have to do a better job executing. Not to take anything away from them, but there were some things that we just didn't do right compared to things that they did to us."

On the frustrations of losing: "It's always frustrating when you lose. We get paid to win football games. When it is all said and done 15 years from now people won't look back and blame this reason or that reason or say that ‘they came close many times.' That means nothing. We have to win football games and we can't use the excuse that we are close. Close is not good enough. Honestly, if guys want to continue to live the lives they are living, and that goes from the top down, and if we want to stay employed then we better go and win some football games because things can change real quick."

DT GLENN DORSEY
On the game: "It's really frustrating. There were some things that we could have done differently. We were hanging with them and making some plays, but it always comes down to a couple of plays that we should have made that end up determining the outcome of the game. It was a tough one."

On the difference in today's game: "The offense came out and played good. We just didn't get enough stops on defense and that's the bottom line. It's our job to put pressure on the quarterback and we didn't do much of that today. You have to go back and watch film, try to correct it for next week and get it right. That's all that you can do."

On losing: "It's tough to lose. We hate losing and we're sick of this feeling after just about every game that we've played this year. When we watch film we see the mistakes that we made and what we could have done differently that would make the outcome different. It gives us some motivation to get it right because we know we can play ball. The last couple of weeks have come down to a few plays that we could have done differently and those have determined the outcome of the game."

Chiefs putting the L in loser

“There’s a saying, ‘Losing breeds losing, and success breeds success,’ ” Chiefs safety Jon McGraw explained. “The losing definitely wears on you.”

-Jon McGraw

Nothing special once again about Chiefs’ special teams

“Our coverage units are really struggling the last few weeks giving up some big returns and put our defense on short fields,” said Chiefs special-teams captain Jon McGraw. “It’s very frustrating the specialty units are not helping the team win. We’re a handicap right now.”

-Jon McGraw

Every week we’ve got new guys filling in playing different positions, and a lot of times it’s the first time they’ve ever played there, which is difficult to have at so many different positions,” McGraw said.

“You can handle one or two guys, but when it seems like four or five positions on the special-teams unit is different than the week before …”

-Jon McGraw

Overmatched Chiefs can’t stop Saints

“In my mind,” Colclough said, “I’m thinking I play it the way I was coached before I came here. I’ve got to get that out of my mind.

“I’m still trying to cleanse it away.”

-Ricardo Colclough, on Lance Moore's TD reception

“When you’ve got guys out there that have only been here a couple of weeks, just getting thrown in there,” he said, “it’s hard because they’re actually out there just thinking on the run. But we can’t use that as an excuse.”

-Ricardo Colclough

“Right now,” Bowe said, “we’ve got to play perfect. The offense has to put more points up, evidently.”

-Dwayne Bowe

Chiefs can’t punch the ball in the end zone

“I like money in my pocket, and I don’t want to give them any reason to take anything out of it, but from my point of view — and maybe I have a biased point of view — it was obvious we scored a touchdown,” Waters said. “They make mistakes … Clearly that was a big call in the game.

“We did everything we could do. It came down to somebody else’s opinion, and that opinion didn’t go our way.”

-Brian Waters

“That’s a hard place to run the ball,” Waters said. “You don’t run the ball very well down in that particular area. It’s very tight quarters. Even in their (pass) coverages, their first obligation is to stop the run. It’s a tough area to call plays and a tough area to run.”

-Brian Waters

Bowe plays big role in Chiefs’ offense

“We’re like one play away from winning the game every week,” he said. “Once the guy sees the play (on film) they could have made — that probably would have changed the game — it makes you sick to your stomach. We’ve just got to make those plays.

“One play, we should’ve thrown it back, or should’ve caught it here, should’ve made the block — there’s a lot of should’ves. You can’t play perfect. But in our mind, we’ve got to go out there thinking we’ve got to play perfect.”

-Dwayne Bowe

Chiefs-Saints Postgame Notes

Grading the Chiefs

Photos from NFL.com

Here is some audio from WWL's Sports Talk. In order it's Sean Payton, Bobby Hebert, Usama Young, Lance Moore, and Hokie Gajan.

Herm Edwards Media Session Highlights

Joel Thorman — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:00:07 -0000

Highlights from Herm Edwards media session on Wednesday.

On signing veteran corners:

"Yeah to go in and play. Right now, yeah. It’s hard to get another young guy to go in and play because they don’t know the system. (CB David) Macklin’s been in the system. He was with (Colts head coach) Tony (Dungy) in Indianapolis. He could go play nickel, he could play corner, he’s lined up. He could help us there and he’s going to be up this week."

On putting Sunday's loss behind them (Warning: Hermism overload):

"Yeah. They’re pretty resilient. They’re disappointed. They’re excited about the opportunity again this week, young guys generally are that way. They came out today and practiced good and practiced fast. They had fun practicing. That’s what’s great about them, they’re just trying to get better and trying to find a way together."

It looks like no one wants to win the AFC West this year:

"You wouldn’t think of that early, when everyone was predicting the division. You’d probably think San Diego would have more wins right now, maybe Denver. I would have felt we would have had a few more too. It’s still tight, anything can happen with eight weeks left. Somebody’s got to get hot, Denver plays Thursday against Cleveland so we’ll see what happens there. If you can win two or three games in a row, all of sudden you probably feel pretty good about yourself in the division."

On Larry Johnson's availability this weekend:

"It’s kind of like last year, in the preseason when he was out, we kind of brought him along slow. We’ve got to bring him back. He’s missed month of playing football. We’ve changed a little bit too, on how we play, so that’s all involved in it too. But yeah, he’s working out, he’s preparing himself to get ready to play and that’s kind of important."

On Barack Obama's victory Tuesday night:

"I woke my daughters up last night. They know who Barack Obama is. It’s about 10 o’clock and we were watching television and they were clapping. I said, ‘he’s the President.’ I wanted them to know that our country is great. You can accomplish anything if you’re just given the opportunity. When they have children, they’ll be able to say ‘I saw that happen, I didn’t read it in a history book.’ So to me, that was important, and I think it’s important for America, how great this country is and what we’re all about."

Other notes:

Brandon Flowers is likely to play this weekend
Kevin Robinson could get a shot at returning punts
Derrick Johnson is out with a hamstring injury
Michael Merritt likely won't play this week but hopefully we'll see him sometime this season

Kansas City Chiefs Continue To Shake Up Roster

Joel Thorman — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:38:56 -0000

Chris just posted the news that we brought Tyron Brackenridge back into the mix. Brackenridge was an undrafted free agent. He replaced another undrafted free agent, Dimitri Patterson.

Herm Edwards spoke on two other roster moves that will be coming soon. TE Michael Merritt and WR/KR Kevin Robinson haven't played a snap this season and the team is just over a week away from the deadline of making a final decision for those on the PUP list.

“Yeah, we’re going to have to make a decision. We’re still juggling it right now but we like our return guy (Savage) right now. We think he’s done a pretty good job and that’s kind of where Robinson fits.

“The other guy might have a chance. We’ll see where it’s at. He’s gotten himself in shape. He’s a good blocker at the point of attack. It’s just that he’s so far behind, that’s the hard part for him to catch up mentally. He’s missed all the off-season but he’s a guy that has a future in this offense. He’s just scout team right now.”

We speculated on this just a few days ago but it appears Dantrelle Savage will begin to see some time in the backfield. Herm was asked if Savage will play if Jamaal Charles can't go.

“Yeah. He sure will. It’s up in the air (with Charles and Colquitt) but Charles looked a lot better today and moved around pretty good. But we limited him. I anticipate he might be able to go.”

The run down goes, Brackenridge in, Patterson out, Merritt and Robinson coming off PUP is iffy, and Savage may be in the backfield on Sunday.