SB Nation - Lance Long

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

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

by Charlie Riedel - AP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wide Receiver:

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

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

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

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

Tight End:

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

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

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

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.

Chiefs Receiver Lance Long Came Cheap

Joel Thorman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:15:15 -0000

More photos » by Ed Zurga - AP

(AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

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Two of the more active Chiefs writers on the internet took to writing about Kansas City Chiefs receiver Lance Long today. Bob Gretz has a nice piece up on Long while Josh Looney wrote 'Long Shot' (both of which were linked in Arrowheadlines this morning).

Check out those pieces on Lance Long. I don't think I can add a whole lot other than hit on one interesting note from head coach Todd Haley's press conference yesterday afternoon.

Haley says he paid a whopping $500 signing bonus for the rights to Long after the draft in 2008. That's about 10% of what he made per week while on the practice squad for the Cardinals last season.

These days he's got a sizable increase with a $310,000 base salary in 2009 and the final year of his contract in 2010 for $395,000.

In light of Dwayne Bowe's suspension, the receivers were the hot topic of the day with questions covering Long, Bobby Wade, Chris Chambers and the other receivers. Haley talked about his short time with Long last season.

One of our coaches on the staff had been a college coach of his and he knew him," Haley said. "Lance doesn’t have a lot of college career catches but he knew him and said he would be a great guy for camp. He’ll come in and give you an honest day’s work and when the draft ends that’s always a tough deal where you’re scrambling trying to find enough guys."

Haley says he tried to run Long off but he wasn't having it.

So why do I like Lance Long? High effort, low paycheck and we're starting to see some results.

This is the Song That Never Ends

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

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#1 3rd and 12

Q1, 11:59, KC 13-yard line

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

Cause: Penalty

#2 3rd and 9

Q1, 7:30, KC 10-yard line

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

Cause: Didn't execute

#3 3rd and 4

Q1, 4:58, OAK 32-yard line

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

Cause: Didn't execute

#4 3rd and 23

Q1, 1:02, KC 12-yard line

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

Cause: Didn't execute

#5 3rd and 6

Q2, 12:37, OAK 49-yard line

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

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

Cause: Didn't execute

#6 3rd and 7

Q1, 7:02, OAK 7-yard line

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

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

Cause: Didn't execute

#7 3rd and 8

Q2, 4:44, KC 35-yard line

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

Cause: Didn't execute

#8 3rd and 8

Q2, 1:34, KC 21-yard line

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

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

#9 3rd and 5

Q2, :10, KC 29-yard line

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

Cause: End of half

#10 3rd and 10

Q3, 13:41, KC 38-yard line

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

Cause: We got it!

#11 3rd and 7

Q3, 10:53, OAK 34-yard line

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

Cause: Didn't execute

#12 3rd and 9

Q3, 2:38, OAK 14-yard line

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

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

Cause: Didn't execute

#13 3rd and 1

Q4, 15:00, KC 22-yard line

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

Cause: Poor play call

#14 3rd and 7

Q4, 6:54, OAK 11-yard line

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

Cause: Poor play call

#15 3rd and 17

Q4, 2:13, KC 37-yard line

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

Cause: Penalty

***

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

Poll

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

Mainly play calling

41 votes

Mainly poor execution

275 votes

Both were equally reponsible

184 votes

500 votes | Poll has closed

Chiefs Practice One Final Time Before Trip to the Black Hole

Joel Thorman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:39:30 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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On Thursdays I appear on a radio show and one of the hosts there is a fan of the Oakland Raiders.

So, I usually start off the show by alerting the authorities that we've got a Raider fan in the house but yesterday, I made a crack about Oakland being 'Arrowhead West' since the Chiefs have won six in a row there. He responded with "Well, does that make Arrowhead the 'Coliseum East' since the Raiders have won there two years in a row?"

My response? "No, no we call that Leavenworth."

Zing!

Anyway, onto today's practice report, which is coming to us courtesy of Josh Looney at KCChiefs.com.

As usual, the focus is on the injuries.

LB David Herron continues to be out putting his status for Sunday very much in jeopardy. I think we can safely assume he won't be playing this weekend.

Herron was listed as OUT on Thursdays injury report.

LB Mike Vrabel participated in all the early drills but, as Looney points out, he was "running with a hiccup in his step" which means his participation on Sunday isn't quite guaranteed yet.

Vrabel was listed as a limited participant on Thursday along with OL Wade Smith.

As for the wide receivers, Chris Chambers appears ready to go after appearing on the injury report all week with a foot problem.

The way the receivers lined up, it's looking like Chambers and Dwayne Bowe will be opposite each other with Lance Long in the slot. Haley pointed out yesterday Long's mistake of not getting out of bounds at the end of the first half last week so his status isn't secure yet either.

Bob Gretz should be filing his practice report shortly so we'll let you know if he's got anything more.

Chiefs Coach Says Defensive Line, Receivers Showing Improvement

Joel Thorman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:16:50 -0000

More photos » by Stephen Morton - AP

Receiver is an area the Chiefs have shown improvement this season. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

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Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley was asked yesterday how he felt about his team week one at Baltimore versus how he feels today. The result? Some improvement.

He specifically pointed to the defensive line and the receives as two areas that have demonstrated improvement.

"I think our defensive line is getting better; they’re better than they were and that’s important. It’s important that each individual is better and as a group they’ve improved and that’s a good sign."

Statistically, that improvement isn't showing in the run game. The Chiefs continually give up 100+ yards on the ground. After holding the Raiders to 67 yards in week two and the Eagles to 93 yards in week three, the Chiefs have given up 156, 150, 118, 135 and 173 rushing yards.

The defensive line has been important, though, as the Chiefs have forced two turnovers in four of the last five games. Of course, that has only resulted in one win.

Haley also pointed to the receivers as a group that are showing some improvement.

This is something I will agree with the head coach on. From week one at Baltimore, to now, the Chiefs are drastically better at receiver.

"I would say receiver from when we started this whole deal has made progress. Some of it’s been that we’ve had some new bodies, some of it’s been the chemistry and some of it’s just been working together and getting to know the system and getting more practices under our belt together."

Those new bodies include Bobby Wade, Lance Long and Chris Chambers - three key additions to the receiver group. By season's end, those three, along with Dwayne Bowe, will likely be the leaders in this group.

These are two areas that the head coach has said he sees improvement. And, as Josh Looney pointed out to me on Twitter the other day, we shouldn't ignore Haley when he hammers a specific point so I'd think it's safe to say that he's liking what he's seeing as far as improvement goes in these two areas.

Do you feel the defensive line and receivers have begun to demonstrate improvement since week one?

The Good and the Bad of Chiefs WR Lance Long

Joel Thorman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:39:50 -0000

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

about 1 month ago: San Diego Chargers safety Eric Weddle (32) breaks up a pass intended for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Lance Long (17) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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WR Lance Long has quickly established himself as a major part of the of the Kansas City Chiefs offense. In just two games, he's been targeted more often than Dwayne Bowe, Bobby Wade or any other Chiefs receiver so it's clear that he's becoming a favorite Matt Cassel target.

"Well there’s a reason why he’s on the field on Sunday," Cassel told reporters today. "Obviously the coaches noticed something and noticed that he had a spark and he’s definitely got a great skill-set and a great skill level. He came out Sunday, he prepares hard, he works hard, he’s diligent about what he does, and he came out and he performed.

"Anytime he gets open and I’m able to get him the ball, that’s a good thing."

And get open he does. Last Sunday, he was targeted 11 times and caught eight balls - both team highs.

Long is a soft-spoken guy who you can tell has played under Todd Haley before. I talked to him a few weeks ago in the locker room after he had been taken out of the Chargers game getting knocked in the head pretty good. It was all team, team, team when reporters asked him questions so he's bought into the Haley program.

Unfortunately, not everything is perfect.

While he had an impressive outing against the Jaguars, considering it was his second game, there was one mistake he made that ended up being a major one.

"I think Lance should have been a bright spot," Haley began, "if he had stayed in bounds at the end of the [Jacksonville game] half, which was a killer. It probably cost us points unfortunately. So, what should have been a bright spot for me as a coach it’s hard to overlook that gaffe."

Indeed Long's mistake was crucial and probably stings for Haley a little more since he's coached him before.

With six receivers currently on the roster, it's unlikely all of them will play. As Josh Looney said today, Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers are likely safe from being deactivated on Sunday.

As for Long? Well, he's got the stats to show he belongs on the field but, according to Haley, "stats are for losers."

We'll see this weekend when the inactive list how major Long's mistake really was.

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 11/12

NJ Chiefs Fan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:55:23 -0000

via sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Todd Haley rattled off a bunch of statistical areas where the Chiefs rank quite well among the league’s 32 teams. But he allowed after he was done that "stats are for losers." There’s no doubt the ‘09 Chiefs are losers right now, tied for the worst record in the NFL.

Then there are all those others numbers, losers of 27 of their last 30 and 37 of their last 44.

So many fans and pundits wanted change at Arrowhead and rebuilding. It’s doubtful they remembered just how painful it can be. After eight games, the current Chiefs rebuilding job is the ugliest in franchise history.

Ultimate Rebuilding Pain … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz

The Chiefs, tangled in recent weeks in the storm surrounding the suspension and release of running back Larry Johnson, are trying to move past the controversy and find a way to win a game.
That will put things out of kilter Sunday when the 1-7 Chiefs play the 2-6 Raiders in Oakland. The Raiders have had a tumultuous season, even by their standards, but things in Oakland have been relatively peaceful the past couple of weeks.

The Chiefs aren’t strangers to controversy, particularly as it relates to Johnson, but normally that’s an area where they can’t compete with the Raiders. Oakland almost always had a drama or two keeping the Raiders occupied.

Raiders won't gloat over Johnson's departure from the Chiefs from KC Star

Chiefs guard Mike Goff was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, and the shoulder injury that kept him out of Sunday’s starting lineup also will end the veteran’s season.

Kansas City signed Goff during the offseason, after he had played his first 11 seasons with Cincinnati and San Diego. Goff, 33, started the first seven games this season.

Coach Todd Haley said Wednesday that Andy Alleman probably will move into the starting role. Alleman, whom the Chiefs acquired in a trade earlier this season with Miami, started against Jacksonville.

Goff will miss remainder of season from KC Star

The Kansas Chiefs and Oakland Raiders have been making plenty of headlines the past few weeks, but not for any reasons they'd like.

In a matchup of two of the worst teams in the NFL, the Chiefs will take the field Sunday without Larry Johnson, who was released for making inappropriate comments, against a Raiders team dealing with more allegations of coach Tom Cable's history of violent behavior toward women.

Kansas City (1-7) is set to play its first game without Johnson on its roster since 2002 after the two-time Pro Bowl running back was released Monday. He was initially suspended for posting on his Twitter account a gay slur, insulting followers and questioning the competence of coach Todd Haley.

Riders vs. Chiefs from CBS Sports

A ROSE: My congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs Football Club for taking a principled stand on the actions of team members. Mr. Larry Johnson has a substantial record of disregard for the efforts of others and Missourians do not take this lightly.

Roses & Thorns from News-Leader.com

Brought in for his breakaway speed that Oakland hoped would revive the vertical passing game, Heyward-Bey has only five catches for 74 yards and no touchdowns in his first eight games as a pro.

"I haven't made the plays I wanted to make, but I've definitely been solid just looking at my grades that come out of the game. ... I've been very solid. There's always room for improvement as a whole receiving corps. We've been all right. We've been all right."

Oakland's receivers have once again been one of the worst groups in the league, catching just 28 passes the entire first half of the season.

But coach Tom Cable last week singled out Heyward-Bey's performance in the previous two games as one of the highlights of the first half. Heyward-Bey had three catches for 38 yards in those two games, hardly the production expected out of a top 10 pick but better than what he had done in the first six games.

Heyward-Bey remains confident despite struggles from MercuryNews.com

PewterReport.com is issuing a correction about a comment from Charlie Campbell's PI Quick Hits article posted on November 2. After the 2009 NFL Draft the Bucs had some change over in the Bucs scouting department.

In the article it stated that the Bucs "dropped" former scout Dom Green. Since publication of the article, Pewter Report has learned that Green was offered a contract to stay with the Buccaneers, but he chose to take a position with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Correction: Scout Dom Green Chose KC over TB from PewterReport.com

THIS SUNDAY, the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League will honor Native American Heritage Month at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Native American Heritage Month recognizes the significant contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the U.S.

I commend the Raiders organization for honoring the contributions of Native Americans, but I question their choice of opponent — the Kansas City Chiefs.

Is it possible to be any more insensitive in the selection of an opponent for an event that began with, what I view, as good intentions?

Byron Williams: Good to honor Native Americans, but Raiders opponent is an insensitive choice from The Oakland Tribune

Kansas City Chiefs earlier this year created a spoof of The Office to send up their front office operations, now they're bringing again with a riff on 30 Rock.

For the most part, it's spot on, especially in the production values. The moments where it seemed the most strained are when the two guys impersonating Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan are on screen. But given that those are the two most talented performers on 30 Rock, it's a forgivable misstep. That and the KC Wolf character is kind of annoying, but then they have to work in the mascot somehow, I guess.

The video is after the jump, as it's one of those annoying ones that starts automatically when you open the page. A commendable show of humor, especially for a franchise that employs a coach who clearly takes everything way too seriously.
Chiefs Better at TV Spoofs Than Football from The Sporting News

Lance Long. You know, that smurfy slot receiver in his first year from Mississippi State? He’s not a rookie, technically, but Long might as well be.

The 5-foot-11, 186-pound Detroit native has experience in this offense and familiarity with head coach Todd Haley. As you may remember (like it was eons ago or something), Haley called the plays for the Arizona Cardinals‘ high-flying passing attack last year. What you may not have known is Long spent that entire year on Arizona’s practice squad.

Fantasy owners need to start going Long from KFFL.com

No Player Tweets

Media and Fans

Fake_J_Russell: Been real busy this week ... loading up on calories for the game against the #chiefs Lots of burgers and fries. #raiders

Slimlicious99: @superdj56 Come on DJ you gotta get on the field more. Im a Chiefs and a Longhorn. You are my favorite player for sure.

amandarykoff: Let's face it, when the Raiders play the Chiefs, there really are no winners.

SI_JimTrotter: OAK more talented on field, KC is superior in the front office. RT @SportsJunkie854 How long till Raiders or Chiefs make playoffs?

Two New Chiefs Receivers Show Practice With QB is "Overrated"

Joel Thorman — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:48 -0000

Photo courtesy of the Kansas City Star

The two newest members of the Kansas City Chiefs receiver corps, Chris Chambers and Lance Long, didn't take long to warm to their new quarterback. Chambers caught two touchdown passes while Long led the team with eight receptions.

Neither player has been with the team for more than two games so the practice time with Matt Cassel hasn't been there. That doesn't necessarily matter to head coach Todd Haley, who called receiver and quarterback practice time as "overrated."

Chambers, who was signed off waivers last week, noted his experience with "11 or 12 quarterbacks" in his career as a reason for his quick success.

"I have a lot of experience — and definitely a lot of experience with new quarterbacks. Matt has a ton of talent. You can see him maturing and growing. It will take awhile before he hits his peak. We didn’t get a lot of reps together but we were able to make plays when we did. We ran that play we scored (the first) touchdown on and it came open the exact same way."

He also remarked, "Everybody runs the same stuff," referring to the offense.

QB Matt Cassel seemed pleased with Chambers' effort on a few plays.

“Anytime a guy comes in, has to learn a new offense, you ask him to do a lot and he performs like that … you have to take your hat off to him,” said Cassel. “It goes to what kind of professional he is. We’re lucky to have him.”

Chambers' second touchdown reception in the corner of the end zone was almost a Montana-to-Davis-esque.

“That was just feel and experience,” Chambers said. “Matt was rolling out and all I had to do was catch the ball and make sure I stayed inbounds. I saw him run that play with [Moss] a couple of times. He put it right on the money.”

Long, who was promoted from the practice squad two weeks ago, said he began to feel more comfortable and "really started to relax" with his new quarterback.

"There hasn’t been a lot of work with Matt, but it’s not really hard. As long as you’re coached to do the right thing, if you do what you’re supposed to do, the chemistry doesn’t really need to be there. If I’m supposed to be in a certain spot and Matt is expecting me to be in a certain spot, then the chemistry is there."

As I've mentioned before, receivers in their first game with the Chiefs tend to do well. In Bobby Wade's first game, he led the team with six receptions for 72 yards. Long was targeted as often as Dwayne Bowe in his first game. And now, Chambers, who caught two touchdown passes in his first game.

With that "L" on the board at the end of the game, Haley had plenty of problems to point to, including the play of the receivers.

"I didn’t see what we needed to see," Haley said. "We can’t take sacks. We can’t give up sacks at the beginning of the second half. We can’t give up sacks. We have to do a better job of protection. We have to do a better job of getting rid of the football. We have to better catching the football. I think we’re number one in dropping the football. We can’t overcome negative plays. We just can’t."

Yeah, there were problems, but these two additions to the receiver corps are, overall, a positive.

I'm still in the "prove it" mode with Chambers since he's 31 years old and has to bring plenty of positivity to the offense to convince me he's more valuable than a younger player with more upside. But Long is definitely in the Wes Welker mode and obviously has a nice rapport with Cassel.

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