Overall, if I had to grade our Defensive performances in the first two preseason games, I'd have to give them a B- with full expectation that they continue to develop and improve during the season.  Pioli has done an amazing job helping us turn around our defense this year and Haley is doing as good a job as you could hope for in getting them prepared.  Here are a few specific observations of this year's preseason so far:

1. The Chiefs have one player with 13 tackles already this pre-season, tied for 9th in the league.  That man is Jovan Belcher.  Very impressive for an undrafted 3rd string rookie.  Following Belcher in tackles this preseason are Leggett with 10, Corey Mays with 9, DJ with 7 and Brandon Flowers with 6.  My observations:  In 2008, DaJaun Morgan was our top preaseason tackler and, likewise, Pollard was our top regular season tackler.  This year, our CBs and LBs are doing a much better job of bringing their targets down.  I think we'll see that trend continue as well.
2. We're still below average in pass defense -  I think we can attribute this to a few things:  youth at CB, inexperience at LB defending the pass, and a lack of comfortability in the new system.  They have the talent; they just have to relax into their roles as time moves on.
3. We're above average in run defense and that's after playing Minnesota - a team stacked with running talent.  That's something to feel pretty good about.  I think it's a sign that our defensive linemen are getting the job done.  Nothing flashy, but they're taking care of gaps and slowing runners down enough that our linebackers and DBs are able to react.  It's a big improvement over last preseason and hopefully a good indicator for the entire season.

Overall, I think the biggest threat to our defense is the vulnerability to the big play.  We saw it time and time again last year and it broke our hearts.  But last year, we didn't have Mike Brown, Zach Thomas, or Mike Vraebel to help mentor our players.  Those guys will pass along invaluable experience which should go a long way in helping us succeed.

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The saying, "it can't get any worse" certainly rings true with this years' Chiefs, but the question I have this year is, "how much better can it get?" 

The thing that stands out the most to me is that this team has a lot more experience and will be in much better shape than they were last year.  Offensively, our line has improved with the addition of Goff and coach Muir (especially if Waters stays), LJ has shown a sense of urgency to redeem himself, our QB position is fairly stacked with talent, and both Haley and Gailey are talented at beating other defenses.  However, we don't appear to have much depth at TE or WR.  On the defensive side, Mike Brown adds a needed level of leadership to the secondary and our linebackers are significantly more experienced and talented than they were in '08.  We have inexperienced defensive linemen that must adjust to the 3-4 if there's any hope for success this year.  The offensively minded Haley will lean heavily on Pendergast, Gibbs, and Krumrie to make this transition successful.  Finally, our special teams coverage should be stronger this year, but we still don't have a "go to" return man and will more than likely have to fight many uphill battles offensively as a result.

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I know this is a bit off topic, but I was hoping you guys could help me choose a better brand of toilet paper.  I'm used to using no-name brand stuff and I'm tired of that sandpaper feeling.  Wow, it is a lot harder to type 75 words about switching toilet paper brands than I thought it would be!  hehehe  You can thank Patrick Allen for this post.  I just hope I don't get banned for this!  lol!

And with the #15 Pick in the Arrowhead Pride Community Mock Draft, the Houston Texans Select...

I spent some time researching the Texans for our annual AP mock draft and I have to admit, you guys have the makings of a fine team there.  I would've loved to pick a USC linebacker at #15 but Malcolm Jenkins was just too good to pass up.  Is it possible his stock has fallen that low?  I'm curious what you guys think.

How'd you like the prospect of trading 1st picks here if Curry became available?  I'd support it for a 2nd round pick.  KC needs more picks and Houston is looking for a couple of key players to tie it all together.  Good luck this year!

Kevin Harlan said on 810 this morning that he has it from a very reliable (and unfortunately unnamed) source, as of about 10:00am this morning, that KC should be announcing a new head by the weekend and that it will be Haley.

Personally, I'm excited about Haley.  He has more momentum in his career right now than just about any other coach in the league and it's because he's very highly respected by some of the greatest mentors in the sport.  He's going to be hungry to get back to the Super Bowl.  I for one hope Harlan's sources are correct.  Not only is Haley the best choice today, I get the hunch he was Pioli's #1 prospect from the day he was hired by Clark Hunt. 

Here's to hoping that Pioli has a nose for NFL greatness!

I'm pumped up about 2009 and I think many of you feel the same way, although I'm not exactly sure why.  Pessimistic, optimistic, cynical, frustrated; you're all Chiefs fans and you're all passionate about the team and I hope you all stay that way even if we don't get the GM, HC, or new players we want.  I guess the best thing for a fan of a losing team is a site like this.  We can all share in our frustrations of the past and hopefullness for the future.  I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you guys this year and look forward to another exciting year. 

Thanks everyone!

I was curious to see how Tyler Thigpen stacked up against the other QBs in the league over the past few weeks.  I took all of the QBs that have started their last 3 games and did some number crunching.  The results were even better than I had hoped.

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