If the Chiefs win next week, then their Magic Number is 2 – any combination of Chiefs wins (vs. the Rams or Titans) or Raiders losses (vs. Jacksonville, Denver, and Indianapolis) that equals 2 or more, and the Chiefs will have clinched the AFC West before they kick off against Oakland. They might be playing for seeding, but they won’t be playing for their lives.

If the Chiefs lose to San Diego, they really need to run the table to be safe. If they beat Oakland, then a win against either St. Louis or Tennessee eliminates the Raiders. However, a loss against either team opens up the door for San Diego to win the division if they win their last three games. After playing the Chiefs, the Chargers host the 49ers, then finish on the road against the Bengals and Broncos – all very winnable games for them.

If the Chiefs lose to San Diego and Oakland, then they have to beat St. Louis and Tennessee, for starters. Then they have to hope that both Oakland and San Diego lose at least one of their other three games along the way. Which is certainly possible. We might, in fact, see a scenario in which the Chiefs lose in San Diego, take care of business against the Rams and Titans, and – if both the Chargers and Raiders lose one more game – the Chiefs will still have clinched the division before they take the field against Oakland.

So if they don’t win the division, the Chiefs best – maybe only – shot at a wild-card spot is to finish 11-5, and hope that either the Steelers or Ravens lose three of their last five games. That’s not an impossibility; the Steelers play in Baltimore next week, so one of these teams is going to lose. The Steelers host the Jets later in the year, the Ravens host the Saints, and both teams have to travel to Cleveland to play a surprisingly feisty Browns squad.

Actually, the larger coaching staff has more of a green history than red, white and blue.
After the Jets went 1-15 in 1996, Parcells and Belichick were brought in to turn things around. Two seasons later, they were in the AFC title game. Their staff included Weis (offensive coordinator), Crennel (defensive line), Maurice Carthon (running backs), Bill Muir (offensive line) and Haley, who began in the Jets' personnel office, but worked closely with Weis. Not only are all five coaches now with the Chiefs, four players from the 1997-98 Jets are on staff, too: Richie Anderson (wide receivers#, Bernie Parmalee #tight ends#, Anthony Pleasant #defensive line) and Otis Smith (defensive quality control).
Pioli, it should be mentioned, is Parcells' son-in-law after marrying his daughter, Dallas.

Personnel-wise, the Colts have the ability to neutralize Kansas City’s best players. Cornerback Brandon Flowers is on a Pro Bowl track. However, he plays the left side, which means he will NOT be lining up against Reggie Wayne. Wayne, instead, will be covered by Brandon Carr. Carr has the strong frame needed to run with the thick 198-pound Wayne, but it’s a tall order for the third-year pro to defend the league’s most fundamentally sound receiver.

Derrick Johnson is one of the better pass defending inside linebackers in the NFL, which should make for an interesting showdown with Dallas Clark. Expect the Colts to split Clark out even more than usual in order to compel Kansas City’s safeties to tip their hand and get involved.

Twitter / Aaron Schatz: Just rewatched IND-JAC. I ...

Add in stellar play from veteran ORG Ryan Lilja, and the Chiefs' line is suddenly a fairly stacked group. If they can continue getting a push up front and do a slightly better job keeping QB Matt Cassel upright, K.C.'s offense could be very tough to stop in the weeks ahead.

Lokey’s rise to the No. 1 defense had something to do with what he was getting done and also something to do with what Edwards and Smith were not getting done in the off-season work. How long Lokey holds the spot will be interesting to watch. When it comes to try hard and work ethic, few can match Lokey.

Do you know the feeling one gets when they finally understand the thought process of another human being? It becomes a revelation.

Like one of those proverbial "Oh now I get it." This year's draft has taught us all exactly what Pioli is about. "Poilism 101" if you will.

Here is a man who most values leadership and character first and talent second. That's what he believes. That's the way he thinks. And finally, that is now the way every Chief fan thinks. We finally "get it." Our erudition is complete

What's your reaction to the trade that sent Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs and brought a second-round pick (No. 34) to the Patriots?
This trade is terrible. There was no way KC could have gotten someone as good as Cassel with the 34th overall pick. And to lose Vrabel too? I am livid ... the Pats made a huge mistake.
32.3%

Todd Haley continued to add to his coaching staff with the Chiefs, announcing Thursday afternoon that Maurice Carthon will serve as assistant head coach.

The Chiefs also announced the responsibilities of six other members of Kansas City’s coaching staff: Chan Gailey (offensive coordinator), Bob Bicknell (tight ends), Joe D’Alessandris (assistant offensive line), Steve Hoffman (special teams), Bill Muir (offensive line) and Dedric Ward (wide receivers).

The Chiefs have hired Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley as their new head coach, a source close to the situation told The Kansas City Star.

Details of Haley’s contract were unavailable. It was also unclear when the Chiefs would make the announcement. The Chiefs would not confirm Haley’s hiring.

Bill Parcells Comments on Todd Haley

Question: Todd Haley was part of your staff at both the New York Jets and Dallas. There are a lot of rumors about that he may be the Chiefs next head coach. What qualities do you think he has for the job as head coach?

Parcells: "OK, right off the bat, I’ve got no idea who he’s thinking about as head coach. I last talked to him (Pioli) last Friday and we didn’t talk about that subject and I have no knowledge of any names. So, I’m not much of a source as you media guys say for the rumors. As for Todd, he’s an intelligent, passionate guy, who knows how to handle players and understands the things that are important to get things done with a team. He comes from good stock, because his father (Dick Haley) is one of my favorite people in this game. If he can be half the coach that his father was as a scout then Todd will be successful. But again, I’ve got no idea that it’s him. Whoever it is, will be somebody that he (Pioli) feels comfortable with and agrees with his ideas of how you go about putting a team on the field that can win football games. That’s the only way you get to stay around; you have to win."

The Chiefs could be emerging as the favorites to land Pioli. The team is concentrating on him. Kansas City has other executives on its radar, but is focusing on Pioli.

The Chiefs are going to talk to many people in the next few weeks and it makes perfect sense that it starts with Schottenheimer. He is still very popular in Kansas City and his return would excite fans. I get the feeling the Chiefs are going to have a few tricks up their sleeves in the coming weeks.

Daunte Culpepper sent an e-mail to certain media outlets signalling his intention to end his brief retirement and return to the NFL.

He didn't identify any particular teams but it's interesting this comes a few days after he spoke with the Chiefs.

Culpepper makes a lot of sense for the Chiefs. He could stabilize the QB spot like none of the guys currently on their roster. He could maybe help them win a couple of games they otherwise wouldn't and maybe help some of their younger players mature faster. He could be the bridge to the young QB the Chiefs draft next season.

But the Chiefs did not play a good game. They were not only beaten on the scoreboard, but they were beaten up physically across the field. They were beaten up mentally, emotionally, physically and any other ally you can come up with.

Right now the Chiefs are not a young team, a rebuilding team.

They are simply a bad team, one that doesn’t do anything well, can’t get anything done and must still play 10 games in the 2008 season.

Kansas City is terrible. The Chiefs are one of the worst football teams you have ever seen, and I don't care how old you are. The Carolina Panthers were supposed to beat them. But they weren't supposed to beat them like this.

The Panthers played one of the best games in franchise history Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. Despite working behind an offensive line that was missing its starting tackles, the Panthers amassed 441 total yards.

Q: Can you talk about Brodie Croyle’s progress?

EDWARDS: "He’s coming along good. He’s throwing the ball good. Next week we’ll get a bye and that’s another week and then he should be ready to roll."

Q: Yesterday you talked about Damon and if he played well and you won would this be Brodie’s job when he comes back?

EDWARDS: "Like I said, we’ll talk about it after the bye week."

Q: You’re not committing to Brodie?

EDWARDS: "I don’t have to commit to anybody right now. Damon Huard is the quarterback. That’s who’s playing this week. We’ll talk about that when Brodie comes back. I don’t need to talk about that right now. Damon Huard is the starting quarterback right now."

Q: But with the youth movement you’d think you would say Brodie is the starting quarterback if 100% healthy.

EDWARDS: "All that takes care of itself. Right now we’ve got to try and beat Carolina on the road."

Final Cuts!!

Here’s the list. Some go to IR and other lists. Details to come:
OFFENSIVE LINE: C Rob Smith, G Travis Leffew, G Edwin Harrison, T Anthony Alabi, T Will Svitek and G Tre Stallings
FULLBACK: Chris Manderino
TIGHT END: Michael Allan and Michael Merritt
WIDE RECEIVER: Kevin McMahan, Sergio Joachim, Jabari Arthur and Bobby Sippio
DEFENSIVE LINE: DE Jason Parker, DE Johnny Dingle and DT Derek Lokey
LINEBACKERS: E.J. Kuale, Steve Octavien and LeRue Rump
DEFENSIVE BACKS: CB Rashad Barksdale and S Khayyam Burns
SPECIAL TEAMS: PK Connor Barth

The Steelers released 18 other players from their roster today, including: LB Patrick Bailey, WR/KR Eddie Drummond, P Paul Ernster, FB Billy Latsko, OG Doug Legursky, OG Matt Lentz, CB Roy Lewis, S Grant Mason, DE Ryan McBean, OT Jeremy Parquet, DT Scott Paxson, DE Jordan Reffett, WR Willie Reid, WR Micah Rucker, TE Dezmond Sherrod, TE Lee Vickers, RB Justin Vincent and CB Travis Williams.

1. OC Rob Smith
2. OG Travis Leffew
3. OG Edwin Harrison
4. OT Anthony Alabi
5. TE Michael Allan
6. TE Michael Merritt (PUP)
7. WR Kevin McMahan
8. WR Sergio Joachim
9. WR Jabari Arthur
10. DE Jason Parker
11. DE Johnny Dingle
12. DT Derek Lokey
13. LB EJ Kuale
14. LB Steve Octavien
15. CB Rashad Barksdale

The Denver Broncos released wide receiver Samie Parker on Monday.

Parker joined the club as an unrestricted free agent on April 15 after spending the first four seasons of his career playing for division-rival Kansas City, where he tallied 110 receptions for 1,529 yards and seven touchdowns. The 27- year-old had 24 grabs for 298 yards and two scores last season.

...and expect to see the No. 1 offense come out and throw the ball a bit more than they have in the first two games."

Oliver Hoyte, acquired by the Chiefs on waivers from Dallas in the spring, began training camp as a fullback.

He was their starting middle linebacker on Tuesday, having switched positions early in camp.

Injuries have prevented Donnie Edwards and Napoleon Harris from practicing for several days, and neither will play in Saturday night’s game against Arizona at Arrowhead Stadium.

Dorsey said today he is not counting himself out of Saturday's home preseason game against Arizona. Still, Dorsey is a better shot to debut at Aug. 23 at Miami in preparation for the season opener at New England on Sept 7.

"I'd love to play this week, we'll see what happens," Dorsey said. "I have time but then again, I got to go out and play some football. That is why I was brought here. It's time to play."

For several plays during the workout the No. 1 defensive line looked like this, from left to right: Turk McBride, Tank Tyler, Glenn Dorsey and Tamba Hali. That foursome had probably a half-dozen snaps, as the Chiefs were easing Dorsey back into full practice work coming off his knee injury.

But it’s a good bet that in coming practices and weeks that group will spend more and more time together. It would be a fairly safe bet to pencil them in as the front four for the season opener in New England.

It was the best and worst of times for DE Alfonso Boone on Saturday as the Chiefs returned to practice here in the northwoods.

Earlier in the day, Boone found out he had been replaced in the starting lineup at LDE by second-year man Turk McBride. Whether this move will stick remains to be seen, because Herm Edwards and Gunther Cunnigham continue to make moves with the starting 11 on defense, trying to find the right combinations.

There was some coaching staff unhappiness with Boone’s play against Chicago. Edwards was not speaking specifically of Boone when he said "there are a lot of positions still open. We want players to do it the way we want to do it."

"This is not the same offense as a year ago," the three-time Pro Bowl guard said. "We overcame a lot of long downs on that touchdown drive. Today you saw a much more confident quarterback than we saw last year."

At MLB assuming Napoleon Harris doesn’t get the message, does he really stand a chance of being cut? Pat Thomas is a guy I’m looking forward to see play against the Bears. What about Nate Harris who got released? Does Johnny Baldwin figure in the mix once healthy or is he likely done with KC? Maybe we should have kept hold of William Kershaw, is he on a roster? Thanks again!

The Chiefs will sign Mike Merritt about a day before the league’s cutdown to 75 players after the third pre-season game. Then, they’ll move him to the Non-Football Injury list where he will probably spend the rest of the season.
I think Napoleon Harris has a real chance of getting cut. He still has time to fight his way back onto the roster with four games to play. I wouldn’t count him out just yet. Nate Harris simply had not progressed on the mental end of the defense. Baldwin would have figured in if he was ready to play physically, but he’s still trying to get into top shape after going through knee surgery last fall. Kershaw would not be much of a factor in making this team.

Pat Thomas was simply all over the place this morning. In 11-on-11’s he penetrated to bring down a running back for a loss, and was part of a wrecking crew that blew up a screen pass. Later, Thomas pursued Tyler Thigpen on the bootleg and forced him out of bounds for a negligible gain. Finally, Thomas locked up on tight end Tony Gonzalez on another bootleg attempt, and stuck to him like glue before slapping away the ball. If you ask me, in one practice, Thomas showed up more than Napoleon Harris has all camp