This is not a traditional idea of 18 games in the regular season. I kind-of started thinking about ways to generate revenue by putting on more games in the NFL season, without expanding to 18 games and losing 2 preseason games. One of the articles on here mentioned Matt Birk giving his idea so I sort of stole the concept and tried to find a way to make it work. So, here is how I would negotiate.

First, I would start with no changes right now, with big changes coming. Theres no way they would be able to make this happen this coming season, but they can always write up something into the contract giving the NFL a deadline to get this done.

So, here it goes..

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I didn't see this anywhere on AP and was going to make a FanShot but I started getting into it more and decided to make a post. Now I'm not really a big "blogger" and I don't post often. I don't know all the neat formatting tricks and it won't look pretty. But at least I can spell, and put sentences into paragraphs right?

So I was listening to Nick Wright's Podcast yesterday and came across something. Apparently there's ALOT more to this story about Charles saying he is the backup. The podcast is 9/21 - Concerns about Jamaal Charles attitude. 

You can catch it here:

http://www.610sports.com/pages/7606729.php?

It was strange hearing Charles call himself the backup after he and the coaching staff has repeatedly said not to pay attention to who's the starter/backup and that both players know their roles, right? Well it seems that logic is being throw out the window.

Nick Wright says he talked to someone he trusts completely, and a couple of teammates about this. Charles, a couple of times, was put out on the field on 3rd down after riding the bench on 1st and 2nd down. A couple of times that he picked up the first down, he was pulled right back off the field. He was visibly frustrated, but not acting out, not complaining, and doing what he's asked to do. So whats the problem? 

Mo Carthon

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It's so early to be talking about the NFL draft and people are doing it anyway. Normally, I'd never do this..but I'm doing this for one reason.

I dont know about you, but I'm about sick of all these mock drafts by people who have no idea what they are talking about. (For instance, I saw a mock draft that had the Chiefs taking Dez Bryant) So what I am doing is going to each NFL team's blog here on SB Nation and getting some input on who the player to be taken will be.

Now, I want to keep this realistic. Dont think of the player you WANT. Think of the player you need most, who will help your team the most, and who is likely to be chosen. To keep this plain and simple, I'm not going to include trading down. I know its going to happen in the draft at some point but thats impossible to predict and this just makes it much easier. 

Also, I'm doing this in CURRENT order, not projected records at the end of the season. Therefore, the St. Louis Rams are on the clock. I dont really have a certain time frame to determine who the pick will be but after I receive an adequate amount of feedback, I'll lock in the pick. Unfortunately, I'm going to be doing this by reading the comments and tallying up the votes myself instead of a poll. So..St. Louis..who is your pick?

I cant believe its not even November yet and we're talking about the draft. But its got me thinking alot now too. A popular topic has been the choice between drafting Berry or Mays if possible, or drafting OL.

OL is THE MOST IMPORTANT position on the ENTIRE football team.

But playmakers are important on defense as well. So this is my arguement, for both sides.

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Its the 3rd quarter against Philly. We're gettin dominated on both sides of the ball.

Chiefs fans...this is ugly. We all knew this season was going to be a tough season. We all thought we would beat Oakland last week and atleast get a win early in the season. But it didnt happen.

Then, we found out McNabb and Westbrook are sitting out. Good news. But with all good news, theres bad news. No DBowe.

We are killing ourselves with penalties. Everytime we get a good play, its called back on a penalty. Atleast 2 or 3 good runs have been called back for holding. A sack was called back after a facemask.

As a die hard fan, I'll never give up on them and never lose hope. But man. This is so hard to watch. I dont know how to handle it. Does anyone really think we can upset NYG or DAL? I dont. I'm afraid that by the time we get to the easy part of the schedule, our team is going to be down and out. this is ugly. Terrible. The OL..all of them should be canned. Albert is NOT having a good year. Hes been good on a terrible OL and good is an overstatement. Our OL is killing us with penalties, Cassel cant get time to throw and even when he has time to throw, nobody can get open.

I predicted 8-8. I said 6-10 at the least. But I'm having a hard time seeing more than 4 wins. But I'm such an optimistic fan, I still think we can get 6 wins. But I need something. All these 3 and outs. Punts. Turnovers. I'm going crazy.

So. What can we do to ease the frustration of watching us get creamed? We all knew this was coming. We tried to kid ourselves bc we're loyal fans. But lets be real. This team is bad. real bad. And even if it was in the back of our heads, we all saw this coming. And its a painful..frustrating thing to watch.

about a few headlines I would like to see. Something that could potentially affect the Chiefs. Stick with me now.

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for a FanShot. Actually 2 questions. 1st of all, what is this Jump shit for? Jkjk but I'm tired of it.

Okay, here we go!

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In years past, I have not been a member of Arrowhead Pride. Normally, I would make my predictions, save them, maybe share them with a few friends. Mid-season, I plan on re-visiting my predictions, and making adjustments for the final 8 games of the season. If we were to make the playoffs, I would then make a final prediction of the playoffs.

The joy this year, is I can post it ONLINE, with anybody who cares to read it. It'll be alot easier to find in the future, which is good for me. I actually posted predictions earlier this offseason, So I will be digging those up and making the necessary changes. We'll get into that later.

To start the post, I'm going to visit the positions for my thoughts for some positions.

Matt Cassel. Its hard to figure out how good the is considering how little we saw him in Preseason. I have a feeling its going to be a tough year for him because of many things that happened this offseason. Not having an OL to protect him is the biggest problem. The shit Todd Haley has pulled with the WR's and the depth chart has kept Cassel from working with his primary receivers for an extended time. Its important that they get reps in the offseason to help get timing down. I expect Cassel to see success, but it wont be without some failures as well. 3000+ yards, 20+TDs and under 15 INT's would be a good season for him, IMO. *Edit* He only threw 19 passes throughout preseason. Will this hurt him?*

More after the jump..

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After the terrible play of the Offensive Line, I've had a few conversations with several friends and fans. I was at the Seahawks game and actually talked about a few things with a guy sitting a row in front of me. Both of us shared the opinion that we COULD make changes to the OL without bringing anyone in that might actually help.

Now, we're both of the opinion that we NEED to bring someone in, but that doesnt mean someone is available. So my thoughts on the OL after the jump..

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So I was sitting here reading Matt Connor's post "Why The Chiefs' Best Hope Is Not Even On The Team" (sorry I didn't link it, I'm in a bit of a hurry.) and I was commenting on JacinB's comment that we would not reach the playoffs this year. What started as a simple thought quickly turned into an in depth research frenzy. My first thought was, nobody can know if we will make the playoffs or not. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I agree with JacinB's opinion that we will not make the playoffs, however, it is unfair to say that we can't or won't, when the season hasnt even started yet. NONE of us KNOW, we all just THINK and base our predictions on certain reasoning. My first thought was, nobody outside Miami thought they would make it to the playoffs after 2007's 1-15 season. But Miami was buzzing buzzing buzzing and sure enough, they became a good team and made the playoffs. How much is Miami's 2007 team like the Chiefs 2008 team? What was Miami's 2007 season like, and what changes in the offseason leading to 2008 did they make, and how much like the 2008 entering 2009 Chiefs were they? Find out after the jump..

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I haven't gone to sleep yet, I'm tired, and ready to actually get some sleep. And no, unfortunately, I was not out partying all night :-P I just got back from out of town and I had a very interesting arguement about Todd Haley and I wanna see what most people think about the subject. 

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Well Chief's fans, its a preview to what we've all been waiting for. Its game week. Since its preseason, its only right that we prepare for the season as well. Its time to break out the grills, stock up on meat, pump up the football and purchase your tickets. We take tailgating damn near as serious as we do for the football team. Shoot, we care more about tailgating at the Chiefs games than anything that has to do with the Royals.

Heading into the 1st preseason game, I'm going to compile a list of things to watch, both Positive and Negative. After the preseason, I plan on re-visiting the post to reflect on what we learned from preseason. The day before the 1st game, I will release my season predictions and hope they go well. Plus, that will give us something to debate in the final hours for the Opening Game against Baltimore.

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Is going on over at Silver and Black Pride. The link to the post:

http://www.silverandblackpride.com/2009/8/1/972242/raidernation-may-i-have-your#19246910

Alot of interesting subjects have come up here. Over 100 comments on the post. More info after the jump.

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First and foremost, you can all hate my Red & Gold guts all you want. Just wanted to get some insight on what you guys think of your so-called football team. Haha okay I'm just kidding, basically, I want to know how the Raiders fans feel about what is going on with the team. So many questions..

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There was someone who posted in here earlier by the name of J-Man and his post was removed because "of poor grammer and spelling"  and because "we have to keep things professional" and that the post was "embarassing"

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So I wanted to post my thoughts on everything that has been happening recently. I'm sure everyone has debated and spoke about everything. Oh well. This is just something else to read about from another persons point of view. I have several things I'm going to bring up. Matt Cassel and his contract. Our teams current state. My thoughts on who should succeed, who could struggle, and who has the jury out on them this season.

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that Carlos Dansby is coming to KC next year? He's been franchise tagged two straight years, hes a young, talented, developing LB. Our LB's are old, and though they may have something left in the tank, they are here more for mentoring and instilling that winning mentality. Dansby played in Pedergasts system in Arizona. Unfortunately, though they have not reached a longterm contract he has said he would still like to work one out with Arizona.

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In no real particular order but somewhat? haha..:

#1 Offensive line - Many ?'s here. Who will play C? Niswanger, Goff, or Eric Ghiaciuc? IMO, Niswanger is better fit at RG and Goff can play C. Who's playing RT? Herb Taylor, Barry Richardson, Colin Brown or McIntosh? Herb Taylor was impressive when he filled in for Branden Albert during his injury. Barry Richardson's knock out of college was his attitude. They said he didnt show that he loved the game and took it as serious as many professionals. Perhaps his focus was on getting his degree? Now that hes graduated and had a year to develop even more, who knows what kind of progress he could have made. Colin Brown was a good RT at Mizzou. I'm sick of McIntosh, I dont care if he was showing signs of getting better after making the switch. Hes getting old, hes lost a step, his first step is extremely slow, he was blown by repeatedly last year and I cant stand to watch it again.

#2 Larry Johnson & Co - LJ and Charles could be the "Smash and Dash" tandem of KC. This strictly depends on how well #1 goes. If the O-line improves, the running game should improve. LJ is runnin for the money on his next contract and I think Pioli and Haley have put him in his place as far as where he stands with the team. Charles and Smith could get looks but I see Charles taking most of the extra runs and catching some passes out of the backfield. Hes got great hands and his speed is deadly if he gets out in the open.

#3 Wide Receivers - Bowe and Bradley have got to step up. Bowe had an excuse in the sophomore slump last season. Hes got to prove it was just that curse and not a sign of things to come. If Bowe is going to break out, NOW is the time to do it. Without TG, DBowe should command doubleteams, freeing up Bradley, Charles and Engram (or whoever plays slot). This leads on to #4..

#4 Matt Cassel - This, more than the others, will depend on the other factors. An improved OL, effective running game, and the play of the receivers should give Cassel what he needs to succeed. Cassel needs as much help as he can get so a combination of any of the above will gladly be taken. All of these have so far been in order. With no OL, Noone can run, receivers cant get open, cassel gets sacked, throws a pick, fumble, etc. The line is the most important part of this puzzle. Cassel proved last year he can play. He improved throughout the season, but he had the best supporting cast in football. Hes got to prove he can work with what he has.

That is the key to this team. The OL. If the OL improves, everything improves. Period.

Defensive side of the ball:

#5 Defensive Line - Jackson, Dorsey, Tank, Magee, and Edwards have got to pick up the 3-4 quick. These guys are the key to the defense, the same way the OL is to the offense.Several scenarios can happen for these guys to dominate and in any combination. 1, they can plug the OL. Commanding double teams are things Jackson and Tank and even Dorsey are all capable of. Magee, I'm not sure. Taking up the DL allows the LB's to blitz freely, stuff the runner, force the bad pass, whatever the case may be. 2, they can power past the OL to get after the QB. I'm not sure if our OL would be successful at this but it would be nice to see any of those guys toss around some linemen and make the sack. In any scenario, get after the QB, force the bad pass and our Secondary will DOMINATE. As well as they played last year with ZERO pressure being put on the QB, I cant wait to see what they can do when QB's arent getting to sit back in the pocket and pick us apart.

#6 Linebackers - These guys have to clean up after the DL's mistakes and they gotta do it efficiently. The young DL is going to make mistakes, so its good that we have so many veterans at LB. We must do a better job of not letting the runner into the 2nd level and getting blocked and cut off on running plays. Hali, Vrabel, DJ, Demarrio, whoever it is must get after the QB. SOMEONE has got to step up here in order for us to be a decent team.

If you havent noticed, this isnt just the key to our success, but the key to any teams success. Teams are built in the trenches, Offense wins games, defense wins championships. I didnt list our Secondary because I think they are already great. Last year could have been much worse if we still had Warfield, Mccleon, Woods and Wesley or whoever we had in the vermeil era. Flowers, Carr, Leggett, Page, and Pollard are gelling together. they have chemistry between them which you cant coach. Flowers Carr and Leggett are only in their 2nd years. The addition of washington brings added depth. Our secondary will be fine.

First and foremost, lets recap what has happened thus far, my thoughts and predictions for the future based on those moves. I'm going to go through every aspect of the team that I can possibly think of to break down so I'm sure this should get interesting

Players lost:

Damon Huard - No need for him. No disrespect, it was great what he did for us when he filled in for trent green but come on..hes done.

Will Franklin - I'm a bit disappointed here. Franklin has a good mix of Size, Speed and Athletic ability. He could have developed into a great deep threat. He has a minor learning disorder that makes him a bit slower in learning plays, and tends to take his eyes off the ball to scan the field before securing the catch, but those are things that can be worked with. I was very surprised in his release.

Tony Gonzalez -  I'm really not too upset. Tony deserves to have a chance at a superbowl. I just dont think that could happen with us. It would be great to have him, and he would set a great example for our young guys but I think we'll be okay. Atleast Cottam had 1 season to learn from the best.

Adrian Jones, Jason Bain, Rocky Boiman, Pat Thomas, David Macklin, Oliver Celestin - these guys did nothing for us last year. Jones as no good at RG, Boiman was a fill in at LB along with Thomas. Neither of them played well. Boiman did show a few flashes though, but I think any player in the NFL can have a good play here n there.

Brian Johnston - He wont fit the 3-4. We already have DJ, Thomas, Vrabel, Beisel, Demarrio, at LB with Tamba and Turk trying to make the switch to LB, that leaves us with 7 LB's, not counting other fill in's. Hes too small for DE in the 3-4 and too slow for OLB.

Donnie Edwards, Patrick Surtain - gettin old. Past their prime. let them go.

Players Gained:

Matt Cassel - I was a huge Thigpen fan. I hated that we traded for Cassel. But the more I look at his film last year (even though it was with 1 of the best potential teams) he started slow but learned fast. I like that. He adjusted quickly. I want to see what he can do and I think hes going to be okay.

Bobby Engram - I believe hes going to be more of a mentor than anything. I hope the Engram move isnt what caused us to drop Franklin.

Mike Goff - A solid upgrade over Adrian Jones. He should help anchor a suspect rightside of the line.

Eric Ghiaciuc - I am not thrilled here. He was a weak player for a weak Bengals line. If he beats out Niswanger, I hope hes better with a pro bowl LG next to him.

Mike Vrabel -  Excellent addition. Should help progress DJ to the next level. Its now or never for DJ. Vrabel can play inside or out, and can pass on blitzing knowledge. Hes getting old but again will be a great mentor.

Zach Thomas - I like this addition as well because we need a tackling machine and we need someone to teach how to play that way. Thomas may not be at that level of talent anymore, but he still has the knowledge. I think hes going to help DJ more than Vrabel will.

Monty Beisel - I love the fact that hes back. Hes a great "6th man" as he can come off the bench into any LB position and know what to do.

Mike Brown - Comes from a successful defense. I really like our secondary the way it is though. Maybe sub him in on 2nd or 3rd and long situations.

Tony Curtis, Corey Mays, Travis Daniels - these are more unknowns..we'll see if any are sleepers.

The Draft:

Tyson Jackson - I LOVE this pick. Everyone wanted Aaron Curry but I wanted to trade down and take TJ. Im sure Pioli tried to trade down and couldnt. Jackson is the PERFECT fit for the 3-4. Him and Dorsey used to DOMINATE at LSU and if Jackson can play 3-4, I know Dorsey can too. They are young guys who have 2 different styles and can learn from each other, as well as compete to push each other. I'm very excited about this pick.

Alex Magee - I was a bit stunned on this pick, I felt we could have grabbed a quality C or RT with this pick. he should add some depth behind Dorsey and Tyson though.

Donald Washington - I'm like this guy. I dont have much to say because I think our secondary is great the way it is and he will only be a 4th CB unless he beats out leggett which may or may not happen.

Colin Brown - I'd love to see him come in and take McIntosh's place. Just please upgrade McIntosh. Please Please PLEASE.

Quinten Lawrence - This is the player to watch. Hes a great replacement to Franklin.

Williams, OConnell and Succop I dont know. Succop may beat out Barth but who knows.

Positional Breakdowns

Quarterbacks - Cassel will hopefully continue to build on his improvement from last year. He wont have the luxeries of Moss and Welker or a line to protect him but thats only going to help him make faster decisions. Thigpen will be a confident backup and if all else fails, Tin Foil Croyle is ready to get injured again.

Runningbacks - LJ, Charles, Smith, what more could you ask for? You got LJ to power between the tackles, Charles to take it around the corner, and smith to bounce it ouside off the counter. Great combo of Power, Speed and Agility between those 3 players.

Offensive Line - Albert, Waters, Niswanger, Goff, McIntosh is what I think it will be. But, Albert and Waters are the only two i think are locked in as starters. Niswanger and Goff could switch places (I hope they do) and McIntosh could get beat out by Herb Taylor or Colin Brown.

Wide Receivers - Dwayne Bowe is ready to make the jump to stardom. The sophomore slump is out of the way. No more dropped passes! Mark Bradley is ready to break out as well. The loss of Gonzo means more DT's on Bowe. Engram and Lawerence might be in there streaking across the middle somehwere, or even Charles who sees plenty of passes out of the backfield.

Defensive Line - Young. very young. That could be a problem. I see Dorsey, Tank and Jackson with Magee Edwards and Boone (i think we still have boone..) subbing in. Tank will be in his 3rd, Dorseys 2nd, and Jacksons 1st season. I'm a bit concerned but these guys are huge and should command doubleteams. Tank is STRONG and can take on 2 guys. Dorsey and Jackson could each take 2 if needed. This should free up space for the LB's to make tackles. The size and talent is great, the experience and fact that its tough for defensive players to make the jump leaves me worried

Linebackers - I think we'll be okay. Between DJ, and Demarrio we should have speed. Vrabel and Hali should give us a rushing LB option and Thomas and Beisel would be our ball hawks along with DJ. Again, I dont know how this will play out.

Defensive Backs - I'm very excited about these guys. Last year we had no line, no pressure on the QB and it could have been MUCH worse if it wasnt for the play of our Dbacks. These guys are going to become something special.

Special Teams - whos our KR/PR? Is Barth or Succop our FG kicker? Whos the place kicker? I like the fact that Haley is actually looking for guys who are great in coverage in special teams.

Predictions:

Offensively - Our O-Line is the group to watch. If they succeed, we should see a great improvement in the offense. Bowe is in his 3rd year and ready to break out. Bradley is ready for his chance and Engram is going to lead these guys mentally. Cassel must prove hes the leader to command the offense.

Defensively - Again, it depends on the D line. If our young guys up front can do their job, our Linebackers and safties should be able to stuff the run. If our rushers can put some pressure on the QB, our Dbacks are going to have the heyday we wanted to have last year. We have some fast guys who can make plays but we gotta have some pressure on the QB to seal the deal.

Ravens - L

Raiders - W

Eagles - L

Giants - L

Cowboys - L

Redskins - L

Chargers - W

Bye

Jaguars - W

Raiders - W

Steelers - L

Chargers - L

Broncos - W

Bills - W

Browns - W

Bengals - W

Broncos - L

8-8 final record. No playoffs.

What do you think?