Unless the Chiefs under Pioli suddenly have changed their ways, the publicly-acknowledged interest in Manning likely is part of a plan that doesn’t play out with Peyton playing more than once per year at Arrowhead Stadium.

Basically saying this could all be a ploy to try and make Denver overspend while at the same time lighting a fire under Cassel. I hope this isn't the case.

Today is the day for deals to be made. Buffalo is expected to resign Stevie Johnson very soon. Let's hope this is the case with D. Bowe and the Chiefs.

Ken: Is Todd Haley's personality a problem? He didn't get along with the GM, right? Anything else? Is he the one making those strange accusations about the offices being bugged? The Rooneys must think the world of Dick Haley, right?

Gerry Dulac: They do think the world of Dick Haley, which is why I think they granted his son, Todd, an interview. Todd Haley has had a difficult time getting any interviews since he was fired by the Chiefs, and part of the problem is his reputation for being unable to get along with players and, more importantly, his fellow coaches. The Steelers, in my opinion, are merely doing Haley a favor, which is why I also think they announced his interview on their website. Since when did they ever do that? Did they announce on their website that they interviewed Jim Caldwell for the same position two days earlier? Of course not.

They want to help Haley get the ball rolling again, as a favor to his dad. At least, that's my opinion. Coaches who might know say Tomlin will not hire Todd Haley.

Steeler reporter Gerry Dulac helps shine some light on the Todd Haley interview in this online chat.

The setting was a team meeting a few weeks ago, after Crennel was appointed interim coach. He stood before his players as their tenuous leader, nobody quite certain how he would use the power … and he dogged Thomas Jones. In front of the entire team. Understand that as much as Todd Haley earned his reputation as a disciplinarian, players grew to think that some guys were off-limits.

This was a special status. Matt Cassel made it as the quarterback. Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali worked themselves into it. Casey Wiegmann earned it based on his long career, and so did Jones. So this group of players had never seen Jones called out by the head coach. Certainly not for everyone to see, and as they scooted up in their chairs and pushed their heads forward to get a better look, you know what happened next?

I'm glad to hear that Crennel sees no player as "off limits" like Haley did, hopefully that includes Matt Cassel in 2012.

The replay review that overturned a correct call on the field of an incompletion as Matt Cassel was hit, converting the down into a fumble, was as bad a call as TMQ has seen. Cassel's hand had started forward when he was hit by a defender. The NFL rule states, "A pass begins when the passer -- with possession of ball -- starts to bring his hand forward. If ball strikes ground after this action has begun, play is ruled an incomplete pass. If passer loses control of ball prior to his bringing his hand forward, play is ruled a fumble." Cassel's hand started forward, then the ball struck the ground -- incompletion. The ball has to come out before the hand starts forward for the result to be a fumble. Referee Alberto Riveron seemed not to know the rule he was supposed to enforce.

Both this call and the DMC fumble really had me fuming on my couch...

Brandon Carr, Chiefs, CB: Facing the Chargers and their potentially explosive aerial attack means several isolated matchups against a pair of big, physical receivers in Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd. In their last outing, the Chiefs challenged the duo by instructing Carr (and Brandon Flowers) to play extensive press coverage on the outside. The constant harassment disrupted the timing of the Chargers' passing game and resulted in Philip Rivers tossing two interceptions. With Romeo Crennel likely to utilize the tactic again, Carr's ability to hold up on the outside will be critical to the Chiefs' success.

2. Todd Haley, Kansas City
It's hard to find anybody who doesn't think Haley is a dead man walking. The Chiefs haven't just regressed, they've made people wonder how last season's success happened in the first place. Add in the fact that Haley is in the third year of a four-year deal -- and that the Chiefs haven't even faced the hardest part of their schedule -- and you get the picture. Pioli probably already has a short list of successors in place.

Number one on this four man list is Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano.

Pioli was hired to be the resident genius three years ago, the man who helped New England become a dynasty right alongside Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Right now, it's hard to believe the hype. This offseason he made little attempt to improve a roster that had some glaring flaws, and his biggest acquisition in free agency was wide receiver Steve Breaston. Standing pat after a strong season works well when you're as loaded as Green Bay or Pittsburgh. It's a pretty big gamble when you're a team that feasted on a weak schedule in 2010 and then wilted in a blowout playoff loss to Baltimore.

Even the luster of Kansas City's division championship seems tainted now, more fluke than feel-good story. When you look at the end of last season, you see a team that was outscored 61-17 in its final two games. That should have been a major red flag, an omen that this team faced a much longer climb to reach the NFL's upper echelon. Now it is simply a squad that has to question everything about its organization, starting with the invisible man at the top of the power structure.

It's just one game, true. Teams can bounce back from a loss, absolutely. But there's no denying that teams that win on opening weekend increase their chances of making the playoffs.

Since 1978, when the NFL went to the 16-game schedule -- and excluding the abbreviated season of 1982 -- teams that are victorious on opening weekend are more than twice as likely to reach the playoffs as losers of an opening game are.

Let's hope the Chiefs start this season strong, with a W!

Kansas City Chiefs

Best-case scenario: Charles is the second coming of Eric Dickerson, and Cassel's rib injury opens up an opportunity for Tyler Palko to emerge in the same way that Drew Bledsoe's sheared chest gave Tom Brady a chance. Palkomania sweeps the AFC West.

Worst-case scenario: Cassel's never healthy, and his interception rate spikes back up after last year's ridiculous 1.6 percent rate. The team starts 0-5 before its bye and then quits on Haley, who gets canned by the end of the year.