Chiefs-Seahawks Game Recap

After a disappointing showing against the St. Louis Rams, the Chiefs were looking to make a statement against the Seattle Seahawks in the all-important third preseason game. Rather than turn things around, things went from bad to worse for Kansas City, as the team got embarrassed by Seattle, 44-14.

The Chiefs had no answer for Seattle’s Russell Wilson, a rookie third-round pick out of Wisconsin who recently won the team’s starting job over Matt Flynn. Wilson threw for 185 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 58 yards, leading the Seahawks to scores on their first six possessions. The absence of cornerback Brandon Flowers and safety Kendrick Lewis was noticeable in the passing attack and the Chiefs front seven mustered little pressure on the QB and routinely gave up big plays on the ground. Kansas City had one of the better defenses in the NFL last year, but the unit has not looked sharp this preseason. With Tamba Hali suspended for the first game of the regular season and Flowers and Lewis continuing to fight nagging injuries, head coach Romeo Crennel is going to have to get creative and find a way to improve the defense while it is missing some key players.

Offensively, Kansas City struggled all night long, including going three-and-out on the team’s first four drives. The Chiefs had one impressive drive in the second quarter, marching 80 yards and scoring on a Dexter McCluster reception, but the rest of the night was pretty dismal. Matt Cassel threw an interception that was returned 75 yards for a touchdown, and the team failed to hit on any big plays once it got down by a couple of scores.

Even special teams were troublesome for the Chiefs, as Seattle’s Golden Tate returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter.

It is still only the preseason, but Kansas City played its starters well into the third quarter and looked overmatched by an average Seattle team. Injuries on defense have been a major problem, and the team will have to find more consistency on offense. Hopefully the return of Dwayne Bowe will ignite a spark for the offense, and Flowers and Lewis can return from injury soon to aid the defense.

The team’s final preseason game will be this Thursday, when the Chiefs travel to Lambeau Field to play the Green Bay Packers. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

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Chiefs Scrimmage Cardinals In Joint Practice

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Arizona Cardinals for a joint team practice yesterday, competing with their upcoming preseason opponent in a variety of drills and competitions. There were almost 200 players practicing at one time on the fields of Missouri Western State University, and nearly 3,000 fans were in attendance.

This was the first time in three years that either team had held a training camp scrimmage or joint practice. The Chiefs scrimmaged the Vikings in 2008 when the team still held camp in River Falls, Wisconsin while the Cardinals participated in a joint practice with the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. Many teams had decided to eliminate joint scrimmages due to fights breaking out between the opposing players; luckily there were no scuffles between any Kansas City or Arizona players in yesterday’s practice.

After working individually during walkthroughs and stretching, the two teams went at it in a series of individual drills, 7-on-9, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 scenarios. The scrimmage wrapped up with both teams’ first-string offenses competing in a two minute drill situation. Matt Cassel and John Skelton were both able to lead their offenses to a field goal in the competition.

The idea for a joint practice came in response to the Cardinal’s travel schedule. The team recently played the Saints in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio and is scheduled to play the Chiefs on Friday. Rather than take extra flights to Phoenix, the team decided to stop in the Midwest for a unique practice opportunity and avoid some extra travel.

Both teams plan on practicing separately for the remainder of the Cardinal’s stay in Kansas City; however Chief head coach Romeo Crennel said he would be open to joint practices/scrimmages in the future, should the right opportunity present itself.

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Kansas City Chiefs 2012 Training Camp Preview

The Chiefs’ 2012 training camp is approaching, which means that a new NFL season is just around the corner. The team’s camp will be presented by Heartland Health at Missouri Western State University located in St. Joseph, MO and will begin tomorrow. The camp will run through Aug. 16, with outdoor practices open to the public (indoor practices due to inclement weather will not be open to the public). A full list of the team’s training camp schedule can be found here.

The Chiefs will host a night practice at Spratt Stadium on Tuesday, July 31 at 7:15 p.m. The Chiefs annual Family Fun Day presented by American Family Insurance will be held on Saturday, Aug. 4 at 1:30 p.m. at Spratt Stadium. Missouri Western will charge a $5 admission fee with no charge for children ages three and under.

This will be a critical camp for the team, as the Chiefs are installing a completely new offense under new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Several new starters will also need to be integrated into the system, most center Rodney Hudson and right tackle Eric Winston. While Dwayne Bowe is still absent, last year’s first round pick Jonathan Baldwin will have an opportunity to continue to impress coaches and teammates and acquire a bigger role in the offense.

One of the biggest goals the Chiefs have is to simply get healthy – on offense, Jamaal Charles, Matt Cassel and Tony Moeaki are all returning from season ending injuries. Defensively, Eric Berry is also back, and will try to build on the promise he showed during a pro-bowl caliber rookie campaign.

The most interesting position battle may be at quarterback – where newly signed Brady Quinn will battle with 2011 fifth-round pick Ricky Stanzi for the backup spot behind Matt Cassel. Given Cassel’s injury history and his inconsistent play, there is a chance that more than one signal-caller leads the team during the regular season.

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Kyle Orton Signs with Chiefs - Kansas City News

Today the Kansas City Chiefs must have decided that they did not trust Tyler Palko or Ricky Stanzi to take over quarterback duties for the injured Matt Cassel as they went to the "quarterback couch" and picked up Kyle Orton, formerly of the Denver Broncos, who was replaced earlier in Denver's season with backup quarterback Tim Tebow.

Kyle Orton was signed to a one year deal after only starting a handful of games for Denver in the 2011 NFL season, by popular demand from Denver fans, religious fanatic Tim Tebow was put into action early in the season. The Denver Broncos released Kyle Orton soon after and he has been on waivers ever since. This now leaves the Kansas City Chiefs with 4 quarterbacks including one Matt Cassel on injured reserve. Kyle Orton was a miserable 12 and 21 as a starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, throwing 8434 yards, 49 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. Kyle is known for being an ultraconservative quarterback, rarely taking any chances down field, and stick to the dink and dunk passing. Orton usually throws the ball within about 10-15 yards of the line of scrimmage, which really won't be much of a change from Matt Cassel, who rarely threw the ball further than 20 yards or so.

The Chiefs will lose the mobility that Matt Cassel and Tyler Palko bring to the table and this may result in a tough outing for the slower and less elusive Kyle Orton. The Chiefs offensive line is questionable at best and due to a recent injury to star offensive lineman Ryan Lilja, they will be even less likely to effectively block for the quarterback. Matt Cassel and Tyler Palko were both running for their lives during the past few games due to the weak offensive line and with a slower quarterback in Kyle Orton this doesn't look good. It has not been announced yet whether Orton will start on Sunday night when the Chiefs take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on National TV, but since the Chiefs only have about 10 passing plays in the playbook, this should be a quick study for Kyle Orton.

All we can say to Kyle Orton is, be ready to be sacked - a lot.

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Breaking Down the Chiefs' WR Position

The Kansas City Chiefs have made an effort to surround QB Matt Cassel with more weapons to work with, including an upgraded receiving corps. The Chiefs already boast one of the top rushing attacks in the league, and if the team can find some consistency and explosiveness with its wideouts, Kansas City will likely have one of the best offenses in the NFL.

Dwayne Bowe finally delivered the type of performance Kansas City fans thought he was capable of last year, earning a pro bowl bid after a monster regular season. While Bowe produced like a bona fide top WR, Kansas City struggled to find other receivers to take some of the heat off him and spread the field. The Chiefs upgraded their receiver corps this offseason by signing Steve Breaston, who has been productive in his first few seasons in the league. If Breaston can stay healthy, he should have a strong first season in Kansas City.

Since Breaston will likely be used more as a slot receiver, the attention now turns to who will start on the outside opposite of Bowe. The Chiefs selected Jonathan Baldwin in the first round of the draft, and by all accounts, the rookie has been impressive so far in camp. However, Kansas City currently has Jerheme Urban listed as the starter opposite of Bowe. Urban showed a lot of promise in Arizona before missing last season with a broken hand, and his experience could help him get the nod over Baldwin early in the season. No matter who starts, expect both to be mixed into the passing game with Bowe, Breaston and tight end Tony Moeaki.

Kansas City will likely keep Terrance Copper as the team's fifth receiver due to his ability on special teams and may keep Jeremy Horne as a sixth receiver. Horne, who signed with the Chiefs as an rookie free agent in 2010, spent last season on the team's practice squad.

Chiefs Sign WR Steve Breaston

Heading into this year's crazy free agency period, the Chiefs knew that WR was an area that still needed to be addressed. Kansas City added some much needed help to its wideout corps today by signing former Arizona Cardinal WR Steve Breaston to a five year deal.

This deal makes a lot of sense for both Kansas City and Breaston. The Chiefs needed a player who has some experience, but still has a fairly long career ahead of them. Breaston has been in the league for only four years, but has been productive. He was slowed by injuries last season, but still managed to post 47 receptions for 718 yards (despite having Derek Anderson as his quarterback). Breaston's best season came in 2008, when he snagged 77 receptions for 1,006 yards.

Breaston also finds himself in a much better situation in Kansas City. He has played for Todd Haley before and knows the coach's offense. Better yet, he is going to a team that has a lot of offensive firepower and an established quarterback.

Now that Kansas City has addressed its biggest need on offense, the team can focus on giving its defense a boost. Expect the Chiefs to make a run at a nose tackle or linebacker sometime over the next couple of days.

Chiefs Offense Rolls, Matt Cassel Doesn't Suck

What a Game! The Chiefs offense was near perfect in their dismantling of the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday afternoon. 503 total yards of offense, 41 minutes of possession, and a 42-24 final score. The game really wasn't close as Seattle scored 7 of their points on a blocked punt in the first half. No longer will this blogger use the keywords "Matt Cassel Sucks". His play the past few weeks has made a believer out of me. Of course the fact that Dwayne Bowe is playing out of his mind and Jamaal Charles continues his excellent play is helping the cause. Cassel threw for 233 yards and 4 TDs, three of them to Bowe. Dwayne Bowe also extending his franchise record string of games with a TD catch and the record for most TD receptions for a Chief in a season with 14 - there are still 5 regular season games on the schedule. Oh, and did I mention he also leads the League in TDs.

Then there is Jamaal Charles - second in the league in total rushing yards, and he doesn't even have the most carries on the team! He averages a stunning 6.3 yards/carry, more than a yard ahead of the League's leading rusher Arien Foster. He reminds of Marcus Allen, only much faster. He can squirt through the smallest of holes, or beat you with his speed around the outside.

The Chiefs remain 1 game ahead in the AFC West with little margin for error, what fun the remainder of the year will be. I think we can look for a beat down of gigantic proportions as the Broncos (and Todd Haley's Best Friend Josh McDaniels) come to town next Sunday in a rematch of the Chiefs worst game a few weeks ago.

Chiefs Beat Cardinals, Lead AFC West

The Chiefs Defeated the Woeful Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Afternoon at Arrowhead by a score of 31-13. But the game wasn't really even that close as the Cardinals scored their lone touchdown on the final play of a game that long been decided. The Chiefs really dominated in all phases of the game which probably says more about the problems Arizona has than how good the Chiefs are - but still it's good to see you win the ones you are supposed to by such a big margin. It was an all around team victory.

I have to tell you I have not been a Matt Cassel fan, but he might be growing on me. He had another efficient game, didn't turn the ball over, and was accurate. Of Course, his receivers were open all day and that really helps. The new, and improved Dwayne Bowe has been terrific, bit I was disappointed to see him break his media silence after the game. The guy is so much better when he keeps his mouth shut and just plays. He set the franchise record for consecutive games with a TD pass on Sunday - his Sixth.

The running game was working, though still curiously Jamaal Charles was absent until the second quarter. In fact, someone I was watching the game with wondered aloud if Charles was hurt because we hadn't seen him. As a team they rushed for 5.5 yards/carry - that is terrific and Charles was over 7 yds/carry-just dominating.

The Chiefs have to show they can do it on the road is they want to win this division. They have a whole game lead, but have to go to San Diego still. Next week's game at Seattle is very important, they are beatable and the Chiefs need to keep their lead in the West.

Chiefs Survive Scare From Buffalo

This one was supposed to be easy. With the red-hot Chiefs facing lowly Buffalo, everyone predicted an easy Kansas City victory. In the end, the Chiefs were lucky to escape with a win, as Ryan Succop nailed a field goal as overtime expired to give Kansas City a 13-10 victory.

Many thought the Chiefs would coast to an easy win given their favorable matchup in the run game. Kansas City entered the game leading the game in rushing, while the Bills boasted the worst rush defense in the NFL. The Chiefs took advantage of the matchup, rushing for over 270 yards including a 177 yard effort from Jamaal Charles. Matt Cassel delivered a steady performance, and the Chiefs defense looked good all night.

Despite the positives, something was missing all game for the Chiefs, and the Bills were able to keep it close. Facing a fourth and four late in the game, the Bills scored to force a wild overtime that was much more exciting than regulation. The Bills had a chance to win it, and Rian Lindell did just that. Only Todd Haley called timeout before the kick, and Lindell's next attempt hit the upright, giving the Chiefs the ball. Only Kansas City, after an impressive offensive drive, missed a FG of its own. However the Chiefs' defense held, and Succop finally delivered and helped the Chiefs avoid a rare overtime tie.

It was an ugly game, but even good teams have poor showings against bad teams. Kansas City won, and took a giant step towards a post-season birth by improving its record to 5-2.

Chiefs Lose to Texans, Fall to 3-2

Despite a strong effort from its offense and a breakout game from WR Dwayne Bowe, the Chiefs blew a late lead and lost to the Houston Texans, 35-31. Kansas City played well on both sides of the ball, but couldn't hold off a potent Texans offense late. Despite the loss, the Chiefs still find themselves in first place in the lousy AFC West.

Kansas City found themselves leading the entire game, but a stalled late drive gave Texans QB Matt Schaub too much time. After failing to convert a late third and 2, Schaub eventually found WR Andre Johnson wide open in the end zone for the game winning score. The loss wasted both Matt Cassel and Bowe's best games as Chiefs, as well as a strong running attack led by Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles.

A loss is a loss, but Chiefs fans should still remain optimistic about this season's potential. With such an easy schedule, Kansas City should be able to drop a few games on the road against potential playoff teams. With its next two games at home against Jacksonville and Buffalo, and a weak division, the Chiefs still remain in the driver's seat in the AFC East. If Kansas City's offense can continue to improve, there is no reason why this team shouldn't be in contention when January begins.

Chief's Passing Game - Receivers to Blame

Much talk around Kansas City this week has focused on the play of Chief's QB Matt Cassel. Cassel has not come close to living up to his enormous contract and has been average at best in his short time in Kansas City. However, blaming all of the Chief's passing woes on Cassel is wrong - Kansas City's mediocre receiving corps should shoulder most of the blame.

Until Cassel has a legitimate number one receiver, it is impossible to fully analyze his accomplishments. The Chiefs spent a first round pick on WR Dwayne Bowe, who has, to put it mildly, failed to live up to expectations. Bowe's drop of an easy touchdown catch against the Colts (that would have given the Chiefs a fourth quarter lead) has prompted SI's Peter King to name him the goat of the week. This is the Chief's best wideout? Chris Chambers has all but dissapeared this season as well, leaving Cassel with little to work with with his receivers.

Despite the poor numbers, the Chiefs do have some hope to improve in the passing department. Rookie tight end Tony Moeaki looks like a futre Tony Gonzalez, and has produced at a high level while also providing a few eye-popping grabs. The Chiefs have playmakers who can do a lot after the catch like Dexter McCluster and Jamaal Charles, and the team's strong running game should keep the passing game open.

The team needs to address its problem at receiver quickly for Matt Cassel to have any chance to be a legitimate NFL QB. Until he has the proper talent at wideout, Cassel's performance grade remains an "incomplete."

Chiefs Beat Browns, Move to 2-0

No that title is not a misprint, the Kansas City Chiefs have opened the season 2-0. Kansas City won a close road contest against the Cleveland Browns to remain undefeated and on top of the AFC West standings. While not thoroughly convincing, a win is a win, and the team has already matched half of its win total from last season.

After finishing what was yet again a terrible preseason, many thought that the young Chiefs were still at least a year away from contention. However, the league's weakest schedule and a few signs of life from the running game and special teams turned some fans into believers. After the first two weeks, many are starting to wonder if Kansas City can make a push for the playoffs.

Now before Chief fans get too carried away, lets not forget that even really bad teams can jump out to fast starts (Tampa Bay, anyone?) and then cool off. The Chiefs offense is still held back from subpar play from Matt Cassel and not getting Jamaal Charles the ball enough (despite his eye-opening stats).

The Chiefs have made obvious improvements, but still have a long way to go. With an easy schedule and weak division, there is no reason why the team shouldn't at least contend for a playoff spot. At the very least, the team may still be in playoff contention after week 8, which is a big improvement from the past two seasons.

Chiefs Beat Chargers

After a season filled with close (and not so close) loses, unanswered questions and a somewhat promising finish, the Kansas City Chiefs made starting out the 2010 season on the right foot a priority. The team did just that, upsetting AFC West juggernaut San Diego in the rain, 21-14.

The Chiefs hadn't won on opening day since this guy was in office, and more importantly, had lost to San Diego in its last five meetings. After falling to the Chargers by a combined 59 points last year, the Chiefs win was essential for the team to prove it will be, at the very least, no longer a guaranteed win for other teams around the league.

While the Chiefs played well, two aspects of the team are still troubling. First, the Chiefs continue to underuse Jamaal Charles. Despite showing his big-play ability time and time again, Charles continues to split carries with Thomas Jones. Jones is a steady, productive back, but Charles must be given more touches a game with his home run ability. Also troubling is the continued poor play from quarterback Matt Cassel. If the Chiefs are to make a push for the playoffs, it is important for Cassel to make plays and limit mistakes.

The good news for the Chiefs is the team is loaded with young playmakers to go along with Charles, most notably Dexter McCluster and Javier Arenas. Both have big-time return ability and have given the special teams a much needed boost. If the Chiefs can continue to run the ball effectively, find a few big plays from its special teams and Cassel can start playing like he gets paid to, a shot at the playoffs isn't out of Kansas City's reach.