Kansas City Chiefs-Seattle Seahawks Preview

The third preseason game is considered by football fans and players to be the most important, as teams traditionally play their starters for the majority of the game and treat the contest more like the regular season. The Chiefs third preseason game is tonight, when the team will host the Seattle Seahawks.

It has been an up-and-down preseason so far for Kansas City - the team looked very sharp in its opening game win against the Arizona Cardinals yet struggled in its second game in a loss against the St. Louis Rams. The biggest story line for the Chiefs is the newly-signed Dwayne Bowe and what role he will play. Bowe recently signed his franchise tender after skipping the team’s entire offseason program and the first two preseason games, so he has had only a few days to learn the new playbook. While he likely will only see a few series, head coach Romeo Crennel has indicated that Bowe will see the field.

Bowe isn’t the only big story line for tonight’s game. The Chiefs are still sorting out some position battles, particularly at back-up quarterback. Brady Quinn and Ricky Stanzi have been battling for the number two spot all preseason, and it appears that Quinn likely has the upper-hand to be next-in-line after Matt Cassel. Cassel has had some injury problems in the past, which makes the team’s QB2 battle intriguing.

Seattle raised a few eyebrows this week when it announced that rookie quarterback Russell Wilson would start the all-important third preseason game. Wilson, a third-round draft pick out of Wisconsin, has played well this preseason, and it appears he has a legitimate shot to win the starting job in Seattle. Most thought that Matt Flynn, who was signed as a free agent to a lucrative deal, would earn the position. Flynn has spent his career spelling NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, and looked impressive filling in for the Rodgers when he was hurt for a game in 2011 and didn’t play the team’s regular season finale last year as they had already locked up the top playoff seed. The Seahawks will likely be watching both very closely tonight, with the regular season only a couple weeks away.

Game time tonight at Arrowhead Stadium is 7:00 p.m. The Chiefs will wrap up their preseason next Thursday, when the team travels to Lambeau Field to play the Packers.

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Royals Offense Stalls, Team Drops Series To Rays

After sweeping the white sox over the weekend, the Royals came back down to earth a bit, dropping two out of three to the Tampa Bay Rays. Kansas City’s lone win came in an epic, extra-innings pitching duel between Like Hochevar and David Price.

David Price is one of the best pitchers in baseball, but on Tuesday, Kansas City’s Luke Hochevar went toe-to-toe with the All Star. Hochevar only allowed one hit while striking out ten, absolutely dominating the Rays and looking like the player the Royals thought they were getting when they selected him first overall in the 2006 MLB draft. Price was nearly as effective, striking out eight while only allowing three hits. The game was scoreless until the 10th inning, when Eric Hosmer hit a two-out single to score Jeff Francoeur. From there, Kansas City’s Kelvin Herrera held the lead, giving him his first victory in the major leagues.

Unfortunately for the Royals, their bats never quite woke up in this series, as they scored only five times over the three game span against the Rays. On Monday, the team only mustered one run off of Jeremy Hellickson, and today, the team got only three on the scoreboard against James Shields. The Rays are the best pitching team in the American League, boasting a 3.27 team ERA, and Kansas City may just have to be thankful they picked up one win thanks to Hochevar’s dominating performance. The team didn’t have many highlights from the plate, but Alcides Escobar did hit an RBI triple in the eighth inning.

The team’s upcoming schedule should provide the Royals with an opportunity to pick up a few more wins, as the team heads to Boston for a four game series with the struggling Red Sox. Game one in the series will be Friday night at 6:10 p.m. Bruce Chen (9-10) will start for Kansas City, and Jon Lester (7-10) will start for Boston.

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Tamba Hali Suspended For Chiefs Season Opener

The Chiefs defense has suffered some injuries to several key players over the past few weeks, and now the unit has received more bad news. Tamba Hali, the team’s best pass rusher and a key to Kansas City’s defense, has been suspended from the season opener against Atlanta. Hali will be suspended without pay, and will be fined an additional game’s paycheck as well.

The good news for Chiefs fans is that Hali only received a one-game suspension. Often, the NFL doles out a four game suspension (or longer) for a substance-abuse violation. The bad news is the one game Hali will miss is a big one – the season opener against a talented Atlanta Falcons team. The Falcons have been a playoff team for the past two seasons, and should give Kansas City all it can handle to start the season. Even worse, the team is missing Brandon Flowers and Kendrick Lewis, and it is unknown when the two defensive backs will return. A depleted secondary and the absence of the team’s best pass rusher could be a recipe for disaster for Kansas City.

Since the team drafted him in the first round, Hali has been a consistent force for Kansas City. In his career, Hali has 266 tackles and 53.5 sacks, as well as 22 forced fumbles. His last two years have been his best, with 14.5 sacks two years ago and 12 last season.

It is unknown who will replace Hali in the starting lineup. Andy Studebaker is the most likely replacement, as he has been a reliable backup for the team over the past four seasons and knows the defense well. The other option is Cameron Sheffield, who hasn’t seen much playing time in his three year career. Neither player is known for his ability to pressure the quarterback, which will make second-year player Justin Houston’s play even more important. Houston showed the ability to get to the quarterback in his rookie season, and the Chiefs will need him to step up and play well with Hali sidelined.

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Guthrie Flirts With No-Hitter, Royals Sweep White Sox

Jeremy Guthrie has been on fire lately, and that trend continued yesterday. Guthrie took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and the Royals defeated the White Sox 5-2. The win gave Kansas City a sweep over their AL Central rival, and the team has been playing winning baseball over the past two weeks.

The hit that broke up Guthrie’s no-hitter attempt has been a controversial subject. Paul Konerko hit a ground ball that shortstop Alcides Escobar had to dive for. Escobar was able to make an accurate throw to first baseman Eric Hosmer, however the throw took a bounce that Hosmer was unable to field. It appeared the play should have been an error on Hosmer, however the official scorer Del Black decided that Escobar had to make too tough a play which resulted in an infield single. As a result, Guthrie didn’t even get a victory, as Chicago tacked on two runs later in the 8th inning. Luckily, Kansas City got some great hitting from Salvador Perez, who drove in runs in the 6th and 8th to twice give Kansas City the lead.

Dayton Moore has taken some heat this year, particularly for trading Melky Cabrera to the Giants for Jonathan Sanchez, who was a complete disaster for the Royals. However, he should be commended for trading Sanchez for Guthrie, who has been absolutely lights-out over his past several starts. Guthrie has likely earned a permanent spot in the Royals’ rotation, and could be part of the team’s future plans. With some key pitchers returning from injury next season, suddenly one of Kansas City’s biggest weaknesses – starting pitching – has a potentially bright future.

Kansas City’s sweep of Chicago improved the team’s record to 54-66 on the season, and the team will look to continue its winning ways when it travels to Tampa Bay for a three game series with the Rays. The first game starts tonight at 6:10 p.m., and Will Smith (4-4) will start for the Royals. Jeremy Hellickson (7-8) will be the starting pitcher for the Rays.

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Chiefs Fall To Rams, 31-17

After a hot start to their preseason, the Chiefs looked sloppy last night in a 31-17 loss to the lowly St. Louis Rams. Kansas City's defense struggled, giving up two quick touchdowns against the Rams' first-string offense and 17 total first half points.

The defensive performance has to be worrisome for Chief fans. Kansas City gave up a quick touchdown on St. Louis' opening possession, then allowed the Rams to score only a few minutes later after a costly Jonathan Baldwin fumble. The Rams, who were one of the worst offensive teams in all of football last year, gained 151 yards in the first quarter alone. The Chiefs' D looked great against Arizona, but the Cardinals have some of the worst quarterback play in the league. The Chiefs have a very talented defense, and they are missing their best cornerback, so this may have simply just been a random poor showing.

Offensively, Kansas City didn't fare much better. Cassel played the entire first half, and he put up decent numbers as the Chiefs mustered 10 points. However, turnovers plagued the team all night, as the Chiefs committed four turnovers - three of them fumbles. With the Rams' offensive clicking early, the turnovers proved to be the difference in the game. The team's backups didn't play very well either, as the Chiefs only score in the second half came late in the game, when Brady Quinn hit Jeremy Horne for a 38 yard touchdown.

Many have predicted the Rams to make some improvements this season under new head coach Jeff Fisher, and St. Louis looked sharp last night after getting blown out by the Colts in their first preseason game. The facts are what they are, however, and St. Louis is coming off a dismal 2-14 season in which they averaged 12 points a game. Hopefully this loss will get the attention of the Chiefs' younger players and will help the team get focused with the regular season only a couple weeks away.

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