Friday, August 31, 2012

Chiefs Fall To Packers, 24-3

The Chiefs wrapped up another lackluster preseason last night, falling to Green Bay Packers 24-3. After winning its first preseason game in convincing fashion, Kansas City lost its remaining three. The team is now 7-29 in exhibition games since 2004.

Most of the game was a battle of the backups, but the Chiefs first-string offense looked good early on. The team moved the ball consistently, and found a lot of success on the ground. Despite gaining a lot of yards, Kansas City could only muster three points. One drive stalled and Ryan Succop missed a 54 yard field goal, and another drive ended with a Brady Quinn interception when the Chiefs were about to score. From there, things went south in a hurry.

Offensively, Ricky Stanzi and Alex Tanney struggled to consistently move the ball, and the Chiefs got almost nothing through the air. Despite rushing for 247 yards for the game, Kansas City only scored three points, although it should be expected that the team’s third and fourth string quarterbacks would have trouble lighting up the scoreboard.

The biggest concern Chiefs fans should have is how the team’s defense played. Packers backup QB Graham Harrell had been having a terrible preseason, but he absolutely lit-up the Chiefs last night. Harrell finished 13 of 15 with 223 yards, and he led the Packers to a touchdown on all three of his possessions, and all three were long scoring drives. On some plays, the Packers’ receivers were wide open, and while Green Bay boasts one of the most talented and deepest WR corps in the league, most of these players will likely not even make the team for Green Bay.

The entire preseason exposed one of the Chiefs’ biggest weaknesses – the team has a severe lack of depth, particularly on defense. What makes this troubling is that the team still does not know if Brandon Flowers or Kendrick Lewis will be ready for the start of the season, and Tamba Hali is suspended for the first game. Injuries are a regular occurrence in the NFL, and if the Chiefs suffer any more on defense, it doesn’t appear that it has a lot of guys who can step in and play at a high level.

Kansas City’s regular season starts next Sunday at 12:00 p.m. when the team hosts the Atlanta Falcons.

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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Kansas City Chiefs - Green Bay Packers Preview

The Chiefs will wrap up their preseason tonight, as they visit Green Bay to take on the Packers. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

Kansas City is looking to turn things around after an embarrassing performance against the Seattle Seahawks in its last preseason game. After opening the preseason with a rare victory, Kansas City has reverted back to struggling in its exhibition games. In fact, since 2004, the team is 7-28 in the preseason, however these exhibition games have often given little indication on how the team will perform during the regular season.

It is unknown how long the Chiefs starters will play. Head coach Romeo Crennel indicated that he will go by feel. The Chiefs played most of their starters for quite a while in last year’s final preseason game, although Crennel may elect to play his reserves more to prevent any more injuries from occurring. Cornerback Brandon Flowers and safety Kendrick Lewis continue to be held out, and the team will also likely be without CB Jalil Brown, DT Toribio, WR Terrence Copper and DL Allen Bailey for tonight’s game. Toribio has been used as the starting nose tackle, so his absence means first-round pick Dontari Poe will have an opportunity to play with the starters and prove himself to the coaching staff. Another player who has something to prove is the recently-signed Dwayne Bowe, who may see a lot of action as the coaches try to get him up to speed before the regular season starts.

The Packers may have revenge on their minds entering this game, as the Chiefs were the only team to defeat them in the regular season last year. If Green Bay wants to avenge last year’s loss, they will have to do so with their backups – head coach Mike McCarthy indicated that the starters will play only one series, and many starters will not see the field at all. Graham Harrell, the Packers second-string quarterback, has struggled mightily this preseason, and the coaching staff will likely try to give him as much game time as they can.

Since Kansas City will be facing Green Bay’s backups for almost the entire game, this will be a good opportunity for the team to gain some confidence and erase the memory of the Seahawks game. However, the Chiefs simply cannot afford to lose any more key players to injury, so Crennel may have to pull his starters early as well. We may see an ugly battle-of-the-backups tonight at Lambeau field.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Sports Illustrated's Peter King Picks Chiefs To Win AFC West & Roster Updates

The Chiefs have only one preseason game left, meaning that the team’s regular season opener at home against the Atlanta Falcons is less than two weeks away. There have been several interesting updates regarding the team, from where most pundits expect the team to finish to who has won the backup quarterback position.

Despite being in the midst of another horrible preseason, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King has picked Kansas City to win the AFC West with a 10-6 record. Not only does King thing the Chiefs will make the playoffs, he has the team winning its first round game against the Buffalo Bills (the Bills making the playoffs may be even more of a shock) before falling to the New England Patriots in the divisional round. Kansas City has not won a playoff game since 1994, which means should King’s prediction come true, the team will snap a streak longer than 18 years. King also predicted that Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel will win the NFL’s Coach of the Year award. Chiefs fans shouldn’t start celebrating – King picked Kansas City’s rival, the Denver Broncos, to reach the Superbowl before losing to the Green Bay Packers.

In regards to the players on King’s future division champion, Brady Quinn has officially been named the second string quarterback entering the season. Quinn had been in competition with Ricky Stanzi during camp for the right to be next-in-line after Matt Cassel, and ultimately won out due to his game experience. Quinn never lit the world on fire in Cleveland, but he was rarely surrounded by good offensive talent. Should Matt Cassel find himself on the IR once again this season, Quinn should be able to keep the team competitive.

Kansas City will wrap up its preseason tomorrow night at Lambeau field against the Green Bay Packers. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.

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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Chiefs Make Roster Cuts

Fresh off a blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Chiefs were forced to make some roster cuts. Kansas City ended up cutting 14 players to reach the league-mandated number of 75 for this point in time.

Most of the players cut are first or second-year players that have not made much of an impact on the team. Chiefs fans will likely recognize wide receiver Jeremy Horne and fullback Shane Bannon, who have seen playing time in the past. Bannon’s release is a little surprising, given that the team has been very thin at fullback during the preseason. Many expected him to at least make it to the 53 man roster cut. Kansas City fans may also remember Tim Biere, who was a standout tight end at the University of Kansas.

The full list of the players Kansas City cut:

• Shane Bannon - FB

• Tim Biere - TE

• Caleb Campbell - LB

• Justin Cheadle - OL

• Dominique Ellis - DB

• Jean Fanor - DB

• Dexter Heyman - LB

• Cam Holland - OL

• Jeremy Horne - WR

• Ethan Johnson - DE

• Brandon Kinnie - WR

• Zeke Markshausen - WR

• Matt Szymanski - K

• Aaron Weaver – WR

The team will make its final cuts on Friday, after concluding its preseason schedule with an away game at Green Bay. Head coach Romeo Crennel has yet to comment on the roster cuts, but injuries may play a factor in regards to which players the team keeps. The Chiefs have been hit hard in the secondary, as cornerback Brandon Flowers and safety Kendrick Lewis continue to nurse nagging injuries and may miss some time early in the regular season. The team signed a several undrafted free agent defensive backs this offseason, and these players have to feel better about their chance to make the final 53 man roster.

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Monday, August 27, 2012

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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