(Update 4:48 PM: One of these roster moves happened this afternoon)

The Kansas City Chiefs have a couple of roster moves coming this week.  One player will likely be coming off the PUP list today and another comes back from suspension on Monday

Continue reading this post »

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

ESPN has unveiled their expert picks for the Kansas City Chiefs matchup with the Jaguars and the result is....

As for NFL Network, only one picked the Chiefs and surprisingly it was not Joe Theismann, who has gone on record to say that he thinks the Chiefs are heading in the right direction.

Brian Baldinger picked the Jaguars, Sterling Sharpe picked the Chiefs and Theismann the Jaguars.

via media.kansascity.com

Losers assemble in small groups and complain about the coaches and other players. Winners assemble as a team and find ways to win.

Nothing earth shattering there, but for some reason it has created a maelstrom with the pundit class. Words like stupid, childish, clownish, distraction have all been thrown out in reaction to those words.

And the reaction has more to do with those screaming than it does with the sign itself, or the people who hung it on the wall.

First, the origin of the sign: it’s a quote from a Hall of Fame member of the New York Giants. Todd Haley said the same sign was up in the facility of the New York Jets when he worked there and the Dallas Cowboys when he was working there. The common denominator in both of those places was the head coach – Bill Parcells. Remember, that Parcells first was the head coach of the New York Giants.

Lost In Signage … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz

It doesn’t take injuries to a couple of veteran safeties to summon visions of long touchdown runs by Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew against the Chiefs on Sunday.

The Chiefs already were capable of allowing long runs with Jarrad Page or Jon McGraw in their starting lineup. They’ve allowed a run of more than 35 yards in each of the past three games.

But the odds that the elusive Jones-Drew, one of the league’s rushing leaders, could burn the Chiefs in Jacksonville seem to improve because neither Page nor McGraw will play.

Chiefs need Morgan to mature quickly, limit big plays from KC Star

Continue reading this post »

View full size photo »

Good evening everyone.

I'm sick and pretty much down for the count tonight while Mrs. Arrowhead Pride (emphasis on the "r" nowadays) is out with a friend to see...Diane Keaton. Yeah. Diane. Keaton. I mean, is she really that intriguing that people will pay to hear her just talk? I really don't get it. The ladies of AP (all four of you) please explain to me the appeal of one Diane Keaton. Is she 40 years old? Or 75?

Okay. Total, weird tangent there. I don't know where that came from. Anyway, this is an open thread for tonight. I noticed the last couple of FanShots were filling up fast with comments so I wanted to get a new thread up to satiate the needs of the AP readership.

Chat away about whatever's on your mind.

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP

Chiefs S Jon McGraw looks like he'll be out this weekend. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Browse more photos »

With each passing day, the chances of Kansas City Chiefs S Jon McGraw playing on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars appear to dwindle.  

McGraw missed practice again today, which makes it two consecutive weeks missed.  He's suffering from what the organization calls a strain in his leg.

Normally, this wouldn't be a huge deal, but the Chiefs other true free safety, Jarrad Page, was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday, ending his season.

CB Mike Richardson also returned to practice today after being out for two days with an illness.

With Page out, McGraw's injury is causing a bit of a domino effect:

• SS DaJuan Morgan moves to the starting role at FS
• Who is backing up Mike Brown at SS now?
• CB Maurice Leggett has been seeing time at FS behind Morgan
• CB Travis Daniels was signed and is providing depth at CB (possibly because Leggett is seeing extra time at FS)

Since McGraw hasn't practiced in two weeks, I'd imagine ruling him out for Sunday is just a formality at this point.  The Chiefs will release their injury report today and II think he'll be listed as doubtful (25% chance of playing) or out.

Yesterday on 610 Sports, Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star joined Chris and Cowboy to talk about the newest drama at Arrowhead - The Sign.

And in typical Whitlock style, he holds nothing back.  He ranges from calling the new administration "stupid" with their decisions, "clueless" at times and, of course, arrogant.

This might be the best line, though: 

"It's amateur hour over there. Carl Peterson is somewhere laughing his ass off and I know Herm Edwards is laughing his ass off."

After the jump, I've pulled out a bunch of snippets from his interview, which you can listen to here.  He also relayed many of these feelings in his column this morning.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

3 months ago: Jacksonville Jaguars long snapper Joe Zelenka snaps the ball to the punter during special teams practice at the NFL Jaguars football training camp, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009, in Jacksonville, Fla.(AP Photo/Phil Coale)

Browse more photos »

I see this picture of the Jaguars long snapper and I immediately think of Wayne's World - "It might happen, tsshyeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt." What a great movie, full of jokes that I only got about ten years later.

One of my favorite scenes is when Wayne is backstage at the Alice Cooper concert.

Wayne Campbell: So, do you come to Milwaukee often?
Alice Cooper: Well, I'm a regular visitor here, but Milwaukee has certainly had its share of visitors. The French missionaries and explorers began visiting here in the late 16th century.
Pete: Hey, isn't "Milwaukee" an Indian name?
Alice Cooper: Yes, Pete, it is. In fact , it's pronounced "mill-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for "the good land."
Wayne Campbell: I was not aware of that.

Such a good movie. Anyway, have at it with your own Caption This lines on this Friday morning.

by Orlin Wagner - AP

4 days ago: FILE - In this Sept. 20, 2009 photo, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson (56) tackles Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell (2) during the first half of a NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo. For six weeks, Johnson has been benched, taken out of the lineup for reasons that have never been made public. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

View full size photo »

I realize that the second half of the Chiefs' season doesn't officially start until next week, but given the bye week, it really feels like the second half of the season started on Monday. Doesn't it?

I know the idea that the Chiefs are now 0-0 starting today is cliché and may seem like a worthless statistic, but it's actually a pretty crucial measure in a rebuild. Before the season started, there were many that said they would be okay with a 4-12 record as long as the team looked like it was improving throughout the year and as long as the bulk of those wins came in the second half of the season. Hopefully that second half momentum would carry through to 2010.

Because to me, the second half of the season in a rebuilding year is a pivot point. The first half of the season revolves around testing and learning. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. You throw a lot of young guys into the fire and some hop out of the fire, while many of them smolder. You give players time to buy into a new offensive and defensive philosophy, to buy into a new coaching staff and a new culture. In the case of the Chiefs, you have to coach players to play in entirely different schemes. Not just the 3-4. It's a completely new blocking scheme. It's a completely new offense.

Continue reading this post »

via media.kansascity.com

Running a bit behind today. Gotta skip the Twitter stuff. I'm sure you guys will get by somehow. Go Chiefs!

"The break was great," Cassel said on Thursday as the Chiefs continued their preparations for Sunday’s game in Jacksonville. "To get a few days away from here, to re-energize, come back focused, ready to go. We need to start getting on a roll here and hopefully we can start putting some wins together."

One of the ways the Chiefs can get the roll going that Cassel is talking about would be more production at the start of the game from the Chiefs offense. So far this season, they have been ineffective and unproductive on the first play, first possession and first quarter. There isn’t anything where the Chiefs rank first near the middle of the 2009 season.

It’s a pretty gruesome offensive picture early in these games: 

Going Faster At First … Friday Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz

Bowe said this week that his first months as coach Todd Haley’s whipping boy were humbling, demeaning, confusing and …

"Interesting," he said. "Very, very interesting."

Bowe smiled.

"Now it’s better," he said.

Bowe entered this season as an overconfident, unreliable and supremely talented receiver. Haley approached Bowe and, perhaps for the first time in his career, forced him to forget the show and just catch the ball. That wasn’t easy. Bowe likes to put on a show.

"One of the first things I said to Dwayne was: ‘Don’t give me your numbers,’ " Haley said. "If a receiver is on a losing team and has a thousand yards, it really doesn’t count in my mind."

Bowe continues to be a work in progress from KC Star

Continue reading this post »

The Kansas City Chiefs currently have five players on the injury report while the Jacksonville Jaguars have four.  This is a little surprising because, through eight weeks, the Chiefs have usually been the healthier team in any matchup.

There were no changes to the Chiefs injury report except for the addition of Mike Goff.

Did Not Participate

S Jon McGraw (leg) - Still no updates but he hasn't practiced in nearly two weeks.

CB Mike Richardson (illness) - Unknown illness.  This is the second day in a row he's been gone.

Limited Participation

C Rudy Niswanger (knee) - He practiced again today which is a good sign. Coming back from a MCL injury in two weeks would be impressive (Cassel took three).

G Mike Goff (shoulder) - No clue what this is.  Goff's a veteran so this could be precautionary.

Full Participation

T Branden Albert (ankle) - He appears ready to play.

***

The Chiefs currently have 60% of their starting offensive line on the injury report.