**UPDATE SAT. 5 PM** Final cuts have been made. Head here.

Of course, the 53 players on the team after 5 PM central time tonight won't be the exact roster for opening day. After the NFL roster deadline hits this evening, expect the Kansas City Chiefs to pick up one or two players off of the waiver wire.

I've run through the roster and made my decisions on who I think will be cut. Interestingly enough, while researching this and reading others cut lists, most of them are in agreement about 95% of the time.

The only differences I've seen in people's cut lists are the tail ends of the linebacker and line rotations. A little LeRue Rumph here. A little Anthony Alabi there. Maybe throw in some Sippio. (Update: Sippio apparently has been cut)

There isn't anything groundbreaking in this post because it's pretty easy to pick about 90% of this roster with about that same certainty.

QB: Brodie Croyle, Tyler Thigpen and Damon Huard

No surprises here. The Chiefs will carry three quarterbacks on the final roster no matter what and these are almost assuredly the three they will keep.

Cut: None

RB: Larry Johnson, Kolby Smith, Jamaal Charles, Jackie Battle and Dantrell Savage

Dantrell Savage hopefully makes this team as a kick returner but I've included him in the running backs section. LJ, Kolby and Jamaal Charles are all 100% safe. Battle may not make it because of roster numbers but he's probably safe too.

Cut: None

WR: Dwayne Bowe, Devard Darling, Will Franklin, Maurice Price and Jeff Webb

Despite not catching a pass this preseason, Devard Darling is still accomplished enough to get the nod over Arthur, Joachim, McMahan and Sippio. If you make an argument against Darling, you have to make an argument for one of those guys making the team and I don't think you can. Maybe you can make an argument for Bobby Sippio but I think you're splitting hairs at that point.(Update: Sippio has apparently been cut)

Cut: Jabari Arthur, Sergio Joachim, Kevin McMahan and Bobby Sippio

FB:Mike Cox and Chris Manderino

Word on the street is that the Chiefs like Manderino's special teams play, which is great for him because Mike Cox has the starting fullback spot nailed.

Cut: None

TE: Tony Gonzalez, Brad Cottam and J.P. Foschi

TG and Cottam are locks to make the roster and we'll give Foschi and his GA Tech roots the nod over the injured Mike Merritt and Michael "What happened to people being excited about me?" Allan. Allan may spend his final year on the practice squad before permanently falling off into obscurity. My future money says this is another D3 experiment that will not succeed.

Cut: Michael Allan and Mike Merritt

O-Line: Branden Albert, Brian Waters, Rudy Niswanger, Adrian Jones, Damion McIntosh, Herb Taylor, Barry Richardson and Wade Smith

I think those first eight offensive linemen I listed are definitely going to make the team. Beyond that, I think we could see another player dropped at a different position in favor of another offensive linemen. That linemen may not even be on the team right now and there is no way the Chiefs are satisfied with the depth they have on the offensive line.

Cut: Travis Leffew, Tre Stallings, Will Svitek, Anthony Alabi, Edwin Harrison and Rob Smith

D-Line: Turk McBride, Tank Tyler, Glenn Dorsey, Tamba Hali, Alfonso Boone, Ron Edwards. T.J. Jackson and Brian Johnston

After Ron Edwards, you're entering a pretty blurry area on the defensive line. TJ Jackson and Brian Johnston both had their names called more than a few times last Thursday against the Rams and that may be enough to distinguish themselves from the other defensive linemen.

Cut: Johnny Dingle, Jason Parker and Derek Lokey

LB: Derrick Johnson, Pat Thomas, Donnie Edwards, Demorrio Williams, Weston Dacus and Nap Harris (Int'l player Aden Durde will be on the practice squad but not count for a spot)

Nap Harris seems to be on everyone else's cut list and he certainly is a possible roster casualty. One of the cuts listed below could out value Harris on special teams, making the decision to keep him even more difficult. Donnie Edwards of course makes the final cut but how durable will he be in his 13th season? He's already tweaked a hamstring.

Cut: EJ Kuale, Steve Octavien and LeRue Rumph

CB: Patrick Surtain, Brandon Flowers, Brandon Carr, Dimitri Patterson, Tyron Brackenridge and Maurice Leggett

The first four CB spots are taken with Brackenridge, Barksdale and Leggett battling for the final one or even two spots. Can't say I've seen much of any of those three this preseason, making my analysis a bit strained. Brackenridge will probably get the nod because the Chiefs liked him enough last year as an UDFA to play him a bit and neither Barksdale nor Leggett has distinguished themselves.

Cut: Rashard Barksdale

S: Jarrad Page, Bernard Pollard, Jon McGraw and DaJuan Morgan

The safety position isn't difficult to figure out. Page and Pollard will start with McGraw and Morgan rotating in and out. The Chiefs don't need five safeties on the team.

Cut: Khayyam Burns

Special Teams: Nick Novak, Dustin Colquitt and J.P. Darche

Again, no surprises here. The Sams v. Savage competition is pretty much even but I'll throw my support behind the younger, less Drummond-like Dantrell Savage. My gut says Sams makes the team though but I can't bring myself to post that.

Cut: BJ Sams and Connor Barth (he's still on the roster so we'll include him for good measure)

We've already had a few threads about the roster cuts so use this spot to make any last minute predictions. I'll update you on the cuts as soon as I hear about them.

There were a couple nuggets of information that have arisen today regarding the "pure Chief"-afication of this team.

1st, as you've already read below, Teicher is reporting that Herm is pondering replacing Damion "Mr. Glass" McIntosh at RT with Herb Taylor when Branden Albert returns from his injury. (Who wouldn't love that idea!?)

2nd, mammoth run-stuffer Ron Edwards has just been replaced on the first-string DL by mammoth run-stuffer Tank Tyler, per Mr. Teicher once again.

I'm so happy I could kiss Teicher's bald, or balding, or half of a head, whichever it is.

Truly adopting the Tony Dungy trademark of creating a team that is built entirely from the Draft rather than focused on free agency, the Chiefs have a team that is now (by my particular calculations) 75% homegrown Chiefs.

My math is as follows...

Continue reading this post »

It was a rainy morning in River Falls, WI, and because of that, the Kansas City Chiefs worked out inside. Here are a few updates from UW-RF site and WPI. The AM practice pictures are here. The Chiefs should be taking the practice field around 3 PM for a more robust practice session.

• "Kansas City’s starting five on the offensive line remains, left to right, Branden Albert, Brian Waters, Rudy Niswanger, Adrian Jones and Damion McIntosh. Albert, KC’s second first-round pick, showed no ill effects from the ankle he sprained earlier this offseason, and was light on his feet."


• "The Chiefs rotated wide receivers with the first-team offense. Dwayne Bowe, Bobby Sippio, Devard Darling, Jeff Webb and Will Franklin all received reps with Brodie Croyle under center. Oliver Hoyte, Mike Cox and Chris Manderino split reps at fullback."


• "Dwayne Bowe is full of energy. With Jared Allen gone, he’s definitely the heartbeat of this year’s Chiefs team. Today he played free safety with the walkthrough defense (normally comprised of offensive backups), and playfully acted like he might deliver a big hit to anyone who caught a ball in front of him, including his cousin Bobby Sippio. Bowe stayed after the walkthrough for an energetic game of catch with tight end Tony Gonzalez and linebacker Donnie Edwards."


• "Head Coach Herm Edwards held a press conference at the close of practice. He discussed the importance of holding a walk-through versus a full-strength practice. "We have so many young guys; it’s good to give them a walk-through like this," Edwards said. He also said this morning’s walk-through would settle the players’ anxiety and serve as a teaching session. Walk-throughs also give the special teams’ players an opportunity to run more drills. The only injury Edwards said was affecting the team right now was the recovery rookie wide receiver Kevin Robinson. Edwards said that Robinson had his knee cleaned out about a month ago. "He’s on the mend," said Edwards, "but he should be ready to play in the preseason game at Chicago.'"


• "Tamba Hali and Ron Edwards were two of the defensive linemen who saw quality time during the mock-snap drills. Rookie DaJuan Morgan was also seeing some first-string time in the safety position. Throughout the practice, the defense seemed more leisure than the offense, primarily focusing on one drill, using only two strings of players."

Oh man, it felt good to post this. Training camp has officially started! More updates later tonight and don't forget about AP's birthday tomorrow! We're turning two!