Amid all of the hullabaloo over Larry Johnson' fiery comments about his role with the Kansas City Chiefs is a very valid point made by the running back - The Chiefs need to use certain players more, mainly because it just makes sense to do so. Larry Johnson had 416 carries two years ago because that's partly his style and part of what made him an effective running back. We shouldn't deny the ability of players in favor of some sort of scheme.

Larry Johnson

This one is pretty obvious in my opinion. I know the Chiefs have had to pass quite a bit in the first two games of the 2008 season but that is no excuse for Larry Johnson to only receive two carries in the second half of last week's game. The Chiefs only rushed the ball four times as a team in the second half on Sunday.

To be fair, Larry split his 22 carries in Week 1 equally over the first and second halves but last week's play calling was atrocious in the second half.

Is LJ being taken out because of insufficient pass blocking? Is he actually being phased out of the offense? The first one rings much more true than the second. I will say I agree with Larry - Get him the ball at least, at least 20 times a game and you can feel good about your play calling. That seems like a no-brainer to me but so have a lot of things this season.

Jamaal Charles

I know it's a bit odd to suggest Larry needs more carries and Charles does as well but I think you know what I'm getting at.

I'm suggesting Jamaal Charles get more carries at the expense of Kolby Smith getting fewer. Now, Kolby only has one carry on the season mind you but Charles has yet to be anointed the official #2 back and I'm going to assume that Kolby Smith still factors heavily into the game plan as far as the #2 RB spot.

I think we've all loved what we've seen so far from Jamaal Charles - the quick cuts, the darts in between the tackles and that feeling of anxiety you get while watching a super fast running back who he can break off a big run at any time.

Any WR not named Dwayne Bowe (And more Bowe too!)

Hopefully rookie WR Will Franklin returns this week and can take some of the heat off of Bowe but I haven't heard anything definite on that quite yet. I went over the lack of receiving options in my recap of last week's game and it has quickly become a growing problem inside my head. We're back where we've pretty much always been Chiefs fans, without a sold receiving corp. That should feel familiar.

Glenn Dorsey

It seems to me that in the four or five games I saw Dorsey play while he was at LSU, he made his mark in the games as a disruptive force behind the line of scrimmage. In the short first two games of Dorsey's career in the NFL, the Chiefs appear content to have him in more of a run-stuffing role on the line of scrimmage. Let Dorsey do his disruption act within the limits of the Cover 2 defense and hopefully we can see our rookie doing his sack dance against the Falcons this weekend.

Dantrell Savage

This is another obvious one, right?

Savage was inactive last weekend in favor of Eddie Drummond B.J. Sams who yet again showed us nothing. Savage may have the same luck with this special teams coverage unit but we can all agree that youth should be served at the kick return position. As long as Savage doesn't fumble the ball, why not let him get 10 yard returns instead of Sams?

By the way, after this post, I'm retiring my small personal campaign for Savage and against Sams. I'm tired of talking about it already.

Who do you think should be a bigger part of the game plan this weekend?

Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come (Photo source)

What did we do before BobGretz.com? I'll tell you what I did - obsessively watch the online Kansas City Chiefs roster in order to figure out who was gone, promoted or added when there was a roster shake up like yesterdays.

The also elevated to the 53-man roster from their own practice squad WR Marques Hagans, a former college quarterback at the University of Virginia.

To make room for Martin and Hagans, the Chiefs released RB Jackie Battle and WR Maurice Price with plans of adding them to the practice squad in time for Wednesday’s workout.

I'd imagine Jackie Battle and Maurice Price pass through waivers and end up on the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad. I think we get a bit of tunnel vision (all fans do) about these more unknown guys and think they're worth more than they really are.

I will tell you this and I know I sound like a broken record. B.J. Sams or Dantrell Savage needed to be cut yesterday in favor or Battle or Price. You can't carry two kick returners and if I had my choice, Sams would be #1 on my cut list and probably everyone else's as well. Keep this in mind though - just promoted WR Marques Hagans has experience returning kicks so he could prove to be the backup that the Chiefs are using Sams for right now.

As for Ingle Martin's tenure, I'd imagine it lasts until Brodie Croyle gets back and then he's let go. Then we'll go through a similar process of drops, promotions and pick ups on the Chiefs roster. Margues Hagans did play some quarterback in college, which I bet makes him the Chiefs emergency QB.

Here is the top of my cut list right now: KR B.J. Sams and QB Tyler Thigpen. Both are poor enough that I think almost any replacement will improve the Chiefs. Keep in mind you can't quickly make up for knowing an offense scheme intimately, which Thigpen does more so than any recent addition to the roster. I bet that's one reason he's still around.

Poll

Do you agree with the Chiefs trying to put Battle and Price on the practice squad?

• Had to be someone, might as well be them
• Huge mistake!
• I'm not worked up about it but it should have been two other guys
• We should have kept the Battleship and let Price go through waivers to the PS
• We should have kept Price and let Battle go though waivers to the PS

  338 votes | Results

All the news that fit to post...

• I had a clip embedded above in which Mike Reiss of The Boston Globe says the Patriots may have trouble with the Kansas City Chiefs running game. It was acting funny so I posted it after the jump.


• Definitely check out this post from Pats Pulpit linking up yesterday's news.


• Kolby Smith is listed on the injury report as not participating in practice with a back issue but I haven't heard any details on that injury. Today is the day we find out the more specific injury listings - probable, questionable, doubtful or out - and we'll know what we're dealing with. H/T to Eric in the FanShot section for that one.


• Kent Babb makes Tamba Hali sound more competitive than I ever knew he was. Interesting picture with that article too.


• More keys to the game from Double D at Arrowhead Addict.


• Over at The Red Zone , Randy Covitz talks about a possible San Diego Charger blackout this weekend. He says, "There's little question the Fox affiliate in San Diego will buy out the remaining seats because this is one of just two Chargers games it can televise this season." How terrible are your fans when your team is very successful and people still won't watch? At least Rams fans ride the bandwagon.


• The kick returner position has not been settled on yet - "B.J. Sams said after practice that neither he nor Dantrell Savage has been told which player will return punts and kickoffs in New England. Both have been working at each position this week in practice."



• Karen Guregian of The Boston Herald asks some good questions about Sunday's game: "Will Chiefs coach Herm Edwards really have second-round pick Brandon Flowers cover Randy Moss?" and "How will first-round pick Branden Albert, who missed the preseason with a sprained foot, attempt to hold off Richard Seymour?

  Those potential matchups are definitely worth discussing this morning. Surtain on Randy Moss? Or Flowers on him?



• Let me throw out a reminder about the open thread on Sunday during the game. If you can't watch the game, watch it at home with the computer on anyway or just want to talk about the Chiefs come on by.

Wow...the last Friday of the off-season. Can you feel it? The long wait is almost over. The over saturation of media has Patriots fans wondering what the Chiefs can do to win this game. You gotta love this, right?

To get the conversation started, what individual matchups do you like and dislike this weekend against the Patriots? Yes, I know there are probably many. That Boston Herald article really got me thinking - No matter who the Chiefs put on Randy Moss, he's going to about five times as talented as they are. Of course I knew this already but Moss' potential for damage is massive this game.

Thoughts on the best and worst matchups for the Chiefs?

Continue reading this post »

**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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 today so use this spot to make any last minute predictions. I'll update you on the cuts as soon as I hear about them.

Since I love lists of ten, let's do that, shall we?

Provide me feedback, let me know if you agree or disagree.

1. First string offense has a lot of promise. Hard to tell if Herb Taylor or the right side was up to the job because Gailey's playcalls didn't trust them at all. Lots of misdirection, lots of bootlegs. Croyle and Thigpen have proven to be effective when mobile. When Huard comes in, the offense reverts to 2007. That's not coincidence, and it leads me to believe that pass protection will still be a problem.

2. All RBs look solid, almost all WRs looked solid, too. Only significant WR I was not impressed with was Darling, who was invisible. But the depth of WRs who made plays yesterday was mindboggling. Sure, Sippio(!!!) won the game, but he had another tough catch-and-run earlier in the game. Franklin looked like the best non-Bowe WR. Webb got waaaaay open a couple times. Maurice Price looks like he's in incredible shape after recovering from a broken collarbone. Even Jabari Arthur and Kevin McMahon looked great.

3. I think Lovie and Herm had a gentleman's agreement to not blitz each other's QB. I don't think I saw a single blitz.

4. LJ is going to LOVE the zone blocking system. The guy gets to crunch linebackers and secondaries way more often, now. LJ finally gets to earn yards the way he likes: initial explosion, crunch some folks at the second level, and take off. Loved that touchdown run.

5. DJ looked good, but all other linebackers failed to play the right gap or play tough. Only DJ made a truly powerful play, and he made several. Pat Thomas just about embarrassed himself at the Mike. I think the Chiefs will be stewing over putting Donnie in the middle of the field and putting DeMorrio and DJ on either side. This team will struggle with depth at LB all year.

6. Our secondary was schooled several times over, but not without promise. Maurice Leggett was beat on two obvious plays (one of them being a TD), but only because he made minor, correctable mistakes. His coverage was otherwise pretty strong. Morgan got beat a couple times as well, but his speed is undeniable. Page needs to wrap up better, still. Flowers and Carr both look like rookies, and I continue to have high hopes.

7. Our DL is in trouble, even if Dorsey returns. We might be okay in the middle when he returns (a rotation of Edwards, Tank, Dorsey, and sometimes Boone could be a LOT of fun, although our scrub DTs -- particularly Lokey and T.J. Jackson -- were slaughtered), but we're going to be hurting on the outside all year. Boone is not fast enough to get around the corner at DE, Hali was shut down on sacks but he didn't play too bad, and no other DE made noise other than Turk and Jason Parker on a couple of chases.

8. Barth was money on his kick, so that's good. But neither kicker could get the ball to the endzone on kickoffs.

9. No major kick returns. Sams didn't even return one. Charles was iffy. Savage was actually the best returner of the night.

10. I think our offense will get into the lower 20s or upper teens, and I think our defense is going to be in the mid to lower 20s. I think our defense has lots of talent, especially in the secondary, but we're going to get killed from having no depth at LB, and no talent other than Hali at DE.

Without the emergence of rookie Dwayne Bowe last year, the Chiefs wide receiving corp would have been in shambles. Bowe ended '07 with 995 yards receiving, which was nearly 60% of the total yards gained by all of the Chiefs' wide receivers. Jeff Webb, Samie Parker and veteran Eddie Kennison were nearly non-existent in 2007, with their 65 catches combined not even surpassing Bowe's own 70 catches. Parker and Kennison are no longer on the team, which means that the Chiefs most experienced WR on the roster is Devard Darling who is entering his fifth season. However, Darling has only started one game in his career so take his "experience" with a grain of salt. After that, the most experienced Chiefs receiver is Jeff Webb, who is entering his third season.

In other words, the Chiefs needed some help at the wide out position.

That help began with the signing of former Baltimore Raven Devard Darling this off season, who saw little action in Baltimore during his four years there. He came to Kansas City looking for an opportunity to start. Darling appears to be a quick, hard-working receiver who will battle for the #2 spot behind Dwayne Bowe. His signing isn't major by any means. He's an unproven wide out to throw into the mix with the others.

More than likely, Jeff Webb will be called on to be the #2 receiver but the job won't come without major competition. Webb's talent appears to be on roughly the same level as former Arena League player Bobby Sippio, who spent a mix of time on the active roster and practice squad last season. Neither have shown much of a spark, even when judged by #2 spot standards. Sippio didn't even catch a pass last year.

That brings us to the two receivers the Chiefs drafted this past weekend, Missouri's Will Franklin and Utah State's Kevin Robinson. Franklin should be familiar to most here - a burner who makes the occasional drop. He'll likely battle Jeff Webb for the #2 spot and there is no foreseeable winner in that fight. Franklin was a fourth round pick, which makes him a bit more touted than Jeff Webb, who was a 6th round pick back in 2006. Kevin Robinson initially appears to have been drafted for his fantastic return ability, something the Chiefs sorely need, even with the signing of another former Raven B.J. Sams this off-season.

The Chiefs receiving corp has only eighteen combined NFL starts. That receiving game is bolstered by the greatness of TE Tony Gonzalez but there is a dramatic drop off in "seen" talent after that. We have a clear cut #1 WR in Dwayne Bowe, with all four of our other receivers theoretically fighting for the #2 spot.

What happens when defenses key on Bowe and Tony Gonzalez? Who steps up? Will the Chiefs' receiving corp be another major problem for the development of QB Brodie Croyle? Does he have the help he needs to succeed?

Croyle better be living with his receivers and his offensive line this summer. He's going to need that chemistry.