via NFL.com

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One player we haven't mentioned this week is Bills RB Marshawn Lynch, the second-year player from Cal. Lynch will face the Chiefs' 31st ranked defense (Did you hear that? We're not last anymore!) after rushing for 119 yards and catching 10 passes for 58 yards last week against the Browns. A solid day if I do say so myself.

That was the first 100-yard rushing day for Lynch this year and only the fourth of his career. He rushed the ball 23 times last week, after combining for 23 rushes the two weeks previous to that. When you check out the Bills stats this season, Weeks 9 and 10 exhibit terrible stats almost across the board. Lynch's stats and touches appear to be suffering right along with the rest of the Bills during their four game losing streak.

Why should the Chiefs expect a larger than regular dose of Marshawn Lynch on Sunday?

Well, for one, we're terrible against the run and everyone knows it. In fact, Gunther Cunningham is gloating at this moment, to anyone who will listen, about how in Weeks 9 and 10 the Chiefs didn't give up 100 yards on the ground. They're the only bright spots in the entire season for our run defense.

Also, we added Turk McBride, another starter, to the injured reserve list this week. Little known fact: Gunther Cunningham doubles as a triage nurse on game days, deciding which players are injured the worst.

The sad part about this weekend's defensive play is that even if we shut out the Bills, you still can't point to the game and say, "See? We're getting better." Because we're not. This defensive line is completely broken and I'm of the opinion that Glenn Dorsey may be the only one we should keep around after next year, based on potential alone.

I'm almost wishing for Marshawn Lynch to run over our defense, just so there's more evidence for its dismantling.

***

Here are some links for you this morning.

• One of my favorite Thigpen headlines: Chiefs’ Thigpen is packing heat in the shotgun.
• The Bills are hurting too: Bills’ secondary will be short-handed for Chiefs.
• Tyler Thigpen Q&A: "I think the biggest thing for our offense is just identifying what they’re going to try to run, whether they’re going to try to run man."
• Anyone think that Gunther Cunningham acts so tough to mask his now obvious short comings as a coordinator?
• Tony Gonzalez will play on Sunday and Dantrell Savage is on the practice squad now.

Poll

How many rushing yards will the Chiefs give up this weekend?

• Less than 100
• 100-125
• 125-150
• More than 150

  226 votes | Results

H/T bas in the FanPosts.

Today, the Kansas City Chiefs officially added DE Andy Studebaker and LB Curtis Gatewood to the 53 man roster.

The Chiefs also promoted Jackie Battle from the practice squad to the 53 man roster and added DT Antwon Burton to the practice squad.

Gatewood (6-2, 248) signed with Washington as a rookie free agent out of Vanderbilt in 2008. He appeared in three preseason contests with the Redskins before being released. He has spent nine weeks on Washington’s practice squad this season. The Memphis, Tennessee native played in 47 games (24 starts) and tallied 110 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks in his four-year career at Vanderbilt. Gatewood was a Class 5A first team all-region selection and defensive MVP as a prep at White Station High School in Memphis, Tennessee.

Studebaker (6-3, 248) was the third of Philadelphia’s three sixth-round draft choices (203rd overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft. The Wheaton College (IL) product spent the last 11 weeks on Philadelphia’s practice squad. He appeared in all four of the Eagles preseason tilts and, but was released prior to the start of the regular season.

Burton (6-2, 308) has seen duty in seven NFL contests over the last two seasons with Denver, tallying nine tackles (five solo). He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Denver in 2006, spending time on the Broncos practice squad before joining the 53-man roster for the final eight games of the 2006 season. Burton saw his most extensive NFL action a season ago, appearing in six contests and registering eight tackles (five solo) before spending the final seven weeks of 2007 on Denver’s developmental squad. He attended training camp with Cincinnati in 2008, but was released prior to the start of the regular season.

To make room for these additions, the Chiefs released RB Dantrell Savage and LB Erik Walden. They also put DE Turk McBride on the injured reserve list.

We'll take Savage's release as a sign that the Chiefs are satisfied with rookie KR Kevin Robinson. As for Savage, he wasn't no better than anyone else the Chiefs had at returner this year.

via NFL.com

I feel like it's been a haphazard week of coverage here at Arrowhead Pride so I wanted to take a minute to recap all the going ons of this past week. We've had roster moves, injuries and all that other good stuff to talk about. Here we go...

Injuries

I'm sure you saw Kolby Smith go down in last Sunday's game clutching his knee and it turns out he is done for the season and has been placed on injured reserve.

LB Derrick Johnson strained his hamstring against the Bucs and is out for this weekend's game.

S Jarrad Page (groin) and CB Pat Surtain (quad) both did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Surtain has already been ruled out for Sunday's game and the team has left open the possibility of Page playing.

S Dajuan Morgan tweaked his leg a bit in yesterday's practice, prompting Herm to say, "We’ll see where he’s at." Finally, DE Turk McBride is also listed on the injury report with a shoulder problem and both are questionable to play this weekend.

Roster moves

Because of recent issues with corner back play, the Chiefs signed CBs Richardo Colclough and David Macklin this week. They also added RB Omar Cuff to the practice squad and DE Wallace Gilberry to the active roster.

WR Kevin Robinson and TE Michael Merritt, both 2008 rookies who have yet to see the field, were activated this week. Merritt was placed on Reserve/Non-Football Injury on August 30th, while Robinson had been on Reserve/Physically-Unable-To-Perform since August 26th. Merritt won't play this week but may get a chance later on in the season. Robinson is currently third on the depth chart for the kick return position, making the possibility of him taking the field small.

To make room for these new additions, the Chiefs cut P Steve Weatherford, because Dustin Colquitt will play this weekend. TE John Paul Foschi and WR Nate Hughes were let go as well. Finally, just-signed CB Tyron Brackenridge was let go and DT T.J. Jackson was put back on the practice squad after spending time on the active roster.

For a full list of recent transactions, click here.

Depth chart

With Kolby Smith out for the rest of the season and Larry Johnson suspended this weekend, Jamaal Charles steps into the starting role, with Dantrell Savage backing him up. Right before last week's game against the Bucs, RB Jackie Battle was promoted from the practice squad which now makes him the #3 running back.

The full depth chart is here.

The Chargers

The 3-5 San Diego Chargers are coming off of a bye week and Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune gives us a quick synopsis of what's happening in San Diego:

The location of the bye week couldn't be any better, what with the Chargers precisely at the halfway point of their season, coming off two straight losses, road-weary from a trip of more than 11,000 miles across eight time zones. They've used the break to install a new defensive coordinator, Ron Rivera, and get themselves back into their best physical health of the season.

The Chargers literally are in the best team health of the season, with only WR Chris Chambers and CB Antonio Cromartie limited in practice and their center is out with an illness. Both Chambers and Cromartie are likely to play on Sunday.

Of course, the biggest news coming out of San Diego over the bye week was the hiring of inside linebackers coach Ron Rivera as defensive coordinator. The Chargers' 25th ranked team defense caused former Charger DC Ted Cottrell to be fired after giving up 37 points in Week 8 to the New Orleans Saints.

Quick look at the Chargers:

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Misc News and Notes

• Last night on Thursday night football, the Broncos defeated the Browns on the strength of three 4th quarter touchdown passes by Jay Cutler.


• I have to feel for the Broncos as a Chiefs fan when I read that they will likely place their 4th running back on injured reserve this season.


• If you've got time today, check out this CBS preview of the game this weekend.


• Wow, 19 rookies on the Chiefs' roster right now.

That's what I've got for this morning. The Kansas City Chiefs play a rare 3:15 PM central time game this weekend so make sure you come by for the open thread.

Chris just posted the news that we brought Tyron Brackenridge back into the mix.  Brackenridge was an undrafted free agent.  He replaced another undrafted free agent, Dimitri Patterson.

Herm Edwards spoke on two other roster moves that will be coming soon.  TE Michael Merritt and WR/KR Kevin Robinson haven't played a snap this season and the team is just over a week away from the deadline of making a final decision for those on the PUP list.

“Yeah, we’re going to have to make a decision. We’re still juggling it right now but we like our return guy (Savage) right now. We think he’s done a pretty good job and that’s kind of where Robinson fits.

“The other guy might have a chance. We’ll see where it’s at. He’s gotten himself in shape. He’s a good blocker at the point of attack. It’s just that he’s so far behind, that’s the hard part for him to catch up mentally. He’s missed all the off-season but he’s a guy that has a future in this offense. He’s just scout team right now.”

We speculated on this just a few days ago but it appears Dantrelle Savage will begin to see some time in the backfield.  Herm was asked if Savage will play if Jamaal Charles can't go.

“Yeah. He sure will. It’s up in the air (with Charles and Colquitt) but Charles looked a lot better today and moved around pretty good. But we limited him. I anticipate he might be able to go.”

The run down goes, Brackenridge in, Patterson out, Merritt and Robinson coming off PUP is iffy, and Savage may be in the backfield on Sunday.

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?

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.

I make no promises that this is going to be a regular segment. Absolutely none.

1. Finally, we face a real offense! Are we about to be exposed? I believe this team is on the path to redemption, but it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Particularly for our defense: we boast little passrush, our best DT is a rookie, our LB corps is thin and may have a massive hole at MLB, and our secondary is talented but incredibly young. Everybody could hold their own against the laughably lousy Bears offense, but the Cardinals offense is another level of trouble: their QBs are uniformly more talented, their OL is bigger and better, their rungame doesn't depend on a rookie, and little needs to be said about their WRs. This unit may be too much to handle.

2. Will we generate any pass rush? The biggest deficiency in the Chiefs' solid defensive effort against the woeful offense of the Bears was a complete lack of pressure on the QBs. Demoting Boone and placing McBride on the strong side will definitely help matters, but it will not fix them. Our pass rush is in serious condition, folks. Hali will do what he does, but this far in his career he's proven to be an every-down DE that's good at a lot of things, but not great at any. He is no sack specialist. McBride has not generated much excitement (from anyone other than Adam Best). And if Johnston emerges as a DE in this league, it won't be this year. He needs time. If you want to keep your eye out on a sleeper, there's been some buzz around the quick Jason Parker, so keep your eyes on #92.

3. Will the right side of the line get their act together? The only obvious sack that the Croyle-led offense gave up against the Bears' blitz-free, vanilla defense was McIntosh simply getting beat around the corner. The only stuff of LJ occurred when Adrian Jones allowed a DT to slide through completely untouched to slam into Two-Sev six yards behind the line of scrimmage. This right side is leaky, and for their one game so far, they've struggled.

4. Can our corners handle the best WR tandem in the NFL? Boldin and Fitzgerald are Pro Bowlers, with a pair of good QBs to get the ball out. They will likely only suit up for a couple series before retiring for the evening. But the time they are on the field will tell us a lot about the character of our young guys. It seems inevitable to me that someone is going to get utterly embarrassed. That's not the issue for me. I'm more concerned with how our young guys would react. It helps to have a short memory at corner, and we're going to see exactly how tough, how focused, and how intense our corners can be. (For the record, Flowers has a great record of rising to the occasion.)

5. Will Herb continue to play well? The most pleasant surprise of the Chicago game last week was the emergence of Herb Taylor at LT, filling in for the still-injured Brandon Albert. It was pointed out to me tonight that Mike Lombardi agrees. The possibilities behind this are serious. We may actually have legit starting talent in Herb Taylor. What if we have starting talent in Barry Richardson? Dare I dream of the day that the Chiefs actually fastened down the right side of their line with a pair of 6th rounders?

6. Will Darling finally emerge? Among the many reports emanating from River Falls, and the performance we witnessed against the Bears, Devard "DVD" Darling has not generated much excitement from anybody that I can tell outside of Warpaint. Here at AP, we've all lost a degree of faith in him as we continue to be underwhelmed. The good news, really to all of this, is that it's just one preseason game into the league. But DVD's route-running looked sluggish and I never spied a moment, rewatching the game, where he had shaken off his coverage.

7. How many minds will Sippio have blown by the final whistle? After Gretz's enthusiastic defense of reserve WR Bobby Sippio, how can you not pull for this guy? The battle for the 5th receiving spot is still completely up for grabs. (Bowe, Franklin, Darling, and probably Webb are locks.) Price has looked fast and great at running routes. Jabari Arthur and Kevin McMahan got on the board last week. Hell, the Chiefs might elect to fill the 5th spot with either BJ Sams or currently-injured rookie Kevin Robinson, who are returners but teams virtually never keep five receivers + a returning specialist. Can Sippio fend them all off? My brain says Price... my heart says differently.

8. Can Savage or Battle make enough happen to sneak onto the roster? After studying my crystal ball, I suspect that the Chiefs are going to be working the hell out of Savage for the remainder of preseason. He will probably garner more carries than any other RB, as the Chiefs either wonder if he's worth moving the earth to try and fit him in our crowded backfield, or to dangle him as preseason trade bait. Jackie Battle has run strong, but that's why I suspect we've got no room for him. We've already got a guy who can run that strong, maybe you've heard of him. I see Battle and I think practice squad.

9. Which kicker will make the most of his chances? Second verse, same as the first. Neither kicker has been able to reach the endzone on kickoffs, which hasn't been pleasant. Barth has had his game opportunity so far, and nailed a decent 37-yarder. Here's hoping for more chances come this evening. I'm sure the Chiefs have Feeley (and worse yet... Morten Andereson) on speed dial.

10. Who can make a name for himself returning kicks? Nobody has really shown a Justin Phinisee-like presense returning kicks this preseason, which has got to make Kevin Robinson happy. Sams doesn't even appear to want the job. C'mon BJ! Throw caution to the wind! (Phinisee, who looked phenomenal in the 2007 preseason returning kicks for the Chiefs, is a free agent. I'm just saying...)

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.