From today's interview at the Mothership:

On Tyler Thigpen and Tony Gonzalez's relationship...

He kind of liked this guy in the summer. He really did and liked some of his attributes and now that he’s playing a lot, I think, he’s helped him.

It does and when he makes the throws and his ability to make some plays on his own. I think that’s what is so exciting about the guy. When the train is delayed he finds a way to make a play. That’s a credit to him. And Tony is good that way, too. I mean Tony can sense when a quarterback is in trouble and adjusts his routes very well and finds a way to get open.

On moving Derrick Johnson to middle linebacker...

Just to look at it as we move on down the road next year. We’ve got some decisions we have to make. We want to see if he can play ‘Mike.’ He played it in college and was a very good player. I think he wants to do it, but it puts a little more burden on him too. You have to be more focused because you have to get the team lined up and call the plays and makes the checks. That might help him too.

On more position switching by the Chiefs...

Not really, I think we’ve had some guys moving around there. Wade (Smith) has played guard some, Herbie (Taylor) had to play guard. But we don’t want to get into all that. I think the offensive line for the most part has been pretty steady.

At the linebacker position we’ve been hurt a lot and have had a lot of different guys playing in and out. This is just another way to move Derrick to a position he can become a good player for us.

On NFL players and owning guns...

The 12 o'clock rule rears its head again. Nothing good happens after 12 o'clock. That’s my basic rule and I’ve always told them that. If you go out and you’re looking for the girl to wink at you and she hasn’t winked at you before 12 she isn’t going to. You might as well go home.

I think they understand where I’m coming from and what’s going to happen. It's not a lot of fun to see a guy like that going to the pokey with the cameras flashing. It's not good for anybody.

On his era versus today's players...

No, this is different: television, talk shows. Everything that happens in this league is talked about whether it's right or wrong or indifferent. That's what you don’t understand when you sign on. When you sign your name on the contract there are a lot of things that go along side besides being a football player. Sometimes you lose sight of that.

On a player's personal history and drafting him...

It's a lot of things. It’s not just one thing. I think the first thing you think about when you evaluate players is where did he grow up, how did he grow up. You lose sight of that. But it all starts from somewhere. Then you think he might struggle here, he might struggle there. Can we help him? See, when you draft players you try to help them. I’ve always felt that way as a coach. You try to make them better men, too. Help them be better men. That’s a little bit of your obligation as a coach, too, because then they’ll be really good football players, in my opinion.

via NFL.com

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos may be on opposite ends of the division standings but that doesn't mean the Broncos are leaps and bounds ahead of the Chiefs.

The Broncos are currently 7-5 and are 3-3 at the vaunted Invesco Field. Four of those wins have come by four points or less while some of the Broncos' losses were by quite a bit.

For due diligence, let's check out where each team stands.

Most teams would love to have a 3rd down conversion percentage hovering near 50%. Currently, the Broncos are second in the league in 3rd down percentage and Denver's dominance over KC in that category will hurt against our soft run defense.

What should be clear to you by now is that Denver's offense is pretty darn good. They're ranked second in the league in total yards per game and they're 10th in points.

The running game is where Denver falls off a bit. They're ranked 19th in the league right now and of course leave it to Denver fans to be all excited about an unknown running back. Peyton Hillis is a 7th round pick who had 129 and 74 yards rushing in his last two games.

The passing game is where the Broncos really shine. Cutler is throwing for a ton of yards; the line is almost completely protecting him; and the team is 3rd in the league in passing yards.

The Chiefs will get a heavy dose of a talented quarterback and a solid receiving corp.

Nothing too scary here. What is scary for the Broncos is their -11 turnover ratio, which you'd think would aid the Chiefs in stripping a ball or two.

The Broncos are 10th in the NFL in scoring points and the Chiefs are 25th so most team's numbers are going to look good against KC's.

We'll be back with more later.

First the Kansas City Chiefs...

BobGretz.com examines last week's 4th quarter drive that put the Chiefs on top for good.

But get this: on second look it was not a drive of great efficiency or performance. In fact, the Chiefs made multiple mistakes during the possession. A sure interception was dropped and several throws were forced by QB Tyler Thigpen. Two guards pulled on a play and ran into each other. Even on Larry Johnson’s two-yard TD run, the Raiders got great penetration between center and left guard; Johnson went between center and right guard.

Yet, the Chiefs were able to overcome their own mistakes and pump home a TD that proved to be the winning points over Oakland.

Here’s how they did it.

I was at a loss for words when I read this post from Arrowhead Addict.

I ventured into the Coliseum for the sold out Kansas City Chiefs-Oakland Raiders game decked out from head to toe in Chiefs apparel. Bright red jersey. Bright red hat. I’m 6-foot-3, too, so I definitely stood out.

Make sure you click through to see the picture of Adam on FOXSports.com.

Kent Babb is talking about Herm Edwards' job security over at The Red Zone.

The offseason is approaching, and that's when changes are made and jobs are lost. Well, nowadays owners and GMs don't always wait until a season ends to send a coach on his way to become the fair-catch coach at Omaha Academy for the Bowlegged.

And now the Denver Broncos...

BroncoTalk.net is loving Broncos' running back Peyton Hillis:

Pop quiz! Peyton Hillis is:

1. A 7th round draft pick out of Arkansas.
2. A running back pushed into the role of a fullback by being on the same team as first rounder Darren McFadden and first rounder Felix Jones.
3. Officially listed at 6′2″ and 250 pounds.
4. Being considered as a hybrid H-back, meaning he could line up as a tight end in the slot.
5. Compared to Dallas Clark.

Click through to see the rest of the list.

The Rocky Mountain News Broncos blog has notes from today's press conference.

The Broncos have lost three consecutive home games, but the Chiefs have gone 0-7 at Invesco since the stadium opened in 2001. "We've gone in there, and most of the time before the half, the game is lopsided. Then it's tough. The crowd gets involved and they do a good job getting after you."

MHR has a FanPost up about Casey Wiegmann.

Which got me thinking (scary I know)...who has been more quintessential to the Broncos success this year? Okay, I'll give you Cutler and maybe a few other offensive players. But would the Broncos really have had any chance this year if it wasn't for Wiegmann and the amazing job that he has done coming into a new system and backing up Tom Nalen, one of the best all-time centers in the game? Simply put...I don't think so!

Keep an eye on my favorite Chiefs news feed at SportsSpyder.

via NFL.com

From the Q&A at the Mothership:

On what he's been through the last few months...

I have. I think I’ve learned a lot. I’ve matured a lot, but I still have a lot to learn. That’s one thing. I can’t get complacent. I can’t think that I’ve arrived. There’s so much more for me to learn and so much more for me to improve on in my game. Each and every week we watch film after the game and you have to critique yourself and say, I could have done this better. You can never get satisfied with yourself, you just have to get better and make yourself a better player to help this team out.

On his fantasy football production...

I hear that every once and a while. I try to stay away from that. They’re in their own fantasy league. I just try to take care of the task at hand with this team. The fantasy leagues, they don’t care about the win-loss records, they just want you to do well. Statistically, last week I didn’t have the best game, but we won and that’s what it comes down to.

People have been doing it all along. They’ll ask me that, and I’m like ‘you’re playing in this league, not me, you take care of that yourself. The Atlanta week, I might have let it distract me, but stuff like that doesn’t distract me now.

On last week's 91-yard drive to win the game...

I wouldn’t say we would not have been able to do it, but we’ve kind of learned, more or less, from our mistakes and moved past those and matured. We were able to put a 16-play drive together; 91 yards, knocked nine minutes off the clock and put it in for a score. Those are things that, over time, you start maturing and believing in yourself. The offense, we believed in each other the whole drive. We needed to go down and score. Two possessions before, I threw an interception. The next drive we came out with a three-and-out. You had a decision to make. Are we going to fold the tent right here or are we going to put a drive together and put some points on the board? We chose to do that.

On Denver's thin air...

It hasn’t been addressed and I don’t think it should be. We’re going out there to play football. You can’t really worry about the way the air is. You kind of have adjust to it, but you can’t play that factor. If you have that in the back of your mind you’re going to be thinking about that rather than out there playing football. Hopefully the guys aren’t thinking about that too much.

On the Broncos now as opposed to Week 4...

They’re still running the same coverages. Now they’re trying to blitz a little more, but they’re really nicked up on defense. The blitzing, that might be the reason they’re doing that, to try to get to the quarterback and get the ball out of his hands and let their DBs come up to make plays. I’m not sure who’s going to be playing for them this week, so when we hear the injury report on Friday of who’s going to be playing, it might be adjusted come game time. So we’ll just have to play it by ear.

Larry is happy with the new talent on the Chiefs' offensive line. via ESPN.com

Inspired by the comments in this FanPost, I compiled some data on Kansas City Chiefs offensive line. Last year and heading into this season, the Chiefs' offensive line was the biggest worry out of the entire roster.

This year, the offensive line has quietly come into its own. No rushing meltdowns. Fewer "disintegrations" in pass protection. We've hardly complained about the line this year.

A couple notes about the stats:

• As UC said in the Clady post, 7 sacks given up by the right tackle McIntosh is pretty pathetic.
• I love that Albert has no penalties on the season. He could easily have four or five offensive penalties and we'd be chalking that up to him being a rookie.

Yes, the offensive line is playing pretty well this year. Part of that is the increased talent. Part of that is the scrambling ability of Tyler Thigpen and his ability to dodge defenders in the pocket.

We can sing their praises but the reality is that the Chiefs likely need to replace McIntosh and Niswanger. Brian Waters is playing quite well and will probably be around for at least three to four more years. He doesn't get injured really at all.

Who do we scrap on the offensive line and how early do we pursue a linemen in the 2009 draft?

The Kansas City Chiefs are sitting in the basement of the AFC West with two wins.  But with Oakland just one game ahead of us and San Diego two games ahead, will we finish the season in the cellar?

Let's take a look at the schedules and see what we can come up with.

Adam Teicher makes the case that winning two more games would do wonders for the team.  He argues that just because we have a high draft pick doesn't mean the player we select will be an All-Pro:

The draft is not a science. It's an art. Good artists can get as good a player with the seventh pick as they can with the second. The Chiefs just need to be better artists. The Steelers are always good artists. Pittsburgh will have a lousy draft spot next year and I can't tell you who it will pick. But I can tell you he will be a productive player.

The Chargers and Raiders both are losers of five of their last six.  Oakland has been eliminated from playoff contention (duh!) while San Diego needs a victory this weekend to stave off elimination.  The Chiefs, on the other hand, are just fighting to stay out of last place.

Yesterday Herm Edwards addressed to the media an issue with Dwayne Bowe that has gotten little play around here: dropped balls.  Bowe currently leads the team with 12 drops but Edwards is cognizant of the mini-problem with the receiver and has addressed it with him.

"Twelve of them (in-season). We counted them. We talked about it. Where he’s at now in his career, at times he forces himself to try and catch it so hard he doesn’t relax his hands. I got a solution to it and it’s real easy. It’s not hard to figure out. If he’s going to drop one early in the game throw it to him on the second play of the game and get it over with."

Last year, Terrell Owens led the NFL with 25 dropped passes.  Pundits harped on that fact with Owens last year despite the fact that he did catch 81 balls, 15 of which went for 6 points.

One of my theories regarding his tendency to drop the ball is that he's looking to make a play after the catch.  He's a big receiver that was brought in to block and break tackles after the catch.  Herm goes on to explain a little more:

"Yeah, he has so much confidence in his hands he’ll get his hands going and take his eyes off the ball and make a move. When you’re a receiver and you’ve got a little bit of a name and you drop a ball it gets magnified."

One third of Bowe's drops came in the 17-10 loss against the Patriots in the first game of the year.  As everyone remembers, that was a tight game that saw the Chiefs lose in the last minute.  That was the first game where I realized Bowe might have a problem.  He's improved greatly since then with just 8 drops in the following 11 games.

So what do you think - Are Bowe's drops becoming a problem?

via NFL.com

You hear about parity a lot in the NFL. The way the league is designed, teams at the lower end do have a genuine shot over a couple of years to get good players and rebuild their team.

You think about teams like the '08 Miami Dolphins, who last year nearly became the first NFL team to go 0-16.

You remember those things and wonder if the Chiefs, currently 2-10, have that same potential to surpass or even double their win count in 2009.

Tony Moss from the Sports Network chimes in on this topic:

Kansas City, which snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 20-13 win at Oakland this past Sunday, is 2-10 and might not win again in 2008. The defense has been historically horrific in a number of categories (an aside: which of the Chiefs' six sacks on the year has been your favorite?), and four different quarterbacks have thrown passes for a team nearly certain to come away with another top-five pick in next April's Draft.

Still, there are several promising developments that could lead an observer to make a case for Kansas City's possible quick ascendancy to competitive status.

Moss then goes on to list his reasons why the Kansas City Chiefs could compete for a playoff spot in 2009.

Tyler Thigpen- Of course, the hard core Chiefs fans know that Thigpen's assured role as the 2009 starter is far from concrete. Moss points out Thigpen's consistency, especially at, you know, retaining the physical ability to play football, as a big reason for success.

High draft pick- If you're a Chiefs fan, you better be skeptical about the current leadership's ability to draft well over the long term. The numbers simply aren't there. Even if the Chiefs get a high draft pick, no matter what the position, there is a real possibility of picking a bust.

Maturing roster- This one's pretty easy to handle. Guys are naturally going to get smarter and better as they continue in this league. Our 18 rookies currently on the roster, even though lots won't be on the team next year, will be markedly improved with this season under their belt.

The terrible AFC West- Sure, the Chiefs could make a run next year if the competition in our division remains as weak as it currently is. But what good is that if your team gets destroyed by a much more capable, "real" playoff team in the first round? This rebuilding isn't about playoffs. This is about actually competing at a high level on a long term basis. It's nice to have low level competition but it's also not an automatic Super Bowl win either.

Coaching staff continuity- Herm and his crew are around until at least 2010 so get used to it. Because of the Chiefs record, all of the cable sports shows and traditional media top 10 lists of coaches on the hot seat will include Herm Edwards. Don't believe them. Clark Hunt is not about to pull the rug out from underneath this organization. Herm is safe for a while.

I do think that continuity in the coaching staff and the scheme especially are big factors in a team's success. At the same time, there seems to be anecdotal evidence that a coaching regime change can do some quick good for a team.

Obviously, even going by the title of this post, I don't think the Chiefs are anywhere near a first place team talent wise. The AFC West's dissolution of competition would help a first place team but it would be 2006 all over again; a break in the clouds that we took for lasting sunshine.

Lots of people emphasize playoffs as the ultimate goal when we know better. We fell for the "nearly there" playoff trap for too many years. I don't care about the playoffs if our team is not prepared to compete once they get there.

So, the question is not when will the Chiefs make the playoffs again but when will the Chiefs create a team that will be competitive for years down the line, which may also coincide with playoffs in your mind.

Is that next year? 2010? 2011? Let us know in the poll and why in the comment section.

On the play of Maurice Leggett who Chris has coined the '08 version of Tyron Brackenridge:

“You know, he had to start about three weeks ago, the rookie from Valdosta. We’ve started three rookies (at defensive corner). He went through some growing pains earlier but I thought that last week, although we didn’t win the football game, he played one of his better games. He’s a guy who’s kind of been growing through this whole process along with a lot of other young guys. When you dress 18 rookies on your football team and you play them as much as we play them, a lot of them are growing up. Some of them grew up today.”

On the turnovers:

We were fortunate; turnovers were a key again, for them as well as us. That was the key to the game. They turned one over and we scored and we turned one over and they scored.

(Wait, wouldn't that just mean the turnovers canceled each other out diminishing their importance?)

When he felt victory was theirs:

“When Bowe made the catch. That was a heck of a catch. The guy had him covered pretty good and it was high throw. If we got one more first down we would probably be in good shape. We sure did when Larry went around the corner and made the first down and you know at that point they have no more time outs that you can feel pretty good, unless you fumble it.”

At least we can agree on one thing:

“If I was a rookie quarterback I’d look for him too. You’ve got a hall of fame tight end and I’d try to find him. That’s the MO and any smart quarterback would try to do that. Look for that guy because most of the time he catches it."

Read and watch the rest of Herm's post-game interview at the Mothership.

via NFL.com

You don't always have to play your best to beat another team. Sometimes you have to be just a touch better than your opponent. That's what the Chiefs were on Sunday- a touch better than the Raiders. No blowout. No gaping holes in the stat sheet. Just a couple of breaks went our way and the defense finally held an opponent back in the 4th quarter.

It was fun to watch the Raiders bungle their way out of a win. You kind of knew it was going to happen which makes it all the more funny when it did.

The fake field goal was classic Raiders chicanery gone wrong. I bet they practiced that fake field goal flip like three times and thought it would work.

Greatest tight end of all time...yadda yadda yadda

One of the biggest difference makers in the game was Tony Gonzalez. Gonzalez led all receivers in catches and yards yesterday, catching 8 passes for 110 yards. On the Chiefs only offensive drive for a touchdown, Gonzalez caught two 3rd and long passes for first downs, using his big body as a shield against the very capable but inferior Raiders' secondary.

Tony was feeling good enough yesterday that he was giving advice to Raiders' RE Zach Miller.

Still can't impose our will

When I say "impose our will", I'm talking specifically about being able to play the game we want to regardless what the opponent's defense is playing. The biggest test of imposing our will came, of course, in the 4th quarter.

The Chiefs were up by 10 points with 7:50 left in the game. As soon as the Chiefs got the ball on this drive, I really wanted to see them mount a 4-5 minute drive and just take the game completely out of the Raiders hands. Larry Johnson had been successful running the ball pretty much all day so I figured the Chiefs had a decent shot to convert some first downs rushing the ball and take away a big chunk of the clock.

It didn't happen that way. Two negative plays and one LJ 9-yard run forced a Chiefs punt.

Now to be fair, the Chiefs were able to convert first downs on their last possession of the game, effectively ending it when Larry Johnson ran for 15 yards with two and a half minutes left. That was impressive. Regardless, when the Chiefs' offense has left the door open before, it usually hasn't been good. The defense making that critical stop is the exception to the rule.

One key stat IMO in this imposing of the will is rushing first downs, which the Chiefs had seven of. Couple that with 10 passing first downs and you have one of the most balanced first down conversion rates the Chiefs have had all season long.

No more half time naps

The evidence that the Chiefs are getting out coached after halftime grows from week to week.

I think we have an acceptable offensive line now

Funny thing is, even though the Chiefs offensive line is playing as well as they need to play, a few of these starters aren't going to be on the team next year. Thigpen's mobility and Mike Cox's blocking are welcome additions to the offensive attack this year and probably the two main reasons we're not screaming at the o-line every week. To think that the Chiefs would go from having one of the worst offensive lines in franchise history to one that doesn't make the weekly headlines, you have to be satisfied.

Maurice Leggett

One of our, ahem, two rookie D-II starting corner backs, Maurice Leggett has been playing well above his expectations. Sort of a Tyron Brackenridge of 2008, Leggett has been picked on the last month or so by opposing teams who would rather pass away from Brandon Flowers and others.

On Sunday, he returned the Raiders laughable attempt at a fake field goal for a touchdown and added five tackles. Like Brackenridge, Leggett may be around next year to continue his play as the nickel cornerback but keep in mind that his name is getting called a lot because teams are picking on him. As excited as fans may be about him, history says it's likely he won't be here for long.

Running game

Larry Johnson ran the ball pretty well and it was Johnson's 15 yard run late in the 4th quarter that effectively won the game for the Chiefs.

The offensive line is doing an improved job of getting moderate running lanes open and our running backs are taking advantage of them.

Tyler Thigpen has essentially been the Chiefs' number 2 running back the last few weeks. He ran the ball 11 times on Sunday. Jamaal Charles only rushed the ball twice.

Our running game is performing at about the appropriate level of production relative to our offensive scheme.

via NFL.com

Derrick Johnson's potential shows up again

One of the things that annoys me most about Derrick Johnson is that he'll only have three, maybe four really good games a year. Yesterday was one of those games.

Johnson amassed seven tackles and a number of big time hits against the Raiders. He was pumped up and briefly appeared to be a defensive leader, something the Chiefs desperately need.

Well, Jamarcus Russell did makes things easier

Yes, a win is a win. But in the grand scheme of "progress", it would be tough to take a lot away from the Chiefs' defensive performance. Raiders QB Jamarcus Russell 10/28 for 132 yards. Seven of those completions and 103 of those yards came in the first half.

Russell, not unlike the whole Raider team, was not aggressive in the least and looked to me to be overwhelmed at times during the game. His ability to process real time football information seems to be lacking.

Thigpen's mistakes

Tyler Thigpen's tendency to throw the high ball showed back up again yesterday. On multiple occasions, Thigpen's passes soared way above their intended targets. A more capable defense has at least one more interception of Tyler Thigpen.

Even with those mistakes, it's pretty much impossible to root against this guy. He's established a fantastic rapport with his receivers, especially Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe. For the most part, Thigpen's timing was great against the Raiders and that has been one of his big improvements on the year.

***

It's tough to celebrate this win because it's only our second win of the season and it wasn't especially pretty. The Raiders made mistakes and the Chiefs capitalized. A rather boring contest that probably won't be repeated next week in Denver against the Broncos. The Broncos are ranked 27th against the pass which has to make Tyler Thigpen smile.