#5 As noted before, this first look is the Tolerance Box look. Usually given to younger players when they commit personal fouls (see "Benny Sapp"), we all know that you're only in the tolerance box until Herm can replace you.

Perhaps the scariest of Herm's looks if you're a player.

#4 This is the Clock Mismanagement look. Exhibited widely throughout this season, this could be the most widely seen of Herm looks because media outlets jump on any mismanagement of timeouts by Herm.

Fans usually accompany this look with, "Again? Are you ****ing kidding me?"

#3 This is Herm's Player's Coach look. Jovial and laid back, this look is supposed to remind us that the player's have Herm's back and that Herm actually played this game once upon a time. Often followed up with "You know your'e my guy, right?"

This look is mostly used during training camp and practices.

#2 Here we have the Frustrated Play Call look. Herm is confused and angry as to why running a draw on 3rd and long doesn't work. This look comes each time the Chiefs don't convert a first down when the play called doesn't even give the Chiefs a chance to gain enough yards for a first down.

This is quite vexing to Herm. Must be the players fault.

#1 Finally, we have the classic 2007 Herm Edwards shot. The Came Up Short look. Used on third downs or at the end of games, this look is usually accompanied with glassy eyes and a slow, deliberate kicking of the ground. Complacency and calls for competition at certain positions follow this look.

I told you not to step out of my tolerance box!

Counting down the Kansas City Chiefs who did the least this season while taking up an active roster spot.

#5 Jason Dunn

2007 was Dunn's eleventh season and his age noticeably showed. Once a fantastic blocking tight end, Jason Dunn's skills dropped off significantly. Blocking tight ends don't exactly have a lot of stats so you'd have to have seen the Chiefs play this year to see how poorly Dunn played. He missed blocks, was slow moving and generally just looked old out there. Thanks for the memories Jason. I can't imagine he's here next year.

#4 Boomer Grigsby

Everyone's favorite linebacker turned fullback, Boomer's greatest accomplishments came on special teams this season. Other than the occasional ST tackle, I'm not sure why he's still on this team. His transition to fullback has been curious at best and his lack of playing time, even through the last game, was sparse. Grigsby lacks the size to be a proper fullback and frankly doesn't have many other skills worthy of keeping him around in '08. His friendship with Jared Allen may have played a small part in keeping him around through the season but that won't be enough to keep him around in 2008.

#3 Kris Wilson

Do I just not get why Kris Wilson is on this team? Is he making plays that I'm just not seeing? Wilson is slow, has average hands and doesn't fit into our offense. The guy didn't make a single play this season and seemingly will never develop beyond his current talent level. Throw in his two fumbles this year and I'm still wondering why he gets playing time.

#2 Chris Terry

I bent the rules a bit by including Chris Terry because he was indeed cut by the Chiefs in December. When you're an offensive linemen who can't block, you end up on this list. The worst player on a terrible offensive line, Terry's play was so atrocious the Chiefs wouldn't even keep him around for the last few games.

A third pick in the second round in 1999, Terry is done playing football.

#1 Eddie Drummond

What can we say about Eddie Drummond that hasn't already been said this season? Drummond is part of the club that is somehow able to ride one Pro Bowl appearence to a career of mediocrity on other teams. He apparently flipped off the home crowd against the Denver Broncos after a weak punt return. So he's a terrible returner who decides to piss off the fans? Good decision making Drummond. That was about as sound as the decisions you made on your returns.

The true test of the least valuable player is to ask if you can name one good play they made the entire season. Can't think of one for Eddie Drummond? Me either.

There is plenty of room for debate in this list but unfortunately there aren't plenty of performances to choose from. If you try to do your own list, you'll quickly find that many of the best performances came in one game - the win over San Diego in Week 4. It was easily the signature win for the Chiefs in 2007. We were confident, optimistic and most importantly tied for the division lead at the time. Hopefully these fantastic performances by the Chiefs this year will lift your spirits and bring back that same optimism.

#5 Week 10 - Derrick Johnson, 11 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FF

Remember Week 10? After the loss to Denver, the Chiefs were only a third of the way in to their nine game losing streak and were tied with the Broncos at 4-5. It was the first time we really got to see Brodie Croyle play when he came in for an injured Damon Huard early in the second half of the game.

Derrick Johnson quickly made a name for himself at the beginning of the season but quietly stopped being a force in the second half of the season. The one exception to that was his huge performance against the Broncos in a losing effort in Week 10. DJ registered eleven tackles and picked off an early Cutler pass to make the game competitive. Three of those tackles were for negative yardage. With a little luck, the Chiefs recover DJ's fourth quarter forced fumble and make the game competitive.

Unfortunately, like most of the Chiefs games in 2007, the offense was unable to fulfill its end of the deal and committed four turnovers in the loss. I hope to see more consistency from Derrick Johnson in 2008 and more performances like he had Week 10.

Honorable mention: DJ's performance against San Diego in Week 4. His INT and forced fumble both led to touchdowns.

#4 Week 12 - Kolby Smith, 31 rushes, 150 yards, 2 TDs

In his first NFL start, Kolby Smith made Chiefs fans forget the name Larry Johnson, even if for just one game. In Week 12, Kolby Smith had far and away the best rushing day for the Chiefs this season. The rookie carried the rock thirty-one times in his debut and finished with a very impressive 4.8 YPC average. Smith also had his only touchdowns of the season in this game, scoring on runs of ten and five yards.

Smith provided a running style that was the direct opposite of the injured Larry Johnson. Scatting his way behind offensive linemen, Smith was able to do what Larry Johnson couldn't - produce first downs. Smith produced more first downs in his eight games played than Larry did in his six games played.

Unfortunately, Smith's great debut was overshadowed somewhat by his stuff on fourth down late in the game. That stuff by the Raiders' defense all but sealed the win for Oakland.

#3 Week 3 - Jared Allen, 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 FF

Ah those halcyon days of September. The Chiefs may have been 0-2 heading into the Week 3 contest with the Minnesota Vikings but little did we know what was to come.

Beating Minnesota was one of KC's four wins this year and it was partly accomplished on the back of Jared Allen. #69 was key in holding RB Adrian Peterson to only 102 yards. Allen kept Peterson from getting to the outside and breaking off big runs.

Allen's forced fumble, his second in two plays after a previous fumble was reversed by a challenge, directly led to a 39-yard Dave Rayner field goal and was ultimately one of the difference makers in a game with few points scored. Allen's two sacks at the end of the first half single-handedly killed a Minnesota drive that was already in KC territory.

Perhaps Jared's biggest accomplishment this season was forcing opponents to game plan around him and more often than not, use two blockers to contain him. You often saw Allen disappear in the second half of games, precisely for this reason.

#2 Week 4 - Dwayne Bowe, 8 catches, 164 yards, 1 TD

Remember when the AFC West was competitive?

Dwayne Bowe had already showed promised in the first three weeks of the season, catching eleven passes for two touchdowns. But little did we know that the D-Bowe Show would arrive so early in the season.

With the game tied at sixteen, the Chiefs faced 3rd and 19 on their own 49-yard line with just under twelve minutes left in the game. Damon Huard dropped back, made a short pass to his right to Dwayne Bowe and Bowe was gone. Fifty-one yards later....touchdown Dwayne Bowe.

Bowe had catches of 22 and 28-yards to go along with his big 51-yarder. Seven of his eight catches were for first downs.

#1 Week 6 - Tony Gonzalez, 9 catches, 102 yards, 2 TDs

Tony Gonzalez gets the #1 nod because he not only had one of the best season's of his career in 2007, he's had the best career of any tight end in the history of the NFL.

You could put a number of Tony Gonzalez's '07 performances in this spot but I chose his record breaking game against Cincinnati in Week 6. His three-yard catch in the first quarter put him ahead of Shannon Sharpe for the most touchdowns caught by a tight end in NFL history. TG also caught another touchdown pass from Damon Huard in the fourth quarter to put the Chiefs up 27 to 11. Nine catches later and Tony yet again went over 100 yards receiving for the day, something he would do five times in 2007. He comes in at no. 1 not only for his record but for scoring points, which were a rare commodity this year.

Tony Gonzalez was the rock of our feeble offense in 2007. He was there when Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle called on him. I especially loved it when he injured his ankle in the second half of the blowout loss to the Broncos and still chose to come back later in the game, injured ankle and all.

Looks to be quite favorable.

Home
Denver
Oakland
San Diego
Buffalo
Miami
Tampa Bay
New Orleans
Tennessee

Away
Denver
Oakland
San Diego
New England
NY Jets
Atlanta
Carolina
Cincinnati

Tennessee and Cincinnati are the final two opponents to be finalized. The home schedule is favorable for wins but not for selling tickets.

• Arrowhead Addict starts a healthy debate about Larry Johnson's value to the Chiefs.
• 
  
• We couldn't have gotten Dwayne Bowe five more yards? Bowe ends a great rookie season with 995 yards receiving.
• 
  
• Tony Gonzalez ends his season with the most touchdown receptions by a tight end and the all-time reception record by a tight end. Congrats to TG. Would he trade it all for a Super Bowl ring?
• 
  
• KC Chiefs Fanatic breaks down yesterday's game and caps off the 2007 season.
• 
  
• The Titans snagged the final AFC playoff spot with their win over the Colts last night.
• 
  
• If you thought any other outcome than this one was going to happen, you were a bit crazy - Peterson says he and Edwards will return.

Croyle 20/43, 195 yards, 1 TD
Battleship 13 rushes, 44 yards
Allen 2 sacks
219 total yards by the team

So that's it, huh?

In a strange way, I'm a bit relieved to not have to watch the Chiefs on Sunday. Of course, I watch every game and love every second of it. But as this year wore on, the Chiefs looked like they needed to be put out of their misery and the Jets did just that in overtime yesterday.

Ten points in our final game. The Chiefs scored their fewest points in a full season in thirty years. At least you can say the Chiefs were consistent.

Little did I know that as Arrowhead Pride entered its second full season of coverage that we would now be presiding over the corpse of the worst Chiefs season since Carl Peterson took over the team. Much more to come later but for now...

2007 Kansas City Chiefs RIP

Now turn your excitement towards finding out whether we pick 4th or 5th in the 2008 draft.

UPDATE Monday PM: The coin flip process is confirmed by NFL.com.

Now everyone can stop speculating (or you never did speculate if you came here). The coin flips are traditionally done at the NFL combine at the end of February.

Where will the Chiefs draft in 2008 you ask? Here's the current scenario, with tiebreakers to come.

1. Miami (1-15)
2. St. Louis (3-13)
3T. Atlanta (4-12)
3T. Kansas City (4-12)
3T. Oakland (4-12)
6. New York Jets (4-12)
7. New England (from San Francisco) (5-11)
8. Baltimore (5-11)

The Chiefs are currently tied for the third draft pick, with the final result dependent on one or two coin flips. Major props to cdcox from Chiefs Planet for the following breakdown. Its the first place I saw it.

Note: Here is the official wording on why the Raiders will automatically pick before us:

Therefore, we cannot pick before the Raiders and since the Raiders and Falcons are in different conferences, a coin flip will determine who gets what spot ahead of the Chiefs. Then, like cdcox said, if the Raiders win the flip with the Falcons, the Chiefs and Falcons will have to flip because they're not in the same conference.

Make sense? What my previous breakdown of the draft order didn't really take into account was the strength of schedule of each team changing so much. That's why it's not exactly falling into line with what's actually happening.

The table above is the current draft order as of today. The draft order is determined first by W/L record. In the event of a tie, opponent's strength of schedule is used, with the lower percentage getting the higher pick. Obviously, the Dolphins have already locked up the top spot. The likelihood of the Chiefs getting each spot is from Playoff Status. (Thanks for the link MAWK!)

Note: These results are based on the strength of schedule of each team remaining relatively the same.

For the Chiefs to get the #2 overall pick (<1%)...

• Rams must beat the Cardinals
• Falcons must beat the Seahawks
• Chiefs lose to the Jets

For the Chiefs to get the #3 overall pick (7%)...

• Rams OR Falcons need to win
• Chiefs lose to the Jets

• Chiefs lose to the Jets
• Rams and Falcons lose

• Rams and Falcons need to lose
• Chiefs beat the Jets
• Raiders, Ravens and 49ers need to win

• Rams and Falcons need to lose
• Chiefs beat the Jets
• Raiders and Ravens need to win
• 49ers need to lose

• Chiefs beat the Jets
• Rams, Falcons, Raiders and Ravens need to lose
• 49ers need to win

• Chiefs beat the Jets
• Rams, Falcons, Raiders, Ravens and 49ers need to lose

What's that you say? The season isn't over yet? We still have one more game?

Yes, I know the season isn't over just yet. But as soon as Monday hits, we'll be in full off season/draft mode. Plus, I'd venture to bet you're really bored this Thursday afternoon. There are probably a good number of people missing from your office and the holiday is still fresh in your mind. You're wondering, "Why in the hell didn't I take off the rest of the week?"

I'm wondering that too. For now, enjoy this large collection of links, taking you back to various interesting posts made at AP. This should help you kill the afternoon. Let us know your favorites.

Continue reading this post »

Just a couple notes for you on this snowy evening in Kansas City.

LB Mickey Pimental, who was signed to the practice squad two weeks ago, has been promoted to the active roster. The Chiefs also signed tackle Travis Leffew, formerly of the Atlanta Falcons practice squad.

The Chiefs placed Tyron Brackenridge and Larry Johnson on injured reserve, which freed up the necessary two spots.

One final push on Sunday. The young guys better make the most of it.

Update Weds. PM: The Chiefs also added QB Jeff Otis to the practice squad. For you local readers, Otis went to Christian Brothers high school in St. Louis, MO, and played college football at Columbia in New York. Like I've said before, the practice squads spots more than often go to local guys who can afford to stay close to the practice facility. Former practice squad wide receiver Brent Little of Poplar Bluff, MO, is another example.

Instead of just on the NFL Network.