Good morning, and happy Red Friday! It's been a long week at work and I'm looking forward to it's end this afternoon. Here's your Kansas City Chiefs news.
It’s inaccurate to judge a quarterback’s performance when his team is down by upward of five touchdowns, but whatever the Chiefs needed to make it through that dreadful afternoon in Denver, Cassel was up for it.
"He felt like he was part of it from the start and didn’t want to not be part of it in the end," Haley said. "It just reconfirms my belief and knowledge that Matt is a truly competitive, competitive guy who wants to be a real good quarterback in the league and wants to be the leader of a team that wins a bunch of games.
Cassel’s leadership in drubbing impresses Haley from KC Star
The Chiefs are keeping a hopeful face. They point to so-called trailing indicators like increased merchandise sales, website traffic and monster TV numbers - 70 shares for some games - that Arrowhead will be filling up.
We caught a glimpse of the old magic in the season opener, the Monday night game against the Chargers. Arrowhead rocked like old times, the Chargers took some penalties clearly caused by the crowd noise, Philip Rivers cursed at his linemen, and fans had the best Kansas City football experience in years.
"You could not do that in your living room," Donovan says. "I don't care how many HDTVs you have."
Mellinger | NFL fans increasingly staying home from KC Star
In a rare moment for professional football, Thursday’s practice was described by one of those in attendance as "fun."
The speaker was coach Todd Haley. Still, it’s an unheard-of description, particular for a practice session held in November, almost four months after the Chiefs started this daily grind.
Chiefs notebook: For once, practice is fun from KC Star
Q: What’s your reaction to his fourth-down mentality?
A: "It doesn’t surprise me. I think Todd puts a lot of thought into it, he’s very competitive and he’s trying to put his team in the best situation. I know Todd has a lot of confidence in his team and his players...
Q&A with Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt from KC Star
The most important thing to keep in mind against Arizona is that it is unrealistic to believe they can win in Arrowhead without the Chiefs' help. KC has been doing a good job this season of not making mistakes - especially at home. In the four games played here, they only have a single turnover. If they can simply break even on TOs, they should be 6-4 and, hopefully, leading the West.
Chiefs vs Cardinals: What's at stake? from Upon Further Review
The Chiefs are fairly healthy, playing at home and coming off an embarrassing loss in Denver. That's not a good combination for the Cardinals, who appeared to be out-manned in all three areas. But I have a hunch the Cardinals are going to be in this game throughout. The Chiefs seem to be coming back to earth after a 3-0 start. I just don't think the Cardinals offense can make enough impact plays to win in Kansas City.
Arizona Cardinals vs. Kansas City Chiefs - scouting report, prediction from The Arizona Republic
As a kid growing up in Smith Center, Mark Simoneau attended one NFL game.
It involved the Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium, and the 10-year old admired Christian Okoye.
He didn't return to an NFL game as a youth, but the impression was quite formidable on the All-State high school selection. He would eventually put in the same service time - 10 years - as a linebacker in the league. On Thursday, Simoneau officially ended the run by announcing his retirement after suffering a season-ending neck injury in his only game with the Chiefs.
KC's Simoneau opts to retire from The Topeka Capital-Journal
It was September 26th 2010, and the Kansas City Chiefs had just manhandled the 0-2 San Francisco 49ers to go 3-0 to attain the best record in all of the NFL. As fans we watched anxiously and came out of that day with a sense of pride and elation not felt since the days of Dick Vermeil and Trent Green going 9-0. After an abysmal two seasons the ship had weathered the storm and gotten back on course. The Chiefs blogs exploded with surprise and praise for the new coaches, the new systems, and the improved defense. The rest of the AFC West was in shambles. We started to talk about the playoffs.
What happened?
Cinderella Or Frankenstein? from Arrowhead Addict
For this week at least, postgame handshakes should be no problem for Todd Haley.
Peeling him and others away from a warm, tender embrace might be a bigger concern. When Kansas City hosts Arizona on Sunday, there'll be people on both sides of the field feeling a debt of gratitude to someone across the way.
Start with Cardinals Pro Bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. He credits Haley, the Cardinals' former offensive coordinator, with nothing less than making him great.
Old friends reunited at Cards-Chiefs game from Sports Illustrated
"I know that the overtime changes for the playoffs," Buffalo center Geoff Hangartner said. "It seems to me like they should make just one consistent rule and stick with it. It's kind of like they're trying to find the best between the college system and the way we've had it. They just need to find one plan and stick with it, honestly."
Maybe true. But thankfully, the system hasn't mattered much in the 13 games that went to overtime so far in 2010. Only one, the Jets' 23-20 victory at Detroit two weeks ago, ended with that annoying one-series scenario.
NFL teams working lots of OT from The Washington Post
Offensive line sidekick Edwin Harrison shivered thinking about an afternoon in Kansas City that reduced him to a six-foot-four, 308-pound Popsicle.
"My first year with the Chiefs. Our second-last game, against Miami - of all teams. I remember it was a two o'clock kickoff. Cold? It was freezing. So bad the corners of both end zones were frozen solid. It's a grass field in Kansas City. But hard that day? As concrete. The craziest thing I ever was involved in.
"That was cold.
"But today . . . today was right up there. Today was real cold, too."
Keeping warm is mind over matter on gridiron from The Montreal Gazette
Chiefs or Bucs
I believe Kansas City has a better chance of making the playoffs than Tampa because of some of the things they do. The Chiefs are ranked No. 1 in rushing and don't turn the ball over or make mistakes.
Plus they are in a division that doesn't have a dominant team in it. Tampa is in a much tougher division with Atlanta and the Saints.
Herm Edwards: NFL Diary from The Monterey County Herald
Although Haley said he was sorry for the brush-off, he's declined to talk about what angered him last week, leading to speculation that it was because the Broncos were still blitzing and throwing late in the fourth quarter of their 49-29 rout after scoring the game's first 35 points.
McDaniels said he was merely a bystander in the handshake snub and learned his lesson from his trash talking with Phillips that quickly became the talk of the league, with players and coaches alike criticizing the brash, young coach for taunting an opponent.
Civility among coaches returns to the field from Sports Illustrated