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Good morning everyone. NJ Chiefs Fan continues to be out and about this week so I'm filling in. Here's your not-as-good-as-he-does-it edition of Arrowheadlines.
The players could look back on a come-from-behind victory at Indianapolis on Sunday or look forward to a much-welcomed bye this week.
But for the moment, they were focused on the competition at hand - a hotly contested battle of beanbag toss between kicker Ryan Succop and rookie linebacker Gabe Miller.
We saw a shakeup at outside linebacker Sunday afternoon. After playing just one defensive snap over the past two games combined,
Andy Studebaker drew the starting assignment opposite Hali in base personnel. Justin Houston was part of nickel personnel and Cameron Sheffield was the odd man out. The Chiefs likely made this move in hopes of making Houston more effective in pass-rush situations.
Video: Todd Haley's Monday press conference
One of Chiefs coach Todd Haley's priorities in practice this week will be to work on third downs, both offensively and defensively.
The Chiefs rank 29th in the NFL in converting third downs (24 of 65, 37 percent); and they're 16h in third-down defense (allowing 30 of 69, 43.5 percent).
I don't really want to be "that" guy, but I must say something as the summer winds begin to blow, pulling the leaves from the trees and leaving us all with hours of raking and bagging ahead.
If you are a Chiefs fan excited about your favorite team's recent two-game winning streak then it's time for a reality check.
Now the Chiefs have another intriguing running back situation and it really remains to be seen how it will be split. If you picked up Battle before this week he would seem to be a solid bye week start for now. It remains to be seen how consistent he will be, particularly against better teams. However, he could be a solid enough flex fill-in for now. If you've got decent waiver priority, it's worth spending on Battle.
The Kansas City Chiefs knew that Jackie Battle had a good day yesterday. That much was obvious. But when Football Outsiders' Vince Verhel crunched the numbers and analyzed the metrics for Sunday's games, Battle's performance made him took note. In fact, he called it one of his three big surprises of the day.
Jackie Battle had 'top pure rushing value' in Week 5 | SB Nation KC
"Getting drafted is something no one can take away from," Barksdale said. "My heart was racing then seeing my name go across the board, it was hard to describe. I was lost for words."
After being released by Eagles, Barksdale signed on with the Kansas City Chiefs and became the first Albany alumnus to make an active NFL roster. Barksdale continued to make history by becoming the first Albany alum to play in an NFL game and make a tackle on Oct. 7, 2007.
Here's the kicker, however: the best single-game yardage performance by an RB that year was by neither of them. None other than the now-out-of-football Kolby Smith, a fifth-rounder rookie, rushed for 150 yards against the Oakland Raiders. He juked, broke tackles, and scored a touchdown on a fifteen yard run by extending the ball as far as his arms allowed as a linebacker was bringing him down. It was a fantastic performance by a guy who's not in the league anymore.
Running backs are talented if they have amazing speed, size, athleticism, vision, etc... But one of the most indispensible characteristics is desire.
What we've needed since last season ended | Arrowhead Addict