Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 12/21

Good morning and welcome to another Arrowheadlines! We have today's Kansas City Chiefs news from across the internet. Keep reading for Tamba Hali love, Raiders updates, and prime time football (?!?). Enjoy.

Hali, like all elite pass rushers, has to contend with double-teams and with being held when it's not always called. That's not to mention the low rate of actually getting to a quarterback, maybe once or twice in 30 to 40 pass attempts.

So what keeps someone like Hali chasing and chasing the passer?"

He knows that good, sweet feeling that he gets when he gets there," Crennel said. "And how important it is for the team for him to get a sack."

Linebacker Hali Focuses On Pass Rush from KC Star

Ten different players recorded a reception in Orton's 299-yard outing against Green Bay and eight receivers caught a pass for at least 10 yards. The lone eligible receiver to be held without a catch was reserve offensive lineman Rodney Hudson.

Hudson reported as an eligible receiver in a tackle-over alignment for a Red Zone rushing play. In other words, every player who ran a pass route on Sunday finished with a reception.

Kyle Orton Spreads The Wealth In Debut As Chiefs Starter from The Mothership

Kansas City produced a thrilling 19-14 victory vs. Green Bay last Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs stay home again this weekend to wrapup the home portion of their schedule with a game vs. Oakland. Kansas City enters the game with a 6-8 record and looks to finish the 2011 season with a 4-4 mark at home with a win. Oakland suffered a 28-27 loss last week vs. Detroit (12/18). The Raiders stand 7-7 on the season and in a tie for second in the AFC West.

Chiefs vs Raiders - Game 15 from The Mothership

The same guy who laughs and jokes on the practice field, who almost seems to be goofing around like a school boy during stretching, turns into a relentless pass rusher. He'll go through the left tackle with a series of swim moves, spins, jukes and bull rushes, and then punish the running back or fullback foolish enough to get in his way, his sights set squarely on the quarterback.

He doesn't get there all the time, of course, often because he's been dragged to the ground.

"Tamba Hali comes to work every day, and you notice him out there every game," Crennel said, before adding with emphasis: "He gives it everything he has."

Reluctant Superstar: Chiefs Linebacker Tamba Hali Getting Job Done, Even If He Does So Quietlyfrom The Associated Press via The Washington Post

What a cruel twist of fate that the Bears' season all but turned to dust with Caleb Hanie at quarterback Sunday - just after the Chiefs' Kyle Orton engineered an upset victory against the previously unbeaten Packers in Kansas City.

And not only did an ex-Bear beat the vaunted Packers, but it was an ex-Bear the Bears had claimed on waivers but lost out on because their record was too good.

What A Twist Of Fate: Kyle Orton Beats The Packers from The Chicago Sun-Times

"We should all feel pretty good," Crennel said. "Everybody had marked it off as a win for the Packers, but those guys in the locker room, they're football players. They decided that they were not going to lay down. They were not going to give up, so they went out and played a tremendous game.''

Crennel's offensive line was a big reason for the upset. The Chiefs front five committed just one false start and provided consistent protection for Orton, who was knocked down once and never hurried. The result was a week-best 105.4 NYLPI rating.

Chiefs, Colts Wins Prove Power Of Protection In New York Life Index from Sports Illustrated

The last time the Raiders played the Chiefs, a 28-0 Oakland defeat on Oct. 23, running back Darren McFadden left the game early with a mid-foot sprain and hasn't played since. McFadden was doing some light jogging with injured players Tuesday, nothing to indicate he would be ready to play as soon as Christmas Eve.

Taking over for McFadden against the Chiefs, Bush had 99 yards on 17 carries, the start of an eight-game run which has seen him gain 703 yards on 171 attempts. It puts Bush at 841 yards rushing for the season, 159 yards short of 1,000 yards rushing for a back who had 138 yards in six games up to the point McFadden was hurt.

Oakland Raiders Notebook: Michael Bush Has Been Big Against Kansas City Chiefs from The San Jose Mercury News

What's the best way for an interim coach to make a statement that he belongs in the big chair permanently? Ruin a perfect season for an opponent. That's exactly what Crennel did Sunday in his first game as the interim coach after the Chiefs jettisoned Todd Haley last week. The Chiefs outplayed and shocked Green Bay 19-14. Crennel likely isn't a lock to be the Chiefs' coach next year, but he helped his cause immensely with this win.

AFC West Stock Watch from ESPN

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Tamba Hali / OLB / Kansas City Chiefs

It took a stunning performance from the Chiefs' defense to hold the Packers to 14 points - the fewest they have scored in a game since Week 17 of last season - on Sunday, as Kansas City ended Green Bay's bid for an undefeated season. A relentless pass rush from OLB Tamba Hali helped make the upset possible...

SPECIAL-TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Ryan Succop / PK / Kansas City Chiefs

When the Chiefs' offense stalled Sunday against the Packers, Kansas City called on Succop, its third-year placekicker, and he delivered, connecting on all four of his field-goal attempts in the Chiefs' 19-14 upset victory...

Week 15 Players Of The Week from Pro Football Weekly

Q: Do you think it is important for the head coach to say ‘I hate the Raiders' or to say that if they only win one game, it has to be against the Raiders?

CRENNEL: "Well as it turns out that's the case, that's the way I feel right now. I would like to win only one game this year and it happens to be the Raiders who are coming in. That's why I tell the guys the next game is the most important game, and this being the Raiders makes it doubly important. We're going to be fired up to play the Raiders. Anytime we play at home we are fired up, but particularly when the Raiders come to town. We're excited about it, I'm excited about it.

Q&A With Romeo Crennel 12/20 from The Mothership

So I'm looking at the Week 17 schedule, the final week of the season, and I'm thinking: NBC has to be eyeballing the Tim Tebow-Kyle Orton matchup for its flex game to primetime on Sunday night, Jan. 1.

OK, so you've heard this story before. And once again, much has to fall into place. But it's possible the Broncos' final game, which is currently scheduled to kick off at 2:15 p.m. and played at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, will be flexed to primetime...

...NBC, which keeps its week 17 flex game open, will announce its decision no later than Monday, perhaps as soon as Sunday.

Could Broncos-Chiefs Game Be Flexed? from The Denver Post

Tamarick Vanover, 37, a former football player for Florida State University and the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs, had his first court appearance Tuesday on charges that he beat his girlfriend, who is 81/2 months pregnant with his child.

Vanover, 1992 ACC Rookie of the Year, made his $2,500 bail and was released from Leon County Jail that same day.

Former Football Player Vanover Facing Battery Charges from Tallahassee.com

Teams who use league-average bridge players at that position tend to underwhelm in the end, which is why some teams have gambled and lost on quarterbacks just high enough in the food chain to tantalize, and just low enough on the reality scale to disappoint when the time comes to validate that elite-level contract.

Two teams are paying the price for those errant decisions, both literally and figuratively. The Kansas City Chiefs rewarded former New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel with a six-year, $63 million contract in July of 2009 after Cassel helped the Pats go 11-5 without Tom Brady, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on the first quarter of the first game. In his nearly three seasons with the Chiefs, Cassel has never posted a DYAR efficiency ranking higher than 14^th in the league through a season, and the hand injury that put him on injured reserve this season has made him all to replaceable in some eyes.

Cassel, Kolb Misfires Show The Value Of Bridge Quarterbacks from Yahoo! Sports

Police say the 36-year-old Grand Chute woman choked her 11-year-old daughter and attempted to punch her husband in the face when she became angered with the Packers' 19-14 loss to the Chiefs, the Appleton Post Crescent reports.

Report: Woman Arrested For Choking Daughter Over Packers' Loss from The Chicago Sun-Times

Monday Night Football used to be the most exciting game of the week. It used to serve as a reason for fans to throw parties at their houses, or get sloshed at the local watering hole during the beginning of the depressing work week. MNF was a showcase game, it was prestigious, until now. With the help of grating announcers, poor scheduling and bad luck we have arguably witnessed the most abysmal season in the history of MNF.

In retrospect the best game of the Monday Football Schedule was an overtime win by the Kansas City Chiefs over the San Diego Chargers, which included a whopping eight turnovers.

What The Hell Happened To Monday Night Football? from Death and Taxes

Two weeks ago, McFadden tried to jog and Jackson said, "He wasn't ready." Now, the coach will wait to see the update this morning on McFadden and receiver Jacoby Ford (foot), who was jogging with McFadden.

"We just want to make sure he's totally where he needs to be before we put him out there," Jackson said. "We have to be very careful with that. This guy is very valuable to the organization and to this football team. We don't want to do anything that's going to jeopardize his career or his opportunity to play."

So, What's Afoot With Raiders' Darren McFadden? from The San Francisco Chronicle