Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 12/30

Good morning! Some very good stories in today's Kansas City Chiefs news. We're starting to see a lot of praise for the Chiefs' D. Enjoy.

Uncertain of what the future may hold, many of the Chiefs pending free agents are absorbing what could be the final days with their current teammates.

For some players, like veteran running back Thomas Jones and nose tackle Kelly Gregg, the unknowns associated with an expiring contract are nothing new...

...For younger players, like cornerback Brandon Carr, the possibility of moving on is a first-time occurrence. Carr has started every game for the Chiefs since arriving as a fifth-round draft pick in 2008 and is rounding out the final week of the one-year restricted free agent tender he signed in August.

Arrowhead Report: The Final Days Of 2011 from The Mothership

Looking back, Johnson acknowledged this week that he began to see the circumstances pulling him out of Kansas City - and onto a team where he had an honest chance.

"I wasn't like, ‘I don't want to be a Chief.' But could I see myself in the future here? At the time, I couldn't really see it," he said, standing in front of the same locker. "I always loved being a Chief, and this is all I know. But ... that was cloudy for sure."

Derrick Johnson's Pro Bowl Selection Marks Turnaround from KC Star

Q: I don't mean to minimize the loss of guy like Jamaal Charles, Tony Moeaki and Matt Cassel, but you guys are 31st in the league in scoring, why haven't you been better in that regard this year?

CRENNEL: "Well not having some of those guys has something to do with it. The other thing is we haven't been operating as efficiently as we need to, to put points on the board. We went through a stretch where we were turning the ball over and when you turn the ball over you can't put points on the board because you don't have the ball. And so that's what happens."

Q&A With Romeo Crennel 12/29 from The Mothership

Wiegmann, the Chiefs' center, will make his 175th straight start when the team faces the Broncos, and he will add to streak of consecutive snaps that is at 11,102. Both are the longest active streaks among NFL offensive linemen, dating to 2001.

Nobody knows whether Wiegmann's consecutive snaps streak is a record; the league does not track such things.

His streak of consecutive snaps started Sept. 23, 2001, against the Giants, the first game the Chiefs played after the attacks of Sept. 11.

Wiegmann Will Add To Prodigious Streak from KC Star

Much has been made of any "inside" information that former Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton can give to his Kansas City teammates during preparation for Sunday's game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

That works both ways, Denver offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said Thursday.

Kyle Orton With The Chiefs Works Both Ways, McCoy Says from The Denver Post

Strip away the fun subplots and it's a matchup of two AFC West foes who in spite of their contrasting postseason possibilities, aren't all that different. The Broncos have the "more to play for" advantage, while the Chiefs enter off a better performance in the last two games. Add in Orton's motivation and an inconveniently skidding Denver defense, and it's a rough end to the Broncos' fairy tale.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Chiefs 24, Broncos 17

NFL Preview: Kansas City (6-9) at Denver (8-7) from KC Star

Everything about Casey Wiegmann is decidedly old school.

The style of his facemask was in vogue about 20 years ago. He uses a pen-and-paper daily planner to keep appointments. And he prefers a simple wooden stool rather than plush seats that everyone else in the Kansas City Chiefs locker room collapses on after a hard practice.

Here's one more thing that makes the veteran center a throwback: He doesn't miss a play. Ever.

Chiefs' Casey Wiegmann To Make 175th Straight Start, Possibly Last, Against Denver On Sunday from The Associated Press via The Washington Post

Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey offered a different take on his team's defense facing Chiefs quarterback Kyle Orton on Sunday. Namely, it's not that Orton was the Broncos' starter earlier this season that gives him some quality intel on Denver's defense, but that Orton was the team's scout-team quarterback when Tim Tebow moved into the starting job.

The scout-team quarterback runs the opponents' offense against the starting defense in practice.

"It's more scripted for him (in that role), but what he sees from us is what we do on Sunday," Bailey said. "I think he has more of an edge on that than anybody, and for us to say we've got an edge on anything he did on scout team is silly.

Bailey: Orton's Work On Scout Team Big Asset from The Denver Post

That conflict comes to more than a symbolic head Sunday when the Broncos end their regular season by hosting the Kansas City Chiefs -- led by QB Kyle Orton, who was Denver's starter before being dumped off to the Chiefs in favor of Tebow. You think Orton is motivated? A Broncos victory puts them in the playoffs, while a defeat may knock them out.

And what does Tebow have to say about Orton? "I'm happy for him that he has another opportunity. And I'm glad that he's playing and doing well. I wish him nothing but the best -- but maybe not too good on Sunday."

What, Tim? "Maybe not too good on Sunday?" Oh, you naughty devil.

Readers Predict What Tim Tebow Will Be Doing In 2012 from ESPN

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien has emerged as a head-coaching candidate and is expected to receive offers to interview with teams this offseason, the NFL Network reported Thursday, citing sources...

...A position at the Kansas City Chiefs could reportedly be a possibility, said one source familiar with O'Brien's thinking.

Pats' O'Brein Head-Coaching Candidate? from FOX Sports

The Chiefs' coaching scenario seems the most tidy of all, and of course, the NFL is rarely tidy, so it probably can't happen the way we're envisioning. But here goes: Win or lose Sunday at Denver for Romeo Crennel (although a win and a 2-1 interim head coaching record makes the rationale a much easier sell), there's a pretty good shot he gets elevated to the full-time gig. League sources then expect Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli to go out and hire Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the same post in Kansas City, with the expectation that McDaniels will be let go when Spagnuolo is canned.

Pioli will then have made his own locker room very happy with the retention of the popular Crennel, who he likes and greatly respects, but also will have put in a place a succession plan with the arrival of McDaniels, who could use another couple seasons to let the radioactivity from his failed Denver head coaching tenure die down.

Definitive Guide To Black Monday And The 2012 Coaching Carousel from Sports Illustrated

They are the top three passing teams in the NFL. The Saints are first, followed by the Patriots and then the Packers. The quarterback play for all three has been sensational, but there have been games where each has struggled.

For Brees and the Saints, it came in a loss to the Rams. For Rodgers, it came two weeks ago against the Chiefs in the Packers' only loss. Brady's lowest output in terms of yards came against the Steelers, but his second lowest came against the Chiefs.

Kansas City is a team with two good, physical corners who can play man-press coverage and knock your receivers off their routes. They did that to the Packers and to the Patriots in Week 11.

After Further Review: Disrupting Receivers Key To dealing With Air Elite from CBS Sports