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The Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams meet tonight at Arrowhead Stadium to see who will claim the Governor's Cup. We're looking forward to a lot of things in the game but here are five things to remember before tonight.
It's just preseason. If the Chiefs blow the Rams out, or if they get blown out themselves, let's remember that it's just preseason. The Chiefs have clearly demonstrated that they're not doing all they can to win these games. The evaluation of the younger players appears to be more important to them so if the Chiefs look terrific, or if they look awful, remember that it's just the preseason.
The backup quarterback situation could have a solution soon. QB Tyler Palko probably leads the race right now over QB Ricky Stanzi. If Palko can turn in a decent performance, he can be the clear leader in this race. Not surprisingly, the backup quarterback battle is one of the most talked about around here -- and more than likely the winner won't see very much action in the regular season.
The Chiefs can use Dexter McCluster in a number of ways. Return man, running back and receiver, specifically. I hope we get to see McCluster in all those roles, especially coming out of the backfield. If that's going to be his role during the season, then I hope the Chiefs show him off a little bit.
Maybe the Chiefs don't play some of the players they want to keep. If there's a guy the Chiefs know they want to keep on the practice squad, perhaps they don't put that player in very much to limit the amount of tape on him available to other teams. If the Chiefs want to place someone on the practice squad, they first have to cut him making him available to the rest of the league. So maybe they limit the amount of snaps other teams can see of that player.
Roster cuts are around the corner. On Aug. 30, teams will be required to get down to 80 players and on Sept. 3, teams will be required to get down to 53 players. That's a lot of personnel moves to make and not very much time. This is one of the last big opportunities for the players at the end of the roster to make an impact.