Good morning! Not a pretty day for Kansas City Chiefs news. Am I the only one nervous about the O-line? It's just the preseason, right?
They were uncompetitive in Friday night’s 14-10 loss to St. Louis at Arrowhead Stadium. That’s much like how the Chiefs played in their preseason opener against Tampa Bay two weeks ago.
This time was more cause for concern. The starters played most of the first half, but the Chiefs couldn’t generate much offense until their backups were in the game.
Chiefs Uncompetitive in 14-10 Loss to Rams from KC Star
It was an ugly start that improved marginally but did nothing to soothe the hearts of the 40,000 or so fans that bothered to show up for the game. Several times the crowd gave the Chiefs a shower of raspberries for poor offensive play, penalties and Haley’s decision to go for a late field goal, rather than a touchdown.August Struggles Continue Against Rams from Bob Gretz
KC Star Photo Gallery: Rams 14, Chiefs 10 | Friday August 26
NFL.com Video: Rams vs. Chiefs Highlights
What we learnedThe Chiefs’ defense appears to need lots of work before the regular-season opener in a little more than two weeks. Coordinator Romeo Crennel’s starters played nearly two quarters, allowing touchdowns on St. Louis’ first two possessions.
A Look at the Good, Bad and Ugly in the Chiefs-Rams Game from KC Star
In the simple terms of football, they got their butt kicked. Not on that single play to start the game, but the next one, the one after that, and on and on.Quite simply, the Rams were more physical, more powerful, more prepared to kick ass....
...On Friday night, the Chiefs were not a good defense. Not even close. They were pushed all over the place by the Rams in the first quarter. The only thing that slowed down the St. Louis offense was a pair of penalties on their first possession.
St. Louis Rams Chiefs Defense from Bob Gretz
Johnson was credited with six solo tackles and two assists, a sack, a deflected pass, and best of all, an interception of a Sam Bradford pass at the Rams’ 7 that set up the Chiefs’ only first-half score, a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Succop.Chiefs' Johnson Keeps Giving St. Louis the Blues from KC Star
Are you going to have to break your plan with one game to go? "We’ll have three practices and be on a plane and get a chance to go into what I think is one of the best preseason atmospheres…so that will be a big task for the offense. I believe in the guys. We’ll get a good week in and go out to Green Bay and get things going. You can never say you have to do this or that or the other but I would like to start to see some success offensively."Todd Haley Postgame Comments from The Mothership
QB MATT CASSEL
On the game: "It’s about continuing to build for the future. We have about 16 days before this first game and we’re trying to make as much progress as possible. Obviously, we want to win with that first offense in there. We want to put points on the board. I’m sure we’ll go and watch the film and learn a lot and try to build on that."Postgame Chiefs Player Quotes from The Mothership
Rookie guard Rodney Hudson was the Chiefs’ busiest player on Friday night.
Hudson, the club’s second-round draft pick from Florida State, opened the game at left guard and played the entire first half in place of veteran Ryan Lilja.
As if that wasn’t enough, he played the entire second half at center.
Versatile Hudson Does the Work of Two from KC Star
"Tyler had not been in there with our core players," said Haley. "We decided to give him a series with our core guys to get a good evaluation. It had nothing to do with Matt; of course he wants to play all the time and we got to get him ready too."
Cassel is more than willing to live with the changes because he knows how important having those two backup QBs ready to go if needed.
Cassel Deals With Frustrations from Bob Gretz
This is not panic time yet. A one-win preseason turned into an AFC West championship last year. Haley is prioritizing health and conditioning over playbooks and scheming, and after taking the Chiefs from two wins to the playoffs in a span of two years he’s earned the benefit of the doubt.
But it’s also true that the third preseason game is traditionally the point when teams like to have a good idea of what they have, a general plan of what they’ll do, and some modicum of accomplishment on which to build.
What, exactly, do the Chiefs have to feel good about?
Chiefs Fans Shouldn't Panic, but There Is Reason for Concern from KC Star
At one point Friday evening in the first half of the Rams-Chiefs game, there were ongoing discussions involving NFL officials of playing the game on half of the Arrowhead Stadium field.
Notes & Stuff - Arrowhead Almost Dark from Bob Gretz
At a team meeting during the Chiefs' bye week in 2009, Haley told the players that anybody who wanted to talk to him should come to his office and see him. Page did, and their discussion quickly disintegrated into a shouting match.
"I think it was more of a personality deal," Edwards said. "Sometimes that happens. Jarrad's a very smart guy. He's going to ask questions. Sometimes, that just doesn't work out for some reason or another."
It could end up working out just great for the Eagles.
Page Tuning Out To Be A Big Deal For Birds from Philly.com
"They don’t want to win." Isn’t this kind of dumb? Who doesn’t want to win? They used to say this in Kansas City constantly about former Chiefs GM Carl Peterson. He doesn’t want to win — he just wants to fill up the stadium.This is obviously illogical. OF COURSE, he wanted to win. AND he wanted to fill up the stadium. AND even if you believe that the second was more important to him (unlikely, I might add), well, there is no way to fill up the stadium without winning. Was there anyone out there who really believed that Peterson was sitting in his office 12 to 16 hours a day , thinking: "You know, in the end, I don’t really care if we win." But people kept saying it (still say it) out of sheer frustration. It’s easier, I think — rather than admit that the world is complicated, that honest effort doesn’t always pay off, that good plans fall apart, that luck isn’t spread out evenly — to question a person’s heart.
The Myth of Pressure from Sports Illustrated
When asked who will start at running back, Gailey wasn't as forthcoming with information. C.J. Spiller started last week's game at Denver but veteran Fred Jackson, who this week voiced his displeasure about his role, was inserted into the game on the second play from scrimmage.
"I'm not saying anything because I don't want Kansas City to know," Gailey said. "It's not for you guys, I know what's going to happen, but I don't want Kansas City to know. We have two great players."
Tobor Goes On IR; Cook Is Cut Loose from Buffalo News
At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what happens on September 11th. That game, along with the three others that form the first quarter of season, is what will ultimately judge the success or failure of Kansas City’s preseason.
The Chiefs said they’ll be ready.
"We don’t have any other choice," Cassel said.
The Morning After: St. Louis from The Mothership