Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 9/15

Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Thank you Sweet Baby Jesus for Thursday because today is the day the Kansas City Chiefs news really shifts away from last Sunday's exhibition and focuses on this Sunday's game in Detroit. Of course one of the articles refers to the Chiefs as a "trap game." Ouch.

Cunningham, who was the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator for nine years and their head coach for two, believes in putting pressure on the quarterback. Given the way the Chiefs struggled in the passing game in last week’s opener against Buffalo, there’s no reason to think he will change his philosophy for this week’s game.

Chiefs Will Face A Ferocious Detroit Lions Defense from KC Star

The Chiefs new-look secondary will face a stiff first test with Pro Bowl WR Calvin Johnson headlining a Lions passing attack that currently ranks in the NFC’s top five after a 305-yard outburst in Tampa Bay last weekend.

"With a big star like that, you have to show him the proper attention," Lewis said. "He’s a proven receiver who has done big things in the league. He changes a whole defensive perspective, not just my job, because we have to account for this guy and know where he’s at all of the time."

Arrowhead Report: Lewis, Secondary Prep for Lions from The Mothership 

Haley said he has revived a teaching method he used as a receivers coach. He used to show players photographs, whether from magazines or newspapers, of their fumbles — whether that was how they were carrying the ball or simply not protecting it — in an effort to show how bad habits can turn into mistakes. Haley said that this week, he showed players their mistakes using pictures taken by the team’s photographer.

Haley Stresses Reducing Turnovers from KC Star

Q: You said a lot of things went wrong in the game. But the play from the quarterback, completing 22 passes and having less than 120 yards has never happened in the NFL. What did you see in that game and the last three games to where it seems like the only offensive passing game plan is in the flats, short throws and not looking downfield?

HALEY: "I wouldn’t necessarily put that on the quarterback. There are a lot of factors that go into where the ball is thrown. But really what I’m focused on is I have full, 100 percent confidence in Matt and everyone of those guys, I’ve seen the core group of these guys do some things in the face of adversity, say for instance when really there weren’t a lot of people that thought we were capable of finding a way to win 10 games. So I’ve seen some of those signs of hope.

Q&A with Todd Haley 9/14 from The Mothership

Q: It’s been since the Tennessee game last year that you had a good offensive rhythm. How do you get that back? It’s been a while since you’ve had a good confidence boost?

CASSEL: "You talk about last year. Last year’s last year. We’re a completely different team. If you want to pick out two games from last year, I understand those were the two games last year. But you can also say that there are 10 other games that we played really well, so we can also pull off that, to me. Right now, last game was last game. We didn’t play with great execution. I think in all phases we just have to execute better.

Q&A with Matt Cassel 9/14 from The Mothership

The Chiefs will try and get their first win of the season against a 2011 Lions team that just might have finally found the right combination of players, coaches, and front office people .  A combination that Detroit fans are hoping will finally bring them out of the drought of success they have experienced for so long.

The key match-up this week will be the Kansas City 12th ranked (2011) rushing attack against the Detroit 4th ranked rushing defense, led by a man named Suh.

Let’s take a look at the rest of those match-ups…

Chiefs vs Lions: Week #2 Matchups from Pro Football Spotlight

In this weekly article, Pro Football Spotlight will bring you the upcoming opponent’s rushing and passing tendencies, as well as some additional data and observations. For example:  Did you know that Stafford has a completion percentage of over 80% when throwing the ball to the short left, short middle, or short right of the field?

Chiefs vs Lions Week #2: Analyzing Detroit's Football Tendencies from Pro Football Spotlight

Kansas City went 3-0 when Charles had at least 20 carries last season and will surely look to get the speedy back more involved.

"We just got to come together as a team," said Charles, who also lost a key fumble. "We got 15 more games. This is a long season. We have to bounce back strong."

Getting the ground game going should open things up for Matt Cassel, who threw for 119 yards with a touchdown and an interception last Sunday. Including a 30-7 loss to Baltimore in the playoffs, Cassel is averaging just 101.3 passing yards in his last three games, during which he has thrown six interceptions and only one TD. He has also been sacked 10 times over that span.

Detroit vs. Kansas City from CBS Sports

This coming Sunday, the Detroit Lions will face the Kansas City Chiefs in their home opener at Ford Field. One of the talking points around the NFL has been how the Chiefs were blown out 41-7 at home against the Bills. At this point, conventional wisdom would tell us to discount the Chiefs and their offense, but I would say otherwise. Kansas City's offense is a good one, and definitely one that needs to be respected if the Lions are to win the game.

Breaking Down The Kansas City Chiefs Offense from Pride of Detroit

Calvin Johnson said he rolled his left ankle in the Detroit Lions' season-opening win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he should be fine for Sunday's home opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

"Get the swelling out, and I’ll be ready," Johnson said.

Lions' Calvin Johnson (ankle) Misses Practice but Vows to Play Sunday from The Detroit Free Press

It definitely has been more treats than tricks since Halloween for the Lions on local TV. They have sold out six straight regular-season games and team president Tom Lewand said he was encouraged by the viewership for Sunday's season-opening 27-20 win at Tampa Bay.

Sellout, TV Ratings Proof of Fans' Fervor Over Detroit Lions from The Detroit Free Press

"You can't read too much into one week," Schwartz said. "You've got to go on a whole body of work and their body of work was pretty good. They have some explosive players, they have Pro Bowl players, they have guys that are weapons on the field, and they're a playoff team last year.

"We know better than to read too much into a one-game performance."

Lions Don't Rush to Judgement on Chiefs from The Detroit Free Press

The Kansas City Chiefs recently honored Derrick Thomas Academy for exhibiting Chiefs spirit and exemplifying the Chiefs PLAY 60 ideals of eating right and staying active. Through the season-long Chiefs Red Friday Spirit School program, the organization recognizes a local school each week that exhibits its Chiefs fandom for all to see. As this week’s winning school, Derrick Thomas Academy received a congratulatory assembly led by members of the "Chiefs Community Caring Team," focusing on the Chiefs PLAY 60 message.

Chiefs Recognize Derrick Thomas Academy as the First Red Friday Spirit School from The Mothership

The play in every phase, the coaching, it was all inept. The Chiefs were clearly not ready to play. The preseason was tumultuous with the Jonathan Baldwin vs. Thomas Jones fight, with coach Todd Haley playing his starters relatively deep in the fourth preseason game and tight end Tony Moeaki going down for the season.

Jets A Long Way From Super Bowl Look from Fox Sports

The Bills played extremely well but did not quite dominate in the way the final score suggests. They took advantage of favorable field position in the first half and racked up yards with a few slow-developing downfield passes (credit Ryan Fitzpatrick and the offensive line for maximizing the time needed to make those plays happen). The biggest factor in the game was Buffalo’s ability to run on a Kansas City nickel defense that lacks a physical linebacking presence.

NFL Week 1 Film Review from The New York Times

SUICIDE POOL PIX

2. Detroit (vs. Kansas City) -- Young Lions have proven they now know how to win and won't fall prey to this potential trap game, while regressing Chiefs may be a popular target in survivor pools all season long. 

Week 2: Revealing the Risers and Fallers from BND.com