Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 9/29

Good morning. Here is today's Kansas City Chiefs news. Enjoy.

From the moment they made Tamba Hali their top draft pick in 2006, the Chiefs dreamed of the day he’d join Jared Allen, each in the prime of his career, in chasing after the quarterback.

Sunday’s game against Minnesota at Arrowhead Stadium isn’t what they had in mind. That’s when Allen will play against the Chiefs for the first time since the 2008 trade that sent him to the Vikings.

Allen Left the Chiefs in 2008, but He's Not Entirely Gone from KC Star

The Chiefs are well represented on this year’s list of preliminary nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012. Former Chiefs head coach Marty Schottenheimer and G Will Shields are among 11 first-year eligible candidates.

Former Chiefs T Willie Roaf, CB Albert Lewis, K Nick Lowery, and head coach Dick Vermeil all return this year as modern-era preliminary nominees as well.

Arrowhead Report: Flowers Encouraged Following Injury from The Mothership

Rookie wide receiver Jon Baldwin spoke to reporters Wednesday for the first time since suffering a hand injury in August in a fight with teammate Thomas Jones, saying he was eager to rejoin his teammates and play in his first NFL game.

He wouldn’t say when that might be, leaving it to the Chiefs’ coaches to determine when he’ll make his debut.

Chiefs Buzz: Baldwin Eager to Play from KC Star

Q: You guys had to use a couple of timeouts to avoid getting a delay of game? What’s been the cause of that? It seems like the team is breaking the huddle and getting to the line of scrimmage late.

HALEY: "I don’t know about the breaking the huddle. Sometimes we have a set way, a time that we want to break it as far as how we want the game to go. But, the other day it was as much anything when Becht was unable to play, you make an adjustment and ours in that case was a tackle going in. It’s something that you talk about, but you really can’t put a lot of practice time to. There was gymnastics to that that we could have taken a risk and snapped the ball, but I think the prudent thing was to make sure that we had it right.

Q&A with Todd Haley 9/28 from The Mothership

Q: A lot has been made about who is calling the plays. Does that affect you at all that there are possibly different people at different times making the play calls?

CASSEL: "No, it really doesn’t. To be completely honest, I hear one voice throughout the game. As I know it, Coach [Bill] Muir is the offensive coordinator and I’m just hearing the play from Coach [Jim] Zorn and then I get in the huddle and try to execute the play to the best of my ability."

Q&A with Matt Cassel 9/28 from The Mothership

This week’s interesting match-up will be Kansas City’s 9th ranked rushing attack against the Vikings 4th ranked rushing defense.  With the issues the Chiefs have been having with their passing game, the battle to run the ball will be a critical one.

Let’s take a look at those match-ups…

Chiefs vs Vikings Preview: Week 4 Match-Ups from Pro Football Spotlight

This week, the Chiefs will take on the Minnesota Vikings at Arrowhead.  Kansas City will meet up with a Vikings team that has converted 36% of their 3rd downs (17th in NFL) and scores in the red zone 45% of the time (16th in NFL).

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 the Vikings are ranked #4 in the NFL for the number of attempts running the ball directly at the center?

Chiefs vs Vikings Preview: Analyzing Opponent Tendencies from Pro Football Spotlight

After failing to get a first down in the first half against San Diego on Sunday, Kansas City rallied to pull within 20-17. There were signs of life, signs that were squelched when Cassel threw a pick on a screen pass in the final minute. It was emblematic of their season, one that doesn't look likely to finish anywhere close to where 2010 did.

Injuries, Schedule Sink K.C. from ESPN

Two starters in the Chiefs’ secondary could be out for Sunday’s home game against the Minnesota Vikings. Cornerback Brandon Flowers has a sprained ankle, and strong safety Jon McGraw has a sore knee.

Both were knocked out early in last week’s game against the San Diego Chargers, though the Chiefs played well enough without them. Flowers, the Chiefs’ best cornerback, would be the bigger loss.

Kansas City Chiefs Team Report: Two Starting DBs May Not Play from Sporting News

While the Minnesota Vikings have held double-digit leads in the second half of every game, the Kansas City Chiefs have not led at any point.

Both teams, though, are 0-3 and in danger of seeing their seasons slip away as Kansas City hosts Minnesota on Sunday.

Kansas City vs. Minnesota from CBS Sports

He was supposed to provide a deep threat to complement breakout star Dwayne Bowe, but his injury during training camp put the brakes on everything. Even though Baldwin has been at every team meeting and been a staple on the sidelines at practice, the missed time has kept him from getting up to speed and building a rapport with quarterback Matt Cassel.

"It's disappointing not to be out there with my teammates," Baldwin said. "I really want to be out there with those guys, so I'm just doing everything as far as rehabbing and being out there."

Jon Baldwin Mum On Injury Inident from ESPN

We think the match makes sense; Ferentz could join his friend Pioli, who would ease him into a return to the NFL by expertly handling personnel decisions. Ferentz was an assistant for the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens from 1993-1998.

But is it too soon for Chiefs coach Todd Haley to go out the door? In the NFL, you never know.

Could Kirk Ferentz Coach NFL's Chiefs? from Lost Letterman

3) Can the Vikings hold onto a lead?

So far, the answer has been an emphatic no, as Minnesota has been outscored by an unbelievable 67-6 margin after halftime in wasting double-digit advantages against San Diego, Tampa Bay and Detroit. The task figures to be a little easier for the still-winless Vikings this week, however, as the wayward Kansas City Chiefs head into Sunday's matchup between the teams having scored the fewest points (27) and allowed the most (109) in the league through three weeks.

Seven Burning Questions for Week 4 from KC Star

The perplexing element is that Minnesota has performed so well in the opening 30 minutes of each game. It led the San Diego Chargers 17-7 on the road at halftime before falling 24-17. A 17-0 margin against the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers vanished into a 24-20 defeat.

Last Sunday, a 20-0 advantage turned into the most exasperating loss of all, a 26-23 overtime decision to the up-and-coming Lions. It was the Vikings' first defeat at home to their NFC North rivals since Dec. 14, 1997.

"We are the best first-half team in football. We are shutting teams out in the first half," Allen says. "Something doesn't click. Something doesn't transfer over."

Vikings' Weekly Collapses Lead to Mounting Frustration from USA Today

Tom Brady thew four interceptions last season. He threw four interceptions Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

Brady wasn't going to go another season with an interception rate below one percent. Only Steve DeBerg's 1990 campaign with the Kansas City Chiefs (four intereceptions in 444 attempts) joins Brady's 2010 as seasons with 400 or more attempts and fewer than 1% interceptions.

NFL Week 3 Reviews: Bills-Patriots and Lions-Vikings from Opposing Views

Moeaki’s injury set the tone for a disastrous start. Three weeks into the regular season the Chiefs are 0-3, have been outscored 109-27 and are down two more starters (Eric Berry and Jamaal Charles, both done with season-ending knee injuries). The offence has no rhythm, the defence looks sluggish and the coaches don’t seem to be on the same page. It’s almost as if diminishing the importance of the preseason has ruined an entire year!

Will the Canucks Regret Sticking to "The Plan?" from The Province

Kansas City Chiefs: There's a pretty good chance Todd Haley's gone by the start of next season, but is this the spot for Miles? Perhaps not -- after all, Scott Pioli's likely to get one more chance at hiring a coach he wants, and you can all but bet that he'll go off the Belichick tree.

Miles doesn't fit that role and it makes no sense for Pioli to really put his neck on the line by trying to bring in a college coach who isn't necessarily guaranteed to buy into his personnel system.

Where Could Les Miles Land in the NFL? from CBS Sports