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Todd Haley is gone but the quarter system is not.
We've rounded up the first quarter awards for the Kansas City Chiefs, things like offensive and defensive MVP, offensive and defensive rookies of the quarter and the best and worst moments from the first quarter of the season.
I don't think we'll have a ton of disagreement on some of these. Leave your votes in the comments.
The best stuff: Posterized | Best and worst | Chiefs defense with Kalophoenix
Offensive MVP: Jamaal Charles
Duh. Who else would it be? Charles is second in the NFL with 411 rushing yards. He had that incredible 233-yard performance against the Saints. He's fumbled twice, which is unfortunate, but that doesn't erase what he's done.
Just imagine if he had more than six rushing attempts in Week 2. Where would his numbers be then?
He's averaging six yards a carry so on the per-carry basis Charles is still Charles. He's still elite. He's still fast as hell as evidenced by that 91-yarder in New Orleans.
The guy is the real deal.
Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE
Defensive MVP: Justin Houston
There probably won't be much disagreement here. Houston has four sacks on the season, leading the team. Tamba Hali has only one after missing Week 1 due to a suspension.
Houston is becoming a force this year and continuing on with the progress he made near the end of last year. The best thing you can say about him is that we now have a decent sample size of him being a hell of a pass rusher. Dating back to the last five games of last year, Houston has 9.5 sacks in his last nine games. That tells us that A.) he's productive but as importantly B.) he's showing improvement.
Houston is improving at a rate that suggests he's going to be very, very good in this league. The Chiefs defense can never be as good as they want unless they have two feared pass rushers. They're on their way.
Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
Defensive rookie of the first quarter: Dontari Poe
No offense to Dontari, but this is as much about the lack of competition from other rookies as it is about him. Poe is doing about what we expected as a rookie nose tackle. He's not lighting the world on fire but he's not completely screwing things up either.
His snap counts have been all over the place as a rookie:
Week 1: 64%
Week 2: 51%
Week 3: 18%
Week 4: 68%
He's the only choice here.
Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE
Offensive rookie of the first quarter: Jeff Allen
He's played in half of one game and started another. That's your offensive MVP.
Donald Stephenson hasn't played. Devon Wylie has been in one game. Cyrus Gray has one carry on the season. Junior Hemingway has been on and off the team a half dozen times already.
Allen is really the only choice here.
Best play of the first quarter: Jamaal's reverse-the-field TD
This is why this guy is so good. The play is never over with him. On this play in particular, the right side of the field was totally collapsed but with Jamaal you can't him out. Going from the very low feeling of, "Oh, crap, this is a six-yard loss" to "GO JAMAAL! GO! GO! GO!" was so nice.
Worst play of the first quarter: Attempted field goal/pass/whatever
There are a number of plays that can qualify here, other plays that meant a lot more to the game. But this one encapsulates the Chiefs so well. An easy play -- and they screw it up.
Best moment of the first quarter: Ryan Succop boots it through to beat the Saints
Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
Oh, so glorious. Jamaal's 91-yarder merits a mention here but beating the Saints that week felt like the whole thing was turning around. What a great moment (well, not so much in hindsight).
Worst moment of the first quarter: Chargers take 17-0 lead in the first quarter
John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE
AFC West. Home game. First place on the line.
And the Chiefs totally blow it.
Ugh. This was such a horrible feeling. KC had spurts later in the game but we all know, at 17-0, it was over.
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Here are BJ Kissel's awards for the first quarter: