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Good morning! Here is today's Kansas City Chiefs news. Don't forget to set your fantasy lineups. Bears at Packers tonight. Enjoy!
Hali rejoined the Chiefs at practice Wednesday, his one-game suspension for an undisclosed violation of the NFL's substance-abuse policy finished. He will play in Sunday's game against the Bills in Buffalo.
His first order of public business was to apologize to the league and the Hunt family, owners of the Chiefs.
"This is not the type of light they want the organization to be in," he said. "I'm truly sorry for the embarrassment. I just want to move forward and get better as a team and as an individual."
Humbled Tamba Hali Returns To Chiefs Practice from KC Star
Among those leading the charge was Kansas City's General Manager, Scott Pioli. "It is imperative we continue to create opportunities, not only in coaching but in every other aspect of the league," Pioli is a Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Advisory Council member and an advocate for change. "This fellowship program is important as long as we continue to teach and mentor individuals with one basic premise in mind - educate. I am a firm believer in the proverb of, ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.'"
Chiefs Among Leaders In The NFL On Topic Of Diversity from The Mothership
KCChiefs.com Video: From The Podium: Romeo Crennel 9-12-12
KCChiefs.com Video: Inside The Locker Room: 9-12-12
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Derrick Johnson on the sense of urgency to win in Buffalo:"There is a sense of urgency to win. You definitely don't want to go 0-2. We're trying to get the bad vibe over after this next game; we need to get a win. We've been through that being behind and trying to catch up and at the end of the year you look back and say, ‘man if we had won one of those games at the begging things would have been different.' We just need to start winning now, count our wins, and play better."
Overheard: Hali Is Back from The Mothership
"I'm nowhere near 100 percent," Lewis said. "I can't lie to you and tell you that. But I'm showing progress. I'm getting closer and closer to being back on the field. That's why you saw me out there at practice with my pads on. Things are looking better."
Cornerbacks Brandon Flowers (foot) and Jalil Brown (groin) and defensive lineman Allen Bailey (ankle) were also listed as limited practice participants on the Chiefs' injury report. Rookie wide receiver Devon Wylie has a sore hamstring and did not practice.
Chiefs Notebook: Coach Says Bills Never Intended To Hurt Berry from KC Star
T.J. CARPENTER (SPORTS RADIO 810): Is this a game that carries any significance where guys have circled it because of what happened between
Eric Berry and Stevie Johnson last year? CRENNEL: "I don't believe so. Last year is last year and this year is this year. We need to focus on this year and trying to get better and trying to win the game."
CARPENTER: So nobody has been focusing on that play where he tore his ACL last year?
CRENNEL: "Not to my knowledge."
Q&A With Romeo Crennel - 9/12 from The Mothership
The Buffalo Bills picked up right where they left off in 2011, allowing 40-plus points while being routed on the road.
Now missing two of their biggest offensive weapons for an extended period of time, regrouping Sunday likely won't be easy against a visiting Kansas City Chiefs defense returning Pro Bowl linebacker Tamba Hali and seeking to avenge a blowout in last year's season opener.
Kansas City At Buffalo from CBS Sports
"I'm sure these guys are desperate. They want to win," Hali said. "Coming into this game, yeah, it'll be a lot more emotional. And then we'll have to settle down and play a little more poised."
Hali has earned a reputation over the past few years for doing both: Bringing some much-needed emotion to a defense that's otherwise lacked an identity, and for providing the kind of play that allows everyone else on the field to feel a little more comfortable in their roles.
The former first-round draft pick has started every game he's played the past six seasons, making more than 260 tackles and 53½ sacks while forcing a staggering 22 fumbles.
Return Of Pro Bowl Linebacker Tamba Hali From Suspension Could Give Chiefs Pass Rush Boost from The Associated Press via The Washington Post
"This is a marathon, and our eyes are still set on where we want to go," said linebacker Bryan Scott. "We're all excited about this week."
Still, Scott was not oblivious to how the Jets' loss wounded the Bills, and unlike some players who claim to not know what's going on outside the walls of the practice facility, Scott knew that Bills Nation was in an uproar over their performance.
Buffalo Bills Overcome Anguish, Look To Home Opener from The Rochester Democrat And Chronicle
Two of the Bills' top four offensive weapons - Fred Jackson and David Nelson - are on the shelf with knee injuries. Nelson is out for the year. Jackson is out at least several weeks.
That makes Spiller the Bills' lone proven game-breaking weapon. The Bills know it. The Chiefs know it. Spiller is the man to stop in the wake of his 169-yard rushing effort against the Jets.
Experience Teaches Bills' Spiller To Be Patient from The Buffalo News
"It is going to be fun," Johnson said Wednesday when asked about facing Berry. "It is going to be interesting. We will see what happens. However he feels is however he feels. I already said it before that I have never been a dirty player and I never try to take somebody out. I know the work put in to get where he is and where I am. I have said it before but it is enough already. We will meet up on Sunday."
Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is expected to be back for Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs after grieving with his family this week following the death of his brother, the team said.
Simeon Gilmore, the defensive tackle's younger brother, was one of three people shot and killed during a burglary in Pelham, Alabama on the weekend.
Buffalo Bills Anticipate Sunday Return For Grieving Tackle Dareus from WKZO
In fact, in Week 1, they were starting him at NT, the ever so important piece of the 34 defense. So how did he fare? I personally thought he looked better than he did at Memphis. While Poe wasn't a standout, impact player in this game, he was far from a detriment to the Kansas City defense. Gone were the cringe-worthy moments of seeing massively inferior offensive lineman pushing him 6-7 yards down the field. Poe actually did a solid job of occupying space (his main responsibility), and showcased some of the reasons he was selected as highly as he was.
Week 1 Player Review: Dontari Poe from Draft Breakdown
The Chiefs can't play D: Matt Ryan breezed through the Chiefs' defense with ease for eight scores in eight possessions. Of course, the Chiefs were missing cornerback Brandon Flowers, linebacker Tamba Hali, nose tackle Anthony Toribio and safety Kendrick Lewis. Plus, they had three key starters coming off knee reconstructions. The concern for the Chiefs is the early part of the schedule. They travel to Buffalo and New Orleans, host Baltimore and travel to Tampa Bay in the next few weeks. They could be in for a bad start, but they should get better by the second half of the season.
What To Make Of Knee-Jerk Reactions from ESPN
Kansas City defense: The Chiefs allowed Atlanta to score 40 points on Sunday in a 40-24 loss. Granted, the Chiefs were without four defensive starters. But allowing 40 points is simply not giving your offense a chance to win the game. The Chiefs should get healthier soon, but the defense was a big problem to start the season.
AFC West Stock Watch from ESPN
No city was more important to the explosive growth of professional football than Dallas. In 1960, Lamar Hunt, son of famous Texas oilman H.L. Hunt, responded to a rejection from the National Football League for adding an expansion team in his native Dallas by founding his own team and his own league. The Dallas Texans would soon begin play in the Cotton Bowl, Hunt announced, provoking the NFL to respond by awarding Clint Murchison Jr., the colorful son of another Texas oilman, his own rival team - the Dallas Cowboys - who would open play in the Cotton Bowl the same year as Hunt's Texans.
You Think The NFL Is Big? Dallas Is The Reason Why, And Three New Books Tell You How from The Dallas Morning News
Although the defense did little to slow down Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and company, and registered just one sack, Hali wasn't about to claim his presence would've changed the result.
"I think as a whole we just have to keep working and keep getting better," he said. "Each guy has to get better. I don't think we played bad but that team we played really executed. Now, we have to find a way to go out and execute."
The Chiefs' opponent Sunday, the Bills, also took a beating, 48-28 at the hands of the Jets. And, obviously, neither the Bills nor the Chiefs can afford to start the season 0-2.
Apologetic Hali Addresses Suspension from FS Kansas City
Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. Kansas City - Fitzpatrick did most of his damage in garbage time last week, but he still produced three touchdowns after overcoming the early turnovers. And he did this against one of the best pass defenses in football in the Jets. Kansas City will return Tamba Hali to the lineup this week but could still be without top corner Brandon Flowers (foot) and starting free safety Kendrick Lewis (shoulder). Although the Bills are down two weapons in Fred Jackson(LCL) and David Nelson (ACL), there are still plenty of options for "Harvard's Finest" to get involved and the threat of a huge C.J. Spiller run to keep the defense honest. If what Matt Ryanand the Falcons did to Kansas City in Arrowhead is any indication of the Chiefs pass defense, Fitz should be in for a nice day.
RotoWire NFL Second Quarterbacks - Revised from FOX Sports