Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 9/4

Good morning! We are headed into the regular season and the Kansas City Chiefs news is ramping up. Enjoy!

The Chiefs jumped into regular season mode on Labor Day in preparation for Sunday's home opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

Coach Romeo Crennel had his 53-man roster in line for a full work schedule at The University of Kansas Hospital Training Complex installing the beginning stages of Sunday's game plan before a players' day off on Tuesday. Practices resume Wednesday and run through Friday.

Chiefs Notebook: Prep For Atlanta Begins On Labor Day from The Mothership

"You'd like to have all your guys all the time," coach Romeo Crennel said. "But in this business you don't have all of them all the time and so you have to depend on other guys to step up and do their part when they're called on."

Linebacker Derrick Johnson, nose tackle Anthony Toribio and free safety Kendrick Lewis didn't go through team portions of practice. Johnson and Toribio have injured ankle, Lewis an injured shoulder.

Johnson, Toribio And Lewis Sit Out Chiefs Practice With Injuries from KC Star

KCChiefs.com Video: From The Podium: Romeo Crennel

KCChiefs.com Video: Inside The Locker Room

LB Andy Studebaker commented on the readiness of the team to play against the Atlanta Falcons in the season opener:

"Yeah, I think we are. Obviously, they are a great team and they've done some big things in the last couple of years. They have a lot of great players but, so do we. We've been working hard all camp; we've known they've been coming so I think we are going to be prepared and ready for them."

Overheard: Stepping Up To Face The Falcons from The Mothership

From the time he joined the Chiefs in the spring as an undrafted rookie, Tysyn Hartman never wavered in his belief that he would make the Chiefs' 53-player, opening day roster.

It came to be for Hartman, who played in high school in Wichita and in college at Kansas State. He's one of two undrafted rookies with the Chiefs, running back Nate Eachus being the other.

Hartman Happy To Remain On Chiefs' Roster from KC Star

On paper, I pick the Chiefs as the best team in the division, but you don't win in the NFL on paper. The Kansas City offense that finished 31st in points per game and 27th in yards per game will surely get a boost with Jamal Charles and Tony Moeaki both returning from season-ending injuries. Additionally, the Chiefs have added depth at the running back position withPeyton Hillis and upgraded the right tackle position by signing Eric Winston in free agency. With all that said, this season will come down to the play of Matt Cassel.

Hey, Somebody's Got To Win AFC West from FOX Sports

So to summarize: The Chiefs could be without two starting linebackers, their starting safety, their best cornerback and his backup - and that's not even factoring in safety Eric Berry, who is coming back from a torn ACL, or defensive tackle Anthony Toribio, whose ankle is ailing.

Not exactly the way anyone wants to start a season. And the Chiefs lost several key players early last year, too.

Banged-Up Chiefs Full Of Questions They Prepare For Season Opener Sunday Against Atlanta from The Associated Press via The Washington Post

The Chiefs released WR Junior Hemingway from the practice squad to make room for offensive lineman Rich Ranglin, who was cut from the team on Friday.

Crennel said the team made the move to make it easier to practice. The Chiefs have plenty of depth at receiver, but they kept only two backup offensive linemen -- rookies Donald Stephenson and Jeff Allen -- on the 53-man roster. Ranglin will be the second offensive lineman on the practice squad, joining C Lucas Patterson.

Chiefs Notebook: CB Brandon Flowers Practices In A Limited Role from CBS Sports

Up in Kansas City, Romeo Crennel's Chiefs may very well be the sleeper team of the AFC. If quarterback Matt Cassel returns to his form from two years ago, he could be the main cog in a very powerful offense. The Chiefs get back Jamaal Charles at running back and he will be backed up by Peyton Hillis. In fact, both could line up in the backfield together on some plays, which would be a defensive nightmare.

The defense should be solid again, especially with the return of young star safety Eric Berry, who missed all of last season because of injury.

It's High Noon For Gunslingers Out West In NFL from The Virgin Islands Daily News

Already the sexy pick amongst many prognosticators, the Chiefs still have one glaring weakness, and his initials are Matt Cassel. Tom Brady's former clipboard carrier in New England still looks like ... well ... a clipboard carrier in Kansas City with a $62 million contract. The return of injured running back Jamaal Charles and safety Eric Berry make the "Chefs" relevant again, and the addition of running back Peyton Hillis gives them a nice 1-2 punch in the backfield. Still, this looks like an 8-8 team to me, only because they're stuck with a quarterback incapable of slinging it in a shootout situation if need be, which will cost the Chiefs a couple of wins along the way.

Broncos Have The Talent To Win AFC West Again, Should Be Favorites from The Glenwood Springs Post Independent

It says something about the caliber of the Chiefs' defense that it managed to finish 11th in the league without injured safety Eric Berry, who was a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie.

A torn anterior cruciate ligament cost Berry all but one game last season, but the No. 5 overall pick in 2010 is back in the lineup for a defense that includes linebackers Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson and defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.

NFL Preview 2012: The AFC West from The Washington Post

"A lot of people don't know how my brain works," Berry concluded. "I see the bigger picture ... my teammates call me weird. Someone called me strange last week, and I take it as a compliment, just because, who wants to be normal? I'm the type of guy who is going to be himself.

"My dad always told me, 'Be yourself because everybody else is taken.' "

Chiefs Safety Eric Berry Used Poetry, Screenwriting To Help Him Through Lost 2011 Season from Yahoo! Sports

Matt Ryan doesn't have a cannon, his calling card is touch and accuracy. As long as the Chiefs have ability to stay over their WR's with safety help that limits Ryan's options. Ryan is great at throwing to space but doesn't make a living in tight windows. With those WR Chiefs have to take the over the top look away from Ryan.

If Chiefs are unable to stop Turner then that will pose a problem. That will bring safety help up and create another look for Ryan and those WR's. Simply keeping a safety over the top will go a long way in limiting that offenses range.

Chiefs v. Falcons Preview from The Film Room

Entering his eighth NFL season, Roddy White believes this Atlanta Falcons team is the best he's seen.

"I think this is probably the most talented group we've had up to this point," White said Monday. "We can all run. I think our team's fast. I think we play fast. I think it can be special,"

When the Falcons visit Kansas City on Sunday, they will take the field with as many as nine returning starters on both offense and defense.

Atlanta Falcons Believe They're Entering 'Special' Season from The Augusta Chronicle

Last November, while lined up as an eligible receiver in a Sunday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Maneri caught a 1-yard toss from quarterback Tyler Palko before being tackled by Steelers' safety Troy Polamalu. Polamalu's head went into Maneri's knee on the tackle, leaving the future Hall of Famer with a concussion that forced him to exit the game.

"My leg was much bigger then," said Maneri, who believes he has the hands to be a pass-catching tight end in the league -- he caught four passes for 85 yards this preseason -- but accepts that won't be his primary role with the Chiefs.

"Let it be clear that I'm here to block," he told the Kansas City Chiefs website. "I'm a blocking tight end and that's what I'm here to do."

Saddle Brook Native Takes On New Role With NFL's Chiefs from Fair Lawn-Saddle Brook Patch

Find four rocks. Get out a permanent marker. Write a different AFC West team's name on each of the four rocks.

Throw the rocks up in the air. After they land, randomly pick them up. Jot down the names, one at a time.

That's just as credible a means of predicting this crazy division's finishing order as any amount of thought.

It's that tight. And unfigure-out-able. Again.

AFC West Preview: Raiders? Yeah, The Raiders from The Toronto Sun

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Independence School District's Holiday Helpers program are once again partnering to raise money for families in need this Christmas.

"This has been a very successful fundraiser for us every year," said Alli Kisner, assistant director of the Independence School District Foundation. "This year, they (Kansas City Chiefs) offered us even more tickets, which is great for us."

Chiefs Again Helping Holiday Helpers from The Examiner

Looking for a place to enjoy the pre-game festivities at Arrowhead?

The Chiefs Tailgate Party presented by Bud Light is the only location where fans can go during pre-game for all-you-can-eat catering, ice-cold beverages, Chiefs pre-game television coverage, appearances by Kansas City Chiefs Ambassadors, former players and Chiefs Cheerleaders, all in a climate-controlled environment.

Introducing The Chiefs Tailgate Party Presented By Bud Light from The Mothership

Dismayed Kansas City Chiefs personnel told reporters Monday that backup quarterback Brady Quinn had mistakenly received a copy of Arnold Lobel's children's picture book Frog And Toad Are Friends instead of the team's 54-page playbook. "Brady kept talking about how he spent hours each night poring over the book and memorizing the diagrams in it," Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel said of the Caldecott Honor book, which is designated level two in the "I Can Read" series and is intended for "readers who are increasingly confident, but still need some help."

Chiefs Realize Brady Quinn Received 'Frog And Toad Are Friends' Instead Of Playbook from The Onion

But Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin, an avid "Madden" player, thinks the omission is a good thing. "The fantasy draft? No, I've never used it," he said. "But I think it's neat that they're trying to make it more like it is in real life."

Knee Injury To Sideline Nadal For Two Months from The Wall Street Journal