Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 9/9

Game Day!!! Merry Chiefsmas!! Good morning! The day has finally arrived and we're here to help you get ready. We have your Kansas City Chiefs news from across the internet all in one place for your convenience. Read up and get ready! Be sure to keep checking Arrowhead Pride as Joel and Chris will have the updates coming fast and furious throughout the day.

Also, I want to extend a huge Thank You to Josh Looney for all he has done to make it a little easier to be an well informed Chiefs fan the last few years. Best of luck in Indy.

Go Chiefs!

With both running backs listed as starters, and Hillis' history as a fullback, Charles and Hillis could see themselves paired together in the Chiefs backfield plenty this season.

Daboll showed several looks featuring Charles and Hillis in the same backfield this preseason, but he was careful not to reveal a full deck of cards. Most of his personnel groupings were basic with Charles and Hillis substituting in and out of the game for each other.

There's no telling what looks the Falcons defense will see in Daboll's debut as Chiefs offensive coordinator on Sunday.

Falcons First Test For Chiefs Rushing Tandem Of Charles And Hillis from The Mothership

A breeze blows through the Truman Sports Complex parking lot. It's quiet here, the asphalt around Arrowhead Stadium mostly empty.

This morning, though, this expanse of roughly 56 paved acres will come to life, taking its seasonal place as a one-day-a-week commune for early risers, grill masters and Chiefs lifers. Kansas City might not be known for outstanding football, but it is hallowed ground for another weekly spectacle: tailgating. It's part of what makes this region unique, an overall sensory overload that brings thousands here early on fall Sundays.

Decades after tailgating became a phenomenon, there aren't many venues where it's taken more seriously.

As Chiefs Open Season, Tailgating Tradition Continues from KC Star

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs Kingdon: Lt. Col Birdwell

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs Chop!

NFL.com Video: Playbook: Falcons vs. Chiefs

Today, Dorsey, Albert, Flowers and Charles are cornerstones of the club and form the foundation of the 2012 Chiefs. If the Chiefs are going to be Super Bowl contenders, those four will have to make major contributions, starting with the regular-season opener today at Arrowhead Stadium against Atlanta.

"Every year is big," Dorsey said. "It's our fifth year, we've put the work in and are ready see it pay off. The 2008 draft class are the veterans of the team because we have a young team. All of us who came in that year take the responsibility of showing young guys how to work and take a leadership role on and off the field."

Coin Flip Plays Role In Fortunes Of Chiefs, Falcons from KC Star

Bottom line

This game doesn't come at a good time for the Chiefs. They'd like to face the Falcons with a full defensive roster, but that won't happen. So it should come down to their offense and whether the Chiefs are capable of winning a scoring war. The Falcons can be vulnerable on defense, but the Chiefs aren't built to score a lot of points. Their strengths should be their running game and defense, and things should get difficult for them if either of those elements aren't working right. Their defense, at least, is clearly damaged right now.

Prediction: Falcons 27, Chiefs 17

Chiefs-Falcons Scouting Report from KC Star

So when will we hear this song played? Chiefs Vice President of Media and Marketing, Robert Alberino, Jr has a gameplan for gameday.

"The Chiefs Kingdom is all about tradition. We won't be replacing any of the traditional songs with the new ‘Chiefs Chop', the stadium will still have the same flow as it did before. We will use the song during highlight packages each half because it's driving and lends itself to fast action. "

New Chiefs Chop Song Makes Arrowhead Debut In 2012 from The Mothership

One could surmise that the loss to the Rams came because the Chiefs came out a little flat after blasting Arizona the week before, while St. Louis came out on fire after BEING blasted by Indy the week before. The result was a 14-0 lead for St. Louis before the Chiefs had even run three offensive plays.

The Seattle loss was a disaster, no doubt about it. Learn from it, but don't overanalyze it.

Then came the Green Bay loss which ended up lopsided, but when the first-string was in, the team played well. THAT, and the Arizona game is what should give Chiefs fans hope for an AFC West title.

Atlanta Falcons/KC Chiefs NFL Week 1 Preview from Examiner.com

If the game dictates a shootout, if Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and his merry band exploit the holes in a defense that's likely to trot out several JV options, what happens then?

Can a team built to try to win games 22-16 or 24-20 somehow put up 30 or 35 points if it has to?

Can an offense designed for a monster-truck rally handle life on the Circuit de Monaco?

Can Team Cassel aim straight in a shootout?

Your serve, Brian Daboll.

Chiefs Offense Prepared For Shootout from FS Kansas City

Through it all, the team said to expect very little from Poe up front. Romeo Crennel and other assistant coaches talked about the long-term nature of Poe's impact and how it takes a significant amount of time -- multiple seasons even -- for defensive linemen to learn the proper technique needed to succeed in the trenches. For a fan base still waiting for Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey to turn in a Pro Bowl season, patience was a word that was already in their vocabulary.

Now that week one is here in the NFL, all of that is gone. Or at the very least, things have changed significantly. Poe has been summoned. He will be needed -- not only against the Atlanta Falcons, but for the duration of his rookie year.

The Long-Term Rhetoric Around Dontari Poe Is Nearly Gone from SBN KC

No matter how Nate Eachus is known, all those who have watched him play football from the midget level to now will have an even keener eye on the former Hazleton Area High School and Colgate University standout today when he makes his NFL debut for the Kansas City Chiefs against the Atlanta Falcons.

Staff writers Steve Stallone and Dave Seamon talked with some people with a special interest in Eachus' career about their remembrances of his stellar play in the past and their anticipation for his future success.

NAte Eachus: NFL Running Back from The Citizens Voice

But as Winston embarks on his first season with the Kansas City Chiefs he's already seeing how much different it is to play in a division -- the AFC West -- where the rivalries are long-standing and in some cases a little nasty...

..."It's pretty neat and I'm looking forward to that," Winston said last week. "I always thought the game with Tennessee was big, and Indy was always a good game and Jacksonville always played us tough as well. But you have that long standing, maybe just hatred for one another and the organizations in the process it does make it a little different.

"Those games are fun, and they have a little extra pop to them."

Winston Finding Out What Life In The AFC West Is All About from The Midland Reporter-Telegram

There's barely a hall of fame Curley Culp is not a member of.

The Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame. The Arizona High School Hall of Fame. The National High School Sports Hall of Fame. The Arizona Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. The Kansas City Chiefs' Ring of Honor. The Yuma High Hall of Fame.

But the former Criminal, Chief and six-time NFL Pro Bowler still has a big hole in his hall of fame resume - the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Now the defensive tackle is a step away from a yellow jacket and a permanent spot in Canton, Ohio.

Canton Calling Former Yuma High Alumnus from The Yuma Sun

Wide receiver Drew Davis was added to the Falcons' 53-man active roster on Saturday...

...Davis gives the Falcons five receivers for the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Atlanta Falcons: Drew Davis Added To Roster; Manley Waived from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

We heard all offseason how the Atlanta Falcons have undergone a substantial philosophical makeover on the offensive side of the ball. If they can go on the road and light up a good Kansas City Chiefs defense, the NFC South will officially have a favorite.

Five Burning NFL Questions Soon-To-Be Answered from NFL.com

The key for Kansas City this season should be run the ball. Nothing against Matt Cassel and Dwayne Bowe, but when you have a backfield with Jamaal Charles and Peyton Hillis, that indicates trouble for opposing defenses. Meanwhile, the Falcons have just the same, if not as much star-power than the Chiefs. The addition of Asante Samuel in the secondary, alongside Dunta Robinson and Brent Grimes, will be crucial for Atlanta all year. And, well, their offense speaks for itself. This will be a hard fought game but I'll give the edge to Matt Ryan and the Falcons, despite being on the road. Atlanta wins a tough one in Arrowhead Stadium.

NFL Week 1 Predictions from The Suffolk Voice

The Browns have played some downright unforgettable season openers -- mostly for the wrong reasons. What's your favorite moment?...

...The personal favorite: 2001, the game when Kelly Holcomb threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns and had a rating of over 120 -- and the Browns lost thanks to Dwayne Rudd taking his helmet off and throwing it in celebration as a Chiefs lineman rumbled down the field on the last play of the game. This stuff simply cannot be scripted.

Idle Chatter - Opening Weekend In The NFL from FS Ohio

Dirk Koetter and Mike Nolan brought entirely new offensive and defensive schemes to Atlanta this offseason, and we've yet to see them implement their strategies into full effect.

There are plenty of unknowns heading into the regular season opener. After the jump, I'll take a look at what improvements/modifications to the 2012 Atlanta Falcons I'm most interested in seeing against Kansas City, and how these things pan out in Week 1.

What To Watch For From The Falcons Version 2012 from The Falcoholic