Raider Week Nears End With Strong Chiefs Practice from The Mothership
"It was a great week of practice," Lewis said. "Guys are focused and locked in, knowing what we have at stake, what's at hand. We have to take advantage of the situation and I feel like everybody has embraced that same mentality."
Lewis' teammate, Chiefs LB
Tamba Hali knows what to expect from Oakland."We expect them to run the ball," Hali added. "They're good at running the ball, so we expect them to run the ball. They have a quarterback, who knows how to throw the ball, who wants to solidify himself as a good player in this league. It's a challenge for us to go in and handle business and hopefully come home with a ‘W.'"
Andy Reid's Friday Presser Transcript from The Mothership
Q: Does Denver's loss last night add a little bounce to the team's step?
REID: "I don't think so, this team here goes through their preparations the same way every week. I wouldn't necessarily say that added to it or took away from it. They came into work and had their normal bounce that they have, which is normally pretty fast and aggressive."
Chiefs Sign WR Hall, Release DT Powe from The Mothership
The Kansas City Chiefs signed wide receiver Chad Hall and released defensive tackle
Jerrell Powe , the team announced today.Chad Hall (5-8, 187) has played in 23 games (one start) in just over two NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Hall originally came to Kansas City on Sept. 1, 2013, via waiver claim from San Francisco. He has played in eight games with the Chiefs recording one catch for nine yards.
KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: In The Photo Studio
KCChiefs.com Video: Andy Reid Addresses Injuries
KCChiefs.com Video: Inside The Locker Room: Week 15
KCChiefs.com Video: Tyson Jackson Key To Improving Chiefs Defense
Trust In Sutton: Chiefs' Pass Rush Never Rally Left from FS Kansas City
Of course there has been much panic in these parts about what has been perceived as the Chiefs' incredibly shrinking pass rush in recent weeks.
Those concerns seem to have been alleviated by the Chiefs' six-sack performance against the Redskins.
But I believed defensive coordinator Bob Sutton when he reiterated this week that sack totals are often misleading. Sutton again emphasized that the Chiefs' pass rush really hasn't changed, and it certainly didn't suddenly become dominating again Sunday.
What really happened Sunday was that the Chiefs finally faced a quarterback who wasn't named Peyton Manning or Philip Rivers.
Dexter McCluster Has Infection In Ankle from ESPN
McCluster cut his ankle during last week's game against the Redskins in Washington. He complained of a swollen ankle after participating in practice on Wednesday. After structural damage was ruled out, McCluster had a procedure on the ankle where the wound was opened and cleaned out.
The Chiefs were waiting on results of tests before ruling out MRSA.
Injuries May Not Matter For Raiders Against Chiefs This Weekend from CBS Sacramento
With the Denver Broncos loss to the San Diego Chargers on Thursday night in Denver, the Chiefs know they can gain some ground in the AFC West on the Broncos with a win Sunday over the struggling Raiders, and no amount of injuries is going to stand in Kansas City's way, in all likelihood.
For the Raiders, it's all about 2014 now, so protecting some injured players probably helps the Chiefs cause as well.
Here's What Denver Loss Means For KC from ESPN
The Broncos would still win all ties with the Chiefs at the end of the season thanks to their two-game sweep of the season series with Kansas City. But if the Chiefs beat the Raiders on Sunday and the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 22 at Arrowhead Stadium, they cannot be eliminated from winning the AFC West championship until that final day of the regular season, when the Chiefs play in San Diego and the Broncos play the Raiders in Oakland.
Roster Moves Have Improved KC's Depth from ESPN
Where Dorsey and Reid went to work was on Kansas City's depth. Much of Kansas City's considerable roster turnover was in backup players and, according to Pro Football Focus, their efforts have paid off.
PFF ranked the 32 NFL teams with regard to the quality of their depth and the Chiefs came in a surprising sixth (ESPN Insider access is necessary to read the story)
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Thompson: Raiders Should Be Starting Pryor from The San Jose Mercury News
Sure, jobs are on the line. The fan base is antsy. Patience has been grinded to a nub. But naming Matt McGloin the starter for the remainder of the season, which Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson reiterated this week, equals a missed opportunity.
These last three games should be occasion to see more of Terrelle Pryor.
The thirst for victories in Raider Nation is certainly palpable. But Oakland is 4-9. Any win at this point is like eating crawfish -- tasty but by no means fulfilling. The beast will not be satisfied. So why not opt for development?
Raiders' Khalif Barnes Moves From Tackle To Guard from The Contra Costa Times
Running backs Darren McFadden (ankle) and Jeremy Stewart (ankle) and defensive tackle Vance Walker (concussion) were not at practice Friday as the media window closed and will probably be ruled out.
Thank You San Diego from Warpaint Illustrated
With the Broncos loss to San Diego, means a Chiefs victory against Oakland would find Kansas City tied for first place with Denver.
Now before we get too giddy about the Chiefs getting a first round bye or even better home field advantage in the playoffs, that scenario only brings jot to Chiefs fans, if the Broncos stumble in one of their two remaining regular season games.
Next weekend Denver will face the turbulent Houston Texans who just fired their head coach a week ago. After that, they face the Raiders in Oakland. Kansas City faces the Indianapolis Colts a week from Sunday but ends the season at San Diego.
Chiefs Rewarded For Handling Of Fisher from ESPN
His weekly exercise in studying video of the previous game is no longer like torture for rookie offensive tackle Eric Fisher. The first pick in this year's NFL draft, Fisher has recently started to play like it as the right tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Every week is going better and better," Fisher said. "Everything is slowing down. Everything feels more natural. I can see it with my play on film."
The AFC Playoff Blender from Grantland
Kansas City was all but consigned to the fifth seed in the AFC after losing three consecutive games to its AFC West brethren. Now, the Chiefs have a modicum of hope. If they can beat Oakland on the road this week, they'll be tied with the Broncos at 11-3, albeit without the tiebreaker in their favor. If Denver slips up over the final two weeks of the season and the Chiefs manage to win out, they would be the no. 2 seed, while the Broncos would drop all the way to five. It's unlikely, especially since the Chiefs still have to play Indy and San Diego, but far more plausible than it was before Thursday night.
50 Years Ago, Johnnies Played In Unique Championship Showdown from The Minneapolis Star Tribune
There were eight players from that Prairie View team drafted by the NFL and/or AFL: quarterback Jim Kearney, defensive backs Ken Houston and Leon Carr, receiver Otis Taylor, halfback Ezell Seals and linemen Ray Scott, Ray Johnson and Carl Robinson.
Houston became a Pro Football Hall of Famer as a safety. Taylor was a great wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs. Kearney was a longtime starter as a strong safety for the Chiefs, including in the 1970 Super Bowl.
Taylor had six catches for 81 yards in that game, including a relentless run on a 43-yard touchdown late in the third quarter that basically clinched the Chiefs' 23-7 upset of the Vikings.
Campaign To Educate Sonic And NFL About Offensive Mascots from Indian Country Today Media Network
Brad Gee, the Chiefs' communications manager responded to the group's press release: "Thank you for passing this along. I will make sure it gets in the right hands. Just as a little bit of background, our mascot is actually a Wolf. KC Wolf was named after a group of fans at Municipal stadium called the ‘Wolf Pack.' Our team name, the Chiefs, was actually created because it was the nickname of Kansas City's Mayor back in 1963 (Mayor H. Roe Bartle - ‘The Chief'), who helped convince our founder to move his Dallas Texans franchise to Kansas City."
Charles Samuel, Black Creek/Cherokee, and one of more than 50 members on EONM's Facebook page, said in response to Gee's email that, "I believe that the fans dressing in Native regalia with war paint and tomahawks etiology date back many years. This behavior is a product of a systematical [sic] dehumanization of America Indians."