Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 12/30

Clark Hunt shares thoughts on the 2014 season from The Mothership

Do you look at this season as a wasted opportunity with all of the talented players that you have? "I wouldn't say it's a wasted opportunity, but I would say it's a missed opportunity. We had a chance sort of two thirds of the way through the season to really lock down a playoff spot and we didn't get that done and we put ourselves in position where we had to win today and have some help from other teams. We took care of our business, but we didn't get the help that we needed. And that is something that we'll just have to carry into the offseason. Hopefully it will be a motivator for everybody to come back better next season."

Andy Reid Press Conference 12/29 from The Mothership

Q: As you go through this evaluation period and look at this offensive line, how much of a priority is being placed to fix some of the issues that were present during the season so they do not manifest themselves into next season?

REID: "We'll go back and we'll evaluate everything. That's what takes place in the offseason. You go back and evaluate. You do your whole scheme evaluation, you do personnel evaluation from a coaching standpoint and then obviously (John) Dorsey spends all year doing that. He looks at all the personnel decisions and go from there. He gets the information from the coaches and what they think and then makes that final decision. We do that for every position, every player and then we make sure we go back as coaches and make sure we're putting guys in the right position."

Alex Smith Press Conference 12/29 from The Mothership

Q: What is your sense of urgency now? You and the guys in the locker room are not getting any younger.

SMITH: "Absolutely, that's right in front of us. That's what I feel like I'm saying, it's right here, the opportunity is right in front of us. I don't think anyone, regardless of age - it's on to the next step. For us, it's over. 2014 is over, that season is over, everything we've been talking about and doing, it's over. For us, that football calendar, it's on to the next one now. As crappy as that is, that quick turnaround, it's the honest truth. That is the sense of urgency, I think. Now, obviously a lot of us split ways, the team is not going to be the same and that's probably the first start of it - from an organizational standpoint, that the team is not going to be the same. Guys are going to be gone, new faces coming in and you're on to the next year. You have to have a sense of urgency for that."

NFL Free Agency, Senior Bowl, Trade Deadlines, Franchise Tags & Other Important Offseason Dates from The Mothership

The Chiefs season may be over, but here are some important dates to keep in mind as we head into the NFL offseason.

KCChiefs.com Video: Locker Room Sound 12/29

KCChiefs.com Video: Arrowhead Update: Final Look at Historic Week 17

KCChiefs.com Video: NFL.com: Chiefs Week 17 Report Card

KCChiefs.com Video: Wired: The Best of the 2014 Season

KSHB Video: Gridiron Grumblings: Chiefs finish season 9-7, miss playoffs

Chiefs sign DL Jerel Worthy to reserve/future deal from Chiefs Digest

A former highly-regarded draft prospect will have more time to develop with the Chiefs.

Defensive lineman Jerel Worthy told ChiefsDigest.com the Chiefs signed him Monday to a reserve/future contract.

"I'm just excited about the opportunity coming up," Worthy said. "I've talked to the guys upstairs - they're excited for me - I'm just ready to get out there."

Chiefs' GM Dorsey admits there's 'some work' to do at wide receiver in offseason from FS Kansas City

The one thing you could say about the 2014 Chiefs, who narrowly missed a second-straight berth in the post season, was that they were consistently ... inconsistent. The Andy Gang knocked off the two No. 1 seeds in the AFC and NFC brackets (New England and Seattle), respectively, while also somehow managing to lose to 2-14 Tennessee at home and 3-13 Oakland on the road.

"It's the National Football League," Dorsey said. "There's no easy games in it."

Or easy scores, apparently. Because, for better or for worse, 2014 will also be long remembered as the season in which no Chiefs wideout caught a touchdown -- a first for the franchise and a modern NFL low-water mark for the position.

"At the time, we thought we had some players that could help us," Dorsey said of his wideouts. "But as you go into the free-agency process, you missed on a couple guys. And then as the draft unfolded there were certain guys that you had pegged in certain situations that they have peeled off a (slot) or two before you.

"The stats speak for themselves. And we're going to have to do some work there."

List of potential 2015 Chiefs free agents from ESPN

The Kansas City Chiefs have 14 potential unrestricted free agents and two potential restricted free agents.

Potential unrestricted free agents: WR Jason Avant, S Kurt Coleman, LS Thomas Gafford, TE Richard Gordon, OT Ryan Harris, LB Justin Houston, C Rodney Hudson, OL Jeff Linkenbach,LB Josh Mauga, OL Mike McGlynn, RB Joe McKnight, CB Chris Owens, DB Ron Parker, DL Kevin Vickerson.

Reid stays optimistic following Chiefs' disappointing end to 2014 from FS Kansas City

"We're disappointed right now," Reid said Monday. "You should be disappointed. If you're not, there's a problem."

Still, Reid wasn't slighting the fact his team finished with another winning record at 9-7. And it should be pointed out that Reid's 20 wins in two seasons with Kansas City are the most by any Chiefs head coach during his first two seasons on the job.

"And I love the fact that we had a tough schedule this year," Reid said. "We were able to test ourselves.

"That will pay off down the road in terms of our program. We're a young team that can build on that."

John Harbaugh says he's buying Andy Reid dinner for helping Ravens into playoffs from For The Win

Kansas City Chiefs Coach Andy Reid has a dinner coming, courtesy of Baltimore Ravens Coach John Harbaugh.

Sunday, the Chiefs beat the San Diego Chargers. That helped the Ravens clinch an AFC playoff wild card.

Harbaugh, an assistant under Reid when he coached the Philadelphia Eagles, said Monday he had reached out to Reid via text messages.

"Absolutely, I promised Andy dinner. He responded very favorably to that," said Harbaugh.

Reid is a large man.

"It probably won't be cheap," Harbaugh said with a laugh.

2015 team-by-team opponents from ProFootballTalk

Kansas City Chiefs

Home: Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions

Away: Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings

NFL draft order: Complete list of first-round picks for 2015 NFL Draft from FOX Sports

The tie between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers was broken by the division tie-breaker. Since Kansas City defeated San Diego twice in head-to-head competition, San Diego is given priority in the draft order and will select in the 17th position, with Kansas City in the 18th position.

Shanahan Heads List of Potential Emery, Trestman Replacements from NBC Chicago

On the general manager front, the Bears could go in any variety of routes. Tried and true guys like Bill Polian could be on the list, but it's unlikely that he'll want to leave the comfort of the TV circuit to give the Bears a whirl. It's more likely that the team will go with one of the many quality directors of player personnel out there, with Chris Ballard (Kansas City Chiefs) and Tom Gamble (Philadelphia Eagles) both among those who are getting some attention in NFL circles.

With John Idzik fired, here are 10 candidates to be the next Jets GM from NY Daily News

Chris Ballard, Kansas City Chiefs Director of Player Personnel

Ballard has been a hot name buzzing around league circles. John Dorsey's right-hand man in Kansas City, who cultivated his scouting chops for 12 years with the Bears. Chicago might be his desired landing spot.

Five from Sunday: Stafford, Romo highlight wild-card matchups from CBS Sports

Chase Daniel, Kansas City: I saved the best for last. Two years ago, Andy Reid went after the unproven Daniel in free agency and raised some eyebrows with the contract he gave him. No one knew if he could play in the NFL, but this week in a playoff atmosphere, he led the Chiefs to a win over the Chargers and knocked them out of the playoffs. The stats were ugly, but the Chiefs won to the delight of the 73,000 fans.

At Washington's Final Home Game, Activists Rally Against Team's Name from DCist

Here's an excerpt from the scene at FedEx Field yesterday from the Post:

One man held up his middle finger, demanding to know why the demonstrators weren't in Kansas City (home of the National Football League's Chiefs) or Tallahassee (Florida State Seminoles), places with teams that have Native American mascots. He screamed expletives until his voice cracked.

Andi Dorfman Hangs With Her Future Sister-in-Laws! (PHOTO) from Wet Paint

We've seen Andi hang out with the Murray men - Josh, his NFL player little bro Aaron Murray, and Josh's dad - but during the post-holiday weekend, there was plenty of lady bonding. The Dorf got in some quality time with Josh's mom, sister Stephanie, and Aaron's fiancé,Kacie McDonnell. And funnily enough, it was all at a tailgate for Aaron's Kansas City Chiefs game!