Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 9/10

Chiefs Announce Roster Moves from The Mothership

The Kansas City Chiefs announced roster moves on Tuesday, including the signing of defensive lineman Kevin Vickerson. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe will return to the 53-man roster from reserve/suspension and the team has elevated linebacker Jerry Franklin to the 53-man roster from the practice squad. The Chiefs have placed linebacker Derrick Johnson and defensive end Mike DeVito on injured reserve. The club has waived defensive back Daniel Sorensen.

Chiefs vs. Titans: By The Numbers from The Mothership

Let's take a closer look at the offense in the Chiefs loss to the Titans on Sunday.

One of the big storylines throughout training camp and the preseason was the success the Chiefs were having with their tight ends, particularly the combination of Anthony Fasano and Travis Kelce.

Kelce had proven to be a big threat down the field for the Chiefs, hauling in two touchdown passes of more than 40 yards in the preseason. In those four games, Kelce had a combined 11 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns.

Against the Titans last Sunday, the combination of Kelce and Fasano together yielded 105 yards in 17 plays, good for 6.17 yards per play average.

Will Shields Hosts Football 101 Clinic from The Mothership

About 50 women participated in the event and then gathered to watch Monday Night Football with Shields and the other coaches to put their new knowledge to the test.

"After teaching the women the basics of football we watched the game, so that we can actually talk to them about it and say, ‘okay see what they just did there?' or ‘did you see this?' or 'see that?' It's teaching them a different perspective of how you watch the game, so that they can then say, ‘did you see that guy on the slant route?' and know exactly what they're talking about."

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs Brief: Week 2

KCChiefs.com Video: Arrowhead Update: 9/9

KCChiefs.com Video: A Historic Rivalry...

Chiefs activate WR Dwayne Bowe; place LB Derrick Johnson, DE Mike DeVito on injured reserve from Chiefs Spin

The activation of Bowe, elevation of Franklin from the practice squad and signing of Vickerson meant the Chiefs had to free up one more active roster position after placing Johnson and DeVito on injured reserve.

To accommodate the final spot, the Chiefs waived strong safety Daniel Sorensen, an undrafted free agent out of Brigham Young University. Sorensen made the initial 53-man roster after a strong training camp. The Chiefs are left with safeties Eric Berry, Husain Abdullah, Kelcie McCary and Kurt Coleman on the active roster.

Chiefs make a flurry of roster moves from ESPN

It's interesting the Chiefs promoted from their practice squad Franklin instead of another inside linebacker, Nico Johnson. If it wasn't evident already, the Chiefs made clear what they think of Johnson, their fourth-round draft pick last year. Just this year they signed Joe Mays, Josh Mauga and now Franklin to play instead of Johnson.

Roster shuffle reflected on Chiefs' second depth chart from Chiefs Spin

Bowe resumes his spot atop the depth chart at the Z, or flanker, position. Frankie Hammond Jr., who moved from the X or split end, to start Week 1 in place of Bowe, remains at the Z.

Inside linebacker Jerry Franklin, whom the Chiefs elevated from the practice squad, moves to right inside linebacker behind James-Michal Johnson, who projects as the starter in place of Derrick Johnson.

Former BYU safety Daniel Sorensen cut by Kansas City Chiefs from The Deseret News

Daniel Sorensen's stint on the Kansas City Chiefs' active roster turned out to be a short one.

The former BYU safety was waived from the team's 53-man roster in a series of moves announced Tuesday by the Chiefs.

Ford can still be an asset to Chiefs from ESPN

Ford played just three snaps on defense in Sunday's 26-10 season-opening loss to the Tennessee Titans. Ford also was in for two plays on special teams.

Pass rush is hardly the Chiefs' biggest problem right now. They sacked Tennessee quarterback Jake Locker four times on Sunday.

But the Chiefs are desperate for playmakers.

Chiefs' Charles goes MIA in opening loss to Titans from The Associated Press via FS Kansas City

The Chiefs and Titans were close throughout the first half, and it should have been a 7-3 lead at the break had Kansas City not thrown an ill-advised pass that was picked off in the waning minutes. Tennessee went on to kick a field goal just before halftime to extend its lead.

Even then, it was a one-possession game, the kind where using Charles would have made sense. But instead, Smith wound up throwing the ball 35 times, completing only 19 of them for 202 yards while getting picked off three times.

Delanie Walker: ‘Felt Good To See All Empty Seats' from The Doug Gottlieb Show

"When you run off the field and you see no one in the crowd, that's the best feeling in the world," Walker said. "Knowing that we came into Arrowhead and won like that - basically (because we were more physical) - that's a great feeling. We were excited, but we knew we could do that. The type of team we got, the type of players we have here, we knew we could go in there and do that. But it felt good just to see all (those) empty seats as we're running off the field."

Tempering excitement after Titans' opening win from The Daily News Journal

The running game

Hit the gas pedal: Life after Chris Johnson got off to a nice start, as four backs combined for 148 yards, and the team racked up 162 (better than 12 games last season). The line was physical and effective. Shonn Greene broke tackles.

Pump the brakes: The Titans had 52 rushing yards in the first half and were more effective after the Chiefs lost Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson and defensive end Mike DeVito to injuries. While Greene had 71 yards on 15 carries, he had an 18-yard run very late, and eight of his attempts went 3 yards or fewer.

Middle linebackers have become NFL's defensive QBs from USA Today

Kansas City Chiefs middle linebacker Derrick Johnson said his role has changed over the course of nine seasons. He's forced to do more thinking, more analyzing and more communicating than ever before.

"We're a lot more of the quarterback on the defensive side," said Johnson, who tore his Achilles in the Chiefs' loss Sunday to Tennessee. "A lot of teams do hurry-up now who didn't do it a while back. Now it's one of those things where I have to tell everybody, 'Hey, play this front, do this and this,' and get everybody lined up."

Kansas City Chiefs Hungry For First Win from CBS Denver

The Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos are long-standing AFC West rivals. So, really, there's no need for any added incentive to win. But when you start off the season by getting thrashed at home by a seemingly weaker opponent, it helps fuel the fire a bit.

The Chiefs kicked off their season yesterday against the Tennessee Titans in Arrowhead Stadium, and were trounced 26-10. But, what happened to the team that bounced back to 11-5 last season? How were they beaten so handily?

Ex-teammate: RoboPeyton can be beaten, but you'll have to go 15 rounds from FS Kansas City

The book has been out for months now, and it says No. 18 can be depantsed the way Seattle did it in the Super Bowl. What the book doesn't say is that the Seahawks have the best defense on the planet and a secondary that could cover every drop of the Adriatic Sea.

The Chiefs have Jaye Howard up front, Ron Parker at the back, and Lord-Only-Knows in between.

Von Miller's sluggish Game 1 fuels fire from The Denver Post

This Sunday presents an opportunity to gain traction. The Kansas City Chiefs lack the Colts' playmakers, even with the return of top receiver Dwayne Bowe. Quarterback Alex Smith might be more willing to check down to running back Jamaal Charles after a new, aggressive downfield strategy resulted in three interceptions in the opener.

Montco judge: Video from Andy Reid press conference ruled out at son's civil trial from The Delaware County Daily Times

The likelihood that former Eagles head coach Andy Reid will testify this month at his son's civil trial in connection with an alleged road-rage incident appears slim after a judge ruled footage from a press conference by the coach isn't admissible as trial evidence.

Garmin huddles with Chiefs on action cameras from Kansas City Business Journal

A camera was mounted on Alex Smith's helmet during practice, and the Chiefs used it to put together a 90-second collage of video.

"You could see what Alex Smith sees, how he views the defense and the spiral of the ball as he releases it," said Jon Cassat, vice president of communications for Garmin. "It also tracked position, speed, heart rate and other things. You can actually have that kind of data overlaid on the video. So presumably you could get footage of a punt returner and know their heart rate and speed before impact and those types of things. We think there is a wealth of not only entertaining information for fans, but for coaches and staff."

Derrick Thomas To Be Honored By Alabama On Saturday from Bama Hammer

Former Alabama and NFL linebacker, the legendary Derrick Thomas, will be honored during this weekend's game against Southern Miss, according to athletic director Bill Battle's Battle Plan on RollTide.com.

Don Willis takes his NFL experience to Cabrillo High School from KSBY

Former Conquistador and NFL guard Don Willis has lead Cabrillo High School to a perfect start this season. Having earned a scholarship at the University of Washington and then finishing his college career at North Carolina A&T, Willis then signed a free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks in 1995. He then played with the New Orleans Saints for three years, and then finished his career playing five years with the Kansas City Chiefs. Now Willis has returned home to the Central Coast and is taking his professional experience to the high school level.

The NFL has made you 'need' to watch Ray Rice beat his wife. That's how the cover-up works from The Guardian

The NFL knows that making it go away works, because so much of its audience is already so ready for sports - and sportswriters - to stick to sports. It knew what happened with Jovan Belcher, for instance. After he reportedly spent the night out with another woman, he shot his girlfriend after she reportedly had been out at a concert. He then shot himself in the head at the Kansas City Chiefs practice facility, in full view of his head coach and general manager. Two years ago, it was a stark horror; now, thanks to the media machine orbiting the NFL, it might as well be jurassic. By focusing almost exclusively on Belcher potentially suffering from concussive dementia, the machine omitted discussion of misogyny in the league.

Ex-Raven: 'I don't have respect for a man who puts his hands on a woman' from Sports Illustrated

He had never done anything like this before, not in any of his eight years in the NFL. It was in December 2012 when Chris Johnson, a veteran Baltimore Ravens cornerback, approached his coach, John Harbaugh. Johnson asked for permission to address the team in the auditorium of the Ravens training facility. The subject was domestic violence.

Jovan Belcher, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs had just murdered his girlfriend. Belcher then drove to the Chiefs practice facility, got out of his car, and -- after thanking the team's coach and general manager for the opportunity to play football -- shot himself. The murder-suicide that orphaned a little girl brought about a rare moment of soul-searching.

But to Johnson, the day had additional significance.

Violence, Salary Caps, and Ugly Shirts: While We're Waiting... from WaitingForNextYear

I would have thought when Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher brutally murdered his girlfriend (the mother of their three month old baby) before killing himself that the NFL would realize they had to do more to take a stand against off field violence, particularly against women.

Yet in 2013, Seahwaks linebacker Leroy Hill was charged with assaulting his girlfriend and kept her in the house against her will...

...In 2012 Brandon Marshall was accused of hitting a woman outside of a club in New York. Again, there was no video...

...According to this 2012 Slate article by Justin Peters, in the 2012 season 21 of the 32 NFL teams had at some point that season employed a player with a domestic violence or sexual assault charge on their record. Where has all the outrage been before this? Why do we need video?

Power Rankings: Ravens fall to No. 20 from ESPN

The only team that fell more than the Ravens' eight spots was the Kansas City Chiefs, who dropped nine spots.

How Cairo Santos, Matt Forte and other former Tulane stars fared in the NFL's Week 1 from NOLA.com

After starting last season 9-0, the Chiefs suffered a 26-10 season-opening loss to the Titans on Sunday. Rookie kicker Cairo Santos had a shaky NFL debut. Both of Santos' field goal attempts hit the uprights, and only his 35-yard attempt at the beginning of the second quarter went in. Santos missed from 48 yards on Kansas City's next possession.

Linebacker Dezman Moses wasn't in uniform for the Chiefs on Sunday. Moses has been on Kansas City's injured reserve list since Aug. 12, three days after he was initially cut following elbow surgery.

NFL borrows prep, college playbooks from ESPN

Stats of the Week #1: Stretching back to the start of the 2013 season, the Kansas City Chiefs have followed a 9-0 streak with a 2-7 streak...

...The Football Gods Chortled: Kansas City has nose-dived in a major way. Apparent season-ending injuries to two starters versus Tennessee are the Chiefs' latest problems, but TMQ traces it back to the end of Week 3 of the 2013 season. Chiefs' players dumped Gatorade on the head of coach Andy Reid -- for a routine September victory. This tempted the football gods.