Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 9/12

9/11 Practice Recap: Chiefs Prepare for Manning from The Mothership

Against the Tennessee Titans, Justin Houston sacked quarterback Jack Locker twice, a trend he will look to continue for the Chiefs on Sunday in order to deal with what lies ahead:

13 Pro Bowls, five MVP awards, including one last year, and a 2006 Super Bowl victory.

His name is Peyton Manning, and if the Chiefs intend to get their first win of the season, they will have to beat him on his own field.

Broncos: A Closer Look from The Mothership

Last year, the Broncos spent more than 70 percent of their time in "11 personnel," meaning they had three receivers out on the field with one running back and one tight end. The majority of the time it was Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker and Eric Decker on the outside at receiver.

With Decker gone and Welker serving a four-game suspension, the Broncos offense had a different look against the Colts in Week 1.

They spent 56 percent of their time in "12 personnel," meaning they had two tight ends and just two receivers.

One of those tight ends, Julius Thomas, had a breakout game against the Colts, hauling in seven passes for 104 yards and three touchdowns.

Chiefs vs. Broncos Preview from The Associated Press via The Mothership

Missing two defensive starters is not the way Kansas City hoped to head into a matchup against Peyton Manning, who shredded the Chiefs in a pair of Denver Broncos' victories last season.

Coach Andy Reid is confident Kansas City can overcome the unfortunate circumstance, but he's also likely focusing on how to get Jamaal Charles more touches during Sunday's matchup in Denver.

Coordinators Press Conferences from The Mothership

Q: How concerned are you with Denver's inside running game without Derrick Johnson and Mike DeVito?

SUTTON: "Well, we always start with the idea of, ‘Hey, it's a lot easier on our defense if we stop the run, if we control the run.' That's going to probably be true for all of football. Sometimes here in a game like this, you take some body blows because you're playing more coverage and that and you understand that. But I think in the end for all of us, we'd rather get it down to where we knew exactly what was going to happen. It's still going to be a big challenge with this guy, but it allows us to do more things, be it a little different play calling and all that type of thing. So we've got to do a good job of that, there's no question."

Chiefs Mailbag 9/11 from The Mothership

John Obarr of Springdale asks: With Derrick Johnson and Mike DeVito on IR, does their salary still count against the salary cap?

John-yes, that money still counts against the cap this year. If teams were allowed to put players on IR, and then use any money saved to sign new players, or sign current players to new extensions, that would create a lot of issues. I would think teams would be doing that all of the time.

Derrick Thomas to be Posthumously Honored from The Mothership

The University of Alabama, The National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that they will honor Derrick Thomas with a NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute on September 13th in Tuscaloosa during the game between Alabama and Southern Miss.

During his time at Alabama, from 1985-88, Thomas was considered by many as one of the most dominant pass rushers in college football history.

Tony DiPardo Fan of the Year Contest Returns from The Mothership

Do you think you are the biggest Chiefs fan? Are you the most passionate fan in the Chiefs Kingdom? Well, then this is your chance to be honored as the "Fan of the Year" at the December 28th game at Arrowhead Stadium.

Each home game, a fan will be selected as a nominee for "Fan of the Year." The nominee will receive a commemorative plaque, tickets to the game, an opportunity to be on the sidelines during pregame warm-ups and will be recognized on ArrowVision.

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: 9/11 Practice

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Forgotten Four

KCChiefs.com Video: Arrowhead Update: 9/11

KCChiefs.com Video: Opponent Preview: Week 2

KCChiefs.com Video: Ford Fandemonium: A Tribute to 9/11

KCChiefs.com Video: Twitter Q&A: Donnie Avery

KCChiefs.com Video: Coach's Corner: Bob Sutton

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs Kingdom: Sean Malto Act One

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs Kingdom: Sean Malto Act Two

Chiefs DC Bob Sutton's message to players on facing Peyton Manning: "Don't be the ‘tell'" from Chiefs Spin

Solid advice, but easier said than done given what happened to the Chiefs pass defense against Manning in 2013.

Manning dissected the Chiefs in two games last season, throwing for 726 yards and six touchdowns against two interceptions.

"I think anytime you are dealing with the Peyton Mannings of the world," Sutton said, "those elite guys, they're a great challenge because they have physical skills obviously to get balls in tight quarters, which is challenging in itself. The second part of it is a guy like Peyton is renowned for how much he knows and how well he studies and all that, so that makes it challenging, too."

Chiefs' Vickerson can't wait to prove Broncos -- and the world -- wrong from FS Kansas City

When a veteran Chiefs reporter asked the newest Kansas City defensive lineman about the fact he didn't play in the Super Bowl in February because of a dislocated hip ...

"That's OK," Vickerson interjected before the question was finished. "We can get that here."

Another longtime Chiefs scribe asked Vickerson if he felt healthy. The eyes burned.

"Yeah," he replied, cooly. "And I'm going to show the world I'm healthy."

He wasn't done. We asked what he wanted to get done here.

"I definitely play with a chip on my shoulder," Vickerson replied. "I'm trying to get another year on my deal."

Think y'all are going to like this guy.

Chiefs DL Jerel Worthy humbled, seeks to revitalize career from Chiefs Spin

From an early Day Two selection of the draft to the practice squad three seasons later isn't exactly the career progression for a highly-touted player out of college.

Injuries didn't help, however, as a torn ACL on the final game of his rookie season and a back injury in 2013 contributed to the bump in the road.

The Packers eventually traded Worthy to the New England Patriots on Aug. 13, 2014, but the Patriots released the third-year pro weeks later on Aug. 30 before the Chiefs signed Worthy on Tuesday.

History says Charles will have big game from ESPN

Since becoming the Kansas City Chiefs' featured back midway through the 2009 season, Jamaal Charles has had six games with fewer than 10 carries. One, of course, happened last week against Tennessee when he finished with seven carries for 19 yards.

If history is any guide, Charles has a good chance of having a big game this Sunday against the Broncos in Denver.

Dissecting the Kansas City Chiefs' Downward Spiral from The Associated Press via ABC News

After winning two games in a season marked by tragedy, the Kansas City Chiefs rolled off nine straight wins. They finished 11-5 and made the playoffs for the second time in seven years. A city that had grown accustomed to failure was feeling good about itself, putting away brown paper bags that had become standard headdress on Sunday to wear jerseys and caps with pride.

Just one week into Year 2, that turnaround is starting to look like a mirage.

The Chiefs were dominated in their season-opener last Sunday by a Titans team trying to rebound from its own miserable year. Alex Smith threw three interceptions, Jamaal Charles hardly touched the ball, two defensive starters were lost to season-ending injuries and a perilous lack of depth across the roster was exposed in a humiliating 26-10 defeat.

Chiefs need Bowe to be his old self Sunday from ESPN

"Just be myself,'' Bowe said when asked what he wanted to accomplish this week. "Come in jovial, come in picking guys up and letting them know it's one game at a time, one play at a time. Just play with energy, just play with passion, just play your game. That's what I'm preaching to everyone in the locker room, and that's what we've got to bring if we're going to beat the Denver Broncos.'' 

That's all good, but what the Chiefs really need from Bowe is to play on Sunday as he did earlier in his career.

Week 2: Thursday injury report from Chiefs Spin

The Chiefs maintained the status quo Thursday from Wednesday's injury report.

Guard/tackle Jeff Allen (elbow) and rookie running back/wide receiver De'Anthony Thomas missed a second straight day of practice.

Kicker's growing pains are no surprise from ESPN

Special teams coordinator Dave Toub said he figured out why Santos was so erratic in his NFL debut.

"He might have been a little nervous," Toub said. "What happened was he couldn't wait to see the kick. His eyeballs were coming up every time he hit the ball. That's something that's easily corrected. That's something we really worked on (Wednesday) and we're going to work on again. He was just anxious. It was his first game. He was looking up to see the result of the kick. He did that on both kicks and that's something he normally doesn't do."

Chiefs sign S Daniel Sorensen to practice squad from Chiefs Spin

Sorensen, who originally joined the Chiefs in May as an undrafted free agent out of Brigham Young University, started the preseason in place of Eric Berry, who dealt with a right heel injury.

The 6-2, 208-pound Sorensen recorded eight tackles (six solo) in preseason action.

Kansas City Chiefs (0-1) at Denver Broncos (1-0) from Lindy's Sports

PREDICTION: The Chiefs limp into Denver minus two key defenders among their front seven and an offense that hasn't moved the ball with any consistency since training camp began.

*Our pick: Broncos 38-20

NFL odds: Highlighting Sunday's key divisional matchups and more from Sports Illustrated

Denver has won the last four meetings with Kansas City, covering the last three, including two dominant victories last season. The Chiefs continued their tailspin from the end of last year in a 26-10 loss to Tennessee last week, failing to cover as 3-point home favorites, and now visit the Broncos as 13-point road underdogs according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Kansas City is 4-8 ATS in its last 12 games against AFC West foes and rides a four-game losing streak into Denver, including a 45-44 loss to Indianapolis in the playoffs last season after the team blew a 38-10 lead.

Reeling Chiefs know they've 'got to bring it' in Denver from USA Today

Now the Chiefs are preparing to face the powerful Denver Broncos offense without Johnson and DeVito, who both were carted off with season-ending Achilles' tendon ruptures in last week's opener, and the veterans still standing know it'll be awfully tough to fill that void.

"We can't be the same defense," Chiefs safety Eric Berry told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. "The only thing we can do is just everybody has to step their game up. Whatever they have, they've got to bring it every day. We've got a lot of moving parts."

Chiefs notes: Dee Ford working on pass-rush moves from KC Star via The Wichita Eagle

Ford only got on the field Sunday when the Chiefs used a formation that featured only one interior lineman, Dontari Poe, and three outside linebackers in Ford and starters Justin Houston and Tamba Hali.

Not surprisingly, Ford unveiled his best pass-rush move - a dip-and-rip - on at least one occasion but didn't record a hurry or a sack.

Ford, who has also shown an occasional bull rush, said he understands he needs to develop additional pass-rush moves.

Manning Feels For Injured Chiefs from OzarksFirst.com

"Two significanat injuries.  Those guys are excellent players.  You know, like all teams deal with injuries, I know they're going to have somebody else step up.  A well coached team always does that.  I really hate to see what happened in the first game to DeVito and Derrick," said Bronco's quarterback Peyton Manning.

Bowe's return can't hurt struggling offense from ESPN

Bowe's finger injury, revealed by Reid in training camp, has resolved itself. The quad injury that kept him from practicing before the suspension apparently has too, though the Chiefs listed him on Wednesday's injury report. He was a full practice participant, indicating he will be available to play on Sunday.

The biggest need for the struggling Chiefs offense is big plays and those aren't Bowe's specialty. But his presence could keep the Chiefs out of the many third and long situations they faced last week, when they went 1-of-12 on third-down plays.

KC banking on Royals after Chiefs disaster from Northwest Missourian

Something iconic and quite ironic happened to the city of Kansas City this past Sunday.

When was the last time you read a tweet saying "at least we have the Royals" within seconds of the end of a Chiefs game? The answer is never, because Twitter was invented on March 21, 2006. The last time the Royals made the playoffs was in 1985. You do the math.

The awful show that was the Chiefs Sunday afternoon turned a city's hope over to a team that is in the midst of it's first playoff appearance in almost 30 years.

NFL Players to vote Friday on drug policy, source says; Wes Welker may be reinstated that night from The Denver Post

The NFL Players Association's 32 team representatives will vote on a revised drug policy on Friday, according to two NFL sources close to negotiations.

One source said if the players approve the new policy Friday afternoon, Broncos' receiver Wes Welker could be among several players reinstated from their suspensions by Friday night. The Broncos currently have just 52 players on their 53-man roster, so Welker could be added immediately once it gets word from the league.

Vic Tafur's picks: NFL, Week 2 from The San Francisco Chronicle

Chiefs at Broncos (-12.5): Alex Smith didn't play well, Jamaal Charles didn't play much and Dwayne Bowe didn't play at all Sunday for Kansas City. Chiefs are all in for this one, and Broncos are a little overrated. CHIEFS

Broncos prepare for "red-letter game" against Chiefs from The Denver Post

One of those questions is how they'll contain Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles, who had just seven carries for 19 yards against the Titans last week. Coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that he "probably didn't do a good enough job" of getting him more touches in Week 1, but the Broncos expect that to change Sunday.

"We anticipate seeing plenty of him this week," Broncos defensive coordinate Jack Del Rio said. "Obviously we think he's a really fine football player, so we're getting prepared for him."

Missouri loves its sports from The Edwardsville Intelligencer

Are You Ready for Some Football? The Kansas City Chiefs reside in Arrowhead Stadium, one of the world's best tailgating venues; this is a hoppin' and smokin' and grillin' place. Inside the stadium, you can enjoy much more than the standard hot dog and peanuts, although those are sold - how about some world famous Gates BBQ? The stadium opens three-and-a-half hours prior to kickoff. Self-guided stadium tours are available Saturdays, March thru December.

49ers run defense ‘wasn't good last week,' prepares to face all-purpose threat in Bears' Forte from The San Jose Mercury News

On the imminent horizon are two of the NFL's other top rushers from last season: the Philadelphia Eagles' LeSean McCoy (Week 4) and the Kansas City Chiefs' Jamaal Charles (Week 5).

The Cowboys' Murray had 95 yards by halftime of the 49ers' eventual 28-17 win Sunday, and although the defense seemingly staged a second-half stand, Murray only had six carries as the Cowboys tried catching up through the air.

NFL predictions: Surely not another wild Sunday from News OK

What a first week in the NFL. And it has nothing to do with Ray Rice.

Upsets galore. The Titans won in Kansas City, where Arrowhead Stadium had to have been under 5,000 fans down the stretch even though the Chiefs still were in a two-possession game. The Bills won in Chicago, an inexplicable result that might haunt the Bears all season. The Dolphins beat New England, meaning the AFC East might be a horse race this season.

All Purpose Playbook: Week 2 NFL survivor pool analysis, fantasy picks and more from FOX Sports

So now what? Loud and clear: You're crazy if you don't take the Denver Broncos this week.

Who knows if they'll cover that mammoth 13 point spread over the Kansas City Chiefs -- you just have to survive and advance.

Injuries have added to the Chief's woes: Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson tore his achilles and will miss the remainder of the season and defensive end Mike DeVito suffered the same fate. Both Right tackle Jeff Allen (elbow) and linebacker Tamba Hali (ankle and knee) are banged up too.

This team just got wrecked at home by the Titans and they're going to march into Mile High Stadium and spank the Broncos? I don't think so. It could be a bloodbath if Andy Reid slips into another afternoon coma and forgets he has Jamaal Charles(seven carries, four targets last week) at his disposal.

On a solemn CBS pregame show, James Brown made a powerful plea to stop domestic violence from For The Win

At the end of the segments on Rice, Brown spoke directly to the camera and delivered a plea to viewers. He asked that all the energy given to the Rice controversy be channeled to raising awareness of domestic violence. With so much attention paid to who saw the elevator video and when they saw it, Brown's words were a needed reminder that this is about something far bigger.

Two years ago, Brown made a similar plea after Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend, then committed suicide in the parking lot of Arrowhead Stadium. On Thursday, Brown pleaded for men to learn what "healthy, respective manhood is all about," beginning with choices of language and deeds. "Our silence is deafening and deadly," Brown said at the end of the powerful 90-second soliloquy.