Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 1/14

Eric Berry Congratulates Chiefs Fans from The Mothership

Over the weekend, two young Chiefs fans participated in the national finals of the NFL Punt, Pass and Kick (PP&K) competition and represented the Chiefs Kingdom.

The Chiefs sent them plenty of gear to represent their team while in Seahawk country. The two received Eric Berry autographed Chiefs hats, Chiefs shirts and hoodies, plus a team autographed football, poster and more.

"They were very grateful for the wonderful Chiefs goodies and wanted to pass on their gratitude to the Chiefs and to Eric Berry," Kris Downing, Dyaln's mother noted. "Through some mutual Facebook friends, we were able to send Eric Berry the picture of Macy and Dylan. The kids wanted him to know how much they appreciated what he and the Chiefs had sent them and that he was in their prayers for a full and speedy recovery. We got a reply of 'congrats and thanks for the prayers,' which meant so much to the kids that he sent a personal reply."

2014 PFWA All-Rookie Team Includes Chiefs' De'Anthony Thomas from The Mothership

The All-Rookie special teams is Philadelphia placekicker Cody Parkey, Chicago punter Pat O'Donnell, Miami kickoff returner Jarvis Landry, Kansas City punt returner De'Anthony Thomas and Philadelphia special teamer Trey Burton.

2015 Senior Bowl: Everything Chiefs Fans Need To Know from The Mothership

Dorsey explained what the Chiefs will do during the week.

"Everybody's broken up into different positions," Dorsey explained of his staff. "Different guys evaluate positions day by day and then you get a cross reference. Then we just kind of get a feel for the day of how guys performed and how guys didn't perform."

The relationship between the coaching staff and the personnel staff is paramount when it comes to draft preparation. The coaches have to properly convey not only the specific skill sets and abilities they need in players to fit their schemes to the personnel staff, but they also have to be uniform in the intangibles they're looking for in players.

"We're all in this thing together and what we're trying to do is give the coaches the type of players that they're looking for," Chiefs assistant director of college scouting Dom Green said. "It's a team effort here in Kansas City and I know that's what coach Reid and John (Dorsey) have stressed since day one."

Eric Fisher and Dee Ford: The Senior Bowl Connection from The Mothership

"Every draft is important. This one is a little more attractive because you get more picks, you can do some more things with that," Dorsey said.

With his first two first-round picks with the Chiefs, in 2013 and 2014, Dorsey selected offensive lineman Eric Fisher and outside linebacker Dee Ford, respectively, and though the two play completely different positions on opposite sides of the football, they share a rather thought-provoking similarity.

Both had outstanding Senior Bowl weeks.

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Senior Bowl, Fisher and Ford

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Senior Bowl Preview

KCChiefs.com Video: Arrowhead Update 1/14: STM Giveaways

KCChiefs.com Video: Arrowhead Update 1/14: The 2015 Senior Bowl

KCChiefs.com Video: Play 60 Punt, Pass, and Kick Winners

PFWA names Chiefs' De'Anthony Thomas All-Rookie punt returner from Chiefs Digest

The Chiefs had to wait four games to start the regular season to unleash rookie running back/returner De'Anthony Thomas, who battled a hamstring injury from Weeks 1 to 4.

But Thomas made up for the delay on his return in Week 5 with explosive plays on offense and special teams in the final 12 games.

His production as a punt returner, which included an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown in Week 15, was recognized Tuesday by the Pro Football Writers of America with the naming of Thomas to the All-Rookie team.

Andy Reid now the longest tenured AFC West coach from ESPN

OK, so Reid was hired only a few days before the San Diego Chargers brought on Mike McCoy as their coach. But it's still amazing that Reid with two seasons with the Chiefs is now the sage of the division.

We'll have to wait and see whether that stability, relatively speaking, will benefit the Chiefs and Chargers. But it can't hurt.

Future looks bright for De'Anthony Thomas from ESPN

Thomas should continue to improve as a return specialist. He had several errors in judgment, letting some kicks go when he should have fielded them and returning others when it would have been smarter to let them go.

His judgment will improve with experience. Playing for coach Andy Reid, who places an emphasis on the kicking game, and Dave Toub, an excellent special teams coordinator, will only help Thomas.

Rex Ryan makes his first coaching decisions from The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Later in the day, Ryan asked for the Bills to seek permission to interview two offensive line coach candidates, Chris Foerster of Washington and Mike Solari from San Francisco. It was granted in both cases.

Foerster was on the same Baltimore Ravens staff as Ryan and Roman in 2006 and 2007, with Foerster the line coach and Roman his assistant. Solari worked with Roman the past four years in San Francisco as the line coach, and in 2006-07, he was offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Why That 12-Year-Old Boy Who Wrote All 32 NFL Teams Only Heard Back From One from Boston.com

Now, let's get to young Cade. His nine-year-old brother is a Kansas City Chiefs fan, by the way. That poor kid has never seen the Chiefs win a playoff game in his young lifetime.

Cade, on the other hand, wanted something more. Fandom, in many cases, is an acquired taste of youth. It usually comes through genetics, geography, or because of a certain player.

Jaded adults find themselves team shopping when their respective franchises screw up, or become the Philadelphia 76ers and Oakland Raiders.

Few have ever solicited teams for their support. That might become a trend, given the haul Cade got from the Panthers.

Cade cast himself as a free agent. But he made one rookie mistake. He thought the NFL actually cared.

Top 5 Moments From Ken Whisenhunt's First Year As Titans Coach from 247 Sports

1. The Titans open the season impressively against the Chiefs

Everything looked rosy for the Titans in their season-opening 26-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Titans defense dominated, holding Jamaal Charles to 19 yards rushing, and getting three interceptions against Alex Smith.Ryan Succop, released by the Chiefs in final cuts, kicked four field goals against his former team in the game. The problem for Whisenhunt and the Titans was that this game was the high-water mark for the season, and easily could be categorized as fool's gold, given how poorly the Titans played for the remainder of the season.

The Colts' 10 biggest playoff games from The Indianapolis Star

5. 1995 AFC Divisional Playoff: Colts 10, Kansas City 7.

The Colts had made one playoff appearance in 18 seasons and faced the AFC's top seed without their top runner (Marshall Faulk), top offensive lineman (Randy Dixon) and a key defensive lineman (Tony Siragusa).

The noise from the Arrowhead Stadium crowd of 77,593 rose to well over 100 decibels while the temperature dipped to 11 degrees.

None of it mattered.

"We shocked the world, baby," defensive back Jason Belser yelled as he entered the locker room. "We shocked the world."

The defense drove Kansas City quarterback Steve Bono (11-of-25, 122 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions) out of the game, holding the Chiefs to 281 yards of offense.

Indianapolis was even less productive -- 249 yards -- but Warren rushed for 76 yards on 20 carries and Jim Harbaugh (12-of-27, 112 yards, one touchdown, one interception) was just effective enough. A 5-yard pass to Floyd Turner tied the score before halftime and Cary Blanchard's 30-yard field goal in the third quarter was the difference.

Decorah native Skretta AP Staffer of the Year from The Decorah Journal

Decorah native David Skretta, a Kansas City-based reporter for The Associated Press, recently was named the AP's Fred Moen Kansas-Missouri 2014 Staffer of the Year.

Skretta was cited by the AP for his sports coverage, including the Royals' first World Series appearance in 29 years. The honor is named for the late Fred Moen, who was AP's Kansas City bureau chief from 1971-1984.