Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 1/9

Former Kansas City Chiefs OL Will Shields Named Hall of Fame Finalist from The Mothership

One of the most decorated players in Kansas City Chiefs history is once again a Hall of Fame finalist.

Will Shields, who started a franchise-record 223 consecutive games for the Chiefs during his 14-year career (1993-2006), was named a finalist for the fourth consecutive season on Thursday night, the NFL announced.

The 223 consecutive starts for Shields ranks as fifth best in NFL history, while the 12 Pro Bowls he was named to during his time in Kansas City is tied for the most in NFL history.

KCChiefs.com Video: Will Shields: Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalist

KCChiefs.com Podcast: Chiefs Download 1/9

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Dontari Poe Highlights

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Tamba Hali Highlights

Chiefs' Will Shields named Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist from Chiefs Digest

Shields retired in 2006 with the Chiefs after a decorated career that resulted in Shields being a three-time first-team All-Pro selection, a four-time second-team All-Pro selection and a 12-time Pro Bowl selection.

The Chiefs inducted him as the 42nd member of the franchise's Hall of Fame in 2012.

Shields, whose dedication to community during his playing days earned him the prestigious Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in 2003, remains active in Kansas City with his Will to Succeed Foundation.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee will meet Jan. 31 in Phoenix to select the select the Class of 2015.

Hall of Fame finalist: Will Shields from ESPN

That the Chiefs didn't win more playoff games during Shields' 14 seasons is hardly his fault. He was a solid, consistent and often spectacular player, albeit at an unglamorous position. He was a part of the great Chiefs offensive lines of the early 2000s that also included one Pro Football Hall of Famer, tackle Willie Roaf, and another potential entrant, guard Brian Waters.

Hall of Fame finalist: Morten Andersen from ESPN

This is the third year of eligibility for the "Great Dane," who was so prolific over his 25-year career that he ranks as the all-time leading scorer in NFL history, New Orleans Saints history and Atlanta Falcons history.

The Denmark native spent his first 13 years in New Orleans from 1982-1994. He had two stints in Atlanta (1995-2000 and 2006-07) and also spent time with the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings.

Greg Gabriel: Chris Ballard 'may have scared' Bears in interview from The Chicago Tribune

As expected, the Chicago Bears found their successor to Phil Emery before the end of the week. But the man many thought would be the team's new general manager won't be at Halas Hall on Friday.

Kansas City Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard, who spent a decade with the Bears as an area scout and served as the director of pro scouting in 2012, was expected to enjoy a Chicago homecoming. Instead, Ryan Pace is leaving the New Orleans Saints after 13 seasons to retool an underachieving Bears team.

Former Bears director of college scouting Greg Gabriel said Thursday that Ballard, the assumed front-runner, may have been perceived as being too close to the franchise.

Bears' general manager hiring process leaves one red flag from CSN Chicago

It might prove to be nothing at all. If Pace drafts well, the Bears will be fine. But if there has been concern over the functioning at the highest levels of the Bears organization, the events of Thursday did not necessarily allay those concerns.

Ballard was with the Bears when Jerry Angelo was fired. He arrived after Mark Hatley was fired, in part because of disagreements with president Ted Phillips over control of money. He knows how organizational structures work. He was retained by Emery, then left for a promotion with the Kansas City Chiefs. He is intimately familiar with the functioning - and dysfunction - of the Chicago Bears.

So the fact that Ballard, who knows the organization and many of the key players, had issues with Bears operational lines should raise some alarms.

Chiefs sign QB Terrelle Pryor, WR Da'Rick Rogers from Chiefs Digest

The signing of Pryor could signal the Chiefs are ready to move on from backup Chase Daniel, who is due a base salary of $3.75 million in 2015 and will count $4.8 million against the salary cap.

While Daniel has proven to be a quality backup to Smith, Daniel's contract leaves him vulnerable considering the Chiefs now have less expensive options to consider with Pryor, Bray and Murray.

Reserve/future contracts are signed with a free-agent player who was not on a team's active roster when the regular season ended. The signings are accomplished with a view to the upcoming season once the league's calendar year kicks off.

Resilient safety position overcomes adversity from Chiefs Digest

After getting torched by the deep ball against Andrew Luck and the Colts in a disappointing end to the 2013 season, the back end of coverage was a subject of serious concern entering 2014. The Chiefs parted ways with safeties Kendrick Lewis and Quintin Demps, and started over.

Despite depth chart fluctuations, the Chiefs' safeties proved surprisingly resilient and arguably were a big reason why the Chiefs are the only team in the NFL to not yield a 300-yard passing game or a 50-yard completion in 2014.

New starters at cornerback contribute to stout pass defense from Chiefs Digest

General manager John Dorsey's preferred emphasis on strong, physical corners played a part in the team's stout pass defense. An argument exists, however, that some credit for the gaudy defensive passing statistics should also go to a pass rush that finished fifth in the league with 46 sacks.

Still, what the Chiefs defense secondary did is impressive.

Kansas City ranked second in the NFL behind the Seahawks in passing yards allowed (203.2), tied for fourth in yards per pass play (5.5), tied for sixth in touchdowns allowed (22) and was the only team in the league to not allow a 300-yard passer or a 50-yard pass completion.

Looming Cuts Coming for the Kansas City Chiefs | GM's Box from ProFootballSpot

Easy Decisions

Changes will come to the team and the defense in 2015. Even apart from the big three decisions, some cuts will need to be made in order to make room for new talent. Here are hard takes on their situations. (data provided by spotrac.com and overthecap.com)

Donnie Avery and AJ Jenkins

The experiment with these two journeymen wide receivers is a failure. The stats say it all: 24 catches for less than 300 yards combined in 2014. Avery admittedly had injury issues to deal with this season. However, when he did return, he was unable to beat out undrafted free agent rookie Albert Wilson. He was a healthy scratch to end the season. Jenkins had injuries as well. Although he was given extended chances to make an impact, but wasn't able to equal half of Wilson's production.

The Bottom line: Both Avery and Jenkins are weight the franchise cannot afford to carry. With the team needing to acquire a legitimate #1 wide receiver and starting guard, their salary cap savings of $4.8M combined will be best put to use in the free agent market.

2015 NFL Mock Draft: Bob McManaman's first edition from AZ Central

18. Kansas City Chiefs: WR Kevin White, 6-3, 210, West Virginia.

Comment: No, they typically don't throw deep to their wide receivers in Kansas City, but they can now if they select White. He's big and fast and can completely change the Chiefs' offensive dynamics.

Broncos remain Mile High roadblock for opponents from The Denver Post

With Bucky Bronco standing tall above the south scoreboard, Sports Authority Field is certainly a recognizable venue, but it's not considered the best home-field advantage in the NFL. That title is usually bestowed upon CenturyLink Field, where Seahawks fans are so proud of their ability to create noise, the stadium is equipped with two built-in seismometers to measure decibels.

In December 2013, the Seahawks set a record for the world's loudest stadium, recording crowd noise at 137.6 decibels. But Seattle was outdone this season by Kansas City Chiefs fans, who created 142.2 decibels worth of noise at Arrowhead Stadium during a Monday night game.

"I think our home-field advantage is slightly underrated," said Tristan Cook, a 23-year-old Broncos fan from Boulder who attends about three games a season. "You hear all about Seattle's home-field advantage and noise, but I don't think that we are necessarily given the credit we deserve here. It's a great crowd."

Second coming of Eugene Chung and John Lee? from The Korean Times

How many Korean American kids do you see playing big-name college football?

The answer, for now, is "very few," with exceptions like college standouts like first-round NFL pick Eugene Chung - now the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive line assistant - and John Lee, the UCLA kicker who was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986.

Two Korean American high school seniors are looking to change that.

Duron Carter Scheduled To Meet With Minnesota Vikings Friday from The Viking Age

It looks as though Duron Carter is ready to make another run at the NFL now.  Recently, he has interviewed and worked out with the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts.  On Friday, he is set to visit with the Vikings for a workout.  After that, he has known meetings scheduled with the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns.

PREP NOTEBOOK: GHSA coaches consider splitting Class AA from The Savannah Morning News

Murray to hold camp in Savannah

Aaron Murray, the former Georgia star and current quarterback with the Kansas City Chiefs, is set to hold a football camp in Savannah on Saturday, Feb. 28. The camp will be held from 8 a.m.-noon at a site to be determined.

The event is being organized by Everett Sports Marketing. The cost ranges from $100-$185 for the camp, which is for all positions from ages 6-17.

It's the ‘Mismatch' Round of the NFL Playoffs from The Wall Street Journal

But in the two previous seasons where all four divisional games featured big favorites, both years produced some memorable upsets. In the 1995 season, Brett Favre led the Green Bay Packers to a 27-17 upset of the San Francisco 49ers-the only time during the 1990s that an NFC team won a divisional playoff game on the road. That same season, the Indianapolis Colts knocked off Kansas City, the AFC's top seed, 10-7 after Chiefs kicker Lin Elliott missed three field goals.

The ball is in my court from RDS [translated from the original French]

The six months I have spent in Kansas City as part of my first campaign in the professional world of football have been very lucky for me. My perception of an athlete's life has changed significantly since I joined the Chiefs. I say bluntly: I thought I was well informed about the realities of an NFL player, but I've been through since the beginning of the summer a learning process that made me grow.

For example, I knew that a rigorous training regimen and a healthy diet were factors of success, but live within a season, it does not necessarily captures the fundamental importance of the preparation. Our body has to be ready at any time to operate to its full capacity. It's not just down to being ready to fight every Sunday afternoon. It is also a wealth of details such as the quality of sleep and mental preparation which, if neglected, mean that we are not in top form when it comes time to perform.