Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 8/22

Kansas City Chiefs Defeat the Seattle Seahawks 14-13 from The Associated Press via The Mothership

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Chiefs counterpart Alex Smith struggled behind their unsettled offensive lines in Kansas City's 14-13 preseason victory over Seattle on Friday night.

Wilson was 9 of 15 for 78 yards, though most of those completions came on his final drive, when tight end Jimmy Graham finally got involved in the game. Otherwise, Wilson spent his half of work running away from Chiefs pass rushers Justin Houston and Dee Ford.

At least he wasn't throwing to the wrong team.

Eric Berry Returns Home to Arrowhead Stadium from The Mothership

"The ride through the stadium and up to the stadium, smelling the barbecue and seeing the fans out there waving, it was definitely a wonderful feeling," Berry said of coming to the stadium on Saturday.

"I made sure my window was rolled down so I could just take it all in. I drove extra slow this time."

Berry's mother, "granny" and uncle were in attendance at the game on Saturday, which is nothing new, but it definitely takes on a new meaning now.

"It's just extra special now," he said. "We've been through a lot as a family. It's the same way as the team; we've been through a lot as a team."

Chiefs vs. Seahawks: 10 Observations from The Mothership

After two straight five-play drives to start the game, the Chiefs offense bounced back with a beautiful 14-play drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith to Jeremy Maclin.

Smith showed a tremendous amount of toughness to stay in the pocket and deliver some of the throws he made on that drive.

The first two plays of the drive were a completion to Maclin for nine yards, followed up by a misdirection pitch on an end-around where Maclin carried the ball for eight yards.

Smith went 7 for 9 on the drive and threw a much-celebrated touchdown to the receiver, Maclin.

What We Learned from the Chiefs Postgame Media Availability from The Mothership

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid updated the media on the status of linebackers Dee Ford, Dezman Moses and James-Michael Johnson.

"Dee Ford has what looks like a fractured rib, but we'll see how things go here in the next day," he said. "He took quite a shot there to the ribs. [Dezman] Moses had some hamstring tightness, as did [James-Michael Johnson], he had calf tightness. "

Reid evaluated the play of his team as a whole.

"All and all, I thought we did some good things," he said. "Obviously, [we] had the 14-play drive with the ones was important. We kind of have to clean up our two-minute at the end of the half there, but we'll get that taken care of. We're playing a good football team, so we can't forget that. This group here—Pete [Carroll] does a heck of a job with them."

KCChiefs.com Videos: Chiefs vs. Seahawks: Game Highlights from The Mothership

Chiefs grab a familiar preseason victory over Seattle, 14-13 from Chiefs Digest

For those that watched the Chiefs preseason opener last weekend against Arizona, Friday night's game against the Seattle Seahawks at Arrowhead Stadium was more of the same:

The No. 1 offense struggled, especially along the offensive line where pass protection for quarterback Alex Smith was spotty. Plus, the Chiefs offense gave Seattle it's only touchdown on an interception return.

The starting defense made some progress and held quarterback Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense out of the end zone.

The Chiefs No. 2 offense behind quarterback Chase Daniel showed more oomph than the starters, coming out after halftime and putting together the touchdown drive that provided the winning points.

Chase Daniel again outshines Alex Smith for Chiefs from ESPN

Here are some highs and lows in terms of individual performances from the Kansas City Chiefs' win over the Seattle Seahawks:

HIGHS

QB Chase Daniel: Daniel led a touchdown drive on his first possession to begin the second half and threw yet another scoring pass, this time for one yard to James O'Shaughnessy. Daniel is proving the Chiefs made the right decision by keeping him around at a cost of $3.8 million.

Chase Daniel continues momentum, headlines second preseason game highs from Chiefs Digest

Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin caught his first touchdown in a Kansas City uniform on a 3-yard pass from Alex Smith. Maclin said after the game that he beat the linebacker on speed, and credited the play to coach Andy Reid. Maclin's last touchdown came in a Philadelphia Eagles uniform versus Seattle in Week 14 of 2014.

"It was just a good call," Maclin said. "We were able to get me on a linebacker- created a mismatch there. I just kind of beat him with speed on the outside. It was a really good call by Coach Reid."

Chiefs look no closer to solving their offensive line problems from ESPN

The Chiefs are halfway through the preseason, but appear no closer to settling on their starting offensive line or being able to protect their starting quarterback than they were when training camp began three weeks ago. Things aren't very pretty on their offensive line, a fact acknowledged afterward by left tackle Donald Stephenson.

"You're not going to come out there and be all you want to be,'' Stephenson said. "That's what the preseason is for.''

The preseason is about getting better, but it's not progress when an opposing defensive lineman comes unblocked to level the quarterback on the game's first play.

Notebook: Chiefs' Chris Conley shows aggressive streak in return game from Chiefs Digest

Perhaps to the casual eye it was a case of rookie jitters or first preseason action for Conley, who didn't play in the preseason opener.

The rookie wide receiver, however, didn't lose situational awareness in those situations; it was by design.

"It's a mentality they want us returners to have, especially in the preseason," Conley said. "When you get your hands on the ball, make something happen with it. That's the mentality that I want to carry over, be courageous. I think we got great guys on the front line and I felt like I had space, and they encourage that."

Chiefs Fans to Select New Touchdown Celebration Song through Online Vote from The Mothership

The fan vote is now open and will run through Monday, August 31 at 11:59 p.m. Voting will take place on www.chiefs.com/tdsongvote, where fans will be able to share their vote socially. Fans will also be able to vote through their Chiefs Kingdom Rewards account available on the Chiefs Mobile App and at www.chiefskingdomrewards.com

The Chiefs are changing their TD song and here is why we should all be happy about it from KC Star

Glitter's disgusting past gives the Chiefs reason to update the fan experience, which the team will do through a public vote. It's similar to what the Royals did with the sixth-inning song. I loved that the Royals changed their song, but that was just because I was sick of "Friends in Low Places," and thought it was an amazingly horrible choice for a self-respecting sports team.

Keeping money away from a convicted sexual predator of children is a far better reason to change the song.

Gary Glitter jailed for 16 years from BBC News [article from Feb 27, 2015]

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was sentenced for attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under 13.

Sentencing, Judge Alistair McCreath said he could find "no real evidence" that Gadd had atoned for his crimes.

What we learned: Chase Daniel is football's Crash Davis from NFL.com

Football's version of fictional bush-league hero Crash Davis, Daniel has thrown for 21 touchdowns and nearly 3,000 yards across seven preseasons and a pair of strong Week 17 efforts against the Chargers.

In 366 combined preseason and regular-season attempts, Daniel has posted the following rate stats: completion percentage (65.0 percent), yards per attempt (7.4), touchdown-to-interception ratio (21:9) and passer rating (95.6).

Daniel's game film has been strong enough to land a spot on Around The NFL's "Making the Leap" countdown in the past.

Even if he's not the NFL's most physically gifted quarterback, Daniel has earned a chance to compete for a starting job when he reaches free agency next offseason.

Willie Lanier at 70: "All the joints are still mine" from The Richmond Times-Dispatch

"I've been blessed. I don't have anything wrong. I have no pain from anything," Lanier said Friday. "All the joints are still mine."

He is in his fifth year as a member of the NFL Player Safety Advisory Panel, which examines all aspects of football safety.

"I'm still trying to be a part of how the game improves for everyone who's playing today, how to enhance their long-term journey," Lanier said.

The Children's Place benefits from Chiefs' charity from KCTV5

It is the NFL's largest single-game fund-raiser and this year the Children's Place is benefiting from the Chiefs Charity Game.

This is the 32nd anniversary of the charity game. The event has raised more than $10 million for charities in the past five years.

Every three years the Hunt Family Foundation and Kansas City Chiefs select one local charity who will benefit.

The Children's Place was selected for 2015.The nonprofit offers therapy and healing to victims of abuse and neglect.

Chiefs Getting Wide Right from MMQB

Logic would hold that being a lesser raw talent, Smith would need better receivers around him. But it's closer to the opposite of that. Smith's playing style will not allow him to regularly do the things a quarterback must do to capitalize on big-time wide receivers. He won't push the ball downfield or fit anticipation throws into the tight windows that tend to surround receivers whom defenses have specifically game-planned for. He doesn't have the arm, and therefore has not cultivated the mentality to play this way...

...Pardon the football slur, but Smith is a caretaker. You don't want to dedicate major cap space to targets a caretaker is unlikely to fully use.

32 Paragraphs About 32 Teams: A Thinking Fan's Guide To The NFL Season from Deadspin

Third down is where Alex Smith's conservatism may hurt his teams the most. Since 2011, Smith has taken the most third-down sacks (69) and has the worst sack rate (13.4 percent) among quarterbacks with at least 200 third-down passes. And when he's not pulling the trigger, he's firing too short. In 2014, Smith's average third-down pass was thrown 2.3 yards short of the first-down marker, the shortest average in the league when compared to the needed yards for a first down. Aaron Rodgers had the longest average pass at 4.0 yards beyond the first-down marker. More than any quarterback in the league, Smith relies on his receivers to break tackles and gain yards after the catch to convert on third down. This metric is called Air Minus Need Differential (AMND). The average starting quarterback has an AMND of plus-1.4 since 2011. Smith's minus-1.7 AMND is the lowest since 2011 among players with at least 300 attempts. It's as if Smith is playing a different sport than his peers. (Scott Kacsmar)

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has lived his baptism in the NFL from RDS [translated from the original French]

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif got the first start of his career, while Kansas City Chiefs faced the finalists of the last Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks.

At the first Chiefs offensive sequence, it faces the great Brandon Mebane. The Quebecers can compete with the strength tackle. Mebane has the upper and records the sack.

The guard, however, came to take revenge moments later. He made a great job to protect Alex Smith who spotted Jamaal Charles for the first play.