The Morning Fix

Right now, it’s more how I feel and how the week progresses,” Cassel said. “It’s also how the coaches evaluate me throughout the week and whether I can make the throws and play to the best of my ability.

“If I can go out there and I can do everything I want to do without any discomfort, without any pain, then I’m going to go out and play. Medically, there are a number of different issues that come up with a procedure like this in terms of just how I feel. The medical staff, the trainers, the coaches will discuss it. We’ll proceed with caution.”

“The vision I have of what I want our team to be is a balanced team,” Haley said. “And a team that can run the football when the other team knows you’re going to run it. I think when you can do that, you generally have a good chance to be a good team.”

Chiefs safety Kendrick Lewis, who’s also a rookie, said he worked out with Bradford at this year’s NFL combine and got to know him well. He has since learned a few more things about St. Louis’ quarterback.

“He doesn’t get himself in trouble,” Lewis said. “The coaches do a (good) job with their game plan, not putting him in situations where he can hurt himself.

“I don’t think there is anyway to predict how he is going to move though the week. He was out there (Wednesday) in a limited capacity. It’s not your normal injury situation that you normally deal with. There are a lot of factors in play.”

Cassel smiled and said, “hopefully, 99.999%” he would play Sunday at St. Louis.

The stars were out that night. The Chiefs, who featured a quarterback named Joe Montana (no relation to Hannah or her father), were heading to their first deep playoff run since Super Bowl IV.