Apr 25, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Eric Fisher (Central Michigan) is introduced as the number one overall pick to the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Draft is one of the greatest events for any football fanatic. It is a great event to prove you’re a better General Manager than the one employed by your favorite team. It’s easy to yell at your television set about whom they just took or why they didn’t grab your guy. Soren Petro, host of the Program on Sports Radio 810 WHB, this week talked about an exercise he does every draft. He writes down whom he would have taken with each selection. No trades, just in the given draft order and tracks them for progress  It gave me the idea for my column this week to do the same. If not him, then who? Before I tackled this task, I thought that it would be pretty simple since I feel I have a pretty good grasp on the football world. Wait, one-minute football friends: it’s not as easy as it may seem. All us Arm-Chair GM’s may want to try this exercise before we crown ourselves the next GM in waiting. Take a look at mine and let the debate begin Addicts!

1^st Round

1^st Pick – Eric Fisher – T – Central Michigan

Opinion – I really couldn’t argue with the Fisher pick. I was originally all in for Luke Joeckel but understand the potential in Fisher. I personally would have taken Joeckel because of his college competition (apparently the SEC is pretty good, haven’t heard much about them) and his being seen as a more proven commodity. That being said, I really like the Fisher pick and don’t think either one of these guys would have been a bad choice. The ceiling on Fisher is supposed to be higher where as Joeckel is more ready at the moment. After listening to Fisher talk after the draft I did gain a lot of respect and perspective on the man and think he will fit in exceptionally well in KC.

3^rd Round 

63^rd Pick – Travis Kelce – TE – Cincinnati

Opinion – I was pretty surprised we drafted a tight end, considering we have Tony Moeaki already and just signed Anthony Fasano. The scouting report on Kelce is intriguing.  The NFL.com profile compares him to Rob Gronkowski. That was not a typo: Kelce was compared to the Gronk.  He has had off-field problems, but has been a solid run blocker who became a bigger receiving weapon this past year. This gives us three legit tight ends. This also says to me that the new regime is not too sold on Moeaki.  I would have taken Matt Barkley, quarterback from USC who fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in the early 4^th round. I thought having Barkley sit behind Alex Smith and Chase Daniels for a few years learning from Reid and company could really be a phenomenal grab in the third round. (Mind you, this is before we knew we could sign Tyler Bray undrafted, which makes me feel better now.) I do think the Kelce pick could be a great pick up. Who knows, we may see the multiple tight end sets in KC this next season.

96^th Pick – Knile Davis – RB – Arkansas

Opinion – I wasn’t sold on the Knile Davis pick just because of his injury history, losing an entire collegian season while at Arkansas. Once seen as a promising runner, Davis has battled injuries in every season for the Razorbacks. He also has had a history of bad ball security. He did have one of the better combine workouts, which was probably the key to the Chiefs taking him here. If running back was the key need here and injuries didn’t scare you away, I would have went with Marcus Lattimore from South Carolina who later went to the Niners in the 4^th round. Lattimore compares to Arian Foster, a very balanced back. The key issue with Lattimore is his knee injuries. The other option I was strongly pushing was taking WR Chris Harper from Kansas State with this pick. Harper was taken in the 4^th round at 123^rd by the Seattle Seahawks. I think the fit of Harper to play the 3^rd or 4^th receiver spot would have been great for the Chiefs’ offense.  Harper is a great position receiver, something that has never really materialized from Jonathan Baldwin. He would have created a perfect balance between Dwayne Bowe and newly acquired burner Donnie Avery.

4^th Round 

99^th Pick – Nico Johnson – LB – Alabama

Opinion – I love the pick of Nico Johnson in this round. The Chiefs needed to find a linebacker ready to step in and play inside LB alongside Derrick Johnson. NJ (you know he’ll be called that) will complement DJ perfectly in the 3-4 scheme. Nico is known as a strong run defender and assignment-sure backer per NFL.com’s scouting report. This allows DJ to continue to be the playmaker he has grown into the past few seasons. Johnson & Johnson (that one will also be used) should thrive.

5^th Round

134^th Pick – Sanders Commings – CB – Georgia 

Opinion – I like the pick of Commings the more and more I look into it. His biggest red flag is an off-the-field incident he had at the beginning of 2012. I think this may have dropped him a few rounds. The scouting report on Commings says he doesn’t have ideal footwork, but his size and ability are great. He may be able to work on this, making him a steal in the fifth round. Hopefully his off-the-field problems are behind him as well. One player I would have considered as well here is Iowa State linebacker A.J. Klein. who went 14 picks later to the Carolina Panthers. I loved Klein in college, where he was a solid leader and tackle machine.  He could have added great depth to the positive and be a monster on special teams. His knock was his speed, but his instincts should help that deficiency.

6^th Round 

170^th Pick – Eric Kush – C – California (PA)

Opinion – The Chiefs needed an insurance plan if Rodney Hudson isn’t completely healed from last season’s leg injury. They got one in small school stud Eric Kush. Even if Hudson is healthy, they needed depth at the position  I really like the Kush pick. Kush has great foot speed and excellent reaching ability for a center. Lance Zierlein from thesidelineview.com had him rated as the 3^rd best center in the draft and projected him in the 4^th round. Great value at the 6^th round and really wouldn’t change anything about this pick as well.

204^th Pick – Braden Wilson – FB – Kansas State

Opinion – Andy Reid was quoted saying he thought Wilson was the best blocking fullback in this draft. He justified that comment by making Wilson his second sixth round pick this draft. All Wilson did was block for big time runners while at Kansas State. First, he blocked for now-Miami Dolphins back Daniel Thomas. Then he blocked for dual-threat Heisman Trophy finalist Collin Klein and his teammate John Hubert. Some thought Wilson’s ability could see him play some tight end or H-back in the NFL, but I think he will be used primary as a blocking back for Jamaal Charles. I really like this pick (FYI I am biased though because I am a K-State fan) and think Reid will utilize his skills well.

7^th Round

207^th Pick – Mike Catapano – DE – Princeton

Opinion – The Chiefs took Catapano, the 2012 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year with their final pick in the draft. From what I hear, Catapano may play outside linebacker to back up Tamba Hali and has a similar motor. I would have really liked to take a chance on area guy David Bass from Missouri Western State, whom the Oakland Raiders grabbed later in the round. Everything I have heard about Bass was the man was a beast while in St. Joe.  We will have to wait to see if Catapano can make me forget Bass is now a Raider.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

The second week of the 2012 NFL season is in the books and the race to win the AFC West is taking shape.

Let’s take a look at where each team stands in the early-going.

1. San Diego Chargers (2-0)

2. Denver Broncos (1-1)

3. Kansas City Chiefs (0-2)

4. Oakland Raiders (0-2)

The Chargers are on top after defeating the Raiders in Week 1 and the Titans in Week 2. San Diego crushed the Titans 38-10 and despite not having the hardest schedule thus far, they still appear to be the cream of the division.

Up Next: The Chargers will play their second straight home game when they host the Atlanta Falcons Sunday afternoon on Fox. Atlanta has feasted on the AFC West thus far, beating the Chiefs in KC and the Broncos last night on MNF. This will be San Diego’s first big test as the Falcons look like Super Bowl contenders.

The Broncos looked good in Week 1, dispatching the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they looked mortal last night when they traveled to Atlanta to take on the Falcons. Peyton Manning threw three first quarter interceptions allowing the Falcons to get out ahead quickly. Denver eventually closed the gap in the 4th quarter but fell short in a 27-21 loss.

Up Next: The Broncos face their third straight tough game as they return home to host the Houston Texans. Houston has won both its first two games easily and will aim to put the Broncos under .500.

Kansas City has looked like one of the NFL’s worst teams through two weeks. They got creamed by the Falcons and Bills in consecutive weeks. They’ve been weak on both offense and defense. KC’s defenders are giving up an average of 142.5 yards per-game on the ground and 235 yards per-game through the air.

Up Next: Things don’t get easier for the Chiefs as they take their horror show on the road to take on the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are also 0-2 after losing to the Panthers and Redskins in consecutive weeks. Still, the Saints are scoring points and if KC can’t get its defense under control, an 0-3 start could be on the way.

The Oakland Raiders, like the Chiefs, just look awful. The Raiders are averaging a pitiful 34 yards per-game on the ground, despite featuring versatile RB Darren McFadden. Oakland got smacked around last week by the Miami Dolphins, giving up 35 points to a rookie QB many experts think the Dolphins reached for in the first round of the NFL draft.

Up Next: The Raiders will be at home to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Oakland can’t find a way to get McFadden going, they also could remain in the AFC West basement with the Chiefs.

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

“It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.” – Sun Tzu, Art of War

The Kansas City Chiefs square off against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. As Addicts, odds are that we as fans are well aware of the Chiefs’ strengths and weaknesses, even if we choose not to outwardly express our thoughts and concerns on certain issues. We know our Chiefs, so to speak. But beyond a few players or personnel, not all of us can say the same about knowing the Falcons.

Though Central Pennsylvania tends to be a melting pot for NFL fans, I can’t say that I know any Atlanta Falcons fans that I can speak football with on a regular basis. Deciding to be proactive, I looked a little further in depth to what Atlanta excelled at last season, and what they might be looking to do this season, and wasn’t really pleased with what I discovered.

Offense

The Falcons are generally perceived as one of the more balanced offenses in the NFL. The likes of Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez pose a clear passing threat, and Michael Turner has been one of the better premier backs in the league for some time. This is well-known.

Julio Jones put in an impressive preseason and has shown that he should be worth every bit that GM Thomas Dimitroff gave up in order to draft him. This should also be known.

What may not be known by the average fan is that the Falcons are among the fastest starting teams in the league. Since 2008, the Falcons ranked first in the league for points scored on their first offensive possession (173), and last season ranked third in the league in this category scoring 51 points on opening drives, which includes six touchdowns. It could be said that Atlanta has become quite accustomed to putting up points right off the bat, and if Kansas City can stall such efforts it may be a bigger momentum-shifting, tone-setting course of events than might otherwise be suspected.

Further, the Falcons and Matt Ryan have publicized Atlanta’s intentions to make more big play attempts in the passing game this season. They are going to throw the deep ball, and they are likely going to throw it more often than other teams, and with much more serious threats in Julio Jones and Roddy White. Matt Ryan has gone so far as to state that “… [completing] one out of three [passes] on balls way down the field [is] not a bad day”, so do not expect a couple failed attempts to be enough to deter Atlanta from going to the air on Sunday. The threat of the deep ball will be a daylong threat, and it will be up to the Chiefs’ banged up secondary and hurting pass rush to keep this threat from becoming a reality.

Additionally, the Falcons boast an 83% scoring efficiency on drives lasting 10 or more plays during the period of 2008-present, and own a 40-13 Win/Loss record during this period when Matt Ryan throws at least one touchdown pass during a game. So on top of guarding against the quick, big play, Kansas City will have to safeguard against the long drawn out drives. Peachy.

On a more positive note, Tony Gonzalez is winding down on his career, and though he has not experienced quite as big of a dropoff in productivity as, say, Antonio Gates, he is not the same player we remember so fondly from his time in Kansas City. Returning to Kansas City may give him an added boost in his play, but overall he’s not as big of a threat as some of us may remember; make no mistake about it, though, he is still a threat. Additionally, there has been a lot of speculation over several outlets that Michael Turner may be looking at a decline in his production. Turner has been around long enough for the general wear and tear that comes with being an NFL running back to take its toll on his body and slow him down a bit. The only other Atlanta running back getting a lot of notice this preseason has been Jacquizz Rodgers, and quite frankly, Nate Eachus put in better performances than Jacquizz Rodgers. When the Chiefs’ No. 5 RB looks better than the Falcons’ No. 2 (or 3) RB, it either says great things about the Chiefs, terrible things about the Falcons, or some combination thereof; in any case, if Turner can be shutdown, the remaining options aren’t looking too threatening.

Defense

If the Falcons’ offense is exceptionally good at scoring on their first possession, the Falcons’ defense is exceptionally good at preventing opposing teams from scoring on first offensive possessions. In fact, the Falcons only allowed 16 points to come from opponents’ first possessions last season, with only one touchdown contributing to that total. Since 2008, the Falcons have only allowed 20.1 points per game, and the organization seems to chalk this up in large part due to the team’s ability to set the tone of the game by preventing opponents from scoring on their first possessions. If you’re Romeo Crennel and Brian Daboll, this one seems pretty clear: score, and score at the first opportunity. Even if the drive takes several plays until meeting the end result of points on the board, it will be a great blow to the Falcons to shove the ball down their throat and have them second guessing their defensive decisions and strategy.

During the offseason, Atlanta traded a seventh-round pick to Philadelphia to retain the services of Asante Samuels. This move gives the Falcons three very good players in their secondary at the CB position: Samuels, Dunta Robinson and Brent Grimes. Samuels himself is a bit of a ballhawk, but has been justifiably labeled as a bit of a liability at times. Samuels tends to play on instinct, and while sometimes those instincts help lend to his interception totals, he is apt to give up the big play when those instincts cause him to make the wrong decision on where the ball is going.

Brent Grimes is one of the better CBs in the league, and should be likened a bit to Brandon Flowers. Just as Flowers may not be much of a household name outside the AFC West, Grimes may not be much of a household name outside the NFC South. But like with Flowers, this doesn’t make Grimes any less great.

As for Dunta Robinson, he has been somewhat subjected to the stigma of not living up to his potential; this is likely to change this season. The Atlanta Falcons are putting a high priority on getting to the QB this season, and have been devising new blitzing schemes to better incorporate their personnel in reaching this goal; Dunta Robinson is a large part of these new plans. DC Mike Nolan will be playing Robinson out of the slot position, and allowing Robinson to take on a more physical style of football from this position. Robinson is expected to see more blitzing opportunities and couldn’t be happier for it. This might not be too much of a factor for Kansas City. Though Cassel didn’t look too good in the preseason on the longer developing plays where blitzing was involved, the Chiefs did realize quite a bit of success in throwing the shorter, quicker passes utilizing Charles and Hillis out of the backfield, and McCluster and the TEs over the middle. A successful drive against the Falcons may not involve a lot of impressive deeper down the field style plays, but may rather involve chipping yardage off one play at a time and rendering the Falcons’ new blitzing designs largely ineffectual.

Rubbing salt in the defensive wound, the Falcons lost MLB Curtis Lofton during the offseason which will not only have their LB corps hurting quite a bit, but is a big loss to their leadership on that side of the ball. I am much happier that the Chiefs will be facing a Falcons defense without Lofton than a Falcons defense with him.

Special Teams

The Falcons appear to boast an impressive punting game. P Matt Bosher is consistently successful at dropping the ball inside opponents’ own 20-yard lines, and the punt coverage unit was the NFL’s best last year, holding opponents to an average of 4.8 yards per return.

K Matt Bryant is 37 and has likely lost some kicking strength. While I wouldn’t classify him as great, he is performing at a slightly above average level, and can be trusted to ace kicks less than 40 yards, with 40+ yard attempts being a little iffier.

As for Atlanta’s return game, it looks to be in a transitional stage with untested (in regular games) returner Jacquizz Rodgers currently topping the charts. With poor coverage any returner could take it to the house, but the Chiefs do not appear to be likely to give up a TD to a team at this stage of their return game.

______

Overall, Sunday’s game will definitely be a tough battle, as Atlanta looks to be among the more well-rounded teams in the league.

Expected momentum shifts the Chiefs’ defense may cause: 1) stopping the fast start; 2) preventing the big play multiple times in a row; 3) holding Atlanta’s drives to nine plays or less before forcing the punt.

Expected moment shifts the Chiefs’ offense may spur: 1) enacting a fast start of their own; 2) beating the blitz; 3) making Atlanta’s D doubt itself (and their FO sorry for letting Lofton go) by striking up the middle by land and by air.

Expected momentum shifts on special teams: 1) engineering punt returns for double digit yardage; 2) forcing Matt Bryant to attempt 40+ yard FGs.

And, of course, the final momentum shifter is Kansas City’s 12^th man: Make it loud, Chiefs fans, and remember, there’s no shame in making their ears bleed: it just adds more red to the field.

With the Chiefs starting their first practices on Friday, the 2012 season has for all intents and purposes begun.

With any luck, by this time next week we will know more about how the 2012 Chiefs will look, play and prosper and you will no longer have to read articles rehashing past moves or talking about what might happen once the season kicks off. That’s right, ladies and gents. Very soon, there will be some real football to talk about.

But until then, let’s take one last look back at the 204 days that we have been without Chiefs football since we rained on Tebow’s playoff parade in Week 17. After all, back then the starting quarterback was Kyle Orton, everyone thought we were going to draft David DeCastro and Peyton Manning was still a Colt.

Best Arrest

Although Al Davis, sadly, has left us, his legacy lives on in a number of absurd debilitating moves that have kept the Oakland Raiders uncompetitive for a record stretch of time. One of Davis’ recent hits was drafting Alabama LB Ronaldo McClain 8^th overall in 2010 and signing him to a (pre-CBA) $40-million contract. On top of being an overall disappointment – even more so than his cousin LeRon McClain’s stint with the Chiefs – apparently, a fun night out for him can be described as “third-degree assault, menacing, reckless endangerment and discharging a firearm inside the city limits.” Due to all of that silliness, McClain was sentenced to 180 days in jail. Despite his mediocre play on the field, he is still the Raiders’ starting middle linebacker (for now) and it appears this sentence will keep him out of the whole 2012 season.

He's a lot cuter when he's not shooting a gun by your head. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

But don’t feel too bad for the guy; while in jail he’ll probably still be making around $5 million in guaranteed money.

Best Roster Move

While there could arguably be a debate over who the Chiefs’ best offseason acquisition was, clearly the best improvement in single position came with the signing of Tackle Eric Winston and the banishment of Barry Richardson to the St. Louis Rams (who apparently hate their quarterback). It is truly rare when a team is able to turn their weakest position into one of their strongest, but that is what KC pulled off this year. In addition to getting the guy that is quite possibly the best right tackle in football, adding Winston also instantly made the Chiefs O-line one of the strengths of the team. After years of god awful blocking, we now have one of the better units in the league with bookend tackles and a fairly deep bunch of young players in the interior.

Best League Scheduling Oversight

Due to rules governing prime time games, the Chiefs in effect get two bye weeks this season. In addition to their Week 7 bye, the Chiefs have an 11-day break between their Week 9 Thursday Night Football game against the Chargers and a Monday Night Football game against the Steelers.

Best Throw-Down Move in the Division

I’m not going to lie, while this sentiment is in no way based in any type of rationality, I love that Peyton Manning has joined the division after snubbing the Chiefs. Is this objectively good for the Chiefs’ chances of winning the division? No. Does it motivate me even more to crush the Donkeys? Yes.

My only complaint is that the Chiefs don’t get to face off against Manning’s merry band of mules until Week 12, and, in all likelihood, he will have broken his neck seven times by then. On the other hand, if his bionic neck holds up that long, it’s very likely that Week 12 is going to be a great game – one that will have major divisional and playoff implications. Although I have been watching Peyton carve up defenses for the last decade, I can’t help but mentally taunt Denver every day until that game comes. This year is our year. Bring it on. Throw-down time.

Best Offseason Prediction

I totally said that we should draft Dontari Poe and everyone complained about the suggestion and in the end we did draft him. So there.

Worst Offseason Storyline

Arrowhead Anxiety-gate. Although many of you have likely forgotten about this by now, the 2011 offseason started with a stunning expose by the Star’s Kent Babb about how Scott Pioli scared the bejesus out of most people who work for the Chiefs. Todd Haley believed he was wiretapped. He wasn’t alone. Employee turnover was extreme. Old people were swept out the door. Pioli picked up trash he found and creepily presented it at board meetings in evidence bags. Everyone, including business-side employees, was forbidden from getting a peek at anything going on at the practice field.

Not only was this bad press for the Chiefs, this was the kind of story that shook at the very base of all of our feelings about the Pioli regime. Sure, he’s been very effective, but he just might be an exiled dictator in an elaborate disguise. The fact that the publication of the story was followed by increasing rumors and comments by league figures that this is why many players choose to avoid Kansas City left a sour taste in my mouth. Was it Pioli and his reputation that made Peyton Manning decide to not even visit with the team, despite its playoff-ready roster? Was Todd Haley batnuts crazy because Pioli’s management style turned him into a paranoid schizophrenic? We’ll probably never know.

Worst Moment of Chiefs Fandom

Cassel getting booed at a celebrity softball game. Really, people? I’m not saying the guy’s a great player, but wait until he throws his 5^th check-down in a row or manages to toss a no-look interception on a screen pass while in field-goal range with the game on the line. Even then, I’d prefer you all to react the same way that I, as any gentlemen, acts in this situation. Let a single tear roll down your cheek, physically assault someone in the immediate vicinity and order another beer (note: I only cry because of the adrenaline).

Worst Overall Change

The uniform design. Look, it’s not that bad and it seems like the material is going to be a lot better, but I agreed with some commenter who said they look like red Browns jerseys. Now I can’t get imagine out my head and all I can think is “yuck” whenever I see them (I do dig the gloves though).

This week, I went back to watching the Chiefs’ 2011 game tape. While I had been primarily focused on losses to examine areas the Chiefs needed to improve, I had been saving one particular game as a snack somewhere down the road.

Beating the undefeated Packers was great. Stuffing the Donkeys to force them to enter the playoffs on a three-game losing streak made me happy. But, nothing could compare to the emotions I felt when watching our team rise from the grave in Week 8 on Monday Night Football to take the division lead against the San Diego Chargers.

Triumphant Zombie Chiefs they were. It was the exact midpoint of the season and it looked like the Chiefs were about to shake off their crap injury luck and humiliating start and go back to being the AFC Champs that they were.

For starters, what made the game great was that it was one of the rare times that it was absolutely clear that all Chiefs fans believed. Arrowhead has always been one of the loudest, most inhospitable places to play for visiting teams, but our fans took it to a new level that night. Even watching it on TV from tens of thousands of miles away, I could see the difference. After playing like the worst team in the sport for the first two and a half games of the season, the Chiefs had brought themselves to a place where they had to play a game against a rival on national television at home for the division lead. On Halloween. There is simply no better setup than that.

I also had forgotten previously just how good the Chiefs-Chargers rivalry is. Of course, I personally despise the Raiders and even the Broncos much more vehemently, but that comes mostly out of the irrational, non-competitive parts of my brain. Now, with a hall-o-fame QB at the helm in Denver, all the focus has been on them and the race to beat them out for the 2012 title. But, in all that talk, it is forgotten that the Chiefs and the Chargers have together won seven of the last nine division championships. That means that Oakland and Denver together have shared just 22 percent of the division titles over the last nine years. It’s anyone’s guess how strong the Chargers will be this year, but one thing is clear: for the last decade, KC and SD have owned the title.

Unfortunately, although KC had achieved an impressive three-game winning streak to get them to that game, that place in time, the offense indeed did play most of the game like the undead. The Chargers far outgained the Chiefs, and the difference in the game came down to capitalizing on San Diego mistakes. Still, there was some magic in the air in Arrowhead on Halloween. Dark magic.

First off, Tamba Hali didn’t just play like a man possessed. He was a man possessed. Whatever evil spirit took hold of him was just toying with the Chargers’ offensive tackles all game. He forced more than half a dozen penalties, had two sacks, a timely forced fumble, and overall terrorized the bejesus out of San Diego blockers.

Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Cassel hit some really pretty passes.

Despite all of that, the Chiefs played a really poor middle part of the game. A signature of the Todd Haley era, the offense constantly struggled to get plays and substitutions in on time. This led to a comedy of errors at the end of the first half, in which the Chargers were on the run but KC was just far too discombobulated to do anything right. Eventually, everyone just scratched their heads and kicked a field goal. By the end of the game, the color commentators were repeatedly using the phrase “Poor Matt Cassel” as our beleaguered QB was having to basically organize the bloody mess himself.

John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Although I didn’t know this when I watched the game live, when McGraw went out down with an injury and Donald Washington went in to replace him, this spelled doom for the Chiefs. This time around, I knew automatically that this would be the turning point. Sure enough, San Diego came from 10 points behind to tie the Chiefs in the second half. After being totally ineffective in the passing game in the first half, once there was only one competent Chiefs safety on the field, SD hit big play after big play to drag themselves back into the game.

The game was also largely a microcosm of Jonathan Baldwin’s rookie year. He hauled in the catch of his NFL career (thus far) — a beautiful deep pass for a TD — but he also committed several mental errors. He dropped two balls, both of which hit him in the hands, and the second one bounced off of his breadbasket and into the arms of a San Diego defender for an interception. It was a Jekyll and Hyde game for what has so far been a Jekyll and Hyde receiver.

As much as Hali was playing out of his mind, when the Chargers were able to neutralize his pass rush (usually through unnoticed penalties), Rivers was as comfortable as if he had returned to his mother’s womb. Houston had not yet arrived to the scene.

And, while I am all for getting Houston to develop and mature into a legit pass-rushing threat, I am still not convinced that is what he is just yet. Three of his 5.5 sacks in 2011 came against the Bears – a bad quarterback behind a bad offensive line (seriously, Caleb Hanie finished with a worse 2011 passer rating than Tyler Palko).

This brings me to my next disturbing realization while watching this game. Like our match against the Packers, in this game, San Diego was playing like absolute dogcrap 80 percent of the time. They had nine penalties in the first half, they turned over the ball four times and missed an easy field goal. Given all of that, the Chiefs should have beaten them by 20. Instead, we beat them by a field goal in overtime.

In part, this is just how the Chiefs play. We keep every game close and work to go the extra mile by the end of the game. But that won’t cut it in the playoffs. Playoff teams beat their opponents into submission when they have the chance and are able to run their offense like a machine. While I have no doubt the Chiefs will be able to secure the division title again in 2012, this roster still has yet to prove that it can be dominant.

That is why I think it is important to remember the Zombie Chiefs and remember where we are coming from. We are not just coming off of an off year that was plagued with injures. No. We were a dead team that clawed its way back into the division race as ugly as it was, and played with every ounce of its potential to come within a single blocked field goal of the postseason again.

We need to remember that hunger of a zombie team that had been written off by the league. We need to remember what it was like to be the fans of a team standing behind the walls of the Alamo on Halloween, defending its title like champs when everyone expected it to fold. I know there has been a lot of gloating and optimism among myself and others on this site for all of the shrewd offseason additions and the swift recovery of our wounded stars. But, if we are going to take this team’s destiny to its full potential, we need to remember where we came from.

The 2012 season for me is just a continuation of our rise from the grave. The media can talk about Peyton Manning all they want. Tamba will be feeding on his brain and JC will be dancing in his end zone before long. To steal a motto from the Greyjoys, “What is dead can never die.” Long live the Zombie Chiefs!

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Bill Williamson of ESPN.com’s AFC West blog has been ranking the various positions in the AFC West (this is what happens in the offseason) and he thinks Dwayne Bowe is currently the division’s best wide receiver.

Here is what Williamson had to say:

1. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City: With Jackson gone, Bowe, who received the franchise tag by the Chiefs this offseason, is the clear top receiver in the division.

I can get behind that. Looking over the list, Williamson is right. Without Jackson, there really isn’t even a conversation to be had over who is the best. I mean, Chargers WR Malcom Floyd came in at #2.

As for the rest of KC’s receivers, Jonathan Baldwin came in at #8, mostly on potential. Steve Breaston was, in my opinion, was underrated at #11.

You can see the whole list at ESPN.com.

So, that happened. Another NFL season (and postseason) has come and gone. Forgive my lack of enthusiasm as I watched the New York Giants win the Super Bowl for the fourth time in my lifetime, and the New England Patriots lose it for the fourth time (to go along with their three championships). In fact, in the 38 Super Bowls I have lived through (not that I really remember Super Bowls IX through, oh, XV or XVI), 27 different teams have participated. Not one of them has been the Kansas City Chiefs—their Super Bowl appearances live in other people’s memories.

But the good news, of course, is that as soon as Tom Brady’s last “Hail Myra” pass landed incomplete in the end zone and Super Bowl XLVI officially came to an end, the Chiefs were immediately back in contention. All eyes, and odds, are now focused on 2012-13, and the earliest probabilities are already in. The MGM Grand Las Vegas and at least one leading gaming site have opened betting season with the Chiefs as 50-1 shots to win Super Bowl XLVII, which is as good or better than 13 other teams. Not quite as favorable as the 40-1 odds they were given a year ago, but much better than the one-in-100 chance set before the Chiefs’ 2010 AFC West Championship season.

In other words, the odds-makers don’t really know what they’re doing, at least at this stage—out of last year’s top five preseason favorites, three didn’t even make the playoffs. But for fans, it’s amusing to see just how favorably (or not) our team’s prospects are marked in the books of various distinguished sports-betting establishments, and ask ourselves, “What if…?”

Last year at this time, I made a list of the XLVI reasons the Chiefs could win it all. A number of those “reasons” are now no longer with the team or else tore up their knees within the first few weeks of the season. So I’ve learned my lesson—and I’m not about to try to come up with XLVII reasons now. After all, so many things can happen: the most important players can get hurt, the coach can go crazy, the GM can go crazier…I mean, what are the odds?

Ah. Good question. Why don’t we find out?

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Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

The coaching carousel continues to turn today.

We are still waiting for Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Romeo Crennel to name his new coaches, chief among them a new offensive coordinator.

Elsewhere in the division, dramatic changes are taking place. The Oakland Raiders are still without a head coach, though ESPN.com is reporting that they plan to hire Denver Broncos Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen. The move is not yet official but according to ESPN, it is all but a done deal.
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“Winning isn’t everything—it’s the only thing.”

This legendary sports quote is most often attributed to legendary coach Vince Lombardi,* but rarely is it reprinted in its entirety: “Winning isn’t everything—it’s the only thing I love more than picking up candy wrappers.”

*Speaking of Green Bay, I didn’t get to see much of the games this past weekend, but I’m looking forward to Sunday. What time is Saints-Packers?

In the history of sports and coaching—particularly the rarified domain of big-time professional sports ownership and leadership—there have always been idiosyncratic personalities. That’s not news, and it’s one of the reasons why Kansas City Star reporter Kent Babb’s examination of “Arrowhead Anxiety” was as credible in its concept as it was dreadful in some of its details.

The sidebar—“Gold, greed lead to murder”—is actually unrelated.

Babb’s story was a solid piece of reporting, based on weeks of investigation and reflection and more than 30 interviews (as it should be—I wish I hadn’t been so pleasantly surprised by its thoroughness). For that alone, it deserved to be on the front page. As to whether it deserved to be the front page—for anyone who hasn’t seen the hard copy, Babb’s story (and its accompanying, menacing graphic) occupy about 80 percent of the broadsheet (right)—or to be the only sports story discussed in Kansas City and to make its way to many other markets, I have mixed feelings.

Actually, not mixed at all—I hate that we’re talking about this, because even though football is the undercurrent and the reason we care, actual football-on-the-field is removed from this discussion. I understand it’s interesting that Chiefs executives may seem more preoccupied with the surreptitious routes their employees take to lunch (so as not to be seen fraternizing with one another) than they are with Dwayne Bowe’s pass routes,* but does that mean we should be? Can’t we all just get back to relishing the end of Tebow Time?**

*I stole that clever route comparison from Nick Wright, who spent about four hours—three-and-a-half hours too many—discussing this on his show yesterday.

**And its return next fall, which, I feel, will ultimately be a good thing for the Chiefs (and all of the Denver Broncos’ opponents).

Yes, I’m writing about it right now, and no, I don’t think I’m hypocritical for doing so. Not wanting to talk about something and believing it can’t be ignored are two different things. I’m adding to the hubbub,* but I hope that by talking it out now, we will all see this story fade away sooner.

*Couldn’t decide whether to go with “hubbub” or “hullabaloo.” Hullabaloo? Yeah, I should have used hullabaloo.

Because I don’t have much at all to add—it’s hard to imagine how anyone could—to the comprehensive scrutiny laid down by Big Matt and Lyle yesterday. I appreciate the points made all around. I agree with most of Matt’s observations and roughly 100 percent of Lyle’s conclusions (and in the comments, it sounds like Matt agrees more than disagrees, too). So before I leave it at that, I will share just a couple of my own, none-too-profound reactions to the article and its allegations…

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It was a painful Christmas weekend for the Chiefs and their fans. Hope was high when the day began and even later, the best outcome seemed highly possible: everything was falling into place—if only Kansas City could pull out a win at home. But a failed field-goal attempt at the end of regulation meant overtime and ultimately, one big play and a relatively short field goal—and the Chiefs were officially out of the playoffs.

Hard to believe it was 40 years ago.

Wait. What? Which game were you watching?

Yes, one day after the Raiders defeated the Chiefs in overtime, for their fifth straight win at Arrowhead*, I found myself masochistically sitting through another heartbreaking Chiefs loss in overtime. Double overtime.

*The last time that had happened at Arrowhead? It hadn’t.

I’ve written before about my joy in reliving past Chiefs glory that I was not living to enjoy in the first place. On Sunday, I almost too eagerly took the chance to experience some of the pain I wasn’t yet born* to appreciate, either: The NFL Network had cobbled together some never-before-rebroadcast archival footage for an hour-long special commemorating “The Longest Game Ever,” Kansas City’s 1971 division playoff against the Miami Dolphins, which was—spoiler alert!—the longest game ever, lasting well into its second overtime before—double spoiler alert—Kansas City succumbed 27-24 on a Garo Yepremian field goal.

*Though, as I indirectly explained to my daughter, the game plays a role in my being born:

[There is] a story I like to repeat, though I most definitely was not there: On December 25, 1971, [your grandmother] was watching the historic Chiefs-Dolphins divisional playoff, which I’m sure you know is still the longest game in NFL history (that’s why it’s historic!). When the game went into a second overtime, she had to choose whether or not to leave to go on a scheduled date with your grandfather. She went. This started a process—one that, I hope, your own mother will be the one to explain to you in several years—that eventually resulted in me.

In fact, when my father came to pick up my mom, it was the first time he had ever met his future in-laws, who were visiting—and at that moment glued to the TV. They would claim, jokingly—though we were never sure how much so—that they couldn’t remember meeting him that day.

Though it is part of my own family’s lore, I had never known all the little details and dramas of that day—an unseasonably 63-degree Christmas Day, which was seen as an ominous sign against a team from south Florida. The players were somewhat bummed to be playing on Christmas, an NFL first, though Len Dawson reminds viewers that many were just happy to be playing for an extra paycheck in an era when football salaries didn’t always make ends meet (Bobby Bell was working full time for General Motors—being an all-Pro linebacker for the Chiefs was merely his second job).

In the end, it would come down to the kickers. Miami’s Garo Yepremian, who looks not unlike Wallace Shawn as Vizzini in The Princess Bride, was “the smallest man in professional football,” and had spent the previous two years selling his own line of neckties. Jan Stenerud, meanwhile, was “not just a kicker, but also an athlete”—no offense, kickers—who revolutionized the position as the first dominant soccer-style kicker,* and is still the only “pure kicker” voted into the Pro-Football Hall of Fame. In fact, this game featured 15 future Hall-of-Famers (12 on the field, both head coaches, and one beloved owner). Statistically, though, the game belonged to the unlikely Ed Podolak, whose 350 all-purpose yards set an NFL playoff record that still stands.

*Have you seen the straight-ahead style kickers used to use? It’s amazing they ever made a field goal from more than 10 yards away.

However, the game would be most remembered for how the foremost kicker in the league turned into the Lin Elliot of his day, if only for one day. Stenerud missed two field goals, including a potential game-winner near the end of regulation, and had another attempt blocked in overtime. Yepremian also missed, but not twice. Eighty-two minutes and 40 seconds after the game began (according to the game clock), the short, bald former tie-maker unmade this tie with a 37-yard field goal, and the favored Chiefs were out. Inconceivable!

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I would like to open today’s post with a brief statement. This will just take a moment…

I TOLD YOU SO.

Sure, I’m not usually the type of person to say, “I told you so,” precisely because when I make a rare prediction, it usually turns out not to be so. But six weeks ago today, I posted the following:

The Kansas City Chiefs will beat the Green Bay Packers.

That’s right. You read it here first…

The Chiefs will beat the Packers. How do I know this? The same way I am able to evaluate every other question raised during this up-and-down Chiefs season: I have no idea. But they will. And the Packers may very well be 13-0 by the time they visit Arrowhead on December 18… They may even be resting some starters. In any event, I don’t expect the Chiefs will be playing the spoiler in terms of Green Bay’s cruise back to the playoffs. But at least [the Packers] will leave here feeling rotten.

Perhaps you infer from my giddiness that I did not have the most confidence in my own prediction. Like I said, I don’t often get these things right. Clearly, the Kyle Orton Era in Kansas City has indeed lasted more than one minute, and now the discussion is whether it should and/or will last more than one season.

I won’t say I expected Sunday’s shocker, but I felt it was really possible, a gut feeling loosely supported by historical data. I had been thinking back to the Chiefs’ triumph over the then-reigning-champion Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009—a year in which KC only won three other games—which led me to do a little research. I found that, since 1979, the Chiefs had been 6-2 (now 7-2) at home against defending Super Bowl champs. So there.

But I certainly didn’t predict that by the time this game arrived the Chiefs would have lost their starting quarterback and then ditched their head coach—the two major developments that made the difference in this upset. This changes everything. Or, rather, everything has changed. From the first drive forward on Sunday, this felt like a new team (with the same, but improved defense).

I’ll let others continue the discussion about what these new circumstances on the sidelines and behind center might mean for the Chiefs into 2012 and beyond. For now, I just care about next week and the week after that. That’s right. I’m feeling overly optimistic again.*

*It’s sorta, like, my thing.

So I will double down and offer one more “bold” prediction: The Chiefs will win the AFC West.

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Now that recent Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley has been “relieved of his duties” (and, presumably, his salary), it’s time to dust off that resume. This is a tough time to be looking for employment, and prospects are especially grim for a man whose primary job skills are his ability and tendency to yell at quarterbacks and NFL officials (honestly, the only place an NFL coach can get hired right now is Coors Light). Fortunately, it seems that Haley has already been busy revising the top part of his resume to reflect his hard-earned experience as a member of the Chiefs organization. Let’s take a look!

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It was a much-needed win for the Raiders after dropping two straight games within the division to the Chiefs and Broncos.

The win moved the Raiders into sole possession of first place in the AFC West. Oakland is now 5-4.

More after the jump.
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Just a reminder that Thursday Night Football begins tonight on NFL Network when the Oakland Raiders square off against the San Diego Chargers.

The game sets up an important week in the AFC West as all four teams will be in action against a division foe. With three teams tied for first place, every game is crucial.

Both teams that will take the field tonight are struggling. Oakland has lost two straight, including an divisional matchup last weekend against the Denver Broncos.

On the other sideline, the San Diego Chargers are in a mid-season slide that they usually reserve for the beginning of the season. The Chargers started 4-1 before losing three straight to the Jets, Chiefs and Packers.

If you are in the SD or Oakland area, or you are fortunate enough to have NFL Network through your cable provider, tonight is a must watch AFC West clash. Don’t forget to set your fantasy football teams.

Any early predictions?

Apparently, the Chiefs don’t do so well against AFC East opponents at home in 2011. That is one thing we did learn this weekend. Not only did the winless Miami Dolphins’ streak of, you know, being winless come to an emphatic end with a 31-3 exorcism at Arrowhead, but a couple of other streaks fizzled out on Sunday, too, starting with K.C.’s own recent undefeated stretch. So it looks like there will be no unprecedented 13-3 season after an 0-3 start, no 16-game run to a Super Bowl title. Oh well.

Perhaps, too, this marks the conclusion of Head Coach Todd Haley’s days as a bedraggled, unwashed sideline hobo. “I want to take my hat off to Miami,” he said after the game, effectively announcing an end to the streak in which he has worn the same streaked cap since the autumnal equinox.

But what’s weird, or not so weird, is that—other than dropping the Chiefs back to 4-4 for the first half of the season (and, hey, who saw even that as a strong possibility back in mid-September?)—the unfortunate events of November 6, 2011, tell us almost nothing about what is coming next for this team in the second half of the season.

Will these Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos at home this Sunday? I have no idea. Probably? Maybe not?

Will these Chiefs win the AFC West? I have no idea. Maybe? Probably not? It is possible. Of course it’s possible. They are currently in a three-way tie for first, and as rough as their second half looks, the road facing each of their divisional compatriots looks just as tough. This team could still end up 6-10 or 8-8 or even 9-7, but which nine? Which seven?

So, at the midway point, I might as well make one semi-bold prediction:

The Kansas City Chiefs will beat the Green Bay Packers.

That’s right. You read it here first. Unless, of course, you’d already read it somewhere else, and that’s okay, too.

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Trying to predict what the 2011 Kansas City Chiefs are going to do next is just about as futile as trying to determine if Donald Trump’s hair is combed straight down and then back or just back.

We like things to be easy to understand, particularly in sports and particularly in sports media. The Patriots and Steelers are going to be good every year. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the league’s best QB’s. The Browns and Bengals will consistently stink.

Yet every year, there are a few stories that buck the norm and the media spends most of the season turning them into the stories of the year. What is wrong with Philip Rivers? Will Peyton Manning ever play football again? The Bengals are supposed to be our season long punch line, what gives?

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If you have been following my writing for the last couple of weeks, here and here, you probably started to notice a trend.  Both of those articles were about Todd Haley in some form or fashion.  I guess you could say I have developed a man crush on the non-shaving, sweaty hat wearing, Chiefs head coach.  However, after four straight wins, which established a tie for first place in the AFC West, these next two games could be the biggest of the season for Haley and the Chiefs. 

This weekend, the Miami Dolphins pay a visit to Arrowhead Stadium.  The following weekend is divisional game against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead.  While Denver does not appear to be a threat, divisional rivalries rarely play out the way they are supposed to.  These next two home games will go a long way in determining the Chiefs success in 2011, and will truly show how well Todd Haley is at motivating his players.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have brought their season back from the dead by rattling off four straight wins after an 0-3 start. At 4-3, the Chiefs are tied for the division lead with 10 games to play.

Despite the team’s recent success, winning the AFC West is still going to be a tough task. Looking ahead at KC’s schedule and the schedules of the rest of the teams in the division, I believe 10 wins will likely be enough to snag the AFC West crown. If that is the case, we can easily break down what the Chiefs must do the rest of the way to repeat as division champs.

And we’ll do just that, after the jump.

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Monday nights are usually when I sit down, reflect on what the Kansas City Chiefs did or didn’t do over the weekend just past, and pull something out of my ass together for my Tuesday post. But on this particular Monday night, it so happens I was a bit distracted by something rather compelling that I was watching on television. I only had time to jot down some observations during breaks in the action as it unfolded. So consider these my Quick Slants. Some of them are even football-related…

• Hey, nice graveyard rendition of Danse Macabre by the Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City during the MNF intro (my friend Kristin was the Zombie bassist on the left).
• Not a big fan of all those not-so-terrible white towels. The idea was lame enough at Busch Stadium during the World Series and it’s no more impressive at Arrowhead. What? Is everyone surrendering? Or just waving their tighty-whities in the air? Hard to tell.
• Is that a five-inch Herm Edwards screaming at a couple of clueless tools to “ice down those Coors Lights, baby?” Finally—a coaching job worthy of Herm’s stature.
• Lamest Halloween costume seen in the crowd: Zach Galifianakis’s “Alan” with beard, sunglasses, and strap-on baby (with sunglasses) from The Hangover. Soooo 2009. (And there’s no good reason to remind Chiefs fans of 2009.)
• Did I hear that right about Chiefs center Casey Wiegmann? 10,502 snaps in a row? I wonder if that statistic about a routine, seemingly mundane element of the game will take on more significance later…
• Newest addition to Todd Haley’s nasty-as-he-wants-to-be ensemble: Navy undershirt with some kind of emblem that resembles either a grease stain or maybe a patch of sweat.

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As any respectable quantum astrophysicist will tell you, a black hole is an object with sufficient density that the force of gravity prevents anything from drifting beyond it; its defining feature is the appearance of an event horizon—a boundary in space-time through which matter and light can only pass inward towards the mass of the black hole. Nothing, not even light, can escape. (I, of course, did not learn this from any quantum astrophysicist. I cut-and-pasted it from Wikipedia.)

The Black Hole also happens to be the first movie I can remember that both enthralled and terrified me (according to Wikipedia, it came out in theaters when I was only five years old*). I have no recollection whatsoever as to what the movie was about,** but I remember being very frightened by the violent, faceless drones and morbidly fascinated by the concept that there was a place somewhere out there that could swallow everything that got near it. It gave me nightmares. I still can’t believe that this was a Disney movie.***

*Not that Wikipedia necessarily knows how old I am or when I was born…though, yeah, probably.

**If you have three minutes and twenty-nine seconds to kill, watch this trailer and tell me if you have any clue in hell as to what this movie is about either.

***Though come to think of it, two other traumatic moments of my early childhood involved seeing Bambi’s mother get shot and watching Dumbo get taunted mercilessly because he was different. WTF, Disney?

I mention all this because a black hole—and you probably realize that I am now referring to that Black Hole—is precisely what this Chiefs team and its fans need right now: an inescapable force to pull us in and push us forward into a situation both fascinating and infuriating (like this guy).

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I’m not much of an NBA fan*, so upon hearing the latest news of that league’s lockout—Commissioner David Stern has cancelled the first two weeks of the NBA season—all I could think was this: Ah, if only those first two weeks of the NFL season had never happened! The Chiefs would now be 2-1, the only blemish a loss at San Diego (expected) by the score of 20-17 (quite closer than expected). The team would still have a healthy Eric Berry and Jamaal Charles (assuming they wouldn’t have been injured in Weeks Three, Four, or Five). And Todd Haley would probably not be desperate enough to pledge to go unshaven (and to continue wearing velour hoodies and dirty sweat pants) so long as the Chiefs keep winning.

*I don’t know—watching monster-sized millionaires smash into each other on a football field doesn’t seem nearly as ridiculous as watching full-grown multi-millionaires scurry around in shorts on a squeaky court.

It’s so hard to analyze this team right now. The Chiefs seem both better and worse than their 2-3 record. Over the course of five weeks, they have laid down and died, and then fought back when it made no sense for them to have any fight left. And hindsight, as it does, has changed the context, too. While there’s no excuse for the embarrassments of the first two weeks, the two L’s on the schedule—against the only team New England hasn’t been able to beat this year and a team no one has been able to beat—aren’t looking as bad. The two wins, meanwhile, came against teams that were winless at the time, but both were real victories, requiring comebacks and last stands.

So the team may not be hopeless, but still doesn’t inspire much hope. Plus, even the “Suck for Luck” dream is dead, as the Chiefs are now in line behind or alongside 10 other teams—including the Eagles and Falcons!—for that first draft pick. As Lyle put it plainly in his post yesterday, “the odds of the Chiefs getting the #1 overall pick are about as likely as the Chiefs winning the division at this point.” And that, frankly, is depressing. This team seems destined for mediocrity of the mediocre kind: Four wins? Five wins? Maybe six? The Chiefs still don’t have an identity and it’s hard to imagine exactly what identity will emerge. I can see this team losing to Denver and then beating the Patriots or Packers. I really can.

So…it’s probably just as well that we are heading into the bye week, that curious once-a-year (per team) phenomenon that the NFL introduced in 1990 (according to Wikipedia), in order to extend the season by a week and “provide time for teams to rest” (according to nflbyeweek.com*). Perhaps we should all take a rest, too, some time to clear our heads and clear the slate.

*Yes, that’s real: there is an entire web site—one page—dedicated solely to a listing of NFL teams’ byes by week. It is brought to you by the same people who created whatdayoftheweekisitwhereyoulive.org and clickheretoseeawebpage.net.

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The Kansas City Chiefs climbed out of the AFC West basement on Sunday with their come-from-behind win over the winless Indianapolis Colts.

Now, heading into their bye week, the Chiefs will be eying their second division game of the season against the Oakland Raiders.

Let’s take a look at the current AFC West standings after the jump.

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The Oakland Raiders and their first-year head coach Hugh Jackson are engaging in a little chest puffing.

Jackson guaranteed to reporters that his Raiders would win the AFC West.

“We’re not backing down from what the expectation is here by no stretch of the imagination. It’s not going to change,” Jackson said. “We’re going to win the AFC West. We’re going to do everything we can to get in the playoffs and go challenge for a Super Bowl. I am not backing down from that.”

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The Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC West in 2010, but if they hope to repeat as division champs, they’ll have to play from behind.

With the first quarter of the season in the books, the division race is still wide open.

Let’s take a look at the race:

San Diego Chargers 3-1

Oakland Raiders 2-2

Kansas City Chiefs 1-3

Denver Broncos 1-3

We’ll review how the rest of the division fared on Sunday after the jump.

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There was a moment during Sunday’s game in San Diego—well, there were several, but this one in particular will make the point—when nothing else about the Kansas City Chiefs’ woeful 2011 season mattered: With a minute-and-a-half left, the Chiefs had just tightened the score to 20-17, and the Chargers—having just failed to convert a third-and-eight—decided to go for it on fourth-and-inches, on what they hoped would be the last meaningful play of the game. But San Diego and Philip Rivers forgot the whole “sneaky” part essential to a successful quarterback sneak. The Chiefs saw it coming from a mile (actually, inches) away, and even an overly generous spot and the fickle imprecision of an official chain measurement couldn’t deny them a huge stop.

The Chiefs, only down by three, now had the ball, the momentum, decent field position, and—thanks in part to the fact that Rivers hadn’t run nearly as many seconds off the clock as he could have*—plenty of time with which to work. A quick 23-yard pass to Leonard Pope into San Diego territory underlined just what was happening here: the Chiefs weren’t struggling to set up a tie game and overtime, they were driving toward their first win of the season.

*No, there weren’t any well-coached teams out there this day.

But the fact that it would be their first win was—in the moment—completely irrelevant to me. There was no context outside of the scoreboard and the game clock. It didn’t matter that even three points might still be a tall order for a team that in three games so far had been outscored 109-27. It didn’t matter that the Chiefs were going to have to finish this drive without Jamaal Charles or Tony Moeaki. It didn’t matter that last year, with those players, on this same field, the soon-to-be-playoff-bound Chiefs had been wholly embarrassed 31-0 (albeit with Brodie Croyle filling in for Matt Cassel). It didn’t matter either that this year, until the last few possessions, Cassel had looked shakier than Croyle at his worst.

So what? The same pieces of this puzzle that had completely fallen apart on us the first two weeks appeared to be coming together. Even the same blank sideline expression of head coach Todd Haley (overcompensating for last week’s strawberry/melon-colored velour hooded blouse with a slightly more bad-ass black windbreaker) now seemed less clueless and more confidence-inspiring. Despite everything—again, because nothing else mattered—it looked likely that the Chiefs could beat the Chargers, in very dramatic fashion, and announce themselves as the champions of this game on this day. This was the Super Bowl.

This moment, this dose of adrenaline, was precisely the kind of fix that had lead to our addiction in the first place. The reason we are Chiefs fans, and stay Chiefs fans, is for the ever-present anticipation of the next one of these moments. As I’ve tried to deal with the opening debacles of this season, I’ve pointed out that I (merely) expect to be entertained. On Sunday, the Chiefs fulfilled that expectation. Even their last play on offense—as stultifying a way to lose a game as Cassel’s interception was—was still another moment: it felt good to be angry, to care.

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Chiefs Only Two Back In Race For AFC’s Top Seed

Chiefs Will Need To Settle For 14-2 Season

Chiefs Unbeaten Against Division In 2011

Clark Hunt Celebrates Another Year Of Record Profits

No, this is not going to be another Pollyanna-ish pep talk. To quote the guy who was proofreading the alphabet and noticed something missing between E and G: “F that.”

The point (if there’s a point) is that there really is no way to put a positive spin on what’s happening. The sad fact is that essentially all of us will admit there’s no way we’ll see any of those headlines a month or even a week from now (except, of course, for that last one). And there’s really no way to make sense,* or for that matter, fun, of all this, either.

*Be warned, this post will have a lot of asterisks and even double asterisks,** if only to fill space where there is no coherent line of reasoning.

**See?

There is no comedy here, unless it’s a Divine Comedy: The lockout was the first level of hell* and it has descended from there to the preseason and down with each regular-season game, and each new torn ACL. To paraphrase Mel Brooks, “Tragedy is when Jamaal Charles cuts his finger; comedy is when the Detroit Lions walk into an open sewer and die.” (Not exactly sure how or whether that applies, but I gotta fill this post with words, people.)

*Or if you insist on being an I-told-you-so realist, it probably started with the final regular-season game last year against the Raiders, followed by the Wild Card blowout…

Like all of you, I’ve got my computer desktop set with the official, AA-endorsed wallpaper. What a brilliant, visual reminder that the season hasn’t even really begun. And yet, it still feels all but over. (more…)

The AFC West race is off and running and the 2011 version did not start as favorable for the Kansas City Chiefs as the 2010 campaign.

Last season the Chiefs dispatched of the Chargers on Monday Night Football while the Raiders and Broncos lost to the Titans and Jaguars respectively.

This season, the West figures to be much tighter.

Recaps and the standings after the jump.

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As of the time of this post, the kick off of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2011 season is a mere 120 hours away. It had been my intention, in a final effort at unbridled optimism before the first game starts, to put together the ultimate Season-Opening Pep Talk. Instead, since we’re all in this together, from the highs of last season to the lows of the lockout to whatever the hell you might call this preseason, I decided it would be better if we all write our own.

But to help, I composed this quick-n-easy Mad Lib. For anyone who doesn’t remember how this works, it’s pretty simple: Just fill in the first word that comes to mind after each prompt on the list, and then match it to the corresponding space(s) in the form that follows. If it all works out, you should have yourself a perfectly uplifting speech* to rally your spirits for Sunday!

*Special thanks to The Sports Cliché List for help in structuring a more authentically stereotypical pep talk.

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Holy crap we are about to have football again.  This Friday we will actually get to see the Red and Gold take the field for the first time in 7 months, and I am very excited.  Sure it’s only the preseason, and at best the first string players will only be on the field for the first series of downs, but after the craziness of this past off season it might as well be the freaking Super Bowl.

So all of this excitement has got me to thinking about the upcoming season, and I thought it would be fun for all of us to get some pre-preseason predictions on record to see just how close our expectations are to reality.  At the end of the season I will go through and tally up who had the most correct answers and they will be dubbed the winner of this little contest.  I will donate my entire months Arrowhead Addict salary to the winner (bad time to tell you all this is basically a volunteer gig…).

We will start after the jump.  Merlin, you can play so long as you leave the cover on your seeing stone.

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So all in all it appears that unfortunately I was right about free agency up to this point.  No big splashes (unless you count picking up the Cardinals #2 receiver) and a few decent players picked up at bargain prices.  According to Scott Pioli he has no set cap for spending from the Hunt family, and basically has free reign to pay for and pick up whoever he wants for the team.  Evidently Pioli never saw the movie “Blank Check.”

So either Pioli is lying (or how I’m sure he would justify it telling a “half-truth”) or he really doesn’t see any big free agents that are worth the asking price.  At least here the Chiefs are consistent, applying the same mode of thinking that brought the Chiefs Mike Vrabel: Bring in veterans that can play a couple of years to help mentor draft picks until they are ready to take over.  I don’t mind that line of thought other than the fact that it makes for a dull free agent market.

Another interesting piece of information from this press conference was that Haley and Pioli had a so called “comprehensive plan” for dealing with free agency.  I think we can all agree that nothing that they have done so far appears to be all that comprehensive. During the FA threads it was mentioned that weighing all of the gains and losses that the Chiefs were a worse team this year than last year.  Granted that may be true, but the more I think about it the more I think that is not the question we should ask.  I think the real question that should be at the forefront of our Addict brain is:  Are the Chiefs better than the other AFC West teams?

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In the history of the hated—from Al Davis to John Elway to Philip Rivers and everyone in between—the name Brandon Siler doesn’t exactly make the blood boil. Still, when it was announced that the linebacker, who had spent his entire four-year career with the San Diego Chargers, would be the newest Brandon on Kansas City’s defense, it was another small victory, and not only because Siler will hopefully fill a real need for the Chiefs. Our gain is a little sweeter when it’s also a rival’s loss.

Brandon Siler, being interviewed while changing out of his Chargers rags and into his new Chiefs uniform.

And that got me thinking about those times in recent Chiefs history when we’ve had the chance to see an old rival reborn in red and gold—and even wash away his sins with a game-changing or dominating performance against his old team. Even something as relatively mundane as a well-executed third-down conversion or defensive stop for short gain has an added ounce of gratification. There’s that feeling of “Yeah, that’s right—he’s with us now.”

So, in no particular order, here are a few of the notable former AFC West adversaries who saw the light (or were traded, or discarded by the forces of darkness and picked up as a steal in free agency, etc.) and used their football force for good.

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The life of a Kansas City sports fan is pretty rough.  Although the Kansas City Royals won a championship in 1985, they have regressed with the David Glass ownership to a virtual farm club for large markets and will never have a chance of contending for a division win let alone a championship.  Their renovated stadium is fantastic, especially since you can get tickets starting at less than ten dollars since no one cares to go see them play.

The Chiefs.  Oh my beloved Chiefs.  One of the originals.  They have not been to a Super Bowl (Paddy can I even say “Super Bowl” without owing the NFL 50k?) since January 11, 1970.  Since then, every single team in their division including the Seattle Seahawks, who were not only kicked out of the division but the conference, have gone to the big game.  The Broncos and Raiders of course have claimed World Champion titles in that span more than once each.  To add to that 41 year drought the Chiefs this year set the record for post season ineptness by losing seven straight playoff games.

So before these comments start rolling in, I want to set this straight.  I understand that the Jets have a longer drought than the Chiefs.  I understand that there are many teams that have not won a Super Bowl, and others that have never been at all.  I don’t care.  These other teams are denials that we bring up to escape the fact that aside from getting a game away from the Super Bowl with Joe Montana, the Chiefs have done nothing of significance since the year “The Odd Couple” debuted on television.  Winning teams and fans do not think like this.  This is part of a culture of losing that we as fans have become part of.

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Last week, the Kansas City Chiefs named Kevin Ross to the team’s Hall of Fame. It was an unassailable choice, and gave us all another opportunity to look back at greatness, which right now is much less agonizing than looking ahead and wondering what—if anything—is to come.

Ross was one of the first Chiefs players I remember knowing by name. That’s probably because his was among the generic-brand, locally produced trading cards that I was given by Officer MacDonald (I never knew Officer MacDonald’s first name, though I probably thought it was “Officer”), the off-duty cop who moonlighted (well, technically, daylighted) as the crossing guard in front of Brookridge Elementary School. As I recall, the free Chiefs cards were part of some initiative to teach kids not to be too shy to approach policemen if they ever needed anything. Did it work? I can’t say I have any fond feelings for the police, but I’m sure this helped feed my developing Chiefs fixation.

I remember, as I first started to understand the basics of football,* that Ross was one of my favorite players because his job was to catch balls that were not thrown to him. That struck me as so much more impressive and difficult, if less painful, than, say, trying to run through a line of 300-pound men without getting crushed. He earned a starting job before his first NFL game and pulled in six picks in his rookie season. Ross, of course, went on to become one of the most consistent, dominating defensive backs in the NFL, and an anchor of one of the greatest defenses of the 1990s. Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith were so free to do their thing, in part, because Ross and Albert Lewis had their backs (and/or receivers). In short, Kevin Ross was a lock.

*In my earliest, earliest memories of watching football—perhaps from my crib—I remember thinking that the whole point of the game was to make as big a pile of bodies as possible in the middle of the field. I don’t think I realized, at first, that there was even a ball involved.

But here’s something I didn’t know, probably because I was in third grade when it happened: Ross was drafted in the seventh round. Number 173 overall. The Chiefs took eight players ahead of him: Bill Maas, John Alt, Herman Heard, and five other guys I’m pretty sure you haven’t heard of, at least not as Chiefs. And Ross wasn’t even the first DB the Chiefs picked that year, so it’s not quite like they just weren’t trying to fill that position—they used their fourth-round pick (#90 overall) on Mark Robinson, a consensus All-American at Penn State, who would be traded to Tampa Bay a few years later and finish with a perfectly respectable 15 career interceptions (23 fewer than Ross).

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So here I was, all ready to dissect the shocking, fifth-round-fortune-shaping impact of the recent Kansas City Chiefs-Detroit Lions tampering scandal, when I realized: hey, it’s Oscar Week. And three weeks after the Super Bowl and seven weeks after the Chiefs’ last game,* it’s at least a mild comfort to once again have an over-hyped contest to watch on TV come Sunday, perfect for side bets and drinking games.

*It was an honor just being nominated. Oh, bullshit.

But I can understand if red-carpet cocktails and Oscar pools aren’t exactly any kind of substitute for pre-game tailgating and fantasy team-tracking. So in an attempt to bridge the divide, I went ahead and devised this quick quiz for your amusement.*

*What, you’d rather read more about the CBA?

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Four weeks after the Kansas City Chiefs played their last game, the 2010 NFL season is finally, officially over. Super Bowl XLV* has come and gone, and though it wasn’t mentioned during the broadcast, you probably, at one point or another, noticed that the Chiefs weren’t in it.

*As a friend tweeted Sunday night, “Why not just VL?”

But so what? Yesterday formally marked the first day of the 2011 campaign. Bodog.com has already set the opening odds, and the Chiefs are a 35-to-one shot to get to Super Bowl XLVI and win it all. Not quite as sure a bet as, say, the Packers (seven-to-one) or Patriots (15-to-two), but to quote the distinguished Canadian-American actor Jim Carrey as Lloyd Christmas in Dumb and Dumber: “So…you’re tellin’ me there’s a chance!”

With that in mind, I thought it might be fun to see just how optimistic I could be (while testing my knowledge of Roman numerals). So, without further ado and in no particular order, here are XLVI reasons why next year could be the year…
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This past season was a grab bag of offense and defense either saving or losing games.  The defense made a goal line stand to secure a win against the Philip Rivers led Chargers, but blew a fourth quarter lead against the Texans.  The offense came out blazing in games against San Francisco, Seattle, and Tennessee, but fell flat in the second San Diego game, the Raiders games, and the playoff loss to Baltimore.  There have been moments of defensive brilliance, offensive drives that unfolded like poetry, and utter disappointment from both sides.  Truly signs of a developing team struggling to forge an identity for themselves in a league laden with strong personalities.

Team identity goes beyond just how a certain person or group performs on the field.  A team with an identity to outsiders and players coming into their system has an almost mythical quality.  At times a team with a strong identity can seem superhuman, all knowing, and even magical.  The will and attitude this personality creates within an organization elevates otherwise pedestrian athletes and coaches to a level that truly is greater than its components.  The Steelers and Ravens identities are woven into a tradition of strong defense.  The Colts and Saints conversely are sewn into a fabric of pure offensive power.  These teams know who and what they are, and for better or worse stick to their guns year in and year out.

So that brings us back to the question, “Just who are the Chiefs going to be?”  This is an interesting question because right now the Chiefs destiny stands on the edge of a blade (I know, nice LOTR reference right?), and they are a couple of key acquisitions away on both sides of the ball from attaining a strong team personality.  Will they acquire a high profile receiver and become a true offensive powerhouse, or will they get another pass rusher and crucify opposing quarterbacks?  I’m sure a lot of you are asking, “Why not do both?”

My answer to that after the jump…

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The Kansas City Chiefs had a very good year, but they still need to improve in a lot of areas. The Offensive Line is still a concern as they are aging and some parts are just not very good. An upgrade on the interior of the line would be my first choice. Rodney Hudson or Mike Pouncey would be a nice addition here. A playmaker opposite Bowe would be a nice addition. Jon Baldwin would work. Defensively the Chiefs need a stout NT like Baylor’s Phil Taylor in the later rounds and an OLB to pair with Tamba Hali.

From nflmocks.com (share this quote)

Head over to NFL Mocks for all kinds of fantastic draft coverage.

2010 Free Agent Acquisition OG Ryan Lilja (Source: dp-football.com)

The Kansas City Chiefs’ 2010 season is over, and so our thoughts turn to making the Chiefs a better team in preparation for 2011.  Usually in the offseason there are two main sources for NFL teams to gain players:  Free Agency and the NFL Draft.  If NFL labor negotiations stall, and a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is not reached, then there won’t be a free agency period.  Unfortunately for the Chiefs, I think that this is a period which is necessary for their continued success.

The first reason I think it is necessary is that the Chiefs are still a team in recovery.  Even though we made it to the playoffs this year, we are not so far removed from our losing ways that we couldn’t easily fall back into them.  While there is no question that the Chiefs are a better team than two years ago, there are still some problems that exist with the Chiefs.
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source: http://www.opensportsbookusa.com

The Kansas City Chiefs tied records with the Indianapolis Colts this year at 10-6, both hosted home playoff games as division winners in the AFC.  The Chiefs being the fourth seed played the fifth seeded Baltimore Ravens, and the Colts being the third seed played the sixth seeded New York Loudmouths Jets.  Sounds good right?

Wait a second.  The Jets and Ravens had better records then both of the teams they played, and yet still had to go on the road to face them because they won weaker divisions.  How is that fair?  To be 100% fair the playoff home games should go to the teams with the best records, not necessarily division winners, correct?  Well that’s what you will hear if you listen to any sports radio show this side of the universe.

Realistically, there are several options available to the NFL if they consider doing this, and none of them have come about just this year.  They have become a hot button since the SeaChickens Seahawks hosted a home playoff game after winning their division with a losing record.  Moreover, this has become an even larger issue since they knocked the defending Super Bowl Champion Saints out of the first round of the playoffs.  The Media doesn’t take kindly to their favorite teams not doing as well as they told everyone they would.*

*See 2010 Vikings and Cowboys.

The different NFL seeding breakdowns, and how this applies to the Chiefs after the jump.

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But what about the rest of the AFC West?

We know that the Chiefs have to play a “first place schedule” but many folks aren’t exactly clear on what that means. Let’s run down the specifics and take a look at the schedules for the rest of the AFC West after the jump.

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The Only Ball I want to see dropped from now on will be in Time's Square. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

On this glorious last night of a new year for the Kansas City Chiefs, I have a couple of New Year’s Resolutions to throw out:

-I will make more time to hate the Oakland Raiders.  It will be tough, but nothing worth while is easy.

-I will not scour ESPN/NFL Network coverage like a fiend for hours awaiting a lame 10 second bit about the Chiefs.  It’s almost more rewarding to do well when people don’t care or notice.  Keep talking about the 0-48 Dallas Cowboys, the Brett Favre million dollar man reconstructions, and how awesome Peyton Manning is after he throws 4 interceptions in a game.  I’m fine with it, and I’m done with the national media as far as the NFL is concerned.

-I will go to every home game next year.  I really wish I could keep this one, but I know it’s a pipe dream.  Everyone makes at least one that they know they cannot or will not keep.

-I will restrain myself from buying every cheesy token thing about the Chiefs if they win the Super Bowl.  I will, however, buy the gold and diamond encrusted Sports Illustrated “Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Champions” issue printed on paper made from a 4000 year old Bristlecone pine, complete with California Condor tail-feather bookmark and great panda bear fur lined case.

-I will laugh more often (at the state of the Denver Broncos).  After the past few years, it’s a laugh of relief, thank God it is not us anymore.  I still cannot stop from laughing when I think about their team getting fined for cheating with the season that they have had.  McDumbass evidentally didn’t learn from “The Hoodie” that when you cheat it’s supposed to help you win.

I think that about covers it.  On to the posts from this week,

Big Matt was so surprised and ecstatic after waking up late Sunday that he felt as if the Chiefs Landed on the Moon.  Victor put out the first in a series of posts concerning the game this week with his Chiefs-Raiders: Championship Edition post, and I followed up with a post about The Arrowhead Advantage and the importance of remaining undefeated at home.  Adam sealed things up with his own thoughts on the topic consuming every Chiefs fan’s brain, whether to sit or play the Chiefs starters.

What resolutions do you have Addicts?  Kudos to anyone that can come up with a convincing resolution involving Herm Edwards, Brodie Croyle, Carl Peterson, or Todd Blackledge.

With that said, It has been a surprising year for us KC fans, and I hope you all have lots of fun and get home safe.

Happy New Year!

Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Todd Haley and his players may not allow themselves to so much as utter the “p” word, but I have been and will be saying it as much as any conversation permits.  The Chiefs are in the playoffs!  Kansas City will host a home playoff game!  Playoffs baby!  For us hardcore fans, it seems like a lifetime since we have said that.  So feel free Addicts, there is no ban on that word here, use it as many times as you like.  You have earned it.

There is one reason that the Chiefs clenched the AFC West this year and earned the right to host a playoff game: The Arrowhead Advantage.  Being undefeated at home gets you to .500 if my math is correct, and you can win less than half of your games away to make it into the playoffs as a rule.  The Chiefs have the best home field advantage in the NFL, and this is why we are AFC West Champions.

After the jump we will review my top five reasons that the Chiefs have the best home field advantage in the NFL.

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Champs, shmamps -- have you forgotten? This smirking face should haunt your dreams. (Credit: Paul Sakuma-AP)

The Kansas City Chiefs are the 2010 AFC West Champs, and it’s not even 2011 yet. Before Sunday, so many of us still agonized over whether this moment would come at all, let alone with a game left to play in the regular season—and a week left to contemplate the potential implications and complications of the team’s fortunes.

Like Big Matt, I woke up Monday wondering if indeed it had all really happened. I picked up the morning paper and there it was: “Chiefs Clinch AFC West.” Even then, for a second, I worried that I had mistakenly grabbed a copy of The Onion, especially when I opened the sports section and read “Toledo Stunned in Pizza Bowl”—which, as it would turn out, was also an actual headline.*

*Heartfelt condolences go out to those Toledo alums and fans who had been dreaming since childhood of a Little Caesars Pizza Bowl championship.

Yes, it’s real. But since we are Chiefs fans, we only allow ourselves a few moments of stress-free celebration, followed immediately by ohmigod ohmigod—now what are we going to do about this? Do we rest Matt Cassel and Jamaal Charles on Sunday? Do we put Brodie Alabama in for a strategic “cleanup call?”* Do we just punt out of bounds every time we get the ball? When is a good time to pull the defensive starters and how soon do we suspend Shaun Smith’s Twitter account?

*Seriously, WTF?

This fretting, of course, is silly. The Chiefs must play all out and win on Sunday, and I have heard many good reasons why: To guarantee that #3 seed. To ensure K.C. hosts the New York Jets, a team everyone has deemed to be the Chiefs’ least intimidating potential opponent. To avoid a possible divisional-round match-up at New England. To preserve the “Arrowhead Mystique”—that aura of invincibility that breaks the will of any visiting team.*

*And, based on Sunday’s attendance figures, the will of many potential ticket-buyers.

But for all the analysis, it seems we are too easily overlooking why a win is needed most of all: To beat the Raiders. Period.*

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The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the AFC West title a week ahead of schedule and now they face some interesting questions heading into Week 17.

As I sat here drinking my AFC West victory beer beers, I got to thinking about who the Chiefs might play in the playoffs. Given the situation, the Chiefs could, maybe, technically, choose who they want to play in the first round of the playoffs and beyond.

Basically the Chiefs are either going to be the 3rd or 4th seed in the playoffs. If they win next week when the play the Raiders, they will guarantee themselves the #3 seed. That means they will host the #6 seed, which is certain to be the New York Jets.

If the Chiefs really like their chances against the Jets, then they can send their starters out on Sunday and do everything they can to beat the Raiders while trying to avoid injuries.

More stuff that will make you go cross-eyed after the jump.

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The Kansas City Chiefs clinched their first AFC West title since 2003 today when they won and the San Diego chargers lost to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Now that we know the Chiefs will host a playoff game, who are they going to play?

Here are the current playoff standings as of right now.

1. New England Patriots

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

3. Kansas City Chiefs

4. Indianapolis Colts

5. Baltimore Ravens

6. New York Jets

Let’s break down the possibilities after the jump.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have won the AFC West and will go to the NFL playoffs for the first time since the 2006 season!

Welcome to the Celebration Thread!

The Chiefs will host a playoff game for the first time since 2003 when the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning came to town for “The Game Where Punted.” The Chiefs lost that game 38 to 31. They would go 10-6 the next season but missed the playoffs. Then head coach Dick Vermeil retired and then the Chiefs hired…well…let’s just skip over everything that happened after that.

The Chiefs won earlier today to move to 10-5 and then the attention of Chiefs Nation turned to Cincinnati, Ohio where the Bengals were playing host to the 8-6 San Diego Chargers. A Charger win would have meant the AFC West would not be decided until the season’s final week, however, the 3-11 Bengals playing only for pride, put the Chiefs in the playoffs a week early.

Today marks an incredible turnaround for the Chiefs who won only 4 games a season ago. This year, however, things were different from the very first game. The Chiefs began the season by upsetting the San Diego Chargers in front of a national audience in the first game at the new Arrowhead Stadium.Some folks thought it was a fluke win but the Chiefs kept winning, starting out with 3 straight wins before finally losing on the road in Indianapolis.

More after the jump.

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Source: Kansas City Chiefs

As the end of the regular season draws to a close, the Kansas City Chiefs find themselves first in the AFC West.  It is great that we’re there, but with the lead in the division comes something else…pressure.

Different people handle pressure differently.  I, personally, don’t usually handle pressure well.  I have a tendency to be a spaz when something relies on me.  I watch players like Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and stand in awe of their ability to put games on their shoulders and win.  I’m most certainly more like New York Giants punter Matt Dodge than Peyton Manning.
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STUFFED! (Source: arrowheadpride.com)

Looking for that perfect last-minute gift for the Kansas City Chiefs fan—or, say, fifth-year outside linebacker—in your life? Well, with only a few shopping days left until the Big Day (December 26 at Arrowhead, of course), you might want to consider one of these stocking-stuffers, guaranteed to please even the season-ticket-holder or journeyman wide receiver who has everything!

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The Kansas City Chiefs won their last rode game of the season by knocking off the St. Louis Rams 27-13 in the battle of Missouri.

The win helped the Chiefs maintain their lead in the AFC West. Kansas City now has a one-game lead over the San Diego Chargers with two games to play.

With the Wild Card pretty much out of reach given the records of the NY Jets and Baltimore Ravens, the Chiefs best chance at making the playoffs is to win the AFC West. Their win today made things much easier as they’ll return home to Arrowhead Stadium to close things out against the Titans and Raiders.

We’ll take a look at the updated AFC West standings after the jump.

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