A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that the NFL preseason is like a bizarro world version of the NFL. Generally, it’s inconsistent play all around, which allows some players to look good while entire units look lost. Amid all that chaos, it’s really hard to judge anyone or anything accurately. The only way to get around it is with large sample sizes.

Two weeks into the preseason, I think there are only a few things you can assert confidently about the Chiefs:

1.)    Put very little stock in the fact that the Rams were able to get on the board quickly this weekend. As Paddy rightly pointed out, the best indicator of how teams are going to fare in preseason games isn’t the quality of the talent on each side, but rather which coach actually cares about winning the game. Many coaches couldn’t care less. They are throwing darts randomly at a board. “Hmm, ok, let’s see this guy in this play against a first-team defense and see what happens.” “Mmm, ok, let’s see what this guy can do.” They’re not game-planning, they’re not scouting matchups on the other team, because to do so would be a waste of valuable time coaching up players and refining general techniques.

There is an argument for trying to win preseason games if you are a very young team, and/or a team with lots of new players and you are trying to foster team-spirit and get the band of strangers in a winning attitude before the regular season starts. That is the exact situation St. Louis is in right now. Not only do they have more new players on their 90-man list than any other team in the NFL at 56, but they are also the youngest team in the league. Furthermore, Jeff Fisher is known to like to win preseason games. He has the second-best career record in the preseason among active head coaches at .608, beaten out only by Mike Shanahan with .681. Not to mention, the Rams got mauled 38-3 the week before by the similarly young and hopeless Indianapolis Colts. Fisher knew he had to get some good vibes going with his team, and give young quarterback Sam Bradford some confidence.

Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

On both the big opening pass to slot receiver Danny Amendola, and the subsequent touchdown pass to TE Lance Kendricks, LB Jovan Belcher was covering. In both cases, I couldn’t really tell if it was zone coverage or man-to-man, because, quite frankly Belcher was so far off. Both times, a safety rushed in to try and break up the play but even Berry couldn’t get there in time. Now, I, of course, can’t prove that Fisher game-planned the first couple series or scouted the Chiefs. All I know is that if you were going to design plays to attack the Chiefs’ defense – that’s exactly how you would do it. By far our biggest defensive weakness is when Belcher is caught in pass coverage on fast, pass-catching tight ends or slot receivers. As stout as he is in the run game, he is just not fast enough to keep up with those guys. As such, Belcher is never put on those guys and is generally not even on the field on likely passing downs. Even in situations where Belcher would be on the field, the Chiefs would have likely adjusted from the beginning to put a safety on the TE or slot guy. The Chiefs started the game in standard base defensive sets and not only did the Rams’ play-calling target Belcher for big gains right off the bat, they ran the plays on 1^st down when he was likely to be on the field as a probable rushing down.

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I believe that often times when something happens where motive and opportunity meet, well, it’s no coincidence. They got what they wanted — two quick, injury-free scores, and an ego-boost for their QB. Immediately afterwards, their starters left the field feeling like they had won. And again, it’s not like it’s a crime to game plan in the preseason to try and show something against soft competition with nothing on the line. There’s a chance Brian Daboll was doing the same thing to boost Cassel’s confidence and make sure the Chiefs came out with a bang against the Cardinals last week.

2.)    Unless Matt Cassel has a total meltdown or gets injured, he is going to go into the regular season with strong momentum. Hidden among the general Chiefs’ shock about how good the Rams played against the Chiefs’ first-team D is the fact that Cassel has hit on 75 percent of his passes so far. Against the Rams, he even nailed the kind of play that we have seen very rarely out of him – flushed from the pocket on 3^rd and long, under heavy pressure, he chucked a dart to McCluster (his smallest target) in tight coverage for a first down.

3.)    In limited action, Charles has shown he still has it. Chiefs fans likely won’t be happy with Jamaal Charles’ recovery until he busts out a huge gainer, but, with the additional weapons that KC has accumulated, we no longer need him to be THE dynamic threat. Hillis has shown himself to be worth every penny, and the Chiefs have a plethora of receiving options. So far this preseason, Charles has had 6 rushes and 3 receptions for 6.4 yards per touch, including 9.7 yards per catch. If we are facing 2^nd and 4 every time by getting to ball to him, I don’t think anyone will be complaining even if he’s not streaking down field for big plays. But don’t worry, he will be.

Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

4.)    Glamorous he is not, but Brady Quinn looks like he can help us in a pinch. Look, he’s not Tyler friggin’ Palko, alright? Do I need to say anymore? Ok, fine. 12/19 151 yards 1 TD, 1 INT, good for a 83.44 passer rating. Amazing? No, but how good does a backup on a run-heavy defensive team need to be?

5.)    The Chiefs are going to have to make their hardest roster decision on the D-line this year. KC will probably only keep six or seven defensive linemen on their 53-man roster. I think it is safe to say that Glenn Dorsey, Dontari Poe and Tyson Jackson are staying with the team. So, who gets the remaining three spots? Allen Bailey is probably not going anywhere either as the team’s only true nickel rusher. That leaves two spots for a number of standout backups. Anthony Toribio currently holds the starting NT job and presumably the Chiefs want another passing-down rusher. Amon Gordon was the consistent jack-of-all-trades last year, but he hasn’t shown it so far in camp or in preseason games. Ropati Pitoitua has impressed in camp and has seen the field early preseason action (there’s also an unwritten NFL regulation stating that every team must carry at least one scary dude with an unpronounceable name). Brandon Bair has also shown some sparks in that role too, however.

Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

And finally, although it may not make the most sense at the moment, I like the idea of keeping Jerrell Powe. He has finally come on as a penetrating NT, which is what they want Poe, his homonymal brother, to become. He was consistently getting pressure in the last two games, and may also be effective as a rotational guy at the other positions. Who knows, with another year of development Powe might even turn out to be straight-up better than Poe, and these types of man-monsters don’t grow on trees. The painful part is that I know that at least a couple of these guys are going to be scavenged off the Chiefs as soon as they’re moved to the practice squad because there is a league-wide demand for such players and a DL-deprived team like the Broncos will be more than happy to take them off of our hands.

Last year, just a couple of days before the draft, it came out that the Chiefs were very big on Tyson Jackson. Sure enough, that is who they took. Could the Chiefs pick be leaked again this year?

With just 11 days and a few hours until the Draft, the Chiefs intentions still remain unclear. The same can not be said for the 4 teams picking in front of them. While anything can happen, it seems very likely the Rams will take Bradford, the Lions draft Suh, the Bucs get McCoy and Washington will pick Okung.

This scenario would leave the Eric Berry, safety out of Tennessee there for the Chiefs to snatch. While Betty is a favorite choice for many around AA and Chiefs Nation in general, there has been much speculation that Scott Pioli will avoid taking a safety as high as #5. If he does indeed pass on Berry, pundits are speculating that KC wil go the “safe route” by taking one of the top offensive tackles.

While OT is a possible pick for the Chiefs in the first round, I keep thinking back to something Scott Pioli said at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Q: Will offensive line be a priority for you in the draft this year as you try and help Cassel?

PIOLI: “I don’t know if it’s a priority but it’s certainly something we need to get better at, there’s no doubt. Everyone saw us play. When you win four games, it’s offensive line and there are some other positions. We’ve got some good players on the offensive line and we need to get more good players on the offensive line – just like we need to get more good players on the defensive line and at linebacker. This is an easy question to answer because unfortunately, when you win four games you’ve got to do a lot of things better. Like I said, I have to do a better job, the coaches have to do a better job and the players have to do a better job.”

After Pioli said this, he added Casey Weigmann to compete at C and Ryan Lilja at G. Lilja will almost certainly be a starter. Taking another lineman in the first round, whether it be a LT or a RT, would in my opinion, be making the offensive line a priority. I think that the Chiefs were encouraged by Branden Albet’s improved play last season in the 2nd half of the year. I also think they were pleased how Ryan O’Callahan settled in as a starter at RT. With Lilja taking a starting G spot and Brian Waters still being Brian Waters, center remains the only serious weakness on the team.

You don’t take a center in the first round.

So was Scott Pioli bluffing? Does he not consider adding 2 to 3 starters along the offensive line making it a priority? Pioli may want to take a safe pick but is he willing to reach for a position he feels is safe, like ILB?

We likely won’t find out until April 22nd. So stay tuned because AA will be there when it happens.

If the Chiefs can stop this guy, they have a pretty good chance to get at least 1 win next season.

There are no easy games in the NFL. There are also no guarantees. Teams can drastically alter their record from year to year. Nearly every season, at least one team goes from league doormat to playoff contender. Last year, it was the Bengals. We’re hoping this year, it will be the Chiefs.

The NFL’s parity is a reminder that the line between winning teams and losing teams can sometimes be very thin. To make the jump, a team needs a combination of lucky bounces, improved play and good coaching. A favorable schedule also never hurts. As it stands right now, the Chiefs look as though they will have a favorable schedule in 2010.

While we don’t know what order these games will be played, take a look at the chiefs opponents for next season:

Home:Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers

Away:Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks

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Thigpen threw from 2608 yards, 18 TDs and 12 INTs with Kansas City in 2008. He was persona non grata with the Chiefs after new head coach Todd Haley came in and was traded during the season to the Miami Dolphins for an undisclosed draft pick. An undisclosed draft pick means it was very low. Just like the undisclosed (7th round) draft pick the Rams got for Tye Hill. But I digress.

The Rams would absolutely take Thigpen’s stat line from their quarterback in 2010. Kansas City had one great weapon on offense in 2008 in Tony Gonzalez and a bunch of questionable talents on offense. Sound familiar? The Rams have one great weapon in Steven Jackson and a bunch of questionable talents. Thigpen played better with Kansas City than his much more heralded replacement, Matt Cassell.

NFL Gridiron Gab

I don’t know if this would be such a good idea for the Rams. Thigpen did not look good in preseason last year. It just seems he had a lot more trouble taking snaps from under center and without Tony G roaming the middle of the field.

Still, whatever system he succeeded in, you can’t argue with the numbers Thigpen put up in the NFL playing for the Chiefs. They were pretty solid. The kid is still young and can certainly make things happen with his legs. I wouldn’t mind seeing someone try to develop him. Thiggy was the only thing that made 2008 bearable.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Which team will have the #1 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft?

Kansas City                  3/2

St. Louis                       7/4

Detroit                           5/2

Cleveland                      10/1

Cincinnati                      12/1

Houston                        15/1

Other                            3/1

Looks like I’m not the only one who thinks the Chiefs are the leader in the clubhouse in our race with the Rams towards the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Both teams are terrible, but the difference is that we play in the AFC West, not the NFC West.

No, that’s not a typo. For some reason, Fox Sports has brought me on board to cover the NFL for the rest of the season with a weekly special feature. No, I don’t have a cubby next to Jason Whitlock‘s, since I know you all will ask. That’s the good news. The bad news? I rip the Chiefs (and the Rams) a new one in my first column. What? They deserve it. From Fox Sports:

Lamar Hunt and Madame Ram, bless their souls, must be turning over in their graves right about now.

The Chiefs and Rams are so bad they’ve taken the “rah” out of “Missourah.” The Chiefs are so atrocious that Kansas City fans now actually look forward to the Royals. Meanwhile, the Greatest Show on Turf is no longer the Rams, but their opponent. Rumor has it that the entire state of Missouri just ran out of brown paper bags. The rest of the fans will just have to skip the home games for now.

In addition to my lead-in feature, I also take a humorous look around the rest of the league. Additionally, the column links out to thorough divisional breakdowns from eight other Fan-Sided Blogs sites. That will be the case every week. Lots of good stuff, so be sure to check those out, too.

I want to send a big shot out to Dewey and the crew at YardBarker, too, for helping make this happen!

(And sorry for the shameless self-promotion…)

This No. 25 doesn’t whiff–he makes tacklers do that!

What a night, huh? My post-game report was a bit delayed by a big fantasy draft and this itsy, bitsy speech you might have heard about. But that’s not all bad news. Why? Because I just got my NFL Direct Ticket and DVR hooked up, so now I can go back through each Chiefs game and report back with the most thorough, in-depth analysis you’ll find anywhere on these here interwebs.

I enjoyed CurtMerzFan’s post a lot, and think he’s indeed on the right track. But he wants to move the wrong player. There’s an old adage that goes “sell high, buy low.” We’d be selling Larry Johnson low right now (he’s also my second favorite Chief, and arguably the best hard-nosed RB in the NFL). Same with Jamaal Charles. That leaves Kolby Smith. I think Kolby could net us a third-round pick. I honestly do. If that’s the case, I say let’s move him.

I was wrong about Kolby (I told you guys Bizarro Adam was coming out). Actually, I was one of his first backers when he was drafted, but I kind of went to the other side after Chiefs fans got a little carried away about his play late last season. The Kolby-is-better-than-L.J. talk was just preposterous. But Kolby can be an every-down back. He is more Priest Holmes than Larry Johnson, but that still works. There are plenty of teams (Houston is one) who desperately need a running back.

Meanwhile, I foresee Jamaal Charles becoming our Maurice Jones-Drew. He is definitely not an every-down back, but his electrifying speed makes him the perfect change-of-pace back to compliment Iron Man. As much as I like Smith, he’s not what this offense needs. This offense needs an explosive playmaker, a gamebreaker. Charles can be that guy. We have to find a way to get this kid 10 touches a game.

By the way, isn’t it nice to see a No. 25 with dreds who isn’t utterly worthless?

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Double D Says:

Rookies to watch on the other side of the ball:

RDE – Chris Long
RT – John Greco
RG – Roy Scheuning (will likely play 2nd half)
WR – Donnie Avery; to the surprise of many, this 4.43 speedster out of Houston was the first WR selected in 2008 draft. He’s making his NFL debut tonight.

Footnote: Avery’s 4.43 time at the combine was slowed a tad by a pulled hammy. He ran 4.34 on his Pro day.

The main reason I highlighted this comment was to reemphasize how much everyone will be watching not only Chris Long, but Glenn Dorsey as well. The Rams damn near picked Swamp Thing, so I’m guessing that Rams fans will constantly compare the two to each other, and Chiefs fans might, too. You know, Magic-Bird-type thing. Personally, I’m glad we got Dorsey and not Long. I think Long is overhyped because of his daddy.

I’ll also be watching Avery, because like Double D pointed out, he was surprisingly taken over receivers who were much more heralded coming out of college than he was. The Rams may have reached big time, or they may have found a diamond in the rough. Hard to say.

Ten Reasons Why the Chiefs Are Cooler Than the Lambs:

10. The only thing Steven Jackson has more of than Larry Johnson is hair. He’s no L.J.

9. Orlando Pace should be loungin’ back with ex-teammate Kyle Turley, Willie Roaf and Will Shields in the retirement home. You wonder why something’s always hurting, O.P.? It’s because you’re older than John McCain.

8. Al Saunders. Dante Hall. Trent Green. That’s the core of a great team…back in 2003. On the other hand. Trent’s been concussed so much he might think it’s still 2003.

7. At least our ex-drunken driver DE didn’t put anybody in a body bag. Leonard Little, I’m talking to you.

6. We don’t have any Fakhirs on our team.

5. I’d rather have this Adam Goldberg than the Rams’ Adam Goldberg. The way the latter played last season, I wonder which one of them actually said “I want to dance” in Dazed and Confused.

4. Drew Bennett was good once. For four fantasy games four years ago. The Great White Dope. He’s a homeless man’s Ed McCaffrey, and that’s being nice.

3. Nice dome. Real men play football outdoors. Sissies.

2. The NFC West includes the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers. You call that a division? I call that a Mid-Major.

1. When the Rams are out of the playoffs before October even hits, at least you guys will have the team you really care about, the St. Louis Cardinals, still playing. Actually, probably not this year. Go Cubs! Go Brewers! Anybody but the Redbirds.

For more St. Louis bashing–and let’s be honest here, one can never have enough–head over to Arrowhead Pride.

Will Branden Albert play? The Chiefs’ rookie left tackle will be in uniform tonight, but if he plays, it would be a handful of snaps at the most. The Chiefs are being careful with Albert and his sprained foot, but they also want to get him some game action before the opener Sept. 7 at New England. Albert is undoubtedly rusty, and coaches will need to weigh risk versus reward.

Regardless if Phat Albert plays tonight or not, this report indicates that his recovery is at least on schedule, if not ahead of schedule. Good news if you ask me. I think what’s even more important than our final win-loss record is guys like Albert and Glenn Dorsey playing the full schedule and making huge strides over the course of the season.

I think Tyler Thigpen and most of the second-tier receivers need to play well to secure their jobs. The Chiefs‘ passing game needs help, especially with Will Franklin on the mend. If nobody steps up, I’m almost positive we’ll import help when some decent players get cut later this week. Our linebackers will also be watched closely, as will our two kickers. It should be interesting. Well, at least for a half or so.

Which players need to play well tonight in order to make the roster of 53?

Here’s something nobody is talking about.  Not only will Trent Green be the Rams starter when they play the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium tomorrow night, but former Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders will be calling the offensive shots. I wonder what the fan reaction would be should Brodie Croyle and Chan Gailey stink up the joint again, and Al and Trent tear it up? From The Belleville News-Democrat:

Rams coach Scott Linehan announced on Tuesday that Green will be the starting quarterback when the team plays the Kansas City Chiefs at 6 p.m. Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Starting quarterback Marc Bulger, who played the entire first half in the Rams’ 24-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens last Saturday, will sit out the game.

“Everybody wants work,” Green said. “That’s why I came back. I love playing. But I told Coach Linehan, ‘I’ll play as little or as much as you want me to play.”‘

Green said he understands why he has played so sparingly in the preseason up to this point.

“I understand that they are trying to get Marc ready, they’re trying to get the new offense ready, they’re trying to get the linemen and everybody acclimated to a new set of calls, and they’re also trying to develop two young quarterbacks,” Green said. “Because of my experience level — I won’t say age — I feel comfortable with where I am right now.”

It will sure be interesting. With Orlando Pace and Steven Jackson over there, the Rams’ offense might even resemble the Dick Vermeil-Saunders Chiefs at times. I’m not sure how much Jackson we will see, though. Or how much of Larry Johnson we’ll see either.

From Rotoworld…

• Adding a kicker – St. Louis Dispatch