For you newbies, Tuesday morning's are for discussing stats, among many other things of course. I'll put up the drive charts and pull out a few choice stats to get the conversation started. Also, in addition to some sort of article each morning, we're posting lots of news updates in the FanShot section so head there each morning for updates as well.

Number of drives: 10 (Last game: 13)

Average starting field position: 31 yard line (Last game: 25 yard line)

Average number of plays per drive: 6.2 (Last game: 4.84)

Average net yards gained per drive: 28.4 (Last game: 14.5)

Average drive time: 3:03 (Last game: 2:34 minutes)

Longest drive: 73 yards (Last game: 63 yards)

Time of possession: 30:11 (Last game: 33:25)

Box score is here. Gamebook is here (PDF opens).

Right off the bat, I'll point out that it's been the case since last season that the Kansas City Chiefs can't score a touchdown if they're not within 60-65 yards of the end zone when they start. That's opposed to the Patriots, who made touchdown scoring drives of 98 and 80 yards in just this one game. Do you remember the last time the Chiefs drove 80+ yards down the field for a touchdown? Does Trent Green to Marc Boerigter bring back any memories? Just kidding. It wasn't that long ago.

I am loving the new efficiency the Chiefs are playing with on third downs. They converted 8 of 16 last week, after converting 50%, 37%, 41% and 36% of them respectively in the first four preseason games. While some of those preseason numbers aren't great, the team is improving which is our mantra this year. Half of our drives didn't produce a first down, which is another area of continual concern. Click the image below for a more detailed look at third downs last week.

Damon Huard continues to be amazing in relief of injured quarterbacks. He posted a 91.3 QB rating in the fourth quarter.

The stats for drops haven't been accumulated yet but Dwayne Bowe has to be #1 in the league, right?

Alright, we'll be back throughout the day to continue this conversation. Any suggestion of stats to the weekly tracker would be helpful. In fact, I'm thinking we should get together a big list of stats we want to track and do that each and every week. Non-traditional stats. I sort of did that last year but it wasn't in any organized matter. The "Chiefs really need a short field to score" stat came out of that set of data.

I'm calling out chiefstatnut too today. You better live up to your commenter name.

Despite the loss of Tom Brady and Brodie Croyle, Sunday's game against the New England Patriots will turn out to be a positive for the Kansas City Chiefs. A team that had lost nine straight games played one of the most formidable regular season teams of a year ago within seven points and had a chance to send that game into overtime.

This is what you call a moral victory. There will be more of those than actual victories this season for the Chiefs.

Let's see what went wrong and what went right for the Chiefs yesterday.

Bowe Blew It

During the second half, after Dwayne Bowe's third drop of the game, I leaned over to a fellow fan watching the game and said, "If you're going to call yourself The Show, you need to make that catch."

The opening performance of The Show was far from spectacular. Bowe caught five passes for 49 yards but let four more passes hit his hands and land on the turf. He scored KC's only touchdown of the game on an athletic catch at the goal line but wasn't able to repeat the play when the Chiefs needed it most at the end of the game. Bowe dropped a sure TD pass from Damon Huard on first and goal from the five yard line with less than a minute left.

The excitement was sucked out the drive after that drop and the Chiefs quickly turned the ball over on downs. The chance to tie the New England Patriots was gone forever.

Croyle Cracks Again

Before Brodie Croyle was injured in the 3rd quarter, he had put together a decent but unimpressive game, passing for 88 yards on 11 of 19 attempts. He threw the ball away when there weren't any solid options. He made tough passes in narrow spaces and wasn't helped by the drops made by his receivers.

The knocks on Croyle's toughness have become more valid after he separated his shoulder on Sunday. It's still too early for me to blanket Croyle as a guy who can't take a hit, because he's taken plenty of hits and gotten right back up. But there is a feeling of frustration when your starting quarterback can't seem to get rid of the minor injury bug. He was injured plenty in college and now the burden of proof shifts to Croyle to show the team and the fans he has the endurance to last in the NFL.

O-Line isn't that terrible

You know your expectations are low for the offensive line when they don't play particularly well and still get good marks from me.

The line allowed four sacks on KC quarterbacks and it was actually Jamaal Charles who missed a key block that allowed a NE defender to barrel into Brodie Croyle causing his shoulder injury. The Chiefs as a team just broke 100 yards rushing for the game, halting any calls that Larry Johnson is back and that the line is fixed.

Rookie Branden Albert appeared to play well as I noticed him making key blocks more than a few times. There was still way too much of the line dissolving when the Chiefs ran the ball down the middle. Rushing the ball in the middle of the field may be the Chiefs best statistical direction but I seem to remember bodies just falling to the ground when Larry would run up the middle.

Returner position still up in the air

B.J. Sams and Dantrell Savage had nearly identical days in the return game. Sams returned the Chiefs only playable punt for a nominal gain and both players split kick off return duties. Savage and Sams both returned two kicks for nearly identical return yards - 48 and 50 respectively.

Defense neutralizes but doesn't impress

After Tom Brady was injured, the Patriots' offense was definitely toned down a few notches. Matt Cassel ended up playing well in relief for Brady, completing 13 of 18 passes for 152 yards. He threw a TD strike to Randy Moss as well.

The Chiefs gave up 126 yards on the ground to a mixture of Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris. I consider Maroney to be an amazing back so I don't expect a young defense to completely contain him. The rush defense was quite vanilla, not making any spectacular plays but they did make three stops behind the line of scrimmage for losses. The Patriots cant' say that.

The pass defense was the weak link in the defensive chain. Matt Cassel completed a 51 yard bomb to Randy Moss late in the first quarter as a helpless Patrick Surtain chases him down the field. Jon McGraw came over quick enough to make the tackle but late enough to miss making a play on the ball.

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

It's really too bad the Chiefs weren't able to capitalize on the two first quarter Patriots fumbles because any points there would have put the team in a much, much better position not only to tie but to win the game. A field goal then combined with Huard NOT throwing an interception in the fourth quarter and the Chiefs get to kick the ball instead of throw it to win.

***

Yes, the Kansas City Chiefs played the Patriots tight. But like most fans, I'm not as happy as I thought I would be with a score of 17 to 10 in favor of the Pats.

Croyle showed his fragility again. To the boredom of many, we got to see Damon Huard play again. No progress was made in deciding on a kick returner. The defense played alright but it wasn't against the Patriots best player.

The Chiefs deserve kudos for playing nearly mistake free but that praise will be short lived. My mind is already turning towards Arrowhead Stadium and next week's match with the Oakland Raiders. Almost no matter what this season, after each game, I will be wondering about the next game and if the Chiefs will show any consistency from week to week.

For those that missed the game or want a refresher. I don't imagine this video will stay up that long so watch it while you can.

The Kansas City Chiefs nearly shocked the world this afternoon when their attempt to take the New England Patriots to overtime was denied.  We have waited all season to have our questions about the team answered but may have even more following this game.

• Are we in the midst of another quarterback controversy? 
• Will we have trouble stopping the run all year?
• Can someone not named Bowe or Gonzalez make an impact in the passing game?
• What happened to our linebackers?
• Will Larry Johnson ever look like an elite back again?

I am sure all of you have an opinion on each of these topics.  As we discuss this game, let's remember one thing that we all agreed upon in the off-season: We are rebuilding and will not make the playoffs this year.  View the remaining games with this in mind and we can objectively predict the progression of key positions (QB, OL, etc).

Check out Pats Pulpit for the latest on Brady's injury.  Check out this for stats of the game.

When: Noon central time

Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA

SBN Affiliate: Pats Pulpit

Chiefs Blogs: Home of the Chiefs, Arrowhead Addict, BobGretz.com, KC Chiefs Football, Red Zone, The Mothership and KC Chiefs Fanatic.

Coverage of the game leading up to now is here. Keys to Victory for the Chiefs are here.

Listen online here.

Inactives today: OL Barry Richardson, OL Brian De La Puente, RB Kolby Smith, WR Maurice Price, LB Napoleon Harris, DL T.J. Jackson, QB Tyler Thigpen and WR Will Franklin.

Finally.

I feel like I've gone longer than last December without Chiefs football. It seems like it was early November the last time we really saw this team play.

Today, the Kansas City Chiefs take on the New England Patriots in the regular season opener. Make sure you click on that link to the coverage of the game leading up to now, which will give you a good rundown of what we've been talking about here.

For those new to the open thread, the auto-refresh comment feature makes it almost like a chat room but much more organized.

There's nothing else to say. Football season is finally here.

GOOOOOOO CHIEFS!!!!

The Know Thy Enemy feature runs for the first time during the regular season and I have to tip my hat to MaPatsFan from Pats Pulpit for dropping by and answering our questions. He did a much better job than I did answering his.

Do Pat's fan think Belichick is as big a jerk as everyone else thinks? If so, do you excuse it because he wins? How many losses make it inexcusable?

Belichick is not warm and fuzzy, that is clear. He hates press conferences and answers questions in a way that drives the media nuts. "For a team to win back-to-back conference titles, what would you say are the top three or four things they need to accomplish?" Belichick: "Play better than the other team, whoever that is." Belichick said in 9 words what most coaches take hundreds of words to say. Neither one says anything of value, but Big Bill just cuts to the chase.

No, most of us do not think he's a big jerk. Would the perception be different if he wasn't winning so much? I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't be different. Is it inexcuseable behavior? I don't think so. I think we'd give him the same amount of losses as any other coach gets. I actually LIKE him due to this "all business" attitude. We fans have latched onto the belief that he wins because the only thing he cares about is football and creating a championship team. Period. I think of him like I think of heart surgeons. Many of them are complete dolts beside the bed, but are brilliant mechanics in the surgical suite. It all comes down to whether or not you want the warm and fuzzy guy who's ok or the cantankerous professor that's winning games.

One of your questions, entitled "More Draftnik Stuff", is very good so I'll address it here.

Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli, VP of Player Personnel, told owner Robert Kraft they were getting "Young and fast" on defense and I think they did. With youth comes inexperience in the NFL and Belichick's defensive schemes don't help; it usually takes a few years to get settled in. But, I think Belichick and Pioli have done a good job of creating a careful balance of experienced vets and smart youngsters. That being said, I was glad to see Mayo picked. I think he's really doing well and appears to have the brains to play ILB in the Patriots' 3-4. His mentor is Tedy Bruschi so he's learning from a guy who's played his entire career in a Patriots uniform. Shawn Crable has exceeded my hopes at OLB. He needs to bulk up a little bit, but at 6-5 243 lbs, he's got really long arms to wrap around during tackles and has already batted down a few passes in preseason games. He appears to be a smart guy and can create some havoc on the edges. Once he learns more, I'm confident they'll be fewer mistakes and his mentor is Mike Vrabel. Bo Ruud was on the bubble, in my opinion. He was heading towards special teams, if he gained a spot, before he was injured. I was really rooting for this kid because he's a hard worker.

Now we get to cornerback, my biggest concern. Veteran Ellis Hobbs is our main starter. He's a serviceable corner, but no Asante Samuel. That being said, Terrence Wheatley is our other starting corner. He's done a pretty good job in preseason, but the regular season is a totally different ball game, as we all know. Jonathan Wilhite is doing well also, but these guys are young and will make rookie mistakes. The loss of Asante hurt, but we just didn't have the cap space to keep him on board. I wouldn't be surprised if you see SS Brandon Meriweather jump in at CB every once in a while.

Kevin O'Connell was a surprise pick to many, but I was really up on this kid early on. At San Diego State, his offensive line was so bad, he had the most rushing yards of any player on the team, including the running backs!! In the last preseason game, O'Connell threw a TD pass and ran for a TD. We're used to flat footed QBs (Bledsoe and Brady) so this is a welcomed wrinkle. I'm not ready to say he's the future of the franchise, but I do think it was a shrewd and inspired move.

How worried are Pats fans not only about Brady but who is the lucky player to replace him in the case that he is out for an extended period of time?

Worried, dang worried. Brady's always been an ironman and has started the last 127 games, third most for a QB behind Manning and Favre. I don't think anyone would disagree Brady is a major reason why we've had so much success over the last 8 years. I've seen signs he's "settling" in as a vet, which I suppose you have to after performing at such a high level for so many years. And after the 2007 season, it's hard to fault him. He's no longer competing for some of the internal "prizes" players get for off season work (parking spots) and is choosing to spend time with his son out west in some situations; understandable given the length of last year's season and the fact that Brady and other vets have played more games than any other team over the last 8 years. That said, I still think Brady's at the top of his game, but it's only a matter of time before Brady and the Patriots part ways. I do believe we're in the second half of his career.

Matt Cassel is a concern; it was a surprise to many of us he wasn't cut this past weekend, but I gotta believe Belichick saw something in him us fans just don't have access to. Countless hours of practice and film give the coaching staff a perspective we just don't get, so I'm holding on to the belief Belichick's smarter than me. ;-)

Will Pats fans ever forgive John Tomase?

John Tomase, sports writer for the Boston Herald, wrote a story confirming a credible source that knew the Patriots had taped the LA Rams walkthrough prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. It later turned out to be untrue as confirmed by Matt Walsh, Mr. 15 minutes of fame from the whole Spygate thing. The Boston Herald had to issue a front page apology. Initially, I thought a blanket party was the right approach and would've stood watch in a dark alley. Time heals all wounds, so I've softened my opinion a little bit. I don't use the Boston Herald for much and never have. It's a rag, in my opinion, and I've always found Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe far more credible and on top of things. Plus, how much credibility will Tomase have with the Patriots players and organization at this point? How much access will they give him? That being said, I do think anything Tomase now writes has been gone over with a fine tooth comb by both himself and others; my guess is it's pretty thorough, but again, I've always thought the Herald is a rag and not worthy of my time.

What the hell happened this preseason? Is this just another play by New England to make everyone think they're worse off than they are? (to the author, I've shortened this question up a bit and hope I hit all your points)

To start off, I'll say Belichick has always used the preseason for what I believe is its primary purpose: to evaluate players and the team in a game situation prior to the regular season. That's not to say other coaches DON'T do that, but Belichick could care less about the wins. Now, onto the actual play. You are correct that the defense got run over. If this were the regular season, I'd be worried, very worried. But I believe this year was like no other. There were many rookies on the field at key positions and Belichick had to evaluate their ability to play at an NFL level. It was a science experiement; tweak this, change that. Let's see what happens. In addition, we had a number of FA vets the coaching staff had to evaluate against the rookies. In the end, Belichick and Pioli chose youth over experience in a few key positions, which says to me these young guys are picking things up quickly. For example, rookie Jerod Mayo made the roster over veteran FA Victor Hobson and Terrence Wheatley established himself at corner ahead of the now departed FA Fernando Bryant. I stated in another response they will make rookie mistakes, but I believe they won these positions for 3 reasons: youth, brains and they show promise for the future.

To answer your second question, yes, I do believe this was a ploy to make other teams believe they're in trouble. At least, that's the belief I'm holding on to! ;-) To my eyes, the linebackers and defensive backs were playing incredibly soft in every game. CB Ellis Hobbs was giving tons of room to wide outs, as were the other CBs. My only explanation is that Belichick told them to play that way. In addition, you never saw some of the "nifty" stuff they're known for. Every defense and offense was vanilla. Nothing too fancy and nothing too exotic. One opposing veteran QB commented he'd only seen a very small portion of the Pats' playbook. Again, it's a science experiment to Belichick.

As a final note, I knowingly avoided a question about a certain player. PatsPulpit faithful should be able to find it. ;-)

***

Many thanks again to MaPatsFan from Pats Pulpit for stopping by. Don't forget about the open thread here for tomorrow's game. The thread will open probably around 11 AM or so.

Because of injuries, the Kansas City Chiefs are only dressing three wide receivers.

Larry Johnson has not played in a regular season football game since November 4th, 2007. The Chiefs' fullback is a brand-new rookie.

The offensive line is still very much in flux and unstable as a unit.

What kind of production can we possibly expect from this offense?

Let me make an unpopular prediction - Our offense is going to be extremely unproductive this weekend against the Patriots and for at least a few weeks after that. Let me tell you why. And this is more about the direction of the team over the next few weeks than specifically about this Sunday's match up.

I am in no way a believer in this offensive line until I see actual production on the field. I need to see it with my eyes for me to believe it. I need to see Larry Johnson running through big gaps in the line, defensive players flattened and most importantly in the rushing game stats.

I still feel stung from last season when I thought, not especially strongly mind you, but I thought that the Chiefs line would be adequate going into the regular season. And frankly, I have not seen really anything in the preseason to make me think that the line has improved much over last year's squad.

That mistake and the misjudgement by the Chiefs coaching staff has really jaded me to being a homer. It can make you look ridiculous and make you really question your judgement.

Next, behind Dwayne Bowe, the Chiefs have nearly zero depth at wide receiver. I know Maurice Price and Will Franklin are solid prospects and me saying zero depth is in no way criticizing their talents or the talents of Darling, Webb or Robinson.

My point is about our reveiver draft picks - they are unknown wide receiver talents in the NFL. Unknown. We really have no clue how much they will help this team. They should help this team. Wide receivers are notoriously hard to judge coming into the NFL draft. Past drafts are riddled with sickeningly high draft pick choices spent on wide receivers who never lived up to a tenth of their hype.

If the pressure is that high on a top WR draft pick and the odds that poor, then certainly those odds worsen as you drop into the fourth round (Franklin) and down to the undrafted college free agents (Price).

Again, we just don't know with these guys. Even Bowe is still proving himself after a huge rookie year. Expectations are heavy on him as well.

To top it all off, the Chiefs are starting the regular season tomorrow against what was last year one of the greatest regular season football teams of all time. At the very least, this game will be a major, major test for a young team. I like that we are playing the Patriots right off the bat. Baptism by fire. Let's throw them in and see what they can do.

What about your thoughts about this Chiefs offense?

I'm not too sure what happened with Nap Harris. He was fine until today so he must have injured his knee in practice this afternoon. If Franklin and Price don't play, that means the Chiefs will have three, three healthy wide receivers.

A bit unnerving, no?

Check out the backups on the roster and Herm's press conference from today.

Patriots injury report is after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

All the news that fit to post...

• I had a clip embedded above in which Mike Reiss of The Boston Globe says the Patriots may have trouble with the Kansas City Chiefs running game. It was acting funny so I posted it after the jump.


• Definitely check out this post from Pats Pulpit linking up yesterday's news.


• Kolby Smith is listed on the injury report as not participating in practice with a back issue but I haven't heard any details on that injury. Today is the day we find out the more specific injury listings - probable, questionable, doubtful or out - and we'll know what we're dealing with. H/T to Eric in the FanShot section for that one.


• Kent Babb makes Tamba Hali sound more competitive than I ever knew he was. Interesting picture with that article too.


• More keys to the game from Double D at Arrowhead Addict.


• Over at The Red Zone , Randy Covitz talks about a possible San Diego Charger blackout this weekend. He says, "There's little question the Fox affiliate in San Diego will buy out the remaining seats because this is one of just two Chargers games it can televise this season." How terrible are your fans when your team is very successful and people still won't watch? At least Rams fans ride the bandwagon.


• The kick returner position has not been settled on yet - "B.J. Sams said after practice that neither he nor Dantrell Savage has been told which player will return punts and kickoffs in New England. Both have been working at each position this week in practice."



• Karen Guregian of The Boston Herald asks some good questions about Sunday's game: "Will Chiefs coach Herm Edwards really have second-round pick Brandon Flowers cover Randy Moss?" and "How will first-round pick Branden Albert, who missed the preseason with a sprained foot, attempt to hold off Richard Seymour?

  Those potential matchups are definitely worth discussing this morning. Surtain on Randy Moss? Or Flowers on him?



• Let me throw out a reminder about the open thread on Sunday during the game. If you can't watch the game, watch it at home with the computer on anyway or just want to talk about the Chiefs come on by.

Wow...the last Friday of the off-season. Can you feel it? The long wait is almost over. The over saturation of media has Patriots fans wondering what the Chiefs can do to win this game. You gotta love this, right?

To get the conversation started, what individual matchups do you like and dislike this weekend against the Patriots? Yes, I know there are probably many. That Boston Herald article really got me thinking - No matter who the Chiefs put on Randy Moss, he's going to about five times as talented as they are. Of course I knew this already but Moss' potential for damage is massive this game.

Thoughts on the best and worst matchups for the Chiefs?

Continue reading this post »

You knew he was going to start, right? From The Red Zone:

The Patriots just sent me their daily injury report and quarterback Tom Brady is nowhere on it.

That is public acknowledgment that Brady will not only play but start on Sunday against the Chiefs.

Geez the Patriots get way too much out of messing with the injury report. Way too much.

Plus, in what is turning out to be me pillaging The Red Zone's content, the Kansas City Chiefs named their captains for the season.

The Chiefs designated four captains for the season: guard Brian Waters, cornerback Pat Surtain, linebacker Pat Thomas and special teams player Jon McGraw were elected by a vote of their teammates.

You just know McGraw lobbied for like six weeks to get one of those captain spots. Gerrymandering, illegitimate voters, hanging chads...McGraw is all too familiar with those.

Don't forget about actual football being played tonight. It's the Redskins and Giants tonight at 6 PM central time.

When asked what chance a pair of barefoot midgets had of succesfully sneaking into the homeland of the invincible Lord of Darkness, evading his hordes of minions, in an effort to destroy the source of all evil; the wizard replied "There never was much hope...just a fool's hope".

This Sunday the NFL version of this story plays out.  The Kansas City Chiefs were one of the worst teams in football last year and the New England Patriots were a perfect 16-0 in the regular season.  Tom Brady completed 68.9% of his passes and only threw 8 interceptions in 578 pass attempts for a measely 1.4 INT %.  The Patriots offense broke several NFL records, including points in a season and beat their opponents by 20 points or more eleven times.

The Chiefs on the other hand, are coming off their worst season in 20 years riding a 9 game losing streak to end the season.  Our current roster includes 33 players in their 3rd season in the NFL or less.

So how can the Kansas City midgets ever hope to sneak away from the Dark Lord's lair at Gillette Stadium with a victory?

Continue reading this post »