This year, the Chiefs were considered a contender going into the season, ready to have a fun time at Camp Crystal Lake. A rough looking schedule curbed expectations some, but nothing like getting slaughtered the first two games did. The beginning of the schedule was supposed to be the easy part, just playing grabass with the other camp counselors, so why did it feel like they were getting chased through a corn field by an unnatural behemoth with a hockey mask and a machete? All they could do is watch their comrades get mangled as their odds of survival slimmed.

Despite not looking like much, like a stiff breeze would blow them over, the Chiefs mustered up the courage to fight back against San Diego. In the end it wasn’t enough. Despair formed a prison around the team, but the team kept hope. Of course, hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. People considered the value in losing in this tale of woe. Committing suicide, taking the coward’s way out of these shackles after the cell door slammed shut. But the team wasn’t ready to die. They appealed for their life in their next two games with wins against awful teams that started the year 1-9. These small victories teased them of their dream of finding a warm place with no memory to live the rest of their days, right before getting back to working on the laundry.

At the same time, the presumptively illusory monsters that had plagued them in the past proved to be real. Their first 3 opponents combined for a 13-2 start, terrorizing every promiscuous teen in their path. It’s hard to decide if it’s a comfort to know you weren’t imagining it all, or if it’s even worse knowing it wasn’t just a bump in the night.

So, what type of story will this turn out to be? A bad slasher flick that would be easy to laugh at if it wasn’t so pathetic? Or will this be a story of redemption, taking all of the bad cards dealt to them, turning them into a winning hand and sticking it to their captors in the process? Hopefully they wouldn’t have to crawl through 5 football fields of shit to get there.

One thing is certain… it’s too late to turn this into a Disney film.

OFFENSE

Passing Game

Regardless of how you feel about Matt Cassel, if you’re one of the few who feel he’s Mr. Right, think he’s just Mr. Right-now, or Mr. Dear-God-I-Hope-No-One-Sees-Me-With-This-Loser, he’s still the QB of this team. That didn’t change during the offseason. Hence, logic would dictate that very little would have on that front. So, how does our passing game stack up to last season?

Matt Cassel 2011 First 5 Games

93/140, 66.4%, 945 Yards, 8 TD, 5 Int, 89.7 QB Rating

Matt Cassel 2010 First 5 Games

78/135, 57.8%, 851 Yards, 7 TD, 3 Int, 84.5 QB Rating

Matt Cassel 2010 Full Season

262/450, 58.2%, 3116 yards, 27 TD, 7 Int, 93 QB Rating

The number that jumps out the most is the much higher completion percentage. Maybe that’s what the addition of Breaston has meant to Cassel, while Bowe has continued to be an absolute beast. Most everything else seems to be in line with what he’s done lately. Would it have been even more noticeable if Moeaki wasn’t hurt this season? Cassel also has a worse TD to INT ratio, but still nothing crazy. If anything, he’s gotten off to a better start than last year, and his line is giving him fair protection, averaging the same 2 sacks a game they did last year.

So, yeah, Matt Cassel is still Matt Cassel. Many detractors will freely admit he hasn’t been given all of the tools to succeed his first two seasons with the Chiefs. The lack of receiving talent has been obvious. Even his biggest fans will admit being able to lean on the #1 run game last year helped though… but what about this year?

Running Game

We all know the story. Many called for Charles to be cut going into 2009, despite talent that looked crazy good when put to the eye test. Why? He put the ball on the ground too much. Yet, when finally given his opportunities, he took that ball and ran with it, to the tune of a single game team rushing record the final game of that season against the Broncos.

2010 rolls around, and he doesn’t slow down. Charles was amazingly underrated by the national media, even as he was just a couple carries away from breaking Jim Brown’s ypc record. He still hasn’t completely shaken the stigma of being a fumbler, even after only having 3 fumbles (2 lost) all 2010. But Chiefs fans knew, this man was the heart of our offense. A consistent runner and big play threat, as long we had Charles, we had a chance…

…and then he tears his ACL.

‘Man, we’re screwed!’ That’s all I could think at the time. Thomas Jones is out of gas and we don’t have a true running back after that. But, is that what the numbers say?

Team 2011 First 5 Games

127.4 YPG, 4.6 YPC, 0 TD

Team 2010 First 5 Games

164.6 YPG, 4.9 YPC, 3 TD

Team 2010 Full Season

164.2 YPG, 4.7 YPC, 13 TD

We’ve clearly taken a step back losing Charles. Yardage-wise that’s 36.8 yards less a game, which in turn is 588.8 yards over a season. We’re still nearly as effective when we do decide to run, but the zero touchdowns are very disheartening. That may be a bit of a fluke, and we weren’t that good at pounding the ball into the endzone last year anyway. Those 13 TDs last year would put us firmly amongst the average.

This is one spot where the real story is what we have moving forward. Both Dexter McCluster and Jackie Battle have averaged 5.4 YPC so far this season. How much workload can Dexter handle? Will Jackie Battle prove he can be a feature back? How close to 100% will Charles be when he returns?

It’s unlikely we match our production from last year, but this is still more of a strength than a weakness. Despite the seemingly huge chasm when comparing the numbers, we’re still in the top 10 in the league both for yards per carry and average rushing yards per game. It puts into perspective just how good we were last year.

DEFENSE

Individually, the Chiefs have some of the best defenders in the game. It’s hard to name a better 3-4 OLB than Tamba, a better pair of corners than Brandon Flowers and Carr, a better 3-4 ILB than DJ, or a better Safety than Berry. You could mention better ones, sure, but these are all guys that are at least in the conversation as being Pro Bowlers at their respective positions. We’ve got some pieces.

There were relatively few defensive changes. Get rid of that creepy dude that grabs balls, yet still became a fan favorite somehow (okay, Shaun Smith was alright). Add in a salty veteran on the d-line from the team that most recently annihilated you. Sprinkle in a few draft picks. Seems like a pretty vanilla offseason.

That is, until Eric Berry got hurt. I already was worried about our lack of Safety depth from when Kendrick Lewis was hurt last year. Seeing him get hurt confirmed my fears. I’d almost rather watch the Jersey Shore than watch Sabby Piscitelli get major playing time.

2011 Defense First 5 Games

369.2 YPG, 30 PPG, 5.7 YPP

2010 Defense First 5 Games

340.2 YPG, 18.4 PPG, 5.3 YPP

2010 Defense Full Season

330.2 YPG, 20.4 PPG, 5.1 YPP

Many of us remember the defense being better than they actually were last year. They were ranked 14th in terms of yardage. But that’s okay, they were a bend-but-don’t-break unit anyway, right? They still were only the 11th ranked scoring defense. They weren’t very opportunistic either. Even with one of the most talented young secondaries in the game they only forced 14 INTs, for a total of just 23 turnovers. They were barely above average at forcing sacks, tied for 10th with 39. The only stat that really stood out to me as especially good was their 5.1 average yards per play, tied for 6th in the league. Overall though, this was a very average defensive unit.

All that being said, we’re clearly worse this year. Now, maybe it’s unfair to really compare these numbers since we had more points hung on us in the first two games than we did until halfway through the 6th game of the year last year. Still, the only major change is the loss of Berry. Berry was our second leading tackler and had the talent to be our best playmaker, but was he that important to our defense?

Yes, he was important, but I present an alternate theory. Some of our guys just plain had career years and it’s going to be difficult to match that.

For instance, Tamba Hali isn’t far off of his sack numbers, 4 sacks in 5 games projects to about 13 sacks over the season compared to a career high 14.5 last year. Still, he is clearly generating less pressure as a whole. He’s been credited with 11 pressures according to Pro Football Focus, which would project to about 35 pressures over the season. That’s not bad, but a far cry from the league leading 64 pressures he had last year.

That’s just the best example. It’s harder to quantify on an individual basis, and too obvious if you just compare pass defense straight up (allowing 29.7 yards more a game), but the whole secondary looks worse to me too. Is it because the team is generating less pressure up front? Is it because they don’t have the range of Eric Berry backing them up? Is it just hard to be as consistently good as they were last year?

Maybe it all adds up.

SUMMARY

We lucked out last year and didn’t have to deal with the injuries we have now. We don’t have the depth most good teams have. However, we have the pieces on defense to play a ton better than we have. Our offense hasn’t performed as bad as advertised either. Things could certainly get better. Our division is weak enough we could sneak up on people, so the show isn’t over yet.

It’s hard to say what kind of a movie we walked into. Some people walked out 15 minutes into it, but it’s gotten better since then. Do we hold out hope that by the end of it we won’t feel cheated of our time and money?

Call me a fool, but I’ve never walked out of a theater or football game early, and I was at opening day this year and saw the Happening.

Chiefs agreed to terms with WR Steve Breaston on a five-year contract with $9 million guaranteed.

“I would think common sense would say at the end of the day, after all the fighting and after all the words are said, we understand who butters our bread,” the veteran Denver Broncos safety said Tuesday. “That’s where the urgency comes in at.”

Dawkins and fellow NFL Players Association executive committee member Mike Vrabel(notes) alternated between optimism and expressing frustration with the league’s proposals during a conference call about negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.

via NFL players, owners sense urgency in talks – NFL – Yahoo! Sports.

One of my least favorite aspects of moving is dealing with our local cable company. Prompt isn’t in their vocabulary. I placed the call to have service transferred on Thursday. I was told they’d have a rep out to take care of it on Tuesday. That means no cable for the weekend. That means no football. No football to watch on my new 42” flattscreen. Yes, for the first time in probably 20 years, I was going to go an entire weekend without seeing a single snap. I did catch enough of the Redskins/Eagles game on radio to know that one of the subjects of this article was injured, but I don’t think I could tell you right now the final score of a single game. Thank God it’s the bye week.

Given that I have so much free time, however, I’ll use it as a chance to give some perspective on four controversial players, none of whom play for my team, and three of whom I’m glad don’t.

Reggie Bush. In terms of potential, it’s hard to imagine someone in recent history with more pure athletic potential. Bush belongs in the same elite class as Bo Jackson and Kordell Stewart–multifaceted players with what was perceived to be a near unlimited ceiling for growth. I use those two because, like Bush, neither of their careers panned out the way anybody foresaw.

It’s tough for me to speak ill of Jackson, my boyhood hero. His productivity was always on par with expectations. It was a single hit that damaged beyond repair perhaps the finest body the athletic world has ever seen.

Stewart, by contrast, is easier to criticize. Prior to his rookie year, a well-known shoemaker ran an ad featuring Stewart wherein he was asked to eschew his skills as a passer, runner, and receiver, and instead focus on being a punter. Nobody understood how vitally correct that commercial would be. Stewart elected to play quarterback, the position at which he was least able. He didn’t do poorly. He did a passable job (pun intended). He didn’t, however, play well enough to fend off the threat of Tommy Maddox, which, for as likable of a guy as Maddox may be, speaks volumes of where Stewart landed versus where the rest of the world thought he would land.

Stewart, in this regard, is a near perfect comparison for Bush. Bush never rode pine behind a player of as questionable skill as Tommy Maddox, but he never could beat out Deuce McAllister. Deuce was always a legitimate #1 back, but he was never elite. Bush, by his draft position and salary, was expected to be. He has yet to arrive.

It’s with this in mind that I question whether or not Bush should have been asked to return his Heisman Trophy. Were he what he was expected to be–the rare tailback that could achieve the level of stardom normally reserved for signal callers–would he have been asked to do so? We ask little of our greatest heroes, often to a fault (see my article The Pervasiveness of Permissivism). When our heroes have fallen, however, we do the opposite–we make unreasonable demands of them (for instance, asking Britney Spears, the impregnable bastion of teenage virtue, not to put on a few pounds post-pregnancy).

Bush, in my eyes, is exactly that–a fallen hero. He’s not a bust, but he has yet to come even remotely close to achieving his perceived potential. And, like Stewart before him, we may yet discover that his greatest talent is as a punter.

I don’t believe for a moment that that’s a good enough reason to expect him to return such an important prize.

Whether we as a society choose to acknowledge it or not, NCAA football is a professional sport. It is a for-profit endeavor. The only difference, in the words of Jamie Foxx as Willie Beamen in Any Given Sunday, is that “in the pros, the field hands get paid.” Only, as it turns out, sometimes some players do.

Consider what actually transpired. Bush, like hundreds, maybe thousands, of athletes before him, took money. While doing so was clearly a case of unbelievably poor judgment, ask yourself this: did that transaction do anything to affect Bush’s performance? No, it didn’t. Had that transaction not taken place, would Bush still be the winner of the Heisman Trophy? Yes, he would.

Had there been any ulterior motive attached to the payout, I would likely feel differently. I cannot, however, see clear to fault Reggie Bush for getting paid for nothing more than being Reggie Bush, and thus, I cannot see clear to believe that it was right for him to return the trophy, or even to be asked to do so. Bush is no saint, but he’s one of the greatest college athletes of his era, and deserves to be rewarded as such.

Now that I’ve relieved myself of that little bit, let’s move on. I promise the other three will be shorter than the first.

Michael Vick. I am, and always have been, a dog person (see opening narrative). I don’t feel for a moment that Vick’s punishment was severe enough. I understand the necessity from a legal standpoint for differentiating between animals and humans in terms of death and abuse. I have to. I’m a carnivore. Humans kill animals for food, and our treatment of those animals prior to death isn’t always all that humane. We also kill insects, arachnids, and rodents, sometimes as a means of preventing the spread of disease, but more often than not as a reactionary response to a mild to moderate annoyance. If we were allowed to kill our fellow man for similar reasons, well…. most of us would be dead. Still, I have a hard time convincing myself that the difference in sentencing between torturing and killing a pet and torturing and killing a person should be so radically different.

Having said that, Vick, by the standard set forth in his conviction, has paid his debt to society, and therefore I cannot see how the assertion can be made that he doesn’t deserve the job he has now. Were he operating a bucket and a mop at an IHOP, the present objection wouldn’t be levied. What people fail to take into account, however, is that, pay grade aside, playing quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles isn’t much better of a job. Come to think of it, the bucket and mop might actually be less thankless.

Besides, we still let Vince Neil sing, and he killed a man. Let Vick play football, and leave judgment to the man upstairs.

As a side note, out of deference to Donovan McNabb and Steve McNair, I propose we resume referring to him as Michael McVick.

Larry Johnson. Larry, you’re now officially as much of a tool on the field as you are off. I propose the latter as a permanent state of affairs. Na na na na….

Brett Favre. It’s good to see the old man back to form: throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. He’s still an explosive player, and he’s still a hell of a lot of fun to watch. I hope with every season that it won’t be his last. Unfortunately I think that next season I’ll run out of luck, but as long as he’s here, and as long as he’s one of the 32 best quarterbacks in the league, I’m going to enjoy having one last opportunity to see him do his thing. I suggest you do the same. If you get caught by your friends doing so, just tell them nK said it was okay. When that fails, just tell them you’re tuning in to watch Jared Allen.

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When the starter needs 22 touches to get that 81 yards, however, it doesn’t sound good.

Don’t get me wrong. I like Thomas Jones. He’s the third best skill position player on Kansas City’s offense right now. I’m just not sure why he’s starting. He doesn’t move the chains the way a starting running back should. First string tailbacks usually average a 1st down every four carries–25%. Jones’s career average is 19.4%. Jamaal Charles’s, on the other hand, is 27.6%. That disparity, applied to a starter’s workload of 300 to 350 carries, equals 24 to 28 1st downs over the course of a season. That’s far too many to leave on the bench.

Strong offenses can neutralize some of that sort of disparity in the passing game. With a quarterback averaging a sub-Byron Leftwich 122 yards per game, there isn’t much hope for that with the Chiefs. Today’s game illustrates a very simple, basic truth about the team: they can’t start both Matt Cassel and Thomas Jones and expect to score touchdowns.

A friend of mine from Baltimore once said this about the Ravens’ offense during Kyle Boller’s tenure (I’m paraphrasing here, because this has been easily five years): “Brian Billick once went 4-0 without scoring a touchdown on offense, and he liked it so much he decided he’d try it every month.” The Chiefs sit at 2-0 by the grace of solid defense and special teams play, but I can’t say that I expect it to last. I don’t. There isn’t a Ray Lewis or a Tony Siragusa on this squad to stop bigger running backs. Peyton Hillis demonstrated that today, just as Mike Tolbert did last week. Once teams discover this weakness and begin to exploit it, I foresee a fair amount of heartbreak on the horizon.

The solution, of course, is simple: outscore the other team. It’s the very most basic principle of any sport. The team with more points tends to win. As with the offense during the Vermeil era, don’t expect the defense to carry the team. Todd Haley has to figure out some way other than pick-sixes and punt returns to score. The best way is to put the ball in the hands of the team’s best players. For the Chiefs, that player is not Thomas Jones. It’s Jamaal Charles.

Whether or not this is an issue of a coach’s ego, as jilted ex-Star reporter Jason Whitlock has stated, is of no concern to me at this juncture. It’s not a theory without merit, but I’ll save my speculation for sometime other than immediately after a win.

Whitlock will no doubt justify his errant prediction of the outcome of this game as the consequence of a subpar opponent playing with a subpar backup quarterback (I happen to like Seneca Wallace, but that’s another discussion altogether), just as he justified his errant prediction of Week 1′s game the outcome of inclement weather. This too is not a theory without merit, but by the same token, subpar offense or not, this was another solid performance by an emerging defense. Romeo Crennel, no doubt motivated to some extent by a desire for vindication, has coached this group–nearly the same unit Clancy Pendergast had a year ago–into a solid, cohesive unit with a propensity for overcoming its inherent flaws. In every aspect of play they’re a little better than they were last season, and they’re no longer playing as if the whole was less than the sum of their parts. It’s been a long while since I could say what I’m about to say: it’s fun to watch the Chiefs on defense again.

In particular, it’s fun to watch Derrick Johnson play somewhere in the ballpark of his potential. Maybe it’s nothing more than customary contract year elevation of play, but I’d like to think it’s something more. I’d like to think that the new coach–one whose skills are more commensurate to Johnson’s–has him motivated to play better for the sake of playing better. With such a limited sample to work with, it’s hard to judge whether or not the change is permanent; thus, it’s hard for me to say whether or not I want Johnson back next season. For now, I’m just content to enjoy the ride.

Matt Cassel continues to be an embarrassment. I haven’t looked at enough stats from this week to discern whether or not he’ll move out of his lowly position of 33rd best passer in the NFL, but I do know this: aside from one decent drive in the second half, he played as poorly as (if not worse than) he did last week. His highest realistic aspiration this season may be to move out of the 30s. It’s time to start Brodie Croyle. I don’t care about his injury history. If games are to be won, a better signal caller must be at the helm. This year’s “Fire ______” at the end of each of my articles has been dedicated thus far to Tyler Palko, but I’m not above making a midseason switch. If today’s performance is in any way indicative of how Cassel intends to play out the season, I’ll be doing just that.

This is a win to be happy about, but not one to be proud of. San Diego’s pedigree is proven. Cleveland’s lack thereof is also. Kansas City looks closer to being a good team than most anybody would have expected, but right now the lion’s share of points isn’t coming courtesy of the side of the ball from which it’s should. This is not a small matter, and should not be treated as such. Quarterbacks are difficult to acquire midseason, and given the trade fodder it would require to acquire one of any consequence, it’s probably inadvisable for the Chiefs’ front office to even try. Long term answers on offense will be difficult to address until the offseason, but for now, focus on what might work in the short term: give the ball to Jamaal Charles. Give the ball to Jamaal Charles. Give the ball to Jamaal Charles.

Did I mention I’d like to see Jamaal Charles get more carries?

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I’m about to take a very unpopular stance: Brett Favre may be the best thing in professional football right now. He’s a flawed but redemptive hero–a guy who acknowledges and atones for his failings, both as a player and as a human being. He’s a good front face for the company too–he’ll do everything from commercials to cameos in R-rated comedies to locker room renditions of week one American Idol tunes. To top it off, he’s still one of the sport’s best athletes–entering his 20th season, he’s a legitimate Pro Bowl candidate, and, in the eyes of his teammates, he’s still the missing link that can take a team from a playoff berth to a Super Bowl appearance.

Why, then, is his presence such a divisive element? Why is he so persistently derided by fans and press alike? The answer is simple: he’s not playing for your team.

Let’s face it: Vikings fans don’t dislike the guy. He spent the overwhelming majority of his career playing for their closest division rival, geographically speaking, but he still has their support. At most, they’re vaguely frustrated with him for his indecisiveness, but you won’t see even a significant minority calling for him to retire or be cut. That’s because they reviewed their options, and they didn’t find an Aaron Rodgers waiting in the wings. They found a questionable career backup and a Kyle Boller impersonator. Based on that, they decided they liked the future Hall of Famer with the rocket arm a little better.

If he was on your team, so would you.

If he was on my team, so would I. I scanned through the Chiefs’ roster earlier today. If, for some bizarre reason, Kansas City was a legitimate contender, and, if for some bizarre reason, Minnesota elected to cosmically repay Kansas City for giftwrapping them a future Hall of Famer two offseasons ago by trading another future Hall of Famer to play out the remainder of his career in Arrowhead, there are a grand total of three players whom I would not trade to make that deal happen: Brandon Flowers, Eric Berry, and Jamaal Charles.

The Vikings, by contrast, gave up nothing more than a few million extra dollars to entice him out of retirement. As with nearly everything else he does, Favre has been criticized for demanding more money, but the additional money still places his salary below those of many of his peers (Peyton Manning, for instance). Whether or not to seize the opportunity to hire a top 10 signal caller at or below market value isn’t really much of a question at all.

Every season I pick an NFC team to support alongside the Chiefs. I never choose the Cowboys for familial reasons, and I never choose the Rams because I don’t care much for the city of St. Louis. In recent years it has been the Giants, due in large part to my appreciation of Kareem McKenzie, whom I consider to be one of the most underrated players in the league. It’s been obvious, however, for the past few years that it’s time to pick a different pony. Kareem’s career is winding down, the front office is slowly dismantling the Super Bowl team of a few years ago, and I really don’t care about Eli Manning.

I like football games that are won in the trenches. Accordingly, guys like Steve Hutchinson and the Williams twins have made Minnesota a likable team for me for a while now. Jared Allen and a brief appearance by Tony Richardson didn’t hurt either. The NFL doesn’t thrive on fans like me though. They, as a business, thrive on the casual fan, and the average casual fan doesn’t care about the game in the trenches. The average casual fan won’t seek out a Pat Williams jersey. They’ll look for the skill position player whose story they like best. It’s hard to get excited about a team led by Tarvaris Jackson. Brett Favre? Easy. He’s the redemptive hero, engaged in battle with a former boss and a well-liked understudy. He’s the guy who helps us forget about the harsher realities of the game: steroid abuse, sexual deviancy, and an impending lockout that looks more and more likely every day.

And the guy can still play.

It’s a great story in an era that needs exactly that. Brett, unless my Chiefs are contenders, I hope you win it all. Here’s to a happy ending.

(And yes, I really am holding a beer right now.)

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Yes, that’s correct. I am the proud possessor of not one, but two copies of the Green Bay Squeakby. What will become of them? They’ll probably be recycled to catch bits and pieces of regular season games. Even though it was a victory, and victories have been few and far between over the past few seasons, I don’t see any pressing reason to relive this one after I’m finished re-watching it tonight.

The nice thing about watching the final preseason game post-roster cuts is that I get to see some of the team’s lesser players playing their last few downs in the red and gold–players like Nuke Ndukwe, for instance. The less than nice thing is that I also get to see some of the team’s lesser players struggling, with the knowledge that ultimately they haven’t played their final downs in the red and gold–players like Ryan O’Callaghan, for instance. No team has 53 superstars, but it’s tough to deny that the guys holding up the bottom of the heap in Kansas City are worse than most team’s worst–players like Terrance Copper, for instance.

(In fairness to Nuke, I should state that I had every intention of not liking him when he showed up, strictly on account of the fact that he replaced Herb Taylor. I should extend him a special thanks, however, for making it easy to follow through.)

On to the game.

First things first: it’s nice to see the Chiefs begin to establish an identity on both sides of the ball (for the purpose of this discussion, epic failure doesn’t qualify as an identity.) My tenure as a Chiefs fan began at the beginning of the Marty era, during which the team established a strong identity on defense. During the Vermeil era, the team lost what little remained of its defensive identity, but gained a respectable identity on offense. In each case, the identities were rooted less around a style of play and more around a single player–Derrick Thomas first, then Will Shields. My invocation of the latter will likely raise a few eyebrows, as the more obvious answer would be Priest Holmes. Remember, however, that Derrick Blaylock had four touchdowns in a single game (three behind Brian Waters because the Atlanta defense skewed so heavily toward Shields’s side).

Identity is harder to create without players of Thomas’s and Shields’s caliber. In my 20+ years of watching the Chiefs, only Chan Gailey, working with a very green Tyler Thigpen, was able to create some semblance of it. I watched Mike Solari, Todd Haley, Greg Robinson, Gunther Cunningham, and Clancy Pendergast all fail to do it as coordinators (Haley the head coach may still prove the ability to do so, but as a playcaller, he stunk). That’s why I like what I see when I look at what the team is beginning to accomplish right now. Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel don’t have Derrick Thomases and Will Shieldses to work with, but, just as they did in New England, they’re creating identity with the players they have.

In the case of Crennel, the identity is not much different from that which he created in Foxboro. The front seven thrives on physicality and versatility, and they gamble like crazy. Frequently during the Green Bay game, with the safeties playing deep, the linebackers left large sections of field completely unprotected. On some plays it works better than others, but Crennel and his players accept the fact that they’ll periodically get burned. In exchange, however, they’ll strike a little fear in the hearts of opposing quarterbacks by constantly playing on the offense’s side of the line of scrimmage. This requires a sturdy pass rush. The Chiefs have sorely lacked one for two seasons now. Crennel has thus far created this pressure primarily with four players: Tamba Hali, Andy Studebaker, Wallace Gilberry, and, most surprisingly, Demorrio Williams, all of whom were available to both of Crennel’s predecessors. To some extent the players may be playing harder for him out of respect for who he is and what he has accomplished, but the reality is just that Crennel understands better how to utilize the talent he has. Case in point: Williams in a three-point stance. This was, in essence, Crennel teaching an old dog a new trick.

That’s what a coordinator is supposed to do. Why it’s taken Kansas City so long to find a new one is beyond me, but I sure am glad they finally did. Not feeling compelled to wince on every down will, to the average fan, be considered a major improvement over what they’ve witnessed for the past decade.

In Weis’s case, the option of simply recapping his M.O. from his Foxboro days isn’t an option. He doesn’t have a Tom Brady or Drew Bledsoe to work with. Likewise, he didn’t have a Jamaal Charles or a Thomas Jones to work with in New England. I’m not entirely convinced he even had a Jackie Battle. No, this script is a complete rewrite, and aside from having Pro Bowl centers and left guards on both teams, there are virtually no similarities. The closest thing on Weis’s resume to what he’s working with now was his first season as a coordinator with the Jets, with Neil O’Donnell as his signal caller and former return specialist Adrian Murrell as his feature back. Murrell had hit the wall by 1997, however, so even there a valid comparison can’t really be made.

Weis, who has never had a losing season as an NFL coordinator, is probably working with the least talented squad of his career. Still, his starters posted 14 points against a defense generally regarded as one of the best in the league. That, to me, indicates that he’s making progress. The fact that guys like Jackie Battle, Dexter McCluster, and even Tim Castille are coming to life and having some of the best games of their young careers also indicates to me that he’s making progress. Given that he’s working for the first time with a quarterback that will not ever see a Pro Bowl roster (I’d love to eat my words on this point, but I know what I see…. dude just isn’t very good), progress over last season is really all I could fairly expect.

I think we’re getting a little more than that, though. I’ve been a temporary Giants fan for the past few seasons (I always pick an NFC team to follow and support, but I seldom stick to them for more than two or three years). One of my favorite aspects of watching the Giants, particularly during their Super Bowl season, was seeing the three-headed running attack of Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, and Ahmad Bradshaw. Jacobs and Ward split the majority of carries through the first three quarters, then in the fourth Bradshaw provided a fresh set of legs. Given that two of Kansas City’s three running backs have yet to play a full game, it’s tough to say exactly how Weis will implement the three-headed running attack this season, but my guess is that it won’t be far off from New York’s. Factor in Charles’s soft hands as well as the multifaceted contributions McCluster is likely to bring to the table, and suddenly this is something very different from what one would expect from a run-first offense.

Okay, so you didn’t get much of a game review there, but hey…. it was preseason. Week four preseason. It’s as close to meaningless as football can be (which is, to say, not very meaningless at all).

Lastly, on the subject of Todd Haley’s Right 53, I gotta say…. I’m almost impressed. I saw only two glaring errors: the omission of Derek Lokey and the trade of Jarrad Page. When I saw Lokey in a goal line package at fullback, I assumed it was a test of his versatility to determine whether or not he could be used as a change of pace during the regular season. I think I was wrong. I think it was a last-ditch effort to impress an otherwise unimpressed coaching staff. Regardless of their impression of him as a lineman, I see a critical failure on the part of the coaching staff in cutting him. He should have been giftwrapped Thomas Gafford’s job, which, if nothing else, would have left him available as an injury substitute at both nose tackle and fullback. I know I’m outspoken on the whole dedicated long snapper issue, but I’m right. Gafford can’t contribute elsewhere. Lokey, just like Jay Alford during his tenure in New York, had something more to offer.

With Page, ultimately I don’t think it’s a wrong move to keep him off the field in Kansas City. The wrong move, rather, was in allowing yet another Chief to dictate his place on the team by simply stating that he didn’t want to play for the organization anymore. Eddie Kennison aside, I don’t believe in allowing players to strongarm the front office. The team struggles enough in free agency to attract players strictly on the grounds of geography. It sends the wrong message to the rest of the locker room when players are essentially allowed to leave on request (see also: Larry Johnson, though I had a much harder time convincing myself to be legitimately upset about that one).

End rant. End preseason. Clever titles return next week. Fire Tyler Palko.

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I’m curious to hear from my readers whether they think the defense’s success says more about Kansas City or more about Philadelphia. I myself am at a loss. I see few, if any, parallels between last night’s game and the game six days prior. Did the unit turn the corner sometime last week, or is Tampa Bay with their backup quarterback a more formidable offense than Philadelphia with their starter? I hope it’s the former, but I’m far from convinced.

I am convinced, on the other hand, that this game alone was enough to determine the right 53. In large part, the players anticipated to deliver delivered, and the ones anticipated to disappoint disappointed. It makes for a tidy trimming over the coming week and a half. Thus, based on last night’s performance, I think it’s time for me to unleash my first depth chart of the preseason upon my readership. Position by position, here’s what I saw happen:

RUNNING BACK
There isn’t much comparison to be made between Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles. The team’s official depth chart lists Jones at the starter, and Jones has played at least the first snap of every game thus far, but Todd Haley knows where his bread is buttered. Jones is unquestionably a capable tailback. I’m glad he’s on my team. He’s not special. Charles is. Charles has nearly twice the combined rushing and receiving yardage as Jones, and he’s accomplished this feat with fewer touches. Haley may want to send his younger player a message about focus and accountability right now, but I doubt he’s foolish enough to risk losing a game over it during the regular season.

Jackie Battle, meanwhile, is delivering on the promise I felt he had last season. In the storm chasing world, Battle would be branded a core puncher. He’s also a major special teams contributor. No player on the bubble has staked their claim quite the way Battle has. I don’t think Kestahn Moore stands a chance.

BATTING ORDER: Jamaal Charles, Thomas Jones, Jackie Battle.

QUARTERBACK
While Charles, Jones, and Battle are invoking memories of Holmes, Richardson, and Blaylock, albeit with a different panache, Matt Cassel and Tyler Palko are busy invoking memories of some of Trent Green’s backups. And I don’t mean Todd Collins. Cassel looks every bit the dink and dunk short yardage quarterback Damon Huard was, and Palko looks every bit as lost as Jonathan Quinn. Brodie Croyle is doing a good impression of one of Green’s backups too: Brodie Croyle. As per usual, he’s camping out on the injury report.

Meanwhile, Jeff Garcia is playing in the UFL. Garcia isn’t on Todd Haley’s radar. He isn’t on anybody’s radar. I’ll guarantee you, however, that he damn sure could outplay Tyler Palko. Maybe Matt Cassel too.

BATTING ORDER: Matt Cassel, Brodie Croyle, somebody other than Tyler Palko.

WIDE RECEIVER
The assertion was made during the Eddie Kennison era that the Chiefs didn’t really have a #1 wide receiver. They were right. Eddie was a strong #2 who became the go-to guy because the Chiefs never, ever invest in wide receivers. Not much has changed. Neither Dwayne Bowe nor Chris Chambers is a true #1, and Dexter McCluster, given his weight, can’t fairly be expected to be an every down player. I have no real desire to talk about what’s going on behind those three either. Between Cassel and this group of bruisers, all I can say is this: I’m glad they’ve got good running backs.

BATTING ORDER: Dwayne Bowe, Chris Chambers, Dexter McCluster, Jeremy Horne, Lance Long, Quinten Lawrence.

TIGHT END
Here again is a position where a #1 player is not present. Leonard Pope is exactly the type of tight end I’d like my team to have as a #3 guy. He’s the best of the bunch. Tony Gonzalez, you are missed. Tony Moeaki, you are not Tony Gonzalez. Jake O’Connell, you’re not even Billy Baber.

BATTING ORDER: Leonard Pope, Tony Moeaki, Jake O’Connell.

FULLBACK
How about Derek Lokey? A lot of people probably haven’t caught on yet to the fact that he’s the short yardage fullback, and he’s not bad at it at all. It’s interesting watching him thread the gap between Rudy Niswanger and Ryan Lilja, both of whom he (allegedly) outweighs. Oh, and Mike Cox and Tim Castille aren’t bad either.

BATTING ORDER: Tim Castille, Mike Cox, with Derek Lokey ahead of either if it’s 3rd and 2.

CENTER
Rudy had a good game. He made a couple of key reads and laid some hard hits on Philly’s linemen. He’s still not of the same stock as Casey Wiegmann. This contest should long since have been over. Still, it’s good to have two viable options. It has been brought to my attention also that there is a third center on the roster right now: Lemuel Jeanpierre. I accepted an overwhelmingly French name when Jean Philippe Darche replaced longtime long snapper Kendall Gammon a few years back. I’m not quite ready to do it again. Also, in order to make the team, he would probably have needed to make it to the field once or twice during preseason. This is the easiest game of odd-man-out ever.

BATTING ORDER: Casey Wiegmann, Rudy Niswanger.

OFFENSIVE GUARD
After the struggles of the last few years, the team looks surprisingly well-set at guard, at least for the time being. Brian Waters has had a good preseason, as has Ryan Lilja. Better yet, Jon Asamoah could potentially be special. Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking taking hold, but on two plays I saw him make plays downfield that reminded me of Will Shields. As much as I like Lilja, and as happy as I am to see him back where he belongs, I won’t be surprised if he loses his job midseason, and I won’t be disappointed either.

BATTING ORDER: Brian Waters (LG), Ryan Lilja (RG/replacement LG if Waters is injured), Jon Asamoah (RG). Given that Rudy has played a little bit of guard in practice, I don’t anticipate the team keeps a fourth.

OFFENSIVE TACKLE
Barry Richardson, in my opinion, proved that he deserves the starting right tackle job last night. Cassel, master of the slow draw, was getting the sort of pass protection he would need to be successful if he were going to be successful. On many downs he had in excess of four seconds to get rid of the ball. That means either the Philadelphia pass rush, ranked 3rd in sacks last season, is weaker than Atlanta’s or Tampa Bay’s, or Barry Richardson is a superior athlete to Ryan O’Callaghan.

Branden Albert, meanwhile, continues to underwhelm me. He plays well, but he doesn’t play well enough to justify what we gave to get him. He did as a rookie, however, at 20 pounds heavier than his present weight. I know I’m a broken record on this subject, but some guys just play better bigger. Get that man a season pass to Sizzler and give him a chance to return to form.

BATTING ORDER: Branden Albert (LT), Barry Richardson (RT/LT replacement if Albert is injured), Colin Brown (RT/RG), Ryan O’Callaghan (RT).

NOSE TACKLE
There is no greater weakness on this team.

BATTING ORDER: Ron Edwards, Derek Lokey.

DEFENSIVE END
Alex Magee apparently finally woke up to the fact that his job is in jeopardy and started making plays. Too bad he’s logjammed behind three guys that will make it on the quality of their play and one guy whose paycheck dictates that he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

BATTING ORDER: Glenn Dorsey (RDE), Shaun Smith (LDE), Wallace Gilberry, I can’t bring myself to say the fourth name because I don’t think he belongs in an NFL jersey, and Alex Magee.

INSIDE LINEBACKER
Given that Andy Studebaker established himself as the starter at the Sam position last night, it’s not a bad idea to move Mike Vrabel to the position of his namesake. He started a year and a half at left inside ‘backer for New England, and he’s better than the alternatives. As for the other starting spot, a strong argument can’t be made for any of the four candidates. Therefore, it is with great reservation and borderline disdain that I present to you the winner of the coveted nathanKent depth chart right inside linebacker starting spot: Demorrio Williams. Williams is the least athletic but most consistent, and he appears to be the best ballhawk of the bunch–those two sacks did a little bit to impress me with a guy who has underwhelmed me for years now. As for the backups…. who cares? It’s not a position of strength.

BATTING ORDER: Mike Vrabel (LILB), Demorrio Williams (RILB), Derrick Johnson, Corey Mays.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER
Note that, as of right now, Tamba Hali is not credited with any sacks for the season. Left tackles have learned their lesson with him–hold and hope you don’t get caught. He isn’t elite. He might never make it to a Pro Bowl. At this point, his biggest asset isn’t his strength or his speed. It’s Andy Studebaker, and Andy Studebaker’s biggest asset is Tamba Hali. Just as it was with Hali and Jared Allen, there’s a renewed sense for opposing offenses of picking their poison. As for the backups, even if he hadn’t played well, Cameron Sheffield would likely earn a sympathy spot on anybody’s depth chart today. In my opinion, sympathy isn’t required. The kid plays hard. Beyond that, there’s another Frenchman and a guy whose name I’ve only heard in passing. Okay, Pierre Walters isn’t French, but neither is Lemuel Jeanpierre. Hey, I didn’t say everything on here was fair.

BATTING ORDER: Andy Studebaker (LOLB), Tamba Hali (ROLB), Cameron Sheffield, John Russell.

CORNERBACK
Kevin Kolb played too poorly to properly evaluate much of anything the Kansas City cornerbacks did. Brandon Carr has a bit of a niche for CB blitzes. There’s not really a whole lot else to say…. they did their jobs. What else could anybody possibly ask for?

BATTING ORDER: Brandon Flowers (LCB), Brandon Carr (RCB), Maurice Leggett (NB), Mike Richardson, Javier Arenas, Travis Daniels.

SAFETY
Again, not much to say here either, aside from the fact that Kansas City will clearly be starting two rookies. Kendrick Lewis has been a very pleasant surprise.

BATTING ORDER: Eric Berry, Kendrick Lewis, Jon McGraw, Jarrad Page. I’m still holding out hope, because the other options are really bad. Donald Washington is terrible.

SPECIAL TEAMS
We all know what’s happening here. They have at least two solid kick returners, a great kicker, a great punter, and a long snapper that will, as most long snappers do, waste a roster spot. I guess Derek Lokey is already busy enough with three positions though, so maybe it’s for the best.

If this game is any indication–and I believe it is–this team will not score a lot of points. The offense lacks playmakers. At best, we should anticipate seeing nothing more than Martyball scores, which means that in order to be competitive, the defense must be on point. They looked on point more often than not yesterday, but…. I don’t trust it. Four days ago I threw my support behind Kevin Kolb and the Eagles in a divisional pickem contest. Having seen him/them play a full game, I feel I was errant in my selection. Holding a subpar team’s starters to 10 points isn’t a major accomplishment. It should be considered a basic requirement.

On the other hand, maybe I was right, and I just severely underestimated Romeo Crennel. That’s a pleasant thought, but I’m not staking any money on it. This team is still a year or two away from contention.

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FIRST HALF

I have no choice but to admit this–Matt Cassel had an okay game. Whereas his passes generally range from questionable to bad, tonight they ranged from good to questionable. He kept the ball in the hands of his receivers and out of the hands of the Buccs’ defense. He amassed two successful scoring drives. Better yet, he improved dramatically on last week’s paltry average of four yards per completion. This is undoubtedly partly attributable to improved playcalling from the sideline. Charlie Weis might not be much of a college head coach, but it’s hard to deny that he has a bit of a Midas touch with an NFL offense.

Still, the major change between this week and last was not the plays, but rather the time allotted to execute them. With much maligned center Rudy Niswanger displaced from the starting lineup by his old boss, Casey Wiegmann, Cassel simply had longer on each down to get the job done. Cassel isn’t known for a speedy release, so that extra half second or longer afforded to him by having a stronger snapper might on any given play make the difference between success and failure. I’ve said this before, and I’ll stick by my analysis–Rudy is not a bad player. He’s just not built to play center. He has too long of an upper body, which keeps him from getting down low enough, which keeps him from getting proper leverage. Consequently, while he doesn’t allow a lot of sacks, he also doesn’t contribute much of anything past that first stop. Casey, by contrast, gets great leverage even against much larger players, and he consistently gets to the second level. And unlike a lot of other centers, Rudy included, he knows what to do once he gets there.

Et cetera, et cetera…. My longtime readers already know my outspoken admiration of Casey’s play. For those of you who were happy to see him go in 2008, however, I implore you…. tell me I’m wrong. After tonight, try to state your case for putting another player (short of maybe Dan Koppen or Jeff Saturday) in Casey’s place. After watching Mike Goff fall from grace so dramatically and so quickly last season, I’m leery of aging offensive linemen, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in Casey. He may not be the future of the franchise, but he’s more than enough for right now.

Sadly, the veteran running back also brought in this offseason isn’t having the same spectacular start as Casey. Thomas Jones continues to underwhelm me. Jamaal Charles and Jackie Battle were the only two Chiefs who have run worth a damn at all this preseason. Luckily for us, both of them are running at or above their anticipated potential. Charles was incorrectly identified as a speed guy earlier in his career (the error is glaring when evaluating him alongside Dexter McCluster). He has speed, but he also has vision, power, and great hands. He’s one of the best I’ve seen since Marshall Faulk, and, barring injury, there is no conceivable reason why this year won’t be the first of many Pro Bowl berths for him.

Dwayne Bowe, by contrast, won’t be going to a Pro Bowl anytime soon, if ever. Chris Chambers probably won’t be going back to another one. This is a pedestrian receiver corps, and, unlike some of Kansas City’s pedestrian receiver corps past, they don’t have a Pro Bowl tight end propping them up. Having said that, I’ll settle this year for consistency. If the Chiefs can keep the same top three (Chambers, Bowe, and probably McCluster) for all or most of the season, I’ll call that progress.

Progress, defensively speaking, is hard to analyze from this game. Tampa Bay isn’t known for their potent offense. The front seven looked better tonight than last week, but then again, what front seven wouldn’t? Johnson/Belcher seems to me to be a better duo than Williams/Mays, but give credit to Demorrio for playing with the fire and anger that any demoted starter should. The backfield looks solid. I like Kendrick Lewis. No team wants to start rookies at both safety positions, but, barring the unlikely return of Jarrad Page, there’s little question that he’s the second best safety on the team, and probably the third best defensive back overall. I errantly believed Flowers, Pollard, and Page to be 3/4ths of the next potentially great Kansas City backfield. Now I think it could be Flowers, Berry, and Lewis, and based on what I’ve seen so far, I think I might be glad I was wrong the first time around.

Beyond that, I don’t know what else to say about the defense. Get back to me next week after they’ve played another real offense.

The real star of the first half, however, was, just as was last week, Javier Arenas. By himself he’s capable of making serious plays, but he’s doing something far more significant–he’s inspiring his teammates. They’re better blockers this week than they were last, and better by far last week than they were last year. It’s the same players as last year too, minus Jon McGraw, their captain, so ostensibly this should be a less organized, less skilled group, but it’s not. Some of that is coaching, and some of it is cohesion too, but a lot of it is inspiration. There’s a reason it was Arenas, not Berry or McCluster, that got taped to a goalpost. It’s hazing, but it’s also a sign of respect.

Moving on now….

SECOND HALF

Tyler Palko sucked.

Thank you, and goodnight.

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