Waiver Wire Manuvering

There were 32 players claimed on waivers this weekend after the NFL cut to the regular season limit of 53 players.

The Chiefs wound up with two of their claims: G Brian De La Puento who had been released by San Francisco.  He was a college free agent signed out of the University of California-Berkley.  The other was LB Erik Walden, who as a 6th-round draft choice this year of the Dallas Cowboys out of Middle Tennessee State.

To make room for De La Puento and Walden, the Chiefs released second-year cornerback Tyron Brackenridge and rookie LB Wes Dacus.  Expect Dacus to be back with the team today as part of their practice squad. …Read More!

New Rules in NFL for ‘08

There have been a number of playing-rules changes made by the NFL for the 2008 season. Here are the key ones:

-DEFENSIVE HELMET RADIOS: Teams will now be permitted to have one defensive player on the field with a radio in his helmet. This gives the defense the same ability to communicate its signals as the offense.

-INCIDENTAL FACEMASK: The foul for incidental grasp and release of the facemask has been eliminated. Twisting, turning or pulling the facemask will remain a 15-yard personal foul. …Read More!

College Preview 8/31

It’s Sunday afternoon college football this week, with Kentucky visiting Louisville. Kickoff is 2:30p on ESPN. Here are some prospects.

Kentucky

CB Trevard Lindley – 6-0, 178 pounds. JR-Redshirt. Lindley has 24 starts in the last two seasons on the corner for the Wildcats. Last year he had 66 total tackles and three INTs to go with the two swipes he grabbed in his freshman season. …Read More!

Sunday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The number eventually landed on 18 veterans.  That was the number of players that Herm Edwards and the Chiefs chopped from their roster in various manners at the end of last season.  Many were veterans at the end of their careers.

With the league dropping rosters to 53 players, some of those names turned up in the roster cutting wash on Saturday.  Here are the 18 and what we know of their pro football job status right now: …Read More!

Quick Thoughts on First 53-Man Roster

Nobody can ever say Herm Edwards doesn’t back up what he says.

The Chiefs head coach said the roster needed to be younger.  He said that over a year ago.  He’s gone about making it happen.

The initial 53-man roster for the Chiefs has 31 players who are 25 years old or younger.  That’s 59 percent of the roster.  Twenty-two of those players are 23 years old or younger.  Ten of those players are 22 years old or younger. …Read More!

Final Cuts 8/30

Here’s the list.  Details to come:

OFFENSIVE LINE: C Rob Smith, G Travis Leffew, G Edwin Harrison, T Anthony Alabi, T Will Svitek and G Tre Stallings

FULLBACK: Chris Manderino

TIGHT END: Michael Allan and Michael Merritt (Non-Football Injury List)

WIDE RECEIVER: Kevin McMahan, Sergiori Joachim, Jabari Arthur and Bobby Sippio

DEFENSIVE LINE: DE Jason Parker, DE Johnny Dingle and DT Derek Lokey

LINEBACKERS: E.J. Kuale, Steve Octavien and LeRue Rumph

DEFENSIVE BACKS: CB Rashad Barksdale and S Khayyam Burns

SPECIAL TEAMS: PK Connor Barth

Mizzou-Illini Preview 8/30

It’s been a long time since Mizzou fans have been as excited about a college football as they are for the 2008 season. After the Tigers performance last year, they are among the Big 12 Conference favorites this season. The key for head coach Gary Pinkel has been his ability to increase the talent level of his team. That’s where the improvement has come and that’s visible when you look at their pro prospects.

These two teams face off Saturday night from the Edwards Jones Dome in St. Louis. Kickoff is just after 7:30 on ESPN.

Missouri

FS William Moore – 6-1, 226 pounds, SR-Redshirt. Moore is ranked among the 40 senior prospects for NFL teams to evaluate thanks largely to his physical gifts and his big play ability. He really jumped forward at the end of the ’07 season when Mizzou lost fellow safety Pig Brown and Moore became the playmaker. In the last six games, he had five interceptions and two forced fumbles. He led the team and Big 12 Conference with eight interceptions. He has 10 career picks, and he’s returned four for touchdowns. Could be a top 20 choice in April ’09 Draft. …Read More!

The Story of Stone Johnson

It was 45 years ago on this day that the brand new Kansas City Chiefs suffered the first tragedy of its very young existence.

While blocking on a first-quarter kickoff return in a Chiefs pre-season game against the Houston Oilers in Wichita, wide receiver Stone Johnson injured his neck. Unable to move anyof his limbs, Johnson was carried off the field on a stretcher.  Taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in Wichita it was determined that he suffered a compression fracture of his fifth cervical vertebrae. He underwent surgery that night.  His condition seemed to stabilize.

Eight days after the surgery, Stone Johnson passed away, his parents at his bedside in Wichita. He was just 23 years old.

How Stone Johnson went from the 1960 Summer Olympics to becoming part of the Chiefs that summer long ago is a story that is part of the history of the American Football League. The new league was constantly searching for athletic talent and one place where the AFL dipped their bucket many times was among the black colleges of the South. In that era the NFL was integrated but there were unspoken quotas with most teams on how many black players could be on a team’s roster. Many players from small black colleges in the South never even received tryouts with the established league. …Read More!

NFL Review/Pre-Season #4

You have to be careful what you take out of the NFL pre-season.

Can we expect the Detroit Lions to win the Super Bowl? They did finish the exhibition season as the only unbeaten team in the NFL with a 4-0 record.

Can we expect New England and Cleveland to have a coin flip for the No. 1 draft choice in the 2009 Draft? They finished the pre-season as the only teams in the league that did not win a game.

It doesn’t take long for things to change in the NFL when the games are for real. The Chiefs will see that when they travel to Foxboro to face the Patriots next Sunday. Detroit might be able to keep their streak going, since they open on the road at Atlanta. Cleveland hosts Dallas to start their season.

When it came to scoring points in the pre-season, the champ was Seattle, as the Seahawks threw up 103 points. Carolina had 99 points.

When it came to stopping points, Detroit allowed just 32 points, Miami gave up 41 and opponents scored 45 points against Tampa Bay.

On to the regular season! Here are some of the pre-season week No. 4 highlights: …Read More!

College Preview 8/30

Here’s a look at some of the top players the NFL is keeping an eye on who are involved in Saturday’s national-TV action in the world of college football. Each week we will highlight several of the games. We’ll have a separate Mizzou-Illinois posting later this afternoon. We won’t do every team every week, because there are some teams that will keep popping up on national games like Ohio State and Southern Cal.

Today we look at highly ranked players from three games:

• Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina in Charlotte, NC, 11a ESPN.
  
• Utah at Michigan, 2:30p on ABC.
  
• Clemson vs. Alabama in Atlanta, 7p on ABC. …Read More!

Saturday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Lost amidst all the clatter from Thursday night’s Chiefs pre-season finale was this: rookie LT Branden Albert dressed for the game.  He did not play, and wasn’t expected to get into the action.

But Herm Edwards felt it was important to allow Albert to dress and go through warmups for the first time in his young career.

“We got him all pumped up,” Edwards said on Friday.  “Brian (Waters) came up to me in the locker room and said, ‘Coach, 76 is dressing?’  He looked at me oddly and I said, ‘Brian, the guy has never been through a warm-up yet. It would be awful to take him up to New England and it’s the first time he ever stepped up on the field and he’s never even warmed up. He needs to get his heart pumping like he’s going to play.’ …Read More!

Top 40 College Seniors-NFL View

The college football season kicks off everywhere this weekend and that means that NFL scouts will begin their long trek towards the Draft next April. That starts with tracking the best college players through this senior season.

Now, the NFL says it does not prepare for juniors who will decide to come out early, but you can bet the scouts will be starting dossiers on guys who have the potential to make the jump. Based on the last couple years, that figures to be as many as three dozen underclassmen.

We’ve taped our NFL sources and they produced this list of the top 40 seniors coming out this year. We’ve broken them down by conference and team. Any listing of one through 40 at this point is really a waste of time without the senior season production. …Read More!

A Final Roster Guess-Corrected

OK, here’s my guess on the roster as it will look at 3 p.m. on Saturday, when the Chiefs must turn in their moves to reach the NFL maximum of 53 players.

(UPDATE: Thanks goodness for you eagle-eye readers who noticed I did not have Jamaal Charles down.  Obviously a major screw up on my part.  That’s been corrected and I’ve adjusted accordingly to keep within the 53-man limit.  Must have been too much water on the brain last night at Arrowhead!)

QUARTERBACK (3): Brodie Croyle, Tyler Thigpen and Damon Huard.

HALFBACK (5): Larry Johnson, Kolby Smith, Jamaal Charles, Jackie Battle and Dantrell Savage.

FULLBACK (2): Mike Cox and Chris Manderino.

TIGHT END (3): Tony Gonzalez, Brad Cottam and J.P. Foschi. …Read More!

Leftover from St. Louis Game

From Arrowhead Stadium

Going into Thursday night’s pre-season finale, the returner job was Dantrell Savage’s to lose.

And then he lost the handle on the opening kickoff, fumbling the ball away and setting up the St. Louis offense at the Chiefs 22-yard line.

Suddenly, there’s doubt.  Savage came back and did a great job on his return opportunities, taking back two punts for 26 yards and two kickoffs for 46 yards, including a 40-yarder.

But when you are a rookie returner, you don’t want to put that doubt in the head coach’s mind, especially just hours before the final cutdown date.  …Read More!

If You Were There, Tell Me Why!

If you were one of the folks who was at Arrowhead Stadium last night, who sat out the rain delay, who stayed until the second half, I want to hear from you.

The Chiefs announced paid attendance of 65,686, far below their official capacity for a sellout.  Still, the game was on local TV, so everybody could have stayed at home and watched on the telly.

If you went, if you got wet … OK, if you got drenched, if you hung in there through the evening, tell me why?  I’m serious about this.  I want to hear why, but I also want others to hear from the die-hard fans.  It’s a chance to express your passion.

If you were there, you are a die-hard fan. Tell me why.

A Strange Pre-Season Finish

From Arrowhead Stadium

Maybe it was the rain.  It came down in buckets.

Maybe it was the 90-minute delay on the opening kickoff, because of the rain that came down in buckets.

Maybe it’s just the state the Chiefs are in right now, where trouble seems to find them and comes down in buckets.

Whatever the reason, there were some strange sights Thursday evening in the Chiefs pre-season finale. …Read More!

Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

What is it about Arrowhead Stadium that seems to attract thunderstorms?

As the rain came down in buckets early Thursday evening, I sat in the nice, dry press box at Arrowhead and tried to remember the last time the Chiefs played at home in a slight rain, or just a little mist.  I’m sure there were a few,  but I spent 14 years watching every game on the sidelines and for the most part the weather was good.  Sure, sometimes it’s cold, there’s been some light snow, a sprinkle here and there. …Read More!

Chiefs Get Back in Step

From Arrowhead Stadium

Last Saturday, the Chiefs took a step backwards in their growth, losing badly in Miami.  On a soggy Thursday night in Kansas City, Herm Edwards saw just what he wanted to see.

The Chiefs bounced back and beat the St. Louis Rams 21-17, winning the Governor’s Cup and finishing their pre-season with a 2-2 record.

“We gained some steps back,” said Edwards afterwards.  “They responded well.  It was a good win for us, a good win at home.”

Mother Nature got involved Thursday evening and filled that silver cup from the Governor with a good old Missouri thunderstorm to start the evening.  The teams were chased off the field during warmups and from that point until the eventual kickoff, it was a two-hour wait. …Read More!

During the Monsoon

From Arrowhead Stadium

It’s been over 90 minutes (5:30 p.m.) since the Chiefs and Rams were chased off the playing field here because of heavy rains and lightning.  They’ve not returned.

So as we kill time here waiting for this August monsoon to pass through Kansas City, we got to looking at some statistics and thinking.

Obviously, when this game is finally played, the playing surface here at Arrowhead is going to be soggy.  It’s a good track, but it’s rained heavily at least three different times in the last 90 minutes, so it’s not going to be a good track.

Which is why if I was Herm Edwards, I would tell Larry Johnson to go ahead and take the shoulder pads off.  I would bring an end to his pre-season before this game kicked off. …Read More!

The Practice Squad

One part of the roster equation is always the practice squad, the eight-man development unit that each NFL team can have.  Generally, teams name players they’ve had with them to the bulk of those eight spots.  Teams can begin signing players to the practice squad after the daily waivers have cleared on Sunday at 3 p.m. CDT.

There’s also some confusion among fans and yes even the media on qualifications for the practice squad.  Many were under the impression that the practice squad was only for rookies.  Others believed once a player appeared in an NFL game, he could not go on the practice squad.

Actually the rule is quite simple. …Read More!

College Preview: 8/28

The college football season kicks off Thursday night with two big national games on ESPN: North Carolina State at South Carolina and then a Pac-10 matchup between Oregon State and Stanford.

During the college season, we’ll try to take the national games and point out some players to keep your eye on that the NFL is keeping their eye on. Here are a few for Thursday night.

South Carolina

LT Jamon Meredith – 6-5, 304 pounds, SR. Meredith has started the last 13 games at LT for the Gamecocks, but he won’t play against North Carolina State or William & Mary to open the season. This absence traces back to his freshman year when he played a few plays and then took a red-shirt season. The NCAA ruled he could have the extra year, but he had to give up two games. The ticket is due and he’ll be on the sidelines. When he comes back, Meredith may move inside to guard. He’s considered one of the top 40 prospects in the country by some NFL teams.

CB Captain Munnerlyn – 5-9, 185 pounds, JR. Don’t you just love that name! NFL teams don’t have juniors ranked yet, but by the end of the college season there’s a good chance the Captain will be on the radar screen. He’s played 23 games with 15 starts and last year the SEC coaches voted him all-conference. This guy is a hard-nosed player, despite not being very big and he’s got legit 4.3 to 4.4 speed. He also returns punts and has done kickoffs as well. He suffered a broken bone in his left foot at the end of last year and that kept him out of spring ball. …Read More!

Fantasy Players Players

Thought you would enjoy this one from the Ft. Worth Star Telegram’s coverage of the Texas Rangers, who just left Kansas City are sweeping a series from the woeful Royals:

“The No. 1 topic of conversation in the Rangers’ clubhouse Wednesday wasn’t Brian Bannister, Jose Guillen or any other member of the Kansas City Royals.

Larry Johnson, Tony Gonzalez and some other members of the Kansas City Chiefs were, however, the day after assorted Rangers held their annual fantasy football draft.

For the record, Johnson, the Chiefs’ running back, was drafted in the second round by Frank Catalanotto. The outfielder’s war-room effort from the fifth spot was considered the best, even though he didn’t take a quarterback with any of his first five picks.

It was a culmination of at least two weeks of studying volumes of magazines, Internet analysis and in-depth conversations. There was even a mock draft – possibly two.

Now that all the preparation is over, what will the participants in the league do with their time?

“We’ll trash-talk until the season starts,” Catalanotto said. “Once the games start, then we’ll really trash-talk.”

Not everyone has a team, said Catalanotto, but those who do remain in steady contact with each other during the off-season via the telephone or through the league Web site.

“It’s fun,” he said. “I think it helps out with the camaraderie in the clubhouse.”

 

Few Jobs Left On Chiefs Roster

The Chiefs will play their fourth pre-season outing Thursday night against the Rams, but there’s not much players can do in the game to win a job on the final 53-man roster.

That’s because most of the decisions have already been made.  There may be two or three spots that are in doubt among the players on the roster right now.  Even those last players that make the 53-man group on Saturday need to understand that things will be very fluid after the league cuts come down on Saturday afternoon.   The Chiefs will actively pursue players they feel will provide an upgrade to their roster, especially at two spots: linebacker and offensive line.

So what jobs remain open?  Well, one spot is obvious.  The others not so much. Here’s my view: …Read More!

Thursday Morning Cup o’Chiefs

There’s nothing that is forgotten quicker than the last pre-season game of any NFL season.

Thus it will be Thursday night with the Chiefs-Rams at Arrowhead Stadium.  This game was forgotten before it was played.  The game will be on local TV, but it’s nowhere near a sellout.  Why the folks at Arrowhead want don’t want to invoke the blackout rules is something I do not understand and is a subject that I’ll touch on down the road when the games matter.

The key for everyone, at the stadium or at home, is that this game starts at 6 o’clock.  That was a demand from the NFL.  Why?  Because of the Democratic National Convention and the acceptance speech of Barack Obama from Invesco Field in Denver.  …Read More!

The Feely Affair

So just what were the Chiefs doing with Jay Feely this week?

They brought Feely to Kansas City on Sunday where he made eight of 12 kicks in a workout for the coaches and personnel staffs.

They signed the veteran kicker on Monday and in competition with Nick Novak and Connor Barth, he went out and hit 11 of 15 field goal tries.

There was another kickoff between the three on Tuesday and Feely made 13 of 15 attempts.

Then they released him, just over 24 hours after signing him.

What’s up? …Read More!

Wednesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The PUP list was a busy place the last few days as NFL teams got their rosters down to the league limit of 75 players for now.

The Physically Unable to Perform list is a refuge for players who because of injuries suffered on the NFL field in the last year and can’t yet pass a team physical so they can practice.  It’s a variation of the injured reserve list with one key difference: a player on IR cannot under any conditions play for the team that season.  A player on PUP has a window where he can practice and possibly be activated to the 53-man roster.  This window comes after the sixth week of the season and ends before the 10th game. …Read More!

Feely Goes Wide Right

It’s been an interesting two days in the world of kickers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

To reach the NFL roster limit of 75, the Chiefs final cut was Jay Feely, the veteran kicker they signed on Monday.

They will go into the pre-season finale with both kickers that went through training camp: Nick Novak and Connor Barth.

So what happened?  The Chiefs aren’t saying anything publicly at this time and haven’t even announced the move.

But all three kickers had a kickoff the last three days and the order of finish for most field goals made was Barth, Novak and then Feely.

It’s impressive to see Barth respond to the competition.   More on this to come.

Kickoff Luncheon Words from Herm

The annual Chiefs Kickoff Luncheon was held Tuesday afternoon at the Hyatt Regency in Crown Center.

There were many words spoken.  Bill Grigsby suggested the Chiefs were on a three-year plan to the Super Bowl.  With a smile on his face, Carl Peterson mentioned that now famous Chiefs Urban Myth that he came to town in 1989 and set up a five-year plan.

The final words of note belonged to head coach Herm Edwards and they deserve to be heard again: …Read More!

Cuts, With One Left

No surprises on the Chiefs roster moves on Tuesday to reach the NFL limit of 75.

Released were DT Maurice Murray, DE Jonal Saint-Dic and T Ken Shackleford.  None were a factor in making the regular-season roster.

Sent to the Physically Unable to Perform List was WR Kevin Robinson.  He underwent knee surgery back in June and hasn’t been able to get back on the practice field yet.

That leaves one cut to make. Chiefs were in a personnel meeting that began after their Kickoff Luncheon to decide on which of the three kickers on their roster would be released.  They can also move TE Michael Merritt to the NFI list if they can’t decide on a move with the kicker.

Draft Class

The Chiefs dirty dozen draft class of 2008 was cut by half last weekend in Miami.  Of the 12 players drafted by the Chiefs back in April, only six were on the field and available to play against the Dolphins.  The others were in various stages of injury and rehab, including four players who are going to play a lot of football for the team this season.

Here’s where they stand right now after three pre-season games:

1. 1.  DT Glenn Dorsey – got the most playing time of his career against Miami and made an impression on the Chiefs coaching staff.  “He’s exactly what we thought he would be when we drafted him,” said Herm Edwards.  “He’s a powerful man inside.   He can control the double-team.  He’s getting better with his pass rush, he’s getting a better feel.”
   
2. 2.  LT Branden Albert – has not yet returned to practice from his foot injury, but is progressing on schedule and he may be able to practice next week.  Does that mean he’ll play in the season opener against New England? “Not necessarily,” Edwards said.  “We will have to wait and see.  With a veteran guy, you might do that, but with a young guy, I’m not sure that’s fair to him or the team. We’ll see what kind of progress he makes when we start next week.” …Read More!

Review: NFL Pre-Season Week #3

There was a lot of quarterback action and talk in the NFL over the last week. Guys were moved into starting jobs, others moved out.

But after three weeks worth of games, there are some numbers that really jump out when you look at quarterbacks in the league:

• Tom Brady (foot) – three games for New England, no snaps.
• Peyton Manning (knee) – four games for Indianapolis, no snaps.
• Matt Hasselbeck (back) – three games for Seattle, 12 snaps, all in the first pre-season game.

And then Monday night we watch Philip Rivers of the Chargers play against Seattle. There’s no way this guy is 100 percent after off-season knee surgery. He doesn’t so much run as hobble. He does everything he can not to put too much weight on that right knee and leg. …Read More!

Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The world of kickers in the NFL is really a wacky world, like one of those hillbilly families where some guy’s cousin is also his brother, and his aunt is his grandmother.

Take this scenario.  The Chiefs signed Jay Feely on Monday.  Whether he’s the team’s kicker this season remains to be seen, but his chances of holding down the position are good.  Feely was kicking with the New  York  Giants in 2006, but was replaced there by Lawrence Tynes, who used to kick for the Chiefs.

Feely went to Miami, where he replaced Olinda Mare last year.  Mare went to New Orleans, where he replaced John Carney.  Carney went on to kick at Jacksonville and then ended the season last year with the Chiefs.

The door just spins and spins and the same names keep coming out the door. …Read More!

Feely Makes Three, For Now

So the Chiefs signing of kicker Jay Feely has surprised some people because of its timing.  With the NFL roster limit dropping to 75 by 3 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, it would seem time to cut players rather than sign them.

Jay Feely

By signing Feely now, what the Chiefs have done is protect their options if they decide against Nick Novak or Connor Barth.  If Feely was still floating around out there after Tuesday’s cutdown date, there’s no guarantee he would be there after the final slice to 53 players.

The Chiefs will not carry two kickers into Thursday night’s game against St. Louis.  Either Novak or Barth will be cut loose on Tuesday after the kickers workout. Even Feely could be released, although that’s highly unlikely; he would have to fail miserably in the workouts for that to happen. …Read More!

Practice Update 8/25

From The Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs went through what amounts to their only practice of the week on Monday afternoon, and it was not a workout where the offense walked away very happy.

The defense definitely ruled the roost on this afternoon, picking off three passes. FS Jarrad Page grabbed  one one a ball that was tipped off the hands of WR Jeff Webb.  CB Maurice Leggett got another one that bounced off the hands of TE J.P. Foschi.  That ball was very catchable.  CB Brandon Carr won a jump ball with WR Dewayne Bowe for the third INT.  RB Kolby Smith also fumbled on a running play.

For the first time in a long time, the Chiefs No. 1 defense was on the field.  It was McBride-Tyler-Dorsey-Hali upfront, with Johnson-Thomas-Edwards at linebacker and the secondary of Surtain-Page-Pollard-Flowers.  When the Chiefs went to nickel, Edwards left the field and Carr came on as the extra defensive back.  When the defense went to the dime (4-1-6), Thomas left the field and CB Dimitri Patterson came on the field. …Read More!

Merritt, Feely Signed

The Chiefs were busy on the personnel front today.

They added veteran kicker Jay Feely to their active roster.  He was cut several weeks ago by Miami.

They also signed their seventh-round draft choice Michael Merritt.

To make room for Feely and Merritt, the Chiefs released LB Oliver Hoyte and DE Trevor Johnson.

Feely joins the battle at kicker involving Nick Novak and Connor Barth. 

Merritt will be one of the Chiefs roster moves on Tuesday to reach the NFL limit of 75 players.

Here’s how it works:

Merritt remained unsigned because he’s still recovering from a broken leg suffered at the end of his college season with the University of Central Florida.  Because he could not pass a physical to participate in practice, the Chiefs decided not to tie up one of their 80 roster spots with a body that could not get on the field. …Read More!

The Boss

Ordinarily our conversation here is about football and that’s where this epistle will reach a conclusion.

But before that, we are going to wander all over the road a bit, the Thunder Road in fact. Stick with me; I’ll close the circle.

I went to the Bruce Springsteen concert last night at the Sprint Center.

I went expecting to be disappointed. I should have had more faith in The Boss.

Let me establish at the outset that this was not my first Springsteen evening. Not even my second or third. My calculations, hampered by diminished memories of age, put this concert at either the 29^th or 30^th time I’ve seen him in person. My wife says that makes me a groupie. I say now way, because I’ve known people that have seen Bruce hundreds of times. I knew one guy out of college that quit a job to follow him on tour.

I saw Bruce in ’78 at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh. I saw him in 1988 in Sheffield England at Bramall Lane, one of the oldest soccer stadiums still in use. There were about 40,000 Englishmen singing “Born in the USA.” He didn’t tour in 1998 or I would have had four 10-year mileposts of Bruce concerts. I first saw him in 1976 in Pittsburgh. I’ve seen him perform in Asbury Park, in Cleveland at the Agora and the Allen Theater, at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, Pa., at the old Spectrum in Philly and in the Meadowlands, his home turf of New Jersey. I’ve seen him perform in a bar, a small theater, a small arena, a major arena and a stadium. Those are my Bruce credentials. …Read More!

Monday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

With now less than two weeks before the regular season openers, NFL teams are making all sorts of quarterback decisions.

In fact, there appears to be only one team that hasn’t made a final call: the Baltimore Ravens.  There, it’s a battle between Kyle Boller, Troy Smith and first-round draft choice Joe Flacco.  Right now, it appears that Boller  will be the guy,  but new coach John Harbaugh could surprise and go with Flacco.

After this weekend’s games, decisions were made on starting quarterbacks in Atlanta and Arizona.  The Falcons are going with their first-round draft choice Matt Ryan over Chris Redman and Joey Harrington.   It  will be interesting to watch how Ryan holds up under the pressure and pounding.

Out in the desert, the Cardinals are going to go with veteran Kurt Warner over youngster Matt Leinart, who had an especially bad performance against the Raiders, hitting only four of 12 p asses for 24 yards and three interceptions. …Read More!

Leftovers from Miami

From Miami Gardens, Florida

I’m sure there are some things that Gunther Cunningham won’t be pleased with when he looks at the tape of Saturday night’s Chiefs-Dolphins game.  A team doesn’t lose 24-0 and have anybody happy.

But Gun can’t get too down on his defense because once you shift through all the plays and all the stats it indicates that they actually got some things done.  Other than not getting the quarterback on the ground all night and giving up an 80-yard run in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs defense performed at a winning level.

They forced four turnovers, including an end zone interception.  They stopped Miami’s first possession from scoring, despite six plays the Jets ran off inside the Chiefs five-yard line.  They gave up no pass play for longer than 17 yards and other than the 80-yard run, allowed only one other play for more than 20 yards.  They stopped Miami’s offense on 3^rd down 10 of 13 times.  RB Ricky Williams averaged just 3.9 yards per carry. …Read More!

An Example For Brodie

From Miami Gardens, Florida

Let’s make this plain right up front: the Chiefs did not lose their second pre-season game of the summer because of Brodie Croyle.

Neither did they win the game against the Miami on Saturday night at Dolphin Stadium because of Croyle.

It was not a good night for the Chiefs starting quarterback, but then he did not have a lot of help on his side of the ball.  Pass protection was a problem.  The running game did not produce.  Receivers could not get open, which is always a bit of a problem in making the passing game go.

I’m sure there are many things Croyle will learn by watching the tape of the Chiefs offense’s shutout performance against the Dolphins.  But he might learn more by watching the tape of the Miami offense and more specifically Chad Pennington.  Starting his first game for the Dolphins, Pennington did exactly what he’s done throughout his NFL career.  He played smart football, he threw passes that were available, he set up the running game, he made time for himself with his feet and mostly he did not make any mistakes. …Read More!

Sunday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From Miami Gardens, Florida

The Chiefs and Dolphins provided interesting contrasts to rebuilding when they faced off Saturday night at Dolphin Stadium.

Chiefs fans all know how the organization reacted to the 4-12 season last year.  The roster was turned upside down and its filled with youngsters.  There are 37 rookie and first year players on the roster and 46 of the 80 are new to the team in 2008.

Well the Dolphins made a lot of changes after its 1-15 season last  year.  There’s a new guy in charge of football, new GM, new coach and some new players, in fact 42 added to the roster just this year.  But Miami’s gone in a different direction.  They haven’t gone as young as the Chiefs. They have only 22 rookies on their roster right now and no first-year players. …Read More!

No Points, No Victory For Chiefs

From Miami Gardens, Florida

It’s the most impossible task in the game of football.

The score starts 0-0.  If a team can’t change their zero, then they have no chance of winning the game.  None. Nada. Zero.

The Chiefs were forced to re-learn that most basic of football lessons again Saturday night at Dolphin Stadium, losing 24-0 to the Miami Dolphins.

Give credit to the Fins under new head coach Tony Sparano.  They played a good game, especially on defense.  They allowed the Chiefs just 189 offensive yards.  Kansas City’s No. 1 unit registered only 137 yards on 40 plays.  Miami is an improved team; they couldn’t be much worse than the 1-15 record they ran up last year.

But it really came down to the Chiefs shutting out themselves with poor play and mistakes.  The offense simply could not sustain any momentum or production.  Only once did they penetrate the scoring zone against the Dolphins and that possession ended short of the goal line.  In fact, the Chiefs got inside Miami’s 45-yard line just two times all night.  The second trip was courtesy of the defense, but that ended with a missed field goal and the goose egg stayed right where it was at the opening kickoff. …Read More!

Positions Review: Backs & Tight Ends

Over the next 10 days, I will take a look at each position on the Chiefs and where I think the roster decisions are headed for the regular season.  My conclusions are based on what I’ve seen during this pre-season and what I know about the Chiefs and what they are trying to create with this 2008 team.  But just remember, these are my guesses, so don’t commit them to stone! 

Let’s look at the backs and tight ends.

The Chiefs have a long jam at halfback and somebody is not going to make the team. The Chiefs would carry four at most, although a fifth wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. We know that Larry Johnson (pictured to the left), rookie Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith will be on the opening day roster. They are locks.

The battle comes down to Jackie Battle and/or rookie Dantrell Savage. Now, Battle started strong during training camp, but has been battling a sore shoulder for the last several weeks. Savage has made a name for himself as a returner, now handling kickoffs and punts. He’s also shown himself to be a productive runner, although remember he’s doing it against the second and third team defenses. …Read More!

Saturday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

The Chiefs arrived in south Florida late Friday afternoon for tonight’s pre-season encounter with the Miami Dolphins.  Like most of these exhibition games – the NFL hates that term – this meeting will be very forgetable.  Since the games don’t count in the standings, few are memorable.

However, every 40 years or so there’s a pre-season game that is unforgetable.  The Chiefs had just such a game on this day, 41 years ago at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City.

Final score: Chiefs 66, Chicago Bears 24.

The Bears had never given up 66 points in any game whether pre-season, regular season or in the playoffs.  They still haven’t in 88 years of play.  No Bears’ team has been beaten by 42 points before and since.  In the last 50 pro football seasons, no team has scored 66 points in a pre-season game.  In the last 50 seasons, no two teams have scored 90 points in a pre-season game.

Forty years later, Len Dawson can still feel the emotions of that hot summer night at 22^nd and Brooklyn on the east side of Kansas City.

“I played in a lot of exhibition games in my career but I never played in one that had that much emotion involved,” Dawson said.  “It was an unusual evening.” …Read More!

Answer Bob

From Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

The Chiefs arrived here Friday afternoon after being delayed by bad weather.  The Chiefs charter flight had to circle the Ft. Myers area as the Ft. Lauderdale Airport was closed by a bad thunderstorm.  The Chiefs were about to land in Ft. Myers to refuel when the airport opened and they were able to land.  Heavy rains in south Florida have puddles everywhere.

The extra time on the flight south allowed me to answer some of your recent comments and questions on bobgretz.com posts.  Again, thanks for your readership and interest.

Offensive line questions from Blake and Patrick.

• Blake I can’t say that Anthony Alabi has shown much.  When it’s been time to fill  in with the first group he’s run behind Herb Taylor, Barry Richadson and sometimes Will Svitek.  I did fail to mention that Alabi can also play inside at guard,  something he did in Miami.
• Patrick, I think it best for the health of Brodie Croyle that Herb Taylor stay at left tackle.  Believe me, if he can handle the duties there, moving to the right side  will not be hard.  Herb is a pretty smart guy as well, so while in theory I agree with your premise, he’s the best left tackle the Chiefs have right now and that means he needs to protect Croyle’s flank.

Several very nice comments on Gene Upshaw from long-time Chiefs fans who didn’t hold his silver and black  heritage against him. …Read More!

Replacing a QB Legend

It’s pretty darn hard to replace a Hall of Fame quarterback.

Just ask the Miami Dolphins. Or, for that matter, the Chiefs.

Len Dawson hasn’t played for the Chiefs in 33 years. Dan Marino hasn’t worn the Dolphins uniform in nine years. There have been a lot of quarterbacks who have stepped into the starter’s position for both teams. None have been able to fill their shoes.

Saturday night in Miami it will be Brodie Croyle and Chad Henne trying to become the next guy. They both join long lists.

Here are the quarterbacks who have started for the Chiefs since Dawson retired after the 1975 season: Tony Adams, Mike Livingston, Steve Fuller, Bill Kenney, Todd Blackledge, Matt Stevens, Doug Hudson, Frank Seurer, Steve DeBerg, Ron Jaworski, Steve Pelluer, Mark Vlasic, Dave Krieg, Joe Montana, Steve Bono, Rich Gannon, Elvis Grbac, Warren Moon, Trent Green, Damon Huard and Croyle. That’s 21 quarterbacks over 32 seasons.

At the end of the 1999 season, Marino retired and the Dolphins have struggled to replace him. Here are the guys who have tried: Jay Fiedler, Damon Huard, Ray Lucas, Sage Rosenfels, Brian Griese, A.J. Feeley, Gus Frerotte, Joey Harrington, Daunte Culpepper, Cleo Lemon, Trent Green and John Beck. That’s 12 starting quarterbacks in eight seasons.Either Chad Pennington or Chad Henne, and possibly Josh McCown will make it 13, 14 or 15 in nine seasons. …Read More!

Postion Review: Secondary

Over the next 10 days, I will take a look at each position on the Chiefs and where I think the roster decisions are headed for the regular season.  My conclusions are based on what I’ve seen during this pre-season and what I know about the Chiefs and what they are trying to create with this 2008 team.  But just remember, these are my guesses, so don’t commit them to stone! 

Let’s look at the defensive backs.

The starting group appears set at this point with Pat Surtain and Brandon Flowers at the corners and Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard at safety.

The fifth guy will be rookie CB Brandon Carr, as he’s working as the nickel back and figures to share the spot with Surtain.

The sixth guy will be rookie S DaJuan Morgan who only needs to clean up some of the mental parts of the game to get playing time. He’s shown he can handle things physically and he’s a big hitter back there. …Read More!

Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

If you’ve enjoyed this site over the last month you know our focus is Chiefs and NFL football.  We’ll expand that horizon a bit here in the coming weeks with college football.  But you are likely to find anything here that strikes my fancy.

One such thing turned up in Thursday’s edition of USA Today.  It was a front page story in the sports section about the Minnesota Twins.  Now I’m not much of a seamhead and haven’t been since the ’79 Pirates beat the Orioles to win the World Series, but the story caught my eye.  It’s a look at how the Twins continue to operate at the top of major league baseball despite the fact they have one of the smallest payrolls.

They do it with a strong organziation that has established equally strong values for its team and does not allow itself to get swayed by outside forces.  The Twins lost three of their best players in free agency and trades last year, including their best outfielder in Tori Hunter and their best pitcher in Johan Santana.  This year they have a starting pitching rotation that has no pitcher older than 26 or making more than $422,500. …Read More!

Position Review: Offensive Line

Over the next 10 days, I will take a look at each position on the Chiefs and where I think the roster decisions are headed for the regular season.  My conclusions are based on what I’ve seen during this pre-season and what I know about the Chiefs and what they are trying to create with this 2008 team.  But just remember, these are my guesses, so don’t commit them to stone! 

Let’s look at the offensive line.

In his first season with the Chiefs, Herm Edwards had 10 blockers on his opening week roster. Last year, he started the season with nine. The general rule of thumb in the NFL is 4-3-2. That’s four tackles, three guards and two centers. Whether it’s nine or 10 this year will depend a bit on injuries, specifically the banged up tackles Branden Albert and Damion McIntosh. In fact, those injuries could mean as many as 11 make the opening day roster.

Here’s what’s obvious: the starting five are in, and that includes both Albert and McIntosh, along with Brian Waters, Rudy Niswanger and Adrian Jones (pictured above.)

Add Herb Taylor and Wade Smith, who appear to be the number one subs at tackle (Taylor) and inside at guard and center (Smith.)

That’s seven. Sixth-round draft choice Barry Richardson will make the roster based on the potential he’s displayed in the pre-season. He’s probably not ready to make a contribution right now, but could be a contributor at right tackle at the start of next season.

That’s eight, with four tackles. For the ninth spot, the Chiefs need someone to play inside. That would seem to bring it down to a battle between Tre Stallings and rookie Edwin Harrison. Travis Leffew and Rob Smith could also get a look there.

If there’s a 10^th roster spot to open the season, it would probably be at tackle because of the injuries and that might give veteran Will Svitek another lease on roster life. It would come down to either Svitek or Anthony Alabi.

The Chiefs will also take a long look at the waiver wire for young offensive linemen who can improve the talent level at the bottom of their roster.

Practice Update 8/21

From the Truman Sports Complex

It was a short practice session for the Chiefs, their last before Saturday night’s game in Miami.  These types of practices are more mental than physical, so there tends to be less to report as the players physical intensity level is throttled down.

We can update the injury front.

Newest injury was WR Will Franklin who walked off the practice field before the session ended wih the help of a trainer.  Afterwards, Franklin’s right knee was heavily wrapped and sporting an ice pack.  He was headed for an MRI. Franklin said he felt “a tweak” while running a route.  His status for Saturday is obviously up in the air. …Read More!

RIP Gene Upshaw

Gene Upshaw

The scene was a hotel ballroom on the east side of Manhattan, right on Lexington Avenue.  It was a September Monday in 1982 and the room was packed with reporters and television cameras.  Just as I walked into the room, a hand reached out from behind a door and grabbed my arm.  It was Tom Condon, then Chiefs starting guard and one of the leaders of the NFL Players Association.

Before I knew it, I was on a day-long odyssey with Condon and a host of NFL players, including their leader Gene Upshaw.  First, they announced in the hotel ballroom that the league’s players were going on strike at the end of the Monday night game that was coincidentally being played in the Meadowlands in New Jersey that evening.

As you could imagine, there were plenty of questions for the union leadership in that room, and the guy at the center of things was Upshaw.  At the time, Ed Garvey was the union’s executive director.  The mere mention of Garvey’s name could send an NFL owner into spasms of angry shouting.  Garvey was considered him a socialist and the owners made fun of his stated negotiating goal: getting the players 54 percent of the NFL’s gross revenue. …Read More!

Position Review: Linebackers

Over the next 10 days, I will take a look at each position on the Chiefs and where I think the roster decisions are headed for the regular season.  My conclusions are based on what I’ve seen during this pre-season and what I know about the Chiefs and what they are trying to create with this 2008 team.  But just remember, these are my guesses, so don’t commit them to stone! 

Let’s look at the linebackers.

If there was one position where the Chiefs may be active on the waiver wire the day after the final NFL cutdown, it will be at linebacker. In his first two seasons with the Chiefs, Herm Edwards has kept seven linebackers. Right now it’s tough to find seven backers who have performed well enough in this pre-season to deserve a roster spot.

Count on Derrick Johnson, Demorrio Williams and Pat Thomas to be there as the Chiefs starters. Williams will not play over the rest of the pre-season because of a broken bone in his hand,  but the Chiefs expect him to be ready to play in the season opener.

 Also count in veteran Donnie Edwards who continues to rehab his hamstring pull and should be back on the practice field next week. …Read More!

Thursday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

The Chiefs are all about building through the draft under Herm Edwards.  The first selection meeting where Edwards and VP of Player Personnel Bill Kuharich were in charge was the 2006 Draft.

Here’s a quick check on how they did:

1-DE Tamba Hali, a starter since his first game.

2-S Bernard Pollarid, became a starter last season at strong safety.

3-QB Brodie Croyle, became a starter last year. …Read More!

But Can He Catch?

Usain Bolt

What would you think if the Chiefs went out and signed a 6-5, 190-pound wide receiver who will be 22 years old on Thursday?

Oh, did I mention he’s fast.  Very fast.  I mean very, very, very fast.

That guy is available.  His name is Usain Bolt.

If you havent’ been paying attention to the Summer Olympic Games from Beijing, China then Bolt may not be a familiar name.  He should be.  On Wednesday, the Jamaican sprinter won the gold medal in the 200 meters, setting a world record in 19.3 seconds.  Combined with his victory in the 100 meters (another world record in 9.69 seconds), Bolt is the first man to sweep the 100 & 200 in the same games since Carl Lewis in 1984. …Read More!

Practice Update 8/20

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs went full pads for their Wednesday afternoon workout and it was certainly the most intense practice the team’s had since returning from the northwoods.  Although it wasn’t full scale football, the playes were pushing the action and the intensity level was high.

Added to the injury report was LB Demorrio Williams with a finger injury.  This will  likely keep him out of Saturday night’s game in Miami.  RT Damion McIntosh watched practiced after suffering a right ankle injury on Tuesday.  Herm Edwards said the injury is not serious and he’s day-to-day for a return to the field.  LB Oliver  Hoyte returned to practice after missing the last several days with a neck injury.

Here are some highlights: …Read More!

Position Review: Wide Receivers

Over the next 10 days, I will take a look at each position on the Chiefs and where I think the roster decisions are headed for the regular season.  My conclusions are based on what I’ve seen during this pre-season and what I know about the Chiefs and what they are trying to create with this 2008 team.  But just remember, these are my guesses, so don’t commit them to stone! Events may change the picture at any position over the next two weeks.

Let’s focus on wide receivers.

Currently, the Chiefs have 10 wide receivers on their roster. In his first two seasons, Edwards started the season with five wide receivers on the opening roster. But in both of those cases, the player handling returns in the kicking game was listed as a wide receiver: Dante Hall in 2006 and Eddie Drummond in the 2007 season. That may not be the case this season, as right now it looks like RB Dantrell Savage may be the return guy. Veteran free agent B.J. Sams has been working at wide receiver and he still has two games to claim the returner’s job.

Keep in mind the obvious formula in the NFL: 25 on offense, 25 on defense and 3 special teamers makes for a 53-man roster. Generally, the roster has 13 players at wide receiver/tight end/running back.

Dewayne Bowe, Devard Darling and rookie Will Franklin have the top three spots at wide receiver. Bowe and Darling have been running as the starters, with Franklin the first guy off the bench when the offense goes to three wideouts.

It’s a big battle for the fourth and possibly final spot. Jeff Webb, Maurice Price and Bobby Sippio are part of the discussion. Price should have an edge because he provides the Chiefs with something they lack at wide receiver and that’s speed. He’s also active on special teams. Webb started very slowly in training camp, but he keeps turning up in practices making big catches. Everybody knows Sippio’s story: no speed, great hands and work ethic.

Both Kevin McMahan and rookies Jabari Arthur and Sergiori Joachim have shown flashes of talent, but not enough to claim a spot on the 53-man roster.

Wednesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Football coaches don’t really like to spend a lot of time thinking about kickers.

They want some guy to go out there and knock through the kicks he should hit, make a few long bombs that are difficult and handle kickoffs so they don’t put the defense at a disadvantage.  He could care less what he looks like, he just wants to count on his kicker.

Herm Edwards is still trying to discover who he’s going to count on at kicker for the 2008 season.  Right now, the decision is not obvious, and that’s a burr under the head coach’s saddle.  A coach would like the answer to be obvious at this point. …Read More!

Position Breakdown: Defensive Line

Over the next 10 days, I will take a look at each position on the Chiefs and where I think the roster decisions are headed for the regular season.  My conclusions are based on what I’ve seen during this pre-season and what I know about the Chiefs and what they are trying to create with this 2008 team.  But just remember, these are my guesses, so don’t commit them to stone! Events may change the picture at any position over the next two weeks.

Let’s start with the defensive line.

The Chiefs figure to keep a minimum of eight and a maximum of nine defensive linemen.  I think this year the number will be eight, largely because that was the number to start for each of the first two Herm Edwards teams.  Plus, there just isn’t a vast pool of talent there.

The starting group is locked in with Turk McBride and Tamba Hali playing the ends and Tank Tyler and Glenn Dorsey at the tackles.   If that holds, it will be the first position on the Chiefs to have every starter come to the team from the NFL Draft. …Read More!

Cincinnati Bungles Do It Again

The late Pittsburgh Steelers announcer Myron Cope was big on handing out nicknames.  Chuck Noll was the Emperor Chaz, the Minnesota Vikings were the Minny Vikes and so on.

Myron used to call the Cincinnati Bengals the Cincinnati Bungles.  It was all done in fun and the chatter that goes back and forth between fans of one team to another.

But the folks who run the Bengals franchise seem to go out of their way to make sure they remain the Bungles.  How else to understand the team’s re-signing of WR Chris Henry this week.

This is the same Chris Henry who has been arrested multiple times in  multiple states over the last three years.  This is the same Chris Henry who has already served a pair of NFL suspensions and faces another one to start the  ’08 season.  This is the same Chris Henry who has brought shame upon the Bengals franchise on numerous occasions.

His return to the team on Tuesday makes a mockery of the franchise and the attempts by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to clean up the league.  At least the Tennessee Titans were smart enough to deal away another serial miscreant in Pacman Jones, a guy who is an even more talented player than Henry. …Read More!

Chiefs Practice Update 8/19

From the Truman Sports Complex

If you are reading this somewhere close to Kansas City you know that we’ve been gifted with a nice stretch of weather here this week.  To have 80 degrees and low humidity in August is pretty unusual, and everyone has been enjoying the milder weather.

Except Herm Edwards.  Just like Marty Schottenheimer, Gunther Cunningham and Dick Vermeil before  him, Edwards used the mild temperatures of River Falls, Wisconsin to do the heavy lifting of two-a-day practices.  The coaches then looked forward to the return to Kansas City, where they would practice just once a day, but the heat and humidity would be high.  It would be under these conditions that the team’s stamina would be built for three weeks leading into the season opener. …Read More!

Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

So here we are after two weeks of the NFL pre-season and who is leading the league in sacks?

Yes, that Turk McBride, with his three sacks the former second-round choice is the NFL leader.

The Chiefs had a defensive end lead the entire league when it counted last year with Jared Allen.  But Jared is gone and McBride has his three sacks in two games.  Of course, sacks in the pre-season are forgotten pretty quickly, but it’s a good start for the Chiefs second-year defensive end, whether he leads the league or not.  McBride appears to be quicker and faster off the edge this year, despite adding a few pounds in the off-season weight training program. …Read More!

Review: NFL Pre-Season Week #2

In week No. 2 of the NFL pre-season, Brett Favre made his debut in New York.

And the Big Apple yawned.

With half of the stadium empty in the Meadowlands, Favre started for the Jets against the Washington Redskins. He ended up completing five of his six passes. His first was an 11-yard throw to WR Jerricho Cotchery.

“It was a little weird, but for the most part, I felt comfortable in this uniform,” Favre said. “I feel comfortable in this locker room. I had numerous people on the Redskins team say, ‘Man, it almost don’t look right,’ but it’s got to start looking right.” …Read More!

Test No. 2 For Class of ’08

OK, we promised we were going to keep our eye on the Chiefs Dozen, the 12 draft choices the team selected back in April that they believe will be the foundation of this team for years to come.

After two pre-season games, here’s where they stand:

DT Glenn Dorsey: saw his first action coming off the knee injury he suffered on August 2nd.   His play time was limited but Herm Edwards liked what he saw.  “He did OK,” the Chiefs head coach said. “He got his feet wet and now we’ll get him going.”  Dorsey took a full turn with the No. 1 defense during Monday afternoon’s practice session and will see extensive playing time this coming weekend against Miami. …Read More!

Afternoon Practice Update 8/18

From the Truman Sports Complex

As long as the Chiefs are on the practice field in the pre-season, we will keep you informed on what’s happening in these workouts.  Although the location has changed, it’s really still training camp.

DT Glenn Dorsey is off the “careful” list and he took full snaps in the practice work, with the No. 1 defense and the nickel pass defense.  The starting D-Line from left to right were DE Turk McBride, DT Tank Tyler, Dorsey and DE Tamba Hali.  When they went nickel, DE-DT Alfonso Boone came in for Tyler. …Read More!

Monday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Today is a very unusual day in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs, as the players report Monday morning to what amounts to a new office for them and the coaches.

With their return from training camp in Wisconsin, the players and coaches are the first occupants of the team’s new training center and office building.  It sets next to the team’s practice fields and indoor training complex just outside Gate 5 of the Truman Sports Complex.  There is a brand new locker room there, along with new facilites for the equipment staff and trainers. …Read More!

Leftovers from Chiefs-Cardinals

From Arrowhead Stadium

There’s always a lot of moments, reflections and thoughts that come out of a pre-season game, especially one that had as much action as Saturday night’s Chiefs-Cardinals affair at Arrowhead Stadium.  Here’s some stuff from the notebook:

• Nick Novak definitely got a leg up in the kicking competition with Connor Barth.  I’m not sure either one of them will hold the job on the final roster, but Novak was two-for-two, while Barth missed an important 46-yard attempt when he banged it off the right upright.  Now, 46 yarders are not automatics,  but in that situation, the Chiefs needed the 3-pointer. …Read More!

Sunday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

 Let’s keep this between me and you, OK?

There are two games left in the NFL pre-season for the Chiefs.  There are 27 players that must be sliced off the Chiefs roster.

One of those will not be rookie RB Dantrell Savage.

Nobody around Arrowhead Stadium would come out and say something as bold after his performance Saturday night against Arizona, but I will.  Savage made the team with his performance against the Cardinals. …Read More!

Trouble Finding The End Zone

From Arrowhead Stadium

It wasn’t like the Chiefs offense didn’t go out and move the football Saturday night.  They racked up 345 yards in total offense and they ran the ball with great efficiency.

But they couldn’t find the end zone until the last 15 seconds of the game.  Thus, they dropped pre-season game No. 2 to the Arizona Cardinals 27-17.

Unlike their opener last week in Chicago when they were able to find the end zone three different times, the Chiefs had trouble getting the ultimate payoff.  Twice in the first half they moved the ball inside the Cardinals 20-yard line, but had to settle for a pair of field goals.  They returned two more times in the second half, but they were only able to squeeze in a touchdown after the game’s outcome was in little doubt.

“I like our offenses ability to control the clock,” said head coach Herm Edwards afterwards.  “We’ve just got to get some touchdowns down there.” …Read More!

Saturday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

In this Pre-Season of Opportunity, the Saturday evening meeting with the Arizona Cardinals at Arrowhead Stadium is another chapter for the many young faces trying to earn a spot on the Chiefs 53-man regular-season roster.

Here are some guys to keep an eye on as they battle for a spot on the roster:

-Linebackers Wes Dacus and LeRue Rumph.  At least one of these guys is going to make the final roster, the other will probably land on the practice squad.  Their contributions in the kicking game will be huge.  Dacus has gotten better from week to week, while Rumph started strong and plateaued. …Read More!

Working On Changing The Play

How many times in the last five or six years did you rise up from your seat at Arrowhead Stadium, or leap from the lounger in the family room and fire all sorts of foul comments at the Chiefs and some of their play calling.  There were times even when the Vermeil-Saunders Flying Circus was racking up big yardage and points that a play would fall flat because it was the wrong play at the wrong time.

I can’t tell you how many times during the radio broadcast in recent seasons I heard Len Dawson wonder why the quarterback didn’t change the play.  As a former quarterback, he could see from the defensive alignment what would work and not work.  He figured the quarterback on the field could see the same things, especially when a running play was called and the defense had safeties down along the line of scrimmage, or in the box as the football parlance goes. …Read More!

ALL-River Falls Team for 2008

From River Falls, Wisconsin

They worked through three weeks of practices here in the northwoods. Most of the players on the Chiefs roster improved. Some regressed and showed they were suspects rather than prospects.

Some excelled.

They would be the members of the All-River Falls Team for 2008. Unlike the Pro Bowl, there’s no trip to Hawaii for this honor. There’s not even a trophy and there certainly isn’t a bonus of any kind. But these are the players who stood out, from day one, through day 21 during the practices directed by Herm Edwards and his coaching staff.

Opinion was sought from Edwards, his staff and the team’s personnel staff that saw almost all of the workouts. There was very little difference in opinion when it came to the players that performed the best in the Falls.

LG BRIAN WATERS would have to rank as the top member of the All-River Falls ’08 team. The Chiefs veteran came to camp in shape and with a hard-nosed demeanor that spoke all business all the time. If this is how he plans to play the season, then he’ll quickly return to his Pro Bowl form and the offensive line will be that much better and that much more productive. Plus, Waters level of play was great for No. 1 draft choice Glenn Dorsey, who found out very quickly what it was going to be like going head-to-head with the NFL’s finest. …Read More!

Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The equipment and boxes are already gone.  So are some of the assistant coaches, who blew out of the northwoods Thursday to get back and get ready for the rest of the season.

Training camp here at UW-River Falls ends at 11:15 a.m. when the buses will leave for MSP Airport and the return flight to Kansas City.  We talked on Thursday about some of the things that didn’t quite come together for this team in camp.

But there was far more improvement that did come here during the Chiefs three weeks.  As Herm Edwards said several times in recent days, he came north and didn’t really know his team.  But he’s found out they are pretty tough group.  “They worked hard and they had some fun,” said Edwards.

Here’s the good stuff that came down in the Falls: …Read More!

Will The Chiefs Return To the Northwoods?

From River Falls, Wisconsin

For the last three weeks this website has been based in this Norman Rockwell little town here in western Wisconsin where people park their cars on the street in front of their homes at night, leave the driver’s window down and the keys in the ignition.

And when they come out in the morning, the car is still there.

As small towns go, it doesn’t get much better than River Falls.  It’s nice: nice people, nice weather, nice scenery.

But is it the best place for the Kansas City Chiefs to hold training camp? …Read More!

Final Camp Practice Update 8/14

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The Chiefs went through a short practice late Thursday morning and wrapped up their on-field work here in the northwoods.

The workout was geared around preparing for Saturday night’s opponent, the Arizona Cardinals.  There’s no offensive or defensive game plans so to speak for this game, but the head coach and the coordinators gave their units a chance to see some of the schemes ‘Zona likes to use. …Read More!

Thursday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The Chiefs are wrapping things up here in the northwoods and for the most part, it’s been a very productive camp for the Chiefs.

Good things have happened, and some not so good things have happened, most of those tied to injuries.  Today, we’ll look at the not so good things: …Read More!

Afternoon Practice Update 8/13

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Although the Chiefs will practice on Thursday, their workout Wednesday afternoon was their last practice of training camp with full shoulder pads and contact.  They turned in a very spirited session.  Although the contact is supposed to be minimal, these guys are going so fast right now it’s hard for them to turn down the tempo.  At one point in the practice, RB Larry Johnson got upset with DT Tank Tyler for a little extra contact and let him know about it.  Tyler just looked at him and smiled.  RB Jamaal Charles didn’t like being roughed up on one play, and he ended up throwing the ball at a Chiefs defender.  That was mental mistake No. 2 for the rookie, as he would have been penalized on they play. …Read More!

In Defense of Bobby Sippio

From River Falls, Wisconsin

When starting this site, I was determined not to waste too much of my time and more importantly your attention writing about the media.  There’s nothing more boring to me than the media covering the media.  As for correcting mistakes and countering poorly formed media opinions, I could throw up a site that does nothing but that and have plenty of material every day, 24/7, 365.

Especially when it comes to the Kansas City’s fish wrap’s coverage of the Chiefs, and in particular Bobby Sippio.  I must comment on a couple of recent written incidents involving Sippio. …Read More!

Chiefs Coaching Connections

When Brett Favre played his first game for the Green Bay Packers, Brian Schottenheimer was a freshman at the University of Kansas.  When Favre was leading the Packers to a Super Bowl title, Schottenheimer was a senior at the University of Florida.

But after the smoke cleared on the Favre trade to the Jets last week, it’s Brian Schottenheimer as the offensive coordinator of the Jets, trying to break Favre into a new offensive system after 17 seasons in the NFL.  Favre will be 39 years old in October; Schottenheimer will be 35 years old six days later.

Schottenheimer is one of more than 30 NFL assistant coaches working this season that have a tie to the Chiefs.  They range from a pair of head coaches – Tony Dungy of Indianapolis and Mike McCarthy of Green Bay – to various coordinators and assistant coaches. …Read More!

Wednesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Jay Feely wasn’t even released officially by the Miami Dolphins before the news broke that the kicker was going to be available.

Some people thought the Chiefs would jump right on him, but that’s not so according to Herm Edwards.  In case somebody hasn’t noticed, the franchise has changed the way it does things.  Now, Feely may be a player the Chiefs seriously consider a bit later in the pre-season, but right now Edwards says they are going to stick with Nick Novak and Connor Barth. …Read More!

Afternoon Practice Update 8/12

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The Chiefs defense turned in a pretty good practice on Tuesday, as the Chiefs offense had the turnover bug.

The guy who got all the action was rookie S DaJuan Morgan.  He picked off QB  Tyler Thigpen on a pass for WR Will Franklin.  Later, he recovered a fumble by RB Jamaal Charles.  As Charles ran to his right, he lost control of the ball without being hit.  Not a good sign. …Read More!

Review-NFL Pre-Season Week 1

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The first full week of the NFL pre-season came to an end last night with the Packers and Bengals at Lambeau Field as ESPN continued to drive into the ground the whole Brett Favre angle.  It’s the NFL’s biggest story of August, but enough already!

A few thoughts and stars from the first week:

-Do you think anybody in Indianapolis is worried that the Colts are now 0-2 on the pre-season?  Probably not, given the fact that in the last four seasons now, the Colts are 2-13 in the games that do not count.  They were 0-5 in 2005, 1-3 the next two pre-seasons and now 0-2.  …Read More!

Tuesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

It’s always fun to hear players complain about the length of practices during a football season.

For years a few Chiefs back in the 1990s complained about how hard and long Marty Schottenheimer practiced his team during training camp.  It always led to the excuse: we were so tired by the end of the year, that’s why we didn’t perform in the playoffs.

Which of course was a bunch of crap.  I heard Neil Smith say this after he went to the Broncos and won his Super Bowl ring under Mike Shanahan.  According to Neil, Shanny had shorter practices that didn’t take a physical toll on his team.  This was translated by some as the reason Denver won back-to-back Super Bowls and why Schottenheimer’s Chiefs teams did not have post-season success. …Read More!

Afternoon Practice Update 8/11

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The few fans who were in Ramer Field at UW-River Falls on Monday watching the Chiefs go through their practice in pads got to see the future of the Chiefs defensive line.

For several plays during the workout the No. 1 defensive line looked like this, from left to right: Turk McBride, Tank Tyler, Glenn Dorsey and Tamba Hali.  That foursome had probably a half-dozen snaps, as the Chiefs were easing Dorsey back into full practice work coming off his knee injury.

But it’s a good bet that in coming practices and weeks that group will spend more and more time together.  It would be a fairly safe bet to pencil them in as the front four for the season opener in New England. …Read More!

Conversation with Gunther

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The first time I spent any time talking with Gunther Cunningham was here in the northwoods.  The Chiefs were riding the bus over to Mankato, MN for a practice session against the Minnesota Vikings.  It was training camp 1995, Gunther’s first with the Chiefs.  Sitting in the back of a bus, with the cornfields of central Minnesota flying past, he explained his defensive philosophy.  It was a passionate, learned conversation about football.

Little did I know it would be the first of literally hundreds of similar conversations we would have over the next 13 years.

The thing I came to understand that day in the summer of 1995 was that Cunningham was a passionate guy, who also happened to be pretty smart.  Since then, I’ve seen a lot of people under-estimate the intelligence of this German.  He doesn’t just have a football doctorate in defense; he’s always a step ahead of the curve in how to deal with players, how to teach, how to dissect tape, how to use computers, and on, and on. …Read More!

Monday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

These are the dogs days of training camp.

For the Chiefs here in the northwoods, the light at the end of the tunnel is now visible and they are pretty sure it’s not a train coming at them.  Even with Herm Edwards taking some of the load off by slicing a few practices, the coaches and players have had enough of UW-River Falls. …Read More!

Afternoon Practice Update 8/10

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Sunday afternoon’s practice was certainly an interesting one for the Chiefs defense.

When the workout came to its final session, the two-minute drill, Gunther Cunningham unveiled a new wrinkle to his 3-3-5 defense to throw against the offense.  He had Tank Tyler, Brian Johnston and Jason Parker on the line, with Pat Thomas, Derrick Johnson and Demorrio Williams at linebacker and five defensive backs.

But Williams has lining up as a defensive end and rushing the passer off the left side.  He was unstoppable as RT Damion McIntosh struggled to slow him down.  Williams showed great speed and great leverage as he went low, forcing McIntosh to bend his knees, which he does not do well.  And for whatever reason, this all seemed to light a fire under Johnston.  Largely silent throughout this training camp, suddenly the seventh-round pick was boring in on Brodie Croyle as well. …Read More!

Morning Practice Update 8/10

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Rookie RB Dantrell Savage’s chances of making the final 53-man roster were not good heading into training camp.  But they’ve improved after his performance last week against Chicago in the pre-season opener.

One way he can earn a spot would be as the team’s returner on both kickoffs and punts.  He did the kickoffs last week and now the Chiefs are working him as a punt returner.  He field punts Sunday morning as the Chiefs went through a special teams session. …Read More!

Chiefs Olympic Track & Field Team

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Just two years ago, Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles posted Olympic qualifying times in the 100 and 200 meters.  Rather than going through training camp here in the northwoods, he might have worked his way to a spot with the U.S. Olympic team and earned a trip to Beijing for the Summer Games.

You can read more about Charles and his track career today on kcchiefs.com.

There are others on the Chiefs current roster that had success in the track and field world as prepsters and collegians and might have earned spots in the Olympics had they concentrated their efforts there.  That group includes: …Read More!

Sunday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The decision by the NFL owners to allow only 80 players on training camp rosters did not really slow Herm Edwards and his practice plans down, until now.

The Chiefs head coach is altering his practice plans for the rest of the pre-season now, as the entire team will now practice only once a day, rather than twice.  That process began on Saturday, when he cancelled a morning workout and had just the afternoon practice.  On Sunday, the Chiefs will have a special teams session in the morning, which does not include the whole team, and then an afternoon workout. …Read More!

Afternoon Practice Update 8/9

From River Falls, Wisconsin

It was the best and worst of times for DE Alfonso Boone on Saturday as the Chiefs returned to practice here in the northwoods.

Earlier in the day, Boone found out he had been replaced in the starting lineup at LDE by second-year man Turk McBride.  Whether this move will stick remains to be seen, because Herm Edwards and Gunther Cunnigham continue to make moves with the starting 11 on defense, trying to find the right combinations.

There was some coaching staff unhappiness with Boone’s play against Chicago.  Edwards was not speaking specifically of Boone when he said “there are a lot of positions still open. We want players to do it the way we want to do it.” …Read More!

Pennington to Miami

 From River Falls, Wisconsin

QB Chad Pennington has agreed to a two-year deal with the Miami Dolphins.

As we projected on Thursday when Pennington was released, he was going to take an opportunity where he had a chance to start.  The obvious team was Miami, especially with Bill Parcells in charge there.  Parcells drafted Pennington back in 2000 when he was running the New York Jets.

Before he agreed to terms with the Dolphins, Pennington held a conference call with reporters. He was asked if he wanted to sign within the AFC East so he could play against the Jets.  Pennington said:

“I’ve had people ask me that and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I have no feelings like that whatsoever.  If something happens with the Miami Dolphins, it would be because I feel  good about the situaiton and good about the opportunity.  It won’t have anything to do with the New York Jets or me trying to prove a point.”

Saturday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The Chiefs have six more nights where they will sleep here in the northwoods.  And, just six more days for the national media to stop by and check them.

That hasn’t happened much in this training camp.  In the past, a trip to River Falls was a regular part of the football media’s summer tour.  Nothing matched the 1993 camp when Joe Montana and Marcus Allen joined the team.  There were national writers and network TV crews here on a daily basis. …Read More!

Test No. 1 For Class of ’08

For River Falls, Wisconsin

They are the most important draft class in the recent history of the Chiefs franchise and Thursday night in Chicago the Arrowhead Dozen got their first taste of NFL action.

“The guys that played all got tired pretty quickly,” Herm Edwards said. “There was a lot of anxiety there; the first game in the NFL and stuff like that.  Now that the first time is behind them, I think they’ll calm down a little bit.”

Here’s a rundown on what these 12 guys did against the Bears and where they stand after Game No. 1: …Read More!

A Quiet Day In River Falls

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The Chiefs arrived back here at UW-River Falls around 3 o’clock Friday morning and the players had the rest of the day off.  They have to be back in the dorms by 10 p.m. Friday night  In fact, they’ve been told the head coach will do bed check tonight to make sure everyone is back where they belong as they begin the final week of camp.

They’ll get back to work with meetings in the morning and then an afternoon practice on Saturday.

…Read More!

Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

From Chicago, Illinois

What a sports weekend in the Windy City.

Thursday night, it was the Chiefs-Bears at Soldier Field  and the White Sox-Tigers on the southside.

Starting today, the White Sox host the Red Sox and at Wrigley FIeld, it’s the Cubs and Cardinals.

Now that’s a great sports city!

In River Falls, the Chiefs will have Friday off.  They’ll get back into the camp routine on Saturday. …Read More!

Offense Keys Chiefs Victory

From Chicago,  Illinois

What a debut for the Chiefs new offense Thursday night at Soldier Field in Chicago.

QB Tyler Thipen hit WR Bobby Sippio with a 27-yard touchdown pass with just 1 minute, 8 seconds to play to give the Chiefs a 24-20 victory over the Bears.

That alone would be noteworthy.  But this night produced plenty of items worth mentioning with the Chiefs offense.  That side of the ball started the game strong.  Then they had some problems, but came together late in the game to get the winning score on the board.   Thigpen’s throw to Sippio ended a six-play, 60-yard drive that used 2:11 of the fourth quarter clock. …Read More!

Random Thoughts on Chiefs-Bears

From Chicago, Illinois

Herm Edwards loves basic football.  Win the battle of turnovers.  Win the field position war.  Don’t hurt yourself with penalties.

The Chiefs did not exactly get everything done the way Herm would like in their 24-20 victory over the Chicago Bears on Thursday evening.  But they tried to play that kind of football and they showed promise.

The Chiefs had one giveaway, and that was QB Tyler Thigpen’s interception in the second half.  That proved deadly as the Bears scored a touchdown on the next play. …Read More!

The Word on Chiefs & Pennington

From Chicago, Illinois

Now that the New York Jets have released Chad Pennington, the quarterback will begin to assess his immediate future.

One spot he will definitely consider is Arrowhead Stadium and the Kansas City Chiefs.  If the Chiefs want to be part of the action for Pennington’s future services, they will be; they’ll be a very big part.

Right now, however, they are keeping their mouths shut.  From top to bottom, the heirarchy had nothing to say about Pennington as the team stopped at the Chicago Marriott on Michigan Avenue to have a pre-game meal before Thursday night’s game against the Bears.

That silence alone speaks volumes. …Read More!

Mean What You Say/Say What You Mean

From Chicago, Illinois

Our national suffering is over.

Brett Favre now has a new home.  He’ll soon be Broadway Brett, the darling of the New York tabloids and he’ll look exceedingly out of place wearing the green of the Jets rather than the green of the Packers.

There’s one thing I’m sure of in the aftermath of this mess: nobody won.  Don’t let anybody tell you that this was a win-win for the Packers and Favre.  The Jets might be the only winner in this soap opera, but only if Favre can come in and make a difference in the final record and the post-season. …Read More!

Thursday Morning Cup O’Chiefs/Favre

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The Chiefs have a 10:45 flight this Thursday morning out of MSP Airport bound for O’Hare and the pre-season opener against the Chicago Bears.

But here in Wisconsin this morning, all the flags are at half-mast since their hero is now officially gone.  Brett Favre was traded by the Packers to the New York Jets on Wednesday night.  It’s a trade with conditional payment to Green Bay, but at the minimum they will receive a fourth-round pick.

The Jets announced they will release veteran QB Chad Pennington, so get ready for all the rumors that Pennington will re-join his old coach Herm Edwards with the Chiefs.  Not sure it’s a lock to happen, but it’s something the Chiefs must consider if they are going to carry a veteran quarterback with Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen.  Pennington is 32 years old and in his ninth NFL season.  Damon Huard is 35 and in his 12th NFL season. …Read More!

A Better Way For The NFL Pre-Season

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Within the last 10 years, the NFL league office took over the scheduling of pre-season games.  Before that, the teams set up the games among themselves.  The league took over to try and smooth out some perceived inequities in how the schedules came together each year.  Teams like Cincinnati complained that they couldn’t get good match ups because nobody wanted to come to the River City to play the Bengals.  They complained that there was less incoming revenue.

So now the pre-season gate revenue is thrown into a pot and split evenly between the 32 teams.  And, the NFL does all the scheduling. …Read More!

Herm Helps Gatorade Hydration

From River Falls, Wisconsin

With his players resting for Thursday night’s pre-season opener, Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards spent several hours Wednesday afternoon doing radio and television interviews around the country on the issue of hydration.

With high school fooball practices starting up in the coming days, Edwards and the folks at Gatorade are reminding players, parents and coaches of the need to replinish liquids lost in football practices, especially those in warm weather sites. …Read More!

Chiefs of ’07/Where Are They Now?

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The New England Patriots added veteran OL John Welbourn to their training camp roster this week.

Why?  Because right now the Patriots are struggling for blockers and their options are few.

It got me to thinking about rounding up the other Chiefs who left after the 2007 season and where they are right now.  We’ll update this again at the end of the pre-season. …Read More!

Morning Practice Update 8/6

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The Chiefs went through more of a mental practice Wednesday morning here in the northwoods, getting ready for the pre-season opener Thursday night in Chicago.

For about 90 minutes under a warm Wisconsin sun the players worked on special teams and situational calls.  It’s a chance for the coaches to double check whether the players have been paying attention and whether they can react quickly on the field.

Herm Edwards said that six players will not make the trip to Chicago because of injury: LB Donnie Edwards, DT Glenn Dorsey, LT Branden Albert, RB Kolby Smith, DE Trevor Johnson and WR Kevin Robinson. …Read More!

Wednesday Morning Cup o’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The league has a new fan policy that they are putting into place for this season.

The Chiefs took a lot of shots a few weeks ago when some of their new fan policies became public.  Those new rules were all part of what the NFL is asking each individual franchise to do, which is clean up some of the problems that are going on inside the stadiums. …Read More!

Answer Bob/Act Three

From River Falls, Wisconsin

And finally, we get to answer all the questions you left us over the weekend.  I was overwhelmed by your interest and this third version should clear up the backlog.  As training camp and pre-season go along, I will try to jump on and answer individual questions to certain stories and commentaries.

But finally, here are my answers the questions from visitors to the site.  Again, thanks for finding bobgretz.com and taking the time to comment and e-mail us.

TENAND6 says:

Joe Namath once said if he was playing today, he would wear a shaded face mask on his helmet to prevent the defense from reading his eyes. Is there any chance the Chiefs would ask their QB’s to do this? It seems like a great idea. …Read More!

Afternoon Practice Update 8/5

From River Falls, Wisconsin

It was practice No. 20 for the Chiefs here in the northwoods and it was another short, but crisply worked session as the team gets ready for their visit to Chicago on Thursday.

There were no new players taking time off and the same injured players absent in the morning, were out in the afternoon.  TE Tony Gonzalez was back and participating in the work. …Read More!

Morning Practice Update 8/5

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Herm Edwards took his foot off the gas pedal again today here in the northwoods, shortening up the morning practice and keep his team out of full pads.  That was in reaction to Monday’s two intense sessions, as the coach tried to lower the hitting quotient, especially with a game coming in just two days.

There were no new additions to the injury report: WR-KR Kevin Robinson (knee), RB Kolby Smith (groin), LT Branden Albert (foot), DT Glenn Dorsey (knee), DE Trevor Johnson (head) and LB Donnie Edwards (hamstring.) Also sitting out the session was TE Tony Gonzalez. …Read More!

Tuesday Morning Cup o’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The Chiefs believe the good side of Branden Albert’s foot injury is that he’ll be out three to four weeks.  The bad side is that it will be six weeks or more.

I’m not sure if this means anything, but Albert was walking through the UW-River Falls University Center Monday night dragging his crutches behind him, rather than having them up under his arms and helping him move towards and evening meeting.  Obviously, he’s able to put his full weight on the injury.

As for Glenn Dorsey, he lives now in the team’s training room.  The only time he’s seen on campus is in the University Center right before the nightly meeting.  He walked in last night, grabbed a quick bite of dinner and then was off to a meeting.  He was moving well.

The Chiefs will have two more practices today here in the northwoods. …Read More!

Answer Bob/Act Two

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Here’s round two of ANSWER BOB with your questions from the weekend.  And, there will be have to another edition because there were so many questions submitted.  I’ll try to get to those in the next couple days so please be patient.

I also wanted to thank everybody for their kind words that were sent along with many of these comments over the last few days.  They are appreciated

OK, here we go. …Read More!

Afternoon Practice Update 8/4

From River Falls, Wisconsin

With the conclusion of the afternoon practice, the Chiefs finished up their best day of practice work in training camp.

And we also saw the first signs of the mad offensive scientist that is Chan Gailey.  How about Slash Charles? Read on for more details.

Despite the fact that some Kansas City pundits believed the injuries to Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert would take the wind out of the Chiefs sails, the opposite happened.  Herm Edwards team went out and had the best back-to-back practices of the pre-season.  Offense and defense both looked good, both got things done, both made plays and the action was physical. …Read More!

Morning Practice Update 8/4

From River Falls, Wisconsin

The Chiefs were back on the practice field here in the northwoods on Monday morning for a full pads practice.

Update you on the participation: out of action were WR Kevin Robinson (knee), DT Glenn Dorsey (knee), DE Trevor Johnson (head trauma), LB Donnie Edwards (hamstring), RB Kolby Smith (groin), LT Branden Albert (foot), RT Damion McIntosh (knee), CB Brandon Flowers (groin) and RB Larry Johnson (rest).

Situation remains the same with Dorsey and Albert.  Both are undergoing nearly round-the-clock rehab work with the team’s training staff.  Flowers injury isn’t serious, but that had the team’s top three draft picks out of work this morning. …Read More!

Monday Morning Cup o’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

Back in the northwoods, but still carrying a few tidbits from Canton that are worth mentioning.  Here’s the best.

There are two visible signs that a Hall of Famer has that signify his honor: his gold jacket and his Hall of Fame ring.  This year’s class of inductees got their jackets on Friday evening.  Each will get their rings in different ceremonies at the NFL stadium of their choosing.

Emmitt Thomas has announced he wants to get his Hall of Fame ring at Arrowhead Stadium.  Magically, the NFL schedule came together and the Falcons bye week just happens to be October 19, which also happens to be the day the Chiefs host the Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead.  That also happens to be the game the team selected for Almni Weekend.  So Thomas will get his ring not only infront of Chiefs fans, but infront of dozens of his former teammates. …Read More!

Dorsey/Albert Update

From River Falls, Wisconsin

This is not a good way to foster the growth of a rebuilding project.

The cornerstones of the Chiefs future are 10 days into their pro careers and both will be on the sidelines Monday when the team returns to work here in the northwoods.

Right now if the Chiefs didn’t have bad luck, they wouldn’t have any luck at all.  In the span of three days both first round draft choices went down with injuries; it’s a left knee for Glenn Dorsey and a right foot for Branden Albert.

Right now the news is better on Dorsey than Albert.  He’s expected to miss a week, possibly 10 days.  Albert figures to be gone three to four weeks at the minimum.  He was hobbling along at UW-River Falls on Sunday using crutches. …Read More!

ANSWER BOB/ACT ONE

From River Falls, Wisconsin

I asked for it.  I told you to send in your questions and you did.  Wow.  This is going to take more than one edition to answer them all.  And now that Glenn Dorsey and Branden Albert are injured, I’m sure there are even more questions.

But read along and maybe my answer for somebody else will be enough to answer your questions as well. …Read More!

Sunday Morning Cup o’Chiefs

From Canton, Ohio 

Saturday night after the induction ceremonies for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Hunt family threw a party for Emmitt Thomas and his family.  Held on the grounds of the Hall of Fame, more than one hundred well wishers made their way through the tent to congratulate Thomas on being the eighth member of the Chiefs franchise to gain a bust in the Hall.

As Derek Thomas said in his presentation of his father: “The Chiefs of the ’60s and ’70s played the game the right way and they should be remembered that way.  How many organizations can say they have an owner, a head coach, a quarterback, a kicker and a plethora of guys on the defensive side of the game in the Hall of Fame from the same era?”  …Read More!

Albert & Dorsey Both Injured

From Canton, Ohio

First, it was Branden Albert.  Now it’s Glenn Dorsey.  The Chiefs two major building blocks are both injured.

Dorsey suffered a sprained left knee during Saturday nights practice at River Falls.  Until  the Chiefs and theire doctors see an MRI there’s no way to know how serious this injury might be.  Head coach Herm Edwards said after practice it would be week-to-week.  The Chiefs figure to have more details  on the defensive tackle’s situation either Sunday or early Monday.

Chiefs officials here for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies say the best case scenario is Albert will miss three to four weeks because of a foot injury. …Read More!

Emmitt’s Passion, Respect & Heart

From Canton, Ohio

Saturday evening at Fawcett Stadium was dominated by the Washington Redskins.

With a pair of former Redskins players entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the stands were filled with fans wearing burgundy and gold.  The cheered Art Monk and Darrell Green.  They cheered former head coach and Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs.  They cheered Emmitt Thomas, who spent time as a Redskins assistant coach.  They classlessly booed Michael Irvin and anybody associated with the Dallas Cowboys.

They should have held this event on the Mall in the District of Columbia. …Read More!

ASK BOB

It’s been one week for bobgretz.com and it’s been quite a rush.  We appreciate your finding us and spreading the word.  Right now our traffic has far exceeded what I expected and it’s come simply through word of mouth.

One thing I’ve learned is there are a lot of questions about the Chiefs out there.  I want to give you a chance to ask them.  I’ll try to provide answers.

Simply put your question as a comment on this post before 12 noon on Sunday.  Then, I’ll sit down Sunday afternoon and provide answers and post them sometime Sunday evening.  I’m not trying to be Alex Trebek, but try to make your post in the form of a question.  You can react later to the comments of other posters and myself.

No subject is off limits, but I do reserve the right to provide an answer you didn’t want to hear.

So, the question window is open.  Just ASK BOB.

Chiefs Emmitt Thomas Talks

From Canton, Ohio

Emmitt Thomas will go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Saturday night with the distinction of being the least interviewed honoree in history.  As a player, coach and now Hall of Famer, interviews are not his thing.

But this week in Canton, he had no choice.  So here’s an opportunity to hear from Thomas courtesy of the Hall of Fame and its press conference for all the inductees. …Read More!

Saturday Morning Cup o’Chiefs

From Canton, Ohio 

So much to talk about here in the Hall of Fame city.  Some scenes from last night’s Enshrinees Dinner at the Canton Memorial Civic Center:

Talked at length with Todd Blackledge, the former Chiefs No. 1 draft choice and just about one of the best people you could ever met.  Blackledge grew up in Canton, and now lives there with his wife and four children.  He’s just been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Directors, a group that includes former Chiefs linebacker Willie Lanier. …Read More!

Hall of Fame Evening

From Canton, Ohio

I am one lucky man.

Like anyone, there are moments when life gets grisly, when it seems easier to bitch and complain, when work piles up and the pressure gets turned on.

I get grumpy.

I was grumpy Friday night. I’m in Canton, Ohio for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Weekend.  It had been a long day getting to Ohio and then there were hotel problems and yada-yada-yada.  I was scheduled to attend the annual Enshrinees Dinner at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.  Think of a small arena, filled with tables and your general mass produced banquet meal.  I’ve been there before.  I wasn’t looking forward to being there again.  Of all the events on Hall of Fame weekend, it’s the most forgettable.

Thank goodness I went. …Read More!

Friday Morning Cup o’Chiefs

From River Falls, Wisconsin

I’m going over the wall this morning, heading out for a two-day furlough to Canton, Ohio and the induction ceremonies for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, I will not get there in time to attend the Nitschke Lunch.  In 30-plus years of covering everything there is to cover in the world of football, this lunch ranks in the top five.  It will be this afternoon at a country club in Canton and the only people allowed to attend are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Hall’s executives, the NFL Commissioner and any members of the selection committee that can attend.  This is the history of football come alive. …Read More!