Best & Worst of Chiefs ~ Buccaneers

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Apologies for the tardiness of this article. I could come out at you with a couple of different excuses, but I feel like Roy Munson sums it up best...



This is the formal introduction of my weekly Chiefs reaction articles entitled "The Best & Worst w/ His Dirkness." It's a work in progress and will evolve along with the season, so let me know what you're thinking Crodies.

*Best part of KC-TB game - Well, we got to see the team on the field again. However, most of my fun from Friday night came in the form of tailgating (pregame and postgame), as well as the sights and sounds of Arrowhead Stadium (including Rob Riggle's highlarious antics on the big screen).

*Worst part of KC-TB game - The Chiefs approach to the game made it very difficult to evaluate any of the players on the field. Atleast for me. There's not much to say about our 3rd string offensive line getting owned by the Buccaneers' starting defensive line. Hopefully the coaches were able to get something out of it.

*Best part about the Chiefs' strategy - No injuries. Pioli and Haley seem to value limiting their amount of injuries to the fullest. Haley stressed conditioning in his first two training camps and it led to a very low number of injuries in 2010 (I can't really remember the 2009 season...). I believe Haley changed his strategy for this year's camp because of the lockout, and is steadily easing his players back into the swing of things to assure their bodies are ready to handle it.

*Worst sight - Todd Haley's clean shaven, man-tanned look on the sidelines. That ain't how we reached them playoffs Todd. No sleep for you.

*Best idea - Renaming the first Chiefs preseason game of every year "The Jackie Battle Classic."

*Best play - How would you feel if I told you it was a 3rd quarter incompletion? Is that something you might be interested in? Good, because Johnny Baldwin's juggling catch (albeit out of bounds) was a perfect display of why we drafted this guy. He's got amazing go-up-n-gets-it skills.

*Worst play - I'll go with the sack for a safety where all 4 of the Bucs' defensive linemen seemingly converged on Tyler Palko at the same time. Oh, and Palko fumbled too, right?

*Worst call - How was that play ruled a safety? Clearly, Palko fumbles the ball almost immediately after getting hit and the Chiefs recover it outside of the end zone. This narrowly edges the refs ruling Jackie Battle down on his fumble when it wasn't even close. And this is the point where, if I lacked any originality, I would claim that it's preseason for the officials too.

*Best/Worst play - Tampa Bay QB Josh Johnson jukin' and jivin' his way through our entire defense for a 20 something yard run, which was awful to see, looking like he might score, and then POWE! As in NT Jerrell Powe, who plops himself down right on top of Johnson.

*Best crowd reaction - The booing of every kickoff that sailed deep into the end zone. They weren't booing their team, or the opponents, but instead just the rule, which is brilliant.

*Best analysis (Yes, I manned up and rewatched the game) - After Chandler Williams watched a punt bounce at the 20, and roll inside the 5 yard line, only to scoop it up and get drilled, Brian Billick summed up the situation nicely, "You don't wanna do that..." No you don't Chandler. No, you don't.

*Worst analysis - At one point, Billick breaks down the Chiefs schedule suggesting that the first half is made up of mostly divisional opponents, while the on screen graphics showed that only 3 of the 8 games are within the division. The second half of the schedule includes the same number.

*Best Vegas prop bet - Shane Bannon getting the ball on the Chiefs first play of the 2011 preseason. Paid out 40-to-1.

*Best KC players - Thomas Jones, Justin Houston, Dion Gales, Something Bakhtiari.

*Worst KC players - Jackie Battle, Verran Tucker, Allen Bailey.

Don't freak out until it's our starters who look bad,
His dirkness

5 Players to Watch: Chiefs~Eagles

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The third preseason game is the best barometer of where your team is at heading into the regular season. The Chiefs face a pretty good team with playoff aspirations that will provide a pretty good challenge. If our sights are set on the playoffs this year, we should be aware of it after tonight. With little else to say, I present two opportunities I'd take advantage of in the preseason.

1. Go for two point conversions. Once you have a few extra point opportunities completed, I would switch it up and go for two after most (not all) touchdowns. This is especially true with a veteran special teams unit. If you're working with the same snapper/holder/kicker, the extra point is albeit a foregone conclusion, so why not take an extra opportunity on goalline offense, plays that oftentimes decide games?

2. Insert the backup Quarterback with the first unit without warning. Try and simulate a situation where your starting QB gets injured, and the backup is forced into the lineup. Keep him in for a drive or two, and then go back to the starter. Prepare your team for how it might happen during the season.

5 Players:

1. Brandon Flowers, CB, #24- Goes up against the speedster that is DeSean Jackson tonight. B-Flow made a terrible play last week, going for the ball way too late, and allowing a touchdown. We aren't accustomed to seeing that from him, but if we are to make a playoff push this year, we need our good players to play to their full ability and not rely on reputation. He isn't to the point where we can assume that won't happen regularly, he needs to continue to prove himself, and tonight is a good place to start.

2. Dexter McCluster, Slash, #22- Very involved in game number one, not so much in number two. I'd aim to get him as much work as possible, with his transition to a new position still fresh. He adds a whole new dimension to our offense, as long as he is comfortable. Use these last two games to get the Ole Missile as affluent as possible.

3. Branden Albert, LT, #76- Gets his best test of the preseason against Trent Cole, coming off a 12.5 sack season, tonight. The holes on the line have reared their head mostly on the right side to this point. We badly need Albert to breakout this year, with little consistency found from the rest of the line.

4. Demorrio Williams, ILB, #53- Lost his starting job for the time being to Derrick Johnson. While I was in favor of this, Williams showed me a lot more last week than D.J. He looked anything but satisfied with his demotion. Or maybe the backup LB's just always look better going up against second units. Tough to say. This may be the best position battle on the team going on right now.

5. Kevin Kolb, Eagles QB, #4- I want to see how uncomfortable we can make him. The easiest way to win football games in the NFL is to make the opposing Quarterback uncomfortable. It used to be the Chiefs forte, with a ferocious pass rush combining with the Arrowhead Stadium crowd, and led to one of the best home field advantages in the league. We need to get back to that, especially before Monday Night Football, September 13th, against the San Diego Chargers.

His Dirkness

Kansas City Chiefs-Buccaneers: 5 Players to Watch

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The Buccaneer Bruces provide a challenge more to the Chiefs level than the Falcons did. The Chiefs should be able to get some things done tonight, and would find myself quite disappointed if we lose the first half battle (bonus points if we hurt Josh Freeman). We should be further along than the Bucs right now. Without much else to preview, here are 5 players that I'll be keeping a close eye on tonight...

1. Jovan Belcher, MLB, #59- Along with everybody else, I've been ranting and raving about Derrick Johnson, who, along with Belcher, has been thrust into the starting lineup for tonight's game. We already know what DJ can and can't do for the most part (will make plays, inconsistent focus and concentration, should be starting), but I'm more curious about Belcher. With emphasis on strong-side and weak-side linebacker, Belcher is competing with Mays for a starting spot, someone he is both younger and quicker than and could easily beat out this season.

2. Thomas Jones, RB, #20- Very unimpressed by him in our first game (I know, only 2 carries). But, it still reminded me of Larry slamming into no holes for 2 yard gains. Is it possible our offensive line has good chemistry with JamaAL Charles, but struggles with slower, more prototypical backs? There's no way Jones should be starting over Charles, but I'll be watching to gauge just how much of the share he deserves.

3. Barry Richardson, OT, #67- With Ryan O'Callaghan's major o'struggles last week, the competition may be on if Richardson can show any promise. I took zero notice of him last week, which is usually a good thing as an offensive lineman. It would definitely be a chance to get younger, and if O'Cally shows anything like he did last week, he's in a gotsta go situation.

4. Mike Vrabel, OLB, #50- Was impressive in his last outing putting pressure on Matt Ryan. I was very critical of Vrabel this offseason, so of course I want to see more. Nothing would make me happier than the realization that he took off last year after the first 4 or 5 games. Our defense has a chance to be something if he is as effective as he looked in short work last week. If he's not, he will continue to be pushed by Andy Studebaker for playing time.

5. Jeremy Horne, WR, #8- A little somethin, somethin for all you diehards sticking around til the 4th quarter. Horne popped open on two deep routes last week (one was way overthrown, the other was near him and Horne didn't play it too well- hard to say if he could've caught it or not). He made a splash this week with a one-handed catch and drew raves from The Daily Haley reports. Receivers have a tendency to pop up out of nowhere, and he'll get noticed more if he gets behind the defense again tonight (lets just hope he can catch one).

His Dirkness

Kansas City Chiefs Thought Conglomeration 8-4-10

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***EDIT: Click on the Post title for a deeper look***

With the Chiefs a few days into training camp, thoughts have been percolating and circulating throughout my dome. I have yet to make it up to St. Joseph, but plan on doing so very soon, and will let everybody know of my observations while up there, as long as Pioli and Haley's Third Reich team allows it.

~I'll start off with my overall goal of the year for this Chiefs team: I want a realistic shot at the playoffs going into the last quarter of the season. I want to play games that matter come December of this year. We don't even have to win those games, I just want them to exist. I almost can't even remember what it's like to watch meaningful games, and that's not a good thing. This goal is brought upon by the lack of meaningful football played the last two seasons (both seasons lost meaning after Week 2 home losses to the Raiders). Defiant numbers on this goal would depend on the conference's well being, but if I must declare, I'd say 6-6.

~I think this goal is very attainable due to how easy our schedule is. I spy only three games that it's hard to imagine us winning (@Indy, @SD, @Hous). And my Houston pick should prove my objectivity in that process. Our matchup with the NFC West brings very little to the table, and we get the best two teams at home (SF, Ariz). This easy path might lead to us sneaking into the playoffs. It might also lead to us getting slobberknockered in the playoffs. I'll take it!

~As far as individual players go, I'm predicting that Tamba Hali makes the Pro Bowl this year. Last year was his first year at a new position, and while 8.5 sacks isn't too shabby, a handful of others slipped out of his hands, and he drew numerous holding penalties that were leading to obvious sacks. Comfort in the position, the addition of Romeo Crennel, and capitalizing on last year's missed opportunities will lead to 13 sacks and the Pro Bowl this year.

~We have amazing youth in the secondary right now. Flowers and Carr are the staples (and both are only in their 3rd years!), with an incoming rookie class of Error Bearer, Kendrick Lewis, and Javier Arenas. These could be our top five players making up the secondary this year. There will be some growing pains in the immediate future, but if they reach their full potential, we could be looking at one of the league's best in a few years.

~I don't understand Jarrad Page's holdout. He's not good enough to hold out, nor is he good enough to be traded. A continued hold out from him will be a career ender. Could he possibly be thinking baseball?

~The idea of Glenn Dorsey not being good was greatly over-reported. People were so down on Dorsey for a couple of reasons. First, the lingering memories of past defensive line busts like Ryan Sims, Eddie Freeman, and Junior Siavii are too fresh in the mind. It felt as if everybody was just waiting for Dorsey to flop. Secondly, all the talking heads saying how NFL-ready he was coming out of college made his rookie struggles shine brighter. Then he had to endure a position change. He was vastly improved last year, and I look for the same improvement this year.

~I feel like our defense is one player away from becoming potentially dominant. Unfortunately, it is a huge hole that needs filling, and the difference between having it and not having it could be average and dominant. I am talking, of course, of the rush linebacker position opposite of Hali. I believe the other aspects of our defense are filled with the necessary components to begin striking fear in the minds of opposing offenses. Our biggest hope on our current roster to fill that position is Andy Studebaker, making him a very important player going into this year.

Boom, this concludes the conglomeration of thought attained through the first week or so of training camp. More thoughts are sure to come over the next few weeks, and cannot wait to see our team take the field for the first preseason game on August 14th at Atlanta.

Ze Dirkness