Arrowhead Pride

Friday Night Open Thread

2012-05-25T23:04:04Z

It's not quite night time but we're getting there. At least it's the weekend. And a holiday weekend at that.

This is your Friday open thread for the week. Use it to talk about whatever you'd like but first, make sure you give us your victory of the week. It can be professional, personal or both.

My victory is finally getting a vacation scheduled for next weekend. It's just a short trip to see some in-laws but should prove to be incredibly relaxing. It's been awhile since I had a non-working vacation.

What's your victory of the week?

Why The West Will Be Won By The Kansas City Chiefs

2012-05-25T21:49:31Z

With OTA's underway and the fans starting to look forward at the 2012 season, predictions are running rampant. There are always obvious contenders and cellar dwellers that take up about half of the league. Then you have the x-factors. The Kansas City Chiefs for many are one of those teams.

It's tough for most pundits to handicap a team that won only seven games last year coming off of a playoff appearance in 2010. Of course injuries are a big reason for the drop-off and Todd Haley being fired certainly didn't help, but still seven wins are the final total.

However, forget about all the outside stuff. None of it matters whether it's a glowing review or a damning remark. Kansas City's success will start and potentially end with how it fares in the AFC West. The NFL regular season is basically a four-team tournament, with the winner guaranteed a trip to the playoffs.

The Chiefs have to battle with the Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. No other team matters until January and that's only if Kansas City makes the big tournament. At that point the injuries have happened, the breakout stars have arrived and the older stars have hit the proverbial wall.

A lot will be made of Peyton Manning joining John Elway in Denver and the Chargers trying to rebound from two disappointing campaigns. The mainstream media will fawn all over both squads and proclaim them the favorites to take the AFC West crown.

Put my money on the Chiefs. No disrespect to the Broncos, but who knows how well Manning will play after missing a full season and coming off of multiple neck surgeries. Even if he's back to the same old form, the rest of the roster is lacking.

The receivers will absolutely benefit from having Manning, but that doesn't fix the offensive line issues not to mention a lackluster running game and a very suspect linebacker core. The Denver rushing attack was only ranked number one because of the amount of attempts due to having Tim Tebow at quarterback.

Moving on to San Diego, the Chargers have some serious issues. It's easy to see why people would pick the Broncos, but selling Philip Rivers and company is a very tough position to defend.

As long as Norv Turner is the head coach, that team has no chance of making the most of its potential. The good news for Norv? This group doesn't have much of it in the first place.

Rivers is a great player but the supporting cast is seriously questionable. It's been said that San Diego had a good offseason. It's an interesting statement when you look at the facts. The Chargers lost their top two red zone threats in Vincent Jackson and Mike Tolbert. Who were they replaced with? Robert Meachem and Le'Ron McClain. If you were running the Chargers, would you make that trade?

Jarret Johnson is a nice pickup, but he hasn't ever shown an ability to rush the passer. Melvin Ingram might turn into that guy, but he needs to prove it first as a rookie.

Kansas City by far has the most complete roster in the division. Even with Matt Cassel, the Chiefs should win 11 games or so with the bevy of talent on both sides of the ball. Nobody is expecting the AFC West to be a runaway with Manning in town, but Kansas City should be hosting a playoff game or two.

Neither of those teams has players like Eric Berry, Brandon Flowers, Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali on defense. In fact, you could make a very legitimate argument that those four are the best defensive players in the entire division.

Offensively, it's been well documented how many weapons the Chiefs have between Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston, Tony Moeaki and others. Cassel doesn't need an exceptional season for this team to make a deep run into January and perhaps February.

It should be a fun year at One Arrowhead Drive.

Poll

Are the Kansas City Chiefs your AFC West favorite?

It's Friday afternoon in late May so I have no football news to give you. So enjoy this video of...

2012-05-25T18:46:36Z

It's Friday afternoon in late May so I have no football news to give you. So enjoy this video of Blake Griffin's dunks NBA-Jammified.

Oh, and we're trying to hit 10,000 subscribers to the SB Nation YouTube channel by the end of the month.

Subscribe people!

Caption This

2012-05-25T15:59:22Z

Sloooow Friday before a holiday weekend. You're probably not even at work.

So give us your best one-liner for what's on Brady Quinn's mind.

Dallas Clark implys that he had a choice between Bucs, Chiefs, and Pats

2012-05-25T14:58:39Z

Dallas Clark implys that he had a choice between Bucs, Chiefs, and Pats

So, maybe it turns out we offered him a contract after all.

Romeo Crennel Talks Ricky Stanzi, Dwayne Bowe

2012-05-25T14:19:48Z

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Romeo Crennel held his customary post-OTA press conference yesterday and we've got a few quotes from it.

Q: How do your quarterbacks look so far?

A: "I think that they're doing pretty good. I think they're beginning to gain a command of the system and some of the checks that we have in place. They're all doing well. Probably, Brady (Quinn) and Matt (Cassel) are a little ahead of (Ricky) Stanzi right now, but they're all working at it. They're a good group in that room, so we feel good about them."

More after the jump.

Q: Dwayne Bowe is not here. What are your thoughts about that? Is there anything you can do as a head coach or do you leave that to the people upstairs?

A: "There's nothing really I can do. The people upstairs are the guys who have to do it. I can only work with the guys who are here. Hopefully, Dwayne will be here at some point. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, but until he gets here, there's nothing I can do."

Q: What about [injuries to] Jeff Allen and Cyrus Gray?

A: "I really don't have a timetable because the injuries are different for different players, and they heal differently. Basically, Cyrus has missed all week. Jeff missed two days. So, after this long weekend and a weekend of treatment, we'll see where they are. Like I said, hopefully we can get them back on the field next week."

Q: Did moving Dexter McCluster to receiver have anything to do with what you saw out of him last year or didn't see out of him?

A: "No, it really didn't have anything to do with that. Here is a guy who has a special talent, and Brian (Daboll), he looked at that talent and felt like maybe we should take a look at him at receiver to see if his talents could benefit us at receiver, considering what our situation was without the leading receiver on the team. Let's take a look at him to see what we have and then we can kind of go from there. That's why I think we moved him there to see what we can find out how he would adapt to that position and how that could help us."

Arrowheadlines: Chiefs News 5/25

2012-05-25T10:30:54Z

Good morning! Here is today's Kansas City Chiefs news. Have a great weekend and be safe, friends.

On Thursday's second snap from scrimmage Poe burst through the line and found his way to QB Matt Cassel. Pads are absent from OTAs and no live contact is permitted, but Poe was able to show impressive strength and quickness on the play.

"If you can practice without pads, you can do it with pads," Poe said earlier this week. "It's about your hands and your steps and being explosive through your hips. Once you get that down, the other stuff becomes easier."

OTA Notebook: Poe Gets In The Mix from The Mothership

The Chiefs said when they drafted the 346-pound Poe they believed he would become an all-round player capable of helping when they defended the pass and the run. But they also acknowledged he had a lot to learn, meaning they might have to choose a more limited role for Poe - at least early in his career and until he becomes more comfortable playing the NFL game.

Crennel wouldn't say the Chiefs have made that decision yet with Poe.

Poe Gets Longer Look In Passing Situations At Chiefs' Practice from KC Star

KC Star Photo Gallery: Kansas City Chiefs Continue OTAs Thursday

KC Star Video: Dexter McCluster Working Out As Wide Receiver

All of the offensive players are learning the new system imported by new coordinator Brian Daboll, but the heaviest burden is on the three quarterbacks. Crennel indicated starter Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn were ahead of Ricky Stanzi in that regard.

"They're beginning to gain command of the system and some of the checks we have in place," Crennel said. "Probably Brady and Matt are a little ahead of Stanzi right now. They're working at it, and they're a good group. We feel good about them."

Chiefs Buzz: Second-Round Draft Pick Jeff Allen Has Ankle Injury from KC Star

The Maravich Assembly Center on the campus of Louisiana State University was filled with NFL star power last week for the school's 2012 Spring Commencement.

Former LSU football stars Joseph Addai, Corey Webster and Brandon LaFell joined the family of Travis Daniels to watch the Kansas City Chiefs defensive back graduate with a degree in general studies, including minors in sociology, sports studies and history.

Travis Daniels Sets Off-Field Standard For Today's Athlete from The Mothership

The Kansas City Chiefs are entering the 2012 season with fairly high expectations. Most experts agree that the Chiefs are a young team overflowing with talent.

The question is, which players are going to take the next step in 2012 to take the Chiefs from an average team to a great team?

Here are five players I think could have breakout seasons in 2012.

5 Chiefs Primed For A Breakout Season from Arrowhead Addict

Peyton Hillis, RB, Chiefs: Hillis endured the wrath of the dreaded Madden cover curse last season, posting disappointing totals compared to his breakout campaign of 2010. Now in Kansas City, he figures to see plenty of work alongside with Jamaal Charles. In fact, Charles expects Hillis to play a similar role to Thomas Jones circa 2010. That season, Jones led the Chiefs in carries with 245 but it was Charles who was the better fantasy runner. Hillis should be drafted in the middle to late rounds.

Monitor Old Faces In New Places For True Fantasy Value from NFL.com

Third Shift Open Thread

2012-05-25T01:57:16Z

Another day. Another dollar. It's Thursday. Almost Friday. I hope you can make it.

For many of us, we're on the verge of a three-day vacation. What do you have planned for the Memorial Day weekend? Beach? Work? Absolutely nothing?

As always, this is your open thread for the evening. Use it to talk about whatever you'd like.