The Chiefs have signed return man Eddie Drummond.  This was a good move by the Chiefs as it gives them a veteran to replace the departed but not forgotten Dante Hall.  Drummond played in 14 games last season for the Detroit Lions and he caught only 2 passes for 10 yards.  But he was a good return man.  He returned 62 kickoffs for 1,349 yards (21.8 avg) and 28 punts for 296 yards (10.8 avg).

Over his NFL career, Drummond has played in 52 games and he has carried the ball 8 times for 49 yards (6.1 ypc) and he has caught 4 passes for 7 yards (1.8 avg).  He has been outstanding as a return man over his NFL career.  He has returned 213 kickoffs for 5,026 yards (23.6 avg) with 2 TD returns and he has also returned 108 punts for 1,058 yards (9.8 avg) with 4 TD returns.

The Chiefs coaching staff and front office were pushing for Brodie Croyle to be the starting QB this season but he cracked under the pressure and was awful in the pre-season.  Croyle only completed 16 of 36 passes (44.4%) for 176 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 interceptions (34.0 QB Rating).  Damon Huard has only completed 5 of 9 passes (55.6%) for 45 yards with 1 interception (29.6 QB Rating) so far this pre-season but he really should have had the starting job at the start of Training Camp based on how well he played last season for them after Trent Green was injured.  Huard is a little banged up right now so the Chiefs need to rest him because their is no way that Croyle is ready for primetime.

The Chiefs looked pathetic on both sides of the football last night.  The Chiefs wanted to name a starting QB after last night’s game but they couldn’t because of how poorly Brodie Croyle played.  Croyle was awful last night as he only completed 5 of 17 passes for 45 yards with an interception.  Casey Printers didn’t look much better than Croyle as he completed 3 of 7 passes for 16 yards.  The only QB that looked good was undrafted rookie Jeff Terrell out of Princeton.  Terrell completed all 5 of his pass attempts for 54 yards.  The running game didn’t help matters much either.  Michael Bennett (7 car, 27 yards) and Marcus O’Keith (3 car, 10 yards, TD) were the leaders on the ground for the Chiefs last night.  The Chiefs finished the game rushing for 54 yards on 18 carries (3.0 ypc) and they completed 13 of 29 passes for 99 yards. 

The defense was left on the field all night long as the Saints held the ball for 37:13.  The Saints did whatever they wanted against the Chiefs’ defense.  The Saints rushed for 197 yards on 37 carries (5.3 ypc) and they completed 29 of 34 passes for 282 yards. 

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270823012

The Chiefs have released veteran receiver Rod Gardner.  This is good news for youngsters Jeff Webb and Chris Hannon as they likely will both get chances to prove themselves this season of offense.  Losing Gardner won’t likely hurt the Chiefs too much this season.

The Chiefs offense still looks like it’s stuck in neutral.   They couldn’t get anything going at all and it hurt them as this was a game they should have won.  Brodie Croyle looked a little better than he did last week as he completed 6 of 11 passes for 82 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Damon Huard wasn’t allowed to do too much as he completed 3 of 5 passes for 26 yards.  Casey Printers moved the Chiefs offense but he couldn’t finish drives by putting points on the board.  He completed 8 of 10 passes for 122 yards and he also ran the ball 2 times for 17 yards.  The running game never got going last night against the tough Dolphins’ run defense.  Michael Bennett (7 car, 8 yards) and Kolby Smith (7 car, 3 yards) didn’t do anything at all last night.  Undrafted rookie Marcus O’Keith led the way running the ball for the Chiefs with 8 carries for 21 yards (2.6 ypc).  Undrafed rookie fullback made his mark by catching 2 passes for 63 yards.  Rookie TE Michael Allan (3 rec, 42 yards) and WR Chris Hannon (3 rec, 33 yards, TD) both looked sharp in the passing game.  The Chiefs finished up with 27 carries for 61 yards (2.3 ypc) and they completed 17 of 26 passes for 224 yards.

The defense played pretty well overall as they held the Dolphins to 11 points.  The Dolphins ran the football 34 times for 126 yards (3.7 ypc) and they completed 17 of 24 passes for 121 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270816012

The Chiefs will again use TE Tony Gonzalez as a huge part of their offense.  He has been their best receiver since the day he was drafted.  Gonzalez played in 15 games (all starts) last season for the Chiefs and he caught 73 passes for 900 yards (12.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Look for Gonzalez to pad his Hall of Fame career stats in 2007.  He has now played in 158 games (142 starts) and he has caught 721 passes for 8,710 yards (12.1 avg) with 61 TD grabs.

Jason Dunn is a good run blocker and red zone threat for the Chiefs.  He played in 15 games last season (5 starts) and he only caught 4 passes for 40 yards (10.0 avg).  Look for Dunn to lose some playing time to rookie Michael Allan this season.  He has now played in 144 games (48 starts) and he has caught 79 passes for 901 yards (11.4 avg) with 11 TD grabs.

Rookie 7th round pick Michael Allan won’t get much playing time as a rookie.  But he looked good in his first pre-season game against the Browns.

The Kansas City Chiefs would love to have first round pick Dwayne Bowe of LSU live up to advanced billing of being the next Hines Ward.  The Chiefs need a bona-fide downfield threat and Bowe can definately be the guy that Brodie Croyle or Damon Huard could be looking for.  Bowe also has the reputation of being a nasty run blocker down the field which should spring Larry Johnson for even more big runs. 

The Chiefs would like to slide Eddie Kennison into their #2 WR role because he’s starting to get up there in age.  But he’s still a productive wideout who somehow has maintained his speed despite his advancing age.  He played in 16 games (all starts) last season with the Chiefs and he caught 53 passes for 860 yards (16.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs and he also carried the football 4 times for 16 yards (4.0 ypc).  Kennison would likely benefit greatly from playing against lesser cornerbacks as long as rookie Dwayne Bowe earns enough respect on Sundays.   Kennison has now played in 168 games (145 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 535 passes for 8,244 yards (15.4 avg) with 42 TD grabs and he also has carried the football 38 times for 277 yards (7.3 ypc).

Samie Parker will likely slide into the #3 WR role which suits him much more than starting does.  He played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he caught 41 passes for 561 yards (13.7 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also carried the ball 3 times for 7 yards (2.3 ypc).  Hopefully Parker will have a speed advantage over nickel and dime backs so that he can get down the field this year.  He has now played in 32 games (24 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 86 passes for 1,231 yards (14.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs and he also has carried the ball 3 times for 7 yards (2.3 ypc).

Second year man Jeff Webb will likely replace Dante Hall as both the Chiefs #4 WR and the kickoff returner.  Webb played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Chiefs as a rookie last season and he caught 3 passes for 23 yards (7.7 avg) and he also returned 7 kickoffs for 169 yards (24.1 avg).  Look for him to contribute more on special teams than in the Chiefs’ offense.

Rod Gardner will likely have to battle Chris Hannon for a roster spot.  The edge going into Training Camp will probably be Gardner’s due to his experience.  He played in 14 games (0 starts) last season for the Chiefs and he only caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  He has been a productive player in the past.  He has played in 91 games (62 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 242 passes for 3,165 yards (13.1 avg) with 23 TD grabs.

Chris Hannon did not play last season as a rookie out of Tennessee.  The Chiefs like him so he will be given a fair shot in Training Camp and the Pre-Season to show what he can do.

The Kansas City Chiefs played awful last night and the only reason they had a chance to win was because of their opportunistic defense that made the Browns pay for almost every mistake they made.  Cornerback Benny Sapp scored the only TD of the game for the Chiefs when he picked up a backwards pass from Browns’ QB Charlie Frye and ran it back 56 yards.  The Chiefs also scored late in the 4th quarter on defense when undrafted defensive tackle from Akron University Kiki Gonzalez fell on Rob Smith in the end zone for a safety.  The Chiefs 12-9 lead was short lived when the Browns’ Chris Barclay returned the football 88 yards for a TD on the ensuing kickoff.  The Chiefs defense gave up a lot of yards but that was the offenses fault for leaving them on the field for 36:28 of the game.  The Browns ran the football 29 times for 99 yards (3.4 ypc) and they completed 25 of 40 passes for 247 yards.

The Chiefs offense was horrible last night.  Brodie Croyle got the start and he looked lost as he completed 5 of 9 passes for 49 yards with an awful interception in which no Chiefs player was near the intercepting Browns’ defensive back.  Damon Huard followed Croyle in the game and he was even worse completing only 2 of 4 passes for 19 yards with an interception.  Casey Printers was the only QB that could move the offense at all and he didn’t play all that great either.  Printers completed 8 of 17 passes for 64 yards and he carried the ball 4 times for 27 yards (6.8 ypc).  Running back Michael Bennett looked sharp in his limited time on the football field as he carried the football 3 times for 28 yards (9.3 ypc).  Derrick Ross also turned in a decent performance running the football with 7 carries for 26 yards (3.7 ypc).  The Chiefs wound up running the ball decent toting the rock 22 times for 90 yards (4.1 ypc) but they only completed 15 of 29 passes for 110 yards.  The Chiefs must get Larry Johnson signed or they will probably have a hard time scoring points this season based on what I saw last night.  It was only a pre-season game though so it’s no reason for panic.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/live/NFL_20070811_KC@CLE

Kris Wilson, a converted tight end, will be the starting fullback for the Kansas City Chiefs this season.  Wilson played in all 16 games last season (10 starts) for the Chiefs and he caught 15 passes for 132 yards (8.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Don’t expect Wilson to run the ball much if at all, but he will catch passes and he is a decent blocker in the running game.  Wilson has now played in 33 games (11 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1 time for 6 yards and he has caught 18 passes for 165 yards (9.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Greg Hanoian did not play as a rookie but he’s likely Wilson’s backup.  Converted linebacker Boomer Grigsby has converted to fullback from linebacker.  He has played in 31 career games and he has 27 tackles.  It will be interesting to see how he progresses.

The Kansas City Chiefs have lost starting left offensive tackle Damion McIntosh for the next 4-6 weeks with a knee sprain.  6’6″, 300 pound Will Svitek will likely replace McIntosh in the starting lineup and that is a big dropoff.  He has only played in 1 NFL game at tackle in his two year career and he has only played in 3 career games in 2 seasons.  Brodie Croyle better watch his back when he drops into the pocket this season.