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The Chiefs have signed 26-year old TE Leonard Pope. Pope played in 13 games for the Cardinals last season and he made 9 catches for 77 yards (8.6 avg). He has now played in 42 games in his NFL career and he has caught 48 passes for 476 yards (9.9 avg) with 5 TD grabs. With the Chiefs starving for a TE, Coach Todd Haley decided to bring in a player that was with him in Arizona. This was a good signing but don’t expect Pope to be the next Tony Gonzalez.
The Chiefs have traded 25-year old QB Tyler Thigpen to the Dolphins for a undisclosed draft pick. Thigpen only played in 1 game this season for the Chiefs and he carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards. In three years with the Chiefs, Thigpen played in 16 games and he completed 232 of 426 passes (54.5%) for 2,649 yards with 18 TD passes and 13 INTs (74.7 QB Rating). He also has carried the football 63 times for 388 yards (6.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs. Thigpen even snuck out of the backfield to catch a 37-yard TD pass. This was a good move for the Chiefs as they have Matt Cassel and Brodie Croyle ahead of Thigpen on the depth chart.
The Chiefs had huge problems on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football in this game and it showed on the scoreboard. Matt Cassel completed 14 of 18 passes for 90 yards with 2 TD passes in this game. Larry Johnson was stuffed at the line quite often in this game for the Chiefs as he carried the ball 19 times for only 38 yards (2.0 ypc). Jamaal Charles was solid in this game for the Chiefs as he carried the ball 6 times for 36 yards (6.0 ypc) and he also added 3 receptions for 34 yards (11.3 avg). WR Mark Bradley caught 4 passes for 28 yards (7.0 avg) in this game and he also completed a pass for 26 yards. The Chiefs finished up with only 196 total yards on offense (99 rushing, 97 passing) in this game and that’s pathetic.
The Chiefs’ D was led by LB Demorrio Williams (8 tackles) and CB Brandon Flowers (7 tackles, pass defensed). But the Chiefs were awful on defense allowing the Eagles to roll up 420 total yards on offense (93 rushing, 327 passing) in this game. The Chiefs are now 0-3 on the season.
The Chiefs couldn’t possibly play the Eagles at a better time with Donovan McNabb out of action. Matt Cassel looked rusty in his first start for the Chiefs last week but with another week under his belt he should be better. He will have to be careful with the football however as the Eagles already have six interceptions this season. The Eagles also like to blitz a lot as they already have 7 sacks this season so Cassel might have to unload the ball quickly. The Eagles are allowing 109.5 yards rushing per game so maybe this is the week that Larry Johnson gets going (98 yards rushing, 2.8 ypc). If Johnson can rush for over 100 yards in this game the Chiefs have a chance to pull a huge upset on the road.
The Eagles have always been a pass first team but they would be smart to run the ball against the Chiefs this week. The Chiefs have allowed 132.5 yards rushing per game (4.0 ypc) this season. Brian Westbrook is a little gimpy right now but Lesean McCoy and Leonard Weaver could help him out in this game. The Chiefs are not that bad of a pass defensive team (201.0 yards, 49.3% completions) and Kevin Kolb loves throwing the ball to the other team. Michael Vick is elgible to play in this game and he will likely run the ball a few times. But if the Eagles get behind like they did last week Jeff Garcia will be the one coming off the bench.
PREDICTION: EAGLES 20, CHIEFS 17
It’s amazing that the Chiefs found a way to lose this football game. Matt Cassel started his first game for the Chiefs and he completed 24 of 39 passes for 241 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions. He also carried the ball 5 times for 34 yards (6.8 ypc) showing that he’s getting healthy. Larry Johnson carried the ball 24 times for 78 yards (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 41 yards (13.7 avg). Dwayne Bowe (5 rec, 56 yards, TD) and Bobby Wade (6 rec, 72 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Chiefs. The Chiefs had possession of the football for 38:39 of this game finishing with 409 total yards on offense (173 rushing, 236 passing) but they still found a way to lose this game.
DT Tank Tyler led a outstanding effort by the Chiefs’ D with 7 tackles. The Raiders only finished with 166 total yards on offense (67 rushing, 99 passing) yesterday. The Chiefs are now 0-2 on the season with this loss.