With Larry Johnson seemingly out of the picture for the time being Dantrell Savage will likely be moving up to the #2 RB role and he might be the starting kickoff returner with Jamaal Charles likely giving up that job to concentrate on offense.  Savage has carried the all 8 times for 41 yards (5.1 ypc) and he has caught 6 passes for 43 yards (7.2 avg) so far this year.  He has also returned 5 kickoffs for 114 yards (22.8 avg) this year.  He will likely be taking Jamaal Charles’ spot on kickoff returns.  Charles has returned 23 kickoffs for 557 yards (24.2 avg) this year.  It will be interesting to see how well Savage handles his bigger workload.

The Chiefs’ defense has been horrible overall this season but 23-year old cornerback Brandon Flowers has been making some plays.  He has played in 6 games for the Chiefs this season and he has 21 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 2 interceptions and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Chiefs need all the help they can get on defense so it’s good that Flowers is stepping up a tad. 

All of Larry Johnson’s constant twittering could cause the Chiefs to release him soon.  He has been gay bashing as well as bad mouthing the coaching staff and neither of those will be tolerated.  So, Larry Johnson has been banned from all team activities indefinately until the Chiefs decide what to do with him.  Johnson has carried the ball 132 times for 358 yards (2.7 ypc) and he has caught 12 passes for 76 yards (6.3 avg) so far this season.  He appears to be heading towards a decline in skill as he has not made it into the end zone as of yet this season.  Jamaal Charles will take over as the starting running back for the Chiefs.  He has carried the ball 23 times for 116 yards (5.0 ypc) so far this season and he has also caught 14 passes for 120 yards (8.6 avg).  Maybe Charles can inject some life into the Chiefs’ offense.

UPDATE:  Larry Johnson has been suspended for the next two weeks for conduct detrimental to the team.

The Kansas City Chiefs (1-6) looked awful in their loss Sunday to the San Diego Chargers (3-3).  Matt Cassel threw three interceptions and only got 97 yards on 10/25 passes.  Cassel is not the only one to blame, since his offensive line gave him no time and Cassel was sacked four times.  Cassel hooked up with Dwayne Bowe on a seven yard touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter for the Chiefs only score of the game.  Running back Larry Johnson only got 49 yards on 16 carries (3.0 avg) but his backup Jammal Charles was one of the few bright spots for the Chiefs, gaining 33 yards on four carries (8.25 avg).

The Chiefs defense could not do anything to stop the Chargers offense.  Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers threw three touchdowns, including two in the first quarter.  He finished the game with 268 yards on 18/30 pass attempts.  The Chargers’ running game also killed the Chiefs.  Going into this contest the Chargers were only averaging 58 rushing yards per game, one of the worst averages in the league.  They racked up 135 yards in this game though, with LaDainian Tomlinson leading the way with 71 yards on 23 carries (3.1 avg) and Darren Sproles adding 41 yards on five carries (8.2 avg).  The Chiefs topped off their terrible performance in the 4th quarter when the Chargers’ Jacob Hester blocked Dustin Colquitt’s punt and recovered it in the endzone for a touchdown.  The Chiefs have a bye this week.

The Kansas City Chiefs (1-5) are coming off their first win of the year against the Washington Redskins and are looking to ride that momentum into an upset win over the San Diego Chargers (2-3).  The Chargers are a much more talented team than their record shows, but things have not looked good for them lately and are coming off two straight losses.  The Chiefs’ defense is capable of keeping them in the game, but the offense will need to hold up their end of the bargain.  They will definitely need to put up more than 16.3 points they are averaging or they could get blown out.  The Chargers defense struggles at stopping the run, giving up 141 rushing yards per game, so Larry Johnson should get the Chiefs’ offense going.  The Chargers defense gives up over 27 points per game, so if the Chiefs’ offense comes to play they could get their second win of the year.

The Chargers offense is stacked, so the Chiefs defense will have a big challenge Sunday.  Although the Chargers running game has not been very good this year, I think they will be very effective against the Chiefs poor run-defense.  LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles are still a dangerous combo, and with the Chiefs giving up over 130 rushing yards per game they could rack up a ton of yards.  Then they also have Phillip Rivers and the Chargers’ passing game to deal with.  They are getting 284 passing yards per game and Rivers is an All-Pro quarterback, so I don’t think the Chiefs defense will be able to contain the talented Chargers’ offense.  I think the Chiefs will keep it close in the first half but wont be able to keep up for the full 60 minutes, so I see the Chargers winning pretty easily.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 17, San Diego Chargers 34