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

The Chiefs have traded 24-year old DT Tank Tyler to the Panthers for a fifth round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Tyler played in 6 games for the Chiefs this season and he had 22 tackles.  Tyler played three years for the Chiefs appearing in 37 games in which he made 74 tackles.  The Chiefs did not see much improvement in Tyler’s game so they decided to move him to a team desperate for defensive line help.  This was a good move by the Chiefs.

The Kansas City Chiefs (1-5) finally got their first win of the year as they took down the Washington Redskins (2-4) Sunday.  This was not the most exciting game, but a win is a win.  There were no touchdowns scored by either team in this one, and the Chiefs’ player of the game was probably their kicker Ryan Succop.  Succop had 12 of the Chiefs’ 14 points, going 4/4 on his field goals with two of those FG’s coming in the fourth quarter.  Dwayne Bowe made a big impact for the Chiefs’ offense, as the receiver caught six passes for 109 yards (18.2 avg).  Quarterback Matt Cassel played a careful game with no turnovers, but only amounted 186 yards on 17/32 (53%) passes and no touchdowns.

The Chiefs defense did a great job holding the Redskins without a touchdown, limiting them to only six points.  The Redskins offense looked terrible though, and their coach Jim Thorn has now lost his play-calling authority and is on the hot seat.  Redskins’ quarterback Jason Campbell was benched at halftime and Todd Collins replaced him.  Mike Vrabel had a solid game for the Chiefs’ defense, getting five tackles and a sack.  Brandon Flowers had an interception and Tamba Hali got some points for the Chiefs’ defense with a late game safety to seal the win.  The Chiefs will go for two straight wins when they take on the San Diego Chargers (2-2) Sunday.

Chiefs’ head coach Todd Haley was supposedly a offensive genius from his time in Arizona.  He thought so much of his own ability that he fired the offensive co-ordinator deciding to do the job himself.  This is too much of a burden on a rookie head coach and it has proven to be a really dumb move by him.  The Chiefs are averaging only 16.8 points per game this season and they are only averaging 258.0 yards per game on offense.  With all of those factors in mind the Chiefs should let Matt Cassel loose.  He has completed 98 of 147 passes (58.5%) for 711 yards with 7 TD passes and 2 INTs (85.1 QB Rating).  Cassel has also carried the ball 15 times for 86 yards (5.7 ypc) this season.  The Chiefs need to get the running game going as it would help slow the pass rush some as they have allowed Cassel to get sacked 14 times already this season. 

The Kansas City Chiefs (0-5) are still looking for their first win of the year, and they have a very good chance of that this Sunday against the Washington Redskins (2-3).  The Redskins have looked worse than the Chiefs lately and are coming off 20-17 loss to the previously win-less Carolina Panthers.  The Chiefs almost took down the Dallas Cowboys last week, but fell to them in overtime 26-20.  They looked great in the final drive of regulation against the Cowboys last week, as quarterback Matt Cassel led a 74-yard drive with only 2:16 on the clock.  He finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to send the game into overtime.  Cassel has played pretty well this year when he is healthy, going for 711 yards with seven touchdowns and two picks and a 59% pass completion.  Washington gives up only 171 passing yards per game, but I am expecting a good game out of Cassel.  There running game has been what has hurt the offense the most, as Larry Johnson has no touchdowns and is only averaging 2.4 yards per carry and has two fumbles.

The Chiefs defense needs to key in on Clinton Portis, who has been one of the few bright spots for the Skins’ offense.  Portis has rushed for 338 yards on 91 carries (3.7 avg).  Their pass defense is  terrible though, as they give up over 270 yards a game through the air.  Jason Campbell has been playing pretty bad for the Skins though, so if they can slow down Portis they may be able to get a gift or two from the inaccurate Campbell. His 67% pass completion is deceiving, as he is very capable of getting rattled and making a lot of mistakes.  He has six touchdowns and five interceptions so far this year.  I’m picking the Chiefs to upset the Redskins and get their first win of the 2009 season.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Kansas City Chiefs 23, Washington Redskins 21

The Chiefs have signed 26-year old OLB Justin Rogers.  Rogers played with the Cowboys last season appearing in 15 games and making 16 tackles.  Rogers has now played in 31 games in his NFL career and he has made 34 tackles.  Look for Rogers to help out with depth at linebacker and on special teams.

UPDATE:  The Chiefs have already cut Justin Rogers to make room on the roster for OT Barry Richardson who was signed off the practice squad.  He will be active tomorrow against the Redskins as starting OT Branden Albert is out for tomorrow’s game due to a ankle injury.

UPDATE II:  The Chiefs have re-signed Justin Rogers.

UPDATE III:  The Chiefs have released Justin Rogers again just one day after re-signing him.