Mark my words…..”Dexter McCluster is going to make a huge impact for the Chiefs this year”.  He has carried the ball 14 times for 71 yards (5.1 ypc) and he has caught 7 passes for 40 yards (5.7 avg) so far this pre-season.  McCluster has also returned 2 punts for 19 yards (9.5 avg) and 3 kickoffs for 111 yards (37.0 avg) in the pre-season.  That means that in three pre-season games, McCluster has touched the ball 26 times for 241 all-purpose yards.  That means that McCluster is averaging a stunning 9.3 yards every time he touches the football.  He is very small at 5’8″, 165 pounds but McCluster is a big play machine.  The Chiefs will likely have him on a hit count in a attempt to keep him healthy all of the 2010 season.

The Chiefs appeared to be working on their running game last night and it almost resulted in a home victory over the Eagles.  Matt Cassel was decent on the short stuff completing 14 of 23 passes for 85 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Tyler Palko finished up things by completing 2 of 5 passes for 43 yards.  Jackie Battle (10 car, 49 yards) and rookie Dexter McCluster (8 car, 47 yards) led the way on the ground for the Chiefs last night.  Jamaal Charles carried the ball 6 times for 40 yards (6.7 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 20 yards as he got his work in.  Thomas Jones was also busy carrying the ball 10 times for 30 yards (3.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 4 passes for 16 yards last night.  Dwayne Bowe led the way in the passing game for the Chiefs last night with 4 receptions for 32 yards (8.0 avg) with a TD grab.  The Chiefs finished up with 168 yards rushing (4.5 ypc) and 128 yards passing last night.

LB Demorrio Williams (5 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 pass defensed) and safety Eric Berry (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed) led the way on D for the Chiefs last night.  The Eagles finished up with 106 yards rushing (4.1 ypc) and 165 yards passing last night.  The Chiefs are now 0-3 on the pre-season.

The Chiefs moved the ball pretty well in this game and they had possession of the ball for 34:55 but they just couldn’t put many points on the board.  Matt Cassel looked pretty good in this game as he completed 14 of 19 passes for 125 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Tyler Palko finished up the game and he did not play well at all in this game.  Palko completed 14 of 24 passes for 106 yards with 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 28 yards (7.0 ypc) in this game.  Jackie Battle led the way on the ground in this game for the Chiefs with 11 carries for 59 yards (5.4 ypc).  Thomas Jones (8 car, 29 yards) and Jamaal Charles (5 car, 26 yards and 3 rec, 23 yards) each looked good in this game.  TE Cody Slate (3 rec, 37 yards), WR Dwayne Bowe (3 rec, 33 yards) and WR Jeremy Horne (1 rec, 6 yards, TD) led the way for the Chiefs in the passing game.  The Chiefs finished up with 152 yards rushing (4.5 ypc) and 214 yards passing in this game.

CB Maurice Leggett led the way for the Chiefs in this game with 5 tackles.  Rookie first round pick (S) Eric Berry and linebacker Demorrio Williams pitched in with 4 tackles each in this game.  The Buccaneers finished up with 99 yards rushing (3.8 ypc) and 213 yards passing in this game.

The Chiefs played pretty well on defense last night but it didn’t matter because the offense sputtered most of the night.  The D played so well that the game was tied 3-3 at the half.  Matt Cassel didn’t look good at all last night as he completed 6 of 8 passes for 25 yards and he lost a fumble.  Brodie Croyle didn’t do much better completing 8 of 15 passes for 66 yards with 1 INT.  Tyler Palko finished up the night by completing 8 of 13 passes for 66 yards with 1 INT.  But, he did run 2 times for 12 yards and he scored a TD.  Javarris Williams knows that he is fighting for a roster spot and he looked good last night carrying the ball 7 times for 38 yards (5.4 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 16 yards (8.0 avg) last night.  Jamaal Charles looked sharp when he was in the game rushing 4 times for 37 yards (9.3 ypc).  Dexter McCluster looked good in his first taste of NFL action as he carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 23 yards (7.7 avg).  The Chiefs finished up with 130 yards rushing (4.6 ypc) and 143 yards passing in this game but they only had possesion of the ball for 25:08 due to ineffectiveness.

Linebackers Jovan Belcher (6 tackles) and Pierre Walters (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Chiefs on D in that game.  The Falcons finished up with 100 yards rushing (2.7 ypc) and 144 passing last night as the Chiefs’ D looked solid.

Jamaal Charles was the man returning most of the kickoffs last season but he will likely pass the torch to either Javier Arenas or Dexter McCluster.  Arenas will likely be the man as he returned all of the punts and kickoffs in last night’s pre-season opener against the Falcons.  Arenas has the speed and moves to go the distance any time he touches the football as he returned the ball 7 times for TDs in his college career.  McCluster is probaby even faster with more moves than Arenas but he’s also got to be the Chiefs’ secret weapon on offense.

Charles played in 15 games for the Chiefs last season and he returned 36 kickoffs for 925 yards (25.7 avg) with 1 TD return.  He has now played in 31 games in his NFL career and he has returned 51 kickoffs for 1,246 yards (24.4 avg) with 1 TD return.  The Chiefs want him to focus solely on offense after his breakout season in 2009.

25-year old Quinten Lawrence is a long shot to return kicks because he didn’t do too well in that role last year.  Lawrence played in 6 games for the Chiefs last season and he returned 16 kickoffs for 317 yards (19.8 avg).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CHIEFS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  B+

The Kansas City Chiefs will likely have two new starting offensive linemen in 2010 and that’s a good thing.  LT Branden Albert has a ton of potential and the Chiefs hope he realizes it this year.  He is already an outstanding pass blocker but he has had problems with his run blocking.  33-year old Brian Waters will be the Chiefs’ starting LG and he is the leader of the line.  He wins most of his one on one battles by staying lower than his opponent.  Center will be decided in training camp between veteran Casey Wiegmann and Rudy Niswanger who wasn’t playing too well as the season went on in 2009.  Ryan Lilja was signed to start at RG for the Chiefs in 2010 and he is a winner having played all of his career with the Colts until now.  Ryan O’Callaghan will be the RT for the Chiefs this year.  He came out of nowhere last season so the Chiefs hope he wasn’t a mirage.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CHIEFS O-LINE in 2010:  C+

43-year old head coach Todd Haley was a rookie last season and it showed at times as the Chiefs limped to a 4-12 season.  But the Chiefs went out and got him some help for the coaching staff with Romeo Crennel now running the D and Charlie Weis running the O.  They worked very well together in New England and I think Haley will benefit big time from their help in 2010.  The Chiefs also made some nice upgrades player wise so maybe Haley can get the Chiefs close to .500 in 2010.

The Chiefs are hoping the 25-year old kicker Ryan Succop’s second year is as good as his first one.  Succop was “Mr. Irrelvant” in the 2009 NFL Draft as he was the very last pick.  But the Chiefs hit a homerun with him.  Succop played in all 16 games for the Chiefs last season and he made 25 of 29 field goals (86.2%).  He also nailed all 29 of his extra points as he finished with 104 points on the year.  The Chiefs can’t afford to leave any points on the field but that won’t be a problem in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CHIEFS KICKERS in 2010:  A