28-year old Matt Cassel is going to be the starting QB for the Chiefs again in 2011.  Offensive Co-Ordinator Charlie Weis really coached up Cassel this season so it will be interesting to see how he plays without him in 2011.  After Weis said he was leaving, Cassel’s play went down the toilet.  Cassel played in 15 games for the Chiefs last season and he completed 262 of 450 passes (58.2%) for 3,116 yards with 27 TD passes and 7 INTs (93.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 33 times for 125 yards (3.8 ypc) in this game.  Cassel has now played in 60 games in his NFL career and he has completed 882 of 1,498 passes (58.9%) for 9,986 yards with 66 TD passes and 36 INTs (83.6 QB Rating).  Cassel has also carried the ball 168 times for 612 yards (3.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career so far.

27-year old Brodie Croyle is pathetic and the Chiefs should pull the plug on him.  Croyle played in 2 games for the Chiefs last season and he completed 8 of 19 passes (42.1%) for 38 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INTs (27.7 QB Rating).  Croyle has now played in 18 games in his five years with the Chiefs and he has completed 181 of 319 passes (56.7%) for 1,669 yards with 8 TD passes and 9 INTs (67.8 QB Rating).  Croyle also has carried the ball 10 times for 15 yards (1.5 ypc) in his career.

27-year old lefty Tyler Palko got his first NFL action of his career during the regular season in 2010 for the Chiefs.  Palko played in 2 games for the Chiefs this year and he completed 4 of 6 passes (66.7%) for 35 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (81.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 2 times for 5 yards (2.5 ypc) for the Chiefs this year.

VERDICT:  Cassel is fine as the starting QB for 2011.  But, the Chiefs need a legit veteran backup and they need to draft a QB to groom for the future this April.

The Chiefs were only down 10-7 at the half in this game before the crap hit the fan in the second half.  Matt Cassel was pathetic in this game as he completed 9 of 18 passes for 70 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 6 yards (2.0 ypc) in this game.  Jamaal Charles led the way on the ground for the Chiefs in this game with 82 yards rushing on 9 carries (9.1 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 15 yards.  Thomas Jones pitched in with 15 yards rushing on 5 carries (3.0 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 8 yards.  Dexter McCluster got 2 carries for 5 yards (2.5 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 17 yards (4.3 avg) today.  The Chiefs finished up with 108 yards rushing on 19 carries (5.7 ypc) and they also completed 9 of 18 passes for 53 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 18:16.  It also didn’t help that the Chiefs turned the ball over 5 times in this game!

The Chiefs’ D was on the field for a long time in this game and they had to defend a lot of short fields because of the offense.  All in all, they played well in the first half and not so good in the second half.  DE Glenn Dorsey (11 tackles and 2 QB hits), LB Jovan Belcher (11 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and 2 QB hits), safety Eric Berry (10 tackles, 4 passes defensed) and OLB Tamba Hali (7 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery) led the way for the Chiefs’ D today.  The Ravens finished up with 142 yards rushing on 40 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 34 passes for 248 yards.  It’s time to prepare for next season as the 2010 season ends with a thud for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs aren’t getting any respect as they are a 3-point underdog this Sunday despite playing at Arrowhead Stadium where they are 7-1 on the season.  The Ravens are 5-3 on the road and they are a very battle tested playoff team so don’t look for them to be intimidated by the crowd.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs aren’t going to change for anyone.  They are going to feed the ball to Jamaal Charles & Thomas Jones against a Ravens’ D that is allowing only 93.9 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry this year.  The Chiefs should mix in some early down play action passes to try to free up Dwayne Bowe down the field.   TE Tony Moeaki is also going to be one of Matt Cassel’s favorite targets this Sunday but he often operates in Ed Reed’s zone so Cassel will have to be very careful.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are a very balanced team but the Chiefs should key on stopping Ray Rice & Willis McGahee first.  Then they need to get pressure on Joe Flacco because he’s a very solid QB when he has time to wing the ball.  Anquan Boldin, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Derrick Mason and Todd Heap will all challenge the Chiefs’ secondary at some point in this game.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, CHIEFS 16

The Kansas City Chiefs have placed 24-year old CB/S Donald Washington on the Injured Reserve List (ankle), ending his season.  Washington played in 12 games for the Chiefs this year and he had 22 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  Washington has now played in 20 games in his first two years with the Chiefs and he has 27 tackles.  The Chiefs will miss Washington more on special teams then on defense.

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed 32-year old WR Kevin Curtis.  Curtis played in 2 games earlier this year for the Dolphins and he caught 1 pass for 6 yards.  He also had 1 carry for 6 yards for the Fins.  He has now played in 81 games in his NFL career and he has caught 253 passes for 3,297 yards (13.0 avg) with 20 TD grabs.  Curtis also carried the ball 9 times for 39 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run so far in his career.  I like this signing for the Chiefs as Curtis will give them quality depth at WR for the playoffs.

The Chiefs’ offense really sucked yesterday and it cost them the game as the Raiders physically beat on them all day long.  Matt Cassel only completed 11 of 33 passes for 115 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (one was returned 22-yards for a TD by CB Stanford Routt of the Raiders).  Tyler Palko got some mop up duty in this game as he completed 2 of 3 passes for 27 yards.  Chiefs’ QBs were sacked 7 times in this game as they were under siege all game long.  Jamaal Charles led the way for the Chiefs on the ground in this game with 87 yards on 14 carries (6.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 13 yards (6.5 avg) yesterday.  Thomas Jones couldn’t get anything going against the Raiders as he finished up with only 17 yards rushing on 10 carries (1.7 ypc).  Dwayne Bowe led the way in the air for the Chiefs yesterday with 5 grabs for 68 yards (13.6 avg).  The Chiefs finished up with 115 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 36 passes for 86 yards as they only had possession of the ball for 26:32.

The defense couldn’t stop the Raiders’ running game, plain and simple.  OLB Tamba Hali led the way for the Chiefs in this game with 6 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and 4 QB hits in a superhuman effort yesterday.  DE Glenn Dorsey (9 tackles, 1 QB hit and 1/2 a sack), Safety Eric Berry (7 tackles) and DT Ron Edwards (7 tackles) also really helped out for the Chiefs on D in this game.  LB Derrick Johnson pitched in with 5 tackles and a fumble recovery in this game.  The Raiders finished up with 209 yards rushing on 37 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 26 passes for  135 yards.  The Chiefs finished up with a 10-6 record and they won the AFC West.  They will host the Baltimore Ravens in the opening round of the playoffs at Arrowhead Stadium this weekend.