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The Chiefs have lost 28-year old OT Ryan O’Callaghan for the season as he has been placed on I.R. O’Callaghan played in 11 games (1 start) for the Chiefs last year. He has now played in 25 games (13 starts) in his first two seasons with the Chiefs. This injury will hurt the depth along the O-Line for the Chiefs in 2011.
The Chiefs battled back after giving up 14 points in the first quarter, but they fell short. Matt Cassel didn’t look too good as he completed 6 of 13 passes for 59 yards. Tyler Palko was so-so last night as he completed 7 of 12 passes for 92 yards. Ricky Stanzi played his best football so far last night as he completed 8 of 14 passes for 121 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs. Jackie Battle led the way on the ground for the Chiefs last night with 43 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.3 ypc). Dexter McCluster only carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards and he also caught 5 passes for 37 yards (7.4 avg) last night. TE Cody Slate (2 rec, 50 yards, TD) and WR Jeremy Horne (2 rec, 46 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Chiefs last night. The Chiefs rushed for 58 yards on 20 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 39 passes (53.8%) for 251 yards last night.
The defense was bending but not breaking too much last night against the Rams. LB Derrick Johnson led the way for the Chiefs last night with 8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 interception. LB Justin Cole (6 tackles and 1 QB hit) and CB Travis Daniels (interception) also had solid games for the Chiefs’ D last night. The Rams finished up with 170 yards on 40 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 31 passes (54.8%) for 151 yards last night. The Chiefs are now 0-3 on the preseason.
The Chiefs have signed 34-year old TE Anthony Becht to a 1-year deal. Becht did not play in any games in the NFL last year. He has played in 158 games (129 starts) in his first 10 years in the NFL and he has caught 185 passes for 1,511 yards (8.2 avg) with 21 TD grabs. Becht is a solid receiver in the red zone because of his size but his best asset is his run blocking. This was a solid addition for the Chiefs.
UPDATE: (9/6/2011) – The Chiefs have released Anthony Becht in a somewhat surprising move due to the recent season ending injury to Tony Moeaki.
UPDATE II: (9/17/2011) – The Chiefs have re-signed Anthony Becht.
Veteran lefty tossing QB Tyler Palko has a pretty good lead on rookie QB Ricky Stanzi in the race to see who will be the #2 QB in 2011 for the Chiefs. Palko has completed 12 of 21 passes (57.1%) for 129 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (91.2 QB Rating) in the Chiefs’ first two pre-season games. He has also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards (2.0 ypc) so far. Ricky Stanzi has looked a tad overmatched so far. He has completed 10 of 20 passes (50%) for 92 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (42.1 QB Rating). Stanzi also has carried the ball 4 times for 10 yards (2.5 ypc) in the pre-season so far. The Chiefs probably wanted Stanzi to win the job, but he just doesn’t look ready for that yet.
22-year old rookie OLB/DE Justin Houston fell all the way to the third round last April’s NFL Draft despite being a highly thought of player out of Georgia. It looks like that slight has inspired him so far in the pre-season. Houston has played in both pre-season games for the Chiefs so far and he has 7 tackles, 2 sacks and a fumble recovery. The Chiefs will find a spot in the rotation for Houston if he keeps up his level of play the rest of the pre-season, as they could use help chasing QBs down in 2011.
The Chiefs have the same cast of characters returning at RB for 2011 and that’s a really good thing. 24-year old Jamaal Charles will likely split carries again with Thomas Jones in 2011. Charles will likely get more carries than Jones this year though. Charles played in 16 games (6 starts) for the Chiefs last year and he carried the ball 230 times for 1,467 yards (6.4 ypc) with 5 TD runs. He also caught 45 passes for 468 yards (10.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs. Charles can go the distance any time he touches the ball and that is why he should get more touches in 2011. Charles has now played in 47 games (18 starts) in his first three years with the Chiefs and he has carried the ball 487 times for 2,944 yards (6.0 ypc) with 12 TD carries. He has also caught 112 passes for 1,037 yards (9.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs so far in his NFL career. To me, Jamaal Charles is the most exciting RB to watch in the entire NFL.
32-year old Thomas Jones is the tough guy who gets the work in short yardage situations and around the goal line. He played in 16 games (10 starts) for the Chiefs last year and he carried the ball 245 times for 896 yards (3.7 ypc) with 6 TD carries. Jones also caught 14 passes for 122 yards (8.7 avg) last year for the Chiefs. Jones will likely see his touches go down a little bit in 2011, but he’s still a darn good RB. Jones has now played in 164 games (117 starts) in his first 11 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 2,525 times for 10,113 yards (4.0 ypc) with 68 TD runs. He has also caught 303 passes for 1,980 yards (6.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his NFL career. Jones still has plenty left in the gas tank.
21-year old Dexter McCluster is more of a WR than a RB. He played in 11 games (7 starts) for the Chiefs in his rookie year in 2010 in which he carried the ball 18 times for 71 yards (3.9 ypc). McCluster also caught 21 passes for 209 yards (10.0 avg) with 1 TD grab last year. McCluster is too small to be a full-time RB, but he’s fast enough to handle a few carries a game.
27-year old Jackie Battle will be way down on the food chain at RB for the Chiefs in 2011. He played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Chiefs last year and he carried the ball 20 times for 50 yards (2.5 ypc) with 1 TD run. Battle also caught 1 pass for 9 yards last year. Battle has now played in 33 games (0 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 41 times for 118 yards (2.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs. Battle has also caught 5 passes for 8 yards (1.6 avg) in his NFL career.
PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CHIEFS RBS IN 2011: A+
22-year old rookie WR Jonathan Baldwin came into training camp riding on his high horse as a first round pick (#26 overall). But a couple of days ago he got on Thomas Jones nerves and a lockerroom brawl ensued. Now Baldwin is going to miss multiple weeks with a cracked thumb. Baldwin has a lot of talent, but if he doesn’t grow up soon, he’s going to flame out in the NFL and the Chiefs can’t afford that to happen.
The Chiefs played better this week but that isn’t saying much. Matt Cassel completed 6 of 14 passes for 73 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs last night. Tyler Palko followed him into the game and he completed 8 of 13 passes for 95 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INT. Ricky Stanzi finished up the game at QB by completing 6 of 12 passes for 58 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT. Jackie Battle led the way on the ground in this game for the Chiefs with 29 yards on 8 carries (3.6 ypc). Dexter McCluster was very effective in this game with 24 yards rushing on 4 carries (6.0 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 47 yards (15.7 avg). Thomas Jones pitched in with 15 yards on 5 carries (3.0 ypc) last night. WRs Verran Tucker (3 rec, 68 yards), Dwayne Bowe (3 rec, 43 yards) and Terrance Copper (1 rec, 4 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Chiefs last night. The Chiefs finished up with 94 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 39 passes (51.3%) for 194 yards last night.
The Chiefs gave up 21 points in the 4th quarter, so it was the scrubs that cost them this game. LBs Jovan Belcher (7 tackles), Demorrio Williams (5 tackles) and Justin Houston (3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits) led the way for the Chiefs’ on D last night. The Ravens finished up with 114 yards rushing on 24 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 37 passes (48.6%) for 238 yards last night. The Chiefs are now 0-2 on the pre-season.
The Chiefs forgot that they had a home game last night! Matt Cassel made a very brief appearance as he didn’t attempt any passes last night. He did carry the ball 1 time for 0 yards and he lost a fumble. Tyler Palko followed himin the game and he did nothing impressive as he completed 4 of 8 passes for 34 yards. He also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards last night. Rookie QB Ricky Stanzi finished this game up by completing 4 of 8 passes for 34 yards. He also carried the ball 3 times for 11 yards (3.7 ypc) last night. RB Jackie Battle led the way on the ground for the Chiefs last night with 40 yards rushing on 13 carries (3.1 ypc). He also caught 3 passes for 27 yards (9.0 avg) last night. Thomas Jones only carried the ball 2 times but he still rushed for 25 yards. The Chiefs finished up with 86 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 8 of 16 passes for 51 yards. They only had the ball for 20:33 and that is pathetic.
The defense wasn’t much better last night for the Chiefs. CB Quinten Lawrence led the way for the Chiefs’ D last night with 7 tackles. LB Erik Bakhtiari (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and LB Cory Greenwood (6 tackles) also pitched in for the Chiefs on D last night. The Bucs rushed for 139 yards on 34 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 31 passes (64.5%) for 214 yards last night. The Chiefs have a lot of work to do.
The Chiefs have signed 25-year old OT Jared Gaither. Gaither is a mountain of a man at 6’9″, 340 pounds and he’s a good tackle when he’s healthy. He missed all of last season though to a back injury. Gaither has played in 33 games (28 starts) in his first four years in the NFL. If Gaither can stay healthy, this signing will be a steal for the Chiefs.