26-year old WR Dwayne Bowe has really stepped up the last 7 games for the Chiefs.  Bowe has caught 49 passes for 733 yards (15.0 avg) with 13 TD grabs in those seven games as he has been completely unstoppable.  The most amazing thing about Bowe breaking out is that the Chiefs don’t really have any other legit receivers except rookie TE Tony Moeaki right now and he is still putting up mind blowing numbers.  Bowe has now played in 11 games for the Chiefs this year and he has caught 58 passes for 885 yards (15.3 avg) with 14 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards.  Bowe is looking like the best WR in the NFL right now and the Chiefs need him to keep up the good work.

28-year old QB Matt Cassel has been as hot as a firecracker lately.  In his last 7 games, Cassel has completed 137 of 217 passes (63.1%) for 1,657 yards with 18 TD passes and 1 INT (112.2 QB Rating).  Cassel has now played in 11 games for the Chiefs overall this season and he has completed 195 of 323 passes (60.4%) for 2,307 yards with 22 TD passes and 4 INTs (99.7 QB Rating).  Cassel has also carried the ball 22 times for 83 yards (3.8 ypc) so far this year.  Cassel has solidified his position as the Chiefs’ starting QB of the present and the future.  They will need him to keep up the good work if the Chiefs are going to hold off the Chargers in the AFC West.

43-year old head coach Todd Haley is turning the Chiefs around quickly.  I think a big part of the reason for that was the hiring of Charlie Weis (offensive co-ordinator) and Romeo Crennel (defensive co-ordinator).  Hiring a couple of coaches that Haley respected has made a big difference in the overall play of the team.  The Chiefs are a better offensive and defensive team than the one Haley had in his rookie year which the team finished 4-12.  The Chiefs are 4-0 at home this year but only 1-4 on the road.  Haley now has a 9-16 (36%) record in his first two years in charge.  He will get a lot of Coach of the Year votes if he somehow gets his troops to the playoffs.

Tight end has been a black hole for the Chiefs since they traded Tony Gonzalez to the Falcons.  They might have finally found a solid player to fill the shoes of the best TE in team history in rookie Tony Moeaki.  Moeaki was a 3rd round pick out of Iowa last April and he has provided Matt Cassel with a nice big target (6’3″, 252 pounds) with a good set of hands.  Moeaki has played in all three of the Chiefs games so far this year and he has caught 12 passes for 123 yards (10.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Chiefs might have a steal on their hands as Moeaki has been pretty impressive so far this year.

The Chiefs are averaging 137.5 yards rushing and 4.2 ypc so far this season.  They have run the ball 65 times this year while only throwing the ball 50 times making them a running team now.  Thomas Jones has actually been the guy getting the most work for the Chiefs so far this year.  He has carried the ball 33 times for 122 yards (3.7 ypc) and he also has caught 1 pass for 5 yards.  Jamaal Charles is also getting a lot of work for the Chiefs this year.  He has carried the ball 22 times for 141 yards (6.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Charles has also caught 2 passes for 35 yards (17.5 avg) so far this year.  Charles says he’s o.k. with the arrangement as far as carries go but I don’t know how long that will last if he keeps outplaying Jones.

CB Javier Arenas and RB/WR Dexter McCluster really provided a jolt on the special teams in the win Monday Night over the Chargers.  Arenas returned 3 kickoffs for 59 yards (19.7 avg) and 2 punts for 60 yards (30.0 avg) against the Chargers.  As good as Arenas was though, McCluster made a bigger impact.  He returned 3 kickoffs for 100 yards (33.3 avg) including one return that went for the 94-yard TD.  The rookies are looking like they are going to make a huge impact for the Chiefs this year.

Many in the Chiefs’ organization thought that 23-year old RB Jamaal Charles was too small to carry the full load in the running game but he proved them wrong last season.  He played in 15 games for the Chiefs last season and he carried the ball 190 times for 1,120 yards (5.9 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also caught 40 passes for 297 yards (7.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Despite being on the small side Charles is tough and he is really fast.  Charles has now played in 31 games in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 257 times for 1,477 yards (5.7 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He has also caught 67 passes for 569 yards (8.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his career.  The Chiefs are in good hands with Charles at RB.

23-year old CB Brandon Flowers has played excellent football for the Chiefs this season.  He has played in 13 games for the Chiefs this year and he has made 56 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, forced 2 fumbles, defensed 17 passes and he has 4 interceptions.  Flowers is really developing into a pretty good football player for the Chiefs.

Tamba Hali is really stepping up for the Kansas City Chiefs this season.  He has played in all 13 games for the Chiefs this season and he has made 54 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, forced 4 fumbles, defensed 1 pass and he has 7.5 sacks.  The sacks really stand out as Hali is the only player on the Chiefs with more than 3.5 and the Chiefs as a whole have 19 total sacks on the year.  Hali really been solid for the Chiefs since being drafted 4 years ago.  He has now played in 60 games for the Chiefs in which he has 227 tackles, 26 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, 1 interception and he has defensed 7 passes.  The Chiefs need to add some talent around Hali to finally build a effective defense.

22-year old RB Jamaal Charles is staking his claim to be the featured back in the Chiefs’ offense for the future.  Charles has played in 12 games this season for the Chiefs and he has carried the ball 116 times for 605 yards (5.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He has also caught 34 passes for 256 yards (7.5 avg) with a TD grab this season.  Charles has been replaced as the kickoff returner because of his new role as the main man in the running game.  Charles returned 35 kickoffs for 901 yards (25.7 avg) with 1 TD return this year.  Charles has now touched the ball 185 times this season for a total of 1,762 yards (9.5 avg. per touch) and he has scored 6 overall TDs.  Charles is averaging 146.8 all purpose yards for the Chiefs this season.  Despite being on the small side I think that Charles has the heart to handle a full workload in the running game.