CHIEFS' NOTES & A LITTLE THIS & THAT
Less than 24 hours before the 2009 regular football season officially kicks off. Which will be nice, it will help take my mind off the nightmare that is the Kansas City Chiefs. The Missouri Governor's Cup Game is tonight in St Louis, a game between 2-game winners in '08. A game where most of the starters won't play past the middle of the 1st quarter.
Brodie Croyle will start at QB for the Chiefs. He's expected to play the first half, provided the offensive line can keep him standing. I'll be interested to see if RG Mike Goff plays better. I don't see much room for improvement for Damien McIntosh, Barry Richardson & Rudy Niswanger. But Goff is the one I don't understand. He started about 70-80 consecutive games for the Chargers & played very well. He wasn't an All-Pro, but he was an effective, dependable NFL starter. San Diego has a history of letting guys go 1 year before their play begins to go downhill. After watching him play last year, I figured he had something left in the tank. If Zach Thomas doesn't play, I have to believe he'll be released. Has Jarrad Page entered Todd Haley's doghouse? No explanation was given for his absence last Saturday. No injury report on Brandon Flowers has ever been given either.
The wide receiver position is still very much undecided as I can't say 2 or 3 guys have really stood out, much less someone to start opposite Dwayne Bowe. I haven't seen an NFL quality tight end so far have you? I'm going to watch the waiver wire as the 'Turk' visits teams all over the league, over 700 players must be trimmed from NFL rosters. Some will be put on I.R., some on PUP lists, but at least 600 will be up for grabs & the Chiefs are 3rd in line to say yes or no to anyone not grabbed by the Lions or Rams. So there is still hope, I'm sure Scott Pioli will sign at least 1 guy from the Patriots' scrap heap. How many of the Chiefs' cuts will be picked up by other teams? I'm kidding, O.K.?
I could also see a possible trade or two. The Panthers are desperate for a penetrating defensive tackle. Could Glenn Dorsey be heading east? WR Deion Branch of the Seahawks might be odd-man out with his $4.9 million salary, Seattle is pretty deep at this position & it's hard to pay that kind of dough to a backup. Another possibility is Steeler nose tackle Casey Hampton. He's in the final year of his contract & it's common knowledge in Pittsburgh, he won't be resigned in '10. Hampton has been a monster his entire 8-year career & he definitely has something left. Jacksonville might still be interested in Tyler Thigpen, but he'll have to play a lot better than he did Saturday night.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers had a change of heart, their proposed deal with Adam "Pacman" Jones is off. It was widely reported yesterday Jones had signed a contract but today Winnipeg management said after doing their do diligence, they decided to fore go having Jones bring his act to Manitoba strip clubs.
The Vikings will sit all 22 starters in their final exhibition game Friday night against Dallas. Brad Childress said he saw all he needed to see Monday night in Houston.
Charlie Weis was chuckling in his press conference today when questioned about a billboard in South Bend that reads "Best wishes to Charlie Weis in the 5th year of his college coaching internship". It was signed by "Linebacker Alumni". I doubt Charlie was laughing too much after the guy who paid for the billboard sent an email to The South Bend Tribune. Tom Reynolds, a linebacker & 1967 Irish letterman, claimed responsibility & said 50 other 60s & 70s former players backed the effort. Reynolds continued taking shots at Weis in the emails with "by definition, a good football coach does not lose games when he has superior talent on the field & he at least splits the games where the talent is equal". Ouch. There was additional derogatory comment in the email. So as we head into the season's kickoff Thursday night, who's the coach leading in the "hot seat" derby? Charlie Weis or Rich Rodriguez? Weis better win 9 or 10 games & make it to one of the better bowl games. I wonder if Rodriguez will survive with an impending NCAA investigation into practice abuses & a lawsuit involving a banned booster. Rodriguez was served late last week in his office, a Virginia bank is suing him for $3.9 million for allegedly defaulting on a note to build condos.
The San Diego State/UCLA game at the Rose Bowl is still up in the air because of the fires that have made the air quality in Pasadena below acceptable. The Bruins had to practice in Westwood the last 2 days because of the smoke-filled air. UCLA intends to make a decision regarding this game Thursday. They desperately want to play the game as they travel to Tennessee next week & need a tune up game. They upset Tennessee last year at the Rose Bowl & the Vols, under new coach Lane Kiffin, want revenge.
The Washington Post has begun a full expose' on the Redskins' ticket policy. The Post is also investigating the number of lawsuits the Redskins have filed against season ticket holders. If you signed a 6-year contract for your seats & you can't afford them now, the Skins have been bringing lawsuits against those ticket holders. The Washington P.R. department has gotten out front of this series in the Post with press releases lauding their history of working with people so they can pay off their tickets, they didn't mention letting anyone off the hook. This should be an interesting series.
Today's real name of the day; Kweku Arkorful, running back, Rock Valley Community College, Rockford Illinois.
Brodie Croyle will start at QB for the Chiefs. He's expected to play the first half, provided the offensive line can keep him standing. I'll be interested to see if RG Mike Goff plays better. I don't see much room for improvement for Damien McIntosh, Barry Richardson & Rudy Niswanger. But Goff is the one I don't understand. He started about 70-80 consecutive games for the Chargers & played very well. He wasn't an All-Pro, but he was an effective, dependable NFL starter. San Diego has a history of letting guys go 1 year before their play begins to go downhill. After watching him play last year, I figured he had something left in the tank. If Zach Thomas doesn't play, I have to believe he'll be released. Has Jarrad Page entered Todd Haley's doghouse? No explanation was given for his absence last Saturday. No injury report on Brandon Flowers has ever been given either.
The wide receiver position is still very much undecided as I can't say 2 or 3 guys have really stood out, much less someone to start opposite Dwayne Bowe. I haven't seen an NFL quality tight end so far have you? I'm going to watch the waiver wire as the 'Turk' visits teams all over the league, over 700 players must be trimmed from NFL rosters. Some will be put on I.R., some on PUP lists, but at least 600 will be up for grabs & the Chiefs are 3rd in line to say yes or no to anyone not grabbed by the Lions or Rams. So there is still hope, I'm sure Scott Pioli will sign at least 1 guy from the Patriots' scrap heap. How many of the Chiefs' cuts will be picked up by other teams? I'm kidding, O.K.?
I could also see a possible trade or two. The Panthers are desperate for a penetrating defensive tackle. Could Glenn Dorsey be heading east? WR Deion Branch of the Seahawks might be odd-man out with his $4.9 million salary, Seattle is pretty deep at this position & it's hard to pay that kind of dough to a backup. Another possibility is Steeler nose tackle Casey Hampton. He's in the final year of his contract & it's common knowledge in Pittsburgh, he won't be resigned in '10. Hampton has been a monster his entire 8-year career & he definitely has something left. Jacksonville might still be interested in Tyler Thigpen, but he'll have to play a lot better than he did Saturday night.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers had a change of heart, their proposed deal with Adam "Pacman" Jones is off. It was widely reported yesterday Jones had signed a contract but today Winnipeg management said after doing their do diligence, they decided to fore go having Jones bring his act to Manitoba strip clubs.
The Vikings will sit all 22 starters in their final exhibition game Friday night against Dallas. Brad Childress said he saw all he needed to see Monday night in Houston.
Charlie Weis was chuckling in his press conference today when questioned about a billboard in South Bend that reads "Best wishes to Charlie Weis in the 5th year of his college coaching internship". It was signed by "Linebacker Alumni". I doubt Charlie was laughing too much after the guy who paid for the billboard sent an email to The South Bend Tribune. Tom Reynolds, a linebacker & 1967 Irish letterman, claimed responsibility & said 50 other 60s & 70s former players backed the effort. Reynolds continued taking shots at Weis in the emails with "by definition, a good football coach does not lose games when he has superior talent on the field & he at least splits the games where the talent is equal". Ouch. There was additional derogatory comment in the email. So as we head into the season's kickoff Thursday night, who's the coach leading in the "hot seat" derby? Charlie Weis or Rich Rodriguez? Weis better win 9 or 10 games & make it to one of the better bowl games. I wonder if Rodriguez will survive with an impending NCAA investigation into practice abuses & a lawsuit involving a banned booster. Rodriguez was served late last week in his office, a Virginia bank is suing him for $3.9 million for allegedly defaulting on a note to build condos.
The San Diego State/UCLA game at the Rose Bowl is still up in the air because of the fires that have made the air quality in Pasadena below acceptable. The Bruins had to practice in Westwood the last 2 days because of the smoke-filled air. UCLA intends to make a decision regarding this game Thursday. They desperately want to play the game as they travel to Tennessee next week & need a tune up game. They upset Tennessee last year at the Rose Bowl & the Vols, under new coach Lane Kiffin, want revenge.
The Washington Post has begun a full expose' on the Redskins' ticket policy. The Post is also investigating the number of lawsuits the Redskins have filed against season ticket holders. If you signed a 6-year contract for your seats & you can't afford them now, the Skins have been bringing lawsuits against those ticket holders. The Washington P.R. department has gotten out front of this series in the Post with press releases lauding their history of working with people so they can pay off their tickets, they didn't mention letting anyone off the hook. This should be an interesting series.
Today's real name of the day; Kweku Arkorful, running back, Rock Valley Community College, Rockford Illinois.
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