- The Kansas City Chiefs started the 2009 season looking to rebuild with new coach Todd Haley and QB Matt Cassel
- Kansas City started the season 0-5 before winging their first game in week 6 against the Redskins
- The Chiefs struggled throughout the season finishing with a 4-12 record and earning the 4th pick in the 2010 NFL draft
- The team scored 292 points and allowed 424 points against
Kansas City Chiefs
AFC West
Players
2010 Schedule
-
Week 1
SD @ KC
09/13/10
10:15 pm
-
Week 2
KC @ CLE
09/19/10
1:00 pm
-
Week 3
SF @ KC
09/26/10
1:00 pm
-
Week 4
bye
-
Week 5
KC @ IND
10/10/10
1:00 pm
-
Week 6
KC @ HOU
10/17/10
1:00 pm
-
Week 7
JAC @ KC
10/24/10
1:00 pm
-
Week 8
BUF @ KC
10/31/10
1:00 pm
-
Week 9
KC @ OAK
11/07/10
4:15 pm
-
Week 10
KC @ DEN
11/14/10
4:00 pm
-
Week 11
ARI @ KC
11/21/10
1:00 pm
-
Week 12
KC @ SEA
11/28/10
4:00 pm
-
Week 13
DEN @ KC
12/05/10
1:00 pm
-
Week 14
KC @ SD
12/12/10
4:15 pm
-
Week 15
KC @ STL
12/19/10
1:00 pm
-
Week 16
TEN @ KC
12/26/10
1:00 pm
-
Week 17
OAK @ KC
01/02/11
1:00 pm
Offensive Depth Chart
-
Quarterback
-
Running Back
-
Wide Receiver
-
Tight End
-
Kicker
2009
By Air
- Matt Cassel will enter his second season with the Chiefs, he will look to try and look more like the Cassel of 2008 with the Patriots
- The Chiefs finished last season ranking 25th in the league with 2,922 passing yards
- The Chiefs will look to further acclimate in Chris Chambers as he came over mid-season and made the Chief’s receivers that much better
- Dwayne Bowe, Jerheme Urban, and Dexter McCluster will provide the depth at WR
- Leonard Pope comes from Haley’s system in Arizona and will battle with Moeaki
- Jamaal Charles is a highly effective receiver out of the backfield
By Land
- The Chiefs finished last season ranking 11th in the league with 1,929 rushing yards
- With the midseason release of Larry Johnson there had to be a back that could step up in his pace, that guy was Jamaal Charles
- Jamaal Charles was not expected to be a break out back because of his size and lack of strength but it has been found out with Charles and CJ29 that speed can be enough for a player to succeed in the league
- Thomas Jones was signed from the Jets coming off a career season, he is currently fit in as the second back, and hopefully will provide strong leadership in the locker room
QB
- Matt Cassel will look to rebound from a down season in 2009 and make the team better by his play
- In 2009 Cassel completed 271 of 493 attempts for 2,924 yards. He threw 16 touchdowns to 16 interceptions.
- Brodie Croyle was resigned to be the teams back-up, last season he threw 23 of 40 for 230 yards and also threw 2 touchdowns with no picks
RB
- Jamaal Charles rushed for 1,120 yards on 190 carries, a 5.9 yards per carry average led the league, he also scored 7 rushing TDs. Charles had 40 catches for 297 yards and a touchdown
- In his final season with the Jets, Thomas Jones rushed for 1,402 yards on 331 attempts and scoring 14 touchdowns.
- Kolby Smith and Jackie Battle will fight for the 3rd running back spot
WR
- The Chiefs have a group of big wide receivers who will get to build a relationship with QB Cassel
- Dwanyne Bowe led the team with 47 catches for 589 yards and scored 4 TDs
- Last season with the Chargers and Chiefs, Chris Chambers caught 45 passes for 730 yards and scored 5 TDs
- Last season with the Cardinals, Jerheme Urban caught 18 passes for 186 yards
TE
- Last season Leonard Pope caught 20 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown
- Tony Moeaki from Iowa was also drafted to provide more depth at TE, best blocking TE of the draft
Kicker
- Ryan Succop made 25 of 29 field goals for an 86.2 percentage. He also made all 29 of his extra points
Kansas City Defense
- Demorrio Williams led the team with 117 tackles, Mike Brown had 103
- The Chiefs had 22 sacks last season
- Leading sacker was Tamba Hali with 8.5
- How can the Chiefs increase their pass rush and the overall effectiveness of their defense? Eric Berry should help in the passing game and some in the run game
- Brandon Flowers led the team with 5 INTs
- Team forced 11 fumbles
- Team forced a total of 26 turnovers
Offensive Line
Analysis: The Chiefs made a huge improvement in the running game going from 3.3 to 4.8 in yards per carry. The unit made nice strides protecting their QB as well. They have two new bodies on the line this year.
Offensive Scheme
Analysis: Todd Haley has come over from the NFC champion Arizona Cardinals where he was the OC of the team’s offense that shook up the world last January. Haley likes to get vertical and so does Gailey.
Analysis: Looks like Haley is comfortable with Chan running the offense, but don’t be fooled, Haley will put his stamp on it right away. Look for a team that will try to beat opponents through the air.
Major Off-Season Moves
June 29, 2010
Signed DB Kendrick Lewis.
May 17, 2010
Claimed TE Leroy Banks off waivers from Atlanta. Signed DL Jeffery Fitzgerald and DB Andre Jones.
April 15, 2010
Signed QB Brodie Croyle, C Rudy Niswanger and OT Ryan O'Callaghan.
March 25, 2010
Signed LB Derrick Johnson and OL Ikechuku Ndukwe.
March 16, 2010
Signed G Ryan Lilja.
March 15, 2010
Named Rob Alberino vice president of media and marketing.
March 11, 2010
Signed WR Jerheme Urban.
March 10, 2010
Signed DT Shaun Smith.
March 9, 2010
Signed RB Thomas Jones.
March 4, 2010
Signed LB Mike Vrabel to a contract extension.
March 4, 2010
Released WR Devard Darling and RB Dantrell Savage.
February 1, 2010
Named Bernie Parmalee tight ends coach and Otis Smith defensive quality control coach.
Strength of Schedule
We are firm believers that strength-of-schedule analysis is essential when ranking players at every position. We applied this system (without the 5% NFL draft impact) in hindsight to last year's schedule as we were curious how well it could work. The notable results were that Michael Turner and the Falcons had a #32 ranked (easiest) rush schedule last season and DeAngelo Williams and the Panthers were #30.
Our SoS considers three factors when determining rankings for schedules for the upcoming year:
80% weight is applied to the quality of defense from the previous year. We determine quality of defense based on fantasy points given up (run and pass). However, before we get to that number, we factor in the quality of teams that these defenses faced (basically a strength-of-schedule for the previous year). This was all done by hand. Let's just say our boy, Stitchface, has a bit of the carpal tunnel-syndrome going on.
15% weight is applied to Free-Agent movement. We ranked each free agent's impact to their former team (2008), and then ranked each team according to whether they added or lost talent overall.
5% weight is applied to the NFL draft impact. It's tough to gauge a rookie's effectiveness which is why we valued it so low. Certain teams not only drafted defensemen well in '09, but also will be sliding those guys into highly deficient positions from '08, and usually, anything is an upgrade when you are starting a rookie.
If you trust Stitchface's formula (and you will eventually), all you need to realize is the following... The higher the SoS number, the easier the fantasy schedule.
Ranking: 1=toughest 32=easiest
Breaking News
Thomas Jones returns to practice Thursday expand +
After being held out of practice on Wednesday for rest purposes, Jets running back Thomas Jones (knee) returned to take part in all the team and individual drills on Thursday.
Pyro's Take:
The 31-year old back is just fine and will be getting his normal workload against the Chargers this Sunday. Even though their rush D is nothing special, they don't let up many TDs, but the odds still say that Jones will hit paydirt at least once this Sunday. In fact, there were only six games this year in which TJ didn't find the endzone, including last week's playoff game.
Dwayne Bowe is active and will start expand +
Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe is back from his suspension and starting against the Browns today.
Pyro's Take:
We're a little surprised coach Todd Haley isn't sitting Bowe today, being the prick that he is. Bowe has a real nice matchup for his return to the field, so feel free to start him on your fantasy team if you're in need of a WR2/3.
Bowe practicing with first-team today expand +
Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe was taking reps with the first-team today in his first practice since returning from a four-game suspension.
Pyro's Take:
It seems Bowe will go back to being the Chiefs WR1 immediately this week, so consider starting him as a WR3 with upside on your fantasy football team this weekend as KC takes on a porous Browns defense.
Dwayne Bowe's suspension is over expand +
The four-game suspension handed to Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe for using a banned performance enhancer is over.
Pyro's Take:
Bowe will rejoin the team immediately and likely thrown right back into the starting lineup. For those of you who kept him on your fantasy football bench the past month, he can start to be used again as you enter your fantasy playoffs.
Jamaal Charles fine for Week 14 expand +
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles was not listed on the team's Week 14 injury report and looks like a go for the game against the Bills this weekend.
Pyro's Take:
Charles has been a nice surprise since Larry Johnson was jettisoned from the team and can definitely be used as a RB2 on your fantasy football team this weekend.
Dwayne Bowe suspended for 4 games expand +
Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe has been suspended by the NFL for four games for “violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances”. His suspension will begin immediately.
Pyro's Take:
Bowe will be back for the fantasy football playoffs in Week 15, but the question is, with coach Todd Haley not liking him very much in the first place, will Bowe even play upon return? Obviously we'll have to wait a month to find out, so keep him stashed on your bench for the duration of his time off.
Jamaal Charles does well to secure starting job expand +
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles was given the first opportunity to claim the starting job vacated by the release of Larry Johnson, and it looks like he did every possible to do so.
“His head’s in the right place,” coach Todd Haley said. “He’s obviously got ability. He had probably the biggest play of the game for us... I’ve seen a big change in Jamaal in the last three or four weeks. Really a big change in his overall personality, everything. You can see him kind of growing into being a player... He’s been doing all of the things that are being asked of him."
Pyro's Take:
Charles had the first 100-yard rushing game for the Chiefs since Week 16 of last year, and all but knocked Kolby Smith out of the race for the starting job. He's still no more than a low-end RB2 or flex for your fantasy football team, but with all the various injuries around the league, he does become a viable starter.
Coach Haley won't commit to a starting RB expand +
When asked who would be the starting running back for the Chiefs on Sunday, coach Todd Haley responded by saying, “Either (Dantrell) Savage, (Kolby) Smith, or (Jamaal) Charles. Depends what play we decide to open with probably.”
Pyro's Take:
Thanks Todd, you're a gem. Not that any of these backs are worth more than a marginal flex play on your fantasy football team anyway.
Chambers limited for Chiefs today expand +
Newly acquired Chiefs wide receiver Chris Chambers was limited in practice today with an apparent foot injury.
Pyro's Take:
He looked pretty good last week, so we have no idea where he picked this injury up from. He might do well for himself lining up next to Dwayne Bowe, but is still no more than a flex play on your fantasy football team, if that. Last week was the best you're gonna get from him.
Chris Chambers active for the Chiefs today expand +
Chiefs newly acquired wide receiver Chris Chambers is active for the game against the Jaguars today.
Pyro's Take:
He wasn't playable on the Chargers, and nothing has changed with his move to the Chiefs.
Chambers claimed off waivers by Chiefs expand +
Wide receiver Chris Chambers, who was released by the San Diego Chargers on Monday, was claimed off of waivers by the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday.
Pyro's Take:
What do the Chiefs have to lose? Maybe playing in the same division as the team that released him will motivate Chambers to pick his game up a bit... though we doubt it. Playing second fiddle to Dwayne Bowe won't make him any better than he was next to Vincent Jackson, so leave him out there on your fantasy football waiver wire.
Jamaal Charles will get first shot to start expand +
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles will get the start in Week 9, but it seems coach Todd Haley is ready to take RB Kolby Smith off the PUP list and give him a chance to back Charles up.
“I’m optimistic about having the opportunity to see him play,” Haley said.
Pyro's Take:
Which of these backs will come out on top remains to be seen, but Charles will get the first shot regardless of his lack of size. He's very good catching passes out of the backfield, so that could be the difference. Charles is worth a roster spot on your fantasy football team right now, but keep an eye on Smith in case he can't carry the load.
Jamaal Charles in line to start Week 9 expand +
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles began practice with the team on Monday looking like the player in line to start next Sunday's game against the Jaguars.
Pyro's Take:
The Chiefs came out of the bye week settling matters with Larry Johnson and ready to move on with Charles as their lead back... at least for Week 9. What will happen beyond that has us interested, but our guess would be that LJ has seen his days as a starter. Charles is probably no more than a flex play for your fantasy football team however.
Chargers release WR Chris Chambers expand +
The San Diego Chargers announced today that they have released veteran wide receiver Chris Chambers.
Pyro's Take:
Chambers had been steadily declining for some time now, so the move shouldn't be too much of a shock to the grizzled vet. He'll try to latch on somewhere else for the remainder of the season, but might not find many takers for this fantasy football has-been.
Charles splitting reps with Kolby Smith at practice expand +
During the Chiefs Week 8 bye, with RB Larry Johnson suspended from action, running backs Kolby Smith and Jamaal Charles split the reps during Wednesday's practice.
Pyro's Take:
Kolby Smith is still on the PUP list, but will almost assuredly be activated prior to the Week 9 game. Charles figures to get the first shot at starting, but he doesn't have the size to carry a full load. Stay tuned to see if either back is worth a pickup for your fantasy football team.
