Chiefs Fall to Giants by 27-16 Count at Arrowhead
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Public Transportation Returns to Arrowhead on Gamedays

THE INACTIVES ARE IN
October 4th –11:03 AM

It’s the Ryan O’Callaghan show today for the Chiefs at right tackle. After seeing first-team reps all week at practice, O’Callaghan will get the look full-time this afternoon. T Ikechuku Ndukwe is inactive, meaning Branden Albert is the only other active tackle today. Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said that O’Callaghan and Ndukwe were competing for the starting role throughout the week in practice.

THE INACTIVES
October 4th – 10:30 AM

CHIEFS

15 Matt Gutierrez - 3rd QB
14 WR Quinten Lawrence
23 CB Mike Richardson
29 RB Dantrell Savage
60 G/T Ikechuku Ndukwe
85 TE Jake O’Connell
87 TE Brad Cottam
97 LB Pierre Walters

GIANTS
13 WR Ramses Barden
28 RB Danny Ware
31 CB Aaron Ross
61 T Adam Koets
79 T Guy Whimper
87 WR Domenik Hixon
97 LB Clint Sintim
99 DL Chris Canty

TODAY’S KEYS TO VICTORY
October 4th – 9:27 AM

The Giants come into Arrowhead today seeking to win on the road for the third consecutive week and advance their season record to 4-0, while the Chiefs are trying to avoid an 0-4 start for the first time in 29 years. Here are today’s three keys to victory for the Chiefs.

• Hit ‘Em in the Mouth – This Giants team is a bunch of bruisers. They’re that way up front (nearly 1,500 pounds) and they’re that way in a number of skill positions as well. To beat these Giants you have to go toe-to-toe, round-for-round with them. Physicality is a must.

• Jump on the Weakness – They’re aren’t many weaknesses when it comes to the Giants, but one area they have struggled in is scoring TDs in the Red Zone. Entering last weekend the Giants were 0-for-8 on converting red zone trips into TDs. If they’re inside the 20…keep these guys frustrated with FGs…they may start to press.

• Consistency – Offensive consistency is a must this Sunday. The Giants lead the NFL with 38 points off opponent turnovers. Move the chains, control the clock and hold on to the football.

*Check back for today’s inactives shortly after 10:30 AM.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
October 4th – 9:19 AM

Today will be a league-wide tribute to pink as all active teams pay homage to the kickoff of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Today, across the league, you’ll see pink ribbons painted on the playing surface, a special BCA football, pink cleats, gloves, towels and hats.

The wives of Chiefs players and staff will be handing out BCA pins and buttons to fans at the turnstiles. Even the new video boards at Arrowhead are tinted pink. Fans can purchase Chiefs BCA gear at the fan shop in the stadium or on kcchiefs.com.

GIANTS INJURY NEWS
October 3rd – 3:54 PM

After initially ruling DT Chris Canty (calf), WR Domenik Hixon (knee), CB Aaron Ross (hamstring) and RB Danny Ware (elbow) out in yesterday’s injury report, kcchiefs.com has learned that LB Clint Sintim (groin) has not made the trip to Kansas City with the team. Sintim was officially designated as questionable on the Giants injury report yesterday.

ESTABLISHING AN IDENTITY
October 3rd – 6:41 AM

The Chiefs are on a mission to establish an offensive identity this Sunday. The task is a tall one for any football team searching for its first victory under the guidance of a new head coach and a new administration. The schemes are new for both fans and players, but it has become a point of emphasis for this team to find its offensive identity.

Last weekend, Chiefs head coach Todd Haley had seen enough. After nearly a perfect split of rushing and passing plays, Haley saw his offense sitting at the half with just 18 yards gained on the ground with just three coming from his workhorse RB Larry Johnson. The Chiefs responded by running on 12 of the first 13 plays to begin the second half.

“We are trying to win the game, but at the same time we are trying to establish an identity around here,” Haley said. “Three yards of rushing offense at halftime, to me, is unacceptable. It was not something that I thought at the time I could let go at the wayside with our offense. Again, we are trying to establish an identity around here. You can call it conservative if you want. I think it had a purpose as far as myself and the team goes, and I will leave it at that.”

The purpose was simple and it was all about the big picture. To win football games, this team is going to have to run the football. Kansas City doesn’t have to be a “running team” per say, but they have to create a threat to keep defenses honest and free up QB Matt Cassel to deliver the football downfield. So Haley challenged his men. He put them face-to-face against a defensive unit who had dominated the first half at the line of scrimmage, and he challenged his squad to execute a smash mouth game plan.

“It was, in my gut and as the head coach that something had to be done to benefit this team,” Haley said. “Not in that particular game but to benefit this team as we go forward, to establish our mindset and to lay it out there. Let’s see who’s got what. I think you started to see some signs of guys deciding whether they were going to lay down or they were going to fight.”

Kansas City’s offensive identity starts up front and executing an offensive game plan against the Giants is easier said than done. New York is coming off its first road shutout since 1983 after spanking the Bucs 24-0 in Tampa. The Buccaneers didn’t gain a first down until the third quarter and were held to just 87 total offensive yards.

Up front, the Chiefs men in the trenches will likely see double “A Gap” walk-up pressure from the Giants on Sunday afternoon. The zone blitz scheme and walk-up pressure that the Giants employ are very similar to the likes that Kansas City saw in Philadelphia last weekend. The similarities in defensive scheme by the Eagles and Giants can be traced back to current St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo.

Spagnuolo learned the Philly defensive craft as a defensive staffer (1999-2006) with the Eagles under the late Jim Johnson. He brought the package with him to New York as the Giants defensive coordinator in 2007, immediately did the improbable by beating the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl and has since moved into the top role with St. Louis. But Spagnuolo’s schemes, dating back to Johnson in Philadelphia, remain in New York this season.

It’s safe to say that Kansas City will see many of the same looks that proved problematic in Philadelphia a week ago. An even greater challenge is that the Giants execute their version of the zone blitz defense better than Philadelphia, at least statistically. This Sunday is a perfect chance for this young Chiefs team to gain confidence and trust in one another against a quality opponent, but it won’t come easy.

“I think we are still trying to figure out our identity ourselves,” Cassel said. “So we don’t know exactly what we are just yet. Until we figure it out and start winning games I think it will be a process of going through both.”

The Chiefs have shown something different in each of their three games this season. In the opener at Baltimore Kansas City took a conventional, balanced approach with its back-up quarterback leading the charge. The next week vs. Oakland, the Chiefs put the football in the air nearly 40 times and began the game with a reverse. Last weekend in Philadelphia, the Chiefs threw the ball just 18 times.

It takes time, but this team is still trying to find out just who they are. A fourth chapter will be written on Sunday.

“As a team you always want to have an identity,” QB Brodie Croyle said earlier this year. “I think he (Haley) is right. We haven’t fully found what ours is going to be just yet. You’ll have kind of that defining moment where you figure it out, where you figure out what kind of team you’re going to be…what your mantra, or whatever you want to call it, is going to be.

“At some point you just have to kind of mold into that,” Croyle concluded.