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Public Transportation Returns to Arrowhead on Gamedays

HEAD OUT ON THE HIGHWAY...
October 23rd – 4:45 PM

Thousands of motorists think Chiefs football each and every day when they turn their attention towards Arrowhead Stadium while traveling down I-70. Now, thinking Chiefs on the road isn’t just reserved for east/west traffic. On Sunday, a major section of Interstate 435 will officially be designated as the “Lamar Hunt Memorial Highway.”

Signs marking the dedication were put into the ground earlier this week along the stretch of 435 and an official dedication ceremony is scheduled to take place during pregame ceremonies this Sunday at Arrowhead. Highway signs have been erected on Northbound I-435 near the Stadium Drive/Raytown Road Exit, as well as Southbound I-435, near 48th Street and Worlds of Fun.

Those attending the pregame ceremony include members of the Hunt family, Senator Victor Callahan, Rep. Darrell Pollock, Rep. Bob Dixon, Rep. Bryan Yates, and Rep. Jay Wasson who were influential in the passage of House Bill 683, the legislation that designated the stretch of I-435 as the “Lamar Hunt Memorial Highway.” Beth Wright, district engineer for MoDOT and the person who ensured compliance with the legislation, will also be in attendance.

 

TOMLINSON RETURNS TO PRACTICE
October 23rd – 2:54 PM

San Diego has been pumping the vitamins in order to get healthy for this Sunday’s game in Kansas City. Today, the Chargers backfield returned to practice. RB LaDainian Tomlinson and FB Jacob Hester have been battling the flu throughout the past 24 hours. LB Jyles Tucker, another flu victim, also returned to action.

CB Antonio Cromartie was a limited participant today after receiving an MRI on his knee following an injury suffered in yesterday’s practice. He’s listed as questionable for Sunday.

Other questionable Chargers include WR Buster Davis (ill) and DE Travis Johnson (groin). LB Kevin Burnett is doubtful for this weekend with an ankle injury, while C Nick Hardwick has been ruled out (ankle.)

QUESTIONS SURROUND ALBERT
October 23rd – 12:54 PM

The progress that Chiefs left tackle Branden Albert’s has shown regarding his injured ankle over the last two weeks is undeniable. Today, Albert joined teammates on the practice field for offensive line drills for the first time in quite a while. He looked better, much better. But did he look good enough to return to the game field on Sunday?

“He’s getting better every day,” Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said. “It looks like it’s probably going to go down to the wire with Branden. We’re listing him as questionable.“

With the bye weekend looming, the Chiefs will likely think twice about pushing Albert back into action. That doesn’t bode well for Albert’s return on Sunday. But on the other hand you have the need for Albert, arguably the Chiefs most athletic offensive lineman.

Regardless of whether he dresses or not vs. San Diego, Albert will not be at 100%. Do the Chiefs play it cautiously, or do they favor need? They’ll meet about it tonight, but the decision likely won’t be final until Sunday morning.

The rest of the Chiefs listed on the injury report this week (T Ryan O’Callaghan, S Jarrad Page and G Brian Waters) are all expected to play on Sunday.

PRACTICE REPORT- ALBERT’S RETURN
October 23rd – 11:19 AM

Chiefs T Branden Albert received a few sarcastic “welcome back” handshakes to begin practice today as he made his return to the offensive line individual drills for the first time in nearly two weeks. He was moving visibly better than a day ago. We’ll check with Chiefs head coach Todd Haley regarding Albert’s prognosis once practice is complete this afternoon.

The indoor practice featured Haley wearing a Chiefs military cap in honor of Military Appreciation Day at Arrowhead this weekend. The hats the Haley and QB Matt Cassel have been seen wearing this week are available at the online proshop on kcchiefs.com as well as at the team store inside Arrowhead Stadium on game day.

For the first time since training camp, strength coach Cedric Smith was alone in the rehab zone (the Chiefs three IR players did not appear).

CHARGERS GET BIT
October 23rd – 8:37 AM

Thursday wasn’t a good day for the San Diego Chargers. Pro Bowl CB Antonio Cromartie left practice with a knee injury and four other Chargers fell ill to the flu bug. Early reports indicate that Cromartie’s knee injury is not serious, but he will still undergo an MRI this morning.

Earlier in the week we heard Chiefs head coach Todd Haley discuss the team’s prevention strategy regarding the flu. Cleveland had 12 players (seven starters) miss practice earlier this week and it appears that San Diego is falling suit. RB LaDainian Tomlinson, FB Jacob Hester, WR Buster Davis and LB Jyles Tucker all missed Thursday practice with flu-like symptoms.

“When you miss practice it affects you,” Chargers head coach Norv Turner said during yesterday’s press conference. “It drains some energy out of you. I’m concerned about the guys who have missed and hopefully it doesn’t spread any further.“

Unfortunately, for the Chargers, the team will be closed in the tight confines of an aircraft later this afternoon as they make their way to Kansas City. On the other side of the football, the Chiefs have yet to be seriously affected by illness this season (knock on wood).

BIG RON
October 23rd – 6:11 AM

Sometimes change is for the best. This is, without a doubt, the case for Chiefs NT Ron Edwards. This offseason the Chiefs switched from a 4-3 defensive scheme to a 3-4 defensive set and Edwards has suddenly turned from a 15-play player to a 50-play player.

The big man is in his ninth NFL season and putting forth one of his finest seasons of production. Edwards has started 59 career NFL games and seen action in over 100, so it’s not like this guy hasn’t seen the looks of everyday life on the line in the NFL. After three seasons in Kansas City, under the 4-3 scheme, Edwards’ 2009 performance, to date, makes you wonder if the 3-4 has been the right fit for Ron all along?

“I think when he was drafted into the league that’s what they were playing up there in Buffalo,” Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said. “He’s got some versatility. I think he could play both spots actually, really all three spots across the board and probably have a chance to succeed. But I think he’s one of the guys I worried less about when we decided what defense we were going to play.”

Edwards began the offseason, like many Chiefs, heavier than Haley would have liked. Even with the trimmed down look, the man is still one of the biggest bodies in the locker room at 6-3, 315 (he was also listed at that weight a year ago, begging question as to what his “real” weight is or was). Regardless, he’s playing like a beast at the nose position; seemingly an overnight phenomenon.

“Ron is a guy who bought in 100% starting in the off-season program,” Haley said. “He changed his body; he’s a big boy and is still a big boy, but he lost a significant amount of weight and weight he had been carrying for a long time in his career. He changed over a span of time. I think it’s starting to show and the last couple of weeks he’s been a pretty disruptive force in there. I’m pretty excited about watching him this week.”

It’s definitely starting to show for people who follow the Chiefs on a regular basis. Instead of just being a “big body” to plug the run, which could have been said of Edwards in previous seasons, he is now getting a quick first step off the football and helping collapse the pocket in the backfield as an every-down defender.

A couple of times, recently, Edwards has straight-up made centers whiff on blocks. How do you whiff a man the size of Ron Edwards? It’s done by the center not being able to keep up with a quick first step.

“I’m just encouraged because this is an example of a guy who worked his butt off the entire off-season and changed his body and now he’s seeing some of the rewards of that work,” Haley said. “He’s continuing to work and keeping his weight where it has to be. That’s what you look for as a coach: to see guys have success while doing it the way you asked them to do it.”

The numbers don’t lie. Edwards backed up NT Tank Tyler, as he did for much of last season, for the first two games of 2009. Edwards turned in a total of about 30 plays, combined, in those first two games combined. In Week Three, Edwards got the edge over Tyler for the starting job. By Week Four, Edwards simply wasn’t coming off the field, and turned in 50 plays of participation against the Giants.

“It’s just getting used to what you have to do,” Edwards said. “It’s about repetition with a new defense. It’s something that you work into and just take it as you go. Just doing the same thing over again and again makes you better defensively.”

The nose position in the 3-4 defense may be the most important of all. It takes a mix of discipline and nastiness to play multiple “A-gaps” and keep blockers off the inside linebackers. Edwards did such an impressive job performing the task over the past month that Tyler became expendable and was dealt to the Carolina Panthers for a 2010 draft pick on Monday.

“Ron got our game ball on defense (vs. Washington), so he played a heck of a game,” Haley said. “I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Ron. He started a little up and down early on but he’s kind of found his place now, I think, and is trying to be very good at his position. I think he’s got something to build on.”

Edwards has been full of production during the first half of 2009, but it doesn’t end on defense. He also made his offensive debut as a blocking back in the Chiefs short-yardage offensive set at Washington. The results of Edwards in the backfield is a 100% conversion rate, with Edwards gaining a running start and knocking out defenders like a bowling ball hitting a line of pins on PBA Sunday.

“He did a pretty good job,” Haley said of Edwards’ offensive debut. “He did a good job on the play that we had and it’s a play we’ve been practicing for a few weeks and we finally got to use it.”

Edwards may not be a player that is the franchise’s “nose tackle of the future.” He’s also not a guy that will be the Chiefs zero-technique for the next 10 seasons. But he’s certainly that has outgrown the roll that was originally asked of him before the season began.

Edwards may very well be a player holding down the fort until the next, 20-something aged player comes on board, possibly via the 2010 draft. Similar to his stature, however, the next wave of youth may find Edwards a hard guy to move.

Big Ron is a guy who will serve whatever roll that is asked of him. Right now, that roll is the Chiefs every-down nose tackle. Gig ‘Em Ron!