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HALEY EXPLAINS ORIGIN OF SIGNAGE
November 6th – 1:56 PM

Chiefs head coach Todd Haley ended his press conference today with a message regarding the signage that has appeared in the Chiefs practice facility over the past week.

“Let me say [something] on this signage issue that is apparently just going off the charts from what I heard,” Haley said at the end of today’s press conference. “What I told you guys is the truth. That sign was actually talked about in February. We have many signs up and in many different spots. I wanted that one in an area where the players would see it on their way to the field.

“It’s quoted by a Hall of Fame New York Giant, a player,” Haley continued to explain. “It was in our New York Jets facility and in our Dallas Cowboys facility. Not in the locker but in the facility where the players and everybody could see it. We’ve got a bunch of former Jets here. Richie Anderson actually reminded me of that sign and how much it meant to him as a player.“

Richie Anderson is now a staff assistant after completing a 12-year NFL playing career following the 2004 season. Anderson, a running back, played under Bill Parcells in both New York (Jets) and Dallas.

FINAL CHIEFS INJURY REPORT
November 6th – 1:38 PM

As expected, S Jon McGraw (thigh) is officially listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game. Strong safety DaJuan Morgan makes the switch over to free safety and is in line to make his first career start this weekend.

G Mike Goff (shoulder) is listed as questionable, with Andy Alleman being a likely candidate to fill those duties if needed. Goff’s team-leading 113 consecutive start streak looks like it’s on the line. That streak dates all the way back to 2002. Who backs up Goff could also depend on the status of C Rudy Niswanger who is listed as probable. It looks like Niswanger will be able to play, but we’ll see if the Chiefs decide to keep him rested and go with Wade Smith as the starting center on Sunday.

Both T Branden Albert (ankle) and CB Mike Richardson (illness) were listed as probable.

FRIDAY PRACTICE REPORT
November 6th – 11:35 AM

S Jon McGraw once again was held out of practice with a lingering thigh injury. McGraw has missed two full weeks of practice dating back to Monday, October 26th. His prospects of playing this Sunday look slim-to-none. The club will have to make an official designation on McGraw later this afternoon.

CB Mike Richardson returned to practice this morning after missing Wednesday and Thursday sessions due to illness. He worked at his familiar nickel position, while CB Maurice Leggett continued to serve as the back-up free safety behind DaJuan Morgan.

RB Kolby Smith was practicing behind Jamaal Charles once again, but based on practice number it doesn’t look like the Chiefs have made a move regarding him just yet.

KOLBY IN WAITING
November 6th – 9:40 AM

RB Kolby Smith, who has been on the reserve/PUP list since the beginning of training camp, will find out about the future of his 2009 season within the next 24 hours. When the team backs up to head to Jacksonville tomorrow, Smith will either be on the plane and activated on the 53-man roster, or he will stay home and stay on the injured list.

Chiefs head coach Todd Haley confirmed on Wednesday that the Chiefs must make a decision regarding Smith by Saturday. After completing a long and intense knee rehabilitation program, all signs are pointing to Smith being called up this weekend. The Chiefs, however, have yet to make an official announcement.

Once rostering four runners earlier in the season (Larry Johnson, Jamaal Charles, Dantrell Savage and Jackie Battle), the Chiefs are currently down to just two active backs this weekend (Charles and Savage). If/when the Chiefs activate Smith, they will have to release a player to complete the transaction.

STOPPING THE MOJO
November 6th – 6:03 AM

Mojo…MJD…whatever it may be…Maurice Jones Drew is a big play threat each and every time he touches the football.

Last weekend, Jones-Drew only ran the football eight times, but promptly turned the limited workload into 177 rushing yards. His 22.1 average yards per carry proved to be an NFL record for a runner with eight carries or more. Jones-Drew’s carries were limited last Sunday due to audible calls at the line and the Jaguars facing a large deficit. As a result, Jones-Drew didn’t touch the ball for the first 25 minutes of action. Don’t expect a repeat of that this Sunday.

“This guy is the cream of the crop,” Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said. “He’s a really impressive runner. He breaks tackles, he makes big plays – look at last week with only eight carries. He is the top of the line right here. We have to be on our game with this guy. If we don’t stop the run, we won’t have much of a chance.”

With a Chiefs defense putting a pointed sense of urgency on stopping opponents’ big plays, the prospects of facing Jones-Drew aren’t exactly welcoming to Chiefs fans. The question immediately becomes, where does the Chiefs defense start?

“He’s a great player,” Chiefs S Mike Brown said of Jones-Drew. “It’s hard to defend greatness sometimes. He makes a lot of people miss and not just one guy is going to bring him down. I believe he is the number one guy as far as (forcing) missed tackles in the league. You talk about that and you talk about some great running backs, he’s up there in that category.

“He’s a difficult guy to bring down,” Brown continued. “It’s something that we’ve definitely harped on in practice. We have to get a lot of people to the ball because on film it doesn’t look like one guy brings him down to well.”

Jones-Drew leads the NFL with 10 TDs this season, including multiple TDs in three separate games. He has multiple TDs in 11 career games and has scored three touchdowns in two games this season. Six of Jones-Drew’s TD runs this year have come from 50 or more yards away.

Jones-Drew is most dangerous when he breaks into the second-level and into the open field. Successful teams get their playmakers in space because that’s where their attributes make them the most dangerous. Jones-Drew is hardly the exception as evidenced by his TD runs of 79 and 80 yards last week in Tennessee. If he gets out into the open field, he’s likely out the door.

“You have to grab anything that you can and hold on,” Brown said of bringing Jones-Drew down in space. “He’s a hard guy to put your arms around because of the way that he’s built. It seems like all of his weight is from his knees to his waist. He’s a difficult guy to tackle.

It’s somewhat amazing that Jones-Drew is in the midst of his fourth NFL season, yet this is the first time in his career that he has served as the primary ball carries. Jones-Drew had shared the Jags rushing duties with Fred Taylor since 2006, but still was able to score 50 career TDs faster than anyone in Jaguars franchise history (MJD currently has 54 career TDs). Even more impressive, of the NFL’s top 20 running backs for TDs scored, only four players reached 50 TDs quicker than Jones-Drew (Jim Brown, 45 games; Marcus Allen, 48 games; Eric Dickerson, 51 games; Barry Sanders, 53 games;).

There’s the old cliché/saying that goes, “You can’t stop him…you can only hope to contain him.” Essentially, that’s the way it is with Jones-Drew. He’s going to get his yards and make some nice plays, but it’s those game-breaking big plays that have to be shut down.

“He’s probably going to make some big plays, but we just have to make sure that he doesn’t get those big gainers where he scores,” Brown said. “If his longest runs are 10 or 15 yarders, I think that we’re doing a good job.”

“It’s going to be tough,” DE Glenn Dorsey said. “We just have to come out and try to contain him as much as possible.”