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INACTIVES BRING US FOUR DIFFERENT STORY LINES
November 15th - 12:10 PM PT

Today’s Chiefs inactives carry more story-lines than any other game thus far in 2009. Let’s take a look.

1) WR Bobby Wade - A very big surprise here to Chiefs fans across the country with Wade inactive once again this week. Last week, the decision likely came down to Wade or Mark Bradley and Bradley won out. It appears Bradley once again has the upper hand in this battle. A major deciding factor here could be the Chiefs increased confidence in RB Dantrell Savage as a return man. Still, most expected to see Wade, the Chiefs second-leading receiver, in the lineup this afternoon.

2) S DaJuan Morgan - After logging his first career start last week, it’s not just back to a reserve role for Morgan, it’s all the way to the bench. Morgan’s inactive status leaves the Chiefs razor thin at safety. Mike Brown and Jon McGraw are the starters, but should anything happen to either one, the Chiefs don’t have a backup safety. Backing up those players is converted cornerback Maurice Leggett. Could we see a new safety next week in Kansas City? This is a very interesting scratch, especially considering McGraw just coming off a thigh injury that sidelined him for over 14 days.

3) TE Sean Ryan - Not a surprise here as Ryan hasn’t been as effective as of late. The big story around this decision is the opportunity that it creates for both TE Leonard Pope and Brad Cottam. Cottam, a former third-round pick, had become almost forgotten by being inactive in nearly every game this season.

4) LB Pierre Walters - This is one of my favorite Chiefs. A long-shot player who works extremely hard just looking for an opportunity. Today, Walters will get that opportunity as he’ll be active for the first time in his career. With LB David Herron out, the Chiefs needed a linebacker to fill the void on special teams. Most people thought that newly acquired LB Justin Rogers would fill that role. Even Todd Haley hinted that Rogers was signed for his ability to fill that role on special teams. Instead, the Chiefs gave the nod to the rookie free agent from Eastern Illinois.

INACTIVES ARE IN
November 15th – 11:41 AM PT

CHIEFS

15        QB Matt Gutierrez (3rd)
20        CB Donald Washington
38        S DaJuan Morgan
52        LB David Herron
55        LB Justin Rogers
80        WR Bobby Wade
85        TE Jake O’Connell
89        TE Sean Ryan

RAIDERS
3          QB Charlie Frye (3rd)
19        WR Todd Watkins
57        LB Ricky Brown
69        T Khalif Barnes
72        G/T Erik Pears
84        WR Javon Walker
89        WR Nick Miller
99        DE Greg Ellis

FUTURE FRIDAYS
November 14th – 8:15 AM

Never will you hear a coach in the National Football League dismiss the importance of a Friday practice. It just doesn’t happen, and it won’t happen.

“Probably our best Friday,” Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said immediately following the final day of prep work for this Sunday’s game in Oakland. “It was pretty good. We went indoors to just kind of get that noise level up and the tempo and precision on both sides. I think it was probably our best Friday as a whole.”

Just like college coaches put extreme value on a good Thursday practice, NFL coaches treat Friday’s like a football version of Nastradamus. A solid Friday practice leaves the head coach feeling confident in the hours leading up to kickoff, while a sloppy Friday equals sleepless nights and second-guessing.

The old saying of “how you practice, is how you play,” is a perfect analogy for Friday sessions. Those days are almost like a dress rehearsal for the real deal on Sunday. The game plans have all been implemented, taught and practiced. Friday is a day for perfection at full speed. Botched assignments on Wednesdays and Thursdays are tolerable. Botched assignments on Friday’s cause coaches to have aneurisms.

Most coaches believe that Friday’s tell the future; a crisp practice results in solid Sunday, while the opposite leads to a very long weekend. Chiefs head coach Todd Haley is one of those coaches.

“You can’t think any other way,” Haley said. “You really can’t. You’ve got to assume that good practices are eventually going to translate into good play. If you think any other way I think you’re asking for trouble. I know that’s how we gauge how a week has gone.”

Friday’s aren’t a leisurely walk-thru, those are reserved for Saturday mornings. Sure, the lower pads come off, but Friday’s are filled with plenty of thuds. Being prepared mentally isn’t the only thing that coaches are looking for. They also want to see a team physically hungry to play. They want to see players flying to the football. They want to see fast football players, because a fast football player is the mark of an athlete confident in their assignments.

“Tempo, guys were into it, enthusiasm, doing what they’re supposed to do, hustling to the ball on defense, doing all the things we’re asking them to do,” Haley said of this Friday’s practice. “Guys were sharp. You can tell when guys are into it. They were mentally into the practice.

“We’ve had a lot of Fridays out here where we’ve re-run a bunch of periods, had to re-do a bunch of plays, walked off the field,” Haley continued. “We’ve had a bunch of not-so-good Fridays. But here these last three or four weeks it looks like we’re starting to get it and, to me, it’s going to eventually start translating and that’s all you can do.”

The fact that Friday practices are held in such high regard among the sport’s most respected minds gives the Friday practice theory validity. Just this past week, former Chiefs head coach was on a local radio program talking about how Friday practices could ruin a weekend. He too placed high value on the sessions when he was a head coach in this league. Unfortunately, as with anything, no theory is perfect.

Just three weeks ago, Haley stood at the podium during his post-game press conference at a loss for words. The Chiefs had just come off their first victory of the season and strung together a solid week of practice capitalized with an exclamation point on Friday. The result? The Chiefs worst performance of the season – a 37-7 home dud vs. San Diego.

This system isn’t error-free, but solid practices are a great place to start when you’ve been struggling to find victories. It looks like the Chiefs are ready to take on the hated Raiders in the “Black Hole” on Sunday. We’ll see if the Chiefs can carry Friday’s momentum with them on the place this afternoon to Oakland.

Putting A Name On It – Things I Think I Know
• Don’t assume that RB Jamaal Charles will get the start at running back this weekend. The Chiefs truly are a running back by committee and the opening play-call and personnel package will determine who is officially inked into the starting lineup. But don’t fret fantasy footballers and Charles fans, the Chiefs speedster is still expected to be a very big part of the Chiefs offensive sets on Sunday.

• Look for Charles to receive 15-20 touches (rushes and receptions), but Kolby Smith to churn out the Chiefs first ground score of the season.

• The Chiefs will likely keep one of their six wide receivers inactive on Sunday. Last weekend that player was WR Bobby Wade. I wouldn’t expect to see Wade inactive in back-to-back weeks. It looked like the decision came down between Mark Bradley and Wade last Sunday.

• Expect Andy Alleman to get his second-straight start at right guard this Sunday. Alleman has taken the job over from Mike Goff (injured reserve), but the job is far from his. Ikechuku Ndukwe is pushing Alleman for playing time. We’ll see if both linemen are active on Sunday.

• S Dajuan Morgan got a chance to start last Sunday in place of the injured Jon McGraw. I’d expect McGraw to return to his starting post, but Morgan may see more time spelling both McGraw and Mike Brown on Sunday.

• Justifiably, Raiders QB Jamarcus Russell is a magnet for criticism. He has just one TD compared to seven INTs since the Chiefs and Raiders last met. But he’s not as bad as those numbers. Last season, Russell posted a very pedestrian 77.1 QB rating over 15 starts. This season, his rating stands at 48.3 through eight starts. This is the bottom for Russell.

• The Chiefs will win on Sunday if they can hold Oakland’s rushing attack under 100 yards (67 rushing yards in last Chiefs/Raiders matchup).

• Look for TE Leonard Pope’s role to expand this week.

• Matt Cassel will improve to 2-0 as a starter in Oakland.

• Voice of the Chiefs Mitch Holthus will use the nickname “Sea Bass” to describe Raiders K Sebastian Janikowski within the first five minutes of Sunday’s radio broadcast.