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THE MORNING AFTER – PITTSBURGH
November 23rd – 6:20 AM

Those infected with a nasty case of hypocycloids stormed Arrowhead Stadium yesterday in droves. The diseased filed through the gates with a certain arrogance and aura about them – the defending World Champions brought their minions on the road, in numbers, ready to cruise to victory against a two-win team. To them, Arrowhead Stadium might as well have been Heinz Field West.

Think again hypocycloids.

If you don’t drink the hypocycloid kool-aid let me begin by congratulating you, and finish by explaining. Hypocycloids are the three elements needed to make steel – they are represented on the Steelers helmets by yellow, blue and red stars. You’ve seen the logo, I’m sure. But on Sunday, the elements were useless, right along with their towel-toting followers. Old fashioned war paint prevailed and Arrowhead had that magic once again.

Yesterday, without a doubt, proved to be the biggest victory of Todd Haley’s young head coaching career. The magnitude of a victory such as Sunday’s can’t be measured when it comes to establishing building blocks for this young team to move forward with. “Confidence” is the word that keeps coming to mind when reflecting on the biggest impact to come out of Kansas City’s overtime win.

Confidence is everything. Confidence breeds success, and success breeds confidence. There hadn’t been a lot of confidence on the Arrowhead turf of late. A win like Sunday’s can prove to be a turning point. A win like Sunday’s gives everyone a jolt of confidence.

“Obviously, a big win for this team,” Haley said. “We’re a young team and I really feel like we’ve been making progress. I felt like going into this game this would be a great opportunity to measure where we were as a team. That team we played today is as well a coached team in the league as there is. They’re the model for what we’re striving to get to.”

For weeks we’ve heard of the progress that this team is making. The claims aren’t bogus, but you have to be around this team (and have to have been around this team over past years) on a daily basis to see the changes. There simply wasn’t much of anything tangible to hang your hat on when Sunday’s have rolled around this year. Yesterday, that changed.

“I’m happy that some of that is starting to show because you need some positive reinforcement for as hard as these guys work,” Haley said. “We push him hard and my philosophy is I’m not going to accept average or below. This job is not for the faint of heart and not a lot of games have been won around here. It’s nice to get a little reward against a team like that. I thought the guys really showed heart and guts.”

The win was far from perfect, but if a day like yesterday doesn’t leave an impressive vibe, then what will? Let’s not forget that the Chiefs were taking on the defending Super Bowl champs without their biggest play-maker at receiver. Nobody gave the Chiefs a fighting chance yesterday…outside the Chiefs Kingdom.

“Nobody gave us a chance, nobody,” DE Glenn Dorsey said. “They had a lot of fans, maybe more than we did, but we played hard and the fans that did come, they were loud. I had fun, I enjoyed it, so it was a great win.”

What a win…what a feeling. Without further adieu, let’s “Take Five” from Sunday.

“No Names” Make Big Waves
Andy Studebaker, Jovan Belcher and Ryan Succop – three names that few people outside of Kansas City recognized prior to the start of this season. Heck, there’s probably a good amount of Chiefs faithful that even fall into that category. Each player has these players have been able to seize opportunity this year. Each has a great story.

Let’s start with Succop, the former “Mr. Irrelevant.” We all know his story by now as he was the first of the “No Names” to arrive on the scene via the final overall pick of the 2009 NFL Draft. His booming kicks drew applause from those who made the trek River Falls. He carried the powerful leg with him to Arrowhead in the pre-season and, as a result, loaded more on the band wagon. Eventually he converted all skeptics into believers with his mark of consistency through his first few months on the job.

Succop has made six kicks from 40-yards or more this season and he’s constantly looking nothing short of awesome, but he hadn’t knocked down a more difficult kick before he attempted the 22-yard chip shot that ultimately sealed Kansas City’s fifth-quarter victory. What will likely rank among the shortest attempts of Succop’s professional career was ultimately his most difficult to date.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t feel any pressure,” Succop said after the game. “I just kind of left it up to the Lord and there wasn’t any pressure there, which was an amazing feeling.”

I’m sure seeing the kick sail through the uprights amongst an electric Arrowhead crowd and getting mobbed by teammates was an amazing feeling as well.

Studebaker
Andy is another “No Name” to make a name this season and he’s the newest of the three to arrive on the scene. The former NCAA Division III standout became the first player from Wheaton College (IL) to start an NFL game when he got the nod for the injured Mike Vrabel. He’s a clean-cut guy, humble and a hard-worker. The classic over-achiever that makes you really pull for him.

Things got off to a lukewarm start as Studebaker was circled on the edge by RB Rashard Mendenhall to begin the game (to be fair, Pittsburgh was flagged with a hold). It was hardly a secret that the Steelers planned on testing Kansas City’s inexperienced linebacker early and often throughout the day.

Studebaker was indeed tested, and he passed his exam with flying colors. Without a doubt, Studebaker was the Chiefs defensive MVP turning in two interceptions, five tackles and a half sack. His second INT nearly made Steelers LB James Harrison eat his heart out on the opposing sideline – a 94-yard INT return eerily reminiscent to that of Harrison’s 100-yard TD take-back in last year’s Super Bowl. The return also gave Haley, Arizona’s offensive coordinator in that championship game, a small feeling of redemption.

“I wish Studebaker would have scored on the interception,” Haley said. “That would have been full retribution [for last year’s Super Bowl]. I was thinking I’d finally be able to put that interception return away. My mom and dad are in town today. I know it means something to my dad [Dick Haley].”

Studebaker’s 94-yarder was the fifth-longest INT return in Chiefs history, which is impressive. But his response after being thrust into the limelight to replace a player who had played virtually every defensive snap was anything besides flashy. This comment represents exactly who Andy Studebaker is.

“I was in and out with Pierre Walters and he did an excellent job today too,” Studebaker modestly remarked after the game. “On the interceptions, one was a batted ball and the other, Tamba (Hali) got to (Ben) Roethlisberger with pressure and the ball came wobbling out. It was team defense, the whole team fitting together, and I couldn’t have made those interceptions without the rest of the team.”

There’s no doubt we all wish Vrabel a speedy recovery while rehabbing his injured knee. While he’s out, however, it seems we’ve found ourselves a valuable replacement. Don’t forget that Studebaker credited Vrabel as a mentor during his prep work to play throughout the week.

Belcher
We’ve said it over and over again; Jovan Belcher is the best sideline-to-sideline runner of all the Chiefs linebackers. There is a reason that this rookie free agent found a way to make this team on special teams and has seen his role expand defensively as the season has progressed.

The guy isn’t perfect and sometimes gets mixed up in coverage, but his third-down overtime stop of RB Mwelde Moore was top-notch. Belcher recognized, chased and filled, all while running downhill towards the chalk. The play was simply beautiful, resulted in a three-yard loss and, more importantly, a Pittsburgh punt. From there, the Chiefs offense needed just four plays to set up Succop’s game-winning kick.

With Studebaker and Belcher (and even Walters), the Chiefs have three very young linebackers to get excited about.

A Deep Threat
WR Chris Chambers is changing the way the Chiefs do business through the air. No matter how you look at it, Chambers is a true deep threat that the Chiefs so desperately needed before his arrival. That once dismal yards-per-attempt number turned in by the Chiefs quarterbacks still isn’t great, but it’s been heading north in a hurry and it’s a direct correlation to Chambers’ arrival.

Chambers already owns receptions of 47, 54, and 61 yards since joining the Chiefs on November 3rd. Before his arrival the Chiefs had just two completions of over 30 yards through seven games. In the three games since Chambers traded a lightning bold for an arrowhead, Kansas City has produced nine completions of 30 or more yards. Obviously his 61-yarder to set up Succop’s game-winner has held the most value.

“Yeah, it was huge,” Chambers confirmed. “Matt (Cassel) just gave me a couple opportunities there. It was a great call. We had a great game plan, took us a little while to get into a rhythm, but once we got into a rhythm we made some plays, especially when they counted.”

Chambers wasted no time getting to work in his Chiefs debut at Jacksonville and he’s only gotten better. As the weeks have gone by Chambers has become more comfortable with both the playbook and his quarterback. His four-catch, 119-yard performance yesterday was the Chiefs first 100-yard receiving game from a wide receiver not named Bowe since WR Eddie Kennison had a seven-catch, 117-yard game at Cleveland in 2006 (Jamaal Charles and Tony Gonzalez both logged 100-yard receiving games over that time frame).

Next week, Chambers gets a shot of personal redemption against the team that no longer valued his services. We’re all eager to see the results.

Charles In Charge
Kansas City is now 2-0 with RB Jamaal Charles serving as the team’s feature back in Kansas City’s “running back by committee” system. Though Charles’ stats on Sunday weren’t eye-popping, Charles did a lot to convince Chiefs fans that he may be a permanent pillar to lean on as the club embarks on a new era of rushing.

Most convincing was Charles’ ability to carry the full load of rushing duties against a very physical Pittsburgh defense. With Dantrell Savage inactive due to an ankle injury and Kolby Smith falling injured with an ankle ailment after his first carry of the game, the Chiefs had no option but to feed Charles the rock as a solo act. Charles responded with a slew of tough runs, especially late. His 10-yard carry to open the Chiefs fifth-quarter possession is right up there with his 44-yard TD carry last week in Oakland. Oh yeah, and then there was that whole kickoff return for a touchdown thing that opened the game.

“That run in overtime when he got hit, well, that was a hit now and he bounced off and came back…he’s making progress,” Haley said. “He made a huge play for us to open the game. But we negated it by not getting much going early on and ended up being behind. But it wasn’t due to him. He’s another guy who’s worked hard, bought in, and wants to be part of something really good.”

Charles is a player like none other on this team. He has remarkable game-breaking speed and agility in space. There is a reason why he continues to return kickoffs as well as serve as the Chiefs feature back. Only out of the severity of the injury situation at running back did Haley finally have to hand over the return duties to Lance Long.

“I just wanted to go out there and make a play,” Charles said of his return TD. “We talked all week about how special teams had to make a play and we tried to go out there on kickoff. We knew that their kickoff wasn’t all that good – people have been scoring on them – so coach was talking about how we needed to take one to the house this week.”

Yes, Jamaal Charles goes out there and makes plays.

Big Play Defense
Coverage miscues haunted the Chiefs for the majority of the day as Big Ben picked the Chiefs secondary apart. At one point, it was easy to question any Steelers play-call that didn’t involve a pass. It looked that easy at times for Pittsburgh’s passing attack.

Yes, the Chiefs yielded over 500 yards of total offense. Yes, Roethlisberger would have passed the 400-yard passing mark for the third time in his career had he not been knocked out of the game in overtime. Yes, the Chiefs missed an embarrassing amount of sacks on a 6-5, 241-pound target not exactly known for his mobility. Yes, the Chiefs stepped up when they had to.

The widely-respected Pittsburgh run game was held in check throughout the day, but the biggest story was the plays that the Chiefs made down the stretch when they had to. We’ve already talked about the plays from Studebaker and Belcher, and S Mike Brown should get a tip of the hat as well for his big plays behind the line of scrimmage when the game was on the line.

Overall, the Chiefs defense stepped up and made clutch plays when they had to. Sure, they were a frustrating group to watch at times, but they managed to keep the game within reach while the offense was sputtering throughout the first half.

“We played together,” Dorsey said. “It wasn’t pretty the whole game, but we played as a team. We stayed within ourselves and did what our coaches were telling us to do. You’ve got to believe, man, and we look to build on this for the future. We just believed in ourselves and just brought it home for KC.”

Those three turnovers didn’t hurt either.

Bringing Back Arrowhead
There were plenty of Terrible Towel waving Steelers fans at Arrowhead yesterday. The sight isn’t something that anyone who bleeds red…

(Timeout for a Random Thought – Don’t we all bleed red…yes, exactly)

…likes to see, but it’s the reality of the situation when you’re playing a great team with an excellent fan base and have only won one home game in 17 tries.

The last Kansas City victory at Arrowhead actually came well over a year ago – a 33-19 win over the then-undefeated Denver Broncos on September 28, 2008.

“For them (it’s been a while),” WR Chris Chambers said. “I have been fortunate to have been part of a team that did a lot of winning and stuff. You definitely learn how to win a lot from the last couple of years. It’s a great win for the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Chambers didn’t have to suffer through that 1-16 home stretch, he’s actually 1-0 at Arrowhead as a member of the Chiefs. Although it was in a smaller dose, he also got a taste of what Chiefs fans are all about.

When the Chiefs staged their late comeback, a little bit of that old Arrowhead magic started creeping out. It can only grow from here.