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SIR WALLY PIPP
November 24th – 6:21 PM

Wallie Pipp reared his ghostly head again today at Arrowhead. The man has been dead for some 35 years, but he remains a mainstay in professional sports.

”Wally Pipp comes up every year doesn’t he?,” Chiefs head coach Todd Haley asked smiling. ”We made somebody Google him last year in Arizona.“

I’ll do the Google work for those of you unfamiliar with Pipp. Pipp is a baseball player removed from the lineup at the last minute in 1925 from what some way was a headache. He was a solid player and even won a home run title, but Hall of Famer Lou Gherig was the man who replaced Pipp in the lineup. Needless to say, Pipp’s starting role with the Yankees was history. Gherig went on to start the next 2,130 games.

Moral of the story: you never want to not be in the lineup, because you never know how your replacement might fare. Who knows what the ramifications of a missed practice or game may hold in the future.

“To play you’ve got to practice and if you’re not practicing you can get lost over there,” Haley said. ”I think when you have guys step up like we have that only helps the cause more. That gets people feeling better quicker as does winning.“

Needless to say, the Chiefs had a surprisingly healthy cast at practice today.

TEAM MOTTO NOT HOT AIR
November 24th – 4:07 PM

More the on the competition topic…

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the Chiefs administration means it when they say that the players who do things the right way, at the highest level of effort, will be the players who play the most on Sundays. Players who practice hard, play hard and execute well will continue to get opportunities to shine as the season progresses.

“Coach Haley told us that we he got here,” DE Wallace Gilberry said. “He is a man of his word. We practice to play the game and we play the game to win. You keep that mindset. Everybody is here for one reason and that’s to get better week-in and week-out and continue to win games.“

Gilberry is the poster boy for Haley’s message. A former unheralded rookie free agent with very little NFL experience, Gilberry had to work his way uphill to impress his new head coach throughout the preseason just to make the team coming out of training camp. In a limited role, Gilberry continued to make plays and saw his playing time increase as a result. His 3.5 sacks are tied for the team lead with LB Tamba Hali.

“There is a lot of competition and it’s definitely making us better,” Gilberry said.

COMPETITION FUELING CHIEFS
November 24th – 3:51 PM

One of the priorities that Todd Haley had when he began his tenure as Chiefs head coach was to create competition at all positions. Competition amongst players makes a team much better, much faster. In the early stages of Haley’s era the competition for roster spots left much to be desired. However, as this team has grown over the course of the season, competition has grown right beside it.

Although inner-club competition is a forever ongoing process, Sunday’s game showed just how far the Chiefs have come this year. Some big-time plays were turned in by LB Andy Studebaker, a player making his first professional start. One of Studebaker’s fellow line-backing teammates, Jovan Belcher, also stepped up with some key stops. Two reserve players joined the party on Sunday to become key contributors in the Kansas City victory.

“I think when they make plays like those two do it’s a very good thing,” Haley said. “I think it’s a sign that, number one, we’re doing a good job at getting the right kind of players in here. Andy was already here but Jovan was a bright spot from the start. Some of the guys we’ve picked up along the way have come in and had pretty strong and productive roles.“

Mid-season acquisitions such as WRs Chris Chambers, Bobby wade and Lance Long, as well as TE Leonard Pope have also played very important roles in increasing on-field competition that has resulted in an improving gameday product. The increased competition isn’t secluded to just one side of the football, it’s a roster-wide project.

“I said all the way back in the beginning that competition is what good teams have,” Haley said. “The more positions you have good healthy competition at the better. That makes the front line guys better, makes the guys fighting to get in that spot better, and in turn it makes your team better overall. I think that we’ve been able to create some healthy competition in more spots than when we started and that’s good for the Kansas City Chiefs.“

In all, the Chiefs have had 42 different player log a start on either the offensive or defensive side of the football. Some of those starts are injury and scheme related, but some are also the direct result of increased competition. Long starting in the slot, Chambers on the outside and a rotation in the tight end, offensive line and free safety positions all fit the latter.

”(Competition) makes you play better,” DE Wallace Gilberry said. “When you got guys out there having fun and competing to a high level, making plays for the defense or making plays the team to put us in situations to win, it helps us out a lot.“

At the beginning of this season it was clear that this roster was a work in progress. Now, the back-end pieces are beginning to fall into place and the productivity of those players once thought to be on the “fringe” has increased along with the fuel of competition.

“I feel that the more help we can get from everyone the better off we’ll be,” Belcher said. “You don’t want your starters out there on offense and defense, plus special teams, because it’s going to take a tax on them. The more that everyone can help the better we are because you always have fresh legs out there.”

LEGGETT HOLD ‘EM
November 24th – 2:39 PM

Chiefs head coach Todd Haley took the cards had been dealt and played them perfectly this afternoon. Even though Haley held a practice this morning, league rules don’t mandate the head coach to comment on injuries/practice participation until Wednesday - a league loophole if you will. Haley used the opportunity presented to the Chiefs advantage, as he should, and deferred to comment on injuries until Wednesday.

So what’s the big deal? Really there isn’t one except for the fact that DB Maurice Leggett was unaccounted for at practice today. His absence offers speculation to his health after he left Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury and didn’t return. Leggett suffered the injury as a gunner on punt coverage.

Leggett’s absence raises eyebrows because the Chiefs’ injured are usually working outside in some capacity unless they are seriously injured, ill or absent for personal reasons. Leggett could very well fit into any of those three categories.

For now, we’ll have to wait for a word on Leggett. If he is indeed injured, it will be another blow to the Chiefs razor thin depth at the safety position.

VOTE FOR JAMAAL - “CANT MISS PLAY”
November 24th – 12:51 PM

RB Jamaal Charles’ kick return has been selected as one of the top three plays of the week for Sprint’s national Can’t-Miss Plays Promotion. Voting opens today at 2:00 PM CST.

Vote Here: Charging Chief

All those who vote are entered for a chance to win one of 17 trips to Super Bowl XLIV.

PRACTICE REPORT - SPECIAL TUESDAY EDITION
November 24th – 11:53 AM

Power up Chiefs fans, your team is getting healthier. Two previously injured starters returned to the practice field today, which was a bit of a surprise. Both LB Mike Vrabel and G Andy Alleman were in pads and going through early practice drills with their teammates. Neither player was thought to have been very close to playing last Sunday vs. Pittsburgh. Andy Studebaker started in place of Vrabel, while Wade Smith took the reps for Alleman.

Another noteworthy player at practice was RB Kolby Smith. Smith had to leave Sunday’s game early with an ankle injury and his status for this week remained uncertain heading into today’s practice. Smith looked to be running at full speed while running plays this morning, another good sign.

The only player to be sidelined this morning was LB Justin Rogers (thigh). Rogers was inactive on Sunday. DB Maurice Leggett was missing from practice this afternoon, but was not in the injury-zone. We’ll have an update on him later this afternoon.

Overall, the positives from Sunday’s win seem to have continued onto the practice field this morning.

DO IT ALL CHARLES
November 24th – 10:08 AM

The Chiefs most versatile offensive weapon is a do-it-all kind of player. RB Jamaal Charles serves as feature back, receiver and kickoff return extraordinaire. He’s taken each of the tasks handed down from head coach Todd Haley and ran with them…literally.

Charles is one of the few players in the league this season to serve as both feature back and the primary kickoff returner. Other notable runners who have served this role in 2009 have been RBs Darren Sproles (SD) and Fred Jackson (BUF). It should be noted, however, that both Sproles and Jackson have only been feature backs when injuries or suspensions have knocked out the players ahead of them on the depth chart. Jackson also shared those return duties with CB Leodis McKelvin prior to McKelvin suffering a season-ending injury.

With that said, there is definitely a plan in place to protect Charles. Haley has a system in place to monitor Charles total touches per game.

”I’m glad we had him back there on the first one,” Haley said yesterday with a smile. “It’s something you have to think about, being aware of and monitor.“

With Charles’ big games since taking over the role of featured runner, it’s easy to forget that the Chiefs are committed to utilizing multiple ball carriers each game. Players like RBs Kolby Smith and Dantrell Savage not only give Charles much needed breaks offensively, but they also allow Charles to continue his role on special teams. Still, the situation leaves the Chiefs in a bit of a predicament.

Obviously, you want your best players doing what they do best. As we saw on Sunday, Charles is the Chiefs best kickoff return man and he’s also the team’s best rusher. But when injuries occur, you begin to walk a thin line and you must adjust on the fly. Once Smith (the only other active tailback) went down with an ankle injury, Haley was forced to remove Charles from his return duties despite already breaking a huge return TD to open the game. WR Lance Long took over the return duties from Charles as the game went on.

”In that game Jamaal was seeing a bunch of action once Kolby got nicked up – probably more snaps than we had intended,” Haley explained. “So, we just intended to give him a break back there. You try to go with your instincts.“

I think we’re all happy that Haley’s instincts also led him to running Charles out there as the deep man on the opening kickoff. The Chiefs injury situation in the backfield this week will likely determine how Haley handles the return duties this Sunday in San Diego.

BACK AT IT
November 24th – 6:05 AM

The party has officially been cut short at Arrowhead. Chiefs head coach Todd Haley switched things up this week following Kansas City’s thrilling overtime victory over the defending Super Bowl champs. An off day on Tuesday? Forget about it. It’s time to get back to work.

Actually, Haley’s decision to practice on Tuesday is preferred by the players as they’ll get to exchange their regular day off on Tuesday with a Thursday off day this week in order to spend Thanksgiving Day with their families. The downside, however, is that the Chiefs don’t get to extend those good vibes an extra 24 hours.

Those good vibrations are something that the Chiefs didn’t want to let go of following Sunday’s game. After K Ryan Succop knocked through the game-winner, his teammates mobbed him and celebrated with the rookie alongside a lively Arrowhead crowd. The celebration ensued and the only people bailing on the party where those dressed in black and gold. The players and the fans carried on with the celebration for quite a while.

One of the players who seemed to have no interest leaving the party scene at mid-field was a fellow rookie, LB Jovan Belcher. In effect, it was Belcher’s third-down stop of RB Mewelde Moore behind the line that gave the Chiefs the football back with a chance to celebrate in the first place.

“I don’t take credit for that play, to tell you the truth,” Belcher said. “I give credit to the coaches for making that call and our defense because it wasn’t just me. That’s what you call a great defensive play, something that you scheme.

“I think that we made some great plays all around,” Belcher continued. “Offense, defense and special teams all made them when we had to.”

This morning the Chiefs will return to work and it will be all about business out on the practice fields. But Sunday’s win will likely carry over into workouts today as well. The win is something that the team must put behind them, but at the same time carry with them as an extra charge heading into another challenging weekend.

“There is no doubt that there hasn’t been a whole lot of wins going on and a lot of those guys in the locker room hadn’t won a game like that against a team like that,” Haley said. “So they’ve worked really hard and they need to see some positive results. To get it against the defending Super Bowl champions are definitely positive results.”

Upon taking a quick poll following yesterday’s workouts, the Chiefs who filled the locker room seemed to echo Haley’s line of thinking.

“It definitely does (boost your confidence),” Belcher said. “It’s always good to finally see the work that you’re putting in actually out on the field. It was just huge. We needed it.”

“After the game it was just a great feeling and a sense of accomplishing something,” WR Lance Long said. “Everybody was real excited.”

“All the coaches and players have been working really hard, especially since I’ve gotten here,” Succop said. “It was just really exciting because if felt like we were getting rewarded for all of our hard work. It’s definitely a step in the right direction to where we want to go.”

Confidence is key, and the Chiefs will need plenty of it when they take to the road to face a red hot San Diego Chargers team this Sunday. San Diego has rallied off five straight victories and took sole possession of the AFC West on Sunday with a 32-3 whitewashing of the Broncos in the Mile High City. The Chargers five-game winning streak in which they’ve outscored their competition 145-69 actually began at Arrowhead Stadium on October 25th.

That day in Kansas City was one in which nothing seemed to go right for the Chiefs. Basically, that contest represented the polar opposite of Sunday’s victory over Pittsburgh. The aftermath of a game in which Kansas City was three-of-fifteen on third downs, committed seven penalties, posted “0-fer” on field goal attempts, allowed three plays of 50-yards or more and had a punt blocked for a touchdown left Haley visibly disappointed in his post-game press conference. That day at Arrowhead was a turning point for the Chargers.

“You can’t really look at it that way,” Belcher said of the last meeting between the two teams. “It’s any given Sunday out there. If you come out to play, you come out to play. We just have to prepare for them like we prepare for every other team.”

After Sunday, it’s safe to say that the Chiefs are a much different team than they were one month ago. Is anyone ready to anoint our squad the “team to beat?” Not yet, but they’re certainly not the lifeless crew that got beaten down 37-7 in that past Chargers meeting either. At least, they haven’t been since that game anyway. Maybe, in a bit of an odd way, that football game was a turning point for the Chiefs as well.

Since then, Kansas City owns a 2-1 record and have played in three very competitive football games, with two of those coming against winning teams. Before last Sunday’s game, we all knew that the Chiefs were likely to face their most difficult challenge of the year, going into the game short-handed. It was gut-check for the boys, and an impressive showing against the league’s elite.

A win like that can do wonders for the psyche of a young football team. Back-to-back victories could do even more, and it did. It’s something the Chiefs hadn’t experienced in over two years. The last time the Chiefs rallied off three in a row? October 22nd – November 5th in 2006.

The path to three in a row begins a day early.