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A GAME OF INCHES
November 27th – 2:21 PM

Third downs have bit the Chiefs in the butt this entire season. A lack of manageable conversion distance produced from negative plays on either first or second down (or both) have been a major culprit in the woes.

Last weekend, however, the Chiefs posted a 40% conversion rate on third downs and showed a few signs of life in improving that down - namely Jamaal Charles’ third-down red zone carry vs. Pittsburgh last Sunday. Today, Haley talked about that progression and offered a very obscure statistic that shows just how close the Chiefs have been on converting multiple third down opportunities.

“I looked up that stat I talked about after the game, fourth-and-two’s or less,” Haley said. “We’ve had 27 fourth-and-two’s or less, 20 fourth-and-ones. That’s 20 times we’re coming up a yard short, a simple yard, whether it’s somebody reaching the ball out or executing the depth of the route perfectly.

“That’s number one in the league,” Haley continued. “Whatever it is, we’ve come up short. That’s an obscure stat, obviously, but that’s 27 times we’ve let two yards get us off the field. If you even get half of those, maybe it’s another field goal, maybe it’s another plus 50 punt that you’re able to pin the other team, but to me that’s a telling stat.”

Ultimately, punts are punts and yards are yards, but the statistic that Haley explains is interesting at the very least.

CHIEFS SCRATCH THREE
November 27th – 12:37 PM

Todd Haley has officially ruled out three players for Sunday’s game - RB Dantrell Savage (ankle), G Andy Alleman (knee) and LB Justin Rogers (thigh).

LB Mike Vrabel (knee) and LB David Herron (knee) have both been designated as questionable, while RB Kolby Smith is probable.

The Chiefs are still at 52 active players, meaning they will likely make a move before the team jet departs Kansas City tomorrow afternoon. The Chiefs have typically waited until the Saturday evening deadline to announce transactions that lead up to kickoff. Based upon no new faces at practice this week, promoting someone from the practice squad seems to be the route of choice for Sunday.

FRIDAY PRACTICE REPORT
November 27th – 11:07 AM

Back to work for the Chiefs this morning after a Thanksgiving Day off. RB Jamaal Charles said he planned on taking down an entire turkey as part of his Thanksgiving plans. If he did, the extra turkey didn’t slow him down as he was showing off plenty of speed during today’s final day of San Diego prep.

It now appears that all of that hope we got on Tuesday in the injury department was smoke and mirrors. There were plenty of surprise participants that day when only LB Justin Rogers was held out of drills, but today it was back to reality. LB Mike Vrabel, G Andy Alleman and RB Dantrell Savage were all on stationary bikes for the second consecutive practice.

Looking for some positive injury news? It’s looking like a near certainty that RB Kolby Smith will be able to carry his fair share of work this Sunday behind Charles.

FINAL COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN
November 27th – 10:25 AM

Chiefs fans in Kansas City have yet to not have their football team available on local television. The same can’t be said for the Chiefs last few road opponents. Kansas City’s trip to Jacksonville was blacked out locally (in Florida) due to lagging ticket sales. The case was the same two weeks ago in Oakland as well. This week, the Chiefs find themselves in a similar situation.

San Diego must sell 3,500 tickets by 3:05 PM CST to televise the game locally in markets like San Diego, Los Angeles and Palm Springs. If not, the Chargers will suffer their first blackout since 2004.

D-LINE GROWING
November 27th – 10:02 AM

The Chiefs historic NFL-low 10-sack season seems like only a painful distant memory. The 2009 Chiefs have blown well past that 10-sack total from a year ago and, although that’s really stop the presses for, it still shows improvement.

The Chiefs 14 sacks still rank 30th in the league and that’s nothing to be proud of or boast about, but the difference in the pass rush from 2009 to 2009 is astronomical. A year ago, quarterbacks were rarely forced to tuck and run, much less wind up on the ground after releasing a pass. This year, the Chiefs are forcing offensive lineman to save sacks with holds and are in chase mode of the opposing quarterback on a fair amount of defensive snaps. Last week alone the Chiefs missed a handful of sacks from simply not wrapping up. The technique may need some improvement, but at least they’re there. A year ago you couldn’t even say that.

Kansas City has created much of their pressure off the edge with LB Tamba Hali and on timed and delayed blitzes from safeties and inside linebackers. Although Hali creates the most pressure of Chiefs defenders, DE Wallace Gilberry is actually tied with Hali at 3.5 sacks this year to pace the Chiefs. Ultimately, when you talk pass rush everything begins and ends with the men in three-point stances regardless of how talented your rushing linebackers might be.

”I think that has to be a position of strength to be a good team,” Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said of the defensive line. “That’s fact. We need to make it a position of strength. I would say that group has continued to improve and has been one of those spots that we have talked about that has clearly gotten better to me, both individually and as a group.“

Gilberry has certainly been a pleasant surprise this season on the defensive front and 2008 first-round draftee Glenn Dorsey undoubtedly looks more like an NFL defensive anchor compared to his rookie campaign in 2008. The two players are both in their second year, a year that most young defensive linemen start to “get it.“

”You got to remember those guys haven’t had a full off-season,” Haley said. “They were behind coming in and playing a tough position and going against a lot of different guys than what you’re used to going against. You’ll see more once they get through a second off-season and a second training camp and know their way around a little bit.“

Rookies like Alex Magee and Tyson Jackson have both had their fair share of ups and downs during their first year in the league, but both have shown recent progress in their game. Magee has seen his snaps go up considerably over the past few weeks, while Jackson came alive in Jacksonville with a seven tackle performance and has added a few key plays during the Chiefs two-game winning streak.

”I think they’re showing signs of (improvement),” Haley said. “I think Alex Magee is somebody who maybe has turned the corner, fought through that rookie wall so to speak, getting that second wind and figuring out what this is all about. I think that’s why you’re starting to see him make some plays.“

The Chiefs pass rush and made plays and missed plays over the course of the season, but they’re at least putting them in position to make plays on a consistent basis. That’s progress, because a year ago that wasn’t even happening. The key is to keep building…and wrap up those QBs when you get your hands on them!

REDEMPTION WEEKEND
November 27th – 6:44 AM

The last time the Chiefs saw the Chargers, things didn’t exactly end well. The same can be said for Chiefs WR Chris Chambers in regards to his last San Diego experience as well.

In their last meeting with San Diego, the Chiefs were handed a 30-point spanking. Chambers, on the other hand, was presented with a pink slip during his latest interaction. Chambers and the Chiefs have since joined forced and will be seeking redemption, together, when they take the field at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Chiefs are a much different team than when they first hosted the Chargers just over a month ago at Arrowhead. Part of that change has been a direct correlation to Chambers’ arrival in Kansas City. The Chiefs downfield passing attack was nothing short of anemic before Chambers’ arrival via the waiver wire. Just two completions of 30+ yards had been turned in over the seven games prior to Chambers occupying a receiving slot. Nine of those plays have surfaced in the three games since.

Chambers’ production over his first three games in Kansas City rival that of many receivers currently ranking among the league’s top-10 statistically. He has shown the ability to create space between himself and defenders down the sideline as well as the guts to cross the middle of the field into “linebacker ally” unfazed. He’s also got some veteran savvy as his 61-yard crossing route that set up the Chiefs game-winning field goal vs. Pittsburgh last Sunday was the result of Chambers telling QB Matt Cassel of a potential exploitation of the Steelers secondary - a true veteran move.

Still, just like the Chiefs in their first meeting with San Diego, Chambers was tossed to the side by the Chargers with ease.

“I think there were a lot of things that entered into it and a lot of it centered around where we were as a football team and where we needed to go,” Chargers head coach Norv Turner said of Chambers’ release. “I think it’s helped us in terms of getting WR Malcom Floyd on the field on an every-down basis. We’ve gotten consistency there.

“I don’t think what we were doing was fair to Chris or fair to Malcom, trying to rotate those guys and trying to make it work,” Turner continued. “Obviously it’s worked out well for Chris.”

Floyd has seen his offensive role expand with San Diego since Chambers’ release and will be a key player for the Chiefs to contain this weekend in the passing game. Floyd has gained from the transaction, but both Chambers and the Chiefs have benefited as well. Looking back, San Diego certainly didn’t intend for Chambers to be a game-changer for a division foe.

“Chris is a talented guy,” Turner said. “He obviously runs extremely well after the catch, you’ve all seen that. And again, as I said, there were a lot of things that went into it. I never thought it was about Chris’ ability.”

Chambers’ ability to still play the game at a high level certainly isn’t in question, thus making his release all the more surprising to him personally.

“I really didn’t see it coming,” Chambers said of his release. “For the most part I was just rotating from the second game on. My reps were getting cut a little bit and I didn’t get a lot of encouragement to actually get more involved and get me rolling. It was pretty much written on the wall that they wanted to get some of the young guys going.”

Chambers’ limited reps resulted in only nine receptions for 122 yards with a touchdown this season before his release. Since arriving in Kansas City Chambers has already blown past those numbers, in under half the games, by posting 10 catches for 249 yards and two TDs.

“I think that everybody is happy in the position that they are in,” Chambers said. “I got an opportunity to play, which is pretty much all that I wanted, and they got an opportunity to play some younger guys which is what they wanted.”

Ironically, his quick adaption with Kansas City is similar to what he did upon arrival in San Diego just before the trade deadline in 2007. Chambers is a veteran who has been able to adapt with the turns that his career has taken. It’s the type of attribute that’s vital for long-term sustainability in this league. He’s now on the fourth page (game) of his chapter with the Chiefs. Thus far, this new chapter has begun extremely well.

“I have a chip on my shoulder just from leaving there, to tell you the truth,” Chambers said. “I’m going to go out and play the best game I possibly can, and hopefully I’ll be able to make some plays. I’m sure it will have some emotion involved in it.”

“I’m going to be professional about it and it will be fun,” Chambers continued. “Just getting back to playing in that stadium and beautiful weather with a lot of fans – I have a lot of special people in that area. I’m just looking to have fun for the most part.”

Chambers’ teammates are looking for the same type of thing – to have fun and seek redemption in the form of a third consecutive victory.