Ask A Chiefs Fan - Chiefs vs Chargers

We have Pope at TE which isn’t the best but a big target in the end zone. We have some solid depth at LB so Siler won’t be as missed as the others. We can never replace Berry or Charles. However, I think we need to bring someone in to help at Safety. I don’t see McGraw or Piscatelli(sp?) lasting. Our RB situation is decent since McCluster is a similar type runner as Charles. We just can’t let McCluster run wild in the middle—he’ll get killed. LaRon McClain should take some carries too. It is going to be a long, long season for the Chiefs.

We haven’t had the luxury of drafting for depth over the past couple years, so losing any starter is pretty much going to open up a big hole for opponents to exploit. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the three players that are lost are at the top of the roster.

Having said that, the team isn’t as bad as it looks based on the scores from the last two games. As Chiefsfan85 pointed out, the running game should still be okay, just not explosive. Bowe is still a tough matchup for corners, & the addition of Breason helps (though doesn’t offset the loss of our TE Moeaki by any means). We still have one of the best corner tandems in Flowers & Carr, but Flowers doesn’t match up well against your tall receivers. Our DL has been okay (though many would disagree with me on this) and we still have one of the better pass rushes with Hali and the additions of Justin Houston & Cameron Sheffield.

Basically, on paper there is no way the Chargers should lose either game to KC this year…if your players bring their A game it’s just not going to happen. I have no doubt SD wins this week, none at all. KC could win the Halloween game because of the circumstances (night game, home crowd, etc.) but it would probably have to be a similar situation to that of opening night ‘10. It’s also possible that Cassel will have ‘settled down’ by then, and he’ll probably have our first round WR Jon Baldwin back from his hand injury…which could help.

One guy we may be bringing in in a few months is a QB from Stanford. You may have heard of him.

I expect improvement each and every week. I know with our schedule and injuries it is going to be tough to win a game. I’m not sure about the coaching issue right now. I am a supporter of Haley but it is his fault that the team isn’t better prepared. I think that the Chargers should worry about our pass rush. It has improved slightly but Hali will always be a concern to opposing teams.

not a lot for the Chargers to worry about on our offense, other than Bowe … McCluster is amazingly quick and fast, if he has any space at all he’s gone … almost a smaller, shiftier version of Charles, but has a tendency to fumble the rock far too often

not being the guy in charge I’m not at all sure what the powers-that-be have in mind, but if it was me I’d dust off the Hank Stram Playbook circa 1968 (vs Raiders) and go with a Fullhouse-T Formation: 2 TE’s 2 FB’s 1 RB (that game was something like 65 runs and 3 passing plays, I’d like Cassel’s chances of not turning the ball over if we limit him like that for the rest of the year)

as for the rest of the season, I’m thinking the main thing (at least what I’d like to see) is a show of toughness and character … losing tough, hard fought and close games is one thing, getting blown out by record scores is beyond disheartening

as for next year’s coach … if this continues as it has been, we MIGHT see someone in sooner than that … if I had to guess on a replacement now, from our current staff either Crennel or Zorn

hopefully the team gets it turned around soon and that issue is at least delayed for awhile

They let Waters go because they drafted his replacement in ‘10 and he was ready to play. The guy handled Suh pretty well so there’s no dropoff in talent there. As for Gonzalez, he wasn’t crazy about staying through another regime change, and when the Falcons offered a 2nd round pick it was hard to pass up, considering his age.

Baldwin broke his thumb in a locker room scuffle. He still hasn’t practiced, but just got his splint off last week…I’m guessing he’ll be ready by the 2nd game against you guys.

There’s a lot of debate among Chiefs fans regarding the lack of spending…they were about 32m under the cap before extending Flowers. Probably the biggest thing is that Carr & Bowe are both FAs after this season, so the assumption is that they want the money there to extend those guys as well. This and it just seems that Pioli doesn’t like overpaying for players, he’d rather bring them in as rookies, or on one year contracts to see how they fit in first. As for the official line…there’s never an official line on anything personnel related. :)

Regarding Luck, of course there’s a lot of talk about him (we need SOMETHING to look forward to). Personally, I’m not going to start thinking about it until after week 5. After you guys (a loss), we’ve got MN at home & then away at Indy. If we manage to lose both of those contests I’ll accept that we are truly awful & probably won’t win more than a game or two. I just hope for a few entertaining games…hopefully starting this week!

We don’t need bad luck to get Luck. We’ve had enough bad luck for an entire decade in the last 6 weeks or so. I’d personally want to win 2 games if it means we get Luck than win 4 games then draft another LSU defensive tackle.

I personally think that KC is a frontrunner in the Luck Sweepstakes. There’s really no evidence to show that Chiefs will turn things around (and lots of evidence to the contrary) so I think there are some of us feel that things are going to get worse before they get better. Our schedule only gets tougher, and a team as lost looking as KC has been since the playoff loss last season is in real danger of forgetting what winning is like, and accepting their mediocrity. That’s the path to 0-16 or 1-15, a path which leads to Luck.

honestly it’s not even something I want to imagine … having that first pick, as that would mean having the worst record

being a fan I have to think we’re better than that kind of awfulness

but losing a RB like Jamaal Charles is even bigger, I think … an elite back who’s a threat to break a long TD run on any given play is a huge loss

definitely going to be an uphill struggle against the Chargers, you have a very talented team … Rivers, Jackson, Gates, etc have the makings of one of the best offensive units around, will be quite the challenge for the Chiefs defense

as for the Raiders, they still have a potent team in my view, but right now I can’t even see that far down the road …. one game at a time and hope for the best, at least in terms of effort and execution … all one can reasonably expect

But I agree with upamtn, for this team Charles is a bigger loss. The D has enough good players to somewhat compensate for Berry not being there, but losing Charles makes the QB that much more important, and ours is below average (putting it nicely). The running game will survive with Thomas Jones and La’Ron McClain, but the plays where Charles would go 20-30 yards are now going to go 6-12 yards. With Moeaki also on IR, teams can double cover Bowe quite easily while not having to be too concerned about the run.

As for the Raiders, we get handled by big defensive lines so it’s really not a good matchup.

Honestly, the only teams we have a reasonable shot at beating this year are the Vikings, Colts, Dolphins & Donkeys. I’ll throw the Raiders in as well because they usually find a way to beat themselves 4-5 times every year.

there’s a general sense that it just isn’t going to get down with Cassel, and a number of fans are already clamoring for them to give Ricky Stanzi (QB we drafted in the 5th round) a shot, even though it would really be premature to throw him in there. With McDaniels’s QB reputation, I think fans would be open to it, Donkeys connection aside.

I think the majority of fans would think Pioli had lost every one of his marbles, I know I would … what I’d love to know is where Silver came up with the notion that Mchoodie would even be an option to consider … other than the “New England Connection” there’s no reason that I can see to even dream about the guy

and right now he’s under contract with the Rams … untouchable until Feb and not even something to talk about (unless one wants to risk tampering charges, not a great idea)