Chiefs fall to Chargers, 37-7

The Kansas City Chiefs failed to show up in an embarassing, 37-7 home loss to the San Diego Chargers.

Many thought the Chiefs had an excellent chance to pick up a victory against a struggling Chargers team that had just played Monday night.

However, the Chiefs stumbled out of the gate and could not stop San Diego’s high-powered aerial attack.

The offense wasn’t any better, as Kansas City failed to establish a ground game against one of the worst run defense in the league.

If the Chiefs can’t play any better than that, it’s going to be an awfully long season.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 9:28 pm by steve

Johnson Told to Stay Away From Chiefs

It’s amazing to think how far things have fallen for the Chiefs in three years, but star RB Larry Johnson, who set an NFL record in 2006 with 410 carries for the Chiefs,has been asked to stay away from team activities as the team and league investigates his Twitter meltdown from Sunday.

After the Chiefs’ loss on Sunday, Johnson took to his Twitter account, where he publically criticized Chiefs coach Todd Haley, including a three-letter gay slur in one of his tweets.

Johnson reportedly used the same three-letter slur on Monday when being questioned by reporters about the initial tweeting incident.

The Chiefs, on a bye this week, want no part of Johnson right now.

“Until that review is complete, the Chiefs have instructed Larry to refrain from practicing with the Chiefs or participating in other team activities,” the team said in a statement. “A decision regarding Larry’s status will be made once the investigation has concluded.”

Johnson backed down on Tuesday, releasing an apology through his agent, Peter Schaffer.

“I regret my actions. The words were used by me in frustration, and they were not appropriate,” Johnson said in the statement. “I did not intend to offend anyone, but that is no excuse for what I said.

“I also want to apologize to all the kids who view athletes as role models. I was not a good role model yesterday and hopefully I can become a better role model.”

at 7:47 pm by bryan

LJ Melts Down on Twitter

After another disheartening loss on Sunday, this time a 30-point blowout at the hands of the San Diego Chargers, Chiefs RB Larry Johnson allowed his frustrations to boil overashe took to his Twitter account.

Johnson posted the following tweets after Sunday’s game (the account has since been made private):

“My father got more creditentials than most of these pro coaches.”

“My father played for the coach from “rememeber the titans”. Our coach played golf. My father played for redskins briefley. Our coach. Nuthn.”

The Chiefs hired Todd Haley in the offseason, who served as the offensive coordinator for Arizona last year on their incredible run to the Super Bowl. Haley never played football in high school or college, didn’t start coaching until his 20s, and has his first NFL head coaching job with the Chiefs.

Clearly, there are some growing pains between Haley and Johnson, who was unbelievably one of the NFL’s most productive running backs only a few years ago. This was the guy who made the Chiefs feel okay about losing Priest Holmes. In 2005 and 2006, he rushed for more than 1,700 yards in each season; he set an NFL record for carries in 2006 with 410.

On Monday, Haley said that the Chiefs were gathering facts about the Johnson tweet meltdown, but added, “I will say that how our players conduct themselves with the media and through the media is very important to myself as a head coach, and to the Chiefs as an organization.”

at 7:33 pm by bryan

Chiefs down Redskins, 14-6

The Kansas City Chiefs picked up their first win of the season in a 14-6 victory over the Washington Redskins.

Kansas City’s hapless defense took advantage of a struggled Washington offense to lead the way to the win.

The Chiefs held the Redskins to just two field goals while also recording a safety in the fourth quarter to help ice the game.

On offense, running back Larry Johnson finally showed some signs of life, rushing for 83 yards on just over 20 carries.

Kansas City will now host the division rival San Diego Chargers in Week 7.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:20 pm by steve

Chiefs Score First Win of Haley Era, Beat Redskins

A cast-off QB, a rookie head coach, and Mr. Irrelevant led the Kansas City Chiefs to their first victory on Sunday, a 14-6 win over the pitiful Washington Redskins.

Field goal kicker Ryan Succop, who was drafted No. 256 in this past year’s NFL draft from South Carolina and thus fondly termed Mr. Irrelevant, nailed a kick from 39 yards, two kicks from 46 and a 24-yarder to give the Chiefs a healthy margin of victory.

“We made it pretty difficult, right down to the end,” Haley said. “We’ve pushed through a very difficult period. We needed to get some positive reinforcement with a win.”

Tamba Hali sacked Redskins QB Todd Collins in the end zone in the final minute of the game for a safety, just for good measure. Another bright spot for Chiefs fans – Larry Johnson started to look like his old self (although, it could just be the Redskins’ terrible D), as he gained 83 yards on 23 carries.

“There’s been a lot of change, but this has definitely been special,” said quarterback Matt Cassel, who earned his first win as a Chief after coming from New England this past offseason. “We rose to the occasion. We made some big plays. We put ourselves in a position to score points.”

With the win, the Chiefs avoided the first 0-6 start in franchise history.

Monday, October 19, 2009 at 7:07 pm by bryan

Chiefs edged by Cowboys, 26-20

The Kansas City Chiefs rallied to tie the game and force overtime only to fall to the Dallas Cowboys, 26-20.

Simply put, the Chiefs had no answer for new No. 1 receiver Miles Austin, who had a career day.

Austin, seeing a bigger opportunity with Roy Williams out with an injury, had 250 yards and three touchdowns.

It also doesn’t help that running back Larry Johnson continues to be a complete non-factor.

All news wasn’t bad though. Quarterback Matt Cassel had his best day with the Chiefs, tossing two touchdown passes and taking care of the football.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 7:23 pm by steve

Chiefs Lose OT Thriller to Dallas

The Kansas City Chiefs showed signs of life in their game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday… before ultimately falling in overtime, 26-20.

Matt Cassel led a furious comeback in the fourth quarter, capped by a last-minute TD to WR Dwayne Bowe, but the offense stalled in overtime, and Cowboys’ WR Miles Austin ended his career-day with a bang.

The Chiefs jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, and a 13-3 lead in the first half, but their offense remained stagnant from then until the end of the game.

Austin, replacing injured Cowboys receiver Roy E. Williams, set all kinds of career records with 10 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Austin gave Cowboys QB Tony Romo a safety valve for the first time in weeks, as Romo completed 20 of 34 for 354 yards and two TDs.

The Chiefs, once again, failed to get a legitimate ground game established, with only 72 yards of rushing in the game. QB Matt Cassel finished 23 of 41 for 253 yards and two TDs. This loss dropped the Chiefs to 0-5 on the season.

Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 8:19 pm by bryan

Chiefs fall to Giants, 27-16

The Kansas City Chiefs rallied back but it was much too little, too late in a 27-16 loss to the New York Giants.

Kansas City fell behind 17-3 by halftime and 20-3 by the end of the third quarter. The final score does not indicate how much of a blowout this really was.

Quarterback Matt Cassel threw two touchdown passes, but he had just 127 yards passing on the day.

Running back Larry Johnson was a non-factor yet again and could be giving over the starting job to Jamaal Charles any day now.

The defense wasn’t any better, giving up nearly 450 yards of total offense.

Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 7:40 pm by steve

Chiefs embarrassed by Giants

Another game, another beating suffered by the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs fell behind 27-3 and were clearly outclassed in a 27-16 loss to the visiting New York Giants. Franchise quarterback Matt Cassell hardly looked the part, going 15-for-32 for 127 yards and two meaningless touchdowns late in the game.

The score and the stats don’t accurately tell just how ugly the game was for Kansas City, though. The Chiefs fumbled the opening kickoff, converted just 2 of 15 third downs, and let the Giants’ Eli Manning and Steve Smith picked apart the defense. Manning threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns before leaving in the fourth quarter, and Smith torched the secondary for 134 yards and two scores.

Kansas City gained just 192 yards of total offense. Offense, defense, special teams; no matter what aspect of the game, the Chiefs were outplayed. As a result, the team is now 0-4 and has lost 27 of its past 29 games.

Sunday, October 4, 2009 at 6:27 pm by Raj Sethi