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The Colts beat the Chiefs, 19-9, in Indy on Sunday.
This is a good play by Tamba Hali and a good example of disrupting the play even without sacking the quarterback.
Peyton Manning tries to go deep but can't step into the throw because Hali is rushing him. This causes Manning's throw to be short and incomplete on the deep pass to Reggie Wayne.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel talked this week about disrupting the quarterback's play whether that's a hurry, knockdown, sack...whatever. This is a good example of Hali doing that.
After the Indianapolis Colts beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Todd Haley said that he was happy with how physical the game was.
"I wanna take my hat off to our guys who in my mind really played their hearts out today, and played physical, which we knew was one of the keys to the game coming into this thing, playing physical in all three areas."
Also after the game, Matt Cassel said the game plan going in was to run the ball and be physical.
It seems that in the first half the Chiefs were able to do that. Cassel attempted 10 passes in the first half and Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones combined for 14 carries.
In the second half, Cassel passed the ball nearly twice as many times. Considering the way the Chiefs have been passing the ball this season, we don't usually consider a good thing when they drop back.
The Chiefs seemed to keep to their goal of running the football in the first half. In the second half, things seemed to change. It's almost as if the Colts make the opposing team want to pass more to keep up with them, even if it was a one-score game until 4:02 left in the game.
The Kansas City Chiefs couldn't keep the unbeaten streak alive against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Matt Cassel passed for just 156 yards while Jamaal Charles added 87 on the ground but the Chiefs couldn't get a touchdown all game.
The Chiefs defense was the real start holding the Colts without a touchdown until 4:02 left in the game. There are positives on the defensive side of the ball.
Highlights and lowlights of the game:
The Chiefs fought hard but lost, 19-9, to the Colts.
Peyton Manning threw an interception to Chiefs S Jon McGraw in the third quarter giving the Chiefs great field position.
Unfortunately, Matt Cassel ended the drive with three incompletes. Two of those were clearly drops from Dwayne Bowe, including one in the end zone.
Ryan Succop came on and kicked a 43-yard field goal to tie the game.
Late in the third quarter, it's tied at nine.
Joseph Addai has been the largest reason the Colts offense has been moving at all today.
In the third quarter on Sunday against the Chiefs, Addai was tackled in the backfield as all 300- plus pounds of Glenn Dorsey fell on him.
Addai eventually got up and walked off the field under his own power.
Considering the risks the Kansas City Chiefs have taken this game that didn't work out -- onside kick and going for it on 4th and 2 -- they should feel good about the halftime score of 6-3 to the Indianapolis Colts.
The big bonehead play for the Chiefs to this point is Jamaal Charles' fumble which ruined a promising drive.
Peyton Manning is 10-of-14 for 111 yards while Matt Cassel is 7-of-10 for 58 yards.
I'm feeling pretty good right now because the Chiefs are able to run the ball well. Charles has 11 carries and Thomas Jones has 3 carries.
Gotta feel good if you're the Chiefs right now but have to continue holding Indy to field goals in the second half.
The Chiefs defense has been standing tough against Peyton Manning and the Colts.
Through three possessions, the Chiefs defense has allowed two field goals and one punt.
The Chiefs were keying in on the red zone coming into this game. They wanted to place an emphasis on only allowing three from the Colts -- not seven.
So far they've been doing that.
The Indianapolis Colts took the early lead kicking a field goal to make it 3-0 over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Colts started off with excellent field position after the Chiefs attempted an onside kick and didn't get it.
The Chiefs got the ball back and had an excellent run-based drive that lead them to a 4th and 2 inside the 10 yard line. They attempted a pass to Dwayne Bowe but it was knocked down.
The total drive was 15 plays and 73 yards.
DE Tyson Jackson and RT Ryan O'Callaghan are inactive on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Chiefs released eight inactives for the game:
DE Tyson Jackson, RT Ryan O'Callaghan, WR Jeremy Horne, DB Jackie Bates, FB Mike Cox, S Reshard Langford, LB Justin Cole and NT Anthony Toribio.
Tough break for both of them but the Chiefs have gone much of the season without them.
I had the opportunity to talk to the folks at our Indianapolis Colts blog, Stampede Blue, about the Kansas City Chiefs game this year.
I wanted to figure out the point where the Chiefs can exploit the Colts. I figured it was run defense but I asked anyway:
What is the Colts biggest weakness?
In recent years it has been the run defense, and it is still a weakness in 2010, but the biggest weakness this season is the Secondary, due mostly to injury. The Colts have lost 4 guys now who played Safety in Training Camp to IR, and also the oft-injured Bob Sanders, who could still be back in December. Antoine Bethea is certainly going to earn his new contract he signed in the offseason.
Included also is the play of Kelvin Hayden, who isn't coming close to living up to his big contract. Missed tackles, blown coverages, and not catching easy INTs are just a few of the things frustrating Colts fans about the play from Hayden. He's a long way from the INT Touchdown from Super Bowl XLI.
The Colts have major safety issues. Started Bob Sanders is out, backup Melvin Bullitt is out. The new starter? Perhaps DaJuan Morgan, cut from the Chiefs a little over a month ago.
Maybe Matt Cassel and the Chiefs passing offense can use this as a get back on track game.
This week I had the pleasure of chatting with the folks at Stampede Blue about regarding the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts game on Sunday.
My question to Stampede Blue was simple: What's the Colts biggest strength?
The answer was even more simple: Peyton freakin' Manning.
You may have heard of him, Peyton Manning? He's a pretty good QB. The Colts can throw on any defense, against any DB in the league. The NFL is pretty clearly a passing league now, so having a 4-time MVP certainly helps things go well. Throw in a potential Hall of Fame WR in Reggie Wayne and a great TE Dallas Clark, as well as 3 other pretty good young receivers, and it makes the Colts offense nearly impossible to stop. Joseph Addai is also the best blocking RB in the game today. He's outstanding at picking up the blitzer, which makes it very difficult to blitz the Colts, because they rarely get home.
I did not know that Addai was such a great blocking running back but it makes sense. Each part on the Colts offense seems to be very carefully thought out and makes a ton of sense when you put all the pieces together.
We're not shocking anyone by saying this but the Indianapolis Colts plan is to stop the Kansas City Chiefs running game. The Colts are among the league's worst at stopping the run and the Chiefs are among the league's best at running the ball.
Via a column from Reggie Hayes of the News Sentinel:
Freeney said blitzing could tip the balance, but also opens up the secondary to get "gashed" on long passes. The Colts’ first line of defense against Kansas City, however, must be to stop the run, Freeney said.
"When they pass the ball, they’re going to max protect, so quarterback pressures are not that important," Freeney said. "The most important thing is to stop the run and get them in position to pass the ball. When they do, we have to be ready to stop them."
It's interesting because this is almost the opposite game plan the Chiefs have against the Colts. Their focus is on stopping (or at least containing) QB Peyton Manning, while the Colts defense wants to put the game in QB Matt Cassel's hands.
We've said from time to time that it seems the Kansas City Chiefs are much healthier this year. Todd Haley places an emphasis on players playing hurt and I think we're starting to see that.
This week's injury report for the Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts game is a good example of that.
The Chiefs have three players on their injury report: Tyson Jackson (limited participation - knee), Reshard Langford (no participation - ankle) and Ryan O'Callaghan (no participation - groin).
The Colts? Well, clear out some space. They have 17 names on their injury report for Wednesday.
Full Participation
RB Joseph Addai (Knee)
LB Gary Brackett (Back)
WR Pierre Garcon (Hamstring)
WR Anthony Gonzalez (Ankle)
OT Charlie Johnson (Foot)
DB Brandon King (Hamstring)
DB Jerraud Powers (Foot)
OG Jamey Richard (Shoulder)
LB Clint Session (Hamstring)
Did Not Participate
DB Antoine Bethea (Hamstring)
RB Donald Brown (Hamstring)
WR Austin Collie (Foot)
LB Kavell Conner (Foot)
DE Dwight Freeney (Rested)
DB Jacob Lacey (Foot)
DB Bob Sanders (Biceps)
WR Reggie Wayne (Knee)
The Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts will meet in Indy on Sunday for Week 5 of the 2010 NFL season.
The Chiefs offense isn't what's gotten them to 3-0 -- you can thank the defense for that -- but they will need to be effective to get to 4-0. The Colts offense will definitely put up some points so it's very important the Chiefs are capable of responding.
Here's where the Chiefs offense ranks (bold) vs. the Colts defense.
Points: 22.7 (10th)
Colts: 23 (23rd)
This number may be skewed a bit. The Chiefs have had a pair of average to below average offensive games and one very good offensive game. There hasn't been much of a middle ground. I think the Chiefs would prefer Matt Cassel not have 35+ attempts this game instead relying on the run game to score points.
I don't see the Chiefs scoring over 22 points this game. They'll want to slow things down drastically.
Yards: 322 (18th)
Colts: 367 (24th)
The Colts will give up some yards in their defense. Fans during the Herm Edwards era should remember the type of defense the Colts are running -- it's the same philosophy.
Passing: 161.3 (27th)
Colts: 217.5 (15th)
Problem area for the Chiefs: passing the ball. Matt Cassel has had two below average games and one above average game. Which shows up? Considering his inconsistency, it'll be the below average one, I'm guessing.
Rushing: 160.7 (3rd)
Colts: 149.5 (29th)
The Chiefs bread and butter should be this stat right here. Running the ball does a few things: Plays to the Chiefs strengths, plays to the Colts weakness and eats up clock keeping Peyton Manning off the field. The Chiefs should be determined that they can run the ball in this game to compete with the Colts.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts will meet in Indy on Sunday. The 3-0 Chiefs come into the game on the strength of their running game and their defense while the Colts, per usual, come in with a solid passing attack.
Here's where the Colts offense ranks (bold) vs. the Chiefs defense.
Points: 29.2 (2nd)
Chiefs: 12.7 (2nd)
The Colts strength is clearly on offense, passing the ball and scoring a lot of points. That's what they do best and I can't imagine the Chiefs will stop them. They can, however, contain them. The Chiefs can't expect to win if the Colts hit 29 points.
Yards: 411 (3rd)
Chiefs: 313 (14th)
The Chiefs have been giving up a decent amount of yards as evidenced by their middle-of-the-pack ranking. However, they haven't been letting opponents finish those drives with touchdowns. Giving up yards to the Colts is OK -- but they have to step it up in the red zone and force them to settle for three points.
Passing: 335.5 (2nd)
Chiefs: 238 (25th)
This could be the problem area for the Chiefs. The secondary is good but also very young. That likely has Peyton Manning licking his chops. If I were to circle one area of the game that will be key, it'd be the Colts passing offense vs. the Chiefs passing defense.
Rushing: 75.5 (29th)
Chiefs: 75 (5th)
The Chiefs are great at stopping the run to this point but will it matter? The Cots haven't shown much affinity for running the ball. That's either because their passing offense is so good or their run game is so bad. The Chiefs can probably expect to shut down the run but they'll have to do it in their base defense in order to keep as many guys in coverage as possible.
The Kansas City Chiefs enter Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts with the third ranked rush offense with about 160 yards per game.
We saw what happened last week when the Chiefs get both Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles running well -- 31-10 blowout against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Chiefs should expect to be able to run the ball against the Colts, who hold the NFL's fourth worst rush defense. They're giving up an average of about 150 yards per game.
This is significant for the Chiefs because it plays right into what one of their game plans should be -- keeping the ball away from Peyton Manning.
Time of possession, first downs, rushing yards...all those will be significant for this year. The stat of third ranked rushed offense vs. 29th ranked rush defense will be the key to the game, in my opinion.
It's a big week for the Chiefs as they look to pound it out against the Colts on Sunday.
The Kansas City Chiefs bye week is over.
In the AFC West, the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers took home victories while the Oakland Raiders did not. That leaves the standings like this: Chiefs (3-0), Broncos (2-2), Chargers (2-2) and Raiders (1-3).
The Indianapolis Colts -- the Chiefs next opponent -- were upset by the Jaguars on Sunday, 31-28.
The Chiefs now prepare for the Colts
They're relatively healthy:
The Chiefs can focus solely on Peyton Manning. I'm not saying they will beat the Colts, who will undoubtedly be favored, but I am saying they can hang with them. Romeo Crennel is a smart man, and this is a disciplined team. You give them two weeks to prepare for someone and they're going to know that opponent inside and out.
The Chiefs have had the weekend off after doing some work last week so they're getting back at it today for Colts week.
The Kansas City Chiefs are in their bye week so they've got a few days of practice and then they're taking the weekend off.
They've got a handful of injured guys and a couple of them are making strides.
DE Tyson Jackson: He injured his knee in the season opener and hasn't played since. He did some position drills on Wednesday with the Chiefs so he's making progress.
CB Javier Arenas: He left last Sunday's game with an ankle injury but he tells the KC Star that it's just a sore ankle and he'll be OK.
RT Ryan O'Callaghan: He didn't practice again. He's suffering from a groin injury and we're not sure what his timetable is. Barry Richardson is replacing him,
S Reshard Langford: He was on the injury report with an ankle last week and did not practice on Wednesday.
The Kansas City Chiefs have released their latest depth chart for Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Chiefs have a bye in Week 4 so this one is coming very early.
The Chiefs made zero changes to the depth chart.
OFFENSE
WR: Chris Chambers, Terrance Copper, Jeremy Horne
LT: Branden Albert, Barry Richardson
C: Casey Wiegmann, Rudy Niswanger
RG: Ryan Lilja, Jon Asamoah
RT: Ryan O'Callaghan, Barry Richardson
TE: Leonard Pope, Tony Moeaki, Jake O'Connell
WR: Dwayne Bowe, Dexter McCluster
QB: Matt Cassel, Brodie Croyle
FB: Tim Castille, Mike Cox
RB: Thomas Jones, Jamaal Charles, Jackie Battle
DEFENSE
LDE: Tyson Jackson, Shaun Smith, Alex Magee
NT: Ron Edwards, Anthony Toribio
RDE: Glenn Dorsey, Wallace Gilberry
LOLB: Mike Vrabel, Andy Studebaker
LILB: Jovan Belcher, Corey Mays, Justin Cole
RILB: Derrick Johnson, Demorrio Williams, Cory Greenwood
ROLB: Tamba Hali, Charlie Anderson
LCB: Brandon Flowers, Travis Daniels, Jackie Bates
RCB: Brandon Carr, Javier Arenas
SS: Eric Berry, Donald Washington, Reshard Langford
FS: Jon McGraw, Kendrick Lewis
SPECIAL TEAMS
P: Dustin Colquitt, Ryan Succop
K: Ryan Succop, Dustin Colquitt
KO: Ryan Succop, Dustin Colquitt
PC: Thomas Gafford, Andy Studebaker, Cory Greenwood
KC: Thomas Gafford, Andy Studebaker, Cory Greenwood
H: Dustin Colquitt, Brodie Croyle
The Kansas City Chiefs enter the bye in Week 4 so they've got a week off.
Chiefs coach Todd Haley said on Tuesday on Sirius NFL Radio that he's been thinking hard about how he'll approach the bye week but, per usual with Haley, he didn't give any specifics.
The Chiefs did practice on Tuesday and there were three players that were in the conditioning area, per Kent Babb of the KC Star.
Jackson and O'Callaghan both missed the last two weeks. Jackson is battling a knee and most think he'll be ready for Indy in two weeks while O'Callaghan's injury is an unknown. Arenas went down on Sunday with some sort of leg/ankle injury and didn't return.
VIDEO: Chiefs WR Chris Chambers After Losing To The Colts
Chiefs WR Chris Chambers talked to the media after the Colts beat the Chiefs, 19-9, in Indianapolis.
Chambers suffered a finger injury causing him to miss some time during the game. He also talked about his non-reception late in the game.
(H/T Sports Radio KC)
Oct 10 8:23p by Joel Thorman - 0 comments