NFL Picks: Peter King, Adam Schefter Choose Indianapolis Colts Over Kansas City Chiefs

A winless team without perhaps the best player in the NFL is somehow the favorite against the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s been that kind of a year. During the pre-season, the Indianapolis Colts were the fearsome foe sitting on the front half of the schedule. Four weeks in, and the Colts are the easiest team the Chiefs will have faced thus far (sorry, Vikings) after the surprising Lions and Bills have both proved tougher than believed. Yet most sportswriters have the Chiefs falling this weekend to the basement-dwelling Colts by a wide margin.

Peter King predicts the Colts will finally earn Curtis Painter a win after another full week of practice, and Adam Schefter is among the many ESPN personalities predicting the same. Even though the Chiefs are 1-3 and showed some life last week, only Ron Jaworksi picks the Chiefs to win on Sunday at Indy among 8 total sportswriters.

Jonathan Baldwin 'Physically Ready To Play'

In a press conference with reporters today, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley indicated that first-round WR Jonathan Baldwin has fully recovered from a broken thumb he suffered in a preseason altercation with Thomas Jones:

"He has been working very hard, but he just hasn’t had a lot of action in a team setting," Haley said. "There are a lot of factors at play, the least of which is his health. We feel good about that. That’s why he’s practicing and that’s why he’s working. It’s just a matter of making sure come Sunday we have the right 46 (players) active and we’re doing what is best for the team."

Baldwin, a 6'4 228 WR from Pittsburgh, was drafted to complement Dwayne Bowe on the perimeter and give embattled QB Matt Cassel another weapon offensively. 

However, wide receivers have one of the toughest transitions to make coming out of college, as they have to get used to the much more complicated passing offenses and vastly superior defensive backs at the NFL level. 

As a result, Baldwin's status for the Chiefs game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday is still undetermined.

Week 5 NFL Lines And Odds: Kansas City Chiefs Vs Indianapolis Colts

The Kansas City Chiefs close victory over the Minnesota Vikings last weekend hasn't earned them much national credibility, as Odds Shark has them as +1 underdogs when they travel to Indianapolis to play the Colts on Sunday.

The Colts and the Chiefs, two post-season teams last year, have fallen quickly from the ranks of the NFL's elite.

Without Peyton Manning, Indianapolis has had to turn the keys of their once high-powered offense to veteran retread Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter, a floppy-haired third-year QB who had thrown only 28 NFL passes prior to this season.

The Colts defense, built around edge rushers Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis on the assumption that Manning would stake them out to early leads, has suffered as well, and Indianapolis comes into the game with a point differential of -45, fourth worst in the NFL.

Kansas City, meanwhile, leads the league in that category with a point differential of -77. Yet a win this weekend would put them at 2-3, potentially only a game back of second-place Oakland in the AFC West.

Visit Odds Shark for more on Week 5 NFL odds. Check out Stampede Blue for more on the Indianapolis Colts and Arrowhead Pride for more on the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kansas City Chiefs' Matt Cassel Should Take Note Of Todd Haley's Company Line

One of the things that we constantly hear Todd Haley saying at press conferences is that he wants and expects his players to "be the same guy everyday". It's his company line so to speak. Matt Cassel should take note of this saying and apply it to his routine on Sundays.

It could be debatable that Cassel is the most polarizing player on the Chiefs roster right now. It seems as if everyone has a strong opinion at this point on Cassel and his future, or lack thereof, with the Kansas City Chiefs. The problem that a lot of Chiefs fans have with Cassel is that he has shown to be consistently inconsistent. This goes directly against one of Haley's motto's in being the same guy everyday.

Obviously it's a simplification of what Haley means with this saying. I'm just talking about one day per week that I'd really wish Cassel would just stay a little more consistent. There isn't a player on the Chiefs roster that has more pressure to perform well over the next three games than Matt Cassel. The Chiefs take on the Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos over their next three games. Those are three games against teams that most people wouldn't consider 'quality' opponents.

It's been well-documented how tough the Chiefs schedule gets in mid-November through mid-December. They face the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, New York Jets and Green Bay Packers in consecutive weeks. With an up-and-down season thus far for Cassel, and that he's currently on the 'up' after a solid performance against the Vikings, he needs to see success against the Colts this weekend to put together back-to-back solid performances for the first time since weeks' 11 and 12 last season.

Cassel will have a bullseye on his back this weekend with Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney coming to town. The more consistent Cassel can become from week to week then the more comfortable fans will get with the idea that maybe the first couple of games were the exception, not the rule.

Kansas City Chiefs' WR Jon Baldwin Is Full Participant In Wednesday's Practice

The Kansas City Chiefs have been waiting patiently for wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin to make his debut as the first-round pick is coming off a cracked thumb injury suffered in a locker room altercation with veteran running back Thomas Jones in the preseason.

For the first time since the injury Baldwin was listed as a full participant in Wednesday's practice. Baldwin ran routes and caught passes with the other receivers and is trying to get ready to play against the Indianapolis Colts this weekend.

It's still unclear whether or not Baldwin would be ready to play this weekend even if he fully participated in all of the Chiefs practices this week. via kcchiefs.com

"He’s being evaluated every day just like everybody else," Coach Todd Haley said. "His evaluation has just been a little different."

The Chiefs bye week is after Sunday's game against the Colts so if they feel as if Baldwin isn't ready to go, he'll have an extra week to prepare.  

Todd Haley Hopes Jonathan Baldwin Can Play Against Indianapolis Colts

The Chiefs offense turned things around against the Minnesota Vikings to put enough points on the board to win. If they’re going to progress further and turn the tables on a disappointing 2011 season, they’re going to need a catalyst. That’s why first round choice Jonathan Baldwin could be an ideal addition heading into the second quarter of the season.

Thus far, Baldwin has yet to play because of a broken thumb stemming from a locker room fight of some kind that also involved Thomas Jones. Details are hard to find about the event, but suffice to say that Baldwin hasn’t been available since and has been limited in practice as well. But the good news is that he practiced today and head coach Todd Haley says he hopes Baldwin plays on Sunday.

“He’s going to be out there practicing today in what I hope ends up being full with his teammates throughout,” says Haley at today’s press conference, “as opposed to not being in some of the team stuff. He’s excited. I know he’s been really working hard and I’m excited. It’s hard to sit there on the sidelines and not get to do much and this is another kid that really cares and wants to be in there trying to help. So we’ll see as the week progresses where he is. I hope to get him reps in the actual practice, so that would be good.”

The Chiefs play the Colts at 12pm CT on Sunday.

For More Information on the Chiefs, Head Over To Arrowhead Pride.

Kansas City Chiefs' Key To Victory Begins And Ends With Containing Indianapolis Colts' Robert Mathis, Dwight Freeney

The Kansas City Chiefs (1-3) take on the Indianapolis Colts (0-4) at 1pm ET in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Kansas City Chiefs Vs. Indianapolis Colts: Todd Haley, Matt Cassel Need To Show Encore Performance

The Kansas City Chiefs need Matt Cassel and Todd Haley to continue whatever they were doing in the second half against the Minnesota Vikings. The offense found a spark and it was led by Cassel.