The Kansas City Chiefs are hurting. One year after the team lost several starters like Eric Berry, Jamaal Charles and Tony Moeaki for the entire season, the Chiefs already have several players who could be questionable for the upcoming opener against the Atlanta Falcons. It's not a good sign for a team that needs a strong start to stay with their rivals in a much tougher AFC West than last year.
Not only are the Chiefs down several players in practice today, the team will also be without Tamba Hali in the first week due to suspension. That takes away the team's best defender. Romeo Crennel spoke about the rest of the guys who are injured today from Arrowhead.
"As far as practice goes, Derrick Johnson, he's not going to be practicing," said Crennel. "[Kendrick] Lewis will not be practicing. [Brandon] Flowers we limited, he'll be in the same situation he's been in, he'll be limited. [Allen] Bailey is not practicing and [Anthony] Toribio is not practicing.
"[Jalil] Brown, he's going to be limited and he's going try to do some things and we'll see how much he can do. [Terrance] Copper, he'll be limited, he'll try to do some and also Cyrus Gray, he'll be limited and we'll see what he can do. So that's where we are and that's what we've got going and we're going to try to get something done today and a good head start on Atlanta."
The Chiefs defense is going to be the anchor for any chance of winning the division this year, so to be without so many guys when facing a juggernaut offense like the Falcons will be as great a test as any in 2012.
Read more on the Chiefs at Arrowhead Pride and SB Nation Kansas City. Head over to our NFL hub page for additional news and analysis around the league.