SB Nation Kansas City - Tampa Bay Buccaneers roll over Kansas City Chiefs, 38-10https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48935/kc-fave.png2012-10-22T11:51:18-05:00http://kansascity.sbnation.com/rss/stream/32477732012-10-22T11:51:18-05:002012-10-22T11:51:18-05:00Cassel expected to be cleared for contact
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<p><a href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Kansas City Chiefs</a> quarterback <span>Matt Cassel</span> <a target="_blank" href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8515028/matt-cassel-brady-quinn-competing-kansas-city-chiefs-qb-job">has been cleared to exercise</a>, and is expected to be cleared for contact on Monday, as the Chiefs prepare to take on the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/oakland-raiders" class="sbn-auto-link">Oakland Raiders</a> in Week 8.</p>
<p>Cassel missed Kansas City's Week 6 contest against the <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a>. Cassel was sidelined during Kansas City's Week 5 loss to the <a href="https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Baltimore Ravens</a>, when he suffered a concussion. Romeo Crennel and Kansas City's coaching staff wisely held Cassel out against the Buccaneers, giving Cassel two full weeks to recover from his head injury.</p>
<p>Still, Cassel is not guaranteed to start in Week 8, as Kansas City's starting quarterback job is currently up for grabs. <span>Brady Quinn</span> started in Cassel's place during Kansas City's Week 6 loss to the Buccaneers, and will compete with Cassel for the starting job.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, Crennel is hopeful that <span>Peyton Hillis</span> and <span>Glenn Dorsey</span> will be <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kansascity.com/2012/10/16/3869552/chiefs-say-cassel-cleared-for.html">available in Week 8 for the Chiefs</a>. Hillis has been dealing with an ankle problem, while Dorsey has been dealing with a calf injury.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/kansas-city-chiefs/2012/10/22/3538886/nfl-injury-report-chiefs-week-7JP Starkey2012-10-22T10:13:18-05:002012-10-22T10:13:18-05:00AFC West: Broncos still lead division
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<figcaption>Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>The Denver Broncos still lead the AFC West, thanks to a tiebreaker over the San Diego Chargers.</p> <p>Three of the four teams in the AFC West were on a bye week in Week 7. As you'd expect, the standings in the AFC West didn't change much.</p>
<p>The Oakland Raiders defeated the <a href="https://www.bigcatcountry.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Jacksonville Jaguars</a> in overtime, and improved to 2-4 on the season -- keeping them alive in the AFC West. Even though the Raiders are one full game back in the standings, Oakland has already lost to Denver <i>and</i> San Diego, and therefore, lose the tiebreaker to both.</p>
<p>The Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs were all on a bye week in Week 7.</p>
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<div class="pane sports_data_widget division_standings clearfix">
<h3>AFC West Standings</h3>
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<th></th> <th>W</th> <th>L</th> <th>T</th> <th>PF</th> <th>PA</th>
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<td class="td-name td-first "><a href="https://www.milehighreport.com/">Denver</a></td>
<td>3</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>170</td>
<td class="td-last">138</td>
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<td class="td-name td-first "><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/san-diego-chargers">San Diego</a></td>
<td>3</td>
<td>3</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>148</td>
<td class="td-last">137</td>
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<td class="td-name td-first "><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/oakland-raiders">Oakland</a></td>
<td>2</td>
<td>4</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>113</td>
<td class="td-last">171</td>
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<td class="td-name td-first "><a href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/">Kansas City</a></td>
<td>1</td>
<td>5</td>
<td>0</td>
<td>104</td>
<td class="td-last">183</td>
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<p class="updated">(updated 10.21.2012 at 11:33 PM EDT)</p>
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<p>Denver, thanks to a win over the Chargers in Week 6, is still in first place thanks to a tiebreaker. Denver is fully capable of winning the AFC West, but will need to play consistent football down the stretch.</p>
<p>Just two games behind the Broncos and Chargers, the Chiefs can still claw into the playoff picture, with 10 games remaining. Kansas City still has two games remaining against Denver, but just one left against San Diego.</p>
<p>Kansas City will return to action in Week 8, when it hosts the Raiders.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/kansas-city-chiefs/2012/10/22/3538438/raiders-chiefs-chargers-broncos-afc-west-standingsJP Starkey2012-10-17T10:00:53-05:002012-10-17T10:00:53-05:00Will the bye week help the Chiefs?
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<p>Chiefs players believe the bye week comes at the right time for the 1-5 team.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/">Kansas City Chiefs</a> need all hands on deck. The boat on the 2012 NFL season is quickly sinking for the 1-5 team that many have in last place in NFL Power Rakings columns, and each week only brings more bad news. Hopefully the bye during Week 7 will provide the team a chance to rest, heal and refocus.</p>
<p>That's what Chiefs players and coaches are hoping for. If any team in football needs a chance to reflect and examine what has went wrong, it's the Chiefs. The team that was picked by many as a dark horse contender has instead found the dark side of every potential scenario that could go wrong. </p>
<p>"Right now we're not playing good football, so hopefully we can sit back and check out a variety of things, check out ourselves, scout ourselves, look at ourselves in the mirror and see what's gone wrong," said linebacker Derrick Johnson.</p>
<p>"This train is not going to stop. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We can't say could have, should have done this or that. At the end of the day, we have to make more plays than the other team, and we haven't been doing that."</p>
<p>Despite the horrible record, the AFC West is not completely out of reach. The schedule gets much easier from here and a young team will continue to develop. Given the middling status of other teams in the division and the company of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/oakland-raiders">Raiders</a> among the worst teams in the NFL, and the Chiefs cannot afford to completely give up hope.</p>
<p>"It's a good time for a bye week," added quarterback <span>Matt Cassel</span>. "We need to get a lot of things corrected. Everybody is out there with the intention of making the corrections that we need to get ourselves back in this race."</p>
<p>The Chiefs face the Raiders in Week 8.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/kansas-city-chiefs/2012/10/17/3514984/kansas-city-chiefs-players-bye-weekMatt Conner2012-10-17T07:30:04-05:002012-10-17T07:30:04-05:00Bye week came at perfect time for Chiefs
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<figcaption>Al Messerschmidt - Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Kansas City Chiefs head into the bye week with just one win in six games and the Oakland Raiders coming to Arrowhead Stadium in just two weeks. </p> <p><object width="425" height="350" class="mceItemFlash"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zHUo5dKtnpY">
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<p>It's impossible to try and sugar-coat anything at this point but the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/">Kansas City Chiefs</a> are just playing bad football. They were beat in almost every facet of the game last week by the Tampa bay <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Buccaneers</a> in the 38-10 loss and they head into their bye week at the perfect time to try and get some things figured out.</p>
<p>The questions of what's going wrong can be debated by local and national media, bloggers, wifes, girlfriends, kids and adults alike, but the answers to these questions must be figured out by those driving to One Arrowhead Drive every day. Luckily they have an extra week to prepare for their divisional rival, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/oakland-raiders">Oakland Raiders</a>, before they come to Arrowhead Stadium in two weeks.</p>
<p>When you look back at the games you could make a case that the Chiefs played some of their best football of the season thus far against two of the best teams in the entire NFL, one in each league, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/">Baltimore Ravens</a> and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/atlanta-falcons">Atlanta Falcons</a>. At least for one half against the Falcons.</p>
<p>The Chiefs have an extra week to figure out where the problems lie and what they can do to try and fix them and turnaround this season. The next three games will determine whether or not the ENTIRE discussion for the remainder of the season becoems mock drafts and off-season acqusitions, although many are on that train right now. Two of the Chiefs next three games are on prime time television in front of the entire country. The November 1st game against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/san-diego-chargers">San Diego Chargers</a> for Thursday night football and then a Monday night showdown against Todd Haley and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/">Pittsburgh Steelers</a>.</p>
<p>There's a lot to fix right now but this team has shown the ability to play, albeit for just a litlte while in the Falcons game, but in the Ravens game they showed everyone they can go toe-to-toe with the best and stay competitive. Even if that means leaning hard on the defense.</p>
<p>A week off for the defense and <span>Jamaal Charles</span> hopefully rejuvenates this team for a push back to respectability, because that's slipping away.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/kansas-city-chiefs/2012/10/17/3509052/kansas-city-chiefs-schedule-bye-weekBJ Kissel2012-10-15T12:24:30-05:002012-10-15T12:24:30-05:00Josh Freeman calls out Chiefs' man coverage
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<figcaption>Al Messerschmidt - Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Tampa Bay Buccaneer's quarterback Josh Freeman said the Kansas City Chief's man coverage was something to be exploited in his team's 38-10 victory on Sunday.</p> <p>Tampa Bay quarterback <span>Josh Freeman</span> said the Kansas City Chiefs' man coverage made him confident about his team's chances coming into Sunday's game that turned into a 38-10 route by the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Buccaneers</a>. Freeman told FloridaToday.com that a number of his big plays <a href="http://www.floridatoday.com/Article/20121015/SPORTS/310150027/Freeman-Connects-Receivers-Buccaneers-Rout?Nclick_check=1&nclick_check=1" target="_blank">were against man coverage.</a></p>
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<p>"When it comes down to it, I just feel like my guys are better than their guys," Freeman said. "I hate to put it that way, but we have guys that can make plays and we gave them opportunities today. It was great the way they responded.''</p>
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<p>Against the Chiefs, Freeman had his fourth 300-plus yard game, throwing for 328 yards, three touchdowns and an early interception. He had four plays that went for 35 or more yards and had favorite targets in Mike Williams and <span>Vincent Jackson</span>.</p>
<p>Williams caught four passes for 113 yards and a touchdown while Jackson caught four passes for 66 yards and two scores.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/kansas-city-chiefs/2012/10/15/3507026/josh-freeman-bucs-vs-chiefsKevin Zimmerman2012-10-15T10:02:57-05:002012-10-15T10:02:57-05:00Crennel says Brady Quinn not to blame for loss
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<figcaption>Al Messerschmidt - Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Chiefs head coach says 'it was not the quarterback's fault' when addressing the team's poor play against the Buccaneers on Sunday.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/">Kansas City Chiefs</a> found themselves on the wrong side of yet another blowout loss in Week 6 against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a>, and so far much of the blame can be placed upon the quarterback position for the Chiefs. But head coach Romeo Crennel says that was not the case this time as <span>Brady Quinn</span> took over as the starter. </p>
<p>While Cassel sat due to a concussion from Week 5, Quinn took over and finished with 2 interceptions in the 38-10 loss. Crennel started his opening remarks after the game with a rundown of his disappointment and then quickly moved to defending Quinn before any questions could be asked.</p>
<p>"We're disappointed by the way we played today and the final outcome. I don't understand the way we played," said Crennel. "We were still in it at halftime, but came out in the second half and couldn't get anything done. At this point, if we keep turning the ball over, keep getting penalties, keep giving scores like we do on defense, it's going to be hard to win games. We gotta go see what we can do to fix it. That's all that we can do. So we will. We'll try to work on it and try to get it fixed, but it was disappointing today the way we executed.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 9px;">"</span>It was not the quarterback's fault. He was not as sharp as he would have been if he had had plenty of reps and all of that. But he was not the cause of it. It was a team effort that screwed things up and we've got to fix it as a team."</p>
<p>Quinn finished 23 of 38 for 180 yards and 2 interceptions.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/kansas-city-chiefs/2012/10/15/3506370/romeo-crennel-says-chiefs-loss-was-not-brady-quinns-faultMatt Conner2012-10-15T09:48:10-05:002012-10-15T09:48:10-05:00Watch: BJ Kissel breaks down another Chiefs loss
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<figcaption>Al Messerschmidt - Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Our very own BJ Kissel discusses the Chiefs fifth loss of the season to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. </p> <p>It was a miserable week for <a href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Kansas City Chiefs</a> fans, once again, as the team was blown out on the road by the <a href="https://www.bucsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a>, 38-10. Yet our very own BJ Kissel was brave enough to face his depression and talk about the game. In his latest SB Nation vdeio, Kissel gives us a full breakdown of what positives the team can take from the game (one) and even gives a quick nod to Justin Bieber. Yep, it's been that kind of season.</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zHUo5dKtnpY" height="315" width="560"></iframe> <br id="1350312345715"></p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/kansas-city-chiefs/2012/10/15/3506304/video-chiefs-vs-bucks-bj-kissel-discusses-another-kc-lossMatt Conner2012-10-15T09:26:43-05:002012-10-15T09:26:43-05:00Shaun Draughn earns award from Peter King
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<figcaption>John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire</figcaption>
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<p>The Chiefs have very little to celebrate after Sunday's blowout loss, but at least Shaun Draughn earned accolades for his special teams play against the Bucs.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.arrowheadpride.com/">Kansas City Chiefs</a> are coming off of a miserable 38-10 loss on the road against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bucsnation.com/">Tampa Bay Buccaneers</a>, but one positive play of note stood out amidst the wreckage of the season when <span>Shaun Draughn</span> blocked a punt on special teams. The move was enough to earn a special mention from Sports Illustrated's Peter King in this week's Monday Morning Quarterback. </p>
<p>"He couldn't do much about the Bucs' rout of the Chiefs, but his block of a <span>Michael Koenen</span> punt in Tampa was a textbook example of how to break through questionable blocking at the point of attack and cover up the punt without giving the punter a chance to recover," <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/10/15/week-6/index.html#ixzz29NJMGkvh">writes King</a>.</p>
<p>Draughn has been a surprise at running back for the Chiefs this season. With <span>Peyton Hillis</span> out for the last several games, Draughn has received more playing time than expected in the backfield. Draughn now has 45 carries for 170 yards and 1 touchdown.</p>
https://kansascity.sbnation.com/kansas-city-chiefs/2012/10/15/3506088/peter-king-chiefs-shaun-draughn-special-teamsMatt Conner