K.C. Chiefs and the Sunday Sum Up! 9.3.17

Well hey guys! Long time no see. I have been, we’ll call it distracted, as of late and have been so swamped I could barely think, let alone put together articles on a weekly basis. Between kiddos, family, and work this is the first time in a long time I have been able to sit down and put together a coherent thought about our beloved Kansas City Chiefs. So lets jump right to it, here is your Sunday Sum Up!

It’s a “Hali Hang Up”

Tamba Hali has long been a force on the Kansas City defense, attacking linemen and destroying quarterbacks. However this has not been the case during the preseason. Now it would seem as if we should get used to the notable absence of Hali in the lineup. Tamba Hali will remain on the PUP list and will not be suiting up in the red and gold for the first six weeks of the quickly approaching season. You may remember Hali took Twitter by storm earlier in the year, publicly complaining about his snap count in the teams playoff bout with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The decision to place Hali on the physically unable to perform list could not have been made lightly and would make some believe that his health and body are finally beginning to deteriorate. Of course this could be a ruse to keep a play maker fresh for a playoff push. Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star did have a thought on the subject. “Hali hasn’t practiced or played all preseason, and this will allow him to essentially rest and train for the first six weeks of the season before joining the team in October. It’s a way to conserve a veteran who can still contribute.” Hali has made it known that if he were unhappy with the situation he would have no qualms about making that sentiment known. Either way we will have to see how the Kansas City defensive line fare without Hali to take on opposing left tackles.

Veach’s Trading Post

Kansas City Chiefs general manager appears to love to make trades. So far in his short short career as a general manager he has orchestrated several roster moves for players and draft picks. These include trading for lineman Cameron Erving and linebacker Reggie Ragland. Veach has also moved defensive lineman David King for a conditional seventh round pick. His latest achievement is to make a trade with the Seattle Seahawks shortly before the final deadline for the 53 man roster. We have sent offensive lineman Isaiah Battle to the Pacific northwest for an undisclosed 2018 draft pick. This pick will most certainly be a conditional draft selection dependent of Battle making the roster and probably some season goals. This is exactly what you would want from a general manager, reminiscent of John Dorsey. Always churning the bottom of the roster. In this move Brett Veach has taken a player who he knew would not be on the final roster, and instead of just releasing him and gaining nothing in return, he was able to flip him for a late round pick. Talk about making something out of nothing. I was a huge proponent of John Dorsey. I was very impressed with the team he helped build and the depth he brought in seemingly from nowhere. If Veach is anywhere near as good as Dorsey was in this area we should be in good hands, and this is a move straight out of Dorsey’s handbook.

Chiefs Crush Titans

On a beautiful Thursday night in Kansas City, the good guys walked away with victory. Granted it was preseason, and it was our second and third string players out there, but hey a win is a win. Every win is a team effort but there were a few players who made a special effort to pull of the big W. Patrick Mahomes went gang busters against the Titans D connecting with Demarcus Robinson for close to 130 yards and a touchdown. Tanoh Kpassagnon actually lined up as a linebacker during the game, and his fellow defensive player Ukeme Eligwe made plays seemingly at will. As I said earlier I know this is the preseason. Every year we hear of a training camp and preseason star in the making only to watch them fall of the side of the earth and never to be heard from again. Jon Baldwin anyone? Anyone?? No one? Okay, fine! That said, the plays we saw on Thursday should be taken with a grain of salt but… hope should be held that some of what we saw will transfer over the the regular season.

Tantalizing Tidbits!

Jaye Howard has found himself in the unemployment line once again this offseason. After a great season with the Chiefs he was released surprising many NFL pundits. This was during what would become the final times of John Dorsey. After being released Howard spent almost no time looking for work. The Chicago Bears jumped on the unlikely free agent quickly putting him under contract. Now, it would seem as if Howard being released by the Chiefs was a sign of things to come. According to Brad Biggs, the Bears have released Jaye Howard before he could even have a chance to play a down in Chi Town. If reports are to be believed, his hip is feeling better so his release is once again a bit of a surprise. I wish good luck to Howard moving forward in his career.

The Chiefs have begun the hard task of cutting the roster

down to the final 53. Here is a list of the casualties so far:

Gavin Escobar, TE; De’Vante Bausby, CB; Orson Charles, TE; Josh James, OL; Tevin Jones, WR; Joel Stave, QB; Trevon Hartfield, CB; Marcus Rush, LB; Devine Redding, RB; Ricky Ali’ifua, DL; Marcus Kemp, WR; Andrew Tiller, OL; Justin March Lillard, LB; Cam Thomas, DL; Maurice Swain, DL; Larry Scott, CB; Steven Terrell, DB; Robert Wheelwright, WR; Leon McQuay, DB; C.J. Spiller, RB; Joseph Cheek, OL; Gehrig Dieter, WR; Sam Ficken, K; Damien Mama, OL; Seantavius Jones, WR; Donald Hawkins, OT; Jacoby Glenn, CB; Mike Person, OL; Earl Okine, LB; Tony Stevens, WR.

Players placed on the PUP list: Tamba Hali, LB; Dadi Nicolas, LB.

Players placed on injured reserve: Ashton Lampkin, CB; Spencer Ware, RB.

There are a few surprises on the above list. First of which is C.J. Spiller. With the injury to Ware and the backfield becoming shockingly thin at running back one would think that the powers to be at One Arrowhead Drive would be holding on to every back within 1000 miles. The release of Redding was seen from a mile away but Spiller looked decent in his few outings as a Chief. Another surprise (at least to me) was Gavin Escobar. Escobar showed promise as a pass catcher and even had a few catches during the preseason that stood out as noteworthy. One such catch was him reaching behind his body to make a catch that was thrown way off target. I will try to update this list as things arise.

There we have it guys, your Sunday Sum Up! Comment below and let me know what you think. I am always open to new topics and subjects so if you have something you want written about just let me know. As always VIVA LA JET SWEET and GO CHIEFS!

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