Metro Sports 360 The Wire

9/29/2009

The Kansas City Chiefs have traded backup Quarterback Tyler Thigpen to the Miami Dolphins for undisclosed draft pick.

Miami who recently lost starting quarterback Chad Pennington to injury where left with Chad Henne to replace Pennington.   Thigpen moves into on Offense that uses the Wildcat formation a lot and this offensive favors the mobile Thigpen.

THE FANS TAKE:  As many fans love Thigpen in Kansas City, this was a great move for Kansas City that may cover up the error for trading a draft pick for both offensive linemen busts Andy Alleman and Ikechuku Ndukwe from the Miami Dolphins for an undisclosed selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.  This may be take place for the undisclosed pick for Allenman and Ndukwe.

OTHER NOTES:  G/T Ryan O'Callaghan who was aquired off waivers from New England back on the 9th has replaced Ndukwe as the starting right tackle.  This marks the 4th new player to try to take over the RT spot since training camp started (Damion McIntosh, Barry Richardson, and Ndukwe).

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9/19/2009

It's Red Friday across Kansas City today as the Chiefs prepare for their home opener this Sunday against the Oakland Raiders in the New Arrowhead, but many local eyes are still looking at Matt Cassel’s braced left knee.

Cassel has worked all week and took more reps and has done more work than he did last week and it appears that he will be in uniform no matter what.  Chiefs head coach Todd Haley has said that he may use Cassel at times Sunday if that’s only all he can do.  Question is, is a part-time Cassel better than a full-time Brodie Croyle?

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9/17/2009

Our Matt Cassel watch gets ready to head into the weekend and it is still unsure if Cassel will play this Sunday against Oakland.

Chiefs head coach Todd Haley has said this week that Cassel is moving around and doing more than he has last week and the decision could be made before Sunday's game on if Cassel will play.  It is rumored that Haley may make his choice tomorrow (Friday the 18th).

OUR PICK:  With everything we are hearing around this situation is that Cassel will play this week if the doctors allow him to play.  Sources are saying he is moving around well and his passing looks like it is not hindered by the brace he is wearing.  Odds of him playing we think is 80/20 in favor of him playing.

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9/17/2009

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9/15/2009

The Kansas City Chiefs have cut DE/OLB Turk McBride to make room for newly signed WR Bobby Wade.

Learn more at  http://www.kcchiefs.com

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9/15

Our Matt Cassel watch continues for another week as it is still unknown if Cassel will be ready now for the Chiefs home opener against the Oakland Raiders.

Cassel was scratched from the line up this past Sunday in Baltimore after practicing all week with the team.  Back up Brodie Croyle filled in and went 16 of 24 passing for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss to the Ravens. 

Cassel is expected back this week but if he can't go, Croyle's performance in Baltimore gives Chiefs some hope they can win at home against the Oakland Raiders. 

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9/8/2009

Our Cassel watch maybe coming to a close soon.   Monday, Chiefs QB Matt Cassel was at Chiefs practice with a brace on his knee but taking part in drills.  It is still not known if Cassel will play Sunday for the season opener but for the Chiefs sake, they sure hope he is good to go.

Analyst:  Depending on whom you talk to, if Cassel is not 100% there are many fans with conflicting views on if Cassel should play Sunday.  On one hand many fans are saying sending a wounded franchise QB to the wolves (or the Ravens D) behind this offensive line would be suicide.  Others believe a 70% Cassel is better than a 100% ready Croyle or Thigpen.   If you think Cassel is ready to go and the Chiefs could win on the road against the Ravens then play him, if not let him heal and be ready for the home opener against Oakland.

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9/6/2009

The Kansas City Chiefs set their 53 man roster by releasing the final 13 players.  Amoung the players cut were Safety Bernard Pollard, WR Ashley Lelie, and LB Zach Thomas.  All three were projected starters this season for the Chiefs. 

Thomas lost his spot on this team due to injury's that kept him out of the entire preseason, Lelie was a victum of improved play by rookie WR Quinten Lawrence.  Pollard was the bigger surpise as he started every preseason game for the Chiefs.  It is projected that Mike Brown will now start, and young safety DaJuan Morgan.  What is even more telling is that Safety Jarrod Page (a former starter as well) has been demoted to second string for former Kansas State Safety Jon McGraw.

The Chiefs placed guard Colin Brown on injured reserve and cut DE Dion Gales, CB Jackie Bates, TE Tom Crabtree, DE Bobby Greenwood, G Darryl Harris, WR Taurus Johnson, DT Derek Lokey, S Ricky Price, RB Javarris Williams and WR Rodney Wright to reach the 53 man roster.

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9/3/2009
Article by: James Kemplay

The Kansas City Royals we're preseason picks by many to win the AL Central this year, instead they are headed once again towards 100 losses.  As the Royals head down the final stretch the fingers of many media outlets, sports writers, and many many fans are pointing straight at Royals general manager Dayton Moore.

Moore who is in his 4^th full season (technically his 3^rd full season as he came aboard the Royals mid season in 2006) just received a new contract extension that will keep him the man in charge of this rocky ship until 2012 and is taking the blunt of the blame for the Royals woeful ways.  People point to several of his moves (Jose Guillen, Tony Pena Jr., and Mike Jacobs to name a few) about why the Royals continue to lose games.  They complain about the Manager not using his pitching staff correctly and Moore’s lack of brining in any big name players that can help the Royals now.  But what all the media (well most, I know there are quite a few media people who support Moore) and many fans fail to see was how truly bad the Royals used to be, from top to bottom.

During the Alaird Baird days the Royals drafted cheap low risk, lowest reward players and littered the Minor league system with them.  Baird spent little or nothing on international players and development of the ones he did have on board.  The Royals traded away players that held value to get others with little to none; they were treated as a Minor League club for other franchises trying to make a pennant race.  Under Moore the philosophy has completely changed.

Under Moores watch the Royals have developed over sea’s academies to help develop and farm foreign and Latin American talent.  The Royals have invested millions of dollars into player development, drafting, and signing of home grown talent (example resigning of proven good players like David DeJesus and Star pitcher Zack Greinke long term). 

One of the main reasons the Royals are struggling now is lack of depth in the minor leagues.  When the Royals need a player to fill a hole on their major league squad they have to reach for talent in the free agent market.  They have to over pay for the only players that are willing to come play only for the paycheck, the Jose Guillen’s and the Coco Crisps of the world, and when they are injured there is no depth behind them to replace them with. 

Under Moore the Royals now have one of the best low A ball minor leaguers in baseball.  Willing to draft great players and pay them what it takes to get them in the system and not draft sign-ability picks has filled low A ball and A ball with budding star talent.  If the system and foundation Moore is laying works out, then when a player like pitcher Gil Meche goes down with an injury the Royals have a budding super star in the minors waiting to come up (say an Aaron Crow) to replace him.  Once Meche is healthy and playing good again the Royals can trade Meche and his 55 million dollar contract to a team for 2 or 3 good minor leaguers to replenish the system.

People, this is how small markets work, and when it all comes together you get the Oakland A’s, the Minnesota Twins, the Tampa Bay Rays.  Moore is trying to build that here in Kansas City and with what was left over before Moore arrived it is going to take time.  When the system from Triple A down to A ball are filled with talent then we won’t have to trade for the Mike Jacobs to hit home runs, we will have our own grown Mike Moustakas, or when we need a good starter we won’t need to sign a 55 million dollar pitcher to be able to pitch effective for 6 to 7 innings (when the Royals signed Meche to that contract I truly believe they did it as he was a good innings eater not that he could have been anything like he has been) when we have say an Aaron Crow is already ready.

So let’s try not to point the fingers at Moore for the woeful Royals, give him some time to build our system up. Just think if the talks, reports, and rumors about the players he’s currently recently drafted come up and contribute, wouldn’t it be better to have Eric Hosmer and Moustakas (much much higher thought of prospects) hitting the ball around then Coco Crisp and Mike Jacobs?  I’ll let you ponder that for a while and you can get back with me in 2012 when the fruits of all this labor should be in full bloom.

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9/2/2009

It reported through Yahoo Sports that Cassel has a sprained the MCL (medial collateral ligament) in his left knee and could miss two to four weeks.  Rumors are swirling around 1 Arrowhead drive that Cassel maybe ready to by the season opener September 13th in Baltimore. 

If Cassel isn't ready by the 13th, Brodie Croyle will get the start in Baltimore.  Croyle who is making his own way back from an knee injury when he tore his ACL last year in the home opener, will make the start Thursday night (9/3) in St. Louis for the Chiefs final preseason game.

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9/2/2009

The Kansas City Chiefs have made several moves the last couple days as they prepare for their final preseason game in St. Louis tomorrow night. The most notable move was the release of WR Amani Toomer who was recently signed to help provide leadership with the wide receivers.

Other notable moves include the promotion of QB Brodie Croyle to starting quarterback as Matt Cassel rehabs his sprained knee.  The Chiefs also have released rookie tackle Cameron Goldberg and placed running back Kolby Smith on the PUP (Physically unable to perform) list and WR Devard Darling on injured reserve for the year.

Croyle is scheduled to start this Thursday night against the Rams and if Cassel is unable to go will be the slated starter come week 1.  Croyle who a week ago was 3rd on the depth chart behind Tyler Thigpen has moved up to 2nd string without even playing in the game last week.

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9/1/2009

The Kansas City Chiefs began their move to cut their roster size down from 80 to 75 players today by releasing former starting left end Alfonso Boone.

Boone who was replaced last week in the starting line up by first round pick Tyson Jackson.  The Chiefs had no room on the roster for the veteran defensive lineman after the Chiefs drafted both Jackson and rookie Alex Magee.

Stay tunned to Metro Sports 360 for all the roster moves for the Chiefs as they continue to trim down to 53.

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