A sad day for Sippio nation. Bobby Sippio, former Arena Football League wide receiver all-star was released by the Kansas City Chiefs this past week as he and over 20 other players could not join the Chiefs 53-man roster. Despite Sippio getting two game winning/extending touchdowns in the pre-season, it still was not enough for Herm Edwards to keep Sippio on his team that contains a lot of young football players. It’s also tough on Dwayne Bowe because he was very close with Sippio as they are both cousins. Maurice Price was able to make the team as he was a big target for the Chiefs second and third unit offense.
The Chiefs kept five running backs after Herm initially stated that he cannot keep all five. I’ll have to assume that Herm will use this Patriots game as one final game to evaluate his final players. The Chiefs might run the ball a lot against the Patriots to figure out which running back to cut. Larry Johnson is obviously staying put, and I also don’t see the Chiefs cutting their third round draft pick, Jamaal Charles and second year running back, Kolby Smith. Dantrell Savage also looks like he could be the kick returner if B.J. Sams continues to get hurt, making Jackie Battle the odd man out. Battle showed off his techniques in the St. Louis game as he showed that he had the speed and the ability to break tackles in the second half against the Rams. Savage or Battle, depending who the Chiefs want to part ways with, might be able to get value out of one or the other. A sixth round pick, maybe fifth, at best.
Nick Novak also won the job as the kicker. Let’s just hope that in the end, he can end the kicking curse in Kansas City.
Everything else went down as expected for me. Not a whole lot of surprise cuts this year either. This is a very young group of football players as the Chiefs are in their second year in the youth movement. The Chiefs have a big task ahead of them in seven days as they face the New England Patriots, who will defend the AFC title as they’re coming off of an 18-1 season with their only loss in the Super Bowl. There are several new players and coaches on this 2008 squad. The question is, with their inexperience and low chemistry, can they pull it together? Let’s find out as things continue to unfold.
Here is a lost below of the 53-man roster.
Quarterback (3)
Brodie Croyle
Tyler Thigpen
Damon Huard
Running back (5)
Larry Johnson
Kolby Smith
Jamaal Charles
Jackie Battle
Dantrell Savage
Fullback (1)
Mike Cox
Tight end (3)
Tony Gonzalez
Brad Cottam
John Paul Foschi
Wide receiver (5)
Dwayne Bowe
Devard Darling
Will Franklin
Jeff Webb
Maurice Price
Offensive line (8)
Branden Albert
Brian Waters
Rudy Niswanger
Adrian Jones
Damion McIntosh
Herb Taylor
Wade Smith
Barry Richardson
Defensive line (8)
Turk McBride
Glenn Dorsey
Tank Tyler
Tamba Hali
Alfonso Boone
Ron Edwards
T.J. Jackson
Brian Johnston
Linebacker (6)
Donnie Edwards
Pat Thomas
Derrick Johnson
Wes Dacus
Napoleon Harris
Demorrio Williams
Cornerback (6)
Brandon Flowers
Patrick Surtain
Brandon Carr
Dimitri Patterson
Tyron Brackenridge
Maurice Leggett
Safety (4)
Jarrad Page
Bernard Pollard
DaJuan Morgan
Jon McGraw
Placekicker (1)
Nick Novak
Punter (1)
Dustin Colquitt
Return specialist (1)
B.J. Sams
Long snapper (1)
J.P. Darche
I am back now and will be posting five times a week and you can count on it! Before I begin, I just want to let everyone know that these entries will be more informative as I will be at the press box every home game and will get interviews in the press conference with Herm Edwards and in the locker room with several players following the game. Without further ado, let’s get started.
The Chiefs got shutout by the Dolphins and knew they had to come out strong in this game. That is exactly what they did against the Rams. St. Louis head coach, Scott Linehan gave a majority of his starters the day off. Tony Gonzalez was the only healthy Chiefs player who got the day off, but most key players only played for a couple series, including Larry Johnson. “He was actually supposed to be in the game plan.” Herm Edwards said after the game. “As the (rain) got going I got more nervous and told him he was scratched. He wanted to play and tried to sneak out there on the first series looking at me with his helmet. I said, ‘Oh no.’” Kickoff was scheduled to go underway at 6:05 central standers time, but was delayed for over an hour due to thunder storms.
Kolby Smith is my selection for MVP of the game with six carries and 38 yards along with two key touchdowns. “It feels good getting in the endzone twice.” Smith said with a smile on his face. “It’s what you work for.” Edwards and the coaching staff now have to decide on which running backs they want to keep as he believes this was the most competitive position in the pre-season. “There are five of them and you can’t keep five.” Edwards said. “You want to keep your best football players. They always find a way to get on the field and when injuries occur it’s always good to have another good football player in that spot. We have some tough decisions to make.”
Another tough position to look at will be the wide receiver spot as the Chiefs only have three guaranteed players such as Dwayne Bowe, Devard Darling and Jeff Webb. Maurice Price and Bobby Sippio look to be the big favorites at the moment. Price has been the biggest target in the pre-season for the Chiefs and Bobby Sippio also had two key touchdowns. One was a game winning touchdown over Chicago, and the other was to extend the large lead over St. Louis last night. Had it been for Sippio’s touchdown reception, the Chiefs could have given this game to the Rams.
The running backs and wide receivers will really help third year veteran quarterback, Brodie Croyle as he enters week one of the regular season as starter for the first time in his career. Despite this was only the pre-season, the Chiefs still needed to produce some high numbers as they came off of a nine game losing streak to finish their season. I am a bit concerned about Brodie Croyle as he did not have such a productive pre-season like I wish he would have had. Croyle completed 28 of 48 of his passes and throwing for 272 yards. Croyle also got sacked four times and threw only one interception but could not get the ball in the endzone. Herm Edwards and offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey have put a lot of faith into Croyle and feel that he is the true quarterback of the future. He will get his first test against New England.
The Chiefs also have a young and physical group of defensive backs. DaJuan Morgan is slowly proving that he can be a starter after his physical play and a game saving interception last night. Morgan also led the Chiefs in tackles last night with six. His competition is Bernard Pollard as Pollard is well aware there is a good safety behind him. Brandon Carr also had an interception in the endzone against Miami, which might have been the biggest highlight for the Chiefs in that game. Former VT Hokie, Brandon Flowers has also impressed the coaching staff quite a lot as he has revealed his hard hitting skills in practice and has earned the number one spot for the cornerback position over Patrick Surtain. The other young defensive backs also include Jarred Page and Tyron Brackenridge. All of these young players realize they have a very tough task ahead of them when they play New England in their season opener. “You’ve got to watch film on that quarterback (referring to Patriots QB Tom Brady) because the thing is he makes plays”. Pollard said as he talks about preparing for the season opener at Foxboro. “They also got receivers that can run and catch the ball and make plays. We’ve got outplay their special teams, we’ve got to outplay their defense and outplay their offense.”
The Chiefs have one final task and that is to cut over 20 players and decide who makes the 53-man roster. The Chiefs already got underway by selecting Nick Novak as kicker as they plan to waive rookie Connor Barth.
The Chiefs know that when they cut their roster down to 53 players that they have to really pick the 53 best football players available to them. Their will be a lot of young football players on the Chiefs 53-man roster as they get their first taste of regular season against the AFC defending champions, the New England Patriots. These players have 10 days to prepare.
Before I log out, I just wanted to say thank you to Kimberly Stern from 435 South Magazine on an awesome article they wrote about me. I also want to thank the other members from 435 South Magazine as they have given me the opportunity to go to practices and games to interview players. I also wrote a Chief season preview for them this as both articles are in the September edition so be sure you check them out! I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow as we continue to talk about the pre-season finale.
Tonight is Arrowhead’s preseason opener between the Cardinals and the Chiefs. My credentials for this game have been accepted so I will be at the game capturing interviews hopefully.
-Rookie defensive backs: Brandon Flowers and Brandon Carr will both be challenged by two very good receivers in the NFL. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin will challenge the two. Steve Breaston will be a key player from the Cardinals 2nd/3rd unit as he shined in the Monday Night Football game (that occurred on a Thursday) against the Saints. Lets see if Flowers and Carr as well as DaJuan Morgan can all pass the test tonight.
-Larry Johnson: Will he block? That’s still something we are looking for in Johnson. Also keep an eye on his runs. He has better tackles than he has guards on this team, so he may run to the outside a lot.
-Receivers (including WR/RB/TE): A lot of receivers made strong contributions in that first drive against Chicago, especially rookie receivers. Brad Cottam, Will Franklin and Jamaal Charles all made big plays on that first drive. Lets see if they can keep the engine rolling tonight against Arizona’s defense.
-Play calling from Chan: I know that was only one preseason game, but I enjoyed that offensive drive probably more than any other drive last year. Sorry Mike Solari, but the Chiefs new offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey, really made the offense watchable. But can he keep calling the right plays?
-Brodie Croyle: We know he’s the main guy here. Croyle is not expected to do a whole lot for the Chiefs. He looked impressive against Chicago, so just like the above, lets see if he can keep it rolling.
Also keep an eye on Glenn Dorsey if he plays. Dorsey is very quick off of snaps and knows how to get to the QB.
Many first timers on the Chiefs made some big first impressions. Lets see if they can continue to do so in their preseason game against the Cardinals in Arrowhead.
There are several things you can make judgments on when you watch preseason games. For example, the play calling last week against Chicago was beautiful. It was better than anything last year. In the first drive, Brodie Croyle helped the Chiefs dominate in the first drive going five for five on third down. Croyle could not do it on his own, so he needed some help. Rookie players made an impact on that first drive. Croyle completed a pass to running back Jamaal Charles, tight end Brad Cottam and wide receiver Will Franklin. Croyle also found Dwayne Bowe in the first drive. After all the success in the first drive, the “centaur,” Larry Johnson got in the endzone after missing eight games from last season. However, there was a pretty big negative I need to point out that I think is okay to judge on despite it’s a preseason game. Larry Johnson’s blocking. It’s clear that LJ shows little to no effort while blocking. The good part is, Larry still has three games to improve in that area before it really matters.
See, you can make some clear assumptions for preseason games. Yes, preseason DOES MATTER! Do the wins? Absolutely not. For teams like Indianapolis, New England, Pittsburgh and several other teams, preseason is not a big deal to them as they only have few players to evaluate. And a majority of the players are from the third unit. Teams like Kansas City, a team that lost nine straight last season to finish the season, need the preseason to evaluate a lot of players. A couple wins in the preseason would be nice. But I know people who think the Chiefs will go 10-6 because of their performance against the Bears. So can I assume the Ravens will go 16-0 after beating the Patriots in a preseason game?
My point is, preseason victories are not a big deal. However, the performances of the players who are battling for a key spot on the team do matter. That’s why coaches like the preseason. They use that time to evaluate their players.
As for Chad Pennington, I said this on my show but, he would not come to Kansas City because it would not fit Herm’s youth movement and the fact that this has been shaped as Brodie Croyle’s football team. He is already given the spot. I would like Pennington still as I feel he would benefit the Chiefs as a backup, but Pennington wants to start and he will get that shot in Miami. And good job by the Packers for trading Favre. They promised Rodgers the starting spot and he has waited long enough.
I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow to talk about other Chiefs topics. Have a nice day!
