FanHouse Chris Bober

Click on this link. Tell me what you see.

No, it is not the Chiefs' starting lineup. It is the injury report. Six starters are either out, doubtful, or questionable. Sammy Knight has been upgraded to probable.

It is really quite a list. Brian Waters and Tony Gonzalez are perennial Pro Bowlers. Derrick Johnson is a Pro Bowl-caliber player. Tamba Hali was a sleeper possibility for defensive rookie of the year. Greg Wesley was having his best season in several years. Kevin Sampson... well, he had to be replaced by Kyle Turley.

The Chiefs are still going to be favored against the Raiders, but the game is going to be a lot tougher than it should be. Chris Bober, replacing Waters, was nothing more than a turnstile against the Dolphins. Jason Dunn, replacing Gonzalez, is a fine blocker, but is as much of a downfield threat as Lawrence Tynes is. Keyaron Fox, replacing Johnson, forgot that the most important part of tackling is to actually bring the ballcarrier down. Eric Hicks has not had a sack in about forty years. And, of course, there is Turley, of whom nothing more needs to be said, except that I already did.

I suppose I should take some solace in the fact that all these injuries came when the Chiefs are facing the Raiders. Yet, I cannot help but worry. Only the win against the 49ers was easy; otherwise, the Chiefs have scratched, clawed, and hung on for dear life to win games. The Chiefs absolutely cannot lose this game if they want to keep any hope alive for the playoffs. As Herm Edwards has said all year, "You play to win the game." The only problem is that, well, you need to actually play.

The Chiefs' offense comes into the game on quite a roll. Ever since mustering up next to nothing against Pittsburgh, the Chiefs have averaged 32 points a game. Through the efficiency of Damon Huard and the relentlessness of Larry Johnson, the offense looks like it is on the same kind of roll it was on around this point last season.

The Dolphins' defense came to life last week against the Chicago Bears. The defense forced turnovers, was in the backfield far more often than the Bears wanted to see, and created scoring opportunities for their offense.

When the Chiefs run the ball

It has never been a secret that Herm Edwards wants Larry Johnson to run the ball, and to run it a lot. Mike Solari struggled with that notion at first, unsure of when to give LJ the ball, but knowing that he needed to get it. In recent weeks, Solari has not struggled with that notion at all, and LJ has responded with 460 yards in his last 3 games. Credit the offensive line-- much like last year, the big guys started off slowly, but became a dominant unit by midseason. The loss of Brian Waters could affect Johnson's ability to run up the middle somewhat, but he has also become extremely adept at waiting for the blocks to develop. With veteran Chris Bober taking over for Waters, Johnson can have that same confidence in letting the blocks develop.

Miami's defense has actually exceeded expectations this year. They are not the elite unit they were several years ago, but they have played solid, if unspectacular, defense in six of their eight games. Part of it is that their defensive line has come together nicely. Keith Traylor and Dan Wilkinson take up a lot of room and clog up the middle, allowing the linebackers to roam a bit more freely. Although Miami gives up over 100 yards rushing per game, Larry Johnson will have to earn his yards this week.

The headline is not a misprint. Larry Johnson is an obvious winner of the Arrowhead Award for this week, but he shares the award with Chris Bober. Chris who? That's right, Chris Bober.

Another week of some close calls. Jared Allen got serious consideration for his herculean effort on defense. Damon Huard was a candidate, though I just could not pull the trigger on giving the award to someone who threw only 15 passes. Tony Gonzalez nearly won his first Arrowhead Award of the year.

In the end, though, it came down to the running game. Johnson, of course, turned in another stellar effort. It is kind of hard to believe he had only 27 carries, because it seemed that every minute he was pummeling a Rams defender. Johnson ran hard, he ran fast, he ran over, and he has finally shushed all the critics who thought he was a fantasy bust.

As for Bober, I was going to give the award to the entire offensive line, but Kyle Turley and John Welbourn were only mediocre at best. Meanwhile, things did not look good for the Chiefs when Brian Waters hobbled off the field. Bober came in and the running game did not miss a beat. Johnson continued to be able to pound the ball inside, and Bober kept the holes open that Johnson was expecting to see.

Bober had become a forgotten man ever since losing out on the right tackle job a couple years ago, but he really is a much better interior lineman than exterior. He showed as much on Sunday, and that is why he and LJ share the Arrowhead Award for the week.