FanHouse Greg Wesley

It sucks to be Greg Wesley today. The Raiders released the safety just a few weeks after signing him to make room on the roster for Adam Archuleta. And, yes, that would be the same Adam Archuleta who spent two inglorious seasons with the Redskins and Bears before mercifully getting released.

Well, he's back in the league, not as a defensive back, but at his old college position: linebacker. No, really. I suppose this could be worse -- I mean, the Raiders could've signed Archuleta to play safety.

Luckily, Oakland's secondary is set -- on paper, they're one of the best units in the AFC. The linebacker position could use some depth, and, apparently that's what Archuleta adds.

The Oakland Tribune's Jerry McDonald has all the gory details:

Eight-year veteran safety Greg Wesley has a message for the Kansas City Chiefs: Trade me, or release me.

"They told me they were going to let me go right when the season was over," Wesley said. "This is my livelihood. My career took a little bit of a hit last year. I've been a starter, and then last year they gave a guy my position. There was no competition. They just gave it to him. So it's obvious they don't want me. So why not let me go on my way? Let me get my career back on track. Let me go play. I'm not a backup."

Wesley, who is scheduled to earn $3.2 million in salary bonuses this year, was nearly traded twice last season after becoming upset with his new back-up role. However, both trades fell through at the last second and he was forced to remain on the Chiefs roster.

"They could have traded me last year. They chose not to. I was good about it, didn't cause distractions or problems during the season," he added.

It's obvious that Wesley won't let that fly again. If Kansas City doesn't trade or release him, he's going to cause a major problem next season. And for a young team that is in rebuilding stage, that is the very last thing they need.

While his value may have decreased after a statistically sub par season, Wesley could still draw a decent return from a team in dire need of a quality safety. And although they recently signed Sammy Knight, Kansas City may want to check with the New York Giants -- they certainly could use the help.

I've given up on playoff scenarios. The Chiefs need to rely on the Bengals, Titans, and Denver to lose to make the playoffs. Miracles have happened before, but I think we all need to face reality: the Chiefs are not going to make the playoffs and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we can finally enjoy 2007 as "a new year."

Not that it really matters. Let's face it: this Chiefs' team is not as good as we thought they were. I'm sick of talking about this season. Each time I talk about this season, I want to vomit all over myself. Let's start talking about next season, shall we?

The Chiefs MUST re-sign:

• Tony Gonzalez - without Gonzalez, the Chiefs go from average to really bad on offense. Pay him whatever it takes. He may be old, but he's not a player that relies on speed.
  
• Jared Allen - The Chiefs have a terrific defensive foundation and Jared Allen is one of the most important pieces.
  
• Randy from accounting - you keep crunching those numbers, Randy. I've got your back.

The Chiefs MUST pick up:

• Jessica Alba - Seeing her on the sidelines might keep me from crying after every disappointing loss.

For every loss, it's hard to accentuate any positives. So, like any other pissed-off fan, I'm going to rip on the Chiefs for the negatives. There were a few glaring goats of the game. Let's start from the top-down:

• Gunther Cunningham: Phil alluded to this already. Gunther Cunningham must have taken a break over the past 10 days. It is absolutely beyond me that you don't attack a defense with minus a running game. Where were the blitzes? Where were the decoy coverages? You have a quarterback who hasn't seen a snap probably since he was partying on his college campus. The gameplan was lousy, unimaginative, predictable. Gunther Cunningham, you were the goat of the game: baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
• Kris Wilson: There is absolutely zero... ZERO excuse for allowing a ball thud off your hands on 2nd and 4. Wilson would've had a first down and then some. Instead, the Chiefs ended up punting in overtime and, well, we know how that turned out

What better way to celebrate one of the greatest rivalries in the game than over a plate of turkeys, yams, and cranberry sauce? The Chiefs' defense might not be eating delicious turkey, but they might be licking their chops about playing the Broncos' 20th ranked offense.

When the Broncos pass the ball:
The Chiefs did a very good job shutting down the passing game in their first matchup against the Broncos. Most other defenses have followed suit by doing a pretty good job against the Broncos' passing game as well. However, the Broncos might have another driving force in their favor: a fired up Jake Plummer. According to our fellow blogger at the Broncos' Fanhouse, Jake Plummer is expected to be replaced by Jay Cutler when the Broncos face Seattle.

That would make this start Jake Plummer's last. Do you think he might want to prove something? Do you think it's a coincidence that the Broncos would leak out this kind of rumor before perhaps the Broncos' biggest game of the season? This cannot bode well for the Chiefs. Plummer can be a dangerous when he maintains his focus. Plummer might respond with either a big game to stick it to the Broncos. Then again, Plummer has a long history of also trying to do too much and forcing dumb mistakes. My vote is that we will see the former version of Jake Plummer.

The key to stopping Jake Plummer, as Chiefs' fans are well aware, is to get in his face, seal off the bootleg, and don't give Plummer room to run.

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.

Ever heard of Murphy's Law? The theory states that "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."

The 2006 Kansas City Chiefs are a good football team, but they are cursed. CURSED! According to the Palm Beach Post, the Chiefs will now have to play without Tony Gonzalez, who will miss 2-3 weeks with a strained shoulder.

This could be the Chiefs' most devastating injury to date. Gonzalez is a critical blocker for Larry Johnson, he is the main reason for Damon Huard's most recent resurgence, and he draws attention from linebackers and safeties that would normally be focused on LJ. With two upcoming rivalry games against Oakland and Denver, the Chiefs really did not need to lose these two players.

Let's review the Chiefs' woes to date:

• John Welbourn retires suddenly. He claims he wants to become a lawyer; truthfully, we find out he probably needed a law degree to defend himself from a 6-month suspension.
• Pro bowl left tackle Willie Roaf retires on extremely short notice.

Nobody flinches when good players fall for the Chiefs. It's amazing how quiet the news was that Derrick Johnson and Greg Wesley would miss this Sunday's Game. Especially for Johnson, who is on pace to rack up a very impressive 100 tackles and 9 sacks. Luckily, the Chiefs feel pretty confident in the depth behind these two players. Jarrad Page has played a lot of snaps this season and should be polished enough to adequately replace Wesley, who is having a surprisingly good season. Johnson will be replaced by Keyaran Fox--not nearly as fast, but he's not a bad player to bring off the bench.

When the Dolphins run the ball
The Chiefs have been somewhat spotty in stopping the run this season; however, the Dolphins should not provide too much of a test for the Chiefs. The Dolphins are deathly afraid of running the ball. Their offensive line simply does not open up holes. The Chiefs will take a big hit on run support by not having Derrick Johnson to flag down the outside runs and Greg Wesley, who has always been a very good run defender.

Keyaran Fox did not seem to get to the outside nearly as fast as Derrick Johnson usually does. Tamba Hali and Jared Allen have been doing a terrific job this season containing the outside run, and they will need to do so again on Sunday. James Reed and Ron Edwards have mostly done a pretty good job all season plugging holes in the interior run defense. The run defense needs to be won in the trenches. The Dolphins' offensive line has been absolutely awful in run support and the Chiefs need to take away the Dolphins' running game early to shy the Dolphins away from the run.

When the Dolphins pass the ball?
Joey Harrington has this Dolphins team playing a little more consistently.

The Chiefs have gotten a lot of press this week because of the nature of their division. All of a sudden, everyone is talking about how the AFC West is the toughest division in the league (though AFC West fans already knew that before the season), and how the division could send three teams to the playoffs.

Little has been made, though, of the team itself. While we have been receiving constant updates about Brian Urlacher and Terry Glenn, quietly the Kansas City Star reported that Brian Waters and Derrick Johnson are out for the Miami game, and that Greg Wesley is still a question mark. Kevin Sampson will miss his second consecutive game.

These are some major injuries, and that isn't even taking into account Trent Green or Ronnie Cruz. Maybe it's because those player don't have a lot of fantasy value, or because the Chiefs are facing a very disappointing Miami team, but Waters is the Chiefs' best offensive lineman (in fact, one of the NFL's best linemen), and Derrick Johnson was on pace for a 100+ tackle, possibly 10-sack season. Meanwhile, Wesley has stepped up his play, and his improvement is a big reason why the Chiefs' defense has improved this year. While Sampson isn't a star, Kyle Turley has not shown yet that he is able to overcome his massive weight loss.

Most are favoring the Chiefs to win, largely based on their winning streak, but you wonder how many of the "experts" realize that so many key components will be missing from the game. Miami has struggled enough this year for the Chiefs to still be favored, but they have a lot more to overcome than people may realize.

According to the Fanhouse's own Michael David Smith, CBS eliminated sideline reporters and nobody noticed. Smith's comment is actually very representative of what many people think: sideline reporters are useless and, like most useless objects, they should be thrown into the trash.

First, let me point out, that I am very partial to Bonnie Bernstein. Nothing, to me, is sexier than a woman who knows sports. Before I go Joe Namath on this blog, let me also add that she is a terrific sideline reporter. She is a true professional, she takes her job very seriously, and she asks all the right questions. In my opinion, it is sideline reporters like Bernstein and Michelle Tafoya that epitomize the way the sideline reporter job should be operated. But even the most seemingly useless sideline reporters are useful in some capacity.

The CBS broadcast dropped the ball big time in the Chiefs vs. Rams broadcast.
Because of CBS' hard-headed decision to eliminate sideline reporters, Chiefs' fans missed extremely valuable information on why four of their starters were hooked from the game with injuries, never to return. Shouldn't somebody at CBS notice when star linebacker Derrick Johnson leaves the game on crutches? Instead, we had to make that conclusion ourselves, asking ourselves why Keyaran Fox was playing snap after snap after snap. What about the status of the Chiefs' pro bowl guard, who was carted off the field? What about Greg Wesley, who left the game with a shoulder injury? What about potential Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Tamba Hali, who left the game with a hip pointer injury. These are four marquee players that left the game and yet not a whisper from the broadcast crew. Not even a mouse squeak.