FanHouse Brianwaters

The AFC and NFC Pro Bowlers were announced a short while ago, and why make some pointless comment you are sure not to laugh at when we can just give you the rosters instead? Here goes.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: Oh, holy God. Do we have to start here? Can't we start at defensive line? Or even offensive line? No? Okay. So last season, Damon Huard was such the pinnacle of mediocrity, he may have redefined the word for decades. It wasn't so much that Huard was spectacularly terrible, throwing constant interceptions as he heaved them down the field, Rex-Grossman-style, it was that he looked singularly incapable of actually getting the ball downfield to begin with. So, after far too many games watching the offense set new franchise lows, Brodie Croyle who had been waiting in the wings, finally took the reins. The results were less than spectacular. Chiefs fans support Croyle because the kid has shown flashes of leadership and a pretty solid arm. The trouble is, the protection was so bad last year, no one knows whether to pin the offense's disastrous play on an inability by Brodie to produce, or a result of the fact that Croyle spent so much time on the run it's a wonder he's not dead in the cold, cold ground. So with a retooled and slightly upgraded offensive line, he should be better? Right? Right? Oh, Jesus, where's the bottle? Wait, what? Huard's still on the team? Must get bigger bottle. Heat Index: 2

Many of the league's most respected players were in Washington, DC, on Friday to be honored at the 2008 NFL Players Gala featuring the JB Awards. Hosted by CBS' James Brown and former Steelers head coach turned CBS analyst Bill Cowher, the event is an annual awards presentation benefiting Special Olympics District of Columbia.

A group of the players being honored at the evening's award show spent the morning at Catholic University playing football with 75 or so local Special Olympic Athletes. Players involved on Friday morning included Marques Douglas, Chris Draft, Warrick Dunn, Braylon Edwards, Israel Idonije, Kassim Osgood, Mack Strong, James Thrash and Brian Waters.

With guys like Chris Henry and Matt Leinert in the news for questionable decisions lately, I think it's important to recognize many of the league's good people. DC was lucky enough to be full of them on Friday.Sorry, No Photos

Every offseason for the past several years, Chiefs' fans have clamored for change. Changes on defense. Changes at wide receiver. Changes within the coaching staff.

But never the offensive line. Why would they have to? For years, the Chiefs boasted the best offensive line in the league, made up of veterans who were still in their primes.

Last offseason was a taste of something slightly different. There were worries that Will Shields would retire, but not many people seriously expected him to retire. It wasn't until training camp that we all of a sudden learned Willie Roaf would not return and John Welbourn purported to retire.

This offseason is completely different. The offensive line was not particularly dominant, and was downright bad at times. The only surefire starters are Brian Waters and Casey Wiegmann, and Shields' potential retirement is more realistic now.

By most accounts, left tackle is the most worrisome position. Although I felt that Jordan Black played fairly steadily for most of the year, he is certainly not Willie Roaf, and his performance in the playoffs was, shall we say, regrettable. Further, I have opined previously that the Chiefs did an awful job this year of picking up blitzes; one has to wonder if that was the case because there was more help assigned to Black, rather than in detecting blitzers. The Chiefs appeared to have been grooming Will Svitek for the job, but Svitek was extremely raw as a rookie and missed most of this year with injuries. Kyle Turley simply cannot be an option anymore.

So... I interviewed a 3-year-old kid. He barely knows any English, cannot read, and still has to have his Mom dress him in the morning, and even HE knows that LJ is going to carry the ball 30+ times today when the Chiefs square off against the Colts.

When the Chiefs pass the ball:
So many experts want to tell us that LJ is the key to this football game. He is not. The key for the Chiefs is their passing game and how they will help set up LJ. If the Chiefs can effectively move the football in the air, it is scary to think about how much damage LJ can inflict on a Colts' defense that isn't loading up every player in the box.

That means that the two most important Chiefs' players in today's game are going to be Jordan Black and Trent Green. I know, I know. Disconcerting, isn't it? Jordan Black has got to give Trent Green time to throw the ball and Green has got to give his offense a chance to move the ball in the air. More importantly, Trent Green has GOT to stop throwing the ball into the hands of his opponents. As I mentioned in a radio spot on "360 the Pitch", I think a sleeper in this game is going to be Eddie Kennison. He is exactly the guy that can stretch the defense out and, the less defenders paying attention to LJ the better.

Realize one thing: the most important thing the Chiefs can do to win the game is to keep Peyton Manning and the Colts' offense off the field. If Solari is smart, he will utilize a short passing attack.

AFC Pro Bowl rosters were announced today, and, ho hum, Will Shields, Tony Gonzalez, Brian Waters, and Larry Johnson made the roster. Shields is the lone starter; the rest are reserves. While obviously a great achievement, it hardly seems worthwhile given the disappointing year by both the Chiefs and the offense.

Truth be told, I think Shields probably got in more by reputation than actual performance. At the least, Waters should have earned the starting nod over Shields. Nonetheless, Shields will be making his record-tying 12th appearance in Honolulu.

Once again, no defensive players will be representing the Chiefs, nor should any. While the defense enjoyed a decent year, no player truly stood out. Jared Allen started off very strong, but he has tailed off lately. Tamba Hali has been inconsistent while battling injuries. Derrick Johnson looked terrific early, but he, too, was injured, and this year's AFC linebacking options were incredible.

So we are left with the 4 players we pretty much knew very early would be going to Hawaii. Four Pro Bowl players is a lot, so the Chiefs have a lot to be proud of. Congratulations to Shields, Gonzalez, Waters, and Johnson, but you have to wonder if this year in particular they will be going to Honolulu without feeling so hot about it.

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.

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.

I haven't been graded on anything for a while, so it makes me feel good to now grade others and let others feel my wrath. The Chiefs have finished half of their games so far. Here is how I would grade them midway through the season.

Quarterbacks:
The Chiefs have two quarterbacks right now that can carry this team. Damon Huard has been razor-sharp, posting a 105.2 QB rating and a stunning 11/1 TD/INT ratio. The only thing holding back their grade is the fact that the passing game is secondary to the running game in Kansas City.
Grade: A-

HalfBacks:
Larry Johnson is not only playing outstanding, he is a top candidate for the NFL MVP. LJ got off to a fairly slow start, for KC running back standards, but he has carried this offense ever since. Michael Bennett was a big addition this year. The Chiefs often over-relied on LJ last season, asking LJ to do well more than he was capable of. The Chiefs were so deathly afraid of yanking him from games that LJ often had to take himself out of games to take a breather. That's no longer the case with Bennett in the rotation. LJ and Bennett are carrying this team. If I could give them a higher score, I would.
Grade: A+

Fullbacks:
Ronnie Cruz did his job fine, but it too often gave us flashbacks of how much the Chiefs missed Tony Richardson.