FanHouse Damon Huard

A week ago, the Patriots had four quarterbacks on their roster -- Tom Brady found himself backed by Kevin O'Connell, Andrew Walter and rookie Brian Hoyer.

But then the Patriots cut ties with O'Connell and did the same with Walter on Friday -- leaving just Brady and Hoyer on the current depth chart. One need look no further than the 2008 Patriots season to know that a reliable backup quarterback is needed in the NFL. And no offense to Hoyer, who was 18 for 25 in the Patriots' final preseason game while taking every snap, but it's doubtful New England would feel too confident turning to him should the unthinkable happen to Brady again.

Jason Whitlock has reason to be concerned about Matt Cassel. He's the Chiefs new quarterback, doesn't have much in the way of experience, and will make nearly $15 million in 2009. Oh, and it's easy to be skittish when Cassel succeeds the likes of Damon Huard, Brodie Croyle and Tyler Thigpen.

Of the three, Thigpen probably has the most potential, but the new regime made it clear that he wasn't in their long-term plans when they traded for Cassel. But that doesn't mean Whitlock is convinced.

Specifically, he's worried that the Chiefs "have little interest in signing Matt Cassel to a long-term contract before the start of the season." There were rumors during draft weekend that the Chiefs gave Cassel a six-year deal ($36 million guaranteed). Untrue, it turned out.

Michael Crabtree was supposed to be a top five pick. He was supposed to be drafted by the Seattle Seahawks and slot right into the west coast offense that they run. Then the crazy first round of this year's NFL Draft happened and Crabtree was in a freefall.

He landed with the San Francisco 49ers and for fantasy owners, that's freaking horrible news (like finding out you posed for the picture to the right).

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

After winning just twice in 2008 and six times in two seasons, the Chiefs have decided to blow up the whole operation and start over. Scott Pioli and Todd Haley have replaced Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards, and the rebuilding process is currently underway.

Conventional wisdom suggests that such turnarounds might take a couple seasons, but after what the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins were able to accomplish, expectations are almost certainly higher -- which means that Kansas City could be just a few personnel moves from returning to the playoffs. The issue, of course. is which personnel moves will give Kansas City the best chance to make a postseason run in '09.

Commence housecleaning in Kansas City. The Chiefs won two games last season, hired Scott Pioli in January to fix the mess, and not long after, Herm Edwards was out of a job (although not for long).

And then, earlier this month, Kansas City hired former Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley to replace Edwards, and today, the organization's new faces got down to the business of running off the old faces.

So, let's imagine for a second that you're the front office of the Kansas City Chiefs. You just fluffed your fans earlier in the week with the notion of bringing recently retired Daunte Culpepper in at a position that desperately needs some excitement. That plan falls apart and your fans are disgruntled and obviously upset, so what is the next best thing to Culpepper? Quinn Freakin' Gray!!!!

(Kansas City Seismologists accidentally mistake the cheers and clapping for an earthquake, quickly call the National Weather Service.)

Yep, you read that correctly, according to NFL.com's Adam Schefter, the Chiefs are expected to sign a contract with Quinn Gray, the former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback who spent some time last summer with the Colts.

Gray, who made the roster over former Buccaneers quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, played in eight games for the Jags last season, tossing 10 touchdowns to his five interceptions with a 55 percent completion rating.

Tyler Thigpen is expected to start this Sunday when the Chiefs face off against the Jets.

If there was ever a situation to describe the Kansas City Chiefs of late, it is today's talk of the team looking at Daunte Culpepper. Talks, possible workouts and now nothing, as the Kansas City Star's blog Red Zone is reporting that the talks have settled and nothing more should happen between camps.

Culpepper would be an obvious upgrade to the quarterbacking core they're stuck with now, but of course the buck stopped right around hopeful and here is what Kansas City has to look forward to.

If the Chiefs don't sign a passer this week, they'll enter the Jets game with banged-up veteran Damon Huard, second-year quarterback Tyler Thigpen and Ingle Martin, who coach Herm Edwards said Sunday wasn't ready to lead the Chiefs offense.

Unless Culpepper was the person to snuff this idea out, why wouldn't they give him a shot? His career quarterback rating of 89.9 would have the three-time Pro Bowler ranked 15th in the league this year, a position that would exponentially improve the Chiefs situation.

Now they're going after former Tampa Bay quarterback Bruce Gadkowski, who in 11 games starting in 2006 had nine interceptions and six lost fumbles. The thought behind this is mind-boggling. You're bringing in a below average quarterback when you already have three below average or inexperienced quarterbacks on your roster?

I guess the Chiefs front office expects a lot more injuries before the season ends. If that is the case, bravo.

If you're wondering why the Kansas City Chiefs would be interested in a "retired" quarterback that hasn't been effective since 2004, let me give you a short list. Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard, Tyler Thigpen, and Ingel Martin. Those are the four quarterbacks on the 1-5 Chiefs roster. Is it starting to make sense?

Just a day after losing Croyle for the season with torn knee ligaments, Kansas City talked with Daunte Culpepper about possibly coming to the rescue at the most uncertain position on the field for the Chiefs.

Culpepper is the type of quarterback that might help a stagnant offense, using his legs (yes, he can still run a little) to make plays when the routes aren't there. The 2004 season, when Cupepper was with the Vikings, was his career best, but even his last season with the Raiders wasn't horrible. Daunte started six games, throwing five touchdowns (and rushing for three) to only two interceptions, more touchdowns than the three Kansas City quarterbacks have tossed combined in the first six games.

If Culpepper came to the Chiefs, he'd be welcomed by a young, athletic reciever in Dwayne Bowe and a veteran tight end in Tony Gonzalez that is smart enough to help out his quarterback.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his face-mask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's our new feature, Studs and Duds:

Here's Week 5 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Brandon Jacobs, RB NYG (15 rushes, 136 yards, 2 TDs) -- Remember back when you were in fifth and sixth grade and there was that kid who was bigger, stronger and more athletic than you and all your friends? Yeah, well that's Brandon Jacobs, except he's the best running back on the best football team in the world. A dominating performance against Seattle that was highlighted by a 9.1 yards per carry average has the Giants ... umm .... giant?

Tony Gonzalez passed Shannon Sharpe for all-time receiving yardage for a tight end. That is the beginning and the end of the good news for the Kansas City Chiefs today.

The Carolina Panthers just drilled the Chiefs, 34-0, and took sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

The stat of the game isn't how the Panthers outgained the Chiefs 441 to 127. It isn't that this was the biggest shutout in Panthers history. It is the fact that Carolina held Larry Johnson to just two yards rushing.

Yep. Just one week after nearly topping the 200 yard mark, LJ gained just two yards on seven carries. He now joins quite a list of backs who failed to hit the century mark rushing against the Panthers: LaDainian Tomlinson, Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson and Michael Turner.

The Chiefs passing game was a joke, too. Damon Huard threw for just 86 yards before he was pulled for Tyler Thigpen. The Chiefs gained the smallest amount of yardage in 22 years.

Carolina couldn't relate to KC's problems since their offense was doing anything they wanted.