With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.
Meet The ... Conclusion of the Butt Chiefs. That lousy 2-14 Chiefs squad from 2008 has nowhere to go but up from here, so they will no longer be the butt of everyone's joke. Remember that explosive offense for the NFC Champion, Arizona Cardinals. Well, former offensive coordinator Todd Haley assumes his first head coaching job this season in Kansas City. In other words, the Chiefs offense just became very relevant for fantasy football owners. Sure, Haley still faces a massive challenge in terms of personnel, but you can rest assured that this season, the Chiefs' offense will make plays just like Haley's Cardinals did.
One of the best things about Fantasy Football is "smack talk." Yup, littering the message board and taunting your friends and enemies at every opportunity. I feel for you if your league doesn't run by such standards, for me it's a must. Anyhow, another aspect of the game that ranks right up there is the "I told you so."
And yes, who doesn't like the right to brag and gloat. Look, when it comes to Fantasy Football we all think we're experts, but when we nail a call --- man, that's gratification. Well, you can probably guess where this going...right? Yup, you may have read Matt Snyder's plea on this very site to NOT draft Larry Johnson. Well, we even subtly suggested you deal him after his huge game against Denver.
FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.
First things first. Joseph Addai is out, Larry Johnson is suspended, Willie Parker's suffered a setback, and Reggie Bush has knee swelling. From the latter two, I expect Bush to play and Parker to sit. These rankings reflect that.
Johnson will be replaced by a committee: Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith. The Chiefs play the mighty Titans defense. Pass on both.
Parker would likely be replaced by Mewelde Moore, who should provide an admirable showing against in Cincy.
I expect Deuce McAllister to take a few carries from Reggie Bush, but they really play a different position. Approach this week as if Bush is completely fine.
The major fallout, though, is that Dominic Rhodes is stepping into the Colts backfield against a less than solid Green Bay run defense. The Colts were finally back to their old selves this past week, and if they keep it up ... it is an incredibly easy offense in which to pile up stats from RB. With this all in mind, Rhodes has made the top 10 this week in our running back ranks.
It appears assault isn't something the NFL is a big fan of. Fox Sports Net J.C. Pearsen has reported that the Chiefs suspended running back Larry Johnson this Sunday for the game against the Titans.
The reason for the suspension isn't yet established but most assume it's because of the latest assault charge that Johnson is facing after allegedly pushing a lady in the face at a nightclub on February 24 in Kansas City and telling her "don't touch me."
This is the third time since 2003 that Johnson has faced an assault charge and the second from a women at a nightclub. Formerly the premier running back in the league, Johnson has struggled with consistency, rushing for 417 yards this season but nearly half of that came in the win against Denver, when LJ had 198 yards and two touchdowns.
Now facing one of the better teams in the league with the stingiest defense, the Chiefs will be looking at Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith to carry the load.
I'm going to give the same advice I wanted to send Pacman Jones about strip clubs. Larry, if you're at a nightclub in the next few months, don't push a girl down by her face. I don't think that's too much to ask.
There wasn't any beer on sale at the Meadowlands during today's overtime Jets win. That meant 65 minutes of the Herman Edwards Bowl had to be witnessed stone cold sober by the hardy souls who braved a rainy, miserable day in New York just to watch their team try to win a meaningless game.
That's just not right. It took me a fifth of scotch, two 40s of OE and a polo mallet just to make it to halftime. By the time Mike Nugent made two field goals, one was negated by penalty, to win the game 13-10 in the extra period I was on a morphine drip, scraping every drop of Sterno out of a can and grinding up bumblebees to snort.
God knows I wasn't playing this one naked. There were 18 punts, 35 incomplete passes, 13 penalties and the teams combined to convert 6-of-32 third downs. There weren't even any turnovers to make things interesting, just inept offenses running a few plays before sending a guy in to punt. That 18 number doesn't even include a roughing the kicker penalty or Jon McGraw's fake of a K.C. punt. That means there were 20 times teams were in a punt formation. Not that I was counting or anything.
Lions 25, Chiefs 20 Titans 10, Jets 6 When the Chiefs have the ball: There's some good news as it looks like Brodie Croyle will be healthy enough to play on Sunday. Good news is relative when discussing the K.C. offense, of course, but with Croyle in line to start next season every little bit of preparation helps the cause. Despite their miserable record, the Jets defense won't provide an easy opponent. They've been much better since the bye and did yeoman's work in last week's loss. They are still vulnerable to the run but the Chief offensive line hasn't offered much space for Kolby Smith or anyone else to operate. The more aggressive Jets can put some heat on Croyle and could force some mistakes if he looks to make the big play.
Kansas City Chiefs: 4-10 (4th in AFC West) Detroit Lions: 6-8 (3rd in NFC North)
Last Week:
Titans 26, Chiefs 17 Chargers 51, Lions 14
Why We Care: For the same reason we slow down to look at a car wreck or watch the Faces of Death videos -- our perverse addiction to gruesome things.
When the Chiefs have the ball: Here's how sorry of a state the Chiefs' offense is in -- I sat down at my desk to begin typing this, and I realized that I have no idea who their starting quarterback is this week. Is it Croyle? Huard? Does it even matter? Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe have been fine receiving options this year, but they've been about it. Larry Johnson, Priest Holmes, or Kolby Smith, the team is still only averaging 3.3 yards per carry. That's what happens when two Hall of Famers on the line retire in the same year.
Chargers 24, Chiefs 10 Raiders 34, Broncos 20 When the Chiefs have the ball: The Chiefs have decided on Brodie Croyle as their starting quarterback this weekend but they'd be wise to limit his impact on the game. The Broncos made another admission of their incompetence against the run when they released Sam Adams this week and K.C.'s game plan should feature Kolby Smith until the Broncos prove they can stop him. Even though the Broncos will play eight in the box to try and stop the run, Huard shouldn't be looking for too much more than quick slants and outs to Tony Gonzalez and Dwayne Bowe. Bad things, sacks and interceptions, happen with way too much frequency for Kansas City to try and open the game up downfield.
LaDainian Tomlinson is kryptonite to Kansas City, and he proved that once again this afternoon. In a game that all but ended the Chiefs playoff hopes, LdT ran all over K.C. to the tune of 177 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 20 yards receiving for good measure, in a Chargers 24-10 victory. And those two touchdowns pushed Tomlinson past Walter Payton on the all-time list. Pretty heady company for a back who's having a Hall of Fame career.
But all is not well in San Diego's world. Philip Rivers regressed a bit after a promising game last week, completing only 47.6% of his passes for 157 yards, one touchdown and one interception. It was another textbook example of inconsistency and something Chargers fans are growing extremely impatient with.
For Kansas City, what is left to say? Injuries and struggles at quarterback continue to doom this team. After starting for Brodie Croyle (injury), Damon Huard played so poorly that he eventually got himself pulled in favor of Tyler Thigpen, who didn't do much better.
On the bright side, Tony Gonzalez had a huge day, while Kolby Smith continued to impress in the absence of Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes. Unfortunately, neither of them were able to carry their team to victory, or even make the game more competitive.
The Chargers improve to 7-5, while the Chiefs drop to 4-8.
When the Chargers have the ball: Which LaDainian Tomlinson is going to show up on Sunday? The one who torched the Chiefs for 154 total yards back in week four or the one who managed only 3.2 yards per carry last week? On that note, which Chargers offense is going to show up this week? The one that scored only 16 points against the Chiefs nine weeks ago or the one tallied 32 in Baltimore last Sunday? It's a mystery!
For Kansas City, they'll want to mimic their success in week four and that will begin by pressuring Philip Rivers. The young quarterback hasn't quite lived up to the hype, and Chargers fans let him know it last week, before he "turned it on." Sunday will be an important step in regaining their trust, and the Chiefs will look to prevent that all afternoon.
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all. 
One of the best things about Fantasy Football is "smack talk." Yup, littering the message board and taunting your friends and enemies at every opportunity. I feel for you if your league doesn't run by such standards, for me it's a must. Anyhow, another aspect of the game that ranks right up there is the "I told you so." 
It appears assault isn't something the NFL is a big fan of. Fox Sports Net J.C. Pearsen has reported that 
There wasn't any beer on sale at the Meadowlands
To get you ready for week 17, 
To get you ready for Week 16, 
To get you ready for week 14, 
To get you ready for week 13, 
