Bengals take 17 - 10 win over Chiefs
Facebook Users Click Here
NFL AUDIO FIELD PASS: Sign In |  Subscribe | Learn More

---

Join Chiefs365 | Insider Forum with Josh Looney - Talk it up! | Looney Bin Archive

PRACTICE SQUAD PLAYERS READY TO GO
December 27th – 11:59 AM (EST)

Not listed among the Chiefs inactives were a pair of players who got the call-up to varsity Saturday morning - S Ricky Price and NT Derek Lokey from the practice squad. Both players are expected to play this afternoon.

After a week of practice, it appeared that rookie CB Donald Washington would fill in as the Chiefs third safety behind starters Jon McGraw and Mike Brown. Instead, the team opted to go with Price as the main backup. CB Travis Daniels could also contribute if need be if McGraw is still bothered by a hand injury that caused him to miss last weekend’s game (McGraw dressed, but did not play vs. Cleveland).

With WR Lance Long inactive today, it looks like rookie WR Quinten Lawrence will see an increased role offensively in addition to handling return duties.

INACTIVES ARE IN
December 27th – 11:35 AM (EST)

CHIEFS
15        QB      Matt Gutierrez (3rd)
17        WR      Lance Long
20        CB       Donald Washington
48        S         Reshard Langford
66        G         Darryl Harris
71        DE       Alex Magee
89        TE       Sean Ryan
97        LB       Pierre Walters

BENGALS
5          QB      Jordan Palmer (3rd)
37        FB       Fui Vakapuna
42        S         Chris Crocker
50        C         Jonathan Luigs
73        OT       Anthony Collins
89        WR      Jerome Simpson
94        DT       Domata Peko
95        DT       Orien Harris

CHIEFS MAKE PAIR OF TRANSACTIONS
December 26th – 5:05 PM (EST)

The Chiefs have made two more roster moves heading into Sunday. S DaJuan Morgan and LB Justin Rogers have been placed on injured reserve. Both players missed the majority of practice work this week and were listed as doubtful for this Sunday’s game in Cincinnati.

Filling the two roster spots created by the moves are the promotion of two practice squad players - NT Derek Lokey and S Ricky Price. Each player attended training camp with the Chiefs and has been part of the developmental roster for the majority of the season. Lokey was on the Chiefs active roster for the final two games of 2008. Price signed this past offseason as a rookie free agent out of Oklahoma State.

With Morgan’s injury and newly signed S Reshard Langford not yet acclimated to the defensive scheme, the Chiefs were facing the possibility of having just two active safeties on Sunday. Rookie CB Donald Washington received reps at practice as a reserve safety this week to address the depth issues at the position. S Jon McGraw, who dressed but did not play last week with a hand injury, is expected to start tomorrow alongside Mike Brown.

Both Lokey and Price traveled with the team to Cincinnati.

DITCH THE DOUBLE TEAM
December 26th – 8:17 AM

The last time that the Chiefs defeated a playoff team on the road in the month of December was 1991. That victory came as a 10-6 win over the Los Angeles Raiders in the season finale. Fate would have it that the Chiefs and Raiders met one week later in a Wildcard Game at Arrowhead. Seven days later, Kansas City would add a point to the previous total and take an 11-6 victory.

Nearly 18 seasons have passed since the Chiefs last pulled out a December road victory against a playoff team. Then again, the last time Kansas City saw snow fall on Christmas Day was 1962. The metro area picked up nearly a foot during Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. An omen?

Omen or not, the Chiefs will have back-to-back opportunities to pick up a December road victory over playoff contenders in Cincinnati and Denver. Finding a way to win those games is much more difficult to do than to talk about. But we’ve identified a starting point.

After giving up 245, 200 and 351 yards rushing over the past three games, stopping the run on Sunday is a defensive priority.

“Sooner or later you just gotta go out there and get the guy down,” LB Mike Vrabel said.

The Browns undertook an offensive game plan that resembled professional football of the 1960s (wearing the AFL throwbacks last week would have been fitting). Despite throwing for just 66 yards, the Brownies were able to light up the scoreboard with 41 points thanks to an offensive game plan that featured the counter-lead as its go-to play. More specifically, counter-lead left.

Cleveland ran the football 22 times for 201 yards over the left “B” and “C” gaps (that’s the defensive right). The X’s and O’s weren’t complicated, but the Chiefs couldn’t find an answer and Cleveland plugged their way for ridiculous yardage.

The incredible amount of rushing yards can’t be pinned on one player or position group, the result was a product of the whole. But there was a starting point.

The principal behind the counter-lead left was simple. Double team the right defensive end (Cleveland targeted the absence of RDE Glenn Dorsey), kick out the outside linebacker (Tamba Hali) with an edge blocker and lead FB Laurence Vickers up the “B” or “C” gap into an inside linebacker. The Browns linemen had a good game, their tight end had a good game and Vickers played an outstanding game. The final rushing tally displayed that aspect of the contest.

The beginning of the counter lead is the hardest to defend: the double team. Over 600 pounds crashing down on less than 300; really, it can’t be beaten. It can, however, be fought.

“It is a very difficult position to play when you are getting double teamed by two, 300 pound plus bodies and you have to try and figure out where they are going and try and figure that out on the fly,” head coach Todd Haley said. “Once you have good technique, it is critical because if you are a second late responding or a second late using proper technique than it is too late. It is happening fast and you just have to be on top of what you are doing to be successful.”

Technique is the only way to fight a double-team block. Simply holding ground is considered a victory. Not allowing two blockers to push back one defender makes everyone else’s job that much easier. The offense plays the odds, while the defense tries to find someone to hold ground and make the runner hesitate before its cavalry closes in.

“There isn’t too much you can do about it,” DE Tyson Jackson said. “It’s close to 700 pounds against 295 pounds. You really just have to stay low and focus on the guy in front of you, and hold it down the line of scrimmage. Then you give the linebackers more time to flow and make the tackle.”

Possessing a low bad level is unquestionably the best way to fight the double. Once you’re high, you’re toast. Leverage is critical.

“That’s something that’s real important when you’re getting pressure from two guys totaling maybe 700 pounds,” NT Ron Edwards said (who is double teamed quite a lot as a 3-4 nose). “It’s just real important to keep your shoulders down and make sure you’re foot placement is exactly on. Pad level as well as hand and foot placement is key.”

Stopping the run has been the focus all week as the Chiefs prepare for Cincinnati. The Bengals ground attack has produced three different 100-yard rushers this season (RBs Cedric Benson, Larry Johnson and Bernard Scott), which is the first time the franchise has accomplished that feat since 1970. Benson has also produced five 100-yard outings. One more and he’ll set a single-season franchise record.

Statistically, the Bengals are better on the ground than each of the Chiefs last three opponents, which combined to run for 796 yards. The challenge to stop the run would be present regardless of Sunday’s opponent. It just so happens that the schedule makers have taken it up a notch.

“It’s something that really bothers you,” Edwards said of the past three games. “You don’t want to be recognized as a defense that gives up all those yards. It’s something that bothers you and something that you want to correct for the next game.”

Sunday is past technique. Sunday is past personnel. Sunday is coming down to a pride check.

“They’re just going to line up and you know they are going to run the ball,” Vrabel said. “They are going to run the ball until you can stop them.”

Things I Think I Know
(60% of the time they’re right every time)

• The Bengals defense matches up well against a runner like the Chiefs’ Jamaal Charles. With such speed in the Cincinnati linebacking core, Kansas City will need to make its passing game a legitimate threat to keep the backers honest.

• QB Matt Cassel’s nearly flawless game a week ago was huge for a player coming off back-to-back weeks without a TD (and six combined INTs). Cassel took the adversity he was facing and placed it in the back seat. There is no reason to let that return in 2009. He needs equally impressive games over these final two contests to build momentum for 2010.

• Dwayne Bowe showed some rust in his return from a four-week absence last Sunday. Based off his speed and performance in practice this week, I’d expect that rust to be behind him.

• P Dustin Colquitt had an un-Colquitt like five-quarter hiccup that had some fans wondering if he was hurt. The lull began against Buffalo and extended into the beginning of Sunday’s game. With punts of 59 and 53 yards in the second half, Colquitt’s brief rough patch appears to be over.

• The reunification of Larry Johnson is a storyline buried very deep into this game. Injuries will be the only way the story-line takes the headlines on Monday. Johnson has gotten between just two and four carries during game in which Benson had been healthy.

• Controlling Cincinnati’s run game is beyond vital. Cleveland exploited the Chiefs defense without a passing game. If the safeties are stretched in primary run support, Cincinnati’s deep play-action game will be lethal.