The 74th pick of the 2016 NFL draft, Russell was thought to be one of the better defensive backs in the league after a solid career at Notre Dame. KeiVarae's draft stock increased after running a 4.4 forty yard dash time after suffering a broken right tibia in November. During preseason, Russell was simply unable to transition into the Chiefs defensive scheme. It is unusual to see a player drafted so high in the draft part ways with a team one week into his career. Terez Paylor of the Kansas City start spoke to Russell on his recent struggles, "I'm getting better, but I definitely struggled at first. I still had a lot of what I learned in college in my mind...when I'd go out to practice, the terminology I was supposed to say, I wouldn't say it the right way or I'd put it into a different defense. It's been tough, mentally." When the Chiefs drafted Russell, it was presumed he would be the third corner on the roster but with the recent emergence of Steven Nelson and recently acquired Kenneth Acker from the 49ers, there is no room for Russell. Russell was cut by the Chiefs and claimed by the Bengals, who take risk on players like Russell, with his major upside and athleticism. KeiVarae looks to restart his NFL career by meshing into the Bengals defensive scheme and the elite secondary personnel they feature including Kilpatrick, Adam "Pacman" Jones and George Iloka.
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This morning, the Chiefs as well as the other teams in the league announced their color rush uniforms. While many players and fans are happy about the color rush uniforms, it also has received a lot of backlash and criticism. Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce spoke about the uniforms through his twitter. Kelce stated he wish the uniforms were a little more creative but he was not displeased with the all red look either. The Chiefs are a traditional team, who went with a traditional look, it was not much surprise the Chiefs went with all red. Kansas City has used the all red color scheme numerous times in the past such as night games at Arrowhead Stadium Teams such as the Seahawks went with a more funky look in their neon green jerseys, which draws a bigger fan base from younger audiences. Kansas city will debut their "color rush" uniforms against the Oakland Raiders on Thursday, December 8th. Below are the new color uniforms versus what the Chiefs have done traditionally for a few games in the past few seasons, not much has changed here and at least the uniforms are not all yellow.
LSU product, Spencer Ware is carving a name out for himself with the Chiefs as the new starting running back. A 6th round selection for the Seahawks, the now Chief finds himself to be in the position for a lead back role in the NFL. With Jamaal Charles still sidelined from his second knee injury, Spencer has been excelling in his new role. In week 1, Spencer was the spark the Chiefs needed to mount their team historic comeback victory. Spencer produced 70 rushing yards and added 129 receiving yards which puts him at #3 all purpose yards through week one. (limited sample size)
Spencer not only produced well in week one of the 2016 season but carved out a nice roll in 2015, scoring the same number of touchdowns as some of the best back's in the league with significant less carries (see below). "He has now logged 342 yards from scrimmage over his last three games dating back to 2015 and including the playoffs. And he's done that at a pace of 6.8 yards per touch. Even more impressively, Ware also posted 210 rushing yards over a two-game stretch against the Chargers and Buffalo Bills in 2015" (Tomilson, 2016). It is not Ware's fault he has a limited sample, but with Charles availability still up in air for week two, Spencer has another chance to flourish. Ware compared to other RBs with six TDs in 2015 Spencer Ware 6tds on 72 carries Doug Martin 6tds on 288 carries Frank Gore 6tds on 260 carries Jonathan Stewart 6tds on 242 carries DeMarco Murray 6tds on 193 carries Latavius Murray 6tds on 266 carries Mark Ingram 6tds on166 carries Source: NFL.com References: Tomilson, S. (2016, September 17). Could Spencer Ware Be a Legitimate Lead Back in the NFL? | Bleacher Report. Retrieved from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2663930-could-spencer-ware-be-a-legitimate-lead-back-in-the-nfl Nfl.com Following a silent protest from Colin Kaepernick during the preseason, Marcus Peters also made a statement by raising his fist during the National Anthem. Kaepernick made national news when he kneeled during the National Anthem and since then other players have followed suit. The silent protest are athletes acknowledging police brutality in America, specifically against African Americans. Peters is one of the few people who publicly admitted being supportive of Kaepernick.
“I’m just stating that I’m black and I love being black,” Peters told reporters, “I’m supporting Colin (Kaepernick) and what he’s doing as far as raising awareness with the justice system. I didn’t mean anything by it. I locked arms with my teammates. I talked with coach and coach said it was OK if I wanted to express my thoughts and so I just expressed it.” Peters is seen at the very end of the line, raising his fist high in the sky, in his effort to voice his opinion similar to what Colin Kaepernick has been doing. When the Chiefs decided to link arms during the National Anthem it caught National headlines news. Prior to the San Diego game, the Chiefs released a statement; “After having a number of thoughtful discussions as a group regarding our representation during the national anthem, we decided collectively to lock arms as a sign of solidarity, it was our goal to be unified as a team and to be respectful of everyone’s opinions, and the remembrance of 9/11. It’s our job as professional athletes to make a positive impact on our communities and to be proactive when change is needed" (per @Chiefs twitter). Chiefs' Justin Houston to miss at least 6 weeks :Recently, Chiefs Linebacker Justin Houston, suffered a minor setback, being placed on the PUP list this week. Being placed on the physically unable to perform list, means the Kansas City Chiefs will be without their most disruptive pass rusher for at least 6 weeks of the season. Losing Justin Houston is a huge loss for the Chiefs defense. Over the past 4 seasons, Houston has accomplished a number of defensive achievements including leading the Chiefs in sacks every season since 2012, while totaling 22 sacks in 2014. For a young and promising team looking to advance further in the playoffs, this setback could help younger players such as Dee Ford, a first round pick in the 2014 draft prosper with much-needed game reps. However, with the newest injury to Chiefs LB Josh Mauga (Torn Labrum) it causes Houston's absence to be felt even more. Houston's return is unclear but the Chiefs defensive unit is confident that they will flourish without their star-studded linebacker and when he returns, healthy, opponents will cringe. It is hard to forget the 2014 NFL season where the Chiefs won 9 games finishing second in their division despite not throwing one touchdown to a wide out all year. Despite throwing 18 touchdowns, the only non running backs to score touchdowns were tight ends, Travis Kelce and Anthony Fasano. 2015 was a turn around for the WR core who hauled in twelve of twenty touchdowns Alex Smith threw that year. Still managing a significant jump in touchdowns, other than Jeremy Maclin, the chiefs do not have any threat at receiver. Chris Conley, the second year man out of Georgia has much upside to him with his 6'3 210lb frame. Albert Wilson, a much smaller quicker receiver has recently shown play making abilities in the open using his speed to out run linebackers matched up against him in the slot.
Now, it is 2016, and the Chiefs want to address their vertical game. Drafting Tyreek Hill, a high risk player due to his past but extremely blessed with speed as a WR/KR could have major upside if Hill can learn from his mistakes. Hill drew comparisons to Devin Hester from Special Teams coach Dave Toub, who is leading return man in the history of the NFL (Hester). Tyreek ran a combine best 4.24 in the 40 yard dash, and even took to twitter to tweet his accomplishment. Besides Hill, the Chiefs did not make any major moves at WR, confident that with the mixture of Maclin and Conley and Wilson will continue to mesh together and improve. 2016 could be a big year for the Chiefs passing game, with Jamaal Charles sidelined from tearing his ACL almost a year ago. Chiefs 4x pro Bowl safety Eric Berry signs Franchise tender ending holdout:Overcoming adversity seems something Eric Berry is poised to do. From rehabbing a season-ending ACL in 2011 to battling against Hodgkin's Lymphoma disease in 2014 and returning to football as a premier safety, Berry has done it all. After another standout season in 2016, Eric Berry and company sought after a very lucrative contract to reward Berry for his performance, work ethic and leadership role with the KC Chiefs. The two parties failed to reach an agreement before the offseason, causing Berry to skip training camp and much of the preseason and thus a holdout was begun. Eventually, Eric signed the franchise tender he was offered making just shy of $11 million this year. The one-year deal allows Berry to become the highest paid safety of 2016, however, other top tier safeties such as Harrison Smith of the Vikings received deals much better and secure. "Berry and his agent are likely adjusting their demands as well after Harrison Smith's new deal with the Berry and his agent are likely adjusting their demands as well after Harrison Smith's new deal with the Minnesota Vikings, Schefter reported on June 6 that the Vikings re-signed Smith for five years and $51.25 million, which includes $15.27 million fully guaranteed.reported on June 6 that the Vikings re-signed Smith for five years and $51.25 million, which includes $15.27 million fully guaranteed" (BleacherReport). Below is a chart of the top 5 NFL safeties and the deals they received. Berry is set to return to practice with his teammates Monday and is setting the business aspect of the NFL to the side and focusing on the upcoming NFL season. Berry's teammates, coaching staff and the Kansas City Chief fan base are relieved to have the star-studded safety back for another season, in hopes of signing a long-term extension to secure Berry.
References: Zucker, J. (2016, August 28). Eric Berry Contract: Latest News, Rumors on FS's Negotiations with Chiefs | Bleacher Report. Retrieved from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2646273-eric-berry-contract-latest-news-rumors-on-fss-negotiations-with-chiefs?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming-league KCChiefs.com According to NFL.com the Chiefs are exactly in the middle when it comes to strength of schedule for 2016. The Chiefs rank in at 16 out of 32 which puts them in a good situation to be one of twelve teams to make the playoffs. Here is my opinion on how the Chiefs will do in the first half of the season.
9/11 vs San Diego: Win 1-0 The Chiefs open up against a tough divisional match up in Phillip Rivers and Co. on a very emotional day for America. However the Chiefs will take advantage of this match up as San Diego is coming off four straight divisional losses as the Chiefs look to make it five. Chiefs win 21-10. 9/18 @ Houston: Win 2-0 The Chiefs look to make it three straight wins against the Texans in week two. Houston has re amped their offense with signing the 6'8 Brock Osweiler and adding speedsters Will Fuller IV and Braxton Miller to receiving core. JJ Watt is back and seems healthy from his surgery this offseason. However Alex Smith and company should be able to take care of the Texans. Chiefs win 17-14 9/25 vs Jets: Win 3-0 With Fitzpatrick holding out almost the entire pre season and losing Chris Ivory (a fellow Tiffin University student), New York offense looks shaky. Adding workhouse Matt Forte puts value back into the Jets running game. However coming into this game with two straight wins gives the Chiefs the advantage in this one. Chiefs blow out Jets 20-3. 10/2 @ Pittsburgh: Loss 3-1 Here comes my first predicted loss, with Pittsburgh expecting Le'Veon Bell ready to go fresh off his suspension and Antonio Brown twerking on his opponents, free spirited is what I would describe the Steelers recently play. Big Ben and the offense look extremely comfortable despite missing key pieces Le'Veon and Matrious Bryant to suspension. Pittsburgh defense is injured but their high powered offense will propel them to a victory. Steelers win 28-7. My prediction is that the Chiefs will go into the bye week 3-1 and sitting tied for second in the AFC West. |
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