The only hope, in many fan’s opinion, was that if the Chiefs stood any chance against the New England Patriots this Sunday, Tom Brady would have to sit out. Well, it doesn’t look like that is going to happen.
Brady, who hasn’t played since the Superbowl, and is healing a sore foot and ankle told the local Boston media that he expects to play this weekend when the Patriots host the Chiefs.
Pats’ head coach Bill Belichick wouldn’t give much information, but Brady is not concerned with the fact he hasn’t played at all this preseason saying, "I have played a lot of football games, and I think I know what it takes to move the team and get the ball in the end zone."
That’s not good news for the Chiefs.
Chiefs and Rams get roster to 53
Sunday was the cut off date for NFL teams to get their rosters down to 53 players. As expected, there weren’t many surprises from the Chiefs or Rams as they prepare for next Sunday’s season opener.
Just a couple of highlights for the Rams. First, with Marc Bulger and Trent Green wrapped up for the top QB spots, head coach Scott Linehan brought in Brad Gradkowski from Tampa Bay to compete with Brock Berlin, but Berlin outplayed Brad and will retain his third string spot.
Mr Irrelevant, David Vobora, a linebacker from Linehan’s Alma Mater, Idaho, grabbed a spot on the Rams’ roster. Vobora was the last pick in the NFL draft.
The Chiefs made their final cuts as well, the one name fans would be familiar with is wide receiver Bobby Sippio. Kansas City has 13 rookies on their 53 man roster with nine expected to see significant playing time early.
Also, Branden Albert, who hasn’t played a game for the Chiefs yet in the preseason because of a foot injury, could practice this week and head coach Herm Edwards hasn’t ruled out the possibility of him playing in New England.
Pat’s RB Faulk suspended for Chiefs game
New England Patriot’s running back Kevin Faulk will miss their season opener when they host the Kansas City Chiefs, after being suspended one week for a drug violation.
Faulk’s suspension began Saturday. He will be eligible to return to the team Sept. 8, the day after New England’s opener against Kansas City.
He was also sentenced to a year’s probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor marijuana charges after being summoned for possession at a Li’l Wayne concert in Lafayette, LA back in February.
Last season, Faulk had 47 catches for 383 yards and one touchdown. He also had 62 rushes for 265 yards.
Chiefs win Governor’s Cup
Whew! If you’re a Chiefs fan you let out a big sigh of relief…they finally found the endzone with some regularity. Kolby Smith had two touchdown runs and Bobby Sippio caught another, as the Chiefs put up 21 points in the first half and held on for a 21-17 win.
The game was delayed about 90 minutes due to three thunder showers that passed over Arrowhead right around the 6pm kickoff time and the Rams didn’t have working radios. At halftime, Linehan said, “Its awful, none of us have radios, I don’t have one. We are running plays like they do in high school.”
Trent Green led the Rams for just the first three plays which resulted in a 35 yard field goal after Dantrell Savage fumbled the opening kickoff for the Chiefs. Down 3-0, the Chiefs moved down the field in seven plays to score on a 14 yard touchdown run by Kolby Smith. The offensive line opened up good holes for Smith who looked on the night. Smith would follow on the Chiefs next possession scoring on a four yard touchdown run. Brodie Croyle was at QB for the first two touchdown drives and finished his night 3 of 4 for 42 yards.
Equally as impressive as Smith was rookie running back Jamaal Charles who had six carries for 43 yards in his first action coming back from an injury. Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said, “The man can run, no doubt about it. He’s probably one of the fastest football players I’ve ever been around.” Edwards isn’t lying either, there were two runs where he was able to turn the corner and outrun the Ram defenders. Edwards also added that Charles was picking up blitzes and was running good screens, adding he will definitely help this team.
After the Rams fumbled, it set up the Chiefs with a short field to work with again in the second quarter and Damon Huard hit Sippio for an 11 yard touchdown.
Brock Berlin did not look too sharp early in the first half, but came back well to lead the Rams on a 66 yard, 11 play two minute drive to cut the lead to 21-10, capped by a 16 yard touchdown pass from Berlin to Looker. Berlin was 13 of 21 for 107 yards. Brad Gradkowski who was brought in the second half as he is battling Berlin for the third QB spot. He had to fight through a rain shower on the Rams opening drive of the second half and led the team into a 40 yard field goal attempt that was missed by Josh Brown. Gradkowski led the Rams into the endzone in the 3 rd quarter. Gradkowski finished 11 of 18 for 105 yards and an interception
Other notes: Larry Johnson did not play as was reported earlier in the week. He was pulled off the field right at the start of the game and Kolby Smith said he knew he was starting literally right before the first play. Rams rookie wide receiver Donnie Avery suffered a right knee sprain. Linehan didn’t speculate on whether or not he’ll be ready to go against Philadelphia
Chiefs get rid of Feely already
The Chiefs told their three kickers in camp, Conner Barth, Nick Novak, and Jay Feely that they would have a competition with the best two sticking for the team for their final preseason game with St. Louis.
Feely, ended up losing out, much to the shock of his agent who said if the Chiefs didn’t plan on using Feely for their last preseason game, they shouldn’t have invited him to camp.
On Thursday, Barth and Novak will have one more game to win the spot on the Chiefs rosters as the team’s kicker. In the past two days, the kicking competition played out with Feely making 23 of his 30 field-goal attempts, while Barth made 28 of 30 and Novak 27 of 30.
Chiefs get healthier
Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards finally has something to smile about during this 0-3 preseason run. He’s getting back some healthy players who will see action on Thursday when the Chiefs host the Rams.
The linbacking corp got a big boost when linebackers Donnie Edwards and Napoleon Harris returned to practice. The Chiefs will also get two of their draft picks back. Tightend Brad Cottam and running back Jamaal Charles are practicing.
With Edwards stuck in a quandry over whether to keep Conner Barth or Nick Novak has his kicker, Herm may not go with either one. They just picked up seven year veteran Jay Feely who was just cut by Miami
Rams trim roster
The St. Louis Rams have released RB Lavarus Giles, K Justin Medlock and WR Shaine Smith, the team announced today. The team also placed CB Justin King on the reserve/injured list.
King, a fourth-round draft choice (101 st overall) in the 2008 NFL Draft, underwent season-ending surgery last week after suffering a toe injury in the Rams first preseason contest at Tennessee.
Medlock was a first round pick of Kansas City’s last year and didn’t stand hope of making the squad, after the Rams signed free agent kicker Josh Brown.
Franklin had surgery last week
Rookie wide receiver Will Franklin has knee surgery late last week and the Chiefs are saying Franklin will miss anywhere from two to four weeks.
Franklin hurt himself on Thursday during the team’s practice and the Chiefs have not disclosed what the specific injury is. The injury and surgery are on the same knee (right) he had operated on when he was with the Missouri Tigers.
Brady says he’ll be ready for Chiefs
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who has not played the entire preseason says he’ll be ready for the regular season opener when the Pats host the Chiefs.
As reported by ESPN.com, Brady said on an appearance on a Boston radio station that even if he doesn’t play Thursday against the Giants, he’ll still be ready for the start of the season.
Brady is nursing a foot injury and has not played in any of the Pats’ three straight preseason games. Brady is a two time Super Bowl MVP.
Bulger impressive in Rams win over Baltimore
Marc Bulger broke out of his preseason slump leading the Rams on two scoring drives in the first half on their way to a 24-10 win over Baltimore at the dome. The Rams are now 2-1 on the year and look a lot better than they did last at this point last season.
Bulger was 18-25 for 182 yards and two touchdowns, much better than his first two efforts this summer. With WR Drew Bennett (groin) and Dante Hall (ankle, by the way is this guy ever healthy?) knocked out in the second quarter Bulger had to rely on rookies to get the job done.
Keenan Burton had three catches for 63 yards and a touchdown, and the first receiver taken in the draft, Donnie Avery had a great debut grabbing five catches for 65 yards. On Burton’s four yard touchdown catch, the refs ruled he came down out of bounds, but the Rams’ challenged and reversed the call. On the Rams’ next drive, Bulger moved the team 91 yards down and connected with Travis Minor on a short one yarder.
The Rams defense held up well against rookie and third string quarterback Joe Flacco who played the entire game and was 18 of 37 for 152 yards and one touchdown which came in the third quarter.
The Rams wrap up their preseason schedule on Thursday at Kansas City for the Governor’s Cup. Click here for the full game stats.
