Rams Drop Chiefs, 17-9

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle is hit as he tries to pass against the St. Louis Rams

By James Sullivan

Chiefs Coalition Columnist

     With their 17-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs Thursday night the St. Louis Rams won the Governer's Cup.  The loss dropped the Chiefs to 0-4 this preseason. The game wasn't the only thing the Chiefs dropped this week.  They also parted ways with offensive coordinator Chan Gailey  and then cut eight players on Friday.

     Needless to say it was quite a tumultuous week for the Chiefs.  Fear not Chief fans, because two other teams parted ways with their offensive coordinators this week as well.  The Buffalo Bills fired Turk Schonert and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed Jeff Jagodzinski the door.  Each were replaced by the respective quarterback coaches already with the teams,  Alex Van Pelt in Buffalo and Greg Olson in Tampa. 

     Of course the main difference between the offensive coordinator changes in Buffalo, Tampa and Kansas City is that Chiefs head coach Todd Haley has assumed play calling duties.  The greatest offensive coordinator of all-time still couldn't call successful plays with the current state of affairs on the right side of the Chiefs offensive line. 

     More on that later, Haley has taken the bull by the horns by assuming play calling duties.  It is a massive amount of responsibility for a rookie head coach in the NFL to also call the plays.  Haley seems ready for the challenge.

   "Ultimately, the finger is going to point back at me and I have to do what’s best for this team now and into the future," said Chiefs head coach Todd Haley.   "This is a long-term deal for me. This is about doing everything as an organization to give ourselves the best chance to win."

    Brodie Croyle got the start against the Rams and went 5 of 16 for 85 yards and was sacked twice.  Croyle was also smashed on numerous occaisions by the Rams defense.  In fact the right side of the Chiefs offensive line made Rams defensive lineman Victor Adeyanju look like the second coming of Bruce Smith.

    The Chiefs took a 9-7 lead at halftime thanks to the leg of kicker Ryan Succop, who connected on all three of his field goal attempts. Running backs Dantrell Savage and Larry Johnson each had impressive runs.  Tight end Sean Ryan also turned in a 40-yard reception.

   Third down conversions continued to be a major problem for the Chiefs.  They converted just 3 of 16 third downs and two of those came late in the game. 

    Now it wasn't all doom and gloom for the Chiefs but it was close.  The first team defense applied a good deal of pressure to the Rams quarterbacks.  Linebackers Corey Mays and Tamba Hali both had a sack for the Chiefs in the first half.

    After four preseason games it's quite clear that anyone who lines up at quaterback for the Chiefs this season will be running for their life.  In fact, don't expect Matt Cassel's  injury to be the last for Chief quarterbacks this season.  It's just physically impossible for anyone to drop back and attempt to throw the ball for the Chiefs without the risk of great bodily harm given the level of play on the right side of the offensive line.

    The Chiefs released eight players on Friday in advance of the roster cutdown to 53 players early next week.  Among those released were offensive linemen; Herb Taylor, Eric Ghiacuic, Taveras Washington and last year's starting right tackle Damion McIntosh.  Also cut by the Chiefs cornerbacks Travis Daniels and Londen Fryar, linebacker Corey Smith and fullback Jed Collins.

    Who will be the Chiefs starting right tackle against Baltimore?

    Your guess is as good as mine, I just feel sorry for the guy who lines up behind the center.

Yahoo sports.com and kcchiefs.com contributed to this story; photo by AP