Chargers Blow Out Chiefs, 37-7

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel struggles to get up after one of many hits he took against the San Diego Charegers during the 37-7 debacle.

By James Sullivan

Chiefs Coalition Columnist

     It started out ugly and only got worse for the Chiefs last Sunday.  The San Diego Chargers had their way with the Chiefs en route to a 37-7 victory. 

     Most of the usual circumstances again contributed to the Chiefs latest loss; no first downs in the first quarter, many turnovers, too much pressure on Cassel and lack of running game.  It was nothing new to Chiefs fans who have suffered through watching 29 losses in the last 32 games played. 

     Trouble for the Chiefs began early as starting center Rudy Niswanger left the game with a serious knee injury.  The Chiefs started the game without left tackle Branden Albert who is recovering from an ankle injury against the Cowboys.  Wade Smith who was filling in for Albert shifted to center and Barry Richardson came off the bench to play left tackle.  It was Richardson's first extensive game action in the regular season. 

     All of this turnover on the offensive line meant that Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel would face even more pressure against the Chargers.  Combine injuries to two starting offensive lineman to the unit's already porous play and it turned the Chargers pass rush into a jail break. 

     Cassel is showing signs of a quarterback who is taking too many hits.  He forces passes and misses open receivers when he does have time to throw the ball.  All this being said, it's tough to accurately gauge his performance because of the incredible lack of talent surrounding him.

     Chiefs head coach Todd Haley again put his defense in a terrible spot by going for a first down on fourth-and-one at the Chiefs own 40-yard line.  The Chiefs didn't convert and the Chargers had a short field to score.  It was all downhill from there for the Chiefs.

      The biggest news to come out of this game happened after the game.  Chiefs resident malcontent, running back Larry Johnson may have finally played his last game in the red and gold.

      Johnson via an alias on twitter used inappropriate terms and again used those terms while telling the local media that he wouldn't talk to them.  Of course Johnson's outburst to the local media was caught on tape.  That's not all the damage Johnson did after the Chargers game.

      On the same twitter account he apparently disparaged his head coach, Todd Haley, and his lack of experience playing football in either high school or college.  If this were Johnson's first problem he might just receive a game suspension or a fine.  

      However, Johnson has been one problem after another since his arrival in Kansas City via a trade of draft picks with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Steelers used the pick they received from the Chiefs to select safety Troy Polamalu from USC.  That is something former Chiefs president Carl Peterson, the man in charge when the deal went down, would never do since he is an alumnus of UCLA.

      General manager Scott Pioli and head coach Todd Haley knew it wouldn't be easy to turn around this franchise but they couldn't have imagined that it would ever be this difficult.  They inherited more problems than solutions.  For the sake of Chiefs fans, I hope they can learn from the mistakes they made assembling this coaching staff and roster.  It has grown quite tiresome for Chiefs fans to only have off season improvement to look forward to. 

      The losing won't end soon for the Chiefs but hopefully seeing Larry Johnson in a Chiefs uniform on Sunday afternoons has come to an end.