Kansas City Chiefs 24 -- Baltimore Ravens 38

Kansas City Chief's' recently acquired quarterback, Matt Cassel, did not play in in the Chiefs' 38-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. His status is game to game due to a pre-season knee injury. Cassel, former back-up quarterback for New England Patriots' Tom Brady (multiple super bowl wins), is the "fair-haired boy" of choice by the Chiefs' powers-that-be. During Cassel's absence, Tyler Thigpen was thought to land the back-up QB position, and maybe share playing time with Brodie Croyle. Cassel is the coach's pick, but Coach Haley chose Croyle, and Thigpen sat the bench in the 38-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Where was Thigpen? Tyler, high school quarterback, punter and wide receiver, took his skills to Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. Drafted by the Vikings and picked up by the Chiefs, Thigpen produced impressive numbers, including 22 touchdowns (18 passing, three rushing and one receiving). A formidable opponent, Tyler is not afraid to run, and his size and physical prowess make him NFL tough. He was expected to line up under center and encourage improvement for the offensive line. The 2008 KC coaches developed a spread offense to enhance Thigpen's playing style.

Kansas City's new head coach is Todd Haley, last season's offensive coordinator for the 2008 NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals. Haley is no newcomer to the football arena. His father, Dick Haley, is a former Director of Player Personnel for the Pittsburg Steelers and New York Jets, and a former NFLcornerback. Dad is currently the Player Personnel Analyst for the Miami Dolphins. The younger Haley grew up on Pittsburg fields where he excelled as ball boy. He roamed around several Florida colleges and has a respeactable NFL resume. Coach Haley will called the plays for the 2009 season, replacing former offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey. It remains to be seen if Coach Haley will stay with Croyle or give Thigpen an opprtunity while Cassel remains game to game. Many agree, if KC is not planning to play Thigpen, trade him. Give the gifted athlete his chance.

This is the Chiefs' 50th Anniversary. One of the founding AFL teams and originally called the Dallas Texans, the Chiefs plan to wear their old "throwback uniforms" for certain games. Everyone wants a great year. . The team's new general manager, Scott Pioli, is former New England's vice president of player personnel. Pioli replaced KC'sCarl Peterson who resigned at the end of the 2008 season. There are too many "ifs" for any predictions with new general manager, new coaches, new quarterback, younger quarterback, another quarterback, offensive line and on and on, we can only wish Kansas City our best.

Sources:

"NFL team valuations: #14 Kansas City Chiefs". Forbes. 2009-09-02. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/30/football-values-09_Kansas-City-Chiefs_309072.html. Retrieved 2009-09-03.

Official New England Patriots History". Patriots.com. New England Patriots. http://www.patriots.com/history/index.cfm?ac=History. Retrieved 2008-01-13.

"NFL's Longest Winning Streak". Pro Football Hall of Fame website. http://www.profootballhof.com/history/release.jsp?release_id=1306. Retrieved 2007-12-26.

Brodie Croyle #12 BiographyKCChiefs.com, Accessed 5 March 2008.

King, Peter (2009-02-06). "Todd Haley is the new Chief in town". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/02/06/chiefs/index.html. Retrieved 2009-02-06

By Adam Teicher, The Kansas City Star: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/1443765.html

Coastal Carolina University Athletics (2008-09-18). "Football alum Thigpen to make first NFL start Sunday". Big South Conference. http://www.bigsouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4800&ATCLID=1584601.
Retrieved 2008-11-26.

Glazer, Jay (2009-02-05). "Source: Cards assistant tabbed to coach Chiefs". Fox Sports.
http://www.bigsouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4800&ATCLID=1584601. Retrieved 2008-11-26.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9187366/Sources:-Cards-assistant-tabbed-to-coach-Chiefs. Retrieved 2009-02-06.

"Todd Haley named Kansas City Chiefs head coach". Kansas City Chiefs. 2009-02-06. http://kcchiefs.com/news/2009/02/06/todd_haley_named_kansas_city_chiefs_head_coach/.retrieved 2009-02

"Chiefs to unveil "throwback" AFL uniforms in 2009". Kansas City Chiefs. 2009-03-24. http://kcchiefs.com/news/2009/03/24/chiefs_to_unveil_throwback_afl_uniforms_in_2009/.Retrieved 2009-03-24.

Associated Press (2009-08-14). "Thigpen and Croyle duel for Chiefs' backup QB spot". Fox Sports. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/9935688/Thigpen-and-Croyle-duel-for-Chiefs'-backup-QB-spot. Retrieved 2009-08-15

{{cite web | title=Gailey no longer running Chiefs offense | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4434133 | publisher=ESPN.com | last=Clayton | first=John |date=2009-08-31 | accessdate=2009-08-31]]

"Scott Pioli to join Kansas City Chiefs". ESPN.com. 2009-01-13. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3830515. Retrieved 2009-01-13

Associated Press (2008-12-15). "Chiefs GM Peterson to step down at end of season". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3771725. Retrieved 2008-12-15.

Resourses:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Chiefs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarterback
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Cassel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Baltimore_Ravens
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Patriots
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Brady
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Thigpen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodie_Croyle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Haley
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009091301/2009/REG1/chiefs@ravens
http://www.coastal.edu/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway,_South_Carolina
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Vikings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Football_League
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football_positions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_(American_football)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offensive_coordinator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Cardinals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Haley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh Steelers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Jets
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_football_cornerbacks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Dolphins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_Florida
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4434133
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chan_Gailey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Kansas_City_Chiefs_coaches
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_offense
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Texans_(NFL)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Pioli
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Peterson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:List_of_current_NFL_team_rosters