All the talk surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs the last few days has been about the fears many employees had — including former head coach Todd Haley — that the franchise was going above and beyond to keep tabs on their actions.

It’s not that this isn’t a huge story. It deserves the attention it’s received at this point and if there is any truth whatsoever to Haley’s fears that the Arrowhead offices were bugged, it’s hard to even imagine the sort of repercussions that would follow. However, I’m going to go out on a limb and say there won’t ever be hard evidence to prove this happened and Haley will sidestep making any sort of of accusations whenever he speaks publicly again.

The more important question to me isn’t if the Chiefs have been tapping phones, but if Clark Hunt is ready to tap his checkbook. Once again, Kansas City was among the league’s thriftiest teams and will need to spend some big time cash if they are going to avoid taking a step back in 2012.

Despite being invisible in the free agent market, Hunt and GM Scott Pioli have done a good job at locking up their own players (Jamaal Charles, Brandon Flowers, Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali have all been extended). However, they were unable to do the same with WR Dwayne Bowe and CB Brandon Carr, both set to be unrestricted free agents.

The Chiefs guaranteed Flowers $22 million and will likely need to start in that neighborhood if they have any thought of keeping Carr. If you are scoffing at that amount, just look at the Detroit Lions secondary (his hometown team, by the way) and it will become clear that Carr is getting a big time deal this offseason. At the very least he should attract something equal to the four-year $32 million deal the New York Jets handed out to Antonio Cromartie last offseason.

Then there is the curious case of Bowe. His issues with Haley were said to be the final straw with management letting the head coach go, so despite grumblings that Pioli was looking for reasons to make the move, it would make sense they want the receiver back. A good starting point for Bowe and the Chiefs is the five-year $50 million ($24 million guaranteed) deal the Miami Dolphins gave to Brandon Marshall.

Obviously the Chiefs can slap the franchise tag on whichever they prefer and work out a long-term deal with the other. Going that route would cost roughly $9.5 million for Bowe or $10.5 million for Carr.

Considering how cheap the team has been in the past it’s not totally out of the question they let both walk, but my best guess is they franchise or lock up Carr and let Bowe walk. Cornerbacks are too hot of a commodity to lose and with Steve Breaston along with a full season of first-round pick Jonathan Baldwin, Bowe’s loss wouldn’t be felt nearly as badly.

Pioli and Hunt have talked a lot about a “process” the last few years, well how they handle these two players will tell us a lot about just how much that “process” has to do with winning.

One of them, Matt Cassel, was ruled out early in the week following hand surgery but the other — Demorrio Williams — was absent from the injury report all week.  Williams missed last week’s game against the Denver Broncos with a groin injury and now will sit out his second straight game.

Brandon Carr, Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Flowers and Jon McGraw were limited participants in the Chiefs final practice and are all officially listed as “questionable”.  McGraw had been a full participant earlier in the week and Dorsey is expected to play, but the two Brandons will enter Monday night as the two most likely to live up to their injury designation.

Of the Patriots 18 players on the injury report, two are “out”, one is “doubtful”, 13 are “questionable” and two are “probable”.

Chiefs

Out
Matt Cassel (Hand)
Demorrio Williams (Groin)

Questionable
Brandon Carr (Ankle)
Glenn Dorsey (Knee)
Brandon Flowers (Back)
Jon McGraw (Shoulder)

Patriots

Out
Dane Fletcher (Thumb)
Brandon Spikes (Knee)

Doubtful
Devin McCourty

Questionable
Kyle Arrington (Foot)
Patrick Chung (Foot)
Dan Connolly (Groin)
Shaun Ellis (Rib)
Kevin Faulk (Knee)
BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Toe)
Gary Guyton (Shoulder)
James Ihedigbo (Shoulder)
Taylor Price (Hamstring)
Matt Slater (Shoulder)
Nate Solder (Concussion)
Jeff Tarpinian (Illness)
Sebastian Vollmer (Back)

Probable
Brian Waters (Knee)
Wes Welker (Knee)

Along with Matt Cassel who is out with a hand injury, Jon McGraw joined Brandon Carr, Glenn Dorsey and Brandon Flowers as a limited participant in practice.

McGraw sat out practice leading up to the Chiefs loss to the Miami Dolphins before returning as a full participant last week before playing against the Denver Broncos.  Considering the safety was able to avoid the injury report completely at the beginning of the week, there’s no reason to believe he won’t be able to suit up Monday night.

The Patriots also added a name to their injury report, bringing their total to a league-high 18.  LB Jeff Tarpinian did not participate in practice Friday due to an illness.  The rest of New England’s report was the same.

Chiefs

Out
Matt Cassel (Hand)

Limited Participation
Brandon Carr (Ankle)
Glenn Dorsey (Knee)
Brandon Flowers (Back)
Jon McGraw (Shoulder)

Patriots

Did Not Participate
Dane Fletcher (Thumb)
Devin McCourty (Shoulder)
Brandon Spikes (Knee)
Jeff Tarpinian (Illness)

Limited Participation
Kyle Arrington (Foot)
Patrick Chung (Foot)
Dan Connolly (Groin)
Shaun Ellis (Rib)
Kevin Faulk (Knee)
BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Toe)
Gary Guyton (Shoulder)
James Ihedigbo (Shoulder)
Taylor Price (Hamstring)
Matt Slater (Shoulder)
Nate Solder (Concussion)
Sebastian Vollmer (Back)
Brian Waters (Knee)
Wes Welker (Knee)

Headlining that list is obviously Matt Cassel, who will miss the game after having surgery on his injured right hand.  The other three players were all limited and their status is obviously still up in the air: Brandon Carr, Glenn Dorsey and Brandon Flowers.

Considering how poorly the Chiefs offense has played, losing Cassel won’t hurt nearly as much as being without either Brandon.  The Patriots possess one of the most potent air attacks in the NFL and Kansas City will need Carr and Flowers both on the field to chase Wes Welker around the field.

Speaking of Welker, he is one of seventeen (17!!!!) players the Patriots have on their injury report.  As with most things in New England, good luck trying to get a read on who will or won’t play for the Patriots.

Chiefs

Out
Matt Cassel (Hand)

Limited Participation
Brandon Carr (Ankle)
Glenn Dorsey (Knee)
Brandon Flowers (Back)

Patriots

Did Not Participate
Dane Fletcher (Thumb)
Devin McCourty (Shoulder)
Brandon Spikes (Knee)

Limited Participation
Kyle Arrington (Foot)
Patrick Chung (Foot)
Dan Connolly (Groin)
Shaun Ellis (Rib)
Kevin Faulk (Knee)
BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Toe)
Gary Guyton (Shoulder)
James Ihedigbo (Shoulder)
Taylor Price (Hamstring)
Matt Slater (Shoulder)
Nate Solder (Concussion)
Sebastian Vollmer (Back)
Brian Waters (Knee)
Wes Welker (Knee)

On Tuesday morning, Chiefs CB Brandon Carr tweeted about a lost dog that he found, wondering if it belonged to one of his 10,000 followers.

After checking in with one of his followers who had lost a dog, Carr was able to track down the owner with the help of a microchip (a solid reminder to dog owners to make sure their dogs are microchipped!).

Good for Carr to take in a lost dog and make sure he/she was reunited with its owner.

A fluff story?  Absolutely.  After some of the venom being thrown around the last couple of weeks, I’ll take it.

Update:

After using the microchip to find out who the owner of the dog was, Carr was able to meet the owner when she was reunited with Maxwell.

Both puppy and owner look happy!

The Kansas City Chiefs finally have all of their restricted free agents in the fold after CB Brandon Carr signed his restricted tender on Thursday.  With the ratification of the new CBA by the players earlier in the day, Carr and the rest of the Chiefs veteran free agent signings were permitted to practice Thursday in the afternoon.

Other than the franchised Tamba Hali, there was no more important free agent that Kansas City needed to get back into camp.  Carr has started at cornerback since the first day he put on a Chiefs jersey and that isn’t going to change this season.

Now that he is back on a one-year deal, hopefully Carr will be handed a long-term contract before he reaches unrestricted free agency.

The only player on the Chiefs defense still unsigned is third-round pick Justin Houston.  Unfortunately there has been no word as to what the hold up with his contract is or how long it will be until he arrives in St. Joe.

Around Kansas City, it’s no secret how good CB Brandon Carr has been the last three seasons (he won an award here in February).  However, in the national media it has been a slow process for the “other” Brandon in the secondary to get recognition.  The latest is from Yahoo! and their all-underrated team.

Cornerbacks — Ron Bartell, St. Louis Rams/Brandon Carr, Kansas City Chiefs

According to STATS, Inc’s data, only five cornerbacks with 50 or more targets had a lower Burn Percentage (completions allowed) than Bartell’s 45% (45 out of an even 100).  Those five cornerbacks happened to be Darrelle Revis, Stanford Routt, Antonio Cromartie, Tramon Williams, and …. Brandon Carr.

One of the reasons that the Chiefs were the AFC’s surprise team last year was that their secondary really stepped up.  Carr was the forgotten man as everyone started talking about Brandon Flowers and Eric Berry, but per those numbers (and only sometimes covering the other team’s #1 receiver, it must be said), Carr was the most effective man in that defensive backfield.

Actually, Carr ended up taking on the other team’s top receiver more than he should have as the Chiefs kept their corners on their own side in most sets.  That means a team could run their biggest threat towards Carr to get away from Flowers and he was still up for the challenge.

It’s also important to note that Carr went through an ugly stretch during training camp and the beginning of last season.  Instead of sulking and letting the season spiral out of control for him, Carr stepped up to the challenge of being targeted every week by teams trying to avoid Flowers.

Once the new CBA finally gets done, if the Chiefs need to spend money in order to reach a possible salary cap floor, hopefully a new contract for Carr helps them get there.

If we had a re-do of the 2008 draft, how much would the players the Chiefs selected jump?  Rick Reilly did just that and there is some interesting movement for the folks from Kansas City.

5 – Jamaal Charles – Original Pick: 73
16 – Brandon Flowers – Original Pick: 35
21 – Brandon Carr – Original Pick: 140
27 – Glenn Dorsey – Original Pick: 5
152 – Branden Albert – Original Pick: 15

No one will argue with moving Charles up into the top five.  If you ask me, he belongs ahead of Ray Rice at No. 4 and maybe even in front of DeSean Jackson.

Carr and Dorsey’s moves make perfect sense, but I have an issue with where both Flowers and Albert are.

Remember that Prince Amukamara “fell” to nineteen in this year’s draft and I would absolutely rather have Flowers.  Even more insulting is that Reilly puts Aqib Talib and Tracy Porter both higher in the re-draft.

There has been plenty of concern about Albert not yet stepping up and proving he belongs at left tackle, but 152?  People continue to underestimate the big man from Virginia — both locally and nationally — so this isn’t much of a surprise.

The team had 12 selections, and made the most of the team.  That includes five players who were regular starters last season: Glenn Dorsey (No. 5 overall), offensive tackles Branden Albert (No. 15) and Barry Richardson (No. 170), and cornerbacks Brandon Flowers (No. 35) and Brandon Carr (No. 140).

What has helped some of those players develop quickly was the chance to play from Day One.  The Chiefs were in the early stages of a youth movement.

There was also one notable “second-string” player: Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles, quite a steal in the third round (No. 73).

With no league business going on right now, there’s no better time to take a look back at the 2008 draft.  Just a few days ago PFF placed Charles and Flowers on their All-2008 Draft team.

Just imagine how far along Charles would be right now if he had been given more than those 67 carries his rookie season.

Finishing right behind the final class from Herm Edwards and Carl Peterson is the first one of Scott Pioli’s good friend Thomas Dimitroff with the Atlanta Falcons.  The only thing that is likely to push the Falcons ahead of the Chiefs is if Charles takes any sort of step backwards and Matt Ryan continues to improve and elevates himself to Brady-level.

It got tiring to see virtually every writer breeze over any member of the Kansas City Chiefs not named Charles, so here is a top-to-bottom rundown of the best (and worst) performances from the 2010 season.

Did I get something wrong?  Let me know.

Special Teams MVP: Verran Tucker

Dustin Colquitt and Ryan Succop weren’t bad, but neither had standout seasons.  Tucker, on the other hand, quickly became a special teams star after joining the Chiefs off the practice squad Week 7 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

We’ve seen plenty of offensive players over the years get down the field on special teams like a bat out of hell just to come up short when it comes time to lay a returner out.  That was never an issue for Tucker who hit like a safety on punt coverage.

Rookie Of The Year: Eric Berry

Remember all that chatter before the draft about a safety not being worth a top 5 pick?  Yea, how’d that work out?

Berry was thrown into the fire from his first practice and lived there all season long.  Early on in the season he suffered some mistakes that could send lesser players into a tailspin leading to a lost season but that didn’t happen here.  Instead, all Berry did was seemingly get better with every snap.

It’s rare that a top pick lives up to the ridiculous money handed to them before every putting on their pads, but that’s exactly what Berry did.

Unsung Hero: Brandon Carr

Berry and Brandon Carr got all the attention in the defensive backfield, but it was Carr that had the most action throughout the season.  Like Berry, Carr had a couple rough patches that he could have sulked about but instead he went back to work and ended up second in the league in passes defensed.

Play Of The Year: The Catch

There were a lot of highs in the Chiefs season, but few higher than when rookie Tony Moeaki made one of the most incredible catches I have ever seen.

Late in the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers and the Chiefs already up 17-3, Cassel sent a pass to Moeaki in the back of the end zone that was clearly too high to catch…  or was it?  The tight end climbed the invisible ladder, reached out with one hand and pulled in the pass for six points.

Best Free Agent Signing: Shaun Smith

The man accused of grabbing other player’s junk was a much needed addition to the team and not for what he was accused of, but for much more.  First, he brought a great attitude and swagger to the locker room, something that most of the Chiefs defenders were missing last season.  Oh yea, Smith was pretty good on the field too.

The veteran, who played his best football under Romeo Crennel in Cleveland, again responded.  Smith was on the field every week, racking up at least one tackle in each game but one and overall only Glenn Dorsey had more tackles for the season among defensive linemen.

Coming in tied for second were Thomas Jones and Ryan Lilja, with Smith getting the nod thanks to the cooler nickname, “Deep Freeze”.

Worst Free Agent Signing: Jerheme Urban

This isn’t completely fair.  On the eve of the season, the Chiefs were forced to put Urban on IR after he tore a tendon in his finger while blocking in the final preseason game.  He had surgery with a recovery time that he estimated would be 10-12 weeks, putting him in position to contribute next season, whenever that happens to be.

Still, Urban was brought in to be a big target for Matt Cassel but he never seemed to get off the ground, even before the injury.  After catching one pass for seven yards in the first preseason game, Urban failed to catch one pass the next three games, prompting many to wonder if his spot on the roster was in jeopardy.

Biggest Disappointment: Chris Chambers

When a Haley favorite like Urban went down, things didn’t seem so bad since Chambers had played so well last season after being claimed off waivers from the San Diego Chargers.  Then Chambers seemingly forgot how to make plays and became a healthy scratch four times, including the Chiefs only playoff game.  Taking his roster spot?  Kevin Curtis, who had been a Chief less than a week.

All told, Chambers played in the fewest games in his career, which led to the worst statistical year ever.  To put it in perspective just how bad he was (as if being replaced by Curtis wasn’t enough), in nine games in 2009 with the Chiefs, Chambers caught 36 passes for 608 yards in nine games.  In his 13 games this season he only caught 22 passes for 213 yards.

Biggest Surprise: Kendrick Lewis

It’s not often that a defense misses a rookie taken in the fifth round of the draft when he isn’t on the field, but that seemed to be the case whenever Lewis was forced to the sidelines.  The Chiefs went 1-3 in the four games he missed, with the only win coming in a 10-6 nail bitter at home against a bad Broncos team.

When Lewis was drafted, I was jumping up and down about Myron Rolle.  In the meantime, Lewis was a starter for most of the season and Rolle was working on the Titans practice squad.

Defensive MVP: Tamba Hali

Call it wearing rose-colored glasses all you want, but Hali was the best pass rushing linebacker in the NFL this season.  Hali’s lack of reputation failed to get him any help from the officials and the lack of any pass rush talent around him made one-on-one matchups hard to find.

Even with everything working against him, Hali led the AFC in sacks with 14.5, finishing just one behind DeMarcus Ware for the league lead.  How he failed to get even one vote for Defensive Player of the Year continues to baffle me.

Offensive MVP: Jamaal Charles

The Free Jamaal Charles movement was in full effect all season long and even though Todd Haley never full unleashed his best player, Charles still managed to finish second in the NFL in rushing (with 97 less carries than the leader Arian Foster) while turning in one of the most efficient seasons the sport has ever seen.

He wasn’t too shabby out of the backfield catching the ball either.  His 10.4 yard average was half yard better than Tom Brady’s favorite target, Wes Welker.

While he often came up limping — giving Haley reason to hold him back — Charles didn’t miss a single game.  He just kept taking the ball whenever the head coach would give it to him . Even when he was being ignored in the second half of the Chiefs playoff loss to the Ravens, Charles was throwing his body around to beautifully pick up blitzes.