KC Chiefs Blog

The Kansas City Chiefs have gone out of their way to address fullback this offseason. In addition to trading for Anthony Sherman from the Arizona Cardinals, they drafted Braden Wilson out of Kansas State.

Those two moves made the holdovers at the position vulnerable and led to Patrick DiMarco being cut on May 2. He had played in five games for the Chiefs last season including four starts.

It took a few weeks, but the fullback is back in the NFL after signing with the Atlanta Falcons. He’ll replace the recently released Deon Goggins, an undrafted rookie that was attempting to make the switch from defensive tackle.

DiMarco has a chance to catch on in Atlanta as the backup fullback and join Tony Gonzalez as the second former Chiefs player with the Falcons.

Admit it, you have worked out in your mind what your touchdown celebration would be if you ever got a chance to score six in an NFL game. Unfortunately, most of us will never get to show off those moves.

It’s not just regular folks that have to keep their special dance to themselves. Plenty of NFL players don’t cross the goal line, but that doesn’t stop them from being prepared. So it should be no surprise that 350-pound Dontari Poe was ready to party when he returned a tipped pass for a touchdown during Wednesday’s practice.

“I dreamed about it, so I did it,” Poe said about his celebration.

Sure, it’s just practice — and Poe admitted he had a pick-six in high school — but there’s no guarantee the big man would get another chance to show his teammates what he could do. Once he corralled the pass, his eyes went right to the end zone.

“That was just my first thought,” Poe told reporters. “As soon as we came in here, they talked to us about being  a defense that can score touchdowns, to be a great defense; so, it was my first thought, to just take off with it.”

Last year’s first-round pick isn’t just impressing with his dance moves. His freakish athletic ability have been enough to wow veteran Mike DeVito.

“You think it’s a DB running but then you see a 350-pound man, taking off down the field,” DeVito said about Poe. “It’s exciting to see somebody so big and so athletic and the way Dontari’s been playing, he just continues to grow. I can’t imagine anything less than the Pro Bowl for him in the future.”

Poe finished his rookie season strong, averaging nearly four tackles a game over the final four games. Included in that stretch was a season-high five against the Oakland Raiders Week 15. He wasn’t officially credited with any sacks, but he easily could have claimed at least half of a handful down the stretch.

The Kansas City Chiefs made a minor roster move on Tuesday, parting ways with undrafted free agent DT Risean Broussard.

Every undrafted free agent has a tough time making an NFL roster, but Broussard’s path was a unique one. He was a former high school dropout and eventually played just one season of college football at the JUCO level.

What made the big man from Lake Charles so intriguing was how dominant he was in that one season. He put up 61 tackles and six sacks in just eight games, which is an impressive line at any level.

We could always see him get another shot during training camp here or elsewhere, but considering how many players are vying for the final roster spots, it’s tough being cut loose this early on in the process.

Injuries are nothing new to Tony Moeaki, so the news he won’t make an appearance in a Chiefs helmet until training camp shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.

The tight end came with red flags when he was drafted out of Iowa in the third round and he’s already missed an entire season and was unable to play a full season his other two years.

Something that will be new to Moeaki is having to fight for a roster spot. Because that’s exactly what he’ll have to do in training camp, assuming he can get back on the field. Unlike his time at Iowa or three years in Kansas City, his current coaching staff isn’t attached to the tight end.

Not only did the Scott Pioli-Todd Haley-Romeo Crennel have little depth at tight end, but they had traded up to get him in the third round. With the trade costing the Chiefs two picks, there were three selections invested in Moeaki.

Now he gets to play for a head coach and general manager that are excited about their own third round tight end, Travis Kelce out of Cincinnati. There’s also Anthony Fasano, a veteran the Chiefs signed to a four-year, $16 million contract as soon as free agency opened.

Assuming Moeaki can play in training camp, on the surface, there doesn’t seem to be much competition beyond Kelce and Fasano. Kevin Brock has appeared in just two career games and Demetrius Harris is an undrafted free agent that played basketball in college.

If he struggles to get back to full speed, Andy Reid and John Dorsey will need to decide if they want to worry about their third tight end being unable to contribute on offense or special teams. That’s where a guy like Brock, Harris or another late addition could jump over Moeaki.

The Kansas City Chiefs defense has been buzzing since kicking off OTAs. A defense that was one of the worst in the NFL last season at getting to the quarterback is now poised to attack from every possible angle.

Certainly any plan to increase the Chiefs pressure in the backfield would include Tamba Hali, right? Not so much, according to the linebacker.

Because defensive coordinator Bob Sutton will be giving pretty much every player on defense a shot at the quarterback, that could lead to Hali getting fewer chances to pin his ears back. Instead, he would be asked to drop into coverage more than in the past.

It’s only May, but that’s a plan the pass-rusher is ready to carry out.

“I’ve got to be a team player and do what I love doing, yet do what they ask me to do,” Hali told reporters Wednesday. “If that’s to drop in coverage, I’ve got to continue to do that, too, and be an all-around outside linebacker.”

Again, these are the sort of things that sound great when everyone is in first place and getting used to a new coaching staff. If the Chiefs defense is shutout in their pursuit of the quarterback early in the season, will Hali be so happy about chasing running backs and tight ends around?

I’d rather not even get to that point and would continue sending Hali after the quarterback at every opportunity. I think he’s wasted in coverage, but we’ll have to wait and see just how Sutton puts his plan into motion.

The Kansas City Chiefs continued to shuffle their secondary Wednesday with four roster moves. They came to terms with safeties Quintin Demps and Malcolm Bronson while releasing safety Justin Glenn and cornerback James Rogers.

Demps is the most notable name involved in the moves. He was a fourth-round pick of Andy Reid in Philadelphia back in 2008. After parting ways with the Eagles, Demps landed with the Houston Texans, where he spent the last three seasons.

With so many inexperienced players vying for the final spots in the Chiefs defensive backfield, Demps should quickly have a chance to claim a job.

Bronson went undrafted in April out of McNeese State and faces the same long road towards a roster spot the players he is replacing — Glenn and Rogers — had to battle. The safety spent time with the New Orleans Saints earlier this month on a tryout basis.

The Kansas City Chiefs have gone to great lengths to try and plug the hole at safety in the defensive backfield this offseason. Beyond Eric Berry, the Chiefs coaches didn’t have any players they could plug into the starting lineup.

Since head coach Andy Reid and GM John Dorsey took over, they have added ten players that could get a look at safety. That’s in addition to the four already on the roster.

The first safety signed by the new regime? That would be Husain Abdullah, the former Minnesota Vikings starter who sat out all of last season while he was on a religious pilgrimage.

Abdullah was an undrafted free agent out of Washington State in 2008 and slowly worked his way onto the field. In his final two years with the Vikings, the safety started 24 games before making the decision — along with his brother, former Arizona Cardinals safety Hamza Abdullah — to take a year off in order to make a trip that was centered around time in Saudi Arabia.

The Chiefs safety talked to ESPN this week about his trip and return to the game he loves. Abdullah tried to return at the end of last season, but when teams were concerned about his readiness, he decided to wait until 2013 and quickly found a home in Kansas City.

“It’s as fun as ever,” Abdullah said. “To get the opportunity to be back is really special. I’ve really enjoyed the entire experience.”

Despite so many safeties being added since the signing of Abdullah, Dorsey is happy to have him around the team.

“He is one of the most refreshing guys I know,” Dorsey told ESPN. “He is mature beyond his years. He has great self confidence. He is a wise, intelligent, deep guy. He is clearly spiritual and it’s neat thing to have a guy like Husain in our program.”

As the battle plays out throughout OTAs and into training camp for the starting spot next to Berry and then to fill out the depth, don’t count out Abdullah. He doesn’t just bring to the table NFL experience, but the fight of a rookie trying to hold onto a career.

Maybe it’s his new big, fat contract, the new coaching staff or just the typical optimism that runs rampant throughout the league at this point of the year. Whatever the reason, we once again got to see WR Dwayne Bowe in his most comfortable setting: star of “The Bowe Show”.

The show was one of the most popular programs in Kansas City, but had been off the air for quite some time. After Wednesday’s practice, it came back with a vengeance talking about just how good he and RB Jamaal Charles could be.

“(Charles) is going to lead the league in rushing this year and I’m going to lead the league in receptions and touchdowns,” Bowe said.

The main reason why the receiver is so sure the Chiefs offense is finally going to turn things around? Head Coach Andy Reid, of course. A man Bowe already feels comfortable calling my by his nickname, of course.

“Big Red, he’s demanding perfection,’’ Bowe said. “If you want to be a championship team, that’s what you’ve got to demand. Guys are coming out here and minimizing mistakes every day, so that’s a step toward being great.”

No one seems to enjoy being great as much as Bowe. Unfortunately we rarely got to see him bask in greatness much with the lack of an NFL caliber quarterback throwing to him last season. He only topped 100 yards twice and found the end zone just three times in 13 games.

Most of us can agree there’s no need for any player to jump around and point to the name on their jersey during a two-win season. But I think this offense will be best served by bringing a very high level of swag, if you will, into training camp and carry that through the preseason and regular season.

It was a bit of a surprise when the Kansas City Chiefs released defensive back DeQuan Menzie this week.

Not because of anything he did on the field, after all he missed all of last season with an injury. But with the Chiefs looking to address their lack of depth at cornerback and safety, it seemed like the 2012 fifth-round would get a chance to finally show what he could do.

Instead he will get his chance with the Detroit Lions. Menzie was awarded to the team on waivers and joins another defensive backfield going through an overhaul. Look for him to contribute at multiple positions as the Lions attempt to climb out of the NFC North basement.

After staying away from the Kansas City Chiefs offseason program in April, Branden Albert was back with his teammates on Tuesday. And he was back in a familiar spot: left tackle.

Just where Albert would play if he returned to the team was a source of friction with the team and nearly led to a trade before the draft. But with the talk of trade in the past (for now), all parties seem content to move forward.

“Through this whole process, I realize I made mistakes,” Albert told reporters Tuesday. “I’ll grow from it and move on. I should not have said certain things. You know what I said. I’m just happy I’m here.’’

The man that nearly took his job in the starting lineup on the left side seemed to make quite the impression on Albert.

“He’s going to be a special player,” Albert said of No. 1 overall pick Eric Fisher. “He works hard, he has all the tools and whatever he’s going to play, he’s going to be good at it.”

“I want him to know I’m going to help him the best way I can.”

The two tackles working together is a plan that Fisher is absolutely on board with.

“It will be like a (left and right) tackle competition, trying to push each other to be the best,” Fisher said. “I think that’s what’s really going to help this line is competing every day and trying to develop a really good offense.”

And just like that, hopefully we can put the animosity on the back burner, at least until this time next year. Let’s see Albert and Fisher work together to keep Alex Smith upright much more than the Chiefs quarterbacks have been the last few years.