ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP)—If Kansas City Chiefs fans could make a wish, they
should probably plead for Matt Cassel’s(notes) continued good health.

Behind their Pro Bowl quarterback, at least early in camp, are two potential
backups with a grand total of four NFL completions between them. And one guy has
all of those.

Risky? No doubt. And there’s no guarantee the Chiefs won’t eventually bring
in an experienced signal caller to compete with rookie Ricky Stanzi(notes) and Tyler
Palko(notes), who has attempted just six passes since entering the NFL in 2007 as a
rookie free agent out of Pittsburgh.

“We obviously think about those things across the roster, what-if
scenarios,” said head coach Todd Haley. “And you can go all day talking about
what-if scenarios.”

As the Chiefs get deeper into camp, they show no outward interest in
bringing back Brodie Croyle(notes). Winless in 10 starts for the Chiefs over the past
five seasons, Croyle also had injury problems. When Cassel went out with an
emergency appendectomy last season, Croyle didn’t help his cause when he hit
only seven of 17 passes for 40 yards and got sacked four times in a 31-0 loss to
San Diego.

So for now at least, it’s Stanzi and Palko. But for sure, front office eyes
will be scanning the horizon for other possibilities as camp moves on.

“We’ve got to develop players and if we can do that, I think good things
will happen,” Haley said. “Then we’ll be able to make good decisions off the
information that we have. If at a point we feel like it’s too risky, then it’s
up to us as an organization to do what’s necessary to try to improve the team. I
don’t think we’re at that point right now. We’re working hard.”

Stanzi was drafted in the fifth round out of Iowa, whose coaching staff has
a close relationship with. Haley and some other members of the Chiefs. He’s got
a strong arm and was 18-4 as a starter. His senior year, he hit 221 of 345
passes for 3,004 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Palko has the distinction of throwing for more yards at Pittsburgh than hall
of famer Dan Marino did as a Panther. He was out of football entirely in 2008,
then signed was picked up by Pittsburgh in 2009. He was listed as the Steelers’
third QB in one game, but still got released.

The Chiefs signed him in 2010 and gave him what is so far his only NFL
experience. He appeared in two games and hit four of six passes for 35 yards. He
also carried twice for five yards.

This may be his last and best opportunity to gain a foothold in the NFL, at
least as a backup. Not only is his competition a rookie, but his new quarterback
coach was a left-handed passer just like him.

Jim Zorn has made a quick impression on all the Chiefs’ quarterbacks.

“He’s awesome,” said Palko. “Usually, all the quarterback coaches are
righties. So being a lefty, he can nitpick on every little thing I do because he
knows how to throw from the left side.”

Zorn, a former star quarterback for Seattle whose experience includes a
stint as head coach for the Redskins, was hired just a few weeks after he was
fired last winter by Baltimore.

“He’s really good, real thorough,” said Palko. “I think quarterbacks were
all talking about him. He’s going to do a good job for us, a great addition.”

Haley is also hoping the left-handed Zorn will be especially helpful for a
left-handed passer trying desperately to make it in the NFL.

“I thought of it even before I hired him,” Haley said. “Tyler is getting
to that point where he’s got to make a decision whether he’s going to be a good
player or not. By circumstances, opportunity—there’s a lot of things that go
on with quarterbacks. Tyler, whenever he’s been in a game, he’s usually in with
the threes and the fours and he runs around like a crazy man trying to keep
plays alive.

“Jim was very athletic and tough and a lefty, and Tyler has some of those
attributes. It’s nice for Tyler because he finally gets to see it from somebody
who sees it from his side of the mirror.”

Read More: San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs

There was a lot of talk before and during the lockout that it might greatly affect those teams going through significant changes. Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley spoke today about his gratitude for not being one of those teams.

While some training camps seem like they’re dramatic and unable to really get moving, the Chiefs are placing one foot in front of the other toward a game readiness and proper conditioning with a core of players and coaching staff that have strong ideas about what they’re trying to do with a clear vision of implementing those ideas. Other teams like the San Francisco 49ers feature a rookie head coach in Jim Harbaugh with a possible rookie starter at QB, a holdout of their best player with Frank Gore and several coaching and personnel changes in between. It’s night and day from the training camp that Kansas City will experience this August.

“I think the continuity of our staff going into year three is really important to us,” said Haley at today’s press conference. “I sat in our staff meeting last night and had that feeling of, ‘Boy, what a difference three years later.’ It’s the feeling, the communication, all those things. I’m grateful that we’ve been able to move forward in that manner and keep great continuity staff and player wise. We have a good core of guys that get it.”

While some players will come and go, it’s nice to know the Chiefs are not only in good hands but they’re hands who have been around for some time now. Haley seems more relaxed and comfortable in his role as an NFL head coach, and it seems Scott Pioli knew what he was doing when he waited for his man three offseasons ago.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Red Land’s Mike Cox signed his restricted free agent tender Friday and will remain with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 252-pound fullback has played in 39 games (17 starts) in three seasons with Kansas City (2008-10). A punishing blocker, Cox has rushed four times for three career yards and a touchdown. He has also caught 22 passes for 125 yards.

He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Kansas City in 2008 from Georgia Tech. Cox saw action in 47 contests at Georgia Tech; recording 30 receptions for 217 yards with a touchdown.

Had Cox agreed to terms with another NFL team, the Chiefs could have matched the other club’s offer. Kansas City maintained Cox’s rights for another year when the fullback became an exclusive rights free agent in 2010.

His younger brother Lucas — who is also a fullback — signed a free agent contract last week with the Atlanta Falcons.

By BJ Kissel

– Staff Writer

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Jul 30, 2011 – Now that there isn’t the threat of missing any preseason games we can take a closer look at the preseason schedule for the Kansas City Chiefs. The preseason will be extremely important to the Kansas City Chiefs, like all teams, this year because of the lack of time to prepare as a team. Throw in the fact that the Chiefs have replaced a few key members of their team with younger, more inexperienced players like Justin Houston, who is currently the only Chiefs rookie draft pick that has not signed, and Jon Asamoah, who will fill in for Brian Waters on the offensive line.

It was reported yesterday by Josh Looney, Chiefs insider, that Asamoah was actually taking reps at right guard and Ryan Lilja had moved over to left guard. It’s still the same guys it was going to be and it’s still Asamoah that needs to step in and help solidify the 2010 NFL rushing champs. Getting Asamoah reps in these preseason games is going to be crucial for the success of the Chiefs rushing attack this season.

There are a few other key points about the Chiefs preseason that will go a long ways in determining their success early in the season. Matt Cassel and his new targets, Jon Baldwin and Steve Breaston, need to get as many reps as possible so they can develop some kind of a chemistry before the season begins in about six weeks. This shortened off season is tough for everyone, but when you’re talking about two of the soon-to-be top targets for the Chiefs and Cassel only having a short time to get aquainted, everything needs to happen at a faster pace.

Preseason Week 1 – Kansas City vs Tampa Bay at Arrowhead Stadium – Friday, August 12th – 7pm CT

There will be a lot of talk about the young talent on both sides of the field for this game. In a recent ESPN article, the Bucs (1) and Chiefs (2) were listed as the top-two teams in the NFL with talented players under 25 years old. One of those players for the Bucs is a local Kansas Citian and Kansas State alum, Josh Freeman. The former Grandview High School standout will make his return to the Kansas City area as he leads the Bucs at quarterback heading into the 2011 season.

Preseason Week 2 – Kansas City vs Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium – Friday, August 19th – 6:30pm CT

The news that Kelly Gregg has signed with the Kansas City Chiefs adds to this matchup in the second week of the preseason. Gregg comes to the Chiefs after playing for the Ravens for the past 10 seasons. He anchored the nose tackle position for one of the most dominating defenses of the decade. Also returning to Baltimore is new Chiefs quarterbacks’ coach, Jim Zorn. You might recall that Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco wasn’t too thrilled with Zorn leaving Baltimore. Although it is just a preseason game, the Chiefs will want a little payback for the beatdown they took in the playoff game against the Ravens last season.

Preseason Week 3 – Kansas City vs St. Louis – Arrowhead Stadium – Friday, August 26th – 7pm CT

The I-70 series is more than just a preseason game to fans. The Kansas City/St Louis rivalry has been going on for decades and the annual matchup between the Chiefs and Rams provides bragging rights for an entire year for the winners. They met last year in a regular season game that saw the return of Matt Cassel after his appendix was removed just two weeks before. It was probably the signature victory for the Chiefs that sealed their championship for the AFC west division. Sam Bradford leads a much-improved St Louis team into Arrowhead to a game that always feels more important than any other preseason game.

Preseason Week 4 – Kansas City vs Green Bay – Lambeau Field – Thursday, September 1st – 7pm CT

This will be the first of the two matchups between the Chiefs and Packers. They will meet again in the regular season on December 18th at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The defending Super Bowl champions should be as strong as ever coming off a championship season in which they lost 13 players to the IR, including nine from the defense. But in the last preseason game there shouldn’t be any injury concerns for the players that will play week one. Generally, the last preseason game is for the last couple of roster spots and a lot of guys who will be cut soon after the game. But it might be slightly different this season with the shortened time to prepare, maybe more of the starters play in the final preseason game.

Read More: Matt Cassel (QB – KAN), Brian Waters (G – KAN), Ryan Lilja (G – KAN), Josh Freeman (QB – TAM), Jon Asamoah (OL – KAN), Justin Houston (LB – KAN), Kansas City Chiefs

Read More: Nick Barnett (LB – GBP), Channing Crowder (LB – MIA), Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers

The emergence of Derrick Johnson was one of the most exciting aspects of the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs, and the consistent play of undrafted FA Jovan Belcher was a welcome addition as well. But ILB remains a position with upgrade potential, which means that Scott Pioli might sign someone to fill Belcher’s role or add depth given his statement that he’ll do anything that helps the roster.

To that end, enter Channing Crowder and Nick Barnett, both recent middle linebacker cuts from the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers respectively. Both players are familiar with the 3-4 system and could immediately step in and provide an upgrade for the Chiefs in a defensive system that should only get better given the amount of young players learning the ropes from front to back.

For Crowder, he was a victim of the Dolphins’ finding a better player in former Charger Kevin Burnett. Still the trickle down effect would give the Chiefs a good-to-great defender against the run who’s also decent in the passing game. Crowder has had some injury concerns over the last few seasons, which means that having Belcher in the back pocket is a positive scenario.

As for Barnett, he was getting older as the Packers were committing to getting younger. He also has the same injury concerns that Crowder comes with. Even still, Barnett has Super Bowl experience and the ability to rush the passer and drop into coverage. Of both linebackers, he would be the stronger addition to the roster.

It’s nice to know there are still some solid options out there as Pioli slowly works the phones and aims for the best addition to the team currently in camp. It wouldn’t surprise me if these guys are both snatched up by some team in the next 24 hours, but here’s hoping the Chiefs land one of them.