The addition of Foles during the preseason was a big improvement in the depth and quality of the position. Mostly, it was determined by game situations and which player was most effective in a given game. Recorded a sack against the Chiefs a year ago in which he blew past right tackle Jah Reid at the snap with a speed rush, bent around the corner with a rip and sacked Alex Smith.
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Running back Melvin Gordon (6-1, 215) looks much quicker and explosive than last season, when he battled a knee issue, dealt with 26 different offensive-line combinations and didn’t score a single touchdown.
With Charles unlikely to play against a poor Chargers rush defense, Chiefs running backs Charcandrick West and Ware are expected to see a significant boost in carries and snaps Sunday.
After a 1-5 start to 2015, the Chiefs won their last 10 games of the regular season and also picked up a Wild Card victory in the playoffs.
Who would have thought that both Spencer Ware (Chiefs) and Christine Michael (Seahawks) would be names that would be flying around as viable fantasy options for the first week of the season?
Start fast and it often parlays into a good season and just maybe some votes this fall for the team’s new downtown stadium measure. And be it penalties, turnovers or dropped passes, they just don’t make many mistakes.
Actually no one knows where this band of football players will end up.
Information from ESPN Chiefs reporter Adam Teicher was used in this report.
It’s an interesting group at wide receiver. The Chiefs are coming off a run to the Divisional Playoffs and might arguably be even better this year. After that, the talent comes in small packages: Hill (5-10), Wilson (5-9) and Thomas (5-8).
“They’ll all play”, Reid said.
But whom do the quarterbacks approach when they have a question?
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: Starters – LT Eric Fisher, LG Parker Ehinger, C Mitch Morse, RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, RT Mitchell Schwartz.
That said, the Chargers have an improved roster and more important, a 100 percent healthy roster. The All-Pro safety did not sign his franchise tender and report to training camp until August 31, so he missed all of the preseason. He’s made incremental improvement each season and recently signed a contract extension with the club. Has good speed going forward but is tight in space. Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton loves multiple schemes, with most of those having only two defensive linemen on the field. “We have to see it in games and see how they do, but they’re surely capable of doing a nice job in there”. Look for the Chargers to test both the stoutness and gap discipline of outside linebacker Dee Ford and new inside linebacker Justin March-Lillard. Week two, Charles will likely open his season against JJ Watt and the Houston Texans on the road, which looks to be another loss for the Chiefs to open the season. “Run and pass, a lot of guys touching the football, a lot of guys contributing”.
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In other news, Reid said Phillip Gaines will start at cornerback opposite 2015 Defensive Rookie of the Year Marcus Peters.
