Saturday Shorty: Brief Choncosphere Scopage

Somewhere in the back of my brain is the tendency to hope/believe that the more I think/write about the upcoming game, the better the Chiefs' chances of winning are. While this clearly isn't true, I can throw that misguided optimism into the winds of possibility, and at worst case, be better armed with reasons why Kansas City would've won if I'd been wearing the headset on the sideline. In any case, it's fun to take a look around the Web, and see what more professional sports bloggers are saying about Chiefs/Falcons and Broncos/Saints. It's not that I care about the latter beyond a poor performance by Cutler, an Eddie Royal injury, and a Saints victory, but more so an obligated feeling to touch on the Denver squad's contest since the other slouches in this House make my laziness look like Olympic training compared to theirs. So we'll have a slanted look at both, just after the jump.

Big Knoxy over at KC Chiefs Football has put together a post consisting of key matchups for tomorrow's game. Number one on the list is "Tyler Thigpen vs. Tyler Thigpen," which I couldn't have said better myself. Hopefully, he participated in some tackling drills this weekend, because if he telegraphs passes in Atlanta like he did against the Raiders, he'll frequently be the last line of defense.

To a degree, we're all homers, right? I know the three of us here are, but realistically so. Earlier in the week, Mile High Report sat down with SaintSational, who writes for the Canal Street Chronicles. Their aim was to of course discuss tomorrow's game, and SaintSational is of course picking Brees and Co. to get the win, 35-34.

Finally, a writer out there agrees with me on Brodie Croyle and the Chiefs. His name's Pat Clifton and he writes for Warpaint Illustrated. The piece he put out earlier this week hints that Croyle -- in terms of quarterbacks currently on the roster -- is certainly the number one:

"Croyle isn't a winner" is "an unfair assessment. Dwayne Bowe has a bad record in a Chiefs uniform, but no one is saying he’s not a winner. Glenn Dorsey’s 0-2 as a pro, but he’s not yet been labeled a loser. This team, as a whole, over the last 18 games has not been much of a winner...The lesson to be learned here is that the Chiefs go from mediocre to really bad when Croyle is not playing...He’s not a great quarterback, but Croyle is an NFL-caliber player, something that can’t be said for Huard or Thigpen, who may develop into a decent player, but...he's not even close right now."

In this business (Editor's Note: No, I don't know what business that is.) slants are a good thing. I'm sure Ian over at BroncoTalk would agree. He's compiled a list of statistics that apply to this Broncos/Saints game that make it look like club from the Big Easy's got its work cut out for it. Well, at least the "Quick Facts" section makes it seem so. Either way, a good read.

The gang at Arrowhead Pride sat down with Dave the Falconer (of The Falcoholic fame)for a quick Q&A. The piece touches on some key factors for the matchup, and though it has multiple interviewers, it fits a mold similar to our Falcons' blogger Q&A.

More importantly, though, is how Broncos' first-rounder Ryan Clady is fitting into the mold of a Denver offensive lineman. How, you might ask, can we check on that? Well, we can ask Cecil's best buddy Bill Williamson.

"Denver Broncos rookie left tackle Ryan Clady got a "Welcome to the NFL" greeting from the league office. The No. 12 overall draft pick was fined $5,000 for a chop block on San Diego defensive lineman Igor Olshansky in Denver's 39-38 win over the Chargers on Sunday...Two years ago, Olshanky and Denver center Tom Nalen had an incident in which both players were fined."

Wow. That didn't take long at all. I mean, really...double-wow. Two weeks into his professional career, and Clady's chop-blocking and getting fined $5K for it. But, wait; stop before you cast judgment, because every other team in the league does it, and they do it just as often as the Broncos do. Riiiiggghhhhttt....Let's look around and see how many other rookie offensive lineman have been rung up for chop blocking two games into the '08 season. Hmm. None. Maybe there weren't any other O-lineman drafted this year. Yeah. That's got to be it.



And that's your Saturday fix, folks. Let's cheer that gold NFC team to victory, right after we leave the red-and-black one hurting at home.