This is Keith Myaths reporting from Kansas City where one of the top questions as training camp approaches is who will be the Arrowheads tap as their signal caller when the season starts. Round 20 selection Fred Juarez has already declared his intent to be the man on the field despite the presence of Round 13 selection Chester Singleton on the roster. Whomever gets the nod will have a balanced crop of wide receivers to fling the ball to in head coach John Torres' pass-happy offensive schemes.

The other big question swirling as we head toward training camp is whether Kansas City will be able to stop anyone defensively this season. After promoting a draft plan to build the defense from the secondary forward, it appeared General Manager RedNU may have been caught flat-footed when filling out the notecards at the draft.

"We went in with every intent to prioritize the defensive side of the ball, but there were some early position runs. Whenever we were on the clock we felt there was better talent elsewhere on the board and that sticking to the original plan would have been a reach," said Red. "We adjusted on the fly and decided to just grab the best players we could early on, feeling that we would address needs later in the draft. Hopefully we've assembled a bend-but-don't-break unit that is up to the task."

The nondescript defensive unit that isn't likely to turn many heads or inspire much fear into the hearts of a opposing offensive coordinators. How well the unit pulls together may go a long way in determining the success of Kansas City's season.

Of course, you can watch every game of that season right here on your local station ***, home of Kansas City sports. Until then, signing off -- Keith Myaths reporting.

Keith Myaths reporting live from training camp as Kansas City gets set for its preseason opener against Chicago in a week. Heading in to camp, the talk among Arrowhead fans was who might emerge as the frontrunner for starting quarterback duties. They'll have to keep talking about it as Fred Juarez and Chester Singleton seem destined to take this battle into the preseason. In fact, the biggest quarterback story out of camp was the improvement of Danny Loftis. Insiders are quick to say Loftis still appears to be a clear No. 3 on the depth chart at present, but praised the speed with which he seems to be picking things up and closing the gap with Juarez and Singleton.

Offensive lineman William Johnson earned the Most Improved award coming out of camp. There's no doubt the 16th round selection out of Kansas St. caught on quick during camp, but some experts also voiced concerns about Johnson's physical testing with some openly questioning off the record whether Johnson's top end abilities justify his 16th round selection by Kansas City. Concerns were also voiced about the Texas tandem of fullback Christopher Jurgens (21st round) and tight end John Bentley (25th round) after both appeared to underwhelm at camp.

"We might have to look into instituting a rule for future drafts," said offensive coordinator Billy Ugarte. "If you attend a school that loses to Maryland in back-to-back seasons, that's probably a clear indication that you're not cut out for professional football."

While the Big 12 might have provided some of the biggest camp disappointments, the rarely heralded SWAC and MEAC delivered two of the bigger preseason buzz stories coming out of camp. Free safety Martin Owings (11th round, Alcorn St.) was runner-up to Johnson for most-improved honors coming out of camp. South Carolina State's Lance McMillan was third overall.

We'll get a better feel for how it all looks on the field this weekend as Kansas City welcomes Chicago to town for the first of four preseason games. Tune in here to ***, your home for Kansas City sports, to catch all the action. Until game day, this is Keith Myaths reporting.

Let's head to the stadium. Chicago in town and 55,042 Kansas City fans excited to see what the season might offer. Early on, it was not good.

Opening drive, the Bears cover 48 yards in 7 plays, capping the drive with a 44-yard field goal from Nicholas Garrett and quickly it is 3-0 Chicago.

First Kansas City drive, who would the starting quarterback be? Fred Juarez gets the nod and fires a 15 yard strike to Earl Belote to start things off. KC fans have something to cheer about. Second play...here's undrafted fullback Joseph Altman:

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/14#2308

Yep, maybe that's why he went undrafted. Bears' ball at the KC 39, but the Arrowheads escape without damage as Yong Mayer comes up huge with the sack. Chicago has to punt and it's a beauty. Nicholas Stanton pins KC at the 4. It was one of three first-half possessions KC started inside its own 10.

First play of the series. Juarez goes back to pass. Did we mention he's in a quarterback battle? Well this is not how you win it.

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/14#2313

You can try to figure out for yourself who he was trying to throw it to, but Chicago's Shawn Copenhaver says thank you very much and it is now 10-0 Chicago. Juarez would throw another pick in KC territory in the second quarter and finished his night 8-for-12 for 80 yards and a passing rating of 45.83.

To the third quarter -- we'd love to show you some highlights, but Kansas City ran just 10 offensive plays, going 3-and-out on their first two possessions and 4-and-out on their third. Meanwhile, Chicago threw together a 10-play drive that marched to the KC 7, where the Bears settled for a chip shot field goal and a 13-0 lead.

Fourth quarter, the KC offense finds itself starting again inside its own 5 at the 1.

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/14#2412

David Shover forgets the most basic rule and tries to run east-west in the end zone. That's Copenhaver again. That's a safety. Chicago 15-0. Less than 9 minutes remaining, Bears driving at the KC 33:

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/14#2428

...and that has to be one of the worst pitches you're going to see. Joe Bradford picks it up for KC and advances it into a new frontier on the Chicago side of the field. Just like that the script is flipped. Six plays later, Chester Singleton, he's battling Juarez for the starting spot and hits a diving Benjamin Gore in the end zone and finally...FINALLY...Kansas City is on the board.

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/14#2435

Tack on the extra point and...wait...what's this? Head coach John Torres says leave the kicker on the sideline, we're going to try for two right now, right now! Singleton-Joseph Silber...conversion good. Coach, you're a genius, we're at 15-8 with 7 minutes to go.

Kansas City's next offensive possession didn't come until just 2:28 remained, but Singleton worked things like a charm. He finished 15-for-22 for 119 yards and methodically picked his way up to the Chicago 46 when, on third-and-3 Mark Prendergast...

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/14#2459

...he's just trying for a first down, but he makes a nice cut there to split the defense, pulls away from a tackle and he's gone! We're tied 15-15 and 88 seconds away from overtime, right? Wrong.

The Bears are determined to try and make something happen and sometimes that just doesn't go well. James Joyce -- great novelist, questionable decision maker at quarterback --

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/14#2464

throws into a crowd at the 35 and finds the Arrowheads' Kenneth Smith. That sets up this 53-yard Karl Barb field goal for the win.

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/14#2469

Your final score, Kansas City 18, Chicago 15.

Week 2 of the preseason, Kansas City in Dallas. Let's see how it went...

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/29#4927

First play of the game, Vernon Cook forces Dallas' Alvin White to fumble. The ball is on the ground a long time, but Dallas is able to recover and avoid early disaster. Late first quarter, Paul Schmidt beats the coverage. Charles Lopez finds him from 18 yards out. Touchdown Dallas, 7-0.

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/29#4947

Three plays into the next drive, Charles Singleton, getting the starting quarterback nod after being No. 2 on the depth chart for the prior game, connects with Keith Jiminez. There's just one problem -- he doesn't play for us. Jiminez with the pick-six. Dallas 14-0.

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/29#4952

Singleton would redeem himself in part on the next Kansas City possession. Leading the team on an eight play drive, capping with this touchdown toss to Joseph Silber. Karl Barb misses the extra point however, so it is 14-6, Dallas.

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/29#4964

Dallas would add a 52-yard field goal before the half to make it 17-6 at intermission. The Cowboys' continued to pour it on. Early in the third..Ryan Johnston...William Jones...and that's a footrace that he's going to win, 79 yards.

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/29#5011

Make it 24-6, Dallas. But would Kansas City have another dramatic rally in them? Next possession...50 yard Barb field goal to cut it to 24-9. Next KC possession, Barb with a 35 yarder. Let's make it 24-12. You want another one, how about Barb from 53. Folks, he's 3-for-3 from 50+ yards in the preseason and Kansas City is within 24-15 with 14 and change remaining.

https://ros127.myfootballnow.com/watch/29#5041

Unfortunately, those would be the Arrowheads' last points. KC failed to cross midfield again until less than 2 minutes remained and your final here from the Lone Star State is Dallas 24, Kansas City 15. KC falls to 1-1 in the preseason.

Silber was KC's offensive hero of the night, catching six ***** for 117 yards receiving. In the quarterback battle Singleton finished a pedestrian 7-for-14 for 96 yards, a touchdown and that ugly pick-six. Fred Juarez ended the night 15-for-24 for 184, but was also sacked three times. It will be interesting to see who gets the start next when Detroit comes to town. Neither QB got help from the rushing game, which was AWOL the entire night.

One last note, injury concerns for the Arrowheads' defensive line as team medical staff noted several folks were looking pretty banged up after the contest. The situation will bear watching.

From Dallas, Texas, this is Keith Myaths reporting. Someone get me a tequila to wash this pain away...

Kansas City converted four first-half Detroit turnovers into 24 points to cruise to a 41-20 victory in the third game of the preseason. The contest was easily the Arrowheads' best offensive showing during this glorified practice season and came as somewhat of a surprise against a Detroit defense that had allowed just 7 points combined in its first two preseason contests.

Mark Prendergast looked primed for the regular season. The third-round selection scored 2 TD's, including a highlight reel 75 yarder in the second half to finish with 141 yards on 16 carries. Starting quarterback Fred Juarez stepped up as well, finishing 9-for-13 through the air for 151 yards and a touchdown. Joseph Altman was on the receiving end of that 57-yard strike.

Earl Belote and David Shover added rushing touchdowns for Kansas City, which picked up more than six yards per offensive play in the game.

Defensively, KC held Detroit to just 21 yards on 23 rushing attempts. Jerry Daniels and Timothy Shaw each came up big with first-half interceptions. Karl Barb continued a strong preseason, going 2-for-2 on field goals thanks to a penalty that took a 44-yard miss off the books and provided Kansas City a second opportunity to convert. Barb also was a perfect 5-for-5 in the extra point department.

Kansas City (2-1) travels to Seattle (1-2) to wrap up practice season.

With several starters on the bench watching the final preseason action, Kansas City produced a game that was less exciting than watching paint dry, dropping a 9-0 decision in Seattle to finish 2-2 in the preseason. Your Arrowheads didn't produce an offensive play of more than 15 yards in the entire contest and finished with just 229 yards of total offense, 98 of which came on the team's final possession, a 19-play drive that failed to produce points.

Finding the end zone was never really a threat tonight for KC, which also missed a pair of field goals before many of the fans left to drive across town to watch grass grow. Or maybe to smoke a little since we are in Washington, and Seattle fans only had 233 yards of offense to cheer about.

But 9 is greater than 0, so at least they were happy leaving the stadium. All we can say here for KC positives tonight is that there were no new injuries and the banged up defensive line appears to be healing in time for the regular season. We'll see you at home in a week to welcome Detroit to town when all this counts for real. The locals will be hoping for a repeat of that 41-20 beatdown KC created in Week 3. Hey, whose bright idea in the league office was it to schedule the season-opening opponent in Week 3 of the preseason, anyhow?

Until then Kansas City fans, this is Keith Myaths begging for a shot of tequila to give this night some excitement!

They were playing for real, but was Kansas City really playing? That has to be the question as an almost capacity crowd watched Detroit step away with a 13-9 victory in the home opener. Two weeks removed from a dominant preseason performance against the same opponent, the only thing that looked similar was the uniforms.

An exchange of first-half field goals appeared to be heading to the halftime locker before Detroit, which had struggled for just 71 yards of offense to that point in the game, gained 86 yards on back-to-back pass plays to find the end zone with 1:53 remaining in the first half. Not to be outdone, Kansas City's Fred Juarez hooked up with Evan Bush, who tiptoed 56 yards down the sideline. The extra point was missed, however, and Detroit led 10-9 at intermission.

Kansas City fumbled three plays into their opening drive of the second half, but survived without taking damage as Detroit's field goal effort slid just wide. The Lions would assemble a 78-yard drive late in the third period that stalled out inside the KC 5 and gave the game its only score of the second half.

The fourth quarter was filled with nothing but frustration for fans of the Arrowheads. Ryan Paxton returned a pair of punts into Detroit territory. KC saw its first attempt thwarted when the team took a holding penalty followed by a sack after pressing to the Detroit 24. Back to back incompletions left the team with no option but to punt. Getting the ball back again in Detroit territory its next time, Juarez threw an early pick. KC got one more chance, starting from its own 8 with 1:10 remaining and no timeouts, but worked the 2-minute drill like a rank high school team, completing pass after pass over the middle as time expired.

Juarez finished 20-for-32 for 171 yards, a touchdown and an interception. After winning the quarterback battle in preseason, he looked hesitant to even try to push the ball down the field for much of the night. Mark Prendergast had 72 yards on the ground off 24 carries, but hurt a knee late in the game and is listed as probable for Week 2. As a unit, the Kansas City offense limped to just 273 yards of offense.

Defensively, you really can't fault Kansas City. The unit with the most question marks this season allowed Detroit fewer than 300 yards of offense. Leonard Reese led the way with 9 tackles. Notably missing were the 4 turnovers the KC defense forced in the preseason contest between the two teams. In the end though, it's hard to lay the fault at the feet of the defensive crew. The unit asked to bend but not break this season held up its end of the bargain. It was simply tasked to do too much by an inept offense that failed to close the deal.

Kansas City (0-1) jets off to Cleveland (0-1) next. The Browns managed just 8 first downs in a 27-10 loss to Dallas. The Browns have been installed as 2-point favorites in that contest by our friends the bookies in Vegas.

Forty-three years ago, the Edmond Fitzgerald vanished on the Great Lakes after leaving harbor with a load of iron ore. On Sunday night, all common sense seemed to vanish for Kansas City as the Arrowheads journeyed to the Mistake by the Lake that is Cleveland and turned in a performance so putrid that they may as well have had iron in their shoes.

Cleveland, which struggled to top the 200-yard mark for offense in week 1, unleashed a 70-yard lightning bolt with quarterback Christopher Tabor hitting Jack Orme in stride to produce all the points they would need. The Browns tacked on a late first-quarter touchdown after taking advantage of a short field set up by a punt return. The Browns also sandwiched touchdown drives of 85 and 96 yards around halftime as they built a 27-0 lead.

Meanwhile, how pathetic were things for KC? Consider this -- the Arrowheads didn't earn their first first down until the game was in the second quarter. Twelve of the team's 14 possessions ended in punts with seven of those the result of 3-and-out performances by the offense.

There will be many questions asked of head coach John Torres and offensive coordinator Billy Ugarte. One of the first of those questions ought to be why they chose to call running plays on 19 of KC's 28 first-half plays with Week 1 starter Mark Prendergast on the bench injured and an entire pre-season of evidence that the team lacks any explosion on the ground behind him. In all, the running game failed to average 1.5 yards per carry in the contest. As a result, the team closed the night with just 196 yards of offense. Karl Barb's 47-yard field goal averted an embarrassing shutout.

Punter Jason Greene was the closest thing to an MVP that Kansas City had tonight, doing his job by pinning the Browns inside their 10 on six of the team's final eight possessions. Quarterback Fred Juarez, when actually given the opportunity to pass, proved capable, finishing 16-for-27 for 157 yards. Why he wasn't given more opportunities is anyone's guess.

The post-game injury report was yet another kick in the teeth for KC fans. While the team should get Prendergast back on the field, it comes at the expense of Earl Belote, one of the team's top return men. He's far from the only one. First-round draft pick William Dover is questionable to start at linebacker due to a leg injury. The team will also be without starters at right tackle, left defensive end and free safety when they host Houston. Fans may wish to start restocking their liquor cabinets now for that one, assuming they recover in time.

Until then, this is Keith Myaths begging for someone to take the pain away.

Un-Baer-able.

Houston's Reynaldo Baer galloped for 306 yards and three scores as he treated Kansas City's injury-riddled defense with all the tenderness of prairie grass beneath a longhorn stampede. The local team dropped its third contest of the season by a 27-6 margin. For the Arrowheads, it has now been 10 quarters since fans got to cheer a touchdown on offense.

Their ONLY touchdown thus far.

In the early going, it appeared there might be some hope. Kansas City threw together a 10-play, 61-yard drive that stalled inside the 1 yard line after the coaching staff called the world's most ill-designed running play on back-to-back occasions. It all led to a Karl Barb chip-shot FG. Houston answered with a 71-yard drive capped by Baer's first TD, a pedestrian 9-yard run early in the second quarter.

The teams exchanged field goals before Kansas City threatened to take a late first-half lead with a drive in the 2 minute drill. Silly KC fans. That hope lasted all of nine plays and 46 yards before Fred Juarez tossed a red zone interception to the disdain of 76,416 fans in attendance. Kansas City never recovered.

Baer took the first play of the second half 75 yards to the house to extend Houston's lead to 17-6. He added a 98 yarder to open the fourth quarter, effectively slamming the door on KC's hopes.

There weren't many hopes remaining though. Kansas City's offense never emerged from the halftime locker, managing just 34 yards over the final two quarters. In fact, let's not even bother with offensive stats because my momma taught me if you have nothing nice to say, don't say nothin' at all. How this team is only 30th in the league in yards per game right now is beyond me. Can we please schedule those other two teams? Please?

On the injury front, starting QB Fred Juarez injured his neck, prompting Chester Singleton into action in the second half. The coaching staff was tight lipped after the contest about the condition of Juarez or his chances of starting next week's game against Oakland. The Vegas bookies love Oakland by two touchdowns. Me? I love tequila...hit me with another shot Baertender. This is Keith Myaths, signing off.

Thomas Teeter ran for 158 yards and a score as Oakland staved off a valiant upset bid by Kansas City to take a 24-21 victory and drop the Arrowheads to 0-4 on the season. But by golly, it looked like football, it felt like football, and for large chunks of the game, it really was football.

And that's way more than KC fans could say for the past couple of weeks.

Chester Singleton, starting under center in place of the injured Fred Juarez, snapped a streak of 10 Kansas City quarters without a touchdown when he connected with Evan Bush from 16 yards out early in the first quarter. Later in the first period he found Daniel Pearson for a 6-yard strike to stake Kansas City to a 14-0 lead. Both scores were set up courtesy of forced fumbles by the KC defense.

Oakland showcased big play ability to get back into the game. First it was Teeter taking a sweep 83 yards -- clearly Oakland watched the tape of last week's Houston game. Then it was Raiders quarterback Lester Serrano peppering the ball to Rodney Zachary for a 79-yard score. Serrano added a 17-yard strike to Pablo Watson just before the half for a 21-14 intermission lead.

Kansas City tied things up third quarter as Singleton led a quick 3-play, 50-yard scoring drive, connecting with Daniel Pearson from 19 yards out to knot the score at 21. It would stay that way into the fourth quarter. Karl Barb missed badly to the right on a 52-yard effort to put KC ahead midway through the quarter. Oakland took advantage of the flipped field position as a result of the miss to work down for a 22-yard chip shot and a 24-21 lead with 4 minutes remaining.

Once more, Singleton provided the KC offense with a spark of life as he marched the team into Oakland territory. Once more, Barb's kick drifted wide to the right, this time missing from 48 yards and the Raiders were able to run out the clock.

Barb also fired a blank wide right from 40 yards out in the first half as part of an utterly forgettable 0-for-3 day doing his job. Don't worry buddy, baseball players do that all the time and people still cheer and pay them millions.

Despite the near-win, Singleton's effort was enough to earn player of the week recognition from the league as he finished with 321 yards on 28-for-44 passing. He may also have re-ignited the KC quarterback battle. Evan Bush finished with just shy of 100 yards receiving in the contest.

Kansas City (0-4) heads to Los Angeles (1-2) this week in search of an elusive first victory. Vegas is skeptical, calling LA by a pair of touchdowns. What the **** do they know? Keith Myaths reporting.