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Kansas City surrendered 20 points in the second half and head coach John Torres finds himself once more having to answer questions regarding his play calling capabilities as the Arrowheads dropped a 20-6 contest and fell to 4-11 on the season. Very little in the first 30 minutes hinted that the game would transpire that way.

Receiving the opening kickoff, the Arrowheads put together what may have been their most methodical and workmanlike drive of the season. The team burned nearly eight minutes off the clock on a 13-play, 52-yard sojourn that was eventually ended with Karl Barb's 40-yard field goal kick. The team also moved the ball well on both of its second quarter possessions as an element of the offense not often counted upon this season -- the rushing game -- provided a consistent, if not explosive, means of moving the football. It played a key role in setting up Barb's 42-yard field goal just before the half and the Arrowheads' 6-0 lead before the half, while certainly not insurmountable or overwhelming, at least felt somewhat secure.

But Kansas City was utterly out-coached and out-classed in the second half.

Taking a page out of the Arrowheads' playbook, Indianapolis took the second half kick and marched 75 yards in 10 plays. Unlike KC, Indy's drive ended in a touchdown as Peter Magnuson found Raymond Hernandez for a 6-yard touchdown strike that gave the Colts a 7-6 lead. Indy added to the lead on its next possession, this time covering 70 yards with the major damage coming as Magnuson hit Kenneth Madrigal in stride for a 63-yard touchdown. Indy added a 37-yard field goal on its next possession as the team amassed nearly 200 yards of offense in the third quarter alone.

Kansas City coach John Torres never seemed capable of responding to the onslaught. Even when trailing 17-6, Torres seemed unable or unwilling to let go of Kansas City's running game. The result was a team that struggled to gain 200 yards of total offense on the night and which never, ever threatened a comeback bid. Indy's final points came on a 50 yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Kansas City hosts Denver (3-11-1) for its final game of the 2018 season. A win could give the Arrowheads second place in the AC West while a loss might bury the team in last place. In spite of the Arrowheads' 24-21 loss in Denver earlier this season, Vegas is calling it KC by 4.

The Kansas City Arrowheads rewarded the 66,021 fans who turned out for the season finale with an exciting 27-24 victory over Denver. It certainly did not look good early as Denver did its best Indianapolis-in-the-second-half impression.

The Broncos held the ball for nearly 20 minutes in the first half, manufacturing touchdown drives of 75 and 64 yards. Sandwiched in between was a 9-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 24-yard gimme field goal. It is not an exaggeration to observe that the only thing to stop Denver in the first half was the scoreboard clock. Despite the domination of the Arrowheads' defense, KC trailed by just a 17-13 count at intermission.

Kansas City did enough to give itself a chance. A 71-yard drive on its first possession bogged down just shy of the end zone and led to Karl Barb's 22-yard field goal. After falling behind 10-3, Earl Belote brought them to their feet with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to knot the game at 10. Barb added a 48-yard field goal right before intermission.

KC made some defensive adjustments at the half to slow down the Denver attack. The scoreboard remained locked at 17-13 until late in the third quarter. Jerry Daniel took advantage of Denver's first non-completion of a pass to pick the ball off and set the Arrowheads up at the Denver 27. It took five plays, but Belote finally powered across from 2 yards out to lift Kansas City into the lead.

Arrowhead fans were celebrating again less than two minutes later as Chester Singleton hooked up with Evan Bush for a 66-yard scoring strike to extend Kansas City's lead to two scores. Denver battled back with a 24-yard touchdown pass in the final two minutes of the game, but Kansas City smothered the football to enable the Arrowheads to run out the clock.

Daniel earned league recognition. In addition to his interception, the KC middle linebacker also registered 12 tackles in the contest. William Dover added an additional 10 stops

Offensively, Singleton finished 11-for-18 for 209 yards. Mark Prendergast added 87 yards on 11 carries of the football and an additional 17 pass receiving yards. Bush finished with 95 receiving yards on just three receptions. The 27 points scored by the Arrowheads was a season high for the team.

The victory brings to a close a 5-11 inaugural season for the Arrowheads, who will gradually turn their focus to next year. While that will undoubtedly produce lots of conversation and speculation, we will save that for another entry.

For now fans, lift your shot glasses high in the air as we toast this season. Cheers!! Here's to not being Cincinnati!

Itʻs everyoneʻs favorite dance -- the offseason shuffle.

We will start with the retirement party as three members of the Arrowheads decided to hang up their cleats and call it a career. Those players were TE Lacy Silva, MLB Jerry Daniel and SS Russell Peirce.

Silva saw action in all 16 games last season, but served primarily as a blocking tight end. He was targeted three times with passes, hauling in one of them for a whopping 5 yards. We wish Lacy well, but letʻs be honest -- this loss isnʻt likely to have much of an impact on the team going forward.

The same cannot be said about Daniel and Peirce. The pair shared the team lead with 98 tackles each last season and ranked among the top 20 in the league in that category. Peirce forced three fumbles and was an absolute blanket on opposing route runners as he surrendered just a 32.5 percent catch rate when matched up against. Daniel was responsible for one of the teamʻs eight sacks last season. He also shared team-high honors with three interceptions. That will be a significant hole to fill if the Arrowheads wish to match or better last seasonʻs 11th ranked defense in yardage allowed.

The Arrowheads immediately reacted to the defensive announcements with a pair of free agency pick-ups. Kansas City signed WLB Thomas Hall to a 4-year deal. With 2018 first-round selection William Dover at Will, one would have to imagine Hallʻs future is most likely on the Sam/Mike side of the equation for KC.

Also joining the team is CB Albert Green, who signed a 5-year deal with Kansas City after playing in Carolina last season. Heʻll join a secondary that was stingy on yards allowed, but that permitted nearly 63 percent of opposing passes to be completed against it. Although he appeared in all 16 games last season for the Panthers, Green was mired behind a bevy of other defensive backs, seeing just over 200 snaps and making just three tackles. For Kansas City, heʻll be looked upon as one of the teamʻs primary DBʻs.

While you never want to say never, chances are the Arrowheads have made the last of their off-season moves as the teamʻs front office starts to turn its attention The team holds the No. 3 pick in the upcoming draft and speculation abounds regarding the direction the team will take with that pick.

And with the third pick in the 2019 Draft, the Kansas City Arrowheads select...

...Dan Parson, MLB, Arizona St.

Although the Arrowheads were rumored to have been giving USC RB William Gordon a bit of a look, unnamed sources inside the Arrowheadsʻ organization indicated Parson had been the teamʻs primary target from the start.

On paper, it appears a perfect fit for the organization. Parson fills a glaring void caused by the retirement of team co-leading tackler Jerry Daniel and should be an almost-immediate upgrade over John Sherwood, who was the only listed MLB on the roster. With his drafting, it appears offseason acquisition Thomas Hall is now destined for Sam linebacker with 2018 first-rounder William Dover entrenched at the Will position.

With the 38th pick of the 2019 draft, the Kansas City Arrowheads select:

...Gregory Flaherty, CB, Other

With this selection, the Arrowheads address their other key need area and inject some badly needed youth into a secondary featuring three players with 11+ years of experience. Flaherty will align with offseason free agent signing Albert Green to greatly retool the back of the Kansas City defense. With both of the teamʻs glaring needs addressed in the first two rounds of the draft, it is anyoneʻs guess where the Arrowheads will go with their third round selection.

With the 69th pick of the 2019 draft, the Kansas City Arrowheads select Roy Kohn, RG, from Kansas State University.

The Arrowheads grab their third round pick from just down the road in Manhattan, where Kohn was rumored to be screaming "I HAVE BEEN FREED!!" at the top of his lungs upon getting the call from KC management. Listed as a right guard, Kohn has plug and play potential across most of the offensive line. Hard to say if heʻs in line for a starting position, but he will definitely provide some needed depth to the Arrowheadsʻ front five, the competition for which is now 7 deep given this selection.

With the 100th pick in the draft, the Arrowheads went with Maryland SS Horace Lamons as part of an ongoing project to try and beef up the back of the defensive unit. Like Kohn, Lamons will need to prove himself at training camp to nail down a possible starting slot in the secondary. At worst, he will hopefully provide more depth and youth to what is, again, an aging unit for the Arrowheads. Besides, you know what they say:

"When life gives you Lamons..."

Draft Day wrapped up with a trio of picks by the Arrowheads.

The Round 5 selection was spent on UCLA WR Ernest Powley. Powley is, how shall we say this...well, he's really effing strong. The speed and acceleration are about what you'd expect in Round 5, but the knock on Powley is that he doesn't have the best hands in the business...but he's too small to be a fullback and too slow to make a good running back. Powley will need to make a splash on special teams in training camp.

Round 6 was spent on Virginia C Robert Feldmann. There's not a lot to say here aside from the fact that Feldmann will be fighting for a position at center or as the long snapper on special teams. If he misses on both those counts, well, I hear the Canadian League is a nice place...

Round 7 goes to FB James Long out of Baylor. The knock on Long is that he's slow. The upside is he's a strong, absolutely fearless route runner coming out of the backfield, which could have its merits for the Arrowheads.

That'll do it for now. The Arrowheads have 59 players on roster, so have the opportunity to take a flier on one acquisition to fill the roster prior to training camp. We'll save the press releases until after camp breaks.

TRAINING CAMP REPORT

The drafties...
Seventh round selection James Long (FB, 5/-5) missed his chance to make an impact with the Arrowheads. Entering training camp in a three-way battle for backup FB duties Long emerged at the back of the pack. Clearly KC will not be carrying 4 FB's on the roster so get a spot in Canada or the Arena League ready for Long.
Fifth-rounder Ernest Powley (WR, 4/-1) also failed to stand out at training camp and will be fighting for a roster spot when cut-downs occur.
Sixth-rounder Robert Feldmann (C, 0/-5) will be going, going, gone. Already a stretch to make the roster, Feldmann looked completely overmatched in camp and earned his walking papers.
Third-rounder Roy Kohn (RG, +9/+1) finally provides some good news coming out of training camp. The question now becomes whether or not Kohn will work his way into the starting lineup or if he will be a rotation backup at several positions.
First round selection Dan Parson (MLB, +7/+1) did nothing to disappoint or to cast doubt on his worthiness as the No. 3 pick in the draft. Buy those jerseys today in the Arrowheads' gift shop or order online, because "The Minister" looks like he'll be a force on the defensive side of the ball for some time in KC.
Second rounder Gregory Flaherty (CB, +11/0) reported to camp in better shape than expected, but overall looks exactly like what the doctor ordered for the Arrowheads' secondary.
Undrafted Roy Lockhart (CB, +12/+2) proved to be worth the gamble for Kansas City and emerges from training camp as someone capable of stepping onto the field this season. You'll see a lot more of Lockhart in the preseason as he battles for time possibly as the No. 3 corner on the depth chart.
Fourth rounder Horace Lamons (SS, +6/0) could be another member of this year's draft class who sees field time this season. Word out of camp has Lamons with the lead for the possible strong safety starting slot.

The Vets
Not happy with losing the QB battle last season, Fred Juarez is back and looking sharper than a season ago, so it could be another preseason to watch between he and Chester Singleton.
Earl Belote and Jesse Hazel (each -2/-2) are starting to show signs of age at RB for the Arrowheads, but Scott Willis (+3/+3) was a pleasant surprise at FB.
Defensively, Leonard Reese (-4/-4) has slowed with age, but the 12-year vet still appears to be the cream of the Kansas City defensive end crop.
The biggest training camp surprise, however, came from offseason free agent acquisition Albert Green (+6/+4) who might have gone from being just help for the KC secondary to earning the role as the team's No. 1 pass stopper.

The Arrowheads start the preseason at home against Detroit. We'll see you back here when the glorified practice slate is finished.

Saddle up Arrowhead fans, the 2019 season is upon us. Whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen.

After going 5-11 last season, Kansas City spent the bulk of the off-season shoring up an exploited secondary unit. After going 0-4 in the preseason, fans are wondering if that was the correct focus.

For the second consecutive season, Fred Juarez emerges from the preseason as the starter for the season's opening game. Unlike last season, there is no question regarding who deserves the job. Juarez completed 70 percent of his passes in three halves of action and posted a quarterback rating close to 100. Chester Singleton, who battled Juarez for the job last year before taking it over in Week 4, was a clear No. 2 this time around. Danny Loftis played himself right off the roster in the preseason after going 5-for-17 with an interception and a passing rating of 16.05.

In the backfield with Juarez the rushing duo of Mark Prendergast and Earl Belote are back for another year. The big question here is whether or not the pair, who accounted for just three rushing TD's last season, can pick up the big yards when the Arrowheads need them. Jeromy Plummer looks to hold down the fullback position initially, but should feel pressure to produce.

Receiving, the Arrowheads' top three targets from 2018 all return and all produced 700+ yards in receptions a year ago. But the talk out of training camp was the ascension of Benjamin Gore in the preseason. If Gore creates another viable threat out wide, the Arrowheads could have a potent offensive attack. Before you get your hopes too high though, recall that Gore was also the leading receiver with 14 receptions in the 2018 preseason and then went on to catch only 19 ***** throughout the regular season.

Along the offensive line, the Arrowhead have a pair of solid tackles, but will begin the year on the young side at both guard slots. The defensive line features a front four that accounted for 35 combined starts a season ago, but failed to get significant offseason help to patch up a run defense that placed 29th in the league last season.

The linebacking crew welcomes Dan "The Minister" Parson into its midst. Parson will line up beside 2018 top pick William Dover, also the team's top returning tackler with 81, for a unit that brings in free agent Thomas Hall to make a hopefully fearful threesome.

The Arrowheads' secondary unit is completely retooled from a season ago. Only free safety Martin Owings is back. Fourth-round draft selection Horace Lamons steps at the strong safety after winning the battle for the position in the preseason. At the corners, the Arrowheads will count upon free agent signing Albert Green and rookie second-round pick Gregory Flaherty. They'll try to improve on a unit that allowed a 62.4 percent completion percentage against it last year (27th in the league).

Kansas City opens on the road at 2018 AC West winner Oakland. The Raiders are a 6-point favorite in that contest.

Kansas City held Oakland out of the end zone for the entirety of its season opener, but that hardly mattered as Richard Baptiste went 4-for-5 on field goals and the Raiders tacked on a safety for good measure in a 14-7 defeat of the Arrowheads. New year, new team...same result.

The Arrowheads struggled for just 50 yards of offense in the first half as quarterback Fred Juarez slid to 0-4 as a starting signal caller in KC. Juarez failed to complete a pass in the first quarter and ended the night 18-for-35 for 142 yards and an interception. That pick led to the first of four field goals on the night for Oakland, a 52-yarder.

Baptiste added second quarter boots of 41 and 33 yards to go with a first-quarter tackle of Mark Prendergast in the end zone for a safety to take an 11-0 lead into intermission.

Kansas City's lone score came on its first possession of the second half. Some adjustments in the locker room enabled the Arrowheads to march 89 yards in 10 plays, capping the drive on a 7-yard Prendergast run to trim the lead to 11-7. KC also missed a 56-yard field goal attempt on its next possession as kicker Karl Barb's try fell just short.

Oakland added a 22-yard Baptiste field goal before having to withstand a pair of Arrowhead threats in the waning minutes. Earl Belote's 39-yard run set the Arrowheads up with first-and-goal from the Oakland 3, but that had transformed to a fourth-and-goal from the 8 before KC was turned away empty-handed.

Kansas City had one more chance in the waning seconds. The team advanced to the Oakland 26, but Juarez missed on three consecutive passes before getting sacked on the fourth-down play to secure Oakland's win.

For the night, KC was outgained 318-281. The Arrowheads did pick up 146 along the ground as Prendergast finished with 82 yards on 20 carries. Daniel Pearson hauled in a respectable 76 yards on five receptions. Defensively, rookie fourth-rounder Horace Lamons was brilliant with 12 tackles in his professional debut.

Kansas City hosts Miami next. The Fighting Fish were overtime winners in their opener. Vegas has instilled Miami as a 2-point favorite in the contest.