According to the Chiefs’ official website, Kansas City traded quarterback Tyler Thigpen to the Dolphins for an undisclosed draft pick.

Miami was forced to make this move after Chad Pennington suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in a loss to the Chargers in Week 3. With only Chad Henne and Pat White on the depth chart, Thigpen gives the Dolphins more experience at the quarterback position.

That said, Henne will remain the Dolphins’ starter because the team wants to get a better look at the former second round pick out of Michigan. Given Pennington’s age (33) and injury history, there’s a good chance that Miami won’t re-sign him when he becomes a free agent in the offseason. But they still want to see whether or not Henne is capable of taking over the starting job before the jettison a veteran quarterback like Pennington, who led Miami to an AFC East title last season.

As for the Chiefs, they were hoping to acquire a fourth round pick in exchange for Thigpen this summer after they traded for Matt Cassel, but I doubt they got more than a fifth rounder from Miami.

Thigpen isn’t a bad fantasy quarterback. He was QB12 last year even though he was second string early in the season. His 18.8 fppg average was 10th-best in the league. He posted some good garbage time numbers for the Chiefs because they were trailing for most of the season. The job is Henne’s to start, but if he falters or gets injured, Thigpen could be a sneaky good pickup in deeper fantasy leagues.

Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel is in jeopardy of missing Week 1 of the regular season after suffering an MCL injury in Kansas City’s most recent preseason game.

From Yahoo! Sports.com:

Cassel, who the Chiefs acquired in a trade with New England this offseason, was hurt Saturday night in an exhibition game against Seattle. The injury is not expected to require surgery because MCL injuries usually heal on their own.

However, the injury means Cassel could miss the Chiefs’ season opener at Baltimore on Sept. 13. If Cassel can’t play, Tyler Thigpen(notes) is expected to start the season. Thigpen, who had been the subject of trade rumors earlier this week, played in 14 games last season when the Chiefs went through injuries at quarterback. He finished the season with 18 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions and a quarterback rating of 76.0.

The fact that he won’t need surgery is good for the long-term status of the team, although it has to be disappointing for both Cassel and the Chiefs that he won’t be lining up under center in Week 1.

After a brutal start last season, Thigpen actually played well in the second half and offers Todd Haley starting experience. That doesn’t mean that Thigpen will fair well in Baltimore, but at least Haley doesn’t have to worry about trotting out a rookie QB in his team’s season opener.

One thing to note is that Thigpen has leapfrogged Brodie Croyle on the Chiefs’ depth chart. Croyle was the Week 1 starter last year and was once viewed as the long-term answer under center. His time as a starter definitely came to an end when the team acquired Cassel, although now it appears that even his time as a backup (at least in Kansas City) could be dwindling as well.

Obviously, this is worrisome for Cassel owners, but if you’re following our QBBC strategy, and drafted Cassel as part of a committee, you probably weren’t planning to use Cassel against the Ravens in Week 1 anyway. He should be able to play in Week 2 or Week 3 at the latest, so while his value is certainly hurt as a starting QB, he still holds similar value as a backup or a part of a committee.

Notable Free Agents: Jason Babin, DE; Rocky Boiman, LB; Oliver Celestin, FS.

Projected 2009 Cap Space: $33,000,000

Draft Order: 3

Top Needs: The Chiefs have a variety of holes to fill this offseason, from the interior of their offensive line, to linebacker to safety and No. 2 wide receiver.

Offseason Outlook: Despite the lack of overall roster talent, the Chiefs aren’t a bad situation to walk into for new GM Scott Pioli and head coach Todd Haley. The team has plenty of cap space, a high draft pick and not one marquee free agent to re-sign. Pioli is essentially working with a clean slate to begin his era in Kansas City.

That said, there are some underlining issues on the horizon. Tight end Tony Gonzalez and running back Larry Johnson, two players who will be counted on to spark the revival in Kansas City, have both expressed a desire to be traded this offseason. Gonzalez has wavered a bit in his demands, but it’s clear that LJ wants out of KC and maybe Pioli will grant his wish as long as the Chiefs can land proper compensation for the star back.

Another area Pioli might address is at quarterback, where incumbent Tyler Thigpen played well enough in the second half of the season to merit a crack at the starting spot, but probably isn’t the long-term answer. Considering Pioli is coming over from New England, he could look into what it would take to acquire Matt Cassel. Don’t count on it though. KC has the No. 3 overall pick and certainly won’t part with that high of a pick for Cassel, especially when you consider he might have been a product of the Patriots’ outstanding offensive system. Don’t be surprised if Thigpen is the Chiefs’ starter under center again next year.

The Chiefs could stand an upgrade at center and right guard. Rudy Niswanger was the team’s starter last year at center, but given his size, he could easily move to right guard and then KC could look to sign one of the many free agent centers that are available this offseason including Matt Birk (Vikings), Brad Meester (Jaguars), Eric Ghiaciuc (Bengals) and Jason Brown (Ravens).

Defensively, Jason Babin surprised folks last year with his steady play at right defensive end, but he’s a free agent and if Pioli sees an upgrade available either in free agency or the draft, he’ll likely jump on it. It’s doubtful that Pioli goes after a marquee name like Julius Peppers to fill the void, but the position will no doubt be addressed this offseason.

At linebacker, Derrick Johnson is a stud on the strong-side, but the Chiefs are in desperate need to upgrade the other two spots. The team signed Demorrio Williams to fill the weak-side position last year, but he’s more of a situational pass-rusher at best and probably isn’t an every down player. In the middle, Pat Thomas missed time last year due to injuries and isn’t the type of run-stuffer the Chiefs are going to need moving forward.

Given their needs at linebacker, KC could use its first round pick on Wake Forest’s Aaron Curry, who is talented enough to play either outside or in the middle. He would be a nice compliment to Johnson and would add some athleticism on that side of the ball for KC, who has still yet to hire a defensive coordinator. But it’s worth noting that both the Lions and Rams (who pick ahead of the Chiefs) will take a strong look at Curry, too.

If the Lions pass on Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, KC could be a landing spot for him at No. 3. Pundits seem to believe the notion that since Tom Brady was a seventh round pick, that anyone that comes from the New England front office (i.e. Pioli) will pass on the opportunity to draft a quarterback high in the first round. But Falcons’ GM Thomas Dimitroff (who cut his teeth in the Patriots’ front office) bucked that trend by taking Matt Ryan with the third overall pick last year. So if Pioli feels that Stafford is a franchise-type quarterback, don’t be surprised if the Chiefs selected him if Detroit passes.

The Chiefs could also use an upgrade at safety and wide receiver, but given their other needs and lack of quality safeties on the market, it’s doubtful that Pioli will turn heads filling either position this offseason.

It’s hard to criticize Edwards (or any head coach for that matter) who goes for two when his team is 1-8 and on the road. When the Chiefs scored to cut the deficit to 20-19 with only 29 seconds remaining in the game, they had stolen on the all momentum after driving 60 yards on 14 plays. Edwards figured that his best chance to win was right there at the goal line, instead of trying his luck in overtime. Again, at 1-8, screw it. Go for the win. Obviously it didn’t work out well for Herm, but I don’t blame him for the thought process.

Even though his team lost, what a game by quarterback Tyler Thigpen (27 for 41, 266 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs). Maybe he has a place in the league after all. It appears that KC has taken the training wheels off him the past couple weeks and have allowed him to throw downfield. He looked great Sunday, especially throwing to tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had a fantastic touchdown catch in this game that showed his immense concentration.

Speaking of which, the Chargers shouldn’t scare anyone. They’re pedestrian at best and their defense still has a ton of holes. Whichever team between them and Denver gets to nine wins this year will win the AFC West.

A source has confirmed that free agent quarterback Daunte Culpepper is visiting the Lions today and will go through a workout but the team is making no comment.

It’s not usual for free agents to visit teams on Tuesday, the day that clubs continue to maintain their “short list” in case of injury to other players. Last week, the Lions brought in free agent quarterback Tim Rattay for a workout.

I know that money is probably playing into this, but what does it say for the Chiefs when players (even if they are Daunte Culpepper) would rather go to winless Detroit to play? It’s not like Culpepper would have any better or worse chance of playing in Detroit as he would Kansas City. Who’s going to stop him – Tyler Thigpen? The Chiefs are a mess.

I mean, I love the NFL. If it were at all possible, I would go out to Zales, purchase a ring, take the NFL out for a lovely dinner, drop to a knee and ask it to marry me.

That said, there are three things that NFL teams do that absolutely infuriate me. All 32 teams have done these three things throughout the years and continue to do them on a weekly basis.

1. Choose to receive the ball when they win the coin toss
This absolutely chaps my hide because it’s an ego thing for teams. They want the ball first because they want to “set the tone” and have the mentality that they can take their opening drive and shove it down their opponents’ throat.

But how many times as a fan have you heard a player, coach or announcer say, “Football is a game of emotion?” Hundreds, probably. So why, oh why, do teams win the coin toss and chose to receive? If football is a game of emotion and defense is all about emotion, why not put them on the field first? They’re rested, pumped up and if they force the opponent to punt, your team not only has momentum and field position, but you also get the ball back at halftime.

I understand why teams chose to receive first; among other reasons, they believe they can get the first score and seize momentum. But even if they do score first, the opposing team still has almost four full quarters to swing momentum back in their favor and either tie or capture the lead.

One of the smartest things I saw in Week 3 come in the Dallas-Green Bay Sunday night game. Head coach Wade Phillips and his Cowboys were on the road and playing in a hostile environment. When they won the coin toss, they took advantage of a new league rule that allows teams to defer to the second half, meaning Dallas chose to get the ball at halftime. So, they put their defense on the field first, forced a fumble and eventually wound up taking a 3-0 lead. At halftime, the ‘Boys led 13-6 and had the luxury of getting the ball back in the second half. Granted they didn’t get any points in their first possession of the third quarter, but at least they had the opportunity to extend the lead. And let’s say the score was reversed and Green Bay had a 13-6 lead, at least the Cowboys would have had the chance to tie it early in the third quarter because they chose to defer to the second half. Not every team is going to force a fumble on their opponents’ first possession, but a three and out and punt can have the same affect.

If a team wins the toss, it makes little sense to receive the ball to start the game. Put your well-rested defense on the field first, get a stop, seize momentum and get the ball back first in the second half. And if the other team scores to start the game, so what? You still have an entire game to battle back.

My cohort on The Scores Report, John Paulsen, disagrees with this notion to a certain extent. He’s a Packer fan and likes to note that when Mike Holmgren coached in Green Bay, he had the first 15-20 plays scripted and his teams almost always went down the field and scored. It was demoralizing for the other team and JP brings up a good point that receiving the ball has a lot to do with the quality of your offense. Maybe one day when we’re coaching in the NFL, we can pit our philosophies against each other and see who comes out on top. (Or since neither of us is remotely close to becoming NFL coaches, we’ll have to duke it out on Madden ’09 or get a bunch of schoolyard kids together and coach them.)

2. Playing prevent defense at the end of games and first halves
This one has driven fans crazy for years. The first half or game is winding down and the defense that had been aggressive and relentless for two or four quarters starts allowing their opponent to complete underneath passes in efforts to not get burned deep for a big play. But all of a sudden, those underneath passes start to add up and the offense is now knocking on the door of a score (whether it be a field goal or touchdown).

In the Chiefs-Falcons game on Sunday, Atlanta seized a 24-0 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. But instead of being aggressive like they had been for almost two quarters, they allowed Kansas City quarterback Tyler Thigpen to complete seven to 15-yard underneath passes and march the Chiefs up the field to the Atlanta 15-yard line. Thigpen then hit Dwayne Bowe for a 15-yard touchdown with only three seconds remaining in the half. While the Falcons still owned a 24-7 lead at halftime, Kansas City had taken some of the momentum back, which it turned into another score on the first possession of the second half.

Granted the Falcons still won the game handedly, but why even allow a team to have any momentum at the end of a half or even worse, at the end of game to possibly cut into a lead or win the game? Atlanta had made Thigpen uncomfortable up until that final drive of the first half by sending multiple defenders and playing press coverage. But most quarterbacks (even Thigpen) can find open receivers if a defense only rushes four down linemen and he has time in the pocket.

Now let’s look at the other side of the coin. At the end of the Eagles-Steelers game, Philadelphia, which had blitzed Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger the entire game, continued to send extra defenders at Big Ben late in the fourth quarter. The results were similar to the ones they had all game: Roethlisberger couldn’t do anything.

On a 3rd and 15 from their own 23-yard line, Roethlisberger dropped back to pass and the Eagles sent safety Brian Dawkins on a blitz. Dawkins got to Roethlisberger and stripped the ball, Philly recovered and eventually turned it into a field goal to take a 15-6 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Then, on the Steelers next possession, the Eagles continued to be aggressive and while Byron Leftwich was able to complete longer passes down the field, Philly eventually sacked him for a nine-yard loss to force a 4th and 10 with only 40 seconds to play. On fourth down, Leftwich was again harassed and wound up skipping a pass incomplete to Santonio Holmes.

Most defenses are successful when they’re aggressive. And if they’re having success throughout an entire half or game being aggressive, there’s no reason they should stop being aggressive.

3. Down by 11 late in a game, going for a TD when the opportunity for a FG is present
There’s three minutes left in the fourth quarter and a team is down by 11 points. While driving into opponents’ territory, they’re stopped on third down. Now faced with a 4th and 7 from the 28-yard line, the team decides to go for it because the outdated handbook for coaching dummies says that a team should go for the touchdown first. So the team goes for it, they get stopped on fourth down and now instead of having a legitimate shot at a rally with less than three minutes to play, they kill all hopes and have to burn up their time outs in a futile attempt at a comeback.

If a team is down by 11 late in the game and they’re in field goal range, why not just kick the field goal? You need the three points no matter what. I understand that a 55-yard field goal is more likely than a “Hail Mary” pass attempt from the same distance, but you have to play the percentages at that time. The chances of making a field goal on that 4th and 7 must be better than picking up a first down. But head coaches get infatuated with the fact that they have to score a touchdown and convert a 2-point conversion, so they leave vital points on the field at the end of games. They put the field goal attempt in their back pocket, instead of just knocking it out when they have the chance.

Rookie QB Matt Ryan completed 12 of 18 passes for 192 yards and also threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to WR Roddy White (5 rec., 119 yards, 1 TD). As with their win over the Lions in the opener, the Falcons stuck mostly to the ground game as Michael Turner rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns.

Atlanta has two wins over brutal teams, but Ryan is gaining confidence with each victory. Ryan needs to prove he can play on the road though. He looked bad last week in Tampa and will get tested by another division foe next week when the Falcons travel to Carolina.

Chiefs’ QB Tyler Thigpen had another rough day, throwing three interceptions. He had to deal with some dropped passes, but he also missed receivers badly all game. Larry Johnson (24 carries, 121 yards, 1 TD) bounced back from last week’s dismal performance, but without the threat of a passing game, he could only do so much. The Chiefs are in for a long year.