With Chad Pennington’s season likely done and Chad Henne on crutches, the Dolphins turn to five-year vet Tyler Thigpen as their starter for Week 11 against the Bears. Thigpen made some noise in his second season when he appeared in 14 games for the Chiefs after both Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle went down with injuries. Over his final 10 starts, Thigpen averaged 222 passing yards, 1.6 TDs and 0.8 INTs. He completed 192-of-330 passes (58.2%) and averaged 32.5 rushing yards during that stretch. That all combines to yield an 84.7 QB rating, which would put him at #21 this season (between Kevin Kolb and Carson Palmer).

I asked our NFL guru, Anthony Stalter, to give me his impression of Thigpen and here’s what he had to say:

His decision-making his questionable but he’s mobile and if the Dolphins get him moving outside of the pocket he can be effective. He has a hard time making reads under pressure though, so Miami would be better served limiting the plays he runs.

On Sunday, he came in as the Dolphins’ third QB and completed 4-of-6 passes for 64 yards and a TD. Miami ran a number of plays out of the Wildcat formation to limit Thigpen’s snaps.

Fantasy-wise, I’d rather sit on a pile of broken glass than start Thigpen against a stout Chicago pass defense, but going forward, he may not be a bad QB2 or member of a QB committee. He averaged 19.9 fantasy points during that 10-game stretch with the Chiefs, but the Dolphins probably won’t be playing from behind as much as the Chiefs were that season. After next week’s game against the Bears, the schedule lightens up considerably, including a nice pair of matchups (BUF & DET, at home) during Weeks 15 & 16. If Thigpen is still the Miami starter at that point, he could be a sneaky good start.

Somewhere in Pittsburgh right now, Patriots’ coach Bill Belichick just read Randy Moss’ stat line from his first game as a Titan and said, “Suck it, Randy.”

After being a malcontent in his previous two stops, Moss is now working on his third team this season and he’s already 0-1. While he was targeted four times in the Titans’ 29-17 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday, he caught just one pass for 26 yards in his Tennessee debut.

And that catch didn’t come until the Titans’ final drive in the fourth quarter.

Moss spent most of the day riding the bench and he even admitted after the game that he wasn’t as good as he could be.

“My debut, man, it was actually a bad game for me. I think I just tried to be as much help to them as I could, just try to play within the offense. So I felt comfortable out there, but I don’t think that I had a very good overall game. I think that my blocking really wasn’t that good, where I wanted it to be. So I’ll just go back at the drawing board and come back again next week.”

As for the players who did factor into the game, Chad Henne completed 19-of-28 passes for 240 yards with one touchdown and an interception. The only reason Henne was in the game was because Chad Pennington (who’s season, if not career, is likely over with) hurt his shoulder just two snaps into the first quarter. Then Henne injured his knee in the second half and had to be replaced by Tyler Thigpen, who completed 4-of-6 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Henne, who was on crutches following the game, will have an MRI on his knee Sunday night. If he can’t go, Thigpen would get the nod against the Bears next week.

The win was big for the Dolphins, who remain two games behind the Jets in the division. The loss drops the Titans a game back of the Colts in both the win and loss columns, and into a tie with the Jaguars at 5-4.

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.