FANTASY FOOTBALL NFL PLAYERS

Posted: 11/12/2009 11:27am et

Kent Babb, of The Kansas City Star, reports Chiefs head coach Todd Haley would not rule out the possibility of RB Kolby Smith starting in Week 10.

The Huddle Take: The Chiefs don't have many options in their backfield. Jamaal Charles got the start last week after Larry Johnson was kicked to the curb, but as a team KC rushed the ball just a dozen times. Smith was recently activated off the PUP list after missing about a year with a knee injury; maybe the Chiefs want to see what he can bring to their running game before making offseason plans.

Posted: 11/10/2009 4:01pm et

The Kansas City Star reports the Kansas City Chiefs are likely to use a running-back-by-committee with free-agent RB Larry Johnson (Chiefs) gone. The committee will include RBs Kolby Smith, Jamaal Charles and Dantrell Savage. Charles started and played more snaps in Week 9, but Smith could eventually take more of the workload. The team still appears hesitant to give the ball to Charles in running formations.

The Huddle Take: RBBCs are bad enough for any team, but when one is deployed on a squad as lousy as the Chiefs, it's even worse. Fantasy owners struggling at RB were probably hoping either Smith, Charles or Savage would emerge as a clear-cut No. 1, because even though they play on a bad team they'd at least get a lot of carries. But that doesn't look like it'll be the case, rendering all of them useless from a Fantasy perspective.

Posted: 11/9/2009 11:53am et

Adam Teicher, of The Kansas City Star, reports Chiefs RBs Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith combined to average more than five yards per carry in Week 9. However, the team gave the tandem the football only 10 times during the game. The Chiefs ran a total of 12 running plays, while QB Matt Cassel threw 39 times. The Chiefs' opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars, surprised the team by playing mostly a 4-3 defense during the game. "It wasn't what we practiced against," head coach Todd Haley said. "I thought for the most part we had an idea of what was going on. (The offensive imbalance) was all predicated (on the defense). On a lot of our runs, there was a lot of pressure coming. They were bringing safeties from both edges, run blitzes we call them."

The Huddle Take: The Chiefs have had limited success running the football all season long, and with Larry Johnson out of the picture it's not surprising that their backups received limited looks. Ideally Haley's offense will have more balance, though that wasn't necessarily the case in Arizona last year and is in no way a requirement.

Posted: 11/7/2009 6:24pm et

The Kansas City Chiefs have announced they have activated RB Kolby Smith (knee) from the Physically Unable to Perform list.

The Huddle Take: If you're needing last minute help on a deep bye week, Smith could be a dark horse, though it would be a stretch. Either way, he'll be the back up this week for KC and should see a handful of caries.

Posted: 11/5/2009 11:13am et

Kent Babb, of The Kansas City Star, reports Chiefs RB Kolby Smith likely will not get many carries in Week 9.

The Huddle Take: Smith is just a year removed from knee surgery and has yet to see any game action this season, so the Chiefs will likely ease him back into duty. Jamaal Charles will start out as KC's primary ball carrier while Larry Johnson is out.

Posted: 11/4/2009 10:55am et

Adam Teicher, of The Kansas City Star, reports Chiefs head coach Todd Haley stopped short of saying the team would activate RB Kolby Smith for Week 9, but he did indicate it was likely. "I'm optimistic about having the opportunity to see him play," Haley said of Smith.

The Huddle Take: Smith has been practicing with the team and split first-team reps with Jamaal Charles last week, so he's certainly on the team's radar. Expect Smith and Charles to head up the committee that fills the void left by Larry Johnson's suspension.

Posted: 10/29/2009 11:42am et

Kent Babb, of The Kansas City Star, reports Chiefs RBs Kolby Smith and Jamaal Charles split most of the practice time with the first team Wednesday, Oct. 28.

The Huddle Take: With Larry Johnson out of the picture, at least for the short term, there are carries to be had in Kansas City. Charles is viewed as more of a change of pace back rather than one capable of carrying a full workload, which means Smith might see the larger portion of the carries.