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Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs At Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Chiefs

Buccaneers

The Chiefs were in position to defeat the Baltimore Ravens at home in Week Five, but penalties and turnovers kept them from doing so. Most damaging may have been Matt Cassel’s fumble into the endzone that the Steelers recovered. Cassel (head) may not be able to play after taking a fourth-quarter blow against Baltimore. Brady Quinn has offered little evidence to suggest he could be a competent NFL quarterback.	Quarterback	The Bucs believe they can have a decent year because they play hard and work to correct their errors. Based on last season, few players have more errors to correct then Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman. While gifted physically, Freeman does not read defenses extremely well and he can be enticed into making bad throws.
The Chiefs have the talent on offense to do a lot of damage. Running back Jamaal Charles is one of the most explosive backs in the league and he is coming off a 140-yard effort in the loss to Baltimore. Big-play wideout Dwayne Bowe can handle any defensive back but he lacks consistency.	Offense	The Bucs feel confident in their ground and pound offense. Running back LaGarrette Blount is a nasty player who wants to inflict punishment when he carries the ball. Perhaps the Bucs need to give him the ball more instead of Doug Martin. Vincent Jackson is a solid receiver but Mike Williams is not going to get the job done in the long run.
The Chiefs are coming off their best defensive game as they held the explosive Ravens to three field goals. It’s going to be difficult to match that effort two weeks in a row, but if the Chiefs would be in a solid position to pull off their second victory of the season. Tamba Hali is coming off a six tackle, two sack effort, his best game of the season.	Defense	Head coach Greg Schiano has gotten the Bucs to play much harder and that’s coming across with a hard-hitting and nasty run defense. The Bucs are giving up 73.8 yards per game on the ground and that ranks fourth in the league. Little-known middle linebacker Mason Foster leads the team in tackles with 36. Veteran Ronde Barber has slowed at cornerback and the Bucs are getting hurt badly in the passing game.
The Chiefs should have an advantage most weeks on special teams, but it has not played out that way very often this year. Ryan Succop is a dependable placekicker while punter Dustin Colquitt has a strong leg and he can place the ball inside the 20. Javier Arenas has the potential to be an explosive return man.	Special Teams	The Bucs have gotten a surprising performance from PK Connor Barth, who made all of his FG attempts, including 3-of-3 from 50-plus yards. Punter Michael Koenen is just average.

We'll just call it a tie

The Bucs are playing hard for Greg Schiano and they should be pumped up since they are coming off a bye week. The Chiefs are off to a depressing 1-4 start after many observers thought they had a chance to contend in the AFC West. After competing hard against the Baltimore Ravens and falling short, the Chiefs may struggle on the road in this one.

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