Bear of a Season

Tomorrow afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Chicago Bears, and as far as Todd Haley has let the public know, it will be the Tyler Palko - Caleb Hanie matchup the world has been waiting for.

The angle for the Chiefs entering this week's game was, of course, who was going to start at quarterback on Sunday. The debate was between the seven-turnover-in-two-games Palko and the new-toy-you-haven't-got-to-play-with-yet Kyle Orton. Palko was started and lost the last two games for the Chiefs, and many believed that Kyle Orton would step in and give the Chiefs a chance to win against his original team. Haley, however, had different plans.

"Tyler's our starter," coach Haley said. "We're getting Kyle ready to play."

This is not what a lot of Chiefs fans had in mind. It's been tough watching Palko over the last two weeks. If he was a rookie first round pick in his first few games of the season, I could stand to watch it. An undrafted free agent backup that's been out of college for several years now, however, doesn't leave much for hope for anything but a replacement.

When Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears went down, Hanie didn't do very well in his stead either, losing a game to the Oakland Raiders. The Bears, sitting at 7-4, are fighting for their playoff lives and need this win against the Chiefs to hope to make the postseason. The Chiefs, on the other hand, find themselves in yet another week of playing for nothing but pride, being all but eliminated from the playoffs with a 4-7 record. While I always enjoy watching the Chiefs win, unless Orton comes in and saves the day (which with only a handfull of practices under his belt I doubt his effectiveness), I'm not hopeful about the odds of victory on the road.

Game Notes:

Tyler Palko: 47/72 (65.3%), 444 yards, 6 INTs
Caleb Hanie: 18/36 (50%), 254 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs

Jackie Battle:104 carries, 456 yards, 1 TD
Matt Forte: 198 carries, 985 yards, 3 TDs

Dwayne Bowe: 55 catches, 819 yards, 4 TDs
Johnny Knox: 28 catches, 622 yards, 2 TDs

Chiefs Defense: Pass - 12th (225.3 ypg), Rush - 26th (133.7 ypg)
Bears Defense: Pass - 30th (270.5 ypg), Rush - 8th (98.6 ypg)