Atlanta Falcons: Preview of the Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel (7) has a 14-18 record heading into his fourth season as their starter. Here he looks to pass during an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan and Chiefs offensive coordinator Brian Daboll were in the same positions last season with the Miami Dolphins.

On Sunday, they will be pitted against each other when the Falcons face the Chiefs at 1 p.m. Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

“Brian is a very intelligent and great football coach,” Nolan said. “He’s got a real good mind. He’s had very good mentors as far as football goes. He’s been on the offensive and defensive side of the football. Brian is one of the sharpest coaches that I’ve been around. I was very impressed with him at Miami.”

Daboll will try to unleash running backs Jamaal Charles and Peyton Hillis against the Falcons.

“I do think that players like to play for him because I think he tries to utilize all of the players’ strengths,” Nolan said. “They have a lot of explosive players. I guess his biggest problem is who is he going to give the ball too next because I’m sure has a lot of guys who want the ball.”

In this preview of Kansas City, the Falcons coordinators break down the Chiefs’ offense, defense and special teams.

KANSAS CITY’S DEPTH CHART

OFFENSE

WR 15 Steve Breaston, 89 Jon Baldwin, 19 Devon Wylie

LT 76 Branden Albert, 79 Donald Stephenson

LG 65 Ryan Lilja, 71 Jeff Allen

C 61 Rodney Hudson

RG 73 Jon Asamoah

RT 74 Eric Winston

TE 80 Kevin Boss, 81 Tony Moeaki, 87 Steve Maneri, 85 Jake O’Connell

WR 82 Dwayne Bowe, 22 Dexter McCluster, 10 Terrance Copper

QB 7 Matt Cassel, 9 Brady Quinn, 12 Ricky Stanzi

RB 25 Jamaal Charles, 32 Shaun Draughn, 42 Cyrus Gray

RB 40 Peyton Hillis, 45 Nate Eachus

NOLAN ON KANSAS CITY TIGHT END TONY MOEAKI: “He’s done a good job. He’s a guy that Brian has been trying to feature. He’s using him a little bit like he used [Dustin] Keller at the Jets. He’s a big guy. He’s athletic. He catches the ball well. He serves more as their move tight end.”

NOLAN ON JAMAAL CHARLES AND DEXTER McCLUSTER: “As we all know, McCluster was a running back before. Now, he’s a receiver. But you are right about McCluster and Charles. They both have outstanding speed. They change direction a lot. The play will be going one way and they’ll decide to go the other way. You have to do a great job of everyone being disciplined on their cut backs as well. The difficult part of it not only those two guys, but you have [Peyton Hillis]. He’s a down-hill, run you over guy. They’ve got a lot of weapons. … the good thing is that there is only one ball. Only one guy gets to touch it at a time. They pose a problem, but I think our guys are excited about paying them.”

NOLAN ON KC QUARTERBACK MATT CASSEL: “He’s a very competitive player. I think he’s tough. I think he’s smart. It’s his job to put them in the best situation play-wise that they can get in the way that they are structured. I think he does an outstanding job of it. I’ve played him several times over the years. He’s always been a guy that you have to be really detailed and prepared for. I’ve got a lot of respect for him.”

NOLAN ON WIDE RECEIVER DWAYNE BOWE: He’s got very little playing time in the first game that he came back. Then last week got some more. I know him from the past. He’s a good player. He’s a big strong player that goes up for the ball. He’ll be a challenge to cover. He’s one of the league’s premier guys.

KANSAS CITY’S DEPTH CHART

DEFENSE

LDE 94 Tyson Jackson, 77 Ropati Pitoitua, 97 Allen Bailey

NT 98 Anthony Toribio, 92 Dontari Poe, 95 Jerrell Powe

RDE 72 Glenn Dorsey

LOLB 50 Justin Houston, 55 Cameron Sheffield

LILB 59 Jovan Belcher, 52 Brandon Siler

RILB 56 Derrick Johnson, 93 Cory Greenwood

ROLB 96 Andy Studebaker, 71 Edgar Jones

LCB 24 Brandon Flowers, 30 Jalil Brown, 35 Jacques Reeves

RCB 26 Stanford Routt, 21 Javier Arenas

SS 29 Eric Berry, 32 Abram Elam

FS 23 Kendrick Lewis, 34 Travis Daniels, 46 Tysyn Hartman

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR DIRK KOETTER ON KANSAS CITY’S SECONDARY: “Kansas City’s secondary has been a little beat up over the preseason. One of their best players, [Brandon] Flowers has not been out there at all. The free safety [Kendrick Lewis] has been out the last couple of weeks. They’re banged up. They definitely have some talented guys back there and they are very well coached. Again, like I was just saying, the mystery is ‘are they playing the same thing in the preseason that they are going to play against the Falcons?’ We don’t know that. But we know we’re in for a big challenge.”

KOETTER ON THE CHIEFS INJURIES ON DEFENSE OVERALL: “That is part of the unknown going into this first game. We won’t see the first official injury report until [Wednesday.] . … The official guy that’s been ruled out [Tamba Hali] we can plan for that. Everybody else, we always plan like they are going to be there.”

KOETTER ON TYSON JACKSON AND GLENN DORSEY: “They are two really good run stoppers in their 3-4 defense. Both guys are powerful. Both guys play with their hands. They are two-gap players and they are good at it. Kansas City has a good run defense. A good front seven. A 3-4 defense gives you a different set of challenges than a 4-3 defense. We have to come up with a game plan that will allow us to put our best foot forward.”

KANSAS CITY’S DEPTH CHART

SPECIALISTS

P 2 Dustin Colquitt

K 6 Ryan Succop

KO 6 Ryan Succop

PC 43 Thomas Gafford, 93 Cory Greenwood, 96 Andy Studebaker

KC 43 Thomas Gafford, 93 Cory Greenwood, 96 Andy Studebaker

H 2 Dustin Colquitt, 9 Brady Quinn ,12 Ricky Stanzi

PR 21 Javier Arenas, 22 Dexter McCluster, 19 Devon Wylie

KR 21 Javier Arenas, 22 Dexter McCluster, 19 Devon Wylie

SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR KEITH ARMSTRONG ON KANSAS CITY’S SPECIAL TEAMS UNITS: “They are big and they can run. They are sound. They are well-coached and they are physical. It will be a challenge. They’ve got a number of returners and they hit it. They have a change-up. They have a young guy who’s got a lot of speed and they’ve got a second-year guy in [Javier] Arenas, who can really hit you. He’s a physical returner. We’re going to have to do everything in our ability to get him on the ground.”

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5 things to look for from the starters vs. the Dolphins

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Falcons third-round pick Lamar Holmes set to make his debut vs. Dolphins

Coordinators hand out their exhibition mid-term reports; backups need to step it up

Running back Michael Turner still a weapon

Falcons thin at left tackle after Will Svitek goes down; out for season

Falcons finally get fiesty in practice; a couple of fights breakout

Akeem Dent returns to practice; will play against Miami

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