Kansas City Chiefs Strategy and Personnel

The Chiefs have struggled all season to create some consistency on offense and that's the goal of Todd Haley for his team and his unit over the final four games, starting Sunday against Buffalo.

"With our margin for error, which isn't much, we have to be pretty exact," Haley said. "We have to be very detailed oriented and exact in what we do. We are not good enough to get away with some things that maybe some teams are, maybe route running, depth of routes, precision.

"We just need to execute. We lead the league in drops; that's something we have to improve. You can't drop a bunch of balls and win in general, and us with our margin of error, we need to take advantage of opportunities that we have when we do have somebody open and we get the ball to where it needs to be. We can't afford to miss those opportunities, especially when they are potentially big plays."



PLAYER NOTES

--CB Brandon Flowers was held out of the Chiefs' practice session on Thursday with a shoulder injury. Flowers has been reliable in his two NFL seasons, missing two games last season and one earlier this year, both times because of shoulder problems. Given his 5-9, 187-pound frame, his body does take a beating. He has two interceptions and leads the team with passes defensed at 17.

--RB Jamaal Charles got through another practice on Thursday with the Chiefs and appears ready to take his normal load of work against the Bills on Sunday. Charles has been battling a shoulder injury and various other bumps and bruises, but he's not missed any practice time as he toughs it out.

--RB Dantrell Savage seemed to work through the Chiefs' practice on Thursday with no problems and is on schedule to return to the field on Sunday against the Bills. Savage has missed the last three games trying to recover from an ankle injury.

--DE Tyson Jackson continues to struggle through his rookie season. After 12 games, Jackson has 17 total tackles, but no sacks. Against Jacksonville on November 8, he had seven total tackles. In the four games since then, Jackson has contributed just four tackles.

--LB Demorrio Williams continues to lead the Chiefs in tackles, as he now stands at 100 total tackles in 12 games. In the last four games, Williams had 37 total tackles. All this is done playing only in the base defense. When the Chiefs go to the nickel, Williams comes off the field.

GAME PLAN: The Chiefs will try to accomplish something against the Bills that they've not done in 12 previous games: get off to a fast start on offense. A dozen opening drives produced just three points on the scoreboard. Half of those possessions were just three plays and punt.

Right now, the Chiefs have problems playing from behind. Should they get off to a slow start, they are going to have a tough time making up the difference. Mistakes, negative plays, penalties, dropped passes, turnovers, allowing big plays all must be kept to a minimum if this team has any shot of winning against any opponent.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Chiefs special teams coverage units vs. Bills PR-KR Roscoe Parrish. The Chiefs have gotten good performances for the most part from their coverage teams. They are seventh in punt coverage and 10th in kickoff coverage. Parrish is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, especially on punt returns, where he's averaging just 5.3 yards. That's about nine yards less than his career average and Parrish has returned a punt for a score in each of the last three seasons.

Chiefs QB Matt Cassel vs. Bills DBs Jairus Byrd and FS Donte Whitner. The Chiefs quarterback has thrown three interceptions in the last two games, after throwing six in the first 10 games. But he hasn't faced a ball-hawking group like these Bills, who have 21 interceptions, good for second in the league right now. Byrd has eight interceptions in his rookie season, while playing cornerback, safety and nickel back. Whitner has three interceptions, including one he returned 76 yards for a touchdown.

INJURY IMPACT: The Chiefs will be keeping their eye on their injury situation at running back, where their depth has been eroded by injuries. Larry Johnson was released while Kolby Smith and Jackie Battle are on the injured-reserve list. Right now, the starter is Jamaal Charles. Behind him is a hodgepodge of injured second-year back Dantrell Savage, seventh-round draft choice Javarris Williams and fullback Tim Castille.