No secrets for Chambers

Matt Cassel and Chris Chambers proved that a quarterback and wide receiver don't have to play and practice with each other for years to be in tune with each other's moves. "Overrated," quipped Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley, after Cassell and Chambers connected on two late touchdown passes Sunday to make things uncomfortable at the end in the Jaguars' 24-21 victory at the Municipal Stadium. Chambers, a nine-year veteran, was signed by the Chiefs early last week and practiced with them for the first time on Wednesday. Despite that, he caught passes of 54 and 5 yards from Cassel in the last 2:32 of the game to turn a Jaguars' rout into a tense finish. Chambers finished with three catches for 70 yards and may prove to be a shot in the arm for a team that needs some offensive firepower. "Anytime a guy comes in, has to learn a new offense, you ask him to do a lot and he performs like that ... you have to take your hat off to him," said Cassel. "It goes to what kind of professional he is. We're lucky to have him." Chambers, who played six years with Miami and two with San Diego before being waived last week, said the terminology and pass routes throughout the NFL are so similar that he's been able to survive almost a decade with five offensive coordinators. "Everybody runs the same stuff," he said. It's then a matter of connecting with the quarterback, and Chambers seems to have found that quickly with Cassel - to the point where he made a move in the end zone for his second touchdown because he remembered Cassel and Randy Moss were adept at that particular play when Cassel was with New England last year. Cassel said the first option from the 5-yard line was Dwayne Bowe. When he was covered, Cassel began to drift out of the pocket, and Chambers, cutting across the middle of the end zone, knew what he had to do. He reversed himself, leaving cornerback Rashean Mathis behind, and dashed for the corner of the end zone, where he made a diving catch. "That was just feel and experience," Chambers said. "Matt was rolling out and all I had to do was catch the ball and make sure I stayed inbounds. I saw him run that play with [Moss] a couple of times. He put it right on the money." Chambers said he took advantage of the Jaguars' safeties sneaking up on the line of scrimmage on the first TD, in which he beat rookie cornerback Derek Cox, then broke to the middle of the field. "Their safeties were playing pretty low and we didn't take any shots the whole game," Chambers said. "They may not have been expecting us to go over the top. We beat the corner, there was no safety there and Matt threw a lovely ball. I really didn't have to make that much of a move." The play also unfolded despite Chambers' relative lack of practice time with Cassel - and was one they ran just once in practice. "We practiced that play only one time last week and the result was exactly the same," Chambers said. "It was really nice to see a play in practice work in the game." Chiefs coach Todd Haley said he had been feeling a bit guilty at one point for playing Chambers as much as he did, given his lack of time with the team. "We were putting him in a lot of situations, and we weren't being fair to him," Haley said. Good thing Chambers is a fast study. garry.smits@jacksonville.com (904) 359-4362