If you think losing Jamaal Charles on your fantasy football team was rough, try being Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. He has to come to Minnesota this weekend with a group of running backs that might have a hard time making the varsity team at Eden Prairie.
Charles, perhaps the most versatile running back in the NFL, was lost for the season last Sunday when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. According to the Kansas City Star, the group of unknowns the Chiefs will line up behind struggling quarterback Alex Smith at TCF Bank Stadium include:
- Charcandrick West: 12 carries, 48 yards
- Knile Davis: 11 carries, 27 yards, 1 TD
- D’Anthony Thomas: 5 carries, 3 yards
- Spencer Ware: has not played
Yeah. That’s what Kansas City is working with. And it’s not like Reid would say anything different than boasting about the potential to not miss a beat with Charles out.
“Knile’s had some big games for us here when he’s been called on,” Reid said, via the Star. “And then Charcandrick is getting better every week, so we can surely move forward and still be successful there.”
After Charles left the game against the Bears in the third quarter, the Chiefs turned to West for 18 snaps while Davis received just 4 snaps, NFL.com reports. The result was, as NFL.com’s Kevin Patra wrote, the Chiefs’ offense going in the “tank.”
Thomas is more of a gadget player who spends most of his time as a slot receiver. Ware was just signed off the practice squad, so it’s probably fair for the Vikings to expect some combination of West and Davis more than the other two.
The Chiefs also worked out free agents Ben Tate and Pierre Thomas on Tuesday.
This could be a big game for the Vikings’ defense considering the Chiefs haven’t been able to keep Smith upright. He’s been sacked 21 times; only Seattle’s Russell Wilson (22 sacks) has been dropped more.
