Cheap shot on Moeaki may have caused Haley's handshake snub

Could this, possibly, be what Chiefs' head coach Todd Haley was so upset about after the absolute whipping his team accepted in Denver last Sunday?



I can't argue the hit, applied by Denver linebacker Joe Mays on Chiefs' rookie-tight end Tony Moeaki, violated the NFL's new and improved helmet-to-helmet policy. The updated rule now includes unnecessary hits on any defenseless players — not just exposed wide-receivers — and could result in immediate fines and suspension. It was obvious Moeaki was not defenseless, though the necessity of the hit could surely be questioned. I was shocked, though, that the play received virtually no media coverage outside of Kansas City.

One would hope the Chiefs were smart enough to send a heads-up to the league for review. Moeaki looked pretty bad trying to get back on his feet after the hit, and is likely to miss this Sunday's Chiefs-Cardinals game at Arrowhead because of it.

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After the game, Haley refused to shake Broncos' head coach Josh McDaniel's hand, instead opting to share a few choice words with him while pointing his finger in disgust before walking away.

Haley has since apologized through the media to the fans, the Broncos organization, and McDaniels, though he said he would not reach out to the coach personally. There was speculation Haley's outrage had nothing to do with the Moeaki hit, and had more to do with Denver's unrelenting offensive and defensive attack late in the second-half after the game had long been decided.

Sports Illustrated's Jim Trotter even tweeted about it.

Regardless, it is worth noting that in the Chiefs' 44-24 blowout of the Broncos in last season's finale at Invesco, Haley pulled running back Jamaal Charles in the second-half when he was just 38 yards shy of breaking Adrian Peterson's single-game rushing record.

No matter what side of the fence you're on, this all makes for one hell of a storyline leading into these two teams' rematch at Arrowhead in three weeks.