Print edition: 
Mike Vrabel was a starter, a leader and a teacher, and then he hurt his knee. The Chiefs were in danger of being in real trouble.
Vrabel, a veteran outside linebacker, was one of Kansas City's most consistent defenders before the injury, but more than that he was an older player willing to teach youngsters how to handle the baton when the time came for Vrabel to give it away. He'd follow young defenders off the field, emphasizing points they might have missed and underscoring things they might not have seen.
"He's been in the league, what, 13 years now," second-year linebacker Andy Studebaker said. "So his eyes are a little better than all of ours. He sees things from a different perspective."
Then the Chiefs played at Oakland, and Vrabel limped off the field. The other starting outside linebacker, Tamba Hali, has shown promise after moving from defensive end during the offseason. But once Kansas City started looking into the deep end of its linebackers unit, things were murky. With Vrabel out, those young players would be forced into larger roles. Coach Todd Haley wondered aloud how Vrabel's understudies, and in particular Studebaker, would handle it.
Studebaker started against Pittsburgh and intercepted two of Ben Roethlisberger's passes. Pierre Walters played some, too. If there was a shard of optimism somewhere in the disappointment of losing Vrabel for several weeks, it was that the Chiefs could get an early look at their young outside linebackers, perhaps the cornerstone to Kansas City's 3-4 defense.
"If there is something positive about injuries," Haley said, "that's one of the things."
Vrabel returned this week to full-participation practices, and there's a chance he could play against Denver on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. Haley said that prospect remains iffy, but the coach admitted that he feels more confident in his outside linebackers unit now that coaches have gotten an unexpected look at Studebaker and Walters. They had been relegated to special teams, and Haley said they probably would have remained in that role if not for Vrabel's injury. But it happened, and the Chiefs were able to test two new faces, Vrabel's students, and gauge their prospects as possible long-term options in the heart of Kansas City's pass rush.
"Any time you find out about a backup that's been a top special teamer for you, that you think potentially could start and play in that role," Haley said, "that's a good sign."
