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          Q&A: Time to call Eric Berry injury-prone?

          • Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff WriterOct 18, 2014, 09:00 AM ET
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            • Covered Chiefs for 20 seasons for Kansas City Star
            • Joined ESPN in 2013
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          KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Here is this week's edition of the Kansas City Chiefs mailbag. To ask a question for a future edition, send it to me via Twitter (@adamteicher) and tag it #ChiefsMail.

          @adamteicher: I see your point and it's a fair question to ask. Safety Eric Berry will miss his fourth straight game Sunday when the Chiefs play in San Diego against the Chargers. He has a high ankle sprain and those take time to heal. Berry was injured for the season in the opener in 2011. Otherwise, he's played in every game since joining the Chiefs except the season-ending game last year in San Diego, where the Chiefs rested many of their other starters, too. Still, missing 15 games in 2011 and at least another four this year isn't good. Those were both significant injuries. To me, a guy who's injury prone is one who gets something different each time he tries to play. Tony Moeaki was injury prone. Berry to me is more a victim of bad luck.

          @adamteicher: I think maybe the Chiefs are a bit surprised with how well cornerback Brandon Flowers is playing for the Chargers this year. He didn't play well in the Chiefs' new defensive system last year and the Chiefs eventually released him. They might not have if they had known how well he was going to bounce back. I agree in that tight end Travis Kelce needs to play more. But Anthony Fasano is a solid player too. I think the best strategy is to use them both.

          @adamteicher: As far as the Kansas City Royals go, I don't see how their success will have any impact one way or the other on the Chiefs. Kansas City is plenty big enough for both. As far as Sporting KC, I have a lot of respect for what that organization has built. It's come a long way from the Arrowhead Stadium roots. But it still has miles to go before it's on the same level with regard to fan interest as the Royals and Chiefs.

          @adamteicher: Dwayne Bowe has played almost a season and a half in Andy Reid's offensive system and the numbers aren't there yet. I don't know what could reasonably happen that would change that. One thing the Chiefs could do is better play to Bowe's strengths. His biggest in my opinion is his ability to run after the catch. He's big and runs strong and is tough to bring down in the open field. The Chiefs used to get him going like that early in his career with those bubble screens but they've gone away from that with him. So I think he's destined to be a secondary part of their offense.

          @adamteicher: It makes sense for the Chiefs to give the ball plenty to Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis. They're two of their best skill players. The Chiefs got away from that in the last game against the San Francisco 49ers because Reid didn't like the matchup against their defensive front. He should like the matchup against the San Diego Chargers much better. The Chargers are allowing a generous 4.7 yards per carry.

          @adamteicher: It won't be this year. Mike Catapano is on their injured-reserve list, meaning he's done for the season. He had that mysterious illness and I'm not sure the Chiefs know the exact nature of it to this day. I would expect he'll be ready to participate next year when offseason practice begins.