Coogs
05-17-2005, 07:50 AM
Posted on Tue, May. 17, 2005
Chiefs to begin looking for answers
Team has plenty to resolve during preseason practice
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The Chiefs still have four months until their season opener, but to them, it must look more like four days.
That's because of their lengthy list of unresolved issues. They will begin working on those issues with the first of their offseason practice sessions scheduled for today, Wednesday and Thursday.
“We've got to establish some things we've never gotten established on defense,” coach Dick Vermeil said. “It's hard to do it in the (offseason practices) because you're not allowed intense tempo. But we've got to get some things ingrained. We've got to do a better job in determining who's going to be reliable on game day.
“Management stepped up better than they ever have since I've been here and gotten some things done. We've got to put those pieces together properly. It's going to take some time.”
Predictably, most of the Chiefs' issues are on defense.
The first order of business for coordinator Gunther Cunningham is to change the defeatist mind-set of a defense among the league's worst the last three seasons. He began that process with his decision to call the signals from the sideline this season instead of the press box in hopes of injecting some of his intense personality into his players.
“We're trying to change the defensive culture,” Cunningham said. “Changing the culture is a lot harder than adding a few players. The culture is ingrained. It's easy to say you're going to come in and play a certain way, but it's a lot harder to do.
“A lot of people last year thought I was going to walk through the door and it was going to change. But this is a thing we have to do together. Just because we get a few players like Patrick Surtain or any of these guys coming in here, that doesn't mean it's going to change. We all have to buy in. We all have to feel it.”
The Chiefs acquired as many as five new starters for Cunningham but need to figure out where they best fit. Cunningham wants to know how the Chiefs will line up at linebacker, a position fortified by the free-agent signing of Kendrell Bell and the drafting of Derrick Johnson.
The Chiefs probably will begin today with Bell and Johnson outside and Kawika Mitchell in the middle, but it may not be that way when they open the regular season Sept. 11 against the Jets at Arrowhead Stadium.
Much will depend on what the Chiefs believe to be Bell's best position. They have other linebacking concerns involving Johnson (will he be ready to start the opener?), Mitchell (has he finally developed into a reliable player?) and Shawn Barber and Scott Fujita (what to do with them when and if they return from injuries).
“(Bell) has never played in the middle before,” Cunningham said. “I don't think a lot of people realize that he was the right inside linebacker at Pittsburgh. That's the equivalent of where Anthony Davis used to play (for the Chiefs).
“When I got enamored with Kendrell Bell was when I was in Tennessee and he single-handedly took apart our offense. That's what he is. He's a powerful, explosive blitz guy. He played really as a right linebacker in Pittsburgh. What I don't want to do is to get anybody to trap me into saying, ‘He's going to be this.'
“We've got to see all these things. Through the (offseason practices) we're going to have a floating depth chart and position chart. We need to put these players into positions to do what they do best.”
Surtain and Eric Warfield will be the starting cornerbacks. But Warfield is facing a possible suspension for violation of the NFL's substance-abuse policy, so the Chiefs must identify an interim starter.
At safety, the Chiefs are pitting two longtime starters, Greg Wesley and Jerome Woods, against one another for one position. The Chiefs signed veteran Sammy Knight to start at strong safety.
“People are getting what I call a healthy degree of anxiety,” Vermeil said. “Greg Wesley's work ethic in our offseason program is better than it's ever been. So he's benefiting from the challenge. We haven't seen much of Jerome Woods, but I understand he's working hard, and if I know Jerome Woods like I think I know him, he's not going to surrender.”
On offense, the Chiefs have no such bugs to work out. The biggest issue there is the status of wide receiver Johnnie Morton, who could be released in June if he doesn't agree to a pay cut.
The Chiefs invited Morton to participate this week, and he indicated to them that he would. But a good showing by a younger receiver like Samie Parker or Craphonso Thorpe could make the decision easier for the Chiefs.
Halfback Priest Holmes has also told the Chiefs he would participate. Injuries will prevent Barber, Fujita, tight end Tony Gonzalez, wide receiver Marc Boerigter and linebacker Mike Maslowski from participating this week.
Chiefs to begin looking for answers
Team has plenty to resolve during preseason practice
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The Chiefs still have four months until their season opener, but to them, it must look more like four days.
That's because of their lengthy list of unresolved issues. They will begin working on those issues with the first of their offseason practice sessions scheduled for today, Wednesday and Thursday.
“We've got to establish some things we've never gotten established on defense,” coach Dick Vermeil said. “It's hard to do it in the (offseason practices) because you're not allowed intense tempo. But we've got to get some things ingrained. We've got to do a better job in determining who's going to be reliable on game day.
“Management stepped up better than they ever have since I've been here and gotten some things done. We've got to put those pieces together properly. It's going to take some time.”
Predictably, most of the Chiefs' issues are on defense.
The first order of business for coordinator Gunther Cunningham is to change the defeatist mind-set of a defense among the league's worst the last three seasons. He began that process with his decision to call the signals from the sideline this season instead of the press box in hopes of injecting some of his intense personality into his players.
“We're trying to change the defensive culture,” Cunningham said. “Changing the culture is a lot harder than adding a few players. The culture is ingrained. It's easy to say you're going to come in and play a certain way, but it's a lot harder to do.
“A lot of people last year thought I was going to walk through the door and it was going to change. But this is a thing we have to do together. Just because we get a few players like Patrick Surtain or any of these guys coming in here, that doesn't mean it's going to change. We all have to buy in. We all have to feel it.”
The Chiefs acquired as many as five new starters for Cunningham but need to figure out where they best fit. Cunningham wants to know how the Chiefs will line up at linebacker, a position fortified by the free-agent signing of Kendrell Bell and the drafting of Derrick Johnson.
The Chiefs probably will begin today with Bell and Johnson outside and Kawika Mitchell in the middle, but it may not be that way when they open the regular season Sept. 11 against the Jets at Arrowhead Stadium.
Much will depend on what the Chiefs believe to be Bell's best position. They have other linebacking concerns involving Johnson (will he be ready to start the opener?), Mitchell (has he finally developed into a reliable player?) and Shawn Barber and Scott Fujita (what to do with them when and if they return from injuries).
“(Bell) has never played in the middle before,” Cunningham said. “I don't think a lot of people realize that he was the right inside linebacker at Pittsburgh. That's the equivalent of where Anthony Davis used to play (for the Chiefs).
“When I got enamored with Kendrell Bell was when I was in Tennessee and he single-handedly took apart our offense. That's what he is. He's a powerful, explosive blitz guy. He played really as a right linebacker in Pittsburgh. What I don't want to do is to get anybody to trap me into saying, ‘He's going to be this.'
“We've got to see all these things. Through the (offseason practices) we're going to have a floating depth chart and position chart. We need to put these players into positions to do what they do best.”
Surtain and Eric Warfield will be the starting cornerbacks. But Warfield is facing a possible suspension for violation of the NFL's substance-abuse policy, so the Chiefs must identify an interim starter.
At safety, the Chiefs are pitting two longtime starters, Greg Wesley and Jerome Woods, against one another for one position. The Chiefs signed veteran Sammy Knight to start at strong safety.
“People are getting what I call a healthy degree of anxiety,” Vermeil said. “Greg Wesley's work ethic in our offseason program is better than it's ever been. So he's benefiting from the challenge. We haven't seen much of Jerome Woods, but I understand he's working hard, and if I know Jerome Woods like I think I know him, he's not going to surrender.”
On offense, the Chiefs have no such bugs to work out. The biggest issue there is the status of wide receiver Johnnie Morton, who could be released in June if he doesn't agree to a pay cut.
The Chiefs invited Morton to participate this week, and he indicated to them that he would. But a good showing by a younger receiver like Samie Parker or Craphonso Thorpe could make the decision easier for the Chiefs.
Halfback Priest Holmes has also told the Chiefs he would participate. Injuries will prevent Barber, Fujita, tight end Tony Gonzalez, wide receiver Marc Boerigter and linebacker Mike Maslowski from participating this week.