tk13
09-05-2005, 01:17 AM
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/12564308.htm
Schedule not kind to Chiefs
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star
With the aroma of an 0-4 preseason still lingering, and the New York Jets in town Sunday, Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil has something that may not sit well with breakfast.
The Chiefs are behind schedule. The offense is behind schedule.
And the schedule isn’t exactly cooperating. The Jets, the Denver Broncos, the Philadelphia Eagles. All three teams were in the playoffs last season — and all three play the Chiefs in the first month. Throw in a trip to scenic Oakland, and president/general manager Carl Peterson may be wondering what he did to irk the NFL’s schedule-makers.
“Nothing we can do about it,” Vermeil said.
“We’ve got a ways to go, believe me. Sometimes there are things you can’t control.”
Which brings Vermeil not to the schedule, but to Trent Green, his Pro Bowl quarterback. Green played just 56 snaps in the preseason, about 30 fewer than the coaches had hoped. Green didn’t even suit up Friday night at St. Louis, three days after he underwent surgery to repair a torn artery.
Without Green, the Chiefs’ passing game, for the first time in years, is in somewhat of a state of flux. They’ve spent the last two weeks practicing with quarterback Jonathan Quinn, who isn’t even on the team anymore. Quinn was cut Saturday.
Green is expected to be back in a limited role today, and he vows to play Sunday against the Jets. But there are many variables: Can he get into a rhythm after playing just two series in the last two games? Will Green, who’s been on blood thinners, rebound fast enough to play?
If he can’t go, it appears as if Todd Collins, Green’s longtime backup, isn’t an option. Vermeil said he’ll have 2 1/2 quarterbacks Sunday — Green, No. 3 quarterback Damon Huard and Collins, who will suit up but isn’t fully recovered from a fractured hand. Collins could hand off to the running backs in an emergency situation.
Huard is one of the healthier quarterbacks, but he’s coming back from a concussion. In his last preseason game against Arizona, Huard was one of 12 with two interceptions.
But if anyone’s fretting, Chiefs tight end Jason Dunn hasn’t heard it.
“If I’m not mistaken, we went 1-3 in one preseason and then we went 13-3 (in 1997),” Dunn said. “That’s why they call it the preseason. It’s a time to get ready and a time to get the younger guys some continuity.
“I think the guys are ready. We’ve been ready. Everybody’s been itching since last season.”
Ahh, last season. The Chiefs were worried about the early schedule then, and how they’d make it through Denver, Carolina and Houston. They lost all three games and were virtually out of the playoff picture by mid-November.
Vermeil said the personnel has been upgraded since then. The defense will have five new starters Sunday, including Pro Bowl linebacker Kendrell Bell, who stuffed Steven Jackson at the line of scrimmage on the first play of the game Friday night in St. Louis.
Bell was playing in his first preseason game because the Chiefs had held him out because they didn’t want to risk another injury.
The preseason doesn’t count. Sunday does.
“I’ll be honest with you,” receiver Marc Boerigter said. “I think we talked too much about our schedule being tough last year. Yeah, it looks tough right now on the surface, but if you start looking into it too much, you kind of look at it like it’s an uphill battle.
“You don’t know what teams are going to be like year to year. Some teams fall off. Look what we did last year after what we did in 2003.”
Schedule not kind to Chiefs
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star
With the aroma of an 0-4 preseason still lingering, and the New York Jets in town Sunday, Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil has something that may not sit well with breakfast.
The Chiefs are behind schedule. The offense is behind schedule.
And the schedule isn’t exactly cooperating. The Jets, the Denver Broncos, the Philadelphia Eagles. All three teams were in the playoffs last season — and all three play the Chiefs in the first month. Throw in a trip to scenic Oakland, and president/general manager Carl Peterson may be wondering what he did to irk the NFL’s schedule-makers.
“Nothing we can do about it,” Vermeil said.
“We’ve got a ways to go, believe me. Sometimes there are things you can’t control.”
Which brings Vermeil not to the schedule, but to Trent Green, his Pro Bowl quarterback. Green played just 56 snaps in the preseason, about 30 fewer than the coaches had hoped. Green didn’t even suit up Friday night at St. Louis, three days after he underwent surgery to repair a torn artery.
Without Green, the Chiefs’ passing game, for the first time in years, is in somewhat of a state of flux. They’ve spent the last two weeks practicing with quarterback Jonathan Quinn, who isn’t even on the team anymore. Quinn was cut Saturday.
Green is expected to be back in a limited role today, and he vows to play Sunday against the Jets. But there are many variables: Can he get into a rhythm after playing just two series in the last two games? Will Green, who’s been on blood thinners, rebound fast enough to play?
If he can’t go, it appears as if Todd Collins, Green’s longtime backup, isn’t an option. Vermeil said he’ll have 2 1/2 quarterbacks Sunday — Green, No. 3 quarterback Damon Huard and Collins, who will suit up but isn’t fully recovered from a fractured hand. Collins could hand off to the running backs in an emergency situation.
Huard is one of the healthier quarterbacks, but he’s coming back from a concussion. In his last preseason game against Arizona, Huard was one of 12 with two interceptions.
But if anyone’s fretting, Chiefs tight end Jason Dunn hasn’t heard it.
“If I’m not mistaken, we went 1-3 in one preseason and then we went 13-3 (in 1997),” Dunn said. “That’s why they call it the preseason. It’s a time to get ready and a time to get the younger guys some continuity.
“I think the guys are ready. We’ve been ready. Everybody’s been itching since last season.”
Ahh, last season. The Chiefs were worried about the early schedule then, and how they’d make it through Denver, Carolina and Houston. They lost all three games and were virtually out of the playoff picture by mid-November.
Vermeil said the personnel has been upgraded since then. The defense will have five new starters Sunday, including Pro Bowl linebacker Kendrell Bell, who stuffed Steven Jackson at the line of scrimmage on the first play of the game Friday night in St. Louis.
Bell was playing in his first preseason game because the Chiefs had held him out because they didn’t want to risk another injury.
The preseason doesn’t count. Sunday does.
“I’ll be honest with you,” receiver Marc Boerigter said. “I think we talked too much about our schedule being tough last year. Yeah, it looks tough right now on the surface, but if you start looking into it too much, you kind of look at it like it’s an uphill battle.
“You don’t know what teams are going to be like year to year. Some teams fall off. Look what we did last year after what we did in 2003.”