Tribal Warfare
10-29-2009, 03:41 PM
Chiefs Insider Blog: Working Men (http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2009/10/29/chiefs_insider_blog_working_men/)
Oct 29, 2009, 6:17:20 AM
PLAYERS EARN WEEKEND OFF
October 29th – 1:41 PM
Following practice today, Chiefs head coach Todd Haley announced that the players have been granted a free weekend following a full week of crisp, up-tempo practices.
“We’re going to go back to Ohio and just stay at the house for a couple of days,” LB Mike Vrabel said of his family plans after Haley granted the team the weekend off.
Vrabel’s plans are similar to many of the Chiefs, whether they are spending time with their families or heading down to watch their alma mater in action. RB Dantrell Savage, for instance, is heading down to Stillwater, Oklahoma to watch his Oklahoma State Cowboys take on the Texas Longhorns. He’s been urging fellow backfield mate, and UT alum, Jamaal Charles to make the trip alongside him.
The Chiefs road to an off weekend didn’t come easy. This is a team who has been through a grueling offseason program, strapped up in full pads nearly every day of training camp and is standing a 1-6. Following Sunday’s disheartening 37-7 defeat, the off weekend wasn’t something that Haley was willing to hand out. The players had to earn it.
“What I think is clear to them is the fact we’ve worked really hard,” Haley said. “We’ve been in pads more than anybody else probably in the league. We’ve had a lot of physical practices, a very physical camp and I felt like if we practiced well this week – which we did over three very good days of practice, especially Tuesday coming off a Sunday game – that they deserved a little time to recuperate and get re-charged. I think they’ve earned this time and we’ll be back on Monday and be ready to get back to work.”
The team’s practice performance this week also boasted well for the Chiefs coaching staff as Haley has given them Friday and Saturday off before reconvening again on Sunday.
“The coaches need a little time; I’ve been hard on them too,” Haley said.
Haley outlined earlier in the week that it was important for the team to talk a long look and self-scout themselves, thoroughly diagnosing problem areas and finding real solutions.
“I think we’ve had great work as a staff and I think we have a much clearer picture of where we’re at as a team and what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are and what areas that have to be protected a little more,” Haley said. “I think that’s why the bye week is good. It gave us a little more time as a staff and specifically offensively. We made major changes in late August that we really haven’t had a chance to get our feet under and get to know the offense as it’s supposed to be learned.”
The players seemed to get the message.
“We’ve done a lot of looking at ourselves this week,” S Mike Brown said. “We’ve looked at a lot of plays that we’ve given up and things that we’ve done well also. But just plays that we’ve been hurt on, how teams try to attack us, because usually you are so worried about the other team that you don’t look at yourself.
“We saw that we were deficient in some areas and that we need to be better,” Brown continued. “We really concentrated this week on getting those things taken care of. Coming into next week we’re going to following up and worry about us and how we perform.”
After a good week of practice, each position group has determined individual, group and team goals for the second half of the season. For Vrabel, improvement on defense isn’t as complicated as it might appear to others.
“I hope that we can play to the level that we are capable of, because when we do, we can be pretty good,” Vrabel said. “There are times we go out there and it’s three-and-out, and we hold them to three yards and then there are times when there are big plays. We just have to play up the potential that we have and eliminate the big plays. We’re right up there at the top of the league in three-and-outs.
“Everybody has to be together on whatever we’re doing,” Vrabel continued. If somebody doesn’t know, it’s not his fault. It’s the guys that are next to him that are not communicating and getting it right. We’re never going to blame one guy. Somebody has to give a call, and somebody has to get a call. It’s important for us to play sound. If we just play sound defense, we’re going to eliminate the big play that will really kill you.
VRABEL DOESN’T SHY FROM QUESTIONS SURROUNDING JOHNSON’S SUSPENSION
October 29th – 12:15 PM
Following today’s practice, most of the Chiefs players weren’t interested in talking about the suspension involving RB Larry Johnson - and who can blame them? LB Mike Vrabel, however, was the exception.
An unquestioned leader with his on-field play, locker room presence and championship background, Vrabel is one of the most respected players in the Chiefs organization. He also represents the NFLPA for the Chiefs, so he understands the ramifications of suspensions from both a team and a union perspective.
Vrabel’s comments - regarding the Johnson situation - are below.
On handling off-field issues: “I think you just have to worry about yourself and really concentrated on how you want to be portrayed as a professional. Come to work, show up for the games and really contribute the the success and health of the football team.“
On if the suspension is difficult to the team: “I think that you have to look at it on an individual basis. It’s not tough for me, but I don’t necessarily know how it is going to effect some other guys. I hope that it wouldn’t, but it’s not going to have any bearing on the way that I prepare or the way that I approach my job.“
On what the team can learn from this: “I think that you are responsible for your actions. I had a 5th grade teacher who I can remember any time you used to mess up, whether it be 200 or 250 times, you had to write ‘I am responsible for my own actions, I am responsible for my own actions…’ Believe it or not, I still remember it. I probably wrote it 4,000 times over the course of a year and ‘I will take responsibility for my own actions,’ - here it is. That’s all you have to do. If you are willing to take responsibility, then you can use any judgment that you want.“
On keeping this in mind as an important lesson: “I just think that we are judged in a different light being professional athletes. You look at the way that the Commissioner has taken control of the personal conduct policy that has always been in place. I think that people said, ‘you never had a personal conduct policy,’ - there was one in place, it just wasn’t as strict as it is now. You just have to be careful and you effect a lot of people by what you do.“
On if the strictness is fair to the players: “I think that if you make mistakes, you should be punished. It looked bad for all of us, and it looked bad for our game. It doesn’t send a message that we want to send to the people watching.“
On veteran’s policing the locker room: “First and foremost, you have to take care of yourself. Then I would say that I’ve tried to talk to the linebackers. We’ve got a really good group in there. Right now my focus is myself and those guys. I haven’t branched out too far.“
On if the team needed to make the suspension: “I don’t think that they had to do anything. I think that they made the decision that they felt was in the best interest of the Chiefs. I think that they will continue to do that, whether that be with guys coming in, guys coming out. I think that Scott, Todd and Mr. Hunt are going to do what’s in the best interest of the Chiefs and their team.“
On if they look at Haley’s football background that was questioned: “I know that Todd is probably a pretty terrible golfer right now. He puts a lot of work in to this football team and that’s his focus. He’s been a football coach, and that’s what got him this job. So I don’t think that I’ve ever looked at him as anything other than a football coach.“
On if the two week suspension is too harsh: “Whether I think that it is fair or not, it doesn’t matter. The suspension was handed down by the team and if I’m ever fortunate enough to own or run a professional football team, than I will be able to tell you whether or not I think the penalty was fair or not.“
On Johnson’s plan to make an appeal in regards to Vrabel’s role as the team union representative: “There is no role for us. What it will do is it will go through an independent arbitrator, and then he will make a decision. Just like any other grievance, whether my tape isn’t high enough, or my socks are too low - anything that the team would levy down as a fine would go to an independent arbitrator. I won’t sit on any panel or hear anybody’s case.”
THURSDAY PRACTICE REPORT
October 29th – 10:25 AM
There was some very good tempo to start the day of practice today, specifically in gunner drills where players worked on diving past the goal line to down punts inside the five-yard line.
On the field, Branden Albert was running once again with the first-team offense at left tackle, although he appeared to have a more noticeable limp when running than he did a day ago. Wade Smith continued to work as the first-team center, while Rudy Niswanger was once again absent from practice. Practice squad player Darryl Harris worked as the second center.
S Jon McGraw went through the pre-practice regiment, but ultimately went to the conditioning area to the side of the fields once practice began. In RB Larry Johnson’s absence, Jamaal Charles handled first-team duties while Dantrell Savage and Kolby Smith split back-up reps. Also, WR Bobby Engram ran with the first-team at the slot position. WR Lance Long practiced once again today as well.
WORKING MEN
October 29th – 6:17 AM
The bye week is a great opportunity to fix broken pieces. At 1-6, the Chiefs have plenty of areas to get to work on. There aren’t many places to hide your weaknesses, especially following a 37-7 home loss to San Diego.
With no opponent on the horizon this Sunday, but four practice sessions held during the week (and potentially a fifth on Saturday), what are the Chiefs doing behind those closed doors? With a number of areas to work on, Todd Haley and his coaching staff have to choose an area of emphasis. Exactly which areas has Haley targeted as the key to improve on-field performance?
“On offense, minus plays - doing things that will help us eliminate those plays,” Haley said. “We’ve now done an extensive study on it trying to figure out why, trying to implement some of those thoughts into practice.
“Defensively, really just trying to work together as a unit and eliminate big plays and hone in on what we do well as a team across the board, special teams included.”
Minus plays have been the death of the Chiefs offense to date. Besides yielding a league-leading 26 sacks, Kansas City has also committed a total of 37 offensive penalties! What’s even more disconcerting is that 13 of those 37 (35%) are false starts. Oh, and of the 37 offensive penalties called against the Chiefs, 33 have been accepted. Those 33 represent the most of any offense in the NFL.
“Minus plays, minus plays,” Haley re-iterated. “We have to eliminate minus plays. Coach (Bill) Parcells drilled it into my head over and over and over again for years about minus plays and how they lead to dissatisfaction with your offense. Right now, we’re all dissatisfied with the offense and to me, the root of that evil is minus plays.
“So we’re doing an extensive study again, to figure out if it is the play – are we asking the players to do something they just can’t do; is it the players, is it match ups, what is it – if we can see a pattern that develops between the sacks, the minus runs and the penalties.”
Negative plays have also been the culprit in Kansas City turning in a league-worst 21% third-down conversion rate. Kansas City also has the fifth-highest percentage of three-and-out drives (30.6 %), the second-most plays of four-yards or less on first down and the least amount of yards per play on first down (3.73 yards). As you can see, negative plays are like a boulder that just keeps gaining momentum while knocking out everything in its path.
“There are a lot of different areas that we’re working on,” QB Matt Cassel said. “Offensively, we’re working on different blitz packages that we’ve seen in the past, we’re working on the passing game of course, and I think we’re really focusing on third down and trying to be more efficient when it comes to that area of the game.”
Success on first and second down, and eliminating negatives, will ultimately go a long way in improving third-down performance.
Haley has highlighted the leading culprit that is keeping this offense down, but there are other areas to improve as well. WR Mark Bradley is spending this week working on the little things when it comes to his receiving game.
“Pretty much run blocking and running after the catch,” Bradley said of his personal emphasis areas. “Coach has told us since about Week Four that our run after the catch is at the bottom of the league. So I’m working on run blocking and running after the catch.”
Bradley is being a bit hard on the receivers as a whole with the YAC comment. Although the Chiefs do rank in the bottom third as a group with 602 yards after the catch, they are certainly strides ahead of Cleveland’s 418-yard mark. Of course, New England leads the league with 1,033 yards after the catch.
Defensively, the big play has been evident as the center of the defense’s struggles. Many times, those big plays are a by-product of missed tackles. Two words – Miles Austin.
Last week we saw RB Darren Sproles turn a coverage/audible miscue into an easy 58-yard TD catch-and-run. Overall, Kansas City has allowed seven passes of 50 yards or more yards with three TDs coming from yardages of 64, 60 and 59 yards respectively. Against the run, the Chiefs have seen 12 rushes of 15 or more yards.
Even in a win against the Redskins, that was just short of defensive dominance, the Chiefs still allowed two big plays – a 78-yard run by Clinton Portis and a 42-yard pass from Todd Collins to Santana Moss. Those two plays accounted for 45.3% of Washington’s total yardage on the day.
“Self-scouting is something we do all the time from week to week but when you actually sit and you put the plays together – say, all the sacks together or all the minus runs together – now as you start to watch it you start to see a little bit of a pattern,” Haley explained. “You realize some things maybe you haven’t realized in the week to week process.”
So the Chiefs have hit the practice field hard this week in a scramble to improve quickly at the season’s mid-point. There is only one more practice on schedule for the remainder of the week – that is, IF these practices meet Haley’s standards.
“I think this again is an excellent week to get better and much needed for us,” Haley said yesterday. “I thought we had a very good practice yesterday, very good practice today. Think the guys are into it, they’re energetic, they’re flying around and I thought it was a competitive, spirited practice.”
A competitive and spirited practice is all that a coach can hope for during a bye week. Haley hopes that these practices will go a long way in revitalizing the Chiefs offense.
“I hope the second half of the season we’re a top five offense,” Haley finished.
Oct 29, 2009, 6:17:20 AM
PLAYERS EARN WEEKEND OFF
October 29th – 1:41 PM
Following practice today, Chiefs head coach Todd Haley announced that the players have been granted a free weekend following a full week of crisp, up-tempo practices.
“We’re going to go back to Ohio and just stay at the house for a couple of days,” LB Mike Vrabel said of his family plans after Haley granted the team the weekend off.
Vrabel’s plans are similar to many of the Chiefs, whether they are spending time with their families or heading down to watch their alma mater in action. RB Dantrell Savage, for instance, is heading down to Stillwater, Oklahoma to watch his Oklahoma State Cowboys take on the Texas Longhorns. He’s been urging fellow backfield mate, and UT alum, Jamaal Charles to make the trip alongside him.
The Chiefs road to an off weekend didn’t come easy. This is a team who has been through a grueling offseason program, strapped up in full pads nearly every day of training camp and is standing a 1-6. Following Sunday’s disheartening 37-7 defeat, the off weekend wasn’t something that Haley was willing to hand out. The players had to earn it.
“What I think is clear to them is the fact we’ve worked really hard,” Haley said. “We’ve been in pads more than anybody else probably in the league. We’ve had a lot of physical practices, a very physical camp and I felt like if we practiced well this week – which we did over three very good days of practice, especially Tuesday coming off a Sunday game – that they deserved a little time to recuperate and get re-charged. I think they’ve earned this time and we’ll be back on Monday and be ready to get back to work.”
The team’s practice performance this week also boasted well for the Chiefs coaching staff as Haley has given them Friday and Saturday off before reconvening again on Sunday.
“The coaches need a little time; I’ve been hard on them too,” Haley said.
Haley outlined earlier in the week that it was important for the team to talk a long look and self-scout themselves, thoroughly diagnosing problem areas and finding real solutions.
“I think we’ve had great work as a staff and I think we have a much clearer picture of where we’re at as a team and what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are and what areas that have to be protected a little more,” Haley said. “I think that’s why the bye week is good. It gave us a little more time as a staff and specifically offensively. We made major changes in late August that we really haven’t had a chance to get our feet under and get to know the offense as it’s supposed to be learned.”
The players seemed to get the message.
“We’ve done a lot of looking at ourselves this week,” S Mike Brown said. “We’ve looked at a lot of plays that we’ve given up and things that we’ve done well also. But just plays that we’ve been hurt on, how teams try to attack us, because usually you are so worried about the other team that you don’t look at yourself.
“We saw that we were deficient in some areas and that we need to be better,” Brown continued. “We really concentrated this week on getting those things taken care of. Coming into next week we’re going to following up and worry about us and how we perform.”
After a good week of practice, each position group has determined individual, group and team goals for the second half of the season. For Vrabel, improvement on defense isn’t as complicated as it might appear to others.
“I hope that we can play to the level that we are capable of, because when we do, we can be pretty good,” Vrabel said. “There are times we go out there and it’s three-and-out, and we hold them to three yards and then there are times when there are big plays. We just have to play up the potential that we have and eliminate the big plays. We’re right up there at the top of the league in three-and-outs.
“Everybody has to be together on whatever we’re doing,” Vrabel continued. If somebody doesn’t know, it’s not his fault. It’s the guys that are next to him that are not communicating and getting it right. We’re never going to blame one guy. Somebody has to give a call, and somebody has to get a call. It’s important for us to play sound. If we just play sound defense, we’re going to eliminate the big play that will really kill you.
VRABEL DOESN’T SHY FROM QUESTIONS SURROUNDING JOHNSON’S SUSPENSION
October 29th – 12:15 PM
Following today’s practice, most of the Chiefs players weren’t interested in talking about the suspension involving RB Larry Johnson - and who can blame them? LB Mike Vrabel, however, was the exception.
An unquestioned leader with his on-field play, locker room presence and championship background, Vrabel is one of the most respected players in the Chiefs organization. He also represents the NFLPA for the Chiefs, so he understands the ramifications of suspensions from both a team and a union perspective.
Vrabel’s comments - regarding the Johnson situation - are below.
On handling off-field issues: “I think you just have to worry about yourself and really concentrated on how you want to be portrayed as a professional. Come to work, show up for the games and really contribute the the success and health of the football team.“
On if the suspension is difficult to the team: “I think that you have to look at it on an individual basis. It’s not tough for me, but I don’t necessarily know how it is going to effect some other guys. I hope that it wouldn’t, but it’s not going to have any bearing on the way that I prepare or the way that I approach my job.“
On what the team can learn from this: “I think that you are responsible for your actions. I had a 5th grade teacher who I can remember any time you used to mess up, whether it be 200 or 250 times, you had to write ‘I am responsible for my own actions, I am responsible for my own actions…’ Believe it or not, I still remember it. I probably wrote it 4,000 times over the course of a year and ‘I will take responsibility for my own actions,’ - here it is. That’s all you have to do. If you are willing to take responsibility, then you can use any judgment that you want.“
On keeping this in mind as an important lesson: “I just think that we are judged in a different light being professional athletes. You look at the way that the Commissioner has taken control of the personal conduct policy that has always been in place. I think that people said, ‘you never had a personal conduct policy,’ - there was one in place, it just wasn’t as strict as it is now. You just have to be careful and you effect a lot of people by what you do.“
On if the strictness is fair to the players: “I think that if you make mistakes, you should be punished. It looked bad for all of us, and it looked bad for our game. It doesn’t send a message that we want to send to the people watching.“
On veteran’s policing the locker room: “First and foremost, you have to take care of yourself. Then I would say that I’ve tried to talk to the linebackers. We’ve got a really good group in there. Right now my focus is myself and those guys. I haven’t branched out too far.“
On if the team needed to make the suspension: “I don’t think that they had to do anything. I think that they made the decision that they felt was in the best interest of the Chiefs. I think that they will continue to do that, whether that be with guys coming in, guys coming out. I think that Scott, Todd and Mr. Hunt are going to do what’s in the best interest of the Chiefs and their team.“
On if they look at Haley’s football background that was questioned: “I know that Todd is probably a pretty terrible golfer right now. He puts a lot of work in to this football team and that’s his focus. He’s been a football coach, and that’s what got him this job. So I don’t think that I’ve ever looked at him as anything other than a football coach.“
On if the two week suspension is too harsh: “Whether I think that it is fair or not, it doesn’t matter. The suspension was handed down by the team and if I’m ever fortunate enough to own or run a professional football team, than I will be able to tell you whether or not I think the penalty was fair or not.“
On Johnson’s plan to make an appeal in regards to Vrabel’s role as the team union representative: “There is no role for us. What it will do is it will go through an independent arbitrator, and then he will make a decision. Just like any other grievance, whether my tape isn’t high enough, or my socks are too low - anything that the team would levy down as a fine would go to an independent arbitrator. I won’t sit on any panel or hear anybody’s case.”
THURSDAY PRACTICE REPORT
October 29th – 10:25 AM
There was some very good tempo to start the day of practice today, specifically in gunner drills where players worked on diving past the goal line to down punts inside the five-yard line.
On the field, Branden Albert was running once again with the first-team offense at left tackle, although he appeared to have a more noticeable limp when running than he did a day ago. Wade Smith continued to work as the first-team center, while Rudy Niswanger was once again absent from practice. Practice squad player Darryl Harris worked as the second center.
S Jon McGraw went through the pre-practice regiment, but ultimately went to the conditioning area to the side of the fields once practice began. In RB Larry Johnson’s absence, Jamaal Charles handled first-team duties while Dantrell Savage and Kolby Smith split back-up reps. Also, WR Bobby Engram ran with the first-team at the slot position. WR Lance Long practiced once again today as well.
WORKING MEN
October 29th – 6:17 AM
The bye week is a great opportunity to fix broken pieces. At 1-6, the Chiefs have plenty of areas to get to work on. There aren’t many places to hide your weaknesses, especially following a 37-7 home loss to San Diego.
With no opponent on the horizon this Sunday, but four practice sessions held during the week (and potentially a fifth on Saturday), what are the Chiefs doing behind those closed doors? With a number of areas to work on, Todd Haley and his coaching staff have to choose an area of emphasis. Exactly which areas has Haley targeted as the key to improve on-field performance?
“On offense, minus plays - doing things that will help us eliminate those plays,” Haley said. “We’ve now done an extensive study on it trying to figure out why, trying to implement some of those thoughts into practice.
“Defensively, really just trying to work together as a unit and eliminate big plays and hone in on what we do well as a team across the board, special teams included.”
Minus plays have been the death of the Chiefs offense to date. Besides yielding a league-leading 26 sacks, Kansas City has also committed a total of 37 offensive penalties! What’s even more disconcerting is that 13 of those 37 (35%) are false starts. Oh, and of the 37 offensive penalties called against the Chiefs, 33 have been accepted. Those 33 represent the most of any offense in the NFL.
“Minus plays, minus plays,” Haley re-iterated. “We have to eliminate minus plays. Coach (Bill) Parcells drilled it into my head over and over and over again for years about minus plays and how they lead to dissatisfaction with your offense. Right now, we’re all dissatisfied with the offense and to me, the root of that evil is minus plays.
“So we’re doing an extensive study again, to figure out if it is the play – are we asking the players to do something they just can’t do; is it the players, is it match ups, what is it – if we can see a pattern that develops between the sacks, the minus runs and the penalties.”
Negative plays have also been the culprit in Kansas City turning in a league-worst 21% third-down conversion rate. Kansas City also has the fifth-highest percentage of three-and-out drives (30.6 %), the second-most plays of four-yards or less on first down and the least amount of yards per play on first down (3.73 yards). As you can see, negative plays are like a boulder that just keeps gaining momentum while knocking out everything in its path.
“There are a lot of different areas that we’re working on,” QB Matt Cassel said. “Offensively, we’re working on different blitz packages that we’ve seen in the past, we’re working on the passing game of course, and I think we’re really focusing on third down and trying to be more efficient when it comes to that area of the game.”
Success on first and second down, and eliminating negatives, will ultimately go a long way in improving third-down performance.
Haley has highlighted the leading culprit that is keeping this offense down, but there are other areas to improve as well. WR Mark Bradley is spending this week working on the little things when it comes to his receiving game.
“Pretty much run blocking and running after the catch,” Bradley said of his personal emphasis areas. “Coach has told us since about Week Four that our run after the catch is at the bottom of the league. So I’m working on run blocking and running after the catch.”
Bradley is being a bit hard on the receivers as a whole with the YAC comment. Although the Chiefs do rank in the bottom third as a group with 602 yards after the catch, they are certainly strides ahead of Cleveland’s 418-yard mark. Of course, New England leads the league with 1,033 yards after the catch.
Defensively, the big play has been evident as the center of the defense’s struggles. Many times, those big plays are a by-product of missed tackles. Two words – Miles Austin.
Last week we saw RB Darren Sproles turn a coverage/audible miscue into an easy 58-yard TD catch-and-run. Overall, Kansas City has allowed seven passes of 50 yards or more yards with three TDs coming from yardages of 64, 60 and 59 yards respectively. Against the run, the Chiefs have seen 12 rushes of 15 or more yards.
Even in a win against the Redskins, that was just short of defensive dominance, the Chiefs still allowed two big plays – a 78-yard run by Clinton Portis and a 42-yard pass from Todd Collins to Santana Moss. Those two plays accounted for 45.3% of Washington’s total yardage on the day.
“Self-scouting is something we do all the time from week to week but when you actually sit and you put the plays together – say, all the sacks together or all the minus runs together – now as you start to watch it you start to see a little bit of a pattern,” Haley explained. “You realize some things maybe you haven’t realized in the week to week process.”
So the Chiefs have hit the practice field hard this week in a scramble to improve quickly at the season’s mid-point. There is only one more practice on schedule for the remainder of the week – that is, IF these practices meet Haley’s standards.
“I think this again is an excellent week to get better and much needed for us,” Haley said yesterday. “I thought we had a very good practice yesterday, very good practice today. Think the guys are into it, they’re energetic, they’re flying around and I thought it was a competitive, spirited practice.”
A competitive and spirited practice is all that a coach can hope for during a bye week. Haley hopes that these practices will go a long way in revitalizing the Chiefs offense.
“I hope the second half of the season we’re a top five offense,” Haley finished.