Tribal Warfare
08-10-2010, 12:55 AM
Injured Chiefs coordinator Weis’ priority is building up Cassel (http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/09/2139767/injured-chiefs-coordinator-weis.html)
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
ST. JOSEPH | Charlie Weis eased himself off a golf cart and hobbled toward a group of reporters under a tent. He took it easy, leaning on a cane and keeping the weight off his injured left knee, bandaged and braced as it was.
“I’m on the injured reserve,” Weis said with a smile.
The knee went out the day before training camp began, nearly two weeks ago. He’d had problems for a while, he said, and then “a piece of it broke off” on that Wednesday. Weis said he needs surgery, but it’ll have to wait until after the season. Relief isn’t common for NFL coaches, particularly a coordinator for a team with further to go than most.
“I take care of myself,” Weis said of his health, his patience eroding. “Let’s talk about football.”
And so he did. For the first time since February, Weis addressed reporters and outlined some of his plans as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator. He said that he likes what he sees and that he has fit well with head coach Todd Haley and the rest of the staff. He added that he especially likes the players he’s in charge of.
“That’s a good thing,” Weis said, “because that’s who we have.”
For better or worse, the Chiefs have Matt Cassel at quarterback. And Cassel was Weis’ top priority when Weis, a former New England coordinator and Notre Dame head coach, was hired in January. Weis said he pored over Cassel’s snaps from last season, identifying flaws and trying to think of ways to eliminate weaknesses. Then Weis looked at each snap from 2008, when Cassel filled in for the Patriots when Tom Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Weis studied Cassel’s movements, tendencies and mechanics. Then he went about finding ways to make Cassel better.
“The first thing I wanted to do was help fix the quarterback,” Weis said. “It wasn’t like he wasn’t getting coached before. But I had to know what the problems were. … I wanted to know where we were with this kid.
“Usually if the quarterback plays better, the team plays better.”
So that’s where Weis started. He made Cassel his project, and anyone who watched the Chiefs last season knows that, at times, Cassel was a quarterback in need of a teacher.
Cassel has said he has grown from Weis’ attention, and having such an attentive and qualified mentor is just one of the ways the Chiefs have removed obstacles from Cassel’s path.
Haley has seen enough that, in a rare break from character Monday and his standard declaration that all positions are open competitions, revealed the worst-kept secret in camp: Cassel is the Chiefs’ starting quarterback.
“We’re seeing progress,” Haley said. “But I think Matt has continued to have to earn that, through last year, through the offseason.
“Without getting into specifics, I feel good about the direction that particular position is going.”
Haley wasn’t willing to spill everything Monday, holding back on predicting how much Cassel will play in Friday’s preseason opener at Atlanta. Haley said he’ll make that decision later this week, and it’s a good bet that Weis will be involved in the conversation that determines it.
Weis said his past relationships with Haley and general manager Scott Pioli, whom Weis worked with in New England, were instrumental in leading him to Kansas City. He said there were hurdles to cross, such as perception that he and Haley might clash considering their differences in age and experience. Weis said there have been no problems; that the old friends and colleagues simply understand each other and are committed to installing an effective offense.
The knee might be a bother, but he said things have been at ease otherwise in Kansas City — at least in these first months. Perhaps now Weis can impart some of that comfort to his quarterback.
“They’re all getting better,” Weis said. “I’m always mad at everyone all the time anyway, so that doesn’t really measure the difference. They’ve all shown significant improvements since I got here. Not necessarily just because of me, but they’ve all got a very good work ethic. I think they get it. I think they’ve all shown significant improvements.”
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
ST. JOSEPH | Charlie Weis eased himself off a golf cart and hobbled toward a group of reporters under a tent. He took it easy, leaning on a cane and keeping the weight off his injured left knee, bandaged and braced as it was.
“I’m on the injured reserve,” Weis said with a smile.
The knee went out the day before training camp began, nearly two weeks ago. He’d had problems for a while, he said, and then “a piece of it broke off” on that Wednesday. Weis said he needs surgery, but it’ll have to wait until after the season. Relief isn’t common for NFL coaches, particularly a coordinator for a team with further to go than most.
“I take care of myself,” Weis said of his health, his patience eroding. “Let’s talk about football.”
And so he did. For the first time since February, Weis addressed reporters and outlined some of his plans as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator. He said that he likes what he sees and that he has fit well with head coach Todd Haley and the rest of the staff. He added that he especially likes the players he’s in charge of.
“That’s a good thing,” Weis said, “because that’s who we have.”
For better or worse, the Chiefs have Matt Cassel at quarterback. And Cassel was Weis’ top priority when Weis, a former New England coordinator and Notre Dame head coach, was hired in January. Weis said he pored over Cassel’s snaps from last season, identifying flaws and trying to think of ways to eliminate weaknesses. Then Weis looked at each snap from 2008, when Cassel filled in for the Patriots when Tom Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Weis studied Cassel’s movements, tendencies and mechanics. Then he went about finding ways to make Cassel better.
“The first thing I wanted to do was help fix the quarterback,” Weis said. “It wasn’t like he wasn’t getting coached before. But I had to know what the problems were. … I wanted to know where we were with this kid.
“Usually if the quarterback plays better, the team plays better.”
So that’s where Weis started. He made Cassel his project, and anyone who watched the Chiefs last season knows that, at times, Cassel was a quarterback in need of a teacher.
Cassel has said he has grown from Weis’ attention, and having such an attentive and qualified mentor is just one of the ways the Chiefs have removed obstacles from Cassel’s path.
Haley has seen enough that, in a rare break from character Monday and his standard declaration that all positions are open competitions, revealed the worst-kept secret in camp: Cassel is the Chiefs’ starting quarterback.
“We’re seeing progress,” Haley said. “But I think Matt has continued to have to earn that, through last year, through the offseason.
“Without getting into specifics, I feel good about the direction that particular position is going.”
Haley wasn’t willing to spill everything Monday, holding back on predicting how much Cassel will play in Friday’s preseason opener at Atlanta. Haley said he’ll make that decision later this week, and it’s a good bet that Weis will be involved in the conversation that determines it.
Weis said his past relationships with Haley and general manager Scott Pioli, whom Weis worked with in New England, were instrumental in leading him to Kansas City. He said there were hurdles to cross, such as perception that he and Haley might clash considering their differences in age and experience. Weis said there have been no problems; that the old friends and colleagues simply understand each other and are committed to installing an effective offense.
The knee might be a bother, but he said things have been at ease otherwise in Kansas City — at least in these first months. Perhaps now Weis can impart some of that comfort to his quarterback.
“They’re all getting better,” Weis said. “I’m always mad at everyone all the time anyway, so that doesn’t really measure the difference. They’ve all shown significant improvements since I got here. Not necessarily just because of me, but they’ve all got a very good work ethic. I think they get it. I think they’ve all shown significant improvements.”