Eric Warfield in Texarkana playing basketball

KChiefs1 · 06-29-2005, 07:49 AM

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/arti...s/sports01.txt

Warfield awaits decision after DUI
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 8:38 AM CDT

Eric Warfield, a cornerback who is entering his seventh season with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2004 and his forth year as a full-time starter participates in the NFL Celebrity Basketball Game held Saturday night at AHS. This game was played against the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department and was part of the 4th Annual Hometown NFL Weekend.

By Richard Thomas
Special to the Gazette

Normally this time of year Kansas City Chiefs' cornerback Eric Warfield would be concerned with his physical conditioning and the team's brutal opening stretch against the Jets, Raiders, Broncos and Eagles.

Normally.

But this hasn't been a normal year for Warfield, the former Arkansas High and University of Nebraska standout who's about to enter his eighth National Football League season. That's because the 29-year-old doesn't know when he'll play his next NFL game.

Warfield is facing possible suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse and alcohol policy following a driving under the influence charge on Sept. 20, 2004, in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park.

"I guess the worse part in dealing with my situation with the DUI is that neither myself, my agent nor my lawyer knows what's to come of it," Warfield said this week when he was participating in the annual Texarkana NFL Hometown Weekend. "We know there is supposed to be a suspension, but this incident happened way back in September and they could easily have come up with something to deal with the whole situation way back then."

Warfield pleaded no contest in January to a felony DUI charge and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and 80 days of house arrest. The charge was a felony because Warfield had two prior DUI convictions.

As part of a plea agreement with Johnson County prosecutors, Warfield also was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform 100 hours of community service. He will be on probation for a year. In exchange for the no-contest plea, prosecutors dropped misdemeanor counts of driving with a suspended license and having no proof of insurance.

The charges stemmed from a traffic stop. Police said Warfield had a blood alcohol level of .189 percent, more than double Kansas' .08 percent legal limit.

A Kansas City newspaper reported that Warfield is likely facing a four-game suspension.

"I couldn't say. It wouldn't be fair because I pretty much put myself in this situation," Warfield said. "I wrote a letter to the (NFL) Commissioner (Paul Tagliabue) and told him that I recognize my problems and I'm willing to face whatever suspension he wanted to put upon me, so it's not like I'm afraid of what's going to become of the suspension part.

"It's just that we would like to know now because we're just sitting in the dark and nobody knows anything. And here it's only a month away from going to training camp and you would at least like to know something before you go to training camp."

The Chiefs are taking measures to deal with Warfield's problem and to fix a shaky defense that ranked 31st in the NFL last season. They signed former Dolphins cornerback Patrick Surtain, an eight-year veteran, to play alongside Warfield. They also elevated Julian Battle to a starting job, but he tore his Achilles' tendon last week in mini-camp, had surgery and is lost for the season.

"The coaches aren't sure what to do now," Warfield said. "When we lost the guy who was going to take my place, things got even worse. I guess when things start looking good, some things will come back and bite you in the tail."

Warfield, who has been the Chiefs' starting left corner the past three seasons, is still taking a positive approach to this upcoming season.

"My goal, for one, is to be consistent on the playmaking side," said Warfield, who has started 47 of the Chiefs' last 48 games (he missed one game in 2003 due to a back problem). "I also want to avoid nonchalant play. I've got to get over the barrier of four interceptions in one season."

Warfield has made four interceptions each of the past three seasons. The 6-foot, 200-pounder also made 58 tackles last year.

"Hopefully my defense will continue to improve and I'd like to earn a trip to the Pro Bowl," Warfield said. "If I could get in a Pro Bowl, that means our defense has improved that much, and hopefully with that improvement we can be in the Super Bowl."

Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil has used the draft, trades and free-agent signings to beef up the team's porous defense, which has pleased Warfield, who lives in Leawood, Kan.

"I feel very good about the team bringing in Kendrell Bell (linebacker), Carlos Hall (defensive end, Arkansas), Sammy Knight (strong safety), Surtain (cornerback), and for drafting Derrick Johnson (linebacker) from Texas.

"Johnson's really a great player, and hopefully if he gets in his playbook and learns everything, I'm pretty sure he's going to be a starter for us this year."

The Chiefs had the No. 1 offense in the league last year and the improvements on defense should make the team competitive enough to be a playoff contender, Warfield said.

"I know every other team has made upgrades to their team, but I like our chances," he said. "I mean when you've got the No. 1 offense, that means you're always going to put points on the board. But whenever you can go out there with a strong defense, it helps you that much more to know that you can go out and stop high-caliber teams like New England (defending Super Bowl champion)."

The Oakland Raiders have picked up explosive wide receiver Randy Moss and the Broncos have two standout receivers in Rod Smith, another Arkansas High graduate, and veteran Jerry Rice, a future Hall of Famer.

"Right now I'd have to say the AFC West is probably the hardest division in pro football," Warfield said. "You've got to be prepared to play every week or you'll find yourself on the bottom."

The Chiefs slipped to 7-9 and finished third in the AFC West last year behind San Diego (12-4) and Denver (10-6).

"This will be my eighth season in the league and the years are really flying by," Warfield said. "I'm getting old by NFL standards. I never thought I'd be playing this long, but yet I've been fortunate to do so, and hopefully I can continue playing at the level I've reached."

Perhaps then things can return to normal for Warfield.

06-29-2005, 07:49 AM	Topic Starter
KChiefs1 I’m a Mahomo! Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Mid-Missouri Casino cash: $6771021	Eric Warfield in Texarkana playing basketball http://www.texarkanagazette.com/arti...s/sports01.txt Warfield awaits decision after DUI Tuesday, June 28, 2005 8:38 AM CDT Eric Warfield, a cornerback who is entering his seventh season with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2004 and his forth year as a full-time starter participates in the NFL Celebrity Basketball Game held Saturday night at AHS. This game was played against the Texarkana Arkansas Police Department and was part of the 4th Annual Hometown NFL Weekend. By Richard Thomas Special to the Gazette Normally this time of year Kansas City Chiefs' cornerback Eric Warfield would be concerned with his physical conditioning and the team's brutal opening stretch against the Jets, Raiders, Broncos and Eagles. Normally. But this hasn't been a normal year for Warfield, the former Arkansas High and University of Nebraska standout who's about to enter his eighth National Football League season. That's because the 29-year-old doesn't know when he'll play his next NFL game. Warfield is facing possible suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse and alcohol policy following a driving under the influence charge on Sept. 20, 2004, in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park. "I guess the worse part in dealing with my situation with the DUI is that neither myself, my agent nor my lawyer knows what's to come of it," Warfield said this week when he was participating in the annual Texarkana NFL Hometown Weekend. "We know there is supposed to be a suspension, but this incident happened way back in September and they could easily have come up with something to deal with the whole situation way back then." Warfield pleaded no contest in January to a felony DUI charge and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and 80 days of house arrest. The charge was a felony because Warfield had two prior DUI convictions. As part of a plea agreement with Johnson County prosecutors, Warfield also was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform 100 hours of community service. He will be on probation for a year. In exchange for the no-contest plea, prosecutors dropped misdemeanor counts of driving with a suspended license and having no proof of insurance. The charges stemmed from a traffic stop. Police said Warfield had a blood alcohol level of .189 percent, more than double Kansas' .08 percent legal limit. A Kansas City newspaper reported that Warfield is likely facing a four-game suspension. "I couldn't say. It wouldn't be fair because I pretty much put myself in this situation," Warfield said. "I wrote a letter to the (NFL) Commissioner (Paul Tagliabue) and told him that I recognize my problems and I'm willing to face whatever suspension he wanted to put upon me, so it's not like I'm afraid of what's going to become of the suspension part. "It's just that we would like to know now because we're just sitting in the dark and nobody knows anything. And here it's only a month away from going to training camp and you would at least like to know something before you go to training camp." The Chiefs are taking measures to deal with Warfield's problem and to fix a shaky defense that ranked 31st in the NFL last season. They signed former Dolphins cornerback Patrick Surtain, an eight-year veteran, to play alongside Warfield. They also elevated Julian Battle to a starting job, but he tore his Achilles' tendon last week in mini-camp, had surgery and is lost for the season. "The coaches aren't sure what to do now," Warfield said. "When we lost the guy who was going to take my place, things got even worse. I guess when things start looking good, some things will come back and bite you in the tail." Warfield, who has been the Chiefs' starting left corner the past three seasons, is still taking a positive approach to this upcoming season. "My goal, for one, is to be consistent on the playmaking side," said Warfield, who has started 47 of the Chiefs' last 48 games (he missed one game in 2003 due to a back problem). "I also want to avoid nonchalant play. I've got to get over the barrier of four interceptions in one season." Warfield has made four interceptions each of the past three seasons. The 6-foot, 200-pounder also made 58 tackles last year. "Hopefully my defense will continue to improve and I'd like to earn a trip to the Pro Bowl," Warfield said. "If I could get in a Pro Bowl, that means our defense has improved that much, and hopefully with that improvement we can be in the Super Bowl." Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil has used the draft, trades and free-agent signings to beef up the team's porous defense, which has pleased Warfield, who lives in Leawood, Kan. "I feel very good about the team bringing in Kendrell Bell (linebacker), Carlos Hall (defensive end, Arkansas), Sammy Knight (strong safety), Surtain (cornerback), and for drafting Derrick Johnson (linebacker) from Texas. "Johnson's really a great player, and hopefully if he gets in his playbook and learns everything, I'm pretty sure he's going to be a starter for us this year." The Chiefs had the No. 1 offense in the league last year and the improvements on defense should make the team competitive enough to be a playoff contender, Warfield said. "I know every other team has made upgrades to their team, but I like our chances," he said. "I mean when you've got the No. 1 offense, that means you're always going to put points on the board. But whenever you can go out there with a strong defense, it helps you that much more to know that you can go out and stop high-caliber teams like New England (defending Super Bowl champion)." The Oakland Raiders have picked up explosive wide receiver Randy Moss and the Broncos have two standout receivers in Rod Smith, another Arkansas High graduate, and veteran Jerry Rice, a future Hall of Famer. "Right now I'd have to say the AFC West is probably the hardest division in pro football," Warfield said. "You've got to be prepared to play every week or you'll find yourself on the bottom." The Chiefs slipped to 7-9 and finished third in the AFC West last year behind San Diego (12-4) and Denver (10-6). "This will be my eighth season in the league and the years are really flying by," Warfield said. "I'm getting old by NFL standards. I never thought I'd be playing this long, but yet I've been fortunate to do so, and hopefully I can continue playing at the level I've reached." Perhaps then things can return to normal for Warfield.
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