More Haley Nuggets of Wisdom.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Mark it down: Chiefs buck trend, show yen to lose pounds

Orlin Wagner / Associated PressNew Chiefs Coach Todd Haley stretches as he puts rookies through their paces during a recent workout.

After last season's 2-14 finish, the team has nothing to lose -- except weight. New Coach Todd Haley has put a high priority on conditioning, and he's getting results.
Sam Farmer
June 21, 2009
The Kansas City Chiefs just might be the biggest losers in the NFL.

And that's good news.

To be specific, the Chiefs have lost a combined 340 pounds this year -- and not, say, by cutting some rotund defensive tackle. They lost the weight through hard work, something apparently in short supply when the team went 2-14 last season.

"We were out of shape and not really strong," said new Coach Todd Haley, who has put a premium on his players dropping some pounds. "I talked to our strength coach at Arizona [where Haley was offensive coordinator last season] and he said if you're a highly efficient team that's working, you lose about 120 to 150 pounds in the off-season."

The Chiefs face more than their share of hurdles. With a defense that produced an NFL-record-low 10 sacks last season, and an offense in transition -- and missing All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez -- Kansas City would do well to win six games this season.

But the way Haley sees it, getting in shape was priority No. 1. To that end, he instituted mandatory weigh-ins at the beginning and end of each week, making players who were too heavy on Fridays do extra running. He sat in the weight room every day and watched the workouts, and had his coaches monitor things when he couldn't. (It will be interesting to see how players ultimately react to that, seeing as they often judge coaches by whether they "treat us like men.")

Regardless, Haley identified the problem and set out to fix it. In the process, he shed some serious pounds himself, going from 217 to 192.

"The players understood that to be around, we weren't going to have a fat team," he said in a telephone interview. "And if you were fat, we'd probably just move on at some point as soon as we could."

The approach wasn't always subtle. Take the case of tackle Branden Albert, who was selected 15th in the 2008 draft. He went from chiseled to chunky last season, winding up at least 30 pounds heavier than when the Chiefs drafted him from Virginia.

Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli found Albert's picture from the scouting combine, when the player was a relatively svelte 309 pounds, and taped it to his locker. The inspirational needling did the trick.

"The guy was 303 yesterday," Haley said. "He's on an eating plan and carries his meal around in a Tupperware. He's lifting, and he's so much stronger. He's almost got abs coming through."

Albert, who Haley said "looked like a mess" when he started the program, passed all his rigorous conditioning tests last week.

"It's just a huge transformation," Haley said. "He's put himself into a position to compete and potentially be great."

Anger management

Haley isn't always a hothead. But he plays one on TV.

One of the enduring images from the NFC championship game was of Haley calling a string of excellent plays against Philadelphia while angrily arguing with receiver Anquan Boldin, who pulled off his helmet and was briefly restrained by teammates.

"That changed everything for me," Haley said. "I couldn't go anywhere in Phoenix after that. I used to be able to hide against the wall, but then everybody knew me all of a sudden."

He doesn't mind players thinking he could blow a gasket at any moment, whether it's true or not.

"You'd much rather have that than to be glad-handing and patting somebody on the butt; you don't want that as your reputation," he said. "I'm going to be about pushing you hard and not pulling any punches."

And, hey, Haley made the right calls -- against a Philadelphia defense designed by the outstanding Jim Johnson, no less -- and the Cardinals wound up winning.

"Here I'm trying to call plays to win a championship and I've got somebody yapping behind me," Haley recalled. "It took us to the Super Bowl, and then all of a sudden it became the perception of, 'What's this player doing? Is he an idiot? This coach is trying to call plays.' "

Thank God we got something out of this off season besides a shit draft.

Haley is the "pick" that matters.

[RustShack]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Exactly.

This shit is borderline embarrassing.

Haley wants to talk about the benefits of conditioning? Great. I'm all for it. Who wouldn't be? Trotting out an artificial number to praise the amount of pounds lost makes me cringe.

The average team loses 140 a year, not 340.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Kyle DeLexus

Those weren't the only guys getting hurt every week. Everywhere Herm went injuries were sure to follow. I wouldn't want to be in the studio with him.

With particular emphasis on injuries to quarterbacks, made famous in NY.

Get a talented O-line and QBs tend to survive at a higher rate. Don't start a quitter like Huard, etc., etc.

Edit: Just back from the can. 1.7 lbs lighter.

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by RustShack

The average team loses 140 a year, not 340.

Thats what I heard, of course Haley said it.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by RustShack

The average team loses 140 a year, not 340.

Cool.

I guess we're looking at, what, 13-3? 14-2?

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Cool.

I guess we're looking at, what, 13-3? 14-2?

We are still going to suck, but the difference is now the players will work harder and still suck.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Kyle DeLexus

We are still going to suck, but the difference is now the players will work harder and still suck.

I feel much better now. Promise me that Haley will yell?

[MMXcalibur]

As far as the draft picks are concerned, I'm not going to "grade" them or give you a hard line on whether they'll be great or suck ass. Last year when it looked like we cleaned house and I was SURE we'd have a real rookie sensation, nobody really came to the forefront (minus Flowers, perhaps). At the very least, I'd like to finally see a Chiefs rookie who comes in his first year and performs at a high level game in-game out and is a true gamechanger. Besides, I don't believe you can adequately "grade" or evaluate a draft until 3-4 years have passed. That's why the Draft always pisses me off. Idiots flying off the handle after every pick.

As for Haley and the weight loss, hey.....it's good news. Of course, it's nothing that will make Chief fans swoon and dream of the Lombardi Trophy. However, it's nice to see Haley's whipping these lardbutts into shape and changing the attitude from a "group hug" Herm Edwards environ to a "do it this way or GTFO" setting. The Chiefs need to be babysat and whipped into shape. No more luvy-dubby bullshit.....kudos to Haley thus far.

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

I feel much better now. Promise me that Haley will yell?

It's a promise!

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by KCtotheSB

As far as the draft picks are concerned, I'm not going to "grade" them or give you a hard line on whether they'll be great or suck ass. Last year when it looked like we cleaned house and I was SURE we'd have a real rookie sensation, nobody really came to the forefront (minus Flowers, perhaps). At the very least, I'd like to finally see a Chiefs rookie who comes in his first year and performs at a high level game in-game out and is a true gamechanger. Besides, I don't believe you can adequately "grade" or evaluate a draft until 3-4 years have passed. That's why the Draft always pisses me off. Idiots flying off the handle after every pick.

As for Haley and the weight loss, hey.....it's good news. Of course, it's nothing that will make Chief fans swoon and dream of the Lombardi Trophy. However, it's nice to see Haley's whipping these lardbutts into shape and changing the attitude from a "group hug" Herm Edwards environ to a "do it this way or GTFO" setting. The Chiefs need to be babysat and whipped into shape. No more luvy-dubby bullshit.....kudos to Haley thus far.

I'm Kyle DeLexus and I support this post.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Cool.

I guess we're looking at, what, 13-3? 14-2?

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

You don't teach fundamentals at the professional level.

My point is that talk about fundamentals or weight loss, etc. is banter for teams who haven't won shit and will likely suck.

Q: Last training camp, you talked about how fundamentals were huge for you guys. Is communication the same type of thing this year as fundamentals were last year?

BB: They're neck and neck. They're both really important and they're big. Communication was a big point of emphasis for us last year, which is part of the fundamentals and vice versa. We talk about those everyday, more than everyday.

Q: Does it have something to do with bringing in new guys?

BB: No, it's just making sure everybody that's involved in the play sees the play the same way, whether it's the offensive line seeing the front the same, or a blocker and a runner seeing the defender the same, knowing where the ball is going to go, or a receiver and a quarterback or two defensive backs or defensive back and a linebacker covering a pattern, just so we see it. Sometimes we can communicate and sometimes we just have to see it the same way and recognize it the same. So it's a different type of communication, there's hand signals and then there is just the visual recognition. There's an element of communication in that too.

Q: Is it important to get a lot of that work done in the offseason program and the OTA's?

BB: Sure. Yes. That's part of the teaching and that's definitely a time to get it started, but it happens so much faster in training camp and, as you know, in the passing and in the spring camps, there's less emphasis in the running game because of the contact and that's a major point of emphasis now. A lot of our run calls, our blocking calls on the line of scrimmage for the offense and defensive stunts or alignments by the offensive formation, those kinds of run communications, run force, those are much more of an issue now than they were in the spring.

http://www.patriots.com/mediacenter/...=26522&pcid=82

If I'm misunderstanding you, I apologize, but teams definitely do work on fundamentals even at the professional level.

[Chaunceythe3rd]

Haley is just putting into practice what he learned with the Cardinals. Whisenhunt brought in John Lott as strength and conditioning coach and most of the players played lighter than the previous year. Seemed to help with very few injuries and stamina at the end of the season for their remarkable playoff run.

We just have to watch out for Pendergast going into a prevent defense 50%of the plays. It didn't work for the Cards but they had the offensive firepower to score points to offset Clancy's horrid defensive schemes. No amount of weight loss will make up for bad coaching.

[Reerun_KC]

Originally Posted by Chaunceythe3rd

Haley is just putting into practice what he learned with the Cardinals. Whisenhunt brought in John Lott as strength and conditioning coach and most of the players played lighter than the previous year. Seemed to help with very few injuries and stamina at the end of the season for their remarkable playoff run.

We just have to watch out for Pendergast going into a prevent defense 50%of the plays. It didn't work for the Cards but they had the offensive firepower to score points to offset Clancy's horrid defensive schemes. No amount of weight loss will make up for bad coaching.

The very reason the Chiefs will still be bottom feeders...

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

If I'm misunderstanding you, I apologize, but teams definitely do work on fundamentals even at the professional level.

Yes, you're misunderstanding me.

The baseball analogy isn't 1:1, but the larger point is that professional players, generally speaking, have to have a decent/solid fundamental core to get to that level. Doesn't mean that you don't practice fundamentals, but you're not going to be too successful "teaching" it. Refining is the more applicable term.

[LaChapelle]

The honeymoon should be winding down soon.