Q&A Dick Vermeil

[DTLB58]

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2004/09..._dick_vermeil/

Q&A Dick Vermeil
Sep 15, 2004, 6:14:20 PM


DICK VERMEIL: “Losses hurt. It hurts just as much the first game – maybe even more than it does after the third or fourth game of the year. You sort of get spoiled. Last year we started out with nine straight (wins). (Carolina) started out with five straight and two big wins on the road against Tampa Bay and Indianapolis. Then, all of a sudden, you get set back. We were on the road and (Carolina) was at home. It stings you but sometimes it sends you a message both as coaches and players – an alert sign. You’ve got to do some things better to beat good football teams.



“Once you become a good football team they match you up against another good football team early in the season or right off the bat. That’s what happened to both of us and we didn’t respond well.

“As I told my squad this morning: expect the profile of a football team that took itself to the Super Bowl: winning seven games by three points or less, losing two games by six points, going on the road and beating two teams – good teams – St. Louis and Philadelphia, and losing by three in the Super Bowl. Expect the profile that got them there.

“I like the direction of our defense is going. Gunther (Cunningham) doesn’t play, but I like the direction our defense is going. Our defensive line is getting better. Whenever you’re doing something new, within that process there’s a period of time that it takes to do under the full speed timing that is a little bit different, especially when you add the intensity. We broke down; they broke us down. We’ve had problems up (Denver) for three years and almost duplicated the same problems. But I do believe we’ll get better as we play together. You just can’t duplicate that environment on the practice field. You can’t play them enough in pre-season games to get them that far along.

“It never ceases to amaze me a guy like Priest Holmes. I don’t how many times he touched the ball the other day and ran for 150-something yards, and today every time he touches the ball he’s running for 35 yards. He’s back to how he was for the first two years here. He’s something special. I don’t know if people recognize how special he is in this league. I really don’t.”

Q: What was wrong last year?

VERMEIL: “Stamina and hip. You don’t have to be a neurosurgeon to figure that out.”

Q: Was he a different player, though?

VERMEIL: “Oh yeah, he wasn’t quite the same. He didn’t have that explosive quickness. He’d play on Sunday and come back on Wednesday and he could hardly work. He was sore. His whole body was sore because he didn’t have that off-season preparation to get ready to play. But to watch him there today, I think even the players were in awe of watching him work.”

Q: Is John Browning going to take the place of Vonnie Holliday if he can’t go?

VERMEIL: “Yes, we will work him there. He could play the position extremely well. It’d be nice to get him some reps there. We did a little bit in a pre-season game and he played very well. It just depends how much it hurts the overall starting down four by not having him at the right tackle spot. You know he can play right end?

Q: Do you expect Vonnie Holliday to be out of Sunday’s game?

VERMEIL: “No, I don’t. I still think he’s questionable and I think if there’s any way he’ll be ready to go. But he has a groin problem and he had a groin problem on the other side last year. He’s had different soft muscle tissue problems. Sometimes there are guys just like that. But I think we have a chance to have him start practicing by tomorrow afternoon or Friday.”

Q: The other night was his injury affecting him because it seemed like whenever they would go off-tackle he was unable to get down from the D-end spot?

VERMEIL: “No, that’s not true. That wasn’t true. He wasn’t in there when they made the big run. Jared Allen was in there coming down right to left. (Holliday) tried to play his last few series in there with a groin problem. He couldn’t go. But he was playing well other than having some problems with the naked (boot).”

Q: The hit on Dante Hall last week. Today John Lynch was fined $7,500 dollars.

VERMEIL: “First off, (John) Lynch is a hitter. Secondly, it was not a blow to the head. Third, there is a move in the National Football League to protect the defenseless player. They don’t want people taking shots like that. But I don’t think it was anything intentional. It was just a spontaneous, quick football play. I think they’re trying to prevent guys from making deliberate shots like that when a guy is in the air helpless. That’s part of football and I’m sure Lynch can afford it. He apologized to Dante, too.”

Q: Monty Beisel will start at middle linebacker?

VERMEIL: “As of right now, yes. Monty’s growing at the position and I can’t see how Kawika (Mitchell) could catch up.”

Q: But Kawika may play some this week?

VERMEIL: “If he’s healthy I’d like to get him to play some.”

Q: When Kawika gets 100% who will….

VERMEIL: “Then we’ll find out who plays the best.”

Q: You gonna keep that competitive?

VERMEIL: “Well, I think you have to right now because we really haven’t seen Kawika much. So, we’ve got to see him more too. We’ve seen a lot of Monty and like the improvement we’ve seen. He’s got a ways to go. I think Kawika has certain things that Monty doesn’t have and Monty has certain things that Kawika doesn’t have. It’s actually a blessing in disguise as far as training another middle linebacker.”

Q: Does it seem that Monty’s been put in circumstances that have been unfair to him: moving from defensive end to outside linebacker then from outside to middle?

VERMEIL: “That’s football, that’s football. That’s just how it is in the National Football League. They’re all good football players and you normally don’t lose a job by getting injured. But a young player who hasn’t really established himself as a true starter, well, it’s a more competitive situation when they come back. It’d be different if it was someone who had started for five years in a row at middle linebacker. You’d have a great backlog of watching him play the game extremely well. In Kawika we really haven’t either.”

Q: Are you doing anything specific to improve third down efficiency?

VERMEIL: “Our biggest problem last week was we put ourselves in third-and-nine and more too many times: five of them by penalties. We’re better than that. We haven’t been as good as we ought to be at third-and-seven plus yet. I felt that we spent a lot of time in the pre-season and felt we’d be better than last. That was one of our goals. We didn’t demonstrate last week because of too many penalties within that down and distance.

“In pre-season Trent (Green) functioned very well on third-and-long.”

Q: Do you have any interest in Keenan McCardell? He mentioned Kansas City was one team he’d like to go to?

VERMEIL: “No. First off, you’ve got to have room in the salary cap. It’s not like you go shopping and buy what you want. We brought Keenan McCardell in here and liked him and tried to sign him, but in signing Johnnie Morton at the same time we couldn’t give them equal dollars and Tampa Bay stepped up and gave him more money. I don’t blame him. I enjoyed having him here. He’s a fine receiver, but he’s not a burner. He just catches the ball.

“I don’t think we’ve ever even talked to his agent that I know of. We’ve got our first three receivers back from last year and we led the league in scoring. It’s not like taking the 20th ranked offensive team in scoring points. This is two years in a row in trying to make it a stronger number one. What we’d like to be is just as good as we were last year which might be tough to be. So, we did spend a few dollars but we did it on another offensive lineman from the Giants and spent a little more money signing our own guys on defense where there’s a bigger need and the budget allowed.”

Q: Who was your safety today with (Greg) Wesley down?

VERMEIL: “Willie Pile I think Willie Pile’s going to be a very good football player. He’s got a chance. Every time you put in the ballgame he makes a play. He takes good angles to the ball and reads and reacts well and hits.”

Q: Your read on Wesley being ready for Sunday?

VERMEIL: “I think he’s got a chance to be ready to go.”

Q: Who would replace Browning if he had to move outside to end?

VERMEIL: “Probably Lional Dalton, with the possibility of it being Junior Siavii.”

Q: What did you think of Junior’s play this past week?

VERMEIL: “It was the best sack I have seen a young defensive lineman get from that tackle position. I mean, that was a big time play. Beat a good player and he was so explosive and quick up field. Another time he took the guard right back and put him in the quarterback’s lap. When he finds out what he can do he’ll be fun to watch. Inconsistent right now.”

Q: Is it a case of combining technique with power?

VERMEIL: “Yeah, and in understanding and reading on the move and attacking — just learning how to take advantage of his abilities. He has tremendous balance.”

Q: Did he exceed your expectations the other night?

VERMEIL: “I think overall, yeah. Overall, I think the defensive line coaches are doing a good job of bringing him along faster than I thought. I said all along that he has a great work ethic and very good natural stamina for a big man. Explosive quickness.”

Q Comment on how well the Packers ran the ball against Carolina last week?

VERMEIL: “The only way you can run the ball is call it. They did it and weren’t embarrassed by a one-yard game, no yard game, or two yard game. Sooner or later they’d break one. Obviously, they wanted to keep (Carolina’s) offense off the field. I was even a little more surprised how they played defense. They were coming from all over the place – things you don’t see very often. That was very disrupting, I’m sure. It would have been to us.”

Q: Comment on all the new starters the Panthers have on the offensive line?

VERMEIL: “That’s tough. It’s tough when like us you have one new starter on our offensive line. He gave up a sack; he gave up a hit on the quarterback and had three penalties. We’re the least penalized team in football over the last couple of years. So, anytime you have a new person within that unit it takes a while for them to settle down and become a true unit.”

[4th and Long]

Q Comment on how well the Packers ran the ball against Carolina last week?

VERMEIL: “The only way you can run the ball is call it. They did it and weren’t embarrassed by a one-yard game, no yard game, or two yard game. Sooner or later they’d break one. Obviously, they wanted to keep (Carolina’s) offense off the field. I was even a little more surprised how they played defense. They were coming from all over the place – things you don’t see very often. That was very disrupting, I’m sure. It would have been to us.”

I expect to see a healthy dose of Priest this Sunday. Hopefully that will open up the passing game. Hopefully ...

[Rain Man]

I didn't even know Wesley was hurt. What happened?

[go bo]

Originally Posted by DTLB58

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2004/09..._dick_vermeil/

Q&A Dick Vermeil
Sep 15, 2004, 6:14:20 PM

* * *

Q: Who would replace Browning if he had to move outside to end?

VERMEIL: “Probably Lional Dalton, with the possibility of it being Junior Siavii.”

Q: What did you think of Junior’s play this past week?

VERMEIL: “It was the best sack I have seen a young defensive lineman get from that tackle position. I mean, that was a big time play. Beat a good player and he was so explosive and quick up field. Another time he took the guard right back and put him in the quarterback’s lap. When he finds out what he can do he’ll be fun to watch. Inconsistent right now.”

Q: Is it a case of combining technique with power?

VERMEIL: “Yeah, and in understanding and reading on the move and attacking — just learning how to take advantage of his abilities. He has tremendous balance.”

Q: Did he exceed your expectations the other night?

VERMEIL: “I think overall, yeah. Overall, I think the defensive line coaches are doing a good job of bringing him along faster than I thought. I said all along that he has a great work ethic and very good natural stamina for a big man. Explosive quickness.”

* * *

"great work ethic"...

there were those that questioned junior's worth ethic...

he's surprised me, coming along so fast, and i'm already a fan of his...

looks like dv is too...

"tremendous balance", "very good natural stamina", "explosive quickness"...

dv's positively gushing over the youngster...

[4th and Long]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I didn't even know Wesley was hurt. What happened?

Hamstring

[royr17]

Off Topic here but did anyone notice on the Chiefs roster that Larry Johnson changed his number from 27 back to 34 ?

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by royr17

Off Topic here but did anyone notice on the Chiefs roster that Larry Johnson changed his number from 27 back to 34 ?

Probably just a website error.

[royr17]

yea well im not sure about that, heck they dont even have Gary Stills photo on his profile.

[royr17]

And another thing they have Jordan Black listen as a Punt Returner instead of a Guard or Tackle.

[KcMizzou]

Originally Posted by royr17

And another thing they have Jordan Black listen as a Punt Returner instead of a Guard or Tackle.

Heh.. That'd be a sight to see.

[royr17]

Originally Posted by KcMizzou

Heh.. That'd be a sight to see.

I know the only thing he have to do to get a TD is bulldoze anybody down that gets in his way. LOL.

[LVNHACK]

Originally Posted by 4th and Long

I expect to see a healthy dose of Priest this Sunday. Hopefully that will open up the passing game. Hopefully ...

[jspchief]

VERMEIL: “The only way you can run the ball is call it. They did it and weren’t embarrassed by a one-yard gain, no yard gain, or two yard gain. Sooner or later they’d break one. Obviously, they wanted to keep (Carolina’s) offense off the field. I was even a little more surprised how they played defense. They were coming from all over the place – things you don’t see very often. That was very disrupting, I’m sure. It would have been to us.”

That was a big beef for me against the Donkeys. Everytime Holmes got stuffed on first down, Saunders abandoned the running game. When your RB is averaging 5+ a carry, you can't give up on the run so easily. We totally wore their D-line down, but could have done it 1 qtr earlier.

I hope we commit to the run a little more this week. It's the one thing we do best, and a little bit of ball control offense could help our D tremendously.

[Wile_E_Coyote]

Originally Posted by jspchief

That was a big beef for me against the Donkeys. Everytime Holmes got stuffed on first down, Saunders abandoned the running game. When your RB is averaging 5+ a carry, you can't give up on the run so easily. We totally wore their D-line down, but could have done it 1 qtr earlier.

I hope we commit to the run a little more this week. It's the one thing we do best, and a little bit of ball control offense could help our D tremendously.

Holmes, Richardson, Johnson, Blaylock..that's alot of talent, use it!

[King_Chief_Fan]

Originally Posted by jspchief

That was a big beef for me against the Donkeys. Everytime Holmes got stuffed on first down, Saunders abandoned the running game. When your RB is averaging 5+ a carry, you can't give up on the run so easily. We totally wore their D-line down, but could have done it 1 qtr earlier.

I hope we commit to the run a little more this week. It's the one thing we do best, and a little bit of ball control offense could help our D tremendously.

agree. When the passing opportunities are not there....run it, run it, run it.