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.

[Kyle DeLexus]

I really don't get why people say we had a shit draft before the players have even taken a snap. Give it a couple 3 years then come back and say it was shit.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Kyle DeLexus

I really don't get why people say we had a shit draft before the players have even taken a snap. Give it a couple 3 years then come back and say it was shit.

How did I know that my comments and not the article would get first billing in any response?

Jesus, some of you people try too hard.

[KcFanInGA]

Totally agree RoR. I am glad to have someone who is not a knucklehead running the show.

[DeezNutz]

Trotting out numbers about weight loss is pretty much wasted breath, IMO.

We're going to be in great shape and outwork everyone, right? I'm ready for my varsity football t-shirt now. Every single HS coach in this country says the same thing.

[The Franchise]

"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."

That's what I like to hear. Pioli is staying involved in everything that goes on in the locker room.

[DeezNutz]

The Royals have a manager, Herm Hillman, who preaches "fundamentals." And the team sucks shit.

Talent wins. Much of the rest is nothing but artifice.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Trotting out numbers about weight loss is pretty much wasted breath, IMO.

We're going to be in great shape and outwork everyone, right? I'm ready for my varsity football t-shirt now. Every single HS coach in this country says the same thing.

Considering that they doubled the league average in OTA weight loss, I'd say it's a pretty substantial point.

It's not everything of course, but it IS something.

[FAX]

I'm not convinced that our draft was all that bad. I don't think it was all that great, but I wouldn't categorize it as sh*t, necessarily. Vomit, maybe. Or some of that disturbing, greasy, bacteria-laden, vaginal discharge you read about in suspense novels where the girl is killed by a disturbing, greasy, bacteria-laden serial rapist and murderer who sends letters containing clues to the media in order to taunt the police detectives and get his name in the newspapers.

FAX

[Kyle DeLexus]

Originally Posted by Raised On Riots

How did I know that my comments and not the article would get first billing in any response?

Jesus, some of you people try too hard.

Probably because I'm at work and thought that'd be a few comments and not an article, so I decided to read it after work. I did however read your comments and felt like saying we don't know if the draft was shit yet.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by FAX

I'm not convinced that our draft was all that bad. I don't think it was all that great, but I wouldn't categorize it as sh*t, necessarily. Vomit, maybe. Or some of that disturbing, greasy, bacteria-laden, vaginal discharge you read about in suspense novels where the girl is killed by a disturbing, greasy, bacteria-laden serial rapist and murderer who sends letters containing clues to the media in order to taunt the police detectives and get his name in the newspapers.

FAX

I agree with my nemesis.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by Raised On Riots

Considering that they doubled the league average in OTA weight loss, I'd say it's a pretty substantial point.

It's not everything of course, but it IS something.

I don't think it means anything.

The roster is bereft of talent, so how surprising is it that a fair number of these guys are fat turds? My guess is that a more talented roster would have less "fat" to trim.

[CoMoChief]

I dont believe in making chicken salad out of chicken shit. Because the end result will be a pile of chicken shit.

This team needs more talent if its going to succeed. All the good teams in the NFL have an incredible amount of talent. WAAAAY more than KC has.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

The Royals have a manager, Herm Hillman, who preaches "fundamentals." And the team sucks shit.

Talent wins. Much of the rest is nothing but artifice.

There's a difference between preaching fundamentals and actually teaching and executing it. The only talent you need is the ability for most of the team not to **** things up, with a handful of guys with above and beyond talent. Obviously, it must scale to the level at which one is competing.

[InChiefsHeaven]

I've heard this 340lbs number batted around for the last week. Is that an inordinate amount of weight to lose, or is it par for the course but the CHiefs are trying to make a big deal out of it? In other words, we can't be the only team in the NFL that has fat guys on it at the beginning of the OTA's...