Vermeil Isn't Sure Holmes Is The Answer...

[NaptownChief]

This is anything but a positive article about Holmes...I hate to say I told you so before they hit the field so I will hold off but this is starting to smell a lot like my earlier predictions about the Priest:


According to Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star, after watching newly signed running back Priest Holmes go through the paces during last week's mini-camp, Chiefs head coach Dick Vermeil and isn't convinced the 205-pounder is capable of carrying the entire load. And even though they'd love to see the former Raven to emerge as a legitimate feature back, the Chiefs are already planning on giving 235-pound fullback Tony Richardson a whole lot of carries.
"Tony will be a fullback and a halfback," Vermeil said, adding that Richardson is the likely candidate to play in the one-back formations his team is expected to rely on more than half the time. ...

The Chiefs are also said to be working on ways to get rookie Derrick Blaylock, Frank Moreau and Mike Cloud involved too, if need be.

Hmmm. ... Sounds suspiciously like a "committee" if you ask me. ...

And my guess says that ain't what the Chiefs had in mind when they handed Holmes a five-year, $8 million deal -- including a $2 million signing bonus -- last month.

It's certainly not what Vermeil had in mind.

"Anytime you have somebody you think is the best at his position, when you take him out of the game you shift into a second gear," the coach explained recently. "As I did with Wilbur Montgomery (in Philadelphia) and Marshall Faulk (in St. Louis), I leave them in the game and let them play. If they get tired, we take them out for a snap, then put them back in."

According to offensive coordinator Al Saunders, "The best teams that I have been associated with in the running game have had a marquee back who's been able to rush for 1,200 to 1,300 yards. ...

"Chuck Muncie rushed for over 1,000 yards (in San Diego) and Christian Okoye here in the early '90s was a tremendous rusher for us. When you look around the league, the teams that have been very successful have a back that they can count on to deliver the goods."

Yeah. ... Just like Holmes did as a Raven in 1998 when he rushed for 1,008 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 43 passes.

So. ... How long did it take the Chiefs to realize their expectations might be less-than-realistic?

I'd say Vermeil caught on right away.

"None of this will fully define itself until we get in full pads and go through training camp and get into the preseason games," he told reporters after the team's first workout last week. "If there's one clearly better, he'll carry the load. The other one gives him a breather if he needs it.

"I think we've added a high-quality football player. I think he brings a lot to the table and will be very tough to beat out. But if it happens, it happens. That will only make us a better football team."

Which is "coachspeak" for "Why did we give this guy a $2 million signing bonus?"

In fact, the only person who sounded more disappointed than Vermeil was Holmes. ... After all, he could have stayed in Baltimore and backed up Jamal Lewis as the Ravens defended their Super Bowl title this season. ... Or he could have gone to Philadelphia as well-paid insurance policy for Duce Staley.

But he went with the Chiefs -- in large part because he saw a gaping hole at running back in Kansas City.

"That's one reason I had my eye on this situation," Holmes said. "I wrote down goals on a piece of paper and matched them up to this situation. It wasn't a matter of me going out and just saying, `This is where I want to play.' I compared the teams to the goals, and KC came out on top.

"But it's not just that. This offense really complements the type of back I am. We're going inside, we're going outside. Right now, I'm just concentrating on running the ball, knowing the formations and getting the system down. Once that's done, I'll really get in the routine."

But that was then; this is now. ... And all the former University of Texas star can do now is put up a brave front. ...

"In the last couple years you've seen how successful teams have slowly switched the load as far as having two runners who can pull the load," Holmes explained. "As coach Vermeil stated, we'll have different types of attacks that we can come at teams with. The key is having a number of different players who can pull the load at any time.

"I think we can be hot because of what we call the three-headed monster. When you have a quarterback, some good receivers and running backs, you can kill (an opponent) slow or kill them fast. I think with the receivers and quarterback we have here, we can kill them fast. At the same time, we can kill them slow with Tony Richardson and myself."

Positives?

Here's the best I can do: Holmes racked up his 1,000 yards in 1998 on an average of 15 carries per game. ...

In the meantime, Vermeil continues to talk up Richardson, whose 5.7-yard per touch average ranked third in the league behind Faulk and Tiki Barber.

"He's a different-style runner and a very good football player," the former UCLA boss noted. "I don't think people hold Tony in as high esteem as they should. I think the combination of these two guys in the same backfield, or any one of these guys in the backfield, makes our running game better."

Bottom line?

"We'll be in a lot of one-back," Vermeil said.

What about the other guys?

According to SportsLine.com senior writer Len Pasquarelli, Blaylock, a fifth-round pick from Stephen F. Austin, posted the fastest 40 time at this year's scouting combine in Indianapolis (he was clocked at a blistering 4.34 second).

The 5-10, 190-pounder catches the ball well and could make an excellent change-of-pace back. Blaylock could also contribute as a punt returner.

Assessing the youngster's first mini-camp, Vermeil told reporters: "They're not wearing pads this weekend, so we won't learn anything we don't already know about Blaylock. ... We know he can run and has good hands. We'll see that again. But we don't know how his running instincts will be. You can't see those kinds of things in this environment."

Teicher wrote last week that the new staff is impressed with Moreau; but the second-year man will have to prove he's capable of protecting the ball before they give him many carries. ... After opening camp as the starting halfback last season, spot duty appears to be the best Cloud can hope for. ...

One last note out of Kansas City tonight. ...

According to Pro Football Weekly, Trent Green says he would like to be ready to go by the team’s June 11 mini-camp, but nothing has been etched in stone.

The fact is, Green continues to experience pain and swelling in his left knee after undergoing surgery earlier this year to remove scar tissue left over from reconstructive surgery performed in 1999. His failure to bounce back from this latest procedure kept him from working out for team officials in Kansas City prior to the trade from the Rams.

But Vermeil says he knows what he has in Green after coaching him in St. Louis, and he’s prepared to give him as long as he needs to get back to 100 percent. ... Green figures to assume an advisory role during mini-camps in an attempt to pick up the intricacies of the system and his new teammates.

If we made a mistake signing Holmes, who is the slated #1, to that contract, JESUS CHRIST did the Raiders make a mistake. Garner is the designated #2 back and look at the salary difference.

Holmes
2005 1600000
2004 1400000
2003 1200000
2002 750000
2001 448000

Garner
2004 4227000
2003 3627000
2002 1977000
2001 500000


Boy am I glad we didn't sign Garner...

[Cormac]

Without having read all of the replies......Just because one back might not get 80% of the carries doesn't mean we are back to the committee approach IMO. T-Rich and Priest might split the carries and that's OK. What won't happen is, if one of them breaks off a 10 yard gain, he [SIZE=3]will NOT[/SIZE] be sent to the bench only to be brought back into the game ice-cold (a la Gunther's regime). That is what killed us the last couple of seasons. If both T-Rich and Holmes get 200+ carries each this season we'll be OK IMO. Whoever starts the game will only be taken out if he's ineffective or for a breather, not because of personnel groupings. And it doesn't seem bad to me that we have options in case that happens. Yeah, it would be nice to have Fred Taylor instead, but none of us expected quite that much from Holmes.

Just my interpretation.

[TEX]

IMHO, as long as the Chiefs keep kidding themselves about the RB situation, they will go nowhere. It's been about 5 years since the Chiefs had a legit HB and even longer since KC has had a legit game breaker. T Richardson is an awesome FB and Priest Holmes and the rest of the committee are AVERAGE Rb's. The more things change the more they stay the SAME...

[keg in kc]

[quote]as long as the Chiefs keep kidding themselves about the RB situation, they will go nowhere[/quote]

What exactly would you have wanted them to do this offseason?

We had to get Trent Green. Like him or not, that's fact #1. Elvis left of his own volition, and at that point it was relatively clear that Green was coming. When your coach and OC both say "I want that guy" you get him, no questions asked. And, at least so far, it looks like the right move. The guy says the right things, and he has a sort of presence that was missing here, although I, for one, didn't realize it. Come September, the QB will be the voice of this team...

We signed Holmes as soon as we got Green. We paid very little money for him. Who else could we have gotten? Garner? Sorry, he wasn't leaving the Bay Area and he knows Gruden well. We would have had to pay a king's ransom to pry him from the west coast and that's not even touching on his size and the fact that he slows down over the course of a 16 game season. Would it have been worth it?

A rookie maybe?

Well, would we have been any better going into the season with Michael Bennett or Deuce getting handoffs from Collins or even Beuerlein? I don't know, it's a tough call. Again, the staff wanted Green, apparently above all. Let's hope there's a reason for it...

[quote]The more things change the more they stay the SAME...[/quote]

No way.

First, we're an attacking team now. Second, there [b]will[/b] be a featured back in 2001 (FINALLY!!!). Sure, it won't be James or Faulk or Taylor, but it's a start. As the saying goes, you have to walk before you run, and it appears to me we're taking the first baby steps this offseason. And I'd bet you now that once we have Gonzo under a new long-term contract, the franchise running back will be the next piece added to the puzzle, be that a rookie or a trade.

We can't do it all overnight, and there was no feasible way to re-build this team in one offseason, especially when we started 30 million dollars over the cap...

I think we've done okay so far, and I think the roots for something good are there.

[KCJohnny]

1. Naptown, KCJ salutes you for the courage and integrity to get out on a limb, post your opinions (the only actual commodity on this BB) and break with the planet party line, damn the torpedoes. Don't quit speaking your mind!
2. Trent Green is the biggest reason we will see Tony Richardson in the majority of 1-back sets. Green has a fragile knee and a career sack ratio of being dropped one in every 10 attempts. Unless Holmes can block DEs better than the 235 lb hulk Richardson, look for the insurance TR can provide in pass protect.
3. Vermiel is on the record saying he wants to jump out in front in the 1st quarter with pass-pass-pass and then grind/pound with his RBs. That sounds a LOT like TR to me, especially with Vermiel's constant references to TR's size, speed, hands and strength.
4. Finally, in 41 years of franchise history, one, only ONE RB has come up with more than 51% of the team's total rushing attempts, and that was under MARTY SHOTTENHEIMER (Okoye, '89). Vermiel is no lock to break the tradition.
5. In December, in the cold, wet and wind of Arrowhead, Vermiel will turn to a noth-South runner with good hands, great blocking and brute power. That will be ___________________________.


KCJ
The man you love to hate

[AustinChief]

KCJohnny,

Wait until you see Holmes on the field before you judge his blocking ability... I used to watch him at Texas and he was a REALLY good blocker. TRich may be better... but until I see them both next year ... I'll reserve judgement. The point being that we are NOT lacking good blocking from whichever back (of the two) that is on the field.

--Kyle

[donte']

After trying and failing with fitting rookies in as possible
featured RBs, ie Cloud and Moreau, at least give Blaylock
a shot. With the fastest feet in the combine, and good
hands to boot, he just might be the next R.O.Y. With his
size he can hide behind the offensive linemen and get
around the corner to out run any DE or LB that might be
lurking around. With proper guidance from the RB coach,
we could have the next Barry Sanders. :D

[keg in kc]

Funny, I wasn't aware that there was a "planet party line". And seeing how Nap has posted more than 1500 times over here, it's not like he isn't one of the many voices heard and respected by all...

As for Holmes, his blocking ability is one of his strong points.

You'd know that if you took the time to look into his background instead of just condemning every move made this offseason.

[HC_Chief]

Keg - that's asking for way too much from a limited mind. Just grin and bear it... like the rest of us ;)

[keg in kc]

That's true, meister hardcore.

Chalk it up to boredom and some early morning procrastination... ;)

[KCJohnny]

You smug critics sure have a talent for putting words in my mouth.

Show me where I said Holmes couldn't block???????


What I said was, Green is susceptible to pass rushers, Richardson is bigger and as a FB his first trade skill is blocking, and that meant that IMO, Vermiel would go with Richardson in crunch time. But who cares what I actually said? Have fun twisting my words!

No Planet party line? Notice how many of the sarcastic remarks aimed at me have the same theme? Nevermind. I can't wait for the StarBB to get back up. Dissenting opinions are allowed there.

KCJ
Small minded idiot racing to judgment before the season starts

[HC_Chief]

Gee Johnny (aka Mr righteous indignation), I saw the exact same response to your takes at the Park too! Does that mean the Park members are following the Planet's 'party line'?

Methinks it has something to do with the message - not the responses generated. (probably that snide passive aggressive attitude prevalent in every post)

[keg in kc]

"Smug critics"? Well, if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black, I sure as heck don't know what is...

[quote]Vermiel would go with Richardson in crunch time. But who cares what I actually said? Have fun twisting my words[/quote]

Well, considering that what you said there was entirely different from the original statement ("we will see Tony Richardson in the majority of 1-back sets"), how exactly were [i]we[/i] twisting [i]your[/i] words. You're the one who was talking about "the majority of 1-back sets" not "go with Richardson in crunch time".


It's not your opinions that are the problems, my friend, it's the way you choose to voice them and the way you [i]always[/i] react to anyone who, god forbid, happens to have a different opinion. Maybe if you were a little bit less "packfan" and a little bit more "logical" then maybe people would respond to you more positive way. I know I would.

Like my mamma used to say, "I don't care if you disagree, just don't be disagreeable".

[milkman]

John,
This martyrdom is getting old.
People are going to disagree with you. It happens. Get over it.

[tommykat]

:confused: Whoa....I tried to read most of this, but it is all over the place. We will see Tony Richardson play as well as Holmes. Good grief, they haven't even really started a real practice and this guy is all over the place.

I haven't posted for awhile, just been reading but I think I am understanding why I haven't. I can't keep up with all the I think this and that.

WE are going to have a great team this year! Let's chill and have fun watching the new events unfold. I hope this makes some since to you all.

__________________________________________________
Kat is still waiting for Tony to help her over the goal post..:D