Q & A with Eddie Kennison - 5/1

[Buns]

Q: How is the off-season going with all of the new faces in town?

KENNISON: “I’ve had an opportunity to meet just about all of the guys. The guys are here early in the morning every day and everybody has been working hard. It shows true character about where this organization is heading and the guy that they have brought in. Everybody has been working hard and everybody looks good at this point.”

Q: Do you wonder what the roster is going to look like when you head to camp with all of the recent changes?

KENNISON: “I don’t worry about the things that I can’t control and that is one of the things that I can’t control, so I don’t worry about it. Once we get to camp we’ll have the guys that Coach Herm thinks we need to go into camp and at some point we will narrow it down to 53 guys that will ultimately help this franchise win a world championship.”

Q: What kind of player is first-round draft pick WR Dwayne Bowe?

KENNISON: “He is not a first-rounder for nothing. First of all he’s a LSU guy, so that’s why he’s a first-rounder. He is a big, physical guy who can catch the football and run. He will bring a lot of excitement to this offense. I look forward to the next thing that (the media) complains about. (The media) complained for the longest time about not drafting a wide receiver in the first-round. Well they’ve gotten that done, so I’m just waiting for the next thing for (the media) to complain about.”

Q: Is Bowe a better player coming out of school than you were?

KENNISON: “I don’t know about that. I don’t look at it that way. I know that he’s a heck of a football player and I know that he brings a lot to what we need as a receiver group on offense. He’s a big guy that will bring a lot of excitement. I know that he’s excited about playing; I had dinner with him last night and I’m supposed to take him to lunch this afternoon. I just kind of picked his brain a little bit and he’s seems really excited about being ready to play football for the Chiefs.”

Q: Where did you guys go?

KENNISON: “We went to the Capital Grille.”

Q: Did you make him pay?

KENNISON: “He didn’t pay; he hasn’t signed his contract yet, but his time is coming.”

Q: Are you going to show him around town at all?

KENNISON: “Just a little bit. I know that he will eventually want to have a place to live; so I’ll show him some places in Kansas City and just kind of let him choose from the places that I show him.”

Q: How impressed are you with him as a person? He is one of 16 children who was raised by his grandmother and has said it’s his duty now to give back. He just seems like a positive young man with a good head on his shoulders.

KENNISON: “Being one of 16 kids teaches you patience because you have to deal with people on a regular basis. He definitely has those characteristics. To have someone as patient as that and that is willing to learn and go through any and everything to make himself better. I’m pretty sure that he had to fight at some point over who got the last pair of jeans or the last sweet potato at dinner. His characteristics are great; he is very humble from what I’ve seen. He’s just hungry and wants to be able to take care of his grandmother, as well as his brother and sisters.”

Q: A lot of the elder statesmen on this football team are moving on. G Will Shields retired, DE Eric Hicks is gone and we are uncertain about the status of QB Trent Green. It seems like you are becoming the captain of this team. Is that something you relish the opportunity for?

KENNISON: “I would love the opportunity. I want to be able to carry this football team on my shoulders. It’s been a long time coming and everybody has a role. I have my role and other players have their role; if my role is to carry this team on my shoulders then so be it. I will do it with no questions.”

Q: Are you looking forward to the possibility of being more involved in the punt return game this season?

KENNISON: “If it falls in that direction so be it. I’ve done it before and I’ve always loved it, but it just kind of got away because there were some guys that returned punts full-time. Obviously WR Dante Hall did it full-time and it was the same at a couple of other places that I’ve been. If it does fall into that category then so be it. It puts me back in my younger days of returning punts and I’d absolutely love the opportunity. If they give it to me then I’ll take it.”

Q: How do you, as a player, adjust to roster changes that involve significant contributors to this organization for several years?

KENNISON: “I think it has a lot to with a single man’s character. Change is good. Whether it is your best friend or a player on the other side of the ball you have to be able to adapt to change, you have to move forward and you have to be able to see the vision that the organization is going. You have to see Herm’s vision and the direction that he’s going and you just have to focus on that and build on that. If Herm says it a certain way then we have to see it a certain way. If we don’t buy in to what Herm is saying this organization will be unsuccessful. Change is always good; I’ve learned to adapt to it because I’ve learned that things are always going to change whether I am here or not. In the 12 years that I have been in the National Football League, I’ve never been on a roster that has kept the same 53 guys every single year.”

Q: From your work with QB Brodie Croyle last year; is he a guy who can step up and lead a team?

KENNISON: “Brodie is very savvy. He’s one of the ones that will be a great quarterback in this league. I go back to role playing and Brodie has played his role very well learning the offense. I think he will have no problems stepping up and being a starter if need be. I think he knows the offense as well as anyone just in the year that he’s been here and I think he can step up and do a great job for us.”

Q: Is it easy to catch a ball from him?

KENNISON: “It’s easy and he has a pretty hard ball, but what’s hard is what’s soft. The object of the game is to catch the football when it’s thrown. It doesn’t matter how hard or how soft it is.”

Q: What’s going to be the hardest part for WR Dwayne Bowe to make the transition from the college ranks to the NFL?

KENNISON: “Well, I think that is where I come in. Hopefully it won’t be a hard transition for him. He has to understand that in this game everyone that he plays against on Sundays is good. In college you could be going against an electrical engineer or a scientist that is playing defensive back and it’s easy to beat those guys because they are just trying to stay in shape while they earn a degree. At this level everybody is good; this is their job and if he doesn’t focus on that then he won’t last in this league very long. That’s my responsibility to help him understand that and make sure that he’s successful in the National Football League.”

Q: Did anybody help you like that when you were with the Rams your rookie season?

KENNISON: “No, I had no one. I had to kind of learn on my own which is good, but it just took me a little longer to understand what the league was all about. If I can do any and everything to not have the younger guys to go through the things that I had to go through then that’s what I’m here for.”

Q: What was it like to play with a guy like Eric Hicks and now see him go through those doors and not be a Chief anymore?

KENNISON: “When you constantly take a shower with a guy for four or five years, blood, sweat and tears on and off the field, it’s hard to see him go. You get an opportunity to get to know his family, his wife and his kids and you hate to see him go because you know what kind of person he is and family man he is. On the other hand I know the nature of the business and that’s just the way it is. The rosters are constantly changing year after year and even during the course of the year, so it doesn’t shock me. Erick Hicks will have a job somewhere in the National Football League, which is good. Selfishly we hate to see him go.”

Q: Do you feel that the Chiefs are making a statement about your job security with drafting a receiver in the first-round?

KENNISON: “It doesn’t put any load on my shoulders. I have experience in the league; the tough thing is for the young guys to take my job and I’m going to make it very difficult for them to take my job while teach them the game of football at the same time. I think I’m smart enough to know that one day the game of football will come to an end for me; It just won’t be soon. I’m actually excited about the opportunity to help this organization raise good kids in the National Football League whether it is a receiver, defensive back or quarterback; whatever it may be I’m willing to help out as much as I can.”

Q: What can WR Samie Parker do to become a more consistent receiver with the thread of young players taking his position?

KENNISON: “I’ll tell you something even more than that; it will give all of our young receivers the opportunity to compete and I think a lot of guys know that the jobs that they had last year is rented space, as Coach Vermeil used to say. If they do not compete then they will not be a part of this organization; that’s just the way it is. With Dwayne Bowe coming in they know that he will more than likely be part of this roster because he’s a first-round pick. The young guys have to know that they need to be one of the four or five receivers that the coaches keep.”

Q: When you draft a wide receiver in the first-round does that mean you are going to open up the offense more?

KENNISON: “I can’t say that because I don’t call the plays and I don’t know what Herm and (offensive coordinator) Mike Solari are thinking. It speaks volumes for what we are trying to do on offense. If they throw the ball more then they run it the receivers would obviously love it, but I’m pretty sure Herm and Mike will go with a balanced attack each week and just try to make this offense what it was in the past.”

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2007/05..._kennison__51/