Gretz: So Much Talent, So Immature … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

[Tribal Warfare]

So Much Talent, So Immature … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs
November 18, 2009 - Bob Gretz |

Dwayne Bowe’s four-game suspension from the NFL is just another step in what the Chiefs have to hope is the continuing maturation of the wide receiver.

Bowe better hope so as well. As he sits at home for a month, unable to spend time with his teammates and the Chiefs franchise, Bowe has a chance to decide what direction the rest of his career and life will take. He needs to do some very deep soul searching.

Over the years the Chiefs have had many players who had remarkable athletic talent, and the maturity of a 10-year old. Bowe is one of them. His story of being abandoned as a child by a mother and father distracted and in the clutches of drugs, being raised by his grandparents, running the streets and getting involved in crimes and fights left him without some very important blocks in a solid foundation of being an adult.

That background and then his success in football did lead him away from the drug culture. But there were some stains that could not be erased. Bowe was not suspended for taking illegal drugs or performance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids. He is gone for four games because he tested positive for a diuretic.

The NFL considers the presence of a diuretic in a player’s urine sample the same as if it was steroids because it has frequently been used as a masking agent.

Bowe didn’t take the diuretic to mask steroids use. He took it to lose water weight; obviously he was in danger of not being at the prescribed weight he was given by Todd Haley and his coaching staff for training camp. There’s no other known reason for him to take a diuretic. A healthy, 25-year old professional athlete has no medical reason to be eliminating fluid.

Bowe wanted to take a pill and make his problem go away. It’s not exactly like running away from your life with the use of illegal drugs, but it’s the same mind-set, one that he grew up in during his formative years. In a situation of stress, he fell back on what he knew, not what he had been shown and coached over the previous six or seven months.

From the time he showed up for the off-season program some 25 pounds overweight, Haley has been all over Bowe. Just about every manner and method of motivation has been tried with him by Haley and his staff. There’s a reason that Bowe was put through the psychological ringer in attempts to change his behavior – he has talent. Haley would not have wasted any time on Bowe if he didn’t see something worth saving in a football sense. If Bowe was an ordinary player, he would have been sent packing long ago, probably the day he weighed in back in March.

Bowe fought the discipline. He didn’t like the heavy hand he was being dealt. His attitude was ‘I’m a No. 1 draft pick, I’ve caught 156 balls for 2,017 yards in two years in the NFL; I know what it takes.” He eventually learned that he wasn’t going to be able to change things by fighting the system. Whether or not he bought into the whole program remains to be seen.

His suspension is evidence that he did not. When Haley sent his players away for their five-week vacation in the middle of June, he told them several things. One was don’t give back all the hard work you’ve done by sitting on your butt and getting fat during the weeks before training camp. His need for a diuretic is a pretty good indication that Bowe wasn’t paying attention to that message.

Now, he has four weeks to think about that, and the fact he’s left his offensive teammates without their best weapon in the passing game. This isn’t just a penalty to be served by Bowe; it’s going to be served by the entire team. The 2009 Chiefs do not have many good players, and they certainly don’t have enough to lose one of their best.

The problem that the current coaching staff and the one that came before it had with Bowe was his reliability. He does not always do what he’s supposed to do on the field. He does not always get to where the route is designed for him to be. Everyone has seen that his hands are not reliable given the number of drops he’s had over his 41-game career.

And now, his availability has proven unreliable. It won’t happen in the next four weeks, but the Chiefs need Bowe to grow up. More importantly, Dwayne Bowe needs Dwayne Bowe to grow up. His talents would not be the first wasted because of immaturity.

But, he can do something about it

SIGNINGS, INJURIES & MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE

* BENGALS – signed RB Larry Johnson; released DT Orien Harris.
* BUCCANEERS – re-signed G Arron Sears.
* BILLS – fired head coach Dick Jauron – in three-plus seasons he had a 24-33 record; Perry Fewell named interim head coach.
* CHIEFS – the NFL suspended WR Dwayne Bowe four games for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing drugs.
* DOLPHINS – RB Ronnie Brown will not play Thursday night against the Panthers because of his foot injury.
* JAGUARS – placed WR Jarrett Dillard on the injured-reserve list: signed WR Nate Hughes.
* PANTHERS – placed OT Jordan Gross on the injured-reserve list; promoted WR Charly Martin from the practice squad.
* RAVENS – released K Steve Hauschka.
* SAINTS – signed CB Chris McAlister; released QB Chase Daniel.
* STEELERS – released LB Arnold Harrison; promoted LB Donovan Woods from the practice squad; it’s unlikely that S Troy Polamalu will play against the Chiefs because of a knee injury suffered last Sunday.

FROM THE PAGES OF CHIEFS HISTORY

On November 18, 1960, the Dallas Texans lost to the Boston Patriots 42-14 in a Friday night game played at Boston University Field. More details later today.

On November 18, 1962, the Dallas Texans beat the Denver Broncos 24-3 at Bears Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 23,523 fans. The Texans scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to wrap up the victory. QB Len Dawson (left) threw three touchdown passes, including a 92-yarder to TE Tommy Brooker. Dawson also connected on a 47-yard pass to TE Fred Arbanas and 26 yards to WR Chris Burford. Booker kicked a 13-yard FG. Dawson was 11 of 17 for 275 yards, while Arbanas caught three passes for 117 yards. RB Abner Haynes had 74 yards rushing.

On November 18, 1973, the Chiefs beat the Houston Oilers 38-14 at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs built a 24-0 lead and never trailed the Oilers, as they played in front of 68,444 fans. Mike Livingston started at quarterback and threw a pair of early TD passes, one of five yards to TE Gary Butler and a 24-yarder to WR Otis Taylor. Livingston also scored on a three-yard run. The Chiefs got fourth quarter TDs on a one-yard run by RB Willie Ellison and a 19-yard fumble return by DE John Lohmeyer. S Jim Kearney and LB Willie Lanier picked off a pair of QB Lynn Dickey passes. DTs Curley Culp and Buck Buchanan had sacks for the Chiefs defense.

On November 18, 1974, the Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos 42-34 in a Monday night game at Mile High Stadium. It was a prime-time shootout in Denver, with the big yardage belonging to the Broncos but the victory going to the Chiefs. Denver QB Charley Johnson threw for 445 yards and a pair of TD passes, but Kansas city had three interceptions, two by CB Emmitt Thomas and the other from LB Willie Lanier. QB Len Dawson threw TD passes to WR Otis Taylor and RB Ed Podolak. On the ground, Podolak, Woody Green and Wendell Hayes had TD runs. Green finished the game with 114 yards on 18 carries.

On November 18, 1979, the Chiefs beat the Raiders 24-21 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Chiefs ended a five-game losing streak and got some help from Oakland kicker Jim Breech, who missed his 19-yard FG attempt with five seconds left that would have sent the game into overtime. The Raiders were down 24-7 late in the third quarter when they began a comeback directed by QB Ken Stabler. He connected with TE Derrick Ramsey for a 16-yard score and then WR Cliff Branch (right) on three-yard TD pass to move within a field goal. Branch should have had another touchdown catch but he dropped Stabler’s pass in the end zone. The Chiefs got their touchdowns early, as RB Horace Belton scored on a three-yard run, WR Henry Marshall had a 23-yard scoring run and TE Tony Samuels fell on a fumble in the end zone. Jan Stenerud added a 41-yard FG. First-year RB Mike Williams ran 20 times for 109 yards and caught four passes for 54 yards.

On November 18, 1984, the Chiefs lost to the Raiders 17-7 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in front of a crowd of 48,575 fans. The Raiders jumped to a 14-0 lead at half-time and rode that to the victory. The Chiefs only score came on a three-yard TD pass from QB Bill Kenney to TE Willie Scott. The Raiders defense held KC to just 182 offensive yards, including just 20 rushing yards on 16 carries. Oakland LB Rod Martin got the scoring started when he returned a fumble 77 yards for a touchdown. The Chiefs defense picked off Raiders QB Marc Wilson one and sacked him three times; CB Albert Lewis had the pick and DEs Art Still (two) and Mike Bell had the sacks.

On November 18, 1990, the Chiefs beat the San Diego Chargers 27-10 at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs jumped to a 17-3 lead at half-time and never trailed San Diego in front of 63,717 fans. In the first quarter, QB Steve DeBerg and WR J.J. Birden (left) hooked up on a 90-yard TD pass. Later, FB Bill Jones caught two scoring passes of two and six yards. DeBerg finished 11 of 24 for just 171 yards, but three TDs. The Chiefs defense had three interceptions from CBs Kevin Ross and Stan Petry and S Lloyd Burruss. K Nick Lowery had a pair of FGs.

SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …

Born on November 18, 1934 in Modesto, California was former Chiefs head coach Paul Wiggin (right). He joined the franchise as its second head coach in 1975, and had an 11-24 record before he was fired seven games into the ‘77 season. Wiggin played 11 seasons in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns (1957-67), appearing in 146 games as a defensive end. He was selected to two Pro Bowls and was a starter on the 1964 NFL championship team when the Browns beat Baltimore 27-0. After retiring as a player he was hired to be an assistant coach by the 49ers, where he worked until he was named head coach of the Chiefs on January 23, 1975. After he was fired by the Chiefs, Wiggin spent two seasons in New Orleans working as defensive coordinator and was hired as head coach at Stanford in 1980. He is currently working in the Vikings pro personnel department.

Born on November 18, 1956 in Los Angeles was Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon (left). He joined the Chiefs in 1999, after spending 15 seasons in the NFL with the Oilers, Vikings and Seahawks. Moon spent two years with the Chiefs (1999-2000), appearing in three games, with one start. He completed 16 of 37 passes for 228 yards, one TD and one INT. Those games were the last of his pro football career that began in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Eskimos, where he was part of five league champions. Over his CFL-NFL career, Moon threw for 60,553 yards, with 435 touchdown passes and 310 interceptions. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2006.

[JASONSAUTO]

funny how nothing was mentioned about this being haley's fault...

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

funny how nothing was mentioned about this being haley's fault...

, take a ****ing midol dude

[DaneMcCloud]

So now it's 25 pounds, not 30? 246?

I find that SO hard to believe.

I wish SOMEONE would tell us where Haley set Bowe's target weight.

[KCUnited]

Hopefully this guy won't balloon back up to 250 over the holiday.

[kaplin42]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

funny how nothing was mentioned about this being haley's fault...

How the **** is this Haley's fault? Unless Haley gave him the diuretic and said take this, what does he have to do with it?

[L.A.Chieffan]

what the **** is so important about meeting an arbitrary weight goal? if this is really the reason for bowe taking the diuretic then yes i do blame haley

[geronimo]

Maybe Haley mishandled -- Bowe who knows. Still no excuse for his situation. Haley's tactics are questionable and too this point over rated in my opinion. I can't point to one example where I can attribute his presence to better performance. I know it takes time and am willing to give him that. We know you can't win without Talent. The effective leader is the one who finds a way to put the talent in a position to perform. Let's hope it happens over the next couple of years.

[kaplin42]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

So now it's 25 pounds, not 30? 246?

I find that SO hard to believe.

I wish SOMEONE would tell us where Haley set Bowe's target weight.

He was trying to shed 25 pounds of water weight? Was it his time of the month?

[kaplin42]

Originally Posted by L.A.Chieffan

what the **** is so important about meeting an arbitrary weight goal? if this is really the reason for bowe taking the diuretic then yes i do blame haley

Why do you blame haley. They have deemed that Bowes body will play its best at a certain weight. Bowe was told to stay at that weight and didn't, and that's Haley's fault how?

I don't understand, we can't hold players accountable for their actions cause the coach has a fetish for yelling?

[Chiefnj2]

It's amazing what a 2 win season does to fans.

3-4 months ago it was "Good for Haley making them get in shape", "the old regime was to laid back" "last year the team ran out of steam at the end of games and got gouged, the weight loss will help with conditioning."

2 wins and 4 months later - "Damn Haley for being so irresponsible", "The players didn't have any advice from doctors", "they didn't need to lose weight"...

[HemiEd]

Maybe D. Bowe could hustle on over to Lawrence for the next four weeks, and help Coach Mangino, get his weight under control. Time well spent.

[L.A.Chieffan]

Originally Posted by kaplin42

Why do you blame haley. They have deemed that Bowes body will play its best at a certain weight. Bowe was told to stay at that weight and didn't, and that's Haley's fault how?

I don't understand, we can't hold players accountable for their actions cause the coach has a fetish for yelling?

its just stupid thats why. bowe is a big physical reciever, not a burner. losing excessive amount of weight would HURT his play on the field not help it. Losing weight for the sake of losing weight is merely a tactic to enforce "my way or the highway" bullshit

[kaplin42]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

It's amazing what a 2 win season does to fans.

3-4 months ago it was "Good for Haley making them get in shape", "the old regime was to laid back" "last year the team ran out of steam at the end of games and got gouged, the weight loss will help with conditioning."

2 wins and 4 months later - "Damn Haley for being so irresponsible", "The players didn't have any advice from doctors", "they didn't need to lose weight"...

QFE

[L.A.Chieffan]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

It's amazing what a 2 win season does to fans.

3-4 months ago it was "Good for Haley making them get in shape", "the old regime was to laid back" "last year the team ran out of steam at the end of games and got gouged, the weight loss will help with conditioning."

2 wins and 4 months later - "Damn Haley for being so irresponsible", "The players didn't have any advice from doctors", "they didn't need to lose weight"...

i never said 'good for haley' in fact since this weight loss thing came out ive had a raised eyebrow over it. yeah you want your players conditioned but you dont want them to turn into Brandon Alberts.