Q&A with Dick Vermeil 10/02

[Hydrae]

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2004/10/02/qa_with_dick_vermeil/

Q&A with Dick Vermeil
Oct 02, 2004, 7:56:54 PM


Q: Have you made a decision about suiting up three or four wide receivers?

VERMEIL: “Chances are Eddie (Kennison) won’t make it, but he ran better today than he ran before. So most likely (WR) Samie Parker will be up for the first time.”

Q: Has he shown the ability to grasp enough to make you comfortable?

VERMEIL: “He’s not read to play, but if he has to, he can play. When you miss as much work as he has as a rookie… remember he didn’t get all the work in the spring. He’s worked hard and mentally right now he knows what to do within our offensive package at one position. Trouble is you get in a game and the defense all of a sudden doesn’t do the same thing.”

Q: What about Jared Allen?

VERMEIL: “Jared Allen is questionable. You know he hit that knee before and he sprained it again yesterday in an agility drill warming up. But he said he felt pretty good today. He didn’t injure it to the point where, ‘Ooh my gosh we’re going to have to operate on it’ or he’s got a cartilage or anything like that. It’s sore, but he might be ready to go anyway.”

Q: Is Vonnie Holliday going to start?

VERMEIL: “No, John Browning is going to start and (DT) Lional (Dalton) will start inside.”

Q: Any chance WR Richard Smith will be back up from the practice squad?

VERMEIL: “No, not right now.”

Q: P Steve Cheek, what’s his status?

VERMEIL: “He punted this morning, but I still think he’s very doubtful. We’ll stick with Jason (Baker).”

Q: Any other injuries?

VERMEIL: “No, William Bartee is still very doubtful. Doubtful to out. It’s just not ready.”

Q: Is this the best position to get healthy, with everything stacked against you?

VERMEIL: “When you’re 0-3 and play on a Monday Night Football game, it draws a little more evaluation and attention. But we’d be making the same trip if we were 3-0 like last year. They are a good football team and they were a good football team last year. We’re the only one to beat them in their home. But so far we haven’t met our expectations and I think each week we climb back into getting closer to where we want to be we have a better chance to win. Certainly going into Baltimore is one of the tougher places to go into. First off, they’re a good football team. I don’t know what they don’t have that would hold them back. For the most part it’s the same team they had last year. We did the things we had to do to win. Whether we can do that two times in a row, I don’t know, only time will tell. I think we played pretty good defense against them.”

Q: How’s your psyche going into this game?

VERMEIL: “You get tested, you really do. You get tested all week. Myself I feel a very strong sense of responsibility to my players, my coaches and my organization. When it doesn’t go well it hurts. It bothers me and I don’t look for anyone else to blame. I did some deep soul searching and obviously we’re not as good as we’re supposed to be and it starts with me. What I have to do is help everybody solve our problems. It doesn’t do much good for me to add doom to the gloom. I just don’t work that way. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

[TEX]

Bla...bla...bla... I'm tired of the same old, "We have to get better" and it's "My responsibilty" Bull $hit. We're 0-3 because we CHOSE to stand pat. That has to be the most retarded lack of action taken by this franchise in it's history. The Ravens are absolutely going to DESTROY the Chiefs Monday. :shake:

[tk13]

Bla...bla...bla... I'm tired of the same old, "We have to get better" and it's "My responsibilty" Bull $hit. We're 0-3 because we CHOSE to stand pat. That has to be the most retarded lack of action taken by this franchise in it's history. The Ravens are absolutely going to DESTROY the Chiefs Monday. :shake:
Yeah, let's just give up. I'd much rather hear Dick Vermeil say "We failed. The season's over, I don't care if we get better. We have no chance, we're going to get destroyed on Monday Night." That's what people want him to say, I don't understand it. There is no doubt things are way, way down, but the "most retarded lack of action" in franchise history would be to pack it in and quit in Week 4.

Worst part of it is that people think I'm a homer for saying stuff like that, just because I don't want my favorite team to quit...

[TEX]

Yeah, let's just give up. I'd much rather hear Dick Vermeil say "We failed. The season's over, I don't care if we get better. We have no chance, we're going to get destroyed on Monday Night." That's what people want him to say, I don't understand it. There is no doubt things are way, way down, but the "most retarded lack of action" in franchise history would be to pack it in and quit in Week 4.

Worst part of it is that people think I'm a homer for saying stuff like that, just because I don't want my favorite team to quit...

I don't want them to quit either, but management didn't really give them the chance for improvement because we stood pat. I'm sick of all the BS about ,"We need to get better" because the time for that was the OFF SEASON when EVERYONE ELSE was doing just that. DV sounds EXACTLY like he did year 1 and 2 and there's really no excuse for that in year 4. That's what I'm sick of... :shake:

[whoman69]

I don't care how bad the Chiefs are doing, every week I root for them to win. TEX, you want to toss the blame game around and let the season go, then you need to change your name to Frenchie. I too am disappointed by the offseason effort but probably not for the same reason you are. I am glad we weren't stupid enough to waste money on the overpaid top of the line FAs. I think its the duty of this team to replace players for whom there is a more talented alternative. The Pats aren't worried about bringing a Pro Bowler into every position like you are. Its just not possible with a cap. They have a weakness, they find a player who will improve them at that position. It doesn't have to be Terrell Owens or Jevon Kearse. Its better that it doesn't because those players tie up too much cap room and assure that another weakness on the team must be created.

[the Talking Can]

I was unaware Allen was hurt....

[Macroach]

I did some deep soul searching and obviously we’re not as good as we’re supposed to be and it starts with me. What I have to do is help everybody solve our problems. It doesn’t do much good for me to add doom to the gloom. I just don’t work that way. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

Sounds like DV is just being honest. He's not making excuses for anyone. He just says that he will try to figure out a way to solve the problem. He takes some of the responsibility because he is that way - he thinks that he can always do something a little better or work a little harder. I have no problem with him saying that he is willing to do what it takes to make this thing work. I'm sure that somewhere behind the smile (or grimace) he has strong feelings about what should have been done to help the team win, but he can't really share that at this point in time.

[Deberg_1990]

What scares me the most about what DV said was that Jason Baker is starting in Mondays game by default.....No one noticed how much he sucked in the Texans game because of how much other stuff went wrong for us that game....He also said that Sammie Parker isnt ready to play but he will suit up for the game? Huh???? Thats downright scary that we only have 3 healthy WR's right now that know this offense well enough to play in it. Morton is mediorce..........Hall is too small and Horn is a guy tha got cut in camp and picked back up again last week......scary.......

[whoman69]

What scares me the most about what DV said was that Jason Baker is starting in Mondays game by default.....No one noticed how much he sucked in the Texans game because of how much other stuff went wrong for us that game....He also said that Sammie Parker isnt ready to play but he will suit up for the game? Huh???? Thats downright scary that we only have 3 healthy WR's right now that know this offense well enough to play in it. Morton is mediorce..........Hall is too small and Horn is a guy tha got cut in camp and picked back up again last week......scary.......
Baker did not do as badly as you thought. The numbers look poor if you just look at the average. Two of his 4 kicks were inside the 20. That's going to take away from the average right there. He had one bad punt and one very good punt for 52 yards at a time when we needed a good punt, but the coverage team allowed a 16 yard return. DV has little confindence in the guy and he has no chance of staying with the team even with a monster performance on Monday. I expect he will keep up the good work now that he is unhampered by having to kickoff.

[go bo]

I don't care how bad the Chiefs are doing, every week I root for them to win. TEX, you want to toss the blame game around and let the season go, then you need to change your name to Frenchie. I too am disappointed by the offseason effort but probably not for the same reason you are. I am glad we weren't stupid enough to waste money on the overpaid top of the line FAs. I think its the duty of this team to replace players for whom there is a more talented alternative. The Pats aren't worried about bringing a Pro Bowler into every position like you are. Its just not possible with a cap. They have a weakness, they find a player who will improve them at that position. It doesn't have to be Terrell Owens or Jevon Kearse. Its better that it doesn't because those players tie up too much cap room and assure that another weakness on the team must be created.thanks...

other than tk, i was beginning to think we had been overrun by naysayers...

i don't care if they don't win a game all season, they're still my chiefies and i'll still root for them (even if i piss and moan a little)...

go chiefs!!

[2bikemike]

What scares me the most about what DV said was that Jason Baker is starting in Mondays game by default.....No one noticed how much he sucked in the Texans game because of how much other stuff went wrong for us that game....He also said that Sammie Parker isnt ready to play but he will suit up for the game? Huh???? Thats downright scary that we only have 3 healthy WR's right now that know this offense well enough to play in it. Morton is mediorce..........Hall is too small and Horn is a guy tha got cut in camp and picked back up again last week......scary.......

And folks wonder why the Offense is struggling. :shake:

[Redcoats58]

I would almost bet Eddie Kennison will play Monday night.

[philfree]

Bull $hit. We're 0-3 because we CHOSE to stand pat.

That's the bs right there. We are 0-3 because of myriad(sp?) of things. Any fan could see that if they'd just quit ballin long enough for the tears to subside. But it's prolly best to let it out :) Just smile :)

PhilFree :arrow:

[tk13]

That's the bs right there. We are 0-3 because of myriad(sp?) of things. Any fan could see that if they'd just quit ballin long enough for the tears to subside. But it's prolly best to let it out :) Just smile :)

PhilFree :arrow:
Somebody forgot to tell the Colts this stuff too... they stood pat and they're 2-1 and as good of a Super Bowl contender as anybody. You watch NFL live and they'll say that Indy can win the Super Bowl 5 seconds after saying the Chiefs failed by standing pat. I hate saying this stuff because people think I'm probably being a Carl apologist... and I'm not, this is on his behind if we fail, he said as much. I'm just not buying into all these cliches that you have to sign FA's and if you're not going forward you're going backward. Well, that is true to an extent, but in the Colts case the players they already have decided to go forward... Manning, James, Wayne, Stokely, Freeney...the whole lot of them, work and work until they get better, just like Dick Vermeil is talking about. It's not BS, it can be done. The only difference it makes is...if the Chiefs fail, it's on DV and the players themselves. If you bring in some free agents you can use them as scapegoats if things don't go right, that's the only difference (see Holliday, Barber, McCleon)...

[Wile_E_Coyote]

Bla...bla...bla... I'm tired of the same old, "We have to get better" and it's "My responsibilty" Bull $hit. We're 0-3 because we CHOSE to stand pat. That has to be the most retarded lack of action taken by this franchise in it's history. The Ravens are absolutely going to DESTROY the Chiefs Monday. :shake:

I wonder how many read this & thought, I wonder if dady's little girl is of age...:hmmm:

[Baby Lee]

I'm sure that somewhere behind the smile (or grimace) he has strong feelings about what should have been done to help the team win, but he can't really share that at this point in time.
If you're 'sure' that DV has 'strong feelings' about what 'SHOULD HAVE' been done, I'm sure you have some specifics in that regard. Please impart them.

[stevieray]

That's the bs right there. We are 0-3 because of myriad(sp?) of things. Any fan could see that if they'd just quit ballin long enough for the tears to subside. But it's prolly best to let it out :) Just smile :)

PhilFree :arrow:

It's a moot point..

[jspchief]

Somebody forgot to tell the Colts this stuff too... they stood pat and they're 2-1 and as good of a Super Bowl contender as anybody. You watch NFL live and they'll say that Indy can win the Super Bowl 5 seconds after saying the Chiefs failed by standing pat. I hate saying this stuff because people think I'm probably being a Carl apologist... and I'm not, this is on his behind if we fail, he said as much. I'm just not buying into all these cliches that you have to sign FA's and if you're not going forward you're going backward. Well, that is true to an extent, but in the Colts case the players they already have decided to go forward... Manning, James, Wayne, Stokely, Freeney...the whole lot of them, work and work until they get better, just like Dick Vermeil is talking about. It's not BS, it can be done. The only difference it makes is...if the Chiefs fail, it's on DV and the players themselves. If you bring in some free agents you can use them as scapegoats if things don't go right, that's the only difference (see Holliday, Barber, McCleon)...

There is a glaring difference between the Colts standing pat and us doing it. The Colts have a roster full of young talent that is steadily improving. Look at the guys you named. The oldest one is Manning, and he's only 28. They have talented youth, guys that are getting better. Freeney and Wayne, Mike Doss. What youth do we have that is of that caliber? We rely on an old Maz to return to health and two mediocre aging WRs to not lose a step.

That being said, I'm not sure there was anyone out there to really address our problems. We should have looked at Trotter. We should've considered some of the available WRs. And I still say we should be pursuing McKenzie even now.

[Gary]

I don't care how bad the Chiefs are doing, every week I root for them to win. TEX, you want to toss the blame game around and let the season go, then you need to change your name to Frenchie. I too am disappointed by the offseason effort but probably not for the same reason you are. I am glad we weren't stupid enough to waste money on the overpaid top of the line FAs. I think its the duty of this team to replace players for whom there is a more talented alternative. The Pats aren't worried about bringing a Pro Bowler into every position like you are. Its just not possible with a cap. They have a weakness, they find a player who will improve them at that position. It doesn't have to be Terrell Owens or Jevon Kearse. Its better that it doesn't because those players tie up too much cap room and assure that another weakness on the team must be created.


I'm sorry, but Terrell & Jevon so far have been worth every penny to the Eagles. Terrell & Jevon have been contributed a lot to that team so far. Now I know that there's always the possibility of blowing cap dollars on a Chester McGlockton or Dan Williams, but that doesn't mean there wasn't a single free agent this offseason that couldn't have upgraded our team(& KC didn't even get close with anybody to signing them & significantly upgrading our weakest spots on the team...save Lional Dalton's surprising play). There's always a level of risk when signing a FA. Hell, Terrell could have blew out his knee on that long touchdown catch against the Ravens during the first pre-season game...but he didn't. He's just blowing up the scoreboard for them. To make a superbowl run, you've got to be willing to take some risk in order to have the chance of reaping the rewards. I'm not saying that Terrell or Jevon were the only answers to upgrading this team(I don't automatically think that the most expensive FA is the best option), but obviously there are positions on this team that could have been upgraded & weren't. That was an major error in judgement by the shot callers. Maybe they should take some notes from the team you mentioned above on how to "put your best foot forward" & upgrade a team for a potential superbowl run (the Pats).

I know we can't change the past, so I don't stomp my feet over it or get too upset. I tune in my Directv every Sunday & root for the Chiefs the same as I have for years. I simply hope that the shot callers will learn something(whatever it may be that will actually help this team in the future) from this season & offseason.

[whoman69]

I believe a study would show that high priced free agents rarely live up to the billing, and that tieing up so much cap dollars on one player hurts the rest of the team.