tk13
10-19-2004, 01:08 AM
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/9953171.htm
Chiefs feel their hole deepening
By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star
Even when they were 0-3, the Chiefs looked at their season as one brimming with possibilities. Sooner or later, the prevailing opinion was, the team that won nine straight games last season would resurface.
At 1-4, the picture has changed. The Chiefs still can't get any traction. They wasted the momentum generated by a victory in Baltimore and the bye week by losing a winnable game Sunday in Jacksonville.
Now, the gravity of their situation is beginning to sink in.
“We are definitely in a hole,” halfback Priest Holmes said. “This is not high school or college football. Guys that we line up against every Sunday are licking their chops to be able to keep us down.”
Nobody is taking it harder than coach Dick Vermeil, who turns 68 late this month. Vermeil late last season re-signed for two more seasons in large part because he believed the Chiefs would again be Super Bowl contenders.
“(The losses) add up,” Vermeil said. “I told the squad today and I said to (wife) Carol last night, when you get my age, each one of those kind of losses takes about a month to two months to maybe six months off the end of your life. I mean it.
“This is what I get paid to do. This is what I love to do. I had better handle it. This is too good a football team to be 1-4, and we're 1-4. That's a reflection on me and my whole organization.”
The Chiefs opened 1-4 in 2001, their first season under Vermeil, and would fall to 1-6 before scrambling for a 6-10 finish. The expectations then were nothing like they were this season, when anything less than an AFC championship is failure.
“We're in a rebuilding program at that time,” Vermeil said. “We were trying to get principles built and developed and coached. We've gone on from there to lead the National Football League in scoring two years in a row. We've done a lot of things since then. We've been to the playoffs and lost. The anticipation of this season and the positive thoughts of how good we were going to be, all of that is fading. It hurts more.”
The season's four losses all were solid punches to the Chiefs' gut, and the effect is now cumulative. The sting is even greater with losses like Sunday's, when the Chiefs had fourth-quarter chances on offense, defense and special teams to put away the Jaguars and failed in every area.
At 0-3, the margin of error to scramble back into the playoff race isn't much, but such a task is possible. At 1-4, the task is much more daunting.
“It's hard to weigh which losses are worse,” quarterback Trent Green said. “The Houston game was awful. This one was bad. They all hurt. As the season goes on and as our record is unfolding, these games become more and more important.”
The Chiefs get a shot Sunday at Michael Vick and the 5-1 Falcons at Arrowhead Stadium. Vermeil indicated the Chiefs would look at replacing struggling cornerback Dexter McCleon in the starting lineup.
The Jaguars picked on McCleon repeatedly.
“They went after him a little bit,” Vermeil said. “All of these things will be considered, not only that position but any position where we feel we have a player that can play it better.”
The problem is that the Chiefs may lack a suitable alternative. Nickel back William Bartee struggled two years ago as a starter and lost the job to McCleon last season. Julian Battle has been such a big disappointment that he didn't even suit up Sunday. Rookie Benny Sapp is, well, a rookie.
“I have two guys that one day may be able to someday (replace McCleon), but I don't know if they can today,” Vermeil said. “We had William Bartee in there before, and he didn't play it well. Can he now? I don't know. I think Julian Battle somewhere down the road one day is going to be fine corner. Whether he can play as well as Dexter is playing right now, I don't know.”
The Chiefs had big plans for Battle this season and were hopeful when training camp began he would nudge McCleon from his starting spot. Not only has that not happened, but Battle couldn't even hold off Sapp for the No. 4 job.
That qualifies Battle as one of the year's biggest disappointments. McCleon, after playing well most of last season, would be another.
Vermeil, though, defended McCleon, who also played for him with St. Louis in the late 1990s.
“Everyone wants to point the finger at the corner,” Vermeil said. “I don't work that way. (Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham) doesn't work that way.”
• TRADE DEADLINE TODAY: The last chance to deal running back Larry Johnson is today, when the NFL's trade deadline passes. The Chiefs had been in discussions with a handful of teams about Johnson. They also discussed a possible trade with the Cowboys involving wide receiver Antonio Bryant.
Chiefs feel their hole deepening
By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star
Even when they were 0-3, the Chiefs looked at their season as one brimming with possibilities. Sooner or later, the prevailing opinion was, the team that won nine straight games last season would resurface.
At 1-4, the picture has changed. The Chiefs still can't get any traction. They wasted the momentum generated by a victory in Baltimore and the bye week by losing a winnable game Sunday in Jacksonville.
Now, the gravity of their situation is beginning to sink in.
“We are definitely in a hole,” halfback Priest Holmes said. “This is not high school or college football. Guys that we line up against every Sunday are licking their chops to be able to keep us down.”
Nobody is taking it harder than coach Dick Vermeil, who turns 68 late this month. Vermeil late last season re-signed for two more seasons in large part because he believed the Chiefs would again be Super Bowl contenders.
“(The losses) add up,” Vermeil said. “I told the squad today and I said to (wife) Carol last night, when you get my age, each one of those kind of losses takes about a month to two months to maybe six months off the end of your life. I mean it.
“This is what I get paid to do. This is what I love to do. I had better handle it. This is too good a football team to be 1-4, and we're 1-4. That's a reflection on me and my whole organization.”
The Chiefs opened 1-4 in 2001, their first season under Vermeil, and would fall to 1-6 before scrambling for a 6-10 finish. The expectations then were nothing like they were this season, when anything less than an AFC championship is failure.
“We're in a rebuilding program at that time,” Vermeil said. “We were trying to get principles built and developed and coached. We've gone on from there to lead the National Football League in scoring two years in a row. We've done a lot of things since then. We've been to the playoffs and lost. The anticipation of this season and the positive thoughts of how good we were going to be, all of that is fading. It hurts more.”
The season's four losses all were solid punches to the Chiefs' gut, and the effect is now cumulative. The sting is even greater with losses like Sunday's, when the Chiefs had fourth-quarter chances on offense, defense and special teams to put away the Jaguars and failed in every area.
At 0-3, the margin of error to scramble back into the playoff race isn't much, but such a task is possible. At 1-4, the task is much more daunting.
“It's hard to weigh which losses are worse,” quarterback Trent Green said. “The Houston game was awful. This one was bad. They all hurt. As the season goes on and as our record is unfolding, these games become more and more important.”
The Chiefs get a shot Sunday at Michael Vick and the 5-1 Falcons at Arrowhead Stadium. Vermeil indicated the Chiefs would look at replacing struggling cornerback Dexter McCleon in the starting lineup.
The Jaguars picked on McCleon repeatedly.
“They went after him a little bit,” Vermeil said. “All of these things will be considered, not only that position but any position where we feel we have a player that can play it better.”
The problem is that the Chiefs may lack a suitable alternative. Nickel back William Bartee struggled two years ago as a starter and lost the job to McCleon last season. Julian Battle has been such a big disappointment that he didn't even suit up Sunday. Rookie Benny Sapp is, well, a rookie.
“I have two guys that one day may be able to someday (replace McCleon), but I don't know if they can today,” Vermeil said. “We had William Bartee in there before, and he didn't play it well. Can he now? I don't know. I think Julian Battle somewhere down the road one day is going to be fine corner. Whether he can play as well as Dexter is playing right now, I don't know.”
The Chiefs had big plans for Battle this season and were hopeful when training camp began he would nudge McCleon from his starting spot. Not only has that not happened, but Battle couldn't even hold off Sapp for the No. 4 job.
That qualifies Battle as one of the year's biggest disappointments. McCleon, after playing well most of last season, would be another.
Vermeil, though, defended McCleon, who also played for him with St. Louis in the late 1990s.
“Everyone wants to point the finger at the corner,” Vermeil said. “I don't work that way. (Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham) doesn't work that way.”
• TRADE DEADLINE TODAY: The last chance to deal running back Larry Johnson is today, when the NFL's trade deadline passes. The Chiefs had been in discussions with a handful of teams about Johnson. They also discussed a possible trade with the Cowboys involving wide receiver Antonio Bryant.