FloridaChief
06-06-2005, 07:17 PM
Q&A with DICK VERMEIL
Jun 06, 2005, 5:12:50 PM
Q: How was the first day back at practice?
VERMEIL: “A lot of enthusiasm, moving quickly and it was fun, fun to watch them work.”
Q: Wide receiver Freddie Mitchell is here for a workout, what are you expecting?vota7
VERMEIL: “He is here for a workout. You never know how much a guy is willing to pay for. But we just brought him in and we have another receiver coming in Az Hakim coming in tomorrow and see where they are, what they want to do, how much money would cost, those kind of things. Freddie was a first-round pick we had him rated as a first-round pick, he’s out on the street looking for a job all is it cost was an airline ticket to get him here.”
Q: How do you see the receiver spot opposite Eddie?
VERMEIL: “Actually every position is wide open but you don’t expect anyone to step up to beat Eddie Kennison out. At the other side we think we have some other guys we think can compete with Samie Parker. We will just have to wait and see and we have two other receivers that are in the rehab process that have been making a contribution starting with Marc Boerigter and Chris Horn. But whenever you have an opportunity to evaluate somebody that was a first-round pick you better take a look at him. But yet he is still a young man. ”
Q: Is wide receiver a position of concern for you?
VERMEIL: “Well I think it’s always a concern. You know my philosophy on concern is if I have a concern, I will always hope I’m wrong and so I shouldn’t really have that concern but as I am the head coach and anyone who is in a leadership responsibility your always concerned about everything. I am always concerned about our receiver corps have been since the day I got here. Our receiver corps has done a good job. We should have two receivers over a 1,000 yards last and a tight end over 1,000 yards. Our coaches are doing a good job with our corps. Johnnie Morton was our security blanket. He was our best receiver in third down, one of the top third down conversion receivers in the National Football League and you just don’t replace them in five days of practice.”
Q: Was it nice to see Will Shields out here even though he didn’t work out? Was it nice to see Willie Roaf make an appearance and also have Kendrell Bell, and Richard Smith back?
VERMEIL: “You know little children have night-nights. Those big tackles are my night-nights. That big Will Shields, I feel better, I feel smarter, I feel like were going to be a better team soon as I see those two people out there, Will Shields and Willie Roaf.”
Q: Does it make you feel better, Brian Waters had said that because he has a new baby and that he will be at mini-camp does that kind of ease a little bit or you would like to see him here?
VERMEIL: “Oh sure I would like to see him here. He belongs here. He is an ascending player that needs a lot of work on fundamentals, a lot of work. So he can become consistent. When he does things right, he makes us better. But it’s going to take him some time and he’s not there yet, so he’s missing valuable time. He is the only guy not here.”
Q: Az Hakim, is he coming tomorrow?
VERMEIL: “Yes he is coming tomorrow. He was released earlier. I talked to him earlier and we thought this was a great opportunity for him and all of a sudden Johnnie Morton’s not here, that increased the opportunity. Plus he’s a little guy receiver at 5'9". He’s a returner and you know we already have a returner like him so it wasn’t a great opportunity but the loss of Johnnie Morton now makes it maybe a little better opportunity for him. I want him to go where he has the best opportunity.”
Q: What about Koren Robinson from Seattle, any interest from him?
VERMEIL: “I know he can play. He has some problems.”
Q: When do you expect Waters to be here?
VERMEIL: “I know he’s going to be here for the mini-camp, but I’ve heard rumors he’s going to be in town this week.”
Q: If you could get one the receivers to step up and play well, what would that mean in terms of opening things up a little more with Tony Gonzalez, Priest Holmes?
VERMEIL: “I don’t think it makes a bit of difference. If Tony Gonzalez set a team record for 103 catches and it’s an NFL record for a tight end, those are great clichés and great terms. The way we run our offense we distribute the ball to all our players that play. Regardless of who plays split end whether it be Johnnie Morton or Freddie Mitchell, Chris Horn, Marc Boerigter, Dante Hall. They play all the time. They will catch 55 to 65 balls now they aren’t going to catch 85 or 90 because we don’t feature any one wide receiver. They only guy we really feature is Tony Gonzalez.”
Q: What about Kris Wilson?
VERMEIL: “Oh yeah he will be in there. He will allow us some flexibility.”
Q: Does he look like a rookie again or how does he look?
VERMEIL: “No he’s much further along he was in a year. I am not 100 percent sure he’s got all his quickness back yet.”
Q: The tempo today was a bit quicker, was that by design or was that just the guys getting after it?
VERMEIL: That was just the kids having fun, they were having fun. They were fresh. They had the week off. It will slow down as the week goes on. It was good.
Q: After you take the week off what do you guys stress?
VERMEIL: “We went right back to the schedule that we had predetermined all the way through. The coaches have the entire practice organized all the way through. We know what we are doing. Basically it’s an installation of the schemes.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q&A G WILL SHIELDS
Jun 06, 2005, 5:11:36 PM
Q: You were contemplating retirement at one time, but obviously not yet?
SHIELDS: “I still haven’t participated in anything yet, so we will see how it goes.”
Q: Are you going to participate in mini-camp, and then make a decision on retirement?shieldsota
SHIELDS: “I am just going to come out here and do the things I have been doing in and out. I am not really worried about everything else. I am just going to come out and do what I have to do and move on. Coach (Vermeil) knows where I am going and how it’s going to work and we will go from there.”
Q: What would weigh you one way or another about retiring?
SHIELDS: “It depends if I can get up and walk the next morning. It makes a big difference how you feel the next day and as you work your way through it. We are going to come out and get some things done and we are going to go from there. ”
Q: Is it important to come out and be around the guys?
SHIELDS: “It is always important to be around the guys to come out and see them. It is important to watch the guys work and do well. Those are the kind of things that set the tone and get your body moving again and ready to go back to work.”
Q: Is the fire still there?
SHIELDS: “It’s not a question about fire. I still love to play the game. It’s just a simple fact about whether or not your body can do it or not.”
Q: Has this off-season made it more difficult than in the past? Does it usually take a couple months?
SHIELDS: “Any time in you reach a certain point in your career your contemplating what you are going to do in the future. I just think it’s more and less between you and your family of what is best for your body. To me it’s not that big of a deal. If it’s time for me to roll then so be it.”
Q: How does your body feel now?
SHIELDS: “I am doing ok. I can’t complain. I am taking it day to day. We will see how it works for the few more weeks of OTAs . We will see how it works from there.”
Q: I would imagine your body is going to tell you one thing but what about your heart?
SHIELDS: “Sometimes your body outweighs your heart. You never can tell what is going to happen. You go one way, you do one thing. It has been a long time. This is my 13th (season) coming up and you have been playing this long. I have been fortunate and blessed to stay healthy all the way through it.”
Q: Is the desire still there?
SHIELDS: “I think so. I am guy that can try to play football till I am 50. The simple fact of it is you have to be smart about it.”
Q: How much does the fact this offense is so good and the defense has improved so much weigh in your outcome?
SHIELDS: “It doesn’t have a weigh on anything. I think it more or less weighs on the simple fact of I can do it. It’s not about the team thing and everything else. It is the simple fact if I want to be able to be out there and contribute and I think that is what is most important.”
http://www.kcchiefs.com/
Jun 06, 2005, 5:12:50 PM
Q: How was the first day back at practice?
VERMEIL: “A lot of enthusiasm, moving quickly and it was fun, fun to watch them work.”
Q: Wide receiver Freddie Mitchell is here for a workout, what are you expecting?vota7
VERMEIL: “He is here for a workout. You never know how much a guy is willing to pay for. But we just brought him in and we have another receiver coming in Az Hakim coming in tomorrow and see where they are, what they want to do, how much money would cost, those kind of things. Freddie was a first-round pick we had him rated as a first-round pick, he’s out on the street looking for a job all is it cost was an airline ticket to get him here.”
Q: How do you see the receiver spot opposite Eddie?
VERMEIL: “Actually every position is wide open but you don’t expect anyone to step up to beat Eddie Kennison out. At the other side we think we have some other guys we think can compete with Samie Parker. We will just have to wait and see and we have two other receivers that are in the rehab process that have been making a contribution starting with Marc Boerigter and Chris Horn. But whenever you have an opportunity to evaluate somebody that was a first-round pick you better take a look at him. But yet he is still a young man. ”
Q: Is wide receiver a position of concern for you?
VERMEIL: “Well I think it’s always a concern. You know my philosophy on concern is if I have a concern, I will always hope I’m wrong and so I shouldn’t really have that concern but as I am the head coach and anyone who is in a leadership responsibility your always concerned about everything. I am always concerned about our receiver corps have been since the day I got here. Our receiver corps has done a good job. We should have two receivers over a 1,000 yards last and a tight end over 1,000 yards. Our coaches are doing a good job with our corps. Johnnie Morton was our security blanket. He was our best receiver in third down, one of the top third down conversion receivers in the National Football League and you just don’t replace them in five days of practice.”
Q: Was it nice to see Will Shields out here even though he didn’t work out? Was it nice to see Willie Roaf make an appearance and also have Kendrell Bell, and Richard Smith back?
VERMEIL: “You know little children have night-nights. Those big tackles are my night-nights. That big Will Shields, I feel better, I feel smarter, I feel like were going to be a better team soon as I see those two people out there, Will Shields and Willie Roaf.”
Q: Does it make you feel better, Brian Waters had said that because he has a new baby and that he will be at mini-camp does that kind of ease a little bit or you would like to see him here?
VERMEIL: “Oh sure I would like to see him here. He belongs here. He is an ascending player that needs a lot of work on fundamentals, a lot of work. So he can become consistent. When he does things right, he makes us better. But it’s going to take him some time and he’s not there yet, so he’s missing valuable time. He is the only guy not here.”
Q: Az Hakim, is he coming tomorrow?
VERMEIL: “Yes he is coming tomorrow. He was released earlier. I talked to him earlier and we thought this was a great opportunity for him and all of a sudden Johnnie Morton’s not here, that increased the opportunity. Plus he’s a little guy receiver at 5'9". He’s a returner and you know we already have a returner like him so it wasn’t a great opportunity but the loss of Johnnie Morton now makes it maybe a little better opportunity for him. I want him to go where he has the best opportunity.”
Q: What about Koren Robinson from Seattle, any interest from him?
VERMEIL: “I know he can play. He has some problems.”
Q: When do you expect Waters to be here?
VERMEIL: “I know he’s going to be here for the mini-camp, but I’ve heard rumors he’s going to be in town this week.”
Q: If you could get one the receivers to step up and play well, what would that mean in terms of opening things up a little more with Tony Gonzalez, Priest Holmes?
VERMEIL: “I don’t think it makes a bit of difference. If Tony Gonzalez set a team record for 103 catches and it’s an NFL record for a tight end, those are great clichés and great terms. The way we run our offense we distribute the ball to all our players that play. Regardless of who plays split end whether it be Johnnie Morton or Freddie Mitchell, Chris Horn, Marc Boerigter, Dante Hall. They play all the time. They will catch 55 to 65 balls now they aren’t going to catch 85 or 90 because we don’t feature any one wide receiver. They only guy we really feature is Tony Gonzalez.”
Q: What about Kris Wilson?
VERMEIL: “Oh yeah he will be in there. He will allow us some flexibility.”
Q: Does he look like a rookie again or how does he look?
VERMEIL: “No he’s much further along he was in a year. I am not 100 percent sure he’s got all his quickness back yet.”
Q: The tempo today was a bit quicker, was that by design or was that just the guys getting after it?
VERMEIL: That was just the kids having fun, they were having fun. They were fresh. They had the week off. It will slow down as the week goes on. It was good.
Q: After you take the week off what do you guys stress?
VERMEIL: “We went right back to the schedule that we had predetermined all the way through. The coaches have the entire practice organized all the way through. We know what we are doing. Basically it’s an installation of the schemes.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q&A G WILL SHIELDS
Jun 06, 2005, 5:11:36 PM
Q: You were contemplating retirement at one time, but obviously not yet?
SHIELDS: “I still haven’t participated in anything yet, so we will see how it goes.”
Q: Are you going to participate in mini-camp, and then make a decision on retirement?shieldsota
SHIELDS: “I am just going to come out here and do the things I have been doing in and out. I am not really worried about everything else. I am just going to come out and do what I have to do and move on. Coach (Vermeil) knows where I am going and how it’s going to work and we will go from there.”
Q: What would weigh you one way or another about retiring?
SHIELDS: “It depends if I can get up and walk the next morning. It makes a big difference how you feel the next day and as you work your way through it. We are going to come out and get some things done and we are going to go from there. ”
Q: Is it important to come out and be around the guys?
SHIELDS: “It is always important to be around the guys to come out and see them. It is important to watch the guys work and do well. Those are the kind of things that set the tone and get your body moving again and ready to go back to work.”
Q: Is the fire still there?
SHIELDS: “It’s not a question about fire. I still love to play the game. It’s just a simple fact about whether or not your body can do it or not.”
Q: Has this off-season made it more difficult than in the past? Does it usually take a couple months?
SHIELDS: “Any time in you reach a certain point in your career your contemplating what you are going to do in the future. I just think it’s more and less between you and your family of what is best for your body. To me it’s not that big of a deal. If it’s time for me to roll then so be it.”
Q: How does your body feel now?
SHIELDS: “I am doing ok. I can’t complain. I am taking it day to day. We will see how it works for the few more weeks of OTAs . We will see how it works from there.”
Q: I would imagine your body is going to tell you one thing but what about your heart?
SHIELDS: “Sometimes your body outweighs your heart. You never can tell what is going to happen. You go one way, you do one thing. It has been a long time. This is my 13th (season) coming up and you have been playing this long. I have been fortunate and blessed to stay healthy all the way through it.”
Q: Is the desire still there?
SHIELDS: “I think so. I am guy that can try to play football till I am 50. The simple fact of it is you have to be smart about it.”
Q: How much does the fact this offense is so good and the defense has improved so much weigh in your outcome?
SHIELDS: “It doesn’t have a weigh on anything. I think it more or less weighs on the simple fact of I can do it. It’s not about the team thing and everything else. It is the simple fact if I want to be able to be out there and contribute and I think that is what is most important.”
http://www.kcchiefs.com/