dirk digler
07-25-2006, 06:37 AM
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15114154.htm
Carl keeps his head amid the Law buzz
JOE POSNASKI
“Obviously, we think Ty Law will help us become a better defense. But for people to think that one man will make all the difference — well, I don’t want to mislead people. We are very excited to have Ty. We think he has a chance to be a good player and a leader. We’re glad this worked out. But let’s wait and see.”
Chiefs GM Carl Peterson
Two hours before the announcement, two hours before 50,000 people logged on to the Kansas City Chiefs Web site at once and crashed the thing, two hours before Ty Law signed and Super Bowl fever gripped this fair city, a nice saleswoman at the bookstore recognized my name. And she said this: “There is no way the Chiefs will ever go to the Super Bowl with that man Carl Peterson in charge. All he cares about is putting people in the seats.”
Yes, that’s how a lot of people used to feel about Carl Peterson. Used to feel. It’s a funny thing about the NFL. Attitudes change fast. Two hours later, Peterson announced he had signed Ty Law — a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback, the NFL leader in interceptions — and suddenly everything looked different. Suddenly, the Chiefs’ secondary looked like a turnover factory. Suddenly, the Chiefs’ defense looked formidable enough to keep up with the offense. Suddenly, the Super Bowl seemed possible.
And suddenly, in more than a few fans’ eyes, Carl Peterson cared about winning.
“Congratulations,” I said to Peterson on Monday after the contract was signed and Ty Law had gotten his ceremonial hug from defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham.
“Well, why don’t you wait on that,” Peterson said. “When we acquire a player, and he stays healthy, and he fits into the system, and he helps us win games, that’s when you can offer congratulations. And that’s when we can accept it.”
Peterson has always thought fans and the news media go way overboard when it comes to free-agency. People get so excited. He can show you study after study that shows free agents almost never do much. And for every free agent who does help turn a team’s fortune, there are five others who drag a team down.
Still, after a few months of negotiation, he did sign Ty Law. And he likes the buzz.
“I’m very pleased to see how excited Chiefs fans are about this,” he said. “I’m excited, too. In that way I’m just every other fan. I’m really looking forward to see how this team looks on the field when training camp begins later on this week.
“But,” he added, “I also know that if it doesn’t work out, this fan will be called a lot of names by a lot of different people.”
I tell Peterson he should enjoy the moment. This is one of the wonderful things about professional sports — sometimes you can just buy excitement. Nobody knows how long it will last. Ty Law has not played a single down in a Chiefs uniform. He is gifted and experienced, but he’s also a 32-year-old cornerback with an injured past. Several Jets fans wrote in to say that despite Law’s 10 interceptions last year, he was beaten early, often and badly. That may be sour grapes. It may not.
“Obviously, we think Ty Law will help us become a better defense,” Peterson said. “But for people to think that one man will make all the difference — well, I don’t want to mislead people. We are very excited to have Ty. We think he has a chance to be a good player and a leader. We’re glad this worked out. But let’s wait and see.”
Nobody wants that. Waiting and seeing takes, well, waiting. And we’re not in a waiting era. We’re in an era where if it takes two seconds for a Web page to load, we call our Internet provider to get faster service. We’re in an era where a good college basketball fan knows the names of the best high school sophomores in America. We’re in an era where people were angry that Peterson didn’t sign Ty Law months ago, even though training camp doesn’t start until Friday.
Put it this way: Tony Gonzalez called Peterson last week to ask: “Are we getting Ty?”
“I know people wanted me to just give Ty Law whatever he wanted,” Peterson said. “But that’s not what we’re about. It’s called negotiation. If we give Ty Law too much money, then we have to move a Tony Gonzalez, a Trent Green, a Dante Hall. I don’t want to lose them. They’re great players we worked very hard to sign.
“These things take patience and perseverance. People think that it’s about a willingness to win. But it’s not. I wanted to win just as much before I signed Ty Law as I do now. It’s just that we reached a point with dollars and our cap where I felt comfortable signing him. And I’m very glad we got to that point.”
He’s not the only one. Even late Monday afternoon, the Chiefs’ Web site was down because of overuse. Internet chat rooms buzzed. E-mails with CAPITAL LETTERS zipped back and forth. Hey, I’m caught up in it, too. How can you help it? I think of Ty Law and Patrick Surtain at cornerback, and I see a defense that can force turnovers. I see an offense — with Larry Johnson, Green and Gonzalez — that can control games. I see a playoff team that could be awfully good in cold weather — like Pittsburgh a year ago.
Yes, a big-name signing can change how everything looks.
Well, OK, not for everyone.
“What do you think now?” I asked the saleswoman at the bookstore Monday.
“We’ll see,” she said. “Peterson will probably find a way to hose it up.”
Carl keeps his head amid the Law buzz
JOE POSNASKI
“Obviously, we think Ty Law will help us become a better defense. But for people to think that one man will make all the difference — well, I don’t want to mislead people. We are very excited to have Ty. We think he has a chance to be a good player and a leader. We’re glad this worked out. But let’s wait and see.”
Chiefs GM Carl Peterson
Two hours before the announcement, two hours before 50,000 people logged on to the Kansas City Chiefs Web site at once and crashed the thing, two hours before Ty Law signed and Super Bowl fever gripped this fair city, a nice saleswoman at the bookstore recognized my name. And she said this: “There is no way the Chiefs will ever go to the Super Bowl with that man Carl Peterson in charge. All he cares about is putting people in the seats.”
Yes, that’s how a lot of people used to feel about Carl Peterson. Used to feel. It’s a funny thing about the NFL. Attitudes change fast. Two hours later, Peterson announced he had signed Ty Law — a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback, the NFL leader in interceptions — and suddenly everything looked different. Suddenly, the Chiefs’ secondary looked like a turnover factory. Suddenly, the Chiefs’ defense looked formidable enough to keep up with the offense. Suddenly, the Super Bowl seemed possible.
And suddenly, in more than a few fans’ eyes, Carl Peterson cared about winning.
“Congratulations,” I said to Peterson on Monday after the contract was signed and Ty Law had gotten his ceremonial hug from defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham.
“Well, why don’t you wait on that,” Peterson said. “When we acquire a player, and he stays healthy, and he fits into the system, and he helps us win games, that’s when you can offer congratulations. And that’s when we can accept it.”
Peterson has always thought fans and the news media go way overboard when it comes to free-agency. People get so excited. He can show you study after study that shows free agents almost never do much. And for every free agent who does help turn a team’s fortune, there are five others who drag a team down.
Still, after a few months of negotiation, he did sign Ty Law. And he likes the buzz.
“I’m very pleased to see how excited Chiefs fans are about this,” he said. “I’m excited, too. In that way I’m just every other fan. I’m really looking forward to see how this team looks on the field when training camp begins later on this week.
“But,” he added, “I also know that if it doesn’t work out, this fan will be called a lot of names by a lot of different people.”
I tell Peterson he should enjoy the moment. This is one of the wonderful things about professional sports — sometimes you can just buy excitement. Nobody knows how long it will last. Ty Law has not played a single down in a Chiefs uniform. He is gifted and experienced, but he’s also a 32-year-old cornerback with an injured past. Several Jets fans wrote in to say that despite Law’s 10 interceptions last year, he was beaten early, often and badly. That may be sour grapes. It may not.
“Obviously, we think Ty Law will help us become a better defense,” Peterson said. “But for people to think that one man will make all the difference — well, I don’t want to mislead people. We are very excited to have Ty. We think he has a chance to be a good player and a leader. We’re glad this worked out. But let’s wait and see.”
Nobody wants that. Waiting and seeing takes, well, waiting. And we’re not in a waiting era. We’re in an era where if it takes two seconds for a Web page to load, we call our Internet provider to get faster service. We’re in an era where a good college basketball fan knows the names of the best high school sophomores in America. We’re in an era where people were angry that Peterson didn’t sign Ty Law months ago, even though training camp doesn’t start until Friday.
Put it this way: Tony Gonzalez called Peterson last week to ask: “Are we getting Ty?”
“I know people wanted me to just give Ty Law whatever he wanted,” Peterson said. “But that’s not what we’re about. It’s called negotiation. If we give Ty Law too much money, then we have to move a Tony Gonzalez, a Trent Green, a Dante Hall. I don’t want to lose them. They’re great players we worked very hard to sign.
“These things take patience and perseverance. People think that it’s about a willingness to win. But it’s not. I wanted to win just as much before I signed Ty Law as I do now. It’s just that we reached a point with dollars and our cap where I felt comfortable signing him. And I’m very glad we got to that point.”
He’s not the only one. Even late Monday afternoon, the Chiefs’ Web site was down because of overuse. Internet chat rooms buzzed. E-mails with CAPITAL LETTERS zipped back and forth. Hey, I’m caught up in it, too. How can you help it? I think of Ty Law and Patrick Surtain at cornerback, and I see a defense that can force turnovers. I see an offense — with Larry Johnson, Green and Gonzalez — that can control games. I see a playoff team that could be awfully good in cold weather — like Pittsburgh a year ago.
Yes, a big-name signing can change how everything looks.
Well, OK, not for everyone.
“What do you think now?” I asked the saleswoman at the bookstore Monday.
“We’ll see,” she said. “Peterson will probably find a way to hose it up.”