Hammock Parties
07-30-2006, 12:14 PM
JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star
There is an upside to Willie Roaf’s retirement, I guess.
You have to rack your brain to find it, but it’s there. It probably doesn’t lead to any additional regular-season victories for the Chiefs. It might not have anything to do with wins and losses.
You’ve heard it before: For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction.
Roaf’s departure should be liberating for new coach Herm Edwards and new offensive coordinator Mike Solari. They should feel no pressure to duplicate Dick Vermeil’s and Al Saunders’ offensive fireworks.
Edwards can now stay within his personality in terms of offensive strategy without anyone second-guessing his choice. Edwards may have been groomed by Dick Vermeil as a player, but he has far more in common with Tony Dungy and Bill Cowher when it comes to coaching.
Edwards doesn’t want to coach in a shootout. He wants to run the football, control the clock, play solid defense and play field-position football. Cowher’s Steelers used that philosophy and a few trick plays to win the Super Bowl a season ago.
Roaf’s retirement will also shield Edwards from any criticism of his “soft” training camp and practice regime. Roaf pointed to Vermeil’s strenuous practice routine as a factor in his retirement.
For years, Chiefs players complained about Marty Schottenheimer’s and Vermeil’s long practices. Other coaches, such as Denver’s Mike Shanahan, believe in 70-minute practices and keeping the players’ legs “fresh.”
Deion Sanders, at the behest of veteran Chiefs players, once came on my old radio show specifically to complain about Vermeil’s long practices. Priest Holmes hated Vermeil’s practices and often complained.
When I first heard the complaints, I thought the players were just being spoiled and lazy. But the reality is NFL coaches have gone overboard with their training programs. Most of the players do a good job of staying in shape year round on their own. Also, you can’t ask 320-pound linemen to practice and train all year. It’s going to create back, joint and knee problems. It’s just way too much stress.
So Roaf has given Edwards freedom, and this freedom should benefit the Chiefs.
There was nothing wrong with MartyBall. The problem was Marty. The Chiefs never reached the Super Bowl and rarely advanced in the playoffs because Marty made horrible decisions while playing MartyBall. He’d choose the wrong quarterback, bench a running back after a long run and stick with the wrong coordinator.
Let’s hope that Herm is a better decision-maker than Marty.
And let’s hope that Gunther Cunningham is as good a defensive coordinator for Edwards as he was for Marty. Gunther is the man who should be feeling pressure now that Roaf is retired.
You can’t play Herm Edwards football without a strong defense.
We all expect Kansas City’s offense to take a step back. The Chiefs have lost both of their starting tackles — Roaf and John Welbourn — and their fullback, Tony Richardson, and Priest Holmes.
Meanwhile, Gunther returns everybody who matters, and the defense has added a five-time Pro Bowl corner, Ty Law, and a first-round-pick defensive end, Tamba Hali. Chiefs fans have a right to expect KC’s defense to improve dramatically. Edwards is a defensive coach. His expertise is in building defenses.
Kansas City once fell in love with 17-14 football games. We better learn to love them again.
The Kansas City Star
There is an upside to Willie Roaf’s retirement, I guess.
You have to rack your brain to find it, but it’s there. It probably doesn’t lead to any additional regular-season victories for the Chiefs. It might not have anything to do with wins and losses.
You’ve heard it before: For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction.
Roaf’s departure should be liberating for new coach Herm Edwards and new offensive coordinator Mike Solari. They should feel no pressure to duplicate Dick Vermeil’s and Al Saunders’ offensive fireworks.
Edwards can now stay within his personality in terms of offensive strategy without anyone second-guessing his choice. Edwards may have been groomed by Dick Vermeil as a player, but he has far more in common with Tony Dungy and Bill Cowher when it comes to coaching.
Edwards doesn’t want to coach in a shootout. He wants to run the football, control the clock, play solid defense and play field-position football. Cowher’s Steelers used that philosophy and a few trick plays to win the Super Bowl a season ago.
Roaf’s retirement will also shield Edwards from any criticism of his “soft” training camp and practice regime. Roaf pointed to Vermeil’s strenuous practice routine as a factor in his retirement.
For years, Chiefs players complained about Marty Schottenheimer’s and Vermeil’s long practices. Other coaches, such as Denver’s Mike Shanahan, believe in 70-minute practices and keeping the players’ legs “fresh.”
Deion Sanders, at the behest of veteran Chiefs players, once came on my old radio show specifically to complain about Vermeil’s long practices. Priest Holmes hated Vermeil’s practices and often complained.
When I first heard the complaints, I thought the players were just being spoiled and lazy. But the reality is NFL coaches have gone overboard with their training programs. Most of the players do a good job of staying in shape year round on their own. Also, you can’t ask 320-pound linemen to practice and train all year. It’s going to create back, joint and knee problems. It’s just way too much stress.
So Roaf has given Edwards freedom, and this freedom should benefit the Chiefs.
There was nothing wrong with MartyBall. The problem was Marty. The Chiefs never reached the Super Bowl and rarely advanced in the playoffs because Marty made horrible decisions while playing MartyBall. He’d choose the wrong quarterback, bench a running back after a long run and stick with the wrong coordinator.
Let’s hope that Herm is a better decision-maker than Marty.
And let’s hope that Gunther Cunningham is as good a defensive coordinator for Edwards as he was for Marty. Gunther is the man who should be feeling pressure now that Roaf is retired.
You can’t play Herm Edwards football without a strong defense.
We all expect Kansas City’s offense to take a step back. The Chiefs have lost both of their starting tackles — Roaf and John Welbourn — and their fullback, Tony Richardson, and Priest Holmes.
Meanwhile, Gunther returns everybody who matters, and the defense has added a five-time Pro Bowl corner, Ty Law, and a first-round-pick defensive end, Tamba Hali. Chiefs fans have a right to expect KC’s defense to improve dramatically. Edwards is a defensive coach. His expertise is in building defenses.
Kansas City once fell in love with 17-14 football games. We better learn to love them again.