Hammock Parties
09-21-2006, 01:30 AM
Team has been making tackles and moving up in the NFL rankings under Cunningham.
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star
Gunther Cunningham’s voice is gravelly and tired. He sips out of a steamy paper cup and checks the time. The days start at 5 a.m. now, and the younger defensive coaches have a foolish pact to come an hour earlier and work out together.
It’s past lunchtime — they eat during meetings — and if Cunningham talks much longer, they’ll all be giving him a hard time. This may be the Chiefs’ bye week, but for the new defensive staff, there is no time to sit, let alone reflect.
“When you haven’t been very good and you do anything positive, that’s easy,” Cunningham says. “But when you want to be really good and go for the moon, the pressure is on.”
Lost in an 0-2 start and the controversy of Trent Green’s head-snapping hit is the fact that Kansas City is quietly, finally, turning around its defense. Cunningham won’t really talk about it, the fact that the Chiefs have moved into the top 10 in total defense after being a punchline in the league for much of the past five years.
He definitely won’t say the defense is back. But look closely and you can see the glimmer of a smile, the one he used to get on Sunday nights almost a decade ago.
“When I was here in the past,” Cunningham says, “one of the things I took pride in every Sunday was watching ESPN. They talked about the Chiefs’ defense and they said, ‘They tackle. They don’t miss tackles.’ I think to be a championship defense, you’ve got to make ’em.
“Because everybody can move the ball. Everybody has a running game and a passing game, but not everybody tackles.”
Cunningham, who doesn’t talk to reporters much during the season, said Wednesday that the defense has “a long way to go” before the rebuilding project is complete. But Sunday’s 9-6 overtime loss at Denver, coach Herm Edwards says, was a big step.
The Chiefs became the first team in 45 years to hold the Broncos scoreless at home in the first half, and rendered quarterback Jake Plummer ineffective. They’ve averaged just four missed tackles per game, which is dramatic for a team that swatted at air in New York 10 months ago trying to corral Tiki Barber.
In 2004, at least one of their linebackers averaged six missed tackles per game alone.
“That’s why none of those linebackers are here (anymore),” Cunningham says. “They couldn’t tackle.”
There is a peace about Cunningham now, one that comes with the hiring of a defensive-minded head coach and the freedom to finally pick his own defensive staff. They’re symbiotic. During training camp, outsiders gawked at the sight of defensive-line coach Tim Krumrie, covered in sweat from head to toe, flailing his arms like a madman. But that’s the new defense. Offensive coaches are cerebral, Edwards says. Defensive coaches are quirky passionate.
Edwards recalled Wednesday a meeting he had with Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson last winter, the one where Peterson asked who he’d put on his staff.
“I said, ‘I’m keeping Gun. Gun needs to be on this staff,’ ” Edwards said. “We’ve got the same philosophy. He’s a good teacher. He’s good with the players. He’s a matter-of-fact guy, and he coaches them all. He doesn’t pull a punch. He coaches a star like he coaches a free agent. I mean, you’ve got to be able to do that.”
Edwards says the staff reminds him of the group he worked with in Tampa Bay, a braintrust that included Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin and was credited with recycling the Cover 2.
The most obvious improvement through two games is the pass defense, which ranked 30th last year. The Chiefs started the season by holding Carson Palmer to 127 yards, and have yet to give up a touchdown pass.
Cornerback Patrick Surtain says he’s ready for the team to lean on the defense after years of riding the league’s top offense.
“Each team takes on the mentality of its head coach,” Surtain says. “I’m not saying our offense still isn’t a great offense. We’re just getting back to playing defense. As you all know, defense wins championships.”
Though week two produced some big quarterback numbers, Edwards points to games like Monday night’s shutout of the Steelers in Jacksonville and the Mile High mudfight as the way the league is moving.
And Cunningham loves it.
“It’s important that we come in here and play well,” he says. “I think it’s important for our fans. The history of this stadium is that when the defense takes the field, they get pretty salty, you know? I would like to play here, in the future, like we played at Denver.
“I think people need to see us close and personal hitting people and tackling. I think it’s really important for our players and our fans to see progress on defense. And hopefully, they’ll get it.”
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star
Gunther Cunningham’s voice is gravelly and tired. He sips out of a steamy paper cup and checks the time. The days start at 5 a.m. now, and the younger defensive coaches have a foolish pact to come an hour earlier and work out together.
It’s past lunchtime — they eat during meetings — and if Cunningham talks much longer, they’ll all be giving him a hard time. This may be the Chiefs’ bye week, but for the new defensive staff, there is no time to sit, let alone reflect.
“When you haven’t been very good and you do anything positive, that’s easy,” Cunningham says. “But when you want to be really good and go for the moon, the pressure is on.”
Lost in an 0-2 start and the controversy of Trent Green’s head-snapping hit is the fact that Kansas City is quietly, finally, turning around its defense. Cunningham won’t really talk about it, the fact that the Chiefs have moved into the top 10 in total defense after being a punchline in the league for much of the past five years.
He definitely won’t say the defense is back. But look closely and you can see the glimmer of a smile, the one he used to get on Sunday nights almost a decade ago.
“When I was here in the past,” Cunningham says, “one of the things I took pride in every Sunday was watching ESPN. They talked about the Chiefs’ defense and they said, ‘They tackle. They don’t miss tackles.’ I think to be a championship defense, you’ve got to make ’em.
“Because everybody can move the ball. Everybody has a running game and a passing game, but not everybody tackles.”
Cunningham, who doesn’t talk to reporters much during the season, said Wednesday that the defense has “a long way to go” before the rebuilding project is complete. But Sunday’s 9-6 overtime loss at Denver, coach Herm Edwards says, was a big step.
The Chiefs became the first team in 45 years to hold the Broncos scoreless at home in the first half, and rendered quarterback Jake Plummer ineffective. They’ve averaged just four missed tackles per game, which is dramatic for a team that swatted at air in New York 10 months ago trying to corral Tiki Barber.
In 2004, at least one of their linebackers averaged six missed tackles per game alone.
“That’s why none of those linebackers are here (anymore),” Cunningham says. “They couldn’t tackle.”
There is a peace about Cunningham now, one that comes with the hiring of a defensive-minded head coach and the freedom to finally pick his own defensive staff. They’re symbiotic. During training camp, outsiders gawked at the sight of defensive-line coach Tim Krumrie, covered in sweat from head to toe, flailing his arms like a madman. But that’s the new defense. Offensive coaches are cerebral, Edwards says. Defensive coaches are quirky passionate.
Edwards recalled Wednesday a meeting he had with Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson last winter, the one where Peterson asked who he’d put on his staff.
“I said, ‘I’m keeping Gun. Gun needs to be on this staff,’ ” Edwards said. “We’ve got the same philosophy. He’s a good teacher. He’s good with the players. He’s a matter-of-fact guy, and he coaches them all. He doesn’t pull a punch. He coaches a star like he coaches a free agent. I mean, you’ve got to be able to do that.”
Edwards says the staff reminds him of the group he worked with in Tampa Bay, a braintrust that included Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin and was credited with recycling the Cover 2.
The most obvious improvement through two games is the pass defense, which ranked 30th last year. The Chiefs started the season by holding Carson Palmer to 127 yards, and have yet to give up a touchdown pass.
Cornerback Patrick Surtain says he’s ready for the team to lean on the defense after years of riding the league’s top offense.
“Each team takes on the mentality of its head coach,” Surtain says. “I’m not saying our offense still isn’t a great offense. We’re just getting back to playing defense. As you all know, defense wins championships.”
Though week two produced some big quarterback numbers, Edwards points to games like Monday night’s shutout of the Steelers in Jacksonville and the Mile High mudfight as the way the league is moving.
And Cunningham loves it.
“It’s important that we come in here and play well,” he says. “I think it’s important for our fans. The history of this stadium is that when the defense takes the field, they get pretty salty, you know? I would like to play here, in the future, like we played at Denver.
“I think people need to see us close and personal hitting people and tackling. I think it’s really important for our players and our fans to see progress on defense. And hopefully, they’ll get it.”