Fire Me Boy!
10-02-2006, 06:40 AM
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15656923.htm
THE X-MAN RETURNS
Hall runs back punt 60 yards for TD
The best advice Dante Hall could give himself was to stop thinking about it. For two years, Hall tried to hit the proverbial home run, to return every kickoff and punt into the end zone.
He decided to positively stop doing that this summer. But he also predicted he’d have five touchdown returns by the end of the year.
One down, four to go.
Hall did something Sunday he hasn’t done since 2003 — score a touchdown on a punt return.
He took an Andy Lee kick up the middle at the 40-yard line and kept going for a 60-yard touchdown return. The game was well in hand, but it could be the start of something bigger for the Chiefs’ special teams.
“You want to reward the guys who are out there busting their tails and blocking for you,” Hall said. “They get excited, the coaches get excited and the fans get excited, too.”
History has proved that when Hall gets hot, one touchdown can lead to another. He had four touchdown returns — two on punts and two on kickoffs — in 2003. Hall now has 11 career kick return touchdowns, just two shy of Brian Mitchell’s NFL record.
Hall said Sunday’s touchdown was a product of “great execution by everybody,” right down to special-teams coach Mike Priefer’s call for a middle return.
“They kicked it right down the middle,” Hall said, “and all I recall is seeing a lot of red. Anytime you see a lot of red jerseys, that’s a good sign.”
The swarm of red jerseys has been harder to find since 2003. Hall had two touchdowns the next season, both on kickoff returns. Before Sunday, he had gone 14 games without finding the end zone on a return.
But Hall was eager with the hire of Priefer, who said he wanted to help him get back to the Pro Bowl. And Hall said the energy on special teams has returned.
Hall never lost it. There have been snapshots of his frustration, a hand slap against the grass after a short gain, a muffed punt in the season opener.
That’s where the patience came in.
“The standards were set pretty high for a couple of years in a row,” Hall said, “and it was kind of frustrating. You just have to take whatever is there, and it finally came.”
For a couple of years, the Chiefs’ coaches have been trying to strike the perfect balance of Dante the receiver and Dante the returner. When Hall’s production on special teams dipped somewhat in 2004, some wondered whether he was being used too much on offense.
But Hall was an offensive spark Sunday. On the Chiefs’ first possession, quarterback Damon Huard found him in the corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass.
“We worked on that play all week in practice,” Huard said. “Dante’s so fast, you just lay it out and give him a chance to make a play.”
But back to the punt return. It was Hall’s fifth career punt-return touchdown, and his first since Oct. 5, 2003. He’s now in sole possession of the Chiefs’ all-time record. It might not land him a spot on David Letterman as he got in that whirlwind 2003 season, but it was enough on Sunday.
“Coach told us, ‘Don’t confuse effort with results,’ ” Hall said. “Today, we got results.”
THE X-MAN RETURNS
Hall runs back punt 60 yards for TD
The best advice Dante Hall could give himself was to stop thinking about it. For two years, Hall tried to hit the proverbial home run, to return every kickoff and punt into the end zone.
He decided to positively stop doing that this summer. But he also predicted he’d have five touchdown returns by the end of the year.
One down, four to go.
Hall did something Sunday he hasn’t done since 2003 — score a touchdown on a punt return.
He took an Andy Lee kick up the middle at the 40-yard line and kept going for a 60-yard touchdown return. The game was well in hand, but it could be the start of something bigger for the Chiefs’ special teams.
“You want to reward the guys who are out there busting their tails and blocking for you,” Hall said. “They get excited, the coaches get excited and the fans get excited, too.”
History has proved that when Hall gets hot, one touchdown can lead to another. He had four touchdown returns — two on punts and two on kickoffs — in 2003. Hall now has 11 career kick return touchdowns, just two shy of Brian Mitchell’s NFL record.
Hall said Sunday’s touchdown was a product of “great execution by everybody,” right down to special-teams coach Mike Priefer’s call for a middle return.
“They kicked it right down the middle,” Hall said, “and all I recall is seeing a lot of red. Anytime you see a lot of red jerseys, that’s a good sign.”
The swarm of red jerseys has been harder to find since 2003. Hall had two touchdowns the next season, both on kickoff returns. Before Sunday, he had gone 14 games without finding the end zone on a return.
But Hall was eager with the hire of Priefer, who said he wanted to help him get back to the Pro Bowl. And Hall said the energy on special teams has returned.
Hall never lost it. There have been snapshots of his frustration, a hand slap against the grass after a short gain, a muffed punt in the season opener.
That’s where the patience came in.
“The standards were set pretty high for a couple of years in a row,” Hall said, “and it was kind of frustrating. You just have to take whatever is there, and it finally came.”
For a couple of years, the Chiefs’ coaches have been trying to strike the perfect balance of Dante the receiver and Dante the returner. When Hall’s production on special teams dipped somewhat in 2004, some wondered whether he was being used too much on offense.
But Hall was an offensive spark Sunday. On the Chiefs’ first possession, quarterback Damon Huard found him in the corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass.
“We worked on that play all week in practice,” Huard said. “Dante’s so fast, you just lay it out and give him a chance to make a play.”
But back to the punt return. It was Hall’s fifth career punt-return touchdown, and his first since Oct. 5, 2003. He’s now in sole possession of the Chiefs’ all-time record. It might not land him a spot on David Letterman as he got in that whirlwind 2003 season, but it was enough on Sunday.
“Coach told us, ‘Don’t confuse effort with results,’ ” Hall said. “Today, we got results.”