C-Mac
10-17-2007, 11:42 PM
http://media.kansascity.com/smedia/2007/10/17/22/983-PriestHolmes_S_090_10-17-2007_JF_10-18-2007_O7V5E7K.standalone.prod_affiliate.81.jpg
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/322121.html
Holmes returns to practice with the Chiefs
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Chiefs running back Priest Holmes finally got to practice with his teammates on Wednesday. They might have been just a handful of practice plays, but they transported guard Brian Waters and maybe the rest of the Chiefs back to a time when Priest Holmes reigned as the NFL’s premier running back.
“He hit a couple of plays where you saw the cuts and you said, ‘Wow, he’s back,’ ” said Waters, who played with Holmes in his earlier time with the Chiefs. “But you know how it is. It’s the first day. Now he’s got to go back (today) and he’s going to be sore and we’ll see how quickly his body recovers. He didn’t really get hit. He got banged a little bit, but not much.”
Holmes, written off as finished many times since he last played with the Chiefs almost two years ago, returned to their practice field Wednesday. Even he was pleased with what he found.
“One of the things I can take from practice is that I still have a lot in me,” Holmes said. “That was one of the surprising things.”
Coach Herm Edwards continued to hold out the possibility that Holmes could play in Sunday’s game against the Raiders in Oakland. Holmes was careful not to push the Chiefs into making that decision, but he still registered his vote.
“I’m ready now,” Holmes said. “It’s really not up to me. I don’t really even deal with how I feel right now. It’s a matter of when they give me the green light.”
The Chiefs have 21 days to make a decision on Holmes. They can activate him, release him or return him to the non-football injury list, which in effect would end his season.
Judging from Edwards’ comments, it’s no longer a matter of whether the Chiefs will activate Holmes, but when. It could happen in time for Sunday’s game. Larry Johnson’s miserable season continued in last week’s game against Cincinnati and Holmes could provide a lift to the floundering running game.
“He has still has quickness in the hole and burst and great acceleration and good vision,” Edwards said. “He hasn’t lost that. Maybe he doesn’t have what he had four years ago, but he’s still OK.
“We’ll see how he feels (today). That’s the whole key now is how he’s going to feel (today) and the next day. How is his body going to feel? He got banged around a little bit. He seemed to take it OK.”
Edwards didn’t specify how the Chiefs might use Holmes or how much he might play. For his part, Holmes was careful not to create a sense of competition between himself and Johnson.
“As far as competing with LJ, that’s not anything that’s necessary to do,” he said. “It’s not so much if I can do something that Larry hasn’t. It’s just a matter of if I can do something. I believe that definitely there are so many things I can do. I still believe in the old saying that scoring is one thing that establishes a player and separates him from other players. One thing I’m capable of doing is scoring touchdowns.”
Holmes also said he would willingly accept any role the Chiefs might give him.
“I’ve taken five carries, and I’ve scored several touchdowns on them,” he said. “I’ve taken five carries and had 100 yards. There are things I’m capable of doing within five carries.
“Whether it’s five, eight or 10 (carries), even if it’s one, hopefully it will be the one that will be for a touchdown.”
By merely returning to the practice field, Holmes added another twist to his already dramatic story. He joined the Chiefs in 2001 as an unheralded free agent and wound up as the NFL’s leading rusher that season.
Two years later, after returning from the previous season’s hip injury that many assumed would end his career, he scored 27 touchdowns, the NFL single-season record at that time.
Holmes walked away from the Chiefs in October 2005 after taking a hard hit in a game in San Diego. The tackle left him with numbness and tingling in his extremities and exposed a spinal condition that would keep him away from football and the Chiefs until this summer.
That’s when doctors finally cleared him to play again. He showed up for training camp, though the Chiefs kept him from practicing until he put himself into his usually immaculate physical condition.
To get there, Holmes said he has worked out twice daily for most of the last 2 1/2 months.
“What was surprising was when he decided not to retire and said he was coming back,” Edwards said. “From there, once he showed up, nothing else surprised me about the guy because of his history.
“This guy has a great mind-set. He doesn’t get distracted. He has great focus on what he wants to do. He wanted to attempt to come back. He’s put a lot into this now. It’s (2 1/2 ) months of doing what he’s doing every day. A lot of people probably anticipated he wouldn’t be practicing, that he would check out before that.
“Well, he hasn’t.”
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/322121.html
Holmes returns to practice with the Chiefs
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Chiefs running back Priest Holmes finally got to practice with his teammates on Wednesday. They might have been just a handful of practice plays, but they transported guard Brian Waters and maybe the rest of the Chiefs back to a time when Priest Holmes reigned as the NFL’s premier running back.
“He hit a couple of plays where you saw the cuts and you said, ‘Wow, he’s back,’ ” said Waters, who played with Holmes in his earlier time with the Chiefs. “But you know how it is. It’s the first day. Now he’s got to go back (today) and he’s going to be sore and we’ll see how quickly his body recovers. He didn’t really get hit. He got banged a little bit, but not much.”
Holmes, written off as finished many times since he last played with the Chiefs almost two years ago, returned to their practice field Wednesday. Even he was pleased with what he found.
“One of the things I can take from practice is that I still have a lot in me,” Holmes said. “That was one of the surprising things.”
Coach Herm Edwards continued to hold out the possibility that Holmes could play in Sunday’s game against the Raiders in Oakland. Holmes was careful not to push the Chiefs into making that decision, but he still registered his vote.
“I’m ready now,” Holmes said. “It’s really not up to me. I don’t really even deal with how I feel right now. It’s a matter of when they give me the green light.”
The Chiefs have 21 days to make a decision on Holmes. They can activate him, release him or return him to the non-football injury list, which in effect would end his season.
Judging from Edwards’ comments, it’s no longer a matter of whether the Chiefs will activate Holmes, but when. It could happen in time for Sunday’s game. Larry Johnson’s miserable season continued in last week’s game against Cincinnati and Holmes could provide a lift to the floundering running game.
“He has still has quickness in the hole and burst and great acceleration and good vision,” Edwards said. “He hasn’t lost that. Maybe he doesn’t have what he had four years ago, but he’s still OK.
“We’ll see how he feels (today). That’s the whole key now is how he’s going to feel (today) and the next day. How is his body going to feel? He got banged around a little bit. He seemed to take it OK.”
Edwards didn’t specify how the Chiefs might use Holmes or how much he might play. For his part, Holmes was careful not to create a sense of competition between himself and Johnson.
“As far as competing with LJ, that’s not anything that’s necessary to do,” he said. “It’s not so much if I can do something that Larry hasn’t. It’s just a matter of if I can do something. I believe that definitely there are so many things I can do. I still believe in the old saying that scoring is one thing that establishes a player and separates him from other players. One thing I’m capable of doing is scoring touchdowns.”
Holmes also said he would willingly accept any role the Chiefs might give him.
“I’ve taken five carries, and I’ve scored several touchdowns on them,” he said. “I’ve taken five carries and had 100 yards. There are things I’m capable of doing within five carries.
“Whether it’s five, eight or 10 (carries), even if it’s one, hopefully it will be the one that will be for a touchdown.”
By merely returning to the practice field, Holmes added another twist to his already dramatic story. He joined the Chiefs in 2001 as an unheralded free agent and wound up as the NFL’s leading rusher that season.
Two years later, after returning from the previous season’s hip injury that many assumed would end his career, he scored 27 touchdowns, the NFL single-season record at that time.
Holmes walked away from the Chiefs in October 2005 after taking a hard hit in a game in San Diego. The tackle left him with numbness and tingling in his extremities and exposed a spinal condition that would keep him away from football and the Chiefs until this summer.
That’s when doctors finally cleared him to play again. He showed up for training camp, though the Chiefs kept him from practicing until he put himself into his usually immaculate physical condition.
To get there, Holmes said he has worked out twice daily for most of the last 2 1/2 months.
“What was surprising was when he decided not to retire and said he was coming back,” Edwards said. “From there, once he showed up, nothing else surprised me about the guy because of his history.
“This guy has a great mind-set. He doesn’t get distracted. He has great focus on what he wants to do. He wanted to attempt to come back. He’s put a lot into this now. It’s (2 1/2 ) months of doing what he’s doing every day. A lot of people probably anticipated he wouldn’t be practicing, that he would check out before that.
“Well, he hasn’t.”