the Talking Can
08-08-2008, 05:19 AM
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/738929.html
Chiefs’ Hali isn’t happy with first preseason performance
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
CHICAGO | Tamba Hali felt slow. He couldn’t explain it. He ran and tried to do his normal thing, but his legs weren’t moving the way he wanted them to.
“I don’t know if it was the turf,” Hali said. “The tackle was perfectly waiting for me. I was able to work a couple of moves on him, but I just felt slow. I feel like I’ve got to get a rhythm coming off that side.”
And there it is. Hali admitted Thursday night that something felt different on the right side of the defensive line, that spot Jared Allen used to play before the Chiefs traded him. After they did, they overhauled the line. The Chiefs drafted Glenn Dorsey to play right tackle. The shuffled players here and there and — someone had to replace Allen and his 15½ sacks last year. Hali was the chosen one.
So, in his first game filling Allen’s shadow, Hali said he felt slow. The sacks weren’t coming. He said he’d been “hungry” all offseason for that first sack, and he’d been teased for the previous two weeks in training camp because defensive players aren’t allowed to sack their own quarterback. The Chiefs’ line had its first chance at another passer Thursday, and Chicago Bears quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman were ripe. Problem was, the Chiefs didn’t come close.
“We have one mind-set right now: Get off the ball and cause havoc,” he said. “This is no satisfaction.”
Hali said the Chiefs’ defensive line is still a work in progress. They’re still working out the kinks, with Dorsey healing from a knee sprain and the healthy players trying to settle into their new spots.
Maybe it was the grass that slowed Hali and the other linemen. Or maybe Hali was being too hard on himself, as tackle Tank Tyler said.
“Everybody feels that way,” Tyler said. “It’s the first preseason game. The grass out there is high. They’ve got tall grass, but it’s our first preseason game. We’re going to get better as we go.”
Something felt wrong Thursday night, but Hali said there’s time to fix it.
“As far as the line goes,” Hali said, “we’ve got to make a step.”
Chiefs’ Hali isn’t happy with first preseason performance
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
CHICAGO | Tamba Hali felt slow. He couldn’t explain it. He ran and tried to do his normal thing, but his legs weren’t moving the way he wanted them to.
“I don’t know if it was the turf,” Hali said. “The tackle was perfectly waiting for me. I was able to work a couple of moves on him, but I just felt slow. I feel like I’ve got to get a rhythm coming off that side.”
And there it is. Hali admitted Thursday night that something felt different on the right side of the defensive line, that spot Jared Allen used to play before the Chiefs traded him. After they did, they overhauled the line. The Chiefs drafted Glenn Dorsey to play right tackle. The shuffled players here and there and — someone had to replace Allen and his 15½ sacks last year. Hali was the chosen one.
So, in his first game filling Allen’s shadow, Hali said he felt slow. The sacks weren’t coming. He said he’d been “hungry” all offseason for that first sack, and he’d been teased for the previous two weeks in training camp because defensive players aren’t allowed to sack their own quarterback. The Chiefs’ line had its first chance at another passer Thursday, and Chicago Bears quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman were ripe. Problem was, the Chiefs didn’t come close.
“We have one mind-set right now: Get off the ball and cause havoc,” he said. “This is no satisfaction.”
Hali said the Chiefs’ defensive line is still a work in progress. They’re still working out the kinks, with Dorsey healing from a knee sprain and the healthy players trying to settle into their new spots.
Maybe it was the grass that slowed Hali and the other linemen. Or maybe Hali was being too hard on himself, as tackle Tank Tyler said.
“Everybody feels that way,” Tyler said. “It’s the first preseason game. The grass out there is high. They’ve got tall grass, but it’s our first preseason game. We’re going to get better as we go.”
Something felt wrong Thursday night, but Hali said there’s time to fix it.
“As far as the line goes,” Hali said, “we’ve got to make a step.”