Tribal Warfare
09-10-2008, 12:26 AM
Chiefs coach Herm Edwards on the Oakland Raiders (http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/790031.html)
On the Oakland Raiders:
“They had a pretty good draft, in my opinion. They’re playing some young players also, a young quarterback (JaMarcus Russell) — big guy, big strong arm. They have really good running backs. Defensively, they have a lot of speed. It’s a division game, a big game for us. Last year they came in and beat us in the fourth quarter with a play or two. It’s generally a close game with the Raiders and the Chiefs. They’re going to try to run the ball on us and get up on our receivers and try to play man-to-man.”
On the Raiders’ frequent penalties:
“They’re a very aggressive team. That was their deal even when I played. They sometimes give you the business after the whistle. All teams want to play on the edge, and hopefully you don’t get fouls. Your reputation kind of follows you. When you play those guys, it’s going to be aggressive and you know that. You can’t get involved in that game.”
On how that might affect the Chiefs’ young players:
“Keeping your poise is pretty important. That’s my mind-set: Keep your poise and don’t get too far out of the box. I think that helps you down the road because teams know you won’t step over the line. Don’t do the things that aren’t necessary.”
On the decision to start Damon Huard at quarterback over Tyler Thigpen:
“For this week’s game, I just think it’s not fair to (Thigpen). I just think Damon, he got us some momentum going, and hopefully we can build on that. It’s just not fair to the kid, opening up at home, you know, it’s just not fair. He’ll get a chance, though.”
On the long-term effects of the Chiefs’ quarterback issues:
“You want to make sure the players feel like the guy that’s playing quarterback gives them the best chance to win. You know the psyche of the football team; you know where they’re at. When you make decisions like that, you’ve got make sure that it’s the right guy and that your team can rally around him. With a young quarterback, you’ve got to put him in the best position to win, and that can’t mean dropping back and throwing it 40 times a game. So that’s a struggle.”
On receiver Dwayne Bowe’s performance against New England:
“It wasn’t up to his standard. It wasn’t what we expect out of him. It wasn’t what he expects out of himself. We had a long talk, and I contend that this week, he’ll do much better, because he has to, because he’s that kind of player. We’re going to throw him the ball because he’s one of the guys that can make plays. If you watch him play, he presses sometimes. He tries to make things happen without getting the first thing done — catching the ball.”
On the Oakland Raiders:
“They had a pretty good draft, in my opinion. They’re playing some young players also, a young quarterback (JaMarcus Russell) — big guy, big strong arm. They have really good running backs. Defensively, they have a lot of speed. It’s a division game, a big game for us. Last year they came in and beat us in the fourth quarter with a play or two. It’s generally a close game with the Raiders and the Chiefs. They’re going to try to run the ball on us and get up on our receivers and try to play man-to-man.”
On the Raiders’ frequent penalties:
“They’re a very aggressive team. That was their deal even when I played. They sometimes give you the business after the whistle. All teams want to play on the edge, and hopefully you don’t get fouls. Your reputation kind of follows you. When you play those guys, it’s going to be aggressive and you know that. You can’t get involved in that game.”
On how that might affect the Chiefs’ young players:
“Keeping your poise is pretty important. That’s my mind-set: Keep your poise and don’t get too far out of the box. I think that helps you down the road because teams know you won’t step over the line. Don’t do the things that aren’t necessary.”
On the decision to start Damon Huard at quarterback over Tyler Thigpen:
“For this week’s game, I just think it’s not fair to (Thigpen). I just think Damon, he got us some momentum going, and hopefully we can build on that. It’s just not fair to the kid, opening up at home, you know, it’s just not fair. He’ll get a chance, though.”
On the long-term effects of the Chiefs’ quarterback issues:
“You want to make sure the players feel like the guy that’s playing quarterback gives them the best chance to win. You know the psyche of the football team; you know where they’re at. When you make decisions like that, you’ve got make sure that it’s the right guy and that your team can rally around him. With a young quarterback, you’ve got to put him in the best position to win, and that can’t mean dropping back and throwing it 40 times a game. So that’s a struggle.”
On receiver Dwayne Bowe’s performance against New England:
“It wasn’t up to his standard. It wasn’t what we expect out of him. It wasn’t what he expects out of himself. We had a long talk, and I contend that this week, he’ll do much better, because he has to, because he’s that kind of player. We’re going to throw him the ball because he’s one of the guys that can make plays. If you watch him play, he presses sometimes. He tries to make things happen without getting the first thing done — catching the ball.”