Tribal Warfare
08-06-2009, 02:12 PM
A Parcellsian Camp … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs (http://www.bobgretz.com/chiefs-football/a-parcellsian-camp-%E2%80%A6-thursday-cup-o%E2%80%99chiefs.html)
August 6, 2009 - Bob Gretz |
From River Falls, Wisconsin
The other day we wrote about the three major differences in Camp Pioli/Haley compared to previous Chiefs regimes. We mentioned the increased contact and conditioning and promised to address the third reason the next day.
Then Amani Toomer showed up and we got sidetracked with the old guys the Chiefs have added to the roster.
So now back to the third factor: the way the players are treated.
Understand that the biggest influence on Todd Haley’s coaching style was Bill Parcells. He worked on his staff with the Jets and then again with the Cowboys. This year’s Chiefs camp is very Parcellsian. The head coach is vocal and most of what he has to say is cutting and demanding. Injured players are made to work out by themselves, but close enough to the field to see their teammates. All the work is hard, long and physical.
And Haley isn’t worried about being anybody friend, or buddy, or father figure, or pal.
He wants workers, guys who show up each day and consistently work to get better. In what has now been a week in River Falls for his first camp, we have seen an organized, energized and motivated head coach. Haley has put his foot to the pedal for his team physically, mentally and emotionally. The players have no choice to get on the run, figuratively and physically.
All of it has led to grumbling, and some of the more veteran players on this team wonder how much longer this team can keep up the pace that Haley has set for it over the first eight practices. We won’t provide those players a forum for unnamed quotes, but we can say without equivocation that the roster is not completely thrilled with Camp Haley.
The head coach could care less. He’s poking and prodding his roster every day, learning more about how these guys tick. If a player is sensitive – and there are many who are – he’s going to have a hard time being part of Haley’s team. A list of the players who he has chastised or demanded greater effort from would cover the roster from top to bottom.
The receivers and quarterbacks – two areas where he has worked as an assistant coach and coordinator – have heard more from Haley than any other players. Nobody is immune, including Matt Cassel, including Bobby Engram, Zach Thomas, and Mike Vrabel and on.
All the players have learned – going back to the off-season program – that they don’t want to be injured. The guys on the rehab team often work harder there than they would during practice. Getting out of “no man’s land” as Haley called it the other day, is the goal of every player forced to ride the bikes, carry the weights and deal with all the other little drills they must go through. It includes not even mentioning those players by name. That really isn’t so much secrecy as it is trying to make the player more intent to get back into the discussion.
Haley wants players with two things: consistency and availability. He learned from Parcells that every player is hurt, but bones need to be broken or ligaments torn for a player to be injured. Players can get on the field if they understand that they are not injured, just hurt. Being sore is not an injury. Having a sprain is not an injury. Having a pull is not an injury.
This is very different from the way Dick Vermeil and Herm Edwards handled players when they were the head coach of the Chiefs. Both were demanding, but seldom criticized a player in front of his teammates. If you are a member of the Chiefs today and you haven’t been hit by a verbal barrage from Haley, you should probably start worrying. It means he doesn’t care or hasn’t noticed you.
Vermeil worked his players long and hard, but they could seldom do wrong in his eyes. It was his belief that if a player did something once, he could do it again and it was up to the coaching staff to pull that out of him. Edwards believed that if a player showed some talent, he wanted to see it again before he bought in.
Not only does Haley want to see the do it again, but he wants to see it consistently on an everyday and every practice basis. Anything less isn’t going to cut it.
Haley’s way works if the team produces victories. Players will not completely get on board with the program without eventually getting some sugar in return. They’ll go through the wall every day for a coach or a team if they see results, experience success and victories.
If it doesn’t happen, if this team struggles, the demanding nature of the head coach is not going to rally the troops.
There’s nothing unusual about the way Todd Haley is handling the players on a daily basis. He’s not plowing new ground in the coaching profession. It’s an old school approach that harkens back to the roots of what makes football the game that is so popular. It’s about being stronger, meaner, leaner and smarter than your opponent.
There are many different ways to coach a team built on those beliefs. Todd Haley’s way just happens to be different than what the Chiefs have seen in recent seasons.
JACKSON’S ABSENCE IS NOW A WEEK AND EIGHT PRACTICES
Another day, another two practices and Tyson Jackson falls further behind. No word on anything having to do with contract negotiations between the Chiefs and their first-round draft choice.
There was no change in the status of the nine unsigned first rounders on Wednesday.
Jackson is now the longest Chiefs first-round holdout since DT Ryan Sims in 2002. Sims did not sign until August 28th, missing the entire training camp. It was a bad start to what ended up being a bad stay in Kansas City for Sims.
Realistically, Jackson has not yet missed enough time to severely hamper his ability to catch up. The problem is if many more practices go by without him being at left defensive end, he’ll fall so far behind that he won’t be able to catch up. Jackson will be playing from back in the pack all season.
Not sure what type of conditioning Jackson is doing but there’s no way he’s getting done everything that he needs to get done to compete with what players are doing in camp. He can run, he can lift, but he can’t put himself in pads and bang around with other linemen. And nobody out there is going to ride his butt like defensive line coach Tim Krumrie.
SIGNINGS, INJURIES & MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE
BENGALS – placed TE Reggie Kelly on the injured-reserve list; signed TE Matt Sherry.
CARDINALS – signed FB Reagan Maui’a.
GIANTS – signed QB Eli Manning to a six-year, $97.5 million contract extension.
JETS - claimed WR Aundrae Allison on waivers (Vikings).
RAIDERS – signed OT Seth Wand; OT Khalif Barnes is expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks with a fractured ankle; released LB Chris O’Neill.
RAVENS – placed RT Adam Terry on the injured-reserve list; signed DT Nader Abdallah.
FROM THE PAGES OF CHIEFS HISTORY
On August 6, 1988 the Chiefs beat the Cincinnati Bengals 34-21 in a pre-season game at Arrowhead Stadium. With 31,947 fans in the stands, the Chiefs jumped to an early lead thanks to a 79-yard punt return from WR Kitrick Taylor. Later they added a 1-yard TD run by RB Herman Heard, a 2-yard run by FB James Saxon and then Saxon caught a 10-yard TD pass from QB Steve DeBerg. Saxon finished the game with 59 yards in total offense.
August 6, 2009 - Bob Gretz |
From River Falls, Wisconsin
The other day we wrote about the three major differences in Camp Pioli/Haley compared to previous Chiefs regimes. We mentioned the increased contact and conditioning and promised to address the third reason the next day.
Then Amani Toomer showed up and we got sidetracked with the old guys the Chiefs have added to the roster.
So now back to the third factor: the way the players are treated.
Understand that the biggest influence on Todd Haley’s coaching style was Bill Parcells. He worked on his staff with the Jets and then again with the Cowboys. This year’s Chiefs camp is very Parcellsian. The head coach is vocal and most of what he has to say is cutting and demanding. Injured players are made to work out by themselves, but close enough to the field to see their teammates. All the work is hard, long and physical.
And Haley isn’t worried about being anybody friend, or buddy, or father figure, or pal.
He wants workers, guys who show up each day and consistently work to get better. In what has now been a week in River Falls for his first camp, we have seen an organized, energized and motivated head coach. Haley has put his foot to the pedal for his team physically, mentally and emotionally. The players have no choice to get on the run, figuratively and physically.
All of it has led to grumbling, and some of the more veteran players on this team wonder how much longer this team can keep up the pace that Haley has set for it over the first eight practices. We won’t provide those players a forum for unnamed quotes, but we can say without equivocation that the roster is not completely thrilled with Camp Haley.
The head coach could care less. He’s poking and prodding his roster every day, learning more about how these guys tick. If a player is sensitive – and there are many who are – he’s going to have a hard time being part of Haley’s team. A list of the players who he has chastised or demanded greater effort from would cover the roster from top to bottom.
The receivers and quarterbacks – two areas where he has worked as an assistant coach and coordinator – have heard more from Haley than any other players. Nobody is immune, including Matt Cassel, including Bobby Engram, Zach Thomas, and Mike Vrabel and on.
All the players have learned – going back to the off-season program – that they don’t want to be injured. The guys on the rehab team often work harder there than they would during practice. Getting out of “no man’s land” as Haley called it the other day, is the goal of every player forced to ride the bikes, carry the weights and deal with all the other little drills they must go through. It includes not even mentioning those players by name. That really isn’t so much secrecy as it is trying to make the player more intent to get back into the discussion.
Haley wants players with two things: consistency and availability. He learned from Parcells that every player is hurt, but bones need to be broken or ligaments torn for a player to be injured. Players can get on the field if they understand that they are not injured, just hurt. Being sore is not an injury. Having a sprain is not an injury. Having a pull is not an injury.
This is very different from the way Dick Vermeil and Herm Edwards handled players when they were the head coach of the Chiefs. Both were demanding, but seldom criticized a player in front of his teammates. If you are a member of the Chiefs today and you haven’t been hit by a verbal barrage from Haley, you should probably start worrying. It means he doesn’t care or hasn’t noticed you.
Vermeil worked his players long and hard, but they could seldom do wrong in his eyes. It was his belief that if a player did something once, he could do it again and it was up to the coaching staff to pull that out of him. Edwards believed that if a player showed some talent, he wanted to see it again before he bought in.
Not only does Haley want to see the do it again, but he wants to see it consistently on an everyday and every practice basis. Anything less isn’t going to cut it.
Haley’s way works if the team produces victories. Players will not completely get on board with the program without eventually getting some sugar in return. They’ll go through the wall every day for a coach or a team if they see results, experience success and victories.
If it doesn’t happen, if this team struggles, the demanding nature of the head coach is not going to rally the troops.
There’s nothing unusual about the way Todd Haley is handling the players on a daily basis. He’s not plowing new ground in the coaching profession. It’s an old school approach that harkens back to the roots of what makes football the game that is so popular. It’s about being stronger, meaner, leaner and smarter than your opponent.
There are many different ways to coach a team built on those beliefs. Todd Haley’s way just happens to be different than what the Chiefs have seen in recent seasons.
JACKSON’S ABSENCE IS NOW A WEEK AND EIGHT PRACTICES
Another day, another two practices and Tyson Jackson falls further behind. No word on anything having to do with contract negotiations between the Chiefs and their first-round draft choice.
There was no change in the status of the nine unsigned first rounders on Wednesday.
Jackson is now the longest Chiefs first-round holdout since DT Ryan Sims in 2002. Sims did not sign until August 28th, missing the entire training camp. It was a bad start to what ended up being a bad stay in Kansas City for Sims.
Realistically, Jackson has not yet missed enough time to severely hamper his ability to catch up. The problem is if many more practices go by without him being at left defensive end, he’ll fall so far behind that he won’t be able to catch up. Jackson will be playing from back in the pack all season.
Not sure what type of conditioning Jackson is doing but there’s no way he’s getting done everything that he needs to get done to compete with what players are doing in camp. He can run, he can lift, but he can’t put himself in pads and bang around with other linemen. And nobody out there is going to ride his butt like defensive line coach Tim Krumrie.
SIGNINGS, INJURIES & MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE
BENGALS – placed TE Reggie Kelly on the injured-reserve list; signed TE Matt Sherry.
CARDINALS – signed FB Reagan Maui’a.
GIANTS – signed QB Eli Manning to a six-year, $97.5 million contract extension.
JETS - claimed WR Aundrae Allison on waivers (Vikings).
RAIDERS – signed OT Seth Wand; OT Khalif Barnes is expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks with a fractured ankle; released LB Chris O’Neill.
RAVENS – placed RT Adam Terry on the injured-reserve list; signed DT Nader Abdallah.
FROM THE PAGES OF CHIEFS HISTORY
On August 6, 1988 the Chiefs beat the Cincinnati Bengals 34-21 in a pre-season game at Arrowhead Stadium. With 31,947 fans in the stands, the Chiefs jumped to an early lead thanks to a 79-yard punt return from WR Kitrick Taylor. Later they added a 1-yard TD run by RB Herman Heard, a 2-yard run by FB James Saxon and then Saxon caught a 10-yard TD pass from QB Steve DeBerg. Saxon finished the game with 59 yards in total offense.