Tribal Warfare
08-15-2009, 01:02 AM
Haley era with Chiefs begins with tonight’s exhibition opener (http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/1384008.html)
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Todd Haley says he hasn’t been to Arrowhead Stadium since becoming Chiefs head coach, preferring to wait for the day of the first home game to make the visit.
That comes with tonight’s exhibition opener against the Houston Texans. But Haley might not have as much time as he’d like for a leisurely tour. The demands of his job of specifically preparing for his first game as a head coach will see to that.
The Chiefs have a new coaching staff, new offensive and defensive systems and 37 of their 80 players playing in Kansas City for the first time with the home team.
“Every part of Saturday night is going to be a steppingstone for us and for me,” Haley said this week. “There are a lot of different things to be worrying about. Just starting to look like a team as much as anything else.
“We’re not going to be real complicated, so I would say the most important thing is does everybody know what to do and then how well are we doing it. Going all the way back to (offseason practices), we want guys who do it the way we want it done, the way they’re being coached to do it, and then how well are they doing it. If we do that, I would imagine we would execute OK and, like I said, start to look a football team.”
Haley kept the Chiefs busy at camp. They practiced long and hard as Haley tried to condition the Chiefs for a long season. He also tried to instill discipline by sending players off the practice field or making them run after mental errors.
He also demoted wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, indicating Bowe wasn’t taking his job as seriously as he could.
“I think I’m encouraged,” Haley said when asked of his impressions of the first two weeks of camp. “I don’t know if I’m happy, jovial, high-fiving. I think I’m encouraged and that we clearly have some guys that are starting to get it, and the more guys that we have that get it, the better chance we have to have success.”
Tonight is also the Chiefs debut for new quarterback Matt Cassel. Acquired in a trade with New England and signed to a long-term contract, the Chiefs made a significant commitment to build around Cassel.
His play has been uneven in training camp. He threw two interceptions and fumbled once in last weekend’s intrasquad scrimmage.
“It’s part of training camp,” Cassel said. “There are days when the defense is going to win and days when the offense is going to win. Especially when you get into these practices where it is the second week and (the defense has) seen a lot of your concepts, they’re jumping routes. It is inevitable that they are going to have some success.”
Haley indicated Cassel and the rest of the offensive starters could play into the second quarter tonight.
“I think (tonight’s game) will be a good indicator to see how far he’s come along,” Haley said. “I think he’s continued to work hard, knows what’s going on. He’s made some real good throws and some poor throws. (Tonight) will be a good chance to evaluate where he’s at along with the rest of the quarterbacks.”
Defensively, the Chiefs will have only two new starters tonight but shifted others to new positions and will be playing the 3-4 schemes of new coordinator Clancy Pendergast. After setting an NFL record for pass-rush futility last season with 10 sacks, the Chiefs were encouraged by their ability to pressure Cassel and the other quarterbacks in last week’s scrimmage
“The thing I was happiest about is the way the 3-4 affected the quarterback,” safety Jarrad Page said. “A lot of times, things were actually blocked but all the twists and stunts we were doing made the quarterbacks want to get rid of the ball. Quarterbacks don’t like to see all of that stuff going on in front of them. The throws become more difficult for them and we saw that. We got a lot of turnovers out there.”
One of Haley’s biggest tasks is to change the losing culture that settled in at Arrowhead. The Chiefs won only six of their last 32 regular-season games and just two last year.
He indicated that job begins tonight — even in a preseason game.
“I think winning has got to be important around here all the time because we need to learn how to win again,” Haley said. “There haven’t been a lot of wins. That will be something an emphasis will be put on, but at the same time, the most important thing that has to get done is evaluation. The scrimmage and now this preseason game is our first real action to kind of start to make some judgments on these guys. While we want to win, we have to do it with whatever group we need in there to get a full evaluation of the team.
“I think I have to coach the game to win. You’re not going to bring certain guys back that have been out to do that, but you have to have the entire group ready to go with the mind-set that we are going to find a way to win this game.”
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Todd Haley says he hasn’t been to Arrowhead Stadium since becoming Chiefs head coach, preferring to wait for the day of the first home game to make the visit.
That comes with tonight’s exhibition opener against the Houston Texans. But Haley might not have as much time as he’d like for a leisurely tour. The demands of his job of specifically preparing for his first game as a head coach will see to that.
The Chiefs have a new coaching staff, new offensive and defensive systems and 37 of their 80 players playing in Kansas City for the first time with the home team.
“Every part of Saturday night is going to be a steppingstone for us and for me,” Haley said this week. “There are a lot of different things to be worrying about. Just starting to look like a team as much as anything else.
“We’re not going to be real complicated, so I would say the most important thing is does everybody know what to do and then how well are we doing it. Going all the way back to (offseason practices), we want guys who do it the way we want it done, the way they’re being coached to do it, and then how well are they doing it. If we do that, I would imagine we would execute OK and, like I said, start to look a football team.”
Haley kept the Chiefs busy at camp. They practiced long and hard as Haley tried to condition the Chiefs for a long season. He also tried to instill discipline by sending players off the practice field or making them run after mental errors.
He also demoted wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, indicating Bowe wasn’t taking his job as seriously as he could.
“I think I’m encouraged,” Haley said when asked of his impressions of the first two weeks of camp. “I don’t know if I’m happy, jovial, high-fiving. I think I’m encouraged and that we clearly have some guys that are starting to get it, and the more guys that we have that get it, the better chance we have to have success.”
Tonight is also the Chiefs debut for new quarterback Matt Cassel. Acquired in a trade with New England and signed to a long-term contract, the Chiefs made a significant commitment to build around Cassel.
His play has been uneven in training camp. He threw two interceptions and fumbled once in last weekend’s intrasquad scrimmage.
“It’s part of training camp,” Cassel said. “There are days when the defense is going to win and days when the offense is going to win. Especially when you get into these practices where it is the second week and (the defense has) seen a lot of your concepts, they’re jumping routes. It is inevitable that they are going to have some success.”
Haley indicated Cassel and the rest of the offensive starters could play into the second quarter tonight.
“I think (tonight’s game) will be a good indicator to see how far he’s come along,” Haley said. “I think he’s continued to work hard, knows what’s going on. He’s made some real good throws and some poor throws. (Tonight) will be a good chance to evaluate where he’s at along with the rest of the quarterbacks.”
Defensively, the Chiefs will have only two new starters tonight but shifted others to new positions and will be playing the 3-4 schemes of new coordinator Clancy Pendergast. After setting an NFL record for pass-rush futility last season with 10 sacks, the Chiefs were encouraged by their ability to pressure Cassel and the other quarterbacks in last week’s scrimmage
“The thing I was happiest about is the way the 3-4 affected the quarterback,” safety Jarrad Page said. “A lot of times, things were actually blocked but all the twists and stunts we were doing made the quarterbacks want to get rid of the ball. Quarterbacks don’t like to see all of that stuff going on in front of them. The throws become more difficult for them and we saw that. We got a lot of turnovers out there.”
One of Haley’s biggest tasks is to change the losing culture that settled in at Arrowhead. The Chiefs won only six of their last 32 regular-season games and just two last year.
He indicated that job begins tonight — even in a preseason game.
“I think winning has got to be important around here all the time because we need to learn how to win again,” Haley said. “There haven’t been a lot of wins. That will be something an emphasis will be put on, but at the same time, the most important thing that has to get done is evaluation. The scrimmage and now this preseason game is our first real action to kind of start to make some judgments on these guys. While we want to win, we have to do it with whatever group we need in there to get a full evaluation of the team.
“I think I have to coach the game to win. You’re not going to bring certain guys back that have been out to do that, but you have to have the entire group ready to go with the mind-set that we are going to find a way to win this game.”