Tribal Warfare
08-24-2009, 07:05 AM
Back To Work … Monday Cup O’Chiefs (http://www.bobgretz.com/chiefs-football/back-to-work-%E2%80%A6-monday-cup-o%E2%80%99chiefs.html)
August 24, 2009 - Bob Gretz |
The boxes and suitcases are unpacked, friends and family have been hugged and kissed … and the football goes on.
Chiefs training camp has never been limited to the northwoods of Wisconsin for the last 19 years. Every head coach since Marty Schottenheimer has brought the team back home from River Falls and jacked up the intensity of practices.
But whether they were Schottenheimer-Cunningham-Vermeil-Edwards, they did it with one practice a day.
Todd Haley is raising the stakes. The Chiefs will continue their schedule of three practices every two days, starting on Monday at their Truman Sports Complex facility with two practices. They’ll have one workout on Tuesday, then another pair on Wednesday, and one on Thursday, before they hold a walkthrough practice on Friday to get ready for this Saturday night’s pre-season game against Seattle.
Haley made it very plain to the media that he and his staff made it very plain to the players that it was not yet time to get out of the training camp mentality.
“Yeah, I think you hear, ‘break camp’ and it’s like the last day of school where you throw the papers out the bus window,” said Haley. “I think we’re all stressing it to them that we’re still in training camp, just not in River Falls.
“I think that will be an important stretch for us – this transition to home with the distractions involved that we can’t let affect us. Once there, it’ll probably be a little hotter which I think we’ll be good for us.”
There is a lot of work that this team must get done with the regular season opener now less than three weeks away, a lot of work.
“We’ve got to get back to work,” said ILB Derrick Johnson. “We are getting better every day. You can feel it coming together, but I know on defense we’ve still got things we’ve got to get done. The clock is ticking.”
It’s especially ticking on the offense, which has struggled in Wisconsin and two pre-season games to develop a consistent, productive and efficient attack.
In those two pre-season games, they’ve averaged 302.5 yards of offense per game, with 110.5 yards rushing and 192 yards passing. Those are the full game numbers. But in the first half, the numbers are 125.5 yards in total offense, 49.5 yards rushing and 76 yards passing per game.
Those belong to the first-team offense and they are not pretty. What’s especially troublesome is the running game, or lack of same. Larry Johnson got loose against the Vikings for an 18-yard run. That’s the team’s longest running play of the pre-season. On his other 11 runs, Johnson has 15 yards.
Jamaal Charles has six carries for 10 yards; he also lost a fumble against Minnesota. Jackie Battle has 48 yards on 14 carries; he also lost a fumble against the Vikings. Dantrell Savage is the team’s leading rusher with 53 yards on 13 carries; he also had a fumble against Houston.
The focus has fallen on the offensive line and it’s well placed. The poor running game has been matched by spotty pass protection. Second-year man Barry Richardson had an opportunity to grab hold of the starter’s job at right tackle in the Vikings game. He let it slip through his fingers, as he struggled.
But so did the other guys on the line, especially RG Mike Goff and C Rudy Niswanger. The play of the second O-Line has not shown anybody ready to step into the first group.
Defensively, the Chiefs got after Brett Favre, but they could not get a sack. Pressure is effective, even if it does not produce a sack. Interceptions and completion percentages are two areas where pressure also shows up. But the Chiefs defense does not have an interception and opponents are completing 63.6 percent of their passes.
On special teams, a returner has not been identified for punts or kickoffs. Five different players have handled kickoffs; the longest return was 26 yards by Charles. The average is 17.9 yards per return. Two punt returners averaged nine yards.
Three weeks remain before the games are real. Whether in training camp mode or not, Haley, his staff and the Chiefs roster has a lot of work to get done.
SIGNINGS, INJURIES & MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE
* BENGALS – signed K Sam Swank.
* BUCCANEERS – LB Angelo Crowell will miss the ‘09 season with a torn biceps muscle.
* COLTS – signed S Marcus Paschal; released LB Adam Seward.
* COWBOYS – lost LB Brandon Williams for the rest of the season with a knee injury (torn ACL.)
* 49ERS – RT Adam Snyder suffered right knee/ankle injuries in a game Saturday night. His status and rehab remains unknown.
* GIANTS – DT Jay Alford suffered MCL and ACL knee injuries Saturday evening.
* PATRIOTS – released TE Tyson DeVree.
* PANTHERS – LB Jon Beason suffered a sprained MCL in his knee Saturday night against the Dolphins and will be out a minimum of two weeks, possibly longer.
* RAIDERS – LB Kirk Morrison suffered a dislocated elbow and will miss at l east two weeks.
* SEAHAWKS – lost C Chris Spender with a quadriceps injury during a game Saturday night against the Broncos. Future status is in doubt.
* STEELERS – QB Dennis Dixon suffered a shoulder injury in a pre-season game against Washington. His return remains unknown at this time.
FROM THE PAGES OF CHIEFS HISTORY
On August 24, 1962 the Dallas Texans fell in overtime to the Denver Broncos 27-24 in a pre-season game played in Ft. Worth, TX. It was the first victory of any kind by the Broncos over the Texans in three seasons of AFL play. Gene Mingo’s 17-yard field goal with 8 minutes, 44 seconds left in overtime proved to be winning points. Texans RB-FL Frank Jackson ran 13 times for 50 yards and caught four passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. WR Chris Burford and TE Fred Arbanas each had TD catches. QB Len Dawson’s first quarter pass was picked off by Denver LB Bob Zeman and returned 81 yards for a touchdown to give Denver a 7-0 lead.
On August 24, 1968 the Chiefs beat the Oakland Raiders 31-21 in a pre-season game at Municipal Stadium. A crowd of 43,769 was in the house to see QB Len Dawson threw a pair of TD passes to begin the game; 39 yards to WR Otis Taylor and 25 yards to WR Frank Pitts. RB Mike Garrett had a 5-yard TD run and RF Wendell Hayes added a 1-yard TD run. LBs Willie Lanier and Jim Lynch both had interceptions.
On August 24, 1974 the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 26-7 in a pre-season game at Arrowhead Stadium. QB Len Dawson connected with RB Woody Green for a 10-yard TD pass and later QB Mike Livingston threw 40 yards to WR Miller for a TD. RB Larry Brunson had a 39-yard TD run. WR Otis Taylor had five catches for 96 yards. For the 49ers, QB Steve Spurrier was 12 of 24 for 123 yards with a TD and an INT.
SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …
Born on August 24, 1951 in Hackensack, New Jersey was DE Hatch Rosdahl. He joined the Chiefs in 1964 after playing four games with Buffalo. Rosdahl played in three seasons (1964-66) and appeared in 28 games with the Chiefs. A product of Penn State, he played on both the offensive and defensive lines during his AFL career.
Born on August 24, 1960 in McPherson, Kansas was LB Stewart Lynn “Smokey” Stover
(right).He was an original member of the Dallas Texans, joining the club out of Northeast Louisiana, which is now known as the University of Louisiana-Monroe in 1960. Stover played seven seasons with the Texans and Chiefs (1960-66), appearing in 98 games over those seasons. He was a starting linebacker in 1960-61. Stover finished his time with the franchise with six career interceptions.
August 24, 2009 - Bob Gretz |
The boxes and suitcases are unpacked, friends and family have been hugged and kissed … and the football goes on.
Chiefs training camp has never been limited to the northwoods of Wisconsin for the last 19 years. Every head coach since Marty Schottenheimer has brought the team back home from River Falls and jacked up the intensity of practices.
But whether they were Schottenheimer-Cunningham-Vermeil-Edwards, they did it with one practice a day.
Todd Haley is raising the stakes. The Chiefs will continue their schedule of three practices every two days, starting on Monday at their Truman Sports Complex facility with two practices. They’ll have one workout on Tuesday, then another pair on Wednesday, and one on Thursday, before they hold a walkthrough practice on Friday to get ready for this Saturday night’s pre-season game against Seattle.
Haley made it very plain to the media that he and his staff made it very plain to the players that it was not yet time to get out of the training camp mentality.
“Yeah, I think you hear, ‘break camp’ and it’s like the last day of school where you throw the papers out the bus window,” said Haley. “I think we’re all stressing it to them that we’re still in training camp, just not in River Falls.
“I think that will be an important stretch for us – this transition to home with the distractions involved that we can’t let affect us. Once there, it’ll probably be a little hotter which I think we’ll be good for us.”
There is a lot of work that this team must get done with the regular season opener now less than three weeks away, a lot of work.
“We’ve got to get back to work,” said ILB Derrick Johnson. “We are getting better every day. You can feel it coming together, but I know on defense we’ve still got things we’ve got to get done. The clock is ticking.”
It’s especially ticking on the offense, which has struggled in Wisconsin and two pre-season games to develop a consistent, productive and efficient attack.
In those two pre-season games, they’ve averaged 302.5 yards of offense per game, with 110.5 yards rushing and 192 yards passing. Those are the full game numbers. But in the first half, the numbers are 125.5 yards in total offense, 49.5 yards rushing and 76 yards passing per game.
Those belong to the first-team offense and they are not pretty. What’s especially troublesome is the running game, or lack of same. Larry Johnson got loose against the Vikings for an 18-yard run. That’s the team’s longest running play of the pre-season. On his other 11 runs, Johnson has 15 yards.
Jamaal Charles has six carries for 10 yards; he also lost a fumble against Minnesota. Jackie Battle has 48 yards on 14 carries; he also lost a fumble against the Vikings. Dantrell Savage is the team’s leading rusher with 53 yards on 13 carries; he also had a fumble against Houston.
The focus has fallen on the offensive line and it’s well placed. The poor running game has been matched by spotty pass protection. Second-year man Barry Richardson had an opportunity to grab hold of the starter’s job at right tackle in the Vikings game. He let it slip through his fingers, as he struggled.
But so did the other guys on the line, especially RG Mike Goff and C Rudy Niswanger. The play of the second O-Line has not shown anybody ready to step into the first group.
Defensively, the Chiefs got after Brett Favre, but they could not get a sack. Pressure is effective, even if it does not produce a sack. Interceptions and completion percentages are two areas where pressure also shows up. But the Chiefs defense does not have an interception and opponents are completing 63.6 percent of their passes.
On special teams, a returner has not been identified for punts or kickoffs. Five different players have handled kickoffs; the longest return was 26 yards by Charles. The average is 17.9 yards per return. Two punt returners averaged nine yards.
Three weeks remain before the games are real. Whether in training camp mode or not, Haley, his staff and the Chiefs roster has a lot of work to get done.
SIGNINGS, INJURIES & MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE
* BENGALS – signed K Sam Swank.
* BUCCANEERS – LB Angelo Crowell will miss the ‘09 season with a torn biceps muscle.
* COLTS – signed S Marcus Paschal; released LB Adam Seward.
* COWBOYS – lost LB Brandon Williams for the rest of the season with a knee injury (torn ACL.)
* 49ERS – RT Adam Snyder suffered right knee/ankle injuries in a game Saturday night. His status and rehab remains unknown.
* GIANTS – DT Jay Alford suffered MCL and ACL knee injuries Saturday evening.
* PATRIOTS – released TE Tyson DeVree.
* PANTHERS – LB Jon Beason suffered a sprained MCL in his knee Saturday night against the Dolphins and will be out a minimum of two weeks, possibly longer.
* RAIDERS – LB Kirk Morrison suffered a dislocated elbow and will miss at l east two weeks.
* SEAHAWKS – lost C Chris Spender with a quadriceps injury during a game Saturday night against the Broncos. Future status is in doubt.
* STEELERS – QB Dennis Dixon suffered a shoulder injury in a pre-season game against Washington. His return remains unknown at this time.
FROM THE PAGES OF CHIEFS HISTORY
On August 24, 1962 the Dallas Texans fell in overtime to the Denver Broncos 27-24 in a pre-season game played in Ft. Worth, TX. It was the first victory of any kind by the Broncos over the Texans in three seasons of AFL play. Gene Mingo’s 17-yard field goal with 8 minutes, 44 seconds left in overtime proved to be winning points. Texans RB-FL Frank Jackson ran 13 times for 50 yards and caught four passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. WR Chris Burford and TE Fred Arbanas each had TD catches. QB Len Dawson’s first quarter pass was picked off by Denver LB Bob Zeman and returned 81 yards for a touchdown to give Denver a 7-0 lead.
On August 24, 1968 the Chiefs beat the Oakland Raiders 31-21 in a pre-season game at Municipal Stadium. A crowd of 43,769 was in the house to see QB Len Dawson threw a pair of TD passes to begin the game; 39 yards to WR Otis Taylor and 25 yards to WR Frank Pitts. RB Mike Garrett had a 5-yard TD run and RF Wendell Hayes added a 1-yard TD run. LBs Willie Lanier and Jim Lynch both had interceptions.
On August 24, 1974 the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 26-7 in a pre-season game at Arrowhead Stadium. QB Len Dawson connected with RB Woody Green for a 10-yard TD pass and later QB Mike Livingston threw 40 yards to WR Miller for a TD. RB Larry Brunson had a 39-yard TD run. WR Otis Taylor had five catches for 96 yards. For the 49ers, QB Steve Spurrier was 12 of 24 for 123 yards with a TD and an INT.
SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …
Born on August 24, 1951 in Hackensack, New Jersey was DE Hatch Rosdahl. He joined the Chiefs in 1964 after playing four games with Buffalo. Rosdahl played in three seasons (1964-66) and appeared in 28 games with the Chiefs. A product of Penn State, he played on both the offensive and defensive lines during his AFL career.
Born on August 24, 1960 in McPherson, Kansas was LB Stewart Lynn “Smokey” Stover
(right).He was an original member of the Dallas Texans, joining the club out of Northeast Louisiana, which is now known as the University of Louisiana-Monroe in 1960. Stover played seven seasons with the Texans and Chiefs (1960-66), appearing in 98 games over those seasons. He was a starting linebacker in 1960-61. Stover finished his time with the franchise with six career interceptions.