Tribal Warfare
11-17-2009, 11:37 PM
NFL suspends Chiefs’ Bowe four games for PED violation (http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/1577014.html)
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
They were smiling in the locker room, and that has been an unusual thing to see after Chiefs games this season.
The Chiefs had won their second game of 2009, and their wide receivers had as much to do with it as anyone. On one side of the visitors locker room at Oakland Coliseum, third-year wide receiver Dwayne Bowe put on a hat, slipped on a pair of noise-canceling headphones and left. On the opposite side of the room, Chris Chambers discussed what it meant to be part of a win, part of an improving wideouts unit, and part of a reliable tandem alongside Bowe. Chambers said that Bowe has plenty of potential. But…
“He’s young,” Chambers said. “He’s got some growing up to do.”
That became more evident than ever Tuesday, when Bowe, 25, was hit with a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The Chiefs acknowledged Bowe’s suspension in a release but did not comment. Neither the team nor the league identified the substance Bowe was accused of taking, and there are dozens of substances — steroids, hormones, beta-2-agonists, anti-estrogenic agents, masking agents and stimulants — listed among those prohibited by the league. Among the masking agents are diuretics, which some players use to help them lose weight.
Attempts to reach Bowe’s agent, Todd France, were unsuccessful on Tuesday.
Corry Rush, the AFC’s information manager, wrote in an e-mail that Bowe’s unpaid suspension would begin immediately. He’ll be eligible to return to team activities beginning Dec. 13, the day after the Chiefs play Buffalo at Arrowhead Stadium. Bowe will miss home games against Pittsburgh, Denver and Buffalo and a road game at San Diego.
That removes the Chiefs’ best wide receiver from the lineup less than a week after coach Todd Haley said that position group had begun to make noticeable progress. Haley indicated Sunday that, along with the team’s running backs, the wide receivers had come the farthest since training camp.
It was during those three-plus weeks in River Falls, Wis., that the Chiefs brought in several veteran receivers. None of that seemed as memorable as Haley’s attention to Bowe, whose drops and questionable work ethic had defined his career his first two seasons. This is Bowe’s third season, the one that thinned the line separating potential and reality.
Few things irritated the Chiefs more than when Bowe arrived to the team’s offseason conditioning program carrying an extra 30 pounds. Bowe is a possession receiver, and those players’ effectiveness can be influenced by a shift of three or four pounds. Bowe had, in about three months, gained 10 times that amount. He had to lose weight, and fast.
Haley demoted Bowe to third-string wideout, informing the player that he’d have to earn his way back into the starting lineup. The first step was to get his weight under control, something close to the 221 pounds he’s now listed at.
“I was just trying to crawl out of the hole,” Bowe told The Star two weeks ago.
Bowe lost the weight, but drops kept haunting him, and he was far from a perfect receiver. His routes were occasionally sloppy, and his attention to detail often slipped. He could make the spectacular catch and then, on his next opportunity, drop an easy one.
But when the Chiefs claimed Chambers two weeks ago, that relieved pressure on Bowe and provided another reliable target for quarterback Matt Cassel. Bowe and Chambers combined in Sunday’s game for nine catches for 151 yards. For perhaps the first time this season, the Chiefs’ group of receivers was reliable, and the position looked stable.
Two days later, the Chiefs have to again re-evaluate themselves at their most tumultuous position. The team’s reliance on Chambers and Mark Bradley will increase, and Cassel will have to find a new favorite target.
“There’s always going to be bumpy roads,” Bowe said after Sunday’s game.
The road for Bowe and the Chiefs is turbulent now, and that might not change. Bowe will face questions when he returns, and his reputation — shortly after being restored — will now carry a new stain.
“My rule is, I call it ‘DBD.’ I go by day-by-day,” Bowe said two weeks ago. “I know better than to look into the future.”
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star
They were smiling in the locker room, and that has been an unusual thing to see after Chiefs games this season.
The Chiefs had won their second game of 2009, and their wide receivers had as much to do with it as anyone. On one side of the visitors locker room at Oakland Coliseum, third-year wide receiver Dwayne Bowe put on a hat, slipped on a pair of noise-canceling headphones and left. On the opposite side of the room, Chris Chambers discussed what it meant to be part of a win, part of an improving wideouts unit, and part of a reliable tandem alongside Bowe. Chambers said that Bowe has plenty of potential. But…
“He’s young,” Chambers said. “He’s got some growing up to do.”
That became more evident than ever Tuesday, when Bowe, 25, was hit with a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. The Chiefs acknowledged Bowe’s suspension in a release but did not comment. Neither the team nor the league identified the substance Bowe was accused of taking, and there are dozens of substances — steroids, hormones, beta-2-agonists, anti-estrogenic agents, masking agents and stimulants — listed among those prohibited by the league. Among the masking agents are diuretics, which some players use to help them lose weight.
Attempts to reach Bowe’s agent, Todd France, were unsuccessful on Tuesday.
Corry Rush, the AFC’s information manager, wrote in an e-mail that Bowe’s unpaid suspension would begin immediately. He’ll be eligible to return to team activities beginning Dec. 13, the day after the Chiefs play Buffalo at Arrowhead Stadium. Bowe will miss home games against Pittsburgh, Denver and Buffalo and a road game at San Diego.
That removes the Chiefs’ best wide receiver from the lineup less than a week after coach Todd Haley said that position group had begun to make noticeable progress. Haley indicated Sunday that, along with the team’s running backs, the wide receivers had come the farthest since training camp.
It was during those three-plus weeks in River Falls, Wis., that the Chiefs brought in several veteran receivers. None of that seemed as memorable as Haley’s attention to Bowe, whose drops and questionable work ethic had defined his career his first two seasons. This is Bowe’s third season, the one that thinned the line separating potential and reality.
Few things irritated the Chiefs more than when Bowe arrived to the team’s offseason conditioning program carrying an extra 30 pounds. Bowe is a possession receiver, and those players’ effectiveness can be influenced by a shift of three or four pounds. Bowe had, in about three months, gained 10 times that amount. He had to lose weight, and fast.
Haley demoted Bowe to third-string wideout, informing the player that he’d have to earn his way back into the starting lineup. The first step was to get his weight under control, something close to the 221 pounds he’s now listed at.
“I was just trying to crawl out of the hole,” Bowe told The Star two weeks ago.
Bowe lost the weight, but drops kept haunting him, and he was far from a perfect receiver. His routes were occasionally sloppy, and his attention to detail often slipped. He could make the spectacular catch and then, on his next opportunity, drop an easy one.
But when the Chiefs claimed Chambers two weeks ago, that relieved pressure on Bowe and provided another reliable target for quarterback Matt Cassel. Bowe and Chambers combined in Sunday’s game for nine catches for 151 yards. For perhaps the first time this season, the Chiefs’ group of receivers was reliable, and the position looked stable.
Two days later, the Chiefs have to again re-evaluate themselves at their most tumultuous position. The team’s reliance on Chambers and Mark Bradley will increase, and Cassel will have to find a new favorite target.
“There’s always going to be bumpy roads,” Bowe said after Sunday’s game.
The road for Bowe and the Chiefs is turbulent now, and that might not change. Bowe will face questions when he returns, and his reputation — shortly after being restored — will now carry a new stain.
“My rule is, I call it ‘DBD.’ I go by day-by-day,” Bowe said two weeks ago. “I know better than to look into the future.”