LaChapelle
11-23-2010, 06:50 PM
Buying in
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Posted on Mon, Nov. 22, 2010 11:16 PM
Chiefs: All eyes on the prize
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
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JOHN SLEEZER
Thomas Jones (right) is one of the Chiefs who has playoff experience.
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Thomas Jones stood in front of the assembled Chiefs on Monday and delivered a message that can only come from someone who has been there and done that.
Jones, a veteran running back, informed his teammates that with six games left, it’s the time of season that true playoff contenders separate themselves from the pack and time for all of the Chiefs to dedicate themselves to that cause.
That can mean a lot of things — from spending more time in the hot and cold tubs, to watching extra video in preparation for the upcoming game, to not getting wrapped up in what Oakland and the Chiefs’ other AFC West pursuers are doing.
Jones’ words were aimed mainly at the many young players, but his message is one all are going to hear frequently from veterans and coaches alike as the Chiefs chase their first AFC West championship since 2003.
“This is the true grind-it-out period of the season,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley said. “Teams are going to start to define themselves as good teams, in-between teams and not-so-good teams. The teams that can grind it out and find ways to win during this time of year are the teams that will give themselves a chance down the road.”
That’s why Haley dropped a message on the Chiefs in the moments after Sunday’s 31-13 win over Arizona, a game that raised their record to 6-4 and left them in sole possession of first place in the AFC West.
He told them to immediately start preparations for this Sunday’s game against the Seahawks in Seattle and not follow other developments in the AFC West, including Monday night’s game between Denver and San Diego.
“There’s so much coverage of this game, this sport,” Haley said. “It’s everywhere. You’ve got to really work hard at filtering some of that out. This is a tough stretch. I made that point yesterday for a reason.
“We’ve got to just ride our horse right now, because you don’t know who the horses you have to watch out for are right now. You just don’t. The main thing is for us to just concentrate on our business, on what we’re doing. If you’re distracted or worrying about some of the other things that are going on, that will be a problem.”
The Chiefs have several players who already get the point. Jones has played for three different playoff teams. Guard Ryan Lilja, linebacker Mike Vrabel and quarterback Matt Cassel were members of Super Bowl teams — Lilja with Indianapolis and Vrabel and Cassel with New England.
Cassel joined the Patriots in 2005 as they were still celebrating their third Super Bowl championship in four years. He said he could sense the mood change in the locker room as a season headed into its stretch run.
“It was kind of like an unwritten rule. Not a lot had to be said. We had six weeks or whatever to separate ourselves. It started with the leaders on the team.
“They kind of reminded everybody that this is the reason we play, to go to the playoffs and compete for championships.”
Guard Brian Waters and center Casey Wiegmann were with the Chiefs during that 2003 season when they won the division. Waters was clearly buoyed by the fact the Chiefs moved back into first place with Sunday’s win but said he knows the Chiefs have plenty of work left to do.
“It’s not over,” he said. “It’s definitely not over. We’ve still got six games left, and we’ve still got people on our heels.”
The pressure galvanizes some teams and crushes others. The Chiefs won their first nine games in 2003 but teetered down the stretch and wound up losing in the playoffs to Indianapolis.
It remains to be seen how the 2010 Chiefs will handle the pressure, but Haley liked how they handled the Cardinals.
“(Sunday) was a good indicator,” he said. “This part of the season has been going on here for a couple of weeks. We’ve done some good things and some not-so-good things.
“What our team did (Sunday) was really about how (the Chiefs) prepared during the week. I don’t think a lot of stuff happens by accident. I thought we had a real good week of practice.”
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Posted on Mon, Nov. 22, 2010 11:16 PM
Chiefs: All eyes on the prize
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
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JOHN SLEEZER
Thomas Jones (right) is one of the Chiefs who has playoff experience.
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<!-- Start: /pubsys/production/story/assets/gallery_link.comp -->Chiefs vs Cardinals Tailgating: Nov. 21 (http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/21/2461808/chiefs-vs-cardinals-tailgating.html) <!-- End: /pubsys/production/story/assets/gallery_link.comp --><!-- Start: /pubsys/production/story/assets/external_link.comp -->
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Join the discussion in the forums. (http://forums.kansascity.com/?q=forum/44)
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Thomas Jones stood in front of the assembled Chiefs on Monday and delivered a message that can only come from someone who has been there and done that.
Jones, a veteran running back, informed his teammates that with six games left, it’s the time of season that true playoff contenders separate themselves from the pack and time for all of the Chiefs to dedicate themselves to that cause.
That can mean a lot of things — from spending more time in the hot and cold tubs, to watching extra video in preparation for the upcoming game, to not getting wrapped up in what Oakland and the Chiefs’ other AFC West pursuers are doing.
Jones’ words were aimed mainly at the many young players, but his message is one all are going to hear frequently from veterans and coaches alike as the Chiefs chase their first AFC West championship since 2003.
“This is the true grind-it-out period of the season,” Chiefs coach Todd Haley said. “Teams are going to start to define themselves as good teams, in-between teams and not-so-good teams. The teams that can grind it out and find ways to win during this time of year are the teams that will give themselves a chance down the road.”
That’s why Haley dropped a message on the Chiefs in the moments after Sunday’s 31-13 win over Arizona, a game that raised their record to 6-4 and left them in sole possession of first place in the AFC West.
He told them to immediately start preparations for this Sunday’s game against the Seahawks in Seattle and not follow other developments in the AFC West, including Monday night’s game between Denver and San Diego.
“There’s so much coverage of this game, this sport,” Haley said. “It’s everywhere. You’ve got to really work hard at filtering some of that out. This is a tough stretch. I made that point yesterday for a reason.
“We’ve got to just ride our horse right now, because you don’t know who the horses you have to watch out for are right now. You just don’t. The main thing is for us to just concentrate on our business, on what we’re doing. If you’re distracted or worrying about some of the other things that are going on, that will be a problem.”
The Chiefs have several players who already get the point. Jones has played for three different playoff teams. Guard Ryan Lilja, linebacker Mike Vrabel and quarterback Matt Cassel were members of Super Bowl teams — Lilja with Indianapolis and Vrabel and Cassel with New England.
Cassel joined the Patriots in 2005 as they were still celebrating their third Super Bowl championship in four years. He said he could sense the mood change in the locker room as a season headed into its stretch run.
“It was kind of like an unwritten rule. Not a lot had to be said. We had six weeks or whatever to separate ourselves. It started with the leaders on the team.
“They kind of reminded everybody that this is the reason we play, to go to the playoffs and compete for championships.”
Guard Brian Waters and center Casey Wiegmann were with the Chiefs during that 2003 season when they won the division. Waters was clearly buoyed by the fact the Chiefs moved back into first place with Sunday’s win but said he knows the Chiefs have plenty of work left to do.
“It’s not over,” he said. “It’s definitely not over. We’ve still got six games left, and we’ve still got people on our heels.”
The pressure galvanizes some teams and crushes others. The Chiefs won their first nine games in 2003 but teetered down the stretch and wound up losing in the playoffs to Indianapolis.
It remains to be seen how the 2010 Chiefs will handle the pressure, but Haley liked how they handled the Cardinals.
“(Sunday) was a good indicator,” he said. “This part of the season has been going on here for a couple of weeks. We’ve done some good things and some not-so-good things.
“What our team did (Sunday) was really about how (the Chiefs) prepared during the week. I don’t think a lot of stuff happens by accident. I thought we had a real good week of practice.”