Tribal Warfare
12-27-2010, 01:29 AM
Flags fly when Chiefs get caught up in heat of the moment (http://www.kansascity.com/2010/12/26/2543604/flags-fly-when-chiefs-get-caught.html)
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The Chiefs did everything but take anger management classes last week as they prepared to play the Tennessee Titans. They watched one video clip after another of the Titans hitting opponents at or after the whistle. They were lectured by coaches about not retaliating.
Whatever the Chiefs did wasn’t enough. They were penalized five times for either personal fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct in their 34-14 win over Tennessee on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Coach Todd Haley wasn’t willing to overlook the plays, even though they weren’t significant in the runaway victory.
“We did some things we’ve got to clean up and we’ve got to understand they can hurt us in different situations than (Sunday),” Haley said. “We’ll handle that.”
The Titans were penalized twice for the same infractions. That’s nothing new for Tennessee, one of the NFL’s most penalized teams. It’s why the Chiefs were warned last week.
But the activity was unusual for the Chiefs, one of the league’s least penalized teams.
“We knew what type of team they were, that they were going to take some shots at us,” said wide receiver Chris Chambers, who wasn’t one of the Chiefs penalized. “We were just going to try our best not to take any shots back. We had a lot of penalties that we just can’t have, and we’ve got to eliminate that going forward.
“It’s a little bit hard, but we can’t let them under our skin. We were playing for a little bit more than they were playing for. I’m sure the coach will make a point of it just like he made a point of it this week. We watched some film of them doing that type of stuff.”
The Chiefs were ahead 17-0 in the first quarter when they started committing the serious penalties. The penalties didn’t cost the Chiefs initially.
Safety Jon McGraw was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but the Chiefs stopped the Titans on that drive. On Kansas City’s next possession, an unidentified player was penalized for unnecessary roughness.
The Chiefs scored a touchdown on that drive anyway, though they were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct when Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe and Matt Cassel all jumped into the stands in celebration.
On a second-half Tennessee touchdown drive, Shaun Smith and Jovan Belcher had penalties on back-to-back plays, giving the Titans 30 yards. Belcher’s penalty wiped out an interception by Kendrick Lewis.
“We knew by watching tape that guys took late hits on different opponents,” linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “You’ve just got to hold your cool, just be disciplined, be a disciplined team.
“It was definitely a brawl out there. It was hard to stay disciplined at times.”
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The Chiefs did everything but take anger management classes last week as they prepared to play the Tennessee Titans. They watched one video clip after another of the Titans hitting opponents at or after the whistle. They were lectured by coaches about not retaliating.
Whatever the Chiefs did wasn’t enough. They were penalized five times for either personal fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct in their 34-14 win over Tennessee on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Coach Todd Haley wasn’t willing to overlook the plays, even though they weren’t significant in the runaway victory.
“We did some things we’ve got to clean up and we’ve got to understand they can hurt us in different situations than (Sunday),” Haley said. “We’ll handle that.”
The Titans were penalized twice for the same infractions. That’s nothing new for Tennessee, one of the NFL’s most penalized teams. It’s why the Chiefs were warned last week.
But the activity was unusual for the Chiefs, one of the league’s least penalized teams.
“We knew what type of team they were, that they were going to take some shots at us,” said wide receiver Chris Chambers, who wasn’t one of the Chiefs penalized. “We were just going to try our best not to take any shots back. We had a lot of penalties that we just can’t have, and we’ve got to eliminate that going forward.
“It’s a little bit hard, but we can’t let them under our skin. We were playing for a little bit more than they were playing for. I’m sure the coach will make a point of it just like he made a point of it this week. We watched some film of them doing that type of stuff.”
The Chiefs were ahead 17-0 in the first quarter when they started committing the serious penalties. The penalties didn’t cost the Chiefs initially.
Safety Jon McGraw was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but the Chiefs stopped the Titans on that drive. On Kansas City’s next possession, an unidentified player was penalized for unnecessary roughness.
The Chiefs scored a touchdown on that drive anyway, though they were penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct when Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe and Matt Cassel all jumped into the stands in celebration.
On a second-half Tennessee touchdown drive, Shaun Smith and Jovan Belcher had penalties on back-to-back plays, giving the Titans 30 yards. Belcher’s penalty wiped out an interception by Kendrick Lewis.
“We knew by watching tape that guys took late hits on different opponents,” linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “You’ve just got to hold your cool, just be disciplined, be a disciplined team.
“It was definitely a brawl out there. It was hard to stay disciplined at times.”