Herm was just joking around about that. Just like he was joking around when he said he wasn't going to change the offense.

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Actually what I said is that it's hard to really discuss how bad Jones may be, because we saw Brian Waters suck pretty hard last year while lined up to McGinaTosh.

Waters isn't playing at the level this year that he played at in years prvious to last year, but he isn't playing as poorly as he did last year.

Jones probably still sucks, but his suckage might not be nearly as bad if he were lined up alongside even a mediocre RT.

Great point, Mr. milkman. I'd forgotten about Waters' struggles last year. You're right ... all that occurred while he was working next to McInToast.

Good call.

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If the Chiefs had actually provide help for Albert, they probably would still be looking ofr him to come around the left side.

Herman ****ing Edwards is probably thinking that the kid on the right, Jamal Anderson is turning into a hell of a pass rusher.

Chiefs veteran McIntosh trying to hang on in a new position
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star


Damion McIntosh knows he’s part of the past. He’s part of the old guard in a youth movement, and the Chiefs’ 31-year-old right tackle is just trying to prove he can still hang with these youngsters, the ones pushing him aside.

Days like last Sunday don’t help. Atlanta picked on the old tackle, one of the Chiefs’ two starting offensive linemen not in his 20s. Falcons defensive end John Abraham shifted to McIntosh’s side on the first play. Abraham spun past McIntosh, ran into the backfield and sacked Tyler Thigpen.

The Chiefs were in an early hole, and an old guy on a young team let it happen.

“It’s a growing process,” McIntosh said this week. “Maybe if I was 22 years old …”

But he’s not, and that’s why McIntosh is facing harsher scrutiny than someone who hasn’t been in the league nearly a decade.

He’s trying to grow into being comfortable on the right side, a spot he’d never played in his eight previous seasons. The Chiefs drafted Branden Albert in the first round, and coaches knew immediately Albert would be their left tackle. That pushed McIntosh out of a position he’d played since 2000.

McIntosh agreed to the move because, well, what else could he do? He’d seen other veterans be cut or shipped away, last year’s aging offensive line disbanded as part of Kansas City’s overhaul. McIntosh and left guard Brian Waters are the only starters the Chiefs retained.

“I just made it clear: I’ve never played right tackle,” McIntosh said this week. “I came in and groomed as a left tackle; that’s all I’ve played is left tackle. People assume I can make the change right away.”

Coach Herm Edwards said the Chiefs are trying to be patient with McIntosh as he learns his new position. But with every mistake — Abraham beat McIntosh again Sunday and forced a fumble — the team’s patience is tested.

The Chiefs have made it clear this season they’d rather experiment with a young player than watch an aging one struggle. As McIntosh tries to hold on to his starting job, second-year player Herb Taylor is preparing himself to take it.

“I’m ready to go in,” Taylor said. “I’m just as prepared as any of the guys who are starting right now.”

Edwards said the Chiefs aren’t ready to make a move. Not yet. They’re going to stick with McIntosh and hope he grasps the footwork and mentality the right side requires. Edwards admitted that McIntosh has made mistakes, but so far coaches are being patient because McIntosh is still learning and adjusting.

But McIntosh knows: The more time passes and the slower he settles in, the more likely Taylor slides into the starting lineup and McIntosh accepts a role he’s been trying to avoid since last offseason — part of Kansas City’s past instead of its future.

“He has to play to a certain standard,” Edwards said, “and I think he’s trying to get there.”

McIntosh has said for months the move hasn’t been easy. During training camp, he admitted he had little choice in the matter and would try to adapt. It is, after all, the less strenuous of the two tackle spots. But McIntosh said he’d grown familiar on the left side. Now, he’s trying to regain that familiarity in a spot that still seems foreign.

“I’ve been playing left tackle for nine years,” he said. “All I can do is try my best.”

McIntosh said he doesn’t think he deserves to be shifted out of the starting lineup. He said he’s making progress, and each week the right side feels more like home. Yes, he admits now it was the right move to put Albert at left tackle and move McIntosh to the other side.

But he still needs more time. He said days such as last Sunday might happen, but he wants coaches to have patience.

“They know that this isn’t something I’ve done before,” McIntosh said. “I go out there and compete. That’s the main thing. If I wasn’t competing, then, yeah, I deserve not to be playing.

“We’re trying to put the best players out there, and I feel I’m one of the best ones.”