It's been said before, and proven grossly incorrect before.

Matt Birk - 6'4"

Kevin Mawae - 6'4"

Nick Hardwick - 6'4"

To name a few off the top of my head.

I had a post last year (IIRC) that showed that the best centers in the league are almost all 6'4"

Height has nothing to do with it.

Shitty technique does.

Interesting.. I didn't realize most are so tall. Have you looked at weight and if it factors in? Niswanger just looks TOO tall or something.

Of the guys I mentioned:

Mawae is only 289.

Hardwick is only 295.

Rudy at 301.

Birk at 309.

http://www.bobgretz.com/chiefs-footb...tml#more-10159

Q & A 08/27
 

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2009/08...dd_haley__827/

TODD HALEY: “Afternoon everybody - a Thursday that was like a Friday in our language. That was a little better Friday practice for us, I felt. The tempo was better, execution was better. That’s closer to what we want it to be at the end of the week before a game.”

Q: What have your thoughts been on the nose tackle situation? How are these guys adjusting?

HALEY: “Still searching, still searching. That’s why we were rotating last game and we’ll probably be in a similar mode this week in trying to get one or a couple of those guys to step up and show they want the job.”

Q: What’s been the difficulty in these guys making the adjustment?

HALEY: “That’s a man’s position now, especially as much of the ¾ (defense) that we’re playing. When you’re the nose and you’re in there a lot of that is just ‘want-to.’ You’re fighting, scratching, clawing and it’s not for everyone. I think all three of the guys have the ability to do it, it’s just a matter of getting it done on a consistent basis.”

Q: What’s Tank (Tyler) shown you for better or worse during this pre-season?

HALEY: “I think that it’s been a little up and down. I’m waiting to see Tank kind of…the thing I remember about Tank when he was coming out (of college) was just the nastiness that he played with. I mean he was a bad dude and you didn’t want to mess around with him. So, I’m waiting to see a little more of that.”

Q: So, he’s a little more subdued than you’d like to see of him?

HALEY: “Seems like a nice guy.”

Q: Do you have the sense that anxiety is a little higher right now before the first cut?

HALEY: “Without a doubt. I told the guys yesterday that this is the toughest week in football. Number one, you’re going into week four of hitting each other twice a day most days, it’s hot, you’re getting tired of seeing the same guys, there is anxiety over jobs. But I’m looking for guys with staying power, guys who can sustain, and that’s why I think that camp has to be a tough camp to find out who those individuals are. We’re starting to find out.”

Q: How is it for you on the coaching end and having the deadline for first cuts come up?

HALEY: “You spend a lot of down time looking at the depth chart and just sorting through those numbers. That will be a big job for all of us here in the next couple of weeks. It’s tough but it’s tough for everyone; every team has the same problems. I don’t think there’s any team that wishes they had less spots, who wishes the number were 48 or 45. You generally have to let go of a few guys you don’t want to.”

Q: Have you come up with the plan on how you’re going to utilize Saturday night? Are starters going to come out and if they execute quickly in the second half will you pull them?

HALEY: “We haven’t officially talked about it but I would say at least a series into the third quarter. I don’t know how much more than that. Now, some guys will have to but I don’t know how much as a whole past that.”

Q: Have you decided yet who the second quarterback will be?



HALEY: “No, we’ll do that this afternoon.”

Q: Any chance that the quarterback will come in and maybe play a little more with the first team offense?

HALEY: “Again, we haven’t talked about it as a staff, so we’ve got to talk that out and get it right.”

Q: Is this the toughest week of the season for you as coaches?

HALEY: “I don’t know. I enjoy it; I enjoy every day. So, I can’t speak for the rest of the coaches. The players are the ones doing the hitting. As coaches, you know you’ve got to grind regardless and there is no light at the end of the tunnel for us until the season is over. You kind of understand that’s the just way it is and go about your business accordingly, after you let your wife and family know.”

Q: You talked about how special teams will be a little different this year and you might see more wide receivers out there. Does that mean you might look at a roster and figure out a number? Do you have a number in mind?

HALEY: “I think there is a general number but that’s one of those positions. Some teams have four and two practice squad guys. Some teams have six. At Arizona we had six. It all depends where they’re contributing and how many plays we expect to get out of them. The kickoff return stuff could factor into that.”

Q: What about your team? What number do you have here?

HALEY: “I have an idea, but we’ll have to see how it all plays out.”

Q: Is the fact there hasn’t been much asked about the defensive backs good news? You happy with what you have right now?

HALEY: “I think it’s an area on the team where we have very good competition across the board. It’s not say I’m content with where at, but I think there is good competition and I think we’ve got some players in that area who look like they’ve improved consistently throughout the off-season, in OTA’s and into training camp.

“Again, not to say I’m content, I think there is excellent competition at the corners, at the safeties, the nickel back. It’s a good situation right now.”

Q: You mentioned guys who have improved. Is Brandon Flowers one of those guys?

HALEY: “Yeah, I think Brandon has done a good job of each day coming to work and being the same type of guy. So, I’m encouraged with where Brandon is at right now. But he’s a guy that we’ve got to push all the time because he’s a guy who potentially could be a very good player.”

Q: Has Mike Brown pushed Bernard Pollard as much as you have thought?

HALEY: “Like I said, the defensive backfield as a whole, I think, there’s excellent competition. I don’t think there’s anybody who feels real comfortable. Mike’s one of the reasons for that but I think that’s the way it is across the board there. Those guys know there is somebody right behind them that could be playing just as well as them. That’s how you get your team good.”

Practice Update 8/27 A.M.
August 27, 2009 - Bob Gretz |

From the Truman Sports Complex

The focus was the Seattle Seahawks as the Chiefs went through their Thursday A.M. practice outside on the grass at their facility.

More than either of the two previous pre-season games, Todd Haley and his staff put a bit more prep time into the Seahawks before Saturday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium.

Looks like ILB Derrick Johnson will not be part of the game on Saturday. For the second straight practice, Johnson was working in the rehab area. There’s no apparent injury, as he did cardio as well as weight work. In the practice, Demorrio Williams took Johnson’s spot with the first team defense. On Wednesday, Monty Beisel was working there.

Just who will play on Saturday and how much remains unknown. Haley said he and his staff would meet Thursday afternoon to make those decisions. The first teamers will play into the first part of the third quarter; how long they stay in after half-time is what must be decided. No news on quarterback rotation from Haley either, although Tyler Thigpen continued to take almost all of the second-team offensive plays.

Other items from the morning workout:

– Besides Derrick Johnson, not taking part in the practice were RB Kolby Smith, ILB Zach Thomas and TE Jake O’Connell. For the second day in a row, Thomas was not on the field at all.

– As they worked on kick returns, the Chiefs gave CB Ricardo Colclough several turns as the returner. Colclough has done this before but not for several years.

– No changes on this week’s personnel changes: Barry Richardson at RT, Tank Tyler at the No. 1 NT, Tyson Jackson at LDE and Dwayne Bowe with the first team offense.

– Haley says there’s a lot of work to get done at nose tackle. “We are going to rotate guys through again trying to get one or a couple of those guys to step up and show they want the job,” said Haley of Tyler, Ron Edwards and Derek Lokey.

– Working as the No. 2 offensive line from left to right: Damion McIntosh, Tavares Washington, Wade Smith, Andy Alleman and Ikechuku Ndukwe.

– WR Ashley Lelie made a nice catch on scout team … QB Brodie Croyle spent the week running as the No. 4 QB, but he threw the ball really well as he directed the scout team … Beisel picked off QB Matt Gutierrez during the seven-on-seven passing drill … CB Brandon Flowers knocked down at least three passes during the practice, including running step-for-step with WR Quinten Lawrence, maybe the fastest player on the team.

He looks too tall because he plays too tall.

He doesn't get low enough with his body. Last week, the opposing defense lineman actually pinned his arms to his side because he's not quick enough with his hands and couldn't get them up in time.

I can't say it enough. The guy is in no way, shape or form, and NFL center.

He's awful.

LJ SAYS CHIEFS OFFSEASON RE-SHAPED LOCKER ROOM
August 27th – 1:07 PM

The man in the red socks has stood out this preseason. Chiefs RB Larry Johnson and his signature red practice socks have gone airborne over defenders at the goal line, finished runs 40-plus yards after the whistle and blocked head-to-head against some of the Chiefs quickest and strongest backers. We’re talking about practice, and Johnson has been leaving it all on the field this preseason.

Johnson said at the beginning of training camp that he had bought into the ways of Kansas City’s new leadership, but actions speak louder than words. Johnson’s actions have stood out this camp and, for Johnson, new Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli’s actions this preseason are a big part of that.

“He’s definitely shed a different light,” Johnson said of Pioli. “We actually went out and got guys who have actually played in the league and who are successful in this league and want to play. I take my hat off to Todd Haley and Scott Pioli for not just settling for 2-14 with a group a guys that were okay or comfortable being 2-14. They went out and got guys that want to be 16-0.“

For Johnson, it’s all about finding winners.

“As far as what Pioli did in the offseason, he made it exciting to be a Chief,” Johnson said. “I never thought we’d get WRs Ashley Lelie and Amani Toomer or LB Zach Thomas. Those type of players, ever since I’ve been here, we wouldn’t go and get those type of players. Having those guys, including QB Matt Cassel, with the Chiefs made me excited to be a Chief.

“You put veteran guys who know how to win know what it takes to go to the Super Bowl and to the playoffs,” Johnson continued. “The more and more of those guys that you put around, regardless of age, they know what it takes. Having those guys in this locker room helps everyone out.“

Johnson is an integral part of the Chiefs success going forward, but he knows that he’s just one piece of the puzzle. A lot of public inquiry was made about Johnson’s happiness with the Chiefs this offseason, but Johnson said that type of thing shouldn’t be the focus of this football team.

“It’s not based off my happiness or my sadness to be part of this team,” Johnson said. “It’s just the fact that we are organized to build this team to go to the playoffs. So this team’s rise and falls don’t stand on if I’m happy or if I’m mad here. Obviously we all have to do a job and my job is to do the best that I can on the field to make this team a better football team. Obviously guys that are taken in or taken out will be a part of that transition.”

I like Johnson's new found commitment to the Chiefs, but I will wait until week 1 until I really embrace him again. So far in the two preseason games I've seen him miss a few opportunities for gains and he's looked to have strudder stepped behind the line a few times. TC reports are all good and if he's even 3/4 as good as he was early in his career it'll still help the Chiefs win games.

If anything, this report confirms what many others have said earlier. The Chiefs franchise seems like it's going in the right direction with Pioli as GM.

Before GoChiefs comes crashing through here swinging his 'Johnson', let's temper his ego a bit, shall we?

"Mike Brown is just another interloper brought in to light fires under asses"-
ROR, prior to the start of camp.

And I've said it a number of times, for the first time since he's been a part of this team, he has finally shown some improvement in technique, in that he isn't raising his ass at the snap.

Now he's thinking about his technique and the result is that he's slow coming out of his stance, which of course, results in not getting his hands up quick enough.

He is awful, but from everything I've observed from previous years and into this year, the fault for that belongs to the previous stff because they clearly never corrected the flaw in his technique, and thus stunted his development.

Can he improve?

Who knows.

What I do know is that we would have known by now if he had received secent coaching before now.

What Haley is saying is that he wants to give Mike Brown rest before he becomes the starter for the season.

I kinda get the feeling thats what hes doing with Thomas, we likely wont be a full time starter anyways to keep him fresh...

ROFL


http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/1...214-slarge.jpg
"Billay's danc-in' with
Mr. Brown-stain"...

In reality Thomas prolly wont see much pre-season action .. he'll be used in special formations in reg-season ...