Covitz: Chiefs’ Charles quietly rumbling toward record rushing year
 

Chiefs’ Charles quietly rumbling toward record rushing year
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles has produced what may be the quietest 1,220 yards the NFL has ever seen.

Charles regained the AFC rushing lead with his 165-yard performance last week at Cleveland with his fourth 100-yard performance in five weeks.

But with the Chiefs mired in a 2-11 season, even his dazzling 80-yard touchdown run on the opening play of the Cleveland game was just a footnote on the highlight shows, which featured more meaningful games.

“Jamaal is the best player we have,” linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “We lean on him a lot.”

Charles carried more than a football the last two weeks. He has also carried the burden of caring for a heart-broken family. Charles’ wife, Whitney, was first cousin of Kasandra Perkins, who was murdered on Dec. 1 by Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, who then committed suicide.

The next day, Charles rushed for 127 yards in the Chiefs’ 27-21 win over Carolina, which snapped an eight-game losing streak. Charles’ 9.2-yard per carry average at Cleveland last week raised his career mark to 5.75, which surpassed Hall of Famer Jim Brown, 5.22, for the best average in NFL history for backs with at least 700 carries.

Charles, who turns 26 on Dec. 27, has not publically spoken about his grief and how he has overcome his anguish to perform at such a high level.

He has a message on his Twitter account that reads: “I want to thank everybody for your support. The Lord has blessed me and allowed me to take care of my family through football.”

Charles’ teammates can only marvel at his fortitude.

“His faith is strong,” said Johnson, a fellow Texan and University of Texas product. “He’s a pro. Could he have handled this in his first two years? I don’t know. But with this experience that has gone on, he can handle it. And he’s handled it quite well.”

Quarterback Brady Quinn said: “How he’s able to have an optimistic perspective throughout all the things he’s battling through right now speaks to who he is as a man.”

Charles’ third 1,100-yard-plus season in the past four years has been even more impressive considering he was coming off knee surgery after suffering a season-ending injury in the second game of the 2011 season.

There was concern how much pounding his slender, 5-foot-11, 199-pound body could take, but Charles dispelled that fear in week three, when he carried 33 times for 233 yards and also caught six passes for 55 yards in the Chiefs’ overtime win at New Orleans.

“He’s tough,” tackle Branden Albert said. “Everybody respects his speed, but he’s a tough cookie. He runs that ball hard like he’s 250 pounds. He goes between the tackle … he can run the ball outside. He does it all. That’s what makes him special. He gets hit and he keeps on ticking. And not to be that big of a guy, he runs the ball hard.”

Charles displayed that toughness in the second quarter at Cleveland when at the end of a 15-yard run, he bruised some ribs when he landed on the ball while being tackled. Charles sat out the rest of that possession and the next one but returned for the final series of the half and carried seven times in the second half.

“He’s a special player,” tackle Eric Winston said. “I think he’s just getting 100 percent healthy now, too. It’s even more amazing what he’s done already this year.”

Charles, a former track star at Texas, now has three of the longest runs in Chiefs history — a franchise-record 91-yarder earlier this year at New Orleans; an 80-yard run at St. Louis in 2010 and the 80-yard run at Cleveland, where he broke through right guard Jon Asamoah, followed a crunching block by fullback Patrick DiMarco and put safety T.J. Ward on the ground with a stutter step before outracing the secondary to the end zone.

“His breakaway speed sets him apart,” Winston said. “He’s got to be in the top 1-2-3 home-run hitters in the league. On the 80-yard run, guys had some angles on him, and they weren’t even coming close. He’s not just a speedster, though. He does a good job of getting up in there and getting three or four yards when it’s called for that. He’s able to make guys miss, he’s got that ability where he can stop and go somewhere else. His vision helps, the way he can maneuver around out there … it’s fun to watch.”

The Chiefs will be even more dependent on Charles during the final three games of the season. With wide receiver Dwayne Bowe out for Sunday’s game at Oakland and most likely out for season, Charles — whose 33 rushes of 10 yards or more rank fourth in the NFL — is the Chiefs’ only legitimate playmaker.

“As you look at it, he’s been the consistent staple in our offense because he gains yards,” coach Romeo Crennel said, “and he’s the guy who has the potential to run for a touchdown.”

If Charles continues his current pace of 94 yards per game, he’ll finish with 1,502, breaking his personal best of 1,467 in 2010, when he went to his only Pro Bowl. Despite leading the AFC in rushing, Charles is just fifth in the Pro Bowl balloting, underscoring how quiet his season has been.

Charles is raising his profile through the website yourvamp.com, in which he is participating in a promotion in which fans can use an app to place themselves in a photo with NFL players such as Baltimore’s Ray Lewis, San Francisco’s Chris Culliver and Charles.

“Take a photo with me,” Charles posted on Twitter. “If I like it, you can win a chance to take a real photo with me after a Chiefs game.”

The photo might be with the AFC rushing champion.

JC's birthday is 2 days off.

What a waste of a good player on a shitty team and shitty leadership.

Thank you for all you do 25

I wish Fat Scott would quit throwing Winston out as a team spokesman. I have no desire to hear what that **** has to say. Rock on Jamaal

Imagine him with a real quarterback.

I believe there is now a new winner for chocolatiest penis in the AFC West.

**** Pioli. God bless Charles

and fat scott has wasted his career

JC needs more carries

Is it true that Scott tried to trade Jamaal when he first got here?

MVP: Peyton Manning [although I'd rather they award it to AP]

Offensive Player of the Year: Adrian Peterson

Comeback Player of the Year: Jamaal Charles

One of the best. Dude is a boss.

Manning will win comeback player of the year guaranteed.

:shrug: Not that I remember hearing about.

Athan reported that he was offered to the Redskins for a 4th.

It is going to be a tight race between Manning and AP. I hope AP gets comeback myself.

I don't. Manning deserves it. People thought he was DONE.

If he breaks 1500 (or even if he doesn't, really), it will be a remarkable - even amazing accomplishment. Talk about performing through adversity, Jamaal has done it. Blown ACL, crap quarterback, crap coaching staff, crap fullbacks, defenses keying on him every down ... it just goes on and on. He's absorbed everything life has thrown at him, dusted himself off, and taken the rock to the house.

Hell of a player.

FAX

My dad and Charles share the same birthday. No wonder he's awesome.

Yep, they're going to try and kill him for a few cheap wins now, he'll get all of his normal too many pointless touches, plus Bowes looks.

The only hope i have to stand on, is that he will only be 27 next year... the plain old, born natural that he is... means he's likely good for atleast two more true prime years and another very productive one.

It may have been true because Pioli is reeruned like that.

Then again, Athan is equally reeruned.

That wouldn't surprise me a bit. Jamaal isn't the most articulate squirrel in the pumpkin patch. Given Dr. Evil's megalomania, he probably felt that Jamaal wasn't one of the right 53 and shopped a trade somewhere.

Actually, I've posted this highly insightful, astute, and penetratingly discerning observation before, but I think that, when he arrived, the fraudulent asswipe perceived our entire roster as garbage. The sick, elitist bastard probably looked at our squad and tried to figure out a way to trade the living bejesus out of everybody in an effort to bring in as many ex-Patriots or ever-so-grateful-to-be-signed "Pioli players" as possible. I am convinced that is a factoid.

FAX

I was under the impression that they couldn't be given two awards in one season..?

If that were true, my predictions would be correct. If they can receive as many awards as they deserve then Peyton would win all three..

I feel so bad for JC.

A true football player that doesn't deserve what he's been dealt into.

Running the wildcat with Thiggy... damn, what could have been.

This guy would be a bigger superstar than Chris Johnson ever was if he was in a place like Philly or NY or Dallas.

To me he is the epitome of the SOC movement. HE deserves better.

He could average 7ypc if we had a quarterback that could keep safeties out of the box.

Here is the thread...

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showt...hlight=Charles

Brady's MVP. Of course Jughead will get Comeback POY. Can't go without sucking him off a little.

If he gets to 1,500 (Actually, he just needs 1481) he will have the 2nd most yards rushing for one season by a Chief.

LJ has the record 1789 in '06

I would much rather JC hold that record one day.

So he can be a brokedick too?

Jamal Charles in a system with a play-action deep threat would be outrageous.

He wouldn't need 400 Carries
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It could be his very last season after his third SB MVP. 4321

Why are some people just always douche bags?

Agreed, but so many players could have the same thing said about them too. I looks like the Royals might be changing a bit, but I think most Chiefs players want out.

If Schotty had a Jamaal Charles type player in the 90's we might have won the Lamar Hunt trophy a couple times.

Amazing how after Marty the Chiefs have had pretty stellar backs (Priest, LJ, JC)

What?

LJ ran for 1,789 yards one season then 1,750 in the following season.

I recall Priest going over 1,600 in one season (I want to say it was 2002) as well.

There's no way that's accurate.

"Before the trade deadline in October, Chiefs’ general manager Scott Pioli offered Charles to the Redskins for a paltry fifth-round pick."


wut?

Thank you.

Man, we all hate LJ now, but that mother****er was THE SHIT back when he was lighting it up every week for us. I remember that break out season in 05. Dude didn't even start until the last 9 games of the season and still ended up with those ridiculous numbers. Seemed like he had 140 yards and 2 TDs, like, every. damn. week.

I think he's only one of two RBs to ever rush for over 1,750 yards in two different seasons (or maybe it's back-to-back seasons?). I want to say Eric Dickerson was the only other..

Anyway, Priest was awesome, too, back when he'd tip-toe across the goal line. Watching that guy pick the hole was like an art form, although that line often gave him canyons moreso than 'holes'.

I haven't even heard his name on the comeback discussions. Travesty IMO.

Let's see...

AFC leading rusher in Charles.

Check.

One of the top pass rushing tandems in the league in Hali and Houston.

Check.

2-11 record.

Check.

If all these sonsabitches aren't fired I hope they burn Arrowhead right to the ****ing ground.

This team is a collection of monkeys trying to figure out how to **** a football...

Or a collection of footballs trying to figure out how to **** a monkey, either way, point still stands....