Teicher-- Harris a Chief; CB David Macklin visited yesterday, would be third CB - Page 2

Chiefs Pantalones · 03-07-2007, 08:23 AM

Chiefs continue shopping, sign Harris
Linebacker comes over from Minnesota, where he played in the Chiefs’ Cover 2 scheme.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Moving with uncharacteristic swiftness in the early days of free agency, the Chiefs have added two veteran players after Tuesday’s contract agreement with former Minnesota linebacker Napoleon Harris.

Harris agreed to terms of a six-year contract that would pay him $24 million. He will be paid $7.5 million in bonuses.

Harris will be the Chiefs’ starting middle linebacker. Damion McIntosh, signed over the weekend, will be their starting left offensive tackle.

The Chiefs are on their way toward becoming a different team from the one that finished 9-7 and lost to Indianapolis in a wild-card playoff game in their first season under Herm Edwards.

But are they better?

“We’re better at a couple of spots,” Edwards said. “We’ve got a pretty good left tackle. We got another (middle) linebacker, and we didn’t have one. It’s still a scary situation because if we lose our two (defensive) tackles, we’re starting all over. We don’t have a tackle. That’s the thing about free agency. You might gain one. You just hope you don’t lose two.

“We’re not where we want to be at this point, but we’re starting to make strides that way.”

The Chiefs on Tuesday also met with cornerback David Macklin, an unrestricted free agent. They are looking at Macklin as a third cornerback behind starters Ty Law and Patrick Surtain.

Macklin has been a starter for most of his seven NFL seasons with Indianapolis and Arizona. He started seven games for the Cardinals last year.

He had subsequent trips scheduled to Denver and Washington.

Harris is 28, a year older than the middle linebacker he will replace, Kawika Mitchell. Harris has played five NFL seasons starting in 2002, when he was a first-round draft pick of the Raiders. He joined the Vikings two years ago as part of the trade that sent Randy Moss to Oakland.

The Chiefs view Harris as the ideal middle linebacker for their Cover 2 defensive system, which he also played last season in Minnesota. He can cover a lot of ground but is big enough at 255 pounds to hold up well against the run.

“I’ve played in this system and had success in this system,” Harris said. “Then there’s leadership. It’s one thing to be a player and do a good job. It’s another to get others to step their game up and follow suit and play well. That’s a great thing. I’ll be able to do that with the guys around me.”

Edwards said: “He’s a very talented player. The guy’s got a lot of speed and a lot of the leadership qualities you like. He won’t be a hard study because he’s been in the system and knows the terminology. That helps. Free agency is about how a guy fits, and this guy really fits because he’s been in this system.”

Mitchell is an unrestricted free agent, and the Chiefs could re-sign him. He would probably move to one of the outside linebacker positions if he returns.

“He could play all three (linebacker) positions because he’s athletic enough,” Edwards said. “But at this point, we don’t know what’s going to happen. There are still some other guys at different positions that we’d like to bring in if they are available.”

Even if the Chiefs had re-signed Mitchell before the start of free agency, they might have moved for Harris. They had discussed moving Mitchell to outside linebacker since the end of last season.

Mitchell is one of a handful of defensive free agents the Chiefs would like to re-sign. The others are defensive linemen Ron Edwards, James Reed and Jimmy Wilkerson.

“We felt that when we went into this, we weren’t going to overpay anybody,” Edwards said. “We were going to get the right players to come in to help us. Having the most talented team doesn’t give you the right to win. You might not always have the best players but you could still have the best team. They know what to do with their roles.”

kc rush · 03-07-2007, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Van Halen

It was some awful combination of KK, Clinkscale, Harry, etc. The afternoon show.

By the way, Petro is great and St. John is entertaining in the morning. I guess I should have specified that the afternoon show is bad, bad, bad.

I'll let you off the hook then. I keep hoping that KK will retire so there will be something decent to listen to in the afternoon. I can't stand bland and blander on 610.

I usually flip back and forth between the two stations to whoever is annoying me the least, then listen to 980 or music instead.

Dr. Van Halen · 03-07-2007, 10:21 AM

amen.

03-07-2007, 08:23 AM
Chiefs Pantalones GO CHIEFS!!!!!! Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $6868717	Teicher-- Harris a Chief; CB David Macklin visited yesterday, would be third CB Chiefs continue shopping, sign Harris Linebacker comes over from Minnesota, where he played in the Chiefs’ Cover 2 scheme. By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star Moving with uncharacteristic swiftness in the early days of free agency, the Chiefs have added two veteran players after Tuesday’s contract agreement with former Minnesota linebacker Napoleon Harris. Harris agreed to terms of a six-year contract that would pay him $24 million. He will be paid $7.5 million in bonuses. Harris will be the Chiefs’ starting middle linebacker. Damion McIntosh, signed over the weekend, will be their starting left offensive tackle. The Chiefs are on their way toward becoming a different team from the one that finished 9-7 and lost to Indianapolis in a wild-card playoff game in their first season under Herm Edwards. But are they better? “We’re better at a couple of spots,” Edwards said. “We’ve got a pretty good left tackle. We got another (middle) linebacker, and we didn’t have one. It’s still a scary situation because if we lose our two (defensive) tackles, we’re starting all over. We don’t have a tackle. That’s the thing about free agency. You might gain one. You just hope you don’t lose two. “We’re not where we want to be at this point, but we’re starting to make strides that way.” The Chiefs on Tuesday also met with cornerback David Macklin, an unrestricted free agent. They are looking at Macklin as a third cornerback behind starters Ty Law and Patrick Surtain. Macklin has been a starter for most of his seven NFL seasons with Indianapolis and Arizona. He started seven games for the Cardinals last year. He had subsequent trips scheduled to Denver and Washington. Harris is 28, a year older than the middle linebacker he will replace, Kawika Mitchell. Harris has played five NFL seasons starting in 2002, when he was a first-round draft pick of the Raiders. He joined the Vikings two years ago as part of the trade that sent Randy Moss to Oakland. The Chiefs view Harris as the ideal middle linebacker for their Cover 2 defensive system, which he also played last season in Minnesota. He can cover a lot of ground but is big enough at 255 pounds to hold up well against the run. “I’ve played in this system and had success in this system,” Harris said. “Then there’s leadership. It’s one thing to be a player and do a good job. It’s another to get others to step their game up and follow suit and play well. That’s a great thing. I’ll be able to do that with the guys around me.” Edwards said: “He’s a very talented player. The guy’s got a lot of speed and a lot of the leadership qualities you like. He won’t be a hard study because he’s been in the system and knows the terminology. That helps. Free agency is about how a guy fits, and this guy really fits because he’s been in this system.” Mitchell is an unrestricted free agent, and the Chiefs could re-sign him. He would probably move to one of the outside linebacker positions if he returns. “He could play all three (linebacker) positions because he’s athletic enough,” Edwards said. “But at this point, we don’t know what’s going to happen. There are still some other guys at different positions that we’d like to bring in if they are available.” Even if the Chiefs had re-signed Mitchell before the start of free agency, they might have moved for Harris. They had discussed moving Mitchell to outside linebacker since the end of last season. Mitchell is one of a handful of defensive free agents the Chiefs would like to re-sign. The others are defensive linemen Ron Edwards, James Reed and Jimmy Wilkerson. “We felt that when we went into this, we weren’t going to overpay anybody,” Edwards said. “We were going to get the right players to come in to help us. Having the most talented team doesn’t give you the right to win. You might not always have the best players but you could still have the best team. They know what to do with their roles.”
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03-07-2007, 10:21 AM	#17
Dr. Van Halen Starter Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Missoula, MT Casino cash: $10005005	amen.
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