Gretz:Survival Accomplished for Chiefs

[Tribal Warfare]

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2008/08...ed_for_chiefs/


Survival Accomplished for Chiefs
Aug 29, 2008, 10:21:53 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

fballThe fourth pre-season game is always one to survive. The top of the line players are looking to get through without any more bumps and bruises. The marginal players are just hoping to survive another day, another moment in the National Football League.

But who knew there would be a battle for survival before the game even began and the opponent would be Mother Nature.

One of the best rainstorms in the history of Arrowhead Stadium chased both teams off the field in their warm-ups. It wasn’t so much the rain but the lightning bolts that were streaking across the Missouri sky. Those are dangerous enough when they are on the helmets of those guys from San Diego. However, put them and their sizzle in the summer air and they had 150 players, a bunch of coaches and the zebras scattering for cover.

Nobody knew how long the delay would last. As a few minutes turned into a half-hour, Herm Edwards started to worry. That’s what coaches do, they worry. They are problem solvers, used to finding out the parameters of a situation and coming up with a solution.

Mother Nature wasn’t available for a sit-down in this case, because she was busy dumping buckets of water on the stadium, combining it with some big gusts of wind and then those electric bolts across the sky. The rain would slow and several times it stopped, but then it would pick up again.

As the delay grew to over 30 minutes, it became a time for the coach to consider his options. How could he keep his team loose? He need not have worried. One thing that comes with having a team as young as this year’s edition of the Chiefs is they don’t allow a lot of things to bother them. It’s all so new, it’s all so different, they are long past a problem before they learn they should have been inconvienced.

And then there was locker room D.J., L.L. Cool L.J. Flowing out of Larry Johnson’s locker during the delay was his rather eclectic musical tastes. One minute L.J. has a rap song playing, the next a little current R & B, the next something old school, maybe even an Elton John song can pop up on the running back’s I-pod.

It all combined to keep the Chiefs loose and that’s how they went out and played the first half. With the D.J. on the sidelines because his head coach didn’t want to run him on the wet track, the Chiefs got their offensive back in gear. It helped give them a needed pre-season victory over the Rams 21-17.

Now let’s remember they went out for the first possession with nine starters, missing Johnson and Tony Gonzalez, and they were working against the Rams’ No. 2 defense. St. Louis decided to rest almost every one of their starters on both offense and defense.

That was just fine with the Chiefs, because it helped get their offense in gear. They did it with the running game. First they hit the Rams with Kolby Smith and he led the offense down the field for a touchdown. Then it was rookie Jamaal Charles; back after missing two games because of injury. He showed that speed of his and set up another Smith touchdown run. The defense set up a third touchdown, this time on a pass from Damon Huard to Bobby Sippio.

The offense finished the game riding the legs of Jackie Battle and Dantrell Savage in the second half. Battle ended up leading the team with 55 yards on nine carries. Things didn’t go so well for Savage, as he ran 11 times but gained just 21 yards.

In the end the Chiefs had 157 rushing yards, only 48 passing yards, but they had three touchdowns, they had a victory, and they survived.

Well, not all of them survived. There are 22 of them that will have to come off the roster by 3 o’clock Saturday afternoon. And veteran returner B.J. Sams did not survive, as he suffered a hamstring pull which complicates the roster picture and certainly his immediate and long-term future.

And for those that are employed by the Chiefs come Sunday, they are just a week away from making a trip to play the Patriots in New England. As Edwards told his players, “We get to go play the Giant and it’s the Giant’s house.”

That’s what his players have been looking forward too.

“As soon as you start training camp you look forward to that first game,” said quarterback Brodie Croyle. “You don’t look forward to pre-season games. You look forward to when it counts. We’re ready to go in there and get going.”

[SAUTO]

what about the doc who got injured on the sidelines? did he survive?

[FAX]

Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to take just a moment to pause and thank Mr. Tribal Warfare for posting these articles. The convenience afforded by these postings is much appreciated by myself and, I am quite certain, all Planeteers with an interest in late-breaking Chiefs news and maintaining a low mouse click rate. Thank you, Mr. Tribal Warfare. You are one studly peep.

FAX

[KcMizzou]

Yeah, thanks Tribal.

As bad as everyone seems to think things are... you have to admit... this preseason was much better than last. I fully expect to get stomped next week, but we'll see how things go after that.

I imagine we'll never really know what to expect out of this team all season. They might look pretty damned good one week, and horrible the next. That's the nature of a young team. Consistency comes later.

[FAX]

We're due for a miracle season though, Mr. KcMizzou. It's been ... how many years since we've had one ... ?? ... ??

I guess we never have!!

Go First Ever Miracle Season Of All Times!!!

FAX