Babb: Chiefs pick up the pieces after Gonzalez trade falls apart

[Tribal Warfare]

Chiefs pick up the pieces after Gonzalez trade falls apart
By KENT BABB
The Kansas City Star

Herm Edwards called it the biggest of a handful of bye-week distractions, and then he checked his watch. He hoped time was up on at least one of those distractions.

“Three-oh-three,” Edwards said, looking at his wristwatch Tuesday afternoon. “I was just waiting until 3 o’clock.”

That’s when the NFL’s trade deadline passed without longtime Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez being sent to another team, as Gonzalez requested last week. He wanted to leave the Chiefs after more than 11 seasons. Wanted to be dealt to a Super Bowl contender, to ease into his final years as an NFL player somewhere other than Kansas City.

When it didn’t happen, it left a team trying to move forward after its best player wanted out and a coach whose tallest responsibility now might be holding the team together during an increasingly complicated season.

It appears to be wearing on the coach. He was uncharacteristically short with reporters Tuesday and bristled when asked what Gonzalez’s trade request says about Edwards, team president Carl Peterson and the organization at large.

“It doesn’t say anything about me,” Edwards said. “It doesn’t say one thing about me. It has nothing to do with me. You need to ask the player that. That’s not for me to answer. I’m not going to answer for a football player. I don’t have to do that. I answer to the decisions that I make; what comes out of my mouth. You’re asking the wrong guy. You need to ask him.

“I have enough problems.”

The Chiefs’ 1-4 record already gave Edwards plenty of headaches even without the Gonzalez factor. The coach spent the weekend in his office at the team’s practice facility, reliving Kansas City’s first five games on film and waiting to see if another team would bite on a trade.

Now the coach also has to worry about a team whose players have to work alongside Gonzalez, who was hoping to move on. But Edwards said he’s not concerned that some players might be feeling a little resentment.

“That’s what young guys are going to have to learn about professional football,” Edwards said. “There’s always going to be some distractions every week, some bigger than others, and you can’t bring it to work. You’ve got to stay focused on your job.

“Hopefully these guys can understand the importance of not letting distractions really cloud what we have to do.”

Edwards said he hadn’t spoken with Gonzalez and didn’t plan to speak with him about this week’s ordeal.

Edwards said that he also didn’t speak with Peterson about trade discussions and that he didn’t know how close the Chiefs were to dealing Gonzalez.

Peterson, who normally sits in on Edwards’ weekly news conferences, wasn’t in the auditorium at Arrowhead Stadium on Tuesday. Edwards said Peterson was in St. Petersburg, Fla., for the league’s midseason owners meetings.

Regardless, Edwards sat alone Tuesday, responding to questions he said he didn’t know the answers to and asserting that the Chiefs, with all their problems and all their youth, will get past this latest obstacle – and at least they know they’ll do it with Gonzalez. Edwards said he expected Gonzalez to play with full effort regardless of his feelings toward his current setup.

“He’ll be like he always is,” Edwards said. “He’s a professional football player. He’s a pro, and one thing about Tony, he’ll prepare himself this week to play well. This is what we kind of expect out of him.”

Edwards said he expected Gonzalez at this morning’s practice. Gonzalez has yet to publicly discuss his side of the trade request, discussions and failure. He was gone from the locker room Monday by the time reporters were allowed in, and attempts Tuesday to reach Gonzalez were unsuccessful.

His agent, Tom Condon, was traveling Tuesday and wasn’t available for comment, according to a man who answered the phone at Condon’s office in St. Louis.

That left Edwards, and Edwards alone, to face and explain the latest Chiefs misfire in 2008 – and it’s one he insisted he had almost nothing to do with.

“He’s a Chief,” Edwards said. “What is there to talk about?”

[Hammock Parties]

Tony Gonzalez remains a Chief.

[KCKY-Fan4life]

I kind of wanted to see Tony G get what he deserves and play for a championship, but I'm glad to see him stay. I didn't want to see us give him away for a 6th round pick.