Teicher: Charles presents a dilemma for Chiefs

[Tribal Warfare]

Charles presents a dilemma for Chiefs
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star

The dilemma with running back Jamaal Charles gets to the heart of the problem Todd Haley has in getting the 0-4 Chiefs a victory — and, longer term, building them into a playoff contender.

On one hand, Charles, who returns kickoffs and plays as the third-down back, is one of the Chiefs’ most talented players. He is one of the few Chiefs capable of making big plays and one of the fastest players on an otherwise slow team.

On the other hand, Charles has been an unreliable player whose fumble on the opening kickoff Sunday put the Chiefs in an immediate hole against the undefeated New York Giants. He delivered some big plays as a rookie last year, but a precious few this season.

The Chiefs figure to need Charles and his potential Sunday when they play the Dallas Cowboys at Arrowhead Stadium. But, perhaps mindful of the damage Charles is also capable of inflicting on his own team, Haley wouldn’t commit to having Charles active.

“We’ll have to see where we’re at personnelwise,” Haley said. “We’ll talk about that as the week progresses.

“Jamaal was very remorseful about (the fumble). He told his teammates that. We’ve just got to move forward.”

As Haley and general manager Scott Pioli continue what now seems like an eternal Chiefs rebuilding program, they have precious few younger offensive players who can help with the process. Dwayne Bowe, perhaps. Matt Cassel and Branden Albert, they hope.

Charles could figure into their plans — if not as a regular, then as a spot player capable of causing matchup problems for the opposing defense because of his speed. Haley appears to like Charles as a player, which certainly helps his cause. Haley certainly doesn’t want to give up on Charles too quickly and then watch him become a productive player for an opposing team.

But Charles’ time to prove his worth to the Chiefs could be running out. Kolby Smith is close to finishing his rehabilitation from last year’s knee surgery and is eligible to be activated from the injured list later this month.

He could take Charles’ place as Larry Johnson’s primary backup. In the interim, Dantrell Savage, a less talented but more reliable player than Charles, is the option.

For his part, Charles indicated he is ready for whatever punishment Haley dishes out for the fumble against New York.

“Whatever they do to me, they do to me,” he said. “I’ll still go out there and give it my all. It was my fault (Sunday) fumbling the ball like that. I put the defense in a bad situation. We’re (not) that good to be turning the ball over. I’ll take responsibility for that. If I had held on to that ball, it would have been a lot different.

“I’m trying to get things going, and I wasn’t thinking about the ball. It wasn’t a big hit. The ball just came out.”

Since coming to the Chiefs, Haley has emphasized that he wants players he can count on every down, and not necessarily talented players whose performance goes up and down. He’s been willing to bend that policy in the case of Charles.

“He doesn’t have to say anything about that,” Charles said. “Every coach wants consistent players.

“I agree with him. If I didn’t practice that good or play that good, don’t put me in that week. If you think Savage practices better than me, play Sav. I don’t have anything against Sav. He’s a good player.”

Charles showed a glimpse of his big-play ability on his 53-yard kickoff return against New York in the fourth quarter. He might have taken it all the way if teammate Terrance Copper had made a better block.

The fumble against New York was only the latest in a series of drops for Charles. The Chiefs aren’t strong enough to overcome mistakes like that.

“We’ve talked about margin of error around here,” Haley said. “We can’t do that against a good football team. Generally, it will get you beat.

“Jamaal starting the game that way is a morale-hurter. It hurts like a dagger in your abdomen. It was not in any way the way we wanted to start the game. It wasn’t a big hit or a great play by a defensive player. I feel like we kind of served it up for them. We can’t do it.

“We just have to work on the technique. We have the gantlet (machine) we run through twice a week, and we talk about protecting the football and how you’ve got to do it. We’ve just got to work harder at it.”

[keg in kc]

Reposting yourself. That's skills.

[BigMeatballDave]

Short term memory loss?

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by BigChiefDave

Short term memory loss?

My dog was messing with me ( first day away from her pups) and I forgot that I posted it, After playing fetch for a while