KC Star - Law won't break - Page 2

Hammock Parties · 12-22-2006, 02:19 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/16295180.htm

Law won’t break
Chiefs cornerback defends himself against the critics and says he still loves the game.
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star

The lights glared on his white tank top and rippling Popeye guns, the team Web site crashed, and Ty Law, internally, rolled his eyes. He never liked the term savior. But he mugged for the cameras in July, flashed his $30 million smile and brought late-summer hope to a town awash with playoff — make that Super Bowl — hopes.

“Sometimes,” Law said, “your reputation precedes you.”

Nearly the entire team had filed out of the Chiefs’ locker room Thursday afternoon for a trip to Oakland, but Law wanted to stay and talk. He knows Kansas City had such high hopes when he signed with the team in July. He knows by Sunday night, the Chiefs could be officially eliminated from the playoff race.

Fingers have pointed, and many of them have been aimed at the guy who was supposed to be the missing piece of the puzzle, the five-time Pro Bowl cornerback, the free agent Kansas City fans salivated over for two years.

Now they’re spitting mad. They call Law the “fall-down corner.” They wonder whether his 32-year-old legs have lost it. Law has no doubt it’s still there, because ultimately, he says, he doesn’t need this. He has all the money he wants. He has three Super Bowl rings.

But he loves football and yearns to hoist a trophy in another place besides New England. That’s what keeps him going, he says, through the cracks and the boos.

“I’ve been hired, I’ve been fired, I’ve been cursed at, I’ve been talked about,” Law said. “Hey, that’s all part of having a career. But to believe in yourself and to still have your peers’ respect … to have guys you play against tell you on the field, ‘Damn, you can still play, you can still run, you can still hit’ … That means more to me than anything.

“Because a lot of people who don’t put on a uniform don’t understand what’s going on between those lines or understand what my job might be at this particular time.”

Law had 10 interceptions with the Jets last season, and he did it with a bad foot. But in Kansas City, he’s defined by several slips. The most recent one happened two weeks ago against Baltimore, when Mark Clayton was as wide open as the Kansas countryside on an 87-yard touchdown catch.

Clayton got behind Law and safety Greg Wesley, and coach Herm Edwards later said the play resulted from miscommunication. Law admits there are a handful of plays from the 2006 season that he wishes he could have back, mostly missed tackles.

But he also insists he’d never leave a man that open and has never done it in his career.

Edwards wonders sometimes whether Law is pressing to make plays. This is Law’s third team in three years, three systems and different sets of expectations.

“It’s not the season he probably anticipated he’d have,” Edwards said. “But he’s done some things that you don’t see. Sometimes a guy’s playing really good because they’re not throwing balls his way and he’s doing a really good job.

“What happens with corners is your name is out there when you intercept passes. And he hasn’t had a lot of interceptions this year. He’s made some tackles, but then if anything bad happens. … You could play a whole game and be playing pretty good, but if you miss a tackle or get beat on a touchdown, that’s what people remember.”

Law has three interceptions — that’s what they remember — and the Chiefs have seen major defensive collapses at Cleveland and Pittsburgh. One tackle here, Law says, and maybe things would be different.

He blames some of the defensive struggles on the newness of playing together. Rookie Tamba Hali is new, and so are safeties Jarrad Page, Bernard Pollard and interior linemen Ron Edwards and James Reed.

Law calls it a journey and compares this team to some of the greener groups he played with in New England before the Super Bowls. He hopes he’ll be part of the ride. The fans were so giddy about acquiring him last summer that the Chiefs’ Web site had more than 50,000 hits at once and crashed the day the deal was struck.

That’s what a reputation can do.

“I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be here,” he said. “I didn’t play to where I messed up the season or something like that. I don’t think it’s even a question, but in this game, this business, you never know what’s going to happen.

“I had an opportunity to go back to New England before I signed here. People don’t know that. I chose to come here for a reason. If it didn’t work out, hypothetically, I’ve had a good time here. To play in front of these fans here is incredible, even when they’re booing. It’s a crazy place to play in, man, and I like it.”

Mojo Rising · 12-22-2006, 02:59 AM

The alternative to signing him would be to have Walls as the starter. They would have brought back some scrub (McLeon level) to fill the role that Walls is filling and the profits at Arrowhead would have been higher.

We would have also lost at AZ.

Law is not the savior Whitlock crowned him as (big surprise, JW is as wrong as CP.) However, he didn't cost the Chiefs a better FA. And, he didn't cost me any money.

el borracho · 12-22-2006, 03:06 AM

Donnie Edwards has been pretty good for the Chargers. I think he may have even made a probowl but I might be mistaken.

All that said, I don't miss Donnie Edwards and you have a very valid point- our D has been a talentless collection of lemmings for years.

htismaqe · 12-22-2006, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

As an old CB that's "played in this league", Herm should have known better. He should have known better than to sign a 32 year old CB to a high dollar contract, expecting him to the be Pro Bowl CB of old.

Hell, I knew it. I've posted in the past my feelings on guys like Hugh Douglas and Ty Law. Why doesn't a "Professional" like Herm Edwards know it? Or for fucks sake, King Carl (Dead Man Walking) Peterson know it?

Old Boys Network...CP hires only those who he *trusts* (i.e., control). Fans wait and watch. Buy tickets. CP wins again.

Carl Peterson is a latter day P.T. Barnum. And all the people living in Kansas City are the *Suckers*.

Law's contract isn't "high dollar" in any way other than face value. It's loaded with incentives and voidables.

Surtain's contract is "high dollar".

htismaqe · 12-22-2006, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Not exactly household names. My point was that this organization/front office - whatever you want to refer this clusterfuck as, has never *consistently* provided the coaching staff (or fans) of high caliber players. Jeff Fisher takes a crap team from 0-5 to 7-7 because of coaching and front office acquistions. Same with Billick/Newsome. Parcells/Jones and the ever popular Pioli/Belichick. Somehow, CP missed the memo on player acquisition, scouting and coaching hires.

In 18 years. Go figure.

The reason the Titans are a "crap team" is because overall they lack talent.

Don't kid yourself, Jeff Fisher COACHED them to where they are.

Mecca · 12-22-2006, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The reason the Titans are a "crap team" is because overall they lack talent.

Don't kid yourself, Jeff Fisher COACHED them to where they are.

The Bills and Titans have the same record we do...and in standings of the AFC the Bills are actually ahead of us, that's a bit embarassing.

htismaqe · 12-22-2006, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mecca

The Bills and Titans have the same record we do...and in standings of the AFC the Bills are actually ahead of us, that's a bit embarassing.

Yeah, and if you look up and down their rosters, you could argue we're QUITE A BIT more talented, on both sides of the ball.

Mecca · 12-22-2006, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yeah, and if you look up and down their rosters, you could argue we're QUITE A BIT more talented, on both sides of the ball.

But our teams are going in different directions that's the worst thing to me. Bills are a young ascending team same for the Titans where we on the other hand are the old declining team......

NewChief · 12-22-2006, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Which *big name* Chiefs player in the past 6 years has left the organization to go on to do anything?? Anything? Not even Pro Bowl (and that hasn't happened either) but ANYTHING?

Donnie Edwards in the only one that comes to mind.

**Lzen** · 12-22-2006, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoChiefs

But in Kansas City, he’s defined by several slips. The most recent one happened two weeks ago against Baltimore, when Mark Clayton was as wide open as the Kansas countryside on an 87-yard touchdown catch.

Ok, this reporter shows her lack of knowledge with this. The safety was responsible for the deep coverage in that zone. And I don't recall Law slipping. I thought he just released the receiver to Wesley (who had bitten hard on the play action fake).

htismaqe · 12-22-2006, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mecca

But our teams are going in different directions that's the worst thing to me. Bills are a young ascending team same for the Titans where we on the other hand are the old declining team......

And that's where the difference is made.

Good coaches accelerate the process of ascending.

Bad coaches accelerate the process of descending.

Mecca · 12-22-2006, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Give me a fuckin' break. Who, outside of Jared Allen, *possibly* Mitchell and the newly acquired Hali could be considered *talented*? This team has been lacking in TALENT for years. Bad drafts, giving up draft choices for coaches, players, etc. has depleted this team beyond belief. Peterson has tried to "fill in the blanks" for years, leading to 7-9, 6-10, 8-8 type records. Just good enough not to lose, but not good enough to win.

Which *big name* Chiefs player in the past 6 years has left the organization to go on to do anything?? Anything? Not even Pro Bowl (and that hasn't happened either) but ANYTHING?

Other than Tait and Edwards the Chiefs problem hasn't been cutting ties with players to soon it's been holding onto aging players to long.....

Mecca · 12-22-2006, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

And that's where the difference is made.

Good coaches accelerate the process of ascending.

Bad coaches accelerate the process of descending.

Now I believe Jeff Fisher is a great coach but Dick Jauron?

htismaqe · 12-22-2006, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mecca

Now I believe Jeff Fisher is a great coach but Dick Jauron?

He's a decent coach. He's better with Herm's approach than Herm is.

Mecca · 12-22-2006, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by htismaqe

He's a decent coach. He's better with Herm's approach than Herm is.

A friend of mine is a Bills fan.......it hurts to see them develop young players and get good when we can never seem to do it. Especially when they have a couple of starters I really wanted the Chiefs to get.....

**2112** · 12-22-2006, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

As an old CB that's "played in this league", Herm should have known better. He should have known better than to sign a 32 year old CB to a high dollar contract, expecting him to the be Pro Bowl CB of old.

Hell, I knew it. I've posted in the past my feelings on guys like Hugh Douglas and Ty Law. Why doesn't a "Professional" like Herm Edwards know it? Or for fucks sake, King Carl (Dead Man Walking) Peterson know it?

Old Boys Network...CP hires only those who he *trusts* (i.e., control). Fans wait and watch. Buy tickets. CP wins again.

Carl Peterson is a latter day P.T. Barnum. And all the people living in Kansas City are the *Suckers*.

Coaches who know they are in over their head and dont have a clue are scared to play rookies or young players so they attach themselves to the veterans.
Thats Herm's mantra..he let Cotchery rot on the bench for 3 years while playing that POS McCariens..

12-22-2006, 02:19 AM
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $800478	KC Star - Law won't break http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/16295180.htm Law won’t break Chiefs cornerback defends himself against the critics and says he still loves the game. By ELIZABETH MERRILL The Kansas City Star The lights glared on his white tank top and rippling Popeye guns, the team Web site crashed, and Ty Law, internally, rolled his eyes. He never liked the term savior. But he mugged for the cameras in July, flashed his $30 million smile and brought late-summer hope to a town awash with playoff — make that Super Bowl — hopes. “Sometimes,” Law said, “your reputation precedes you.” Nearly the entire team had filed out of the Chiefs’ locker room Thursday afternoon for a trip to Oakland, but Law wanted to stay and talk. He knows Kansas City had such high hopes when he signed with the team in July. He knows by Sunday night, the Chiefs could be officially eliminated from the playoff race. Fingers have pointed, and many of them have been aimed at the guy who was supposed to be the missing piece of the puzzle, the five-time Pro Bowl cornerback, the free agent Kansas City fans salivated over for two years. Now they’re spitting mad. They call Law the “fall-down corner.” They wonder whether his 32-year-old legs have lost it. Law has no doubt it’s still there, because ultimately, he says, he doesn’t need this. He has all the money he wants. He has three Super Bowl rings. But he loves football and yearns to hoist a trophy in another place besides New England. That’s what keeps him going, he says, through the cracks and the boos. “I’ve been hired, I’ve been fired, I’ve been cursed at, I’ve been talked about,” Law said. “Hey, that’s all part of having a career. But to believe in yourself and to still have your peers’ respect … to have guys you play against tell you on the field, ‘Damn, you can still play, you can still run, you can still hit’ … That means more to me than anything. “Because a lot of people who don’t put on a uniform don’t understand what’s going on between those lines or understand what my job might be at this particular time.” Law had 10 interceptions with the Jets last season, and he did it with a bad foot. But in Kansas City, he’s defined by several slips. The most recent one happened two weeks ago against Baltimore, when Mark Clayton was as wide open as the Kansas countryside on an 87-yard touchdown catch. Clayton got behind Law and safety Greg Wesley, and coach Herm Edwards later said the play resulted from miscommunication. Law admits there are a handful of plays from the 2006 season that he wishes he could have back, mostly missed tackles. But he also insists he’d never leave a man that open and has never done it in his career. Edwards wonders sometimes whether Law is pressing to make plays. This is Law’s third team in three years, three systems and different sets of expectations. “It’s not the season he probably anticipated he’d have,” Edwards said. “But he’s done some things that you don’t see. Sometimes a guy’s playing really good because they’re not throwing balls his way and he’s doing a really good job. “What happens with corners is your name is out there when you intercept passes. And he hasn’t had a lot of interceptions this year. He’s made some tackles, but then if anything bad happens. … You could play a whole game and be playing pretty good, but if you miss a tackle or get beat on a touchdown, that’s what people remember.” Law has three interceptions — that’s what they remember — and the Chiefs have seen major defensive collapses at Cleveland and Pittsburgh. One tackle here, Law says, and maybe things would be different. He blames some of the defensive struggles on the newness of playing together. Rookie Tamba Hali is new, and so are safeties Jarrad Page, Bernard Pollard and interior linemen Ron Edwards and James Reed. Law calls it a journey and compares this team to some of the greener groups he played with in New England before the Super Bowls. He hopes he’ll be part of the ride. The fans were so giddy about acquiring him last summer that the Chiefs’ Web site had more than 50,000 hits at once and crashed the day the deal was struck. That’s what a reputation can do. “I don’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be here,” he said. “I didn’t play to where I messed up the season or something like that. I don’t think it’s even a question, but in this game, this business, you never know what’s going to happen. “I had an opportunity to go back to New England before I signed here. People don’t know that. I chose to come here for a reason. If it didn’t work out, hypothetically, I’ve had a good time here. To play in front of these fans here is incredible, even when they’re booing. It’s a crazy place to play in, man, and I like it.”
Posts: 297,444

12-22-2006, 02:59 AM	#16
Mojo Rising Veteran Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: OC Casino cash: $10009560	The alternative to signing him would be to have Walls as the starter. They would have brought back some scrub (McLeon level) to fill the role that Walls is filling and the profits at Arrowhead would have been higher. We would have also lost at AZ. Law is not the savior Whitlock crowned him as (big surprise, JW is as wrong as CP.) However, he didn't cost the Chiefs a better FA. And, he didn't cost me any money.
Posts: 1,792

12-22-2006, 03:06 AM	#17
el borracho In Pat We Trust Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Albuquerque, NM Casino cash: $2509148	Donnie Edwards has been pretty good for the Chargers. I think he may have even made a probowl but I might be mistaken. All that said, I don't miss Donnie Edwards and you have a very valid point- our D has been a talentless collection of lemmings for years.
Posts: 12,277