Fiddles
Footballguy
http://www.hbo.com/hardknocks/?ntrack_para...category4_show1
The Kansas City Chiefs hold their training camp at Kansas City University of Wisconsin-River Falls, in River Falls, Wisconsin. HBO viewers will have access to the meeting rooms, practices, and tough decisions that Head Coach Herman Edwards and his staff face. Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs debuts on Wednesday, August 8. I had a chance to speak with Edwards at a golf tournament in mid-July, days before camp opened.
July 26, 2007 - by Elliott Kalb
"We are a team in transition," the spirited head coach said. "We are going to camp with 42 rookies or first-year players. We are a young team, and we need to get younger. The core of this team was together for six years, and accomplished a lot. They won 53 games and made the playoffs a couple of times. But it's time to infuse some youth."
The Chiefs, in a loaded AFC West division with the Chargers and Broncos, also need a little more offense. "Don't forget the Raiders," Edwards says. "They improved themselves a lot, as well."
Edwards is a highly optimistic individual, but even he can't gloss over the offensive shortcomings that his Chiefs had in their playoff defeat January 7 to the Colts in Indianapolis. Kansas City had six offensive possessions in the first half. They accumulated zero points, zero first downs, and gained only 16 yards on their 18 plays. The Chiefs lost the game 23-8, and gained only 126 yards for the entire game (of which 60 were gained on their one scoring drive). Trent Green (since traded to Miami) started that playoff game, the 90th game he had started for Kansas City (including postseason) in the last six seasons. Edwards has one of the few training camps in the NFL with an honest-to-God quarterback competition. "We have Brodie Croyle, in his second year out of Alabama, and we have Damon Huard, who played well for us last year. As of now, we haven't named either of them the starter."
Even the most Arrowhead faithful seem to recognize that wrangling a draft pick for the aging Green--despite lofty career numbers--is an important step for this franchise. Trent Green has a higher career passing rating than all but eight quarterbacks in history--higher even than Dan Marino and Brett Favre. But Green has never taken a team to a Super Bowl.
Football fans know that the quarterback is important, but it is the running back--Larry Johnson--that is the key to this offense, and team. The Chiefs probably have to hitch their wagon to Johnson and pay him a ton of money to stay for the next four or five years. The organization appears committed to Edwards--who is as committed to the running game as much as anyone in the league--and only one running back in the league now is close to matching or exceeding L.J. (LaDainian Tomlinson).
Are there are other running backs the Chiefs will feature in the preseason? "You'll see a lot of Michael Bennett, a youngster named Derrick Ross who we liked in the World League, and a kid we drafted out of Louisville, Kolby Smith," says Edwards. Smith was the 148th player selected in the 2007 draft, and Bennett has been in the NFL awhile--but his one good year (1,296 rushing yards with the Vikings) came in 2002. Ross was co-MVP of NFL Europe, and it will be interesting to see if it's Ross, Bennett, or Smith that will provide Edwards with a change of pace to relieve Johnson.
It shouldn't be a surprise that coach Edwards is optimistic about his many "diamonds in the rough." He himself once signed as a rookie free agent following his collegiate career, which began at the University of California-Berkeley, continued at Monterey Peninsula Junior College, and culminated with his senior season at San Diego State.
And for the Chiefs to contend, they'll have to find some stars out of their young wide receivers. They drafted one in the first round (Dwayne Bowe) and have a 2006 sixth-rounder (Jeff Webb) that they like. Chris Hannon might prove himself in the tradition of wideouts from the University of Tennessee. Samie Parker may yet emerge as a big-time player.
The truth is that Edwards, in his six years as an NFL head coach, has never opened up the offense full-throttle. He prefers to run the ball, and have his teams play mistake-free on offense. His teams let defense win games. In Edwards' six years as a head coach (the first five with the New York Jets), his teams have never finished higher than 15th in the league in points scored.
This 2007 team, too, will be better on defense than offense. The two defense ends (Tamba Hali and Jared Allen) are a problem for any team to deal with. Allen faced a four-game suspension at the beginning of the season, but an appeal knocked it down to just two games. The Chiefs drafted Turk McBride in the second round (54th overall) and he'll play a ton on the defensive line, as well. Obviously, this team needs more than solid play from several of these young kids, for this team to make the next step.
Edwards was a solid, if not spectacular player for the Eagles for most of a decade. He started 135 consecutive games at cornerback for Philadelphia, and started Super Bowl XV against the Raiders in January of 1981. I had read that Edwards had vowed not to watch a Super Bowl again until he participates in one as a head coach.
"That's absolutely true. The last one I saw was the one I played in 26 years ago. Heck, it hasn't been easy sometimes, like last year, when I was in town to interview Tony (Dungy) a few days before the game for NFL Network. But I haven't seen a Super Bowl since I've been coaching. I won't watch." Edwards is also old-school, not allowing his players to bring cell phones into the clubhouse.
Herman was hired by the Chiefs by Carl Peterson, who had signed Edwards to play for the Eagles back in 1977 when he was the Eagles' director of player personnel. Edwards replaced **** Vermeil, who had coached Edwards in Philadelphia. Herm changed little in his first year with Kansas City, as a veteran team brought in few new places, instead concentrating on signing their own free-agents. Now, one year later, the Chiefs are clearly intent on transitioning.
The training camp begins shortly. Right now, there are too many Chiefs, and not enough superstars. Many of the young Chiefs will be cut. Some may emerge as stars in the NFL, possibly as early as September 9, when the Chiefs travel to Houston for the season opener. It will all play out on Hard Knocks.
Elliott Kalb is the author of The 25 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories to be published in October by Skyhorse Publishing
The Kansas City Chiefs hold their training camp at Kansas City University of Wisconsin-River Falls, in River Falls, Wisconsin. HBO viewers will have access to the meeting rooms, practices, and tough decisions that Head Coach Herman Edwards and his staff face. Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs debuts on Wednesday, August 8. I had a chance to speak with Edwards at a golf tournament in mid-July, days before camp opened.
July 26, 2007 - by Elliott Kalb
"We are a team in transition," the spirited head coach said. "We are going to camp with 42 rookies or first-year players. We are a young team, and we need to get younger. The core of this team was together for six years, and accomplished a lot. They won 53 games and made the playoffs a couple of times. But it's time to infuse some youth."
The Chiefs, in a loaded AFC West division with the Chargers and Broncos, also need a little more offense. "Don't forget the Raiders," Edwards says. "They improved themselves a lot, as well."
Edwards is a highly optimistic individual, but even he can't gloss over the offensive shortcomings that his Chiefs had in their playoff defeat January 7 to the Colts in Indianapolis. Kansas City had six offensive possessions in the first half. They accumulated zero points, zero first downs, and gained only 16 yards on their 18 plays. The Chiefs lost the game 23-8, and gained only 126 yards for the entire game (of which 60 were gained on their one scoring drive). Trent Green (since traded to Miami) started that playoff game, the 90th game he had started for Kansas City (including postseason) in the last six seasons. Edwards has one of the few training camps in the NFL with an honest-to-God quarterback competition. "We have Brodie Croyle, in his second year out of Alabama, and we have Damon Huard, who played well for us last year. As of now, we haven't named either of them the starter."
Even the most Arrowhead faithful seem to recognize that wrangling a draft pick for the aging Green--despite lofty career numbers--is an important step for this franchise. Trent Green has a higher career passing rating than all but eight quarterbacks in history--higher even than Dan Marino and Brett Favre. But Green has never taken a team to a Super Bowl.
Football fans know that the quarterback is important, but it is the running back--Larry Johnson--that is the key to this offense, and team. The Chiefs probably have to hitch their wagon to Johnson and pay him a ton of money to stay for the next four or five years. The organization appears committed to Edwards--who is as committed to the running game as much as anyone in the league--and only one running back in the league now is close to matching or exceeding L.J. (LaDainian Tomlinson).
Are there are other running backs the Chiefs will feature in the preseason? "You'll see a lot of Michael Bennett, a youngster named Derrick Ross who we liked in the World League, and a kid we drafted out of Louisville, Kolby Smith," says Edwards. Smith was the 148th player selected in the 2007 draft, and Bennett has been in the NFL awhile--but his one good year (1,296 rushing yards with the Vikings) came in 2002. Ross was co-MVP of NFL Europe, and it will be interesting to see if it's Ross, Bennett, or Smith that will provide Edwards with a change of pace to relieve Johnson.
It shouldn't be a surprise that coach Edwards is optimistic about his many "diamonds in the rough." He himself once signed as a rookie free agent following his collegiate career, which began at the University of California-Berkeley, continued at Monterey Peninsula Junior College, and culminated with his senior season at San Diego State.
And for the Chiefs to contend, they'll have to find some stars out of their young wide receivers. They drafted one in the first round (Dwayne Bowe) and have a 2006 sixth-rounder (Jeff Webb) that they like. Chris Hannon might prove himself in the tradition of wideouts from the University of Tennessee. Samie Parker may yet emerge as a big-time player.
The truth is that Edwards, in his six years as an NFL head coach, has never opened up the offense full-throttle. He prefers to run the ball, and have his teams play mistake-free on offense. His teams let defense win games. In Edwards' six years as a head coach (the first five with the New York Jets), his teams have never finished higher than 15th in the league in points scored.
This 2007 team, too, will be better on defense than offense. The two defense ends (Tamba Hali and Jared Allen) are a problem for any team to deal with. Allen faced a four-game suspension at the beginning of the season, but an appeal knocked it down to just two games. The Chiefs drafted Turk McBride in the second round (54th overall) and he'll play a ton on the defensive line, as well. Obviously, this team needs more than solid play from several of these young kids, for this team to make the next step.
Edwards was a solid, if not spectacular player for the Eagles for most of a decade. He started 135 consecutive games at cornerback for Philadelphia, and started Super Bowl XV against the Raiders in January of 1981. I had read that Edwards had vowed not to watch a Super Bowl again until he participates in one as a head coach.
"That's absolutely true. The last one I saw was the one I played in 26 years ago. Heck, it hasn't been easy sometimes, like last year, when I was in town to interview Tony (Dungy) a few days before the game for NFL Network. But I haven't seen a Super Bowl since I've been coaching. I won't watch." Edwards is also old-school, not allowing his players to bring cell phones into the clubhouse.
Herman was hired by the Chiefs by Carl Peterson, who had signed Edwards to play for the Eagles back in 1977 when he was the Eagles' director of player personnel. Edwards replaced **** Vermeil, who had coached Edwards in Philadelphia. Herm changed little in his first year with Kansas City, as a veteran team brought in few new places, instead concentrating on signing their own free-agents. Now, one year later, the Chiefs are clearly intent on transitioning.
The training camp begins shortly. Right now, there are too many Chiefs, and not enough superstars. Many of the young Chiefs will be cut. Some may emerge as stars in the NFL, possibly as early as September 9, when the Chiefs travel to Houston for the season opener. It will all play out on Hard Knocks.
Elliott Kalb is the author of The 25 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories to be published in October by Skyhorse Publishing
