Defensive end Jared Allen apologized Tuesday to Chiefs fans for “letting them down” by drinking and driving on two occasions this year.

Allen was charged Sept. 26 with driving under the influence in Leawood. At the time, he was participating in a court program stemming from his arrest in May in Overland Park on the same charge.

In a statement released by Allen’s attorney, Kevin Regan, Allen said he had “exercised poor judgment and made bad decisions regarding drinking and driving. I accept complete responsibility for my actions.

“Drinking and driving are wrong and I will never put myself or others in that situation again.”

Allen said he wanted to apologize to those close to him for the embarrassment he has caused them and to fans for letting them down. He said he is taking the right steps to deal with the situation and to make sure it never happens again. Full story

Herm Edwards never really minded the nickname. Five years in New York, five dozen press conferences, and the name that stuck was “The Preacher.” He guessed that meant the folks taking notes knew he was passionate. He never realized how much he entertained them.

“When you go to a press conference with other coaches,” New York Times NFL writer Judy Battista said, “you run the risk of falling asleep.

“Herm is not the norm.”

Tuesdays with Herm started at his usual red tableclothed perch, in front of roughly 15 microphones. In just a month of these weekly gab sessions, Edwards has already produced his share of sound bites and sermons. Like the time a few weeks ago, when he got on a roll after a reporter called him conservative. That response filled the airwaves for days.

But on Tuesday, Edwards was uncharacteristically subdued. Only once did his hand hit the table to make a point. After about 17 pain-free minutes, he was done, letting out a mild laugh at another red-state jab.

This may be the way Kansas Citians see Edwards after a win — calm, mild, but with an air of dissatisfaction. When asked what the defense has to do to please him, he said play the same way for another 13 weeks. That would apparently mean 13 more shutouts. Full story

Not-so-affectionately known as I-65 on local talk radio for his history of pass protection mishaps, Chiefs offensive lineman Jordan Black took over at left tackle for the injured Kyle Turley in Sunday's 41-0 win over the San Francisco 49ers at Arrowhead Stadium and had Chiefs fans fearing for the livelihood of quarterback Damon Huard.

The final tally: No sacks, no hurries, two passes deflected, one relaxed, efficient and healthy Huard.

"They were awesome," Huard said of the offensive linemen. "I think I only got hit a couple of times."

The Bengals sacked Chiefs quarterbacks seven times in Week 1. The Broncos had one sack in Week 2.

Sunday was the first time the Chiefs did not allow a sack since Dec. 4 of last season in a 31-27 victory over the Denver Broncos. That was the only game last season the Chiefs did not allow a sack. Full story

In every football team’s season, there is a defining moment. The Chiefs won’t know for months whether Sunday’s 41-0 win over San Francisco was theirs.

The one-sided result may instead ultimately be one of those unexplained moments in time, one weak team ganging up on another on a glorious fall afternoon.

For now, and at least until they play again Sunday against the Cardinals in Arizona, the 1-2 Chiefs will cling to their belief the 49ers game will eventually carry much more meaning.

The Chiefs dismantled the 49ers in every phase. It was enough to convince the Chiefs they not only rescued their season from a precipice but also evolved into an opponent other teams dread to face.

Tight end Tony Gonzalez said his belief was rooted not necessarily in the game’s lopsided final score, but in its well-rounded nature. Other Chiefs’ routs from recent seasons featured a monster performance by the offense while the defense and sometimes even the special teams were just along for the ride.

Not so against San Francisco. The offense was efficient but, with only 333 yards, hardly imposing.

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It was forever ago, that afternoon when a family member observed Damon Huard’s tangled-up pregame psyche and said, “Right now, he’s one nervous little guy.”

It was 17 days ago.

That’s the beauty of having an open date. For Kansas City, it turned Huard from game manager to gunslinger, sullen to strutting. Huard was clutching onto his Nike sunglasses late Sunday, because the glare was that bright and the backup quarterback was that big in the Chiefs’ 41-0 win over San Francisco.

He laughed when reminded that nobody, outside of maybe the Chiefs’ locker room, thought he could carry a game with his arm the way he did Sunday.

“That’s OK,” he said. “I haven’t played much.

“If you stay at the table long enough, you’re going to be dealt some cards.”

Everything, from the clear skies that replaced the pelting rain to the appearance on the sideline of Trent Green, was different from the last time Kansas City played at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 10. The same Chiefs offense dubbed conservative and inept scored on its first two possessions and piled up 24 points by halftime. Full story

The situation was now out of his control, so Kawika Mitchell felt as helpless as ever, even going back to the Chiefs’ bleak days on defense.

The Chiefs had the 49ers without a point at the 2-minute warning, but Mitchell and some of the other defensive starters were out of the game because they had the victory well in hand.

So Mitchell did the only thing he could think of. During the break, he called some of the defenders around him and warned them not to let the 49ers ruin the shutout.

“I told them that if they scored, I was going to fine them $1,000 each,” Mitchell, the Chiefs’ middle linebacker, said after their 41-0 win was over. “I wanted the shutout bad. We haven’t had one since I’ve been here. It means a lot to our defense. There’s nothing that shows results, no statistic or anything else, like a shutout.”

Ty Law’s interception on the next play not only saved himself and some of his teammates the one-grand, but it also ensured the Chiefs of their first shutout since they beat Arizona 49-0 in 2002.

The Chiefs also sacked 49ers quarterback Alex Smith five times, forced four turnovers and limited San Francisco to 165 yards.

But, as Mitchell said, nothing says results like a shutout. Full story

The match looked more like a mismatch — the 49ers and their top pass rush against the Chiefs and their patchwork offensive line.

San Francisco came to Arrowhead Stadium with 12 sacks. The Chiefs had allowed seven in one game and were afraid to let their quarterback throw deep because of fears for his safety in the other.

It was a mismatch Sunday in an unexpected way. The Chiefs not only kept quarterback Damon Huard clean but also allowed him to throw for 208 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-0 win.

The 49ers appeared unconcerned about their ability to get pressure on Huard. They waited on the running game and Larry Johnson and made things difficult for him.

Johnson rushed for 101 yards but needed 30 carries to get there.

They instead dared the Chiefs to beat them with the passing game, and that’s exactly what they did.

“When we were averaging only 2 or 3 yards a carry, (the 49ers) thought they were having some success,” guard Brian Waters said. “Really, they were letting us get to the point where we could set up some big plays down the field. Full story

Trent Green, who has never liked being on the sideline, was reveling in it on Sunday. It meant he was back.

Green’s severe concussion, suffered in the first game of the season against Cincinnati, still keeps him off the field indefinitely. But he made sure he was doing a lot more than holding a clipboard as his teammates rolled over San Francisco 41-0.

“Yeah, he’s a play-caller now,” coach Herm Edwards said jokingly when asked about Green’s effect on the game and on former backup quarterback Damon Huard.

“He did a good job, obviously, with Damon, I thought, and with Mike (Solari). That was the whole mind-set of him coming on the sideline, let Damon know through his eyes what he saw and give him his vision and let Damon know what’s going on. It allowed Damon to keep his poise.”

Cooped up at home with an aching head, Green was so antsy to get back to football last week that he scribbled up about 20 plays and gave them to offensive coordinator Solari. He started attending team meetings at Arrowhead Stadium again and tried to get back into the routine. It was the best thing he could do to help himself recover. Full story

Maybe in a month we’ll know what to make of the Chiefs’ 41-0 shellacking of the 49ers on Sunday.

For now, we just need to accept it for what it is, a vision of what Herm Edwards wants his team to be — complete, physical, intense, sound in all three phases and capable of taking advantage of what the opposition gives.

Judging by the snapshot we saw inside Arrowhead Stadium, Edwards, his coaching staff and the players used the bye week to move past Willie Roaf’s retirement, Trent Green’s concussion, Kyle Turley’s bad back, Mike Solari’s play-calling errors and an 0-2 season.

The Chiefs are done making excuses, tired of feeling sorry for themselves and determined to make something out of this season.

Hosting the sad-sack San Francisco 49ers gave the Chiefs a perfect opportunity to reintroduce and redefine themselves.

For a day, and for the first time in a long, long time, the Chiefs were a balanced football team — dominant on defense, deadly on special teams and methodical on offense. The Chiefs imposed their will in all three phases. Full story

Mama Rachel watched the quarterback because that’s what her son told her to do. Everything around her felt curious and alive and strangely beautiful. Nobody would confuse Arrowhead Stadium with a fairytale land. And yet, on this day …

This huge stadium smelled like beer and pretzels. Mama Rachel had not been in a stadium with so many people. Music thumped. Pretty women in bright red shirts and long white boots danced on the grass below. On the field with white stripes, men in black stripes threw yellow flags. In the stands, people wearing jerseys with other people’s names — Holmes, Johnson, Green, even Hali — stood up and sat down and stood again. They cheered at odd times and then fell silent. They slapped hands and hugged.

All the while, Mama Rachel watched the quarterback.

Her son Tamba Hali had told her that his job was to hit the quarterback.

“How can I explain my emotion?” Rachel Keita asked, and she shook her head because she could not explain. A week ago, she came to America. She saw her son, Tamba Hali, for the first time in more than 10 years. When she saw him last, Tamba was a small boy and war raged all around them. Now, he was grown, a large man, 260 pounds. He looked so much like his father, Henry. He spoke with an American accent. And he was famous.

“Watch the quarterback,” Tamba had told her. “I’m going to get the quarterback.” Full story

The best advice Dante Hall could give himself was to stop thinking about it. For two years, Hall tried to hit the proverbial home run, to return every kickoff and punt into the end zone.

He decided to positively stop doing that this summer. But he also predicted he’d have five touchdown returns by the end of the year.

One down, four to go.

Hall did something Sunday he hasn’t done since 2003 — score a touchdown on a punt return.

He took an Andy Lee kick up the middle at the 40-yard line and kept going for a 60-yard touchdown return. The game was well in hand, but it could be the start of something bigger for the Chiefs’ special teams.

“You want to reward the guys who are out there busting their tails and blocking for you,” Hall said. “They get excited, the coaches get excited and the fans get excited, too.” Full story

The general reaction, even among the Chiefs, was disbelief.

"Our defense," quarterback Damon Huard said, "are you kidding me? A shutout in the NFL? Unbelievable."

There was an awkward pause at Herman Edwards' postgame news conference Sunday, possibly suggesting shock that the Chiefs had allowed fewer points than the Royals on Sunday.

"Y'all ain't seen nobody play defense like that," Edwards said. "You think you're at the wrong stadium."

The last Chiefs shutout was Dec. 1, 2002 against a deeply flawed Arizona team that came to Arrowhead and lost 49-0.

But the 49ers were the No. 4 offense in the NFL entering Sunday's game. Quarterback Alex Smith was averaging 271 yards and hadn't thrown an interception. He was 13-for-25 for 92 yards with two picks Sunday. Kansas City held the 49ers to 165 total yards

The Chiefs have gone 10 quarters without allowing a touchdown, and have held two of the NFL's top 10 rated passers -- Cincinnati's Carson Palmer and Smith -- to well below their averages. Palmer (224-yard average) and Smith (271) threw for a combined 219 yards against the Chiefs. Full story

If this were the 1980s, they'd take the game film and dub it with Tchaikovsky music over slow-motion highlights. Maybe even Springsteen would be involved.

This made Jessica Alba look like Janet Reno. Ron Burgundy's hair had nothing on this.

It was that pretty.

Even the blemishes in the Chiefs' 41-0 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium -- a funky pooch punt by place kicker Lawrence Tynes being the only one worth mentioning -- were like Cindy Crawford's mole.

"In the National Football League," quarterback Damon Huard said, "you don't get a lot of wins like this."

Kansas City delivered on its promise to, on a NASCAR day, open up the secondaries.

"We knew we had to open it up," X-factor Dante Hall said. "We knew all along that was going to be the game plan." Full story

Injured QB Green makes an appearance

Trent Green shows up and all the sudden the Chiefs pop for 41.

He wasn't playing, and he looked like some strange coach-player combination, standing on the sidelines with a clipboard and an earpiece, his white T-shirt tucked into sweat pants.

But Green was back. High fives all around.

"Trent's the best," Damon Huard said. "He's always had some great advice and something to offer."

Green, who while recovering from a concussion he suffered Week 1 has been scribbling plays in his notebook, contributed to the offense Sunday.

"Oh yeah, he's a play caller now," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said. "He did a good job with Damon, I thought, and (offensive coordinator) Mike (Solari). Let Damon know what he saw and give him his vision and it allowed Damon to keep his poise."

Hall returns to form

Dante Hall's 60-yard punt return touchdown Sunday was his first return TD since Week 4 of last season against the Philadelphia Eagles. It was the X-factor's team-record fifth punt return TD. His 11 total touchdown returns make the third-highest total in NFL history, behind Brian Mitchell's 13 and Eric Metcalf's 12. Full story

Huard, Chiefs back on track, rout 49ers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Oct. 1, 2006) -- If Damon Huard keeps playing this well, the Kansas City Chiefs won't have a quarterback crisis while waiting for Trent Green to get back -- they'll have a quarterback controversy once he does.

Huard played almost flawlessly in a 41-0 rout of San Francisco on Sunday, hitting 13 of his first 15 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns while Kansas City seized a 24-0 halftime lead en route to its first shutout in almost four years.

Green was on the sidelines for the first time after sustaining a severe concussion three weeks ago. Days after doctors cleared him to drive, he was cajoling his teammates and even appeared to be suggesting plays for his backup, who'd hardly done anything besides carry a clipboard for six seasons until Green was knocked unconscious in the Sept. 10 season opener.

Huard hit 18 of 23 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

All the while, Green huddled with Huard and coaches after every series, sometimes even stepping onto the field with coaches as they consulted during timeouts.

Dante Hall scored Kansas City's final touchdown on a 60-yard punt return, giving him 11 touchdown kick returns in his career.

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Imagine Wally Cleaver as an NFL quarterback.

"They are doing some neat things on defense," he'd say. "They have a lot of neat schemes out of their dime package with a bunch of defensive backs in there. They do some neat packages."

But by golly, Wally Cleaver didn't say that. Damon Huard did.

Chiefs coach Herman Edwards thinks the San Francisco 49ers (1-2), who Kansas City (0-2) plays in Arrowhead Stadium at noon today, are really swell, too.

Though in typical Edwards fashion, he sounded more like Denzel Washington than Ward Cleaver.

"They're an improved football team and have been in every game, have the ability to score points; the defense has done a pretty good job," Edwards said. "It'll be a good test for us. They're a lot better football team than they've been in the past."

The most obvious improvement for the 49ers has been in the passing game. Second-year quarterback Alex Smith, who is sixth in the NFL in passing yards with 814 and is the 10th-rated passer in the NFL, one spot behind Huard. Full story

NFL history says that a team that begins its season 0-2 is almost certainly history when the playoffs come. Only 17 teams winless after two games reached the postseason since the NFL expanded the playoff field to 12 teams in 1990.

The Chiefs should know the history well. Eight times they opened 0-2, and only one climbed back by season’s end to so much as a .500 record. None of those teams received even a whiff of a playoff race.

And an 0-3 team? The odds just took a hike. Only three times since 1990 has an 0-3 team reached the playoffs.

It’s no wonder the 0-2 Chiefs are looking at today’s game against San Francisco at Arrowhead Stadium as if a guillotine is hanging over them.

“It is a must-win no matter how you look at it,” cornerback Patrick Surtain said. “In the AFC and especially in our division, you can’t start off the season 0-3 and expect to make the playoffs. That’s how we’re taking this game, and I think you’ll see guys going out there Sunday and playing like it.”

The Chiefs, if they so choose, can take heart from the success stories. The Chargers in 1992 lost their first four games but rebounded, won 11 of their next 12 and won the AFC West championship. Full story

As another left tackle went down last week, the news was met in the locker room with the equivalent of crickets chirping in the background. Maybe the Chiefs are used to this now, after Willie Roaf’s hamstring injury last year and subsequent retirement.

Maybe they’re still numb.

“It doesn’t make any difference to me,” Larry Johnson said Friday after the team’s final practice before the 49ers. “Because I still run. Regardless if they put five backups back there, I’ve still got to run. I’m not one of those little guys that if an offensive lineman goes down, they (wet) in their beds because they’re scared (about) getting hit.

“I get hit anyway because of the way I run, so it doesn’t matter to me.”

A few feet away, Jordan Black casually prepared for his first start at left tackle in the post-Roaf era. Black caught a hailstorm of criticism last year when he filled in for Roaf and the Chiefs struggled. That’s one of the drawbacks of following a future Hall of Famer.

But stepping in for Kyle Turley, who’ll probably sit today with back problems, won’t be easy, either. Black will face two of the 49ers’ best pass rushers in Marques Douglas and Manny Lawson. Kansas City expressed interest in Lawson this spring before the draft. Full story

The old man told him to keep away from bread, red meat and bad elements. Stay consistent, that’s what Warren Moon used to say to Tony Gonzalez. In some ways, Gonzalez is still that 23-year-old kid, the California beach boy who’d lie in the grass and listen, destined for Hollywood but stuck in the middle of America.

Other times, he’s much older.

“I enjoy him because he’s different,” Moon says. “A lot of young guys want to do it on their own. They think they have all the answers. He was smarter than that.”

Chiefs institutions never really fade away. They stand tall for years, then end up as a bronze bust near an elevator at Arrowhead Stadium. Ten years in one town, 12 pages worth of records, and Gonzalez has established he’ll be part of franchise lore. Today, he’s on the verge of breaking Otis Taylor’s all-time touchdown reception record, a coveted club mark that has stood for three decades. Tomorrow, Kansas Citians will chatter over coffee about what Tony G did on another fall Sunday.

And Gonzalez doesn’t want to think about it. Full story

Every month, our little group gathered at Maxine’s Fine Foods on Benton. Everybody in the group ate sausage and talked about how Otis Taylor should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The group was led — as much as such groups can be led — by a dreamer named Michael MacCambridge. He had become an author in his adult life, a father, a teacher and so on. At heart, though, Michael was the kid who breathed Kansas City Chiefs football. He believed that those great Chiefs teams of the Nixon years and those lousy Chiefs of disco formed him, shaped him and taught him something about being a man. Those Chiefs thrilled him and disappointed him. They inspired him and sent him into weeklong depressions. They were bigger than anything else in his world.

The biggest, brightest, boldest and baddest man on Michael’s Chiefs was Otis Taylor.

Everybody in Maxine’s felt that way. Otis Taylor, perhaps more than any athlete, bursts in Kansas City’s memory. There were other players, of course, other stars — Brett, White, Lanier, Bell, Archibald — but Taylor was a whole new thing. He was a 6-foot-3, 215-pound wide receiver. He could run by defensive backs and plow over linebackers. He could catch footballs one-handed while being bent and twisted by four defenders. He was — like only the rarest athletes — memorable. Full story

Leawood Police Capt. Dale Finger said police pulled Allen over around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday after following a Dodge Charger that was not staying in the lane.

Finger said Allen, who was alone in the car, refused to undergo sobriety testing and to take a breathalyzer test, so the officer placed him under arrest for DUI.

In Kansas, not submitting to a breath test earns an automatic suspension of the driver's license.

Allen was not put in jail but given a notice to appear in court on Oct. 25, Finger said. The officer then drove Allen home.

Neither Allen nor the Chiefs would comment on the incident Friday.

Through the first two games of the season, Allen has 10 tackles, three assists and a sack. Last season, he led the team with 11 sacks and had 44 tackles and 27 assists. Source

Bedridden and bored, Trent Green spent 10 days channel surfing for football, then grabbed a pen and started scribbling. It was therapeutic, it passed the time, and Green came up with a pack of about 20 plays and handed them to Chiefs offensive coordinator Mike Solari.

“Just what you need,” Green said Thursday, “more plays and more people trying to give you input.”

Turns out this may be just what Kansas City needs. After an 0-2 start — and nearly three weeks without their veteran quarterback — the Chiefs hope to have Green on the sidelines Sunday when San Francisco comes to town. Smiling, but looking somewhat thinner, Green held an impromptu news conference Thursday, his first words with the local press since violently snapping his head against the grass when he was hit in the season opener against the Bengals.

Green said it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect him back for the Arizona game on Oct. 8, and he’s just started doing some light throwing and conditioning. He still doesn’t know when he’ll practice, let alone play, and about the only thing he could confidently say Thursday was that being knocked unconscious and spending 11 minutes motionless on the ground hasn’t made him even consider retirement.

“I’m a very positive person and try to think the best,” Green said. “I don’t even want to answer that. Right now, that’s not in my plans. That’s not the plans I’ve been told. And with the support of my wife and kids … they know this is what I do and this is what I love doing.

“As long as I’m honest with them and know that I’m not going to put my next 50 or 60 years in jeopardy, my spending time with them, then they’re all for me wanting to come back. As far as ending it, that’s definitely not in the conversation.” Full story

Though it may come as little surprise, Trent Green thought the hit was worthy of a fine.

The now-famous shot on Green, delivered by the Bengals Robert Geathers in Week 1, knocked him out of the Chiefs' first game. Green is listed as out for at least the next two weeks.

"I do think it sent the wrong message to the league," Green said of the NFL's decision not to fine Geathers.

And, for the record, Green has not heard from Geathers or anyone from the Bengals organization, though he says this doesn't bother him. "It's not disappointing," he said. "I didn't have a pre-existing relationship with (Geathers). I didn't expect it."

Over the last two NFL weekends, as Green has remained somewhat incapacitated, unable to drive and rarely leaving his home, he admitted frustration at the way hits on NFL quarterbacks are officiated.

"Some of the calls they make on the quarterback, you're like 'Are you kidding me?'" he said. "They called that and didn't call mine?'"

Speaking publicly for the first time since his injury, Green offered no timetable for his return, though his chances for the next couple weeks seem grim. Green began driving again Wednesday and has not even been cleared to practice, run, lift weights or workout on anything other than a low-impact elliptical machine. Full story

On a day when Terrell Owens dominated the news around the NFL, Chiefs quarterback Trent Green dashed onto an elevator at Arrowhead Stadium, spent part of the day with the team and was able to drive himself to work.

And that was a decent buzz in Kansas City.

Green, who’s been out of sight since being knocked unconscious in the season opener Sept. 10, declined interview requests Wednesday as he made the rounds in sweats and a T-shirt. He’s expected to attend Sunday’s game against the 49ers, though coach Herm Edwards said he doesn’t know whether Green will be on the sidelines or somewhere else in the stadium.

Edwards called Green’s status a “day-to-day, week-to-week thing.” Green has been ruled out for this weekend.

“It’s good to see him,” Edwards said. “I had to introduce him to the players, because some of these young ones weren’t here when he was here. I told them he was a football player on Sunday, and then he decided to try to be a prizefighter. He didn’t duck and got hit with a right.

“I think the players appreciate him being around. I know I appreciate him being around.”

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Kansas City, Mo. — News that Terrell Owens may have attempted suicide shocked and saddened the Kansas City Chiefs, who are keenly aware of the pressures that bear down on professional athletes, both stars and also-rans.

“You know this game has got a lot of pressure and you hope guys are strong enough,” said guard Brian Waters. “We know we’re strong enough in the weight room, strong enough on the football field and strong enough to battle back from injuries. But will you be strong enough to say, ‘Hey, if I’ve got an issue, will I be strong enough to get some help?”’

Owens, the flamboyant wide receiver of the Dallas Cowboys, later denied a police report that he had attempted suicide and added he felt good enough to play on Sunday.

Several media outlets received a police report — that had not yet been released by police — that said Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on painkillers. The document officially released by police had many sections blacked out.

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As shaky as their pass blocking has been, the last thing the Chiefs wanted to see was left tackle Kyle Turley riding a stationary bike on the edge of the practice field instead of working with his teammates.

But that’s exactly what Turley was doing Wednesday. He also was a spectator at Monday’s practice. The Chiefs did not practice Tuesday, normally the players’ day off.

The Chiefs listed Turley on the NFL injury report as likely to play in Sunday’s game against San Francisco at Arrowhead Stadium.

They listed right tackle Kevin Sampson the same way early in the week of the season opener against Cincinnati, and Sampson didn’t play until the next week against Denver.

If Turley’s problem was anything but soreness in his back, his absence might not be so troubling to the Chiefs. But he returned to football only this season after missing the last two because of back troubles, so there’s no way to misinterpret this as good news.

Turley said the soreness was beyond anything he’s experienced since he signed with the Chiefs in the spring.

“I’m concerned,” Turley said. “A back injury is not something to fool around with. It’s definitely cause for concern.

“We’ll see. I’m supposed to meet with more doctors, and we’ll find out what’s happening. I’m just trying to wait it out.” Full story

The Kansas City Chiefs are not supposed to play must-win games during Week 4 in 70-degree weather.

But that`s exactly what the 0-2 Chiefs are facing as they prepare to host the San Francisco 49ers Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

“They are all big, but this one for me becomes real big for us on how we’re going to attack the rest of the season,” head coach Herm Edwards told the Kansas City Star. “I think that the players understand that. It’s early drama now all of a sudden for us in our third game.”

Of course, the 0-2 start isn’t all that surprising given K.C.’s dynamic offense has become decidedly one-dimensional following the loss of starting quarterback Trent Green in the team’s 23-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.

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It is the big play that is missing.

Grammatical correction: It is the big plays that are missing.

Through two lackluster losses, the Chiefs have dinked and dunked. They've kept everything in front of them.

But they haven't gone big on offense or defense or special teams.

Perhaps Kansas City (0-2) just needs Trent Green to return. Maybe Dante Hall can shake a touchdown out of his pocket. Maybe one of those big runs Larry Johnson said he has felt a coming will materialize.

Perhaps the locker room music could use a dose of Notorious B.I.G. in its rotation. Then again, the late rapper also went by Biggie Smalls, a name only slightly more oxymoronic than "Chiefs vertical passing game."

"We have to be a little bit more aggressive and I think we can do that offensively -- as far as getting some big plays down the field," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said.

If you have one hand, you can count the Chiefs' big offensive plays: Johnson had a 24-yard run against Denver and a 25-yard reception against the Bengals. Damon Huard has completed passes of 37 and 25 yards (Johnson's) and Tony Gonzalez has a 21-yard grab. Full story

A full day’s work, these days, is filling 60-gallon barrels of cabernet. They give the menial jobs to the guys who know nothing, Dick Vermeil jokes, and he loaded six vessels of the red stuff on Monday. With a Chiefs cap on his head and his wife, Carol, beside him wearing a No. 88 Tony Gonzalez jersey, Vermeil is rested and happy, but it’s obvious he hasn’t forgotten.

He’s made a couple of calls to Kansas City. They used to talk every Tuesday, coach to coach, and now both of them say there’s nothing strange even though Herm Edwards has Vermeil’s old job and the franchise seems to be as different as merlot and Coors Light.

“I’m confident they’ll be fine,” Vermeil said. “There’s a period of adjustment for changeover. I don’t think it’s a dramatic changeover because Herm and I have a very similar approach to working with players and coaches. His process is a little different probably than mine. Each coach has his own way of making things more important.”

Roughly 1,800 miles from Napa Valley, Edwards spent another Tuesday trying to tell reporters that he wants to score touchdowns and he’s not Vermeil’s younger, more amped-up alter-ego. His Chiefs are 0-2 and face what many are calling a must-win Sunday against San Francisco.

Statisticians would call it a complete makeover. The Chiefs’ defense, the forgotten chapter of the Vermeil era, is ranked No. 7 in the NFL. And his beloved No. 1 offense sits near the bottom at 27th. Full story

Last year, Smith played for a 4-12 team that was equally as dismal, throwing 11 interceptions and just one touchdown pass and possessing a barely perceptible passer rating of 40.8.

The Chiefs will see a maturing Smith when the 49ers come to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. He hasn't thrown an interception through three games. With his three TD passes, Smith's passer rating is a respectable 89.8.

"They've done a good job of really cutting the field in half and giving him direction of where to go with the ball," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "He's doing a good job of managing the game and throwing the ball where it's supposed to be thrown and if not, he takes off and runs with it."

That's not good news for the Chiefs, who would like to generate more turnovers to help their struggling offense. Only two teams have fewer takeaways than the Chiefs, though they've also played one fewer game than most.

"We've got to get more turnovers than we have," linebacker Derrick Johnson said. "We know that. We've got to make sure we make the plays when we get the opportunities. We've had some opportunities. I missed an interception against Denver. They start adding up when you don't get them like that."

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A Kansas City Chiefs spokesman said Green had been so moved by the many people who reached out to him he asked permission to post his thank-you on the team's Web site.

About 3,000 e-mails from all 50 states and such foreign points as Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Ireland and the Cayman Islands, have been received.

"Dear Chiefs Fans," the note begins.

"I just wanted to express my sincere gratitude to the many fans and individuals from around the country and across the world who sent a card, letter or e-mail to wish me a speedy recovery after I was injured on September 10th.

"Your outpouring of support has been truly overwhelming. On behalf of my entire family, we sincerely appreciated your prayers and the words of encouragement you expressed. It was truly a humbling experience to realize how concerned so many of you were.

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The weekend bye afforded the Chiefs a chance for three days of rest and to contemplate the grind facing them over the next 14 weeks.

One thing it didn’t do was improve their lot in life. The Chiefs are still 0-2 and as disappointed about it as ever.

They return to practice today to begin preparations for Sunday’s game against San Francisco at Arrowhead Stadium. The game, which once looked to be a lull in a tough first-half schedule, suddenly looms big.

Road games with Arizona and Pittsburgh and home matchups with San Diego and Seattle follow. If the Chiefs are going to make something of their first season under Herm Edwards, they had better start making their move against the 49ers.

“The one thing that we all have to realize is where we are compared to everyone else right now in the National Football League,” Edwards said. “We’re 0-2, we don’t feel real good about that … and we’ve got to make sure that we get out of that situation. That’s got to be our mindset at this point.

“Our next game is at home, and it’s going to be a big game for us. They are all big, but this one for me becomes real big for us on how we’re going to attack the rest of the season. I think that the players understand that. It’s early drama now all of a sudden for us in our third game.” Full story

The offense, just like its formerly ironman quarterback, is hurt. Key players such as guard Will Shields and center Casey Wiegmann are aging. Others, such as tackle Willie Roaf and fullback Tony Richardson, are gone.

For five years, nobody scored more touchdowns or gained more yards than Kansas City's Green-directed attack.

But now Green is recovering from a severe concussion that left him motionless on the turf Sept. 10. And during an early bye week, the Chiefs are taking stock of an 0-2 record and an offense which, in eight quarters, has produced exactly one touchdown.

One factor -- and new coach Herm Edwards admits this -- is someone new is sitting in the offensive coordinator's chair. Mike Solari was promoted from offensive-line coach to replace Al Saunders, and like anybody asked to do something difficult that he has never done before, Solari is learning as he goes.

full story...

It isn’t often we get a chance to see a football team evolve during the course of one game, but we saw into the Chiefs’ future last week in Denver.

They ran time off the clock and had fewer plays. They gave the ball to Larry Johnson a lot. They threw many passes short enough that it looked as if the ball weighed 200 pounds and was made of lead.

Get used to it. This is the new Chiefs offense.

“We have to play to our strengths,” offensive coordinator Mike Solari said. “Everything has shifted. Right now the ball goes through Larry Johnson. At the beginning of the season, he was already one of our strengths. But everything is directed to Larry now. Everything we get in the passing game will come off our running game versus the straight drop-back pass.

“The strength of the offense will be Larry. The strength of the passing game will be from play-action and fakes off the running game.”

Solari didn’t mention this, but the Chiefs are also planning to avoid their weaknesses, which right now are porous pass protection and the limited experience and ability of quarterback Damon Huard.

You knew the offense was headed this way eventually when the Chiefs hired Herm Edwards as their head coach. The shift figured to be more gradual, phased in as quarterback Trent Green and other key players aged and moved on.

The offense was ugly in the opener. Seven sacks and an injury to Green later, the old philosophy is dead and buried. Full story

Granted the weekend off because of their bye week, Chiefs players are free to visit family, play Halo on the X-box, buy a new Range Rover.

Whatever it is NFL players do on weekends.

Quarterback Damon Huard will visit his native Seattle where -- lo and behold -- he plans to watch football games.

"I will be traveling back (today) so I will miss most of that," he said. "But maybe I'll catch the Sunday night game. The Broncos play the Patriots so that will be exciting."

The Broncos, of course, were the team Huard faced in his first game as a starter in six seasons.

Though the Chiefs think Trent Green will be back under center the next time the Chiefs and Broncos meet -- Nov. 23 at Arrowhead Stadium -- Huard doesn't even know if he'll start next week at home against the 49ers.

"Each week you prepare to play and I do my job whether Trent is here or not, Huard said. "We are looking forward to getting him back here sooner rather than later." Full story

Suitcases were stacked for all points from Florida to Seattle, and One Arrowhead Drive was in mass-exodus mode except for a table in the basement, where Lenny Walls sat fixed on a stack of dominos. Taunts were exchanged, bones were thrown — domino lingo — and an hour passed before safety Sammy Knight sprang to his feet yelling, “Can you believe it?” as if Kansas City had just broken its 36-year Super Bowl drought.

They take everything they do seriously these days on defense, and Walls might be the poster child for stone-faced swagger. Six months ago, he was out of work. Now Gunther Cunningham, his defensive coordinator, comes as close as he can to gushing, and Walls says, yeah, that’s what he expected to happen.

“I want to make a play to change the entire game,” Walls said. “If I can stay healthy, I think I can be one of the premier corners in this league.”

Up the stairs, Cunningham raps his knuckles against the wood table when the “I” word is mentioned. Injuries are what ultimately drove Walls out of Denver but could make him one of the biggest offseason catches for Kansas City.

Cunningham was listening last spring when one of his new assistants, David Gibbs, was raving about Walls. But he didn’t totally believe it. Guys who stand 6 feet 4 and a quarter aren’t supposed to play cornerback. And they’re definitely not supposed to move like somebody 5 inches smaller. Full story

Fans weren't the only ones that thought the Chiefs looked different last week.

Trent Green did too.

"He watched the game," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said Thursday after talking with Green. "It was kind of interesting, he got through the first quarter and I guess he told his wife Julie, 'Wow, is that the Chiefs?' He said, 'They look a little different right now.' "

Edwards reiterated that Green, who underwent further tests this week regarding the concussion he suffered Week 1, would be back this season.

And he'll be bringing some extra plays with him.

"He had all of these exotic plans, he started telling me about this pass that we can run out of a certain personnel group and I said, 'You're doing good right now,'" Edwards said. "He's already got some pass that he wants to put in the offense with different personnel groups. He's working his way back. He's going to be back."

A timetable for Green's return still does not exist. And if it does, Edwards said he neither knows what it is, nor wants to know. Full story

The offense, just like its formerly ironman quarterback, is hurt. Key players like guard Will Shields and center Casey Wiegmann are aging. Others, such as tackle Willie Roaf and fullback Tony Richardson, are gone.

For five years, nobody scored more touchdowns or gained more yards than Kansas City's Green-directed attack.

But now Green is recovering from a severe concussion that left him motionless on the turf Sept. 10. And the Chiefs are taking stock during an early bye week of an 0-2 record and an offense which in eight quarters has produced exactly one touchdown.

One factor, and new coach Herm Edwards admits this, is someone new is sitting in the offensive coordinator's chair. Mike Solari was promoted from offensive line coach to replace Al Saunders, and like anybody asked to do something difficult that he never has done before, Solari is learning as he goes.

But even when the offense gets back on its feet, it'll never be the same force that broke team and NFL records for five high-performance seasons under Dick Vermeil and Saunders.

Edwards frankly admits he does not want it to be.

full story...

But defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham saw something in Sunday's game in Denver he hadn't witnessed since Smith and Thomas formed the NFL's most feared pass-rush combination in the early and mid-1990s.

The Broncos in many passing situations double-teamed the Chiefs' featured pass rushers, defensive ends Tamba Hali and Jared Allen. That brought a broad grin to the face of Cunningham, who has had little reason to smile since returning to the Chiefs three seasons ago.

"That's the first time both of our defensive ends were double-teamed since I've been back here," Cunningham said. "Obviously, teams must be seeing some things that are affecting them.

"We've got more speed on the edges than we've had."

It's one thing to get respect from opponents for the talents of the pass rushers - another to get results. After two games, the Chiefs are lacking there.

They are last in the NFL with one solitary sack, though it was a good one. Allen not only brought down Cincinnati's Carson Palmer but made him fumble, and the Chiefs recovered.

The lack of pressure on the quarterback is one reason why the Chiefs have only two takeaways, which puts them near the bottom of the league in that category, too.

The Chiefs are intent on cranking it up.

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Gunther Cunningham’s voice is gravelly and tired. He sips out of a steamy paper cup and checks the time. The days start at 5 a.m. now, and the younger defensive coaches have a foolish pact to come an hour earlier and work out together.

It’s past lunchtime — they eat during meetings — and if Cunningham talks much longer, they’ll all be giving him a hard time. This may be the Chiefs’ bye week, but for the new defensive staff, there is no time to sit, let alone reflect.

“When you haven’t been very good and you do anything positive, that’s easy,” Cunningham says. “But when you want to be really good and go for the moon, the pressure is on.”

Lost in an 0-2 start and the controversy of Trent Green’s head-snapping hit is the fact that Kansas City is quietly, finally, turning around its defense. Cunningham won’t really talk about it, the fact that the Chiefs have moved into the top 10 in total defense after being a punchline in the league for much of the past five years.

He definitely won’t say the defense is back. But look closely and you can see the glimmer of a smile, the one he used to get on Sunday nights almost a decade ago. Full story

I’m as guilty as anyone. We’ve spent too much time focusing on the coaching errors that have contributed to the Chiefs’ 0-2 start and not nearly enough time examining the performances of the players.

Last I checked, the football players Herm Edwards sends out onto the field are on full-ride scholarships — some of them even receive lots of extra benefits. Herm, Mike Solari, Gunther Cunningham and Carl Peterson didn’t dig an 0-2 hole all by themselves.

Two weeks in, I’ve identified three big-time playmakers who have yet to make a big-time play. Had any of the three made a Pro Bowl-caliber play in Denver, the Chiefs would be .500, and we’d be praising Herm and his coaching staff for surviving Trent Green’s concussion.

The three players I’m about to mention have not played poorly. They just haven’t contributed at a level equal to their resumes, salaries or reputations.

1. Dante Hall: The X-Factor actually had a decent game at Invesco Field. He had a 21-yard punt return and averaged 14.4 yards on his five punt returns. He averaged 29.5 on his two kick returns. Full story

Slowly, gradually, methodically, Herman Edwards is taking over.

Technically, he did so when the Chiefs hired him to replace Dick Vermeil last winter.

But it isn't that easy. The thrilling scores and the sugary offensive records and Vermeil's tears are hard to part with.

"I wasn't brought here to put a bandage on something," he said. "I was brought here to create a different program. I understood that and with that comes some pain. I always say that, people don't like hearing that, but there comes some pain."

Painful was last week's 9-6 road loss to the Denver Broncos. Yet it was exactly what Edwards ordered. Well, except that it was a loss and the Chiefs turned it over twice and did not score a touchdown. That was like getting anchovies when you ordered sausage.

But what Edwards liked about that game -- and this is the mentality he is trying to instill -- was that as ugly as that game was, and as feeble as the offense was, the Chiefs still had a chance in the fourth quarter.

Wednesday, Edwards effectually planted a head stone.

The Dick Vermeil Offenses, 2001-2005. R.I.P.

"Basically they had the ability to get big leads and then really other teams tried to catch up with them," Edwards said of Vermeil's teams. "Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.

"We're not in that mode anymore. It's time to change." Full story

It has been 10 days and roughly 1,000 replays since the hit heard ’round the league, and Trent Green still can’t drive a car, toss a football, or do much of anything but rest and wait.

Green underwent neurological tests for his concussion on Tuesday, and Chiefs officials say no timetable was given for his return.

“We’re confident he’s coming back,” coach Herm Edwards said. “When he’s coming back … nobody knows. I haven’t even asked. Because I don’t want to know.

“I told him, ‘It’s on your schedule.’ I’m just coaching the team. I don’t worry about it. I’m coaching these guys.”

The Chiefs went back to work Tuesday operating under the assumption that Green won’t be under center when they play San Francisco on Oct. 1. On a brisk, windy morning, Damon Huard took half of the reps in practice, then rookie Brodie Croyle ran with a collection of first- and second-team players.

Around the same time the Chiefs started their workout, San Diego agreed to a deal with Tennessee for quarterback Billy Volek. Though the rumor mill said Kansas City was interested in Volek, Edwards said the club is “good with what we’ve got.” Full story

With the sixth pick in the 2002 draft not starting on a team devoid of quality DT depth, PFW decided to go to Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson to find out what’s holding him back. Scouts suggest Ryan Sims wears down too easily during games and has never really kept himself in the shape necessary to make plays in the fourth quarter. Peterson, meanwhile, goes back to Sims’ extended holdout as a rookie, in which he missed all of training camp, showed up out of shape, was behind in the learning process and, not surprisingly to Peterson or then-coach Dick Vermeil, was eventually lost for the season with an elbow injury in the sixth game. He was essentially a rookie all over again in Year Two, according to Peterson. “The bottom line is that he has not been able to establish consistency in his play, and that’s what this business is all about,” Peterson told PFW. “This is his fifth year, and a very important year for him. … He is a talent, we all know that. But talent is just a word. He needs to produce.”

Source: PFW

Herm Edwards' laughter, prompted by the question of whether the Chiefs were suddenly a defensive team, was loud and long.

When he finally recovered, his answer was revealing.

"I don't know if it's a defensive program now," said Edwards, the Chiefs' head coach. "The whole buzz when I got here was that I had to change the defense. No, I had to change the whole program in a way that's conducive for us to win, for us to be a consistent team and, hopefully, a consistent playoff team."

Although the Chiefs have yet to win in two games under Edwards, they are making the transition to becoming a team in his image faster than anyone believed -- Edwards included.

Their once-forlorn defense has carried them in both games. Their once-mighty offense has floundered.

The Chiefs are eighth in the league in total defense, 21st in total offense.

They are 29th in points scored, 11th in points allowed.

full story...

Before making such a leap, it is important to note that through two weeks the Chiefs have defended one team (Cincinnati) which was fighting a rainstorm and another (Denver) which wrapped its disaster-prone quarterback in such a straight jacket that on third-and-8, trailing by three, in the fourth quarter, it ran a sweep.

Nonetheless, the Chiefs have allowed just 32 points in two games. Carson Palmer and Jake Plummer threw for a combined 300 yards against Kansas City. Opponents have rushed for 3.7 per carry.

The 32 Defense (as in 32nd in the NFL), it seems, is as distant a memory as the No. 1 offense. The Chiefs sit at No. 8 in total defense after two weeks.

"(Sunday) was a game of the defense really dominating," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said. "The defense played really well in the red zone."

On a day that Kansas City's red zone offensive play likely cost the Chiefs the game, their red zone defense gave Kansas City a chance. Full story

In the 1990s, the Chiefs had great defenses and limited offenses. That got them to the playoffs most years and led to heartache. In the 2000s, the Chiefs had great offenses and miserable defenses. That led them once to the playoffs. And heartache.

Now? Back to the future. Sunday afternoon, the Chiefs’ defense played its most inspired game since those Martyball days in the ’90s. They held the Denver Broncos without a touchdown. They held them to six points in regulation. They made Denver quarterback Jake Plummer throw the ball to shadows, and they made Denver coach Mike Shanahan go into a shell.

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They would have at least given themselves a better chance. But in their first close game with Herm Edwards as coach, they wasted precious seconds at the end of the first half and fourth quarter and wound up losing 9-6 in overtime.

Edwards was plagued with clock-management issues during his time as head coach of the Jets.

The situation was particularly ugly near the end of the second quarter. The Chiefs, in a scoreless game, had a second down at the Denver 11 with 9 seconds left. The clock was stopped because Samie Parker had gone out of bounds after catching a pass on the previous play, so they could have tried one more play before attempting a field goal.

Quarterback Damon Huard burned the last timeout of the half as the Chiefs were breaking their huddle and heading toward the line of scrimmage. That left the Chiefs with no reasonable choice but to kick the field goal right then.

Explanations varied. Guard Brian Waters indicated Huard may have had trouble getting the play call in proper time. Edwards said the Chiefs weren't going to get the play started before the play clock expired perhaps because Huard was confused.

full story...

The e-mails from New York tumble in the way the ones from Cleveland used to when Marty Schottenheimer coached here.

“Get used to settling for field goals and heartbreak. The Preacher is just good enough to raise your expectations and get you beat,” is the sentiment most often expressed.

The Preacher is new Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards. He had quite the congregation in New York until he bolted. Now his old flock is determined to spread the word that Herm is a false football prophet.

Just one week into his Kansas City tenure, and Edwards is already under attack. Hey, I’ve done some of the attacking right here in this column space.

Well, before we get too far down the road in what promises to be a disappointing season, before the Denver Broncos ravage Damon Huard this afternoon, I think it’s best that I stake my position on Herm Edwards.

You’re likely to read some occasional criticism of Edwards in this space — everyone except Jeff George is fair game in this column — but I’m a believer in The Preacher. He’s a good coach, more Bill Cowher than Marty Schottenheimer.

I’m sure Edwards made some terrible mistakes in New York. He was known to mismanage the clock, lust for field goals and throw the ball sideways on third and long. It was his first head-coaching assignment. He learned on the job. Full story

Larry Johnson only knows the Chiefs huddle with Trent Green as the quarterback.

The same holds for Eddie Kennison, Casey Wiegmann, Brian Waters and the rest of the offensive starters other than longtime franchise icons Tony Gonzalez and Will Shields.

One quarterback, one voice, one leader and one way of doing things for five-plus seasons and 81 regular-season games.

That tranquillity was shattered in the third quarter of last week’s season-opening loss to Cincinnati when Green sustained a severe concussion that will prevent him from playing today’s game against the Broncos at Invesco Field.

Into today’s huddle steps Damon Huard, who has experience at such things. Years ago, he filled in for an injured Dan Marino for a five-game stretch while playing for Miami.

For the Chiefs, it wouldn’t matter whether it was Huard, Joe Montana or Lenny Dawson taking over for Green. This is going to take some getting used to.

“All they’ve known for five years around here is Trent Green,” rookie quarterback Brodie Croyle said. “He’s been the leader of this team. He’s just been the man. It’s a big change for everybody else. There’s a different type of voice in the huddle, a different way of calling the plays. The snap count is going to be a little different. Full story

There is no crying in football. And there is no groveling, no looking backward, no regretting and no talking about the quarterback, either.

Not even when he hasn't started in six years. Not even when you're going to a place -- Denver -- where you haven't won in six years.

"I don't think it's a, 'Rah, rah, win one for the Gipper type of thing,' " said Damon Huard, who will start for the injured Trent Green when the Chiefs (0-1) play the Broncos (0-1) at 3:15 p.m. today

Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said he hasn't even addressed the situation with his team.

"I really haven't even talked to the team about it, or to anybody," Edwards said. "I haven't said one thing. You don't need to. He's a professional quarterback. He knows his role."

That role now will be to transfer the ball from center Casey Weigman to running back Larry Johnson, and to not throw interceptions. Having been within one score of Denver only once in the last five tries at Invesco, the Chiefs merely want Huard to keep them in the game.

"The thing you realize when you go on the road is you don't want to be down in the first quarter, you don't want to be down points," Edwards said. Full story

They would get an 11-time Pro Bowl selection who was both huge - 320 pounds - and nimble. But when it comes to Roaf's replacement, Kyle Turley? That's a bit of an unknown.

"It's been a long time since he was out there all the time," Broncos defensive end Ebenezer Eku- ban said. "But you look at what you can find and try to remember what you can as well."

Roaf told the Chiefs he was going to retire before training camp, and while Chiefs officials kept hoping he would reconsider, Roaf kept confirming his retirement and the Chiefs only formally moved him to "reserve/retired" from "reserve/did not report" this week.

That has pushed Turley into the lineup. The 30-year-old - he'll be 31 on Sept. 24 - was off the field for two years because of back troubles. He spent 2004 on injured reserve for the St. Louis Rams and was unsigned last season.

full story...

Chiefs vs. Broncos Preview

DENVER (Sept. 13, 2006) -- Trent Green 's severe concussion has forced the Kansas City Chiefs to play their backup quarterback.

Another poor performance from Jake Plummer may make the Denver Broncos want to find a new starter.

Both teams hope for better quarterback play when they renew their AFC West rivalry at Invesco Field on Sunday.

Green was knocked unconscious and carted off the field in the third quarter of last Sunday's 23-10 loss to the Bengals. He took a vicious hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers, whose shoulder collided with Green's helmet, causing the 36-year-old quarterback's head to snap back and slam the turf at Arrowhead Stadium.

He was hospitalized for two nights before being released on Tuesday. Kansas City (0-1) has a bye after this game, meaning Green has at least two weeks to recover.

For now, the Chiefs will go with Damon Huard as their starter.

"If it was up to Trent, knowing him and the kind of guy he is, he'd show up tomorrow," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards. "He'd show up tomorrow, and he'd go into meetings, and he'd be whispering in my ear saying, 'Coach, you know by Friday I'll be ready to go."'

Huard replaced Green in the third quarter of last Sunday's loss, completing 12 of 20 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown to Tony Gonzalez. Huard hadn't completed a pass since Dec. 24, 2000, when he was the backup for Miami, but is 5-1 in his career as a starter.

Still, it will be tough for Kansas City without Green, who had made 81 straight starts. He's just the fourth quarterback in NFL history to have three straight 4,000-yard passing seasons.

Full Story...

Johnson, whose streak of nine straight 100-yard rushing games was snapped, ran the ball just 17 times Sunday.

“We couldn’t run the ball because we were down two scores and it was getting late in the game,” Johnson said Friday. “You can’t run; you’ve got to hurry up and make some scores.”

… or concerned

This will be the first time Johnson is in the starting lineup in a game at Invesco Field, and he’s eager to see what he can do in the altitude. He said he’s shrugged off the outside notion that the Chiefs’ offense is in trouble after Sunday’s performance, plus the loss of quarterback Trent Green.

“That’s why we don’t go to the outside for information,” he said. “It’s football. Things change. We’re just making sure we keep up with the times and do what we need to be successful.”

Johnson, by the way, found a kitten last week roaming around the facility. He took her home and named her Sheila E., after one of his favorite 1980s music artists.

full story...

The week was like the opening of school for the new kid in town even though new Chiefs wide receiver Rod Gardner is a grown man.

New teammates extended a hand on the practice field or in the meeting room or locker area. Fellow receiver Eddie Kennison offered help in learning the playbook. Receivers coach Charlie Joiner provided an extended tutorial for Gardner.

None of this will help the Chiefs much for Sunday’s game in Denver because Gardner probably won’t be ready to play. After the Chiefs’ Sept. 24 bye, anything’s possible.

“He’s got to be a quick read, a quick study,” coach Herm Edwards said. “We’re going to try to get him involved. We’ll see what his strengths are in this offense.

“He’s big, he’s a physical guy and has some talent. He was drafted in the first round, but for some reason he hasn’t really fit. I think he played OK in Washington for a while but then a new system came in. He’s a size, speed, physical guy. That’s what he brings.”

If Gardner brings much at all, it’s more than the Chiefs got from their wide receivers in last week’s loss to the Bengals. Kennison and Samie Parker combined for three catches and 38 yards.

Slot receiver Dante Hall had five receptions but only 31 yards. Full story

Willie Roaf answered one lingering question Thursday.

No, he won't be returning to the NFL. He made that official at a downtown Kansas City news conference, reading from a three-page announcement then leaving without answering questions.

When, exactly, he first told the Chiefs he would retire is unknown. He told the team last winter he would play this season, but with injuries still lingering in organized team activities in May, it became clear to Roaf he wouldn't be able to play this season at the level to which he was accustomed.

"It's been difficult for me to accept that my body could no longer do the things I once took for granted," said Roaf, who missed all of six games and most of a seventh last year with a hamstring injury.

"As a young player, my body would heal much faster. After a Sunday game, I would feel good by Monday. But last year my body never felt good, and the hamstring injury affected that. For the first time in my career, I really believed that my talents had declined, and I was unable to play at an acceptable level.

"During the offseason I began to feel better and truly believed that I could play one more year. But during OTAs in May, I knew my body would not allow me to play at a level that was acceptable to me." Full story

There’s no ‘For Sale’ sign in the front yard of Willie Roaf’s south Overland Park home, but from the looks of things inside, that will soon change.

Much of the furniture and personal belongings are gone, long ago shipped to the owner’s new home in California. A bed, a kitchen set, a black felt pool table and a monstrous TV are about all that remain, and even those will be cleared away shortly.

The scene, coupled with Roaf’s announcement almost two months ago that he was retiring from football and the Chiefs, makes his plans evident.

Roaf, an 11-time Pro Bowl left tackle and an almost certain future Hall of Famer, still felt compelled to make them clear to everyone, most notably the Chiefs.

“I just want to put an end to all of that,” Roaf told The Star on Thursday. “I want to let people know I will not come back and play football this year or ever again. I don’t want people to think I’m coming back or I might come back, because it’s not true.

“I wanted finality on this deal. I’m retiring from football, period. It’s frustrating that the Chiefs were saying I might return or I was thinking about returning. I don’t think that was right. That’s why it’s time to address it myself.” Full story

We all know people who try to make everyone happy. Maybe they’re fueled by insecurity, an intense spiritual passion or compassion.

Maybe they’re 6-foot-5, 320-pound gentle giants who make their living crushing mortals on a football field. Maybe they’re Willie Roaf, a future NFL Hall of Famer, one of the two best tackles to ever play the game.

Roaf’s quest to make Carl Peterson and the Chiefs happy ended Thursday afternoon inside a plush law office on the 30th floor of a downtown building. It was there that Big Willie read a seven-minute retirement statement, ending his football career — and more important, stopping football broadcasters from speculating about his football future.

Big Willie sat down at the head table in a conference room, read his statement in front of cameras and reporters and then walked out, declining to answer any questions. He thanked all the appropriate people, his coaches in New Orleans and Kansas City, the fans in both cities and all the people who helped him along the way of his magnificent 13-year career.

He fired no shots. If he was upset that Peterson set him up to be the fall guy for this season by constantly telling fans and reporters that Willie might change his mind, Willie kept those thoughts to himself. It’s fair to speculate that Peterson begged/pressured Roaf to temper his inflammatory thoughts during their Wednesday meeting, a gathering that led Peterson to immediately acknowledge Roaf’s retirement. Full story

And on Thursday, Willie Roaf said he is done playing professional football.

In a high-rise law office in downtown Kansas City, far removed from the stadiums and the cheers, the 11-time Pro Bowl left tackle who helped pave the way for one of the NFL's most dynamic offenses said his body couldn't take one more season.

"I often took my body for granted and played without thinking about tomorrow," Roaf said, reading from a statement. "I played hard and played only as if I was in the NFL for a couple of seasons. And 14 years later I stand beside you and realize I will no longer play football."

Roaf had called the informal news conference to discuss the pleas of Kansas City fans and football announcers who asked that he return to the franchise. He sought to clear the air about his future and dispel any rumors he might return next season.

After reading the brief statement, in which he addressed none of those concerns, Roaf crumpled up his paper and walked from the room. Full story

KC Star Video...

And if imminent doom wasn't enough, their blasted football teams, which as recently as six weeks ago were both supposed to be Super Bowl bound, are both 0-1.

Suddenly everybody's bad back feels a little worse, red lights last a little longer and those morons at the drive-through can never get your order right.

Broncos linebacker Al Wilson knows the feeling. His team lost to the St. Louis Rams 18-10 in Week 1.

"It's always gonna be a strong reaction when expectations are as high as they are," Wilson said Wednesday in a conference call with Kansas City-area reporters. "You wouldn't have it any other way."

Wilson and the Broncos, who win 84 percent of their September home games (since 1990) anyway, caught a break when Chiefs quarterback Trent Green caught Robert Geathers' shoulder pad with his head. Green is out for the Chiefs' trip to Denver this Sunday, meaning Damon Huard will make his first start since 2000.

It also will be the first time Wilson faces a Chiefs team not quarterbacked by Green. Full story

Snugly protected by all-star blockers, he threw passes to Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez and handed off to Pro Bowl running backs Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson.

Many NFL fans were unaware how good the Chiefs were with the ball because of the defense was so bad. But even though they never got past the first round of the playoffs, they were just about the best. Green and his Chiefs had more yards and more touchdowns than any other team in the league in that half-decade.

He became one of the few men in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons.

But now, for the first time in 82 games, somebody else will be quarterbacking Kansas City. When the Chiefs take the field in Denver on Sunday, their leader will be recuperating from a severe concussion caused when a hit by Cincinnati's Robert Geathers slammed his head violently onto the turf and knocked him unconscious.

In his place will be Damon Huard. Until last week, when he rushed onto the field as Green was rushed to the hospital, Huard had not completed an NFL pass since Christmas Eve 2000. Full story

Volek, who lost his starting job to Kerry Collins in the offseason, is the No. 3 quarterback behind Collins and rookie Vince Young.

The Chargers play the Titans on Sunday, so it's doubtful the teams would make any deal before that.

The Chargers are interested in finding a veteran backup to Philip Rivers. Currently, rookie Charlie Whitehurst is San Diego's second-string quarterback.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs are interested because starting quarterback Trent Green is out after suffering a serious concussion last week against the Browns.

full story...

Carl Peterson and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs' organization needs to face the facts -- it wasn't a cheap shot that sent starting quarterback Trent Green to the hospital. It was terrible coaching.

Peterson, the Chiefs' general manager, said Monday that he thought the hit Cincinati's Robert Geathers put on Green was late and vicious. The brutal hit, which has been replayed and analyzed on TV hundreds of times since the third quarter Sunday, was so close to questionable that nobody can come to a clear conclusion as to whether the hit was intentionally vicious.

That's why the NFL ruled Wednesday that there was nothing wrong with the hit.

One thing that is clear is that Kansas City's play calling should be as much to blame for the injury as Geathers.

Herman Edwards' reign in Kansas City began even worse than I expected. The offense sputtered under the defensive-minded coach's watch and the Chiefs forgot they had one of the best running backs in the NFL on their team.

In the first half, Green handed off the ball to Larry Johnson nine times -- seven of them during the Chiefs' only scoring drive. He finished the game with 17 carries. In 2005, Johnson carried it at least 26 times in each of the last eight games and averaged 29.9 carries per game during that stretch.

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Big. Strong. Fast.

And for the grizzled football eyes that grade the video around the league to keep track of the who's who list of players, that is considered the whole package for a running back.

"He makes people miss, too," Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer said. "That's everything. I don't even like to hear this name the way he plays. He's big time."

And with the Chiefs set to start backup quarterback Damon Huard on Sunday in Invesco Field - it will be Huard's first start since 2000 - Kansas City is expected to lean even more on Johnson in the offense.

"I think they are going to run the ball a lot," Broncos defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban said. "I mean a lot. They are going to come here and pound the ball."

full story...

They’re characterized as self-serving prima donnas who create new touchdown celebrations in their eternal quest for “kwan,” that abstract concept Cuba Gooding Jr.’s character in “Jerry Maguire” created to mean money, adoration and fame.

So Rod Gardner was a little surprised by the warm reception he got when he walked into the Kansas City locker room Wednesday.

“Everybody’s behind me. They want me to succeed, so I can’t ask for nothing better,” Gardner said. “Then coming and talking to the receivers, (Eddie) Kennison and all them, they’re with me. Anything I say I need, they say they’ve got me.”

full story...

Let me translate the message Herm Edwards, Carl Peterson and the entire Chiefs organization put out Tuesday afternoon.

The Chiefs are going to run the football, punt the football and play defense the rest of this season, and they don’t particularly care whether Chiefs fans have a problem with that plan of attack.

You might have missed the message because Edwards and Peterson disguised it somewhat cleverly by insisting that the Chiefs ran the old, Dick Vermeil-Al Saunders offense in the season opener against the Bengals.

They told you that because that’s the last time you’ll see it.

Good. I’m happy. The announcement should’ve been made the moment Willie Roaf announced his retirement, the moment the Chiefs failed to upgrade their receiving corps, the moment Dick Vermeil retired.

Instead, Edwards and Peterson didn’t feel comfortable telling Kansas City fans the truth about the Dick Vermeil and Al Saunders fireworks show until the reality of Trent Green strapped to a gurney sobered KC football fans. Full story

Despite a few protests from Arrowhead Stadium, and a massive headache from Trent Green, the NFL ruled Wednesday that Robert Geathers’ hit was not a foul and won’t be penalized.

The league said Geathers didn’t have complete control of his body when his shoulder hit Green during a slide, causing Green’s head to violently snap against the ground. After extensive review of the play, it was determined that Geathers hit Green as a result of a block in the back.

Replays show Chiefs receiver Eddie Kennison making contact with Geathers.

In the days since Green’s concussion, and subsequent hospitalization, Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson had voiced his displeasure over the no-call during Sunday’s game with the Bengals. He watched film with the league on Monday and had hoped Geathers would be punished.

After word of the decision hit, Peterson said he’d have no further comment on the issue.

Even before Wednesday, Chiefs coach Herm Edwards had said he didn’t think Geathers’ blow was malicious. But some players in the locker room saw it differently on Sunday. Full story

HERM EDWARDS: “I thought we had a pretty good practice. For the most part, I thought the guys were focused on what we have to get done in Denver. It starts up front on offense and defense and it’s a mindset when you play those guys there. They play great at home, have a great home record. We’re walking into their first home game and their fans are excited about them playing. We’ve got to play very, very well to win.”

Q: How’s Trent Green?

EDWARDS: “He doing OK. He actually went home yesterday and is feeling a lot better. He’s out for this week obviously. From there the doctors will determine how long he’s going to be out.”

Q: What about your new starting QB, Damon Huard?

EDWARDS: “He started a couple of years back and was pretty successful. It’s good to have a veteran quarterback as the backup guy for you. He’s a real steady guy, a smart guy, knows how to handle the huddle. He’s been in that role; that’s been his role in his career so far. He accepts it well; he’s always ready to play when he’s called upon and now he’s called upon. You’ve got to help him, obviously, you can’t put it all on his shoulders. It’s a good thing to know we’ve got a veteran guy like that.”

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Chiefs President Carl Peterson said today that he had spoken to T Willie Roaf last night and that based upon that conversation the club will change the player’s roster status from Reserve/Did Not Report to Reserve/Retired. The two men enjoyed a lengthy conversation, Peterson said, and he acknowledged that he and the Chiefs “are comfortable with Willie’s decision.”

“I’ve gone through this retirement process with players many times,” Peterson said, “with John Alt, Tim Grunhard, Marcus Allen and Joe Montana. It is never easy; it comes to all players sooner or later, and we respect Willie’s decision. As it was with all these previous players, Willie was a terrific player and a terrific person. His teammates, coaches and everyone associated with the Chiefs will miss him.”

Peterson said that the Chiefs will have a recognition ceremony for Roaf later this year to pay tribute to “his accomplishments in his four Pro Bowl years in Kansas City, and his previous eight years and seven Pro Bowls in the NFL.” Roaf began his career with the New Orleans Saints as a number one draft choice, but was traded to Kansas City in 2002 for a third-round pick.

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Kyle Turley was on his way to get a massage, but it wasn't what you think. "Trust me, it's not gonna be fun," the Kansas City Chiefs' left tackle was telling me last Saturday afternoon as we finished our meal at Dick Clark's American Bandstand, a diner in Overland Park, Kan. "It's gonna be painful -- at least, it had better be. I'm trying out this guy, and if it turns out to be one of those 'relax and let me rub on you' massages, I'll be royally pissed."

Turley has been dealing with severe back pain since 2004, when he underwent surgery to repair a herniated disk. He reaggravated the injury at the start of training camp that summer and missed the next two seasons, dabbling in acting, TV commentary and the music industry (he played drums in a death-metal band, Perpetual Death Mode), and contemplating comebacks as a defensive end and/or tight end.

In June the eighth-year veteran finally signed to play his old position with the Chiefs, who shortly thereafter lost their starting tackles, Willie Roaf and John Welbourn, to retirement. (Welbourn may return after a six-week suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.) Turley is lean and mean and opinionated as ever, beginning with his steadfast belief that weight is overrated. As if to illustrate the point, after I asked our waitress for a cheeseburger and a chocolate shake, Turley ordered a salad.

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Q: To what do you attribute the interceptions that Denver suffered in St. Louis?

TY LAW: “A lot of times it was tipped balls. I don’t think you can blame QB Jake (Plummer) for everything that happened. There were some tipped balls, some dropped balls and the defense took advantage of those. They’re playing well and they’re playing fast, sometimes you just get bad breaks.”

Q: Do you have to be prepared to cover longer against Denver’s offense as a corner?

LAW: “Definitely. When you get two top-notch receivers and a quarterback that can run, you have to be prepared to cover longer than you would normally have to cover.”

Q: Do you think Denver will be at its best on Sunday at home?

LAW: “I think you can always expect the best when you are playing the Broncos because of their scheme. Any running back that you put back there and all of them have talent, they do a great job of picking their running backs, but all of those guys can run and get 1,000 or 1,500 yards no matter who put back there. You are always going to have to be prepared and when you’ve got a veteran wide receiver like Rod Smith who seems to get better with age and now another premier receiver in Javon Walker. You have to be ready to play. They can hit you from so many angles and when they get outside and do the boots and things like that and give QB Jake (Plummer) time to read and time to run, you’re going to have to be ready to play for four quarters.”

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Kansas City Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced on Wednesday that the club has agreed to terms of a two-year contract with WR Rod Gardner. As per Chiefs policy, no other terms of the agreement were made available.

Gardner (6-2, 215) enters his sixth NFL season, joining the Chiefs as a free agent after spending the 2006 preseason with Green Bay. A member of both the Panthers and Packers in 2005, Gardner appeared in 12 games (one start) and totaled 13 receptions for 151 yards (11.6 avg.) with one touchdown.

Gardner originally entered the NFL as a first-round selection (15th overall) of Washington in the 2001 NFL Draft. Gardner played four seasons with the Redskins, seeing duty in 64 contests with 61 starts. In his five prior NFL campaigns, Gardner appeared in 76 games (62 starts) and caught 240 passes for 3,148 yards (13.1 avg.) with 23 TDs. Gardner topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark with Washington in 2002, catching 71 balls for 1,006 yards and eight TDs.

The Jacksonville, Florida native was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and first-team All-America selection as a senior at Clemson. Gardner ended his collegiate career with 166 receptions for 2,498 yards and 13 TDs. He was a prep standout at Raines High School in Jacksonville, Florida.

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Just before he was released from the hospital Tuesday, Trent Green had one request — he wanted to make the trip with his teammates this weekend to Denver.

Green won’t be playing, and it’s not clear yet whether doctors will want him to travel just a few days after he suffered a severe concussion. But if there were doubts that the Chiefs’ veteran quarterback might want to call it quits, at 36 and after taking such a vicious hit, they were answered with his eager questions.

“Oh yeah, Trent still wants to play football,” coach Herm Edwards said. “There’s no doubt about that. If it was up to Trent, knowing the type of guy he is, he’d show up tomorrow and kind of go to meetings and be whispering in my ear and say, ‘Coach, by Friday, I’ll be ready to go.’ ”

Though there have been whispers that Green won’t be back for a month, Chiefs officials say any timetable would be conjecture at this point. Green will benefit from a bye week on Sept. 24, an early open date that was cursed before the injury.

Edwards, who was a couple of minutes late for his weekly news conference Tuesday because he was talking to Green, again said the Chiefs won’t rush him back. Full story

“We’re having fun now,” Herm Edwards said as he sprang from a table Tuesday and headed for the door.

Casually dressed in shorts and fleece, Edwards looked fit and fired up enough to tackle the next person who suggested that he’s changed Kansas City’s offense.

It is premature to say that after one game the honeymoon is over between Edwards and Kansas City. But one thing is certain — the new coach isn’t taking too well to the comments that he played conservatively in last weekend’s 23-10 thumping by the Bengals.

“That’s perception,” Edwards said. “That ain’t reality. Go watch the game. The first play of the game was a reverse. That ain’t conservative.

“Conservative? I was conservative in this game? If the people went to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play, that’s the same offense they’ve watched for the last five years — shifts, motions. … Maybe I should change, because if we’re only going to score 10 points and we’ll get the quarterback killed, then maybe I should change the offense.

“But that’s the same offense these fans have been watching for the last five years, and it wasn’t clicking on all cylinders.” Full story

This wasn't a "Hello, you play to win the game" moment, but it could be a while before someone calls Herman Edwards conservative again.

At the Chiefs coach's weekly news conference Tuesday, the third-and-5 red zone call from Sunday's 23-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals came up. As a refresher, the Chiefs had a third-and-5 from the Cincinnati 11 and ran Larry Johnson up the middle for no gain. They kicked a field goal for a 3-0 lead.

Edwards said Sunday the play call was the result of "miscommunication." Tuesday it was suggested the Chiefs ran in that situation because Edwards is a conservative coach.

"Conservative!" he said. "I was conservative in this game? When people came to see the Kansas City Chiefs play (vs. Cincinnati) they saw the same offense they've watched for the last five years. Shifts, motions, we threw the ball more than we ran, which I hate. Generally when you do that you're going to lose the game."

Edwards went on to disprove his conservative reputation. Full story

Last year, Chad Pennington lasted only three games, and by the end of the season coach Herm Edwards had played five New York Jets quarterbacks. The Jets finished a dismal 4-12.

This season, Edwards' first in Kansas City, Trent Green lasted less than three quarters before sustaining a severe concussion that landed him in the hospital for two nights.

Before Edwards arrived, Green had been an NFL ironman, starting 81 straight games.

"She said, 'Before you married me, in that life you were living, you did something bad to somebody,'" Edwards quipped Tuesday.

Edwards said Green would go home from the hospital Tuesday afternoon but would definitely not play against Denver on Sunday. It's uncertain when he'll play again, Edwards said.

Edwards said the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback was in good spirits. Full story

Willie Roaf is in town and plans to hold a news conference Thursday to reiterate that yes, he’s still firm on his retirement plans. The site will be in an office building, not Arrowhead Stadium. And news of the gathering was news to the Chiefs.

“Well, it’s America, and he can do whatever he wants,” coach Herm Edwards said.

“I don’t have any animosity toward Willie. I really don’t. I’m coaching the guys that are here. That’s what I’ve got to do. If he wants to come by and visit me, my door is always open.”

Just before the Chiefs left for training camp in late July, Roaf said he was retiring. The news was a jolt for a team already in transition. Roaf, an 11-time Pro Bowl left tackle, wanted to keep playing, but hamstring and knee problems told him it was time to stop.

In Sunday’s broadcast of the Chiefs-Bengals game, a CBS announcer asked whether Roaf was watching because Kansas City needed him. Roaf arrived in Kansas City this week in part to take care of some affairs with his house, visit injured quarterback Trent Green and clear the air on his plans.

Roaf’s locker is gone downstairs at Arrowhead, but president/general manager Carl Peterson said again Tuesday that Roaf probably will remain on the reserve/did not report list until the 10th game of the season.

“Willie is going to do his thing, I guess,” Peterson said. “Anytime an offensive lineman talks to the media, it’s out of character. And for Willie, that’s very out of character.” Source

The Chiefs' Trent Green has been released from a Kansas City area hospital and at his news conference Tuesday, coach Herman Edwards said the quarterback is "feeling much better."

"He's feeling a lot better and I think he'll feel a lot better when he gets home this afternoon. We'll see where he is from there. Obviously, he's out this week and then we'll see what happens after that," Edwards said.

A source close to Green told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that the quarterback would miss at least the Chiefs' next two games.

"Players get hurt in this league and it's important not to rush him back. Every organization understands that. We have to make sure Trent is OK, that's the most important part," Edwards said.

Edwards said Green didn't say when he thought he could return.

Chiefs quarterback Trent Green remains in a Kansas City hospital as a precautionary measure after being admitted Sunday afternoon with a head trauma suffered in a collision with Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Robert Geathers.

All X-rays on Green have come back negative, the Chiefs reported on their Web site Monday, and Green has feeling in his extremeties.

Chiefs president-general manager Carl Peterson said he expects Green to leave the hospital today. The Chiefs expect Green to return this season, though Peterson gave no timetable, only saying Green is, "extremely questionable for this week and probably out."

The Chiefs plan to start Damon Huard on Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

Green's injury came with 4:52 remaining in the third quarter of Kansas City's 23-10 loss to the Bengals.

For the third time in one drive, Green -- never known for his scrambling -- was running for a first down.

With two yards to gain, Green picked up five and entered a sliding position near the Chiefs sideline. Geathers, who appeared to have been at least partially aided by a shove from Chiefs receiver Eddie Kennison, hit Green's facemask with his shoulder pad, causing Green's head to smack the ground at Arrowhead Stadium. Full story

Perhaps you remember 2000. A gallon of gas cost somewhere in the $1.35 range. Rage Against the Machine broke up. Sony introduced the Playstation 2 in North America.

Damon Huard was a starting quarterback in the NFL. Until Sunday, it had been the last time he completed a pass in a regular-season game.

For the next five years, Huard hung around the NFL. He held for some kicks. He held some clipboards. He won a couple of Super Bowl rings with the Patriots.

Maybe he even played the hot new Playstation 2, inserting himself as a starter in Madden.

Save one season with the Miami Dolphins, Huard has spent the majority of his 10-year career this way.

"You never know when you're gonna have to get out there," Huard said.

He had to get out there Sunday. When Trent Green's head bounced off the Arrowhead ground, Huard was thrust back on the field.

"You just start praying," he said. "You think about him, his family, his health." Full story

Sometimes it’s important to say the obvious: Football is an incredibly dangerous and cruel game.

We saw evidence of that Sunday afternoon when a vicious hit knocked Trent Green cold and sapped what little fun was left in the Chiefs’ disappointing loss to Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium.

As the Chiefs’ medical staff surrounded Green and eventually carried him off the field strapped to a gurney, it was difficult to see the point of playing football. The game seemed barbaric, something left over from Caesar’s rule.

I turned to my Star colleagues Joe Posnanski and Jeff Flanagan and wondered: “How do they continue to play?”

After the game, Tony Gonzalez told reporters it took him about a play to get his mind back into the game.

When you’re young and healthy, you never think it’s going to happen to you. Or it’s never going to be so bad that a doctor can’t fix it. As Green lay motionless on the field, I feared he might have suffered a serious neck injury. I wondered whether the $50 million contract he signed years ago was worth it.

We complain about the money athletes are paid. When you consider the risks football players take in practice and in games, you can legitimately argue they’re underpaid. Full story

A backup since his first NFL season with Miami in 1997, quarterback Damon Huard knows plenty about this way of life.

Attend offensive meetings to study the plays and that week’s opposing defense. Watch the starter at practice.

Repeat weekly — and hope to be ready if needed.

“It’s just the way it is for a backup quarterback,” said Huard, who will make his first NFL start in six years Sunday for the Chiefs in Denver.

“You have to take the (snaps) mentally rather than physically during the week and then go in and play and play well if you’re needed. I’d rather be doing them physically, but there’s not enough time in practice.”

The Chiefs will have plenty of time for Huard this week. Although they haven’t declared starter Trent Green out of the Denver game because of a concussion, the Chiefs are preparing to be without him.

That means getting Huard ready.

Huard replaced Green in the third quarter of Sunday’s 23-10 loss to Cincinnati. He fumbled twice but threw for 140 yards and a touchdown. Full story

It felt like an earthquake, and Merril Hoge couldn’t remember where he was, what he was doing, or why he played a couple more snaps. That’s the thing about concussions. Hips can be repaired, torn knees heal, but the brain is something you don’t replace.

As Hoge watched Trent Green lay motionless on the grass Sunday, it brought back thoughts of a hit he took from Derrick Thomas 12 years ago at Arrowhead Stadium. And Hoge took just as much comfort in something Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said after the game as he did the early prognosis.

“He said, ‘I’ll let the doctors determine when he’ll play,’ ” Hoge said. “And that’s exactly what needs to happen. I applaud Herm Edwards. Trent Green may be back in three days, and they’re going to be going, ‘Oh my gosh, his arm’s great.’ But the risk of taking another blow to the head like that can be fatal.

“I had to learn this the hard way, and it almost took my life.”

A king-sized headache and an extended hospital stay awaited Green on Monday, a day after he was knocked out on a vicious hit from Cincinnati end Robert Geathers. After Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson visited Green at the hospital, it was obvious that his two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, an ironman who started 81 straight games, will see his streak end Sunday at Denver.

Peterson described Green’s injury as “a very severe concussion,” and said he had no reason to think it would be career-ending. He reiterated that the Chiefs had no plans to bring in another quarterback and that they hoped they’d get Green back shortly after the bye week.

Green could be released from the hospital as early as today. Full story

With their opening day loss confirming the Kansas City Chiefs' need for another veteran wide receiver, ESPN.com has learned that the team on Monday reached a contract agreement with Rod Gardner, who was released by the Green Bay Packers last week.

Gardner, 28, will sign a three-year contract once he passes a team physical examination. The five-year veteran worked out last week for Kansas City coaches and club personnel officials and also had auditions with a few other teams. Financial details of the contract were not immediately available.

A first-round pick of the Washingron Redskins in the 2001 draft, Gardner has been an itinerant player of late, and the Chiefs will be his fourth different team since the 2004 season. But if Gardner can quickly assimilate the Kansas City offense, and regain some of his previous form, he could add a possession and size dimension that is currently lacking in the Chiefs' passing attack.

The Kansas City wide receivers combined for only eight catches for 69 yards in Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. One factor, of course, was the head injury that knocked starting quarterback Trent Green from the game. But the top three Kansas City wideouts -- Eddie Kennison, Samie Parker and Dante Hall -- are all vertical receivers and Gardner might be able to add a different twist to the mix. Full story

Carl Peterson almost seemed exasperated by the question. The Chiefs had just lost Trent Green because of a head trauma, and somebody asked Peterson whether he’d be shopping for another quarterback if Green is out for the year.

“That is very premature,” Peterson said.

Fact is, Kansas City expects its ironman quarterback to return, maybe after the bye week Oct. 1. Reality is, the Chiefs have very little experienced depth behind him. Veteran backup Damon Huard got the call as Green lay motionless on the ground, and coach Herm Edwards said Huard “did a pretty good job once he got going.”

But his biggest drive came when the game was well in hand, and Huard goes into Denver next week rusty and unproven, making his last start in Miami in 2000.

“I’m not going to worry about Denver today,” Huard said. “There will be a time for that this week. I’m going to think about Trent and his family, and that’s really what’s important. We’ll go to work on Denver probably tomorrow afternoon.” Full story

Eleven minutes. That's how long Trent Green lay motionless on the Arrowhead Stadium turf.

Thirty-five minutes, 15 seconds. That's how long the Chiefs spent dragging their offense uphill against a deficit.

Thirty-one minutes, 57 seconds of possession is how long it took the Chiefs to accumulate 289 yards, commit three turnovers, score 10 points and lose their quarterback in a 23-10 loss at home to the Cincinnati Bengals.

"We just didn't do a good job of stopping them, period," guard Brian Waters said.

"We started off extremely bad," linebacker Kawika Mitchell said.

"Turnovers got us," coach Herman Edwards said.

The real blow, delivered by Bengals defensive end Robert Geathers, was severe both to Green's head and to the Chiefs' offense, though the latter was ailing long before Green went down.

The Chiefs drove for a field goal on their second possession to take a 3-0 lead and outgained Cincinnati 83-27 in the first quarter, but the Bengals took over after Dante Hall muffed a punt. The Bengals scored on three consecutive possessions to take a 17-3 lead with 1:05 left in the second quarter. Full story

They got down on one knee in their new all-white uniforms, awkwardly shuffled over to the pile near the sideline, and Trent Green still didn’t move. The rain came down, 11 minutes passed, and an era seemed to slowly slip away in the silence. Damon Huard prayed. Tony Gonzalez turned away. He couldn’t watch.

“It’s the worst thing you could possibly see,” Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said.

Kansas City already looked shell-shocked by halftime of Sunday’s 23-10 loss to the Bengals on the opening day of the Herm Edwards era. But when Green lay motionless on a stretcher late in the third quarter, that’s when things really got ugly.

It has been said that the Chiefs could change coaches, lose offensive linemen, replace Pro Bowl running backs. But if something happened to their quarterback … well, that’s something nobody wanted to talk about. Green started his 81st straight game Sunday. He’s considered the cornerstone of what was one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses, and his backup is a guy who came into the day attempting one pass in five years.

Minutes before he took off scrambling for a first down, CBS showed footage of the nasty hit Green took in 1999, when he tore his ACL as Rams quarterback in a preseason game. Then Green ran to the right end for 5 yards, slid past the first-down marker, and Robert Geathers hit him with his shoulder. Green’s head violently snapped against the ground.

The Chiefs called the injury “severe head trauma,” and Green was eventually alert and awake and remembered every play except for the last hit. He was expected to spend the night in the hospital, but his return to the field is unknown. Full story

Robert Geathers wasn’t head-hunting. He wants everyone to know that.

Geathers, the Bengals’ defensive end who delivered the knockout blow to Trent Green in the third quarter, said he was pushed into Green by a Chiefs player.

(Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said it was Eddie Kennison.)

“I didn’t even think I hit him that hard,” Geathers said. “It certainly wasn’t helmet to helmet. I know I felt I got pushed from behind and I hit him with my shoulder.

“Then I ran off the field. It wasn’t until a little later we saw he was hurt. Then you just start praying and hope you see some movement from him.”

Geathers wasn’t penalized, although Green, who had been scrambling, clearly was into his slide.

“I really couldn’t tell he was sliding,” Geathers said.

Geathers said he planned to call Green on Sunday night or today to find out more about his condition.

“You feel bad because you don’t want to see people get hurt,” Geathers said. “He has a family.”

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer said he also was concerned.

“It’s a small fraternity, being NFL quarterbacks,” Palmer said. “You feel terrible.

“When I was hurt, Trent gave me some good advice, so you just hope he’ll be OK.” Full story

Let the record show that Chiefs fans booed coach Herm Edwards on Kansas City’s second offensive possession of the 2006 season.

On third and 5 at the Cincinnati 11, Edwards’ offensive unit slammed running back Larry Johnson into the heart of the Bengals’ defense for the fifth straight time. Bengals middle linebacker Brian Simmons stoned Johnson at the line of scrimmage, forcing the Chiefs to settle for a field goal.

A massive flock of boo birds took flight inside Arrowhead Stadium, spelling out just how short Edwards’ honeymoon period will be in Kansas City.

Edwards didn’t even get to unpack his bags.

The conservative, play-for-three-points reputation he built in New York has Chiefs fans ready to pounce. The punchless offensive attack that contributed to the Chiefs’ disappointing 23-10 loss to the Bengals will certainly have Kansas City football fans openly questioning Edwards’ competence.

We haven’t seen a debut this bad since the maker of the Titanic shouted, “full steam ahead.”

Bengals defensive end Robert Geathers might go down as the iceberg that sank the 2006 Chiefs. His illegal-but-unpenalized, third-quarter hit on Trent Green could ruin Kansas City’s football season.

But they don’t make movies about icebergs. Hollywood loves to tell the stories behind the stories. And Edwards was the story on Sunday — not Green’s concussion or whether Geathers was pushed into his flying collision with a hook-sliding Green. Full story

Today is a good day to pay a final tribute to the Chiefs offenses of the new millennium. Those Chiefs offenses thrilled us, didn’t they? From 2001 to 2005, the Chiefs scored more points than any other team in the NFL. It was something.

No, the Chiefs did not win a playoff game in that era — and they made the playoffs only once — but blaming the offense for that would be like blaming the Beatles for the collapse of rock ’n’ roll. Five straight years the Chiefs finished in the top five in yards. They scored 30 or more points 30 times. They scored 40 or more 15 times. They set record after record, they filled up the Pro Bowl rosters, they made big play after big play, and they were never out of a game.

Today is a good day to raise a glass to those great Chiefs offenses of old.

They are gone forever, folks.

To me, that was the big story of the Chiefs loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. True, there were many stories in that game, and you wouldn’t want to tell any of them to your kids. Wow. It’s hard to imagine how Herm Edwards’ debut could have been worse. I suppose, on the bright side, nobody forgot their shoes in the locker room. It’s something to build on.

Everything else went wrong, including the Chiefs’ uniform choice. They wore white uniforms at home for the first time ever. What? I realize that Edwards wanted to break away from the past, but the Chiefs were 65-23 wearing red in Kansas City the last 11 years. Home whites at Arrowhead? Sheesh. This is like Drew Carey saying, “I’ve had enough of the thick glasses.” Full story

Larry Johnson won’t be breaking Barry Sanders’ record this season after all.

Johnson, who was five games behind Sanders in consecutive games with 100 yards rushing, saw his streak fall short on Sunday — ironically, in his first regular-season game as the Chiefs’ undisputed No. 1 back.

Coach Herm Edwards wanted to pound the Bengals into submission and use the 230-pound Johnson as a battering ram. It worked for a time — Johnson had seven carries for 32 yards on a first-quarter drive to a field goal.

The Chiefs may have used Johnson, in fact, one play too often on the drive. Using a one-wide-receiver formation, they gave him the ball on third and 5 from the Cincinnati 11.

Johnson was stuffed for no gain, and the Chiefs settled for the field goal on the next play.

Offensive coordinator Mike Solari mistakenly believed it was second down, or he might have tried a pass play, as his players hoped he would. Full story

The first defensive performance of the Herm Edwards era was hardly a thing of beauty. The Chiefs allowed 23 points and took the ball away from the visiting Cincinnati Bengals only once.

As a starting point, the Chiefs will gladly take it. They allowed the high-powered Bengals just 236 yards and, despite the fact that Cincinnati started six drives in Kansas City’s end of the field, made them kick three field goals.

“It was OK, just OK,” linebacker Derrick Johnson said. “That’s not good enough. We’ve got to go to Denver next week, and even though they lost, they’re going to be ready to go. We’ve got to have a short-term memory. We’ve got to go to Denver with a whole different mind-set, and we will.”

Cincinnati had only one drive of more than 42 yards, and it turned out to be the one that allowed the Bengals to take the lead for good. They broke a 3-3 tie when, in the middle of the second quarter, they went to a no-huddle offense and drove 88 yards.

They scored on Rudi Johnson’s 22-yard run.

“It was only the one drive that hurt us,” Derrick Johnson said. “They went to no-huddle for the first time, and they got us on that drive. You take away that one drive — this is football, so I know you can’t do that — and we played OK. We will get better. We just have to communicate better.” Full story

Lost amid the trauma to Trent Green's head and the general offensive futility the Chiefs displayed Sunday was the Chiefs' defense, which yielded just two plays of over 20 yards -- Rudi Johnson's 22-yard touchdown run and a 30-yard reception by Tab Perry.

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer had 127 yards, and Rudi Johnson averaged 3.4 yards per carry.

Cincinnati finished with 236 total yards, though it rarely had to drive the entire field.

The biggest problem the Chiefs defense faced was the no-huddle look the Bengals threw at them in the second quarter. Cincinnati scored its first touchdown on a no-huddle drive, hitting receiver Chad Johnson four times for 41 yards on an 11-play, 88-yard drive.

"I thought the one series when they went no-huddle on us it turned out be a big drive for them," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said. "They split us on the one run when we were in man-to-man and we spilled the ball and the safety got hung up on a block."  Full story

His feet were not moving, nor were his hands. It was tough to tell if the popular quarterback, who for five years had been so indestructible, was even breathing.

From the moment Cincinnati's Robert Geathers unleashed a brutal hit until word came that the quarterback had regained consciousness, little was said at the Bengals-Chiefs game Sunday.

"You just start praying," backup quarterback Damon Huard said. "You think about him, his family and his health."

Chiefs General Manager Carl Peterson said Green had "pretty severe head trauma," but regained all his senses and feeling in his arms and legs.

"Actually, when he did wake up, he remembered every play except the one that knocked him out," Peterson said after the 23-10 Bengals win.

Peterson said Green was taken to a hospital, but preliminary X-rays on his head and neck came back negative.

"His family, including his wife, Julie, is with him and we're going to be cautiously optimistic that he's going to be back," Peterson said. "But he's certainly got a headache right now." Full story

The Herm Edwards era got off to a start that looked eerily similar to his days in New York. With another quarterback injury.

Trent Green was taken away on a stretcher in the second half, and the Chiefs stumbled to a 23-10 loss to the Bengals on a rainy, gloomy Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Green, who has started 81 straight regular-season games for the Chiefs, was scrambling for a first down when he slid and was hit by Robert Geathers’ shoulder. Green’s head violently hit the grass, and the game was stopped for 11 minutes as Green lay motionless on the ground. He was strapped to the stretcher, and the Chiefs described his injury as a blow to the head with a doubtful return.

Green, 36, has thrown for three straight 4,000 seasons and is considered the cornerstone of Kansas City’s offense. His backups are unproven. Before Sunday, Damon Huard had completed just one pass since 2000. Rookie Brodie Croyle suited up as the Chiefs’ No. 3 quarterback. In Edwards’ last season with the Jets in 2005, he lost four quarterbacks to injury.

The Chiefs struggled mightily on offense even before Green’s departure, managing just 165 yards and a field goal through three quarters. Source

The 2006 NFL regular season is now underway, but the Chiefs are probably looking for a mulligan. After scoring first, Kansas City watched the Bengals roll up 20 straight points before Cincinnati pulled away for a 23-10 win at a soggy Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs may have lost their regular season opener, but the team’s record certainly wasn’t the only thing on the minds of the players and staff. Sunday’s game was marred by a frightening head injury to Chiefs starting QB Trent Green, who was carted off the field after an 11-minute delay while doctors stabilized him for transport.

With Kansas City trailing 20-3 late in the third quarter, Green was doing everything possible to will the Chiefs back. The Pro Bowl passer scrambled from the backfield to pick up a first down, but as he went down into a hook slide, Bengals DE Robert Geathers dove and delivered a severe blow to Green’s head. Late word out of Arrowhead was that Green was at an area hospital and his condition was improving.

“Obviously a pretty severe head trauma, but he had all his senses and feeling in his arms and legs,” Chiefs President Carl Peterson said Sunday of Green’s injury. “Actually, when he did wake up he remembered every play except the one that knocked him out. He’s in the hospital right now, but the preliminary X-rays – and they did them of the neck and head – are all negative. So, we’re being very optimistic and hopeful.

“His family, including his wife Julie, is with him and we’re going to be cautiously optimistic that he’s going to be back, but he’s certainly got a headache right now.” Full story

It’s the perfect challenge, the Cincinnati Bengals, Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson and Marvin Lewis in week one.

The revamped, new-approach Kansas City Chiefs open the NFL season at home today taking on a quarterback who needs to be hit, a wide receiver who will test their veteran corners and a coach desperately wanting to get off to a fast start.

Where to begin?

We might as well start with the mind-set of the Bengals, 11-5 and the talk of the league a year ago, embarrassed by numerous offseason player arrests.

OK, you know how Herm Edwards and Carl Peterson spent much of training camp on their knees begging Willie Roaf to put down his gumbo spoon and return to the practice field? Well, Cincy coach Marvin Lewis spent a lot of time on his knees, too, begging Father Time to spin the clock, start the games and give sports fans something else to talk about rather than Cincy’s police blotter.

It’s no coincidence Cincinnati throttled its preseason opponents by a combined score of 131-54. Lewis and the Bengals needed to demonstrate that all of the illegal mischief — five Bengals were charged with offenses, and starting linebacker Odell Thurman has been suspended for the first four games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy — didn’t create a distraction.

Getting it done in the preseason is nice. Beating the Chiefs inside Arrowhead Stadium on opening day will shut up all of Lewis’ critics and stamp the Bengals as a serious Super Bowl threat.

The Chiefs will get Cincy’s “A” game. Full story

The joke in New York media circles goes something like this:

How do you stop Kansas City’s offense?

Hire Herm Edwards as head coach. Bada-bing, bada-boom!

In the quiet of an empty stadium, hours before a new Chiefs era starts, maybe Edwards is laughing, too. It has been said over many a truck-stop cup of joe — and a handful of rabid message boards — that the defensive guy was going to choke the life out of this offense, experimenting with something that had worked so well. They took such pride in it. In one of his last news conferences, just before the Chiefs were shut out of the playoffs, Dick Vermeil pointed out that the offense had regained its spot as No. 1 in the NFL.

Now Edwards is the man, and he’s in a hallway, alone, with a sly look and apparently no regard for rankings. He promises he won’t take the air out of the ball when the Chiefs hit the field today against the Bengals. He doesn’t promise much else.

“We’re going to do whatever we need to do to move the ball this way,” he says with his arm extended forward.

“I’ve never been in a place like this, and I’ve been in only four places in 27 years. The first time I was here, the offense was not like this one. In Tampa, it wasn’t like this, and in New York, our offense wasn’t like this. I’m not here to retool this offense. But I’ve got to make the offense understand it has to protect the defense. How do you do that? There’s got to be balance.” Full story

When the Chiefs run

Edge >> Chiefs

The Chiefs had their way against the Bengals last year, when Larry Johnson ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns. That was when Willie Roaf and John Welbourn played tackle for the Chiefs and before 350-pound Sam Adams patrolled the middle of the Cincinnati line. Johnson should still make his yards, but don’t look for them to come as easily as last season.

When the Chiefs pass

Edge >> Bengals

Pass protection might be the biggest concern for the Chiefs. Jordan Black, who struggled during the preseason even more than he did last year, will start at right tackle for the injured Kevin Sampson. There are no guarantees about Kyle Turley on the left side, though he had a solid camp and preseason. Look for the Bengals to try to take advantage and the Chiefs to use more quick drops. Full story

This is the 40th anniversary season of the Chiefs’ AFL championship in 1966 and appearance in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, which later became known as Super Bowl I. During the course of this season, The Star will recap each game.

Even in their wildest dreams, defensive tackles James Reed and Ron Edwards never anticipated when they joined the Chiefs in the spring that they would open the season as starters.

Start? They merely wanted to make the team.

The Chiefs appeared to have Ryan Sims and Lional Dalton entrenched as starters and John Browning and Junior Siavii to back them up.

Yet when the Chiefs open Sunday against Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium, both Reed and Edwards will be with the starting defense. They displaced the underachieving Sims and Dalton while Browning and Siavii are gone.

It’s not exactly as coach Herm Edwards envisioned it, either.

“I imagined they’d come in and compete,” he said. “That’s what you want them to do. Those are the guys that so far have done the best job of being consistent. That doesn’t mean they’re set in stone at those positions. They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do. They’ve been available (to practice) for the most part.”

Reed and Edwards were available to the Chiefs or any other team deep into the free-agency period. Edwards joined the Chiefs in late March, Reed in mid-May.

By then, most starting free agents had snatched up the available first-team jobs. Backups are left to scramble for leftovers. Full story

A crowd gathered around Patrick Surtain’s locker late Thursday. When the Chiefs are playing Bengals receiver Chad Johnson, that’s where the horde usually gravitates, and coach Herm Edwards bounced across the room, grabbed a microphone and started a mock interview.

“What type of dance,” Edwards said, “do you think 85’s going to have for you when he scores a touchdown?”

Edwards handed back the prop, the horde got a good chuckle and dispersed, but Surtain sat there for a few minutes and finally answered the question.

“I don’t think he’s going to get into the end zone, personally,” Surtain said. “You can write that in the paper.”

Behold the power of a defensive-minded coach, some offseason acquisitions and a couple of months of brotherly bonding. It can make one of the NFL’s worst pass defenses believe it can stop anything.

For years, it’s been said that this, insert-your-season here, is the make-or-break year for the Chiefs’ secondary. This season, it has to be. The Chiefs have made three high-profile signings over the last 18 months to contracts collectively worth more than $90 million. Full story

In the executive offices, however, there seems to be skepticism about a player who will have missed 10 games in two years for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

"I think John could help the team. He's obviously a gifted player and started a lot of games for us," quarterback Trent Green said Thursday. "If he comes back and is ready to play and can help the team, I think everybody would be pretty open to that."

The NFL announced Wednesday that Welbourn, who retired in June but later asked for reinstatement, had been suspended for six games.

After sitting out a four-game suspension at the beginning of last season for the same reason, Welbourn wound up starting nine games at tackle and was an important part of a 10-6 season.

The Chiefs hold his rights for the next three years. But general manager Carl Peterson seemed lukewarm to the idea of taking him back.

"Specific to what his status will be with the Chiefs after the suspension, we'll address at that time," Peterson said. Full story

Defense to get a challenge

The Chiefs believe they are prepared defensively for the challenges the Bengals will bring in Sunday’s season-opener at Arrowhead Stadium.

But maybe not as prepared as they will be at, say, midseason.

“It’s going to take time to be where we want to be,” cornerback Ty Law said. “We’re not peaking right now. No team is peaking right now. We want to peak in November and December.”

Will Welbourn return?

Edwards didn’t dismiss the chance the Chiefs would accept offensive tackle John Welbourn after he completes his six-game NFL suspension for violation of the league drug policy.

“The doors are always open for players,” Edwards said. “We’ll just see what happens.” Full story

Welbourn suspended

Former Chiefs tackle John Welbourn was suspended Wednesday by the NFL for six games for a violation of the league’s drug policy.

Welbourn told the Chiefs in the spring that he was finished with football and filed his retirement papers with the NFL. Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said Welbourn recently asked the NFL for reinstatement.

Peterson indicated it was unlikely Welbourn would continue his career with the Chiefs.

“We’ll address that when his suspension has concluded,” Peterson said. “I would not make the assumption that he will return to play here. We have already moved on. We have other people playing tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Welbourn was suspended by the NFL for the first four games of last season for a violation of the drug policy. He returned to play for the Chiefs and wound up starting nine games last year.

Since then, the Chiefs lost another tackle, Willie Roaf, to retirement. They added Kyle Turley, who will be one starter in Sunday’s season opener against Cincinnati. Kevin Sampson is the probable starter at the other tackle spot. Will Svitek is the top tackle reserve. Full story

One day, Trent Green just up and called a guy he didn't know, just to talk about knees.

Green knows about knees. A bum knee nearly wrecked his career. A bum knee, in a roundabout way, turned grocery boy Kurt Warner into an MVP.

ACLs and MCLs and NFLs and, uh, PBRs are all too familiar to Green.

So when Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer went down with what doctors originally called a potentially career-ending ligament tears in his left knee last January, Green picked up the phone.

"He called me a lot," Palmer said Wednesday. "He talked to coach (Ken) Zampese a couple of times about some drills that I could be doing, things that he did. He just encouraged me to keep working hard and that nobody can set limits on your rehab, and that nobody can tell you when you're ready."

Palmer, of course, is ready. He called the knee a non-issue, and his preseason numbers -- 13-for-20 for 213 yards and four touchdowns -- suggest he is ready to resume where he left off, having led the NFL with 32 touchdown passes last season. Full story

They didn’t know each other outside of a few polite handshakes, the brisk kind that come from the NFL banquet circuit and an emptying stadium. Aside from some Sunday highlights, Carson Palmer, really, didn’t know Trent Green from Seth Green. Then Palmer’s knee buckled in January, and they had much more in common.

These days, Palmer seems bored with the questions about his surgically repaired knee. For the umpteenth time Wednesday, he was asked if eight months was too soon and if two preseason games were enough. From a phone line 600 miles away, you could feel his eyes rolling.

Then the conversation drifted toward Green, and Palmer opened up. No way did he expect Green to call him last winter, then follow up to see how he was doing. And the calls he made to Palmer’s coach to suggest rehab drills? That went above and beyond.

“Trent’s been a guy I’ve looked up to for a long time,” Palmer said. “Not only for the way he plays, but the way he handles himself. To take time out of his day to call a young quarterback like I am and give me advice and share some thoughts. … It really helped me.”

It has been surmised by most of the NFL that Palmer is back and ready for the Bengals’ season opener Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. The night Palmer made his preseason debut against Green Bay, Chiefs coach Herm Edwards watched from a hospital TV shortly after his wife, Lia, gave birth to their daughter Vivian Lee. Lia warned Edwards he’d better be ready for Palmer. Full story

“Time to kiss the babies,” Herm Edwards said as he eased in front of a microphone in a sharp gray suit. Five days before the Bengals, 70 minutes before his first kickoff luncheon as the Chiefs’ head coach, and Edwards was as smooth as the mousse dessert.

He’s been this way for at least 30 years.

“First of all, I don’t worry,” Edwards said. “I’m not a worrying kind of guy. People who aren’t prepared worry.”

There is reason for concern in Kansas City this week, despite Edwards’ calm demeanor. There are so many unknowns. The Chiefs begin the Herm Edwards era at noon Sunday minus a future Hall of Fame left tackle, plus another year on an already aging offense, and with a defense that sparkles in practice but has looked spotty in the preseason.

Even Edwards said Tuesday that he doesn’t know this team yet in game situations, so he can’t pinpoint his biggest concern, if he were the type to toss and turn about such things.

The only thing that seems consistent, right now, is the man in charge. After Edwards left the podium Tuesday afternoon, an emcee joked that this was the first time in at least five years that the head coach didn’t cry. When it comes to game week, Edwards’ poker face rarely changes. Full story

As is the custom for the most senior of Chiefs wide receivers, Eddie Kennison took his place in practice Monday at the front of the line for position drills.

Kennison might as well have been in a line of his own. At 33, he’s not just the most senior of the Chiefs wide receivers, but the only senior.

Two of those who followed Kennison in the drills, Samie Parker and Dante Hall, are still trying to establish themselves as receivers. The two others, Jeff Webb and Chris Hannon, are wide-eyed rookies.

When it comes to receiving accomplishments, none is in Kennison’s category. Just one of five NFL receivers to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in his ninth and 10th NFL seasons, Kennison has more in common with 58-year-old position coach Charlie Joiner, a Hall of Fame receiver, than any of his receiving teammates.

As if to prove the point, Kennison pulled Webb over at the end of one drill to share some wisdom about running a particular route.

Other than Kennison, the Chiefs are doing a lot of wishful thinking at wide receiver. Parker had a strong training camp but still needs to show better consistency. Hall has given the Chiefs little as a receiver. Anything the Chiefs get from Webb, a sixth-round draft pick, and the undrafted Hannon is a bonus. Full story

Shields back at practice

Will Shields returned to practice Monday, and coach Herm Edwards expected him to be ready for Sunday’s game against the Bengals. Shields, an 11-time Pro Bowl guard, suffered a high ankle sprain nearly three weeks ago but has started in 207 straight games and kept a strict rehab regimen.

“I’m pretty sure he’s going to line up Sunday,” Edwards said as he knocked on a wood podium.

Fullback Ronnie Cruz (shoulder) also returned Monday, apparently putting the offense at full strength.

Practice squad now set

Two days after he was cut, quarterback Casey Printers was added to the practice squad.

Printers, a former CFL star, struggled in the preseason but is considered a developmental project. Six of the eight players selected to the practice squad were in the Chiefs’ training camp this summer. Center Johnathan Ingram, tight end Adam Johnson, linebacker William Kershaw, defensive end Clint Mitchell, receiver Donovan Morgan, cornerback Michael Bragg and defensive tackle Stephen Williams also were added to the developmental roster. Full story

Only one AFC team begins its schedule with two games against contestants from last season’s playoffs.

Herm Edwards isn’t complaining that it’s the Chiefs. In fact, he said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I think it’s great,” Edwards said. “I think you find out a lot about your football team.”

He may not feel that way in two weeks after the Chiefs play Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday and at Denver the following week.

After an offseason of indecision, the Bengals apparently will have Carson Palmer at quarterback Sunday, meaning the Chiefs will see one of the game’s rising stars rather than journeyman Anthony Wright.

The Chiefs not only haven’t won in Denver since they were coached by Gunther Cunningham, but they also haven’t been competitive with the Broncos in the new Mile High Stadium.

The Chiefs gave few clues during an erratic preseason they are ready to be competitive against such an opening schedule, a point Edwards agreed with. Full story

Go find Joe. He’ll tell you what’s eating at Will Shields. The clock hand clicked past 3 on Saturday afternoon, Shields emerged from the training room, and in seven days, one of the longest streaks in the NFL could effectively end because of a bum ankle.

How do you feel, Will? Is it ready?

Shields let out one, “Can’t complain,” several, “I can’t tell yous,” then conceded after 13 years in the league, he’s grown a little grumpier.

The awkward pauses never really change. But at some point, you understand him.

Joe Linta tried to take Shields out to a fancy dinner once when he was at Nebraska, because that’s what prospective agents do, and Shields said no, he was going to the gym. Linta got his gear, played one-on-one and lifted weights with Shields, and 14 years later, they’re still together.

“I would assume he’ll be fine,” Linta said.

“He’s the old sage. He listens, and when he says something, it’s powerful stuff. When he yells at his kid, it’s like the Lion King. By his very nature, he commands respect, and you’ve got to be around him more to understand that.” Full story

The Chiefs waved goodbye to defensive tackle Junior Siavii, quarterback Casey Printers and 20 other players Saturday as they trimmed their roster to the NFL limit of 53.

None of the moves were surprises. Siavii, the Chiefs’ top draft pick in 2004, fell out of favor with head coach Herm Edwards a long time ago because of his inability to practice, and Printers because of his wildly erratic play.

The Chiefs also released, among others, defensive end Carlos Hall and halfback Quentin Griffin and placed defensive lineman John Browning on the injured-reserve list, but those moves appeared imminent as the preseason progressed.

This roster might not be identical to the one that assembles Monday for practice as the Chiefs prepare for next Sunday’s season opener against Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs may put in a waiver claim on one or more of the hundreds of players released around the league.

“Anything can happen,” Edwards said. “There are 620-some guys going to be released today. There are a lot of things that can happen.

“It’s like playing poker. You never show your hand. We’ve got our 53 guys, and we’re sitting pat with them. They’re the guys who are supposed to be here.” Full story

A year ago, it would have been a shocker.

But by about the midpoint of training camp (at the latest), it appeared little hope remained that Junior Siavii's career would continue in Kansas City.

The third-year defensive tackle, Kansas City's second-round draft choice in 2004, was among 20 players the Kansas City Chiefs cut Saturday as they finalized their 53-man roster. Siavii, a 330-poind former Oregon star, played sparingly in two seasons with Kansas City.

Chiefs coach Herm Edwards avoided saying Siavii doesn't have potential.

"I'm not going to say that," Edwards said. "He's probably a guy for us that wasn't going to fit with what we were going to do. He has an opportunity to go to some other place."

The Chiefs -- who saved veteran defensive end John Browning and cornerback Alphonso Hodge by placing them on the reserve/injured list, also parted with quarterback Casey Printers -- a free agent acquisition formerly of the CFL. Full story

HERM EDWARDS: “I think this is a business where you understand there’s constant change. Our roster is probably still not set. At this time I think we have the guys that we feel right now are the best players for this football team.

Q: Why keep four running backs?

EDWARDS: “Because they were the best players. You can fall into the trap of saying you don’t need four running backs. Well, you need good football players. I believe that, Carl (Peterson) believes that. That’s what you do. You keep your best players and we felt that at certain positions you do that.”

Q: What are the chances that these 53 are the guys you are going to practice with on Wednesday?

EDWARDS: “Oh, there’s a pretty good chance. Anything can happen, of course, with 620 some guys will be released today. There will be some jockeying for position. Some teams will call when they see certain teams have four running backs, some offensive linemen or defensive linemen where you’re heavy at. Other teams will call if they need a guy or two. You never show your hand and we’ll sit pat with them. They’re the guys who are supposed to be here, but anything can happen.” Full story

The Chiefs initially planned to make their final roster cuts Friday, but they will go down to today’s NFL deadline to pare to the league-mandated 53 players.

Blame it, in part, on Ryan Lilja.

The Chiefs two years ago tried to sneak Lilja, a young offensive-line prospect from Shawnee Mission Northwest and Kansas State, onto their practice squad.

He never made it there. Indianapolis grabbed Lilja off waivers, and he’s now a starter for the Colts.

The Chiefs have since been skittish about exposing good prospects to other teams. The Chiefs were wrestling with exactly how many offensive-line prospects such as tackles Will Svitek and Jeremy Parquet and guards Tre Stallings and Rudy Niswanger they will keep.

“We’ve got some good young offensive linemen,” Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said. “We’ll make a decision there of keeping nine, maybe 10.”

Otherwise, this year’s cuts aren’t overly taxing for the Chiefs. Full story

"Did he really say that?" Webb asked. "He" was Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson, and "that" was, "Jeff Webb is going to make our football team."

The answer was yes. Webb's eyes began to fill with water. The first person he thought of was his grandmother, Ruby Hall, back in Pontiac, Mich., Webb's hometown.

Webb talks to Ruby every game day. He has every step of a six-year journey that took him from Pontiac to San Diego State to a sixth-round pick in the NFL draft to, when the Chiefs finalize their final 53-man roster today, a spot in the NFL.

"She doesn't say anything positive," Webb said. "She's like a coach. She's a sports nut."

Ruby won't have much to criticize today, although the grandmothers of 22 current Chiefs won't be as lucky. Full story

Forget the gentleman’s agreement between coaches that this, a meaningless preseason finale, would not go to overtime. Forget that the most action Trent Green and Tony Gonzalez saw was windsprints about an hour before kickoff.

As about 30,000 fans at Arrowhead Stadium were ready to pop Vivarins and a pot of coffee late Thursday night after the Chiefs’ 10-9 win over New Orleans, rookie quarterback Brodie Croyle stood there with his mop-top hair soaking wet and a wide grin.

“If you’re a young guy and you didn’t have fun tonight,” Croyle said, “you probably need to just go and pick a new profession.”

Within 24 hours, some of the characters in Thursday night’s scrubfest will find new professions. The Chiefs will cut 22 players by Saturday to get to a 53-man roster. Some cuts will be easy. Others became a little harder in the second half, when coach Herm Edwards watched Croyle scramble and get belted once, then twice.

Today, the Chiefs must decide whether they’ll carry four quarterbacks on their roster. If you ask Edwards, who lost four quarterbacks last year in New York, he’d rather keep six. That’s why Green stood safely on the sideline Thursday night, along with his untucked, unpadded offensive buddies. Full story

They had you covered if you came to see the cheerleaders. The squad was in uniform and gyrating as usual.

If you dig the Rolling Stones and have no access to the Internet or any music-playing device, Arrowhead Stadium was a good place to hear a few bars of "Start Me Up."

If you came to see Reggie Bush, you did, although you (and Bush) probably left a little disappointed.

If you came expecting to learn anything about the Kansas City Chiefs' prospects for 2006, you left as ignorant as you entered.

The Chiefs 10-9 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Thursday featured no Larry Johnson, no Trent Green, no Tony Gonzalez and bunch of guys trying to make the roster.

"It was a good game for the young players," Chiefs coach Herman Edwards said.

"They got to play a lot. We didn't do a lot of things correctly in the second half, but I thought our young players kept battling and did a good job of keeping them out of the end zone." Full story

Quarterback Damon Huard recently compared his job to that of the president. Most of the time, you just can’t win. For the first time in six years, the lights were on Huard late Thursday as he led his team out on the field as a starter. Scratch that, the lights moved over to the sideline, where Trent Green and his offensive buddies stood, pads off, shirts untucked.

Chiefs coach Herm Edwards left little to chance Thursday night in Kansas City’s preseason finale against New Orleans, resting his offensive starters and hoping to see something from his three backup quarterbacks. He didn’t see much in a 10-9 win.

Yes, rookie Brodie Croyle did engineer a nine-play, 55-yard touchdown drive in the second half. But he fumbled and was intercepted during that drive before penalties helped the Chiefs score their lone touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

Yes, Huard was six of nine for 66 yards before giving way to Croyle.

But his performance didn’t leave warm fuzzies for the 30,000 or so who were loyal enough to stick around for the fourth quarter in a preseason snoozer.

This game wasn’t about style, substance or even a 2-2 preseason finish. It was supposed to be about survival for about 30 guys sweating out the final cuts, which could come as early as today. Many of those decisions appeared to already have been made. Defensive tackle Junior Siavii, the much-maligned second-round pick from the 2004 draft, didn’t suit up Thursday. He’s expected to be a casualty. Full story

The Chiefs waited patiently last season for the free agent supposed to make the biggest splash to make any kind of impact at all.

It never happened for linebacker Kendrell Bell. He looked like a player coming off a year of inactivity and was only seventh on the team in tackles.

The Chiefs stayed with Bell in part because they had no alternative. This year, they might have one.

Keyaron Fox leads the Chiefs in preseason tackles and, based solely on their summer work, probably deserves to start over Bell at right linebacker.

That, too, hasn’t happened yet. Bell, except for brief periods at training camp, has been the starter.

Coach Herm Edwards is at least promoting the Bell-Fox battle as competition.

“No one has said, ‘I’m the guy’ yet,” Edwards said. “Both of them are playing well. You feel like you have four starting linebackers — and that’s never bad to have — and if you play all four, that’s fine. If we have to keep doing that during the season, we’ll keep doing that.”

It’s a startling admission from Edwards that Bell, a player desperately coveted last year by defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, hasn’t claimed a job yet. Cunningham viewed Bell as the explosive, playmaking linebacker the Chiefs lacked at the time. Full story

Will the No. 2 quarterback please stand up?

Coach Herm Edwards alluded to the fact that some offensive starters might not play at all tonight. If that list includes quarterback Trent Green, then prepare yourself for a long night for the offense. Rookie Brodie Croyle struggled in his debut last week against the Rams, and Casey Printers also had his share of problems. Maybe veteran Damon Huard will finally get some playing time. That may not mean the Chiefs will have any more success in moving the chains.

Will it be Hannon, Webb or some other guy?

Edwards made a rather surprising move this week when he cut Craphonso Thorpe, who was seemingly a lock as the Chiefs’ No. 4 receiver this spring. Thorpe ran into more injury problems, and now that job is a race between rookies Jeff Webb and Chris Hannon. Unless, of course, Kansas City finds a veteran to its liking on the waiver wire.

Can Junior make up for lost time?

This is obviously a game for the backups and roster hopefuls, and maybe nobody needs to impress more than defensive tackle Junior Siavii. The second-round draft pick in 2004 has been out because of a knee injury, and he is in serious danger of being cut this weekend. Siavii may need a monster night to stay alive. Full story 

The shuffling of the offensive line continued at practice Tuesday. Will Svitek was working with the first unit at right tackle instead of Kevin Sampson, while Chris Bober instead of Jordan Black played right guard for the injured Will Shields.

Coach Herm Edwards wouldn’t say whether Svitek would start Thursday night’s game against New Orleans at Arrowhead Stadium. But Tuesday was hardly a time for shuffling without that intent because it was the Chiefs’ only real practice because of the shortened week.

“It’s a good possibility,” Edwards said. “I won’t give my starting lineup away, though. We’re looking at different guys in different spots on the offensive line. That’s what you need to do.”

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“Thriller” is blasting out of the speakers of his Suburban, and Dustin Colquitt waits near the gate, engine running, coaches coming. It’s roughly a half-mile run from the practice field to the stadium, and Colquitt and his buddy Lawrence Tynes try to be there every day after practice to provide background jogging music.

“They probably think we’re crazy,” Tynes says.

Kickers, especially in Kansas City, are wired a little differently. You’d have to be, with this offense. Here, the word punter was a four-letter word, a punch line after the days of Jason Baker and Steve Cheek.

The first week Colquitt was in town, he walked into the locker room and heard repeated mumblings of: “Are you serious? A punter?” The Chiefs had two first-day picks in last year’s draft, and Colquitt’s name was called near the end of the night, to the shock of thousands of fans.

But it all makes sense now, even in the lower regions of the stadium. If the first three preseason games had a collective MVP, it would have to be Colquitt, consistently nailing 50-yard punts, showing what he couldn’t last year with the NFL’s most prolific offense scoring and driving all the time.

“He’s a weapon,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards says. “I told him and our team: ‘We really don’t want to use him a whole lot. You really don’t want to be punting a whole bunch.’ ” Full story

If Quarterback Trent Green can pass for over 4000 yards and 17 touchdowns without a speedy receiver like he did last season, imagine what he could do with Hall getting more touches! Coach Herm Edwards has already announced that the offense is designing more ways to get the ball to Hall from scrimmage to take advantage of his big-play capabilities. If this comes to fruition, Green may rewrite the record books this year in terms of passing yardage. As for the running game, all that Johnson did last season was rush for 1750 rushing yards on a fanatatic 5.2 yards per carry with 20 rushing touchdowns. Imagine what he could do this year taking snaps with the starting units from Day One!

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Given the choice, the Chiefs would make the same decision a lot of their fans might.

They would skip the final preseason game Thursday night against the Saints at Arrowhead Stadium and move directly to the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Bengals.

That way nobody gets hurt, and the Chiefs can work on things in the privacy of their own practice field.

They just can’t make that declaration publicly.

“I can’t say that,” coach Herm Edwards said. “The new commissioner might get mad at me.”

At least some of them can’t say it.

“I’ve been anxious since about two weeks ago,” linebacker Kawika Mitchell said. “I’ve been moody at home and ready for the regular season. I want it to be for real right now. It’s time to get going, time to get ready for Cincinnati.”

Unlike their ticket holders, the Chiefs don’t have the option of not showing for Thursday’s game. So, other than the treat of getting to watch New Orleans rookie Reggie Bush in person, the Chiefs have a few objectives for their final exhibition:

• Stay healthy. There’s nothing worse than losing a key player in the last tuneup, as the Chiefs did two years ago with rookie tight end Kris Wilson.

The starters will be pulled quickly. Edwards cautioned fans not to blink Thursday or they might miss them. Some key players, most notably Larry Johnson and the injured Will Shields, won’t play. Full story

On the eve of a cutdown day that was supposed to yield few surprises, Priest Holmes was shelved for the first part of the season and Craphonso Thorpe found himself without a job.

And at least one of the parties was taken aback.

A couple of months after Thorpe was impressive enough in minicamp to win raves from quarterback Trent Green, he was released Monday along with 13 other players as NFL teams worked to pare their rosters to 75.

Thorpe, a former track star from Florida State in his second year, was considered the front-runner to lock down the No. 4 receiver spot this spring. And the Chiefs saw unlimited potential when they drafted him in the fourth round last year. But Thorpe injured his shoulder at the start of training camp in nonpadded practice and sat most of the summer.

“Prior to that, I don’t think anybody had any complaints about ‘Cro,’ ” said Thorpe’s agent, Matt Couloute. “He was where he was supposed to be on the depth chart … people thought he would be the third or fourth receiver on the team. It’s a little surprising.

“Unfortunately, a new coaching staff comes in and really didn’t have much of a chance to see a lot of him. At that point, he’s like everybody else.”

Coach Herm Edwards said by letting Thorpe go now, he has a better opportunity of latching onto another team. Couloute said he talked to “a bunch of teams” Monday about Thorpe. He declined to say what teams were interested. Full story

The axe fell on Monday.

On the day before the league-mandated cutdown day, the Kansas City Chiefs released 14 players, including former Kansas star Nick Reid.

The Chiefs also placed cornerback William Bartee and running back Priest Holmes on the reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list.

The biggest name of the 14 was Craphonso Thorpe, a second-year wide receiver from Florida State the Chiefs drafted in the fourth round last season. He spent the first 16 weeks of last season on the practice squad. The Chiefs activated him for the final game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals, though Thorpe didn't play. He was one of four wide receivers the Chiefs dropped.

The Chiefs also cut Jeff Smoker, the quarterback they brought into camp as an emergency for their preseason opener when No. 2 quarterback Damon Huard and rookie Brodie Croyle were out with injuries.

The cuts trimmed Kansas City's roster to 75 players, though rosters have to be down to 53 by Saturday.

Even without Smoker, the Chiefs are four-deep at quarterback. Trent Green and Damon Huard are safe, meaning Croyle and Casey Printers are battling for the third job. Each has played one game, and neither was impressive. Full story

First his Chiefs beat the St. Louis Rams 16-12 for their only win in the preseason. Then, after staying up until dawn studying film of the game, he got home just in time to rush Lia Edwards to the hospital for the birth of an 8-pound, 15-ounce baby girl.

"I went to the hospital and said, 'Let's go, Doc,'" Edwards said with a grin.

Vivian Lee Edwards came into the world at the same length and weight as her 1-year-old sister, Gabrielle Lee.

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For Kansas City Chiefs CB Patrick Surtain, August 29, 2005 is a specter that will never leave his subconscious. To say the date has special meaning is an understatement of near epic proportions. You see, it was just one year ago that this New Orleans native had his world forever changed thanks to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating furry. Even though Katrina has long since dissipated, the scars of that day run deep with the former prep star from New Orleans’ Edna Karr High School.

Last year at this time, Surtain was in the midst of trying to get acclimated to his new NFL home. Having spent his initial seven NFL campaigns with the Miami Dolphins, Surtain was not only concerned with learning a new defensive scheme, but also easing his family’s transition to the Midwest. As news of Katrina’s projected path became public, Surtain’s mother and sisters came to stay with him in Kansas City. However, Surtain’s father Alced decided to ride out the storm despite pleas of his family.

Alced’s decision nearly turned tragic as Katrina violently swept through the Gulf region. Soon the levee’s protecting the city would fail. In no time, flood water’s forced the elder Surtain to seek drier ground. It would be five days until word made it out of Louisiana that Alced was rescued via helicopter.

“It was tough. You’ve got to put things in perspective,” Surtain later shared with the Associated Press. “When it comes to things like that, football’s secondary. To see all those people and what they were going through, I couldn’t even imagine being in those peoples’ shoes. It was real tough, seeing the city you grow up in, your whole life, not knowing if you’ll ever be able to go back there. I’m just hoping the best for everybody.” Full story

Holmes missed the last nine games of the 2005 season after taking a hard hit from San Diego's Shawne Merriman that caused trauma to the head and neck, and doctors have still not given him medical clearance to practice or play.

"Obviously, he's not prepared to play at this point," coach Herm Edwards said. "You never know where his career's at right now. Only he knows that. That's between he and the doctor."

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Chiefs President Carl Peterson announced on Monday that the club has made 16 transactions in order to comply with the NFL’s first mandatory cutdown deadline. The Chiefs have trimmed their roster to 75 players.

The Chiefs placed S William Bartee and RB Priest Holmes on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List (PUP). Kansas City waived CB Jerald Brown, WR Kyle Brown, DT Arrion Dixon, TE Robert Docherty, G Steve Franklin, G Peter Heyer, WR Darrell Hill, TE Adam Johnson, G Tyler Lenda, WR Scott McCready, CB Justin Perkins, LB Nick Reid, QB Jeff Smoker and WR Craphonso Thorpe.

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They reached for their first three picks - Tamba Hali, Bernard Pollard and Brodie Croyle.

Hali, whom the Chiefs took at No. 20, was a borderline first-rounder. Pollard was a big hitter that didn't cover well and lacked ideal speed.

It was clear the Chiefs did not know what they were doing.

That perception may be changing immediately, as Hali and Pollard, along with third-year man Jared Allen, were the Chiefs biggest playmakers in Saturday's 16-12 preseason win over the St. Louis Rams.

"We had a pretty good draft," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "We drafted some players that can help us on defense."

They helped on Saturday as Hali and Pollard were responsible for creating three turnovers. Full story

The first-round choice, defensive end Tamba Hali, was selected to help improve a feeble pass rush. In his first game after missing the first two because of sore ribs, Hali had a sack and strip of St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger and the Chiefs recovered.

Second-round safety Bernard Pollard, drafted because of his taste for physical play, blasted wide receiver Brandon Middleton in the game's final moments. The contact forced a fumble that was recovered by Benny Sapp and allowed the Chiefs to preserve their victory.

Pollard also had an interception on a deflected pass, meaning the rookies accounted for all three of the Chiefs' takeaways, their first on defense in the preseason.

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Larry Johnson waits on the sideline, a knee planted in the grass and a helmet pressed against his side. He’s a finely-toned statue, brooding, watching, blankly staring. Everyone always wants to know what is churning underneath that helmet, what makes Larry so scary.

Do not look here, under the puffy white clouds, in the corner of the end zone on an innocent August day in training camp. This is not Larry Johnson.

He’s sitting in a giant room, alone, one headphone over an ear, the other stuck to the top of his head. The Doors are on his iPod because Jim Morrison was off the wall and unpredictable and stayed true to himself. In his head, you don’t want to know what he’s thinking: The Chiefs are resting their sudden superstar, and LJ is slowly dying.

“I play the game with all the chips on the table,” Johnson says. “I know the situation we’re in. It’s a business, and we’ve got to keep me healthy. But damn, I love to play. I want to play the whole damn game. That mindset, I can’t let go because I’m not used to being the man. I’m always used to having to work, work, work.”

He stops, head down. He rarely makes eye contact.

In the hours before the start of the Herm Edwards era, Johnson stands alone, the club’s unfranchised franchise, the running back chasing history with his head slightly turned back. He can’t stop looking behind him, not after the Pro Bowl, the 1,750 yards and the fantasy-stud status. Full story

Follow closely because the story moves fast, fast and furious, a bit like Herman Edwards driving his Land Rover through Seaside, his hometown. He takes the turns hard, drifts through the stop signs, and when the Land Rover reaches the hills, he mashes his right foot down, and the car surges upward fast enough to make your ears pop. Herm is getting out of Seaside fast. It’s been that way all his life.

“I knew I had to get out of here,” he says.

That one thought — get out — filled his days and nights.

All the kids in Seaside watched television, of course, but they watched for laughs and thrills. For Herm Edwards, television was an instructional video. He watched the way cowboys walked, the way football players hit, the way rebels talked. He mostly watched Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight champion of the world. Herm copied the way Ali preached, the way he rhymed, the way he smiled, the way he mugged for the camera, the way he opened his mouth wide just before telling Howard Cosell that he was the greatest of all time. Herm copied everything except for the punching.

See, it wasn’t the violence that captivated Herman Edwards. It was the escape. Full story

Almost everything about Mike Solari’s impeccable background forecasts success as Chiefs offensive coordinator.

Seventeen years as an NFL coach, working with some bright offensive minds: Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, Al Saunders, Dick Vermeil. Generally known as one of the best offensive-line coaches in the NFL, Solari turned out 16 Pro Bowlers in his nine seasons with the Chiefs.

If he coached the quarterbacks or receivers, the 51-year-old Solari would have received his chance long ago. But he was a line coach — like a lead balloon when it comes to career aspirations. Almost all offensive coordinators come up after coaching positions other than the line.

A handful of this year’s NFL coordinators are, like Solari, former line coaches. Most, such as Tampa Bay’s Bill Muir and Green Bay’s Jeff Jagodzinski, work for offensive head coaches who call the plays, making them in effect coordinators in title only.

Solari will call the plays. Coach Herm Edwards handed him the keys to the Chiefs’ high-powered offense shortly after Edwards arrived from the Jets in January.

While the move is not revolutionary, it certainly goes against conventional wisdom that says line coaches aren’t as qualified to create game plans and design and call plays. Full story

Kyle Turley is trying to enjoy his lunch. At the same time, a bee is trying to get a sniff of Turley’s Subway sandwich. It buzzes and whizzes around the picnic table on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Turley flicks it away with his big right hand and doesn’t give it a second thought. But the bee is persistent. It lands on Turley’s sandwich. Those anger management classes Turley once took are long forgotten.

This bee might as well be wearing a New York Jets helmet.

“You’re going to die,” he sings softly to the bee, mimicking a demented voice. “You’re going to die …”

He grabs his napkin and sizes up the correct angle. He swoops in, misses once, and then quickly squishes the bee into the sandwich.

“I wouldn’t have killed him if he wasn’t bothering us so much,” Turley says, taking a bite. Full story

The clandestine meeting occurred in front of the Texas Ranger statue in the lobby of Love Field in Dallas.

In a scene out of a spy novel, Lamar Hunt, the maverick founder of the upstart American Football League and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, was changing planes, and he signaled to Tex Schramm, general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the established National Football league. They adjourned to Schramm’s car and secretly began discussing a merger of the two leagues in April 1966.

The rebel AFL, which began play in 1960, had caused a bidding war for players that neither side could withstand, so unbeknownst to the public, Hunt and Schramm exchanged proposals.

The result was a merger announced on June 8, 1966, uniting two sides in what would become the most successful sports league in the world.

“The greatest thing of all was nobody knew about it except for Lamar, Tex and (commissioner) Pete Rozelle,” recalled Gil Brandt, then the Cowboys’ personnel director. “It was a very, very, well-kept secret. It was fortunate that there were two guys who really had the best interest of the entire league in their minds, and that’s why it was done. Lamar is very league-conscious and always has been, and Tex was league-conscious.

“Because there were two people with a broad understanding without their own agenda, that’s why the whole thing came about.” Full story

Gunther Cunningham cringes, gets red in the face, shouts and even curses when one of his players misses a tackle attempt.

There is, however, a small part of him that understands when the job doesn’t get done.

“We always say it isn’t natural to hit a human being that’s running full speed,” said Cunningham, the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator. “You have to hit him head-on and get him on the ground. A lot of people have that in their heart.”

What Cunningham left unsaid is that some don’t. And can you blame them?

Tackling may be one of football’s fundamentals, along with blocking. It is also the sport’s most contrary of acts.

To come face to face with, say, 230 terrifying pounds of Larry Johnson and be charged with bringing him to the ground? It’s just human nature to find a nice, soft patch of grass to dive on as Johnson wheels by, and let someone else do the ghastly job.

That’s why, to be a tackler, it helps to be a little bit crazy.

“Tackling is fun. At least it is to me,” Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen said. “It’s why you play defense. It’s your job. You’ve got to like it. If you don’t like to do it, you’d better find another job.” Full story

The transition is over when Kawika Mitchell is at home, finishing up a big bowl of cereal.

It begins when he walks off the field. When he no longer feels like a superhero.

“You put the helmet on,” Mitchell says, “it’s like putting a mask and cape on.”

Mitchell’s mask and cape are off in the locker room after a recent practice. The Chiefs’ starting middle linebacker removes his skull cap and sweaty undershirt and heads for the shower. Mitchell doesn’t take long showers like some guys do. He prefers to sit at his locker for as long as it takes. He is usually one of the last ones out.

Players have different methods of decompressing. After this practice, wide receiver Samie Parker chides a teammate who is sitting on his stool without a towel underneath, an apparent locker room faux-pas. “That’s the booty stool now,” Parker says, laughing. “Someone else might get that stool tomorrow, and it’s got your booty on it!” Full story

HERM EDWARDS: “We’re learning and I’m learning about this football team. There are some things that still have to be changed in my estimation to make us a more sound football team. I give a lot of credit to the coaches and players this week because they were going through a lot of anxiety in the fact that we were 0-2 (in the pre-season).

“I think some people were panicking. You’ll find out a lot about me. I don’t panic. I came here with a plan and I believe in what we’re doing and we’ll do it as I see fit. I’m not going to panic and the players or coaches didn’t panic.

“We’re trying to evaluate football players our first two games. We did a pretty good job of evaluating guys and that’s what you’re supposed to do in the pre-season the last time I checked. You’re supposed to evaluate all your players. We did that.

“We’re still not there and we have a long way to go. We have another week of preparation and then the season starts the following week.

“It was good for these guys to get a win; the crowd was great; the energy was great. But the problem is we lost two on the road. If you don’t win football games on the road you’re not going to be a playoff team and we’ve got to understand that. We have a whole different mindset when we walk in this ballpark and that’s great but the problem is we play eight of them on the road. We’re going to have to get that corrected.” Full story

Here’s something for Chiefs fans to digest after their team’s 16-12 victory over St. Louis in pre-season game No. 3 Saturday evening at Arrowhead Stadium.

Oh, the Chiefs and Herm Edwards were not turning their back on this victory. After the poor performances of the first two pre-season games, the starters on both offense and defense turned in good efforts and it’s always better to win, no matter the game.

But there was no satisfaction. It wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t what Edwards is looking for, especially after his team stumbled through the second half, allowing the Rams to get back into the game. The Chiefs had way too many penalties (10) and too many occasions where the football was on the ground and loose.

Yes, the backups played in the second half. That doesn’t matter to Edwards. If a player is wearing a red uniform, he wants him to perform at an NFL level. There were many times in the third and fourth quarter where that wasn’t getting done. With a lead in the second half, the Chiefs should have been able to run the ball and eat the clock. It didn’t happen. They started the third quarter with a trio of three-and-outs, as they could not open any running lanes for Michael Bennett. Full story

Well, now we have something new to overreact to — the Chiefs played like Super Bowl contenders Saturday night inside Arrowhead Stadium, demolishing the Rams 16-3 in the first half of the 16-12 Governor’s Cup victory.

More than the Cup, the Chiefs gained a measure of self-respect Saturday night, shaking off two horrible preseason performances to answer their mounting critics.

Things went so well you half-suspected Carl Peterson paid the St. Louis Rams to play the role of the Washington Generals. Seriously, whatever was missing in New York last week was in abundance inside Arrowhead.

First-round pick Tamba Hali blew past an offensive tackle, rammed into St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger and forced a fumble. You wanted a pass rush? Tamba gave you a pass rush. His defensive end mate Jared Allen was in the backfield throughout the first half, too, recording two tackles for loss.

Oh, you wanted to see Larry Johnson run like a man intent on getting 2,000 yards? No problem. On Kansas City’s first offensive series, Johnson ran nine times for 37 yards and a touchdown.

On Kansas City’s next offensive series, Trent Green and receivers Eddie Kennison and Samie Parker hooked up repeatedly, and the Chiefs kicked a field goal. For the night, Kennison and Parker combined for seven receptions and 96 yards.

Did you want to see Ty Law make a play or two? Got it covered. Kansas City’s big-ticket offseason acquisition broke up a slant pass and nearly forced an interception. Full story

Rookie quarterback Brodie Croyle learned an important lesson in his NFL debut Saturday night.

“Don’t try to cut back the opposite way when you’re rolling right,” said Croyle, who did just that and took a 13-yard sack in the Chiefs’ 16-12 preseason win over the Rams at Arrowhead Stadium.

“It doesn’t work as good as it did in college.”

The game was actually full of lessons for Croyle, the Chiefs’ third-round draft pick from Alabama. After missing the first two exhibition games because of a sore shoulder, Croyle replaced starter Trent Green in the second quarter.

Croyle had some early success, leading the Chiefs to field goals on two of his first three possessions.

But the night quickly turned dismal. Croyle completed just one of his nine passes and was sacked three times.

His debut wasn’t much better than Casey Printers’ two weeks ago in Houston.

“I was expecting more,” Croyle said. “We couldn’t seem to get anything going in the second half. That’s part of it. We’re learning. We went in for halftime and we were hot. The second half was just one of those things.” Full story

The Chiefs don't run the West Coast offense or the Run-and-Shoot offense. The Don Coryell-vertical-passing-thing is cumbersome.

Instead, the Chiefs run the High-Falutin' offense. That is, if you listen to coach Herm Edwards.

"When I got here, we had this high-falutin' offense," he likes to say.

After two weeks of no falutin' whatsoever, the Chiefs O faluted like it's used to in a 16-12 Governor's Cup win over the St. Louis Rams at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday.

The Chiefs drove 64 yards in 14 plays on their first possession and took a 7-0 lead on Larry Johnson's two-yard touchdown run.

The drive was the antithesis of everything Kansas City had been in its two previous preseason games. It was the prelude to a night in which the Chiefs outgained St. Louis 262-191, doubling their production from the two previous games.

Dante Hall returned the opening kickoff and popped up slapping the ball and slapping hands.

That started it.

"For the most part we played with enthusiasm," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said, "and that's good." Full story

They’d been saying it for more than a week, that the preseason was a glorified test run, that a couple of losses in August meant about as much as the words to a Gary Glitter song.

Tell that to Larry Johnson, who spun off two tacklers, dragged another one as his helmet popped off, then sprang to his feet, bobbed his head and jawed. Tell that to the Chiefs, who undoubtedly felt a lot better after Saturday night’s 16-12 win over St. Louis for the Governor’s Cup.

It had been a while since Kansas City won a preseason game — August 23, 2004 — and by midweek, days after the Chiefs’ ugly 17-0 loss at New York, national pundits were already calling them a bust.

“We get tired of people questioning us,” Chiefs guard Brian Waters said. “I’m just confident in the guys I’m around. If anybody has tracked our preseasons over the last five years, we really have never played well. That’s part by design. We really keep it simple and basic and let guys go out and play. (But) I think we all needed one, it’s just one of those things where you want to have something positive.”

It was a mix of good signs and bad mistakes, and when it was over, coach Herm Edwards seemed more displeased than he was after the loss to the Giants. He was irked by the 10 penalties — Edwards’ Jets team was the least-penalized in the NFL last year — and cringed at the fact that the game came down to the last minute and a half, when rookie Bernard Pollard jolted receiver Brandon Middleton, forcing a fumble that the Chiefs recovered. Full story

Green and most of Kansas City's first-team offense played only the first two series and got a touchdown and a field goal.

The first-team offense of the Rams (1-2) failed to score a touchdown for the third straight game, although one TD pass was brought back because of left guard Richie Incognito's penalty.

The Chiefs continued their preseason strategy of using Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson only sparingly. Johnson, whose 1,750 yards rushing set a team record last year, carried nine times for 37 yards in a 14-play, 67-yard drive with the opening kickoff.

He got the touchdown on a 2-yard run and spent the rest of the night on the bench in a baseball cap. In three preseason games, Johnson has 20 carries for 75 yards. Full story

It's an impatient clarion for the Chiefs offense. From the time the players break the huddle to the time they get to the line of scrimmage, they have four seconds to lineup. If they're tardy, it's back to the huddle.

The purpose is dual. After years of practices under former coach Dick Vermeil that would sometimes last nearly three hours, the quicker pace has revived the attention of the veterans.

More important, the horn signals that quarterback Trent Green is now charged with more responsibility than ever. In a league where coaches control play-calling as if they were protecting the Holy Grail, Edwards has taken a new job in a new city and relinquished control; not tightened his grip on it.

"If I was a first-year coach, it probably would be different," said Edwards, who joined the Chiefs this offseason after five years as coach of the Jets. "But even if I had stayed in New York, I would have done that with Chad (Pennington). Guys like Trent have earned the right to have more say over what we're doing."

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Herm Edwards wants to score points.

You don't even have to ask him.

He mentions this at least once per week. Edwards played defense and coached defense and popularized the Tampa 2 defensive coverage scheme with the Buccaneers.

He knows he has a reputation for conservative offense, partially because he is a defensive coach, partially because he prefers conservative offense.

But the offensive problems the Chiefs have displayed in their first two preseason games are not his idea.

"I think fans think I'm doing this on purpose," he said. "Believe me, I'm not doing it on purpose. I don't want to go three and out. I want to get some drives going."

The Chiefs first team has gotten two drives going this preseason, one a 13-play touchdown march against the Houston Texans, the other one went 11 plays and stalled on penalties.

As a team, the Chiefs have gained 283 yards in two games. Their opponents have 634.

"You look at the numbers in general throughout the course of the game in terms of time of possession, yards per carry, first downs," quarterback Trent Green said. "All of those things have been frustrating." Full story

Anybody who knows Nick Reid can attest to the fact that he’s not like this. His stomach is jumbled up in one giant knot. He barely sleeps. Reid was driving to a meeting Friday night, after finally getting a nap in, and wondered whether a week from now he’ll be packing up for somewhere else.

“I can’t remember the last time I was ever nervous about anything,” Reid said. “I usually take things with a grain of salt.

“I haven’t been sleeping. It’s kind of scary not knowing what the future holds. I guess by this time next weekend, I should know whether I made the team or not.”

Reid, the Big 12’s defensive player of the year at Kansas, is not alone in his anxiety. Tonight’s preseason game between the Chiefs and St. Louis Rams may not mean anything aside from temporary in-state bragging rights, but it could seal the fate of 16 players Kansas City will have to move on by Tuesday in the first round of cuts.

The Chiefs must trim their roster to 75 Tuesday and then get to 53 on Sept. 2. Survive this game, which will feature the starters more than any other in the four-game schedule, and the backups are assured plenty of game time in the preseason finale Thursday against the New Orleans Saints.

One cut at a time. That’s the way Reid, a rookie free-agent linebacker, thinks of it. Full story

One month after he announced his retirement, Willie Roaf’s jersey still hangs neatly in his stall. Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said Thursday that the door is still open for Roaf to return, and that it could stay that way until the 10th game of the season.

“I probably won’t close it until then,” Peterson said. “I will give him ample opportunity to change his mind. I know what he said, but I also know what he told his agent. His agent thinks that Willie still wants the door open for the opportunity to come back. I’m going to respect that.”

Roaf is on reserve/did not report and will not count against the 53-man roster because he didn’t participate in training camp. But he will count against the salary cap. Peterson expressed disappointment that Roaf, a 11-time Pro Bowl left tackle, has not returned his phone calls and hasn’t spoken to coach Herm Edwards recently.

He also questioned talk that Roaf may wait a year and return in 2007.

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Casey Printers isn't making a statement with his play, but he is making a statement that the football media in Canada shouldn't give up on his NFL experiment too soon.

Stung by reports and impressions via the Internet that the CFL's most outstanding player in 2004 has been a flop in two pre-season games with the Kansas City Chiefs, Printers defended himself on CKNW radio Thursday, suggesting that "people should understand the situation before they speak."

"It takes time to be a great player," Printers said. "Regardless of what you think or what you hear, it takes time. The maturation process just takes time. I'm elated at the opportunity I have now, and anybody who says otherwise is just fooling themselves. They don't understand the game or what's going on. Certain media types [in Canada] want you to fail."

Veteran Trent Green will start at quarterback in the Chiefs' third pre-season game Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium against the St. Louis Rams. Printers might get an opportunity in the fourth quarter.

"I just have to get readjusted to the game, the play-calling, the style of the game, all of those things that take a little time to develop," Printers said.

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The captain is always on time, always organized, always calls you back. It hasn’t even changed in the locker room. Stalls are jumbled everywhere, because new coach Herm Edwards wanted to mix things up, but Trent Green’s locker sits in the exact same spot.

Call it a sense of order in a time of unrest.

Every time the NFL’s most prolific offense turns around, something else is changing. Willie Roaf is gone and calling “Cold Pizza,” not his teammates. There’s a new offensive coordinator, new fullback, and a new left tackle who surfs and has his own record label.

About the only thing that hasn’t changed is Green. For five years, the Pro Bowl quarterback regularly trudged up to Dick Vermeil’s office and served as the team mood ring. It wasn’t hard. They were very close. Now Edwards is here, bending his ear about everything from team meals to player relationships.

The pairing, on the surface, doesn’t seem odd because head coaches are generally close to their starting quarterbacks. Here’s the difference — Edwards is a defensive coach who wants to run the ball, and Green is coming off three straight 4,000-yard passing seasons. Full story

It was an animated conversation in the middle of an empty practice field, and it stretched on for more than five minutes. When Chiefs coach Herm Edwards finished talking and Ryan Sims finished listening Wednesday afternoon, both parties said everything was copacetic.

Whatever that means.

In these final, steamy days before the cuts and the Chiefs’ season opener, no one feels safe and nearly everyone wants to know where he stands. That’s where Sims was Wednesday when he approached Edwards after practice while a gaggle of reporters watched as the coach flailed his arms and Sims occasionally nodded.

“Players get worried, and they should,” Edwards said. “If you’re going to play in this league or coach in this league, you should always have some anxiety. I have anxiety every day I show up to work. I’ve had anxiety for 27 years in this league. Twenty-seven years. When I lose that anxiety, you’ll find me in Monterey.”

The defense has reason to be concerned. In two preseason games, the Chiefs’ first-teamers have seen the Texans and Giants drive at will against a unit that has been significantly upgraded.

For three years, Sims has been criticized as a draft bust, a No. 6 overall pick in 2002 who’s seemingly had as many chewing-out sessions as tackles. He showed up for summer workouts out of shape, then shuffled down the depth chart as newcomers Ron Edwards and James Reed took over the starting tackle jobs in the preseason.

It’s highly doubtful that Sims will be cut — the coaches like his talent and potential — and Edwards needs bodies in his rotating defensive line. He reminded Sims again Wednesday that no starting job is set. Full story

Officials from St. Joseph and Missouri Western State are hoping to meet with Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson in another effort to play host to summer training camp.

St. Joseph has tried before, unsuccessfully, to pry the Chiefs out of River Falls, Wis., where they have trained each summer since 1991.

“Our plans right now are to go back to River Falls,” Peterson said. “It’s the most convenient. I’m always open to somebody making suggestions.”

The Chiefs hold a series of one-year options to have training camp in River Falls through 2010.

Coach Herm Edwards was initially cool to the idea of going to Wisconsin for training camp but appears to have changed his stance after the Chiefs returned home last week.

Peterson remains a fan of the cooler weather.

“We know this: If we had been in Kansas City, Missouri, this summer, we probably would have had to change our practice schedule almost every day,” Peterson said. “I don’t know how many days of 100-degree weather they had here. We had the first four or five days in River Falls (where) it was warm, but it was warm all over the country. Then it was weather that allowed us to practice on our normal schedule.”

A closer-to-home alternative than either St. Joseph or River Falls will soon be the Chiefs’ own practice facility. Renovations to the facility will begin soon. When finished, they would allow the Chiefs to have training camp at the Truman Sports Complex, if they so desire.

Many teams have their training camps at home. Veteran players have the option of going home each night while younger players stay at nearby hotels. Source

Ladies, in case you were wondering, it's boxers for Brodie Croyle.

"I got 'em with frogs, some with dogs, bananas, you name it," Croyle said in a response to teammate Jeff Webb's public criticism of Croyle undergarments. "I don't go for the regular Hanes, light blue. I'm a colorful kind of guy."

This is the kind of information that somehow sees daylight during long days at training camp. Maybe a few years from now it will be a quaint analogy for Croyle's personality. Maybe it's just underwear.

What's interesting isn't so much the color of Croyle's undies, it's the comfort with which he talks about them. It's the ease with which he talks about everything, in a lazy southern drawl that makes words curl from his mouth like pipe smoke.

He's had that same type of ease on the football field his entire life. He was a high school All-American in Rainbow City, Ala. His father John won a national title at Alabama in 1973 and Junior -- his name is actually John Brodie Croyle -- followed him to the Tide and became Alabama's all-time leader in passing yards.

The Chiefs took Croyle in the third round of this year's draft, putting him in a battle for the third quarterback spot and making him Trent Green's understudy.

Or annoying little brother.

"I think I was getting on his nerves in OTAs, asking so many questions," Croyle said. "Now it's gotten to the point, after every series, he'll come back there and tell me what he saw, why he saw it, all the tricks of the trade he's learned." Full story

Well, the team's been outscored so far 41 to 14 in their first two preseason games, but yet the Chiefs insist they're right where they want to be for their opener September 10, 2006.

“Well it's just the preseason man; we really haven't played a whole lot,” said wide receiver Eddie Kennison. “It is what it is. A lot of people would say that we're 0 and 2 and that we're in trouble but that's not the case.”

“Definitely, if you judged the teams by the preseason each year, there'd be some team to throw on the towel before they even got started,” said defensive end, Jared Allen. “But you know, we gotta go out there, and we don't want to treat it like a preseason game, we want to go out there and win.”

Allen said the team is just trying to prove themselves. And, he knows they can do it, just like in everyday practice.

“It just hasn't transferred over like we'd want it to,” he said. “So, we just need to transfer it over to the game field and get a victory.”

Defensive end, Eric Hicks said at this point, they do need to play better, but said the team’s not panicking.

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Just when it appeared the Chiefs were building their offensive line without Jordan Black, fate intervened in the form of an ankle injury to Will Shields.

Black will start for the Chiefs on Saturday night in their preseason game against St. Louis at Arrowhead Stadium at right guard in place of Shields. The Chiefs are hopeful Shields will return in time for the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against Cincinnati, but nothing is certain when it involves a high ankle sprain of a 34-year-old man who weighs well more than 300 pounds.

So, particularly if Shields doesn’t respond as hoped, the game against the Rams could be a chance for Black to resurrect a career that appeared promising before last season.

The Chiefs used Black as a replacement for injured Pro Bowl left tackle Willie Roaf. His play at times gave the Chiefs a new appreciation for Roaf’s skills.

The Chiefs went 7-3 with Roaf as the starting left tackle, 3-3 with Black. They missed the playoffs by one victory, and Black became Kansas City’s favorite football villain.

The Chiefs had nobody else to play a most important position, one that isn’t Black’s best.

“Somebody had to do it,” coach Herm Edwards said. “They felt confident he could do it consistently. Sometimes he got beat, but everybody gets beat sometime.” Full story

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Herm Edwards wants to see the Chiefs play defense with a lot more fire than they showed in last week's loss to the Giants.

One way to get that fire is to turn up the heat. Edwards hinted that the Chiefs, after playing mostly plain, basic defenses in their first two preseason games, might do just that in Saturday night's game against St. Louis at Arrowhead Stadium.

"We'll just see," Edwards said. "Let's wait until Saturday and see what we do."

Edwards is conflicted about the defense, which has been a pushover in two games. The Chiefs have yielded a ton of rushing yards and have made no momentum-generating big plays.

The Chiefs haven't forced a turnover and have just three sacks.

Edwards wants better. He also wants to keep the defenses as plain as possible to reveal as little as possible about their regular-season plans.

Something has to give, and it might be the need to hide their plans.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. - At stake for the Chiefs in their next preseason game against St. Louis on Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium is the Governor's Cup, not the Lombardi Trophy.

Forgive the Chiefs if they look less as if they're playing for the chalice given to the winner of their annual preseason game with the Rams and more as if they're shooting for the hardware that goes to the Super Bowl winner.

The stench of their 0-2 preseason and particularly last week's 17-0 loss to the Giants is creating an atmosphere uncommon for an August exhibition.

"This is a game we've got to play with much more urgency and emotion," coach Herm Edwards said. "I'm pretty sure guys will do that."

The Chiefs have heard the message from Edwards and, by all accounts, are buying in.

"It's frustrating," quarterback Trent Green said. "You'd like to see us have more success early on, especially with the first-unit offense and the first-unit defense. When you talk about the rest of the game, you're talking about developing young players. The focus for us as far as the (starters) on offense and defense is to get better.

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Forgive the Chiefs if they look less as if they're playing for the chalice given to the winner of their annual preseason game with the Rams and more as if they're shooting for the hardware that goes to the Super Bowl winner.

The stench of their 0-2 preseason and particularly last week's 17-0 loss to the Giants is creating a sense of urgency uncommon for an August exhibition.

"This is a game we've got to play with much more urgency and emotion," coach Herm Edwards said. "I'm pretty sure guys will do that."

The Chiefs have heard the message from Edwards and, by all accounts, are buying in.

"It's frustrating," quarterback Trent Green said. "You'd like to see us have more success early on, especially with the first-unit offense and the first-unit defense. When you talk about the rest of the game, you're talking about developing young players. The focus for us as far as the (starters) on offense and defense is to get better.

"Is it time to panic? No. But I think we definitely have to have a sense of urgency going into next week's game." Full story

We could be looking at a rebuilding year for the Chiefs. There’s nothing wrong with that. You can rebuild in the NFL on the fly. And if you’re lucky, you can rebuild in eight to 10 games and sneak into the playoffs.

If the Chiefs reach December with a 5-6 record, they conceivably could finish 9-7 or 10-6 and be a dangerous wild-card playoff team. Right now, with no Willie Roaf and with Will Shields hobbled by an ankle injury, I just don’t see the Chiefs being consistent or strong the first half of the season.

How could they be?

Herm Edwards took over the team with the idea of fixing Kansas City’s defense — particularly early in the season — by controlling the ball and the clock with KC’s punishing ground attack. Kansas City’s leaky defense can’t leak when Larry Johnson is chewing up 5 yards a carry.

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The preseason has so far been void of good fortune for the Chiefs. So it was precisely their luck at practice Saturday to have one Pro Bowl guard return to work while the other sat out because of a fresh injury.

Brian Waters was back for the first time since early in training camp, but Will Shields was missing. Shields, who suffered a high ankle sprain in Thursday night’s loss to the Giants in New York, wandered through the Arrowhead Stadium locker room after practice with a protective boot on his left foot.

All coach Herm Edwards could do was try laughing it off.

“That’s just the way it is right now,” Edwards said. “There’s not a lot you can do about it.”

The play of the offensive line has to be high on Edwards’ lengthy list of concerns. Larry Johnson managed just 8 yards in four carries, quarterback Trent Green was hit more than the Chiefs would like in a preseason game and they managed just 111 yards and no points.

Now Shields, an 11-time Pro Bowler, has an ailing ankle.

“I don’t know if he’s going to play this week or not,” Edwards said. “We’ll see.” Full story

Brian Waters, the left guard who injured his foot the first day of camp in River Falls, Wis., finally got back on the practice field and may be ready to play Saturday night against St. Louis. But 11-time Pro Bowl right guard Will Shields, who sprained his left ankle on Thursday night against the New York Giants, is out for at least a week or two.

Shields should be ready by the regular-season opener Sept. 10 against Cincinnati, coach Herm Edwards said.

"We've got three weeks before the opener. We're not in a panic mode by any stretch of the imagination," Edwards said.

Shields declined to discuss his situation.

"I'm not allowed to talk about it," he said as he walked past a knot of reporters.

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The first day, Tamba Hali couldn't get out of bed on his own. Life as a first-round rookie in a town begging for defensive heroes is rough, but try getting kicked in the ribs and then slapped upside the head.

Almost two weeks have passed since Hali played football, and it's beginning to get old. Thursday night was the worst. Coach Herm Edwards asked him to go to New York, get a feel for an NFL game, put the pads on and suit up for a preseason game against the Giants.

It was ugly to watch.

"I'm not trying to rush it, but at the same time I'm dying to get out there," a stone-faced Hali said after the 17-0 loss. "It's tough watching our team. I just want to get a feel for the game and experience some things I haven't experienced. I mean, I haven't even played a down."

How much could Hali have helped? In two preseason games, he's watched the Chiefs get burned on the bootleg in Houston and humbled by Eli Manning, Tiki Barber and about half of the New York offense. Hali was an All-America defensive end at Penn State who loved hitting quarterbacks.

None of that has happened yet. Edwards said the entire team lacked focus Thursday night, and the offense hasn't helped by keeping the defense on the field so much. But here's the thing that has Kansas City fans worried: Through two games, the defense looks very similar to the one that has languished near the bottom of the league. Full story

Somehow, the Chiefs have become complacent.

They have no playoff wins since 1993 and have spent the first five years of this millennium trying to win 42-38 games. The Giants have a quarterback who outweighs the Chiefs' left tackle.

Yet the Chiefs are comfortable. Straight from the horse's mouth:

"Right now, we're a team, in my estimation, living off our laurels," coach Herm Edwards said. "We're living off what people are predicting us to be. Us thinking that we're a good football team, we haven't played like that yet."

In two preseason losses, the Chiefs have showed neither the offense that ranked among the NFL's elite the past four seasons, nor any signs of defensive improvement. The Houston Texans and New York Giants outscored Kansas City 41-14, and outgained the Chiefs 634-283. Opponents have 43 first downs to Kansas City's 18 and have converted 45 percent of their third downs, to the Chiefs' 29 percent.

"We were able to run the ball, throw the ball and convert third downs," Giants quarterback Eli Manning said.

Point is, the Chiefs are getting whipped in every measurable way. Full story

PERSONNEL ANALYSIS:

Halfback Dee Brown will likely earn a roster spot even though the Chiefs traded for Michael Bennett. Brown plays well on special teams and was effective as Larry Johnson's backup when a sore hamstring kept Bennett out of action. Brown is only about 210 pounds but was surprisingly effective in short-yardage situations. Brown won't get much work unless Johnson or Bennett gets injured, but he is well-versed in the offense, so the Chiefs feel they can use Brown in a variety of situations.