THE UNIVERSITY HAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2009
SPORTS
5B
NFL
Pioli and Haley rule with tough love and high standards
DOUG TUCKER
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the 50-year history of the Kansas City Chiefs, there may never have been a time when it was tougher to play for the team.
Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley before an NFL football game between the Houston texans and Kansas City Chiefs, in Kansas City, Mo. on Aug. 15. Haley is known for his hardline philadelphia.
No doubt, there have been seasons when abundant talent created tougher competition for jobs. But once on the roster, there may not have been a year when players felt greater pressure or less security.
A long snapper, for example, failed to get onto the field for a quick drill and found himself unemployed, his job suddenly back in the hands of the very guy he took it from.
A Pro Bowl guard got dressed down in a hallway meeting with his new head coach. Then, because he hadn't called ahead and made an appointment, the acclaimed team leader couldn't even get in to meet his new general manager.
Starting offensive linemen are dumped in the final week of training camp, a few days after the offensive coordinator is dismissed.
And no one — no one — is immune from a chewing out in front of the whole squad.
"There's not a player on this team who hasn't been chewed out," cornerback Brandon Carr said with a wry smile.
Rookie head coach Todd Haley believes in tough love and creative tension, too. It's a philosophy he learned while breaking into the NFL with Parcells in the mid-90s and seems to fit his intense, hard-driving nature like a comfortable pair of running shoes.
Rookie general manager Scott Pioli embraces tough love and creative tension, as does his father-in-law and former boss, Bill Parcells, and his mentor and other former boss, Bill Belichick.
The Chiefs, one might say, are becoming Parcellesian, taking on a personality that is decidedly Belichickesque.
And adopting an approach that's produced five Super Bowl trophies may not be a bad idea for an organization that was 2-14 a year ago, hasn't won a playoff contest since the 1993 season, and has lost all but six of its last 33 games that counted.
"I don't know when we're going to win, but we're going to win," Pioli told several hundred fans at the annual kickoff luncheon Tuesday.
"There's not a player on this team who hasn't been chewed out."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRANDON CARR Chiefs cornerback
Talent deficiencies may keep this first season of the Pioli/Haley regime from producing many victories. But
"Until the time we win, it's going to be nothing but hard work. We are going to work hard. The coaches are going to work hard. Our players are going to work hard."
an entirely new tone is being set; be consistent, play well and pay attention or be gone.
The new regime immediately began letting everyone know things were different.
Tight end Tony Gonzalez, still productive in his early 30s and perhaps the greatest offensive player the Chiefs have developed, was granted his wish and traded to Atlanta.
Then Pro Bowl left guard Brian Waters, their only other outstanding player, showed up to meet his new bosses and was reportedly treated with shocking disrespect. The conversation was leaked to a close friend of Waters in the media, who quoted Haley as telling him, "I could take 22 guys off the street and win two games."
But Waters, after initially saying he would demand a trade, has trimmed down and gotten in shape, and played extremely well in the preseason. Like so many other players, he might have gained a new respect and taken an actual liking to his demanding new boss.
Haley, for his part, has given notice he's willing not to hold a grudge.
"I believe players want to be coached," he said. "They may say they don't, like a child may not want discipline. But I think they want to be coached. They want to be pushed hard to be the best they can be. They like to complain about it most of the time, but generally that's what they desire."
When he fired Chan Gailey as offensive coordinator, Haley
assumed that role himself. So he'll be wearing three hats as head coach, offensive coordinator and play-caller, and coach of the quarterbacks.
Under center will be the team's other significant newcomer, Matt Cassel. Acquired in a trade with Pioli's former employers in New England, Cassel signed a six-year contract for a guaranteed $28 million.
He was also sacked four times in fewer than 20 passing plays and hurt his knee while the Chiefs went 0-4 in the preseason. But he showed up on the practice field this week and will probably be ready to launch the Chiefs' new era at Baltimore on Sunday. Whether he'll remain upright is a worry. The offensive line, particularly on the right side, could be a big problem.
In the meantime, the players
seem to be adapting to the rough style of their new coach. The son of acclaimed NFL personnel man Dick Haley has what the military calls "command presence," and his men are responding.
"I don't think there was a tougher training camp in the NFL than ours," said nose guard Tank Tyler, the leading tackler in the preseason. "He's just trying to get you to be the best player you can possibly be."
NFL
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel (7) tumbles to the ground after being tackled by Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, right, during the first quarter of their NFL preseason football game in Kansas City, Mo, on Aug. 29. Cassel's resulting knee injury may keep him from playing in the Chiefs' first game this season.
Knee injury could keep Chiefs' quarterback from season opener
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel practiced for the second time this week, wearing a brace on his left knee as he went through individual drills Wednesday.
His status for Sunday's season opener at Baltimore? Still up in the air.
Unable to participate fully in practice, Cassel is listed as questionable against the Ravens and coach Todd Haley was again evasive on whether his $63 million quarterback would be available.
"He was out there, which was good. That's better than not being out there," Haley said. "He was able to get through some (drills), so that's going to be a situation we'll monitor as the week goes on. I don't know that we're going to have an answer right up until we play."
Cassel was injured in Kansas City's second preseason game
Aug. 29, when he was pulled down from behind by Seattle's Brandon Mebane. He returned to practice Monday, though in a limited role.
Without Cassel, the Chiefs' sputtering offense would seem be at a monumental disadvantage against Baltimore's stingy defense.
hairline quarterback former coach Herm Edwards had hoped, plagued by injuries last year and unable to get the offense into the end zone this preseason.
Brodie Croyle would likely get the start and she hasn't been the
a six-year contract that guarantees him $28 million. He was mostly average in training camp and saw limited time in the preseason, throwing for 114 yards and a touchdown on 11-of-19 passing.
The Seahawks game was supposed to be where the Chiefs got a good, long look at Cassel. Instead, he went down on the third play of
Cassel hasn't exactly looked like the player who led New England to 11 wins after Tom Brady got hurt last year.
Now, Cassel is trying to come back from an injury and get ready for a game with limited practice time — against one of the NFILS best defenses, no less.
"I don't know that we're going to have an answer right up until we play."
Of course,
The Chiefs traded for Cassel in the offseason, then signed him to
TODD HALEY
Chiefs Coach
the game and his first passing play.
"They're obviously one of the great defenses over the last decade," Haley said. "Even though they've had to plug in different players in different roles, every year they've come and played defense."
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A property developer working for the company that owns Major League Soccer's Kansas City Wizards has proposed building an 18,500-seat soccer stadium near Kansas City, Kan., that could open by 2011 and would sink plans to use the stadium to revitalize a neighborhood across the border in Kansas City, Mo.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan, was scheduled to meet Wed. to discuss the $414 million proposal. Lane4 Properties Group, the developer working for Wizards owner OnGoal LLC, is seeking to use existing sales tax revenue bonds, or STAR bonds, to pay for the project, meaning it would be funded without needing a new revenue stream.
MLS
City officials in Kansas City, Mo., had hoped to use a new stadium to anchor the revitalization of the Bannister Mall area. The City Council approved a redevelopment plan in Dec. 2007 including $273.3 million in city and sales tax incentives, to be repaid with new revenues from the retail portion of the project.
Shakystadium plan for Wizards
During market woes a few months later, Lane4 sought to move forward with at least the stadium and an amateur soccer complex. But the cash-strapped city was unwilling to back the bond. Rob Heineman, president of OnGoal, said this meant the team would not meet its goal to be in the new stadium by 2011.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The project, which would be built near the Kansas Speedway.
would include not only the stadium, but also an amateur sports complex with at least 12 athletic fields and an office complex to accommodate 4,000 workers for Cerner, a fast-growing medical software company based in North Kansas City, Mo.
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FOOTBALL Injured Broncos players arrive at settlements
1
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos have reached injury settlements with cornerback Joshua Bell and guard Matt McChesney.
Bell had a knee injury and McChesney an ankle injury. Both were released Wednesday.
Associated Press
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