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THE UNIVERSITY DARLY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER 11,2006
> NFL
Chiefs enjoy honors, shuffle players
Matt York/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard (11) passes as teammate Larry Johnson (27) defends against the Arizona Cardinals during the first quarter of a football game Sunday at Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Huard was named AFC offensive player of the week Tuesday.
New quarterback kicker are named players of week
DOUG TUCKER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City's Damon Huard, who has looked nothing like the journeyman quarterback he was supposed to be, was named AFC offensive player of the week Tuesday.
At the same time, Chiefs kicker Lawrence Tynes was honored as AFC special teams player of the week.
In another bit of good news for the Chiefs, coach Herm Edwards said wide receiver and kick return specialist Dante Hall could be ready this week for their game at Pittsburgh. Hall missed most of the second half last week with a hip injury, but apparently an MRI on Monday indicated nothing serious was wrong.
"Dante is a little bit sore, but I anticipate he'll be at practice," Edwards said.
Edwards also said left tackle Kyle Turley, who has missed the last two games with a stiff back, "was anxiously waiting to practice."
Quarterback Trent Green, who sustained a severe concussion Sept. 10 in the season opener, is feeling better, Edwards said, but remains out indefinitely.
Since Green was injured, Huard has hit 73-of-104 throws for 769 yards and five TDs. His 107.4 passer rating and 71.2 completion percentage both rank second in the NFL.
In a come-from-behind 23-20 victory Sunday at Arizona, he passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He did not have an interception.
His poise and production have wildly exceeded everyone's expectations for a career backup who hadn't started a game since 2000.
Now his continuing success is enabling the Chiefs to take all the time they think they need to get Green healthy and not to rush him.
"You never have enough good quarterbacks," Edwards said. "Damon has done a good job for us. Who would have ever imagined going into this season that our first two wins, Damon Huard would be quarterback? Probably nobody. Good for him. And good for this football team."
Huard is 2-1 so far as a starter in Green's absence. He has won the confidence of everyone in the Chiefs organization.
"I think Damon has gained confidence, and the team has gained confidence in him. I could see that in
the second half of the Denver game," Edwards said. "Now the players are thinking they have nothing to worry about with Damon. They're saying, 'It's time for us to start playing better. The quarterback is fine.'"
Tynes was 3-for-3 against Arizona, including a 19-yard game-winner with 1.36 to go. For the year, he's 8-for-9, fourth among AFC kickers with 32 points. He has combined with punter Dustin Colquitt to give the Chiefs one of the best tandems in the league.
The Chiefs also released defensive tackle Lional Dalton on Tuesday and called defensive back Michael Bragg off the practice squad. Dalton played fairly last year after signing as a free agent but lost his starting job and had not been active the past two weeks.
Bragg was needed to provide depth at cornerback with Benny Sapp sidelined by an injury.
The Chiefs also are getting near the time when they'll have to make a decision on running back Priest Holmes. The former Pro Bowler was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list at the beginning of training camp and still recovering from head and neck trauma that sidelined him the last nine games of 2005.
After the ninth week of the season, the Chiefs will have three weeks to decide whether to place him on the roster or list him as out for the year. He has remained at his home in San Antonio, where Chiefs president Carl Peterson said he has been working out but "not with a great deal of vigor."
NFL
Broncos release punter following suspension
PAT GRAHAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — Todd Sauerbrun may have taught Paul Ernster a little too well.
The Denver Broncos cut the veteran punter Tuesday, the day he was supposed to come back from a four-game suspension for using the banned dietary supplement ephedra.
The Broncos confirmed his release in a two-sentence press release, but team officials didn't respond to requests for more comments.
Sauerbrun, a 12-year veteran, gave pointers to Ernster during the offseason and even pumped him up after Ernster had knee surgery last season.
But Ernster kicked well in Sauerbrun's absence and earned the starting job. Ernster, a seventh-round pick in 2005 out of Northern Arizona, averaged 44.2 yards a punt in four games.
"That's the kind of guy Todd is," Sauerbrun's agent, David Canter, said of mentoring Ernster. "He doesn't regret it. Paul did a great job."
Money likely played a factor in the Broncos' decision to keep Ernster over Sauerbrun. Sauerbrun, who wasn't allowed to be around the team during the suspension, was scheduled to make $1.395 million this season, but lost $328,000 due to the suspension.
Ernster has two years left on his salary at the league minimum. He's making $275,000 this season.
The Broncos also couldn't afford to take the chance of another mistake by Sauerbrun, which would've resulted in a season-ending suspension.
Canter said the final decision had nothing to do with what Sauerbrun did on the field.
"If it had to do with winning football games, they would've kept him on the roster," Canter said. "He's one of the best. He's disappointed#He feels he could've been a catalyst on the team."
Sauerbrun said after testing positive for the supplement that he knowingly took an over-the-counter weight loss product this summer that he strongly suspected contained ephedra, which the NFL banned after the death of Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer during training camp in 2001.
Players are randomly tested and can be suspended after the first violation.
Sauerbrun came over from Carolina last season and averaged 43.8 yards a punt, won a player of the week award and even forced a fumble with a tackle against New England.
David Zalubowski/ASSOCIATED PRESS Denver Broncos punter Paul Ernest, (3) front right, confers with an unidentified player while waiting for the team's first practice after a bye week Monday in Denver. Ernest is filling in for the Broncos while Todd Sauerbren serves out a four-game suspension.