Post by lazarus on May 9, 2003 9:53:36 GMT -5
Chiefs optimistic as they face unofficial start to season
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The third time has always been the charm for thingy Vermeil.
In previous NFL coaching stops in Philadelphia and St. Louis, Vermeil's program soared in his third season. He took the Eagles to the playoffs for the first time in 18 years and the Rams to the Super Bowl title.
Such success in year three with the Chiefs appears far from preordained. The Chiefs haven't made the playoffs since 1997, finished 8-8 last season because of the league's worst defense and still don't have a healthy Priest Holmes.
Yet optimism abounds at Arrowhead Stadium, a lot of it due to Vermeil's history. And if the Chiefs are going to win under Vermeil, they had better do it this year. Vermeil, who turns 67 in October, is in the final season of his contract, though he has said he would consider returning for at least one more.
Vermeil's third season in Kansas City gets its unofficial start today with the beginning of a three-day minicamp at their Truman Sports Complex practice facility. And it starts with the head coach believing the Chiefs could very well be in the company of his third-year Eagles or Rams.
"The good things you do compound and by the third year, it normally really shows," Vermeil said. "Regardless of whether you have a three-year contract or a five-year contract, in the third year you should be showing tremendous progress. I anticipate doing that. It's an accumulation, hopefully, of all the things we've done and all the decisions we've made over the last two years. They keep compounding and all of a sudden, good things start happening."
"Our whole theme of this off-season has been closing the gap between what we were and what we have to be. I can tell we're making progress already. The attitude of the football team has been outstanding through the off-season, the attitude toward work has been very good. I think the team chemistry has been very positive. Our off-season program has been productive."
The Chiefs tried to fix their defensive problems with personnel additions. They seemingly made gains, first with speedy weak-side linebacker Shawn Barber, who will replace Marvcus Patton and allow Mike Maslowski to play in the middle, a more natural position.
They continued by signing Dexter McCleon, who replaces the aging Ray Crockett at nickel back. The final piece was Green Bay's Vonnie Holliday, who takes over for unproductive right end Duane Clemons. Pass rusher Hugh Douglas was the Chiefs' first choice, but Holliday is a more complete player.
"I expect to be a lot better on defense than we were last year," Vermeil said. "It will be glaring how much better we are. The players' attitude is tremendous. They're assuming responsibility for their own performance. They want very badly to make up for what happened last year, and I'm talking about coaches and players.
"Plus, if you add Shawn Barber, Vonnie Holliday and Dexter McCleon, you've added three pretty good players. Shawn Barber will be the best outside linebacker they've had around here in years."
The Chiefs led the NFL in scoring last year and were fourth in yardage but their concerns, at least for now, are mainly with the offense. There is the specter of continuing injury problems with Holmes, who won't participate this weekend. Vermeil continues to insist Holmes will be ready for the start of training camp.
But without a healthy Holmes, the Chiefs aren't the same team. Despite missing two games, Holmes accounted for 42 percent of the Chiefs' touchdowns and 38 percent of their yards. They were shut out in the season's final game in Oakland without Holmes despite being in the running for a playoff berth.
They drafted Penn State's Larry Johnson in the first round as insurance, but there's no guarantee he can produce as Holmes has.
Another potential problem is depth on the offensive line, the Chiefs' strongest position group. The five starters were available for all 16 games last year. That's unlikely to happen again, and the Chiefs are uncomfortable with their veteran reserves.
The Chiefs drafted Florida State's Brett Williams in the fourth round and Notre Dame's Jordan Black in the fifth, but it's still unclear whether they will be ready to help.
It all makes for a strange brew, one that has the potential to boom or bust. Few, particularly the head coach, are willing to consider the latter.
"If all you ever dwell on as a leader is the things you do wrong, then you're part of the problem," Vermeil said. "You keep regenerating all of the negative things you do. We keep talking about all the good things we've done. The defense in the second half of the season was I think 12th or 13th in points given up. Yeah, we were bad in the first half, but there's no reason to believe we can't improve on what we did in the second half of the season."
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The third time has always been the charm for thingy Vermeil.
In previous NFL coaching stops in Philadelphia and St. Louis, Vermeil's program soared in his third season. He took the Eagles to the playoffs for the first time in 18 years and the Rams to the Super Bowl title.
Such success in year three with the Chiefs appears far from preordained. The Chiefs haven't made the playoffs since 1997, finished 8-8 last season because of the league's worst defense and still don't have a healthy Priest Holmes.
Yet optimism abounds at Arrowhead Stadium, a lot of it due to Vermeil's history. And if the Chiefs are going to win under Vermeil, they had better do it this year. Vermeil, who turns 67 in October, is in the final season of his contract, though he has said he would consider returning for at least one more.
Vermeil's third season in Kansas City gets its unofficial start today with the beginning of a three-day minicamp at their Truman Sports Complex practice facility. And it starts with the head coach believing the Chiefs could very well be in the company of his third-year Eagles or Rams.
"The good things you do compound and by the third year, it normally really shows," Vermeil said. "Regardless of whether you have a three-year contract or a five-year contract, in the third year you should be showing tremendous progress. I anticipate doing that. It's an accumulation, hopefully, of all the things we've done and all the decisions we've made over the last two years. They keep compounding and all of a sudden, good things start happening."
"Our whole theme of this off-season has been closing the gap between what we were and what we have to be. I can tell we're making progress already. The attitude of the football team has been outstanding through the off-season, the attitude toward work has been very good. I think the team chemistry has been very positive. Our off-season program has been productive."
The Chiefs tried to fix their defensive problems with personnel additions. They seemingly made gains, first with speedy weak-side linebacker Shawn Barber, who will replace Marvcus Patton and allow Mike Maslowski to play in the middle, a more natural position.
They continued by signing Dexter McCleon, who replaces the aging Ray Crockett at nickel back. The final piece was Green Bay's Vonnie Holliday, who takes over for unproductive right end Duane Clemons. Pass rusher Hugh Douglas was the Chiefs' first choice, but Holliday is a more complete player.
"I expect to be a lot better on defense than we were last year," Vermeil said. "It will be glaring how much better we are. The players' attitude is tremendous. They're assuming responsibility for their own performance. They want very badly to make up for what happened last year, and I'm talking about coaches and players.
"Plus, if you add Shawn Barber, Vonnie Holliday and Dexter McCleon, you've added three pretty good players. Shawn Barber will be the best outside linebacker they've had around here in years."
The Chiefs led the NFL in scoring last year and were fourth in yardage but their concerns, at least for now, are mainly with the offense. There is the specter of continuing injury problems with Holmes, who won't participate this weekend. Vermeil continues to insist Holmes will be ready for the start of training camp.
But without a healthy Holmes, the Chiefs aren't the same team. Despite missing two games, Holmes accounted for 42 percent of the Chiefs' touchdowns and 38 percent of their yards. They were shut out in the season's final game in Oakland without Holmes despite being in the running for a playoff berth.
They drafted Penn State's Larry Johnson in the first round as insurance, but there's no guarantee he can produce as Holmes has.
Another potential problem is depth on the offensive line, the Chiefs' strongest position group. The five starters were available for all 16 games last year. That's unlikely to happen again, and the Chiefs are uncomfortable with their veteran reserves.
The Chiefs drafted Florida State's Brett Williams in the fourth round and Notre Dame's Jordan Black in the fifth, but it's still unclear whether they will be ready to help.
It all makes for a strange brew, one that has the potential to boom or bust. Few, particularly the head coach, are willing to consider the latter.
"If all you ever dwell on as a leader is the things you do wrong, then you're part of the problem," Vermeil said. "You keep regenerating all of the negative things you do. We keep talking about all the good things we've done. The defense in the second half of the season was I think 12th or 13th in points given up. Yeah, we were bad in the first half, but there's no reason to believe we can't improve on what we did in the second half of the season."