Award Winners 2009 … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs
About 10 weeks ago, it would have been laughable to predict Jamaal Charles would finish the 2009 season as the Chiefs MVP.
But that was before Charles took over as the focal point of the Chiefs offense. Everybody was a twitter about Larry Johnson and he had been sent packing in what the club hoped would be addition by subtraction. It turned out that’s exactly what the move was for the Chiefs offense as Charles got his shot.
The second-year back from the University of Texas went on to have one of the best second-half offensive performances in the league, ran his way into the Chiefs record book and earned the Derrick Thomas Award as the team’s MVP.
The Chiefs announced the selection on Tuesday, along with naming K Ryan Succop as the Mack Lee Hill Award winner as the team’s most productive rookie.
Both honors are voted on by the players, but the team does not release the final totals. There seems no doubt that Succop ran away with the rookie award. The only other rookie that might have received consideration was ILB Jovan Belcher, who like Hill joined the franchise as a college free agent.
Succop turned in one of the best seasons for a rookie kicker in recent NFL history, making 25 of his 29 field goal attempts and leading the team with 104 points. Inside the 40-yard line, Succop was a perfect 17-of-17. He was one of the few consistent performers the team had in any facet of the game during the ‘09 season. He was a factor all the way back to Game No. 1, when he made his first field goal with the Chiefs, hitting from 53 yards against Baltimore. Then in Denver last Sunday, he had three field goals in the Chiefs big 20-point victory.
He’s the 45th winner of the Mack Lee Hill Award and the third specialist. Jan Stenerud won in 1967 and punter Bob Grupp was the honoree in 1979.
While Succop was contributing all year, Charles was not. After the first eight games of the season, where he played in seven of those contests, Charles had just 152 yards rushing on 29 carries.
But over the last eight games, he ran for 968 yards on 161 carries and seven touchdown runs. He averaged 6.01 yards per carry. Only Tennessee’s Chris Johnson was a bigger factor in his team’s offense from Game No. 9 through 16 than Charles in running the ball and in overall offensive yards.
RUSHING YARDS/GAMES NO. 9 THRU NO. 16
|
# |
Running Back |
Team |
G |
Att. |
Yards |
Avg. |
TD |
Yards Per Game |
| 1. | Chris Johnson | Tennessee |
8 |
214 |
1,047 |
4.9 |
8 |
130.9 |
| 2. | Jamaal Charles | CHIEFS |
8 |
161 |
968 |
6.0 |
7 |
121.0 |
| 3. | Ray Rice | Baltimore |
8 |
146 |
766 |
5.2 |
2 |
95.8 |
| 4. | Frank Gore | San Francisco |
8 |
149 |
673 |
4.5 |
5 |
84.1 |
| 5. | Ricky Williams | Miami |
8 |
156 |
665 |
4.3 |
5 |
83.1 |
| 6. | Maurice Jones-Drew | Jacksonville |
8 |
167 |
654 |
3.9 |
4 |
81.8 |
| 7. | Ryan Grant | Green Bay |
8 |
133 |
632 |
4.8 |
7 |
79.0 |
| Steven Jackson | St. Louis |
7 |
159 |
632 |
4.0 |
2 |
90.3 |
|
| 9. | Fred Jackson | Buffalo |
8 |
125 |
617 |
4.9 |
2 |
77.1 |
| 10. | Jerome Harrison | Cleveland |
7 |
125 |
608 |
4.9 |
5 |
86.9 |
OFFENSIVE YARDS FROM SCRIMMAGE/GAMES NO. 9 THRU NO. 16
|
# |
Player |
Team |
G |
Touches |
Yards |
Avg. |
TD |
Yards Per Game |
| 1. | Chris Johnson | Tennessee | 8 |
243 |
1,388 |
5.7 |
9 |
173.5 |
| 2. | Jamaal Charles | CHIEFS | 8 |
184 |
1,126 |
6.1 |
8 |
140.8 |
| 3. | Ray Rice | Baltimore | 8 |
178 |
1,032 |
5.8 |
2 |
129.0 |
| 4. | Frank Gore | San Francisco | 8 |
179 |
889 |
5.0 |
7 |
111.1 |
| 5. | Andre Johnson | Houston | 8 |
59 |
882 |
14.9 |
5 |
110.3 |
| 6. | Adrian Peterson | Minnesota | 8 |
175 |
846 |
4.8 |
9 |
105.8 |
| 7. | Maurice Jones-Drew | Jacksonville | 8 |
190 |
830 |
4.4 |
5 |
103.8 |
| 8. | Fred Jackson | Buffalo | 8 |
151 |
811 |
5.4 |
3 |
101.4 |
| 9. | Wes Welker | New England | 8 |
72 |
810 |
11.3 |
0 |
101.3 |
| 10. | Steven Jackson | St. Louis | 7 |
186 |
768 |
4.1 |
3 |
109.7 |
Charles is the 31st player and sixth running back to win the Chiefs MVP award since the honor was formalized by the franchise in 1979. The other backs that were honored were Joe Delaney (1981), Christian Okoye (1989), Marcus Allen (1993-95), Priest Holmes (2001-02) and Larry Johnson (2005-06).
SIGNINGS, HONORS, INJURIES, HIRINGS, FIRINGS AND OTHER MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE
- BEARS – fired offensive coordinator Ron Turner, TE coach Rob Boras, assistant OL coach Luke Butkus, QB coach Pep Hamilton, OL coach Harry Hiestand and assistant WR coach Charles London.
- CARDINALS – placed DE Jason Banks on the injured-reserve list; released LB Pago Togafau; signed FB Nehemiah Broughton and DE Jeremy Clark off the Giants practice squad.
- CHARGERS – placed LB James Holt on the injured-reserve list (shoulder); signed LV Dontarrious Thomas.
- 49ERS – fired special teams coordinator Al Everest.
- REDSKINS – came to agreement on a five-year contract with Mike Shanahan to become their new head coach.
- SAINTS – placed DE Charles Grant on the injured-reserve list (triceps); signed DE Paul Spicer
- STEELERS – QB coach Ken Anderson retired.
- TEXANS – LB Brian Cushing was chosen the Associated Press’s 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He received 39 votes of 50 votes. Bills S Jairus Byrd was second (6), Packers LB Clay Matthews (3) and Redskins OLB Brian Orakpo (2).
FROM THE PAGES OF CHIEFS HISTORY
On January 6, 2001, the Chiefs lost 21-18 to the Seattle Seahawks at Husky Stadium. This game was originally scheduled for the second week of the ‘01 season but was postponed and re-scheduled because of the terrorist attacks of September 11. Playing outdoors on the University of Washington field as construction continued on the new football stadium in Seattle, the teams were greeted by rain and cold temperatures. The Seahawks had a 14-0 lead at half-time, and then 21-10 going into the fourth quarter. The Chiefs got touchdowns from QB Trent Green to TE Lawrence Ricks on a one-yard scoring pass and FB Tony Richardson scored on a one-yard run. RB Priest Holmes ran for 117 yards on 23 carries, while Seattle’s Shaun Alexander got 127 yards on 20 carries. The KC defense had interceptions from CB Eric Warfield and LB Marvcus Patton, and a sack by LB Donnie Edwards. The Chiefs finished the first season under head coach Dick Vermeil with a 6-10 record.
On January 6, 2007, the Chiefs lost 23-6 to the Colts in a wild-card game in the 2006 AFC playoffs at the RCA Dome. The Chiefs were unable to generate any offense against Indianapolis, scoring just one touchdown when QB Trent Green and TE Tony Gonzalez connected on a six-yard pass. Green found TE Kris Wilson for two points after the score. They managed just 126 yards in total offense with 44 rushing yards and only 82 net passing yards. The Chiefs offense turned the ball over three times and allowed four sacks. For the Colts, RB Joseph Addai scored on a six-yard run and totaled 122 yards in the game. QB Peyton Manning and WR Reggie Wayne combined on a five-yard TD pass. TE Dallas Clark had nine catches for 103 yards. The KC defense had three interceptions of Manning, with two by CB Ty Law and another one by FS Jarrad Page.
SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …
Born on January 6, 1976 in Spring Valley, Illinois was G Mike Goff. He joined the Chiefs as a free agent for the 2009 season after playing five seasons with the Chargers. Before joining San Diego, he played six seasons with the Bengals, who selected him in the third-round of the 1998 NFL Draft out of the University of Iowa. Goff played in eight games for the ‘09 Chiefs, starting seven contests before heading to the injured-reserve list.
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[...] Award Winners 2009 … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz [...]
[...] Award Winners 2009 … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz [...]
Well deserved by Charles, no doubt. Although it’s sad to say that he basically won by default. Who else could have even been considered?
The thing that makes me wonder is…had LJ not shown himself the door, would he have finished the season as our starting RB? Guess we’ll never know for sure, but Haley seemed intent on keeping Charles on the bench for the most part…until he HAD to put him in full time.
And there’s another Rat in Washington now, huh?
It is good that good guys who bust their rear get recognization for their efforts. If LJ were still here, not sure Charles would have ever seen the field. Haley had to much to worry about than benching a RB with known history over a kid he did not draft and had the drops. For all of Haleys ability being HC makes you skip details from time to time.
As for Shanahan in DC, why not, the owner is nuts to win every year, Shanahan can do that most years. The Chiefs do not play DC enough to worry about either. AND he never won a thing since Elway retired.
Before the last game, a number of posts on several sites wanted Pendergast fired before the plane left Denver. The Chiefs won and all went quiet. I hope a good win does not give this guy another year to play around with. Remember greg robinson, Vermiel’s guy, single handly ruined a potentially great team with no, absolutely no defense.
I think charles would have started or played alot more before the end of the season, but it makes you wonder when…..what haley was thinking.
Everyone here knows I like haley, the way he coaches and his additude, I think thats what we need to turn it around, but this is the only thing i didnt understand…why we stuck with lj so much when it wasnt working.
but im and outsider looking in, so….
glad to see snyder make a good decision for once
I like Haley, too. But he does make some WTF decisions, for sure…in both his play-calling and his personnel decisions.
I am no Haley fan, but he was a rookie HC, not even past HC experience on any level. He wanted to be OC and QB coach, why, lack of trust, common in first timers. The WRF decisions, love that, just were because he could not do all he was supposed to. He will learn and, I suppose, get better or he will not HC again in the NFL.
LMAO!
Wow. Me criticizing Haley…and el cid halfway defending him. What’s going on here?
I am completely confused!!!!! ha
We are stuck with him for I figure 2 more years…..so….. we need to get some positives out of him. Not the fans, mind you, out of Haley. I think he is the wrong guy but so be it.
If the Chiefs want new OC and DC, why have they not made a move,YET. Weis is talking to Chicago it is being reported. They “know” the two, Weis and Crennel WELL, so if they want them why not get them in here NOW…..TODAY. This waiting for no good reason UNLESS you do not intend to make a move anyway. (the hater returns)
To preface my comment…I agree, some of his play calling has been questionable. With that said, all fans do is criticize play calling (i.e. Marty Ball). Castille, not Haley is the one to blame on the play against Denver. If he just runs with the ball or throws it away we keep the ball and nobody says much. But Castille decides to play “500″ with the Broncos secondary and throws the ball as high as he can down field. Cassel gets props for a great tackle by the way.
Haley will eventually win the hearts & minds of the players & fans. His off the cuff approach is refreshing & in my opinion working. Yeah, he’s still rough around the edges, needs a little more polishing here & there. No going to win any awards or accolades anytime soon. blah, blah, blah.
What he does represent is a style all his own. I can’t think of any prior head coach of the Chiefs with his flair for accountability & conditioning. He beats to his own drum with seemingly effortless rythem. I don’t think he really cares how people “feel” about him. If you want warm & fuzzy, go get a puppy kind of mentality.
He wants to win & bring a championship back to the most deserving City on the planet. He’s not going to sweat the demanding fans or the pessimistic press. He’s not here to please everbody or hold hands. He’s here to win, win, & win some more.
Unorthodox, demanding, accountable, abrasive, sincere, pick your poison cuz he is alot of things. The sooner we realize there is something special going on at 1 Arrowhead Dr. the sooner we can look forward to the glory years ahead of us.
Clark, Scott & Todd. The 3 wise men. With Todd being the most visible. (I’m going to make a bold statement here). Todd Haley is hands down the most unique & dynamic & hopefully successful Head coach the Chiefs have had since the legendary Hank Stram.
Go Chiefs.
el cid says:
“If the Chiefs want new OC and DC, why have they not made a move,YET.”
Well, you have Weis and Crennel as the “big” names out there. Those guys are likely receiving offers, feeling out what is available (or might be), and weighing options. Besides, I could attribute some of that stuff to posturing. For Weis (and his agent), it’s going to be a whole lot better for contract negotiations if there are “other interested parties”.
If those aren’t the guys we want, then we’re likely looking at who/what else is (or might become) available.
It’s only Wednesday after the final Sunday of the regular season, after all.
I want good decisions to be made…not just hasty ones for the sake of doing something.
A couple of things I want for next year:
I want to make sure that the coah or team does not give Charles more than 250-275 carries in the season. I don’t want his treads to wear out like Johnson’s did. I think it’s a fair assumption and a protection of our investment. Give anohter guy more carries (obviously castille is not the answer)
Get us a nice O-lineman early in the draft. Right now we’re slated to pick between 4 and 5 and we might have to flip a coin with Washington to see who goes first (in my opinion, let’s go 5 and then we get the earlier 2nd round draft pick)
-at the fifth position, the chances of moving back are much higher (last year NYJ) and we could get a nice lineman and a ballhawk speedster safety to shore up our midfield.
If we get a get great bookend tackles and they make good progress, maybe we could run some naked bootlegs, oh man did that tear us apart when Denver did it to us.
Send Matt Cassel letters telling him to work on rhythm with his receivers so that they can get the kind of rapport that marvin harrison and manning had back in the day… it all goes back to more repetitions. I know we could get more talent in the draft, but i sincerely trust haley to pick guys up in free agency or trades (boldin, maybe)
With our Falcons’ pick from trading Tony Gonzalez we will now have somewhere between the 50-52 pick in the second round as well as the 36-37, so that will give us some firepower to add much needed depth at positions. I can see a Guard center or receiver being picked in the second round.
Now some people ask, are pick 36 and 50 good enough to get us to trade into the first round? let’s check
Pick 36 is worth 540 points on the NFL Draft Point value Chart
Pick 52 worth 400
pick 36+52 = 940 value points which is good enough to move anywhere from Round 1 Pick 17 worth 950 (reach) or pick 32 worth 590(bargain)
With a whole offseason of having Pioli and Haley and their scouts at the helm, we are poised for a great offseason.
GO Chiefs!
Mad Chief, I would say hiring Pendergast was a hasty hiring as DC, not position coach. You act like the Chiefs do not know Weis or Crennel. These are know coaches and have history with Pioli/Haley. If they wanted them, I promise Hunt would write the check. No move yet?? Why would it be hasty to hire either one?? Or if you wanted a new OC or DC, you mean Pioli/Haley have NO opinion of who they want? Just do not buy into that kind of thinking. If you know what you want, go get it. If you do not, don’t. But I do not want the two coordinater we had last year and time should not be a factor.
You need a OC in place to help decide if Chambers will be part of the Chiefs next year. You need your DC in place to figure out what to do with DJ. And what about the draft, do you really want to go into the draft with DC and OC having no time to imput what they want. The time is now if you want to make a move.
el cid,
I’d say Pendergast was an “Oh, crap…what’s left?” hire as DC. It wasn’t such a matter of haste.
Yes, the Chiefs know both Weis and Crennel. But, hiring guys like that takes a little time. Agents, contracts, wheeling and dealing, considering options…all those things factor in. Plus, what’s best for our team may not necessarily be what’s best for those guys and their careers.
I don’t know that hiring Crennel or Weis would be hasty…since there’s some history there. I just meant that I would rather us take the time to hire the RIGHT guys…as opposed to rushing to fill the positions ASAP. If these two guys are the right ones, then so be it. If not? That’s fine, too.
But taking a week or two to weigh the options of everyone available, is not a long time in my book. The regular season has only been over for 2 1/2 days…so I’m not really worried that we’re somehow behind, or anything.
I believe our FA’s don’t actually become FA’s until March…and the Draft isn’t until April. I think that gives plenty of time for a new guy to come in and evaluate things.
I would bet that there’s a lot going on behind the scenes…even as I type. For all we know, the decisions have already been made. We just don’t know about it yet. Hard to say.
Haley is holding his final Press Conference of the season right at this moment.
Maybe he’ll address some of this.
But, I doubt it.
For those who did not listen, Haley talks to Weis regularily and is a great coach. Vague about if he was the “right fit”. On defense, two items, Haley said he and the coaches “knew” it may take 2 years for the coaches get the team together. Also he had not talked to Crennel about coaching ( he threw in Pioli on that also). I am guessing Pendergast is and will be the DC in 2010. He next got cornered into talking about players on the team with a future, core guys. Jackson, Magee, Gales, and Lawrence are positives, you can have them as far as I am concerned. The others were the usual suspects. He wants Albert to stay slim, why I do not know. Basically everything has improved and Haley’s view is bright. Oh, and DJ has a chance. On and on it goes. About what I would expect for a end of season press conference. ,
Mad Chief, you say FAs in Mar and Draft in Apr. Strange seems like a lot of people said the Chiefs did so poorly in those areas because they were so late getting staff. Now no hurry because we have time. Can you have it both ways. Not enough time in 09 and lots of time in 2010?
Thanks for the update, el cid. Couldn’t listen to it at work.
I didn’t think he would say a whole lot. He usually doesn’t. Not surprised his “view is bright”. It’s the end of the season.
Haley said a day or two ago that he hasn’t talked to Crennel “about coaching”…but that he had spoken to him multiple times over the course of the year. Talks to him several times, and coaching never comes up? Bullsh*t. I don’t believe that.
el cid says:
“Mad Chief, you say FAs in Mar and Draft in Apr. Strange seems like a lot of people said the Chiefs did so poorly in those areas because they were so late getting staff.”
Haley wasn’t hired until after the Super Bowl last year. And then had to throw together a staff after he got here. It’s only January 6th of this year. The playoffs haven’t even started. Plus, Haley has been here for almost a year. So, it’s a little different situation.
those telling cassel get timing with your WR’s…
CMON
Bowe: was out 4 games and had 10 some drops
Wade: signed during the season
Long: Signed during the season
Chambers: Signed during the season
Pope: signed during the season….
we may need to actually GET cassel some targets, for him to work on that timing…there is a reason why there was little to no timing, there was ALSO a reason why Cassel’s BEST LONG BALL went to the guy who STARTED THE PRESEASON AT WR….AKA he had more reps…he had timing down with cassel on a deep route…
Looks like Weis is now a Chief.
https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2010/1/6/1237481/mort-charlie-weis-accepts-job-with#comments
Adam Schefter is reporting that Romeo Crennel won’t be far behind.