Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Jarrad Page has gotten a peek at the Chiefs new defense.

But only a peek.

At a time when Chiefs defensive players would love to dive head first into the new defense they’ll play under coordinator Clancy Pendergast, the coaching staff is throwing around information in a very limited fashion.

“He (Pendergast) showed me some things; the basics,” Page said on Thursday after getting in his workout during the Chiefs conditioning program. “But right now is the time for us to be working on our conditioning. That’s how (Todd) Haley laid out the schedule for us. Now is the time to be working on our bodies. Soon it will be time to work in the classroom.”

That time will likely begin on Monday. The Chiefs have a three-day mini-camp scheduled for next weekend. Just to get the players lined up in the right spots, the coaches will have to spring some information.

Think of the defensive playbook like the average best-seller at the neighborhood bookstore. So far, Page has seen the table of contents and the introduction. The rest remains a bit of a mystery.

“Right off the bat, you know there are a lot of things different because it’s the 3-4 and not the 4-3,” said Page. “It will take some time, but we have a lot of intelligent guys on the defensive side of the ball and there won’t be any trouble picking it up.”

The defensive guys have to be the most anxious players on the team to get moving and into the brain work. On the offensive side, coordinator Chan Gailey and several assistants have returned and the basic offense won’t be much different when it comes to learning and remembering the scheme.

That’s not the case on the defensive side, where there’s a new coordinator in Pendergast, all but one new position coach (Tim Krumrie on the defensive line is the only holdover), a new playbook and more importantly an entirely new scheme.

“First, you’ve got to be excited about it,” Page said. “What were we last year? 31st? 32nd? You’ve got to be excited about anything new coming in and what we can do with it.”

Schemes are schemes; what’s important is the attitude infused in the x’s and o’s. Are the Chiefs going to be more aggressive than in the past? Will they be less aggressive? Is it too early to tell?

“It’s probably too early to tell how aggressive we are going to be,” said Page. “I don’t know his style. We don’t know what we are going to run when we face third-and-five. We’ll pick those things up in the coming weeks when we really get into it and learn his style of coaching and the way he wants to approach things.”

For Page, the change will have minimal effects because of his position at safety. It’s the front seven, along the defensive line and linebackers where the change is going to be noticed and felt the most. Everyone is looking forward to next week’s mini-camp to see some of those differences.

“That’s when it comes off the chalkboard and we get to see it up close,” he said. “It will be a chance to see the new guys that we brought in. Everybody wants to see all the guys they brought in. Everybody wants to see (Matt) Cassel out there, and Bobby Engram and (Mike) Vrabel. Everybody wants to see who is standing up now on defense, what Tamba (Hali) does. How is everybody going to line up?

“Mostly, you just want to be with the guys and get on the field again.”

Page and his returning defensive mates are anxious to get back on the field for another reason; they want to show the new regime they are better than the 2-14 defense that ranked next to last in the NFL during the 2008 season.

“The new people coming in, the new general manager and the new coach, all they know is we were 2-14,” said Page. “I think everybody out there has a sense of pride that wants to come out and say, ‘Let me show you what I can do. We know 2-14 is out there, and we know that’s what you see. But let me show you something else’.”

COMMISSIONER SUSPENDS BILLS LYNCH FOR THREE GAMES

The word Thursday coming out of Buffalo was not likely good news for Larry Johnson.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Bills running back Marshawn Lynch (right) for the first three regular season games of the 2009 regular-season. The disciplinary action is the result of Lynch’s arrest in February on gun possession charges in California.

In early March, Lynch pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of having a firearm in a vehicle. He was sentenced to 80 hours of community service and three years of probation.

Lynch met with Goodell to discuss his conduct in the middle of May.

The arrest came after police said they smelled marijuana coming from a parked car that Lynch occupied with two other men in Culver City, Calif. Officers searched the vehicle and found a loaded pistol and four marijuana cigarettes. They did not book any of the men for any drug offenses.

L.J. has already served a one-game suspension for the two assault charges against him last fall. At the time, Goodell said he would revisit the discipline at the completion of the legal process. In late March, Johnson pleaded guilty to a pair of disturbing the peace charges and was placed on probation.

Based on the Lynch suspension, it would not be a shock to see Johnson get at least one more game on the sidelines.

Lynch and Johnson (if it happens) can appeal the suspensions, but the judge on those appeals is Goodell himself.

T.O. SHOWS UP IN BUFFALO AND HE’S WORKING WITH BILLS

Just last month, Terrell Owens (left) was quoted as saying he would not take part in the Buffalo Bills voluntary strength and conditioning program.

But Owens showed up this week and he’s lifting, running and working with his new Bills teammates and the voluntary sessions.

Hard to believe, but T.O. says the previous story lost something in the translation, a frequent occurrence when Owens is around and his mouth is moving.

“I think you guys (media) only got a piece of the story in what was reported,” Owens told the Buffalo media on Thursday. “I’ve never really come to any optional or voluntary camps. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to show up. I know at some point I have to get acclimated with the system and come here and bond with some of the guys. So I think you guys only got a piece of what was reported, which is the case nine times out of 10.”

What of concerns by many in Buffalo that he will be a disruptive influence in the Bills locker room? Owens laughed at the question.

“I think if you guys really, just if you listen to all the statements that a lot of my teammates have had since I left the Cowboys, there wasn’t any disruptions,” Owens said. “You guys are basically going off commentators’ comments and broadcasters’ comments. I honestly feel good about myself in the way I conducted myself three years in Dallas. And those guys have spoken very, very highly of me and the things that I brought to the team on and off the field. So I really don’t have to worry about that.”

SIGNINGS & MOVEMENT IN THE NFL

BILLS – signed G Seth McKinney (Cleveland).

SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …

Born on April 10, 1966 in New Orleans was DE Neil Smith. Drafted with the second choice in the entire 1988 NFL Draft out of Nebraska, Smith spent nine of his 13 NFL seasons with the Chiefs (1988-96). He appeared in 138 games with 127 starts for the Chiefs, racking up 546 tackles, 86.5 sacks, three interceptions, 29 forced fumbles, 13 recovered fumbles, along with five blocked field goals. He was named the team’s MVP following the 1992 season. Smith ended his career with three seasons playing with the Denver Broncos (where he won a pair of Super Bowl rings) and one season with the San Diego Chargers.