Sunday Cup O’Mini-Camp

From the Truman Sports Complex

He is the Lazarus of the Chiefs roster.

There have been many times when it looked like Demorrio Williams was down and out of the picture with the Chiefs. Last year during training camp in Wisconsin, it really looked like his time in Kansas City was over. Signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2008 out of Atlanta, Williams was the lead man on Todd Haley’s rehab team.

That’s not a position any player who aspire to hold. Williams peddled more miles than Lance Armstrong as he tried to get the injured leg stronger. Day-after-day, practice-after-practice rolled past and he was always over in the area that the head coach calls “No Man’s Land.” One could almost hear the clock ticking down on his Chiefs career.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the waiver wire. Williams finally got on the practice field and it came at the time when the other inside linebackers were found lacking for reasons of ability, focus, health or inexperience.

By the time the ‘09 season was over, Williams had started 13 of the 16 games and led the Chiefs in tackles. Using film review by the coaching staff, the Chiefs listed him at 142 total tackles, while the league evaluation of the game tapes gave him 117 total tackles. Either way, Williams was among the top 20 tacklers in the NFL for the ‘09 season.

And, he did it all with a bum left leg. The nature of his injury was one of those state secrets that the Chiefs keep these days from the media, fans and opponents. But understand that for every game and practice last year, Williams’ leg was wrapped in tape from his thigh to the middle of his calf. By the time the season was over, he alone may have put the trainers over their tape budget for the ‘09 season.

Still, he did not miss a game.

“It feels great now that I can get dressed for practice in about five minutes,” Williams said, referencing his lengthy taping sessions with the trainers each day. “My main thing was always to keep going out and make a contribution to the team and continue to work. My thing was just to go out and contribute.”

Williams’ contribution last year was a quiet one and that has helped draw the bull’s-eye on his back when it comes to defensive improvement in 2010. In 16 games, Williams had a lot of tackles, but:

  • He did not have a sack, and the Chiefs did not credit him with a pass rush pressure.
  • He did not have an interception.
  • He did not force a fumble in all those tackles and he did not recover a fumble.
  • The Chiefs numbers say he had two tackles for minus yardage (the league says three) and four passes defensed (the league says six.)

He may have averaged close to nine tackles per game, but there was little noise with those take downs. Plus, the team’s finish at No. 31 in run defense was not something anybody on that unit was excited about claiming. Williams’ top game in tackles was against Cleveland, when the Chiefs credit him with 16 total stops. That was a game where Browns RB Jerome Harrison ran for an NFL season-high 286 yards and three touchdowns against the Kansas City defense.

With a 4-12 record, a bum leg and a bum defense, the 2009 season was a mess for Williams. He could have cried “uncle” at any time and gone to the injured list. But he would not leave the field.

“I love the game so much that I can’t let something like that slow me down,” Williams said. “A lot of people counted me out last year, but I’m the type of guy that’s going to do whatever needs to be done to get out on the field on Sunday.”

The bad record, sore leg and last year’s defense are in the past. Williams senses a different attitude on the Chiefs right now.

“Last year I didn’t feel like we had a lot of swagger,” Williams said. “As you walk around this locker room, I think you see more swag and I think we are going to be ready to play this year.”

There’s that change at defensive coordinator with Romeo Crennel coming with his brand of the 3-4 defense; that moves seems to have everybody on the defense excited about the possibilities.

“I think we are going to have rules and I think we are going to follow the rules,” Williams said. “You start playing defense and you start breaking rules, that’s when you are going to have problems. When you start game planning and last week we played like this, and now this week we are changing and playing like this, it’s not good. That’s what happened last year too many times.

“I think this year we are going to play by rules and do what we are supposed to do. I think we are going to stay sound and stick with what we believe in.”

There appears to be a wide-open battle for playing time at inside linebacker as the Chiefs finish up the off-season work and are about six weeks away from starting training camp in St. Joe. Williams, Corey Mays, Derrick Johnson and Jovan Belcher are all getting snaps with the No. 1 defense at various times. Even outside backer Mike Vrabel may figure into the equation as well, especially in the nickel defense – he’s been working inside during this weekend’s mini-camp. Moving him inside opens up a spot for up and coming outside linebacker Andy Studebaker to get on the field.

“There’s a lot of competition; every day you have to come to work and be prepared,” Williams said. “My main thing is to do what I can do; that’s all I can control.”

To keep his starting job, Williams is going to have to be more productive; he has to come up with more than just tackles. There need to be turnovers caused and long runs stopped and a defense against the running game that doesn’t get trampled for 156.5 yards per game.

But that may be easier to do without all that tape on his leg.

NFL PERSONNEL & NEWS FILE FOR SATURDAY, JUNE 12

BRONCOS – head coach Josh McDaniels said Saturday that Kyle Orton is the team’s starting quarterback and will be in that role when training camp starts in late July. Orton, Brady Quinn and rookie Tim Tebow are the QBs on Denver’s roster.

JETS – have sliced the price of nearly 18,000 personal seat licenses for the new stadium in the Meadowlands in hopes of selling out the building for the regular season opener on Monday night September 13 against Baltimore. About half that number is licenses that remain unsold. The other half have been sold and buyers will receive a rebate to the reduced price.

REDSKINS – head coach Mike Shanahan has cancelled the final day of a three-day mini-camp this coming week because he’s happy with what the team has gotten done in their OTA sessions. Washington waits to see if disgruntled DT Albert Haynesworth shows up for the camp. He’s not attended any of the off-season work and wants to be traded. The Redskins can fine him and there may even be some jeaporady on the guaranteed money he received last year from Washington.

VIKINGS – head coach Brad Childress is more than a little bit unhappy with his star RB Adrian Peterson. The team’s mandatory mini-camp is this weekend, but Peterson is not attending. He in his hometown of Palestine, Texas where Saturday was the fourth annual Adrian Peterson Day, complete with a parade. “This has a term mandatory for a reason and the work is here, period,” said Childress. “I just know there are a bunch of guys here.”


6 Responses to “Sunday Cup O’Mini-Camp”

  • June 13, 2010  - colby says:

    Demorrio was a nice signing by Carl. His first year he played with a big cast on his hand, and last year he had the leg problem as Bob said. He hasn’t missed a game yet though so he’s a tough dude to have around and that’s definitely important. Even if he isn’t a starter this year, there’s still clearly a spot for him on this team.


  • June 13, 2010  - J Lloyd says:

    Last year the players that showed didn’t or coulden’t get in step , what happen ?
    Man , they are going to have to cut a whole team of talent just to get to roster .
    Some team’s are having the Chief’s last year — players not showing for little reason !
    Min. & Cinn. PLUS just the little stuff that makes it hard to get it together untill the second half of the season . Not so here in KC .
    This is really getting interesting !!


  • June 13, 2010  - Danny W says:

    DMAR is a tackling monster I like him alot. He is our sure tackler to D.J.’s innefective tackling in the past to big play making ability. Maybe these two could get it together this year and play lights out at linebacker all of the sudden. With Belcher and Mays rotating in.

    Good read Bob I have always liked DMAR


  • June 13, 2010  - ED says:

    AGreed Danny I would love to see DJ and Demarrio both be the starting inside linebackers. Alot Chiefs fans for some reason or foolish reason don’t think highly of this guy but I’m a huge fan. This guy is not the highlight reel that sometimes DJ is but he is consistent. Which I will take any day over a guy who makes a great play once every 4 to 5 games. To lead the team in tackles with a bum leg show alot of heart and says alot about this kid toughness. Can’t wait to see what he does now that he’s healthy.

    Demmario was talking about the team having more swagger they should. This roster is head and shoulders better than last year. More play makers other than just Jamal Charles and more team speed in the secondary along with 3 of the brightest football minds in the league with Haley, Crennel, and Weis. They should carry alot more swag this yr which will result in more wins.


  • June 13, 2010  - aPauled says:

    “The Chiefs numbers say he had two tackles for minus yardage (the league says three)”

    This stat tells the story. Williams stacked up tackles last year when guys were heading down field. Nice hustle but you want your ILBs to actually make stops at the line of scrimmage which Williams has not shown he is capable of. If Williams wins a starting job with the Chiefs this year, it is a bad sign and sets the expectation of another 30th ranked run D. Nice situational and Special Teams guy…but not a starting ILB.


  • June 13, 2010  - Ray Ward says:

    I’ve heard alot of fans bash Williams, and some of it is deserved. He had alot of tackles, but they generally were after some yards were already picked up. He also, as mentioned, seems one dimensional. He is a sound tackler, but little else. With that said, he is tough, a team guy, and someone we have yet to see perform when 100% healthy. Crennel will get the best out of him, and utilize his strengths. Let’s not overanalyze last season, as Haley and the players are all stating: “this season is like night and day compared to last year.” I have total trust in the coaches we have, until they give me reason not too. I think we are going to see alot of players step up this season, and many will be players we may not expect too. It is called “building through the draft”, and those players that are in their 2nd to 4th years are who will largely determine if we are a good football team, this season, and if will be competitive for years to come. I’ve been a fan for over 40 years, and this is as important of a season as I can remember. If we struggle, we may be back to square one, and I hate the word “rebuilding.”


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