Waters Still Runs Deep … Thursday Cup O’Chiefs

One of the best things about the Chiefs 2010 off-season and OTA schedule has been the presence of veteran guard Brian Waters.

Among players and coaches, the big man has the longest tenure with the franchise. In fact, it’s not even close; the players next in line for seniority are LB Derrick Johnson and P Dustin Colquitt. They got to the Chiefs in 2005, five years after Waters.

Soon, Waters will pass from the locker room. Maybe it will come this post-season, maybe the year after that, but he’s now 33 years old and in his 11th season with the club. After 2010, he has one more year left on the six-year, $26.5 million contract that he signed back in 2006.

Waters has a unique view of matters around the Chiefs, one that provides context and perspective that no one else in the building carries, especially on the football side. Maybe the only person in the building with a better understanding of what was is team president Denny Thum, but he’s been completely boxed out of the football operation over the last two years.

Just take the last 15 months, starting with the supposed hallway conversation between Waters and Haley last February where the new head coach stated that he could have won two games with 22 players off the street. Waters has not ever addressed that situation publicly, but his absence for all but the mandatory mini-camp last spring was evidence enough of his unhappiness.

That was then, this is now.

Waters has not missed any of the 12 OTA sessions held so far and will be on the field this weekend for the team’s five practice sessions. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Haley and his coaching staff don’t give veterans like Waters, OLB Mike Vrabel and RB Thomas Jones a practice off over the three days.

It’s the most time that Waters has spent around the Chiefs in the off-season in several years, and it’s proven helpful to him and most especially the Chiefs offense.

“I just wanted to make sure I knew what Charlie (Weis) was doing,” Waters said. “It’s been good to get acclimated to some of the new guys and it’s been good being around Casey (Wiegmann) and Ryan (Lilja), some of the familiar faces. It’s been a great chance to see some of these guys that I’ve been hearing about. It’s been a good experience.”

And his thoughts on what he’s seen from Weis and the offense so far? “He’s good,” said Waters. “You can tell why he’s been one of the best coordinators in the league in his time. He knows exactly what he wants to do and knows what he is talking about on every level.”

Being around the team this spring has also shown Waters an increased confidence level from QB Matt Cassel.

“He’s definitely more comfortable; you can tell,” he said. “He has more confidence in what he’s doing and more confident in the scheme. This is his team and he doesn’t have any outside concerns. The pressure of the first year, when he was really the only one who knew the whole offense, now there are more people involved who understand what the offensive coordinator is after.”

And what about some of those new faces he was hearing about? What about say, WR/RB Dexter McCluster?

“He’s fast; you can see why he’s been such an explosive football players,” said Waters. “He’s really explosive to go along with his quickness in space. Dante Hall was able to do some things in a small space that other people weren’t able to do. I’ve seen Jamaal (Charles) break away from people and make some cuts.

“But (McCluster) is right up there among the fastest guys that I’ve ever seen on the football field.”

His presence and his participation in all of these workouts is a pretty good indication that Waters is in better shape right now than he was at a similar point last year. When he did finally show up for the mini-camp, his body just didn’t fit in with the rest of the squad, even on the offensive line where players are always bigger.

That’s not the case this year and Waters has worked through all the sessions, taking a play off here and there by orders of the coaches. Even more noteworthy is that he’s done this coming off a very bad ankle/foot injury that plagued him all through the ‘09 season. He suffered the injury in the first practice of training camp and was never 100 percent the rest of the season.

So this year is quite a contrast for Waters. His heart feels better about the situation surrounding him. His body has recovered from injury. He sees a faster and more talented team around him and more stability and direction than was visible last year from Haley and his coaching staff.

“The fact we have been able to roll over from last year some of the things we did well has been a big advantage for us,” said Waters. “That’s a big plus for us. It’s such an advantage for a team when you are able to have years in a particular system, that allows people to concentrate on the details.”

FIRST NEW STADIUM IN CALIFORNIA SINCE 1967 SEEMS A DONE DEAL

Voters in Santa Clara approved the use of city funds to help build a new stadium in that city for the San Francisco 49ers. Tuesday night nearly 60 percent of the voters said yes to Measure J, which will have the city of Santa Clara contributing $114 million of the proposed $937 million stadium.

Also, a Santa Clara stadium authority is expected to put $330 million in the building pot through a ticket surcharge, bonds, naming rights, vendor rights and seat licenses. The 49ers will provide the remaining $500 million and has agreed to be responsible for any construction overruns.

Right now plans are for construction to begin in 2012 with the Niners playing in the stadium in the 2014 season. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the new 68,500-seat stadium will get consideration for a future Super Bowl. The team will remain named the San Francisco 49ers.

The last stadium built in California that could handle the NFL was what is now called Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego that opened in 1967. Other venues that have hosted NFL games in the state are Anaheim Stadium (1966), the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (1966), Candlestick Park in San Francisco (1960), the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923) and the Rose Bowl (1922).

The only new stadiums built in California in the last 40-plus years were for baseball: San Diego’s Petco Park (2004) and AT&T Park in San Francisco (2000).

RAIDERS GET SMACKED FOR OFF-SEASON PRACTICES

In the same week that the NFL slapped the Baltimore Ravens for their off-season practice routines and time investment, they have come down on the Oakland Raiders for similar actions.

The league has ruled that the Raiders will forfeit OTA sessions set for June 16 and 17. It’s the second time in the last three years that Oakland has lost off-season practices because of not following the rules.

NFL PERSONNEL FILE/WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9

• NFL – The league announced today a partnership with the Pat Tillman Foundation in establishing a continuing scholarship that will be available to veterans and to their dependents and survivors who wish to start or continue their education. The Tillman Foundation currently has 52 scholarships awarded to date. Pat Tillman played for the Arizona Cardinals and was killed in Afghanistan from so-called friendly fire at the age of 27.
• BRONCOS – signed 5th-round DB Perrish Cox to a 4-year contract, terms undisclosed – he was All-Big 12 at Ok. State, but got suspended for the Cotton Bowl and that hurt his standing in the draft.
• CHARGERS – signed OT Tra Thomas to a 1-year contract – Thomas spent last season with the Jaguars after playing 11 seasons with the Eagles. The 36-year old tackle is insurance for San Diego if starting LT Marcus McNeill decides to hold true to his comments about holding out; released undrafted rookie LB Boris Lee and OT Justin Jeffries – Lee was in the Chiefs rookie mini-camp as a tryout player after his college career at Troy and Jeffries was a three-year starter at Kentucky.
• PANTHERS – on the same day that he signed his restricted free agent tender offer, LB Thomas Davis re-injured the ACL in his right knee and will face surgery to repair the injury, knocking him out for the ‘10 season. Davis tore the same ACL last year and missed most of the ‘09 season.
• RAMS – signed DT Chris Hovan – he played the last few years with the Buccaneers and started his career with the Vikings; announced they will retire No. 80 in honor of veteran Isaac Bruce, who announced his retirement this week.
• RAVENS – RFA FB LeRon McClain signed his tender offer a 1-year, $2,396,000 contract.
• REDSKINS – signed WR Mike Furrey – he played last year with the Browns, his seventh season in the league for the 33-year old. He’s also played some on defense; released LB Alvin Bowen, DL Antoine Holmes, CB Marcus McCauley and TE Sean Ryan – Bowen spent ‘09 with both Bills and Redskins, Holmes , McCauley and Ryan spent last season with the Chiefs.
• SEAHAWKS – signed 7th-round draft choice DL Dexter Davis to a 4-year, $1,837,000 contract with a $47,000 signing bonus; signed 7th-round draft choice WR Jameson Konz to a 4-year , $1,833,000 contract with a $43,000 signing bonus; released TE Michael Allan, S Quinton Teal, LB Kevin Dixon and WR Patrick Carter – Allan is the former Chiefs draft choice, Teal spent 3 seasons with the Panthers, Dixon was an undrafted rookie free agent out of Troy and Nebraska before that and Carter spent ‘09 on Seattle’s practice squad.
• TEXANS – signed 3rd-round draft choice DT Earl Mitchell to a 4-year, $2,578,000 million contract with a $788,500 signing bonus – coming out of the University of Arizona Mitchell’s a bit on the small size, but is a good athlete, having played at tight end before moving to defense.