Who Are The Starters? …Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs
From River Falls, Wisconsin
There are times when football coaches are less than truthful.
One of those moments is when they say things like “nobody is guaranteed a job” or “we have competition at all 22 starting positions.”
Those are the types of things that Todd Haley has been saying for the last two weeks here in the northwoods.
And this is one case where we can almost believe the head coach. He’s in a position where he’s coaching a team that has won six of the last 32 games, and that kind of record tells us one thing: there wasn’t enough available talent. That means a coach is not going to walk in and find entrenched starters.
If Haley says there’s no starting job locked up at this point, that may actually be true of 21 of the 22 positions. The Chiefs aren’t paying Matt Cassel $28 million in guaranteed money to not be the starter. And while he may not be a starter, we know that a healthy Tyson Jackson makes the 53-man roster, because no team is going to cut a guy after they give him a contract with $31 million in guaranteed money.
But that still leaves 21 starting jobs and 51 roster spots open.
“We’re going to do everything we can to find players that do it our way and each day it may change,” said Haley. “We’re going to find guys that do it our way and who we feel give us the best chance to win.
“We’re moving them all through to show them we’re serious about what we’re talking about. We don’t want anybody feeling real comfortable right now.”
Much hub-bub came about Monday when the Chiefs released a depth chart for the first time this season. The focus was on WR Dwayne Bowe and his status on the third team on the offensive chart. Words like benched, demoted and downgraded were used in explaining why Bowe was listed behind Devard Darling, Terrance Copper, Mark Bradley and Amani Toomer.
Yes, this was newsworthy. But it doesn’t call for banner headlines or “we interrupt our programming to bring you this depth chart update” status. It’s not even the middle of August yet. There’s been no competition against other teams. What matters is what the depth chart looks like on September 13 when the Chiefs travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens.
However, there’s no question that Bowe is struggling and right now he’s not one of the two or even four best receivers on the roster. Bowe is struggling to deal with the demands being put on him by Haley and the Chiefs coaching staff.
Remember that Haley is a former wide receivers coach and he’s spent more time watching that position than any other on the team during training camp practices. The Chiefs want their receivers to run precise routes, with their body under control. When that doesn’t happen, the receivers hear about that.
That’s not Bowe. He’s a playground receiver, a guy who feels most comfortable when the quarterback says run down the field 15 yards and I’ll get the ball there. Bowe in his two seasons with the team has shown talent, but also shown inconsistent hands and route running.
That’s not going to fly anymore in the Chiefs offense, and Bowe knows that. He’s known that since the off-season program. His inability to adjust says one of two things: he’s stubborn or he simply can’t make the adjustment, physically or emotionally. Neither one of those reasons is going to lead to anything good.
Haley said it very plainly a few days ago: he does not want a yo-yo team, filled with yo-yo players. He wants players who are consistent in their effort and thus their production. That is not Dwayne Bowe.
That was evident again during Tuesday afternoon’s practice. During a drill where two assistant coaches hit the receiver with pads as he tries to catch a pass, Bowe couldn’t get the job done. He had six chances and could not make a catch. Every other receiver took the blows and held on at least once. Then, a few minutes later, Bowe caught a long pass down the left sideline from QB Tyler Thigpen. With CB Ricardo Colclough in good coverage, Bowe walked the tight rope of the sidelines and leaped and grabbed the pass over his head and came down in bounds, running forward. That’s the picture above in this post.
It was a sensational catch. Haley wants to be able to count not on sensational, but consistency. The more Bowe fights that, the tougher it’s going to be for him to get playing time.
SIGNINGS, INJURIES & MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE
- BILLS – re-signed DB Antwain Spann; released DE Jermaine McGhee and C Marvin Philip.
- BUCCANEERS – WR Antonio Bryant underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and is expected to miss the next 3 to 4 weeks.
- EAGLES – the NFL has not approved the contract signed by QB Matt Nagy. He was signed on Monday after spending the first week of camp as a coaching intern. The league told the Eagles that internships are not a way to stash potential players.
- JAGUARS – signed RB Josh Vaughn; released C Drew Miller.
- LIONS – signed DT Shaun Smith, WR Billy McMullen and LB Spenser Smith; released G Toniu Fonoti; placed DL Jared DeVries and LB Curtis Gatewood on injured reserve.
- PANTHERS – WR Steve Smith will miss 2 to 4 weeks with a shoulder injury suffered in practice on Monday.
- SAINTS – placed TE Dan Campbell on the injured reserve list because of a knee injury; released OL Joe McMahon; signed OL Nate Bennett.
- TITANS – released QB Alex Mortensen and CB Jeremy Haynes; signed LBs Rocky Boiman and Tyson Smith.
FROM THE PAGES OF CHIEFS HISTORY
On August 12, 1972 the Chiefs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 24-14 in a pre-season encounter that was the initial game played at Arrowhead Stadium. It was a warm, muggy summer night as 78,190 turned out to see the game and the stadium for the first time. The Chiefs got touchdowns from RB Ed Podolak on a 1-yard run, WR Larry Marshall on a 75-yard punt return and CB Jim Marsalis with a 28-yard INT return. Jan Stenerud added a 31-yard FG. Marsalis had three INTs in the game.
On August 12, 1966 the Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins 33-0 in a pre-season game at the Orange Bowl. It was the first time they played against the expansion Dolphins. RB Bert Coan had TD runs of 3 and 2 yards. WR Chris Burford caught a 15-yard TD pass from QB Len Dawson. DE Chuck Hurston returned an interception 20 yards for score. The Chiefs had four interceptions and 6 takeaways overall. RB Mike Garrett had one carry for six yards in his first playing time with the team.
On August 12, 1978 the Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 17-13 in a pre-season game at Arrowhead Stadium. K Jan Stenerud kicked five FGs: 23, 50, 24, 31 and 47 yards. LB Whitney Paul picked up a safety when he tackled QB Bob Lee in end zone. The Chiefs operating the winged-T offense installed by first-year head coach Marv Levy ran 49 times for 235 yards.
SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …
Born on August 12, 1949 in Paterson, New Jersey was WR Bruce Jankowski. He was a 10th-round choice in the 1971 NFL Draft out of Ohio State. Jankowski played two seasons (1971-72) appearing in a total of nine games with two starts. He caught two passes for 24 yards.
Born on August 12, 1952 in Los Angeles was C Charlie Ane, Jr. He joined the Chiefs out of Michigan State University in 1975 and played six seasons (1975-80) with the team, appearing in 90 games with three starts. Ane was a long snapper. He played the 1981 season in Green Bay.
Born on Augusts 12, 1966 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania was LB Greg Manusky. He joined the Chiefs in 1994 after playing six seasons with the Redskins and Vikings. Manusky appeared in 96 games in six seasons with the Chiefs (1994-99), starting six games and doing most of his work on special teams. He had 147 special teams tackles and recovered seven opponent fumbles. Manusky is currently the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers.
Bowe!! You can’t BE the show if you don’t play in the SHOW. Wise up!!
Bowe has always made great plays here and there…..but you can’t count on him. He has been inconsistent consistently. If he is not getting any better by now then I don’t look for him to be here long.
“Bowe walked the tight rope of the sidelines and leaped and grabbed the pass over his head and came down in bounds, running forward. That’s the picture above in this post.”
Uhhhhh….Bob….nice article but…..did you say there is a picture in this post? Right now at 7:55 AM….I don’t see any pictures in this post.
Remember herm wasted his first year trying to use guys who did not fit his play and then blew it up. That year may have been the cause of his demise in KC. Haley should learn from that. If the great Bowe does not fit, get rid of him. The impossible becomes possible.
Otherwise we are looking at another flop at HC and another wasted three years. Hunt will give you room for a while but it better work or you are gone.
That was a nice try by the Eagles, and Rocky Boiman lands a job.
On D-Bo, the only real way I think he saves his job right now is to just put his head down and go to work. He needs to show the effort in practice and then if he can be a “gamer” this Saturday I say he has saved his job for a while. If not, well, lets see what we can trade him for. If thats the case, lets quit bad mouthing him until after he is gone, (it might make the stock drop).
the above post is by Josh with the…
JB
(I know there is another Josh that posts on here sometimes as well)
Haha, no worries, Josh. The other Josh agrees with you 100%.
You must be joshing me.
We now have 4 QBs trying to make the team. I see us keeping Cassel and Gutierrez, with Thiggy and Croyle fighting for 2nd string. I think we could get a pretty good deal for a QB(Thiggy or Croyle) and a WR(Bowe) if Bowe can’t get his head into the game. Any thoughts?
what the Josh!!!! i say wait till after the 1st preseason game before we start talking down on D-Bowe. Look at B. Waters he’s turned it on now( runnng gassers after practice with ot o-line members. with that said i keep thinkin bout the catch he should have made against New England last year. if we would have won think Cassel we still be here?
Bowe is at this point the definition of an inconsistent receiver. He definitely has some talent but needs to continue to mature and develop his skills if he’s ever going to reach his potential. Remember Chris Carter had to be cut to get his act together and turn into a productive receiver and person. We’ll see how it goes but we have to give Bowe a chance before writing him off. One thing seems clear though, if he doesn’t show that he’s committed to that goal he probably won’t be around long. I don’t think these guys are kidding and will let players not buying into what they’re trying to do hang on for long.
More than a lack of talent, the obvious issue under Herm was the lack of coaching. This team was undisiplined, out of shape and other than the CBs, not good at their technique. That is Haley’s biggest challenge with this team, not just Bowe.
Haley has to teach the young guys the mental part of the game that they weren’t exposed to. Under Herm guys were playing like high school. 11 athletes doing their own thing. And we, the fans, had to suffer weekly watching “Hermie ball” fail again and again.
Nice to see Haley getting us back in the game…the NFL game.
In the end, money talks and BS walks. Unless that big money is sitting on the bench come the start of the regular season, I see nothing to get exercised over during mid-August, including the trials of Bowe, Cassel, et al.
Taking players out of their comfort zones is what coaches do. Restoring their confidence to a new higher level is what the really good coaches are able to do.
1. Bowe has never been a precise route runner, that much is true. That being said, he is learning his 3rd offense in 3yrs and likely dealing with his 4th starting offense. Hard to be consistent when everything else around him is not…yet statistically he improved in his 2nd yr.
2. From other reports, 4 of the 6 passes thrown to him during the drill were poorly thrown. 1 10yrd pass by matt C apparently hit the ground before getting to BOwe.
3. The chiefs are in for a long (and losing) season without Bowe. Terrance copper, Engram, and Toomer do not strike fear in opposing defenses. That might be the oldest wr core in the nfl.
4. It might not be too wise to alienate the chiefs best wr (as CP did to Jared Allen). Bowe may decide he might not want to play for KC anymore, and I am confident that 31 other teams would be happy to have him. After trading JA the chiefs set the nfl record for fewest sacks in a season. Do you really want to see a repeat at the WR position?
clarification. Bowe is dealing with his 4th starting QB (not 4th starting offense in point #1).
Findthedr…
If for some reason Haley decides Bowe doesnt fit and trades hime away (highly doubtful, and I think Bowe can get it done) I would be SHOCKED if we went into the first reg season game with copper, engram, and toomer as our main wr’s. If our season is dependent that much on Bowe, we have some serious issues anyway.
Bowe will come out of camp Haley’s doghouse better than ever, and he’ll embrace what Haley is doing to/for him, just like Fitzgerald and Boldin did.
Agree with you Nick.
Doubt Haley is as stupid as McDaniels to alienate his star players.
Dont know 100% how Bowe will respond. Haley is playing with fire. Sometimes that may result in a better player, other times you might get burned.
Hopefully Chan Gailey is playing the ‘good cop’ to Haley’s ‘bad cop’ routine.
Bob is right on, and its unfortunate…I really enjoy watching D-Bo play when hes on…
But, I do wonder if even when Bowe runs poor routes, if hes actually worse than 2-4 KC recievers.
But coach you said you could take “any 22 guys” and win with them…did you lose count nee run out of teeth again?
[Cue the Osmond Brothers ]: “One pass bobble don’t spoil the whole drill coach DOH! throw him one more pass before you give up on Bowe!”
daddy-o
Im surprised with the info in the article. Bowe sucking a tit and ole B.W. running gassers after practice. wow.
But Im not going to jump into anything. I think Bowe will get it turned around and be a starter. Now, if he plays to his ability is another. But with the additions of the WR this offseason, D-Bo may have to play at this full potential to just to make the starting roster
I don’t think many judgements are to be made after a couple of weeks of practice. It doesn’t matter who is #1 today. Kind of like a pre-season poll. Who cares? Decisions are made on the field. I could care less if Bowe or anyone else is on the team as long as they have the best of the available players there. That is what develops team chemistry and what attracts the top talent to your program.
and yes, any 22 of these guys will win more than 2 games…
Good Gosh! After attempting to decipher his non-sensical burble for the last month, I must say that Rin Tin Tin should be given his own unique blog page with bold disclaimers affording the reasonable mind protection from possible infection. – at least he gives some warning with the many child-like- emotion-cons … much like the orange barrels littering the highways of the midwest.
Steer Clear Man!
Dont you TEACH AND COACH A Player if he needs Polishing Instead of pushing his Face down in the Mud and Putting him on the Third Team?? Dbowe is too good for the Third String. I Dont Like Haley’s Ideas of pushing Players to get better bye pushing them down depth charts. YOu Coach Players To Make them better not BeLittle Them… No Bowe in the starting line up Equals Horrible Offense!!! will be lucky to even match herms 2-14 season Dammit
From the pages of Chiefs’ history: 1978
“The Chiefs operating the winged-T offense installed by first-year head coach Marv Levy ran 49 times for 235 yards.”
As it turned out that was to just about to become usual for that team.
The Chiefs rushed for more yards as a team (2963) than they ever have. Before or since. Almost 3000 fricking yards on the ground! They had 8 games of more than 200, almost nine. Unfortunately that was all that team could do right. 4-12. But that was one of the best rushing seasons any team in history has had. I know there was at least one better because increbibly enough they finished second in rushing that year. Amazing.
Donnie
‘check’ is impotent as a coach…knows not what he is doing; Bowe knows this too.
‘check’s squat in KC will be a short one…
daddy-o
“But coach you said you could take “any 22 guys” and win with them…”
2 outta 16…why didn’t Herm try to get on staff with Detroit – he led his team to a better record than they did last season.
“ANY 22″ – the release of Robertson, Jones & Curtis – all handpicked ’search’ & ‘check’ types – already having proven & WRONG
heh heh heh
daddy-o
UPDATE for my good friend SG
“ANY 22″ + 4 more now = EVEN “ANY 26″ WON’T DO – the Way of the Patriot thrown into reverse…
In addition to the threesome of Robertson, Jones & Curtis who were released, now #4 LS Purdham is let go, another ‘Way’r come a cropper.
They (re)signed a Herm Edwards player – Gafford – to replace him. When Herm talks & listen… intently.
All handpicked, all ’search’ & ‘check’ types– all gone & proven WRONG yet again.
daddy-o