Commentary: More Hurdles For L.J.

What happened on Friday with the announcement of a one-game NFL suspension for Larry Johnson did not bring an end to his situation or clarity to his immediate future.

It’s just the first of a 100 yards worth of hurdles in front of the Chiefs running back.

I’m sure L.J. himself wishes he could put all this behind him, but the penance and possible punishment he faces for his actions are all parts of the penalty for putting himself in those situations.

He has court dates in December for the two charges filed against him in Kansas City, Missouri. The league has left open the door for further sanctions against him depending on the outcome of those legal proceedings.

That’s a hurdle he’ll have to deal with next month. In the more immediate future is November 10. That’s the day he will return to the team. That’s the day he has to start changing the way the Chiefs feel about him.

From the Hunts, to Carl Peterson, to Herm Edwards, Johnson has fences to mend. He’s got a lot of fence line to ride to get them all buttoned up again, if that’s even possible.

When he signed the biggest contract in Chiefs history in August of 2007, with over $19 million in guaranteed money, he made promises to the owners, the general manager and the head coach. Those promises were not only the unspoken ones that come from signing a deal that big. He told all those parties and stated publicly that he understood the responsibilities that went with the contract and his position with the team.

He said he was up to handling those. He wasn’t. He should get one more chance to prove he can be the type of person the Chiefs want on their roster. …Read More!

Commish Docks L.J. One Game

Late Halloween afternoon NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell finally released his decision on discipline for Chiefs running back Larry Johnson.

Goodell has suspended Johnson for the Chiefs game on November 9th in San Diego.  It’s a one-game suspension without pay at this point.  That will cost Johnson approximately $150,000.

Here’s the statement from the league office:

“Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs was notified today that he is suspended without pay for Week 10 of the regular season for violating the NFL Personal Conduct Policy. Johnson has previously violated the NFL Personal Conduct Policy and has since been involved in multiple incidents in which law enforcement was required to intervene. Johnson also was informed that upon the disposition of two pending law enforcement matters he faces the possibility of additional disciplinary action.”

The important words there are the last five “… possibility of additional disciplinary action.”  The Commissioner has left himself the opportunity to slap further sanctions on Johnson if he’s found guilty of the two charges currently filed against him.  Those will not hit the courtroom until December.

Here’s statement from Chiefs GM Carl Peterson:

“We respect the decision of Commissioner Goodell. The NFL player conduct policy sets forth a set of standards that all NFL players, coaches and staff members must abide by. Upon the completion of his suspension we sincerely hope that Larry will be ready to return to the field for the Chiefs determined to make a positive contribution to our team and, with the assistance of the people around him, turn his life around.”

Early reports are that Johnson does not plan to appeal the one-game suspension.  Also, in his decision the Commissioner took into account the penalty imposed by the Chiefs on Johnson of deactivating him for three games.

That includes this Sunday’s game at Arrowhead against Tampa Bay.  Johnson will be deactivated for that game.

Technically, Johnson’s suspension does not begin until Monday, November 3rd.  He will not be allowed at the team facility for the next week, able to return on Monday, November 10th.

Player Profile: Pat Thomas

He won the starting middle linebacker job in the off-season, which was a bit of a surprise to many who were not aware of Pat Thomas’ talents.

Seven games into the 2008 season and things have not gone well for the Chiefs defense.

That’s why it’s hard to get a smile from Thomas these days. He leads the team in tackles with 45, but he’s not happy with how he and the unit have played. 

He’s hoping for better things over the second half of the season, starting with this Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay.

A California native, there’s much to know about this 25-year old from Miami, Florida and that education starts right here.

Podcast: Len’s Look 10/31

Joining us for a discussion on the Chiefs is the legend, Len Dawson.  The Hall of Fame quarterback talks about what he saw from Tyler Thigpen last week and what the next step is for the young quarterback.  He talks about the spread offense and why it won’t work in pro football and what he would have done in the fourth quarter with the lead and five minutes to play.  And Len provides an interesting look at the special teams shuffle the Chiefs have had in the last two weeks.

Chiefs Update 10/31

From the Truman Sports Complex

Good news for the Chiefs this week as they wrapped up their practice week with a 70-minute workout on Friday in the fall sunshine: RB Jamaal Charles is a go for Sunday.

“He looks good and that’s good for us,” Herm Edwards said on Friday.  Charles suffered a sprained ankle last Sunday against the Jets.

Bad news for the Chiefs: CB Brandon Flowers has come up lame with a foot injury and was limited in his practice work on Friday.

“He should play,” Edwards said of Flowers.

Defensively, the Chiefs will be scrambling at cornerback if Flowers cannot play or is limited.  Veteran Pat Surtain did not practice all week because of a quadriceps injury.  If Flowers cant’ play, that would put rookie Maurice Leggett on the field for the base defense and in the nickel, Tyron Brackenridge would be on the field as the third cornerback.  On Wednesday, Brackenridge wasn’t even on the roster, although he did play in 13 games last season.

Also in Friday’s practice work, LB Wes Dacus and S Jarrad Page were both limited in their participation because of groin injuries.

Larry Johnson was not at practice, nor was punter Dustin Colquitt  After practice, Colquitt said his injured groin feels better and he hopes to be back punting next week.

Friday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

You have to wonder just what else the football gods plan to throw at Chiefs special teams coach Mike Priefer.

Last week, he had a new punter and new kicker.

This week to complete the trifecta, he has a new long snapper.

Nick Novak was released, Dustin Colquitt injured and J.P. Darche knocked out for the season with a knee injury.

Connor Barth, Steve Weatherford and Tom Gafford are in. It does not appear that Colquitt is going to be ready to kick this Sunday against Tampa Bay.

Some teams go seasons without replacing any one of those three key positions in the kicking game. Replacing two of the three happens even less.

But all three and after the season has started? It’s unheard of. But, it’s been that kind of season for the Chiefs.

There was a time when the team had the most stable of kicking groups. In fact, they are the only franchise in pro football history to have a kicking trio all enshrined in the Pro Football’s Hall of Fame.

The long snapper was Bobby Bell. The holder was Len Dawson. The kicker was Jan Stenerud.

From 1967 when Stenerud joined the team, through the 1974 season when Bell was the first of the three to retire, the Chiefs played 117 regular and post-season games. That trio was together for FGs and PATs for 105 of those games. The 12 games they missed came from injuries suffered by Dawson playing quarterback, not holding.

Even the punter was the same guy through all those years: Jerrel Wilson, who arrived in 1963 and punted through 1977.

Consider again that for seven seasons, the Chiefs had the same kicker, punter, holder and snapper for all but 12 games. …Read More!

Podcasting: Goose’s Football 101 10/30

Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News joins us again for a session to talk about the National Football League.  Subjects include the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, PIttsburgh Steelers, the matchup on Sunday between Indianapolils and New England, the unbeaten Tennessee Titans and the Chargers decision to change defensive coordinators. Plus, Goose addresses the decline of AFC West defenses.

Chiefs Still Waiting For Commish

On Thursday, the Chiefs were still waiting for word from the NFL league office in New York on the Commissioner’s decision on discipline for Larry Johnson.

It was Tuesday when Johnson met face to face with Roger Goodell in New York to discuss his off-field problems of late, specifically the two charges that have been filed against him.  Goodell has established during his time as Commissioner that he does not have to wait for the legal system to run its course before he hands down disciplinary measures against players.  Johnson will not be in court on the charges until December, but the NFL can act long before that.

For the sake of the team and Johnson, the Commissioner should make his decision as soon as possible.  Heaven knows, by the time this is posted at 2:30 p.m. CDT on Thursday, a suspension may already be decided.  There seems little question that Johnson will be suspended and fined in some fashion.  Players are not called to New York for meetings with the Commissioner just to chat.  It’s doubtful he’s going to be as lucky as New England DT Vince Wilfork, who was fined but not suspended for actions on the field.

The Chiefs plan to sit Johnson again this week, deactivating him on Sunday.  That would be three consecutive weeks where they’ve taken that approach.  Under the rules and regulations of the agreement wit the NFL Players Association, they can only hold him out of participation for a maximum of four games.  Those are rules that came down in the aftermath of the Eagles problems with WR Terrell Owens several years ago.

Here is one man’s prediction on the direction the Commish decides to go: I believe he will suspend Johnson without pay for four games and he will take the two games he’s already missed and this Sunday’s game as time served.  So he would also miss the San Diego game on November 9, but he would then be eligible to return for the final seven games of the season.

No matter what he decides, Goodell needs to make a decision and do it now on this discipline so the Chiefs and Johnson can move on.

Chiefs Update 10/30

From the Truman Sports Complex

The revolving door that has been the Chiefs roster continued to twirl on Thursday as the Chiefs brought back CB Tyron Brackenridge and placed him on the active roster.

The move was Brackenridge was due to the status of nickel back Pat Surtain who has not practiced this week and is unlikely to play because of a quadriceps injury.  That left rookie Maurice Leggett as the only other healthy CB on the roster.

To make room for Brackenridge, the Chiefs moved CB Dimitri Patterson off the active roster.  The Chiefs had not released the exact nature of the roster move with Patterson, whether he was released or placed on injured reserve.

The Chiefs worked for 90 minutes in the Thursday sunshine as they continued preparation for Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay.  It was an enthusiastic workout, one of the better ones the Chiefs have had since the start of the season.  In an effort to simulate the speed of the Buccaneers defense, the coaching staff has been on the scout team this week to go fast and furious.  That ratcheted up the tempo quite a bit.

The best news for the Chiefs was the activity, although limited, of RB Jamaal Charles.  After suffering a sprained ankle in the Meadowlands, post-game opinions were that the injury could cost him several weeks.  But Charles ran quite well during the workout, although the Chiefs limited his snaps. “He looked a lot better, he might be able to go,” said Herm Edwards. “We’ll have to see.” …Read More!

The Rehabilitation of Marty Schottenheimer

Stand on the same street corner in the NFL long enough and you will see some interesting things.

At the corner of Kansas City and the Chiefs a decade ago was a head coach who the fans and most of the media in town had grown tired of and were in the process of running out of Arrowhead Stadium. Marty Schottenheimer was too conservative, too old-school, his message was tired and various ghouls and goblins were running around spreading rumors about his personal life. He cried too much, ran the ball too much and there was that problem of winning in the playoffs.

When his ’98 team finished 7-9 and well out of the running for the post-season, the pot of tar was boiling, the feathers were gathered and when Schottenheimer resigned as the team’s head coach, it seemed like he was leaving Kansas City a step ahead of the posse.

Everyone thought things would be better with Marty out of the picture.

Fast forward to today, and at the corner of Kansas City and the Chiefs, Schottenheimer no longer is considered an extra-long four letter word. In fact, there are those in the media and those in fandom actually clamoring for his return to the team as general manager, coach, anything. They want him to come in and save the franchise from the troubles that have befallen the red and gold.

“They love you again in Kansas City,” somebody shouted at Schottenheimer this past Sunday. He was at Giants Stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands, watching the Chiefs and Jets play.

“I will always have great memories of Kansas City, Arrowhead, the Chiefs fans,” Marty said. …Read More!

Thursday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

It was once a proud division that played some of the best defense in pro football.

In the 70s it was Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell, Emmitt Thomas, Randy Gradishar, Willie Brown, Fred Dean and Jack Tatum In the 80s there were names like Mike Haynes, Ronnie Lott, Deron Cherry, Ted Hendricks, Albert Lewis, Lester Hayes, Randy Gradishar, Louie Kelcher, Gary “Big Hands” Johnson, Art Still and Karl Mecklenberg.

In the ’90s it was Derrick Thomas, Junior Seau, Leslie O’Neal and Steve Atwater.

But in 2008, the AFC West is a defensive graveyard. All four teams rank among the league’s worst in all the important defensive stats. Problems abound from the division leading Denver Broncos, to the last place Chiefs. So upset was San Diego with defensive production that coordinator Ted Cottrell was fired.

There are some obvious reasons for what’s happened. San Diego lost LB Shawne Merriman for the season with a knee injury. The Broncos are trying to switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 during the season. The Chiefs have had seven new starters in their unit and Oakland is, well, they are the Raiders and how does anyone explain what’s happened there.

Here’s a look at some of the brutal numbers and NFL rankings for the defenses in Denver, San Diego, Oakland and Kansas City:

As any Chiefs fan already knows, the team has the worst run defense in the league. San Diego has the worst pass defense in the league. Denver has the worst combined rankings against the run and the pass. Opponents are completing 72.9 percent of their passes and running for 5.4 yards per carry against the Broncos. …Read More!

Chiefs Update 10/29

From the Truman Sports Complex

The Chiefs practiced for just over two hours in the sunshine of a beautiful October Wednesday.

Participating in the practice was RB Larry Johnson, although he did not work at all with the Chiefs when they were on offense and did not participate with the scout team. He ran through individual drills with the rest of the offensive skill players and running backs.

The Chiefs have not definitively said that Johnson will not play this week although GM Carl Peterson has said he won’t get back on to the field until his issues with the NFL are cleared. Both sides await word from the league office on a possible suspension for L.J. for his off-field problems.

A bunch of injuries piled up from last Sunday’s game against the Jets and limited or kept out of practice the following players: CB Pat Surtain (quadriceps), RB Jamaal Charles (ankle), S Jarrad Page (groin), CB Dimitri Patterson (foot) and LB Wes Dacus (groin).

The Chiefs made official several roster moves, as they added long snapper Thomas Gafford (right) and tackle Andrew Carnahan (left) to the active roster and cornerback Michael Grant to the practice squad. Gafford is wearing No. 48 and Carnahan No. 71. …Read More!

Getting to Know … Pat Thomas

Name: Patrick Wain Thomas.

Born: January 26, 1983 in Vallejo, California. His family moved to New Orleans and then to Miami at the age of four, where he grew up. Dad was in the Navy. Grew up in the Kendall neighborhood of Miami, which is southwest of the downtown area and just southwest of Coral Cables. The Don Shula Expressway runs through Kendall.

Parents: Winston and Monica Thomas. Older sister Laurie Ann and younger sister Cheyenne. His parents divorced when he was four years old and he moved to Miami with his mother.

Attended: Killian High School and North Carolina State University. Other athletes from Killian High included the late Sean Taylor, safety for the Washington Redskins, retired WR Randall Hill, NBA guards Raja Bell and Steve Blake and Tennessee Titans LB Stephen Tulloch.

Miami’s a very big city and there are a lot of temptations for a young man. How did you stay on the right side?
“I’ve came a long way and to look back and see from Miami to Kansas City, you see a lot of different things. There were a lot of influences, friends … just to look back and see that God has constantly made a way out for me whether it was through going to college and not knowing if I was ever going to go to college, to not knowing if I was going to play football and here I am in the NFL. That’s God’s work and graces. My mom always stayed on me, throughout my life, even up to today. I thank her for that. I remember going outside to play and it was night time and she would come out looking for me. She would drive her car around trying to find me and I would be hiding in the bushes. My friends would be like ‘Pat there’s your Mom’ and I’m hiding behind a tree. I would go home and that’s when the whipping came. She never let me forget what was important.”

Is Wain a family name and why the different spelling? “That came from my father. When I was born he was into Bruce Lee movies and he wanted to name me Wain Lee Thomas, but my mother wasn’t going to let that happen. So I think she gave on the Wain. I don’t like that name. Hate it. Why it’s spelled that way only my Dad can answer. I think he just wanted to be different.”

A lot of players have come into the NFL from N.C. State the last five years, how can that much talent not win a national title? “Good question. My junior year was Philip Rivers last year there and we had a great defense that year. My senior year we had a great defense due to our coach Reggie Herring. I was blessed to play with guys who wanted to get to the ball and everybody wanted to make plays and do their job. We’ve got a lot of guys in the league.”

Favorite place in the world? “I would go to Jamaica if I had to pick one place. My family is from there. Both my mother and father were born in Jamaica. My Mom left when she was 16 and my Dad when he was 19. I like the country life. A lot of my family is from the countryside there. It’s real relaxing.”

If the TV is on, what are you watching? “I don’t watch too much TV. I like to watch re-runs: Martin, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Good Times, stuff like that. My mom is like you’ve seen this plenty of times, but I like to sit and watch them over and over.”

Favorite meal: “That would be curried chicken and rice and beans.”

Who is your hero? “Jesus Christ, no doubt about it. He saved me, he saved the human race. I wish people would realize that God is love and Jesus came to show us how to love.”

What was your first job? “I worked at McDonald’s in the back, making burgers and cheese burgers. I didn’t like it much and then one day I came in after working about two weeks and the manager guy says to me ‘I thought I fired you.’ Man that was bad. He checked the list and I was still on there, but I quit the next day.”

What’s your favorite movie? “I like movies I can watch over and over again. A lot of ’80s movies like Karate Kid and Teen Wolf. Recently, the movie I really liked I saw last year, called City of God. It was Brazilian and you had to read the sub-titles but it was very good.”

What’s your ride? “A Chevy Avalanche. Nothing fancy.”

What was your first car? A Dodge Colt. My grandma bought it for me. It was like a little buggy, like a Geo. It was red. I remember I got into my first accident and the hood got messed up when I ran into the back end of another car. After I was driving away from the scene, I was driving home and the wind was blowing, and the hood kept flying up and I had to reach my hand out the window and push it back down. I eventually had to tie it down. It was a mess.”

What was the hardest class you took at North Carolina State? Chemistry. I had it in high school and did pretty good, so I took it in college thinking it would be the same thing. We went over the periodic tables and stuff like that and I was good. But that was the first week. Then came all this other stuff and oh my, it was tough. That was the worst.”

What’s on your I-Pod? “I have a lot of gospel and some reggae too. I like to listen to gospel, songs about Jesus and God. It gets my motor running.”

Hank’s Gallery/New York Jets

Here are just some of the pictures that Hank Young snapped at Sunday’s game in the New Jersey Meadowlands.

Remember, click on the picture to enlarge.

…Read More!

Wednesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Maybe they were a bit grumpy after their long flights back from London, but there was plenty going on with the Chargers and Saints on Tuesday with their feet back on American soil.

Out in San Diego, the Chargers fired defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell (below), unhappy with the team’s performance on that side of the ball this season.

And in New Orleans, the Saints were back home but after unpacking, head coach Sean Payton blasted the NFL for some of the logistical problems his team faced getting back home from England.

First with the Chargers, where the trio on top of the franchise – Spanos/Smith /Turner – decided the results of losing to the Saints at Wembley Stadium 37-32 was enough. The Chargers defense was considered too passive and at most times played as if confused. Mistakes were not being corrected, in fact they kept happening.

“There are areas we just have to play better, we have to improve,” said head coach Norv Turner. “Over the next 10 days, those areas will be addressed and hopefully we can not only show improvement right away, but then continue to improve over the next eight games.

“There have been a lot of different situations where we feel we’re close and just not quite making the play or getting it done. That’s the areas we’re going to address.”

The Chargers next game comes on November 9 at home against the Chiefs.

Cottrell has been replaced by linebackers coach Ron Rivera, who was the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator from 2004-06. Rivera plans to be aggressive in his play-calling, though he was reluctant to talk about it.

“If I told you exactly how I was going to approach it I’d be telling Kansas City,” said Rivera.

Asked if it was correct to assume he would be more aggressive than Cottrell, Rivera said, “Correct.” …Read More!