A Flowers Is Blooming … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs
When he’s healthy – and Brandon Flowers says right now his injured left shoulder is fine – he’s the best player on the Chiefs defense.
Some would consider that damning Flowers with faint praise, given the performance last year of the defense and the fact the 2009 season has not yet begun.
But all that happened because of the injured shoulder he suffered on August 29th against Seattle is a speed bump on what had been a top-notch pre-season for the second year cornerback from Virginia Tech. Most days in River Falls and then back in Kansas City, Flowers displayed the coverage skills and athletic ability that made him a second-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft.
He also showed something more. Sometime between the end of the disappointing ‘08 season and the start of this ‘09 season, Flowers got faster. He added another gear. He displayed that a few weeks ago when rookie WR Quinten Lawrence ran a post pattern against Flowers. Lawrence is a raw, inconsistent receiver, but he has one trait that he always shows and that’s his speed.
When he shifted into gear and broke for the middle of the field, Flowers was running with him step-for-step. When Lawrence went a little faster, that’s when Flowers showed his fifth gear, sticking with him and reaching up and poking away the pass that was right on the money.
“I always thought I could run, but that’s just me being a corner,” Flowers said around a big smile. “Some guys like Brandon Carr told me a couple weeks ago that I was faster this year. I don’t know what the numbers would be, but I do feel faster. It really gives me more confidence.
“There were some changes I made in my workouts and stuff after last season and I guess that helped.”
Everybody with the Chiefs saw their conditioning program change when Todd Haley took over the team. But Flowers also changed the things he was doing away from the team, including working drills to improve his quickness and reaction time. He got himself in better condition.
“I learned last year that late in the season, when you get tired, that’s when you start making mistakes,” said Flowers. “You can’t get tired out there if you are on the corner. You’ve got to go out and play every snap and if they make you run, you have to run. You can’t be tired.”
It led to a very good camp and pre-season. The highlight was the 28-yard pick-six he grabbed off Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck. It was one of dozens of times he got his hands on the ball during practices and the first three games.
“I’m just trying to lift my game,” said Flowers. “I don’t want to settle for what went down last year. I want to get better, I want to contribute more. I always figured you were gettin’ better or you were gettin’ worse. I don’t plan on getting worse.
“Since I was younger, I always had to work harder than everybody else.”
In his rookie season, Flowers played 14 of 16 games, missing two games in November with a hamstring strain. He had 78 tackles and two interceptions, both against Brett Favre and the New York Jets. One of those was a 91-yard pick-six where he displayed his wheels.
That was the highlight of his year. “I really enjoyed that moment,” he said.
And his low point? “It was not getting any wins,” Flowers said. “We worked so hard, we put so much into it and to not come away with the wins.”
Flowers has been a corner his entire football life, going back to pee-wee football. After a year in the league, he’s anxious for the games to be real and the challenges to be thrown at him again.
“You are out there on an island and people can see you lose a game, and they can see you win a game,” said Flowers. “I enjoy that pressure.”
SIGNINGS, TRADES, INJURIES & MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE
- BILLS – released OT Langston Walker; signed OT Kirk Chambers.
- DOLPHINS – released TE Dave Drew.
- EAGLES – signed TE Alex Smith; released TE Tony Curtis.
- JAGUARS – signed S Brian Russell and G Kynan Forney; released OL Dennis Norman.
- JETS – signed LB Ryan Fowler; released FB Jason Davis.
- STEELERS – ILB Lawrence Timmons looks like he’ll miss Thursday night’s opener against Tennessee with a high ankle sprain. Former Chiefs LB Keyaron Fox will replace him in the starting lineup.
FROM THE PAGES OF CHIEFS HISTORY
On September 9, 1972, the Chiefs lost to the Green Bay Packers 20-0 in a pre-season game played at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. The Chiefs had just 194 yards of total offense, with only 77 rushing yards on 25 carries. The Packers had three interceptions, will RB John Brockington ran 11 times for 51 yards and a TD.
On September 9, 1968, the Chiefs won their season opener 26-21 against the Houston Oilers in a Monday night game at the Astrodome. A crowd of 45,083 watched an Oilers fourth quarter comeback fall just short thanks to an interception and a knocked down pass, both by CB Emmitt Thomas. Kansas City had gotten the lead thanks to touchdown runs of one-yard by RB Wendell Hayes and six yards by WR Otis Taylor. K Jan Stenerud kicked four field goals, from 27, 33, 26 and 32 yards. That last FG gave the Chief a 26-7 lead midway through the fourth period. But former Chiefs QB Pete Beathard threw a pair of late TD passes for Houston to make the game closer. The Kansas City defense picked off three Beathard passes, as Thomas, S Jim Kearney and DE Ernie Ladd all grabbed passes.
On September 9, 1979, the Chiefs fell to the Cleveland Browns 27-24 at Arrowhead Stadium. Browns QB Brian Sipe threw three touchdown passes, including the game winner a 21-yarder to WR Reggie Rucker. Cleveland led 20-0 in the third quarter when the Chiefs made a comeback. WR J.T. Smith caught a 17-yard TD pass from QB Steve Fuller and Tony Reed scored on a nine-yard run. RB Ted McKnight then added a one-yard TD run and K Jan Stenerud hit from 30 yards out to give the Chiefs a 24-20 lead. But Sipe drove the Browns offense to the winning score and finished the game 19 of 35 for 243 yards. TE Ozzie Newsome caught six passes for 77 yards.
On September 9, 1990, the Chiefs won the season opener beating the Minnesota Vikings 24-21 at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs jumped to a 14-0 lead on a pair of TD passes by QB Steve DeBerg. He threw four yards to FB Billy Jones and then 22 yards to RB Todd McNair. K Nick Lowery kicked a 43-yard FG and then I n the fourth quarter, RB Christian Okoye scored on a two-yard run. Okoye finished with 92 yards on 28 carries. DeBerg was 16 of 28 for 196 passing yards. S Jeff Donaldson had an interception of Vikings QB Wade Wilson, and the Chiefs had three sacks, contributed by DE Neil Smith, LB Percy Snow and a split-sack between DT Dan Saleaumua and LB Derrick Thomas.
On September 9, 2001, the Chiefs lost the season opener and the first game of the Vermeil Era to the Oakland Raiders 27-24 at Arrowhead Stadium. A 31-yard FG by Oakland K Sebastin Janikowski with 15 seconds to play was the winner for the visitors. The Chiefs grabbed t he early lead when on the first offensive series, CB Eric Warfield picked off a pass by Raiders QB Rich Gannon and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown. In the second quarter, RB Tony Richardson scored o n a three-yard run and in the fourth quarter, QB Trent Green hooked up with WR Snoop Minnis for a 30-yard touchdown. But Gannon came back and threw a pair of TD passes for the Raiders. He ended the game going 31 of 46 for 341 yards.
SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …
Born on September 9, 1938 in Delhi, Louisiana was S Johnny Nolan Robinson. He was part of the Dallas Texans original draft class and played in the inaugural season at halfback. Robinson played 12 seasons for the Texans-Chiefs (1960-71), appearing in 164 games and starting almost all of those. His first two years, Robinson was a running back, carrying the ball 150 times for 658 yards and six TDs and catching 77 passes for 1,228 yards and nine TDs. He played safety for the last 10 seasons, grabbing 57 interceptions, including two seasons where he had 10 picks (1966, 1970). The Texans-Chiefs were 35-1-1 in games where he had an interception. Robinson joined the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1974.
Born on September 9, 1976 in Pineville, Louisiana was RB Frank Moreau. He was selected in the fourth-round of the 2000 NFL Draft out of Louisville. Moreau played 11 games in his rookie season, carrying the ball 67 times for 179 yards and four TDs. He played the ‘01 season with Jacksonville.
Born on September 9, 1939 in Sulphur, Louisiana was DB Paul Hynes. He was a 12th-round selection in the 1961 AFL Draft out of Louisiana Tech. Hynes played one seasons with the Texans (1961) and appeared in one game, returning a kickoff for 27 yards. He played the next two seasons with the New York Titans.
Someone described Brandon as having a bit of a mean streak on the field——I don’t think that’s it , he has a high level of being a PRO at what he is doing——Saw that , think he’s one of the best drafted player’s KC ever came accross !
He is quick and at the right time’s .
In fact the whole def. is comming together and taking a long time .
There has been some coment’s on how disapointed fan’s are going to be if KC dosent come together aginst BAL.—They have 3 of the better running back’s in the NFL and one hell of a def. that has played together a while and have the QB that I said at last year’s draft that Dr. doolitle should go after and all he did was move over one seat .
comming together and NOT taking a long time .
Not to mention that Flowers is a VERY hard hitter for a CB as well. He’s great with run support as well as coverage. That’s a rare find in today’s league.
Flowers is the kind of guy a team can build around, a nucleus of excellence, and did I mention he’s a true gamer? Nice to have him on our side.
Scatological! That’s my $3.00 word for the week.
Flowers is that old school guy you think of he fixes everything himself. Gets home from work and goes to work whether it be cuttin grass, repairing the roof or rebuilding the carburetor and doesn’t look at it as task to get done just something to do enjoys it. The only difference is Flowers doesn’t have a normal job and life he plays football and he works very hard and stays hungry good for you Flowers. Nice article Bob.
I think our defense will shine….usually. They will probably have some tough times….it really depends on the offense. If the offense can’t use up some clock and let our defense rest a little then they will wear out in the 4th qtr. We’ve all seen that before.
Ugh, not a peep concerning Jon Runyan being in town yesterday?
Our first major test will be Sunday. The running game is the Raven’s “bread and butter”. If we can stuff the run…we have a chance of winning the game.
Stuff the run and use a lot of clock on offense.
Oh….and scoring some points would be nice.
Buffalo Bills release starting LT Langston Walker. He’s 30 years old. Think he could fit at RT for us?
Yeah, Harold…scoring some points would definitely help. Can’t win a game with a zero on the scoreboard. We’ll have to move the chains…and the way to do that is establish a run game ourselves, which won’t be easy against their D. Should be a good game, really. Playing a good team right out of the gate? I like it. But, I’m sick of all this “we have no chance to beat the Ravens” BS. And I certainly hope our team doesn’t feel that way…or we WILL have no chance. To play tough teams…you have to BE tough. When they smack you in the mouth, you smack ‘em back…and not roll over and play dead like we’ve played the last several years. So, I’m really anxious to see if we can play nasty against a nasty team. Attitude. You absolutely MUST have it to win.
Harold. Do you have ten dollars? I am wanting to buy a 12 pack of Pepsi.
I’ll loan you the $10…if you go away.
Thanks, Scott! I’ll share a couple with you if you’d like!!
I think we hit the jackpot when we picked Flowers looks like a long nfl career ahead. We used to be known for our great cornerback play glad to see them times coming back. He seems to be a real good kid also not a Dale Carter type.
I think he is setting the pace — and there is a lot of talent around him that will make this team a team that players will love to fall in with !
That’s the way it work’s .
Yeah….we are playing an “assumed” good team…..but has that been proven yet? No. Every year before the season starts each team is looked at like they will be just as they were last year. If the team was a contender it is thought that they will still be a contender…..generally. If the team was a big loser it is generally thought that the team will still be a big loser. Then the player shuffle begins and the draft happens….and then the opinions really start flying. Unless some obvious big names or highly thought of rookies are added to a loser team then they will still be considered a loser for the next year. Unless a big winner team loses some big time players they will still be considered a contender…but in reality….no team’s identity has really been established. Nobody has played a real game yet. Until a few of those happen then nobody has a firm grasp of what all these teams will be like. Yes you can make a good prediction…..but how often are those good predictions wrong? Teams can go from bad to good and good to bad real quick in the NFL. SO there is reason to be optimistic. The Chiefs can win this game. GO CHIEFS!
Harold, don’t know if you saw or not. Scott is going to loan me $10. Don’t worry about it.
Thanks!
Saturday night, I saw two teams go at it…one of which clearly controlled the game and the other kept it close by making big plays…in special teams…on defense…it was Alabama vs. Virginia Tech.
I’m sure everyone is well aware of how close Ohio State came to losing to Navy.
In case anyone was paying attention, Baltimore did lose a few significant names including a defensive coordinator and one or more starting O-Linemen (note Michael Oher from Ole Miss may be a great story – but for our purposes – he is a ROOKIE). That doesn’t mean we have a great chance to win, but if we get some big plays – we can keep it close. Baltimore’s teams don’t exactly have a history of scoring a lot of points. We do, however, have the guy who has the leg to kick the 55-yard field goal to win the game. On the other hand, Matt Stover is no longer a Raven. Being SUPER-optimistic, maybe we sneak out a 22-21 win with the BALT kicker missing a couple.
you do know that Herm and Peterson drafted Flowers…
Hey corn-fed fraud why dont you use your own name loser…
SG,
I agree. If we could get a big Defensive play (a “pick-six” would be perfect) and get Succop in field goal range multiple times…we could win this game. As you pointed out, the Ravens aren’t a team that usually scores 30 points a game. They win low-scoring games with their D. We just have to stop their run game…and move the chains on Offense. Easier said than done, I know. But, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Like I said before…I just hope our team is not among those that think we have no chance to win this game.
Harold , their good .
But , you take a team that is in extra good shape—- turn overs –field position– penatlies , this all , can and will sometimes be the most imporant part of the outcome in ONE hour of play .
Anything can happen and that IS the reason they play .
Exactly! That corn-fed loser guy should totally use his own name. I have been arrowhead1978 from Day One!
Scott, I went ahead and bought the Pepsis. You can pay me back later.
Thanks, everyone!
Well I personally hope the chiefs can sneak a win out with Croyle or Thigpen at QB, I would seriously doubt you would want to put Cassell in the position to rip his knee apart for the season in the first game, but hey history does repeat itself…
you have been gay since day 1 too hanging from your daddy’s dick…
arrowhead1978!!! You’re making me hungry with all this dirty talk! Stop!
I hate imposters and posers! Rin is the Messiah!
arrowhead1978 says:
“Well I personally hope the chiefs can sneak a win out with Croyle or Thigpen at QB, I would seriously doubt you would want to put Cassell in the position to rip his knee apart for the season in the first game, but hey history does repeat itself…”
I’m hoping Cassel DOES play. He’s our best chance to win. But, he’s going to have to get rid of the ball in a hurry if he does.
If he’s good to go…then he’s good to go. If he’s not…then he’s not. That’s how I see it, anyway. Same with Brodie and his “fragile” reputation. You can’t NOT play a guy for fear of injury.
Scott,
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU SAY, RIN IS THE MESSIAH!!
Well….we were moron free for a little while…..now we have idiocy mingled in with or Chiefs discussion. It’s a real shame. This is what happens when people drop out of school.
yeah I would say hes great with his hands at corner…very very physical, I NEVER remember hes 5′9 when hes out there because he plays very big…
RIN IS THE MESSIAH!!!
lol, anyway yea you might be right, I still dont have much faith in Cassell, he hasn’t shown me much this year or last year to prove to me that he is a great QB… We’ll see this year… If he does become good, I will be one of the first to say that I was wrong about him…
by the way an MCl sprain wont just heal up in a week, in other words one hit thats a little wrong and he is done for the season…
yeah but i don’t know what i’m saying. i mean, if i don’t realize that cassel is an upgrade from what we had last year, i’m pretty much a moron anyways, right?
Cassells receivers last year led the league in YAC… What the hell are you talking about, he doesn’t have the short dump off offense this year to help him nor Randy Moss who will actually catch everything near him… Charles is not a Welker, so where did all of Cassell’s yards come from last year, it’s called YAC, good recievers…
but then again, i’m an idiot. pay me no mind.
And…well, now that I that am He The Messiah is here…
The best player on the defense if not the team? A Herm Edwards Man – naturally!
Congratulations Herm’sman Chief Brandon Flowers – alas speediness willst only help you to but get more ‘L’s more quickly in ‘09 – this ’slow hand’ as in 0-4 taking his time as he races KC toward perdition; gonna die a little bit by bit each n e’ery Sunday.
That final Sunday score Baltimore once more:
Ravens 589 – chiefs .4
SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!
BE THERE!
&
PRAISE THE MESSIAH!
Looked at the kcchiefs.com depth chart. I understand 4 QBs but am missing something. WR look as weak as ever. TE three? LB, DJ is behind a free agent? Page second string? I do not get it. Anyone, help.
Sad that you have to fake messages. You are a sad, sad, man Tincup