Wednesday Morning Cup O’Chiefs

Football coaches don’t really like to spend a lot of time thinking about kickers.

They want some guy to go out there and knock through the kicks he should hit, make a few long bombs that are difficult and handle kickoffs so they don’t put the defense at a disadvantage.  He could care less what he looks like, he just wants to count on his kicker.

Herm Edwards is still trying to discover who he’s going to count on at kicker for the 2008 season.  Right now, the decision is not obvious, and that’s a burr under the head coach’s saddle.  A coach would like the answer to be obvious at this point.

But there’s not much of a difference right now between Nick Novak and Connor Barth.  Which means that the guy Edwards counts on may not be in the house right now.  Kickers are always available.

“The great thing about veteran kickers is, if they’re not on a team right now, they don’t need a lot of practice to kick,” said Edwards.  “It’s just a matter of the thing you concern yourself with, the length of the kick and the kickoff. ”

Fans and media sometime forget about the kickoff distance; that’s a huge factor for any kicker.  Amazingly, the Chiefs were No. 2 in the NFL last year for the longest average kickoff.  Their three kickers averaged 66.1 yards on kickoffs, trailing only Tennessee (67.6).  One factor in that is the Chiefs had the second fewest kickoffs in the league because of their poor ofense, teeing it up just 59 times.

So far, Novak has handled most of the kickoffs, hitting seven kicks for an average of 66.1 yards.  Barth has had two kicks for an average of 64.5 yards.  Novak has had the distance, but Barth has had the hang time.

Edwards would love for one of them to step forward and grab the job in Miami on Saturday. 

COUNTDOWN

It’s 6 days from the NFL’s first mandatory cutdown of the roster.  Teams must go from 80 to 75 on August 26.  It’s 10 days from the NFL roster cutdown to the regular-season limit of 53 players.

We are now 18 days - less than three weeks - away from their regular-season opener against the Patriots in Foxboro and they are 25 days away from their home opener against the Raiders.

CHIEFS HISTORY

On August 20, 1960, the Dallas Texans beat the New York Titans 38-14 in Abilene, Texas. QB Cotton Davidson scored two touchdowns and passed for another. One of his touchdowns was a 31-yard run. Davidson hit RB Johnny Robinson with a 42-yard TD pass. RB Jim Swink caught a 3-yard TD pass from QB Houston Patton in the game’s final minutes while RB Jack Spikes kicked an 11-yard field goal. Robinson caught four passes for 100 yards in the game.

On August 20, 1966 the Chiefs beat the San Diego Chargers 31-21 in front of 36,038 fans at the brand new Anaheim Stadium.  Southern California product QB Pete Beathard scored two TDs on runs of 1 and 6 yards. WR Chris Burford caught 6-yard TD pass from Beathard, while WR Otis Taylor finished the game with five catches for 144 yards.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Indy QB Peyton Manning came out of hiding and attended the team’s first practice session inside their new stadium.  He talked about his rehab from knee surgery, but whether he’ll be ready for the Colts season opener remains in doubt.

The Falcons released veteran WR Joe Horn, who is now seeking employment.  Reportedly Tennessee has the most interest.

AROUND THE AFC WEST

Not only is he the best back in the league, but having L.T. around provides the San Diego offense with another coach, especially for the Chargers running backs.

CB DeAngelo Hall of the Raiders has ligament damage in his hand and will have to play all season with a cast.

Broncos O-Line coach Rick Dennison talks about the Denver blocking scheme and their ability to run the football.