In this time of great anguish, pining away at the throes of another disheartening eddy of suckitude in the river of baseball glory, we wait, us faithful Kansas City sports fans, for late July, and the opening of a week of great expectation, endless possibility, and men the size of houses wheezing thru two-a-days. Ahh, yes, it is time once again for the opening of NFL training camps; players toiling away under the hot sun, veterans linking mentally with newly brought-on “chums”, and coaches littering the eardrums of the surrounding enthusiasts with a never-ending barrage of four-letter words. Dreams; yet to be dashed. Promise; as yet unrealized. Effort; thick in its unbridled enthusiasm.
Alright. Enough of this Ernest Hemingway shit. I need to cleanse my palate.
There…that’s better*
* That link was originally the now infamous Tiger Woods fart video which the PGA has apparently erased LeBron-itized from the internernet’s collective unconscious. So unfair.
For once in the past 20 years, the Chiefs and Royals, neighbors sharing a common parking lot, started their seasons on opposite ends of the spectrum. The Royals, coming off of a promising second half of 2008 looked like they were poised to make a run. The Chiefs, coming off of a shit-tastic 2008, need to start from scratch.
And not that that’s a bad thing. Enthusiasm in River Falls is tempered for a second straight year; most knowing full well that Arrowhead will not be playing host to the AFC Championship game come January. We all know that a new regime breeds analysis as soon as the players hit the field: How will Haley coach? When will Tyson Jackson sign? Will Jason Whitlock find enough to eat? (YES).
NFL Camps breed positive stories, and really, from afar, this camp seems to be going just about the way I expected. Haley will be more hard-core than Herm (ie: more F-Bombs). LJ and Brian Waters will show up and work hard. Cassell will take the reigns and look sharp. A free agent signing here. An injury there.
And, there’s always one player who gets sent to the proverbial doghouse.
A year ago, the chiefs saw Glenn Dorsey as the cog in an A+ draft. Some gurus had him as their top rated player. Nobody could believe he’d slip down to #5. On him and Branden Albert, the Chiefs had pinned their rebuilding hopes. Alas, a year later, Dorsey appears undersized, out of position, and out of shape.
After failing his initial conditioning test, Haley has had Dorsey pushing tackling dummies, hauling equipment and furniture, and riding a stationary bike while the rest of the team practices. There were six players in total who failed the test, and while the others have been able to make it back with their teammates, Dorsey has remained in purgatory.
It’s understandable that a new head coach would want to make an example of somebody, but it being the #1 pick from a year ago sends a serious message that nobody is immune from being held accountable, lest they risk public humiliation. On top of that, Haley is making it clear that this is not just a ceremonial benching:
“If you’re not on the field practicing, you can’t help me do my job.”
Ouch. Considering Haley is the man holding him off the practice field, it seems as if Dorsey has a long climb ahead of him. Not only does he have to make a strong impression on the new coaching staff and teammates, but he also has to convert from a DT in a 4-3 to a DE in a 3-4.
I don’t think anybody was asking Dorsey to step up and be the leader of the defense (at least not yet), but not being able to take advantage of PT to mesh with the now de-facto leaders, Zach Thomas and Mike Vrabel, has got to hurt.
Still, the lack of practice time might be more lip service than anything else. Tyson Jackson is not yet signed and with the team, and the responsibility for this falls right into the lap of Scott Pioli. Jackson is eager to sign and get into camp.
The reason for his not being there is not greediness on Jackson’s part, or a lack of willingness to sign, but rather Pioli waiting for Aaron Curry to sign with Seattle so that he can make sure the Chiefs don’t over-pay. So, according to the men in charge, saving a few bucks when you have plenty to spend is more significant than getting your first-rounder into camp. But I’m okay with that.
You figure there has to be some line drawn in the sand when the money issue becomes secondary to Jackson getting on the field, and once that line is crossed, Jackson will be signed. This makes me think even more that Haley’s words are aimed directly at Dorsey. He’d just better hope he’s not still peddling when his old LSU teammate hits town.