Chiefs players learn perils of modern age
The most tempting new trap in the NFL is free, attractive and alarmingly simple. Futures are promised and careers are threatened, all in 140 characters or less.
'); } -->
Print edition: Subscribe | Manage Account | E-Eagle: Digital Edition
Refresh/reload for latest updates
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —The Chiefs spent two weeks working on tweaking the offense, working on fine-tuning, working on improvement. The play calls and approach looked different. The result did not.
The most tempting new trap in the NFL is free, attractive and alarmingly simple. Futures are promised and careers are threatened, all in 140 characters or less.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —It doesn't take injuries to a couple of veteran safeties to summon visions of long touchdown runs by Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew against the Chiefs on Sunday.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Their personalities clashed at first, and they can admit that now. Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe can admit this too: It was a fight he was never going to win.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The Chiefs will know in a matter of weeks whether their acquisition of wide receiver Chris Chambers fits into a category with the signing of Bobby Wade or one with Amani Toomer and Ashley Lelie.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Sooner or later, the day will come when the Chiefs no longer build their running game around the talents of Larry Johnson.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Seven tumultuous days ago, Larry Johnson walked into the Chiefs locker room with a firm grip on his job. He got himself in further trouble with the team, and a day later was told to go home.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Larry Johnson recouped some money Saturday, but his "settlement" with the Chiefs didn't answer questions about his long-term job security with the team.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The Chiefs and running back Larry Johnson are working on a settlement that could affect his future, Johnson's agent told The Star on Thursday.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith split most of the practice time Wednesday as the Chiefs' running backs, both of them trying to prove they're ready for a more significant role.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —His voice comes through soft but pointed. He remembers his childhood in the Jim Crow South and understands the daggers of inequality and the tarnish of discrimination.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Larry Johnson didn't say much, but those few words Monday from the Kansas City Chiefs running back further stoked a fire that had been ignited the night before. Hours after the Chiefs lost 37-7 to San Diego on Sunday, Johnson made several controversial remarks on Twitter directed toward his coach, Todd Haley, and Haley's lack of football-playing experience.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The Chiefs were in the middle of feeling good about themselves when on Sunday, reality intervened. It wasn't so much about the fact their winning streak was stopped abruptly at one as how that happened.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Derrick Johnson is pacing in a hallway, trying to find the words. He says he has no idea where he stands with the Chiefs. He didn't watch television on Tuesday because that was the NFL's trade deadline. He couldn't relax on his day off at the same time he was worrying about his future.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Ron Edwards said he needs to work on repetition, and he didn't break from his training Thursday. He kept saying it. Question after question, he had the same thing on his mind.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —The developments with his team's AFC West rival in Denver haven't escaped Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt. He's seen the Broncos — who embarked on their own rebuilding project last winter after ousting longtime coach Mike Shanahan and replacing him with Josh McDaniels — shock the NFL by jumping to a 6-0 start.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Todd Haley looked relieved. His arms were crossed late in Sunday's game at Washington, and he didn't let a smile break through until the Chiefs had their first victory — and Haley's first as a head coach — clinched.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —This is uncharted territory for the Chiefs, at least for the time they've been coached by Todd Haley.
LANDOVER, Md. —Todd Haley stepped into a hallway, the tears still in his eyes and the praise still coming. Somebody handed him a cell phone. It was his wife. That didn't help the overflow of emotion that he was experiencing.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —Glenn Dorsey is at a strange place, the crossroads of being ashamed of where he's been but proud he made it back. The Chiefs defensive end sits in the team's locker room, remembering the careless times that seemed so innocent — and the hard time he did as punishment.