Posted on Fri, Nov. 06, 2009

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Haley refuses to let up on Bowe

By KENT BABB

Kansas City Star

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.

Bowe said this week that his first months as coach Todd Haley's whipping boy were humbling, demeaning, confusing and.... "Interesting," he said. "Very, very interesting."

Bowe smiled.

"Now it's better," he said.

Bowe entered this season as an overconfident, unreliable and supremely talented receiver. Haley approached Bowe and, perhaps for the first time in his career, forced him to forget the show and just catch the ball. That wasn't easy. Bowe likes to put on a show.

"One of the first things I said to Dwayne was: 'Don't give me your numbers,' " Haley said. "If a receiver is on a losing team and has a thousand yards, it really doesn't count in my mind."

Months have passed since those first meetings and a Chiefs training camp in which Bowe, in his third season after being a first-round pick in 2007, was stripped of his starting job and moved to third-team wideout. But even as Bowe reclaimed the role of starter, as his skills improved and his trust in Haley strengthened, it has become clear that Bowe remains one of Haley's most hands-on projects.

Bowe has 23 catches, 301 yards and four touchdowns, and those numbers are encouraging. But the work continues on helping Bowe reach his potential, and for now, some bad habits and a persistent trend of dropped passes are holding him back.

Back in training camp, Bowe's route running had to improve. His focus had to sharpen. His work ethic needed to be chiseled and polished. And he needed to shed most of those 30 extra pounds he brought with him to the Chiefs' offseason program.

Bowe's charisma and promises had no effect on Haley. All Haley cared about was results. Bowe could keep his unusual brand of logic — some things haven't changed — to himself.

"You've got to crawl before you can walk," Bowe said, "but I came out of the womb and was sprinting.... I was crawling in training camp. Those first couple of games, just being in the doghouse, I was just trying to crawl out of the hole."

Still, work remains if, as is Bowe's goal, he is to become a reliable and explosive wideout such as Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald — whom Haley coached during two seasons as the Cardinals' offensive coordinator.

"Even when I talk to Larry," Bowe said, "he says Todd still was on him even though he tried to do everything perfect."

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