Looney: What's in the Tank?

[Tribal Warfare]

Access Arrowhead: Blog - What's in the Tank?
Sep 08, 2009, 5:55:57 AM

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CHIEFS FAN FORUM AIRS TONIGHT
September 8th – 4:35 PM[

The Chiefs are conducting their second-ever Fan Forum with Chairman Clark Hunt this evening from 5-6 PM. All season ticket holders were invited to participate, asking Hunt questions submitted via email or phone call. “Voice of the Chiefs” Mitch Holthus is serving as the event moderator.

Click here fot Audio of the Fan Forum!

AFTERNOON AT CROWN CENTER
September 8th – 2:54 PM

Instead of the typical in-season off day on Tuesday, Chiefs players represented the organization at the annual Chiefs Kickoff Luncheon. The event was held at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center and was emceed by “Voice of the Chiefs” Mitch Holthus and “Mr. Kansas City” Bill Grigsby.

Those in attendance heard Chairman Clark Hunt, President Denny Thum, General Manager Scott Pioli and Head Coach Todd Haley address the crowd. The entire Chiefs roster was on hand, eating lunch with fans and getting ready for kickoff to the 2009 season.

Have a look at the photo gallery!

THREE CHIEFS CHANGE NUMBERS
September 8th – 11:08 AM

Get your rosters out, because a few Chiefs will be wearing new numbers at Baltimore on Sunday.

S Mike Brown switches from #48 to #30
CB Richardo Colclough switches from #30 to #23
TE Jake O’Connell switches from #45 to #85

The trio join recently acquired T Ryan O’Callaghan, who is wearing #75. LB Pierre Walters switched from #67 to #97 yesterday.

CHIEFS KEEP OPPONENT GUESSING
September 8th – 11:03 AM

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh knows both the difficulties and advantages of being a first-year head coach. In his first season with the birds a year ago, Harbaugh led Baltimore to an 11-5 record and an appearance in the AFC Championship Game. Part of Baltimore’s early success was due to opponents’ unfamiliarity with Harbaugh as a head coach.

”The thing is, it’s a big advantage when you’re a new staff,” Harbaugh said. “We had that advantage last year, if you remember. Your opponent isn’t exactly sure what you’re going to do. Maybe they had an idea with Rex [Ryan] last year, because there was carry-over at least on the defensive side, but we don’t have that advantage either. We don’t know what they’re going to do. I think their coach has made that pretty clear, that that’s something they’re going to use to their full advantage, as well they should. It’s going to be a guessing game as far as what they’re going to run and who they’re going to put on the field in what situations, and we’re just going to have to do the best we can with it.“

Harbaugh also knows that the role of being an underdog to open the season could also benefit the Chiefs. The Ravens head coach fully expects Kansas City to come into Baltimore on Sunday with a chip on its shoulder.

“Our guys know that they face a huge challenge this weekend against a team that’s going to come in here and prove themselves just like our team did last year in the opener,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve got a lot of respect for the Kansas City Chiefs. All you’ve got to do is turn on the tape and watch their players play, and you know what kind of coaches they have. We know what we’re up against. It’s going to be a huge challenge. We’re looking forward to it.”



WHAT’S IN THE TANK?
September 8th – 5:55 AM

The end of the preseason, roster cuts, S DaJuan Morgan’s breakout defensive game and RB Dantrell Savage’s run for the roster all overshadowed DT Tank Tyler’s performance last Thursday night in St. Louis.

Tyler was explosive, showing plenty of emotion as he led the team with nine tackles and celebrated a forced fumble. He was fundamentally sound, solidifying the center of the tranches as the Chiefs held the Rams rushing attack to just 2.4 yards per attempt. Most importantly, though, Tyler was “mean.”

“I just wanted to get off blocks and make plays,” Tyler said. “Coach told me ‘you are in the middle of the defense, every play is yours.’ I kind of took that to heart and I just want to go out and play my position and make plays.”

Making plays was indeed what Tyler did. His nine-tackle performance at the Rams elevated him to a total of 16 preseason tackles, a number that led the Chiefs. It was also a key turning point in Tyler’s progression at the nose tackle position. A week prior to playing the Rams, Haley publicly challenged Tyler to take his game up a notch.

“I think that (Tyler) has been a little up and down,” Haley said of Tyler back on August 27th. “I’m waiting to see Tank kind of…the thing I remember about Tank when he was coming out (of college) was just the nastiness that he played with. I mean he was a bad dude and you didn’t want to mess around with him. So, I’m waiting to see a little more of that.”

For Tyler, Haley’s words were all that he needed to hear. Haley struck a chord with Tyler and Tyler has responding positively on the field.

“Whenever a person (challenges) me it’s nothing but motivation,” Tyler said. “It’s truly nothing but motivation for me.”

At the center of the Chiefs 3-4 defense, Tyler’s nose tackle position is critical to the Chiefs stopping the run. The 3-4 scheme is built from the inside-out and a motivated Tyler is something that the Chiefs have to have. So what makes Tyler tick? It turns out that Haley isn’t the only person motivating the third-year defensive lineman.

“Everybody on the defense motivates each other, especially when you have a guy like LB Mike Vrabel,” Tyler said. “He made a couple of plays on defense that got me really excited. He’s an older veteran guy that plays with a lot of passion and enthusiasm and it feeds off onto the younger guys.”

That’s good to hear. Vrabel and S Mike Brown’s arrival in Kansas City is all about taking a Chiefs defense loaded with talented young players to the next level. Those two veteran players know what success is, each having reached Super Bowls. They are here to lead, they are here to teach and they are here to win. There isn’t a better way to evolve as a defense than seeing the way veterans like Vrabel and Brown handle their professional work, first-hand, each and every day.

“I’m encouraged defensively overall,” Haley said. “Now, it’s just going to be a matter of continuing to get better and being able to do the things that give you a chance to win. Our defense is going to have to play good football. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”

“We still have steps to make and we have a ways to go to become what we want to be,” Tyler said. “We first have to stop the run and continue to rush the passer. We are getting better at that and we want to continue to get better. We want to go out and dominate a game.”

Their first test is just five days from today.

[DrRyan]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

And I'll be ****ing pissed if we draft Cody in the 1st round instead of Mays or Berry. Pollard is gone and Brown is old. We need a playmaker back there.

I agree with this completely. I see Cody as a player that could very easily become fat, lazy and turn bust quickly after signing a big payday.

Maybe he shows something this year that changes that, but at this point I would not draft him as high in the first round as the Chiefs figure to be drafting.

[The Franchise]

Dude....that and I'm ****ing tired of drafting D-line in the 1st round. We now have 2 top 5 picks on the d-line along with Magee (3rd) and Tank (3rd). Let's start filling holes someplace else. I'd love to have Mays or Berry back there in the defensive backfield.

[DrRyan]

I think the most frustrating part is that in changing to the 3-4, we have now spent two top five picks on 3-4 DEs! Not exactly the cornerstone positions in a 3-4.

I like what I have seen out of Jackson so far, but still a high price to pay for a DE in the 3-4.

[Great Expectations]

I think we should go WR, RT, G or C with our 1st 3 picks.

[DrRyan]

Originally Posted by Great Expectations

I think we should go WR, RT, G or C with our 1st 3 picks.

I would be fine with that if there were a Calvin Johnson, Fitzgerald, Moss type in this coming draft, but from what I have seen and read there is not.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by beach tribe

Problem is, as someone stated before, if the donkos finish with a worse record than us, and I think they might, they will probably snag him.

Seattle has the Donkey's 1st next year.