Matt Cassel(notes) knows one thing for certain as the Chiefs go through their offseason program.
“I’m excited; I’m excited for everything,” Cassel said as the Chiefs were into their second week of a 10-week strength and conditioning program. “I love coming here, working out; this is what we do for a job. To see everybody so enthusiastic and energized about the off-season program, it’s fun to see. As we move forward, I know these guys are going to give it their all and I’m excited to see what we can do in the future.”
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One thing that must get done in the future is improvement in production and efficiency of the Chiefs’ offense Cassel leads on the field. That’s already lead to a lot of meetings between the quarterback, head coach Todd Haley and new offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.
“Offensively speaking we have a long way to go, we have a lot to work on and that is what the offseason is about,” Cassel said. “I have sat down with both Coach Haley and Coach Weis behind closed doors and we’ve talked about different things, whether it is mental or physical that we want to kind of work on this off-season and use as projects.
“I will keep those discussions to ourselves, but we have had those discussions and there are things that I want to do personally that will not only help myself, but also help the offense as we move forward.”
The adjustment to Weis has not been very hard so far for the quarterback.
“It has been a pretty easy process to be completely honest,” said Cassel. “I have a lot of familiarity from New England going in there the year that he left and a lot of the offense was carryover from what Charlie had done.
“We started to meet and make introductions and he speaks the same language coach Haley does and they come from similar backgrounds. It was pretty simple to get talking about football and start going over game plans, what we did and what they did, so that was pretty simple.
“Now it is just building that relationship and starting to understand things like, how does he call a game? And what plays do I like? That is a relationship that has to build over time.”
As Cassel and the offense build towards establishing that relationship, they are trying to improve their physical conditioning and understanding of the scheme.
“I think everybody is just collectively trying to make our team better and get prepared to go out there on the football field and win more games,” Cassel said. “Anytime you win four games that is a disappointment for us as an organization. We are getting ready to go out there and try and win more games this year.”
NOTES, QUOTES
• While most of his teammates are already in Kansas City, working four days a week in the team’s strength and conditioning program, Brian Waters(notes) remains at his home in Dallas.
But he’s not staying away because he remains unhappy with the Chiefs; last year he asked the new regime of Scott Pioli and Todd Haley to trade him. He’s not taking part because he does not have to be part of the voluntary program. When a mandatory mini-camp comes up, Waters said he will be there.
“Right now, my priorities are my family first, which it always is,” Waters said. “This particular part of the season is also about business and about trying to prepare for things after football. This is a part of that … this is a part of getting prepared for that part of my life.
“There are times of the season to handle certain things. This is the time to handle the business things and some other off-the-field type things. When football comes around, I’ll be ready to go handle that business as well.”
Waters is nothing if not pragmatic about his situation. He would love to be on a team that was challenging for a spot in the playoffs or even a championship. Since joining the franchise in 2000 and becoming a starter the next year, Waters has been part of only one Chiefs club that was a contender. That 2003 team under Dick Vermeil went 13-3, but lost in a first-round shootout in the playoffs against the Colts.
“Whether I want to play for the Chiefs or not, I want to play football and I have a contract with the Chiefs, so it really doesn’t matter what I want,” said Waters, who is the longest tenured player on the roster. “You always want to play for a good team and a team that wants you. At this point, I don’t see any other place that’s like that for me.
“It’s not even under consideration at this point because I’m under contract with the Chiefs.”
• While the on-field portion of the Chiefs offseason program is still weeks away, QB Matt Cassel and his receivers have been throwing the ball around a bit and the quarterback was excited about the possibility of WR Dwayne Bowe(notes) re-establishing himself as the club’s top receiver. “Dwayne is here, he’s working hard and I have high expectations for Dwayne,” Cassel said. “I think he can be a huge impact player for us. It’ll be our second year together and I think the more time we can spend together, the better. It’s just going to be one of those things where we want to get better and we’ll just continue to work at the things we need to.”
• Renovations of Arrowhead Stadium continue and the club now has a deadline date when most of the work must be completed. That would be Friday, August 27th, when they host their first home pre-season game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The $350 million facelift will provide wider concourses, new suites and club space and a new press box.
• When it has come to bringing draftable players to Kansas City to meet with the Chiefs, the one position that’s received a lot of attention has been safety. Tennessee’s Eric Berry, Southern Cal’s Taylor Mays and Nate Allen of South Florida are just three of the names that have escaped the bubble of secrecy. Other visitors included Notre Dame center Eric Olsen and Minnesota wide receiver Eric Decker. They also had a local player visit with Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.
• The Chiefs like to keep the curtain drawn on what happens in their offseason program, but there’s no question that the club’s new strength and conditioning Mike Clark has come up with a new system that after just two weeks is pushing the players. “I’m sore in places that I haven’t been sore before,” said QB Matt Cassel. “I’m walking around a little gingerly. We’re doing a lot of almost like circuit training, they call it complex training. It’s where you put a lot of different exercises together and it works not only your cardiovascular system, but it also works your muscles. It’s a great start for us.”
Quote To Note: “So when he’s yelling and he sometimes gets in your face, at the end of the day, as a player, you have to realize that the only reason why he’s doing that is because expects a lot out of you and he wants you to be the best that you can be. Sometimes those lessons are tough on you and sometimes you just have to bite your lip; but at the end of the day, Coach Haley pushes us to be the best that we can be.”—Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel on his head coach Todd Haley.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
The Chiefs have put a lot of time and effort into scouting out safeties and wide receivers among the eligible players for the 2010 NFL Draft. That comes as no surprise, given those positions are among the many holes in the club’s roster.
Right now, the Chiefs have only a pair of proven safeties on the roster: Jarrad Page(notes) and Jon McGraw(notes). The rest of the safeties are unproven types like third-year man DaJuan Morgan(notes), first-year guys Rashard Langford and Ricky Price(notes) and possibly third-year cornerback Maurice Leggett(notes).
At wide receiver, the Chiefs have Dwayne Bowe and Chris Chambers(notes) at the top of the depth chart, but they need help in reserve and a true slot receiver.
Team Needs
1. Inside Linebacker: Last year’s starters Demorrio Williams(notes) and Corey Mays(notes) are effort guys; they lack the quickness the Chiefs are seeking to help improve their 31st ranked defense against the run.
2. Safety: A safety that can roam the secondary and also come up and play at the line of scrimmage is what the Chiefs need for their defense. They have been taking very close looks at all of the top safeties in the 2010 NFL Draft.
3. Wide Receiver: The Chiefs need to add an element of speed at wide receiver in their offense, not only in 2010 but in the bigger picture of the next several seasons.
Medical Watch: No updates.
Franchise Player: None.
Transition Player: None.
Unrestricted Free Agents
• SS Mike Brown(notes) opened all 16 games last year with average results.
• WR Bobby Wade(notes) was one of the league leaders in dropped passes; he didn’t produce much on offense after his first two games.
Restricted Free Agents (*indicates restricted because of uncapped year)
• *QB Brodie Croyle(notes) (tendered at $1.759M with second-round pick as compensation) started game No. 1 and handled mop-up duty the rest of the way.
• *ILB Corey Mays (tendered at $1.759M with second-round pick as compensation) spent the year starting, a surprise given he signed for special-teams work.
• *C Rudy Niswanger(notes) (tendered at $1.759M with second-round pick as compensation) has proven durable as the starter at center.
• *RT Ryan O’Callaghan(notes) (tendered at $1.759M with second-round pick as compensation) was claimed on waivers and ended up the starter on the right side.
• *FS Jarrad Page (tendered at $1.759M with second-round pick as compensation) missed the second half of the ’09 schedule with a calf injury.
Exclusive Rights Free Agents
• LS Thomas Gafford(notes) has been a fairly consistent snapper for punts and placements.
Players Re-signed
• RB Jackie Battle(notes): Not tendered as ERFA; terms unknown.
• WR Chris Chambers: UFA; $15M/3 yrs, $5.9M guaranteed.
• WR Terrance Copper(notes): UFA; 1 yr, terms unknown.
• FB Mike Cox(notes): ERFA; terms unknown.
• QB Matt Gutierrez(notes): Potential RFA; $545,000/1 yr.
• *ILB Derrick Johnson: RFA; (tendered at $2.621M with first-round pick as compensation); $2.621M/1 yr.
• DB Maurice Leggett: ERFA; terms unknown.
• *OG Ikechuku Ndukwe(notes): RFA; (tendered at $1.684M with second-round pick as compensation); $1.684M/1 yr.
• OT Barry Richardson(notes): ERFA; terms unknown.
• RB Kolby Smith(notes): potential RFA; $545,000/1 yr.
• LB Andy Studebaker(notes): ERFA; terms unknown.
• OLB Mike Vrabel(notes): UFA; $3.425M/1 yr, $1.425M SB.
Players Acquired
• RB Thomas Jones(notes): FA Jets; $5M/2 yrs.
• OG Ryan Lilja(notes): FA Colts; $7.5M/3 yrs.
• *DT Shaun Smith: Not tendered as RFA by Bengals; $630,000/1 yr.
• *WR Jerheme Urban(notes): Not tendered as RFA by Cardinals; $630,000/1 yr.
• C Casey Wiegmann(notes): FA Broncos; $2M/1 yr.
Players Lost
• OG Andy Alleman(notes): Not tendered as RFA/Colts; 1 yr, terms unknown.
• ILB Wes Dacus (released).
• WR Devard Darling(notes) (released/failed physical).
• OG Mike Goff(notes) (released).
• ILB Justin Rogers(notes) (released).
• TE Sean Ryan(notes): UFA Redskins; 1 yr, terms unknown.
• RB Dantrell Savage(notes) (released).
• G/C Wade Smith(notes): UFA Texans; $12M/4 yrs, $6.25M guaranteed.
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