Chris Chambers Wants The Chiefs To Add Another Receiver

The Kansas City Chiefs were back at the facility today for the start of the offseason program. Luckily for us, Mr. Bob Gretz was there as well and he's got a good story on the return on Chris Chambers.

It's a good read.

One interesting tidbit from his story was a Chambers quote that suggested the Chiefs should be looking for a slot receiver.



"At some point we are going to have to have a receiver in there, a third receiver, who can make some plays," Chambers said, according to Gretz. "Somebody is going to have to play inside in the slot, since I would imagine that Dwayne (Bowe) and I will play outside."

I can't argue much with that one.

The Chiefs appear to be set, at least for the time being, with a No. 1 and No. 2 receiver. I'm not sure who's the 1 and who's the 2 but Bowe and Chambers are clearly the top two targets.

Chambers' comments don't speak highly of Lance Long, who served in that third receiver role at times last season before being relegated to the bench more often than not.

New addition Jerheme Urban and Long will get their shots to prove they can be that guy if the Chiefs don't address the position in the draft.

Tate in the second would be a great slot receiver for us. That or Benn until hes ready to overtake Chambers. Either one of those two would be huge for our offense.

WR CHRIS CHAMBERS OFF-SEASON PROGRAM Q&A MARCH 29, 2010
PR Staff KCChiefs.com

Posted 12 minutes ago

a a Q: Why did you decide to come back to Kansas City?


CHAMBERS: “It was a decision that was up to the coaches and the organization first. That’s the main thing – they wanted me back. That meant a lot to me. Coming back here the first day, it felt so good to come to a locker room that I know, players that I know, surroundings that I know. It feels good. I didn’t want to go anywhere that I had to kind of start over or learn a different system, even though we have Coach (Charlie) Weis who is probably going to put in some different things, for the most part, we’ll be doing the same things we did last year and move on from there. I’m excited to be back and I’m glad to be around the guys again.”


Q: Does it make a difference to you that they came after you when you were released last year?


CHAMBERS: “Yeah. Absolutely. Right then and there, when (General Manager) Scott (Pioli) made the call for me, took me off waivers, that meant a lot for myself. That gave me the confidence that I can play at a high level and gave me an opportunity to make plays on the field. As experienced as I am, they listened to some of the things I was able to bring to the team – during the games I was helping out with certain routes and certain coverages and telling them what I liked and they were actually listening – so that’s a great thing. We hit on some plays here and there, and I think we built a good relationship.”


Q: Developing your relationship with QB Matt Cassel is important in the off-season. You guys are back together, but before you re-signed, were you guys in contact at all?


CHAMBERS: “Absolutely, especially going through this whole ordeal. We’ve been talking back and forth. He gave me some good advice on how to handle myself during this process because he pretty much went through (a similar) thing (being traded to Kansas City in 2009). We talk back and forth and I know his wife and his family a little bit. We built a good relationship. It’s good to get back and see his face and I’ll get the chance to hang out with him a little more, and help build this team.”


Q: What else do you guys need offensively to help QB Matt (Cassel) be successful?


CHAMBERS: “We took a big step by adding (offensive coordinator) Charlie Weis to the coaching staff. I think now (Head Coach) Todd (Haley) can help us out (more) with some of the things that he brings to the table as far as the receivers are concerned. He’s been a receivers coach in this league, so he’s going to demand a lot from us. If we go out and execute we’re going to be successful. We have WR Dwayne (Bowe) and he’s going to be coming along. This is his fourth year. He’s had flashes of success in this league and he’s excited as can be to come back and be part of this offense.


“I think the main thing is now we all know our direction – we’ve got this off-season to work on things and everybody knows exactly what we’re doing. We have to go out there and think about what we’re doing. We were a step slow a little bit before. Along with him (Bowe), we’ve got some young guys in wide receivers Lance (Long), Quinten (Lawrence), Chandler (Williams) and we’ve got to bring them along, as well. At some point we’re going to need another guy who is going to make some plays inside in the slot because I imagine that Dwayne and I will be on the outside . . . With the running game with RB Jamaal Charles and the year that he had and what RB Thomas Jones brings – we’re glad to see him on the team – I think we can really make some progress.”


Q: Do you think it is one of your responsibilities to teach WR Dwayne Bowe things or is it lead by example?


CHAMBERS: “Definitely lead by example. There are some things that he knows already. I’ve been fortunate to have been coached by some great receiver coaches like James Lofton, Charlie Joiner. I’ve got a lot experience teaching and learning stuff, but you have to go out execute and you’ve got to work at it. Hopefully he’ll take ease with some of the things that I show him and the coaching staff can build his game. He’s got an excellent physique. He’s got good hands. Hopefully he can build and just get better. Once he knows what he’s doing on the field, they kind of threw a lot at him last year – all of us, to tell you the truth, changing the offense pretty much each week, but now that we can all get in here and kind of learn what’s going on, it’s going to be much better for us.”


Q: The Chiefs also signed WR Jerheme Urban. What do you know about him?


CHAMBERS: “I don’t know much about Jerheme. Obviously he was on an Arizona team that had a plethora of receivers. He knows what he’s supposed to be doing when he’s out there and he was successful under Coach Haley. I think that’s one of the reasons why they brought him here. I don’t know anything about his size or his speed, I haven’t seen him yet, but for the most part, seems like he’s a guy with good experience who can come in here and help us out.”


Q: How good can Dwayne be?


CHAMBERS: “Physically he’s put together, we all know that. I think mentally, with his experience, he has to learn some things for himself. For the most part, he hasn’t had a lot of stability with coaches, receiver coaches, different head coaches, different offenses. I think once he hones in and knows exactly what he has to do on the field, that’s when he’s going to be able to play at his best.”


Q: You came in last year and you made an immediate impact on the offense and it looked like you had been here for months. How important in your mind is this off-season with Matt for you?


CHAMBERS: “I’m glad we looked like it. There were some times where I had to yell at Matt and ask ‘what’s my route?’ He threw the ball up a couple times and I was able to make some plays for him and for myself. I just love to get opportunities. I’m going to take advantage of my opportunities when I get the chance. If I get 10 balls thrown my way, you better believe that I’m going to make some plays. He gave me those opportunities despite if we were up or down, we had to fight and scratch a couple of games. He’s going to improve and hopefully I’ll improve. I feel myself getting better, wiser, more experienced. I just have to keep myself in shape and go out there and get after it.”


Q: You didn’t go through this program last year, but just in your first day, is there anything different going on here than there was going on out in Miami or San Diego?


CHAMBERS: “Absolutely. Our strength coach here, Mike Clark, I can tell already that this is going to be a good program for the off-season. Some of the things he’s doing, with all the experience that I have, I’ve never done before on the first day. He’s working different parts of our body. We’re not jumping into it by pulling sleds or running sprints right out of the gate, kind of easing into the program, getting everyone adjusted and acclimated to what they want us to do. I really like the program. We have 40-some workouts and the first one went well today. The guys are working hard. You can work out a little bit in the off-season, but it doesn’t mean anything. Once you get here, that’s when all the hard work pays off for you.”


Q: You’ve played on some pretty good offensive teams around the league. What are the offensive capabilities of this team as it looks right now?


CHAMBERS: “Right now, it looks like we’re going to be a physical offense; I think that’s going to be the main thing. We ran the ball successfully at times last year, especially towards the end of the year. Right now, I don’t know what our line situation is like, but for the most part, those guys all played well getting shuffled in and out. I think once those guys gel, that’s going to help out. Just knowing what we’re doing. I keep getting back to execution. Like I said we weren’t all on the same page for some games and we just had to scratch and claw to continue to play and to get better. This off-season is really going to help out. We’ll be able to see exactly what we need to bring to the table.”


Q: Do you need to keep adding parts in the draft?


CHAMBERS: “That’s not my job, to tell you the truth. But I do look forward to adding more pieces to this team. Offensively, we’re about there for the most part. I think we’re almost there. Defensively, I think we lost a couple players like Mike Brown and some of those guys and I think we’re going to have to replace a couple positions. But we do have young guys, especially in the secondary, that have shown a lot of capabilities of playing at a high level. I’ve been playing in the AFC West for the past four years – I know my opponents. I love playing AFC West teams – Oakland, Denver. I feel like I fare well against those guys . . . I think we kind of caught up to the pack a little bit and we have to see where we can go from there.”


Q: San Diego cut you last year. Has there been any other time in your athletic career that you’ve been cut from a team?


CHAMBERS: “Never. I was traded from Miami. No. I was never cut from a team before. It was a little disheartened because I feel like I’m a good player and I have the opportunity to be great at times and they didn’t really give me a chance. I had a couple of games there where I was sluggish a little bit. If I do have a bad game, I’ll always break out of it. Throughout my career, I’ve always played stronger as the year has gone one. They didn’t want to wait on that. They wanted to shuffle some guys in and out and kind of wanted to make some things happen.”


Q: Did you ever think your career was over?


CHAMBERS: “Absolutely not. As long as I can run, with my experience on the field, I love playing games, I love going through the game plan. I think I can play as long as I want to and as long as I’m healthy. It never crossed my mind. I had to kind of regroup myself. I was able to weather the storm a little bit, and now I’m fresh and ready to go. I’m excited about the next three years here.”


Q: Is it a little bit of vindication that right when you got here, you made an immediate impact?


CHAMBERS: “Absolutely. I’m glad I was able to get in and play in that first game a little bit in the fourth quarter. Like I said, Matt and I worked on a couple plays early that week when I first got here and it’s just nice to see results right off the jump. I can get streaky at times. I can get in the end zone and I start making plays, I get going.”


Q: Have you wrapped your head around the fact RB LaDainian Tomlinson is no longer a part of the Chargers organization?


CHAMBERS: “Yeah. I think you could kind of see the writing on the wall. He kind of stretched it out a little bit. His leadership and the things he’s done over the years helped him out, but I think he kind of knew that he was going to be moving on. He probably contemplated retirement, but he has an opportunity with the Jets this year and I’m sure he’ll take full advantage of that. He worked really hard in training camp last year and I thought he was going to be fine last year, but it didn’t happen for him for whatever reason. I’m sure he’ll bounce back and play with a chip on his shoulder.”


Q: At the age of 31, how much more important is the off-season program to you now that it was a number of years ago?


CHAMBERS: “It’s very important. I found a good routine in the off-season. I haven’t had any major injuries and I think the things I’ve done in the off-season, during the season – I think I have a great routine. I would like to play a little lighter, I’m about three to four pounds over the weight that I want to be. Now that I get a chance to get into the program, I’m going to get a little lighter, hopefully a little faster, a little quicker and we’ll see from there.”