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Chiefs go back to Black
Team turns to a familiar fill-in for its offensive line as Shields sits with a hurt ankle.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Just when it appeared the Chiefs were building their offensive line without Jordan Black, fate intervened in the form of an ankle injury to Will Shields.
Black will start for the Chiefs on Saturday night in their preseason game against St. Louis at Arrowhead Stadium at right guard in place of Shields. The Chiefs are hopeful Shields will return in time for the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against Cincinnati, but nothing is certain when it involves a high ankle sprain of a 34-year-old man who weighs well more than 300 pounds.
So, particularly if Shields doesn’t respond as hoped, the game against the Rams could be a chance for Black to resurrect a career that appeared promising before last season.
The Chiefs used Black as a replacement for injured Pro Bowl left tackle Willie Roaf. His play at times gave the Chiefs a new appreciation for Roaf’s skills.
The Chiefs went 7-3 with Roaf as the starting left tackle, 3-3 with Black. They missed the playoffs by one victory, and Black became Kansas City’s favorite football villain.
The Chiefs had nobody else to play a most important position, one that isn’t Black’s best.
“Somebody had to do it,” coach Herm Edwards said. “They felt confident he could do it consistently. Sometimes he got beat, but everybody gets beat sometime.”
Edwards met with players as part of his routine after joining the Chiefs in January. In talking with Black, he sensed a player who was beaten down after being asked to play, at various times, every line position except center.
“He’s been moved all around,” Edwards said. “It’s tough because he goes to one spot and then he goes to another spot. When you evaluate him, you’ve got to remember that.
“When you have a season like that where you don’t really have a home, it’s hard on a guy. I understand that.”
Black, a three-year veteran, was a restricted free agent over the winter, but the Chiefs never considered letting him go.
“We wanted to have him around,” Edwards said. “He’s too important because of that versatility. It shows up when this happens. Now you’ve got a guy to go in there. We’re not all of a sudden playing with a rookie.
“The good thing about him is that he can play at guard and tackle. If something should happen to somebody in a game, he can help you out.”
Black attracted some interest as a free agent, mainly from the Falcons. But he sensed the Chiefs wanted him to return.
“I thought they wanted me back real bad,” Black said. “Anytime I told them about another team being interested, they always wanted to know about it. They always wanted to know what was going on.”
When training camp started, Black appeared to be in line for a starting job at right tackle. Roaf and John Welbourn, last year’s starter at right tackle, retired, so the Chiefs were looking for some help.
But they appear to have decided on Kyle Turley as the starter on the left and Kevin Sampson on the right.
“Those are the guys that need to play,” Edwards said. “We’ve got (Will) Svitek, and we’ve got Black, and we feel like they can go in and play if something happens. But we need to get the starters honed up. Those guys need the work. We’re getting down to crunch time.”
In training camp, Black played a different position almost every day. One day he was Sampson’s backup, the next he filled in for the injured Brian Waters at left guard.
Then he was replacing Turley, and now it’s Shields.
He never had a real chance to earn one of the tackle spots.
“They are a lot of variables involved in that situation,” Black said. “We’ve had injuries at guard. We needed to have people who could fill in. Unfortunately for me, that’s the case. But we have two more preseason games and we’re getting people back, and anything can happen.”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15336334.htm
This is sooooooooo not good news
Team turns to a familiar fill-in for its offensive line as Shields sits with a hurt ankle.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
Just when it appeared the Chiefs were building their offensive line without Jordan Black, fate intervened in the form of an ankle injury to Will Shields.
Black will start for the Chiefs on Saturday night in their preseason game against St. Louis at Arrowhead Stadium at right guard in place of Shields. The Chiefs are hopeful Shields will return in time for the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against Cincinnati, but nothing is certain when it involves a high ankle sprain of a 34-year-old man who weighs well more than 300 pounds.
So, particularly if Shields doesn’t respond as hoped, the game against the Rams could be a chance for Black to resurrect a career that appeared promising before last season.
The Chiefs used Black as a replacement for injured Pro Bowl left tackle Willie Roaf. His play at times gave the Chiefs a new appreciation for Roaf’s skills.
The Chiefs went 7-3 with Roaf as the starting left tackle, 3-3 with Black. They missed the playoffs by one victory, and Black became Kansas City’s favorite football villain.
The Chiefs had nobody else to play a most important position, one that isn’t Black’s best.
“Somebody had to do it,” coach Herm Edwards said. “They felt confident he could do it consistently. Sometimes he got beat, but everybody gets beat sometime.”
Edwards met with players as part of his routine after joining the Chiefs in January. In talking with Black, he sensed a player who was beaten down after being asked to play, at various times, every line position except center.
“He’s been moved all around,” Edwards said. “It’s tough because he goes to one spot and then he goes to another spot. When you evaluate him, you’ve got to remember that.
“When you have a season like that where you don’t really have a home, it’s hard on a guy. I understand that.”
Black, a three-year veteran, was a restricted free agent over the winter, but the Chiefs never considered letting him go.
“We wanted to have him around,” Edwards said. “He’s too important because of that versatility. It shows up when this happens. Now you’ve got a guy to go in there. We’re not all of a sudden playing with a rookie.
“The good thing about him is that he can play at guard and tackle. If something should happen to somebody in a game, he can help you out.”
Black attracted some interest as a free agent, mainly from the Falcons. But he sensed the Chiefs wanted him to return.
“I thought they wanted me back real bad,” Black said. “Anytime I told them about another team being interested, they always wanted to know about it. They always wanted to know what was going on.”
When training camp started, Black appeared to be in line for a starting job at right tackle. Roaf and John Welbourn, last year’s starter at right tackle, retired, so the Chiefs were looking for some help.
But they appear to have decided on Kyle Turley as the starter on the left and Kevin Sampson on the right.
“Those are the guys that need to play,” Edwards said. “We’ve got (Will) Svitek, and we’ve got Black, and we feel like they can go in and play if something happens. But we need to get the starters honed up. Those guys need the work. We’re getting down to crunch time.”
In training camp, Black played a different position almost every day. One day he was Sampson’s backup, the next he filled in for the injured Brian Waters at left guard.
Then he was replacing Turley, and now it’s Shields.
He never had a real chance to earn one of the tackle spots.
“They are a lot of variables involved in that situation,” Black said. “We’ve had injuries at guard. We needed to have people who could fill in. Unfortunately for me, that’s the case. But we have two more preseason games and we’re getting people back, and anything can happen.”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/15336334.htm
This is sooooooooo not good news