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DRAFT PLEASES CUNNINGHAM
Chiefs put pieces in place on defense
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star
The second part of the story began with a call from Herm Edwards in early January. He’d just signed a contract to coach the Chiefs. Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham was on the other line.
“Are you ready?” Edwards asked.
“You betcha,” Cunningham said.
The first part is still evolving. Cunningham sat down for a 30-minute conversation on Tuesday about the defense, and on at least three occasions, he was on the verge of getting misty.
He’s not like this. Normally, Cunningham is making 310-pound tackles cry. But the 2006 draft is in the books, a promise was kept and Cunningham is in late-season pep talk mode.
“What we’re trying to do,” he said, “is build this thing for the long run, build the kind of defense that this city needs, that Carl and Herm are proud of. You can tell I’m getting emotional. Because that was my thing in 2005.”
Cunningham’s “thing” started in January 2005. He placed a call to Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson and wanted to talk personnel — actually, lack of personnel. Cunningham was hired back to resurrect the Chiefs’ defense, but his once-proud unit finished 31st in the NFL.
He did some research, and it confirmed what he suspected — the defense was stuck in a major talent drought. Five of his starters in 2004 were second-day draft picks. Two of them weren’t drafted at all.
Peterson promised an upgrade, and, two years later, the Chiefs have added six first-day draft picks on defense. Cunningham will get his first look at some of the additions when rookie camp opens Friday morning.
He smiles occasionally and appears at peace … at least for a few weeks. When the Chiefs selected Penn State defensive end Tamba Hali and Purdue safety Bernard Pollard in last month’s draft, it was just the second time in 10 years that the top two picks went to defense.
Others have been committed to that for a while. AFC West champion Denver has picked a defensive player first in five of its last eight drafts. San Diego has loaded up in recent years by drafting Shawne Merriman, Luis Castillo and Quentin Jammer. Drafting for defense is trendy throughout the NFL. Fourteen of the first 20 picks of the 2006 draft were defensive players.
“This draft killed me,” Cunningham said. “This year, defense came off the board at 100 mph, and I panicked. I went, ‘My God, we can’t get our guys.’ And fortunately for us, Tamba was there at 20.
“And really, the safety we drafted in the second round, he has some issues, but they’re all my kind of issues. He plays the game angry. I love the kid. He’s a hard-and-heavy hitter. One of the things that you’ve got to have on defense is you’ve got to have a pacesetter, the guy that’s going to put the hit on tape like John Lynch. Bernard Pollard has that ability.”
Peterson, who asked Cunningham to make a wish list before free-agency began in 2005, added Pro Bowl linebacker Kendrell Bell, traded a second-round pick for Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain, then drafted Derrick Johnson with the No. 15 overall selection in the 2005 draft.
It was a huge swing of the pendulum for a franchise that hit a serious low at the end of the 2003 season. The Chiefs gave up 38 points at home in a playoff loss to the Colts. More than half of the starters from that defense are no longer with the franchise.
“I needed to make some changes,” Peterson said. “That probably crystallized the point that ‘Hey, we’ve got to start doing some things with our defense.’ ”
Along came Cunningham, but he’d have to wait a year for a personnel fix and another season to help pick his own defensive staff. Cunningham raves about working with Edwards and is simpatico with his new staff.
He had tears in his eyes recently when he watched one of his new coaches, David Gibbs, work with veteran safety Greg Wesley. Cunningham said Gibbs had Wesley doing things he hadn’t seen since 2000.
Edwards is a defensive guy to the core, and he’s had a longtime connection with Cunningham. The “Are you ready?” comment undoubtedly referred to Cunningham’s desire to resurrect a defense that had been knocked around for the better part of the Dick Vermeil era.
“I think the pieces are being put in place for real football, not for stopgap,” Cunningham said. “People can say, ‘Well, you could’ve done this or could’ve done that.’ But when you try to outscheme people, you’re going to bat .500.
“No, what you’ve got to do is line up 11 guys who can play defense. Because if you bat .500 in the NFL, you’re going to get fired.”
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kansasc...rce=rss&channel=kansascity_kansas_city_chiefs
Chiefs put pieces in place on defense
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star
The second part of the story began with a call from Herm Edwards in early January. He’d just signed a contract to coach the Chiefs. Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham was on the other line.
“Are you ready?” Edwards asked.
“You betcha,” Cunningham said.
The first part is still evolving. Cunningham sat down for a 30-minute conversation on Tuesday about the defense, and on at least three occasions, he was on the verge of getting misty.
He’s not like this. Normally, Cunningham is making 310-pound tackles cry. But the 2006 draft is in the books, a promise was kept and Cunningham is in late-season pep talk mode.
“What we’re trying to do,” he said, “is build this thing for the long run, build the kind of defense that this city needs, that Carl and Herm are proud of. You can tell I’m getting emotional. Because that was my thing in 2005.”
Cunningham’s “thing” started in January 2005. He placed a call to Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson and wanted to talk personnel — actually, lack of personnel. Cunningham was hired back to resurrect the Chiefs’ defense, but his once-proud unit finished 31st in the NFL.
He did some research, and it confirmed what he suspected — the defense was stuck in a major talent drought. Five of his starters in 2004 were second-day draft picks. Two of them weren’t drafted at all.
Peterson promised an upgrade, and, two years later, the Chiefs have added six first-day draft picks on defense. Cunningham will get his first look at some of the additions when rookie camp opens Friday morning.
He smiles occasionally and appears at peace … at least for a few weeks. When the Chiefs selected Penn State defensive end Tamba Hali and Purdue safety Bernard Pollard in last month’s draft, it was just the second time in 10 years that the top two picks went to defense.
Others have been committed to that for a while. AFC West champion Denver has picked a defensive player first in five of its last eight drafts. San Diego has loaded up in recent years by drafting Shawne Merriman, Luis Castillo and Quentin Jammer. Drafting for defense is trendy throughout the NFL. Fourteen of the first 20 picks of the 2006 draft were defensive players.
“This draft killed me,” Cunningham said. “This year, defense came off the board at 100 mph, and I panicked. I went, ‘My God, we can’t get our guys.’ And fortunately for us, Tamba was there at 20.
“And really, the safety we drafted in the second round, he has some issues, but they’re all my kind of issues. He plays the game angry. I love the kid. He’s a hard-and-heavy hitter. One of the things that you’ve got to have on defense is you’ve got to have a pacesetter, the guy that’s going to put the hit on tape like John Lynch. Bernard Pollard has that ability.”
Peterson, who asked Cunningham to make a wish list before free-agency began in 2005, added Pro Bowl linebacker Kendrell Bell, traded a second-round pick for Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain, then drafted Derrick Johnson with the No. 15 overall selection in the 2005 draft.
It was a huge swing of the pendulum for a franchise that hit a serious low at the end of the 2003 season. The Chiefs gave up 38 points at home in a playoff loss to the Colts. More than half of the starters from that defense are no longer with the franchise.
“I needed to make some changes,” Peterson said. “That probably crystallized the point that ‘Hey, we’ve got to start doing some things with our defense.’ ”
Along came Cunningham, but he’d have to wait a year for a personnel fix and another season to help pick his own defensive staff. Cunningham raves about working with Edwards and is simpatico with his new staff.
He had tears in his eyes recently when he watched one of his new coaches, David Gibbs, work with veteran safety Greg Wesley. Cunningham said Gibbs had Wesley doing things he hadn’t seen since 2000.
Edwards is a defensive guy to the core, and he’s had a longtime connection with Cunningham. The “Are you ready?” comment undoubtedly referred to Cunningham’s desire to resurrect a defense that had been knocked around for the better part of the Dick Vermeil era.
“I think the pieces are being put in place for real football, not for stopgap,” Cunningham said. “People can say, ‘Well, you could’ve done this or could’ve done that.’ But when you try to outscheme people, you’re going to bat .500.
“No, what you’ve got to do is line up 11 guys who can play defense. Because if you bat .500 in the NFL, you’re going to get fired.”
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kansasc...rce=rss&channel=kansascity_kansas_city_chiefs