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Time to get started
As Ty Law begins his Chiefs tenure, his coaches face a nice dilemma
By Tully Corcoran
The Capital-Journal
RIVER FALLS, Wis. - Blame Ty Law this time. Every time his name comes up, so does the Super Bowl talk. This time it was Law himself, speaking after his first practice as a Kansas City Chief.
"Am I ready to go out there and play in a Super Bowl right now?" he said. "No. I guess I've got to knock this rust off, but by the time Opening Day comes, I should be ready to roll."
He arrived, on a white horse and with trumpet blasts if you closed your eyes, Sunday as expected in River Falls, Wis., for training camp, but the five-time Pro Bowl selection, who missed all of mini-camp and organized team activities, said he wasn't in top form.
"I think that any time you come into training camp you are a little rusty and that's what training camp is for," he said. "When you haven't played football since last season, remember I didn't go to the playoffs last season so that was a little different for me. You can train, you can practice, you can do all those things to get in shape, but once you get out here really competing and doing football it's not the same. It's just being in the best condition that you can be."
Law's arrival brings with it a pair of minor shakeups. Law will wear his familiar No. 24, which previously belonged to safety William Bartee. Law declined to provide specifics of the deal, though number exchanges usually involve monetary transactions "You know what, he was a good guy," Law said. "I'm going to keep it at that. He was a good guy about it, letting me get the number and I really appreciate it."
The bigger issue, though everybody associated with the Chiefs says it isn't a big issue, is whether Law or Patrick Surtain will man the left cornerback spot. Both players have spent the majority of their careers on that side and both have indicated they are more comfortable there. Law worked at right corner on Sunday.
"It's not that big of a deal, trust me," Surtain said. "The footwork probably is different, but I'm pretty sure both of us can play either side. I played left cornerback for eight years. Most definitely I feel most comfortable at left. Ty has played left the majority of his career. Something's got to give."
Both players are likely to give. Rather than play one side exclusively, the Chiefs plan to match their corners with opposing wideouts.
"We are going to be rotating every week and we're both getting used to playing both sides," he said. "He was primarily a left (cornerback) and I was as well, but you know he was here first. I think during the season we are going to be matching up on receivers. So whichever receiver we have, that's what side we will go to."
The Chiefs figure to start Law and Surtain at the corners and Sammy Knight and Greg Wesley at safety.
Before Law entered camp, Lenny Walls, a five-year veteran the Chiefs acquired this year as a free agent from Denver, worked as the No. 2 corner opposite Surtain. With Law in the lineup, Walls will battle Benny Sapp for the nickel back spot.
Julian Battle, the Chiefs' third-round choice in 2003, has recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon he sustained last June. And the Chiefs have lined the pine with young defensive backs.
This season, Kansas City drafted safeties Bernard "Bone Crusher" Pollard and Jarrad Page plus cornerback Marcus Maxey, adding to the Chiefs' 2005 fifth-round pick, cornerback Alphonso Hodge.
The Chiefs hope those guys are the future. Law is the now.
"I get better and better every day," he said. "I am glad that I'm here, but if you ask me a week from now I will tell you that I wish I would have come later in the week."
NOTES: The Chiefs held a special teams practice Sunday afternoon, which replaced the normal full-team practice.
Second-year punter Dustin Colquitt was impressive, booming several punts over the head of returner Dante Hall. Colquitt blasted one punt from his own end zone that traveled about 70 yards in the air, rolled and finally settled in the opposite end zone.
• Special teams coach Mike Priefer, in his first year with the Chiefs after spending last season as an assistant coach with the New York Giants, expressed relief to be coaching Hall, rather than coaching against him.
"As my son told me when I took this job, I don't have to worry about Dante anymore," Priefer said. "I was scared to death of that guy when we played him last year."
Asked which young players have impressed him, Priefer singled out rookie safeties Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard and fourth-year wide receiver Darrell Hill.
• Coach Herm Edwards, as he has in numerous drills, took part in kickoff coverage during Sunday's practice. He did not make a tackle.
• Notables participating on special teams were starting safety Greg Wesley and linebacker Nick Reid, an undrafted rookie from Kansas. Reid worked on the punt and kickoff teams.
• The Chiefs have had to deal with uncommonly warm weather in River Falls. Sunday's temperature was 93 degrees with a heat index of 105 degrees. Monday's forecast calls for 101-degree heat with temperatures dipping into the low 80s the rest of the week.
http://cjonline.com/stories/073106/chi_tylaw.shtml
As Ty Law begins his Chiefs tenure, his coaches face a nice dilemma
By Tully Corcoran
The Capital-Journal
RIVER FALLS, Wis. - Blame Ty Law this time. Every time his name comes up, so does the Super Bowl talk. This time it was Law himself, speaking after his first practice as a Kansas City Chief.
"Am I ready to go out there and play in a Super Bowl right now?" he said. "No. I guess I've got to knock this rust off, but by the time Opening Day comes, I should be ready to roll."
He arrived, on a white horse and with trumpet blasts if you closed your eyes, Sunday as expected in River Falls, Wis., for training camp, but the five-time Pro Bowl selection, who missed all of mini-camp and organized team activities, said he wasn't in top form.
"I think that any time you come into training camp you are a little rusty and that's what training camp is for," he said. "When you haven't played football since last season, remember I didn't go to the playoffs last season so that was a little different for me. You can train, you can practice, you can do all those things to get in shape, but once you get out here really competing and doing football it's not the same. It's just being in the best condition that you can be."
Law's arrival brings with it a pair of minor shakeups. Law will wear his familiar No. 24, which previously belonged to safety William Bartee. Law declined to provide specifics of the deal, though number exchanges usually involve monetary transactions "You know what, he was a good guy," Law said. "I'm going to keep it at that. He was a good guy about it, letting me get the number and I really appreciate it."
The bigger issue, though everybody associated with the Chiefs says it isn't a big issue, is whether Law or Patrick Surtain will man the left cornerback spot. Both players have spent the majority of their careers on that side and both have indicated they are more comfortable there. Law worked at right corner on Sunday.
"It's not that big of a deal, trust me," Surtain said. "The footwork probably is different, but I'm pretty sure both of us can play either side. I played left cornerback for eight years. Most definitely I feel most comfortable at left. Ty has played left the majority of his career. Something's got to give."
Both players are likely to give. Rather than play one side exclusively, the Chiefs plan to match their corners with opposing wideouts.
"We are going to be rotating every week and we're both getting used to playing both sides," he said. "He was primarily a left (cornerback) and I was as well, but you know he was here first. I think during the season we are going to be matching up on receivers. So whichever receiver we have, that's what side we will go to."
The Chiefs figure to start Law and Surtain at the corners and Sammy Knight and Greg Wesley at safety.
Before Law entered camp, Lenny Walls, a five-year veteran the Chiefs acquired this year as a free agent from Denver, worked as the No. 2 corner opposite Surtain. With Law in the lineup, Walls will battle Benny Sapp for the nickel back spot.
Julian Battle, the Chiefs' third-round choice in 2003, has recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon he sustained last June. And the Chiefs have lined the pine with young defensive backs.
This season, Kansas City drafted safeties Bernard "Bone Crusher" Pollard and Jarrad Page plus cornerback Marcus Maxey, adding to the Chiefs' 2005 fifth-round pick, cornerback Alphonso Hodge.
The Chiefs hope those guys are the future. Law is the now.
"I get better and better every day," he said. "I am glad that I'm here, but if you ask me a week from now I will tell you that I wish I would have come later in the week."
NOTES: The Chiefs held a special teams practice Sunday afternoon, which replaced the normal full-team practice.
Second-year punter Dustin Colquitt was impressive, booming several punts over the head of returner Dante Hall. Colquitt blasted one punt from his own end zone that traveled about 70 yards in the air, rolled and finally settled in the opposite end zone.
• Special teams coach Mike Priefer, in his first year with the Chiefs after spending last season as an assistant coach with the New York Giants, expressed relief to be coaching Hall, rather than coaching against him.
"As my son told me when I took this job, I don't have to worry about Dante anymore," Priefer said. "I was scared to death of that guy when we played him last year."
Asked which young players have impressed him, Priefer singled out rookie safeties Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard and fourth-year wide receiver Darrell Hill.
• Coach Herm Edwards, as he has in numerous drills, took part in kickoff coverage during Sunday's practice. He did not make a tackle.
• Notables participating on special teams were starting safety Greg Wesley and linebacker Nick Reid, an undrafted rookie from Kansas. Reid worked on the punt and kickoff teams.
• The Chiefs have had to deal with uncommonly warm weather in River Falls. Sunday's temperature was 93 degrees with a heat index of 105 degrees. Monday's forecast calls for 101-degree heat with temperatures dipping into the low 80s the rest of the week.
http://cjonline.com/stories/073106/chi_tylaw.shtml