Sounds like a blues group or something. Well, former Kansas City Star scribe Elizabeth Merrill has just dropped her latest over on ESPN. It’s a piece on NFL big men and how difficult life can be away from the field for them. Check out this excerpt on the Chiefs‘ Brian Waters:
Brian Waters dreads the travel days. When Herm Edwards became coach of the Kansas City Chiefs three years ago, the old-school coach implemented a rule requiring players to dress up for plane rides. Waters was getting ready for a trip to San Diego recently when he realized he’d blanked on part of his pregame preparation. He didn’t have a button-down dress shirt to wear.
If the gaffe had happened to Rocawear-ing running back Larry Johnson or GQ tight end Tony Gonzalez, it could have been solved in a matter of minutes with a quick dash to a trendy mall. For a 6-3, 320-pound guard, there are no dashes. Waters has trouble finding shirts that will accommodate his 23-inch neck, and has questions a skill player rarely has to ask. Can he fasten the top button so he can put on a tie? Can he find the top button?
“It’s horrible,” Waters says. “I’d rather be comfortable than look good.”
You know, I’m 6-3, 185 pounds and sometimes I find planes, stadiums and theaters confining. I simply can’t imagine how uncomfortable a lot of situations are for him. Hopefully, the plane ride to Oakland will be a comofrtable one. Time to put the skid behind us and kick some Raider ass. Go check out Merrill’s column as it is a must-read piece — at least the Waters section is, anyway.
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Interesting article at KCSTAR blog
Is Glenn Dorsey a bust?
That’s become one of the common questions for me during this Chiefs season, second only to: “Wouldn’t you sometimes rather flee to Scandanavia than cover this year’s team?”
I got the Dorsey question on a radio show yesterday. Got it again from a friend today. People seem curious about whether Dorsey is more Warren Sapp or Warren Beatty, and my answer, generally, is that 11 games just isn’t long enough to make a fair ruling on the rookie defensive tackle.
Someone asked Herm Edwards a similar question during his weekly news conference Tuesday, and Edwards said: “It doesn’t happen overnight.”
Eleven games isn’t overnight, and there are folks who thought Dorsey would look more like Sapp by now. So let’s take a look at Dorsey’s statistics through his first 11 games, compared with Sapp’s in 1995.
An important thing to note is that Sapp started eight games during his rookie season; Dorsey already has eclipsed that number, starting each of the Chiefs’ 11 games. Nevertheless …
SAPP
1. At Philadelphia*: Two tackles (one solo), one sack.
2. At Cleveland*: One tackle (one solo), zero sacks.
3. Chicago*: One tackle (one solo), zero sacks.
4. Washington*: One tackle (one solo), one sack.
5. At Carolina*: Two tackles (two solo), zero sacks.
6. Cincinnati: Zero tackles, zero sacks.
7. Minnesota: One tackle (one solo), zero sacks.
8. Atlanta: Two tackles (two solo), one sack.
9. At Houston: Four tackles (three solo), zero sacks.
10. At Detroit: Zero tackles, zero sacks.
11. Jacksonville: Four tackles (two solo), zero sacks.
Totals through 11 games: 18 tackles (14 solo), three sacks.
* = Games that Sapp started. He was in the starting lineup for the Bucs’ first five and last three games in 1995.
DORSEY
1. At New England: Two tackles (zero solo), zero sacks.
2. Oakland: Three tackles (three solo), zero sacks.
3. At Atlanta: Five tackles (four solo), zero sacks.
4. Denver: Three tackles (two solo), zero sacks.
5. At Carolina: Two tackles (two tackles), zero sacks.
6. Tennessee: Two tackles (two solo), zero sacks.
7. At New York Jets: One tackle (one solo), zero sacks.
8. Tampa Bay: Four tackles (three solo), zero sacks.
9. At San Diego: Three tackles (three solo), one sack.
10. New Orleans: Four tackles (four solo), zero sacks.
11. Buffalo: One tackle (one solo), zero sacks.
Totals: 30 tackles (25 solo), one sack.
And for added fun, here’s Sapp’s final stats line in 1995: 27 tackles (17 solo), three sacks. Dorsey is behind Sapp in sacks, but the Chiefs rookies has more tackles through 11 games than Sapp had all season.
One more note that I found surprising and interesting, from Chiefs statistics maven Brad Kuhbander: Dorsey had only 13 sacks in four years at LSU. Seven of those came during his senior season last year.
Submitted by Kent Babb on November 26, 2008 – 5:12pm.
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Albert Haynesworth
Submitted by Mr RighTNoW on November 26, 2008 – 5:24pm.
I’ve also done a similar comparison but to Albert Haynesworth in his rookie season and Dorsey’s stats are also better.
Look, it’s a team sport and most athletes will only be as good as those around them. As long as he remains healthy and is productive, he’s not a bust. Derrick Johnson never turned into Ray Lewis, but he’s still a productive player and I wouldn’t consider him a bust.
Calling Dorsey a bust at this point is just plain ignorant. He is getting no help from the ends as far as pressure goes. I have already seen him make more plays than I have from any one of our tackles in the last five years. Dorsey is not the problem on this line. If we can find a productive RDE and a couple of linebackers this defense will look infinately better.
I compare it to other professions. How many of us look back at our first year on any job and see a performance thats even close to the level we are now.
Poor Brian he is in trouble because he cant go buy a shirt off the rack. He makes more money in a year than most of us will make God knows how long. poor Brian Waters. I must say I do feel sorry for him in the respect that he is like some actors you have to maintain an unhealthy physical condition in order to keep the dollars rollin in, almost always leads to premature death.
Dorsey is nowhere near a bust…dominance should not be expected from a rookie….Poor Brian…I can relate…32×36 pants…
going to get bigger I imagine after tomorrow, Ill be comin home to Carthage my man have a good one.
Jury is out on Dorsey, Sapp had 11 sacks his 2nd year, but then again I don’t know if it is fair to compare Dorsey to Sapp, who some consider the best DT ever. Sapp like the Williams in TN, is a DT that can rush the passer and seems rare.
Waters should be more comfortable than some of the other guys on the plane, in my book he is the 2nd best player on offense thus should be riding first class.
u mean Williams in Minnesota?
I don’t think Dorsey will be a bust at all…
Props to Zachary for the turkey banner by the way…
I think Dorsey and Albert both went about where they should have in the draft. That was a cool draft party at Arrowhead last year cant wait for the 09 draft. Tebow?