True Currency, though an odd exchange for fans plus, the Chiefs practice in Pads
Chiefs: Turtles All the Way Down – The Kansas City Chiefs had practice in pads on Saturday. No hitting, but they now have the pads on and things are gearing up. We have an odd season, full of uncertainty and now the Chiefs get to this point and soon, with a couple of weeks of hitting in practice, will prepare the team for the finale’ in order to open the 2020 season.
Chiefs fans? They reap the value of the team reaching this point of training camp. It’s still not enough as various other venues are shutting down due to Covid-19. Baseball has opened and the season progresses with it’s own oddity. The NBA has done it’s own thing and soon the NFL returns. Some teams will have no fan base on site for games to start out, so, as I said, it’s an odd “Currency.”
Workaholics
I came away from the last week of news and views with one particular statement and focus. The Chiefs remain a cohesive team that knows what they are doing and working together toward a common goal. This is witnessed by a player coming from the outside to the organization and is important because it was immediately something that he could see, taste, feel and be part of. From Fansided, Tedric Thompson observed:
Them boys work in Seattle, no doubt about it. Andy Reid‘s camp is just different. From the tempo to the speed, on the offense, you’re going against Tyreek Hill, going against all receivers who run 4.2s, 4.1s it feels like.
The practice is so up-tempo. You’re running from one spot to another. So I think that’s the biggest thing. The guys here go about their business. They’re about a second [championship]. That’s the biggest difference. This camp is a workaholic camp.”
I research constantly and found a Matt Connor article at AA that had the above quote from Thompson, about what he is part of having joined the Chiefs, after being with the Seahawks. It’s a Workaholic Camp! That’s what Thompson is part of… as he sees it. For me, this is the true characteristic that each of the Chiefs players brings to the facility each day. They have become part of it. In film from camp, you can also see it, and hear it from the coaching staff. The front office… the team… and the coaching staff: are all on the same page.
On Friday
The Chiefs were on the field in pads on Friday for the first time. There were several things that can be observed from the events that have occurred: my first two are Clyde and Willie. I am totally pleased with the first two Veach selections in the 2020 draft.
1. Clyde Edwards-Helaire (CEH) and Willie Gay, Jr. are already making a statement on the field as rookies, as the coaching staff has started them out with significant snaps with the Ones (the starters). CEH was the first round pick. My view is, you do not sit a round one pick on the bench. You put a load on him and let him tote it. Clyde is already catching on. Willie Gay, the Chiefs second round pick, immediately demonstrated his value in the linebacker role with his quickness. He is a perfect fit for the Chiefs WLB (weakside linebacker). During the week we witnessed a short film clip where that speed, quickness and reaction resulted in a PD. This is exactly what I was expecting of Mr. Gay. I am sure both players will take some time acclimating to NFL play speed. I am sure in my heart and mind that both players are going to be “starters” on the 2020 team and will contribute play-making to the Chiefs “immediately.” Gay Breaks up a pass in practice, and this video gives some insight to what Gay brings to the table:
2. All the news wasn’t top shelf, but none of it was really bad news: Head Coach, Andy Reid gave a run down on players who missed practice on Friday and said:
“(DE) Frank Clark has had a little bit of a stomach virus, so he’s been sick. It’s not COVID. (LB) Darius Harris has been excused for personal reasons. BoPete Keyes had an orbital fracture that he actually got before he got here (this injury may be why Keyes missed the bowl game this past season). I think you know about Martinas Rankin, Juan Thornhill and Keyes—they’re the same that we’ve had on the PUP and NFI (list). (DT) Devaroe Lawrence is excused for personal reasons and Deon Yelder has a slight groin strain, so he’s working through that.”
This always happens. As expected, Rankin, Thornhill and Keyes were not active. One thing did catch my eye in this list is that Yelder had a groin strain. But apparently not serious.
3. A “Virtual” Interview with Brett Veach was a feature of the week. Mitch Holthus and Matt McMullin. Holthus characterized the off-season as epic when introducing Brett Veach. Mitch’s first question was: “… how could you extend Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones and Travis Kelce in the same off-season?” Veach replied: “… It’s a team effort and it starts at the top with Clark Hunt… The players and their agents realize that there’s something special here and they are motivated to get something done and willing to work with us and get Creative.” Crickets!
Brett Veach has had some tremendous accomplishments this off-season. It has been outstanding work by the man who I think will be Executive of the Year — our own Maverick GM, Brett Veach.
Following the Super Bowl, the Chiefs would be in the very last spot in the draft. You would not expect the Chiefs to succeed in drafting top-shelf talent picking that late. However, Brett Veach and company pulled it off. They drafted Clyde Edwards-Helaire(RB) and Willie Gay, Jr.(LB) in rounds one and two and in my evaluation, I view both as “round one” type talents. The number three pick of the Chiefs was OT Lucas Niang, a player who might have been a round one pick had he not suffered an injury. Then, Veach picked up CB L’Jarius Sneed, a vastly underrated talent due to coming out of little known Louisiana Tech. Again, this was a superb draft selections, to add to the mix in the 4th round.
All four of these players improve and enhance the Chiefs roster. All four are likely starters or high-level contributors to the team immediately or very quickly.
Unfortunately, Niang is a disappointment at the same time. He announced that he was opting out of the 2020 season. In my view, this was a mistake and postpones his NFL Debut. Far better to have gotten in his first NFL season. Logically Niang would have become the swing tackle, getting significant snaps right away or he might even have shifted to the inside — he is a quality offensive lineman and the Chiefs were fortunate that he fell to their selection in round three. Still, it is my view that you add these four players to the credo’s earned by Brett Veach, and the extensions that I noted above. Consequently, the 2020 draft will go down as epic in the Covid-19 epoch.
4. Our Maverick GM Brett Veach – Brett Veach discussed the difference of 2020 as opposed to pre-virus times. No OTA’s, no rookie camp, no position group work physically, and a shortened training camp with no preseason games. Veach also observed that, now they’re in camp and everyone is excited. The staff would have to go back through a little bit different process to evaluate players. He recognized that they’d have to go back to pre-combine appraisals, watch film including film from two years ago too, but that the Chiefs would work hard to get it right. Veach was very happy about the retention of coaches and the personnel staff. As far as the cap guru’s in house, he said that they had their, PHD. in Numbers.
When discussing the front office and especially the “cap guys,” Veach said:
“…We know the language and the players…[the guys on the cap staff] because we have worked together so long, that they are able to articulate their vision of a player, now and in the future, and they can articulate my definition of a player into raw data and numbers which is really cool and I think you can only do that if you have an extensive rapport with someone… but again, they have an innate understanding of what I’m seeking in stout language and verbiage and translating that into what the league suggests (for these contracts.”
Veach also translated the problems of the future with different college conferences canceling or postponing their football season, and the difficulties it would present the organization in the spring in 2021. I came away even more impressed by Veach and his staff based on this interview with Holthus and Mullins.
5. Retaining Travis Kelce – This is one of the tremendous successes of the Chiefs offseason.
If you follow the Chiefs and the NFL on Twitter, you get a sense that George Kittle is the number one tight end in NFL Football. I think Laddie finally had seen enough and re-tweeted a James Palmer Tweet, saying “Poppycock”!
I got a great giggle out of that. I am not at all demeaning George Kittle either.
2020 is Now Only Days Away
We are at the point where it is less than a month to our opening day game versus the Texans. I have been closely following the Texan Team and their outlook for 2020. I think they improved in their offseason despite all the hoopla related to Bill O’Brien and player releases and acquisitions. Even considering this, the Chiefs outclass the Texans and with the veteran player retention of the Chiefs will have two or three legs up on the Houston team. I would not discount the ability of Deshaun Watson. Further, we are facing immediately a quality playoff team from 2019. The Chiefs faced the Texan offensive onslaught in the playoff game last year.
At any point in any season any NFL team can win a game they are not expected to win. Conversely, the Chiefs team is full of “workaholics” from the top down. That reminds me of a zen quip or philosophic query: What’s the world supported by (In this case, it’s not Atlas)? Why it’s a turtle. So, then what supports a turtle? Why, it’s a turtle of course. Then what supports that turtle. The answer is, “Why, it’s turtles all the way down.” It starts with Clark Hunt, and as I illuminated, it goes to Brett Veach and his staff, the coaches and players. It’s turtles… all the way down. The mythology of this is ancient, probably comes out of India and perhaps relates to Zen. A turtle supports the earth in its back, and each turtle in turn is supported by another, larger turtle.
Workaholic translation for 2020? Energy, every moment, every game.
I remember Travis Kelce roaming the sidelines in the playoff game where they fell 24 points behind the Texans. On the sideline, Kelce began a team chant after they came back and scored their first TD in the comeback. That reverberated during a magnificent resurgence in that game: “ENERGY, PURE ENERGY”! Let’s go Chiefs!!!
David Bell — ArrowheadOne
If you are viewing this in Apple News and would like to join the Discussion, [GO HERE.](http://arrowheadone.com/chiefs-turtles-all-the-way-down/#disqus_thread)