KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The punter does not have one minute of
NFL experience. The placekicker does not have one minute of NFL
experience.
The general manager, at least for the time being, does not have
one minute's peace of mind.
"I'm scared to death," said Carl Peterson, president and GM of
the Kansas City Chiefs. "I'm not going to be able to sleep at
night until these guys prove themselves."
The Chiefs' focus throughout the preseason was trained on
achieving a defensive renaissance under Gunther Cunningham and
fine-tuning a powerful offense -- making sure a 13-3 playoff team
remained a viable Super Bowl contender.
But less than a week before the season opener, the Chiefs did
something only rebuilding teams are supposed to do. They fired
their veteran placekicker, No. 2 career scorer Morten Andersen, and
dumped their in-the-doghouse punter, rolling the dice with a couple
of scarily untested newcomers.
"A tough decision. A risky decision," agreed coach Dick
Vermeil.
Punting will be handled by Steve Cheek. He's been with five
teams in four years, but never found his way onto an NFL roster
until making good in his only preseason game with Kansas City.
Succeeding Andersen, who still possesses great accuracy from 40
yards and in, is Lawrence Tynes.
Tynes kicked well the past two years in the CFL and obviously
has more distance and power than the 44-year-old he displaced.
But like Cheek, he's never kicked with NFL-caliber athletes
bearing down on him and 70,000 crazed fans screaming in his ear.
Peterson, among others on the staff, favored keeping at least
one of the veterans. But Vermeil prevailed.
"You don't always have a 100 percent consensus on the decisions
you make on moving and changing the roster, but you try to come up
with a majority that believes you're doing the right thing,"
Vermeil said.
Tynes should have plenty of opportunity to kick field goals and
extra points because the offense that's led the NFL in scoring the
past two years has never looked sharper.
Pro Bowl players in quarterback Trent Green, running back Priest
Holmes, fullback Tony Richardson and tight end Tony Gonzalez assure
the Chiefs of plenty of firepower.
Green trails only Peyton Manning for the most yards passing in
the past two seasons combined (7,729 to 8,467). Holmes, who
rebounded from hip surgery in 2003 to score an NFL-record 27
touchdowns, has been running with greater energy than he ever
showed a year ago.
Nine-time Pro Bowlers Will Shields at guard and Willie Roaf at
tackle anchor an offensive line which ranks among the very best.
Wide receiver is the only worry on offense.
Never a strength, the situation grew bleaker with injuries that
put Marc Boerigter on injured reserve and sidelined Johnnie Morton
until this week.
In addition, rookie tight end Kris Wilson, who had the most
impressive camp of any newcomer, broke his leg and will be gone at
least half the season.
The unsettled look among the pass catchers might even take the
ball out of Dante Hall's hands on some punts and kickoffs. If Hall
winds up shouldering a greater load at receiver, Vermeil will not
risk overworking the little guy who had five touchdown returns in
'03.
But what of the defense?
Cunningham, fired four years ago as head coach, is back doing
what he does best -- coordinating and energizing a defense. He has
almost the exact same personnel as the unit that finished 29th a
year ago. But he's installed a new scheme and, perhaps equally
important, a new mind-set.
"You don't have to watch our 9-on-7 drills to see the
difference," said linebacker Scott Fujita. "You can actually hear
the drill, too. It's a completely different attitude."
Gravelly voiced and salty-tongued, Cunningham's influence is
being felt everywhere.
"There's been a trickle-down effect ... to the whole football
team," Vermeil said. "He's a tough guy and you can't have enough
tough guys on a football team. He brings that little extra
dimension that rubs off into everything."
At least one front row observer swears it'll be a new defense.
"They're attacking now," said Gonzalez. "They're rallying to
the football. I think this is the year to do it, and I'm talking
Super Bowl. This playoff stuff, we expect that. But we really do
think our chances are good to go to the Super Bowl and win the
thing this year."