As we enter the start of the football season, OTAs and voluntary camps have taken over the minds of football fans. The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a down year of 9-7, one year after finishing 11-5 with a playoff birth. Some of their top players, newly acquired WR Jeremy Maclin, to go with star RB Jamaal Charles, and top defensive player OLB Tamba Hali all spoke with the media yesterday regarding their outlook for next year, their adjustments, and the effect of getting older. Along with those players, two rookies, CBs Marcus Peters and Steven Nelson also spoke with reporters.
One of the newest Chiefs, WR Jeremy Maclin joins a WR group that had zero TD catches last year. Maclin is expected to play more of the role that DeSean Jackson played when he was with the Eagles, but Maclin explained it as playing the same role as he did with Philadelphia, except moving around a lot more. When asked about coming off a career year in stats, Maclin said, “I think it’s just a matter of getting better each and every year, trying to become the best player you can be each and every year”. He also said that he and QB Alex Smith are off to a great start and that their comfort level is pretty high. Maclin has a slightly irritated foot, but he claims that after a day off the foot is fine.
When talking about the Chiefs, you have to mention their “Big Dog” on offense, RB Jamaal Charles. He said that after a week off, he’ll be ready to go hard for the next couple weeks to get ready for the season. When asked if he may want to back off a bit, Charles replied, “No, I just thought this was my best OTAs in my career right here. It was one of the best ones I’ve had. I feel like I know what I’m doing. Not everything I did was a fast pace, I did everything patiently. I came in in shape. Being in the third year of the system, I feel good”. He said the week off was to avoid going too hard, but he plans to come back and get into playing shape.
Sack artist, Tamba Hali, sets his personal goal at double digit sacks as he said, “Double digit sacks in our league is hard to get. When you’re able to achieve it, you know you’re playing at a high level”. He also mentioned his game changing from physical and athleticism to more mental as he has gotten older. Hali said he beat a lot of guys last year and it was much more gratifying from just beating guys one on one. He hopes to continue to progress from watching tape of himself from last year, saying, “Sometimes it’s good to look back to see how you progress. What I do, I look at the year before because that’s the last thing I did current to be able to go from there. To scout yourself, you can always get better.”
The Chiefs 1st round pick Marcus Peters is excited and happy to be back after not being allowed to be with the team the last few weeks. Peters was not frustrated however, saying “Not frustrating. It was just something that I was a part of. Unfortunately my college is on a quarter system so it causes me to miss some time, but it’s not something frustrating at all. I’m glad to be back now”. He did say that being coach by former CB Al Harris was a huge help for him, “That’s always good when you’re getting coached by a guy like him that has been an All-Pro in this league and he knows how to get it done”, said Peters.
Also back with the team is their 3rd round pick, Steven Nelson, who said he spent most of his break doing DB drills, film, and playbook. He said he worked out 5 days a week and spent most of his time at the Fisher Institute, a training facility in Phoenix, Arizona. He mentioned that he’s anxious to see how he fares with the team and he thinks the defense fits his skill set, saying, “I like that I can go out there and make plays, that’s what I like about it.”
The Chiefs are ready to get back to be a contender in the AFC. With the Patriots and Broncos being a year older and the Colts and Bengals still not being able to get over the hump yet, Andy Reid and the Chiefs must take advantage of their talent while they can. Alex Smith isn’t getting any younger and neither is the players mentioned above. In a division with an aging Peyton Manning, and aging Philip Rivers, and an inexperienced Derek Carr, the Chiefs may not get a better chance than this year. Will they let it slip away?
