INSIDE THE NFL
K.C. Makes a Statement
Chiefs a force, even without Thomas
by David Fleming
Posted: Wed September 24, 1997
Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer likes to liven up his
practices with simulated crowd noise by using a row of speakers
capable of pumping out more ear-ringing sounds than Garth Brooks
in Central Park. Midway through last Friday's session, however,
Schottenheimer brought his players together at midfield, turned
down the volume and asked, "Do you prefer to operate like this?
Well, then, shut Carolina down. You do that, and it'll get real
quiet, real quick."
On Sunday at Ericsson Stadium the Chiefs not only hushed the
raucous Carolina crowd with an amazingly easy 35-14 win, but
Kansas City (3-1) may have also silenced critics of their
off-season overhaul. The game marked only the second time since
the start of the '96 season that the Panthers (2-2) had been
beaten at home, and the 21-point margin tied their worst defeat
ever at Ericsson. In 1996 Carolina gave up only 13 second-half
points at home. With a lineup that includes 11 new starters, the
Chiefs scored 21 against the Panthers after halftime.
"We made a strong statement today," said cornerback Mark
McMillian, a Saints castoff whose 62-yard interception return
for a touchdown made it 35-7 with 13:42 to play. "To beat a team
that was an inch from the Super Bowl as soundly as we did today
probably has a lot of people scratching their heads. We've got a
lot of new guys, and the more we mesh, the better we get. That's
got to be a scary thought for a lot of teams."
A big part of that scare will come from the Chiefs' swarming
defense. Despite playing without Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick
Thomas for the second week in a row, the Chiefs forced Panthers
quarterback Kerry Collins into five turnovers (four
interceptions and one fumble).
In March the Chiefs signed Thomas to a seven-year, $27.5 million
contract and restructured their defense to give him the freedom
to line up wherever he found a mismatch. The position is called
the Falcon, and Thomas set his sights on Mark Gastineau's NFL
single-season sack record of 22. "Falcon gonna fly," Thomas
could be heard hollering as the season approached. Then he tore
his left triceps during a preseason scrimmage; the injury hasn't
healed, and the Falcon has been grounded. Thomas, who flinched
at the slightest pressure to his left arm while working out last
Friday, has four tackles and no sacks. Of having to watch from
the sidelines until his wing heals, he said, "This is the
hardest thing I've ever had to do."
With Thomas out, other linebackers in the 3-4 scheme have picked
up the slack. The best of the bunch may be Donnie Edwards, a
second-year middle linebacker out of UCLA who helped limit
Carolina's leading receiver, tight end Wesley Walls, to one
catch. Edwards's third-quarter interception led to a Marcus
Allen touchdown that put K.C. up 21-7.
"When you're young and nobody knows you, nothing motivates you
more than wanting to establish yourself in this league," Edwards
said afterward. "Now we have a bunch of guys on both sides of
the ball who are like that. But I think the league is going to
get to know us all pretty soon."
Issue date: September 29, 1997
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