FEATURE STORIES

July 26, 2006

Special Teams

By Jude Harder
UW-RF Public Affairs

Heading into training camp Head Coach Herm Edwards will place heavy emphasis on strong special teams play and gaining good field position in this upcoming season.

The Chiefs will will rely on a new special teams coach and an influx of quick and aggressive young players to go along with an already talented special teams unit.

When Edwards took over as head coach he retained many of former Coach Dick Vermeil’s coaching staff, the one major move he made was bringing in a new special teams coach. 

Edwards named Mike Priefer as special teams coach after he had served as an assistant coach with the New York Giants the past three seasons. Under Priefer’s tutelage kicker Jay Feely enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2005 when he led all kickers with 148 points and David Tyree became the first Giants player since 1990 to earn an invite to the Pro Bowl as a special teams player.

Graduating from the Naval Academy, Pfiefer knows discipline and that’s what he intends on stressing during this year’s summer training camp.

Pfiefer inherits a special teams unit that is already very talented, featuring two-time Pro Bowl kick returner Dante Hall and kicker Lawrence Tynes.

Hall returns for his seventh season with the Chiefs. He is only the second player in Chiefs history to receive a Pro Bowl selection as a return specialist. He also owns a franchise-record 10 kick/punt returns for touchdowns, four of them coming in 2003 during a span in which he became the first player ever to return a kick return for a touchdown in four consecutive games. Besides his standout special team play, Hall continues to become a big-play performer in the passing game as a third receiver. His 2,283 combined net yards in 2005 were the third-highest single season total on Chiefs history. His 65 kickoff returns and 1,560 kickoff return yards each ranked as the second-best season in Chiefs history. Hall hopes to get to the end zone more often in 2006 after only returning one kick for a touchdown last year.

Free agent acquisition cornerback Chris Johnson will also get a look at returning kicks. Last year with the St. Louis Rams Johnson accumulated over 800 return yards.

Kicker Lawrence Tynes comes to camp to begin his third year as the Chiefs full-time place-kicker. After a strong 2004 campaign, Tynes really turned heads with his spectacular performance last year, making 27-33 field goals and converting 44-45 extra points for a career-high 125 points. This former CFL and NFL Europe star, known for his very strong leg, booted 58 of his 86 kickoffs inside the 10-yard line and had one touchback.

Handling the punting duties this year will be Dustin Colquitt who is in his second season with the team. In the 2005 draft the Chiefs spent their third-round selection on the left-footed Colquitt. It was the highest pick the Chiefs have ever spent on a punter. Colquitt possesses a knack for getting good hang-time on his punts that allows the coverage units to get downfield. The unusual spin that he puts on the ball also makes it very difficult for return men to catch. Last year he punted 65 times with a net average of 35.2 yards. He had 27 land inside the 20-yard line and had five touchbacks.

The coverage units will be led by returning standouts Rich Scanlon and Boomer Grigsby. Scanlon led Chiefs with 29 special teams tackles last year, Grigsby added 19. Edwards believes in having a very fast and physical defense, so it is likely you will see that kind of play on special teams as well.

This off-season the Chiefs brought in a lot of young and athletic players to help contribute on special teams. One of those players contributing should be 2006 second-round draft pick Bernard Pollard. A safety and special teams ace, Pollard reeked havoc on opposing kickers, blocking three punts and five field goals in his college career at Purdue.

So important is special teams play that Edwards has scheduled four practice sessions dedicated only to that important part of the game.