KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sure, Larry Johnson had just three
meaningless carries and quarterback Damon Huard hardly played at
all. And yes, everyone knows head coach Herm Edwards is partial to
defense.
But, come on. Two touchdowns in four exhibition games? Four
winless exhibition games?
Is this the offense the Kansas City Chiefs will trot out in
Sunday's season opener in Houston?
"I don't think they should be worried," said right guard John
Welbourn. "You have to remember, we kept everything pretty
vanilla. We didn't really do anything. We showed about 10 percent
of our arsenal."
Perhaps, but not one aspect of the offense showed any flow or
consistency in losses to New Orleans, St. Louis, Miami and
Cleveland.
Second-year quarterback Brodie Croyle, handed an opportunity to
win the job, failed. His three turnovers elevated Huard, a
career-long backup who played well in eight starts last year in
place of departed Trent Green.
The running game, with Pro Bowler Johnson working out in Arizona
during a contract dispute, was terrible. The only big play on
offense all summer was a long run by rookie Kolby Smith.
Rookie first-round draft pick Dwayne Bowe made one good catch at
wide receiver, but dropped another ball and failed to crack the
starting lineup.
The offense scored only two touchdowns, and rookie kicker Justin
Medlock struggled so much the Chiefs had six kicking prospects in
camp on Monday.
Johnson, who has broken the team rushing record each of the past
two years, is back now. So is left tackle Damion McIntosh, who
practiced on Monday for the first time since injuring his knee on
Aug. 1. Backup tight end Jason Dunn, a terrific blocker who had
been held out with an injury, also returned Monday.
For the record, Monday was the first time the Chiefs had all 11
offensive starters on the field together since minicamp.
"It's nice to have your running back again," said Welbourn,
who has moved from tackle to guard, his more natural position.
"I'm sure we'll take a little bit of time, but we're not worried.
Preseason is a poor indicator. How many times have you seen a team
go 4-0 in the preseason and then go 5-11? I don't put much stock in
the preseason."
A winless preseason and dismal offensive stats are not a source
of confidence, however.
"I don't see us struggling," said left guard Brian Waters.
"But, again, we don't know what we're going to do. That's the good
thing about it: We've yet to see this whole football team run our
offense with all our players in there. That's something we can feel
positive about."
The tempo and mind-set now that the regular season is about to
begin is also different.
"All our practices during training camp were for different
teams. We would run different situations, then add stuff for teams
we went against during the preseason," Waters said. "Now we can
put all our attention and all our focus on just one team."
An early worry is Johnson's progress. After a 25-day holdout,
nobody expects the man who carried an NFL record 416 times a year
ago to be at his peak at Houston.
Backup Michael Bennett, recovered from the bumps and bruises
that slowed him last year, will probably carry much of the load
early.
"Larry is going to be on a little bit of a leash early," said
Edwards. "He has to get his legs underneath him. Michael's
healthy, which is good. We feel very comfortable with the runners
we have now. It's not all on L.J., which is good."