Good morning boys and girls. We have a tweet-free edition of Arrowheadlines today since I'm running late for my train. Fear not, we've still managed to find some Kansas City Chiefs news for your review and comment. The most important story leads. R.I.P. #37.
Look at that smile. So vivid, so endearing, even now 27 years after he’s gone, it still provides a shot of life. It’s hard not to smile back.Joe Delaney had one of the best smiles that ever walked through a Chiefs locker room. Shy and quiet by nature, he was always ready to push back his lips and show his pearly whites. For two years his teammates all remember one thing about him – no matter what time they walked into the locker room at Arrowhead Stadium, Joe was already there, sitting in front of his locker, sipping from a cup of coffee and ready to flash that smile to everyone.
It was on June 29, 1983 in Monroe, Louisiana that Joe Delaney drowned while trying to save three boys who were under water in a construction pond next to an amusement park. He was 24 years old.
A Smile For The Ages … Tuesday Cup O’Chiefs from Bob Gretz
There are some interesting stories at this website: I am Joe Delaney.org
I am reposting two article from a few years ago that are certainly worth a read today.
Nobody -- not his wife, not his mother -- had ever seen him so much as dog-paddle. A year and a half earlier, when he went to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii as the AFC's starting halfback and Rookie of the Year, he never set even a pinkie toe in the ocean or the pool. "Never had," says his wife, Carolyn, who'd known Joe since they were both seven. "In all my years, I never had seen him swim."
So why? Why did the 24-year-old Kansas City Chief try to save three boys he didn't know with a skill he didn't have...
...He was buried on the Fourth of July, 20 years ago. A telegram from President Reagan was read at the memorial service. The Presidential Citizens Medal was awarded posthumously. Three thousand people came to his funeral. A park in Haughton was named after him. No Chiefs player has worn number 37 since. The 37 Forever Foundation, a nonprofit group in Kansas City, honors him to this day by providing free swimming lessons to inner-city kids.
No Ordinary Joe from SI.com
Let us now go down the road and around the bend from Joe's house on West Madison Street in Haughton to the Galilee Baptist Church...to listen to the people eulogize him. The words are all real, but you're going to have to imagine the scene, because when Joe died there were so many people, from far and wide, who wanted to honor him that his parish church, the Galilee, couldn't be used for the services. They had to be held in the largest building in town, the high school gym—HOME OF THE BUCCANEERS it Says on one wall, over an American flag. Joe rested there in an open casket before the services.
It was July 4, Independence Day, brutally hot, and a number of mourners passed out. Many Chiefs and other NFL players came, but the local people watched Norma Hunt especially closely. She's the wife of Lamar Hunt, the owner of the Chiefs, and if the home folks were impressed that this millionaire had come to pay his respects to Joe Alton Delaney, they were moved that his wife had come.
Sometimes The Good Die Young from Sports Illustrated
Berry tore up the NCAA, winning the 2009 Thorpe Award and becoming the best safety in the collegiate ranks. Berry was drawing comparisons to Brian Dawkins(notes) and Ed Reed(notes) even before former NFL defensive genius Monte Kiffin became his defensive coordinator in time for the 2009 season. Off the field, Berry is just as driven — he was a member of the National Honor Society in high school, and interned with a local dentist last year to further his education. I got a chance to catch up with Berry after a recent adidas photo shoot, and here's Part 2 of the interview.The Shutdown Corner Interview: Eric Berry (Part 2) from Yahoo! Sports
Last year, the Chiefs big additions were Matt Cassel, Mike Vrable, Tyson Jackson and head coach Todd Haley. Going in to week 9 of the season, these additions had not netted the Chiefs any extra victories. Coming off a 2-14 season, the Chiefs had at that point, broken even on the previous seasons win total.
Doing the math, the additions of Vrabel, Cassel, Haley and Jackson put the Chiefs at even.
Then something changed. The Chiefs did much better in the 2nd half of the season, winning 3 of their last 8 games. They were also more competitive, losing 3 games in the final stretch by 7 points or less. That is 3 wins and 3 near wins out of 8 games. The Chiefs were only blown out twice in their final 8 games. They were blown out (loss of 10 points or more) 4 times in their first 8 games.
The change happened during the Bye Week when Larry Johnson got the boot, Jamaal Charles was promoted and Chris Chambers was signed.
Chiefs Math from Arrowhead Addict
21. Kansas City Chiefs: OK, there’s still plenty of growth potential here with Tyson Jackson(notes) and Alex Magee(notes) leading the way. In addition, it’s hard to judge defensive players properly when they so rarely are in games where the opposing offense has to take any risk. That’s because the Chiefs offense was just God-awful last year. However, when the combination of Jackson, Magee, former No. 5 overall pick Glenn Dorsey(notes) and solid veteran Ron Edwards(notes) combine to get all of three sacks, that’s just not good. Even in 3-4 scheme, it’s just not good.
D-line rankings: 3-4 complicates evaluations from Yahoo! Sports
24. Kansas City: The Chiefs have hired two coordinators (Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel) who helped the Patriots win Super Bowls. Too bad they don’t have those same New England players.
The Sun's offseason power rankings (Nos. 17-24) fromThe Baltimore Sun
Chiefs GM Scott Pioli received some criticism for cutting Pollard, so Chiefs fans are watching anxiously to see how they handle the Jarrad Page situation.
I think the fans' perception of Page is about the same as Pollard -- sure, he's got flaws, but overall he's a good player.
And the Chiefs are not in the market to be giving up good players.
So how will the Chiefs handle the Page trade request?
Chiefs fans are watching with curiosity not only because they might lose a good player such as Page, but also because they want to see if the Chiefs learned from their mistake (or the perception that it was a mistake) of cutting Pollard.
Update: Keeping Bernard Pollard In Mind, It'll Be Interesting To See How The Chiefs Handle Jarrad Page from SB Nation Kansas City
Summer has officially just begun, and the Kansas City Royals are just now reaching the halfway point of their season, but officials in St. Joseph have their eyes firmly on football season as construction crews put the finishing touches on new training camp facilities for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs, after spending the last 20 years training in River Falls, Wisconsin, are moving their training camp to Missouri Western State University begining with this season. On the MWSU campus, crews are finishing up on $13 million in new facilities as they race to get ready for training camp, which starts at the end of July.
"It's sort of like building a new home," said Dan Nicoson of MWSU. "For a while you wonder if ever going to get there, then all of a sudden they're putting final touches on."St. Joe Getting Ready for the Chiefs from Fox4KC