Insider Blog: Bowe's Back
Tarkus
Insider Blog: Bowe's Back
Dec 15, 2009, 6:08:47 AM
J.C. ON THE UPS - GET THE MAN TO 1,000
December 15th � 10:49 AM
As the Chiefs record has gone down three notches over the past three
games, not all players have followed suit along with the win/loss record.
Obviously RB Jamaal Charles is a game-changer. He�s basically been the
Chiefs offensive attack over the past month and when he�s absent, it�s
more than visible to the naked eye.
Charles turned in the best game of his two-year career on Sunday,
rushing for a career-high 143 yards on a career-high 20 carries, which
were part of a career-high 27 total touches that featured a career-high
76-yard TD run. Got all that? Charles has also scored a touchdown in
five consecutive games. Keep in mind that the Chiefs didn�t record a
single rushing TD until Jamaal Charles started at Oakland nine games
into the season on November 15th.
In addition to his five TDs over five starts, Charles has averaged 182.2
combined net yards per game (rushing, receiving, returning) to produce
six total TDs. His average yards per carry stands at 5.2 yards, which is
a mark that ranks sixth in the NFL. Charles has also turned in 16 runs
of 10 yards or more this season.
As the year winds down for Kansas City, one attainable yet difficult
goal should be to get Charles to the 1,000-yard rushing mark. The mark
would have seemed unattainable just a month ago, but Charles is now just
395 yards away from the century mark.
Charles will have to average 132 yards per game the rest of the season,
which is quite a high mark considering his 143-yard performance last
Sunday was the highest of his career. Still, the 1,000-yard mark is an
attainable goal. He�ll need to get a jump on the total this Sunday if
the team hopes to produce the first 1,000-yard rusher since 2006 (Larry
Johnson, 1,789 yards).
Cleveland ranks 28th in the NFL in rushing defense, yielding 148.1 yards
per game.
BOWE�S BACK
December 15th � 6:08 AM
WR Dwayne Bowe made a quiescent return to Arrowhead on Monday morning
following a four-week NFL suspension for violating the league�s policy
on performance-enhancing substances.
There were no press conferences, special statements or �Bowe Show�
banners. The Chiefs� top wide receiver simply entered the locker room,
quietly made way to his locker, and shook hands with a few teammates
whom he hadn�t seen over the past month. There were a limited number of
greetings, smiles and hugs, but that�s about it.
Bowe arrived on a Monday morning just as he�d done for the previous nine
weeks prior to his suspension. Not much time for chatter, just a change
of clothes and off to work out before film review. The routine was
nothing noteworthy, and may have even felt monotonous a month ago, but
it was easy to see that Bowe was happy to be back at work.
There was no visible evidence of a change in physical appearance from
four weeks prior, either. Bowe said that he had been staying in shape by
working out at former Chiefs offensive lineman Will Shields� area gym
while being barred by the NFL from participating in any team-related
activities.
�Dwayne is back this week,� Chiefs head coach Todd Haley said. �We
haven�t had any contact by league rules � you�re not allowed to have any
contact with a suspended player. We�ll have to do our best to see where
he�s at and get him up to speed.�
There�s no question that the Chiefs could use Bowe back in the receiving
rotation. Despite his four-week suspension, he still leads all Kansas
City wide receivers with 33 catches for 466 yards and four TDs. He
actually held the overall team-lead in receptions until RB Jamaal
Charles caught his 34th pass of the season in the fourth quarter vs.
Buffalo on Sunday.
Even a Bowe at 75% or 85% can add a much-needed spark to the Chiefs
offense. The question isn�t whether or not Bowe can help the Chiefs over
these final three games. It�s more or less, what are reasonable
expectations for Bowe in his return to the field on Sunday?
This is a topic that many have weighed in on. Fans, media members and
everything in between seem to have discussed this topic with no clear
consensus. The same can be said inside Arrowhead.
WR Bobby Wade played his 100th career NFL game on Sunday. Over the
course of those seven professional seasons, Wade has seen plenty of
players fight through comebacks whether it is from suspension or injury.
He said that outside expectations for Bowe to step right in and play at
the exact same level (or higher) before the suspension would be unrealistic.
�It�s the speed of the game,� Wade said about the biggest adjustment
that looms for Bowe. �It can go both ways. The speed of the game can
slow down and you are faster than everybody, or you�re not quite up to
speed. It�s going to be a challenge for him to play within his own realm
and make the plays that come to him.
�Conditioning is going to be the same, but it�s tough to simulate any
type of game speed when you�re away from the game,� Wade continued.
�It�s going to be a very big challenge for him, but I think that he is
very capable of handling that.�
Another veteran wide receiver, Chris Chambers, felt the opposite way
about Bowe. Chambers feels like expectations for Bowe to step in and
contribute immediately, at a similar level as before, are fair.
�I think that the expectations should be high,� Chambers said. �I think
that they will be high for himself. He�ll have more help around him. All
the focus won�t be on him, we�ll all make some plays.�
Chambers led all Chiefs receivers with 17 catches for 250 yards and a TD
in Bowe�s absence. He�s followed in a close second by Charles and Wade,
who each turned in 13 catches a piece. Without Bowe in the lineup, it�s
fair to say that the Chiefs have lacked a primary go-to receiving
target. In total, Chiefs quarterbacks completed passes to 11 different
players during the course of Bowe�s four-game suspension.
�Any time you�re missing one of your better players � which we were for
the last four weeks � I�m personally excited about having Dwayne back,�
Haley said. �I think Dwayne was making tremendous strides when the
suspension occurred and I think he�s made strides in all areas to a
point where he cares about what we�re trying to do.�
Bowe had turned in his second-highest receiving output of the season at
Oakland (11/15) � a six-catch, 91-yard effort � before news of the
suspension broke the following Tuesday afternoon on Chiefs LIVE
(12:00-1:00 PM CST each Tuesday on kcchiefs.com).
Haley offered his opinions on his own expectations for Bowe as well.
Basically, Haley is treating the situation as if Bowe were coming off an
injury.
Looking for any type of precedent? Bowe caught just one pass for 11
yards following the only bundle of missed time during his three-year NFL
career. That occurred this season vs. the Giants (10/4), following a leg
injury that kept him out of the lineup at Philadelphia (9/27) the week
before. Prior to this season, Bowe had never missed a game as a pro.
Haley didn�t comment, however, as to whether Bowe would return to his
starting role or not on Sunday. That is something we�ll likely have a
better read on after Wednesday�s practice session. Starter or not,
Bowe�s return to the field vs. Cleveland will create a receiving
presence that the Chiefs have lacked over the past month.
�Just in looking at him it looks like he�s done a pretty good job of
keeping himself in condition,� Haley said. �We�ve got to get him up to
speed in any of the new stuff we�re doing. I�m personally excited about
having him back in the mix. We need all the hands we can get.�