Chiefs' Warfield fights to get job back
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Eric Warfield is out of jail and off house arrest and finally out from under that four-game suspension by the NFL.
Now, if only he can get out of Dick Vermeil's doghouse.
Vermeil welcomed back Warfield this week from a four-game suspension for felony conviction of DUI, but made it clear that Dexter McCleon, not Warfield, will be the starting right cornerback on Sunday when Kansas City hosts the Washington Redskins.
"Chances are he'll be active this week, but not in a starting role, but (in a) special teams role and a backup role or maybe a limited package role," Vermeil said Tuesday.
So what will it take for Warfield to regain his starting role? The eight-year veteran has been the Chiefs' best defensive back the past several years and is bigger and more physical than McCleon, who is more suited as the nickel back.
Even with McCleon playing better than expected in Warfield's absence, the pass defense for the Chiefs (2-2) has been poor, allowing almost 274 yards per game.
"He's going to have to look like a starter on the practice field, and look better, when he does play, than Dexter," Vermeil said.
How long will that take?
"I don't know. I couldn't tell you," he said.
Clearly, coaches still are irritated at what they perceived as Warfield's uninspired effort in the last exhibition game against St. Louis. By then, Warfield knew he was headed for a four-game suspension as soon as the regular season began. His thoughts that night seemed not to be on the game.
"His frame of mind wasn't very good because ... he knew that was it, that he was going on suspension for four weeks, and he didn't play very well," Vermeil said.
"To play well in the secondary, your focus has to be outstanding. His focus was outstanding on the practice field yesterday. When he's focused and working, he has the skills to be a starter. He's had a lot of great games for us.
"We know what he can do, and he knows what he can do."
Soft-spoken and approachable, Warfield has always been a fan and teammate favorite. But everything began sliding downhill last winter when he was convicted of a third DUI in suburban Johnson County, Kan., which automatically became a felony.
In what must have been a humiliating series of punishments, he spent 10 days in jail and 80 days under house arrest. Fines totaling almost $2,000 were a pittance compared to more than $1 million in salary he lost when the NFL ordered him to sit out the first four games this season.
He's known all along he would not simply walk right back into his starting job. For one thing, several new starters have been added to the defense, including left cornerback Patrick Surtain and safety Sammy Knight, and the scheme is not what it had been.
But if not him, the Chiefs obviously need something. Even though statistical rankings are deceptive so early in the season, the Chiefs' pass defense is resting near the bottom of the league and is just about where it wound up last year.
"I'm not expecting to come in and start ahead of Dexter or change anything on the defense," Warfield said. "I've got to work my way back into this defense."
Vermeil said what he's seen so far has been encouraging.
"He's done everything he's supposed to do and better. He will once again be very competitive," Vermeil said. "But it's just not going to be handed to him. You just have to play it by ear and see how our defensive coaches and myself evaluate that whole process."
Another condition of Warfield's probation was mandatory alcohol counseling.
"I've got a fresh start. I've made a lot of changes in my life, lived a whole new lifestyle in these last few months," he said. "Hopefully, it's for the better and I can come back and contribute to this team."
Warfield not in Chief's Starting Lineup vs. Skins
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Warfield not in Chief's Starting Lineup vs. Skins
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/4983056
"The biggest misrepresentation there is that [it's because] Dan's got a lot of money. That's not it," Gibbs said. "We've got a rule. Believe me, if we had no rules, Dan would spend some money."
— Bobby Beathard
— Bobby Beathard
"Warfield has always been a fan and teammate favorite"
Um, not true at all. As a Redskin and Chief fan (and season ticket holder), I can emphatically tell everyone that no one in this town, aside from possibly his family, likes Eric Warfield. He's a punk, a primadonna, and gets burnt **every single game.** The KC secondary sucks, and he's the primary reason. Warfield wasn't even the starter in training camp, Julian Battle was. Battle got hurt, and they had to put Warfield in. Carl Peterson (Chiefs GM) chose a few years ago to sign Warfield, and not beloved linebacker Donnie Edwards, to a lucrative deal, which created a lot of animosity towards the organization's priorities ("Mr. DUI" over a team player and fixture in the local community???) and their thinking (Warfield is supposedly the #1 CB on the team, but that's hard to do when you've got the speed of a safety, which is what he played at Nebraska). The breakdown is as follows: McCleon is old, slow, and barely getting it done; Bartee is overmatched, and would be playing safety if it weren't for Warfield's DUI. Warfield out = 2 TDs for Santana Moss and 1 for Patton (our safety's are horrible also, just ask Shannon Sharpe, who burnt KC's cover-2 a few years ago with this same personnel for almost 200 yards). Warfield in = 1 TD for Moss and 1 for Patton. Honestly, Warfield makes a difference, but not enough of one to stop our passing. With KCs defense, we should run it up the middle where Lional Dalton (remember him?) and company are very weak defensive tackles. KC's pass rush is pretty good, with Gunther Cunningham coming up with some very creative blitz packages and schemes, but they get burnt by the bootleg all the time. The strength of the defense is definitely in the linebackers, which will challenge our tight-ends, keep us from running too effectively outside the tackles, and whose pass rush will keep us in our, as John Clayton calls it, "pentagon of protection."
Um, not true at all. As a Redskin and Chief fan (and season ticket holder), I can emphatically tell everyone that no one in this town, aside from possibly his family, likes Eric Warfield. He's a punk, a primadonna, and gets burnt **every single game.** The KC secondary sucks, and he's the primary reason. Warfield wasn't even the starter in training camp, Julian Battle was. Battle got hurt, and they had to put Warfield in. Carl Peterson (Chiefs GM) chose a few years ago to sign Warfield, and not beloved linebacker Donnie Edwards, to a lucrative deal, which created a lot of animosity towards the organization's priorities ("Mr. DUI" over a team player and fixture in the local community???) and their thinking (Warfield is supposedly the #1 CB on the team, but that's hard to do when you've got the speed of a safety, which is what he played at Nebraska). The breakdown is as follows: McCleon is old, slow, and barely getting it done; Bartee is overmatched, and would be playing safety if it weren't for Warfield's DUI. Warfield out = 2 TDs for Santana Moss and 1 for Patton (our safety's are horrible also, just ask Shannon Sharpe, who burnt KC's cover-2 a few years ago with this same personnel for almost 200 yards). Warfield in = 1 TD for Moss and 1 for Patton. Honestly, Warfield makes a difference, but not enough of one to stop our passing. With KCs defense, we should run it up the middle where Lional Dalton (remember him?) and company are very weak defensive tackles. KC's pass rush is pretty good, with Gunther Cunningham coming up with some very creative blitz packages and schemes, but they get burnt by the bootleg all the time. The strength of the defense is definitely in the linebackers, which will challenge our tight-ends, keep us from running too effectively outside the tackles, and whose pass rush will keep us in our, as John Clayton calls it, "pentagon of protection."
Braden wrote:"Warfield has always been a fan and teammate favorite"
Um, not true at all."
The media write something untrue?
Say it isn't so! 
"The biggest misrepresentation there is that [it's because] Dan's got a lot of money. That's not it," Gibbs said. "We've got a rule. Believe me, if we had no rules, Dan would spend some money."
— Bobby Beathard
— Bobby Beathard
1niksder wrote:This was posted yesterday afternoon, In the THN Huddle
Also...
KC Chief's daily newspapers
Sorry I missed it...
"The biggest misrepresentation there is that [it's because] Dan's got a lot of money. That's not it," Gibbs said. "We've got a rule. Believe me, if we had no rules, Dan would spend some money."
— Bobby Beathard
— Bobby Beathard
