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Vrabel adjusts to being out of contention


By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star


During his eight seasons with the Patriots, linebacker Mike Vrabel knew only meaningful December games that were played either to get his team into the playoffs or set it up for a postseason run.

In his first season with the 3-9 Chiefs, Vrabel is finding out how the other half lives. His late-season games, including Sunday’s meeting with Buffalo at Arrowhead Stadium, aren’t for playoffs but pride.

This new experience has been trying for Vrabel, and he caved in to that frustration in the fourth quarter of last week’s loss to Denver. He flipped off the Broncos’ sideline after Denver scored a touchdown on fourth down and 1 with a 21-point lead.

Vrabel is still waiting to hear whether he will be fined by the league, which seems likely weeks after Tennessee owner Bud Adams was recently docked $250,000 for the same infraction.

“Maybe they don’t have it on film,” Vrabel said. “I’m not going to tell them I want a fine.”

That incident aside, Vrabel said that he’s satisfied with how he’s responded to his team’s predicament and that he’s the same player he was in New England when the Patriots were playoff-bound in December.

“Anybody can play for a 12-2 team in December,” Vrabel said. “When things are good, it’s all fun and games. This is not fun and games. But we’re going to stay professional about it.

“Has it been different? Yes. But I expected it to be different. It’s not that I like it any less. There are good guys here. This can be a humbling business. We’re all measured by the success of the team.

“You can’t really sit there and wallow in it. We’ve got to finish strong and start developing a program around here that people want to be a part of.”

While with New England, Vrabel acknowledged, he admired losing teams that persevered. He used the Bills, who are 4-8 this season and haven’t made the playoffs since 1999, as an example.

“They haven’t had a lot to play for in December since I can remember,” Vrabel said. “But they play and they fight and they’re tough. There was a game last year, the last game of the regular season. We had to win to have a chance to make the playoffs. They had a losing record. The wind was blowing 80 miles an hour. You put a ball at midfield, and it would blow all the way to the tunnel. The goalposts kept blowing down.

“It would have been so easy for that team to say (the heck with) this and not give an effort. But they played hard and gave us a tight game. We won, but they won our respect.

“That’s what we have to do. We have to find the grind, and things hopefully will go our way. But you can’t just hope it’s going to happen. You have to make it happen.”

Vrabel is trying to influence that his own way. He said that flipping off the Denver sideline was not part of the plan but just a sign of his frustration.

But no one disputes that Vrabel is an emotional player whose actions often reflect that. Many of his teammates didn’t see Vrabel salute the Broncos sideline but weren’t surprised to hear it was Vrabel who did the deed.

“Mike is a smart, smart football player,” said quarterback Matt Cassel, acquired in the same trade with New England that brought Vrabel to Kansas City. “He understands the game and understood the situation, which a lot of guys don’t.”

The Chiefs sought Vrabel for his leadership qualities and his winning background as much as his ability to play linebacker. Noting the Chiefs’ record, Vrabel said, “I guess I haven’t done a good enough job.”

Getting serious, he added: “I don’t think there was a sense they were getting some saviors when Matt and I came. It’s not going to happen overnight.”

Vrabel’s playing abilities are best appreciated after reviewing game video as opposed to the stat sheet. He is fifth on the Chiefs in tackles and has one sack and a forced fumble.

But he’s usually where he’s supposed to be on every play, a quality the Chiefs could use from other players as well.

“I’m trying to do what I’m asked to do,” Vrabel said. “I’d rather have four or five interceptions or more sacks, but I’ve been trying to grade out at a high level and be consistent. I’m trying not to give up a lot of plays.

“You’ve got to have superstars. You’ve got to have guys to make plays. But there’s room for only so many of those guys. You need other guys that play consistently from down to down and never get you beat.

“Every year, I try to be that guy. That’s how I’ve tried to define myself as a player. I’m going to play consistently, not make a bunch of mistakes, give the same kind of effort every time I play.”

Vrabel is in the final year of a contract he signed while with the Patriots. He’s 34 but retains the qualities the Chiefs wanted when they traded for him, so it’s likely they’ll make the effort to bring him back.

“If they want me back, I’d love to come back,” Vrabel said. “I don’t feel bad physically. I did have that knee injury earlier in the year, but otherwise I feel good.

“I’d like to be able to see this thing through.”


Vrabel adjusts to being out of contention - KansasCity.com

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Perhaps the lowest day in Chiefs' history came on January 2, 1983, when they drew 11,902 fans to a season ending 37-13 win over the New York Jets. On that same day, the now defunct Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League attracted 15,000 to their game at Kemper Arena.

The simple fact is that this blackout is not only symbolic and representative of the season, but this season is the apex of Chiefs’ futility. Kansas City has lost 33 of the last 38 games – on par with the worst 38 game stretch in NFL history.

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http://www.orangemane.com/

Perhaps the lowest day in Chiefs' history came on January 2, 1983, when they drew 11,902 fans to a season ending 37-13 win over the New York Jets. On that same day, the now defunct Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League attracted 15,000 to their game at Kemper Arena.