Dwayne Bowe Official Website

by Chris Thorman

The Good

• Javier Arenas' 44-yard kick return (51-yard punt). LB Cory Greenwood nearly blocked the punt on the play (He might've tipped it).
• On 3rd and 1, Matt Cassel faked a handoff to the right and a pitched to Dexter McCluster for 14 yards.
• LB Demorrio Williams had a great sack. He lined up as a right end with his hand on the ground (Playing Tamba Hali's position) and zipped past Green Bay's right tackle to make the sack. It was his third sack in two games.
• WR Dwayne Bowe, streaking across the field, caught a Matt Cassel pass at the 30-yard line and took it down to the 3 yard line.

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DAVID EULITT

Another day passed, and Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe kept following the script, difficult as it might sometimes be.

Standing in the locker room Sunday afternoon, dressing and controlling the music on Tamba Hali’s stereo, Bowe shook his head and said that, no, he wouldn’t be speaking to reporters on this day. Maybe not the whole year.

“Well,” Bowe said with a smile, “I can’t say the whole year.”

Difficult as it might be for Bowe, a fourth-year receiver, to remain silent, there’s little doubt that the Chiefs’ plan for him is working — at least for now. And his silence is part of a plan. When reporters approached Bowe on Sunday, a team employee caught the player’s eye and shook his head, reminding Bowe to keep quiet. It was a message, perhaps, that Bowe’s silence is an organizationwide mandate. He obliged, chuckled and got back to whatever it is he does.

Bowe has, through training camp and three preseason games, been one of the Chiefs’ most impressive players. He had four catches Friday night in an exhibition loss to Philadelphia, and one of those was a touchdown. The old problems that once haunted Bowe — the drops, the animated behavior that might have distracted him, the lack of focus — appeared to be in the past.

“He understands,” coach Todd Haley said. “The message was clear to him what he had to do, and he came into the offseason exactly the way he was asked. He worked through the offseason the way that good receivers, trying to become real good receivers, have to, and now he’s continued through training camp to be a dependable player for us.

“He’s made progress in all areas. He’s becoming one of our more dependable players. That’s good. That’s what we want. That’s what we ask of him.”

Haley said Sunday that the Chiefs have emphasized to Bowe that his job isn’t only to catch passes.

He also has to be a dependable blocker, and Haley cited a handful of examples from Friday’s game that displayed that Bowe has perhaps committed himself fully.

Haley seems to have had as many heart-to-heart discussions with Bowe as anyone. Haley is a former NFL receivers coach, and Bowe has shown that he needs a mentor. He was suspended four games last year for failing a test for performance-enhancing drugs — Bowe later told The Star that he took a diuretic his grandmother had mailed him — and squirmed out of another jam this offseason when he told a magazine that some of his Chiefs teammates “imported” women to road trips during the 2007 season.

Haley said Sunday that his latest talks with Bowe seem to have yielded results, and Bowe’s performance against the Eagles showed that his newfound concentration at least has some longevity.

Haley said he shared a belief with Bowe that one player’s statistics don’t matter, if that player is on a losing team. That his combined 2,017 receiving yards and 156 catches in his first two seasons are meaningless if the numbers don’t help his team win.

“I’ve always had a rule that, if you’re above .500, stats count,” Haley said. “If you’re not, then they don’t. I’ve made that clear to Dwayne; he understands that we’re trying to be a good team, and for him to be a good receiver on a good team, you’ve got to be winning games and then have good numbers to back it up. We’re on the same page there.

“Guys earn the right to make plays. When they’re doing the dirty work to allow us to move the football and have success that way, then they earn the right to catch touchdowns and make big plays and make the ESPN highlight reels.”

Haley said Bowe just has to stick with the plan the Chiefs have set forth, uncomfortable as it might sometimes be. That means maintaining his concentration. That means keeping quiet. Then, Haley said, Bowe might emerge into that top receiver the team has been waiting on.

“He’s doing all the things that are asked of him,” Haley said. “He’s working very hard. He’s focused, and I think that’s showing up. The sky is the limit; he’s just got to continue to stay focused.”

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Aug 23, 2010 - The Kansas City Chiefs are nearly finished with training camp and at the halfway point of preseason.

There are some Chiefs that have showed up in a big way through the last month. Here are the guys I thought had the top performances from the start of training camp through the first two preseason games.

1. WR Dexter McCluster

That should really read WR/RB/QB/KR/PR/OW (offensive weapon) because those are the positions McCluster has practiced at.

He's primarily seen time as a receiver but in the first preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons, he ran the ball on five of six plays at one point so I think the Chiefs are at least curious how he'd do (he did well).

McCluster has been the 'Newcomer of the year' at Chiefs training camp. Early on, he was the talk of the town as his quick jukes and fast style of play got fans excited. In training camp, where you're not really being tackled, McCluster looks very good. In two preseason games, he's flashed some of what he'll be able to offer the Chiefs and helped move the ball.

He's definitely an asset and was able to show that halfway through the preseason.

2. OLB Tamba Hali

Yeah, yeah the stats won't show it. Tamba only has one tackle and no sacks.

But what the stat sheet won't tell you about is the pressure he puts on the quarterback. It won't show you teams using an extra blocker on Hali. It won't show you the energy he brings to his teammates.

I'm a big Hali fan because he goes about his business and doesn't seem to care what the perception of him is. He doesn't talk to the media and didn't do anything flashy during camp but he was consistent. He was energetic on mundane training camp plays and I think that practice attitude helps him as one of the Chiefs top two defenders.

3. WR Dwayne Bowe

In a year when a lot of folks are looking at him to see how he'll respond, Dwayne Bowe deserves some credit for showing up in shape, ready to play and with a good attitude.

One of the Chiefs challenges has been getting away from the D-Bowe Show, and while he flashed that at times in St. Joe, he was much more quiet and focused on the play at hand.

Bowe was probably the top performer of the first week of training camp before cooling down a bit. He didn't see any balls thrown his way in the first preseason game but corralled three in the second preseason game. Bowe's ranking could fluctuate if he has two more preseason games like his first one, though.

At times in the last year it seemed Bowe would rather duck the questions, hide and move on. But give him credit for showing up strong in the first half of the preseason.

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