BOOMER GRIGSBY - Rookie Diary

Oct 28, 2005, 4:00:06 PM

Rookie Diary
Week Eight – October 28, 2005

What’s up out there in the Chiefs kingdom?

How about that Miami game for a crazy turn of events? I don’t think we found out until Thursday that we were going to be traveling on Friday. Coach Vermeil did a great job preparing us all week long for anything could happen. We could have played here at Arrowhead, we could have played somewhere else or even on another day.

So once we heard from the league that the game would be Friday, I think we wanted to get a flight out Thursday so we didn’t have to travel the day of the game. I don’t think we could get a flight that fast, so we headed out Friday morning. It made for a long day, from about 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 a.m. But I think if that could happen to any team it was good to happen to the Kansas City Chiefs. We’ve got so many veteran players that they realized that no matter what time, who it is or where it is, we’ve got to come ready to play. I think they did a great job not making it a big deal. No one was like, “I can’t believe we’re playing today.” Everyone was just saying, “Okay, let’s go play.”

I think it really worked to our advantage since we have so many leaders and great leadership among the coaches, as well. So to go down there and play as well as we did, benefited us for this week against San Diego, too. It’s a huge opponent, within our division and a road game. So to have those extra two days of rest and an extra day of preparation doesn’t guarantee that we’ll play better, but it puts the odds in our favor. When you work harder things pay off.

I think I had my best game of the season down in Miami. I had four tackles and I actually missed a tackle. So technically I was in on five of the six kickoffs that we had. Actually, on the sixth one I was trying so hard to make the tackle that I was running so fast and I kind of skipped everybody and ended up hitting the off-returner instead of the returner. But I took out the block and I think somebody else ran him out of bounds. If I don’t make the tackle I at least want to be a reason for someone making a tackle. That’s my mentality on kickoffs.

It’s finally starting to come together. All I really did against the Dolphins is something that I probably should have been doing for the last few weeks. I need to somehow move a little bit when I run down instead of running a straight line. I knew I needed to do that, but I guess it just took until Miami to actually get that it would work. Maybe it’s just a rookie thing that kind of comes out of nowhere.

Here’s another funny story from the Dolphins game. Before the game I could hear Miami tight end Randy McMichael talking smack to some of our defensive guys. He’s a great player, but he’s known for being flamboyant and kind of full of it. Everyone has their own way of going about things, though.

So he’s running his mouth the whole game, before and during. When I ran out on the field for special teams he has still out there running his mouth. So I started saying some stuff to him. They were mostly choice words and maybe not the most respectful of terms. He responded with, “Who are you?” I just kind of look at thought to myself, “Dang it, who am I? I’m just a rookie. I don’t have any credit in this league yet. He has no idea who I am.” So he kind of crushed me on the comeback. Luckily he was running off the field anyway, otherwise I would have been stuck.

The Chargers are 3-4, but everybody knows they’re a lot better than that. They’ve lost some really close games in the fourth quarter. We’re not preparing for them as a losing team, we’re preparing for them as a really solid, good football team – and they are.

Personally I’ll have to chase down their kick returner Darren Spoles. I don’t think he is comparable to Dante Hall, but if there is a kick returner who is comparable to him, he might be it for his size and scat ability to move around. I still think we have the best returnman in the NFL and hopefully we’ll get him in the end zone again this week. Sproles is a great player though, so I’m going to have to make sure I wrap up.

I forgot to tell you awhile ago about a story from bye week that I think is pretty funny. I had a chance to go to my college homecoming game. So I’m standing on the sideline, outside of the bench area screaming for my team. In Kansas City, Coach Cunningham lives by the phrase, “Hit them in the mouth.” He means it in every way. He means to physically punish a team and whip them. To take the screws of your helmet and run them in through the screws of theirs. We use that phrase every day here. We have it on signs, t-shirts, everything.

So I’m on the sidelines yelling at my old defensive teammates “Hit ‘em in the mouth. Go get ‘em. Hit them in the mouth.” All of a sudden this referee comes walking over. I’m thinking he just wants to say hello like two other refs had already done that game. This guys walks over and says, “Hey, if you’re going to cheer root for your team only.” I’m like “Huh?” I kind of look around and say, “What are talking about.”

The ref says, “You know what I’m talking about, you’re just trying to stir it up and cause a fight. You have no sportsmanship.” I told him that I just said, “Hit them in them in the mouth.”

I’m trying to replay everything I said hoping I didn’t cuss or anything. But I don’t think I did. But he said, “That’s exactly what you said.” He took it that I was saying to punch the other team or something.

I told him that football is an intense, emotional sport and if he can’t handle a phrase like “Hit ‘em in the mouth” then maybe he should officiate a different sport – like figure skating or synchronized swimming or something.

He turned and looked at me and started reaching for his flag, so I just bit my tongue and stared at him. After that though I kind of teased him from the sidelines. I was being a smart guy, but that’s my character. So I was yelling sarcastic things like, “Please take your arms and tackle them to the ground.” and “Give them hugs and say that you love them.” I just couldn’t believe he came over to me on the sidelines to yell at me for something we say around Arrowhead every day.

One other thing, anyone who has been asking me about where they can get one of my jerseys, I’m told they are on this website now. I appreciate all of the support. You’re supposed to go to the team’s Pro Shop to find them.

I’ll catch up with you next week as we hit Raider Week!

Boomer