Priest Holmes puts all that worry to rest by helping the Chiefs smack

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Sep 8, 2003 by Rick Dean Capital-Journal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- His teammates sensed he had recovered completely from the hip injury that short-circuited what could have been a record-breaking 2002 campaign.

But even those who know him best, his teammates and coaches on the Kansas City Chiefs, still had some anxiety about what Priest Holmes - -- who touched the ball only 20 times during the meaningless preseason --- would do in his first real-game situation Sunday.

"We see him in practice every day, we watch the way he works and conditions himself to come back and play," said fullback Tony Richardson. "But there's a big difference between that and when guys are really tackling and hitting. Even as players, we weren't sure either because we hadn't seen him take a lot of those hits in the preseason.

"Well, we all know he's back now."

That was evident as Holmes touched the ball 25 times and totaled 183 yards from scrimmage in the Chiefs' convincing 27-14 romp over San Diego in the season opener at Arrowhead.

Holmes looked to be at his '02 best on KC's opening drive. With Willie Roaf and Tony Richardson clearing the road, he turned the left corner and exploded for a 24-yard touchdown run that put KC on the path to a 24-0 halftime lead.

Holmes rushed three times for 27 of his 85 yards and caught two of his seven passes (for 98 additional yards) in that first six-play drive. Two possessions later he capped a 59-yard, nine-play drive by outrunning San Diego's defense to the corner for a 5-yard TD run. Holmes contributed a 14-yard gain on a screen pass during the drive.

"It was nice to see him put everything to rest," said quarterback Trent Green, who had his own strong start by hitting 12 of 17 first- half passes for 204 of his 282 total yards.

"There'd obviously been a lot of conversation in the offseason about how healthy he'd be. But everyone today saw him break tackles, saw him make guys miss in the open field, show the burst he needed to get around the corner."

Added Richardson, who again served as Holmes' designated spokesman: "Those kind of numbers should quiet his critics and everyone who said he couldn't come back.

"But the biggest thing was what it did for Priest's confidence," Richardson said. "I've been through some shoulder problems, and when you first come back you wonder if you can really take a shot. Maybe that was on Priest's mind, too. But once he got in a rhythm, it was evident that he knew he could get it done."

Kansas City scored on four of its first five possessions, with Green hitting Johnnie Morton for a 20-yard touchdown one play after Holmes took a screen 31 yards. Morten Andersen later added a 41-yard field goal, his first of two from 40-plus yards, as Kansas City built a 281-49 edge in total yardage by halftime.

It also was a confidence-building game for the beleaguered Chiefs defense that limited a good San Diego offense to only 132 yards and seven points through the game's first three quarters.

New addition Vonnie Holliday had three sacks by halftime in his first game as a Chief, and Kansas City's defense limited LaDainian Tomlinson to a mere 34 yards rushing (with a 2.6-yard average) and another 27 receiving.

"That was lovely," safety Greg Wesley, who had a first-half interception of a deflected pass, said of the pass pressure. "Any secondary would love the rush we got today. (Brees) was running for his life all day."

"Our defense has been maligned for two years, and a lot of it we deserved," said coach Dick Vermeil. "To see them start out and contain a real fine running back today was really good."

San Diego averted the shutout when Brees threw a 21-yard TD pass to Josh Norman midway through the third quarter. They got as close as 27-14 when Brees hit Eric Parker for a 20-yard score with 4:32 remaining.

Between those scores, though, the Chiefs stopped the Chargers on downs at the KC 14 with 8:44 left. That stymied a drive set up by a Green fumble at the Chiefs 23 when he got clobbered on a safety blitz.

"We came into this game with some confidence of our own," Wesley said of the defense. "We're going to change the view people have of us. This is not last year's defense; this is a whole new defense."

NOTE: The Chiefs reported injuries to WR Marc Boerigter (cramps) and LB Shawn Barber (hip pointer).